Chapter Nineteen: Just Can't Face It

Beth was running down the stairs of the ship, noticing the water was creeping up to the other levels.

They were sinking.

Her heart began to pound very fast. Where was Jack?

She had just reached the landing above where the cells were, and the water was up above her knees when she saw Barbossa looking down at the landing below, laughing.

"Where's Jack?" she asked bravely.

Barbossa turned around. "Dead, by now, I expect," he said with a wicked grin. "He's locked in one of the cells."

Her eyes widened. She took out her sword and pointed it at him.

He laughed. "So, he think yer gonna duel with me?"

"Yes," she replied firmly.

He laughed again and unsheathed his sword. "All right then. To the death."

He slashed his sword at Beth without warning, but she ducked just in time. He slashed again but she blocked it with her sword. They dueled for a few more minutes when Barbossa spoke.

"For a lass, yer pretty good at this."
"I took fencing in college," she replied, and with an extra hard blow. The sound rang through the landing, the water rising even more.

Barbossa was showing signs of weakness, but then he slashed her shoulder.

She winced, but did not cry out. She would not give him that satisfaction of knowing he had hurt her.

He gave another blow that knocked her over, her back colliding painfully with one of the stairs, sending her underwater. Still, she fought. She got back up when she delivered another blow.

"Ye can to better than that, Bethy."

Rage like she had never felt before coursed through her body like poison. The next blow, he did not block, however. It hit him full in the stomach. He crashed down the last few stairs with a splash.

He was dead.

She straightened up, grasping her shoulder where he had cut it, breathing heavily. "Jack taught me that one," she whispered.

She jumped the last few steps and examined his body, looking for the keys to Jack's cell.

There couldn't be much time left. Finally, she found them in the pocket of his coat. She waded down the last few steps to the landing with the cells, which was completely submerged. Her eyes widened, and she took a huge breath and dove under.

~*~

Jack looked around desperately. He was standing on the bench in his cell; there was barely enough room to breathe. He took a last huge breath and let himself float around.

So this was how the famous Captain Jack Sparrow was going to die.

Engaged, but not married.

Always been drunk, yet sober.

His eyes widened when he saw a figure with a set of keys in their hand swimming toward his cell. He swam closer to the door when he saw who it was.

Beth.

She winked at him, then began trying the keys on the ring. There were only two, but she got him out on the first try. He swam out, grabbed her hand and pulled her up the now useless stairs.

Their lungs were screaming at them for air… Beth saw everything go a bit fuzzier… but they were so close…

Their heads finally broke the surface, and they both took huge gulps of air.

They looked at each other.

"I knew ye wouldn't leave me…" said Jack.

Beth traced his jawline with her finger. "I missed you so much…"

He kissed her hungrily.

"Aye, I bet ye missed that," said Jack once he broke away. "C'me on, let's find the others and then get off this sinkin' ship."

They went back up the last flight of stairs and to the deck, happier than they had been in a long time.

But the sight that met their eyes made that happiness disappear like a balloon being popped.

Beth gasped, tears stinging at her eyes. She ran forward, Jack right behind her.

No… no… it's not true… She's NOT dead… she's just unconscious…

Then why is Will crying? Said an evil voice inside her head. As soon as she got over, the ship gave a huge jolt, and it began to tilt upward… they were sinking…

"Will?" asked Jack tentatively.

The rain began to lessen a bit. Will was still hugging her lifeless body to his.

"E…Elizabeth did this?" asked Beth in a shaky voice, having just noticed her body.

Will nodded, then set her down gently on the floor. He looked up at the two of them. "Do… do you think she'll go back to the future? Like the last time?"

Jack knew the answer. She would have disappeared by now… But he just couldn't find the strength to tell him.

Will could guess by the looks on their faces. He looked down at her again, a new wave of tears overcame him. A small sniff told him Beth was crying too.

"C'me on, mate. Let's… let's think of the good times we shared with her. Remember the food fight?"

The shadow of a grin came across Will's face. "Yeah… she dunked ice cream down my back…"

"She also got a head of lettuce stuck on… on her head…"

Jack held Beth tightly.

"I regret so much now throwing Poppy down the stairs…" Jack sniffed.

The ship gave another horrible jolt, and the three of them noticed half of it was already underwater.

"We should probably get off this ship…" said Jack quietly.

"Yeah," Beth agreed. They both looked at Will.

"Comin', mate?" Jack asked.

Will glanced back at Lissie, then picked her up and carried he with him.

He couldn't leave her there to sink with the ship. He just couldn't.

All three of them made their way to the edge of the ship, sniffing and wiping their eyes.

"On the count of three," said Jack as the ship gave another jolt and they slid back a little, "we jump. One…"

A part of Will would rather stay on the ship so that he could be with Lissie forever. But he knew the others would need him.

"Two…"

He remembered the way she would smile, laugh, kiss… He glanced at her hand and noticed the ring was still there… a tear escaped his eye…

"THREE!"

They jumped off just as the ship gave another huge jolt. Will was pulled underwater a bit more than the other two because of Lissie's dead weight. A few yards away from them, they could see the Black Pearl sailing toward them. They didn't know that Lissie was dead… that he had been too late to really save her… they didn't know the grief all of them were suffering…

They were pulled onto the ship by the means of a rope ladder. Beth went first, then Jack, who helped Will haul up Lissie's body. Once they had been pulled up and her body was in view, Will heard many sharp intakes of breath.

Anamaria put her hands over her mouth, Gibbs bowed his head. A few of the men took off their hats. Will didn't want to speak to any of them. He just took her down to one of the rooms and laid her down on the bed, just looking at her. Then, he sank down into a chair, put his face in his hands, and cried.

Beth came down a few minutes later, just looking at the sight. Will looked up. He noticed her eyes were extremely red. Then, she walked over and embraced Will.

"I miss her so much," she mumbled.

"I know, I know, me too. I just can't believe that she's really… she's really…" but he couldn't say it. That would confirm it. He would never be able to get it back. He just couldn't face the fact that Lissie was dead.