A/N: HOLD THE TOMATOES!!! Read this before you throw them. Please? ((screams and pulls out shield)) I SAID NO TOMATOES!!!!!!! Geez.
DISCLAIMER: Uhm…HELLO? Have you read the last however many chapters?
Chapter 14"Elizabeth."
All he heard were huge, gasping sobs beyond the door. He tried again, this time louder.
"Elizabeth."
There was a pause, and the door opened. "Yes?" she whispered. Gibbs sighed.
"Would ye like the good news or the bad news, Miss Elizabeth?"
"Good news. I've had it with bad news."
"The good news is that Jack's still breathin'. He may make it yet, but 'e's in a sorry state."
Elizabeth's eyes lit up with hope, and then dulled slightly. "And…and the bad news?"
"The bad news is…I'm not so sure about young Mr. Turner."
Elizabeth stared. No crying, no yelling, nothing. Just stared.
"He asked for ye," Gibbs said uncomfortably. "He's in another one o' the private cabins." He pointed to a door.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said. She knocked on the door and let herself in.
"'Liz'beth?" Will mumbled. It sounded as though he had just woken up.
"Yes."
"Jack."
"Not doing so well….He told me to tell you sorry."
"For what?"
"I don't know. He just said tell Will sorry." They were quiet for a moment.
"I know," Will murmured finally.
"Know what?" Elizabeth asked.
"I could tell. Was…sort of obvious," Will said.
"What was obvious?" Elizabeth said.
"Loved you. He loved you. Wanted to…tell me he…was sorry for…loving you, I think."
"Yes. And I'm sorry too."
"Sorry for what?"
"I'm sorry, Will. I love him back." Will didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," Elizabeth repeated. "I didn't want to. But I do."
"Don't be."
"What?"
"Don't be sorry. Just want you…to be happy."
Elizabeth knelt by the bed and put her hand on Will's brow. "Thank you. I knew you would understand."
"No. Don't understand. Okay with it though," Will said.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said again. She took a damp cloth from the little table and pressed it soothingly on Will's forehead. He grunted and pushed it away.
"Tell Jack…I'm sorry, too."
"I will. I promise."
"Now. Do it now."
"Not now. Later. I want to stay with you."
"N-no…please…I don't want…you here…if it…happens."
"You're afraid."
"No…I don't want you…to be."
Elizabeth looked at Will sorrowfully. "If I have the guts to murder Jack Sparrow, I can stay with you now." Will sat up. "Hush, lay down," Elizabeth said, putting her hand on his shoulder. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Will, no matter what, I want us to be friends. Good friends. Can we do that?"
"Yes," Will said. "No matter…what." Elizabeth caught him in a hug. He smiled.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
He hovered between life and death. He would have let go, but he couldn't forget the words choked out between sobs as he lay on the ground.
Hold on. For me.
He held fast to the words like a lifeline.
Hold on. Hold on. Hold on…His chest hurt like mad. He hurt in a dozen other places, too.
Hold on.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
The fire leaped and crackled. They danced.
We're devils, we're black sheep, and really bad eggs…Drink up, me hearties, yo ho…He didn't spill a drop of rum. Net even half a drop. Unless you counted the fraction that ended up in his mouth…
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
Hold on.
Something prodded his brain.
Wake up.
He couldn't do it. He couldn't lift his eyelids and wake.
Wake up.
He struggled – to no avail. His struggles fell still for a long while. For a long while, he didn't think. He only felt, only sensed. He only sensed that he was alone. After that long time, Jack suddenly opened his eyes. With a quick glance, he knew he was alone in the cabin. He took his shirt and slipped it over his head, not able to help noticing the long, ropy scar that slashed over his chest.
A stifled sob floated in from outside. Jack stepped into his boots and tiptoed out on deck. There was Elizabeth, holding herself and rocking back and forth as she sat on the wood. Jack came up behind her and silently sat. He wrapped his arms over Elizabeth's. "Look at the sky, luv," he told her. Don't look at anything else but the sky, and the sunlight bouncing off the water." Elizabeth went quiet, still shaking. "Isn't it beautiful?" Jack said. Elizabeth giggled.
"The way everything looks right now, it looks like a drunken pirate tried to paint."
Jack gave the back of her head an affronted look. "That meant to be an insult, luv? That's not very nice." He wiped her eyes with his thumb. "Better?"
"Mmm. It is beautiful, isn't it?"
"Aye, that it is. Now what was ailin' you before I came out her?" Elizabeth ducked her head. "No. No, no, no, no, no, don't cry, please, I don't do well with tears, no, no…Oh bugger. Come on, that's not helping. Do I really smell that bad?" Jack joked weakly. Elizabeth only cried harder. "Aaahh…Look, now, tell me what's wrong, or I can't help," Jack said, now panicking slightly. "Oh…come here. There. Ah – careful…There you go. Right. Tell me what's got you in this state."
"First tell me something," Elizabeth said. "Tell me why you suddenly forgave me."
Jack pulled her closer. "I got to thinking," he said. "And I probably would have done the exact same thing you did. Maybe a bit more forceful, but in effect the same thing. Now you answer my question. Elizabeth buried her head in Jack's shirt.
"I thought I was losing you," she whispered.
"Come now. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. I don't die."
"I know. But I was still afraid."
"Were you singing to me?"
"Singing?" Elizabeth looked up. "I might have."
"You kept me alive. I nearly let go at one point," Jack confessed. "But I held on. Like you told me to."
"There was something else, too. Will died today."
"No!" Jack exclaimed softly. "He did?"
Elizabeth nodded, a few more tears slipping down her cheeks.
"Oh, I'm sorry, luv," Jack mumbled in her ear. "He was a good man, he was." Elizabeth nodded again and let out a strangled sob.
"Jack, I'm going to miss him! He was so nice…"
"I know. We'll all miss him. He was a good friend." It seemed as though all their sorrow for Will was wrapped up in those words.
"How long have I been asleep?" Jack asked, changing the subject smoothly.
"Two months. We had to stop in Tortuga for supplies," Elizabeth replied bleakly.
"Two months? Really?"
"Yes."
Jack looked at Elizabeth and sighed. "I can tell it's been a long day for you, luv. I'll hang a hammock in my cabin, you can 'ave the bed."
"No, I couldn't. I'll take the hammock. It's your bed," Elizabeth declined.
"Which means I get to do whatever I please with said bed. And I want you to sleep in it."
Elizabeth yawned. "You win. As long as we switch tomorrow night."
"We 'ave an accord. Come on." Jack heaved himself to his feet, setting Elizabeth upright. Once the hammock was hung, he clambered into it and lay down. There were a few creaks while he got comfortable, and then silence, save for the slow, deep breathing of both occupants of the cabin.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
When Elizabeth woke up, it was quiet. She couldn't even hear Jack's comforting rhythmic breathing. She glanced up at the hammock. "Jack? Are you awake?"
"Aye."
"Come here."
Jack leapt lightly to the floor and walked over. Elizabeth sat up. "Why are you awake?"
"I had a dream," Jack mumbled to his knees. "About…what happened. Down there."
"Oh."
"You have no idea…being there was like…was like…I don't know…forgetting who you were. Just drowning in your worst memories, and anger, and sorrow, and hate…Sometimes I didn't even know who I was. I couldn't stand it. I didn't know who I was…" Jack sat next to Elizabeth on the bed and looked down. "It scared me. More than anything else ever has. Now…I know…but there's that feeling that I've forgotten something. Something important."
"No, it's all right," Elizabeth murmured, putting her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry. I'll be here if you ever need me."
Jack was quiet.
"You're Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl. You escaped from the island where Barbossa marooned you. You sacked Nassau Port without firing a single shot. You escaped from under the eyes of seven East Indiamen. You struck a deal with Davy Jones, got eaten by his kraken, and came back. You killed Lady Hel, got your chest cut open, and still escaped with your life. You got the governor's daughter to fall for you. If those aren't accomplishments, Jack, I don't know what are. Okay? Jack? Are you…oh my…"
"He's really dead, isn't he? It's my fault."
"No!" Elizabeth was shocked. "The demon that bit him had poison in its teeth, and he died from it! Unless you're wearing a mask or something, I don't think you even remotely resemble one of those creatures."
"If I hadn't taken him with me that day, he wouldn't have been hit by that cannonball. He would have been able to fight."
"Will would have gone with you anyway! He would have wanted to, no matter what you said."
"I…know."
"Oh, Jack. Stop blaming yourself. It's survivor's guilt, that's all."
"I…know. But he saved my life. And…I couldn't…save his."
And as Elizabeth watched, something totally unexpected happened, something that almost scared her to witness. Glittering silver in the moonlight, a single tear squeezed its way out of Jack's closed eyelid and wound its lonely way down his cheek. Elizabeth wiped it away shakily and hugged him tight. And then she began to cry into his shoulder. For what, if it could coax even a single tear from Jack Sparrow, could not make Elizabeth cry too?
A/N: Right, guys! Only one chapter left, and then the sequel. I got 8 reviews for the last chapter! OMG! Thank you guys so much! I'm hoping to get lots of reviews here too. Please:) Hoping to see you next chapter!