Disclaimer: See previous chapters and stories.

AN: Okay, so I didn't update as much as I said I would (thanks to a surprise family vacation my dad sprang on us). Now I'm updating, so you can all stop throwing sharp swords and firing cannons at me. Anyway, wow, a lot of people don't want a "loving" chapter (meaning a very intimate night between Jack and Elena). So, to keep with the PG-13 rating of this story, there will be NO LOVING CHAPTER in this story. If you want one, I'll put it up on its own so that people can read it, savvy? Also, people have noticed that Jack likes kidnapping people. I should remind you that he is a pirate, after all, and I couldn't think of another way for him to deal with the fact that Elena was pissed off and wouldn't talk to him. Therefore, kidnapping was the only thing he could think of that wouldn't harm any innocent people. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 12: Awakenings, Proposals, and Justice:

Elena woke up with a slight headache and a spout of dizziness. As she tried to focus her eyes on the opposite wall, she saw that it was rocking back and forth. Groaning from the dizziness, she fell back onto the pillows of the bed.

'Wait a moment," she thought. 'Where did this bed come from? And why was the wall rocking?' She jerked up to a sitting position at that last thought.

Rocking! Rocking walls meant only one thing

'I'm on ship in the middle of the Caribbean,' she thought with fear and dread.

Elena took a deep breath, trying to steady her aching head and dizziness while attempting to analyze the situation, calmly and rationally. Thanks to the six months she had spent on the Pearl, she knew for sure that she was at sea, due to the rhythm of the ship's rocking. A closer look at her surroundings indicated that she was once again in the Captain's cabin, and an even closer look told her which ship she was now on: the Black Pearl. She would recognize Jack Sparrow's cabin anywhere, considering they had spent so much time in it discussing books and getting to know one another. For now, that was all she knew about the present situation. If she wanted to know anything else, she would have to talk to someone (preferably Jack).

Looking at the nightstand next to the bed, she saw a blue china pitcher with moisture dewed on the side, indicating that there was something cold and liquid inside it. She poured a bit of its contents into a wooden cup, which had been situated next to the pitcher, and was happy to see it was water. Filling the cup up the rest of the way, Elena quickly drank down the contents and poured another glass, drinking that down as well. After emptying the pitcher, Elena felt fine, though still a little dizzy. As she regained her mental balance, she headed for the door, listening intently to see if anyone was outside. She stiffened when she heard Annamaria and Mr. Gibbs standing outside the door, apparently standing guard over her. Elena knelt down and leaned forward, her ear pressed against the door crack, listening intently for information about the situation.

"How long is the lass supposed to sleep?" Mr. Gibbs grumbled, shifting slightly. "She's been out since last night, and it's after noon! Is she supposed to sleep for twelve hours?"

"I think Jack used too much of that sleeping drug," Annamaria said, sounding extremely cross. "I told him it was a bad idea to kidnap her, but does he ever listen? Of course he doesn't; he just goes and does it anyway!"

Mr. Gibbs chuckled. "Well, ye have to admit, it was the only way to get her to hear his side of the story," he said. "I've never seen the Cap'n so attached to a lass before."

Elena sat by the door in shock. Jack had kidnapped her just so he could explain himself? Was the man insane? She cracked a small smile. Of course he was, considering the amounts of rum the man consumed on an hourly basis. However, that was no excuse. He had no right to take her from Port Royal, especially after she had worked so hard to find such a wonderful job with such wonderful people! Sighing silently to herself, Elena leaned closer to the door, hoping to get more information by eavesdropping. She heard the two crewmembers suddenly shift positions.

"Cap'n!" Mr. Gibbs suddenly exclaimed. "Shouldn't ye be at the helm?"

"I've got Roberts at the helm, Gibbs, don't worry," came Jack's familiar husky voice. "How's me bonny lass?"

"I think she's still sleepin'," Annamaria replied. "It's been extremely quiet in there all day. I think that ye may have used too much of that potion when ye took her."

A moment of silence followed, making Elena think that Jack was considering the female pirate's words. She was soon rewarded with his reply.

"Ye may be right, Anna," came the response. "Keep an eye and ear open, and let me know when she wakes up."

"Aye, sir," the two pirates said.

Elena felt another spout of dizziness hit her and decided that she'd done enough eavesdropping for the day. After she stood up, she started moving cautiously towards the bed, taking one small step at a time. None too soon, Elena lay herself down on the bed and quickly passed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next time she awoke she felt a soft, cool, wet cloth on her forehead. Her eyes fluttering open, she was instantly met with a familiar chocolate brown gaze. A golden smile glittered down at her.

"How are ye feeling, luv?" Jack asked, clearly concerned about her. His concern was ignored.

SLAP!

Jack blinked in surprise as he turned to face forward. He looked down at Elena. "I may have deserved that," he said, rubbing his face.

"That was for kidnapping me!" Elena cried.

SLAP!

Jack again blinked in surprise and once again returned his head to its normal position. "I'm not sure I deserved that one, though, luv," he said, rubbing his face once again.

"That was for kissing another woman!" Elena cried, tears in her eyes as she turned away from him and began sobbing into the pillows.

"No, no, no, luv, please don't cry!" Jack said, reaching out for her. He kept hold on her even though she tried to pull away. "Please, luv, let me explain what happened!"

"Explain what?!" she cried, turning to face him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack felt his heart break at the sight of her red, puffy, tear-filled eyes. "Just give me a chance, luv, please?" he begged, waving his hands around in his usual odd manner. His dark eyes pleaded with her, asking her to just hear him out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was his eyes that startled her the most as she stared at the handsome pirate captain. His already dark brown eyes had darkened, their depths filled with a deep sort of pleading and sadness that she had never seen in him before. This change in his eyes caused him to appear more sensitive than he ever had before.

Elena blinked. A sensitive pirate? Those two words simply did not belong together in the same sentence! "Jack," she began, but was cut off.

"Please, luv, I'm begging ye to just listen," he begged, once again waving his arms around.

Elena simply stared at him. She couldn't believe that he was actually begging her to listen to him. Captain Jack Sparrow never begged anyone for anything! She was so surprised at the change in his personality that all she could do was nod.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack was quiet for a few moments before beginning his side of the story.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack couldn't believe his luck! The day had started out fairly well, but it had taken a turn for the worst (especially that afternoon, when he had found out that Elena wasn't awake). When the sun had begun to set and Elena still hadn't woken up, Jack had felt like beheading Annamaria and Gibbs for not keeping a closer eye on her, but eventually decided that they would be more useful alive. Instead, Jack had sent the two pirates back to their normal duties before heading to his cabin, calling for cool water and a rag to wipe Elena's face and hopefully wake her up. He was overjoyed when she had woken up, but was shocked when she had slapped him, twice. Desperate for her understanding, the pirate captain had begged her to listen, just once, to his story, and was thoroughly relieved when she had nodded her head. Jack took a deep breath and began his story.

He told of finding out about Sally cooperating with Captain Green in order to get Elena kidnapped and taken away from him and the Pearl, and of how he had encountered troubles with Mother Nature and ship problems in Tortuga. Jack continued with how he had sailed into Port Royal with the intention of asking his old friends, Will and Elizabeth Turner, for help in finding her, and had ended up finding Elena right under his very nose! Finally, Jack began telling why he had gone into Port Royal's underbelly.

"Elena, when I'd heard that ye'd been kidnapped by that scum-sucking Captain Green, I felt like slicing him with a knife before feeding him to the sharks," Jack said, anger and desperation flashing in his eyes. "After I'd gotten Sally thrown into the brig without getting any information out of her, I knew that I would search the Seven Seas for ye, no matter where ye were."

Confusion flashed in Elena's eyes. "Why?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in puzzlement. "Why would you come after a girl you've only known for six months?"

Jack licked his lips nervously. "Because I care more about ye than any woman in my life," he said, looking down at his hands. "After seeing how happy ye were with Will and Elizabeth, I thought that it would be best to leave ye with them, where ye'd be safe from harm. I felt that a pirate ship was no place fer a lady like ye, and I thought it would be best fer ye to remain in Port Royal, where ye could marry some nice gentleman who could provide a good life fer ye."

Jack stopped for a moment as he reached out with one of his hands and took one of hers. Looking up, he saw Elena looking at him strangely, but was pleased when she didn't make any move to remove her hand from his. He was relieved when she nodded for him to continue his story.

"After seeing ye moving around Will and Elizabeth's fancy kitchen, I did the only thing I could think of to get rid of my depression," he said, frowning as he looked at their linked hands. "I went to the taverns to get drunk, and to try and forget how much I cared about ye so that it wouldn't hurt so much. I never wanted those women to come over; I never wanted any female companionship except for ye. When they started sitting on my lap, well, I did what any man usually did in that position, at first."

Jack felt her hand start to jerk out of his, but he kept a tight grip on it. There was no way he was letting go of her now, especially when he intended to tell her everything that had happened that night in Port Royal.

"I should let ye know that after two minutes of their company, I sent the whole lot of them off to someone else," he said as he looked firmly into her eyes, still gripping her hand tightly. "Whatever ye saw, I was drunk, and wasn't thinking at that time. If I was thinking, it was of ye, and it was because of ye that I sent them off and spent the night alone. If ye want proof of that, I'll turn this ship around and ye can ask those prostitutes and the innkeeper if ye want. I'm willing to face Commodore Norrington and the Royal Navy so that I can prove how much I love ye."

"What?" she asked, her eyes wide. "What did you just say?"

Jack sighed. "I said that I was thinking of ye the whole time, and that..." She cut him off.

"No, I mean that last part," she looked him in the eyes. "The last three words that you said."

Jack smiled. "I said that I love ye," he whispered as his dark brown eyes bore into her light brown ones.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena couldn't believe it. Captain Jack Sparrow was in love with her! Elena stared blankly into his dark eyes as she tried to make her brain function beyond that one thought. She then realized that she had been silent for quite some time, and that Jack was beginning to look a bit worried. Smiling, she squeezed Jack's hand as she spoke.

"I love you, too, Jack," she whispered.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jack felt worried when she hadn't responded to his confession, but felt like jumping for joy when she admitted to feeling the same way for him. He immediately leaned forward and grabbed her, pulling her into his lap, smiling as she squealed in surprise. Still smiling, Jack pulled his lass into a heartfelt, passionate kiss, feeling her melt underneath his touch. After several minutes of kissing, caressing, and hugging each other, and with Elena still situated in his lap, Jack decided to make the most daring move of his life. Pulling a small red box out of his pocket, he opened it to reveal a lovely black pearl the size of her pinky fingernail, set in gold and surrounded by tiny alternating white and yellow diamonds. Elena gasped.

"Elena, luv, will ye marry me?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena looked up at him in surprise. This man never ceased in surprising her. Today, she had received more surprises than she would normally get in a year, and yet he still managed to make her heart flutter in surprise! However, this was beyond a mere surprise; this was downright shocking. A pirate captain (and not just any pirate captain, but Captain Jack Sparrow, to say the least) was asking for her to marry him! Hell must have frozen over, and if it had, she had better start expecting other impossible things to come true!

"Luv?" Jack said, waving his hand in front of her face, concern and hope written across his face. "Are ye alright, luv?"

Elena smiled up at him before kissing him on the nose. "I'm fine, Jack," she said, reaching up to stroke his hair.

Jack reached up and grabbed her hand. "Easy on the goods, darling," he said, grinning. "And ye never answered my question."

Elena chuckled. "Yes, Jack Sparrow, I will marry you," she said, grinning up at him.

"Good," Jack said, grinning as he placed the ring on her left ring-finger before kissing her again. The kissing went on for several more minutes before Jack stopped it. "Now the remaining question is: what do we do with Sally?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After several moments of pondering, and after listening to Elena's stomach growl from lack of food, Jack had sent for some dinner, reluctantly releasing her from his grip so that she could take a seat next to him at the table. Thankfully, after Jack had dismissed her from guard duty, Annamaria had cooked dinner for the crew, which consisted of lobster stew and some fried potatoes. As Gibbs and Annamaria left the two dinner trays on the Captain's desk, they both noticed the ring on Elena's left hand. Not saying one word, the two pirates had quickly turned to leave, eager to tell the crew the good news. However, they were stopped before they even got to the door of the cabin.

"Wait a minute!" Jack called out to the two, motioning for them to come back over. He saw the eager expression on their faces. "No telling the crew about me and my bonny lass, savvy? I'll tell them when I'm good and ready, not before." The two crewmembers nodded in disappointment before they turned and left the two lovebirds to themselves.

After they had finished dinner, Jack picked up his fiancée and once again placed her in his lap. He then began caressing her hand and running his fingers over the engagement ring, as though reassuring himself that it was still there. "Well, luv, what do we do with that blonde wench that we've got down in the brig?" he asked, pulling her closer. She turned towards him with an amused expression on her face.

"You put Sally in the brig?" she asked, extremely amused at the idea. "How long has she been down there?"

Jack shrugged. "A day or two, lass, no more than that," he said, patting her hand. "I locked her up when she said she didn't know where ye were."

Elena looked confused. "But she did know where I was, Jack," she said. "I saw her in Port Royal several days ago. She most definitely knew where I was."

A frown settled on Jack's face. "So the wretch lied to the great Captain Jack Sparrow, did she?" he asked. "We'll have to take that into consideration. Now, answer my question, luv: what do we do with her? Should the crew and I deal with her for messing with one of our crewmembers, or would ye like to pass pirate judgment on her, since she is the one that had ye kidnapped?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena was quiet for a moment as she thought. "I'd like to pass judgment on her, Jack," she replied. Jack nodded before having them both stand up.

"If yer going to pass judgment on her, lass, I'll go and gather the crew so that they can all witness it," he said, kissing her hand. "Ye might want to change into something clean. Yer clothes are in the wardrobe over there," he pointed to the opposite side of the cabin, "so feel free to change while I gather the crew." With those last words, he turned and left, giving Elena some time to make herself presentable to the crew.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An hour later, the entire crew of the Black Pearl was gathered on deck. Jack and Elena (now dressed in a plain, but clean, green gown) stood at the helm, waiting for the four Black brothers to bring Sally up from the brig. They could all hear Sally yelling and screaming as she was dragged out on deck to face her punishment. The crew formed a semi-circle around her, forcing her to turn and look up at the helm.

"Sally, ye have committed a terrible deed by kidnapping a member of the Black Pearl," Jack said, rage dripping from his words as he stared down at the blonde. "Ye have also lied about not knowing where Elena was. I warned ye not to lie to me, and ye did it anyway. Now, there are two ways to deal with this. One is that the crew decides as a whole what sort of punishment to deal out on ye. The other is to let the offended person seek their own personal revenge on ye for messing with their lives. As it so happens, Elena wants to have her own personal touch on yer life, so listen carefully to what she has to say." The entire ship turned towards Elena, who stepped forward to the front of the helm.

"Sally, I have never done any wrong to you in the past, so I do not understand the reason for your actions," Elena said, looking down at the other woman. "You have caused pain not only to me, but also to the Captain of the ship, as well as his crewmembers. However, I am willing to have mercy on you and will judge the only way I can." She turned towards Jack. "I wish for her to be taken to another island port where she may etch out another living for herself. Preferably a port where she will never be able to cause pain and suffering for another person."

The crew murmured among themselves, somewhat displeased at the course of action being taken. However, they quieted down when Jack waved for their attention.

"Ye'll have yer wish, lass," Jack loudly declared, grinning. "Turns out I have a friend in Haiti that could use another pair of hands in his business. He'll take good care of Sally, and keep her out of trouble while keeping a good eye on her." He grinned even wider. "Best of all, he's got several sons that can look after Sally after he passes on, so there'll be no worries there."

"What sort of business does he run, Cap'n?" someone called out.

Jack grinned savagely. "He runs a fishery," he said. "You know, catching, cleaning, and gutting fish. It should be good work for ye, Sally." The entire crew began to laugh. "Alright, then, take her back down to the brig and keep her there until we get to Haiti in two weeks time. The rest of ye, weigh anchor and hoist the sails! We're off to Haiti!"

The crew cheered the news, even as Sally began ranting as she was carried off. The crew immediately began doing their work as Jack signaled for Annamaria to take the wheel. He then wrapped his arm around Elena and guided her down below so that they could get started on their wedding plans.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN: This story is almost over! Sorry for the short notice, but there's one more chapter left. After that, I'll be writing a whole new story, mostly because I really don't feel like doing a sequel to this one. I've got two storylines in my head, and one of them is a Will/OC romance story. The other is, of course, a Jack/OC story. I might do the Will/OC, just for a change of pace, but I'd like to know if people will read it. Let me know which one I should write, I'd like to hear your opinions. Don't forget to review!