Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates or anything associated with it (though if whoever does own it--Disney, I guess--wants to get rid of it, I'm very willing to take it off his hands...). I'm not making any money off of this story (because if I were I would be in the Caribbean, not posting a fanfic about it).
Chapter 6, Black Pearl, first bell into forenoon watch
This time, Elizabeth didn't let her guard down, even though she was fairly certain she could trust Jack to take her home. She'd almost made it home plenty of times before, only to be stopped almost with in sight of her goal. She was not about to let anything keep her away from her family ever again.
Still, there seemed to be nothing that could get in her way now. The crew of the Pearl generally seemed to enjoy, or at least tolerate, her company--barring some good-natured teasing--and they certainly loved having Bootstrap Bill aboard. Even Jack seemed to catch some of the crew's enthusiasm, and the rapport between the two old friends had the ability to put the whole crew at ease. It was beautiful sailing, too, for the most part, which always helped to boost morale. Only a week of a dead wind interrupted the perfect weather--and Jack simply had the crew run out the sweeps and re-divide the watches to keep them going. Things seemed perfect.
They were two days away from Port Royal when they were hailed by a Navy ship--the Dauntless.
Jack took action immediately. "All hands on deck! Run out the guns and get ready for a fight, gents!"
"No!" Elizabeth cried. "Jack, we can't fight. We're too close to risk it."
Jack turned to her angrily. "Are you mad? What do you propose we do, invite them on board for a spot of tea?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "Not exactly. We just pretend that this isn't your ship anymore."
"WHAT?"
"Hear me out," she said, holding up a hand to stop the rest of his outburst. "You lock yourself in your quarters, and Bill and I tell them that he took the ship from you so he could take me home and see his son. You're not sailing under the Jolly Roger, so they'd have no reason to suspect that you're pirates anymore. They'll leave us alone, I know it. Please, Jack."
Jack stared at her, knowing that it was a cold day in hell when Elizabeth Turner begged anybody, let alone a pirate. And this was the second time since he'd found her that she'd done it. "All right. We'll try it," he conceded. "But if they don't buy it, we'd be in the perfect position for an ambush, and I will take full advantage of that. Savvy?"
Elizabeth could have hugged him--could have. But she settled for an enthusiastic, "Oh, thank you, Jack!"
"Yes, yes, you'd better go tell Bill about your plan. I'll be in my cabin. Come get me when this madness is over," Jack said gruffly, embarrassed by her gratitude and still miffed at her plan.
Elizabeth watched Jack saunter to his cabin, and as she turned to find Bill, she noticed Gibbs watching her. "Norrington knows me, too, you know," he reminded her. "So I'm going to head to the galley and I'm not coming out either. And if anything happens to us, I'm holding you responsible." Elizabeth nodded her understanding, and he walked off. She hurried to tell Bill about her plan, and by the time the Dauntless was close enough to see anything incriminating, the guns were out of sight (though still loaded and ready to pound the Dauntless into very small pieces at a moment's notice) and the crew was either below decks or working quietly. Elizabeth stood next to Bill to welcome the boarding party.
"Here they come," she whispered, more to herself than to Bill.
"Bill glanced at her. "Nervous?"
"Yes."
"Don't be." She smiled a little, but he could tell that she was not reassured at all.
The Dauntless pulled up alongside of the Pearl and the two ships anchored themselves together. Norrington was one of the first across.
"James!" Elizabeth exclaimed, pumping relief into her voice.
His shock was obvious. "Elizabeth?"
"Oh, it's so good to see a familiar face!" she gushed, giving him her brightest smile. "I was beginning to think I'd never see anything of home again."
Norrington looked around, confused. "Isn't this Jack Sparrow's ship?"
"It was Jack Sparrow's ship," said Bill smoothly. "And now it's my ship."
"And who are you? Another pirate?"
"William Turner, Senior, sir," Bill answered, shaking the commodore's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Senior...?" Elizabeth felt sorry for the poor commodore, he was so confused. But she smiled.
"He rescued me when he found out who I was," she explained to him. "And now he's taking me home, so he can meet the children and see Will again."
The commodore collected his wits and nodded. "I see. Well, in that case, I assume you'll be wanting to get home as soon as possible?"
"Yes. And that's why I'm so glad that Dad got the Black Pearl from Jack. I've been away for so long."
"Dad?"
"I asked her to call me that, sir, seeing as how I am her father-in-law."
"Oh, I see. Well, considering that my entire fleet is on the lookout for this ship, I suppose I should offer you an escort home. You'll never make it into the harbor, otherwise. I'm afraid they've been instructed to shoot first and ask questions later."
Swallowing hard, Elizabeth glanced at Bill. She hadn't counted on this. "That's very kind of you, James, but I don't really want to slow down at all. Couldn't you just give us a letter of passage or something?"
"I'm afraid they'd shoot you to bits before you got a chance to show them the letter," Norrington explained. He looked genuinely sorry, and there was really no way out of his offer without giving up the charade, something Elizabeth absolutely refised to do. "It would be suicide to attempt it in this ship without my escort service."
Elizabeth had no choice but to accept Norrington's offer, despite what Jack would say to her later. She only had one condition: "As long as we don't mix the crews. I don't want to mess with that. Let's just leave everybody to their own ships, and we won't have to sort it back out again when we get there--or when Dad decides to leave." The last thing she needed was for Norrington to decide that she needed a more personal escort--or a spy. Their story wouldn't last a day.
Norrington nodded. "As you wish, Mrs. Turner. Men! Back to the Dauntless. Make ready to escort our friends home." He took Elizabeth's hand and bowed over it, his lips not quite brushing her skin. "I shall see you in Port Royal, milady."
Smiling graciously, she answered, "My deepest thanks, Commodore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." With all the diplomatic skill one would expect of a governor's daughter, she slipped away and hurried to the captain's cabin. Bill stayed on deck long enough to see Norrington and his men safely onto their own ship, then went to tell Gibbs the bad news.
Woohoo! Finally, a chapter back up to the right length! Actually, it was originally supposed to be longer, but I didn't want to wear your eyes (and your brain) out trying to read all that in one sitting, so I decided to break it up.
And I think Chapter 5 had more reviews than any of my other chapters, which is AWESOME! Millions of thanks to all who reviewed--you keep me writing (especially since, when I started posting this, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a very good story).
You all rock on ice!
--JSK
