Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters.
Jack casually walked into the dining hall where he found himself, thankfully, alone and found the recently filled water basin lying in one corner of the room. He opened the cabinet on one side of the room taking notice of his badly beaten face in the mirror hanging inside. Turning his head from side to side inspecting the damage, he pulled a clean cloth from the cabinet and returned to the basin and squatted in front of it. Jack dipped the cloth in the water and sighed with soothing relief as he felt the warmth soak in.
Lifting the cloth and wringing it out slightly, Jack closed his eyes and began to carefully dab and wipe the cuts and excess blood and dirt from his sweaty face. He alternated between dipping the cloth and wiping his cuts applying pressure to stop the bleeding. He stood up glancing in the mirror of the cabinet door that remained open. He winced at the crimson fluid still slowly seeping from his busted lip, eye, and nose.
As the blood slowed its trickle, Jack pulled a full bottle of his beloved rum from his stash and held the cloth to the mouth of the bottle as he tipped it slightly soaking the cloth with the darkened liquor. He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut, as he quickly dabbed his cuts and gashes with the rum, hoping to numb his now throbbing pain. As his bleeding subsided, he carefully cleaned his face once more washing away the rest of the grime, careful to not reopen any wounds, and then finished with his arms and hands. When he was satisfied, he carelessly tossed the used cloth into the basin to mingle with the remnants of his blood and dirt in the murky water.
Jack retrieved his open bottle promising himself today that there would be no more after this bottle. He wanted…no needed to be alert for the next few days. He strolled out the door onto the deck into the hot sun squinting his eyes while they adjusted. He walked over to the helm swinging his arms splashing small puddles of rum as he went and stopped when he stood beside Ana.
"Hey, what the hell happened in there?" Ana asked in a hushed tone, voice full of concern. She feared for her captain and what was becoming of the once harmless love triangle.
"Never mind," he answered with a stern voice. Upon seeing the worry etched in her features, his voice softened, "Just a few scratches. Nothing more," he subconsciously ran a finger over his eyebrow and then his lower lip. His distant eyes refocused and he spoke again in his stern tone. "I want you to dock at the nearest pirate town we come to. There are a few things I need to get. We'll dock until tomorrow morning. You'll be steering again tomorrow and I expect to be leaving at dawn. Understood?"
She nodded and watched as he walked away. Jack sat near the edge of the deck stretching out in the warm sun. He closed his eyes and downed the rest of rum letting its comfort wash through him as his thoughts drove him to fall into a light sleep.
Jack was pulled from his much-needed slumber as Ana gently shook his slumped shoulders and called his name.
"Jack." A pause. "Jack? We're here." She watched his eyes slit open and shook him once more for good measure. "Jack, we're docked."
"Where are we?" he grumbled trying to fully wake up. The forgotten empty bottle slipped from his fingers and rolled across the deck.
"Fouillis," she answered.
Fully alert now, Jack jumped up and raced back to his cabin leaving a confused Ana in the dust. Once inside, he pulled out a piece of parchment, carefully folded, and a pen and shoved them securely into his belt. He put on his coat and his hat and left the ship. He walked swiftly down the dock and through the gates and spotted a row of bushes just outside. He crouched down in the bushes hidden away in the shadows and waited for Will.
Will, realizing this may be his only chance to get things he would need for his night, quickly ran into the room he shared with Elizabeth. He changed his shirt and neatly retied his hair back into place. He stole a quick glance at Elizabeth tossing restlessly in her sleep and walked over to her bedside. He bent over placing a single kiss on her forehead and her sleep seemed to calm slightly. He went to the door turning once to look at his love on last time and rushed out closing the door behind him.
He found Anamaria pacing back and forth across the deck and walked over to her stepping in her tracks. "Ana, where are we?" he asked her.
"Fouillis." Then, "Will, what's going on?" she asked without giving him time to speak.
"It's a long and complicated situation, Ana. I have to go out. What time are we scheduled to leave out?"
"Tomorrow morning." She cocked her eyebrows at him. "Will, please, what is going on? You and Jack are rushing around like mad men. It seems as if the two of you were involved in some sort of tiff. And I haven't seen Elizabeth all day. Is everything all right? I mean…" she thought rephrasing her words, "Is everything going to be all right?"
"I pray to God it will be," he answered. Then, "I'll be back tonight but just in case don't let Jack leave me behind. Okay?"
She nodded her head and watched as he took off out into the town.
Will clutched the bag of coins in one hand and cupped the other over his eyes shading the sun. He read the signs that hung above the rows of shops and thought where to begin. He walked toward the first shop unaware that he was being followed.
Jack spotted Will and stayed a good distance behind him creeping in the shadows following him from shop to shop. He retrieved his pen and parchment taking notes of Will's purchases. He jotted down quick notes to later make his own purchases.
Flowers, chocolates, candles, dinner…
"Wow," he thought to himself. "Will has decided to go all out." This meant he would have to everything Will did and more. He had to find a way to one up him. He wanted to look and smell his best and quickly added soap to his growing list.
As the sun was beginning to set, Will walked into a tavern and Jack was thankful that he was finally done. He quickly reviewed his list and trotted off to do a little shopping of his own.
Will walked over to a semi-quiet dark corner of a tavern called Davy Jones' Locker and set his purchases on a chair beside his and waved a barmaid over. He asked her for chicken and potatoes along with a mug of rum and patiently waited while she fetched it for him.
He slowly drank his rum trying to relax his tensed muscle desperately wanting to escape his troubles. No matter what he did though, his thoughts always returned to Elizabeth and her affair with Jack. Unable to soothe his pain, he chugged the rest of his rum and looked at his half-eaten dinner. He took inventory of his things as he gathered them into his arms and carried the rest of his dinner with him. He left after tossing a few coins on the table and returned to the Black Pearl.
Once on board, he quietly tiptoed to his cabin and carefully placed his things in a cabinet securely shutting the door. He walked over to the desk and lit a candle seeing that Elizabeth was in fact not in the room. Feeling slightly sheepish for having tiptoed delicately around the room for no reason, he grabbed the plate of his left over dinner and went to the dining hall where he found Elizabeth sitting at the table alone, a half empty bottle of rum resting in her hand. Her back was to him and she was oblivious to the fact that she was no longer alone. He walked slowly toward her not wanting to scare her and heard her faint sobs.
Will pulled out a chair beside where she sat and gently pried the bottle from her grasp as he took a seat next to her. He slid the bottle across the table out of her reach and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear away from her face. Cupping her chin in his hand, he forced her to look at him. Her eyes were blood shot, tear tracks marred her puffy cheeks, hair sticky and matted. She looked pitiful he thought. Her sobs continued and grew louder by the second.
"Will!" she cried to him. "I'm so sorry," she said between breaths. "I'm sorry for what I've done…to all of us. I wish I could take it all back."
He shushed her and cradled her head against his chest kissing the top of her head, comforting her the way one would comfort a child. Gently rocking her back and forth, her spoke calming words to try and soothe her soul.
"Liz, what's done is done. You can't change that. It's in the past and all we can do is move on. I want you to just enjoy yourself, okay? With me and Jack on our nights. Okay. Let all of your feelings out and figure out what's best for you no matter who you choose to be with. That's what we both want. For you to be happy. I don't exactly know Jack's intentions but I do know he cares about you. Remember that. And I love you so much, Elizabeth. Remember that, too. Just make sure you make the right decision for you." He tapped his index finger on her nose when he said 'you' for empasis.
He lifted her back upright and looked into her eyes. He had stopped her crying and forced a small smile which she surprisingly returned. He ran his thumbs under her eyes and down her cheeks wiping away the last of her tears and pushed her hair out of her face. He slowly pulled her face towards his, unsure of himself, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. A sweet kiss that lasted only a moment.
Will gestured toward to rum and raised his eyebrows. "Rum?" he questioned with that single word.
She let a quick nervous laugh escape her lips. "I don't know," she shrugged. "You and Jack seem to think it solves all the problems the world can throw at you so I thought I'd see if it would solve mine," she admitted guiltily.
He shook his head in disappointment. "So did it?" he asked even though he knew the answer.
"No," she said so quietly that Will had strain to hear it.
After a few silent moments, he tried to lighten the mood, "So does that vile drink turn even the most respectable women into complete scoundrels, too?" he asked with a hint of a smile.
She allowed herself to laugh at his attempted humor. She gave him no answer but laughter. When she quieted he pushed his plate of food toward her.
"Here, eat this. I brought it for you and look like you haven't eaten in days."
She accepted the food without a fuss and after she finished he walked her to their bedroom where the lone candle still sat burning on the desk. Elizabeth climbed into bed and Will tucked her in. He sat in the wooden chair, leaned it back against the desk, and propped his feet up on the bed wanting to respect the fairness of the game and blew out the candle as they said goodnight to each other.
Jack finished his shopping late into the night. Then, he found a bar where he was able to drink himself halfway to unconsciousness before dragging his ass along with his things back to his ship. He stumbled into his cabin and clumsily stuffed his purchases into his desk drawers. He shrugged his coat off, threw it over the back of his chair, tossed his hat onto the desk, and kicked his boots off haphazardly onto the floor. Jack literally fell into bed, exhausted, and fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
A/N: I'm going to take some time to outline all my ideas for the rest of the story since there isn't that much left and hopefully that will make it easier for me to get the chapters out to you quicker. Sorry for the long wait! Don't forget to review please.