Chapter 18:

A/N: Good day! I am off school once again, but for nothing this time. We were supposed to get snow but we're not, just rain. Ha, I think that's funny. I would like to announce I made some slight changes to the last chapter because lilitaliandragon and I believe it was a little Mary-sue-ish with all the fighting Justine did after she was beaten to a pulp, so I added and deleted a few things. You might want to go back and read it again just so you have a full understanding of what is going on in this chapter. Thanks again for the reviews!

Song to listen to: November Rain By Guns and Roses

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Elizabeth opened the door to Sparrow's cabin and stepped in clutching a solid piece of metal in her hand. Her eyes explored the room taking in all around her; Ana was in a corner crying no doubt, Will on the other side of the room at the desk, Sparrow on the white linen sheets of the bed next to me gripping my hand. I sat in the center of it all my hair thrown around on the pillow messily, my eyes shut and my beaten body limp as a piece of string.

She stepped slowly over to my side kneeling on the floor beside the bed. Her eyes closed and she clutched the illuminating metal piece within her hands praying aloud so that all might hear. "I'm sorry lord for what wrongs I might have done to her. She is a delicate creature amongst thorns and I was too stubborn to notice that all she wanted was a way out. I didn't give her the time of day and for that I was wrong. Please, lord, with your blessing, grant her life again. Allow her to wake up and feel the day. In your name I pray. Amen."

I respect her now for all that she had done for me, I had no idea she cared so much. Elizabeth's eyes opened and two clear tears slid down her cheeks as she moved my hand to hers placing within mine the metal piece. It was the pocket watch with the coordinates to my mother's grave. She stood gazing down at her own body then up at Sparrow, "I'm sorry Jack. I would give my life for her to live again for I know that's what she did for me. Good night, Captain."

Elizabeth shifted and walked away from me her ruined dress swaying and ruffling as she left the dreary room behind her. Ana stood from the corner and ran to Elizabeth hugging her lovingly. "I need you, she needs you. Please don't give up on her this soon. Help me." Ana's eyes pleaded to her the truth and everyone watched in silence.

"How can I help?" Miss Swann shook her head in disbelief.

"I need a pair of steady hands and a sober mind, someone to think clearly and actually uses the sense in their head. Please help me stitch her back up. We still have a chance for her survival." Ana held Elizabeth's hands; quietly praying to herself that she would help.

Elizabeth nodded her head agreeably, "I will help you. What do we need to do?"

"First we need everyone to leave, I can't work real well while people are watching. So if you gentlemen would be so kind as to leave that would be wonderful." Ana opened the door for them to leave as she wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks.

Sparrow leaned over and kissed my forehead gently then stood and left. Will pulled himself away from the desk and made his way over to Miss Swann staring at her with love and devotion. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It wasn't your fault. I was just angry."

"Shh," Elizabeth put her hand to his cheek, "it's okay Will. I know you loved her." She kissed his cheek and turned to walk towards Ana but Turner stopped her.

"No," he thought for a moment about his mixed feelings for both women. He decided that since I had pre-decided that if I were to live I would leave it wouldn't matter much if he loved me or not. I would've been gone and he would've been without love. "No, I love you. I have always loved you, and I will marry you on our return to Port Royal." He held her in his arms pondering over his decision.

"Elizabeth! I need you," Ana shouted from the bed as she readied the instruments.

"I must go, we'll finish talking later." He vacated the room and closed the door behind him locking so there were no intrusions.

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The deck outside was far from silent, sea fearing men swinging through the running rigging and men dangling from the sides of both ships patching up holes and damaged pieces. Every man was working hard even the commodore; his wig and jacket where off as he worked hard patching some of the broken flooring. Gillet stood by waiting patiently to slide the tar mop over the wood afterwards. He was absolutely distraught over the smell of it but did what he was told all the same.

William noticed Sparrow standing out at the tip of the bow and decided to walk out to him. He was perched out on the railing watching the navy sailors work on their ship as well as ours. "Why are they helping us?" Will pondered curiously.

"We helped them bag a handful of pirates and we saved Elizabeth. Which is more than they could've asked for."

"But Jack, we're pirates. Why aren't they trying to arrest us." Will leaned against the railing now.

Sparrow turned his head to face the younger scalawag, "Leverage my boy. They'll give us a safe passage back to Port Royal so Justine can get the medical attention that she needs, given that she survives that long. If-." He gave his 'I have a secret I don't want to tell' look to Will and waited.

"If what?" His eyes grew narrower trying to figure his captain out.

"If, when we get there, and Justine survives, I turn her over to respectable society and give her hand in marriage to Commodore Norrington."

"You what!" Jack dropped down from the railing, "Why?"

"Think of it Will, we'll be free men. No prices over our heads and we can pillage and plunder at will. We can die rich old men warm in our beds surrounded by jewels and crowns and tons of gold beyond your wildest dreams."

Turner searched his friends face for an ounce of discomfort over this situation but found none. 'She'll never except and you know it. Justine would rather marry- marry-." He stumbled trying to find someone else for her to marry.

"You?" Sparrow quirked his eyebrow in suspicion over Turner's distressed state of mind.

"Yes, if it came to that, I think she would." He answered calmly.

"Uh hugh, right than." Sparrow turned sauntering away from the whelp.

"She'll kill you for this!" He shouted out.

"I'd rather die by her hand than his, if she can lift the sword to strike me down!" The chief pirate retorted.

Will caught up to him, "you think she'd be afraid to strike down her own father don't you? You weren't even there for her when she was just a child, I think she'll have no problem killing you."

Sparrow stopped and looked his piratical colleague in the eyes, "I doubt she'll live long enough to get to that point." With that said he shoved passed William with ease and headed into his cabin with Ana and Elizabeth.

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The door creaked open and slammed shut both women shooting their heads up only to find Sparrow in the doorway. "How did you get in here? I locked the door." Elizabeth question.

My father pulled a metal key from his pocket as his answer and Elizabeth went back to work at cleaning the blood from my neck and upper chest. Ann wiped her blood filled hands on a clean towel and looked up at Jack who was starring down at me. "I thought that was my key?" She grinned at him cheekily but he paid no mind to her cheering up.

"Actually it was my spare." He ran his coarse fingers over mine gripping my hand pleadingly for I was his daughter once lost now found, he would not lose me again.

"Your spare was my key," Ana shifted and grabbed up a clean utensil from the doctor's kit Norrington had supplied her. Their doctor was killed in the battle otherwise he would be assisting in this surgery.

Elizabeth looked up at the two older pirates wondering about the 'spare key' thing and what reference it had. Then something dawned on Elizabeth, "so is that why you always requested to be alone at night, Jack? I thought I heard another voice in here with you a week or so ago."

Sparrow simply ignored all that went on and focused on me. It seemed the women needed something to cheer them up so they chose to talk about the 'spare key' while they worked. Ana leaned over me examining my wounds closer, my blood saturated her shirt pressing the cloth to the curves of her body revealing a slightly round stomach showing through.

Miss Swann gapped at the sight, "ANA! YOU'RE PREG-." Ana's hand flew up and stopped any more words from exiting Elizabeth's mouth.

Sparrow's head rose hastily at the accusations, his face a very slight pink. "Quiet child! No one else needs to know." Ana hissed taking her hand from Elizabeth's mouth slowly.

"So you are pregnant then?" She starred down at Ana's growing belly.

"Yes lass, three months by now. We were even planning on a secret marriage so that I do not give way to a bastard child." Ana continued, Sparrow just gazed up at Miss Swann as she gazed back.

"What? A Captain can't have a family," was his only defense.

"Jack you're a pirate and if I remember correctly you already had a family that you left!"

"Forced to leave! I would've never left Sarah had her witch of a sister not threatened to pick up and move em' all away from me for good. I only saw Justine once when she was about four and for that my wife bashed me over the head with a vase, no less. Besides I have no plans on leaving Ana or our child, ever. I won't allow it to happen like I did last time." Sparrow argued furiously.

Elizabeth lowered her eyes to me and gazed at my weakening state. "Well if you plan on making up for what happened last time I suggest you grab some clean towels and more rum to help your first child." She pointed to the desk where the towels were sitting and began to clean me up again as Ana worked on stitching.

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The day came to an end as we set sail back to Port Royal, The HMS Dauntless sailing steadily in front of us, the charged pirates captive in its brig. Although the Dauntless was first its Commodore stayed on our ship protecting his investments. He waited patiently now at the helm of the Pearl scared that his future bride might become non-existent.

Sparrow opened his door and stepped out of the stench filled room. Norrington raced down the steps about to enter the cabin when my father stopped him. "You don't want to be doing that, Commodore."

"And why not?" He backed up slowly his straight brown hair hanging loosely from a small ponytail at his nape.

"Ana-Maria and Miss Elizabeth are changing Justine into more comfortable clothes and changing the sheets of the bed." He replied blocking the entrance to the room.

The door swung open and Ana stepped out with the blood soaked sheets in her arms piled high over her head. Norrington gazed at the once white sheets now stain with crimson blood and felt weak in his stomach. "Is that all her blood?"

Sparrow turned and hung his head low, "afraid so. We fear she might not make it through the night she hasn't even woken yet." Sparrow followed Ana down into the lower decks to clean his sheets off as much as possible.

Elizabeth stepped out of the cabin startled to find the commodore there. "James? What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be with your ship?"

"Is she okay? Will she survive?" He moved trying to look through the half open door.

Elizabeth searched for an answer while studying Norrington's reasons for concern, "I'm not sure. She's asleep now, you can see her if you like but try not to stress her if she does wake. Justine is very weak at the moment and may not recover."

"Yes," he nodded and slowly walked into the room, Elizabeth watching her former fiancé very closely.

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As he entered he starred at my still body wrapped in a wool blanket lying solely on a blank mattress. 'James' pulled a chair up next to the practically empty bed and held my hand within his.

"I know you'll hate me for this, for caging you in a proper life, but I need someone who understands me. Someone who knows the pain I went through in loosing Elizabeth to that Turner lad. You're that perfect person, Miss Justine; you know the sorrows of lost love and what they can do to you. I know you wanted to die in this battle, to end it all then and there and you still may very well do that. But I ask you, no I beg of you, please take me. Please except my offer of marriage, I will be a good husband to you, give you a proper place in society, shower you with royal gifts and take you to balls. You, Miss Reynolds, are the only person I can trust to comprehend my thoughts and feelings. Please agree to this proposal."

He pulled a small gold band from his pocket and slid it on my ring finger gently. "I had hopes of Elizabeth reconsidering my offer, but I see now that she hasn't. So this is yours now." James leaned in and kissed my forehead before placing the chair back into its rightful place and leaving the cold condemned room.

During his speech I was conscious but hadn't had the strength to acknowledge or object to anything. In that quick moment I went from being an abandoned lover to being the Commodore's fiancé. What was I to do? I could barely move from all the pain and hadn't the tears to cry anymore. I sat in my father's bed starring at the ceiling contemplating my death. I wanted to die in that empty bed right then but would I? Would I die years from now as a widow laying in what was once the Commodore's bed? I hated this life.

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A/N: I lied, I'm sorry there'll be one more chapter. I couldn't cram it all in this chapter so it will all end in chapter 19, which happens to be my favorite number. So, right on! Or should it be write on? Any way I g2g cuz it's Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's day to ye all maties! Oh yeah, I started writing this chapter like a week ago, ha! That is funny.