Present
For a while, barely a sound could be heard within the sitting room. Finally Elizabeth gently put a hand under Will's chin and lifted his head so she could look into his eyes. She could see the pain and anger there from the memories of what had taken place and knowing that he'd been wrong about trusting his best friend. Her first instinct was to tell him to stop, that if he didn't want to remember, then she wouldn't need to hear it. But the other part of her needed to know what had happened to him in the time they'd been apart, what he had gone through, seen, heard, and done.
"Will." Instead, she decided to let him make up his own mind if he wanted to continue. He was the storyteller and those were his memories and emotions. At the sound of his name, his eyes went up to meet hers. Then anger dissolved into determination, but the pain remained. It would for many years, as time was not so kind to forget all things. He reached up and slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it.
"I'm fine." He told her. "I can continue." Without quite realizing it, his hand went up to his neck, tracing the scar just under the right side of his chin, where the rope had dug in as he had strangled to death in the noose. When he started to speak again, his voice was thick as if there was something in his throat. "I don't remember anything until..."
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8 Years Earlier
Her smile was radiant as she leaned down over him. Will lay in the soft grass, his arms resting under his head as he looked up at the clear blue sky and the woman he loved. Elizabeth straddled his waist and leaned down, her soft lips hovering teasingly over his and golden hair tickling his face. He leaned forward to kiss her and she put a finger on his lips.
"You're not going to sleep on me yet, are you?" She asked him softly, leaning so that her mouth was near his ear. He could smell her, sweet like a freshly bloomed flower in the spring.
"Of course not." He lay back in the grass, gazing up at her. Elizabeth put a hand to his cheek, her smile disappearing.
"If you go to sleep, I'll never see you again." She told him, stroking his cheek. He gave her a strange look, wondering why she was saying this. Of course she would see him again, why would she say such a thing as he wouldn't? He gently grasped the hand stroking his face, soft against his rough hands, and pulled it forward so he could kiss it.
Will's eyes widened in horror as he saw the blood staining her hand. She gazed sadly at him and finally looked away. "I told you." She said, tears coming to her eyes. Everything around him grew darker as the sun was blocked out in the sky. The tears fell freely down her cheeks now and she still wouldn't look at him. "Please don't leave us." She sobbed. He shook his head, raising his free hand up to his neck. He felt the warm stickiness of the blood there and began to panic.
"I won't, Elizabeth! I promise! I'll never leave you!" Even as he said it, the world around him faded into darkness and he clung desperately to her hand and she to his even as she faded from his sight, leaving him grasping at darkness.
"Elizabeth!"
The harsh coughing startled the three pirates as Will suddenly came to life. Anamaria was so startled she let go of Will's arms and he hit the ground with a painful thud. He felt completely disoriented, still in the darkness and teetering on the brink of unconsciousness again. "Elizabeth..." His voice was so hoarse that the word came out in a nearly inaudible whisper. Shapes slowly began to form around him and one of the indistinct shapes moved towards him and he felt pressure on his shoulder. Coming more into focus, he realized it was a person, and not just anyone.
"William." Jack knelt down next to the boy, laying a hand on his shoulder gently. A strange mix of emotions ran through him as soon as he realized Will was still alive. Shock that he had been hung and was still alive, joy that he was still alive, pity for what he had gone through, and then the thought that bothered him. He was better off dead. For the moment, Jack shoved it to the back of his mind and tried to calm the younger man down.
"Jack?" The pirate had to lean down just to hear him speak. He felt relieved that Will knew whom he was talking to.
"Aye." He responded quietly.
"Jack, my throat hurts." His coughing hurt him more the raw feeling in his throat grew worse. His body felt very weak and he could barely move on his own. He didn't want to move or speak, just wanted to lie there until the pain passed. But that was not to be as Jack got to his feet, nodding to Gibbs.
"Get him up. We have to get out of here." Jack said quickly, bending and slipping one of Will's arms across his shoulder. Gibbs did the same and between the two of them, they got Will to his feet. Immediately the blacksmith fell forward and almost took Jack and Gibbs to the ground with him. Jack planted a foot and stopped him, pulling him back to a standing position. "Come on William. Stay with us." He told him as he and Gibbs started walking. Will was deadweight on their shoulders, barely able to walk himself. His knees kept buckling and he would slide towards the ground. The two pirates would have to stop and reposition him again before continuing.
The return trip to the smuggling bay that was port to the Pearl was a tense one. The three pirates had been able to move easily and quickly through the back alleys into the bad part of town, but with an injured person, it slowed them down and increased the chances of getting caught. Every sound made now became that much louder and increased their chances of attracting attention and getting caught. Jack urged them on, pulling Will with him as much as he could. Will slipped in and out of consciousness, muttering from time to time. Jack heard him call out for his wife and daughter and had a sinking feeling. Eventually one of them would have to explain the situation to him and it would crush William. Jack would be the one to do it, of course. His crew were good men and hard workers; he didn't trust a damn one of those pirates either.
"Jack...I need to go back..." Will said, opening his eyes to look up at Jack. Jack avoided his gaze, staring straight ahead with a deadpan expression on his face.
"We need to keep moving." He responded shortly. Gibbs said nothing, continuing on as Anamaria guarded them from the back. Will's head dropped forward again as he battled to remain conscious. Jack shifted his grasp on Will's arm. "Don't stop. Not till we're on the Pearl." His eyes were hard as he glanced over at Gibbs. Inside he mourned seeing innocence lost, but he had to keep it together on the outside. There were times when emotions could not be afforded, and this was it.
--------------
"Can you do anything?" Jack asked, standing at the end of the cot with his arms crossed and the deadpan look still on his face. Cotton tilted Will's head to the side to see the bloody mess underneath the young man's chin. After a quick inspection, he looked up at Jack and nodded. In the few months since he'd come on board, it had been discovered that Cotton had once been a surgeon until an accident and the death of a patient had sent him packing to the sea. The old man snapped his fingers and motioned for something to write with. "Marty!" Jack bellowed.
A few moments later, the smallest member of the crew burst into the cabin. "Aye sir?" He asked.
"Cotton needs something to write with and on." Jack said. "Get it and hurry back." The midget hurried off again. Cotton turned Will's head to the other side and gazed at the rapidly forming bruises. None of them must have been anything serious as he dismissed them immediately. Jack rubbed his own neck, remembering the day he himself had almost hung to death as the battle between blacksmith and executioner raged just inches from his head. He remembered desperation to get away and alarm that the only thing keeping him from strangling himself to death was the sword stuck in the trap door.
Marty clambered back in and handed Cotton the paper. The old man scribbled a few things down and shoved it into Marty's hands again. Marty looked to Jack, as did Cotton. Jack craned his neck around, looking down at the paper to realize it was a list. "Go get what he needs." He commanded.
A few minutes later, Cotton had his makeshift medical supplies. A bottle of rum for anesthetic purposes, clean strips of cloth ripped from one of the tablecloths that had been among the cargo that Jack's crew had taken in from the last merchant ship that they had attacked, some thread, and a needle. The old pirate got up from the edge of the bed and pointed towards the door, making a motion as to shoo them out.
With one last look at Will, Jack left, heading back out onto the decks, lost in his own thoughts.
---------------
By the time the Pearl was finally back at sea, night had fallen and the stars were out in full. The first night watch had already settled in. One man was up in the crow's nest, watching for the approach of ships or land. A few others prowled the decks below. The rest were in the forecastle, asleep or talking or for the lucky few who knew how, reading by candlelight.
Gibbs appeared out of the companionway, cutting his way across the deck to the quarterdeck, where Jack stood, leaning against the wheel. Gibbs slowly climbed the stairs and walked over. "Captain."
Jack glanced over at him, not saying a word. "Cotton's done with him. I just thought you should know." He said, stumbling over his words slightly. Jack looked back out to the sea.
"He was better off dead." He said, finally voicing the thought that had plagued him most of the day and well into the night. He didn't see the look of shock on Gibbs' face but seemed to know he owed the man an explanation as to why he felt the way he did.
"William Turner, or Bootstrap as you knew him, was a pirate. Will may have the blood of a pirate, but he's not one of us. He was born and raised a civilian and that's what he should've remained." He turned to face Gibbs again. "Now he can never go back to his wife and child because he's dead to them. She saw him die and even if he did go back, they'd hang him again." Jack's grip on the wheel tightened. "Caught between two worlds, one of which he no longer belongs to and the other which he should never belong to."
Gibbs took what Jack was saying in, mulling it over with a thoughtful look on his face. "Then what are we going to do with him?" He asked finally, not being able to find the solution from what Jack had given him.
"The only thing we can do." Jack said quietly. "Make a pirate out of him."
For a while, barely a sound could be heard within the sitting room. Finally Elizabeth gently put a hand under Will's chin and lifted his head so she could look into his eyes. She could see the pain and anger there from the memories of what had taken place and knowing that he'd been wrong about trusting his best friend. Her first instinct was to tell him to stop, that if he didn't want to remember, then she wouldn't need to hear it. But the other part of her needed to know what had happened to him in the time they'd been apart, what he had gone through, seen, heard, and done.
"Will." Instead, she decided to let him make up his own mind if he wanted to continue. He was the storyteller and those were his memories and emotions. At the sound of his name, his eyes went up to meet hers. Then anger dissolved into determination, but the pain remained. It would for many years, as time was not so kind to forget all things. He reached up and slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it.
"I'm fine." He told her. "I can continue." Without quite realizing it, his hand went up to his neck, tracing the scar just under the right side of his chin, where the rope had dug in as he had strangled to death in the noose. When he started to speak again, his voice was thick as if there was something in his throat. "I don't remember anything until..."
---------
8 Years Earlier
Her smile was radiant as she leaned down over him. Will lay in the soft grass, his arms resting under his head as he looked up at the clear blue sky and the woman he loved. Elizabeth straddled his waist and leaned down, her soft lips hovering teasingly over his and golden hair tickling his face. He leaned forward to kiss her and she put a finger on his lips.
"You're not going to sleep on me yet, are you?" She asked him softly, leaning so that her mouth was near his ear. He could smell her, sweet like a freshly bloomed flower in the spring.
"Of course not." He lay back in the grass, gazing up at her. Elizabeth put a hand to his cheek, her smile disappearing.
"If you go to sleep, I'll never see you again." She told him, stroking his cheek. He gave her a strange look, wondering why she was saying this. Of course she would see him again, why would she say such a thing as he wouldn't? He gently grasped the hand stroking his face, soft against his rough hands, and pulled it forward so he could kiss it.
Will's eyes widened in horror as he saw the blood staining her hand. She gazed sadly at him and finally looked away. "I told you." She said, tears coming to her eyes. Everything around him grew darker as the sun was blocked out in the sky. The tears fell freely down her cheeks now and she still wouldn't look at him. "Please don't leave us." She sobbed. He shook his head, raising his free hand up to his neck. He felt the warm stickiness of the blood there and began to panic.
"I won't, Elizabeth! I promise! I'll never leave you!" Even as he said it, the world around him faded into darkness and he clung desperately to her hand and she to his even as she faded from his sight, leaving him grasping at darkness.
"Elizabeth!"
The harsh coughing startled the three pirates as Will suddenly came to life. Anamaria was so startled she let go of Will's arms and he hit the ground with a painful thud. He felt completely disoriented, still in the darkness and teetering on the brink of unconsciousness again. "Elizabeth..." His voice was so hoarse that the word came out in a nearly inaudible whisper. Shapes slowly began to form around him and one of the indistinct shapes moved towards him and he felt pressure on his shoulder. Coming more into focus, he realized it was a person, and not just anyone.
"William." Jack knelt down next to the boy, laying a hand on his shoulder gently. A strange mix of emotions ran through him as soon as he realized Will was still alive. Shock that he had been hung and was still alive, joy that he was still alive, pity for what he had gone through, and then the thought that bothered him. He was better off dead. For the moment, Jack shoved it to the back of his mind and tried to calm the younger man down.
"Jack?" The pirate had to lean down just to hear him speak. He felt relieved that Will knew whom he was talking to.
"Aye." He responded quietly.
"Jack, my throat hurts." His coughing hurt him more the raw feeling in his throat grew worse. His body felt very weak and he could barely move on his own. He didn't want to move or speak, just wanted to lie there until the pain passed. But that was not to be as Jack got to his feet, nodding to Gibbs.
"Get him up. We have to get out of here." Jack said quickly, bending and slipping one of Will's arms across his shoulder. Gibbs did the same and between the two of them, they got Will to his feet. Immediately the blacksmith fell forward and almost took Jack and Gibbs to the ground with him. Jack planted a foot and stopped him, pulling him back to a standing position. "Come on William. Stay with us." He told him as he and Gibbs started walking. Will was deadweight on their shoulders, barely able to walk himself. His knees kept buckling and he would slide towards the ground. The two pirates would have to stop and reposition him again before continuing.
The return trip to the smuggling bay that was port to the Pearl was a tense one. The three pirates had been able to move easily and quickly through the back alleys into the bad part of town, but with an injured person, it slowed them down and increased the chances of getting caught. Every sound made now became that much louder and increased their chances of attracting attention and getting caught. Jack urged them on, pulling Will with him as much as he could. Will slipped in and out of consciousness, muttering from time to time. Jack heard him call out for his wife and daughter and had a sinking feeling. Eventually one of them would have to explain the situation to him and it would crush William. Jack would be the one to do it, of course. His crew were good men and hard workers; he didn't trust a damn one of those pirates either.
"Jack...I need to go back..." Will said, opening his eyes to look up at Jack. Jack avoided his gaze, staring straight ahead with a deadpan expression on his face.
"We need to keep moving." He responded shortly. Gibbs said nothing, continuing on as Anamaria guarded them from the back. Will's head dropped forward again as he battled to remain conscious. Jack shifted his grasp on Will's arm. "Don't stop. Not till we're on the Pearl." His eyes were hard as he glanced over at Gibbs. Inside he mourned seeing innocence lost, but he had to keep it together on the outside. There were times when emotions could not be afforded, and this was it.
--------------
"Can you do anything?" Jack asked, standing at the end of the cot with his arms crossed and the deadpan look still on his face. Cotton tilted Will's head to the side to see the bloody mess underneath the young man's chin. After a quick inspection, he looked up at Jack and nodded. In the few months since he'd come on board, it had been discovered that Cotton had once been a surgeon until an accident and the death of a patient had sent him packing to the sea. The old man snapped his fingers and motioned for something to write with. "Marty!" Jack bellowed.
A few moments later, the smallest member of the crew burst into the cabin. "Aye sir?" He asked.
"Cotton needs something to write with and on." Jack said. "Get it and hurry back." The midget hurried off again. Cotton turned Will's head to the other side and gazed at the rapidly forming bruises. None of them must have been anything serious as he dismissed them immediately. Jack rubbed his own neck, remembering the day he himself had almost hung to death as the battle between blacksmith and executioner raged just inches from his head. He remembered desperation to get away and alarm that the only thing keeping him from strangling himself to death was the sword stuck in the trap door.
Marty clambered back in and handed Cotton the paper. The old man scribbled a few things down and shoved it into Marty's hands again. Marty looked to Jack, as did Cotton. Jack craned his neck around, looking down at the paper to realize it was a list. "Go get what he needs." He commanded.
A few minutes later, Cotton had his makeshift medical supplies. A bottle of rum for anesthetic purposes, clean strips of cloth ripped from one of the tablecloths that had been among the cargo that Jack's crew had taken in from the last merchant ship that they had attacked, some thread, and a needle. The old pirate got up from the edge of the bed and pointed towards the door, making a motion as to shoo them out.
With one last look at Will, Jack left, heading back out onto the decks, lost in his own thoughts.
---------------
By the time the Pearl was finally back at sea, night had fallen and the stars were out in full. The first night watch had already settled in. One man was up in the crow's nest, watching for the approach of ships or land. A few others prowled the decks below. The rest were in the forecastle, asleep or talking or for the lucky few who knew how, reading by candlelight.
Gibbs appeared out of the companionway, cutting his way across the deck to the quarterdeck, where Jack stood, leaning against the wheel. Gibbs slowly climbed the stairs and walked over. "Captain."
Jack glanced over at him, not saying a word. "Cotton's done with him. I just thought you should know." He said, stumbling over his words slightly. Jack looked back out to the sea.
"He was better off dead." He said, finally voicing the thought that had plagued him most of the day and well into the night. He didn't see the look of shock on Gibbs' face but seemed to know he owed the man an explanation as to why he felt the way he did.
"William Turner, or Bootstrap as you knew him, was a pirate. Will may have the blood of a pirate, but he's not one of us. He was born and raised a civilian and that's what he should've remained." He turned to face Gibbs again. "Now he can never go back to his wife and child because he's dead to them. She saw him die and even if he did go back, they'd hang him again." Jack's grip on the wheel tightened. "Caught between two worlds, one of which he no longer belongs to and the other which he should never belong to."
Gibbs took what Jack was saying in, mulling it over with a thoughtful look on his face. "Then what are we going to do with him?" He asked finally, not being able to find the solution from what Jack had given him.
"The only thing we can do." Jack said quietly. "Make a pirate out of him."