This chapter has been edited.
A/N: This chapter is probably worth rereading if you haven't read the new version. Thanks to all my reviewers!
Will cleared his throat, absolutely fuming. His normally calm demeanor was falling to pieces, and he could not tear his eyes away from Jack and Elizabeth.
Jack awkwardly cleared his throat. "It's not what it looks like, mate."
"Not what it looks like?! You're undressing Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth broke in, realizing that something was dreadfully wrong. "I just wanted to be more comfortable in bed!"
Before Elizabeth could correct her poor word choice, Will turned even redder. "Captain Sparrow, if you are interested in Miss Swann's company, we shall have to settle with swords."
Elizabeth's head darted between both of them, looking very much like a child being punished for a sin unknown to them.
"LAND!" came a shout from on deck.
Jack shrugged. "We'll talk later over rum, aye?"
The small island of Morliko was, oddly enough, bustling. Jack looked around in amazement, wondering how so many people could fit onto such a small island. He had never been to the island himself- had only heard of it from other pirates, but from what he could see, it was a melting pot of cultures and traditions.
He sauntered into the local tavern, where he slapped his hand on the bar, waking up the bartender.
"Aye mate, two rums."
The bartender complied and set the rums in front of Jack. He passed one over to the bartender, and they clanked their glasses together before taking a long swig.
"New in these parts?" asked the bartender.
"That I am. Would ye know of a doctor around here?" Jack cracked his knuckles, thinking hard. If there wasn't a doctor here, the next island was a two day's sail.
The bartender quickly gave the name of the nearest doctor, Dr. Ralling, and his home. Jack drank the rest of his rum to be polite (A/N: He just wanted the rum), and then he departed for the doctor's house, determined to bring him back to the Pearl to treat Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth had the doctor examine her, her first thought was that another doctor had examined her, at another time, but she couldn't remember, which frustrated her.
The way he examined her was familiar: asking her how long it hurt, whether or not she was dizzy, but the doctor himself wasn't right. He was tall and lanky with brown hair and a beard, and although Elizabeth could not remember the other doctor from her past, she knew that he was not him.
She had requested to keep Jack in the room. He made her feel safe, and safety was something in short supply in her life lately... Why? She wondered. Why hadn't her life been safe lately? She couldn't remember. But her head hurt from the doctor reapplying her bandage, and she soon wanted to go back to sleep.
When the doctor was almost finished examining her, he ran across the bruise at her shoulder, and a brief look passed across his face. "Where did ye get that?"
Jack took her hand in his reassuringly, and suddenly it came to her. "I was running," she exclaimed joyfully, "and I tripped. That was four days ago."
Recovered memories come in flashes, and you have a choice. You can either let it enter your mind and relive the memory, whatever it may be, or you can fight it off until it vanishes into what I imagine resembles a puff of smoke. Love is like that, too. You can succumb to it or fight it off and ignore it.
But no matter what you do, the memory always returns sooner or later.
And so does love.
Jack started when Elizabeth remembered something, and he turned to the doctor questioningly. The doctor saw his look and told Elizabeth to rest. Jack and the doctor excused themselves and went on deck to talk, where the sun was just beginning to set.
"How is it that the lass remembers something from four days ago? Does she really remember it? Do you suppose she's lying?" It occurred to Jack that he could not remember a time becoming so fascinated with something.
"Most definitely," assured the doctor. "Patients with recent head wounds often do not have the mental capacity to lie."
"Then how does she remember nothing except me? And how did she remember something from four days ago?"
"Well... I have an unproven theory..." the doctor trailed off.
"Aye?"
"In my patients with memory loss, there seems to be one person or thing engraved in their minds, something that they will never forget. This person or thing helps them remember. At first, the patient will only remember by directly physically connecting with the unforgettable person -you holding her hand, for example-, but soon it can happen without the contact and just in the presence of the person. The person or thing ultimately helps in the memory recovery."
"What are you suggestin', doctor?"
"You need to help her regain her memory. I suggest you do something that she has done for the past couple of years, maybe traveling? Have you been at sea for the past couple of years?" When Jack nodded, he went on, "But it is very important that you do this alone. If you take other company, she will begin to mix up new memories with the old, and that could cause her to never regain her memory."
Jack grinned. "Just me, Lizzie, and the sea? I knew I liked you, Doctor Ralling. I thank you."
"It was my pleasure. Her head wound itself will heal on its own very shortly. I am leaving you some salve to keep on it to hasten the process. Write me a missive to tell me what happens."
Neither of the men noticed that Will crept away from them, a look of fury on his face.
Elizabeth was almost asleep when she heard a thump. Just one thump, mind you, as if something were falling...
Or trying to open her door.
"Jack?" she whispered.
Her door opened to reveal Will silhouetted in moonlight. He was holding a rope awkwardly behind his back, and he had a piece of cloth tucked into his pocket. "Elizabeth," he whispered feverishly. "We're leaving."
I want to thank you guys for all of the reviews! Let me know how you liked this chapter! And yes, Will is trying to kidnap Elizabeth. He thinks that he is the person who can help her get her memory back. Arrogant moron... He does, however, have the sense to know that Elizabeth will probably not want to go with him, which is why he plans to tie her up and gag her.