Okay gang, last chapter. Notes at the end. Thanks for hanging in there!
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By the time they had rowed back to the Black Pearl, Askew's fortress was nearly destroyed. The stone building had collapsed in on itself, leaving one very large and dusty ruin. Neither Jack nor Will had made any attempts to stop Askew's men from escaping. The Black Calamity was still beached on the other side of the island, though not about to set sail any time soon, so they had no qualms about leaving the men there.
The Black Pearl had not fired on the building so it was something of a mystery as to why it had begun to fall at that moment. From her vantage point some distance off the shore, the crew of the Pearl couldn't have made out everything, but they surely would have seen if another vessel had fired a lucky shot, yet they had seen no such ship. It was puzzling but could perhaps be chocked up to fate.
"So what do you think became of Askew then?" Jack asked, his voice still rough from a combination of exhaustion, pain, and dust inhaled earlier. They'd seen to his wounds and bandaged most of them up. The shoulder wound had been as bad as Jack had expected and had taken many stitches to keep closed. Because of its location it hurt and pulled whenever he moved his right arm. Actually, pretty much EVERYTHING hurt when he moved ANYTHING and Jack had decided to stay as still as he could, not an easy task for a man who talked with his hands and was animated with his whole body when he spoke. "Do you think he could have made it out?"
Will sighed. He honestly couldn't say. He'd seen what looked like the Captain getting squished by a huge piece of falling rock, but that scream ... had it been his imagination? Could Askew have escaped? "I don't know, Jack. We made it out, so I guess he could have."
Will would like to believe the bastard had been buried in his own flawed fortress. He'd been beyond angry when he got a good look at how badly Askew had injured Jack. Had the building not collapsed and they not been already a good way out to sea, Will would have gone back just to see if he couldn't kill Askew himself.
Will had stitched Jack's shoulder wound himself. It had crisscrossed with the older scar, forming a perfect X. He hoped that if Askew did survive, he didn't believe X marked the spot, and returned to destroy Jack.
"'e's not gonna come after me, Will," Jack said, voice gravelly.
"What makes you so sure? If he did survive," Will asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Askew'd go after you," Jack said solemnly.
"Me?" Will asked. He thought for a moment before realizing that the man would indeed have more reason to pursue him than Jack now. "Me."
"Aye, he'd be going after the Black Pearl and her Captain."
"Who is definitely not me," Will said.
"I don't know, Will," Jack said, grinning. "You did a right fine job, and I'm likely t' be laid up for some time."
"I would never be Captain of the Pearl, not for real," Will said, shaking his head.
"Well that's too bad, cause you'd've made an excellent Captain. Oh well, guess I'll have to go see Miss Swan 'bout becoming my replacement should anything unforeseen happen to ol' Jack."
"Elizabeth?"
"Sure, she'd make a hell of a pirate, a good Captain. Not as good as you, but if you didn't want the job..."
"You're mad, Jack," Will said, shaking his head. Thinking of Elizabeth, he said, "I told Askew I was going to kill you, that you'd made me lose the love of my life." Jack waited silently for Will to finish. "I once thought you did," Will admitted. He paused before continuing, "I don't blame you, Jack. I know things would have turned out the way they did whether you'd returned or not. I know that now."
Will still loved Elizabeth, but their love wasn't the kind that bound people together for life; in the end, while it was love, it was not the kind they'd once thought.
"I always knew, Will," Jack said, reaching a hand forward carefully, resting it on Will's leg. "I jus' didn' have the patience to let you two figure it out for yerselves." Shaking himself out of the more serious mode, Jack said, "You looked very Captain-like, standing there. And the chests, your idea?"
"Yeah," Will said, feeling vaguely uncomfortable with the praise.
"Clever," Jack said with a small nod.
"Why didn't you tell me you wanted me to claim to be Captain if you were ever captured? Why tell Gibbs but not me?" Will asked.
"You'd 'ave refused," Jack said.
"No, I wouldn't have," Will said automatically. On Jack's look, he admitted, "Alright, maybe I would have."
"Mmm hmm. And you would 'ave worried 'bout it. I didn' want you sittin' round stewin' over something that might never 'ave happened."
"I don't 'stew'," Will said defensively.
"You do, Luv. Why do you think I didn' tell you 'bout the accord wif Askew, eh?"
"About that," Will started, remembering his earlier irritation with Jack. "You should have told me. Don't you trust me, Jack?"
"I trusted you wif the Pearl, Will," Jack said simply, as though this was answer enough. It was. "I jus' didn't want you worryin' o'er something that might not 'ave been a big deal."
"But it was, Jack," Will said as he got up to pace around the cabin a bit. "It nearly got you killed!"
"Right, I admit it. Not the most intelligent accord I've made," Jack said. There was a time he'd never have admitted such a thing. But now, with Will, things were different.
"You should have told me ... about the agreement with Askew, the plan for if you were ever captured." The frustration with the recent situation came back to him. "How can you say you trust me with the Pearl but still keep these secrets?"
"Not secrets, Will. I thought it better if you din' have to worry 'bout all that. But you can handle it, I've seen it. You could Captain this ship, wif all that entails. I've no doubt of it now." Will huffed still pacing the room. Jack followed the irritated young man with his eyes.
"I was worried he'd kill you. When you waved us off..." Will shook his head, "it felt like the worst thing I'd ever done, leaving you there."
"Did what we 'ad to. It's an occupational hazard, Will. These thing 'appen. I knew that, an' now you do as well." Will nodded. Trying to make the question sound light, Jack asked, "Not having second thoughts 'bout bein' a pirate are you?"
"No, not anymore," Will said, looking down at Jack. He realized Jack hadn't meant to be secretive, and it wasn't that he'd kept things from Will because he didn't trust him. If pretending to be Captain of the Black Pearl is what it took to convince Jack that he was capable of handling anything, then it was all worth it. Still, Will hoped he wouldn't have to do it again, at least not any time soon. He was perfectly happy to leave that job to Jack.
They were quiet for a few moments before Will spoke again. "Do you think he survived the collapse?"
"Maybe."
"You think he'll come after us if he did?"
"Absolutely."
"So we'll be looking over our shoulders forever then?" Will asked.
"Will, yer a pirate, 'e's not exactly the only person out to get you," Jack pointed out.
"I know. I just ... don't want to spend every day worrying about tomorrow."
"Can't tell what tomorrow's gonna bring, Mate," Jack said drowsily. "Can't tell for sure what turn the weather'll take, who'll come lookin' to spill yer blood. The most ye can do is be ready to face it."
"Is that being a pirate captain?"
"That's being a survivor, Will. Jus' know that for the moment everythin's all right. For tomorrow, I make no promises."
Will nodded but his expression was serious, his brow creased in concern. It felt good to have Jack safe, back on the Pearl again. Still, he worried what the coming weeks might bring.
End
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Alrighty, that's it. This fic is actually a slash free version of the original. The slashy version is essentially the same, there's just more to it. I think for the most part the story works better as a gen fic. It sort of read as unnecessary slash, it seemed like it was just added in because it had to be.
I frickin' hate this fic. It was a nightmare to write and the end result is, as far as I'm concerned, pretty boring and unoriginal. If it hadn't been promised, I'd have put it out of its misery before it was finished, believe me. This version (without the slash) reads a bit better though. The biggest problem is that the ending argument between Jack and Will still kinda sounds like a lovers quarrel, doesn't it? I really tried to keep it from sounding too relationship based but the fic raised trust questions that remain whether Jack and Will are romantically/sexually involved or not. I don't think Will is out of line to question Jack's secretiveness in light of what happened even if they are not "together". I just sort of assume if it's not a slash fic, they still have a strong/close relationship, albeit friendship/work based. Still, they do sort of sound like cranky lovers in the argument but hey, I did the best I could to convert it from slash :P
If anybody wants to read the original let me know. Like I said, it's the same story, just with more/longer scenes and poor Jack ended up a bit worse condition. It's upped to an R rating though for a little hurt/comfort action. If you do wanna check it out comment and I'll send you a link (I can't seem to get it to display here - keeps "eating" the link).
And thanks again to those of you who reviewed. It is very much appreciated, especially for a story that I feel so unhappy with. I feel a lot better knowing that it's not as boring to others as it seems to me.
Alori Kesi Aldercy: Thanks for all those reviews! Nice to hear you got so into it :)