OMG! I can't believe it's been soooo long since I last updated. I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry! Of course, I can't believe that there's only one chapter after this one. #sniff# So sad.
Finally, a father and son reunion. Hopefully that will hold you all until next chapter. Anyways, time to answer my lovely reviews and not so lovely death threats. Weeeee! Sorry, I'm really abnormally perky right now.
Anonymous – I know it's not as soon as you probably would have liked but here it is. Enjoy.
Xo900oX – Yes, I know. I'm dead. Blegh! See? I'm so, so, so, so sorry for making you wait. Hey, when your drunk, you can't seem to get enough. At least that's what I've heard…Sweet! You say woot too. I thought it was something just at my school 'cause my cousins had never heard of it before. Cool! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter too.
Smithy – Okay, are you leaving multiple reviews or is there more than one of you? 'Cause I'm really confused. Are you mad at me or are you liking my story? I hope this isn't disturbing, but it should be starting to cool down now if it was.
Williz – Glad you like it. And excuse the gore. It tends to gather on the floor and I jus CAN'T seem to do a thing with it… Haha! On with the next chapter!
Orlikeiraluv – Don't worry, there will be a reunion. What happens during or after said reunion… Well, just remember that I'm evil.
Saharan Sparrow – Let's all say it at once. Awwwww… That seems to be most people's opinion. Anyway, here's where it goes from there. Enjoy.
LadyofCairParavel – Glad that image was so good. It was one of my personal favorites. Hope this chapter is just as good.
MagRowan – Yeah, Miguel and Jackie, the terrible twosome… Haha! …Wow, where did that come from? And I've seen in person guys doing the whole "save masculine face" thing. Our high school band is a very hug oriented band, so while they'll hug and stuff like that, the guys still do their best to seem all macho, even while their hugging. Guys. #shakes head# What are you going to do with them? I guess the thing with Miguel is this, Jack couldn't let anyone else help Will because he wasn't willing to risk him that way. He knew HE couldn't do anything, so he had to let Miguel help him. And when it came to him… Well, he did have a choice so him being the stubborn pirate he is just found Will to be a better option. Glad you like this story enough to be so analytical about it.
Mightymongoose – Glad you think I'm a decent author. Hope you like this chapter too.
Hawkstra – Yeah, for some reason I've always pictured them as developing a kind of brotherly bond. I'm hoping to see it in the new movie. Have you seen the trailer? It's awesome!
Daphnebandweenie – Yes, almost over. #sniff# I'm saddened. That movie was so sad! I went home and listened to the song A Love That Will Never Grow Old several times and cried my eyes out. I don't normally cry during movies, but this one got to me. Poor Ennis. Poor Jack. #sniff#
Sanquinedarkness666 – See, the problem is that most guys don't have enough brain power.:) (I apologize to any guys reading this) Gah! Mrs. Jones makes me want to sick evil pirates on HER! Stupid AP history with monotonous teacher…
Sadandlonely – There is nothing wrong with liking pain, 'cause I obviously do too. Well, enjoy this chapter and read the last one when it comes up. Hopefully, you'll like it.
Misorasama – This'll be nineteen chapters. Yeah I know it's an odd number. So sue me. Have fun with this chapter.
And for anyone wondering, Though it may take me a long time to post the sequel for this, but I'll have a little one-shot taking place after this. Hopefully you'll all like it!
Anyway, one to chapter eighteen!
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BlackSword
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Chapter 18
Will woke up suddenly, but not because of the nightmares. He shifted slightly, but stopped when he remembered about Jack.
Slowly and carefully, he pulled away from Jack. He wanted to get away, but he didn't want to wake the pirate. It had been a big surprise when Jack's idea had worked.
He hesitated for a second. Jack would wake up as soon as he left, for the simple reason that his head would drop. So instead, he also gently shifted his friend so the pirate was laying down. As soon as he could, he slipped away.
As he walked through the ship, he concentrated on not wavering. That had annoyed him when he had gone to get Miguel earlier.
Out of curiosity, he balled his right hand into a fist, tightening the muscles throughout his arm. Pain flashed through him, but he didn't relax his muscles. At least not until the muscles began to pull at the bones in his shoulder.
Quickly, he let the muscles relax. 'I wonder how long it will take for my shoulder to heal?' He had broken bones before, but he was trying to take in account the delay of getting it set.
"Dad?"
He stopped instantly, almost wondering if he had really heard the child's voice. 'Would he really be here…?' Slowly, he turned around, unsure of what he would see.
Before he had even finished turning, a small body latched onto him, and Will found himself staring down at a head of dirty blonde hair. Loosening the child's grip, he knelt down in front of his son. "Jack…" Gently, he tipped the boy's face up.
Huge, teary brown eyes stared up at him. Jackie closed his eyes and buried his face in his father's chest, hugging Will tightly.
Smiling slightly, Will hugged the boy back. "It's okay, Jack." He hadn't seen his son in almost two months, and he hadn't been told of how the boy had fared under Blacksword's control – hopefully better than him.
"Captain… Sp… Sparrow told me… you were dead," Jackie managed in between his hiccupping sobs. "They wouldn't let… let me see you." The eight-year-old still had not let go of his father. Will could feel the boy shaking against him.
Gently, Will forced the child back so he could see him. Large, silvery tear tracks ran down the boy's cheeks and his dark eyes were brimming with more. Tentatively, Jackie reached up and pressed his hands against his father's face, as if to reassure himself that it was really Will.
Will noticed, for the first time, the thin scar running through his son's lips. Will gently touched the scar. "What happened?" he quietly demanded.
"Blacksword… hit me," he said quietly. He wouldn't meet his father's eyes; especially after everything Will had gone through. Jackie hadn't been told of everything that had happened to his father, but he knew somewhere inside of him that his father had been hurt worse then he had. Bringing up what had happened to him made him feel worse, considering his father had been captured while attempting to rescue him.
Cold anger flashed through Will's dark brown eyes. "He hit you?" he repeated dangerously.
Jackie nodded slowly. He squeezed closer to his father and latched on again. He had lost his father earlier; he never wanted to let go again. "I love you," he whispered.
A broad smile spread across Will's face. "I love you, too," he told the boy. The smile faded and he turned serious. "Jack, look at me."
The child obeyed, looking up to meet his father's eyes. "What?"
"Did Blacksword… do anything else to you? Did he hurt you?" Will questioned.
Jackie hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer. Finally, he nodded, looking decidedly unhappy. Knowing what the next question would be, he went ahead and continued to answer, "He… beat me," he quietly admitted.
A mixture of shocked sadness and knowing filled Will's eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have been there to protect you and your mother."
Before he even finished, Jack was vigorously shaking his head. "If you had been there, he really would have killed you."
Will decided not to comment on that and instead he said, "Jackie, I need to see your back."
The boy looked confused, "I don't understand…"
"You said Blacksword beat you," Will explained to his son. "I want to see."
Nodding, the boy pulled off his shirt and turned so his father could see his back.
Will winced as he saw his son's back. Criss-crossing, welt-like scars covered Jack's small back. It was nowhere near as bad as Will's, but it was far worse than the child should have had to endure.
Giving his father several seconds to look over his back, Jackie then slipped the shirt back on. Turning back to Will, he waited for his father's reaction.
"I… don't think we should tell your mother about this," the blacksmith quietly said. "She doesn't… need to know about this as of now. It would probably be best if she doesn't find out."
Slowly, Jackie nodded, "Are you going to tell her… about…"
Understanding the boy meant what had happened to him, Will answered, "I doubt I'll be able to hide it from her, if that's what you mean."
Suddenly, Jackie's eyes lit up, "Can I see Captain Sparrow? I haven't seen him in a while."
Will smiled, "So you like Jack?"
Nodding enthusiastically, the boy said, "He's really nice. He protected me from the pirates." He paused, suddenly looking confused. "Why do people hate him? He's a good person, just like you and mom told me."
Sighing, Will quietly explained, "Most people don't look past what they see on the outside. They see Jack as a no-good pirate who breaks the law. It doesn't matter if inside he's a good person; our society cares more about what's on the outside."
"That's not right," Jackie said. "Why does it matter what your job is? All that should matter is how that person acts." Confusion was clearly written on his face.
"I agree with you, but…" Will shrugged, "there's nothing we can do."
Jackie nodded. Finally he said, "So… can I see Captain Sparrow?"
Laughing, Will said, "It's about time he woke up. Come on." On impulse, he used his good arm and picked up the boy. He felt the stress pull at his muscles and it hurt, but he was not going to put his son down.
Jackie wrapped his arms around his father's neck, being careful not to touch Will's shoulder. He couldn't help but stare at the sling on his father's arm. He shifted his eyes away and noticed for the first time a cut only now begining to form into a scar. "What happened?" he asked, lightly fingering the cut on his father's neck.
"It's nothing," Will assured his son. As they reached the room he had left, he lowered the boy back to the floor. "Let's see if he's awake yet."
Stopping at the doorway, the two looked in. Jackie only seemed mildly surprised when he saw Jack. "Asleep on the floor? Did he get drunk again?"
Glancing to the eight-year-old in surprise, Will repeated, "Again?"
"A few days after he… I guess found out you were still alive; he was really drunk. Miguel said he was depressed," the child explained. Jackie glanced back to the pirate. "Can I wake him up?"
Before Will could even answer, the boy had already reached Jack's side and had started to shake him.
"Huh? What the hell…?" Jack asked as he was rudely awakened. His caramel eyes came to rest upon Jackie and then Will as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. "Oh."
Grinning widely, Jackie asked, "Did you get drunk again?"
Jack looked at Will, "What lies have you been telling him?" Looking back to Jackie, he answered, "No, I didn't get drunk."
"Hey, I didn't tell him that," Will protested. "He made that assumption on his own." It was good to hear Jack back to normal – at least, as normal as the pirate ever was – and even better to know his son was okay.
Glaring playfully at the boy in front of him, Jack questioned, "Do you think I got drunk? Why would you think that?"
"You have before," Jackie answered, trying to defend himself. "Like at the bar, when-"
He was instantly cut off as Jack abruptly clamped his hand over the child's mouth. "Heh, I get your point. I can see where you might think that." The pirate glanced almost nervously at Will, hand still stopping the boy from continuing.
"Jack," Will said dangerously. "What bar? Did you take Jackie in a bar?" He wasn't actually upset, just concerned.
"Maybe once," Jack admitted reluctantly. When Will's eyes narrowed dubiously, the pirate forced an innocent grin. "Okay, only twice." This time he was dead serious.
Still, Will turned to his son, waiting for the boy to verify what Jack had said.
Jackie nodded, "It was only twice."
Will sighed, "Let's not tell Elizabeth about that either."
Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Elizabeth would not be happy to find out I let your son go in a bar." He glanced to Jackie. "Got that, boy? Don't tell your mother about that."
"Yes, Captain," Jackie said, nodding. He paused, and then asked, "Are we going home?"
Both pirate and blacksmith nodded. "Soon," Will told the boy. "Soon."
"I'm sorry, but there will be a… slight delay in our arrival at Port Bryant," Higsby informed everyone. "The Dauntless has suffered damages and we need to stop for repairs."
At first Jack wasn't thrilled with the news, but he then realized it might be the best thing possible. It would give both he and Will more time to heal and that meant there would be less to explain to Elizabeth. "Where are we stopping?" he called, trying to be heard over everyone else murmuring loudly.
"The closest port," Higsby answered. "Commodore Norrington is checking on that now."
"This could be a good thing," Jack whispered to Will. "If there's a port, there's probably a bar."
Will stared at him in exasperation, "Jack is that all you care about?"
"No," Jack protested. His voice then turned soft, "And you know it." The pirate evenly met his friend's gaze and he then grinned.
The young blacksmith returned the smile half-heartedly. Jack had noticed, in the two days since Will had removed the bullet from his stomach, the other man had been… strangely moody. As of now, Will seemed almost depressed.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly. Will shrugged the question off and began to leave along with everyone else who had come to hear Commodore Higsby's announcement. Jack grabbed the young man's good arm and pulled him back. "Will…"
Sighing heavily, Will finally said, "I'm tired of this, of not being able to do anything. I may be hurt, but I'm not helpless. I don't enjoy being treated like I am."
Jack pressed his lips together; he understood the feeling, but he didn't know how to explain it. "Will, we just don't want you to get hurt again."
"Neither do I, but it doesn't matter. I'm not going to break, so don't treat me like I'm gong to," Will said, sounding highly annoyed.
Suddenly, Jack began pacing across the deck. "If something happened and the bone in your shoulder shifts out of place again, you run the risk of permanently damaging your shoulder," he explained, exasperation beginning to show in his voice. "Don't you understand? If we don't prevent you from hurting yourself, you could lose the ability to use your right arm forever."
Will didn't look happy, yet at the same time he didn't seem terribly concerned. "Jack, I-"
"I'm not done," Jack interrupted. "It's not only your shoulder; what about your ribs? They are still not healed. Do you want them to get rebroken? I want you to simply attempt to imagine the added damage that would do to your organs." He was deathly serious.
Dark eyes evenly met Jack's. "I'd rather risk getting hurt than do nothing."
"Will, for now at least, take it easy. Later… maybe you can… I don't know. Just… take it easy. Please?" His caramel eyes were begging Will to listen to him.
Silence filled the small room and Jack stopped pacing and glared at the blacksmith. "Will," he growled in annoyance. "Stop being a stubborn bastard and listen to reason."
"Jack, I know you feel the same as I do. You can't stand to sit around and do nothing, so don't give me hell about it." Will's dark brown eyes were narrow as he said this.
Refusing to respond for several minutes, Jack merely stared at his friend. Groaning and dropping his gaze, the pirate asked, "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know, just… I don't want to stay here and not do anything." He thought for a second, then said, "Honestly… I would like to duel you but… I'd be afraid I'd hurt you."
Rolling his eyes, Jack sighed. "At least you've decided to listen to reason."
Raising his eyebrows, Will asked, "Decided to listen to reason?" As he repeated what Jack had said he grinned widely.
"Don't make me regret saving your life," Jack warned.
Laughing loudly, Will crossed his good arm across his ribs, attempting to deaden the slight pain that shot through them.
Smiling, Jack shook his head. "Will, you are… exasperating."
"It's good to know I'm accomplishing something," Will joked.
Rolling his eyes again, Jack said, "When we get to port, you are not coming to the bar with me."
"Jack…"
Despite what he had said, several days later Jack found himself leading his friend to the bar at the port they had docked at.
"Jack, do you know where we're going?" Will questioned from behind him.
"The bar," he answered.
He heard Will sigh, "Do you know where the bar is?"
"I have an idea," Jack replied testily.
Will's voice was laced with sarcasm, "That's very comforting."
Choosing to ignore the comment, Jack continued to wander through the dark streets. At first he had been unwilling to bring Will along with him, but the young man had become even more restless.
He understood the reason Will hated being treated as though he were unable to do anything. The only reason he hadn't been treated thus was because only Will knew he was injured.
Finally, he found what he was looking for and grinned a gold-toothed grin. "I told you I knew where I was going."
"You must be the luckiest pirate in the Caribbean," Will commented wryly.
"Or skilled," Jack said, smiling. "Come on. I need some rum."
The blacksmith didn't answer; instead he merely stepped back, indicating for Jack to lead the way. "Norrington would not be happy to know we snuck out to the bar."
Jack didn't answer until he had reached the bar and gotten two bottles of rum. Coming back to Will, he passed the bottle to the other man. "Well, we just won't tell him about this, will we?"
Nodding in agreement, Will started for the door. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Out."
Shrugging, Jack followed his friend. "Just don't go picking a fight," he said after a large sip of his rum.
Will simply shook his head, but a gleam crept into his eyes. To Jack's surprise, he noticed the younger man had downed half his bottle. "Damn, they really did teach you to drink, didn't they?"
"You'd be surprised," Will answered, taking another large swallow of the rum.
A sharp laugh escaped the pirate. "Elizabeth is not going to like this."
"Well, we just won't tell her about this, will we?" Will said, repeating what Jack had said earlier. He took one more sip, finishing off the rum and getting rid of the bottle.
Jack stared at him. "Remind me to never get in a drinking contest with you." He shook his head, jingling the beads in his hair.
Will laughed, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Afraid I would win?"
Quickly finishing the rest of his rum, Jack snorted, "Possibly." He lightly tossed the bottle aside.
"Is that why you are afraid to fight me now? Because if I beat you while fighting switch I'd prove I'm better than you."
Jack stopped dead and stared at the blacksmith in surprise. "What… did you say?"
"Is that why you are afraid to fight me now?" Will repeated. His dark eyes gleamed in the darkness.
"I'm not afraid to fight you," Jack said darkly. "I simply don't want you to get hurt."
Shrugging, Will turned and began to walk away. "Fine, I'm sure I could find someone here that would be willing to fight me."
Sprinting to catch up with the young man, Jack stopped him. "What! Don't be stupid! Are you drunk?"
The blacksmith didn't answer the questions; he merely asked, "Don't you think I'd be safer fighting you than anyone else?"
Growling quietly, Jack asked, "Did Elizabeth teach you to argue?"
Once again, Will didn't answer but presented another question of his own. "Jack, why won't you just fight me? I trust you… I know you are not going to hurt me." His hand had tightened on his sword.
Finally, Jack relented, "Fine. Draw your sword."
Will stared blankly, "Huh?"
"You said you wanted to fight, so… draw your sword," Jack explained.
Grinning, Will quickly jerked his sword from its sheath. "Thank you."
"Just know I was against this."
The younger man's smile widened. "It has been noted." The sword was balanced carefully in his left hand. "You had best not go easy on me just because I'm injured."
Jack didn't answer and instead slashed downward towards his friend. To his surprise, Will blocked and quickly turned his own blade on him, forcing the pirate to react. Clearly, there was no reason for him to go quite that easy on Will.
It was instantly obvious to Will that Jack wasn't trying. That annoyed him, to say the least. 'Damn it Jack, I'm not a child. Stop treating me like one,' he thought angrily.
Spinning, Will attacked, trying to force Jack to stop going easy on him.
Parrying the quick blows from Will, the pirate still refused to go any harder on the blacksmith. He would not risk hurting him. The young man wouldn't hurt him, so he didn't have to worry about it.
To his surprise, Will's blade slid down his arm, leaving a deep gash through it. He was shocked; he had fully expected Will to pull the blade back to keep from injuring him, but if Will wasn't going to hold back…
"What's wrong, Jack? Is this the best you can do?" Will taunted, hoping to trick Jack into attacking harder.
"Will, you had best stop now, if I get mad at you…" Jack warned. "I really don't want to hurt you, so don't tempt me to."
"Why not?" Will pressed. He didn't enjoy acting like a jerk, but if it made Jack stop going easy on him… "Should I be afraid of you?" At that, he laughed; once again, he hated the way it made him sound, but he needed Jack to stop treating him like a child.
Anger flared up through Jack, but he forced it down. He wasn't stupid; he knew what Will was trying to force him into doing. The other man was definitely persistent.
"I think you're just afraid. Afraid that even if you do try, you won't beat me," Will continued to taunt. Jack's next attack had much more power behind it and the shock of it rolled through his arm. It wasn't quite enough though. He knew Jack could fight better than he was currently. He merely had to draw Jack's full talent out.
"Will, I'm warning you…" Jack said darkly. He was finding it more and more difficult to hold back, and it became more and more obvious as he continued to attack and parry. "Damn it, Will. Stop!"
The young blacksmith only forced an even larger grin. "Why? Oh that's right, because you're afraid." He blocked Jack's next attack despite its growing intensity. "The famous Captain Jack Sparrow unable to beat a blacksmith. Whoever would have guessed?"
Jack's anger peaked for a split second, but that was all it took. Before he could stop himself, he smashed the hilt of his sword into his friend's face.
The sudden move caught Will off guard and he had no chance of blocking it. The impact of the sword's metal hilt with his skull caused a small explosion in his vision and he instantly blacked out.
Even before Will dropped to the ground, Jack realized what had happened. It was still too late to change what he had done, so he did the only thing he could; he dropped to his knees beside the young man. "Will?" He was unable to keep the alarmed tremor out of his voice.
To his surprise, Will regained consciousness instantly and he was unable to stop a soft groan. "Okay, this is worse than a hangover." He winced, "What a headache." He pressed his left hand against his face as he sat up.
Jack rocked back, off his knees, so that he was squatting in front of Will. "Are you okay? I am so sorry."
Pure terror flashed through the pirate as Will just blinked at him. "And you are?" the blacksmith asked blankly. After a few seconds though he broke into a huge grin in response to the horrified look on Jack's face.
The pirate grunted and roughly shoved the younger man backwards. "Will, how could you do that?" Guilt then flashed through his eyes, "I am so sorry," he repeated helplessly. He refused to meet the look in his best friend's gaze; he wouldn't even look at him.
Will sighed, "Jack, it's not your fault. I deserved it for acting like a jerk. I shouldn't have tried to force you to go so hard on me." He looked down, "I should have trusted your judgment on whether I was ready or not for this."
Slowly Jack met Will's eyes. "No, I should have listened to you. You trusted me to actually attempt to beat you, but I didn't even try to push you. Looks like I hurt you more by treating you the way I did." As he talked, he watched Will gingerly touch his forehead. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I don't have a concussion and my skull is still in one piece, so… yes, I'm okay," Will said slowly. "I'm developing a serious headache, but other than that, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Jack demanded.
Glaring slightly, Will asked, "What do you want me to say? That you cracked my skull? You didn't, okay! I'm fine. I have a headache, but that's all."
Finally Jack nodded and he stood, holding out his hand. Will pointedly ignored it and pushed himself to his feet using his good arm.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Are you going to act this way until we get to Port Bryant?"
"No, only until the headache goes away."
TBC
Okay, one last little contest. Aside from the husband/wife reunion and the finding of the Black Pearl, I've got something else that needs to be wrapped up. Anyone who can tell me what it is (Except Sanqiunedarkness666 and Daphnebandweenie, because you've already read this) will get a big stack of invisible cookies. And bragging rights. So think hard about things that have been left unresolved.
And please review! I'll love you forever!
Check everyone later!