Disclaimer: I don't own Jack. If I did, I'd be the happiest Pirates fan on the planet!
AN: Here is the final full chapter of the fic, and it has some violence and death, so be warned! It may also seem like some sort of trashy romance novel, but hey, I'm entitled to end my story the way I want, so there (winks). After this chapter is an epilogue and that'll be it! There will be no sequel, I'm sorry to say, but keep a sharp eye out for my newest Pirates fic; it'll be good! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 11: Attacks on the Heart:
The Next Morning, Ellie's POV:
Keeping an exhausted groan to myself, I rolled out of bed in an attempt to head off another bout of bickering between Marie and Joshua. How they managed to wake up before dawn and get into fights is beyond my comprehension, but they still manage to do it. So, during our months at sea, I'd quickly learned to wake early, dress, and get to their cabin in time to stop them from causing trouble and waking the entire ship at the wrong time. On our third week at sea, the two of them had woken the crew well before dawn; needless to say, the ship couldn't go very far that day, what with the Blade having an exhausted and grumpy crew working the sails.
This morning, though, I managed to make it there before the dawn hour, just as Joshua was sneaking towards his sister's bed. I sighed; he was either going to put a dead fish in her bed or pull her hair, both of which would have had Marie screaming bloody murder and waking the whole ship. Reaching my son before he was halfway to the other bed, I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. One stern look from me had him running towards a trunk to pick out play clothes for both him and Marie. After he was dressed, I woke Marie and had her in an adorable lilac-colored dress before the sun rose above the water.
Then I heard it.
The Deck of the Silver Blade: Author's POV:
Godfrey Cornwallis had woken when his wife had just left the room, pulling on his uniform and heading out on deck. Eleanor would be with the children for some time before joining him out on deck, and he decided to enjoy the morning before having to distract his son for the day. He had just taken a deep breath when the sound of cannonfire broke the silence of the morning.
BOOM!
Drawing his sword, Godfrey and the few soldiers keeping watch drew together to fight off the attack until help came from below.
The Black Pearl, Jack's POV:
From the helm of the Pearl, Jack watched as his crew attacked the small group of redcoats on the Silver Blade. Jack personally felt that it was a rather appropriate name for a naval vessel, one that basically screamed that the ship was a military one. He was rather impressed, though, that these soldiers were rather good at what they did, and managed to keep the pirates' attacks at bay. Smirking at the challenge, Jack left the helm in the capable hands of Bobby, a rather promising youth that they'd just taken aboard.
Once on the Blade, Jack approached what was clearly a senior officer. The man was considerably taller than Jack, but he wore his arrogance on his red-coated sleeve, and that made Jack want to beat him even more. The two men saluted one another before viciously attacking.
Ellie's POV:
I was never so frightened in my life. How many can claim that they'd twice been on ships attacked by pirates? The first time I had met Jack, who had really meant no harm to me or anyone on the Maiden; this time, it was likely that my children and I would not survive the day, should the ship fall into enemy hands. My heart stopped as the sounds of swords clashing and pistols firing on the deck reached my ears, telling me that we had been boarded and that it was only a matter of time before Marie, Joshua and I were discovered and likely killed.
"Mama, what's happening?" Joshua cried into my shoulder as he clung to me, his sister huddled against my right side.
"We're being attacked by pirates, darling," I whispered to him, pressing a kiss to his forehead to sooth him. "Now, you and Marie need to hush, or else they'll find us, alright?" Joshua nodded and buried his face in my shoulder.
Listening to the fighting overhead, I tried to calm my children down as best I could. From the moment I'd first heard cannonfire, I'd bolted the door shut and placed a chair in front of it to prevent anyone from entering. There was a window at the back of the cabin, and we could have easily escaped through there, had there been anyplace to escape to. We were miles away from land, and there wasn't any sort of escape boat nearby. I would hold onto my children and protect them from death as best I could; I would sooner die then let another harm them.
As another volley of cannonfire sounded through the air and rocked the ship, I knew that our moments were slipping away, and I needed to do something before…
BANG!
A foot collided with the door from the outside. I gasped as the foot kept kicking, intent on breaking in and discovering what was inside. I couldn't let them, though; the lives of my children depended on my keeping them safe! Gently pushing them away from me, I raced towards the door and began to push a nearby desk in front of it. It was quite heavy, and I hoped that it would keep out any intruders. However, I had barely managed to move it before the kicking grew even more aggressive, and more frequent.
'Dear God, there's more than one of them out there!'
I panicked and drew back from the door. If there were more than one pirate out there, there was no possible way to stop them. The bolt on the door wouldn't last too much longer, and the chair would give way soon afterwards. I grabbed my children and raced for the window. I would sooner have my children and myself drown in the sea together than see them harmed by pirates! I'd just pried the window open and readied myself and the children to jump when the door flew open, the bolt and the chair flying across the room. Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth to instruct Marie and Joshua to hold their breath when a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Miss Ellie! What are you doing?"
I let out a scream and turned around, my children clutched tightly in my arms.
On Deck: Author's POV:
The fight between pirate and naval officer was not going well, in either of their minds. Godfrey Cornwallis was upset because he hadn't yet killed a well-known pirate, and Jack Sparrow was angry because he wasn't winning like he thought he was supposed to. Both opponents had been fighting for quite some time, ignoring the other battles going on around them. Soldiers and pirates clashed at all corners of the ship, but it was quite obvious that the pirates were winning. The element of surprise and the pre-dawn hours had worked in their favor, and the naval men were unable to keep up in their half-wakened state.
The sound of a woman's scream reached the ears of those fighting, causing a sudden stop to everything. Soldiers looked horrified at the thought of a commander's wife possibly being harmed, while the pirates where shocked that there was a female passenger onboard a naval vessel. Suddenly, a knife dropped from someone's loose fingers, breaking the silence that had briefly consumed the fighters. Instantaneously, the fighting resumed, though the Navy now had something more to fight for: the safety of the lone woman and two children aboard the ship.
Meanwhile, the pirates were beginning to feel unsure. They couldn't believe that a Navy ship would bring a woman aboard, and they didn't want an innocent harmed; they simply wanted to get some revenge for the pain and suffering that the Royal Navy and her Commodore had put other pirates through over the years. As the pirates began to pull back, both sides watched as their leaders fought on, both now determined to win. Both men went for knives hidden at their waists, but neither one used them; instead, the swordplay went on as the two danced across the deck.
Retreating towards their ship, the crew of the Black Pearl was beginning to loose faith in their fight when a sudden barrage of cannonfire from the Pearl slammed into the side of the Silver Blade. The ship rocked, sending the Navy soldiers flying over the port side railing of the ship. The crew of the Pearl was equally surprised, but none more so than Jack Sparrow, who was now staring at a very bloody Naval Commander in front of him. A large bloody spot grew on his chest, and Jack realized that one of his crewmen held a smoking pistol in his hand. It had gone off when the Pearl had fired on the Navy ship. The officer fell backwards and lay motionless on the deck of his ship, blue eyes gazing into nothing.
Jack sighed and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, covering the man's face. He hated seeing the empty eyes of the dead, and it made him feel a bit better about killing the man; it was a life-and-death situation, after all. As he stood up from his kneeling position beside the dead man, Jack heard the cries of small children and saw one of them race up on deck. A little girl in a purple dress raced from below, her brown hair streaming behind her as she ran. A frightened expression was on her face, her blue eyes were teary from fear, and her hair was a mess. Tucking his weapons away, Jack ran over and swept her up in his arms.
"No!" she cried, struggling to break free. "Put me down, pirate, put me down! MAMA!"
"Marie!"
At the sound of the familiar female voice, Jack could feel his heart stop at the sight that emerged from the depths of the ship.
Ellie's POV:
I couldn't help but gape at the two pirates standing in the doorway. One I did not know, but the other…
A sudden explosion rocked the ship, and I swore I heard a pistol shot from up above on deck. Gasping, I lurched along with the ship, my grip loosening on my children as we all fought to keep on our feet. After the explosions died down and we all regained our bearings, I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. A moment later, I looked up into friendly eyes framed by white mutton chop hair.
"Mr. Gibbs?" I asked, not sure if I was dreaming or not.
"Aye, lass," he said, looking at me and the squirming children in my arms. "Are those yers or ones yer looking after?"
"They're mine," I softly replied. "My daughter, Marie, and my son, Joshua."
However, I had no further time to speak, as Marie broke out of my hold on her and ran out the door. Joshua tried to follow her example, but I held fast. "Marie!" I cried, racing after her, pushing Joshua into Gibbs' arms. "Josh, be good for the nice man," I whispered, and to the surprise of Mr. Gibbs, Joshua instantly calmed down; he knew better than to question me at a time like this.
"MAMA!" cried a small voice from the deck.
"Marie!" I cried, running up the steps and right into the midst of the crew of the Black Pearl.
It was then that I fully realized who was raiding the ship. I mean, if Mr. Gibbs was here, wouldn't it make sense that the rest of the crew was here as well? I looked around and saw that the deck was empty, save for the crew of the Pearl and the dead Navy soldiers. I saw the entire crew stare back at me, but the only person I was looking for was presently in the arms of the man I had left behind.
I took a deep breath. "Please let my daughter go, Jack," I calmly commanded. He obeyed, and Marie almost literally flew into my waiting arms. I squeezed her tight and kissed her before whispering, "Don't you ever run away like that again, alright?" I felt her nod as I stood up, still holding her in my arms as I looked around the deck.
There was a moment of awkward silence as the Pearl's crew looked between me and their captain, who was currently staring at me with a look of disbelief. I felt Mr. Gibbs come up behind me, a very calm Joshua in his arms, and heard a few gasps and quiet curses as they realized whose children they were. I felt Marie grow tense in my arms and began to coo into her ear to try and calm her down. Suddenly, Jack swayed he way across the deck towards me and looked me in the eye.
"Would you care to join me aboard the Pearl, luv?" he softly asked, his intense brown eyes never leaving mine.
I nodded and sent a look towards Mr. Gibbs, asking him to follow me. The elderly man nodded, and the two of us, both burdened with a child in our arms, followed Jack onto the Pearl.
Jack's POV:
As he led Ellie and her two…children aboard the Pearl, Jack didn't know what emotion to feel. He was shocked and amazed to have found Eleanor again, but she had two children! Since she wasn't dressed in black, that meant that she was married, likely to one of the dead men onboard the Blade. Jack silently prayed to Whoever was listening that he hadn't been the one to have killed the man who had wedded Eleanor. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jack led the way down to his cabin, Eleanor and Gibbs following close behind him. Once they were all inside, Jack glared at Gibbs and jerked his head towards the door. Gibbs nodded and set down the little boy he'd been carrying, placing him gently on his little feet before going to plunder the Navy ship.
Walking over and taking a seat at the large round table in the center of the room, Jack put his feet up on the wood and motioned for Eleanor to sit. She did so, the little girl sitting on her right and the boy happily perched in her lap. Jack had to admit, these were a pair of fine children. Their faces would have been pale, had it not been for the harsh Caribbean sun beating on their faces during the past few months. Both boy and girl had blue eyes and brown hair, but the girl had a stubborn look in her eyes that promised trouble to whoever tried to hurt her family.
'Now that stubborn glare looks familiar,' Jack thought to himself, smirking a bit. Out loud, Jack cleared his throat and spoke. "So, Eleanor, what have you been up to these past five years?" he asked. Glancing at the children, he quirked an eyebrow. "Though I could probably guess on my own."
Eleanor sighed. "Would you mind if I told you after putting my children to sleep?" she asked, looking him in the eye. "It's been a rather trying day for them, and I need to explain things to them in a way they'll understand."
Jack nodded and watched as she walked the little ones into the adjoining bedroom and saw her put them on his bed without asking, combing hair out of their eyes and whispering comforting words to them as she hummed a little tune. He smiled at the lovely picture it made before frowning. Those should be his youngsters, not someone else's! They should have dark eyes, and have his blood in their veins! Holding back his anger, Jack kept his eyes on Eleanor even after she had returned to her seat.
"So, tell me about what you've been up to, luv." Jack sat back and prepared for a very good story.
Eleanor sighed. "After I left the Pearl, I returned to my family and our new home in Port Royal." She noticed that Jack jumped a bit at the mention of the town. "After I had been at home only a short time, my mother and father, believing my reputation had been ruined, had arranged for a rather long stream of suitors to call upon me in the hopes that I would find a man who would marry me despite my being 'ruined' by pirates."
Jack grit his teeth. "And you found a man that would?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral, despite the fact that he wanted to kill something at that moment.
"I did," she whispered. "A captain, who just so happened to be a cousin of Commodore Norrington." Jack growled, but motioned for her to continue. "We had only courted a few weeks before he asked for my hand in marriage, and I accepted without second thought."
"Why?" Jack blurted, his fists slamming onto the table. "Why marry a man you barely knew less than a month?" His eyes drilled into hers, demanding an explanation that sounded like something he so desperately wanted to hear.
"Because I had no choice!" she cried, tears pouring from her eyes. "I'd already loved and lost, so there was no point in waiting for love again, was there?"
Satisfaction and bitterness filled him. "You loved me, then," he said, glancing towards the bedroom behind her. "But what about them? You let him have two children with you. Did you like it?"
She avoided his gaze. "Every woman has urges, Jack, and I did, at the time," she replied, fiddling with the folds of her dress. "But I never really loved him. I love my children, and they love me, but Godfrey wasn't the sort of husband or father that I wanted for myself or my children." Tears swelled up in her eyes. "And now he's gone and I'm a widow without a way to provide for my children!"
Without thinking, Jack rose from his chair and sat in the chair vacated by her little girl. He quickly reached over and took her hands in his. Ellie's head jerked up in surprise, her blue orbs meeting his brown ones, and he could swear that he saw love in her eyes, the same one he'd held in his own heart for five years. Taking a deep breath, Jack squeezed her hands, relishing the fact that she was here with him.
"I love you," he whispered, staring down at her hands.
"What?" she gasped, her hands jerking in his, but he refused to let go.
Looking into her eyes, Jack could see joy mixed with confusion, hurt and anger. Joy that he'd confessed his love for her, confusion as to why he'd just now told her, and hurt and anger at what was lost because of what he'd done five years ago. Squeezing her hands gently, Jack looked her in the eye and didn't dare blink, for fear of her not taking his words seriously.
"I love you," he said, putting his feelings into every word. "I wanted to tear the world apart to find you, but you didn't leave anything behind for me to follow. I was drunk when I bedded Moira, but the moment I was sober, I nearly strangled her for what she'd done." One of his hands released hers so that he could caress her face. "I threw her off the Pearl and spent weeks in Tortuga, questioning every man, woman, and child about you, but nothing came of it."
His fingers stroked her cheek, moving down to her lips. "I dreamed of you, of us together in each other's arms," he whispered as she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.
"And my children?" she asked, her voice and breath warming his fingertips.
Jack moved his hand down from her lips to her waist, forcing her stand up with him. "I'll make them mine," he said, pressing his body against hers. "Like I intend to make you mine."
"Jack, I don't think-" she was cut off by his lips on hers.
Ellie's POV:
I sighed and leaned into the kiss I'd been waiting over five years for. Godfrey had never been able to make me feel this way, never made me feel like my body was on fire or like I wanted to melt into his arms. I had done my best to care for him, to be a good wife and mother, but my heart had always been here, in the Caribbean, with Jack. I'd never felt this wanted or needed in my life, and I had every intention of being here forever with Jack, in his arms and our children in the next room as we sailed the waves of the Caribbean and the waters of the world.
And they were Jack's children. Though not bound by blood, I knew that he'd love and cherish Joshua and Marie as much as I did. They may grow up to be hunted pirates, but they would be raised by a loving father and mother who would fight Poseidon himself to keep them safe and make them happy. And at this point, life was good.
Our family was complete.
AN: Sorry about killing Godfrey, but that's how I've had it planned from the start, so, yeah. End chapter, so please review!