Marin struggled unsuccessfully in Gibbs' arms as the burly sailor staggered
along the road from the town to Governor's House. She wasn't that badly
injured, she knew, in spite of the excess of blood that coated her limbs.
However, they were both all too aware of the risk that Danielson's men
would be out looking for her, despite the soldiers searching the town.
'Put me down, Mr Gibbs,' she protested, batting helplessly at his hands. 'I am quite capable of carrying my own weight.'
In response to her ceaseless struggling, Gibbs simply tightened his grip on her, his eyes fixed on the lights ahead that told him he was approaching the old house where Jack and Elias waited. He refused to relinquish her, knowing that he had set himself the task of protecting her until she was once again in Jack's range of sight. His captain would not be too pleased to see the mess Danielson's crew had made of his lass, make no mistake.
'Miss Marin, you be injured,' he said calmly, as though talking to an irate child. He didn't even shorten his stride as she flailed her hands in his face. 'And we both know I can make a better turn of speed with you in me arms than with you hobbling along beside me.'
'I was not hobbling!' Marin hissed indignantly, loath to raise her voice in case they were being followed. The wayside hid all kinds of dangers for them as they drew further away from the town.
'He's heavier than he looks,' she added softly, some of the fire gone out of her voice as her arm began to throb in dull pain.
Gibbs nodded knowledgeably, ignoring her excuses as he took the fork that led up to the refuge he sought.
'Well, you were doing a good impression of it,' he said soothingly. 'Doing it to put them off, were you?'
She glared at him, aware that he was teasing her in his own way.
'I am just as capable of carrying your weight as you are, lass, so there be an end to it,' he said firmly, his tone suggesting that he had had enough of this argument.
Marin subsided, sensing she had tested his patience as far as it would go without his temper flaring up. If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit he was right. In her current state, she was more than a bit of a liability. Her ankle was sticky with blood from a deep cut she had obtained during the struggle, doing its best to outdo her arm in the appliance of pain, though blood was still seeping from the gash across her arm.
Unfortunately her attire wasn't lending to her comfort in the slightest. Setting aside the fact that she was distinctly uncomfortable in a dress anyway, Marin was in a deal of discomfort due to her somewhat restrictive underwear. Corsets were not designed to sit down in, let alone allow their wearer to be carried, and the whalebone ribs were digging painfully into her hips. There was a breeze blowing into her boot where her dirk should have been, setting her to muttering angrily at herself over having left it behind.
Elias was not going to be happy, she knew, stifling a groan at the thought of his reaction. She could see years of being escorted everywhere under armed guard looming ahead of her. Her guardian was as likely to blame Norrington as Danielson for her injuries, and she couldn't see him paying her objections any mind if he decided to teach her newest friend a lesson he definitely wouldn't forget.
She felt Gibbs tense suddenly, slowing as he peered into the twilight ahead of them. There was a figure moving through the greenery at the side of the road, not quite hidden from them as they watched it approach. He lowered Marin gently to the ground beside him, one arm about the girl's waist as she shifted her weight onto her uninjured ankle. Glancing up at him, she encouraged the burly seaman to keep walking, watching the silent figure from the corner of her eye.
It froze on seeing them, stepping out into the road to approach the two in plain sight. Jack spread his hands in a peaceful gesture, his eyes drawn instantly to Marin's battered appearance. Gibbs felt her relax completely, seeing the tension on her face drain away as she looked up at his captain.
'Jack!' she cried, throwing herself forward into his arms and clutching tightly to his shirt.
Alarmed, Jack wrapped his arms about her, taking in the blood-stained dress and frightened tears rolling down her cheeks.
'Shh, love, come on, Jack's here,' he murmured to her, throwing an angry glance at his first mate.
Gibbs shrugged, knowing his captain's temper would find the deserving recipient of his anger soon enough. Marin sagged against Jack, grateful that he had chosen now to go for a walk as his arms drew her close, keeping her from crumpling to the ground in a sobbing heap. She didn't know where the tears had come from, putting it down to relief at seeing someone she knew would be able to prevent Danielson's men from hurting her again.
Jack gently wiped her tears away, cradling her jaw tenderly in his hand as he looked into her eyes with concern.
'What happened, love?' he asked her softly, aware that Gibbs was on edge, staring into the encroaching darkness with no little hostility.
Marin forced herself to calm down, leaning into the gentle touch as his fingers caressed her temple.
'Danielson's men,' she said brokenly. 'They attacked us . . . the commodore is injured . . .'
He glanced over her, smiling faintly even as his blood began to boil.
'You're not in too good a state yourself, love,' he said gently, bending swiftly to lift her into his arms.
Cradled in his embrace, Marin obeyed her first instinct, wrapping her arms about his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. Jack turned back to the house, Gibbs at his back as they made their hurried way up the path to the front door.
The governor saw them pass through swiftly, following them into the drawing room with an exasperated expression.
'Mr Sparrow, I believe I have asked you not to use the front entrance to the house,' he began, stopping in shock as Jack set Marin gently down on the sofa, his hand brushing tenderly over her hair as he straightened.
'If you want to be helpful, you will go and get Elias,' he told the governor, his voice strangely unemotional. 'If not, I can just punch you here and now, if that's what you really want.'
The threat was delivered in a completely serious manner, making it clear to Swann that now was not the time to nit-pick. He swallowed, backing away from the angry pirate and hurrying upstairs. Gibbs slipped from the room in search of Elizabeth, fairly certain that she'd know at least some doctoring.
As the door shut behind him, Jack growled, furious that Marin had been hurt.
'I'll bloody kill him!' he shouted, uncaring if the entire house heard him.
With a violent gesture, he punched the wall, doing little to the masonry as his fingers cracked loudly. Again and again, he beat at the ornate decoration, his fist bloodied within moments.
'Jack.'
He turned back to where Marin lay on the sofa, her eyes on him as he raged. She looked worried, and he realised he must have frightened her with his angry outburst. He knelt swiftly beside her, ignoring the now familiar jolt that ran through him as she took his hand in hers.
'Don't leave me,' she murmured softly, her eyes frightened. 'Please . . . I'm afraid.'
Frowning, he leant forward, cupping an affectionate hand against her cheek, delighted when she leant into the touch as she had done before.
'A pirate should never admit to being afraid, especially to another pirate,' he reminded her, pleased when some of the fear melted from her eyes as she laughed quietly.
Her fingers tightened on his, drawing his hand closer to rest on her midriff. He could feel the bulge of her locket there, and somehow knew that that was what she had moved his hand for.
'I feel safe when you're around,' she said quietly, her eyes fixed on his.
Jack found he couldn't look away, feeling his heart surge with affection for her as she admitted this one weakness to him. Her hands were trembling, and he moved to cover them with his own, warming her cold fingers in his palms. She smiled at the thoughtful gesture, shift upwards until she was sat comfortably, Jack perched beside her.
They heard footsteps in the hallway, and she gripped his hands tightly for a moment.
'Don't let Elias go after Danielson or Norrington,' she said quickly, her voice firm. 'Promise me you won't let him, Jack.'
Jack's eyes narrowed, not understanding this request, but he could see the desperation in her eyes as she pleaded silently with him to agree.
'I promise,' he whispered as the door burst open to admit Elias.
He strode straight to Marin's side, taking the place Jack vacated quickly, his hands gentle as they checked her over for any unseen injury. Without speaking a word, he laid his hand over the locket, looking her plainly in the eye. Marin nodded, and he swept her up into his embrace, rocking her back and forth as she held onto him tightly, still frightened after her brush with their enemy.
'Oh, me lovely, I thought for one terrible moment there I'd lost ye,' Elias murmured into her hair, and Jack could hear the fearful loneliness in the older man's voice as this thought struck him to the bone.
She pushed away for a moment, letting him trace her cheek with a shaking hand.
'The crew,' she said suddenly. 'Elias, the soldiers are out looking for pirates. We have to warn the crew.'
He nodded, obviously still shaken by the thought that he could have lost his one light. He glanced up at where Jack stood, watching them silently.
'Jack lad, young Dugan is lurking in the greenery out there,' he told his old student. 'Would ye be seeing yer way clear to sending him down to the taverns to warn the men?'
Jack grinned, though the expression was extremely tense. He nodded, turning to slip from the room as Elias drew Marin back into his embrace again. Elizabeth met him in the hallway, her eyes wild as her imagination drew all sorts of pictures for her.
'Jack, what happened?' she asked impatiently. 'Where's Marin?'
He held her shoulders, forcing her to calm down before he told her anything.
'Marin was attacked by Danielson's men,' he told her firmly, not one ounce of excitement in his voice at all. 'She's got a gash on her arm and one on her ankle, and a split lip. Can you deal with that?'
She frowned, unconsciously rubbing her bump as the child within kicked excitedly.
'If I have to,' she said, 'but I'd rather call for a doctor -'
'No,' he insisted. 'No doctors.'
Elizabeth looked affronted.
'Why ever not?' she asked, confused by his taut posture and voice.
Jack sighed. How could she know he could explode at any moment? He forced his temper down a little more, removing his hands from her shoulders.
'A doctor would take one look at her and send a dozen soldiers up here to arrest her,' he explained patiently. 'Now go and see to her, Elizabeth, and stop asking stupid questions!'
He stalked away, a little ashamed of himself for snapping at his friend. The governor stopped him at the door.
'I've already sent the young man down to the taverns,' he said hurriedly as Jack turned eyes black with unexpressed fury on him. 'It was all I could think of to help.'
Jack nodded, patting the older man roughly on the shoulder and striding out into the night. He drew his pistol, taking aim at a large poplar tree, and thought the better of it. Even if the shot didn't bring the soldiers up here, it would certainly alarm Elias, and the last thing he needed was to have to duck bullets from his friend. At a loss for any other way to express his anger, he began to kick at the bushes around him, finding the devastation he wreaked oddly satisfying.
From inside, he heard Elias begin to speak, his voice increasing in volume as he caught up with what had happened. Jack smiled grimly, hacking at the greenery with his sabre. Someone was going to pay for the injury to his Marin, of that he was certain.
*~*~*
Panic over, I have a new beta! Thanks to everyone who offered . . . it was really nice to find out that so many had suggestions for the fic! I feel so loved! *sigh*
In that vein, how do you like my scarily fast production of chapters here? Three in one day! Although I'm a little worried that I'm losing Jack's character . . . hints, anyone?
'Put me down, Mr Gibbs,' she protested, batting helplessly at his hands. 'I am quite capable of carrying my own weight.'
In response to her ceaseless struggling, Gibbs simply tightened his grip on her, his eyes fixed on the lights ahead that told him he was approaching the old house where Jack and Elias waited. He refused to relinquish her, knowing that he had set himself the task of protecting her until she was once again in Jack's range of sight. His captain would not be too pleased to see the mess Danielson's crew had made of his lass, make no mistake.
'Miss Marin, you be injured,' he said calmly, as though talking to an irate child. He didn't even shorten his stride as she flailed her hands in his face. 'And we both know I can make a better turn of speed with you in me arms than with you hobbling along beside me.'
'I was not hobbling!' Marin hissed indignantly, loath to raise her voice in case they were being followed. The wayside hid all kinds of dangers for them as they drew further away from the town.
'He's heavier than he looks,' she added softly, some of the fire gone out of her voice as her arm began to throb in dull pain.
Gibbs nodded knowledgeably, ignoring her excuses as he took the fork that led up to the refuge he sought.
'Well, you were doing a good impression of it,' he said soothingly. 'Doing it to put them off, were you?'
She glared at him, aware that he was teasing her in his own way.
'I am just as capable of carrying your weight as you are, lass, so there be an end to it,' he said firmly, his tone suggesting that he had had enough of this argument.
Marin subsided, sensing she had tested his patience as far as it would go without his temper flaring up. If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit he was right. In her current state, she was more than a bit of a liability. Her ankle was sticky with blood from a deep cut she had obtained during the struggle, doing its best to outdo her arm in the appliance of pain, though blood was still seeping from the gash across her arm.
Unfortunately her attire wasn't lending to her comfort in the slightest. Setting aside the fact that she was distinctly uncomfortable in a dress anyway, Marin was in a deal of discomfort due to her somewhat restrictive underwear. Corsets were not designed to sit down in, let alone allow their wearer to be carried, and the whalebone ribs were digging painfully into her hips. There was a breeze blowing into her boot where her dirk should have been, setting her to muttering angrily at herself over having left it behind.
Elias was not going to be happy, she knew, stifling a groan at the thought of his reaction. She could see years of being escorted everywhere under armed guard looming ahead of her. Her guardian was as likely to blame Norrington as Danielson for her injuries, and she couldn't see him paying her objections any mind if he decided to teach her newest friend a lesson he definitely wouldn't forget.
She felt Gibbs tense suddenly, slowing as he peered into the twilight ahead of them. There was a figure moving through the greenery at the side of the road, not quite hidden from them as they watched it approach. He lowered Marin gently to the ground beside him, one arm about the girl's waist as she shifted her weight onto her uninjured ankle. Glancing up at him, she encouraged the burly seaman to keep walking, watching the silent figure from the corner of her eye.
It froze on seeing them, stepping out into the road to approach the two in plain sight. Jack spread his hands in a peaceful gesture, his eyes drawn instantly to Marin's battered appearance. Gibbs felt her relax completely, seeing the tension on her face drain away as she looked up at his captain.
'Jack!' she cried, throwing herself forward into his arms and clutching tightly to his shirt.
Alarmed, Jack wrapped his arms about her, taking in the blood-stained dress and frightened tears rolling down her cheeks.
'Shh, love, come on, Jack's here,' he murmured to her, throwing an angry glance at his first mate.
Gibbs shrugged, knowing his captain's temper would find the deserving recipient of his anger soon enough. Marin sagged against Jack, grateful that he had chosen now to go for a walk as his arms drew her close, keeping her from crumpling to the ground in a sobbing heap. She didn't know where the tears had come from, putting it down to relief at seeing someone she knew would be able to prevent Danielson's men from hurting her again.
Jack gently wiped her tears away, cradling her jaw tenderly in his hand as he looked into her eyes with concern.
'What happened, love?' he asked her softly, aware that Gibbs was on edge, staring into the encroaching darkness with no little hostility.
Marin forced herself to calm down, leaning into the gentle touch as his fingers caressed her temple.
'Danielson's men,' she said brokenly. 'They attacked us . . . the commodore is injured . . .'
He glanced over her, smiling faintly even as his blood began to boil.
'You're not in too good a state yourself, love,' he said gently, bending swiftly to lift her into his arms.
Cradled in his embrace, Marin obeyed her first instinct, wrapping her arms about his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. Jack turned back to the house, Gibbs at his back as they made their hurried way up the path to the front door.
The governor saw them pass through swiftly, following them into the drawing room with an exasperated expression.
'Mr Sparrow, I believe I have asked you not to use the front entrance to the house,' he began, stopping in shock as Jack set Marin gently down on the sofa, his hand brushing tenderly over her hair as he straightened.
'If you want to be helpful, you will go and get Elias,' he told the governor, his voice strangely unemotional. 'If not, I can just punch you here and now, if that's what you really want.'
The threat was delivered in a completely serious manner, making it clear to Swann that now was not the time to nit-pick. He swallowed, backing away from the angry pirate and hurrying upstairs. Gibbs slipped from the room in search of Elizabeth, fairly certain that she'd know at least some doctoring.
As the door shut behind him, Jack growled, furious that Marin had been hurt.
'I'll bloody kill him!' he shouted, uncaring if the entire house heard him.
With a violent gesture, he punched the wall, doing little to the masonry as his fingers cracked loudly. Again and again, he beat at the ornate decoration, his fist bloodied within moments.
'Jack.'
He turned back to where Marin lay on the sofa, her eyes on him as he raged. She looked worried, and he realised he must have frightened her with his angry outburst. He knelt swiftly beside her, ignoring the now familiar jolt that ran through him as she took his hand in hers.
'Don't leave me,' she murmured softly, her eyes frightened. 'Please . . . I'm afraid.'
Frowning, he leant forward, cupping an affectionate hand against her cheek, delighted when she leant into the touch as she had done before.
'A pirate should never admit to being afraid, especially to another pirate,' he reminded her, pleased when some of the fear melted from her eyes as she laughed quietly.
Her fingers tightened on his, drawing his hand closer to rest on her midriff. He could feel the bulge of her locket there, and somehow knew that that was what she had moved his hand for.
'I feel safe when you're around,' she said quietly, her eyes fixed on his.
Jack found he couldn't look away, feeling his heart surge with affection for her as she admitted this one weakness to him. Her hands were trembling, and he moved to cover them with his own, warming her cold fingers in his palms. She smiled at the thoughtful gesture, shift upwards until she was sat comfortably, Jack perched beside her.
They heard footsteps in the hallway, and she gripped his hands tightly for a moment.
'Don't let Elias go after Danielson or Norrington,' she said quickly, her voice firm. 'Promise me you won't let him, Jack.'
Jack's eyes narrowed, not understanding this request, but he could see the desperation in her eyes as she pleaded silently with him to agree.
'I promise,' he whispered as the door burst open to admit Elias.
He strode straight to Marin's side, taking the place Jack vacated quickly, his hands gentle as they checked her over for any unseen injury. Without speaking a word, he laid his hand over the locket, looking her plainly in the eye. Marin nodded, and he swept her up into his embrace, rocking her back and forth as she held onto him tightly, still frightened after her brush with their enemy.
'Oh, me lovely, I thought for one terrible moment there I'd lost ye,' Elias murmured into her hair, and Jack could hear the fearful loneliness in the older man's voice as this thought struck him to the bone.
She pushed away for a moment, letting him trace her cheek with a shaking hand.
'The crew,' she said suddenly. 'Elias, the soldiers are out looking for pirates. We have to warn the crew.'
He nodded, obviously still shaken by the thought that he could have lost his one light. He glanced up at where Jack stood, watching them silently.
'Jack lad, young Dugan is lurking in the greenery out there,' he told his old student. 'Would ye be seeing yer way clear to sending him down to the taverns to warn the men?'
Jack grinned, though the expression was extremely tense. He nodded, turning to slip from the room as Elias drew Marin back into his embrace again. Elizabeth met him in the hallway, her eyes wild as her imagination drew all sorts of pictures for her.
'Jack, what happened?' she asked impatiently. 'Where's Marin?'
He held her shoulders, forcing her to calm down before he told her anything.
'Marin was attacked by Danielson's men,' he told her firmly, not one ounce of excitement in his voice at all. 'She's got a gash on her arm and one on her ankle, and a split lip. Can you deal with that?'
She frowned, unconsciously rubbing her bump as the child within kicked excitedly.
'If I have to,' she said, 'but I'd rather call for a doctor -'
'No,' he insisted. 'No doctors.'
Elizabeth looked affronted.
'Why ever not?' she asked, confused by his taut posture and voice.
Jack sighed. How could she know he could explode at any moment? He forced his temper down a little more, removing his hands from her shoulders.
'A doctor would take one look at her and send a dozen soldiers up here to arrest her,' he explained patiently. 'Now go and see to her, Elizabeth, and stop asking stupid questions!'
He stalked away, a little ashamed of himself for snapping at his friend. The governor stopped him at the door.
'I've already sent the young man down to the taverns,' he said hurriedly as Jack turned eyes black with unexpressed fury on him. 'It was all I could think of to help.'
Jack nodded, patting the older man roughly on the shoulder and striding out into the night. He drew his pistol, taking aim at a large poplar tree, and thought the better of it. Even if the shot didn't bring the soldiers up here, it would certainly alarm Elias, and the last thing he needed was to have to duck bullets from his friend. At a loss for any other way to express his anger, he began to kick at the bushes around him, finding the devastation he wreaked oddly satisfying.
From inside, he heard Elias begin to speak, his voice increasing in volume as he caught up with what had happened. Jack smiled grimly, hacking at the greenery with his sabre. Someone was going to pay for the injury to his Marin, of that he was certain.
*~*~*
Panic over, I have a new beta! Thanks to everyone who offered . . . it was really nice to find out that so many had suggestions for the fic! I feel so loved! *sigh*
In that vein, how do you like my scarily fast production of chapters here? Three in one day! Although I'm a little worried that I'm losing Jack's character . . . hints, anyone?