Chapter 12
Mere minutes ago the court had reached its decision, but there were still hours to go before the day would be done. Lena had made her way out of battles before and seen first hand what could happen when battling at sea, but a war of this size was new to her. Before the morning came, she had every intention of speaking to Jack. The last thing she wanted to do was go into this blindly.
It seemed now would not be the time for that however. Jack turned to Lena with a wave of his hand, gesturing towards where the crew were gathered. "Help me out, love, and go see if your lovely Lizzy has any more of a plan. Would you?"
Immediately from the tone of his voice, Lena looked at him incredulously, knowing exactly what he was doing. "Really?" she asked in disbelief.
"What?"
"What? What do you mean what," Lena said as she glared at him. "If you want me out of the way for something, at least be honest."
Jack grimaced as he realized he was caught, though it didn't stop him from still trying. "You're not in the way. But who better than you to pick through Elizabeth's head?"
"Jack." As he continued with his excuse, Lena sighed and shook her head at him. "I don't know why I would expect you to be honest with me."
Jack let his own facade fall as he knew she had a point, then stepped towards her, placing his hand on her cheek. "Fine. Yes, I just need a few minutes," he said frankly.
Lena let the moment sit, feeling daring in a way from all the adrenaline around her, as she stayed there not saying a word before she slowly smirked. "See how easy that was?" She pushed herself up then, stealing a kiss. "Your plans work better when I'm included in them. You should know that by now."
She walked off then, making her way towards Elizabeth so Jack could do what he needed. Pushing back through the energized crowd, it took only a moment before she spotted Elizabeth. Despite any lingering feelings that may occasionally surface between then, she couldn't deny that she was thrilled to see her friend again.
With a grin, she launched herself at Elizabeth and embraced her. "It seems a lot has changed since we parted ways."
"I suppose so," Elizabeth agreed as she pulled away, glancing at the crew she now led. "When I had agreed to go with them, I certainly didn't see myself becoming captain in place of Sao Feng."
"Just don't go around introducing yourself like Jack. Captain Elizabeth Swann," Lena laughed mockingly.
Elizabeth shook her head at the idea, laughing with her friend. "I wouldn't dream of it. If I did, it would be King Swann. It has a better ring to it, don't you think?"
"I think you're right. Perhaps I need a title of my own." With a smirk, she eyed the hat on Elizabeth's head. "Then again, I don't think I could handle the hat that goes along with Captain or King."
"Don't worry. I'm sure we would be able to find something that works for you," Elizabeth teased right back. "However, I think that will have to wait."
At Elizabeth's abrupt end to their joke, Lena looked at her questioningly. "Why?"
"Seems you might be needed," she said with a nod of her head towards the other side of the room.
Lena twisted around and sure enough, she found Jack and Captain Teague looking their way. Ready to protest that it might not have been her they were looking at, she was proved wrong when Jack locked eyes with her. And not even a second later, she was being summoned by Captain Teague with a motion of his hand.
"Seems I will need to cut this short. You were right, but I will talk to you later," Lena said with a light smile before she left Elizabeth's side.
The walk seemed extremely long as she crossed the room. She had no idea what she was walking into, and it was unsettling. Teague was more intimidating up close even in such a relaxed state. It took all her might to keep from grabbing Jack's arm, though it seemed she wasn't quick enough to stop her initial jerk towards him. Unsure what to say, she awkwardly stood by Jack.
A smirk slowly crossed Teague's face as he looked her over. However the action only caused her to step even closer to Jack, bumping her arm against his.
"You forget your manners, boy?" He asked as he glanced at Jack, a smirk showing a bit of a teasing nature as well.
Immediately, Jack winced and Lena could only wonder why he reacted so strongly to the man.
"Right," Jack started reluctantly, dragging each word out. "This is… Lena… Lena… meet Edward Teague…."
She had to admit it was the strangest introduction she had ever received from him.
As if he weren't intimidating enough, the introduction just made her feel as if she needed to be formal. And maybe she should have been, he was the keeper of the code after all.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," she said as she dropped into a half curtsey almost out of habit when she used those words.
"Pleasure's all mine," Teague said before he glanced at Jack with what Lena would almost say was a knowing look. "Can't believe you didn't tell your dear ol' dad that you've had such lovely company traveling with you, Jackie."
"Dad?" Lena echoed as she looked between the two with wide eyes, panic slowly building as she looked at Jack. 'You never said he was your father!" she hissed, wondering just what kind of first impression she could have been making this entire time.
And it seemed Jack didn't know what to do himself with two people suddenly turning towards him. With hands raised, he said, "In my defense, I was hoping to avoid this all together."
"You're still the same," Teague said with a shake of his head and warned Jack, "remember what I told you."
Confused by his words, Lena looked at Teague, looking for an explanation that never came.
"How did you manage to get tangled up with Jackie?"
Glancing at Jack, she shrugged before she gave a timid smile as she thought about what brought her here. "Chance I suppose. I joined him on a rescue mission to find Lizzy, and when it was all done, I knew I didn't want to return to my old life. And Jack was willing to let me tag along."
Teague nodded and sat down in his chair, watching the pair. "Well, I'm glad Jack found you. I can tell it's had quite the impact on him."
Lena's face heated up at his words as she shifted awkwardly on her feet. "I'm not sure about that," she muttered, "though I know he's had a huge impact on my life."
"No, I must agree there," Jack said with a grin as he placed his arm over her shoulder. "Having a partner in crime for all my plans has been very beneficial."
"And a partner in life?" Teague asked bluntly.
The couple snapped their heads towards him in surprise at the unexpected question, though Jack seemed less alarmed, well used to his father cutting straight to the point.
Lena certainly knew where she stood with the question. She had already tied her life in a way to his the second she ran off with him. But Jack? He had just barely said that he loved her, let alone claim to be a life partner. It's not like they had actually spoken about their relationship with the future in mind outside of his plan for immortality. And she still wasn't sure about that.
Speaking up before Jack could, Lena smiled softly. "We're happy right now and that's all that matters. We don't need to worry about the future between us."
"Life can be a very long time… but that seems to be the plan," Jack said thoughtfully as he looked at Lena. Immediately she knew he was referring to his desire for immortality. If his plan worked out, he very well could be immortal soon. She had to wonder what would happen after that though.
Teague hummed at their answers, seemingly not saying a thing. "Don't waste the opportunities in front of you," he finally said as he stared down Jack. "Best start preparing for tomorrow. I'll see you both again soon."
"Of course, it was wonderful meeting you," Lena said, unsure what to do with the sudden change as her eyes slid towards Jack again. "I'll let you two say goodbye. I'll see you back on the ship."
Activity was all around as she made her way to the ship. Crew members were checking supplies and readying weapons. It had been a while since she saw so much motion outside of a storm, especially while docked. Barbossa had taken lead of the ship during Jack's absence, shouting out orders and moving back and forth across the deck.
As she stood on deck, she looked around in hopes of finding something she could help with. There was little point in standing around when there seemed to be much to do. And so she grabbed the next crew member she saw and asked where she could jump in. It was something to focus on and better than wasting time while waiting for Jack. Plus, she was sure she would hear when he showed back up if Barbossa was still giving out orders.
She wasn't sure how long it would be before Jack was back. Honestly, she hoped he used the time to actually talk to his father. There had been a few times in the past where he had mentioned some adventure or another that his father was involved with. Just from how he spoke about him, she knew they got along well, certainly better than her own. Of course, that still brought her back to the fact that he never mentioned that the man was here and that she might meet him. Yet another part of him he was keeping secret.
Trying to push the thoughts out of her head, she turned her eyes towards her work. There was plenty of conversations and gossip going around the ship to focus on instead. The excitement from earlier was still high and while a few mentioned their doubts, they were quickly swept aside with the promise of winning tomorrow.
Lena wished she could share the sentiment. Would any of them come out of this alive? She paused as she looked at the people around her, the people that had become a makeshift family of sorts. Jack guaranteed that the two of them would make it out fine, but what about everyone else? If they were on the ship then he had to plan on getting the entire ship out alright. It was the Pearl after all. After everything he had gone through to get her back, he wouldn't let Beckett and his men sink her.
She knew her thoughts were never going to stop drifting. There were so many questions. And nothing was going to be answered until Jack was back. It was going to be a long afternoon.
The sun was setting when Jack finally returned to the Black Pearl. With the ship's preparations complete, Lena had moved back into their cabin to relax, reading a book by candlelight as she waited for Jack.
"Welcome back," she said as she closed her book. "Were you talking with your father this entire time?"
Jack took off his coat and tossed it on the bed before he walked behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Not the whole time. The other captains were making plans."
Lena leaned back in the chair as Jack started rubbing her shoulders. "At least there is a plan then. But what I would like to know is how your afternoon with your father went."
"Fine and dandy," Jack said as he let her go, allowing Lena to twist in her seat to look at him.
She waited a moment, expecting more from him before she gave up. "That can't be all you have to say."
"What else to say?" he said with a shrug. "We had plenty of time to share stories and for him to give his unsolicited advice."
"About what?" she asked at his tense words.
"Being able to live with myself, making the right choices, etcetera."
It was clear she wouldn't be getting anywhere with him. With a sigh, she stood up, moving to stand in front of him. "Tomorrow we'll be facing the East India Trading Company. You're planning to fight?"
"I'm planning to find my way aboard the Dutchman, just a matter of whether it's through battle or negotiations."
Smoothing her hands down his chest, she fiddled with his shirt before she nodded. "No matter what, I'm staying by your side. We're in this together."
Jack held her hands where they were as he asked, "Even if it means betraying Elizabeth?"
The idea was enough to make her chest tighten, but she knew the answer. "You and me, no matter what. Besides, Elizabeth's managed to get herself out of tricky situations just like you have. Even if she's angry with me, we both have to focus on what's right for us. And it's been a long time since our paths were going the same direction."
She couldn't deny how tense things had been between her and Elizabeth for months now. Even after making amends, a part of her couldn't look at her the same way. Years of history made it impossible not to think back fondly on their friendship, but perhaps it was time to accept that they were truly going their separate ways. It killed her inside to think about, but she needed to live in reality.
"You and me," Jack echoed as he slid his hand behind her neck, tangling his fingers in her hair. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Then he kissed her fiercely, enjoying their last moment before tomorrow brought on the unknown.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this extra long update! I have a feeling that the next chapter will take a little bit longer to post as well. We are so close to the end though! Feel free to let me know what you think. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!
