Title: Dragonfly

Author: Muse a.k.a. Viorith

Rating: R for sexual situations and violence

Pairing: Will/OFC & Jack/Anna Marie

Feedback: Yes

Archive: Ask first please_

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I hope this chapter makes it worth it. For all those who are an inch away from hunting me down and beating me down for the increased times between chapters, you'll be happy to know you won't have to put up with me much longer. The story is approx. 2/3 complete. Another 5-7 more chapters should see us to the end. And now... on with our show!

Chapter 19

"William Turner put me down! I am perfectly capable of walking down a flight of stairs."

Even though Sabine continued her insistence her hands stayed firmly around the young man's neck, just as his arms stayed firmly around her body.

"It's only been a week since you woke, and Zamira said you were still very weak," he carried her just outside the great sitting room that over looked the large garden.

With the doors open, the spicy and sweet scent of the various flowers mixed with the air and wafted inside. It was a pleasant change for Sabine, who was beginning to feel like a small bird in a gilded cage. The room Oliver housed her in was a beautiful one, but it had been a week since she departed the four walls, and even with the windows open, the air still felt like one of sickness and stuffiness.

"And you would listen to her? The same woman I am told you called a witch doctor?"

Will had the good graces to blush slightly under her playful accusing stare. He covered his embarrassment by pulling the throw from the back of the couch and placing it over her legs.

"I suppose Oliver told you about that?"

"No, Jack did. He's rather a clever story teller, that Mr. Sparrow. Very animated."

"I don't think I can be held accountable for my actions, or my comments at that particular moment," Will defended.

He took one of the couch cushions, placed it on the table in front of Sabine, then raised her legs so her heels rest on the pillow. Next he took several of the other pillows and arranged them behind her back. He was reaching for another pillow when her hand lighted over his.

"Will, please sit down and stop fussing over me," her hold on his hand shifted to his wrist and pulled until he was seated next to her.

Will's eyes slowly moved from her hand, to her wrist, up her arm, over her shoulders and the smooth expanse of her neck. They didn't stop traveling until they reached those deep mocha eyes of hers, pausing for a bit to spend a few moments on her perfect lips. He leaned forward, but stopped before he reached his destination. His eyes nervously trained on the doorway for the interruption.

For the past week, Will's time alone with Sabine had been all but non-existent. Oliver himself was in the room as often as possible, but when his days resumed at the shipping office, he made sure that either a nurse sat quietly in the corner the duration of Will's visits, or that his servants paraded in an out of the room frequently. He had trained Will to the point where he was sure he and Sabine wouldn't have any free time under the Adoza roof.

"Oliver is in town," Sabine stated. She brushed her fingers against his right cheek, capturing the attention of his chocolate eyes again.

"And Zamira?"

"Zamira will be away for the next five day."

"And Hector, Baltazar, and the other ser--"

Sabine leaned forward, her lips catching the other words before they could leave his mouth. It wasn't a lasting kiss, but its intentions had been one of silence, not duration. She began to pull away, but Will's left hand slid up her cheek. His fingers continued to move until they tangled in her hair and pulled her mouth back to his.

She tasted delicious, of the apples and strawberries she consumed for breakfast that morning. For several minutes all the world was blocked out. Nothing existed for either of them, but each other. The feel of his fingers massaging against her scalp, and tracing the expanse of skin that was exposed by the neckline of her garment. His fingers were hesitant. He wanted to explore the feel of her breasts but was afraid of impending interruptions.

His tongue licked the roof of her mouth, causing her to jump in his arms. Her body shuddered, and the Blacksmith's resolve not to ravage her on the couch almost broke. He pushed her down until her back rested against the cushions, and his body rest on top of hers. He moved his right thigh up and pressed it between her legs until they parted, allowing him to nestle in the space of her thighs.

His dark curls spilled around them, obscuring their faces from sight. His mouth left hers, for the tender spot behind her ear where her jawbone began. One lick was all it took to elicit a throaty moan. Her body arched up against his; her neck turned exposing more flesh to him. He could feel her shaking, and when he pulled back, he saw goose bumps raised along her skin.

"Are you cold?" he questioned, the finger that were tangled in her hair, ideally fingered the wisps near her temple.

"Just a little," she replied with a slight nod.

He grinned softly, his fingers taking on a more definite stroking pattern. "I could retrieve your shawl for you."

Will pushed himself back up and pulled Sabine with him. His brain told him to leave, but he couldn't pull his hands away from her body, or his eyes away from her face. He wanted her, wanted to make love to her the way he should have that night in Tortuga. The memory of what he did helped to bring him back to himself.

"I'll return shortly," he bid, then departed.

His mind raced. What was he getting himself into? It was a mute query. Whatever the answer was, it was too late for him to turn back now. His feelings for her had been surfaced from his fear of losing her, but though the threat had diminished, his feelings were growing stronger. He wanted to see her happy, and he wanted to see her happy because of him.

Still his mind couldn't help but wander to Elizabeth. For so many years, she had been the only woman in his heart. For so many years there hadn't been room for any other. She would have been married for just under a couple weeks, and he couldn't help wondering if she were happy. He wondered if she would be happy for him if he were to return married to Sabine? If he saw her again, would the love he once had for her come rushing back?

That thought was enough to give pause to his step, which in turn was long enough for him to hear the movement behind the closed door to Sabine's room. He opened it to reveal a terribly surprised Jack Sparrow in the midst of rummaging through her duffel bag.

"Will!"

"What are you doing?"

The crafty pirate looked down to the item in his hand. His brain kicked in high speed trying to come up with a plausible excuse. Unfortunately, Will knew him well enough not to fall for the usual con lines he had on stand by.

"I know what this looks like, but I promise you, it's not what you think."

"I'm thinking you're trying to find the other half of the map."

"Alright, maybe it is what you're thinking, but not for the reasons you think."

Will gave a disbelieving frown. "So you don't plan on leaving her here and going to get the treasure?"

"It's not like I was going to steal it or anything," he defended.

"Jack, your tossing her room. How is that not stealing?"

"Yes, but per our agreement in Tortuga, she relinquished all claims on the treasure. Therefore, I can't very well steal something from her, that doesn't belong to her."

On that, Will rolled his eyes and shut the door. It was almost comical to watch the pirate do a dance with morality. He would continue to try to find a way to keep himself in the right. Or at least not completely in the wrong. It didn't always work, but it was amusing to watch.

"The other part of the deal was you teaching her to become a pirate."

"It's not my fault she got sick."

"Jack."

"The truth is, the ship's ready and if we wait too much longer bad weather will set in for the next three months making the island inaccessible. The men are getting restless for the gold they were promised."

"And what do you tell Sabine?"

"I was hoping you could take care of that for me," Jack stated nudging the Blacksmith in the ribs.

"Oh no," he refused, "You're the one that wants to skip out on the deal, you're the one that's going to have to tell her."

"William…"

Jack sighed, then paused. It was apparent the first plan of attack was not working at all, but there was another route he had yet to try. One that hit much closer to the young man's heart.

"Do you really want to see Dragonfly become a full fledged pirate? You almost lost her to the fever. According to Zamira her heart has been permanently weakened from the days of her high temperature… a pirates life is strenuous on the most healthy of men."

"She has a strong will," he countered.

"Strength of will isn't enough to see her through."

"It was enough to see me through to find Elizabeth."

"Yes, for a short time…" he amended. "Not too mention her reasoning."

"I understand her need to avenge her father's murder. It's more of a noble reason than any of the men aboard your ship. Yourself included."

"It's revenge, Will. You can dress it up anyway you want."

"Like the revenge you took on Barbosa."

"Barbosa got my crew to mutiny and stole my ship. Dragonfly's father was killed because he betrayed his Captain. That hardly puts him in the right."

Will opened his mouth to argue, but quickly closed it. With a soft sigh, he dropped onto the bed. His fingers combing through his hair to push it back from his face.

"I don't know, Jack. I don't agree with this."

"So you want her to become like me?"

"No!" Will answered quickly. So quickly, Jack took slight offense, but succeeded in not letting it show. "It's just… she's going to be upset. She's going to be very upset."

Jack nodded. "I see, and you're frightened of her."

"I most certainly am not," Will quipped.

"It's perfectly understandable, she can be a bit… mannish. And you are at times so very… refined."

"I am not afraid of Sabine."

"Good. Then it's settled," Jack concluded rubbing his hands together eagerly. "You'll tell me where the map is, I'll go get the treasure and bring it back. Meanwhile, you'll fill Dragonfly in on our little change in the plan."

"Are you sure you're not the one that's afraid of Sabine?" Will questioned.

"Nonsense, it's just you know her so much better than I do. She'll take it a lot better coming from you."

"I'm not so sure about that," the young man muttered getting to his feet.

"So," Jack grinned, "Where's the other half of the map?"

"I can't believe I'm telling you this. I have it. I took it for safe keeping not long after she took ill."

Jack nodded. "No wonder I couldn't find it. Just make sure you wait a few hours before saying anything to her. Possibly after lunch."

"In other words make sure to give you enough time to sneak away."

"It will be broad daylight… you can't sneak in broad daylight."

Will raised a knowing eyebrow. "I'm sure the crew of the Interceptor would disagree."

~~~

Oliver, Will and Sabine sat at the dining room table along with the remains of lunch. The cooks it seemed had outdone themselves with the chickens that had been baked to perfection and the assortment of plantains, melons and other vegetables. It was the first meal Sabine had consumed fully since her recovery, while Will, who normally had a healthy share, didn't do much more than push his food around his plate.

The conversation over lunch was monopolized by Sabine and Oliver as he explained to her the finer points of owning a shipping yard, and she told of the road she would have taken had vengeance not changed her path.

"Are you well, Mr. Turner?" Oliver queried noticing the food still left on the young man's plate.

"Yes, thank you."

"I do hope you aren't coming down with anything."

Sabine gave a smile and a wink in Will's direction. "I believe Mr. Turner's mind is preoccupied elsewhere. At least it has been for most of the morning."

"Ah," Oliver nodded, "Let me assure you my dear boy, you will find plenty to do until Jack returns."

"Until Jack returns from where?" Sabine questioned.

Will's eyes widened. He thought to say something, tried to think of any sign or warning he could give to Oliver that would signal him no to reveal the information he had.

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"He left this morning. Wouldn't say were he was going, but judging from the ear splitting grin on his face, I would say there was gold involved."

Sabine frowned. Where could Jack have possibly run off… The realization hit her in the face like a hard slap. There was only one thing that would have pulled the pirate away, and only one person who could have given him what he needed.

"You gave him my map?" she accused Will.

"Sabine, please hear me out first," Will pleaded.

"What map?" Oliver questioned.

"I entrusted you to keep it safe and away from Jack. You promised me you would."

"I did."

"The how does he have it?"

"Did I mention something I shouldn't have?" the host asked.

"Not particularly, but it would have sounded better coming from me."

"Don't bet on it," Sabine seethed.

Her dark angry eyes pinned Will to his seat, but he was not about to back down, or apologizes for his actions.

"Would you excuse us, Senor Adoza?"

Although he would have preferred to stay and witness the events that were about to unfold, he gave a nod of his head and left the couple to battle in private.

"I trusted you—"

"—Enough!" Will interrupted. His palm slamming down on the table causing the silver and glassware to rattle from the impact of the blow. "You are an artist, not a pirate. And no matter how much you train, you will never be a pirate."

"My father—"

"It was tragic what happened to your father, but you must realize he was not completely blameless."

"Are you saying my father is to blame for his death?"

The looks she gave Will was beyond unfriendly. Anger, perhaps even hatred boiled just under the surface. She was like a volcano ready to blow, and Will knew his next words would add the needed tectonic shift.

"Partially… yes."

He knew the slap was coming before he felt the sting of Sabine's palm across his face, yet he did nothing to stop the first one. He caught her wrist for the second one, pulling her up from her chair as he stood. The action forced her body against his chest, a position she immediately fought against.

"Let go of me!"

"Listen to me!" Will barked, and shook her. "Your father was not an innocent victim. He sold Jacinto out to the authorities so he could keep all the gold. He betrayed him."

"Like you betrayed me."

"I was protecting you," Will hissed behind clenched teeth.

"From what?" she shouted.

"From yourself!"

Still holding her wrist, he dragged her to the full-length mirror in the hall. He turned her so she faced the mirror and stared at her own reflection.

"This is not the face of a killer," he turned her to face him and gripped both her hands holding them up. "These are not the hands of a killer, and you do not have the heart of a killer."

She stared at him for several moments. He was completely unable to read what was going on behind her eyes. Her expression had gone completely blank. Like the face of someone that has resigned there will to do something horrid. An expression he had never seen on her.

"I'm tired of everyone telling me what I should and shouldn't do. What I am and what I'm not capable of. If it was your father—"

"—It wasn't."

"But if it were, tell me you would not do the same?"

"That's different," Will stated softly.

"Why? Because you are a man, and I am not? If I were a man, we wouldn't be having this discussion," she concluded.

"If you were a man I wouldn't care, because I wouldn't be in love with you." He cupped her cheeks and held her face in the palm of his hands. "I don't want you dead."

"I'm sorry, Will, but what you want is not my present concern."

Sabine turned, broke his grip and walked out the front door. Her presence in the hall was soon replaced by Oliver who stood just behind the young man's shoulder.

"You were right," Oliver began, "She will realize that."

"But does she have to get herself killed before she does?"

"She is still mourning her father. Give her time. Jack will be gone at least three weeks. You may be surprised what happens by then," he encouraged. "In the mean time I will take her into town, give her a chance to calm down."

Oliver pat Will on the shoulder before he too departed.