Chapter 13
Will stepped forward and extended his hand, but the Commodore's hands remained clasped behind his back, military procedure having its effect on him. Will awkwardly lowered his hand and instead nodded his greeting; which the Commodore returned.
"Commodore Norrington."
"Mr. Turner."
"Whelp, ye'd better have a good plan." Ana-Maria growled, her hand twitching slightly towards the hilt of her cutlass.
"Relax Ana." Gibbs muttered, placing a comforting hand on her arm.
Will turned his attention back to the military officers before him.
"Turner, you do know I expect you to explain your presence on this," the Commodore paused, but after a threatening snarl from Ana-Maria, he continued, "ship. Where is Captain Sparrow?"
"I shall, but at a later time." Will replied. "And regarding Captain Sparrow, we have a bit of a dilemma. Come with me and I will explain." Will added, turning towards the cabins below the quarterdeck. "Gibbs, you and Ana-Maria should stay here."
Gibbs nodded, but Ana-Maria's expression thoroughly conveyed the fact she did not approve.
"No way ye're leavin' me an' draggin' those navy 'round Jack's ship."
Will sighed. "Just trust me; you're attitude isn't helping anything."
"If I'm stayin', so are those slimy redcoats." Ana hissed dangerously, her eyes glowing with fire.
"Very well," Norrington instantly complied, turning to his soldiers. "You will stay here until I return and are to remain inactive."
The soldiers nodded briefly.
"At ease." Norrington added before starting after Will.
The soldiers eased into a more relaxed stance, resting their rifles on the ship's deck. Will led Norrington back towards the captain's cabin, ignoring the murderous glares from Ana-Maria as she snapped at idle crew members.
The two approached the cabin door and Will knocked lightly to warn the cabin's occupants. He then opened the door a moment later, proceeding Norrington into the small room.
"Will, what was it—oh. Apologies Commodore, I did not know you were here." Elizabeth greeted, rising to her feet and doing her best to block the Commodore's view of the man on the bed.
"Miss Swann, good day. Why are you aboard this outlaw vessel? Your fiancé was…lacking on the details."
"Well, um, Will and I had decided that a short Caribbean cruise would be-"
"Miss Swann, please do not humor me. I know you and Mr. Turner had asked for my assistance earlier. Please do honestly explain your behavior."
Elizabeth reluctantly stepped aside, allowing the Commodore his first good view of Jack's condition.
Norrington quickly suppressed the anger that threatened to surface and instead stepped forward. Elizabeth edged towards Will, wrapping his arm in hers.
"How's he doing?" Will questioned in a whisper.
"Not good; you'd expect him to have a fever, but he's as cold as death. Chelsea says it's the poison's doing, but she doesn't know what type."
Will nodded shortly, his jaw clenched.
"Did we change course for Providence?" Elizabeth asked.
Will shook his head. "No. I would have told them, but Norrington's ship caught up with us."
Norrington suddenly turned to face the couple. "Who did this?"
"It doesn't matter; they're dead now. They were on that ship when it sank." Will answered quietly.
Norrington nodded.
"However, we would appreciate it if you could send your surgeon to tend to him,"
"I apologize, but Sparrow is an outlaw, and as such, I am not permitted-"
"Commodore, he was poisoned." Chelsea interrupted sharply, her voice full of meaning.
Norrington turned his gaze toward the young woman, quickly masking all emotion. "Even if that is the case, miss-"
"Chelsea."
"Chelsea, he, as I said before, is an outlaw; a scoundrel. I cannot lend my assistance no matter what the circumstance."
Chelsea stuck her chin out defiantly, her eyes flaring with a challenge. "Yes, he is a pirate, however, he received these wounds while trying to protect me."
"You don't understand-"
"And, even if he is not the most loyal, he is still a citizen of the Crown, is he not? And under your protection at that."
Norrington could not come up with a logical argument to that fact. Instead, he nodded, somewhat grateful that the girl had managed to find a loophole. "You present a good argument…Chelsea. My surgeon will be over shortly."
As the commodore left the cabin, Will and Elizabeth gave Chelsea shocked expressions.
"Where did you learn to argue a case like that?" Will gasped in astonishment.
"I learned from the best," Chelsea answered quietly, looking down at Jack's motionless form. "Now go topside and get the course changed, Will."
~*~
"Poisoned, you say?" The stuffy-sounding surgeon asked, a mocking tone to his voice. "What would a young'n such as yourself know of poisons and their symptoms?"
The way he voiced the question struck a nerve in Chelsea, causing her blood to boil. She had known this man for less than a minute and already hated him.
"Just git t' work!" Ana, who had recently entered the cabin, snapped, exercising her higher rank over the navy surgeon.
The surgeon grumbled to himself, but did as he was told, noting the fact that Ana's hand rested on the hilt of the cutlass strapped to her side. Awhile later, he began stowing the instruments of his trade without a word.
"What're ye doin'?!" Ana demanded.
"Nothing I can do." The surgeon replied simply.
Ana's eyes narrowed dangerously, but Chelsea interjected coolly.
"Are you sure? No recommendations?"
The surgeon sighed dramatically before answering with the first thing that came to mind: "Just git as many fluids in him as you can…try to negate the poison." With that, he stood and left.
Ana glared at the cabin door, then spat at the retreating man's heels.
"A decent suggestion, I'll give him that," Chelsea said solemnly. "I just hope we make it to Providence in time."
[a/n: SORRY!! I'm really sorry that this took over a month to get posted, but school and other story ideas were biting constantly. Well, my goal is to finish this story and have it and its prequel edited by the summer. So sorry to all who I kept waiting and I shall try to update this story more frequently. Please review.]