Sorry I took so long to update. But this is the ending. Okay, it's kind of
short and maybe a bit abrupt, I know . but I need to finish this story.
Basically ... well, anyhow, read it and let me know what you think. Thanks
to everyone, you've been a great audience. A special thanks to Sparrow
Quill for her encouraging reviews. Maybe I'll be back with another story
someday ...
Just as a note - Jack's last lines are quoted from Johnny Depp.
-
Thirteen . That's Captain to You
If Jack had booted her in the chest, India thought, it would have had about the same effect as Will's words. Confused, angry, and unsure how to react to this news, she stood up uncertainly. Should she punch Jack, or run away, or do nothing at all? Wondering why there were tears in her eyes, she hurried away from the table.
"India, love! Let's try to talk about this sensibly! I can explain," Jack called after her. "Lovely, Will. Thank you," he said, rising to follow her. "India!" he called, running unevenly after her.
He caught up to her, and she sullenly stopped. Instead of bringing up the fact that he had shot her father, or being angry and slapping him, she turned, tears running down her face.
"You were just using me, Jack!" she cried. "I was stupid to think you cared! I was -" She didn't care what she was admitting, but turned away, unable to look at him. Her shoulders shook as she buried her face in her hands.
Jack wasn't sure whether he should try to comfort her or back away, so he did nothing except stand and watch her. He wasn't sorry about shooting her father, so he couldn't even apologize. And then he realized that she hadn't said anything about that. She felt that he had been using her. For what? Safety, finding treasure, lord only knew what the woman assumed. He lifted his hands, then thought better of setting them on her, then didn't know how else to show her that ... that he wasn't just taking advantage of her. Carefully, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged away, wiping the tears off her face. She turned with a snuffle.
"Don't think I want your pity, Jack Sparrow. Just because my father was never there for me doesn't mean I want you in my life!"
"Just because ..." he trailed off. "What do you want then?"
She made a face, forcing back the tears. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know. I want to go back to Tortuga, I want to forget about everything. I want to be a pirate. I want people to respect me." There, she had admitted her dreams to Jack Sparrow. Now what would he think of her?
"Sounds like you need more rum," was his initial comment.
She glared.
"Joking," he assured her, backing away.
"You had better be, Jack Sparrow, because I expect us to be sailing away from here and back to Tortuga before daybreak," she informed him.
"Before ... leaving ... back to Tortuga?" Jack spluttered, trying to come up with a sentence. "But what about me mates, India?" he asked. "Do you expect me to just up and leave Will and Elizabeth?" he asked, flailing his arms towards the horizon.
"Yes," she answered simply.
He opened his mouth to try say a few more things, and unsuccessful, he made a face at her. She wasn't amused, but held firm in her request to leave immediately.
Finally, Captain Jack Sparrow sighed, slumped his shoulders, and sauntered off to round up the rest of the crew.
Within the day, they had reached Tortuga. By all appearances, Will and Elizabeth had been anxious to set sail for Madagascar, and were glad to wish Jack Sparrow farewell. Jack, on the other hand, had been a bit reluctant to leave the feast, largely due the fact that alcohol was being served, as well as being reluctant to do anything considering the amount that he had consumed.
With a slightly throbbing head, he gave the orders for the crew to take rowboats ashore, and for those who wished to stay to do so. With an unexplained lump in his chest, he watched India climb into a rowboat, her eyes looking away as it lowered into the water, her face becoming obscured under her hat.
Clearing his throat, he turned back to wait aboard the ship while his crew deserted him or took shore leave. As they had weighed anchor in the bay off Tortuga and needed to keep a close watch for other pirate ships, Jack made sure that someone was keeping lookout, then staggered below deck to the captain's quarters. He slumped down in a chair and put his head in his hands. Maybe more rum would make the headache go away ...
...
The day drew to a close, and the rowboats returned from Tortuga. Jack sauntered on deck to greet his crew and give directions to set sail. To his surprise, one of the men handed him his hat, a little battered, a little worn, but much as he remembered it.
"Me hat!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. "Where did you find this?" he asked, nearly hugging it to himself before placing it on his head.
The man nodded towards someone else, who emerged from behind a group of pirates. It was a woman's form, and to his chagrin she had a bigger hat than his. But still, he couldn't deny that he was happy to see her. She smiled a little as she saw him, and stepped forward.
"What are you doing here, India? I thought you hated me guts!" Jack said, very nearly astonished.
She shrugged. "I never liked Barbossa anyway."
Jack blinked at her.
"Well, are we going to get going, or are you planning to stand here and gawk at me all day?" she demanded.
He abruptly spun around and started swaggering towards the front of the ship.
"Hey!" she called. "That doesn't mean you can ignore me!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied derisively.
"You are taking for granted that I decided to come back at all!" she accused.
"Oh no," he assured her, "I'm unfortunately quite aware of the fact that you have returned. I was taking it for granted that you had left."
She pouted. "If you're that happy to see me, I might as well jump overboard and swim back ashore!"
He faced her, looking serious. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, love. You never know what sort of beasties are lurking in these waters."
"I'd probably be safer with them than with you, Jack Sparrow," she muttered.
He grinned, then looked around at the rest of the pirates who stood watching their conversation. "Have you men got nothing better to do?" he asked, then paused. "As interesting as this surely is to all of you ... I want to be out of here, so get to your posts. Now!"
The men actually followed his orders, and the ship left Tortuga in nearly as little time as when India had commanded the crew.
"I'm impressed," India commented dryly when they were safely out in open waters. "I didn't think it possible for you to successfully captain any sort of ship."
Jack huffed defensively. "I was likely sailing the seas before you were born," he said.
She raised her eyebrows. "It's even more of a wonder then that you can still manage to do anything right - since you're so old," she replied with a touch of humour.
"Aye, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he assented, and left it at that.
They stood in silence as Jack navigated the ship.
"I still need a name for me ship," Jack said after a moment.
"Your ship?" India asked.
"Yes, love, MY ship. I commandeered it and have since been captain of it. It is therefore and far beyond a doubt my ship."
"Well then," she replied sullenly, "why don't you name it by yourself as well?"
He rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have mentioned it to you, now, would I?"
"I'm flattered, Jack," she replied sarcastically. "Why don't you follow Will Turner's lead and call it the Renegade India or something?"
He scrunched his nose. "That's hideous."
Surprisingly, she grinned. "All right, the Renegade Sparrow."
"I'm not sure which is worse," he admitted, pondered it, then replied, "no, India was definitely worse. No offense, love."
"Will you please stop referring to me as your love," she said in exasperation.
"All right, I promise."
"On your word?" she asked.
"Pirates' honour," he said with a sly smile.
She eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press the matter.
"What are we going to do about the treasure now that everyone knows where it is?" she asked, her mind trailing back over the events of the past weeks.
"Leave it," he replied.
"But what if they plunder it and leave nothing left?" India pointed out.
"Let them take it. There are other treasures in the world," he informed her nonchalantly. "We've certainly enough treasure aboard this ship to last us until we find some more."
There was another pause.
"Do you think that's the last we'll see of Captain Hawke?" India asked.
"Not unless he's drowned," Jack replied after some consideration.
"But he promised," she insisted. "A pirate never keeps his promise," Jack said with a smile.
India studied him, still trying to make heads or tails of his personality. Maybe she would never understand him. Maybe she would keep trying.
Jack surrendered the wheel to another pirate, and he and India wandered down the deck. India paused.
"Where will we go, Jack?" she asked, looking across the horizon.
He faced her. "You've a few things to learn, love. The beauty of being a pirate is that you don't have to decide what you want to do or where you want to go - you just go."
"I thought you promised not to call me that!" she protested, ignoring his philosophical comment on freedom.
"Sorry. Pirate," he reminded her.
India winced. "This is going to be a problem, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically.
"Maybe, maybe not," he replied.
She sighed and looked back out over the ocean as they stood beside each other. "You know, when I was little, I never thought I would be standing on a ship with a pirate crew, beside a pirate captain."
"Yes, the world's full of surprises, isn't it?" he said, moving to put his arm around her. She squirmed away, then turned to look at him, her emotions confused. Her annoyance gave way to a less readable expression, and her gaze softened.
"What's this?" he asked, drawing closer to her. "Nothing to remark? You know, India, I might almost say that you liked me by the way you're staring." Likely he would have been safer had he not opened his mouth.
He lost what ground he had gained, and she made a face at him. "Jack Sparrow, you are the most insufferable man I've ever met!" India declared.
"Aye, but you don't really mind, do you love?" he asked, smiling his gold-toothed smile.
"Ough!" she said and turned, storming away down the deck.
He chuckled. She didn't really mind, and they both knew it.
Jack leaned on the railing of his ship. He would have to think of a name for her. It might take a while, but in the meantime, he was determinedly gathering the things that keep a pirate happy - his ship, his hat, his rum ... and he was working on his woman. There were adventures left to be had, treasures to be found, waters to be sailed.
"Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be?" Captain Jack Sparrow murmured, his dark eyes gazing out over the waves, and a smile touching his face. "I'm a pirate, after all."
*The End*
Just as a note - Jack's last lines are quoted from Johnny Depp.
-
Thirteen . That's Captain to You
If Jack had booted her in the chest, India thought, it would have had about the same effect as Will's words. Confused, angry, and unsure how to react to this news, she stood up uncertainly. Should she punch Jack, or run away, or do nothing at all? Wondering why there were tears in her eyes, she hurried away from the table.
"India, love! Let's try to talk about this sensibly! I can explain," Jack called after her. "Lovely, Will. Thank you," he said, rising to follow her. "India!" he called, running unevenly after her.
He caught up to her, and she sullenly stopped. Instead of bringing up the fact that he had shot her father, or being angry and slapping him, she turned, tears running down her face.
"You were just using me, Jack!" she cried. "I was stupid to think you cared! I was -" She didn't care what she was admitting, but turned away, unable to look at him. Her shoulders shook as she buried her face in her hands.
Jack wasn't sure whether he should try to comfort her or back away, so he did nothing except stand and watch her. He wasn't sorry about shooting her father, so he couldn't even apologize. And then he realized that she hadn't said anything about that. She felt that he had been using her. For what? Safety, finding treasure, lord only knew what the woman assumed. He lifted his hands, then thought better of setting them on her, then didn't know how else to show her that ... that he wasn't just taking advantage of her. Carefully, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged away, wiping the tears off her face. She turned with a snuffle.
"Don't think I want your pity, Jack Sparrow. Just because my father was never there for me doesn't mean I want you in my life!"
"Just because ..." he trailed off. "What do you want then?"
She made a face, forcing back the tears. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know. I want to go back to Tortuga, I want to forget about everything. I want to be a pirate. I want people to respect me." There, she had admitted her dreams to Jack Sparrow. Now what would he think of her?
"Sounds like you need more rum," was his initial comment.
She glared.
"Joking," he assured her, backing away.
"You had better be, Jack Sparrow, because I expect us to be sailing away from here and back to Tortuga before daybreak," she informed him.
"Before ... leaving ... back to Tortuga?" Jack spluttered, trying to come up with a sentence. "But what about me mates, India?" he asked. "Do you expect me to just up and leave Will and Elizabeth?" he asked, flailing his arms towards the horizon.
"Yes," she answered simply.
He opened his mouth to try say a few more things, and unsuccessful, he made a face at her. She wasn't amused, but held firm in her request to leave immediately.
Finally, Captain Jack Sparrow sighed, slumped his shoulders, and sauntered off to round up the rest of the crew.
Within the day, they had reached Tortuga. By all appearances, Will and Elizabeth had been anxious to set sail for Madagascar, and were glad to wish Jack Sparrow farewell. Jack, on the other hand, had been a bit reluctant to leave the feast, largely due the fact that alcohol was being served, as well as being reluctant to do anything considering the amount that he had consumed.
With a slightly throbbing head, he gave the orders for the crew to take rowboats ashore, and for those who wished to stay to do so. With an unexplained lump in his chest, he watched India climb into a rowboat, her eyes looking away as it lowered into the water, her face becoming obscured under her hat.
Clearing his throat, he turned back to wait aboard the ship while his crew deserted him or took shore leave. As they had weighed anchor in the bay off Tortuga and needed to keep a close watch for other pirate ships, Jack made sure that someone was keeping lookout, then staggered below deck to the captain's quarters. He slumped down in a chair and put his head in his hands. Maybe more rum would make the headache go away ...
...
The day drew to a close, and the rowboats returned from Tortuga. Jack sauntered on deck to greet his crew and give directions to set sail. To his surprise, one of the men handed him his hat, a little battered, a little worn, but much as he remembered it.
"Me hat!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. "Where did you find this?" he asked, nearly hugging it to himself before placing it on his head.
The man nodded towards someone else, who emerged from behind a group of pirates. It was a woman's form, and to his chagrin she had a bigger hat than his. But still, he couldn't deny that he was happy to see her. She smiled a little as she saw him, and stepped forward.
"What are you doing here, India? I thought you hated me guts!" Jack said, very nearly astonished.
She shrugged. "I never liked Barbossa anyway."
Jack blinked at her.
"Well, are we going to get going, or are you planning to stand here and gawk at me all day?" she demanded.
He abruptly spun around and started swaggering towards the front of the ship.
"Hey!" she called. "That doesn't mean you can ignore me!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied derisively.
"You are taking for granted that I decided to come back at all!" she accused.
"Oh no," he assured her, "I'm unfortunately quite aware of the fact that you have returned. I was taking it for granted that you had left."
She pouted. "If you're that happy to see me, I might as well jump overboard and swim back ashore!"
He faced her, looking serious. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, love. You never know what sort of beasties are lurking in these waters."
"I'd probably be safer with them than with you, Jack Sparrow," she muttered.
He grinned, then looked around at the rest of the pirates who stood watching their conversation. "Have you men got nothing better to do?" he asked, then paused. "As interesting as this surely is to all of you ... I want to be out of here, so get to your posts. Now!"
The men actually followed his orders, and the ship left Tortuga in nearly as little time as when India had commanded the crew.
"I'm impressed," India commented dryly when they were safely out in open waters. "I didn't think it possible for you to successfully captain any sort of ship."
Jack huffed defensively. "I was likely sailing the seas before you were born," he said.
She raised her eyebrows. "It's even more of a wonder then that you can still manage to do anything right - since you're so old," she replied with a touch of humour.
"Aye, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he assented, and left it at that.
They stood in silence as Jack navigated the ship.
"I still need a name for me ship," Jack said after a moment.
"Your ship?" India asked.
"Yes, love, MY ship. I commandeered it and have since been captain of it. It is therefore and far beyond a doubt my ship."
"Well then," she replied sullenly, "why don't you name it by yourself as well?"
He rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have mentioned it to you, now, would I?"
"I'm flattered, Jack," she replied sarcastically. "Why don't you follow Will Turner's lead and call it the Renegade India or something?"
He scrunched his nose. "That's hideous."
Surprisingly, she grinned. "All right, the Renegade Sparrow."
"I'm not sure which is worse," he admitted, pondered it, then replied, "no, India was definitely worse. No offense, love."
"Will you please stop referring to me as your love," she said in exasperation.
"All right, I promise."
"On your word?" she asked.
"Pirates' honour," he said with a sly smile.
She eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press the matter.
"What are we going to do about the treasure now that everyone knows where it is?" she asked, her mind trailing back over the events of the past weeks.
"Leave it," he replied.
"But what if they plunder it and leave nothing left?" India pointed out.
"Let them take it. There are other treasures in the world," he informed her nonchalantly. "We've certainly enough treasure aboard this ship to last us until we find some more."
There was another pause.
"Do you think that's the last we'll see of Captain Hawke?" India asked.
"Not unless he's drowned," Jack replied after some consideration.
"But he promised," she insisted. "A pirate never keeps his promise," Jack said with a smile.
India studied him, still trying to make heads or tails of his personality. Maybe she would never understand him. Maybe she would keep trying.
Jack surrendered the wheel to another pirate, and he and India wandered down the deck. India paused.
"Where will we go, Jack?" she asked, looking across the horizon.
He faced her. "You've a few things to learn, love. The beauty of being a pirate is that you don't have to decide what you want to do or where you want to go - you just go."
"I thought you promised not to call me that!" she protested, ignoring his philosophical comment on freedom.
"Sorry. Pirate," he reminded her.
India winced. "This is going to be a problem, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically.
"Maybe, maybe not," he replied.
She sighed and looked back out over the ocean as they stood beside each other. "You know, when I was little, I never thought I would be standing on a ship with a pirate crew, beside a pirate captain."
"Yes, the world's full of surprises, isn't it?" he said, moving to put his arm around her. She squirmed away, then turned to look at him, her emotions confused. Her annoyance gave way to a less readable expression, and her gaze softened.
"What's this?" he asked, drawing closer to her. "Nothing to remark? You know, India, I might almost say that you liked me by the way you're staring." Likely he would have been safer had he not opened his mouth.
He lost what ground he had gained, and she made a face at him. "Jack Sparrow, you are the most insufferable man I've ever met!" India declared.
"Aye, but you don't really mind, do you love?" he asked, smiling his gold-toothed smile.
"Ough!" she said and turned, storming away down the deck.
He chuckled. She didn't really mind, and they both knew it.
Jack leaned on the railing of his ship. He would have to think of a name for her. It might take a while, but in the meantime, he was determinedly gathering the things that keep a pirate happy - his ship, his hat, his rum ... and he was working on his woman. There were adventures left to be had, treasures to be found, waters to be sailed.
"Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be?" Captain Jack Sparrow murmured, his dark eyes gazing out over the waves, and a smile touching his face. "I'm a pirate, after all."
*The End*