A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! This here is a very long chapter! I think it's more than 5000 words. Well… hope you like it:-)

Chapter 7 - Overboard

Warnings: some innuendos, tha's about it

"So, how do you know about Pico Island?" Jack asked Elizabeth, obviously upset. She fished for the right thing to say, though it would have to be a lie.

"I must have read about it in a book at some point, and made the connection," she replied, feigning disinterest.

"Ah," he replied, his face no longer twisted in anger.

That was so close, she mused.

"When will we be arriving?" she ventured to ask, hoping that her voice wasn't shaking.

"We still have a few days' travel, I do believe," he replied, the suspicion in his eyes betraying the coolness of his speech.

"Good," Elizabeth replied curtly, folding her hands on her lap.

"Lizzie," Jack managed to say. She looked up at the captain, hoping her eyes didn't convey her fear. It couldn't be true what Beckett said about Jack turning around; could it? She had betrayed his trust… not that there was much trust to betray; but her insatiable curiosity and a tinge of jealousy had temporarily blurred her sense of reasoning.

"What?" she said, after a period of uncomfortable silence, her eyes instantly revealing everything to Jack. Bloody Beckett mentioned my problem to her. He was simultaneously disgusted at Beckett and intrigued by this fear in Elizabeth.

"I know wot's goin' on," he said, watching her expression turn from that of uneasiness to that of utter fright. She did not wish to speak in return, lest her response give away any more.

"Beckett tried to pry you for information, eh? It's a wonder someone as stupid as him climbed th' ranks so effectively, wot wiv his complete an' utter inability to listen."

She stayed silent.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lizzie, but it seems that Beckett has chosen to disembark early from th' Pearl."

Elizabeth did not wish for this to happen. Beckett was the one who knew about the doctor she could go to! She had to keep him around, at least for that! Right?

"No, it's quite alright," she replied. "I will ask no further questions on the subject. Whatever issue you have with the Azores is yours and yours alone."

"As much as I hate to jus' dump twenty-five thousand pounds into th' sea, it should have been done ages ago. Besides, it would be rather sad o' the hearty crew of th' Black Pearl to be needful of such a lowly sum."

"Really, Jack; it's not needed to be done."

"Wot's your purpose for 'im now? He's apologized for 'is trespasses against you, an' you've exacted your revenge—quite successfully, I might add."

She fell silent. Other than for the doctor visit, she had no other explanation for Jack to keep Beckett aboard. She didn't want Jack to know about her health issues, though. It was bad enough that Beckett knew. Elizabeth was not the kind of person who wanted to be pitied, and waited on hand and foot like in her youth. And that's just what Jack would do if he found out about her condition.

"He didn't mean to arouse my suspicion over it—"

"We e'en saved 'im from execution, Lizzie! An' this is how he repays us, by blatantly disobeyin' me?"

"What exactly did you say to him?"

Jack waved an arm dismissively.

"That matters not. Wot matters is that I told 'im to keep 'is mouth shut. An' he did not listen."

"Why is this such a concern for you? I won't say anymore. The issue is dead. Why send him to his death over something so trivial?"

"I didn' say death exactly. Maroonin' him on an island would work jus' as well."

She crossed her arms defensively.

"It's mostly my fault that he mentioned such a thing. You needn't take it out on him."

Wot th' bloody hell is goin' on between these two? This relationship is the mos' unsettlin' thing I've ever dealt wiv, an' that's sayin' somethin'. Sure, she'll be angry wiv me once she notices he's gone, but she'll recover soon enough from his departure, an' then it'll be jus' me an' her again. Besides, we've only a very meager supply of food now. He'll be one less mouth to feed.

As Elizabeth slept in her cabin that night, Jack carried two pairs of shackles, a gag, his sword, and a pistol to where Beckett would most likely be sleeping. He did not find him in the forecastle, though he was introduced to Pintel's most odd way of sleeping with an eye open. It was then that he proceeded to enter the brig. Beckett was sound asleep in a hammock, sort of on his side so that the pressure was taken off the still sensitive skin of his backside.

He approached the unconscious man, noticing that both of his hands were curled up under his face, each clasping the other. Beckett's legs were bent at the knee and were angled the same way, ankles resting against each other. This is goin' to be too easy, he mused, slipping a shackle around one of the sleeping man's ankles. The resulting click, though causing a sharp intake of breath from Jack, did not cause Beckett to stir. Tonight Beckett slept like the dead, not a good trait to have at any point on a pirate ship. After the one shackle had been fastened the other leg was relatively easy to shackle.

Jack followed the leg shackling by slipping one of the cuffs around a slender wrist, and clicking it on securely. Beckett's limbs had all been shackled shortly thereafter, and him, not even awake yet!

When it came time to apply the gag, upon the laying of the fabric of Jack's bandanna gently against Beckett's lips, Beckett stirred, breathing loudly and trying to use a hand to swipe away the ticklish fabric. It was then that realization hit that he had been shackled, and he awoke.

Immediately Beckett shouted unintelligibly and tried in vain to move his limbs, losing his balance from the hammock in the process. He fell from the hammock with a loud thud like a sack of potatoes, Jack watching amused close nearby, his pistol at the ready.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Beckett said demandingly, searching the dim light for whoever had done him the disservice of shackling him immobile.

"I've decided that you've overstayed your welcome," Jack said in reply, his voice low.

"And why would that be? Did Barbossa put you up to this?" he spat, rage building. He remembered the tense exchange that had occurred earlier between him and the older captain.

"No, that he did not. Wot would make you suspect him of this?"

Beckett didn't feel like explaining. He had been robbed of a good night's rest and was now very cranky. Immediately he thought of something snotty to say.

"Well, because you take all your orders from him." It was an untrue statement, yet it definitely struck a chord in Jack, who automatically frowned.

"I've decided this on my own accord," he retorted.

"Since when did you ever have an idea that wasn't based on someone else's idea," Beckett said in a deadpan tone, though loudly.

"I'd have to say… now, actually," Jack replied. He grabbed Beckett by the ankle shackles and began yanking him towards the ladder. Beckett held on to the grating stubbornly with shackled hands, completely preventing Jack from making any headway.

"So I take it that you wish to stay aboard the Pearl?" Jack shot disdainfully, releasing his hold on Beckett's ankle shackles. Beckett's hands remained gripping the grating, and he glared back at the pirate captain.

"Only until we've made berth," was Beckett's reply. "Why the sudden insistence for my leave? Are you jealous?"

"An' jus' wot would I be jealous of?"

"You know very well," he replied, referring of course to the newly repaired relationship between him and Elizabeth. That's what this was all about; the scene this morning. The fact that the usually uninvolved Barbossa was so worked up over this new development strongly hinted to an even greater emotional involvement for Jack. Beckett used his arms to pull his body towards the grating, and heaved himself to a seated position, leaning his back against the grating. I can't rile up Jack too much over this, though, because then I'll never be able to be alone with Elizabeth once we disembark. He considered a bit longer. However… if I absolutely infuriate him over this, he'll take things out on Elizabeth, and his relationship with Elizabeth will change – for the worse – which can only work in my favour. She'll then see what an emotional wreck he really is, and perhaps even confide in me about his shortcomings. Of which there are certainly many.

"Do I?" Jack replied, venom in his tone.

"You are jealous of the relationship between Elizabeth and myself," he told the captain matter-of-factly, watching his expression carefully from his position on the ground.

Jack's entire jawbone seemed to drop, and his eyes changed from the usual merry appearance to one decidedly more sinister.

"Wot relationship?" Jack spat. "All I can see is that you were stupid enough to inform her of th' issue I have wiv the Azores. An' now you're goin' to pay. Can't say I didn' warn you, mate."

Elizabeth broke her promise…. Immediately upon hearing of Elizabeth's treachery, Beckett seethed with anger. It hadn't taken Elizabeth long to go back on her promise to keep his admission a secret. How long had it taken her to divulge? An hour or so from his telling her? Seconds ago, he was prepared to spout all sorts of lovely compliments about her to further incense Jack, and now he couldn't remember a single positive thing about her, contrived or no.

But really, though, where was the whole Jack's-problem-with-the-Azores thing going to get him, in the end? It was a really stupid issue to hold over Elizabeth's head, not while he had this unlikely relationship with her to hold over Jack. Beckett was customary to immediately get over problems, and this would be no different. He wasn't about to begrudge Elizabeth over this. And there was no way he was ever going to tell Jack about Elizabeth's state of health.

"I don't mind," Beckett replied, his face and voice calm as ever, feeling his anger dissipate. "In fact, I could care less."

"Right. When in fact, it bothered you to no end realizin' your lack o' knowledge on th' subject. Troubled you it did that no one in th' Royal Navy even bothered t' inform you."

"It's a dead issue, one that does not directly concern me. Anyway, where were we?" He touched his chin thoughtfully with the index fingers of his shackled-together hands. "Ah, yes, the issue of your uncontrolled jealousy over the nature of the relationship—"

"You foolishly assume that 'cause you let your guard down not once, but twice, in revealin' such heavy information to her an' then not dyin' immediately afterwards, that you two are now close. Rather stupid assumption, I must tell you. Trust is not to be trifled wiv, 'specially in regards to Lizzie."

Beckett raised an eyebrow.

"Are you saying she is not to be trusted?" he asked quietly, barely above a whisper, as if repeating something dreadful.

"You may take my words as you will. I'm jus' informin' you that although she may appear a wide-eyed innocent, she knows how to take advantage of others. An' I mean that in th' kindest an' mos' respectful way," he said quietly, his eyes darting around the darkened brig. He ended his statement with a toothy smile.

"And how is it that you have come by this most unfortunate knowledge," Beckett questioned.

"Let's jus' say that I have been a frequent victim of her charms."

"I see." The former lord sounded bored.

There was a lag in conversation as Beckett folded his legs beneath him and gripped the remains of intact grating with shackled hands in an attempt to stand up.

"An' wot do you think you're doin'?" Jack said, at seeing that Beckett was trying to stand.

"What does it look like I'm doing," Beckett responded sighingly.

"Apparently hastenin' your removal from th' ship," Jack said, taking out the sword from its scabbard on his belt. "Saves me th' trouble of liftin' you up."

Elizabeth tossed and turned in bed, her conscience bothering her. She had broken her promise to Beckett and felt incredibly guilty for doing so. Even though the ship hadn't changed direction, which she was certain it wouldn't, the fact was, Beckett had very strongly objected to her mentioning anything to Jack. Now the nausea was coming in waves, and it wasn't even morning yet! Maybe I should just clear the air with Beckett before Jack gets to him and tells him. After all, I do not want Beckett revealing my weakened state of health to anyone.

She tried to fall back asleep, but it was no use. Although Beckett had once been her mortal enemy, she felt guilty about betraying his trust, when she had entrusted her own secrets to him. She decided to traverse to the brig and see if Beckett was awake. Anything was possible, really.

After lighting a candle, Elizabeth walked to her door, hearing her bare feet padding softly on the wood boards of the cabin floor. And yet, there was another sound as well. A heavy metallic sound, like chains being dragged across the floor. She immediately blew out the candle and decided to investigate under the cover of darkness.

Elizabeth opened her door only a crack to hear two men's voices.

"Are you actually going to throw me overboard tonight?" a male voice boomed rather loudly and insistently.

A pleasant male laugh followed, along with the jangling of chains once again.

"The fact that you plan to throw me overboard right now has led me to the belief that no one else aboard has consented to this," the first man said, his voice loud but monotone.

Beckett glanced briefly at Elizabeth's cabin. Please wake up, he mused, hoping that she'd hear his blow-by-blow announcements of what was to occur. Unless the tack had changed in the last several hours, the ship was not close enough to any major land mass for him to capably go ashore.

Jack shoved Beckett towards the ladder on the gun deck. He had forced Beckett to leave the brig, and all it had taken was a well-positioned sword. Apparently Beckett still hopes to have children someday, Jack had mused, as Beckett uncomfortably made his way to the gun deck.

After Beckett made his second loud announcement of what was to come, Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I see wot you're tryin' to do, but it's not goin' to work. Even if Lizzie was awake at th' moment, wot purpose are you to her now?"

The pirate captain recalled Elizabeth's opposition to his ridding the ship of Beckett, but of course Beckett didn't have to know that. And besides, she hadn't responded when Jack had asked her what Beckett's purpose now was. He didn't have a purpose now, really, except a mild monetary one. But that could be forsaken.

Beckett could not reveal anything about Elizabeth's chronic nausea, so he could not reply that his purpose was in keeping any sort of secret, though that would enrage Jack in and of itself.

"Is it necessary that I have a specific purpose?" Beckett answered. "What's your take on Barbossa's purpose on the ship?"

Jack flashed him a look of irritation.

"Barbossa has 'is own purposes aboard th' ship, more so for some than for others. However, I fail to deduce wot advantages your existence could have for anyone on th' Pearl."

"You would not be pleased if you were aware the advantages my presence brings to a certain member of this ship," he said almost in a whisper, a naughty grin spreading across his face. "However, my continued existence aboard this ship will be short-lived; that can be assured," Beckett shot back in reply, his voice low and calm.

"Aye, done as of tonight!" Jack exclaimed angrily yet triumphantly, his voice louder than he had wished for it to be.

Elizabeth's cabin door fully opened at Jack's loud exclamation, and she appeared on the gun deck, her hair cascading in tumbles, her hair having been let down, as it was revealed that she was wearing a long nightgown and carrying an extinguished candle.

Jack and Beckett both held their breath as she appeared in front of them, looking cross, her feet bare as she strode across the floor of the gun deck.

"Hello, Lizzie," Jack finally managed to say, slightly lowering his sword from somewhere low on Beckett's body.

"What are you doing?" she asked the pair, seeing Beckett in chains and Jack behind him, holding something behind his prisoner.

Beckett spoke up.

"Jack is preparing to throw me overboard," he said matter-of-factly.

She turned to Jack.

"Why's that, Jack?" she asked the captain.

"Do I really need a reason to toss someone off me own ship?" Jack retorted.

The resulting eye roll and scowl from Elizabeth made him sigh and make an explanation, even though it wasn't needed. It was his ship, after all. Well, his and Barbossa's….

"After I had explicitly told 'im not to mention my issue to anyone, he chose to disobey me. An' so now he's goin' to have to suffer th' consequences."

Her face flushed with shame at Jack's revealing to Beckett what she had done. This consequence for Beckett was the reason Beckett had been so adamant on her not mentioning anything to Jack. Why hadn't he just told her what Jack had threatened? Well, obviously he was now aware that she had broken her promise. A fresh surge of guilt flooded her. She had hoped to explain to him what she had insinuated before Jack could get to him, to cushion the blow.

She looked over at Beckett, who was staring at her intensely, his eyes not filled with anger as Jack's had been earlier, but instead were pleading with her. Her stomach hollowed at the sight of his haunted stare. She was guilty of breaking this promise—and now he was pleading with her, even though he was aware of this fact! Why was he not shooting her a venomous glare? It would have made her feel more at ease than she did now. She felt strangely protective of him in this pitiful state.

"Surely Beckett also wants to leave the ship," she said, looking to Jack. "Why not just wait until we arrive in the Azores? That cannot be more than a couple of days' travel from here—"

"An' follow his wishes? Don' you think that blatant disobedience is deservin' of punishment? I can recall not too long ago you were willin' to—"

"Yes, disobedience is deserving of punishment," she said carefully, avoiding Beckett's intense gaze, "but certainly it's not deserving of what you're about to do."

"An' wot do you propose be done instead?" he said, walking towards her, leaving Beckett by the stairs to the main deck, his hands and feet shackled together.

Jack strode right up to her, his body less than a foot away from her own. Expertly he struck a match against his belt and relit the candle in her hands. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking at the captain. Suddenly, Jack pushed Elizabeth back into her cabin, only keeping the door open a creak, to check up on Beckett occasionally.

"Isn't there some sort of less permanent way you can teach him his lesson?" she murmured to Jack, her expression serious.

"Lizzie, that sort of thing is not like me," he explained, his voice barely above a whisper. "Unless you yourself would be willin' to administer some other sort o' punishment, I'm afraid this is his only option. I told 'im wot would happen if he disobeyed, an' he still chose to do so…."

Now I will be informed of how close these two really are, Jack mused. If she consents to punishin' him, it's either because they are close or because she wants to prove to me that they are not. If she does not offer to do so… well, he'll be gone anyway.

Elizabeth was torn. Should I offer another option? It may be the difference between life and death for Beckett. And I am indebted to him, being as he did save my life. Then I went and broke my promise after all that. But what can be done to him?

She pondered for a bit, and then came up with an idea. Not original, exactly, but it may well have to do. I cannot for the life of me think of anything else.

"Would another flogging suffice?"

Jack's eyes suddenly became wide in pure astonishment.

"You'd be willin' to flog him… after all that happened las' time?"

"Well, I'd hope it'd prove to you that I'm not becoming overly softhearted as you probably already suspect," she replied, a smirk on her face.

He gave her a smile, his nerves finally at ease. She is actually serious about this… but I should ask again, jus' to be certain. If this is true, well… the fact that she's willin' to do this for him does suggest somethin' may be goin' on, but the fact that she has nothin' to lose from floggin' him makes me think otherwise. Now, if she agreed to be flogged as well as him in order to keep 'im from bein' thrown overboard, I'd suspect somethin' more's definitely goin' on. Maybe she still feels guilty 'cos he saved her life an' then she turned around an' ratted on 'im. Yeah, that makes sense…

"So rather than him bein' tossed overboard, you're willin' to flog 'im for his disobedience to me?"

"Yes. I am disgusted that he did not obey your wishes—after all you've done for him."

Jack was so overcome, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. She had said the perfect thing. Instead, he resisted, and stuck out his hand.

"What's that for?" she asked, staring at his hand quizzically.

"We are agreein' to this revision, are we not?" was his reply.

A subtle smile on her face, she proceeded to shake the hand of yet another man aboard the Black Pearl.

"When shall you be carrying out said punishment?" Jack questioned, peering out the crack of Elizabeth's slightly ajar cabin door to see Beckett shuffling around on the gun deck, his wrists and ankles still shackled together. Jack continued. "I recommend doing so tomorrow, being as we will be reaching our destination shortly. No tellin' how much longer th' prig'll be wiv us after that point."

"Tomorrow's fine," she said. "However, I would prefer not to carry out the punishment on deck again in front of others. That sort of punishment only made him more arrogant. He seemed to learn much more from the later punishment in the brig, if you'll recall."

Jack's stomach squirmed, reminding him of his earlier feelings about the public flogging and Beckett's very public breakdown. It was true that what had occurred above deck did not instill humility or respect in Beckett. What happened later had definitely been the beginning of the change within their captive. Elizabeth had broken Beckett then. And well, Jack really didn't want to watch the whole lashing, sniveling thing again….

"Very well. Will you be carryin' it out in th' brig then?"

"Yes," she replied confidently.

It had been settled. Jack and Elizabeth left her cabin, approaching Beckett, who was still in shackles.

Jack took out some keys and unshackled Beckett's wrists and ankles. He stood there, staring down at the top of Jack's head as Jack unshackled his ankles, looking up at Elizabeth to see no readable expression on her face.

"What's going on?" Beckett asked, feeling rather confused at present. He had expected her to save him from being thrown overboard, but never expected it to go as far as release from his restraints. Jack stood up, shackles in hand.

"You're goin' to be flogged as punishment, rather than bein' thrown off th' ship."

Beckett was intrigued by this new development.

"And who is going to be administering this punishment, may I ask," he managed to say, rubbing his wrists where the shackles had been cutting into the skin.

Jack suddenly looked uncomfortable, shifting back and forth on his feet.

"That would be me," Elizabeth replied. Jack glanced at her as she spoke, afterwards turning to Beckett to observe his immediate response.

Although Beckett's expression did not convey excitement or happiness, there was something about the corner of his mouth that said more than Beckett would have wanted to admit, or that Jack wanted to know.

I must be seein' things, Jack mused, looking back to Elizabeth, who now seemed almost ethereal as she stood by candlelight in her nightgown. Jack was glad that he had lit the candle for her, if only to take in this view. There's no way Beckett could have enjoyed bein' beatin' into such a pitiful state. 'Course, it was Elizabeth doin' so…

Elizabeth exchanged glances with Beckett, who couldn't read the stoic expression on her face. The odd upturned curve of his lip fell back to seriousness in his confusion. My wounds haven't even healed completely from last time, he mused, feeling a surge of anxiety. Well, at least drowning isn't going to be an option for tonight….

Jack stole a quick peek at Beckett, whose expression was now what he would expect: concern, mixed with a bit of uncertainty. Jus' wot I thought; he's worried, as he should be.

"Well, we should be transportin' him somewhere secure durin' th' course of th' night," Jack said, stepping towards Beckett. "However, I do recall the sad state of the cell in th' brig. Perhaps we should chain 'im to th—"

"You needn't do so," Elizabeth said, looking directly at Beckett. Jack flashed her a look of incredulity, but she was still staring at his prisoner. She continued explaining. "By the way he was carrying on out here earlier, he has no intention of wanting to go overboard… at least for tonight."

"Lizzie," Jack said, grabbing her arm, moving his face close to her own, his voice suddenly becoming very soft. She gaped at him, surprised at his insistence.

"This sort of overnight arrangement will not allow for our agreement to be carried out—"

"I can assure you that he's not going to try to escape," she said, interrupting him and looking at Beckett. "We're much too far away from any shore for him to ever survive abandoning ship."

She wasn't exactly sure of the truth of her statement, but it sounded confident enough to convince Jack—and perhaps Beckett as well. It was too dark for them to actually see anything from above deck at this point, so her word might possibly suffice.

Beckett glanced at her using his peripheral vision, his face twisted with bewilderment. Was she actually putting her trust in the notion that he'd obey her wishes?

After Jack's eyes darted back and forth between her and Beckett, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, he decided to retire for the evening.

Once Jack had left but before Elizabeth had retreated back into her cabin, Beckett approached her quite haughtily, clasping his hands behind his back in a stately fashion. She had had her back turned to him and was just opening her door when he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Am I to believe that I am not going to be secured in the brig for the time being?" he asked her, causing her to turn around to face him.

"Isn't that what I just told Jack?" she retorted, shooting a haughty glance back.

"I find it hard to fathom your faith in my obedience." He strode around to her side, keeping his hands behind him, the gold trim of his ruined velvet coat gleaming in the candlelight.

"I just prevented you from being thrown off the ship. Your earlier announcements led me to the assumption that you don't want to die just yet. So I expect that you won't be jumping overboard any time soon."

A pang of guilt struck her. Surely he was going to bring up the unfortunate fact that she had betrayed him…

"Well, now that I am unshackled, I have more of a chance of surviving, if I do so choose to slip away in the night."

"Ha! Likely! It'll be easy to spot you out there in the water," she said.

"How so?" This should be good, he mused.

"We'll just look for encircling seagulls, diving down occasionally to feed upon your waterlogged corpse," she replied matter-of-factly, flashing a morbid smile.

"Ugh, how revolting."

"You asked."

Elizabeth was disgusted at the prospect that Beckett had most likely told Jack about her nausea problem, but Jack's not mentioning it had made her feel odd. Maybe he had forgotten in the heat of the moment, arguing with her over Beckett's fate.

"I expect to see you here tomorrow, to accept to your punishment like a man," Elizabeth said, turning back around and pushing open the door to her cabin, feeling a strange twinge at saying such a thing to a man older than herself. She glanced around the gun deck suspiciously, hoping Jack had since slunk off to bed, and then looked at Beckett. He just stood there, arms at his sides, looking surprisingly awkward and lost, a very rare side of him to see.

Elizabeth shut her cabin door behind her, leaning back against it with a sigh, as it clicked shut.

That was close, she thought, looking about her cabin. I need Beckett, at least for the time being, to bring me to this doctor. My entire body has been feeling odd these past several weeks. It's probably something quite serious, and with him gone, I'd have to confide in someone else, something I really don't want to have to do. It's bad enough that he knows. I wonder if he said something to Jack, being as he now knows that I didn't keep my side of the promise….

She extinguished the candle and crept back into bed, suddenly aware that she had worn her nightgown in front of two men that had made her oddly uncomfortable several moments in time. And now, yet another time.

A/N: So I was wondering; would you guys like little snippets of previews from the chapter to come? I do like when authors do that sort of thing, because it gives you a little hint of what may happen next. If you would indeed like this, I will have them for most chapters, when I am ahead of myself. I will include one as a sort of example.

Chapter 8: Suddenly she was smiling at him, feeling only good thoughts and, daresay, a twinge of pity for this man sitting on the bed next to her.