This is sort of a bummer, but it popped into my head so I thought I'd share. It takes place after the movie, after the one day's head start our dear friend the Commodore gave Jack…
Please R/R!
Oh, and I don't own any of these characters. Gee, big surprise.
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Jack Sparrow stood on the scaffold, staring up at the noose. This time there would be no Pearl to come and save him – he had made sure of that. His last orders to his crew, before he jumped overboard, had been to flee. By the time Norrington's ship had fished him out of the water, hell-bent on his capture and return to "justice," the Pearl had had all the head start she needed.
They'd never have caught her, of course, but those damn cannons could have done quite a bit of damage to a ship underarmed and already badly in need of repairs. The Pearl could have been sunk, and Jack didn't think he could bear to see that.
The Black Pearl was his and now, along with his earnest if largely incompetent crew, she would be safe.
All in all it was a fair exchange: his worthless life for his ship and crew. He had bought them time to escape from the immediate danger, and since of course they would be fine once they got the Pearl back in decent condition, he had effectively bought them a happy ending as well. Jack closed his eyes and pictured them sailing away, nearly flying, much too fast for the navy to have any hope of bringing them in.
Once his eyes were closed, it all became a lot easier. The crowd no longer bothered him. Elizabeth's place, conspicuously empty (she had probably been forbidden to attend this time) no longer tugged at his heartstrings. He'd seen her when he was first brought in, and she was so positively tragic when she cried, that he almost felt guilty for getting caught and upsetting her so badly.
And, best yet, with his eyes closed he could no longer see Commodore Norrington.
Jack knew exactly what the man would look like right about now. He would be stubbornly impassive, not exhibiting a single shard of emotion, unable to help, unwilling to joke, and his attitude would make this moment – Jack's last – much harder to bear.
He realized with a minor stirring of regret that he'd never thanked the Commodore for making the one comment that had made his capture even remotely interesting. Jack had been standing on deck, dripping wet and staring after the Pearl, willing triumph to show on his face instead of desperation, when his attention had been grabbed by a sharp, "Mr. Sparrow." Norrington had stepped right up to him and, in front of all his men, had said quite seriously, "I was rooting for you, too."
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The End.
I actually have a cool idea for a longer PotC story, a much happier ending than this one, that I might start working on. It hinges on the awesome chemistry (not slashy, just awesome) between Jack and Norrington. They have some really great exchanges in the movie and I want to give them a little more time to make friends. Anybody interested?
Anyhow, R/R this one and tell me if you liked it.
