A/N: I'm really sorry this could not be out yesterday, I really did try! I was ill most of last week which meant all the plans I made had to be cancelled but I'm better now and I had plenty of time to write yesterday :). Illness is such an inconvenience :P At least this chapter is a reasonable length, hopefully that makes up for the lateness.

Enjoy!


Chapter 20: Nathan's temper

"Women, can't live with them, can't live with out them!" roared Captain Jacobsen. His face had taken on the look of a very ripe tomato, which always happened when he had had too much to drink. A lot of laughter followed this statement although it wasn't really very funny. It was that time of night when everything that was said was accompanied by a roar of laughter and usually Nathan would have joined in but today he did not like the way the conversation was going.

"I always maintain that women are stupid," Captain Jacobsen continued as he slopped a great deal of his drink down his front without realising it, "They would be no where without us!" More laughter.

"We'd be no where without them," said someone from the corner. There was a lot of embarrassed shuffling and coughing. Captain Jacobsen continued as if he had not heard at all.

"I'll give you an example," he said his little piggy eyes glinting, "If a man decides one woman's not enough he doesn't give up with his wife, does he?"

"No!" boomed out several voices heavy with the effects of alcohol.

"But if a woman decides she's going to stray," shouted Captain Jacobsen, "She won't sleep with her husband at all! That's stupidity!"

"That's true," offered up another voice which sounded considerably more sober, "It's all too obvious when a woman's got herself a sailor boy. They just up and refuse their rightful man, it happened to a friend of mine."

"More like it happened to you!" Nathan left unnoticed as the laughter rang out louder than ever. There was a bad taste in Nathan's mouth and it had nothing to do with the stuff he had been drinking.

Captain Jacobsen's words replayed on a loop around Nathan's head as he lay next to Sylvia who was already asleep. It was stupid really, why should the words of a past his prime drunkard mean so much to him? Everyone knew that his wife had only married him to get away from her abusive father. But, as far as he knew anyway, she did act like a wife should. She had even borne him a child who now resided in a boarding school in England. Nathan heard Sylvia give a restless sort of moan in her sleep. He sighed and went over the conversation again.

Sylvia woke to the somewhat unfamiliar sensation of Nathan kissing her neck. She was so shocked she remained motionless, her body completely rigid. She remembered a time when he had done this every night and a shudder passed right through her. Nathan must have noticed because he stopped kissing her and Sylvia took the opportunity to slide right out of bed.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" she said briskly as if nothing had happened.

"It's raining." Nathan's voice was flat. Sylvia closed her eyes; this was getting far too hard.

"I don't mind a bit of rain," she said keeping her voice resolutely cheerful, "I might go out for a walk when it eases off."

"I'll come with you, it would be nice for us to do something together." Sylvia could almost taste her own disappointment. She was so preoccupied with her own feelings that she did not read the warning in Nathan's voice.

"That would be nice," she said. She knew she should have turned and smiled but she could not make herself do any such thing. Her eyes went to the door and she found herself wondering how far she would get if she just ran for it right now. She concluded that she would not get very far at all and resigned herself to the fact that she still had to pretend for a little while longer.

The air was still heavy with moisture, Sylvia could feel it sticking to her hair, and she could see droplets on her eyelashes. The atmosphere between her and Nathan was heavy too and it made Sylvia wary. She had his arm through his, as was customary, but he was barely acknowledging her which was extremely unusual. As people passed he left her to do the polite greetings when usually she would have remained a silent shadow by his side. As Sylvia nodded and smiled to a couple she knew owned one of the biggest ships in the port she began to fear Nathan's silence. He would never have ignored one of the most important ship owners if something had not been wrong. She did not have the courage to ask him out right what the matter was so she decided to probe around the issue gently.

"How was last night?" she asked quietly, "I tried to stay up for you but you came in so late." She had not attempted to stay up for him at all but she knew what time he had entered the bedroom for she had merely been pretending to be asleep. Nathan did not answer her; he did not even look at her. Sylvia tried to keep herself calm; she had never had to deal with Nathan in this kind of mood before.

"Did something happen?" she asked gently, "Did someone…?"

"Do you mind if we just walk in silence?" Nathan asked curtly. Sylvia stopped talking at once. She could feel her heart trembling in her chest as they continued to walk. She realised with a certain degree of horror that Nathan had her arm firmly trapped between his own; even if she had tried to flee she would have been unable to get away from him.

They had strayed off the cobbled path now. The rain that had fallen throughout the morning had made the ground muddy and treacherous. Sylvia could feel her shoes sticking each time she put them down, and each time she pulled one of her feet up she was afraid she would leave the shoe behind in the mud.

"Nathan, do you think we could turn back? I'm having a little difficulty walking in these…" Nathan turned to her sharply.

"I thought you wanted to go for a walk." Sylvia looked at him. She had never seen him look like this before; there was something haunting about the way his eyes were staring at her. One of his hands was a fist by his side. Sylvia wanted to back away. Her corset was beginning to feel very tight.

"I did," she said with an effort to keep composed, "I still do, I just can't walk in this mud. It's ruining my shoes and my dress…" She trailed off miserably; her words seemed to have made no impression to Nathan whatsoever.

"You can buy new shoes, a new dress," he said dispassionately.

"I know I can," stammered Sylvia, "But…"

"Is it too much to ask that a man take a walk with his wife!" Spit flew from Nathan's mouth as he screamed at her. He was quivering with rage and for one terrible moment Sylvia thought he was about to hit her. She stood motionless waiting for the impact but it never came. Nathan turned abruptly and strode off leaving her shaking and clutching at her heaving chest. He did not give her a backwards glance.

Jack had been awake since the first morning light but he had his eyes closed. He was confident that he would hear Sylvia, or anyone else, coming and be able to react appropriately in time. This turned out to be correct for, sometime in the afternoon, he heard laboured breathing, the sound of someone who was either very exhausted or very upset. When Sylvia came into view he could not immediately tell which of the two categories she fell into. Her hair was flying out in wisps which Jack could tell was not the desired effect and she was clutching at her side as if it was hurting her.

"Jack?" She called his name in a voice that was both breathless and desperate. Jack, who had stood up upon hearing her approach, hurried towards her.

"What's the matter luv?" He took in more details of her appearance. The bottom of her dress was caked with mud and torn up one side, she appeared shaken and scared. She also looked like she was about to burst into tears but she did not.

"What's wrong?" Jack pressed. Sylvia tried to speak but the pain in her side seemed to be distracting her quite considerably. It was only then that Jack realised she was wearing a corset again.

"You ladies an' yer bloody obsession to torture yourselves," he said almost too himself.

"It's not my decision," snapped Sylvia her eyes suddenly flashing angrily, "I didn't choose to wear this bloody thing!" Jack was taken aback.

"Sorry luv," he said raising his hands in a gesture of submission. Sylvia shook her head.

"I brought your things," she said as she composed herself, "They're just outside, I dropped them before I came in." She turned to fetch them but Jack took hold of her arm.

"What happened?" he asked looking into her face and trying to discern the answer from her eyes lest she decided not to tell him. Sylvia shook him off. For some reason his attention was not soothing her like she had believed it would.

"Nothing," she said. Her hands unconsciously tried to straighten her dress.

"Nothing?" repeated Jack sceptically.

"Do you want the things I brought or not?" asked Sylvia sharply. She turned away and walked over to where she had dropped them. She had been so desperate to seek comfort from Jack that she had forgotten what she was holding and the items had slipped from her hands. As she checked nothing was damaged she felt a little glow of pleasure when she thought of how she had hidden the items halfway between the cave and the ship while Nathan was busy playing cards and smoking. She had not known that Nathan would act the way he had done of course, but she had been wise enough to plan for an event when she wouldn't be able to sneak anything off the ship. She bent down but instead of straightening up again she stayed where she was. The shock of seeing Nathan so angry hit her full force and she began to shake slightly.

"Sylvia?" Jack was walking towards her. Sylvia tried to smooth her face out before he reached her.

"Sylvia?" Jack asked again. She looked up at him but the moment she saw his face, so full of genuine concern, she knew that she could not hide her feelings any more. Pretending to Nathan was one thing but lying to Jack…

"He was so angry, Jack. I thought….he was so angry, I thought he was going to hit me or something…" He had known that something was very wrong and now Jack held a trembling Sylvia in his arms and let her speak but his mind was already forming connections of its own accord.

"I made him angry somehow but I don't know what I did, I don't know what I did." Sylvia clung to Jack and felt his arms give her strength. He was everything, her whole world, and she never wanted to let him go.

"I take it yer talking about yer husband," he said softly. Sylvia nodded without thinking.

"I'm going t' kill him." These words did not have an impact until a few moments after Jack had said them.

"Sorry?" Sylvia looked up into Jack's face and saw that his expression was one of grim resignation.

"No Jack," she said desperately, "No, you can't. He didn't hurt me, he didn't even touch me." Jack seemed to doubt this by the way he studied her face.

"Does he love you?" Sylvia swallowed. Did Nathan love her? Maybe he did in his own way; it was certainly not the kind of love that made Sylvia glad to be alive each morning or the kind of love she had held in her heart for the man she was now holding so tightly.

"He loves me as a man is required to love a wife," she answered at length, "He loves me as he has been taught to love, as he was loved himself. He loves at arms length but he doesn't understand me, he doesn't know who I am at all. He loves the idea of me, but not the person inside."

"A no would have been a lot simpler luv." Sylvia let out a short laugh.

"Nothing's ever simple." She took a deep breath. "What did you want those things for anyway?" She gestured to the things she had taken from the ship.

"Ah," said Jack and he released Sylvia so he could take the bottle from where it had fallen on the ground. The liquid inside sloshed around. Jack held it up and then, without further ado, pulled out the cork and began to drink.

"Jack!" cried Sylvia in mock outrage. Jack looked at her and shrugged.

"Believe me luv, I'm going to need it." Puzzled, Sylvia waited for Jack to explain himself; he certainly did not seem to be in any hurry.

Nathan stormed onto the Pride of the Sea much to the surprise of those that were watching. He slammed the door to his cabin but was not satisfied with the sound so he opened it and slammed it again. He had expected some of his feelings to be transferred to the impact and the noise but he did not feel the slightest bit better. He felt like the balance of his life had just been upset. Someone had rocked the boat, and that someone was Sylvia. Just the thought of her made Nathan feel like his heart was on fire. He strode over to the cabinet where he kept his liquor and pulled open the glass door. He reached in but the bottle his hand automatically went for was not there. He blinked a few times sure that in a moment it would appear before him but it did not. His bottle of rum, the one he and he alone was privy to, had disappeared. First his pistol, now the one thing that kept him going through the darkest night, what would be next? The answer to that came to him like it had been whispered on the sea breeze. One word that filtered into his brain. Sylvia.

"You want me to what!" Jack had expected this reaction. He took another swig of rum while looking at Sylvia's incredulous expression.

"I want you to sew me up," he repeated after it became clear Sylvia just did not believe he was being serious. Sylvia shook her head.

"Jack, you…." She broke off and shook her head again. "I think that rum's gone straight to your head." Jack laughed. It was the first proper laugh she had heard from him.

"You think so, do ye?" His eyes were sparkling again. He beckoned her over and kissed her. Sylvia could taste the rum on his lips.

"You want some?" he asked as he raised the bottle for her. He remembered how fond she had been of this particular drink, he wondered if that fondness had been dimmed by time.

"I can't," she said but her eyes lingered on the bottle.

"Can't?" Jack asked and Sylvia could tell by his tone that he was mocking her but she knew better than to let him win. If Nathan smelt rum on her, if he had reason to suggest that she had been drinking, she shuddered very slightly. She did not want to make him any angrier than he would be when she returned late yet again. Jack's eyes watched Sylvia closely; they were not sparkling any more and neither were hers.

Nathan had no memory of the hour that had just gone by. He had paced, and stormed, but none of it had been enough to mark itself in his memory. The only thing he recalled was the tightness in his chest, and the tension in his arms. When the door opened he presumed it would be Sylvia and he spun around to face her. Instead of dark hair, the woman that stepped into the room possessed a head of blonde hair which was partially hidden by a maid's cap. It was Arabella and Nathan had barely waited for her to close to the door before he was upon her. His mouth smothered hers and he pushed her against the wall so hard that she squealed but the sound was muffled. Nathan's kisses were greedy and selfish. Arabella barely had a role at all. She was forced to gasp for air and focus on the extra money she would get this month because of all the "favours" she did the Captain. Nathan pinned her arms above her head and kissed her harder than ever. Arabella began to squirm uncomfortably. His grip on her was hurting and she did not want people to see bruises on her arms. Nathan paid no attention to what she wanted or what she didn't, which was just the same as usual, except today he was fuelled with a malicious intensity that allowed no room for compassion. In his mind it was Sylvia that was in his grasp, it was his wife writhing underneath him and he was hurting her, just as she was hurting him.

Jack was removing his bandage with frequent curses. Sylvia kept her eyes on the needle she was threading until she could no longer put off the inevitable.

"Oh Jack," she breathed.

"You can do this, luv," said Jack encouragingly, "Jus' don' think about it."

"Don't think about it?" Sylvia repeated weakly, "Right." She moved the needle closer to Jack's skin, but she could not seem to hold her hand steady, each heart beat made her it shake. She pulled away, her breath coming in pants.

"I can't do this, Jack." Jack took hold of her hand.

"Yes, you can," he said in an uncharacteristically serious voice, "I need you to."

"But Jack, I…."

"I wouldn't have asked you to do it if I didn't think you could." Jack released her hand. Sylvia wanted to close her eyes and have someone else take over but there was no one else. Jack jumped unnervingly as she brought the needle downwards.

"Ouch."

"This is impossible." Sylvia almost threw the needle down in terrified frustration.

"I won't say another word," Jack said, "I promise." His words were almost pleading. Sylvia lowered the needle once more. She felt all the muscles in Jack's arm tense painfully as the needle went straight through his skin.

Arabella gasped on the floor. Nathan had thrown her there five minutes ago but she had still not gathered the strength to move. She was shaking all over like she was out in an icy storm but how she was feeling was nothing compared to the coldness of Nathan's voice when he spoke.

"Get out." Arabella struggled to her feet and hurried to the door without even bothering to sort out her appearance. She would leave the ship that night and never return. No amount of money could make what she had endured worthwhile. As she packed up her things she thought of Sylvia Spencer and wondered, for the first time, what her life was like. She wiped a tear from her cheek and hoped that Nathan got what he deserved.

"Jack?"

"What?" Jack spoke through very firmly gritted teeth.

"Do you think talking would help?" Resisting the temptation to shout 'talking!', Jack steadied himself.

"More rum would help," he said without the amusement he would have liked.

"Well, I can't very well go back to the Pride and get some," said Sylvia who had suddenly become very practical about what she was doing for reasons Jack could not fathom, "Talk to me Jack."

"About what?" He could feel the needle slide through him, in and out, the last thing he wanted to do was talk, screaming might have been nice but not talking.

"Tell me what you've been doing these past three years," said Sylvia, "You know all about what I've done but I know nothing about what you've been up to."

"Aye, well, a pirate's work is never done."

"Don't be vague, Jack." Her tone was almost reproachful. "Tell me what you've been doing." Jack could not help wishing Sylvia was still feeling afraid to brandish a needle; this new found confidence seemed to be making things even more painful. He cast his mind around for a story he could tell her, anything would do. Of all the things he had done, places he had seen and people he had met one person stood out clear as anything in his mind.

"I've got a godson," he said and without even realising it he began to forget about what Sylvia was doing completely. Sylvia did not speak, save for making the occasional noise of interest. She took in the main details of what Jack was saying but the bulk of her concentration was on the job at hand. Jack was still talking when she said, "All done." Jack looked round in surprise. Instead of deep, nasty looking cuts, he now had rows of neat little stitches running in every direction.

"Much better," said Sylvia echoing his feelings with uncanny accuracy. She looked slyly at Jack as he experimentally flexed his fingers.

"You've talked about your godson for a straight half an hour." Jack looked up; there was no way to deny that one.

"Ye said you wanted me t' talk and I did," he said with a small shrug.

"Oh, don't give me that," said Sylvia with a smug smile.

"Give you what?" Jack asked with all the innocence of a fallen angel. Sylvia pursed her lips but decided to let the matter drop. She leaned forwards on her hands and knees and kissed him, then she sat back again.

"I have to go." The happy mood shattered instantly. It suddenly felt very cold in the cave.

"If you tell me where the Pearl is then I can…"

"Ye don't have to go." Sylvia shoulders slumped.

"Jack, please," she begged, "Just tell me where I can find Gibbs, I'll get him to…"

"Yer husband's had you for three years and I've barely had you three days, he shouldn't be allowed the pleasure of you tonight." Sylvia sighed wearily.

"The Pearl, Jack," she said again.

"She'll wait," said Jack waving a dismissive hand.

"You know I can't stay, Jack. It would be bad for both of us." Jack looked out at the world. He could not stand the thought of letting Sylvia be with anyone else even for one second and he knew he could stop her, he knew he was strong enough to physically hold her back if he chose to.

"I won't come tomorrow," Sylvia said in a small voice, "Nathan might already be getting suspicious. If you tell me where I can find your crew then I can get them to come and help you."

"I don't need their help!" Jack shouted angrily.

"Please don't shout," whispered Sylvia, her eyes bright. She stood up, quickly followed by Jack. He took hold of her arms and kissed her.

"Don't go back to him."

"I'm doing this for you," said Sylvia breathlessly.

"Stay here luv, you don't want to go back."

"I'm doing this for you," Sylvia repeated and she tried to pull away.

"Ye don' love him."

"No," said Sylvia, "I don't. But the Pearl isn't ready to sail, is it? Is it?" She wasn't ready to sail, Jack knew that without even being near her. The crew would not be restocking the ship; they would be looking for him. Jack suddenly felt like cursing the lot of them.

"Let me go Jack." Jack did not relax his grip on her.

"Please let me go. Please, I…" Sylvia's words failed and she put her hand to her chest. "Bloody corset," she gasped. Jack watched her with concern as she got her breathe back.

"Just let me go," Sylvia whispered.

"I promised I'd never do that," said Jack remembering his words from all those years ago.

"Not forever," said Sylvia with a brave smile, "Just for a little while." She kissed him on the cheek and he let her go out into the gathering night.

Nathan had been pacing for an indeterminate amount of time. When Sylvia pushed open the door he looked up exactly like he had done when Arabella had been in the room. He saw his wife, she was eyeing him warily and he remembered the way they had parted. He remembered how scared she had looked when he had shouted at her. He wondered if she had been trembling.

"Where have you been?"

"Everywhere," Sylvia replied imprecisely, "I didn't know whether you wanted me to come back or not." She was trying to twist it so he was in the wrong but he was not going to let her.

"I'm not sure I wanted you back either." This was a lie but he hoped Sylvia could not see that. He wanted to frighten her.

"Shall I leave?" she asked. She did not seem as frightened as Nathan had wanted, in fact, her voice might have even possessed something bordering on hope.

"You look a state." His eyes travelled up and down over her.

"Who's fault is that?" Sylvia asked heatedly, "I didn't ask to stay out all day." She suddenly sounded tragic and despite his better judgement Nathan melted a little. He crossed the room and took her hands.

"You're freezing, let me…" His grip on her hands suddenly tightened. "Is that blood?" Sylvia looked down at her hands, she had tried to clean them on the way to the ship but evidently she had overlooked the red stain which ran across one palm.

"I asked you a question." Sylvia's gaze was fixed on her hands until Nathan jerked her chin upwards.

"Where have you been?" Nathan was so close she could feel his hot breath against her face.

"You're hurting me," she said between short breaths. Nathan saw the deceit in his wife's eyes.

"Where have you been!" he demanded angrily. When Sylvia's answer still did not come he could not contain his rage any more. His hand collided with the side of her face with such force that she fell to the floor. Sylvia could not move, she was paralysed by shock, and as she heard Nathan's boots walking towards her once more this quickly turned to fear. There was only one thing she could think of and it was the one thing she had to hide, and Jack, all alone in that cave, had no idea any of this was happening at all.


A/N: Now for the bad news...there are no guarantees that I will have the next chapter out by next Tuesday. Being ill meant a lot of things did not get done and some of them are a little bit more important than fanfiction unfortunately. I will update as soon as I can though :) I hope everyone is avoiding all the colds, flus and bugs that are going around!