Hey guys. Sorry I didn't update sooner. I've been writing a new Twilight fanfic and so I've tried my best to updated one story after the other. So here we are, back to my dear Captain Jack Sparrow. I hope this is good. I've been having trouble with this lately and I have so many ideas in my head fighting to win the spotlight. SO, here is another idea of mine... Please read and review and tell me how shocking this may be! hehe

Letting Go

Jack sat silently as the crew of the Dutchman rowed their way out into open water. He tried not to look up from his boots as they drew closer and closer to the ship, but every few seconds, he found himself glancing up at the looming structure, dreading the confrontation he would have with its captain. Did I make the wrong decision? he asked himself.

No, Jack. You're going the right thing. All you have to do is admit our love for Elizabeth and then let her go.

Let her go?

Yes. You will have to. You don't plan on forcing her to serve on the Dutchman along with you, do you?

Jack pondered that question as the boat finally floated under the shadow of the ship. He sighed. Too late to back down now.

"Jack?"

He looked back and smiled slightly at Lizzy's concerned expression. "No worries, love. You need feel no guilt." he whispered as the crewman who had bound his hands released them so Jack could climb up the ladder to the deck.

"Jack Sparrow!" exclaimed the voice of Davy Jones.

"Yes?" Jack asked weakly as he placed his foot on the deck. He looked up and saw the terrifying face of Jones. The tentacles on Davy's face twitched as he grinned at his new slave.

"You thought you could run?"

"Well…"

"Please, save us the story. I will say that you had me fooled for a bit, but something seemed wrong. I knew you must've pulled the wool over my eyes as only you might be able to, so I searched the depths and then realized that you would have fled for land." Jones and the crew began to laugh. "That was a good plan at first, wasn't it, Jack?"

"Perhaps." Jack nodded as the shackles were placed on his hands once more. "But here I am, willing to serve you now."

"Ah, yes. But it took a great deal of force to get you here. Perhaps a few more years of service might teach you a lesson?" Davy asked, his slimy face lifting into a happy smile.

"Whatever you ask, Davy Jones." Jack whispered. He turned his head slightly and saw Lizzy watching him intently, her eyes full of tears.

"Well then, two hundred years service for you, Captain Jack Sparrow." Jones exclaimed and immediately went into his quarters, leaving the crew to their duties of taking Jack, Gibbs, James and Elizabeth down to the brig.

XXX

"Jack, I'm so sorry." Lizzy whispered as they sat in the brig. Gibbs had fallen into an uneasy sleep and Norrington had taken to staring off into space, completely oblivious to everything around him. Jack sat up a little straighter as she looked at him with apologizing eyes.

"This isn't your fault love. Honestly, this could happen to anyone." he grinned slightly, his mustache twitching.

"Jack, I'll serve two hundred years with you."

Jack's eyes grew wide as he heard the whispered words escape her mouth. She loves me that much? he thought to himself in shock. "I appreciate it, love, but I'd never wish this for you." he frowned.

Elizabeth stood and stepped over the few inches that separated them and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Jack, I love you. I'll do anything for you, even this. Just let me."

Jack, do you really think this is best for her?

Jack thought about it and sighed. I suppose it isn't the best. But she is a woman, and there's no stopping a woman who has set her mind to something.

Quite true, Jack. But think about what is best for her.

Jack thought about everything that could be given to Lizzy if she chose someone else, or at least gave up her obligations to him. He knew she would gain everything in the world if she went back to Port Royal. She'd have her father and his wealth to give her comfort that Jack knew he couldn't provide for her. He knew that she would no doubt marry a wealthy man and have children and grow old in a large mansion by the sea. He knew all of this. But something inside of him wanted to see a completely different future for her.

A future that consisted traveling the world with him. A future that allowed them to be entirely free of arrest and servitude under Davy Jones. A future of bright happiness at the helm of a new ship; a ship that Jack would name after her. He saw a future in which he would have the girl of his dreams and a life that he had never dreamed of having before. He saw a future that he could never have…

"Lizzy, you can't stay here." he whispered finally, his arms tightening around her.

"Why not, Jack?" she asked.

"Because…I want something better for you. You deserve something better for yourself, love. I'm not right for you."

"Jack, please…"

He shushed her. "Elizabeth, you know I love you, and since I do, there are certain things that I need to do. I need to let you go."

"But, Jack…"

"No, Lizzy."

With a sigh, he let his arm fall away from her thin frame and he stood up, keeping his back to her. He knew that if he looked at her face, he would never be able to let go. Her eyes would hold him and he would break.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded down the dark hall, growing louder and louder. Jack groaned as the figure came into sight. A thin, slightly muscular body stood on the outside of the brig as the person stared at Jack.

"So you finally forced Elizabeth into your life, haven't you?" said the deep, heroic voice of William Turner.

He just had to arrive now, didn't he?