Disclaimer: I don't own the Pirates of the Caribbean, any characters, or anything having to do with it other than this story. But if I did, Jack and Elizabeth would most definitely get it on.  I also own the poem in the beginning, but it's not copyrighted so I guess somebody could end up stealing it and then I'd be sad. So please don't take it. I rather like it, myself.

SHOUT OUTS: From chapter 5: (sorry you guys got left out!) Jack-Sparrow-Love, seesee, and Quirky Del. From chapter 6: hellokittygirl, Shay Bo Bay, Sparrow's Swann, Amanda Michelle, Kute Anime Kitty, 1Bookwormie1, Lady Kaceemort, thecutiedisease, Nyoko Iso, Lora-Lai, Nirvana Renegade Seiga, wannabanauthor, Erin McKinley, Illicit Ivory, Tempo, Mony19, Dragonfly508, Anaii, Sugarhighbob, ITALIAN BELLA, Quirky Del, Mr. Sparrow, Jack-Sparrow-Love, san01, 29 Soft Kisses, borntorunx23, FluffLover, Liz Sparrow, barleyawake, AgiVega, lestatluvr13, Kristina-666-85, dyminjo, kitkatk8

Chapter 7, I Swear to Kill Him Only Once

Even in the morning

When the sun begins to rise

I think only of your face

And the warmth within your eyes.

Even in the evening

When the breeze begins to blow

The memories of you haunt me
More than you'll ever know.

Even in the night

When the crickets start to sing

I wish for another day with you;

For one of those, I'd give anything.

And even in the end

When all the world falls away

I'll still be waiting for your touch

And the words I never heard you say.

When you are faced with a tragedy, at first your mind doesn't register the fact that you've lost someone. You go into a deep state of shock and denial. You can barely think, let alone move or speak. You become a sort of living zombie. And when you witness said tragedy...The mind shuts down, blocking out the pain of the thing you just witnessed. You can't scream. You don't want to scream because you'd realize you weren't dreaming and that the horrible thing was really happening. But sometimes, the memory fades, and then someone brings up the one you lost in a conversation in a most unexpected fashion; you could've been talking about a thriving new business, such as the East India Company, and then someone says, "Oh, this is just the kind of moment my dear Fred would've loved to have seen." It could've been a lovely conversation, but suddenly, it's ruined. The horrific memories and blinding pain are brought back to you, and the cuts are deep and fresh. Your heart breaks all over again.

When someone you love dies, a part of you dies.

Thankfully, the day Will caught Jack and I together, a part of me didn't have to die.

-:-

"Will!" I screamed, but not soon enough to stop him. However, I had thrown him off. His gaze turned from Jack to me, and his arm with it. I'd startled him, and before I knew it, a bullet was speeding towards me.

I felt it zip across my leg quickly, but I didn't feel any pain. The bullet had only grazed me, and then hit the ground powerfully, sending sand flying up around me and into my new wound. This brought on the pain, and I cried out as I collapsed to the ground. Will called out my name, but it sounded distant in the blinding pain. I felt hot tears coming to my eyes. All I could think about was how this could've happened; only moments ago, I was alone and happy with Jack…and now I was on the ground, my spilled blood on the hands of my fiancé.

I looked up and saw Jack rushing to my side. Before he even reached me, he fell to his knees, sliding to my side, his hands already reaching out for me. When he reached me, he carefully turned me on my side and I watched his eyes roving over the wound. He exhaled loudly; he'd been holding his breath. Then my attention snapped to Will, who'd dropped the gun. He was staring at me, in complete shock.

I suppose Jack was satisfied that I'd live, because then he jumped to his feet and drew his sword before he even reached Will. Jack held his weapon out threateningly at Will's unprotected throat. Will made no move to stop him. But Will's eyes did glance down to the ground, where his gun was. Jack caught him.

"I wouldn't be doin' that, mate. Not unless you want another hole to breathe out of." Jack sneered at him, and glanced once over to me. His expression softened, and then he turned back to Will. "Now, what say we…agree to put away our weapons and talk about this like the gentlemen we are? We're in the presence of a lady, and therefore must be on our best behavior."

Jack slowly lowered his sword and dropped it to the ground; he turned to look at me again, I believe to make sure I was still okay. Quickly, he turned back to Will. Will watched Jack closely to be sure he wasn't being tricked, and then dropped his head, nodding. Jack knelt and picked up Will's discarded gun, and then he proceeded to hurl it into the ocean.

"Now, my good sir, if you wouldn't mind telling me why you just shot your bonnie lass?"

"I wasn't aiming for her," Will said menacingly. By now, the pain had become much more fierce, and I felt the blood trickling down my thigh, and then down my calf. I tried to wipe the sand off the wound, but that only caused me more pain, and I cried out. Jack's eyes flickered to me, but he wouldn't turn away from Will. Will was staring at me, probably shocked he'd hit me. The whole situation was surreal.

"And just because you weren't aiming for her makes it perfectly alright that you hit her? I've heard of some sullied-up things, mate, but that's nearly profane."

"You'd know all about profane things, wouldn't you Jack? Being such a famous pirate. The treasures of the world only a swordfight away; your favorite ship in your custody; women…" Will glanced at me, "…falling at your feet. But what really irritates me, Jack, is that of all the women you could have…you had to take mine."

"It's not all rainbows and warm fuzzies for me, Willy. And I wouldn't have your treasured lady right this moment if you hadn't driven her to me! What with your…lack of manly…ness…" Jack sneered, pointing drunkenly to Will's groin. Then Jack snapped his hand back and smiled evilly up at Will. "So how have you been, eunuch?"

"Quite well until now, Jack. I suppose…I should've seen this coming, what with the scene between you and her on the ship before. I feel like a complete idiot."

My ears perked up at hearing this. Will had known all along. He'd just not wanted to admit it. And now, before me, this wasn't the Will I knew. He'd changed. He was dark, angry…almost evil. It killed me to think…that maybe I was the reason for this transformation.

"Ah, admitting you have a problem is the first step, mate. But you saw that, eh? Made you jealous, did it not? Seeing your fiancé in the arms of Captain Jack Sparrow? But don't worry, William. You lost her to a more than worthy opponent." Jack walked around Will, and put himself between Will and me. I could no longer see Will's face. I bit my lip; the pain was worsening.

"It only angered me to see that she'd stooped to your level. And I thought she could do so much better." Their verbal war to best the other was beginning to annoy me.

"Oh, she did. Much better. At least…better than her last fiancé." Jack then did a very surprising thing: he began praying. "Please, dear God, forgive me. I've been a bad, bad pirate. Please let Willy here see that what I did was for his own good. I saved him from the imprisonment that is holy matrimony. And please help him find a little woman, or maybe a midget man, somewhere, who'll appreciate his lack of satisfying sexual…er…material. Bless him, God. Amen." Jack spoke softly, in a singsong voice. Will was glaring down at him. I groaned as I tried to sit up. I hadn't noticed, but as Jack had prayed, he'd backed up closer to me, and was very near my side. He'd prayed to throw Will off; indeed, it had worked.

"Where did that come from?" Will asked, looking livid.

"Ragetti said the Bible has brought him to a new level of understanding. Figured I'd try it."

"Has it worked for you Jack?" Will asked sarcastically.

"So far?" Jack looked off into space. "Not really."

"Why…has no one…offered to…help me up?" I asked angrily.

"Oh, sorry my dear. Just having a little chat with William here." Jack bent down, careful not to stretch his back, to help me up. He grasped my hand, and pulled me up beside him, so that his mouth was next to my ear. His happy smile fading, he whispered, "When I give the signal, run like hell until you're clear of this."

"Wha--"

"Just do it!" he hissed, pulling me to my feet. I groaned and felt lightheaded; I leaned on Jack for support.

"So, Jack, has she told you about the heart yet?" William asked, a smirk on his face, his arms crossed. Now that I was standing, it was clear that I'd not been severely hurt. Will could afford to be ruthless now.

"The heart? Of…?" Jack asked, smiling again. I could see, in his eyes, that he was planning something.

"Davy Jones." Will's smile grew wider, but it was not a smile I'd ever seen. It was a cruel, icy grin, the kind that a man usually gave you before he gave you ten lashes. I looked up at Jack, who was still holding onto me. His smile disappeared almost instantly.

"What of it? It's lost. There's nothing to be done about it!"

"But it isn't lost, is it Jack? You've got it with you. You've still damned us all." Will uncrossed his arms and came closer. "Davy Jones will want his heart back, Jack. And you're the one who's going to give it to him. Elizabeth," he said, turning to me, "did Jack tell you that he still held the one thing that is sure to get you both killed? Or did he, perhaps, forget to mention it?"

"Ah, yes, because the trivial subject of an object that could damn us all would slip my mind," Jack seethed. Will's smile faded.

"Don't lie, Jack. You are in no position to do so, I assure you. Just hand over the heart, and I'll let you go…" he looked at me, and I saw sadness pass over his face. Then, his eyes hardened, and he turned away from me. It was an ironic movement, because only minutes before, I'd forever turned away from him, and had run into the arms of Jack Sparrow.

"You'll let me go? First of all, mate, I think you are forgetting a year ago when I, very easily, I might add, bested you with your little sword. And you are also forgetting that I can hold a grudge for a very long time; you can ask Barbossa about it some other time. So I think I've made it abundantly clear that you'd best think before you do anything you might regret later, savvy?" Jack glared at Will, his jaw set. Will finally looked afraid. I tried to shift my weight to my other hip, and gasped; I stretched the bullet wound and more blood came trickling down. I moaned at the disgusting feeling.

Jack heard me.

"Of course…you've already doomed yourself, lad. She'll suffer for weeks. Do you have any idea how long it takes a bullet wound to heal?" Jack asked calmly, threateningly, as he gazed down at me. I could read, in his eyes, that he was about to make his move. I was right. "I take it you don't."

Jack's arm flew down to his belt and retracted his gun in the blink of an eye. He pointed it in Will's face.

"Would you like to find out how long it takes? I can show you…it wouldn't cause me any pain; as a matter of fact, I think I'd rather enjoy it." He turned to look at me. "Elizabeth, if you will…" I looked at him, wondering what he wanted me to do. Then he jerked his head back toward the trees, and I understood. He wanted me to leave him there, alone with Will, so that he could shoot him without me seeing. He didn't want to put that weight on me, witnessing Will's death. But I couldn't move. I couldn't think; I was positive that if I left them alone, Will would die. And his death would be on Jack's hands.

I planted one foot firmly in the sand before me, my mind whirring furiously to form a plan, and then I took another slow step, walking past Jack and toward Will. I was almost past him, when I took a deep breath and threw myself between Jack and Will.

"Elizabeth…what are you doing? Move!" Jack said, amazement evident on his face. The gun in his hand faltered, but did not drop.

"I can't let you, Jack. This is nonsensical. What will you gain from this?"

"Er…the fulfillment of a dream? Ultimate satisfaction? How about…the memories to keep me warm at night?"

I ignored him.

"Stop this. Both of you, now. According to Will, we are wanted by Davy Jones, and if that's true, it's only a matter of time before he finds us. If you fight him alone, you'll die. If you fight him together, you just might have a chance. Think about it, Jack."

Jack looked off to the right, and then smiled, snapping back to my face. The entire movement had taken less than three seconds.

"I've thought about it. And…I still want to kill him. Can I please kill him? I'd really like to kill him. Just once. I'll never do it again, I swear."

"JACK!"

"Alright! But the next time he looks at me funny--"

"You'll what? Sell me to Davy Jones? Oops, too late Jack. You've already done that."

"YOU…have…BAD BREATH!" Jack screeched, dropping the gun. He lunged toward me, and I ducked just in time. Will's eyes grew wide as Jack grabbed onto him and pulled him to the ground. They began pounding away at each other, rolling along the shoreline, cursing and shouting in pain.

I sighed, realizing from past experience that there was no stopping them. Taking the gun from the sand to be sure neither of them would find it and tucking it into my trousers, I also grabbed Jack's sword from the sand for the same reason. I sat down in the sand and watched as the love of my life and my fiancé fought like angry dogs in the night. To occupy myself, I tore a strip from my shirt and wrapped it around my leg and the wound to stop the bleeding. Eventually, the sun appeared on the horizon, and I smiled at the scene before me.

Will was crawling on the ground, completely exhausted.

"I'll…end…this…now…" Will groaned, trying to make it to Jack. Jack was lying in the shallow tide of the ocean, breathing heavily, barely able to crawl to land. He'd been in the ocean a full ten minutes, ever since Will had thrown him into it.

"Shut up, whelp!" Jack groaned weakly, collapsing to the ground.

They both lay out on the sand, gasping for air. I smiled, content that neither of them could throw another punch, and walked over to them. I stood between them and looked down into their weary faces.

"Hello, Elizabeth. How are you today?" Jack breathed.

"Yes, fall in love with any other pirates lately?" Will asked frostily. I sighed, knowing I'd have to talk to him when we had time alone. He seemed so frail, lying there, anger and exhaustion masking his face. I'd never regain his trust; I didn't want it. I only wanted us to get through everything without him hating me. I was beginning to believe it wasn't possible, but I knew he wouldn't be so hostile if it weren't for the fact that he loved me…and I'd let him down.

"Got that out of your systems, have you, boys? Good. Let's get back to the crew, then."

"No!" Jack moaned, trying to reach up and grab my leg. "No walking…no walking…I'd rather swallow glass…"

"He's right, for once. I can't move." Will closed his eyes and panted loudly.

"No need to worry; we'll take 'em back, Miss." I turned around to see Gibbs, Ragetti, and Pintel walking up the beach. "Came to look for ye when ye disappeared, Captain!" Gibbs smiled.

"Oh, you missed me, eh?" Jack said happily.

"I was talking to Mr. Turner, actually…" Gibbs said, growing red in the face.

"You mean…" Jack turned his head to look at Will, who was smiling at him. "You mean HE'S THE CAPTAIN OF--"

"The ship we used to have? Yessir. But it's most advantageous, you see, because now we are abundantly blessed with two highly educated captains!" Ragetti said, clutching a pocket-sized Bible to his chest.

Jack groaned. Will grinned. And I prepared myself for what I knew would be an interesting quest for Davy Jones' missing heart.

End Chapter

Well, I thought this chapter was rather fun, a definite relief from the scary ending of the last one, huh? Tell me what you think in a review!