A/N

Firstly (& most importantly), my wonderful reviewers, I wanted to thank you for your reviews! :)

Secondly, well... concerning Will's apparently desirable demise... I suggest we'll keep him alive for some time yet & then we'll see. OK? (silence) OK?? (silence) OK???...

Alright, I will think it over yet;)

Disclaimer: Disney owns POTC.

Chapter 23

"Will!", exclaimed Elizabeth coming up to him, but he pushed her aside, still holding his sword on Jack's neck, his eyes focused on Harness' unreadable face.

"Somebody's having second thoughts, I see", said Harness with a smile, alluding to Will's former refusal to kill Jack.

"What is your answer?", asked Will almost angrily.

There was a moment of silence.

Ah, an opportune moment.

Taking everybody by surprise, Jack jumped away from Will's sword. Harness aimed his pistol at him, and fired, but the bullet just brushed Jack's shoulder, and did not manage to prevent him from shooting in Harness' direction. Unlike the captain, Jack did not miss. Pressing his hands to his bleeding chest, captain Harness fell on deck.

Everybody stood petrified, not knowing what to do, not really knowing what has happened, and whether it was really over.

Elizabeth snatched herself from her father's protective embrace, and ran to Jack.

"Is he... gone?", she asked in a low voice, slipping her hand under Jack's arm.

"Aye, luv. I guess he is", said Jack looking intently at captain Harness' body.

Elizabeth sighed softly, but then she suddenly remembered something, and turning towards Jack, asked peevishly:

"What didn't you tell me about any of these, Jack?"

"Of what?", asked Jack innocently.

"Of everything! Of the pistol, the bullet, that this doctor was Harness' grandson...", Elizabeth felt as if she could go on forever.

"Lizzie dear-", started Jack, grasping her wrist.

"I did not even know what was in the box! I thought you did not know either!", shouted Elizabeth, shaking his hand off.

"Lizzie luv-"

Elizabeth was upset, but then from the corner of her eye she noticed Will, and it redirected her attention.

"And what were you going to do, Will?", she suddenly changed addressee, coming up to Will.

Jack was quite content with the change concerning the target of Elizabeth's grudges.

"I would like to know that either", said Jack matter-of-factly.

Will, who was still holding the sword in his hand, shrugged his shoulders.

"I wanted to help", he said plainly.

"Help whom?", asked Jack curiously.

"If I could suggest something", timidly cut in Gibbs. "Perhaps we should set sail first and then discuss all that there's to be discussed, aye?"

Before anybody could react to his proposal, there was a sudden noise, and some silhouettes began to emerge from below deck. Soon, the silhouettes have taken more recognizable shapes. With sighs of relief everybody acknowledged that it was the crew of the Black Pearl, including even Cotton's parrot, which looked strikingly colorful against the black sky, in the light of the moon.

There was a happy moment of reunion, finally followed by Jack's orders to weigh anchor. In the general confusion, they almost completely forgot about captain Harness, whose body still laid on deck... Or... not... really...

"Master Gibbs, where'd be our late and much lamented foe captain's apparently lifeless body?", asked Jack suddenly looking at the spot where Harness fell.

Gibbs stared at him for a second, blinking, and then followed Jack's gaze, and looked in the same direction. There was nothing there.

"Where's he?", asked Gibbs.

"That was more or less my question", observed Jack patiently.

"I say we set sail as fast as we can?", offered Gibbs after some hesitation.

"Aye", nodded Jack, taking a quick look around. "But keep yer eyes wide open."

"Aye", agreed Gibbs, and walked away.

The Black Pearl began to roll softly on the waves, and the ship silently sailed into the darkness of the night.

Jack saw Elizabeth talking to her father, and hesitated for a moment whether he should wait for her, or he should go immediately to stand at the helm. Then it occurred to him how peculiar this vacillation was. Was it not the first thing he should do, or at least want to do after retrieving the Pearl? Was it not always what he wanted most, what he missed most as a captain of the ship? And now, instead of running to take the helm, he stood in the middle of the deck, waiting for a lass to finish a conversation. Oh, bugger.

"I walk you below. You must get some rest", whispered Elizabeth worryingly.

"It is beyond me, Elizabeth", said Governor Swann with a sigh. "These last days... I try to understand, I try to-"

"I know", said Elizabeth looking away.

"No, you do not", countered the Governor with a small smile, causing her to look at him again.

"But... perhaps we should leave this conversation until morning. I am exhausted, and you must be as well."

"Yes. We will talk in the morning", smiled Elizabeth, and taking her father by the arm, she walked with him towards the stairs.

Jack followed them with his eyes, feeling rather sad. Maybe she did not want to talk to him. Maybe she was still upset because he did not tell her everything that Philip Fairwood had told him?

As Elizabeth and her father disappeared below deck, Jack reluctantly went to take the helm, giving himself a dressing-down for all of this sentimental thinking.

The night was dark, and he felt tired trying to rethink everything that has happened. Where was Harness' body? Did he disappear? It was probable. Did he just walk away? It was possible. Why was the water around the mountain hot? Why was he kidnapping people? What was the fate of the hostages? The questions were circulating in his mind, and he neither tried to answer them, nor was he asking them in the first place. They were just flowing to him from the darkness, keeping him dully awake.

The wind was warm, and light, but still noticeable. The sails fluttered delicately, creating, next to the sound of waves crushing against each other, the most beautiful sound, the sound with which his life was filled, the beloved sound, the beloved feeling of wind on his face, the feeling...

But it was not only the wind this time. It was something else. Something delicate and soft brushing tenderly against his cheek, his chin, his neck... He did not even notice when she came.

"I thought ye went to sleep, Lizzie", said Jack, his words almost inaudible, his voice surprisingly quivered with emotion. She just kissed ye on the cheek mate cool down bugger bugger...

"I'm not sleepy", said Elizabeth resting her head on Jack's arm.

"Ah", replied Jack wrapping his arm around her, and turning his head to look at her.

Elizabeth looked up at him and smiled sweetly, tracing leisurely his jawline with her fingertips.

For some reason tonight even that was just too much for him.

"I think ye should go to sleep, luv", he muttered, subconsciously contradicting himself by tightening his embrace around her.

Elizabeth thought that maybe he wanted to be alone. Alone, at the helm, steering the Pearl. He must have missed that. But then again he held her so close, that she could hardly move, not to mention walk away.

"Do you really want me to go, Jack?", she asked in this dangerous, curiosity-conversation-like tone of voice.

Oh bugger Lizzie careful...

He looked at her, and she noticed somewhat surprised that his breath was quickened, and there was that fiery glow in his eyes which she saw only once, on the island when he was explaining to her what the Black Pearl really was...

"I'm sorry for being angry with you for not telling me about the box and everything", said Elizabeth quietly, suddenly changing the mood, vacantly playing with the trinkets in his hair.

Jack's eyes flew wide open, as he listened to her, listened on the verge of disbelief.

"I should know better than getting upset while you actually rescued us..."

Jack blinked and blinked, and tried to comprehend what he was hearing. She sounded so soft, almost shy, she was sorry... It was quite unlike her. Although he knew of course that her trigger-happy temperament was slightly artificial, and she tended to exaggerate her negative emotions at times, but still... She sounded like an ordinary girl, and not like strong, brave, witty Elizabeth Swann. She sounded meek, vulnerable. She sounded... in love.

Lizzie Lizzie...

He failed to hear her next sentence, because the only thing he could think of was her closeness, the warmth of her body pressed to his, her hand absent-mindedly stroking his beard. His mind was clouding over, although he tried to think clearly, sensibly, logically, politely. One part of his mind was thinking about how unfair it would be to take advantage of the situation, of the atmosphere, while the other part was thinking about calling Gibbs to overtake the helm immediately...

"Jack?", Elizabeth looked up at him questioningly, having a feeling that he was not paying attention.

Bugger bugger not fair bad evil bugger... Oh well. Pirate!

He caught her off guard, restlessly crushing his burning lips against hers, holding her tightly in his arms, his fingers feverishly running across her face, tugging at her hair, caressing her neck, rarely breaking the kiss for mere seconds, hardly enough for catching a fraction of breath. Her lips were soft and sweet, and he could not think about ever tasting anything sweeter than her lips. They tasted of spring flowers, and the summer rain, and something that he has always longed for, but did not know what it was. And now he knew it was her. It was the feeling of being with her, caring for her, kissing her, loving her...

Elizabeth deepened the kiss, closing her arms around Jack's neck, fascinated by the fervent wave of pleasure that flowed through her body, frighteningly robbing her of any sense of cautiousness, of logic, of responsibility. She was nearly breathless, but she did not want to breath if breathing required breaking the kiss, interrupting the feeling of his rough, sea- and rum-scented lips on hers, even for a moment.

She did not even know when and how they suddenly found themselves in Jack's cabin. It was all happening at a dizzying pace. But she could not care less. It was not within her will power to stop him.

"Lizzie... I was... dreaming of you... do ye know... since I first saw ye...", he whispered dreamily, opening his eyes to look at her.

"Me too", she smiled, entranced by the expression on his face, by the look in his eyes. She has never thought Jack capable of such dreaminess. "That day... do you know what I was thinking, Jack?", she asked , stroking his face very gently.

"Do tell, darling", he grinned, smothering her neck with soft kisses.

"I wanted you to kiss me", whispered Elizabeth into his ear.

Jack looked at her with mock disbelief.

"Ye wanted a threatening, despicable pirate to kiss ye, luv?", he asked with a roguish smile, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face.

"Yes I did, for a while", said Elizabeth with a sigh, and pressed her lips against his. "But then I did my best to chase the thought away", she added in a barely audible whisper.

"But to no avail, I imagine", grinned Jack, clinging to her lips with his.

It made her giddy when she felt his hands slowly unfastening her dress, untying the tapes, undoing the clasps, struggling with the buttons...

It was almost impossible for Jack to break free from the music made by the sound of his name whispered by Elizabeth over and over again, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he had to take care of the ship yet, and this thought began echoing in his head annoyingly.

Whispering that he will be back in a moment, Jack sit Elizabeth down in a chair, and hurriedly went out of the cabin to find Gibbs, and give orders.

After successfully completing these tasks, including sending a half-asleep (or was he just drunk?) Gibbs at the helm, he was on his way back to Captain Quarters, when he ran into somebody on the stairs.

"Oi", muttered Jack chafing his forehead.

"We need to talk", said Will firmly.

"Anytime!", exclaimed Jack kindly. "Tomorrow", he added attempting to walk past him.

"Not tomorrow. Right now", said Will blocking the way.

Jack rolled his eyes.

"First thing in the morning, mate", replied Jack , patting Will on the shoulder, and pushing him aside.

"I said right now", repeated Will, his voice accompanied by the only too familiar sound of a sword being pulled out.

For the first time in his life, Jack was seriously tempted to actually shoot the whelp to death forthwith.