Author's Notes -

Yes, yes ... I'm late. I'M REALLY SORRY! MY COMPUTER WENT KAMIKAZI.

Now that its back and running, I'm back to writing. But, with much sadness, I must announce that this will be one of the last two or three chapters of the story. I must admit that we are nearing the end and the story should be finished by next Wednesday. I think there may be a new story ... but not until August or September because of my travelling to Germany from 7/13 to 8/1 and then starting college.

Anywho, on with the show!

PS - BIG THANKS TO ALL REVIEWERS! (Will have ginormous thanks section at last chapter)

-A-

Last Time -

Jauquiem fiddled with the keys for a moment before swinging the door open. "How are we feeling, Captain Sparrow?" he asked cheerfully.

"Go to hell," Jack groaned throatily.

My heart twisted painfully in my chest as he pushed himself up, his eyes settling on me but I shook my head.

"What-" Jack started to ask but didn't have time to finish the question as, so often occurred, a loud disturbance cut him off.

Everyone turned to see ...

-A-

Beyond the Horizon

Chapter 24 - Rescues and Questions

Tad was standing in the hallway and the disturbance had come from the guard that Colin was pushing had knocked into the bars of one other cell.

It seemed to take everyone a long time to react. Neither I nor Jack seemed to believe what we were seeing and it seemed that that same reaction was shared by Jauquiem and Rion.

When finally everyone did decided that it was a good time for reactions, Rion swore and Jauquiem exclaimed a fluent, "What the-!" before Colin took advantage of their lack of attention, rushed forward and thoroughly disabled Rion with a well placed fist. As Rion stumbled in pain, I got out of the way and hurried to Jack, helping him to his feet.

Jauquiem attempted to fight off Colin but, as I had already mentioned, he was not an impressive man and was no use. Colin quickly had managed to knock him out ... something that surprised even me, I knew Colin was strong (being a sailor and all) but seldom did I see the ferocity that was now in his eyes. I was utterly shocked that in a matter of moments, the two men who had been the aggressors had been reduced to unconscious heaps at our feet.

As Colin drew out his pistol, to end this once and for all, Jack put up a hand. "No. Not now. Take them back to the Pearl. I want to know the reasons behind this nonsense," he said, his usual air of authority back in place.

Colin, though looking disappointed, nodded and slid the pistol back into the holster. "Glad ta see yer all right, cap'n. And ye, Christy."

I smiled over at him. "Its good to see you too, Colin. And Tad, I think you've grown a foot since I last saw you."

The boy smiled and puffed out his chest in pride. "Thank ye, Miss Christy."

I rolled my eyes at the boy's continual insistence to call me 'Miss Christy' but patted him on the head nonetheless.

"Let's get these two outta here," Colin said before striding over to the staircase and whistling loudly. He waited several moments before whistling again and then again before there finally was a reply whistle. A good five minutes or so later, Mr. Potts and three other men from the crew trooped down and moments later, Rion and Jauquiem were being carried out of the house.

It was dark now but I knew that we were quite a sight to be seen, a large group of men, one woman and a boy, two of the group being carried and the last, Jack, being helped along by myself and Colin.

-A-

Being back on the ship was like coming home again. I immediately relaxed ... the Pearl was there, Jack was there, I would be going home.

But, there were things to do. I helped Jack to our cabin, he was still shaky and I could tell that he was itching to lie down but had to keep the show of strength up in front of the crew because no matter how hurt he was, he could not let them think he had lost his nerve or strength.

So, before taking care of himself, he called the crew to order with at simple hand movement. "Thank ye, gents. I'm much obliged that you after me and the lovely lady here. Now, these two," he said, motioning to Jauquiem and Rion. "Are to be left alone. Anyone found talking to them will suffer grievously. Denied rations for three days. I'll take care of them when the time is right. Savvy?"

"Aye," the crew roared.

"Take 'em to the brig," Jack ordered in his normal tone of authority. Once the crew had dissipated, Jack nodded to me and I walked with him to our cabin, pretending not to notice that the weight around my waist was more significant than it should have been.

In the cabin, Jack lay down immediately on the bed. I sat down on the edge of the bed and started to gently peel off his bloody shirt. "Leave it!" he barked.

I immediately dropped my hands to the bed and stared down at them on the bedspread.

Jack's hand reached out and tenderly grasped mine. "I'm sorry, love. Just let me do it. Otherwise it'll be all the worse."

I nodded and helped him into a sitting position. As I saw the bleeding wounds slowly become revealed, I struggled not to gasp but the sight was truly horrible. The wounds that had begun to heal tore back open as Jack's muscles stretched and tensed while removing the shirt and I hurriedly found a bit of cloth to dab at the wounds. I wondered, as I wiped the blood from his back, if the wounds would get infected or not, they looked angry and red already but I hoped it was just the scabs.

Jack relaxed on the bed and quickly drifted off into a deep sleep. Me, I watched him for a while before lying down myself and allowing my muscles to relax and let myself fall into peaceful sleep.

-A-

I woke up long before Jack awoke but when he did, we discussed the events of day. It felt as though much more than a day had passed but it had been merely a day.

Jack told me what had happened before he was whipped and I informed him of the apparent madness of Jauquiem. Jack was very put off by Jauquiem's actions and I gave him the exact details of the house, of the threats Jauquiem had made and Rion's confessions.

Upon hearing this, Jack shook his head. "Can't believe I didn't know the turncoat when I saw him first," he said sullenly, smacking himself on the forehead.

"No one would have known, Jack. There wasn't anything you could have done," I said gently.

Jack didn't answer immediately and glared off into space. "No, love but I should 'ave been more careful. Too many lives are at stake on this ship for me to make mistakes like this again. And not just yours and mine, I have the entire crew to be responsible for ... I can't afford to make another mistake like this ever again.

I patted him on the hand, trying (but failing) to soothe him. "Nothing happened. Everyone is fine and life can get back to normal now. There is nothing more to be done."

"Yes there is, Christy. And I aim to do it now," he muttered darkly, a manic glint in his eyes before leaving the cabin quickly, leaving me to give chase.

-A-

Out in the surprisingly bright moonlight, Colin and Mr. Potts immediately made their way over to us.

"Cap'n. Nice ta see ya up, sir. Need anythin'?" Colin asked, his stride now even with Jack's.

Jack didn't answer but headed silently to the brig as Colin, Mr. Potts and I followed. Immediately upon entering the dark room, Jack pulled Jauquiem up to the bars and held him tightly pressed against them. "WHO ARE YOU?" he bellowed.

Jauquiem shuddered slightly but didn't answer.

Jack, in a shocking show of cruelty that I never saw before, pushed Jauquiem back and pulled him forcibly back against the bars again. "Who are you!" he repeated.

Colin put a hand on his shoulder. "Cap'n. Maybe t'would be best if ..." but a glare from Jack made him trail off.

"Leave it, Colin or leave," Jack hissed.

"Jack ..." I started tensely. I couldn't believe the look in Jack's eyes and it made me very nervous.

Jack glanced back. The rage had broken and he let Jauquiem stumble back. He nodded at Colin apologetically. "Colin, get 'im out," he ordered in a more normal growl.

Colin nodded and unlocked the brig before pulling Jauquiem out roughly. He pushed him down onto a stool and muttered, "If ya move, there are three pistols itching to put you out o' yer misery."

Jauquiem nodded.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jauquiem Santos El Viendo," he said defiantly.

"Really?" Jack asked casually, a clever glint shining. I quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was on about. "Because those guards you left with me, when they thought I was unconscious, called you Senor Caxton."

"W-W-What?" Jauquiem stammered his eyes fearful.

"So, I ask myself, who AM I dealing with? Is this actually Jauquiem Santos El Viendo or is this John Caxton, former ruler of Honduras who disappeared three years ago?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, nervously.

I looked back at Colin and Mr. Potts, trying to see if they were nearly as confused as I was and I saw that they were ... thankfully.

Jack pulled out his pistol and pointed it deliberately at the man ... Jauquiem or John or whoever the man was.

"All right! All right! I'll tell!" he shouted.

Jack replaced the pistol before glancing over his shoulder smiling at Colin, Mr. Potts, and myself. He arched an eyebrow at the man and waited for him to speak.

"I am John Caxton," he muttered, defeated.

"And?" Jack prompted.

"And what? What more do you want?"

"How about a reason for what you put myself and this lovely lady through," he suggested.

Caxton shrugged. "Revenge."

"For what?" I interjected, annoyed.

Jack, Colin and Potts all nodded in agreement.

"Do you recall that story that you are so famous for, Captain Sparrow?" Caxton asked, a glint in his eyes.

"Be more specific, mate, I'm famous for a lot."

"'And then they made me their chief,'" Caxton mimicked. "Do you recall the island that that incident was on?"

Jack nodded and a gleam of comprehension sprouted in his eyes. "Honduras."

Caxton nodded sanctimoniously. "So, I had to get my revenge upon you. I knew that if I didn't change my name, I would never have a chance to seek that revenge. So I simply waited for my name to stop being mentioned among the commoners and when the time was right, I allowed one of my ships to be seized by you, planted one of my men on your ship and then attacked when the time was right. I thought I had you caught! But no, you had to bring HER. Ruin my plan, didn't you? Yes, famous Jack Sparrow must ruin everything. Famous Jack Sparrow, Mr. Laissez-Faire, Mr. Caribbean-air!" Caxton dissolved into dark mutterings before Jack, shaking his head slowly, pushed the man back into the brig.

We left the brig silently but once we got out of the room, Jack said, "He's mad."

"You think?" I replied sarcastically.

"Yes, love, I know he is. You see, I happen to be fairly well informed about the goings on of the Caribbean and there were a lot of rumours when he disappeared that he had gone mad. That's because Caxton has a fatal flaw ... a weakness for women and he happened to get himself syphilis ... and well, t'will affect the brain after a spell. I think its safe to say it did. Caxton in his prime would never have allowed anything as sloppy as what happened to us to occur and yes, to the younger Caxton, this would have been very sloppy."

I simply nodded, dumbfounded at what I was hearing. It didn't seem possible at all but yet it did. It would explain his attraction to me, the quickness of it and his comment about not taking anything slowly.

Jack nodded to himself and said, "All right, mates. Leave them for later. But for now, Colin, please turn the ship towards Barbados. Mr. Potts, kindly see that those two get some water and bread in the least. And me, I will be retiring for the remainder of the night with Christy ... I dare say neither of us have had the greatest of sleeps lately."

-A-

John Caxton ruled on Honduras for several years before disappearing. No one knows what happened to him.

-A-

Author's Note

Next chapter prolly on this coming Friday.

I will make this deadline.

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