Jack stood in the prow of the Black Pearl, his eyes on Tortuga and the
small gathering on the dock, awaiting their arrival on land. He could hear
his crew swinging out the longboats, and Marin excitedly pointing out her
friends to Will from where they stood out of the way. There was Elizabeth,
standing beside Elias on the dock, the bulge of her waistline obvious even
from this distance.
Will would be glad to have her back, and Jack, too, if he let himself admit it. He was going to enjoy having their company on the trip back to Port Royale, despite the apparent threat from the King's Navy, not prepared to trust Elias Fitzpatrick with the only people he could call friends. Even if the old bear had trusted him with his most precious companion.
Jack glanced sideways, to where Marin stood with Will, her cheeks flushed with excitement at seeing her surrogate family once again. He felt . . . strange, unlike he usually did when leaving a woman behind. Part of him wished for her to stay with them, with him, here on the Black Pearl, but he knew her place was by Elias' side. They were too close for him to even imagine tearing them apart to fulfil his own foolish fantasies.
She had been more than a little withdrawn since her encounter with Danielson on the Stella Maris, refusing to talk about it, and had spent many hours staring at the two lockets, turning them over and over in her hands, as if trying to determine some deep secret. When he'd asked her about it, she had dismissed his concern, forcing a smile and changing the subject. But something had been said to her in that cabin that had unsettled the young woman, and he found himself wishing she would tell him so that he could set it right.
He sighed, trying to focus himself on Will and Elizabeth's joy, not his own sudden heartache. It was not like his heart to get involved in any of his relationships, especially those with women. Admittedly, Will and Elizabeth were a special case, he owed them a debt of gratitude for enabling him to regain the Pearl in the first place.
But Marin . . . there was no reason for him to have any feelings other than that of duty towards her. If the truth were known, it would be expected that the two of them should hate one another for the way Elias and Jack had broken with one another. Even after three months of sailing together, he was no nearer to understanding the young woman, nor his own growing attachment to her.
Will's eyes met his, and Jack could have sworn he saw sympathy in his eyes. Not prepared to accept such a gift, even from his friend, he turned away abruptly, steeling himself against the concern in the younger man's gaze. Little did he know his cruel isolation was hurting one other than himself.
Marin stared at his back, feeling a little piece of herself ache for what she could never have. As with Jack, she was torn between joy at the outcome of their mission, and sorrow at the parting from the man she was growing closer to with each passing day. She knew he had been trying to talk with her, and that her refusal to do so had disappointed him, though she also knew that there was nothing she could do that would hurt Captain Jack Sparrow.
But, somehow, it was hard to imagine not waking up to the sound of his abominably tuneless singing, or not to be engaged in a battle of wills each time she spoke with the captain. Because after today, her captain would be Elias Fitzpatrick, whom she was longing to see once again, but who would go back to treating her as a wayward child who needed to be humoured.
Perhaps the reason she found herself drawn to Jack was the fact that he did not treat her as anything but what she was, and somehow that had made a deep impression on her inexperienced heart. She was not one to think in terms of love and affection, but could not deny that each time her thoughts returned to contemplate the irascible pirate, it was fondly, with a smile for his more unusual qualities.
What would Elias make of this? Marin smiled. No doubt he would accuse Jack of brainwashing her, of changing the way she thought. He would never accept the fact that she was falling for Jack Sparrow of her own accord. The smile faded. As soon as her feet touched that dock, she would be taken from the Pearl's crew and probably never see them again, not even Will and Elizabeth.
Her jaw set firm. There was no way she would allow Elias to cut her off from people she felt certain would come to be important in her life. She would not be alone again.
*~*~*
As the longboat pulled alongside the dock, Elizabeth gave a small cry of joy, rushing forward to throw herself into her husband's arms. Elias smiled indulgently at them as they embraced one another tightly, Will's hand running tenderly over the smooth plane of his wife's swollen belly. The old captain let his gaze travel past the young couple to rest on a scene that brought a similar sense of joy to his heart.
Marin was in the second longboat, her eyes on him as they drew near, her face lit with a warm smile. As he watched them draw alongside, Elias felt a slight shadow of concern dim his good humour. She was . . . different somehow, her eyes more thoughtful, less guarded, and he found himself wondering just what it was Jack Sparrow had done to his girl.
That question was soon answered as he observed Jack climb up onto the dock and turn back, leaning down to offer his hostage a hand up. The Marin Elias thought he knew would never have stood for such a gentlemanly action, thinking it an insult to her capabilities, much preferring to clamber ashore under her own wind. Instead, she accepted the proffered hand with a smile, gazing up into Jack's eyes with affection. As Elias watched, Jack drew her carefully up beside him, one arm snaking about her waist as she stumbled slightly. The pirate's eyes never left her face for one moment.
Elias smiled, a little grimly. So the weeks spent together had not just affected young Marin then. Jack would be in for a long, hard road, with a tough decision at the end of it. Elias had only seen that particular look in Jack's eyes once before, the possessive affection that lit up his face, on the day he had taken command of the Black Pearl for the first time. Whether they knew it or not, the old captain could see the bond that had grown between them in the months since their departure from Tortuga. He grinned in satisfaction. It couldn't have worked out better if he'd planned it.
As it was, he didn't have long to wait before Marin spied him standing there, almost tumbling headlong into his embrace with a low cry that told him all he needed to know. He heaved a great sigh as his arms closed around her shoulders, aware of Jack's suddenly stony countenance as he watched them.
'Oh, I've missed you, Fitz,' Marin cried, burying her face in his old coat to hide the joyful tears she had shed on seeing her friend again.
Jack let out a short crack of laughter as Elias drew back from her sharply, his expression one of incredulous good humour.
'Fitz?' he asked, his eyebrows raised in feigned shock, smiling as she glanced at Jack and her cheeks darkened in a guilty flush. He laughed. 'Aye, 'tis good to have ye back, lass.'
Marin grinned, turning away from him to the men who had gathered nearby, each anxious to add his own greeting to that of their captain. Jack slipped to his side as she disappeared into their midst.
'Good voyage, Jack lad?' Elias asked him, careful to avoid any hint of suggestion in his light tone.
'Fair, mate, fair,' Jack said airily, reaching into his pocket for the trinket Marin had entrusted to him as they climbed into the rowboat. 'Yours, I believe.'
Elias' fingers closed on the locket with something akin to relief, his thumb running over the embossed rings to ascertain by touch alone that it was, indeed, his. Satisfied, he grinned.
'Aye, that it is,' he agreed. 'Many thanks, Jack lad.'
'And all debts are paid,' Jack muttered, his eyes on Marin where she stood among her friends, talking animatedly with them. Elias watched him for a moment, seeing all the signs of a man trying to deny the truth, even to himself.
'Now, what do ye say to a tot of good rum, and ye can be telling me of all yer adventures on the high seas?' he suggested, fighting to hide his smile as Jack tore his gaze from Marin's smiling face. He eyed his old mentor.
'Just like the old days, eh, mate?' Jack asked, his tone wary as he regarded the old captain.
Elias smiled faintly, hearing what had not been said.
'Nay, lad, we can never go back to those days,' he said, a little regretfully. 'But will ye join me as a friend, Jack lad? I'm in sore need of good company.'
The same regret that coloured his tone illuminated Jack's eyes for a moment as he held Elias' gaze steadily. The familiar grin broke across his face, and both men felt the air clear between them. All past transgressions were forgiven in that one moment of complete understanding.
'Of course you need good company, mate,' Jack laughed, slapping the older man's shoulder companionably. 'You've not drunk with me in a long time.'
He paused.
'As long as you don't keep to just the one tot,' he amended.
Elias roared with laughter.
'Now would I do that to ye, lad?'
They glanced over at Will and Elizabeth, still engrossed in one another where they stood by the boats.
'Put her down, Will, you don't know where she's been,' Jack called to them, thoroughly disgusted at their lovesick behaviour. 'And that goes for you too, Elizabeth love.'
As they moved to join them, laughing at his expression, he caught Marin watching them, her eyes wistful, and wondered who she was thinking of. It had crossed his mind more than once that such a lovely girl should have a man waiting for her somewhere, and no doubt her thoughts were on that lucky someone as she watched Will and Elizabeth. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he pushed it out, not prepared to face head on the fact that he would probably never occupy that place in her heart. Elias' hand clamped down onto his shoulder, jolting him back to reality.
Will felt Elizabeth's eyes on him as they followed the pirates into the port, her expression inquisitive. He grinned down at her, laying a gentle finger on her lips to still the inevitable questions.
'I'll tell you later,' he promised, drawing her beneath his arm as they walked through the crowded streets. Nodding, Elizabeth pressed herself closer to him, happy to set questions aside until later, overjoyed to have her beloved Will back by her side once again.
Will would be glad to have her back, and Jack, too, if he let himself admit it. He was going to enjoy having their company on the trip back to Port Royale, despite the apparent threat from the King's Navy, not prepared to trust Elias Fitzpatrick with the only people he could call friends. Even if the old bear had trusted him with his most precious companion.
Jack glanced sideways, to where Marin stood with Will, her cheeks flushed with excitement at seeing her surrogate family once again. He felt . . . strange, unlike he usually did when leaving a woman behind. Part of him wished for her to stay with them, with him, here on the Black Pearl, but he knew her place was by Elias' side. They were too close for him to even imagine tearing them apart to fulfil his own foolish fantasies.
She had been more than a little withdrawn since her encounter with Danielson on the Stella Maris, refusing to talk about it, and had spent many hours staring at the two lockets, turning them over and over in her hands, as if trying to determine some deep secret. When he'd asked her about it, she had dismissed his concern, forcing a smile and changing the subject. But something had been said to her in that cabin that had unsettled the young woman, and he found himself wishing she would tell him so that he could set it right.
He sighed, trying to focus himself on Will and Elizabeth's joy, not his own sudden heartache. It was not like his heart to get involved in any of his relationships, especially those with women. Admittedly, Will and Elizabeth were a special case, he owed them a debt of gratitude for enabling him to regain the Pearl in the first place.
But Marin . . . there was no reason for him to have any feelings other than that of duty towards her. If the truth were known, it would be expected that the two of them should hate one another for the way Elias and Jack had broken with one another. Even after three months of sailing together, he was no nearer to understanding the young woman, nor his own growing attachment to her.
Will's eyes met his, and Jack could have sworn he saw sympathy in his eyes. Not prepared to accept such a gift, even from his friend, he turned away abruptly, steeling himself against the concern in the younger man's gaze. Little did he know his cruel isolation was hurting one other than himself.
Marin stared at his back, feeling a little piece of herself ache for what she could never have. As with Jack, she was torn between joy at the outcome of their mission, and sorrow at the parting from the man she was growing closer to with each passing day. She knew he had been trying to talk with her, and that her refusal to do so had disappointed him, though she also knew that there was nothing she could do that would hurt Captain Jack Sparrow.
But, somehow, it was hard to imagine not waking up to the sound of his abominably tuneless singing, or not to be engaged in a battle of wills each time she spoke with the captain. Because after today, her captain would be Elias Fitzpatrick, whom she was longing to see once again, but who would go back to treating her as a wayward child who needed to be humoured.
Perhaps the reason she found herself drawn to Jack was the fact that he did not treat her as anything but what she was, and somehow that had made a deep impression on her inexperienced heart. She was not one to think in terms of love and affection, but could not deny that each time her thoughts returned to contemplate the irascible pirate, it was fondly, with a smile for his more unusual qualities.
What would Elias make of this? Marin smiled. No doubt he would accuse Jack of brainwashing her, of changing the way she thought. He would never accept the fact that she was falling for Jack Sparrow of her own accord. The smile faded. As soon as her feet touched that dock, she would be taken from the Pearl's crew and probably never see them again, not even Will and Elizabeth.
Her jaw set firm. There was no way she would allow Elias to cut her off from people she felt certain would come to be important in her life. She would not be alone again.
*~*~*
As the longboat pulled alongside the dock, Elizabeth gave a small cry of joy, rushing forward to throw herself into her husband's arms. Elias smiled indulgently at them as they embraced one another tightly, Will's hand running tenderly over the smooth plane of his wife's swollen belly. The old captain let his gaze travel past the young couple to rest on a scene that brought a similar sense of joy to his heart.
Marin was in the second longboat, her eyes on him as they drew near, her face lit with a warm smile. As he watched them draw alongside, Elias felt a slight shadow of concern dim his good humour. She was . . . different somehow, her eyes more thoughtful, less guarded, and he found himself wondering just what it was Jack Sparrow had done to his girl.
That question was soon answered as he observed Jack climb up onto the dock and turn back, leaning down to offer his hostage a hand up. The Marin Elias thought he knew would never have stood for such a gentlemanly action, thinking it an insult to her capabilities, much preferring to clamber ashore under her own wind. Instead, she accepted the proffered hand with a smile, gazing up into Jack's eyes with affection. As Elias watched, Jack drew her carefully up beside him, one arm snaking about her waist as she stumbled slightly. The pirate's eyes never left her face for one moment.
Elias smiled, a little grimly. So the weeks spent together had not just affected young Marin then. Jack would be in for a long, hard road, with a tough decision at the end of it. Elias had only seen that particular look in Jack's eyes once before, the possessive affection that lit up his face, on the day he had taken command of the Black Pearl for the first time. Whether they knew it or not, the old captain could see the bond that had grown between them in the months since their departure from Tortuga. He grinned in satisfaction. It couldn't have worked out better if he'd planned it.
As it was, he didn't have long to wait before Marin spied him standing there, almost tumbling headlong into his embrace with a low cry that told him all he needed to know. He heaved a great sigh as his arms closed around her shoulders, aware of Jack's suddenly stony countenance as he watched them.
'Oh, I've missed you, Fitz,' Marin cried, burying her face in his old coat to hide the joyful tears she had shed on seeing her friend again.
Jack let out a short crack of laughter as Elias drew back from her sharply, his expression one of incredulous good humour.
'Fitz?' he asked, his eyebrows raised in feigned shock, smiling as she glanced at Jack and her cheeks darkened in a guilty flush. He laughed. 'Aye, 'tis good to have ye back, lass.'
Marin grinned, turning away from him to the men who had gathered nearby, each anxious to add his own greeting to that of their captain. Jack slipped to his side as she disappeared into their midst.
'Good voyage, Jack lad?' Elias asked him, careful to avoid any hint of suggestion in his light tone.
'Fair, mate, fair,' Jack said airily, reaching into his pocket for the trinket Marin had entrusted to him as they climbed into the rowboat. 'Yours, I believe.'
Elias' fingers closed on the locket with something akin to relief, his thumb running over the embossed rings to ascertain by touch alone that it was, indeed, his. Satisfied, he grinned.
'Aye, that it is,' he agreed. 'Many thanks, Jack lad.'
'And all debts are paid,' Jack muttered, his eyes on Marin where she stood among her friends, talking animatedly with them. Elias watched him for a moment, seeing all the signs of a man trying to deny the truth, even to himself.
'Now, what do ye say to a tot of good rum, and ye can be telling me of all yer adventures on the high seas?' he suggested, fighting to hide his smile as Jack tore his gaze from Marin's smiling face. He eyed his old mentor.
'Just like the old days, eh, mate?' Jack asked, his tone wary as he regarded the old captain.
Elias smiled faintly, hearing what had not been said.
'Nay, lad, we can never go back to those days,' he said, a little regretfully. 'But will ye join me as a friend, Jack lad? I'm in sore need of good company.'
The same regret that coloured his tone illuminated Jack's eyes for a moment as he held Elias' gaze steadily. The familiar grin broke across his face, and both men felt the air clear between them. All past transgressions were forgiven in that one moment of complete understanding.
'Of course you need good company, mate,' Jack laughed, slapping the older man's shoulder companionably. 'You've not drunk with me in a long time.'
He paused.
'As long as you don't keep to just the one tot,' he amended.
Elias roared with laughter.
'Now would I do that to ye, lad?'
They glanced over at Will and Elizabeth, still engrossed in one another where they stood by the boats.
'Put her down, Will, you don't know where she's been,' Jack called to them, thoroughly disgusted at their lovesick behaviour. 'And that goes for you too, Elizabeth love.'
As they moved to join them, laughing at his expression, he caught Marin watching them, her eyes wistful, and wondered who she was thinking of. It had crossed his mind more than once that such a lovely girl should have a man waiting for her somewhere, and no doubt her thoughts were on that lucky someone as she watched Will and Elizabeth. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he pushed it out, not prepared to face head on the fact that he would probably never occupy that place in her heart. Elias' hand clamped down onto his shoulder, jolting him back to reality.
Will felt Elizabeth's eyes on him as they followed the pirates into the port, her expression inquisitive. He grinned down at her, laying a gentle finger on her lips to still the inevitable questions.
'I'll tell you later,' he promised, drawing her beneath his arm as they walked through the crowded streets. Nodding, Elizabeth pressed herself closer to him, happy to set questions aside until later, overjoyed to have her beloved Will back by her side once again.