I am SO, SO, SO sorry it took me so long to update. Every time I thought I'd be able to update my family would have something we had to do and then when we weren't going anywhere, I had tons of homework. The curse of AP classes… Curse you Fitzgerald, and your little book, The Great Gatsby, too.

I really hope this chapter was worth all ya'lls wait and that the next chapter won't take as long to get up.

Smithy – Poor Will is one way to put it. And I'm glad you liked the CPR bit. Hopefully you'll like this too.

Numen – Dramatic. Ha! I have achieved the level of DRAMATIC! Sorry, I'm in a really good mood today, and the fact that I have so many reviews only makes me even happier. So thanks for the review and PLEASE review again. #puppy dog pout# Please?

Silverpaw – I'm sorry you had to wait so long. Hopefully you'll like this one. At least this cliffie wasn't as bad as some of the others, right?

Madame Opera Ghost – Hope I updated soon enough to avoid walking the plank. Besides, if I go overboard, you and everyone else won't know how this turns out. Hopefully that will keep me safe for a while.

Daphnebandweenie – Mid-terms are coming up. Blegh. Hopefully I'll finish typing my one shot soon. Man, I'm uber sun-burned. I'm sitting here in blistered agony. As my dad put it, I almost have a bum bum. How pathetic is that?

MagRowan – I find it weird that BlackSword is similar to a character I've never seen before. Oh well, bad guys do tend to write themselves. And I know about the slash warning, but someone asked about it earlier, so I thought I'd make a warning. And yes, friendship between two guys is the best. Hope you like this chapter.

Sanquinedarkness666 – He needs the band-aid. And if you sick Fred on me, I'll sick Conner on you. Wow. It's sad. Our instruments have names. And as soon as I get my one-shot up, you'll see that your "Row, Row, Row You're Boat" made it in.

Williz – Maybe I should just have Jack give you CPR… Hey, it could work! Cool! I rock! And it made me all warm and bubbly when you said you nearly cried. That means I'm doing my job. Hope you like this part.

Dancin – Wow, your praise just made my day. Now I've got a big head. And yeah, I knew you were joking. It made me all happy inside. Okay, let's see. Don't kill Will, Jackie, and Elizabeth. I've made a note on it. Doesn't guarantee anything, but I've made a note. Hope this chapter is enjoyable.

SpufFan – It's up, it's up! Calm down. I don't need any reviewers to suffer a heart-attack. And about the challenge, to be perfectly honest, I've never seen Buffy. Never. Yeah, I know I've live a sheltered life. I've never even sen any of the Bond movies, Austin Powers OR any of the Godfather movies. Yeah, I know it's sad. Sorry I couldn't help, but I hope you like this chapter.

Hawkstra - Nope, couldn't make it that easy for them. Haha! Yes, I know I'm mean. Anyways, have fun with this chapter.

Okay, you guys have waited long enough for this chapter, so no more small talk. Onward!

---------------------

BlackSword

---------------------

Chapter 15

There was a pause in the near constant pulsing under his hand, a pause longer than normal. Jack snapped awake, at first unsure of what had awaken him. He realized that Will's heart had skipped several beats, a few beats more than it previously had. Fear began to fill him but died down once Will's heart began to beat in time again.

Sighing in quiet relief, Jack looked up. It was almost night and light was quickly waning. His eyes drifted over to Miguel and Jackie. He almost grinned. Jackie was still sound asleep, curled up against Miguel. Miguel had also dozed off, head resting on Jackie's. The boy's dirty blonde hair was in the Spaniard's face, but the sleeping man didn't notice.

Will still hadn't regained consciousness nor had he stopped shivering. Jack let his left hand gently tap Will on the chest. It wouldn't wake him up or cause further harm, but it did help ease Jack's anxiety.

Quickly looking his friend over again, Jack couldn't help but notice that the blacksmith's health had deteriorated severely. On top of being almost cold and clammy, the young man's skin had turned several shades paler. More disturbing was the way his breathing had grown ragged and even shallower.

"Will…" he whispered softly in concern. He gently let his hand brush across Will's pale face. "Come on, Will. Hang in there. Just a little longer, then we'll be able to get you some place safe."

It was a flat lie, but it didn't matter. Will couldn't hear him and it made him feel better. The possibility that Will could slowly die in his arms and he wouldn't be able to do anything, scared him.

"J… Jack." The voice startled Jack and he looked down at the unconscious body he held. To his surprise, Will hadn't regained consciousness but seemed to be caught in some form of a dream, if that was what it could be called. A soft, pained whimper escaped Will and Jack noticed for the first time that the young blacksmith's lips had taken on a frightening blue tint.

"Shit," he hissed to himself. "Miguel!" He called as loud as he dared, unwilling to wake the sleeping eight-year-old. "Miguel!" When that didn't work, Jack lightly kicked the other pirate on the bottom of his boot. "Miguel!"

The Spaniard snapped awake. He blinked sleepily as he tried to make his eyes adjust. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Something's wrong with Will," Jack quietly told him. "He's gotten worse."

"How?" Miguel demanded. He gently placed one arm around Jackie, holding the boy against him.

"His heart's skipping more frequently now, and his breathing's gotten more shallow. He's really pale, and his lips have turned blue. And he's still trembling."

The concern on Miguel's face grew deeper. "This is not good. I'd been hoping we'd be somewhere we could take better care of him."

"Why? What's wrong?" Jack's voice was edged in panic.

Black eyes flickered sadly. "He's gone into shock from his injuries."

"Shock?" Jack repeated. "Don't tell me, if we don't do something soon, it could turn fatal." There was bitterness in his voice that Miguel understood.

Miguel nodded grimly. "I'm sorry, Captain. I wish there was something we…" the Spaniard trailed off, eyes widening. "Captain! Look!" He pointed over Jack's shoulder.

Jack glanced over his shoulder. There, on the backdrop of the setting sun, was a ship, slowly growing larger. His eyes grew huge and he looked back to Miguel, hope showing on his face. "Do you think they'll see us?"

"Well, if we can see them, they should be able to see us. Especially if they have a telescope."

Arms tightening instinctively around Will, Jack couldn't stop the growing wave of excitement that was filling him. 'Oh please, God, let them see us.'

Miguel remained fixed on the ship. "It's getting closer. I think they've seen us, and… oh damn."

Jack's heart dropped, "What?"

It's part of the Royal Navy. We're pirates, and we're dead."

A quiet sigh escaped Jack. "Maybe we're dead, but this may be best for Will and Jackie."

Miguel stared at him in confusion. "How?"

"Will and Jackie are citizens they're bound to protect. They may execute us, but they'll take care of those two."

Miguel snorted in disbelief, "Bull shit!" Jack stared in surprise. "Have you forgotten, Captain? Your friend is branded; they'll execute him just like they will us. The one person they'll protect is the kid." He nodded to the child asleep against him.

With that, Jack's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Looking sadly down, the hope he had been feeling faded. Staring into Will's pale, bloody face, he felt sick. How could everything have gone so far downhill? "Wait…" he said suddenly.

"We don't have long to wait," pointed out Miguel. "They'll be here in less than half-an-hour. Probably more like twenty minutes."

"They can't execute Will!" Jack said rather abruptly. His caramel eyes met Miguel's. "They legally can't."

Staring, the Spanish man asked, "Captain Sparrow? What are you talking about?"

"Trust me, I know their laws fairly well. Will's injuries will prevent them from hurting him. If anything, they'll be forced to help him recover."

"And once he recovers, then they'll execute him."

Glaring, Jack ground out, "I was hoping not to think of that." Turning slightly, he looked over his shoulder. "Hey! I know that ship!" he exclaimed in surprise. "It's the Dauntless!"

"The Dauntless, Captain?" Miguel questioned.

"It's based in Port Royal. The Commodore was… say, once a suitor of Elizabeth. He was even her fiancé, but she chose Will."

Miguel's eyes widened, "Uh, don't you think he'll be slightly sore at your friend?"

Nervousness flickered through his eyes. "I don't know, I-"

"Well, well. Captain Sparrow, I must say I'm highly surprised to see you."

Jack plastered a large drunken smile on his face and he turned to face the man. "Hello Norrington. Fancy meeting you here."

Norrington didn't seem thrilled to see the pirate. "Sparrow, might I ask where your ship is and why are you in a rowboat?"

"That's a… a long story," he said uncertainly. "Do you think we could possibly discuss this on board the Dauntless?"

This surprise on Norrington's face was clear. "Do you think I'll permit pirates free roam through the Dauntless?"

"Norrington-"

"Commodore," Norrington corrected.

"Commodore, I… I beg you. Let us aboard the Dauntless. You can lock Miguel and I in the brig, but let us on board."

Eyes narrowing, Norrington questioned, "There are more of you?" Obviously, he hadn't yet seen Will or Jackie- who was still asleep.

"Is that Captain Sparrow?" a new voice asked in surprise.

Jack cocked his head; he knew that voice, he simply couldn't remember from where. As he struggled to remember, his arms tightened around Will.

"Captain Sparrow, have you completed my task yet?"

His caramel eyes widened, "Commodore… Higsby?"

The Commodore pushed his way through the growing crowd gathering at the side of the Dauntless. "Well?"

Jack nodded, "Blacksword is dead."

"What about Turner? Did you find the child?"

Nodding again, Jack said, "Yeah, the kid's here. We got him about… a month ago."

Higsby continued to press the pirate captain. "Why didn't you come back sooner?"

Norrington interrupted quickly, "Are you telling me you hired him?"

"Excuse me," Jack called up. "Please, it's slightly important that we got aboard the ship."

Sighing, Higsby and Norrington looked at each other, attempting to decide what to do. Finally, he turned and ordered the crew to get ropes and pass them down.

"Sparrow, you said you had a Turner with you? Where and which one?" Norrington demanded.

"I have two. Both Will and Jackie are here."

Norrington let his surprise show, "Will and Jackie? I don't see either."

Miguel gently elbowed Jackie, waking the child up.

"What's going on?" the boy asked groggily. He blinked, trying to focus his eyes.

His brown eyes slowly focused on the Dauntless. "Hey, that's Commodore Norrington's ship!" he exclaimed.

Upon hearing the child's voice, the Commodore smiled. He then turned serious, "Captain Sparrow, are you ready to be brought up?"

"Ready and waiting," Jack replied.

It took Norrington and Higsby's crew several minutes to pull the small boat up high enough for its passengers to get off.

Jackie stood, looking helplessly up. He wasn't quite tall enough to be able to pull himself onto the larger ship.

Noticing the boy's problem, Miguel picked the boy up and passed him to one of Norrington's crew.

"Take the boy and put him somewhere so he can sleep."

Already shaking his head, Jackie protested, "But I've already been sleeping. I don't want to go."

Higsby and Norrington looked to Jack. Some thing in the pirate's eyes told them it would be best if Jackie did go. The Commodores nodded to one of the crewmembers, who gently dragged the unwilling child away.

Miguel glanced over at his captain. "You go ahead. I'll pass him to you."

Slowly nodding, Jack handed his friend's unconscious body to the Spaniard. Pulling himself onto the Dauntless, the pirate captain turned back. He didn't care what Norrington, Higsby, or their crew thought; his main concern was Will's well-being.

Miguel gently passed the young blacksmith's unresponsive body up to his captain. As he took Will from Miguel, Jack carefully lowered his friend to the deck, lying him down.

Both Higsby and Norrington gasped as they took in the bloody appearance of the young man. "Oh God," Norrington breathed. He looked accusingly at Jack. "Sparrow, what did you do to him?"

Jack's head snapped up, "I didn't do shit! I saved his life." His voice betrayed the fact that the commodore's accusation had deeply hurt him. He looked down at Will and shivered slightly.

"Like hell you did," Higsby muttered. Jack heard but chose to ignore the comment; only his eyes darkened.

Miguel pulled himself aboard the Dauntless then knelt down beside Will.

Jack looked over at the Spanish man. "Miguel, do you think he'll be okay?"

Shrugging, Miguel answered, "I don't know."

"If you didn't do it, Sparrow, then who did?" Norrington questioned.

"Blacksword," Jack said shortly. Most of his attention was focused on Will and Norrington was lucky the captain was answering him. "So what do you think Miguel?"

Miguel sighed. "I don't know," he said again. "I'd have to check. "

Nodding, he bent down and quickly undid Will's bloody ragged shirt. He winced as he saw his friend's chest. In everything that had happened, he had never imagined the extent of Will's injuries. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the blacksmith's chest, but his abdomen as well.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Jack ran his hand along his friend's chest, feeling the numerous knife wounds. He glanced up at Miguel, fear in his eyes.

"This is bad, Captain Sparrow," Miguel whispered. The Spaniard glanced up at the two commodores that were watching, then back to Will. "Look at this," he said, indicating the knife wounds. "I… I really don't see how he's still alive."

Alarm flickered through Jack's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Gently touching a few of the worst of the young man's injuries, Miguel said, "With this many stab wounds, I'd say it's just about impossible none of his organs are severely injured." With a sigh he continued, "And there is no way we can do anything about the blood he's lost."

"How much had he lost? Is it dangerous?" Jack questioned uncertainly

Miguel's eyes darkened, "Let me put it this way, if we don't stop his blood loss- and take care of his other injuries- then he's going to die."

"You can take him into my quarters," Norrington offered. "If you need to help, the doctor aboard will aid you."

Looking up, Jack's caramel eyes met the Commodore's blue-green ones. "Th… thank you, Norrington." The look of gratitude in the pirate's eyes made Norrington feel more than uncomfortable.

Miguel was about to turn Will over so he could check his back when Jack stopped him. "Don't," he said, putting his hand on the Spaniard's arm. Confusion filled his black eyes and he stared at his captain. "Be careful; his shoulder is broken, and so are several of his ribs."

"This isn't working," Miguel said. "Captain Sparrow, we need to get him inside so I can help him."

Quickly nodding, Jack carefully picked Will back up. He glanced over to Norrington.

The Commodore led Jack and Miguel into the Dauntless and to his quarters. Higsby followed closely behind. "Here," he opened the door and indicated the small room. He stepped aside, letting Jack pass him.

Miguel couldn't help but feel depressed. He couldn't find it in himself to tell his captain that he doubted he would be able to save his friend.

Friends… so complicated a thing. Friendship could be the only reason for living for some one day, and the reason for dying the next. His own feelings of grief about Paul's death burned inside of him. The only reason he was able to focus was because he didn't want his captain to feel the same pain.

His eyes searched Jack's face, for what, he wasn't quite sure. Things could be much easier if he could see that Jack would be okay with Will's death, but at the moment, he was more afraid than ever of Captain Sparrow's reaction.

"Miguel," Jack called, snapping the Spaniard out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Captain," he said, moving to Jack's side.

"So… what do we do?" Jack asked. "First, I mean?"

Sighing, Miguel said, "First, I'd say we do his ribs- we'll also check his organs. Then, we should set his shoulder."

"What about the bullet?"

"What bullet?" Miguel demanded. Gunshot injuries were highly dangerous.

"One of Blacksword's crew shot him in the upper arm," Jack told the other pirate.

"Then we'll remove it after we set his shoulder."

Miguel forced Jack to meet his eyes, "Captain, if you don't want to stay through this, I can do it on my own."

Shaking his head fiercely, Jack said, "No, I won't leave him. Not now, not after everything that's happened." Despite what he said, the thought of watching Miguel do what he had to do made him feel sick.

Noticing the look on Jack's face, Miguel slowly nodded. "Captain, do you have a knife?"

The pirate captain nodded slowly and pulled his knife from his belt. Reluctantly , he handed it to the other.

Taking the knife, Miguel turned away from Jack and took a deep breath. He let the knife hover for a second, but he lowered it again. "Commodore, does your on board doctor have medical supplies I can borrow?"

"Of course," Norrington said. He turned and ran out of the room to find the medic.

A shaky breath escaped Miguel and his hand trembled as it held the knife. It wouldn't be as difficult if Jack hadn't been watching.

Steeling his resolve, the Spaniard raised the knife again and let the tip rest on Will's abdomen, immediately under his solar plexus. Steadying the trembling of his arm, Miguel held his breath and pushed the blade in as quickly as possible.

Jack flinched and he felt an even stronger shudder pass through Will's body. His hand tightened uncontrollably on his friend's good arm. Despite everything he had seen and gone through, the most disturbing thing was, by far, this. It was very hard for him to stay through this.

Miguel quickly drew the knife down, almost to the base of the young man's stomach. If ever he had hated doing his job, it was now. Will had gone through enough already, he didn't deserve anything else happening to him.

Slipping quietly back into the room, Norrington was being followed closely by the on board medic. Miguel glanced up, eyes seeking out the other doctor. "Do you have anything I can use to set his ribs?"

Jack slowly swallowed and averted his eyes. If he paid attention, he would be sick. Letting his mind wander, he drifted off into the dark recesses of his mind.

Someone shaking him gently brought him back into reality. As his eyes regained focus, he realized it was Miguel.

"Captain, I need your help," he was saying.

Nodding, Jack couldn't help looking over Will. The young man's abdomen was now wrapped in temporarily clean bandages. The pirate captain knew that soon the bandages would be soaked through but he was glad for it. He no longer had to see the deep cut running along his stomach.

"What do you need?" Jack asked, carefully keeping the quaver out of his voice.

"I need your help to set his shoulder," answered Miguel, watching his captain closely.

Nodding, Jack waited for his crewman to tell him what to do.

"I need you to hold him down." Noticing the confused look on Jack's face, he elaborated, "If anything is going to cause him to regain consciousness, this is it."

Placing his hands firmly yet gently on his friend's chest, Jack ground his teeth together. He didn't want to do this, not at all.

Letting his hands hover over Will's shoulder, Miguel hesitated. Finally he took hold of it and snapped the bone into place as quickly as possible.

Jack felt Will's body tense and flinch, but he was shocked when the blacksmith's eyes flew open, accompanied by a sharp, pain-filled gasp.

The young man instantly began to struggle, not recognizing where he was or whom he was with. Jack pressed Will down, trying desperately to keep him from hurting himself or others. "Will, Will, calm down. It's okay. It's okay," he quickly said.

Will's breath was coming in fast, ragged gasps. His eyes were clouded and unfocused, merely huge and full of terror. "Don't… please… Jack," he whimpered in between his hitched breathing.

"It's okay, Will. It's over," Jack quietly reassured him. He tried to ignore the looks Commodore Norrington and Commodore Higsby were giving him.

Slowly, Will's dark brown eyes cleared and locked onto Jack. "Jack?" he questioned weakly. "What…?"

"Sorry about that," the pirate captain apologized, "but Miguel had to set your shoulder."

"Is…-"

"Blacksword's dead," Jack interrupted before Will could finish. "Because of you."

A slight smile flickered across Will's bloody face. His breathing had slowed down, back to a normal pace. "Will, if you can, I would suggest you lose consciousness again. I don't think you're going to want to feel this," Jack said.

The concern and slight fear in Will's eyes made Jack smile reassuringly.

"We have to remove the bullet from your arm, so it might be best if… if you aren't awake."

Blinking slowly, Will whimpered, "Do you… honestly think… I have control… over that?"

Pressing his lips together, Jack forced a second smile. "You're right."

Miguel cleared his throat, catching their attention. "I need to remove the bullet," he pointed out.

Will tensed underneath Jack's hands. Fear had now filled his eyes completely and his shivering, which had stopped, came back even stronger.

Tearing his caramel eyes from his friend, Jack looked at Miguel. "Don't." Miguel stopped in confusion. "I'll do it."

"Captain, are you sure," Miguel questioned uncertainly.

Nodding slowly, Jack repeated, "I'll do it." Breathing deeply, he turned back to Will. "Are you okay with this

Ragged gaps continued to escape the blacksmith. "Do I have any other choice?" he asked almost sarcastically. His voice cracked and it took much of his control not to pause while talking.

"Not really," Jack told him.

After a second, Will nodded.

"Do you have a problem with me doing this?"

Shaking his head slowly to keep from sending waves of nausea through himself, Will couldn't help wincing, and Jack couldn't help but notice.

"Are you sure?" Jack pressed.

"Jack…" Will said. If he hadn't been in so much pain, his voice would have been sharp. "Just get it over with."

Swallowing hard, Jack forced down his fear. He realized just how difficult it must have been for Miguel to do what he had done, and now that he had to do something… he didn't think he could.

Will's heavy breathing was almost the only sound now in the small room. Bracing himself, Jack placed the knife on Will's arm. His eyes closed slightly and he gently took hold of Will's hand with his empty one.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, Will, but I need you to at least try to tighten the muscle in your upper arm. I know it's going to hurt like hell, but this will help in the long run," Jack said.

The young man's eyes closed and suddenly his right hand tightened on Jack's. The pain written on his face was clear. It came from not only the bullet wound, but the broken shoulder as well; the tightening of the muscle only further aggravated the bone.

Jack could feel Will's body as it continued to tremble, making things even more difficult. Finally, Jack couldn't find any other excuse to stop himself, so he quickly pushed the tip of his knife into his friend's arm.

He almost jumped as a ragged, pained scream slipped from Will and the blacksmith's hand tightened instinctively Jack's.

Miguel shook his head sympathetically. He understood how difficult it must be for Jack to do this. Another scream escaped his captain's friend, causing everyone- Norrington and Higsby included- to flinch.

Slowly, Jack dug the knife deeper in until he felt it scrape against the bullet. Abruptly, Will's hand released his grip on Jack and his eyes lost their focus as consciousness fled him.

Fear shot through Jack, but he forced it down and continued to attempt to dig the bullet from Will's arm. Finally, he got the blade of the knife under the bullet and he forced it out.

Jack could no longer stop his own body from trembling. 'I'm not doing that ever again,' he told himself fiercely, 'not ever.'

"Captain?" Miguel asked uncertainly. When Jack looked at him, he continued. "If you would like, I'll watch after him and you go rest for a while and come back later. If that's all right with Commodore Norrington and Commodore Higsby."

Shaking his head, Jack replied, "No, I'm fine. You go and make sure Jackie's doing what he's supposed to. After that… do what Norrington tells you… and don't get in trouble."

The Spaniard didn't look happy, but he nodded anyway. What else could he do?

He was about to leave, but Jack stopped him. "Miguel… do you think he'll be okay, now?"

Miguel shrugged slightly. "I honestly don't know. He shouldn't have lived this long, so… I don't know. It's just up to him know… and the Lord."

"And luck," Jack put in.

"Yes, and luck," Miguel agreed, "if you believe in it."

TBC