Chapter 15 **************************************************************************** **********

Several hours later, I woke to a tickling sensation on my neck. When my

mind unfogged, I realized that it was Jack's beard doing the tickling as he

whispered in my ear.

"Wakey wakey," he breathed, blowing warm air into my ear. I groaned.

"Mmmph, shut up, I need sleep." I heard an annoying chuckle behind me,

then felt his hands sneaking to my ribs. All of a sudden he began tickling, and I

jerked awake with a squeak.

"Jack!" He gave me an innocent look.

"Jest thought ye should be up by now. It's way past dawn, love." I

glanced over to the window and saw sunlight streaming onto the floor of the

cabin. Apparently, the storm had blown over, and it was the start of a new day. I

turned to look at Jack where he lay behind me and gave him my evilest glare.

"You're not up," I said pointedly. He smirked, then sat up and tried to

jump gracefully to his feet. Unfortunately for him, his dramatic exit was

somewhat spoiled as his legs tangled in the bedding and he landed face- first on

the floor. I laughed until my eyes streamed with tears, and probably would have

died of a humor overdose if Jack hadn't grabbed my ankle and pulled me onto

the floor next to him. I landed with a rather painful bump, temporarily jarring

me out of my hysteria. Jack, meanwhile, had disentangled himself from the

blankets and began to tickle me unmercifully. I rolled on the ground hooting

with laughter, trying to avoid his hands, but he was far too good at this game for

me to succeed. Eventually, I ended up pinned on my back with Jack sitting

smugly on my heaving chest.

"Say parley," he purred evilly.

"Parley!" I wheezed, shoving him off me. He stood up, chortling, and

made his way over to the table that was still littered with coconuts from the night

before. He picked up one half-eaten fruit and began munching, watching me

with amusement as I flung the bedding back onto the futon, cursing all the while.

"Yeh know, love, ye have quite the vocabulary for a blushing maiden such

as yerself." I shot him a rueful grin.

"Spend a week in high school, you'll see where I get it from soon enough."

He nodded wisely, though I'm sure he didn't have the slightest idea what I was

talking about.

"Naturally. Well, now we're both up and about, what say you to a

mornin' stroll? With a bite teh eat, of course." I raised an eyebrow.

"With or without clothes?" We were both still quite naked, except for the

odd bit of jewelry. Jack's mouth quirked in a grin.

"I was plannin' teh get dressed first, but if ye insist." I scowled at him,

and he sighed. "Fine, clothed it is." I smirked and returned to my bedroom,

donning a pair of shorts and a shirt that I found slung over the back of a chair.

Jack, mostly dressed, was happily chowing down on a PB&J when I got back to

the kitchen, but he pouted when he saw I was fully clothed.

"What, no balini today?" I snorted.

"Bikini, Jack, and no. I only have the one, and I've been wearing for the

past few days."

"So?" he asked, finishing off his sandwich and licking his fingers rather

suggestively. I tore my eyes away and headed for the refrigerator myself,

explaining modern hygiene as I went.

"So, I usually don't wear the same outfit even two days in a row if I can

help it. But don't worry, I'll do a load of laundry later, and then I'll put it back

on. Happy?" He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes contemplatively.

"Mmmm.." He murmured. I stood there, expecting him to say

something more, but he didn't. After a minute, I leaned over and waved my

hand in front of his face.

"Jack!" He jumped, opening his eyes.

"Sorry love. You wanted to go fer a walk?" He stood up and brushed

breadcrumbs off his lap. I shook my head at Jack's peculiarity, then grabbed a

sandwich and followed him onto the porch. As we sauntered down the steps to

the beach, he slung his arm around my waist and we chatted amiably for a while,

with some garbled words on my part as I was still eating my PB&J. When we got

to the shore, Jack halted and gave me a roguish smile.

"Up fer a little treasure huntin', love?" I grinned eagerly back.

"You know it." So saying, we began to do a sort of mad, capering dance,

kicking up sand in the hopes of unearthing something sparkly. Unfortunately,

the beach appeared to have been treasured-out, and after many minutes of

frolicking the only thing we had to show for it was sand in our hair and lack of

breath in our lungs. I wheezed my way over to where Jack lay panting on the

beach and threw myself down next to him.

"Not.a.bloody.thing," I puffed, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Jack

sighed and rolled over, plopping his head onto my stomach and staring up at the

sky.

"Well, ye win some, ye lose some," he said philosophically. I ran my

hands through his hair, or tried to, but my fingers kept snagging on dreadlocks

and beads. I finally gave up and simply rested one hand against his cheek and

the other on his neck, feeling the life pulse beneath his skin. We basked in the

sun for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company. Jack murmured

incoherently and turned his head to gaze at the ocean, unintentionally brushing

my tender tattoo as he did so. I winced slightly.

"Whoops, sorry love," he said, gently patting my stomach with one be-

jeweled hand.

"'S okay." I closed my eyes and lay back, fully intending to take a nice,

long nap in the sun, despite the odd tan lines I knew I would get. Suddenly, I felt

Jack's body stiffen and the pressure from his head lift from my midsection. My

eyes snapped open, and I saw Jack sitting up straight next to me, staring out to

sea with an unreadable expression on his face. Frowning, I sat up and followed

his gaze. I spotted it immediately: a ship, not far from shore, black sails billowing

in the tropical wind.

"The Pearl," Jack whispered, his eyes burning with longing, "She came

back fer me." For a moment I sat numb, not fully realizing what the ship's arrival

would mean. I looked at Jack's eager face, then out to the ship in the blue waters,

and a wave of sadness washed over me. I had known he would have to leave

eventually, but I'd expected to have at least a few more days with him, a few

more wonderful, idyllic days. The ship had come too soon; I wasn't ready to part

with Captain Jack Sparrow just yet. But the tide was turning, and there was no

way I could simply take off and leave my life behind just to follow him. The

pirate had a choice: me or the Pearl, and I had already lost. I stood up, Jack

following suit. He turned to me with a regretful smile and wrapped me in his

arms.

"I've got to go, love," he murmured, holding me tightly. I smiled as I

wiped a small tear from my eye behind his back.

"I know," I said softly. He held me at arms length, looking me seriously in

the eye.

"I will see ye again," he promised, narrowing his eyes as if daring me to

contradict him. "I'll leave ye a map or somethin' in Fishface's treasure cove so ye

can find me." He looked at me slightly apprehensively. "Yeh're not gonna fall to

pieces on me now, are ye?" I gave him a mock-scowl, then grinned.

"Go get your Pearl, Captain. She's waiting." He flashed me a brilliant

smile, gold teeth gleaming in the sun. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to

mine, our tongues dancing in a final farewell. We held each other tight for a few

more moments, and then he was off, running down the shore and diving into the

waves. I watched him swim strongly through the calm waters, reaching the ship

just as a longboat was being launched off the starboard side. Two sailors hauled

him dripping from the water, and the boat was raised once more. I heard Jack's

loud voice echoing across the bay, shouting orders no doubt, though I couldn't

make out the words. Black sails unfurled as the sailors heaved-to, and the Pearl

slowly but surely glided out to sea. Just before the ship was lost to sight, I saw

the familiar pirate at the wheel lift his hand in a farewell salute, his rings

catching the sun and sending colored sparks in every direction. I waved back,

smiling broadly despite the tears that ran down my face. Then he was gone, and

the world was back to its normal self. I sat back down on the sand, staring out at

the ocean, and wondered when my parents would get back. I thought nervously

of the explaining I would have to do when they saw the trail of little bruises on

my neck and the pile of PB&Js in the fridge. I missed Jack with a sudden pang;

surely he would have been able to explain both with a couple well-chosen

sentences. I smirked, remembering the crazy pirate, but decided not to dwell on

the facts of life I couldn't change. Besides, I thought, my hand straying to my

still-smarting hip, I had some treasure to find.

**The End**

A/N: Yay! It's done! *cue heavenly choir* In truth, though, I'm feeling a bit sad: this was fun to write. I may just have to write another one. Hmm. . . ^_~ Actually, at the moment I'm not planning to do a sequel. I might be persuaded if there's an OVERWHELMING demand for it, but barring that, it won't happen. Anyway, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about my story as a whole now that it's finished. I'll probably go over it and do some editing here and there, so if there are typos or anything that you noticed, please let me know. Thanks for reading my story!! Kudos to everyone! ^_^