Chapter 5: Truth Be Told

Later that night, Elizabeth had gained a bit of mobility back, and she sat in a chair, watching over Jack. Will sat in a chair on the other side of the bed, watching her, but she still made no eye contact with him.

Commodore had left a few hours ago and had promised to return in the morning to 'check on the welfare of Jack's health.'

"Elizabeth, will you please talk to me?" Will broke the silence.

Elizabeth looked up at him and then glanced back down at Jack, not saying a word and listening to the light pattering of rain that had begun to fall softly on the roof.

She just wanted to be alone.

She stood and left the shop, slamming the door behind her; Will just didn't understand.

Will knew that she could have gone anywhere; to her father's, to the fort, or to the beach again. But three things were tying her to his shop. One was her wound; she couldn't walk as much as she liked to think. The second was Jack; she wouldn't leave him in his wounded state. The third was him; he knew that she was mad at him at the moment, but she still loved him... he hoped. He swiftly followed her outside and found her leaning against the side of his shop, staring at her feet. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she seemed to be concentrating extremely hard on ignoring him. He closed the door quietly behind him and stood in front of him.

"Elizabeth." He said, but she didn't acknowledge him.

He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look up at him, but she still cast her eyes downward.

"Look at me." He whispered.

She glanced up at him and winced as though he had hit her, and she glanced back down.

"Look at me." He said in a more commanding tone.

She looked up at him and burst into tears.

"Elizabeth." He whispered, wrapping her in his arms. "God, please don't cry... I'm sorry. Please don't cry."

"It's not you." She sobbed. "It's my fault."

She looked up at him, wiping her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." She buried her face in his shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry." He insisted. "I should have gone with you... I should have not told you not to go. You can make your own decisions. I was just scared that I might loose you. When you weren't here, I just panicked."

"Will, I'm so sorry. I just wanted Jack to be here for the wedding. If I hadn't gone, he wouldn't have been hurt."

"He's fine."

"But it's all my fault..." Elizabeth suddenly stopped talking and looked at the voice that had just said the last words before hers. It wasn't Will, it was the man, cloaked in brown, standing by the door. "Jack?" She whispered.

"It's all right love. I'm fine." Jack flashed her a rougish smile.

She let out a small sob of releif with her face burried into Will's chest.

Will nodded to Jack.

'I need to talk to you,' Jack mouthed to him.

'In a moment.' Will mouthed back and he nodded towards the door of the shop.

Jack made a kissing face at him and then changed it to a disgusted look before stomping back through the door.

He rested his chin on the top of Elizabeth's head until finally she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes.

He took the chance to bring his lips upon hers in a passionate kiss.

"Why don't you tell Commodore that Jack's awake?" He told her, pulling away.

Unfortunately the only thing on his mind was to get to Jack and solve the mystery of what had happened earlier. If he had been clearly thinking he would have accompanied Elizabeth to the fort, becuause of her wound. But he was not thinking clearly.

"What happened?" Will stormed into the shop.

"She wasn't hurt if that's what you want to know." Jack answered him grinning.

"I don't want to know that! I want to know what happened! I want to know how you happened upon these... things, and what they were!"

"What happened was that I was rowing into Port Royal hoping to find you, and when I came to the beach I saw her backed against the rocks and the men... or whatever, in the black cloaks closing in on her. I wasn't going to leave her there! I knew that I had to help her or you would have me head if I came up to your door with her body in me arms. Then there was a sword fight in which I apparently lost, because that's as far as my memory goes back."

"She was cut! Did you know that? She was wounded! I thought that she was going to die!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Will, we don't need to be fighting each other over this. We need to pull our forces together and perhaps the force of the Royal Navy as well!"

"Why?"

"Barbossa's back."

"What?"

"Barbossa has returned from the dead and the curse along with him."

"That was who was on the beach then?"

"He wants revenge." Jack nodded. "The heathen gods have given him another chance at life and he's after you. You have to leave with me, we have to go and find him."

"But-"

"If we don't go, no one is safe. Mostly Elizabeth. The curse knows my blood, your blood and hers."

"How long do you think it would take?" Will sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.

"A month, maybe more... It depends on how fast we find him."

Will sighed. "No Jack, I can't."

"Why not?" Jack looked a little hurt.

"I'm getting married in three days. I can'tjust leave Elizabeth here, Commodore won't be the only one willing to sweep her off her feet once her husband has left her for the sea. I'm not going to do that to her. It's already taken us long enough to convince her father to let us marry and I've had to add extra hours onto my usual work to afford being able to support her." Will was trying to make Jack understand, but it wasn't working.

"Call off the wedding." Jack suggested. "She'll understand."

"No she won't!" Will ran a hand through his touseled hair. "We've waited two years."

"What if you get married and leave with me the next morning." Jack suggested.

"No. It's too soon." He explained.

"What if you left without telling her?"

He doesn't give up.

"No. Why doesn't she just come with us?"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no. Everytime she comes with us Barbossa uses her as a sheild. You don't want her used against you, do you? He could threaten to kill her, and you would do anything for him. Think about it... Do you want to marry her and keep her in harm's way, or do you want her to be safe?"

Will stared at him.

"One more thing." Jack said, placing an arm around Will's shoulders with a small smile on his face. "You said that Elizabeth was cut and you thought that she was going to die... Where is she?"

"She went to tell Commodore that you were awake." Will answered nonchalantly.

"And Commodore knows of her condition?"

"Yes."

"Well Will, you're going to be a terrible father."

Will's face fell slightly. "Why?"

"Because, if Elizabeth's wound is as grave as it seems then she should not be fetching anyone.

Will stared at him confused and then his eyes widened in horror.

Uh oh. Stupid Will. More soon, but I have other fics to update. Probably will be an update tomorrow.

Thank you for being so patient with me.