Captain vs. Captain pt 2

"Captain? Ma'am?" Ely looked up at Jim One-Eye. "What's wrong?"

"Oh. Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Fly the white flag, try to get their attention. I'll be in my cabin."

"But Captain, that's the Black Pearl. Don't you care?"

"She's a ship, just like we were. There's nothing special about her."

"What about Jack Sparrow?"

"Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow." She looked out over the water again at the quickly approaching boat. "I'll be in my cabin."

"We can't fly the white flag," he called after her. "There's nothing left to fly it on."

As she walked away she ran into the dripping wet Mad Mary. "Here. I thought he'd want you to have this. It stopped workin' though." He handed her a silver pocket watch. It wasn't worth anything, but it had been Kim's.

She looked up at Mary. "Thank you." She turned back to the crew. "Salvage everything you can and bring it above deck. Leave the dead where they float."

The Gent had packed all her things in a large canvas bag quickly, and then she sat on the wet straw tick of her bed and waited, trying not to think as two faces swam before her eyes. Faces that she wanted to forget, and never could. In due time there was a knock at the door. "They're here Captain. They want to speak to you."

Ely took a deep breath, exhaling as she stood. "I'm coming." She closed her eyes, opened them.

"Pity. She looked a nice little boat," she heard a familiar voice say as she exited the cabin.

"Ship, Mr. Gibbs," Ely said, coming up behind him, straightening her hat and putting on her best 'I am the captain' demeanor, even though her boots were full of water and her coat was drying with white salt stains on the dark blue fabric, once so immaculate. "The Governor's Heart is a ship."

Gibbs jumped in surprise. "Miss Elizabeth!" he exclaimed at the sight of her.

She permitted a small smile. She always liked him. "Captain Ely the Gent, if you please, Mr. Gibbs."

"No! Miss Elizabeth Swann, Ely the Gentleman Pirate! We all thought you were some wanking rich boy gone to play sailor."

"Well, as you can see I am not." Elizabeth was pleased to see that neither Will or Jack were present in the rescue party, giving her a few hours more to avoid them both. "We've lost half the crew, and I have a gaping hole in the side of my ship." She sighed, touching the fallen mast, Jones still wedged underneath it. "My beautiful ship."

"I'm sorry, Miss Elizabeth. We'll take you all aboard of course. Jack should be right behind us with another boat. We'll have this rig stripped down and vacated by the end of the day."

"Yes, I suppose you will. You've experience in sacking wrecked ships, haven't you?"

"What we do best. The crew don't usually help though." Almost everything thing from below had been brought above deck--barrels of powder, cooking supplies, the mens' belongings. There was nothing in the way of valuable booty.

"Well, we are gentleman pirates."

Gibbs laughed. "Won't Jack and Will be chuffed when they see who's in charge." As soon as he realized what he had said he stopped laughing. "Perhaps not so much."

"No," Elizabeth agreed. "Not so much."

Seamus popped up from below deck. "We're gonna need some help getting' these barrels out o' here," he said. "About all we got is a half-dozen hogsheads o' rum. Not much in the way of other supplies."

"How much rum?" Gibbs asked.

Seamus repeated himself. "But only fifty pounds of meat, a hundred pounds of potatoes. The captain likes her drink, you see."

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Elizabeth snapped at Gibbs, stalking away. "My first mate and half my crew are floating down to Davy Jones, and I can see the jokes in your face. Go help with the rum."

"Aye, Captain Ely," he said, not keeping the amusement out if his voice. "Look 'ere's Jack's boat." A second life boat was approaching the side of the ship.

"Oh, Kim," Elizabeth muttered. "Why you and not me?"

Jack.Elizabeth felt a sudden need to get drunk as he pulled himself up over the rail and landed ungracefully on the deck. Elizabeth turned away before he could see her face, moving to the far side of the fallen mast. "So what have we here?" Jack asked Gibbs.

"You'll never guess, who's runnin' this ship." Elizabeth kept her back to them, waiting. "Ely the Gent," Gibbs replied.

"Captain," Elizabeth muttered to herself, scowling.

"Ely the Gent!" Jack drawled. "Not that wanker! He's all I hear about these days. Bloody lubber with money thinks he can go play pirates. And I can't go into a whore house without having to listen to the girls talkin' about the size of his--"

"Excuse me!" Elizabeth had heard enough. Jack could get under her skin without even realizing he was doing it. She whirled around, stepping over the mast to reach him. "First off, I am Captain Ely the Gent, so I wont have you calling me names at my back. And second off, I've never set foot inside a whore house and I certainly--" she stopped, not knowing how to continue, and shocked to find herself chest to chest with Jack, her face inches from his own.

"Not you," Jack immediately complained as she stepped down. "Any woman in the world but you!"

"Look on the bright side," Gibbs said. "She ain't slapped you like the other ones."

"Give it time." He marched across the deck. "She's a nice little boat," he said, eyeing the dead Jones under the mast. "Gift from your father?"

"Yes," Elizabeth replied stiffly.

"Figures. I see the rumors aren't entirely false then. You've been building quite the reputation for yourself, haven't you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Ely the Gent. Always says please and thank you. You get aboard other ships parading the respectability of your little boat--"

"Ship."

"And don't you look dashing in that blue coat and spotless white trousers?"

"I do."

"Well then. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to plunder the Gent's boat for a change." Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but walked away instead.

The supplies were being loaded into the two boats from the Pearl, along with the Heart's only surviving lifeboat. Once the Heart was cleared out, Jack approached Elizabeth, walking the length of the deck one last time, fingers running across the smooth polished railing. "It's time to go, luv."

"I loved this ship."

"I know."

She felt his hand on her waist, and quickly pulled away. "Don't."

"I never asked you to leave." He followed her, too close for comfort.

"Jack, this is going to be hard enough without you being all…you know. Elizabeth is dead. There's just Ely the Gent, and he's not interested."

"Yes he is."