Disclaimer: I don't own anything...
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Jack stood at the end of his bed, with his arms crossed and desperately trying not to laugh at Ana Maria's ramblings.
"How could you TIE me to the bed? Of ALL things!" Jack let out a chuckle which he received a glare for.
"I can't let ye get up. Ye could hurt yerself more then you all ready are." Ana rolled her eyes at his excuse.
"Cant I at least move so that I'm in MY bed in MY clothes seeing as you changed me without my permission- by the way you will pay for that!" Jack sighed as he moved over to untie her hands.
"What would you have preferred to bleed to death and get an infection from staying in blood-soaked clothes?" Jack looked down at her grinning. "Anyway the clothes you have are borrowed from me... at least untill you get your own." Jack found it hard to burst into laughter when he heard a 'humph' coming from the girl in his bed. "You can go into your own room now. Or do you need some help?" Ana took one look at Jack's face and decided he was mocking her, so although she really did need his help she refused to let herself ask.
"No Thank You please move out of the way." As soon as Ana stood up she was overcome by dizziness. Jack watched her sway for a couple of minuets then spoke out, but his words were not heard by Ana as she continued to sway, the world spinning around her. Just as her eyes rolled and she began to collapse, Jack ran forward and caught her before her body hit the ground.
As if knowing what was happening the doctor came back into the cabin and cast an accusing look to Jack
"Didn't I say, don't let her out of bed?"
"But she was talking and she seemed fine." The doctor closed his eyes obviously he was a man without much of patience.
"Aye, I told ye she might. But she isn't recovered its only been a few hours captain. I think she's going to have a high fever a wound like that doesn't normally get away without one." Jacks eyes went up to meet the doctors.
"How high?"
"High enough to kill." Jack let out a shuddery breath. He'd only known her about 2 weeks and already she could die.
His thoughts were clouded about why he cared so much about her living or not. He hadn't really wanted her on his ship- or had he? He wasn't even sure what made him buy her at the slave auction. He had blamed it on himself feeling sorry for her and wanting to give her freedom- but he'd seen other girls in the exact same position before and had never done anything about it. He'd just given a bit of sympathy to them, then gone off and gotten drunk and forgotten all about it. Why had this time been different for him?
Jack was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Ana groaning and trashing about. A fever had already begun to take hold of her. A piercing scream filled the room and Ana began to thrash about so much that Jack was having trouble holding her still.
"No... stop, please..." tears streamed down Ana's cheeks as she whimpered in her delirious state. "I didn't mean to... no don't do it to me please... I wont do it ag-" Ana eyes flew open and Jack jumped back allowing her to thrash again. But she stayed perfectly still as if she wouldn't let herself move. The tears still streamed down her face and the occasionally whimper could be heard from her, but not a single muscle was moved for several moments. Jack just stood, his gaze on her watching completely mortified at what could be going on in her head for what she was doing, to be happening.
Suddenly one of Ana's arms flew to cover the other one. Her sudden movement made Jack jump once again. Her eyes stayed open and un-blinking although her breathing was heavy and fast. When Jack touched her forehead with his hand the heat that came off was unbelievable. He gently tried to move her arm away so that he could have look at what she was covering up. As he did this she whimpered but it seemed as though she didn't have the strength to fight back.
Underneath the sleeve held scares. Jack had seen her wrist's when he had taken the shackles off her, when he first met her, but he had never seen the top half of her arms- when he changed her he stopped himself from looking at her body, he wasn't sure why he did as he had been tempted to look at her in detail, but for a reason not known to himself he hadn't incase he found something he wouldn't like. Just like he had now....
Along the tops of her arms were long jagged scares and burnt marks. He was sure that the other side would be much the same. Looking into Ana's open and still eyes he guessed that what ever had happened to her when she got them was being replayed in her head. He eyes held a much younger frightened look, as if the 17 year old had turned back into the little girl that was taken into slavery 11 years back.
"Oh Ana..." Jack couldn't believe what he had seen or even begin to understand what it was that she had been through. All he knew was that he had one extremely frightened girl in his crew.
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The night was a long one, filled with a lot of emotion. Jack found out things about himself. At one point he couldn't bear to see her in so much pain, he'd left her on her own and gone into her room, only to have to rush back in when he heard another cry.
By the morning he was glad to know that her delirious seemed to be over, the only thing threatening her- other then the gash across her belly – was that the fever she had seemed to be climbing by the hour and showed no sighs of slowing down.
Jack sat by Ana's side, listening to her raspy breath, and watching the sweat poring off her face. Unable to make himself move to go do the things a captain should be doing, or avert his gaze; Jack just sat un-moving and staring at her, as if willing her to be ok. But his wills were unanswered as Ana's raspy breathing suddenly stopped-.
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A/N Hiya! Sorry it isn't very long, im not sure when I can next update. Internets still a bit dodgy! I didn't think this chapter was very good but... anyway please review! Suzy xxx