Ch. 8

Will took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Elizabeth's cabin. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since their last argument, and it was getting to him. "Elizabeth?" he called out when she didn't answer.

After a few seconds, she slowly opened the door. "Will!" she said in surprise. "Is something the matter?"

"We need to talk," he replied heavily. "Is Marie in there?"

Elizabeth nodded and turned around. "Marie, I never thought I'd say this, but go stay with your Aunt Blackbird for a while. Your father and I need to talk about something."

As the girl hurried the cabin, Will sat down in a chair that occupied the corner. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the curse," he began hesitantly. "I guess I didn't know how you'd respond to it."

"It's not entirely your fault, Will," Elizabeth admitted. "I was worried, so I overreacted. I just wish you had told me sooner. You've been too secretive lately."

"Is that what's all about?" Will asked. "Me not telling you every little aspect of my life?"

"No," she assured him. "It's about you being out late every night. It's about you putting your job before your family. I'm worried about you, Will. Piracy is taking over your life…just like it did your father's."

"I am not like my father!" Will said more fiercely than he'd meant to. "I would never leave you, not for all the money in the world!"

"But is it so much better for you to live in both worlds? A father and husband, as well as a pirate? You give half of yourself to both lives, which subtracts from your ability to do either one!"

Will ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "Are you asking me to give up piracy, Elizabeth? If that's really what you want, I'll do it."

"No, Will!" she insisted. "I just ask that you fulfill both responsibilities. Go out with Jack and Blackbird to discuss business, and get home on time. Go on a raid with the crew, and spend time with your children. Have fun with your friends, and come home sober enough to kiss me goodnight before you collapse! If you're going to be a pirate, Will, I just ask you to be a father and husband, too. I doubt you even know the significance of the day that I was kidnapped!"

Will stood up from the chair and headed for the door. Before he left, he set a small black box on the table and muttered, "It was our anniversary."

Elizabeth watched tearfully as Will strode out of the room. She heard movement in the hallway and called out sharply, "Blackbird Turner, were you listening?"

Blackbird turned around and hesitantly stepped in the door. "I heard raised voices…" she started to explain. Elizabeth almost had to laugh at how repentant she looked. It was the first time she'd ever seen Blackbird truly sorry.

"I guess you got what you wanted," she muttered wryly. "Will hates me."

Blackbird raised her eyebrows and studied her sister-in-law. "Is there a problem between us, Elizabeth?" she asked in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"For seven years now, you've had something against me," Blackbird said. " I'd be very much obliged if you told me what I did to make you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Blackbird," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "I hate that you're part of what has stolen my husband away from me. But then, I'm sure you don't even understand what he's doing wrong."

"I understand exactly what he's doing. He's neglecting his duty to his family for personal enjoyment. I'm all too familiar with that situation. I will tell you this, though: He does still love you. I can see it in the way he looks at you. You accused him of not knowing what day it was, but you didn't know what he had planned. The day before your anniversary, he and I had a long discussion concerning how bad he felt about how he'd been treating you. In fact, he pulled some strings and arranged a whole apology dinner for you. He got Jack and I to agree to watch Marie, then he was going to take you out for a dinner alone. Open up that box he left on the table."

Elizabeth picked up the small box and hesitantly opened it. She slid out a beautiful silver ring set with a diamond and two small black pearls. At the bottom of the box was a carefully folded piece of paper. She gingerly unfolded it and read the note written on it. "My dearest Elizabeth…" it began. Tears began to roll slowly down her cheeks as she read the whole thing. "I had no idea…" she whispered when she was done.

"He asked me to help him write it," Blackbird explained. "I mean, he has a decent education and all, but I think he wanted it to be particularly special for you. He didn't want all his errors in there. That ring took him weeks; he made it himself."

Elizabeth nodded. "We didn't have enough money when we were married to buy a ring, but he promised me that one day I'd get one. Blackbird, I feel so awful now! I had no idea that was why he was working so hard!."

"He didn't want you to know. I wasn't supposed to tell you even now, but I never was very good at obeying orders," Blackbird said with a mischievous grin.

Elizabeth returned the grin just as the ship shook, nearly sending her tumbling to the floor. "What was that?" she asked in surprise.

Blackbird frowned and hurried out. "I think we've been hit."

----------

Will hurriedly strapped on the assortment of weapons he'd acquired over the years. He felt bad leaving things the way they'd been with Elizabeth, but there was no time now with a battle to fight. As soon as everything was in order, he hurried on deck.

"Jack, what happened?" he asked, looking around at the chaos.

"Met up with some old friends," Jack said tersely, gesturing at their attacker. "British."

"Where did they come from!"

Jack shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," he replied. "They just randomly attacked us. The good news is, it looks like they just recently came out of battle. Their foremast is already missing, so if we can take out the mainmast, they're as good as ours. Let's just hope they're tired."

Will glanced apprehensively at the setting sun. "Can we get it done fast?"

"Not if you stand here talking the whole time! I need you to hold her steady for our gunners until we get close enough to board. Then, of course, we'll need you to fight."

Will nodded quickly. "Aye, sir," he said, hurrying to take his place at the helm.

---

Blackbird fired and quickly reloaded the cannon. The other cannons boomed around her, but she hardly noticed. All of her concentration was focused on the task at hand. She was about to fire again when she felt a slight shift in the ship's direction. Silently thanking Will, she readjusted and fired a chain shot straight at the mainmast. A deafening crack was heard as the mast came crashing down into the sea. As the men let out a raucous cheer, Blackbird grabbed her sword and hurried on deck. Time to board.

----------

Swords drawn, Jack and a few of the crew members cautiously crossed the plank over to their opponents' ship. The deck looked completely deserted, and not a sound was to be heard. Jack and Blackbird exchanged glances as they advanced; something was wrong. As soon as all the men were on deck, they heard a loud yell and soldiers sprang out from the long shadows, surrounding the pirates. Jack looked around at their opponents and nodded slightly to Blackbird. He'd suspected as much. A few of the men parted to let someone through, and Jack was startled to see none other than Commodore James Norrington. "Long time no see, mate," he said, bowing with mock-politeness.

Norrington nodded. "It took me ten years, but I finally tracked down the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Admit it: you're beaten."

"Aye, that was quite a nice little stunt ye pulled there, Norrington. So low I'd normally only expect it out of a fellow pirate. You're sure it's not too late to change careers?"

"Enough beating around the bush, Sparrow," the commodore interrupted, clearly annoyed. "We won, you lost."

Jack just smiled. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't ye, mate?" He motioned behind his back, and the rest of the crew hurried on board, surrounding the soldiers and brandishing their weapons. "Now," he continued cheerfully, "we're in a bit of a hurry ourselves, so if your men will just drop their weapons and cooperate, we'll get to the looting and be on our way, savvy?"

Norrington hesitated. "I'm not required to yield to your terms, Sparrow," he said contemptuously. "Do not think that a handful of untrained pirates bearing rusty weapons will weaken my men's resolve in the least. They are not afraid of your scum."

Will stood impatiently with the rest of the crew. Jack seemed to be tolerating the stubborn commodore, but his hand rested lightly on his pistol, prepared to end negotiations swiftly if necessary. His eyes drifted toward the horizon. The last edge of the sun had long since slipped below it, and he knew there wasn't much time before it became completely dark. Finally, the waiting proved too much.

Will pushed his way past the other men. "Jack, we don't have time for this," he said urgently in a low voice. "It's almost dark."

"What do we have here?" Norrington said before Jack could reply. "William Turner…I might have known you'd fall into bad company after you disappeared seven years ago."

"We didn't disappear," Will replied fiercely. "Business required that I move to another town in hopes of more customers. Governor Swann himself knew of our departure."

"I must admit, Turner, you do fit the part," the commodore continued as if nothing had been said. "You look like a pirate, talk like a pirate, act like a pirate…" he paused for a disdainful sniff. "Heaven forbid, you even smell like a pirate."

"I fight like a pirate too," Will said, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword. "And I will not hesitate to do what's necessary to speed this up. We won; you should be grateful that we only want to take your supplies, and not your lives."

Norrington studied the man in front of him. "Well, well, something has you on edge…" he said, circling Will as if inspecting him. "How are things with the wife?"

"Never better," Will lied. "In fact, we're expecting our second child soon. I do hope you've had better luck with other women?"

"Will…Jack said hesitantly. "Will!"

Will looked at Jack, who in turn pointed at the sky. They watched as the moon slipped out from behind a thin cloud, casting a silvery light on the ship. Norrington recoiled from the three skeletal pirates in front of him. "What…is going on here?" he asked in horror.

Another small cloud covered up the moon again, and Will breathed a sigh of relief. "Nothing that concerns you," he replied. "Now, are you ready to let us do our jobs?"

Before the commodore could answer, they were all startled by a young girl shouting, "Daddy!"

Will looked up in surprise just in time to see Marie running toward him. "Marie!" he said, picking her up. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay with your mother."

"Daddy, it's Mama," the girl said breathlessly, her eyes wide. "She says come quick. She thinks the baby's coming!"

Will looked at Jack, clearly in shock. Jack just shrugged. "Don't look at me," he said. "I don't know anything about babies except making them."

"Commodore," Will said hesitantly. "Do you have a doctor on your ship?"

Norrington shook his head. "He was killed in our last battle."

"Well, then do you have any medical knowledge?" he asked.

"Not the kind that Eliz- I mean, Mrs. Turner needs," Norrington admitted. "I can't help you."

"This isn't going to happen often, Norrington, but I'm begging you," Will said urgently. "Elizabeth almost died when Marie was born. I need your help!"

Norrington hesitated, clearly torn. "I'll do what I can."

A/N: Okay, so sorry for the long wait on this one, everybody! It was a really long chapter, and I haven't had much time lately due to computer troubles. Please continue to review!