A/N: Hello everyone! Please accept my most sincere apologies for not updating in so long. "Real life" has really been kicking my ass for the past few weeks, and so I've not been able to do anything fun or creative. :'(

However, fear not, because I have no plan to abandon this fic! The going just might be a little slow.

Again, I thank you kindly for the reviews! It really means a lot to me to know that people actually read my fic and enjoy it. :)

Disclaimer: Not mine, Disney's. Don't sue, I'm but a poor student who has naught but Cup-O-Noodles with which to pay lawyer fees.

And on to chapter 4...

By Blood Repaid: Chapter 4


Elizabeth quietly entered the small quarters that had been made into a room for Jack. Will sat, crouched on the floor beside the bunk, unbuttoning the last fastenings on the pirates bloodied shirt. For his part, Jack lay as still as death, and nearly as pale, his chest rising and falling faintly with each shallow breath.

"'Lizbeth?" the pirate slurred, not in his usual intoxicated manner, but because he had not the strength to form the word.

"Shhhh" Elizabeth soothed, covering the distance between the door and the bunk in several strides. She paused to squeeze Will's shoulder lightly, which resulted in the young man blushing furiously and fumbling over the last buttons on Jack's shirt. Then she knelt down, and took Jack's larger hand in both of her own, squeezing it lightly in reassurance. "You're going to be fine, Jack. Will and I will see to it that you're provided with the finest care Port Royale has to offer." she promised.

"It's free, 'Lizbeth," Jack murmured, seemingly oblivious to her previous comment, his brown kohl-darkened pain-glazed eyes squinted up at her. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"What's free, Jack?" Elizabeth asked, clearly puzzled by his statement.

"The Pearl. That bloody bas--" he was cut off abruptly as sharp pain washed through him, starting at his middle and echoing throughout his entire body in waves, like water crashing upon the shore. Jack gasped in surprise then, but was soon able to continue, "Barbossa. He doesn't have me ship 'nymore. That bloody bastard's burnin' in 'ell." Jack turned his head away then, face grave, and focused on some point on the ceiling.

"Anamaria has her now, Jack, if it makes you feel any better." Elizabeth commented as she rose from his side to fill a basin with water and fetch a rag for his brow.

Will took this moment to step out to fetch towels, some bandages, and the brandy Jack had requested. He returned within a few minutes toting the necessary items, and behind his back he held a small flask.

"Aye, it does, luv. Anamaria deserves the Pearl, she's always deserved better than she's ever had. She'll take good care of 'er. There's no other pirate I'd rather see captain me ship than Anamaria." He smiled wistfully then.

Elizabeth wondered then, and not for the first time, if there had been more to Jack and Anamaria's relationship than that of Captain and First Mate, but she certainly wasn't going to press the issue now. "They will come back for you, Jack. Surely you know that." she brought the basin of cool water over to his bedside and dipped a cloth in, gently wiping his forehead. Already she thought he felt warmer to the touch, a sure sign of fever setting in.

"Aye, lass, but there'll be naught to come back for." he said.

"Don't say such things, Jack. You're going to be just fine." Elizabeth promised, swallowing hard as tears formed in her eyes at the thought of his crew losing him, at the thought of Will losing him.

"Looks like you're in luck, Jack." Will smiled, "Look what I found", and he presented the pirate with the small flask.

"What is it?" Jack asked hopefully, "It's not..."

"Yes, it is! One of the officers had it stored away. It's amazing the things I'm learning about these staunch Navy men." Will grinned foolishly. "Here, let's sit you up so you can have a swig." he offered, moving behind the injured pirate to pull him into a sitting position.

Jack winced at the movement, but thought the discomfort worth it, considering what his reward would be. Eagerly he removed the cap on the flask, and greedily took a generous draught of the rich substance within. He welcomed the taste with relief, knowing it would bring both comfort and at least some relief from the pain. He sighed in pleasure as he felt the rum warming his throat and his insides on its way down, just as it always had done. "Thankee' Will. You're a good man, very good man." he said.

Will nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Don't take too much just yet. It'll make the bleeding worse, Jack." then proceeded to arrange towels, linen for bandages, and a bottle of brandy. "All right, if you're done with the rum for now, I'll clean the wound."

"There ain't no reason to be doin' that, lad." Jack said between gulps, frowning as he realized there was naught left but air in the flask. "I won't last the night, an' I'd like to keep this pleasant feelin' the rum's given me, if you'd be so kind to allow it."

Will ignored Jack's comment and the feeling of dread steadily creeping over him. It had been just over an hour since the incident occurred, and Jack was fading at a frighteningly accelerated pace. "Nay, Jack, I just need to clean you off and cleanse the entrance wound with a bit of brandy, and then put on a light bandage." He hoped he had kept his voice steady, not revealed anything to the pirate.

Elizabeth began gently cleaning Jack's abdomen and chest with a clean wet cloth, wiping away drying blood cautiously. Gently she approached the area of his stomach from which there was still red blossoming, so as not to aggravate the wound further. She couldn't hide a sharp intake of breath as she saw the darkening black and blue flesh around the bullet wound.

"It's so small." Elizabeth commented, her voice barely above a breathy whisper, "It looks barely large enough for a bullet to have passed through."

"Aye," Will added, "Most of the damage is on the inside."

"Like hell it is," Jack quipped from between clenched teeth, struggling to retain his composure. Elizabeth's probing but gentle ministrations were igniting a fire around the wound that was fast becoming too much for him to bear.

Will continued, "That's the way bullets do: the entrance can remain clean, and yet at the same time a mans innards could be destroyed."

"Aye, Will. Ye' keep tellin' me that!" Jack barked angrily, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.

At seeing the pirate captain's discomfort, Elizabeth ceased cleaning the affected area and knelt down beside Jack to wipe his brow, which again was covered in a sheen of perspiration.

Will removed the lid from the bottle of brandy and poured some onto a rag, gently rubbing it across Jack's abdomen. He then paused, looking the injured man in the eye, and said, "Jack, I'm going to cleanse the wound now, with spirits. All right?"

Jack, lifted his head slightly from the pillow and grimaced, "If you must, lad, though I'd rather you n-- Bloody HELL, ye' scurvy bastard!" Jack roared, as he tried unsuccessfully to bolt upright. It was suddenly as though Will had lit a fire inside the pirate's abdomen, and delivering the lad a sharp blow was the only sure way to extinguish it.

"Easy, Jack, easy!" Elizabeth tried to calm him, leaning half of her weight onto his chest so as to prevent him from rising. "Calm down, it's over now." She smoothed back his wayward braids and again dabbed his considerably-paler face once more with a cool cloth.

The tears of anguish his eyes had held with a difficulty enabled of stubborn pride, spilled over their bounds in a bitter testament of his mortality, and trailed downward from the outermost corners, leaving a faint hint of kohl in their wake, which Elizabeth wiped away with a bloodstained cloth and a gentle touch borne of compassion, sadness and regret.

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A/N: It's not over yet. Keep watching for updates. I promise I'll finish this. :)