A/N: Wow. Over 40 reviews. I'm shocked and unbelievably happy about the feedback for this fic. You guys are the best, and thanks to all whom have stuck with this fic so far. It'll probably come to a close next chapter…be on the look out for sequels. ~_^ Hope you enjoy this chapter! BTW, check out the pics I've drawn so far for this fic! You'll see them at the end of my bio page. ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean(though I wish I did), Jack Sparrow(wish did once again), nor any other character from this kick-ass movie. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this fic; I'd be making another movie. And hanging out with Johnny Depp. I have yet to see a pig fly over my house wearing a tutu either. So, no sueing, please?

Summary: Will is living happily with his newly wed wife, Elizabeth. But when someone from Jack's foggy past comes, sworn to have revenge on Jack Sparrow, he and Jack must stick by the truth and their friendship in order to survive.

~Tell No Lies~


~Chapter 10~

~A New Day~

45 minutes later, Will, Elizabeth, Jones, and Jack made it to The Black Pearl. During that time, Jones had turned a part of his long vest trench coat in a makeshift bandage for Jack's bullet wound, and both Jones and Elizabeth were able to slow the bleeding. Will rowed, wishing he could do something more; Jack had not regained consciousness yet.

Jones and Will both carried Jack towards the ship, the pirate captain still unaware of anything. Elizabeth ran ahead yelling for Gibbs. Within seconds, Elizabeth had come back from the deck of The Black Pearl, Gibbs in tow.

"Miss Elizabeth, I thought I told ye to stay--" Gibbs stopped in mid-rant to see Jones and Will carrying a badly wounded Jack. "Get him in his cabin, quickly," Gibbs ordered, a worried look on his old face.

Gibbs herded Will, Elizabeth, and Jones into Jack's cabin, acquiring many stares from the crew. Ana-Maria came up from behind just as Elizabeth shut the cabin door. "Bloody hell, what happened to him?!" demanded Ana-Maria, who sounded like she was holding back tears.

As Jones and Will set Jack on his bed, Jones whispered softly, "It's my fault."

Ana-Maria, having never seen Jones before, looked at him, puzzled. "Who are ye?"

"Captain Jones," he replied bitterly, as if he wished he was anyone but himself.

Ana-Maria's eyes widened, then narrowed, glaring daggers. "Yer Jones?!" she shrieked, "I'll kill ye, ye bloody bastard!" Ana-Maria charged for Jones, but Will and Gibbs grabbed her and held her back.

"Calm down, woman," hissed Gibbs, trying his best to hold back the thrashing Ana-Maria, "Killing Jones won't help Jack any." Will nodded in agreement.

"Gibbs is right, Ana-Maria," Elizabeth said softly, stroking Jack's sweat drenched mane of hair, "Right now he needs medical attention." She glanced back at Gibbs hopefully. "You were in the navy for a while. You know something about medicine, right, Mr. Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked back at Elizabeth, slightly taken aback by her proposal. "I don't know that much…but I'll do what I can, Miss Elizabeth,"

Gibbs and Will let go of Ana-Maria, who had mildly calmed down. She had a very angry and unpleased expression on her face, while Jones looked guiltily at the ground.

Looking at Jones, Will almost felt sorry for him. He had put him and Jack through hell over a delusion, and the guilt he must have been feeling was immense. Will wasn't sure if he should comfort Jones or strangle him. If Jack died…

Gibbs went up beside Jack and Will looked back at the pirate captain as well. Seeing Jack so sick and vulnerable seemed almost unnatural. It was disturbing to see him hypnotized too, but even then he didn't seem as helpless as he did now. Looking at Jack like this only made his anger towards Jones grow, so he looked away.

"If I'm goin' to take care of Jack, I'll need to be able to concentrate," Gibbs addressed the bunch seriously, "So I need most ev'ryone to clear out. One of ye can stay, but ye better have a strong stomach 'cause I'll be needing yer assistance."

It turned out Elizabeth was eager to help Gibbs out, blood or no blood. Will felt a surge of pride fill him as he, Jones, and Ana-Maria exited Jack's cabin turned doctor's office; Elizabeth's boldness was one of the many things he loved about his wife.

Will then had to do something that he never thought he was capable of- wait patiently, minus the patient part. If fools rush in, he was the biggest fool of all. Doing stupid things, according to Jack, was his specialty. By rushing in without thinking and waiting he was being true to himself and listening to his heart. But by waiting on the sidelines, not being able to do anything, he felt like he was lying to himself. He hated that feeling.

He slid down the side wall of Jack's cabin onto the floor of The Black Pearl's deck beside Ana-Maria. She was staring towards the horizon, her dark eyes glistening and watering. Will wasn't sure if it was from the salty sea air or her sadness. Will thought it was the latter, but he knew Ana-Maria wouldn't want Will to think that she was crying so he remained silent.

Will sat there for what seemed like forever, simply fingering his torn shirt and slightly aching forehead. In the rush of trying to help Jack, Will had simply forgotten about his injury. It didn't hurt much anymore, and it was pretty minor compared to what Jack had sustained.

"I shouldn't have made Jack stay in his cabin," Ana-Maria suddenly whispered.

Will looked back at Ana-Maria skeptically. "You don't think this is your fault, do you?"

"Might as well be," Ana-Maria suddenly became interested in her fingertips, her voice strangely calm in acceptance. "If I'd have kept my eye on him, bloody Jones wouldn't have gotten to him in the first place. It's my fault he's hurt."

"No, none of this is your fault," Will pressed firmly, "The only thing you're guilty of is caring for Jack. We all thought Jones had died in the explosion, there's no way you could have predicted this,"

"If Jack was well, he could've," Ana-Maria said bitterly.

"You're expecting too much of yourself. This is not your fault in any way."

Ana-Maria rolled her eyes towards Will. "I've got to blame this on someone. When I think about it, I first think it's Jones' fault…but I think more, an' if I hadn't have forced Jack to stay in his cabin and rest, he'd be alright."

Will's lips tightened. "You don't have to blame this on anyone. If you didn't make Jack rest, then you wouldn't be a very good friend because he needed it to heal his ankle. Right now, all you should think about is to hope that Jack'll be okay." Will looked downward for a moment, "But if you're looking to blame someone, blame me."

Ana-Maria faced Will fully, surprised. "Yer fault? How's this yer fault?"

"I shouldn't have let Jack go after Jones," Will whispered, "He was…really hurt when I found him, in no shape to fight someone. But I let him, letting my anger towards Jones overwhelm me." Will shook his head. "But…I know Jack. We may feel this guilt now, but he has to be okay. He's too stubborn to die…and he's too stubborn to let us feel guilty. He won't want that kind of sympathy, or any, because he's a survivor, and survivors don't need it. All he needs is to know that we're there for him when he needs it…and he needs us now more than ever."

Ana-Maria stared at Will for a while. Then she closed her eyes, shook her head, and half smiled. "I don't know how ye can be so optimistic 'bout things, but it gives me hope. Thank ye."

Will looked back at Ana-Maria and smiled a bit. A more comfortable silence enveloped them. Will looked up towards the sea- only to see Jones leaning against the ship's railing, staring sorrowfully ahead.

Will breathed out, similar to a sigh. He thought again that what guilt he was feeling before was probably miniscule compared to what Jones was going through. It was sort of his fault for this whole mess, but it was ultimately the robber who had hypnotized Jones' fault. It was the robber who had triggered everything, caused Jones to have doubt in Jack all those years ago.

Will wanted to go over there and tell him that, but as soon as the thought crossed him, Jack's cabin door opened.

Will and Ana-Maria were so quick to stand up they looked like they were never sitting. Gibbs stepped out, sweat glistening on his forehead.

"We took out the bullet from Jack's side," Gibbs informed them wearily, "It didn't hit any major organs, thankfully. We stopped the bleeding totally and re-wrapped his side in a bandaged, 'long with his head and ankle. But he has a fever and lost a lot of blood…right now it's up to him what happens next. But he needs a lot of rest."

Both Will and Ana-Maria gave a small smile, feeling very hopeful. But the hope they felt couldn't mask their worry. "Can we see him now?" Will questioned.

Gibbs nodded. "Just don't wake 'im up; he needs all the rest he can get."

They both nodded in agreement, and Will looked back towards Jones. Jones was looking towards them, his expression unreadable. Will waved towards him to come, his hand having a mind of its own. Jones silently walked towards them.

They all entered the room, Will noticing it smelled a bit of stale blood, overwhelming the comforting aroma of Jack's cabin. Will looked towards Jack's bed, and bit his lip at the sight of his friend. Elizabeth was stroking his matted hair once more, also very sweaty and old tears streaked her face. Even though she was a little pale, she was not as pale as Jack was.

Jack's head was wrapped in a white bandage as Gibbs had said, his hat and bandana placed neatly beside him on his dresser. His shirt, coat, and everything from his torso up was removed and replaced with a huge bandage, old blood soaking through only a little. Will could see scars he never wanted to see along his arms and chest, most likely from the adventures he had which made him a legend. His boots were placed beside the bed and was covered by a blanket so he couldn't see the bandage on his ankle. Jack's breathing was still a bit shallow, and he was very sweaty, more so than Gibbs and Elizabeth put together, but his face was fairly slack and mouthing words to himself feverishly.

Ana-Maria dashed to his side, and went on her knees beside Elizabeth. Ana-Maria stared at his face intently, and gently held his hand. She winced and said quietly, "He's so hot,"

"Hopefully the fever will pass," Elizabeth commented, her voice soft, afraid the wake Jack. "And…that he'll get better in general," she added as an afterthought.

Will stared at Jack for a moment, then took a couple of steps towards the trio. Then he took a full stride and went to the other side of Jack and fell to his knees as well. He grabbed onto Jack's other hand, and bit his lip harder when he felt the heat radiating off of it. He just sat there for a while silently, staring at Jack's closed eyes, and listening to his shallow, slow breaths that meant he was asleep. The kohl that took residence around his eyes was running slightly, whether from sweating or crying Will couldn't tell.

Will shook his head, not allowing himself to think of Jack's blank, haunting eyes from before…but he did think about how before he was not himself, and that he wasn't himself now either. Jack wasn't supposed to get sick or hurt. He wasn't supposed to have weakness. Yet there he was, just lying there, so vulnerable. The sight of Jack like this was unnerving.

"This isn't right," Will murmured.

Ana-Maria looked to be on the verge of tears. She squeezed his hand tighter, but his hand remained slack. She let her head drop to the bed, and mumbled in a choked voice words that sounded like 'bloody idiot'.

Will suddenly felt the presence of Jones behind him, but continued to stare at Jack. Elizabeth had stopped stroking Jack's hair and had started to comfort Ana-Maria, but out of the corner of her eyes stared at Jones.

Jones expression for the most part looked stoic, but his eyes were full of sadness and regret. Jones started to lean against the wall at Jack's head, staring at the pirate captain. He leaned heavily on one leg, the old scar from the bullet wound in his other now aching while he thought about Jack and how for so long he had hated him…but for no reason. He had hurt him so much for nothing, and now instead of Jack being the traitor, Jones felt like one himself.

Jones looked away for a second, then limped towards Jack. With his bandaged hand, from where Jack had bit him in self-defense about two nights earlier, touched Jack's shoulder. Ana-Maria looked up at Jones and glared, but he ignored her and everyone else's stares. I'm sorry, he thought, the words lost on his dry tongue.

Jack suddenly shuddered, and started mumbling to himself. "No, no, no," Jack murmured feverishly, "Ye bastard, no…"

Jones pulled away, his hand now on fire with what he thought was rejection. Jones clenched his fist and looked down. Though the odd motions Jack exhibited were probably from a feverish dream, Jones couldn't help but wonder if the dream was about him. But he knew one thing: Jack hated him. He couldn't really blame him, though; after all of the stunts Jones had pulled, it didn't surprise him at all. But he did feel even more guilt and sadness fill him, almost to the point of consumption.

Jones swiftly left the room, not daring to look back, even when Will stood up and called his name.

~*~

A little while later, Will and Elizabeth left Jack's cabin. Gibbs had left before that, now leaving Ana-Maria alone with the unconscious Captain Jack Sparrow.

As to not set attraction to themselves, The Black Pearl set to sea during the night. Will and Elizabeth spent the night in the crew's quarter, either pretending to be asleep or chatting idly to one another about anything to keep their minds off of Jack. Elizabeth still seemed to be a bit shaken up by whatever she saw when she was helping to take care of Jack with Gibbs, so Will didn't dare to raise the silent subject on both of their minds.

The next day, Will got up before the sun fully rose and didn't bother to lament about the new day, since it would most likely be full of sadness and worry. Even if Jack recovered physically, would be mentally as well?

Will wanted to smack himself for thinking that. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, and even though he was a bit tipsy sometimes…okay, most of the time, Jack still had a firm grip on himself. But then again, sometimes he wondered what was really going on in Jack's head.

Will went to the railing of the ship and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the horizon, not wanting to admit it was a new day, one where there might be no Jack…

"Will,"

He opened his eyes. He saw the sun and his stomach plummeted. He couldn't deny it. He would have to face Jack when he woke up, if he woke up, whether it was the one he knew or not.

Will turned around with a weary sigh. There stood Elizabeth, and even with her flowing light hair messy and puffy eyes she was still beautiful to him. "Will," she repeated in a choked voice.

Will couldn't stand it. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, a few soft sobs muffled in his shoulder as he stroked Elizabeth's hair. Not sure if he would believe his own words, despite his little speech to Ana-Maria from the day before, but hoping anyway, he whispered softly, "It will be alright, Elizabeth,"

~To Be Continued...~


Next Chapter: Probably the last. The fate for our heroes/anti-hero will be decided.

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