Pirates of the Caribbean – Friends Till The End

By Princess-Pirate

Email: Sequel to The Life I've Always Wanted. The story picks up eleven years later. Two best friends discover what can happen when a life changing event causes then to doubt everything the have known about their lives.

Disclaimer: All the characters, ships, and places in the Caribbean belong to Walt Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, as well as the dialect in the flashbacks from the movie. I don't own any of them (I wish). Some of the new characters are my own creations and therefore I have some ownership over them.

A/N: Please read and let me know what you think. Reviews and ideas on coming chapters are most welcome. Also note that I've changed Bootstrap's name from William to what everyone used to call him – Bill. This was since I discovered that there was some confusion if Jack called them both William.

Jonathan is one and a half years older than Orlando which makes him 13 years and Orlando is 12 years old.

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Chapter 6 – The Love Of A Sister

"Easy kids" Jack said as he and Will walked out onto the balcony where Jonathan was trying to calm Giselle down.

"Is it true?" Giselle asked "Is Lando going to die?"

"No he's not" Will said as he hugged his daughter to him. "We're all going to be here and remind him that we love him and that we need him back here with us."

"But the priest?" Jonathan as he looked at Jack.

"The priest was here to pray for Orlando and your parents" Jack said "He's still here with us and he's fighting. His injuries are bad, yes, but as long as he knows that we love him he has that to hold on to."

"May I see him please?" Giselle asked as she looked up at her father.

Will looked at Jack and the pirate captain nodded. It would do her good to see her brother. "Okay" he said "You can sit with him for a while. I also wrote a letter to your grandparents to come back here."

"Thank you" Giselle said as she turned and walked into the house and opened the door of Orlando's room. "Hey you" she said as she sat down in a chair and took her brother's hand in hers. "Why did you have to listen to her?" she asked as tears flowed down her cheeks.

She looked around the room and then turned to Will. "Can we maybe open the balcony doors?" she asked. "Orlando never liked being cooped up in his room. He likes to hear the waves crashing down on the beach."

Will looked at Miranda but she shook her head in sadness. "I'm sorry Giselle but his body's in shock. We need to keep the room warm to prevent his body temperature from dropping too low. Perhaps in a few days time we can consider it. I'm sorry love."

Giselle nodded because she understood that her brother's health came first. "Can I read to him for a while?" she asked and Will nodded. She slowly rose from her chair. "I'll be back in a little while Lando" she said as she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Come on Jonathan" Jack said "We should head on home now. Your mother is probable waiting for us."

Jonathan nodded and with a last look at his bedridden friend he followed his father out of the room, down the stairs and to their home.

Giselle entered the room a few moments later, Orlando's favourite book in her hands. She made herself comfortable in the chair and started reading to him as he had done when she was small.

When Will entered the room hours later he couldn't help but smile. When Elizabeth looked to see what he was looking at she also smiled.

Giselle was lying on the bed with Orlando. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her brother's body and she was fast asleep.

"Leave her" Will said as Elizabeth moved to wake her and make her go to her own bed. "She'll only roll around tonight and have nightmares. At least this way she feels she's helping him."

Elizabeth nodded and gave both her children a kiss on their foreheads. "Sleep well my little ones" she said and then walked to where Will was waiting for her.

"Let's go to bed" Will whispered as he wrapped him arms around Elizabeth and hugged her tight.

Elizabeth nodded allowed her husband to lead her to their room and take care of her.

"DADDY!"

A shrill scream by Giselle had Will racing out of the room. He met Miranda outside and both of them rushed into the room.

Miranda gasped as she saw Giselle, almost hysterical, trying to hold Orlando safely on the bed. "He's seizing" she said as she immediately pulled all the blankets from Orlando. She turned to Will as he handed her one of Orlando's belts, nodding in thanks. She gently opened Orlando's mouth and managed to get the belt between his teeth.

"What's wrong with him" Elizabeth asked as she stood in the doorway as could only stare in horror as her little boy was gripped in this terrible nightmare.

Will didn't know how long it was when Orlando finally went limp and once again was lying lifeless on the bed. He was exhausted and the tears were running down his cheeks.

"It's his head injury" Miranda said "His body is having seizures because the brain's not functioning normally. It may kill him."

Will and Elizabeth gasped and Giselle just stared at them in horror. Then without a word she fell to the floor.

"Giselle" Will shouted as he caught his daughter before she could hit the floor. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to her own room. He looked out of the window towards the sea.

"Hurry father" he begged "You're the only one that will be able to keep Giselle sane through this whole thing and be there for her should Orlando not life to see the next day."

Elizabeth stood in the doorway as she looked at Will staring out to sea, the tears on his cheeks shining in the moonlight. She turned and walked to their bedroom, going down on her knees as she closed her eyes. "Please Lord" she begged "Don't take our little Lando from us. Will won't survive his death and I don't want to lose my husband to the sea." She finished her prayer and then went to help Miranda make Orlando comfortable.

When Will returned she took his hand in hers and they kept vigil over their son, afraid that he may pass into the next world if they went to sleep.

In the room next door Giselle was rolling around in her sleep.

-- DREAM --

"Let's go" Giselle said as jumped on the black horse that was standing next to Jonathan's.

"I don't know about this guys" Orlando said as he looked at the horse "Father doesn't want us to ride on unknown horses when they're not with us at all."

Oh please Orlando" Rebecca said as she got herself seated "Don't be such a pansy. It's only a horseback ride. It's not as if I'm going to ask you to rob the governor's house for me."

Orlando gave them one more look and then moved to the side to mount the tall stallion in front of him. The horse neighed as Orlando started to get onto his back. Suddenly the stallion reared and bucked as Orlando was seated on his back.

"No" Orlando yelped as he was thrown from the horse. He heard something crack as his body impacted with the ground and the wind was knocked from his lungs.

"Whatcha looking for?" a voice asked from the shadows and Orlando had to bite on his lip to keep from screaming out loud.

"Don't ever DO that" he said to Giselle as she gracefully examined him from where she was floating around him. As always she was covered from head to toe in a heavy black cloak.

"Do what dear brother?" Giselle asked in her dreamy voice.

Orlando still couldn't understand how she was related to him. She never went to school and was always sneaking around at night. He was sure that she had no problem getting into places which would cause their parents to freak. Not that dad was freaking any way – Giselle just had that way of making their father squirm in his boots and Orlando had no idea why.

"Mother and father wants you home now" Orlando said as he pulled her into the street and started walking towards their home "We are going to visit grandfather tomorrow and she wants us to be up early and ready. Maybe Juan-Claude will allow us to have some fencing lessons again today."

"B-O-R-I-N-G!" Giselle said as she continued to walk next to her brother "That old nut can't teach a dog how to sit. Honestly, how does father even think am I to improve my skills if I don't even have the proper instructor."

"You know father doesn't like you fighting and playing with daggers Giselle" Orlando tried again "He doesn't want to teach you because of your temper. Besides, Rebecca says it's not proper for young ladies to spend more time in the streets than they do in front of their books."

"And what does Miss Prim-And-Proper-Don't-Want-To-Get-My-Nails-Dirty say about her brother running around town. You should unwind more and get away from that little nun. She's going to turn you into a stuck up gentleman and you'll be forced to sit with all of them and listen to their conquests."

"What I do with my life certainly has nothing to do with you" Orlando said losing his temper a little. He knew he shouldn't, for his mother was regularly reprimanding him and his father for losing their tempers so quickly.

"Just making a suggestion" Giselle said as they reached their house and walked through the front door.

"And just where have you been?" A voice asked and they saw their father sitting on the loveseat with their mother's head resting in his lap "I would think that a young lady of your stature would know better than to go gallivanting out on the streets after dark."

"Well, it's a good thing that I am not a lady" Giselle said as she walked up the stairs "Then you won't have to worry about me messing up the family name. Goodnight Mother, Father."

"Over my dead body" Ayden said "I'm not going to get almost killed again by going with the two of you. And I'm certainly not going to allow you to steal father's ship Giselle. What are you trying to do, give him a heart attack?"

"Then I'm sorry Ayden" Giselle said as she looked at him.

"Sorry about what?" Ayden asked, still angered by the idea of his sister and best friend stealing his father's ship "Sorry about causing mother and father nothing but worries and heart ache?"

"No" Giselle said as she reached for the sword at her side "Sorry for this. I love you Ayden."

With a move so quick that Ayden didn't even know what she did; she pulled out her sable and brought the handle down on Ayden's temple.

"Why?" Ayden slurred as his eyes closed and he fell to the deck, Jonathan catching him before he could hit his head.

"I'm sorry mate" Jonathan said as he picked Ayden up off the deck and carried him to the captain's cabin. "We could have just locked him in the cabin or tied him up" he said at Giselle "I can't believe you just hit your own brother over the head."

"Now where would the fun be in that" she said as she covered Ayden with a blanket and then walked to the quarterdeck to see that the crew was taking care of the Raven.

-- DREAM --

"Orlando!"

Giselle sat up in bed. Her dreams were confusing but they gave her hope for she knew that her brother would fight his way back to them. "I'll be here Lando" she said "I will be here every step of the way." She then lay down and went back to sleep once again. Her dreams filled with happiness and her brother.