INTO THE CARIBBEAN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Is That Smoke?

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The following morning, long after the sun had risen and the bonfire had died, Alex woke up with a slight pounding headache from the previous night's activities. Her nose stung and her lungs felt like they were burning…something she didn't think came with having a hangover. When she slowly opened her eyes she saw Jack's outstretched hand just a few inches from her face with his palm facing up and his ringed, dirty fingers lazily curled over. She then realized that she was lying on her left shoulder, back to Jack, and using his arm for a pillow.

Inwardly smirking, she looked over her shoulder at Jack with her mind racing with interesting ways to wake him up, but her thoughts were sidetracked when she spotted smoke rising from the palm trees just behind them.

"Jack..." Alex said, hastily sitting up in the sand and nudging him. "Jack." She repeated again, her voice failing to raise any louder, while roughly pushing him harder on the chest as she continued to watch the smoke with wide eyes. "Jack, wake up."

"Whattisit?" Jack sleepily groaned, picking up his head from the sand to briefly look at her through nearly closed eyes before dropping his head again. But as soon as he rested his head, his eyes sprang open while his nose twitched from inhaling the air.

"Is that smoke?" He asked. Suddenly, he sat up and turned to face the burning palm trees, narrowed then widened his eyes, and stood to his feet with a confused look upon his tanned face. Alex stood and joined him in the confusion as they both watched Elizabeth carry a small barrel in her hands and then toss it into the flames, causing it to explode.

"No!" Jack suddenly yelled, frantically waving his hands. "Not good!"

"She's burning the rum." Alex said in shocked realization while watching the dark flames rise up towards the clear blue sky. "She's burning it all." Jack let out a loud cry and left her side, quickly approaching Elizabeth with his arms hysterically flailing about.

"Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You've burnt all the shade, the food – the rum!" He exclaimed, looking once more in horror at her own spontaneous bonfire.

"Yes, the rum is gone." Elizabeth matter-of-factly replied while she walked back towards the beach.

"But why is the rum gone!" Jack frantically asked as he followed her.

"Yeah, Liz?" Alex accusingly added in a low voice, obviously siding with Jack.

Elizabeth ceased her tracks in the sand and turned on her heel, her brown eyes slightly narrowed as she looked from the wide-eyed Jack to the angered Alex then back to Jack again. "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into scoundrels! Two! That signal," She pointed towards the thick, rising cloud of smoke, "is over a thousand feet high! The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance they won't see it?"

Clearly suffering, Jack placed his hands before his face while he stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and immense distress, not grasping her explanation for her unjustifiable actions. "But why is the rum gone?" He exasperatedly repeated.

Elizabeth turned her back on them and sat in the sand, looking confidently towards the still blank horizon. "Just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it a one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye open and then you will see white sails on that horizon."

Bloody hell, Alex bitterly thought. She didn't even want to see Commodore Norrington, much less be rescued by him. Jack may have been thinking the same thing, but by the red on his face he was still clearly fuming from the destruction of his rum, and that was clearly shown as he took out his flintlock pistol and aimed it down at Elizabeth. For a split second Alex thought he was really going to pull the trigger, because he sure as hell had been pushed far enough to do it, but he had enough reason in his head to think better of it. She wasn't worth his only bullet. Vividly angered and frustrated, he stuffed the weapon back into his striped sash and stalked off down the beach, leaving Alex behind.

"Well, I hope you're bloody satisfied, Elizabeth." She irritably remarked, not bothering to sit. Instead she stood beside Elizabeth with her feet a foot apart and arms angrily crossed watching the water and for any sign of those "white sails on the horizon", as Lizzie put it.

"Did you have a better idea then? Because I don't see how drinking rum all day and idly doing nothing would help us!"

"Well, beg my pardon if our form of fun is too common and repulsive for you, milady, but it sure as hell works for Jack and me."

"I did not say that and you know it!" Elizabeth snapped, huffing in frustration. Alex knew Elizabeth didn't say it nor ever thought it, but Alex was still coiled pretty tightly from…everything. Clenching her eyes shut, she attempted to use a mechanism that helped her calm down. Usually.

Take deep breaths and count to ten, Alex…c'mon…breathe in…breathe out…one…two…three...After counting all the way up to twenty-five, Alex released one last slow breath and actually felt a whole lot better. Elizabeth's idea was actually one to be admired, but the rum…she could have left the bloody rum alone.

"I'm sorry if I've angered you. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Elizabeth said in a subdued tone, looking sincerely up at Alex.

"No, look, don't be sorry. I'm not angry anymore, I did that breathe-and-count technique your maid Isabelle taught me." Alex said with a sigh, taking a seat beside her in the sand. "I should be the one apologizing. I know my temper sometimes gets the better of me so…I'm sorry."

"Friends?" Elizabeth said with a hopeful smile.

"Always." Alex returned the smile.

"I had to burn it, Alex; it was the only way I could make a large enough signal. I can't stand another day here while Will is out there." Elizabeth explained, and at the sudden mention of Will Alex uncomfortably gulped. "He's out there, and-"

"He needs our help, I know." Alex quickly finished. "I'm glad you did something, though I may have a large disagreement with how you did it. You tried."

"This will work, Alex. They are coming for us." Elizabeth confidently assured. "We'll be saved."

"I sure hope so." Alex quietly mumbled. She suddenly wondered if anyone from Port Royal realized she was gone, and decided there'd be a quite a lot of people that realized her presence was missing from the taverns and card tables. But they probably thought she finally made it to Tortuga, not on some deserted island miles away from any civilization with a pissed-off pirate armed with a pistol and the Governor's rum-burning daughter.

A small glimmer of light suddenly caught her attention. Looking at the empty wooden crate near the exhausted bonfire, Alex saw the glinting light caused by the sun again. Narrowing her eyes she saw that there, lying on its glass side and almost covered in sand, was a bottle of rum.

"How did he bloody miss that?" Alex smirked to herself, utterly relieved that there was still some rum left over from Elizabeth's flaming destruction. It was small, maybe a little larger than the flask that Gibbs always carried, but it was better than nothing.

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

"Nothing." Alex quickly replied, grabbing the bottle and tucking it away in the worn out pocket in her breeches and patting it safely. She didn't want Elizabeth to get ideas of finishing the job, and wanted to save it as long as possible, seeing it was all she had left. Plus, if Jack ever had a peek at what she found, it would surely become a fight to the death between them, though the thought of she and Jack rolling in the sand fighting over a small bottle of rum seemed quite amusing to her.

With an unexpected smile, Alex suddenly recalled that Jack had offered her a position on his ship and an opportunity to really become a pirate. But did he really mean it…or even remember? He was drunk at the time and may have been taking drunken nonsense. Alex frowned, feeling a bit disappointed. She'd just have to forget about it, just like he probably did.

"When they come…" Elizabeth reluctantly began, "Commodore Norrington will most likely be with them." She finished, briefly glancing at Alex.

"Yeah, I know, thanks for reminding me." Alex replied crossly.

"Do you think he'll charge you with piracy?"

"Why would he?" Alex smirked, entertained at the idea of Norrington trying to officially charge her with something that was more than stealing or public disturbance.

"You've broken out of jail, stolen a ship–"

"–commandeered. Nautical term."

"–and have been mingling with pirates, especially with Sparrow of all men. Commodore Norrington will think that's more than enough evidence to charge you with piracy, don't you think?"

Alex chuckled and shook her head. No doubt Norrington would try that trick – after all, he's done almost everything else to try and get rid of her that was still by the law. "He can try, but I don't think it will work. I'm no pirate."

"Oh." Elizabeth quietly replied.

"Oh?" Alex repeated, looking over at her suspiciously.

"I just assumed you were after you left Port Royal. I mean, since you've talked about it since I could remember and after spending so much time with Jack…" She casually explained, but Alex didn't miss the questioning tone in her voice and slight raise of her brow.

"What are you getting at, Elizabeth?" Alex slowly asked.

"Well, you and Jack…from what I've seen, you seem to have become quite friendly with one another." She amusedly grinned.

"Yeah, maybe that's because we are friends?"

"Right..." Elizabeth laughed unbelievingly, grinning like she knew something Alex didn't. Alex suddenly realized she found it annoying.

"Oh, geeze." Alex groaned and rubbed her eyes. Like she and Jack would ever – no, it was just not to be thought about. Sure, the flirty bantering was definitely there, mostly on his part, though she admitted to sometimes return it. But he treated every female like that - Anamaria would even agree. And she couldn't deny that she sometimes glanced at the helm a little longer than necessary…he was undeniably attractive, after all. He was also enjoyable to be around, but…he was a pirate, and pirate's relationships were purely sexual. And she already had someone else on her heart.

Minutes passed, and Elizabeth thankfully dropped the subject (but not after giving her one last skeptical look before shaking her head with a grin) Alex soon became lost in her thoughts, but she was just about ready to dismiss herself from Elizabeth's presence to go find Jack and hopefully calm him down, but there was no need to budge when the pirate himself came swaying up to them.

"Back so soon?" Alex smirked.

"Bloody woman, burning my rum…" She heard Jack murmur as he glanced at the flaming palm trees. "No living with her after this one, I swear it."

"…are you okay, Jack?"

Jack, after realizing the two women were strangely watching him, looked over to the questioning Alex. "My rum is still gone and the bloody Commodore has arrived…I'm just peachy, luv." He cheekily smiled.

"They're here? Already?" Alex answered in surprise, silently jumping for joy.

"Yes, already." Jack irritably replied.

"I told you it would work, Alex! I told you it would work!" Elizabeth excitedly said, looking eagerly towards the direction where Jack came from.

"I told you it would work, Alex, I told you!" Jack mockingly repeated comically while he snatched his dark wool coat, leather tri-corn hat, and dark navy vest and bundled them in his arms. He still looked a bit peeved, but Alex knew he had about accepted the current situations as they now were and was ready as she was to get off this bloody island.

"How far were they?" Alex curiously asked.

"They were just off shore in their pathetic boats, coming from the Dauntless…" The pirate paused in thought as an amused grin slowly graced his tanned face. "I suppose they were able to fix her up a bit, aye, luv?" They both shared a laugh at the inside joke, causing Elizabeth to look at them confusedly.

"What are you talking about?" She demanded.

"Oh, nothing." Alex smothered a chuckle, looking over at the amused Jack, who quietly winked, all signs of his previous anger suddenly shoved aside.

"There they are." Elizabeth suddenly stated as she stood, looking down the beach in the direction where Jack had moments before come from. Alex turned and quickly stood to her feet, and sure enough, there was Commodore Norrington and his trustworthy redcoats, about six or seven men, hastily marching over towards them.

As they waited, Alex saw the irritated flame begin to flicker in Jack's eyes as he uninterestedly watched them. She smirked. "At least it beats sea-turtles, Jack."

"I beg to differ, darling." He murmured before he grinned when the naval soldiers approached, led by Norrington. "Well, 'ello gents!" He cheerfully greeted.

Norrington wasted no time to delay and with a nod of his head his men readily aimed their rifles at Jack and Alex while another officer quickly came forward and confiscated Jack's pistol and sword from the ground.

"Elizabeth, you're alive! Are you alright? Have these…immoral criminals harmed you?" Norrington concernedly questioned, taking a moment to glance with disgust and peeved anger at Jack and Alex.

"Immoral criminal? My, my…that's a new one." Alex smirked.

Norrington ignored her and returned his attention back to Elizabeth. He then realized that she was only clad in her white under-gown, and with an aghast expression he hurriedly motioned for one of his men to relieve of his red coat. The volunteer, Alex immediately recognized, was Wesley. She flashed him an impish grin and winked, and he just awkwardly shifted and concentrated on the more less-distracting matters at hand.

"I'm quite alright, Commodore," Elizabeth protested as he threw the jacket around her shoulders. "Captain Sparrow has been more than friendly to me, and I am sure you remember Alexis Keller?" Alex mentally cringed at the use of her name, and she could even feel Jack smirking beside her, but nonetheless smiled at Norrington.

"Of course he remembers me! Don't you, James?" She grinned.

"Unfortunately." Norrington dryly replied. "I should have expected you would have some part in this."

"Of course! What, you thought I'd miss out on all the fun and a chance at seeing you again?" She cheekily grinned while he ignored her comments and turned to regard Jack.

"Mr. Sparrow," He wryly addressed with a forced smile. "It's rather unfortunate that I should find you here, marooned on this island of all places."

"It actually wasn't that bad, Commodore. I've had some company to keep me busy." Jack suggestively winked at Alex before shooting a smug grin at Norrington. "I couldn't help but notice you arrived on the Dauntless, mate. Have you fixed her up already?" He smirked. Alex quietly chuckled, pleased to see the reaction on Norrington's face from Jack's witty question. His smile disappeared completely and he clearly did not look amused.

"We have." Norrington grimly answered. "Regrettably, we have wasted enough time, thanks to your aimless attempt at a head start, but now that we've found you we'll escort you back to Port Royal where we will deal with you and Miss Keller accordingly." He stated, eying Jack and Alex with distaste. "Especially you, Sparrow."

"Captain Sparrow, if you please." Jack corrected, pointing both index fingers at Norrington and narrowing his eyes while giving a slight nod of his head.

"I shall try to remember to remind the officials at your hanging when we return." Norrington sardonically replied.

"Ah, well, we best not keep them waiting then, aye?" He smiled, not looking disturbed at all in the least. "Lead the way, Commodore."

"Oh no, I insist you go first." Norrington amusedly replied. As he gently took Elizabeth by the arm, he nodded for the officers to seize both Jack and Alex and lead them towards the boats. Jack recognized the two men who grabbed him by the arms, and so did Alex. They were the same men who unsuccessfully tried to apprehend Jack back at the docks in Port Royal.

"Well, hello, mates!" Jack pleasantly greeted Murtogg and Mullroy. "What have you been up to? You wouldn't happen to have any rum on you now, would you?"

The man who seized Alex was none other than Wesley. "Well, ahoy there, long time no see, aye? Miss me?"

Wesley narrowed his eyes and grabbed her by the upper arm and began to lead her behind Jack down the beach towards the boats. "Let's go, Keller."

"Ouch, watch it, darling, sore arm. Got a nasty cut a week ago, want to see? No? Alright, maybe later. Okay then, carry on."

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A/N: Wow, the feedback for the last couple of chapters have been so great! Just...wow! It makes me excited and eager to post new chapters for you all, but alas, the dreaded school has started. I was meaning to update last night but homework got in the way, not to mention a swashbuckling pirate who tried to swashbuckle me away from my studies to study him...ahem...but we won't get into that.

A very big thanks to RussianPrincess (Thanks, glad to be back! I'm glad you find those two amusing, I do too, especially Jack) doctress (It always makes me want to sing along! It's great, fantastic fun. I know what you mean, mate. School gets in the way of everything, but alas, it's what us wee lads and lasses need) Mistress 09 (I'm glad I cured it! Thank you!) American Drama (Yes, I had a wonderful vacation, and I'm sorry for keeping so many in wait! Thank you!) Star Possum (Haha, man, this is weird...are you sure you're not channeling yourself through my fingers when I write about Alex? Haha...glad you enjoyed it!) Sentinel Sparrow (Thanks, luv!) VagrantCandy (Well thank you! And yes, fluff is wonderful! It's weird, but I had this feeling that I'd get some negative reviews about it. But I guess not!) CaptainDuckula (Haha, your review made me laugh. Thank yooou!) Sirael (Thanks a bunch!) SilverWolfSingsToTheMoon (Well, now you've seen what happend! She got kinda mad, didn't she? I definetly would be too, and I'm sure some will agree with me! Thanks for the...er, penguin?) valandah (Thanks! Wow, I'm flattered you think that about this story. I'll try my best to keep it going, it just depends on life and stuff. But thank you!)

And thanks to everyone else who read but have yet reviewed. Reviews make the story go round and round, so leave a few and help it out! Thanks!