Disclaimer: I do not own POTC.

Chapter 12: Upcoming

Everything went by in a blur. A moment ago she had been kissing the Captain and now, she was sitting in the crow's nest with him. They were both admiring the sunset from the highest perch on the Black Pearl. It was relaxing, watching the sunset as the wind blew on her cheeks, and the warmth of Jack's body next to hers. Never in her life had she felt so contented.

"It's so beautiful, Jack, very much so." Elisse said, half dazed.

"As beautiful as ye, ye mean." He answered, turning to her.

"Hmm . . ." she murmured absent-mindedly. Her eyes were glassy, but thoughtful in the color of liquid emerald. The sight of her simply just took his breath away, and Jack grinned to the thought.

He brought his hand to her cheek and caressed her soft skin, pulling her out of her daze and making her turn towards him. Their eyes met, soft emerald against mysterious chocolate. No words came out of their mouth then, but their eyes said it all.

"Jack…" she started to murmur.

"Shh, luv. Don' think 'bout anythin'. Forget everythin', except me, o' course." Jack said, his hand grazing down her cheek to the tender flesh of her neck. She shivered under his touch. He felt it. He had felt her tremble, and it felt good.

"Ye'll be safe with me, luv. Don' ye worry. I'll be takin' care o' ye." He inched his face closer to hers. Looking deep into her eyes, he smiled – not a sneer nor a grin, but simply a smile, and his lips came down on hers.

"Cap'n! Cap'n! A white sail in the horizon!"

Jack was cut out of his reverie by the voice of one of his crew. He immediately turned to Elisse who still lay sleeping on his shoulder. He sighed in relief that she did not hear. He did not want her to be scared. Ever. He was going to protect her, and by God, he will. Even if he risked everything in the process, he will.

Slowly, he lowered her to the floor. Taking one last look at her peaceful and contented form, he turned and went down, once again the Captain who carried the charge of the Black Pearl.

"Jack! We spotted white sails! They're gainin' on us!" Gibbs hurried to tell him the details.

"'ow many?" It was the first thing he wanted to know.

"It's the whole Royal Navy." Gibbs' voice was lowered. He himself was worried.

Jack stopped mid-stride and turned to face his second-in-command. His jaw was dropped in disbelief. How could he not have seen? He was up in the crow's nest and yet he did not spot the Navy ships. "Can we outrun 'em?"

"'ardly, Cap'n They're on our tail." Gibbs looked to his Captain for any ideas.

"Load the cannons, then. Prepare for battle." Jack's eyes were clouded. No emotion could be seen. Gibbs looked at him with an expression a mixture of surprise and worry. Usually, engaging in battle would've been their last recourse, even with small numbers of barbaric pirates, and here, Jack was going to wage war with the whole navy.

"Jack, I don' think . . . we can't . . . we're greatly outnumbered!" he started to protest.

"Then what do ye suggest we do? Give up without a fight? We're not cowards!" his voice boomed over all the noise on the ship. Gibbs stared at him in disbelief. Shaking his head, he turned and walked away to prepare the ship for battle.

Elisse stirred as she heard noises from the deck – specifically clanking noises made by metal against metal. She got up and looked down from her perch high above the Black Pearl. What she saw confused her. The men were loading the cannons. She wondered why. When she looked up, the sight that greeted her was something she really did not expect. White sails could be seen on the horizon. Not only a small number of white sails, but the whole navy as it seemed.

Recovering from her shock, she quickly searched the deck for Jack, the fear that gripped her whole being growing stronger when she did not find him. She continued to scan the deck and a great weight was lifted from her chest when she saw him emerge from the galley.

With cold hands she swung her leg out of the confined space of the crow's nest, making sure of her footing on the ropes. She did the same with the other and began climbing down. She needed to get to Jack.

He stood rooted to the deck as he watched her slowly climbing down. He was very foolish to leave her up there. Now, he had to watch as she made her way from the high perch with shaky footing. He had forgotten all about the upcoming battle as his attention was all bent on her. When her feet finally touched the deck, he heaved a great sigh of relief.

"'ey, lass! Go to me cabin and lock the door. If the need calls for it, go out through the window and use the boat. Get away as fast as ye can." He ordered, his face devoid of any humor. She was about to protest when he cut her off. "No. Ye do as I say."

Elisse didn't respond for a moment. Her gaze was fixed on his ruggedly handsome face. She was fighting an inner battle between staying on deck where she could keep an eye out for Jack and following his command and lock herself in his cabin. Somehow, her rebellious side won.

"No! I am staying here with you. I…," she doubted whether she should say it or not. "I can't lose you now. Not now when you have given me so much hope. Not now, Jack. Not now."

Jack's face was unreadable. His eyes were intently fixed on her. His gaze was drawn towards her lips which were still, mind you, a bit, if not slightly, bruised from his kisses. He wanted to memorize every feature of her beautiful face, every shade of green her eyes would turn to with each different emotion.

Finally, after the moment of silence that reigned between them ended, he placed a rough finger beneath her chin and tilted her head upwards. Gazing directly into the green orbs he adored so much, he gave her a kiss. A lingering kiss - strong, passionate, and filled with a longing Elisse could not place, but all the while gentle. Oh, so devastatingly gentle. Then, with all the will power he could muster, Jack tore his lips along with his gaze from her and called one of his crew.

"Jacob! Come 'ere!" he avoided her gaze as he waited for his trusted crew member to reach the place where they stood. "Take the lass 'ere and take 'er to me cabin. Do not, ye 'ear me, do not let 'er out until I say so."

"What - ? I - No! I don't - " the men either did not hear her protests or decided to ignore it. As Jacob practically dragged her to Jack's cabin, her gaze still sought the handsome pirate captain. Then, as if her wish was being granted, he turned to look at her, an unreadable emotion clouding his eyes. They looked at each other for a moment, never looking away, and Elisse got a sinking feeling that this day will not end with no one getting harmed.

"I'm sorry, miss. Cap'n's orders." She heard Jacob saying as he firmly pushed her into Jack's cabin.

"Jacob, no! You have to let me out! Please - " she would've readily begged. But Jacob would not hear any of it.

"I'm sorry, miss." With these words, he shut the door, locking it from the outside.

For about two minutes or so, she banged on the door, begging anyone on the other side to let her out. She called Jack's name numerous times, of course, growing more terrified and worried by the minute.

"Jack, please! Let me out! Jack!" she continued to shout, her knuckles aching from her unrelenting banging on the door. "Jack! Jack, please! Jack…open this door! Please…anyone…Jack…" she sank to the floor in defeat.

Tears started to form in her eyes. She would've let them fall if the circumstances were different. This was not the time for weakness. This was not the time for tears. She needed to help Jack and the others. She could not fail them, not with all the things they had done for her.

Feeling a new surge determination, she started to look for another way out. If she cannot pass through the door, then another course is certainly welcome. After surveying the room the first thing that looked like a suitable escape route for her was the window. As she poked her head out, sure enough, there was a rowboat directly beneath the window suspended from a couple of ropes. Only, she wasn't going down, was she? She was heading to the stern of the ship, and that meant a good few meters of climbing up.

'Might as well get it over and done with.' She thought as she shook off her shoes and cautiously stepped out the window. Holding on to the ropes securing the rowboat for support, she continued her climb up, all the while hating the dress that presently covered her lithe body.

Meanwhile, on deck, Jack yelled orders out to his crew.

"Gibbs! Steer 'er sharply to the east on me signal. Ana! Ye keep watch on the left, be ready to fire 'em cannons. Jacob! Get to the brig and be ready to use 'em damn rudders if needed." As his crew scurried about to do his orders, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Alrigh' ye scallywags! Show 'em wha' ye got!"

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" it was a chorus of determined voices.

Jack grinned, despite the upcoming battle.

AN: Finally! I got this updated. Sorry for the long wait. To my faithful reviewers, thank you very much. Now 'ere's the review ye've all been waitin' fer. Enjoy, ye scallywags! Don' ye ferget to R&R