A/N: Okay…now I've had a few reviewers who seem to think that they have killed wonderful Commodore Norrington…but alas, 'tis not to be…as you will soon see…this should be the last official chapter…it will hopefully be long and clear up any questions that have arisen…should you still have some, feel free to email me merlanademonchild666yahoo.ca…I will hopefully be able to answer your questions…
Yours,
Merlana
Disclaimer: Aha! I've got ye know ya little thief! No, no, no, see, I'm not making any money off this story, I'm writing it for my own enjoyment, so I'm not thieving it…Oh…well…then…None of the recognizable characters belong to me…they all belong to Disney…so sue me…
Chapter 10: The End Of An Era
There is an uneasy silence after Norrington hits the floor with an almighty thump. Jack finds his voice first.
"Um, luv, ya know ya jus' killed the Commodore?" he asks, and you shake your head.
"The 's not dead Jack, jus' out cold. I didn' hit 'im hard enough ta kill 'im," you reply, and get shakily to your feet. Jack moves quickly to your side and you lean on him, grateful for the support.
"So, what do you propose we do now luv?" Jack asks, his voice seems to come from a long way away and your vision blurs. Blood loss has made you rather weak, and you fade in and out of consciousness. The world goes black around you and you sink gratefully into the painless sleep of a comatose state.
The next time you open your eyes, you are surrounded by pirates, doctors and navy officers. You blink sleepily, and test out your arm. It is bandaged heavily and feels strange. You take a look around yourself and meet eyes with every pirate in the room. Elizabeth comes over and takes your unharmed hand in hers.
"Thank you for uncovering the truth Captain," she says quietly with her eyes downcast. You nod slowly. "The Commodore came around and we were able to wrangle the truth out of him quite soon after. He was put to the noose at dawn the next day."
"How long?" you mutter and Elizabeth smiles gently.
"Two weeks," she says. Your mouth drops open and you shake your head.
"No, no way, where's Jack?" you ask, your mouth suddenly very dry.
"Right 'ere luv," Jack says, sidling over to you from behind a clump of pirates. You breathe a sigh of relief and smile. A black garbed doctor comes forward. He takes your wrist and checks your pulse, timing it with a look at his pocket watch. The doctor smiles, and pats you gently on the forehead.
"Now miss, you're going to have to be careful, you lost a lot of blood and had some rather nasty internal injuries to boot. You can't leave quite yet I'm afraid," the doctor says in a serious tone. Jack nods, and you nod as well. Elizabeth is gently shooing the crowd out of your room and when everyone is gone but you, her and Jack she kisses you on the cheek and smiles softly.
"Thank you Liz, fer everything," you say hoarsely, and motion to Jack that you want a glass of water.
"It was nothing (your name), just glad to see that the truth came out," Elizabeth says and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her. You take the proffered glass of water from Jack and gulp it down.
"I thought I'd lost you luv," Jack begins, but you place a finger to his lips.
"Shhh, don't talk," you say. Jack smiles slyly and plops himself down on the bed beside you. You take one of his calloused hands in yours and trace all the scars that cover it. Jack watches you while you do this and he seems to be thinking about something. You look up at him and try to figure out what else is in his chocolate eyes.
"I have something to tell you luv," Jack says, pulling his hand from yours. Tears spring unbidden to your eyes, anticipating bad news of some sort.
"What is it Jack?" you ask, already rebuilding the walls that crumbled when Jack touched you.
"When Norrington was takin' you away, all I could think about was how I was supposed ta go on without you there beside me. I realized then that no matter what, I'm never gonna be able ta look at another woman without thinkin' o' you, so I'm askin' ya, please keep me from ever havin' ta look at another woman. Will you make me the 'appiest man on this earth an' accept my proposal of marriage?"
"Oh Jack! I don' know what ta say, I mean, I know that ya 'ave a reputation ta keep up, and livin' as a pirate does in no way cater ta havin' a fam'ly," you say cautiously, and Jack's smile fades. "Bu' I'm not sayin' no jus' yet, I jus' wan' ta think about it, I don' wanna rush inta somethin' that I'm no' ready fer."
Jack slides off the bed and moves away from you. You can see he is torn between making a run for it and trying to keep his emotions in check.
"Is that it then?" he asks, his voice thick. You shake your head and smile gently.
"Jack, I can't tell you how much I care for you, how much I love you – what you 'ave ta know is that I'm still in shock. I don' rightly know what 'appened or 'ow ya got outta jail, Jack I'm not really sure about anythin' right now, let alone whether I want ta jump into marriage," you say, reaching out to take Jack's hand. He doesn't accept your touch and storms out of the room, his brown eyes flashing the fire of a broken heart.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath in. Cursing at anything that moves in the room, you glare daggers at the view from the window. Your mind turns to remembering the moment that you fell in love with the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, the drawing that captured every nuance of his face and mind.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," you muse, and you reach for a piece of parchment and a piece of charcoal. You pull the paper close to you, and begin to draw the picture that will hold the words that you can't speak.
When Elizabeth pokes her head in the door you are nearly done, and motion for her to come in.
"Something I can do?" she asks. You nod and show her the drawing. Elizabeth's eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hand. The other hand trembles as she holds the piece of parchment.
"Are you alrigh'?" you ask gently. Elizabeth nods her head and settles onto a chair beside your bed.
"Why did you draw this? Does it have something to do with the way that Jack stormed out of here?" Elizabeth asks. You have to give the girl credit, she knows what's what around here.
"Yes Liz, it does," you say wearily. Elizabeth hands the drawing back to you and you carefully place it beside you on the bed.
"Tell me," Elizabeth demands.
"Well, you see it all started in Tortuga," you begin and proceed to tell Elizabeth the whole story from beginning to end of your time with Jack. When you are done, Elizabeth smiles and takes your hand.
"I know Jack, he'll be back. He can't resist a beautiful woman, especially one that he asked to marry him," Elizabeth says. You look into her eyes and see the quiet wisdom that resides there.
"I love him Liz, I just don't know how to tell him."
"You'll figure it out. By the way, Ana and Katey tell me they have a surprise for you."
"They do?" You ask, wondering what on earth Ana and Katey have planned. Elizabeth smiles again, and you see a twinkling of mischief in her eyes. She stands and then helps you out of bed and to your feet. You make shaky but steady progress down the stairs. The drawing is left forgotten on your bed.
In the foyer Katey and Ana stand waiting for you. Katey looks apprehensive and Ana a bit worried. You smile and life your hand in greeting. Katey squeals in a most unpirate-like way and runs to meet you. Ana follows, more subdued and they both wrap you in a bone crushing hug,
"Jus' wait 'til I've tol' you 'ow Jack got outta that cell!" Katey says, her face flushed with excitement. You roll your eyes at Ana who laughs and takes your hand.
"Come on! Hurry!" Ana says, pulling you along after herself. Elizabeth follows at a distance and Katey hangs back to talk to her.
"Jus' what is goin' on 'ere?" you ask, and Ana shakes her head.
"I can't tell ya, all I can say is that yer gonna love it."
"Aw, c'mon Ana, tell me?" you whine, but Ana just shakes her head and laughs. You notice that she is pulling you toward the docks and toward the Black Pearl. You plant your feet and Ana stops pulling.
"What's wrong Cap'n?" Ana asks, her face worried.
"No, I'm not goin'," you say.
"Yes ya are luv, even if I 'ave ta carry ya!" Jack's voice whispers into your ear. You whirl away from him and Ana and take off in a dead run toward the jungle. Jack's shoulders slump and Ana stands looking tired. Katey and Elizabeth come running over.
"We have to go after her!" Elizabeth cries, but Jack shakes his head.
"Shoulda known that would happen, 'we' don' 'ave ta go after her, 'I' do," he says and meanders slowly toward the wood.
You stumble through the underbrush, blinded by tears of frustration and trip over a root. You fall and jar your shoulder. You cry out and hiss in pain. "God," you mutter, "that smarts!" You get into a sitting position and grip your shoulder hard.
"I'll bet it does luv," a voice, slightly slurred and sounding tired says from behind you. You jump at the touch of a hand on your back and Jack slides to the ground beside you. He wraps an arm around your waist and hugs you close, "why'd you run off?" He asks, lifting your head with a finger under your chin.
"Jack, I…" you begin, and turn away from him. Those eyes could look right down into your soul, "I…Jack, I love you."
Jack inhales sharply and twists you around so he can see your face, "I loves ye as well sweetheart," he says gently. He leans in and captures your lips in his for a brief kiss, "but you still haven't told me why ya ran off when Ana brought ya back to the 'Pearl," Jack intones slowly.
"I ran off because I didn' want...I didn't…" you stumble and sputter, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. Finding that you don't have one, you hang your head, "I don't know Jack…I don't know."
"Luv, it's alright," he says, hugging you close, "I came on a bit strong didn't I?" Jack asked and you nod slowly, "But the question still stands, an' I'll not wait forever, just most of that time."
"Oh Jack," you cry and bury your head into his chest. "I will marry you, I'll marry you tomorrow if you want!" you exclaim. Jack smiles and wraps his arms around you in a bear hug. He finds your lips with his and plants a fiery kiss on them. You return the kiss and Jack slips a ring on your finger. It's a silver band that carries the symbol of infinity and you pull away from the kiss. The ring on your hand replaces the one that you had before being taken prisoner.
Jack stands and pulls you to your feet, "C'mon luv, lets go back to the ship." You nod and lean into him as the both of you head back to the ship. When you arrive there the crews of the Tiny Dancer and the Black Pearl greet you with cheers and much sword rattling.