A/N: In celebration of the DMC DVD being released today over here in USA, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 14

Elizabeth wasn't sure what had woken her up exactly, but she deduced that it was from the aching soreness emanating from her back. She opened her eyes to find herself wrapped up in Will's arm, his grasp as protective as ever. She looked up into his face to see that Will was still silently dozing. As she took in her surrounding features, it took a moment for Elizabeth to remember where she was: the Bermudan Prison. Upon realizing that, she grimly remembered the past day and the things that had happened to her, in addition to Will and Jack; the pain on her back suddenly made sense again. The lashing of the cruel whip used by the vile henchmen of Blackbeard; Elizabeth and her husband were now prisoners, and she currently could see no way they would ever be able to escape. For more comfort, Elizabeth cuddled as close to Will as she could.

Elizabeth thought that she might go back to sleep again when a sudden sharp pain pierced her stomach. At first, she did her best to keep her mouth closed, but after a few more moments of the searing pain, she couldn't help but let out a small cry. The noise awakened both Will and Jack, and Will immediately went to her aid.

"Elizabeth! What's wrong, luv?"

"N-nothing," she choked out as the pain began to subside. "Just a little...stomachache, that's all." She breathed in some air.

"Are you sure," Will questioned, his voice laced with genuine concern as he softly stroked her hair.

"Yes, Will. I'm sure." Elizabeth gave him a knowing look.

Will instantly caught on. "Oh. Alright. If you're sure..."

"Yes, I'm sure." Elizabeth leaned in closer and kissed him lightly. Will and Elizabeth gazed into each other's eyes, both of their expressions filled with sympathy. They couldn't help but embrace each other tightly after a while.

From his seat on the floor across the cell, Jack eyed the couple with a questioning look. "Pardon my interruption, but am I missing something here?"

Will and Elizabeth broke apart and once again studied each other's eyes, silently attempting to decide whether or not to tell Jack. Finally, they both came to a conclusion.

"You know, I don't very much appreciate being left in the dark on things, so if you two would be so kind as to fill me in...?"

"Very well," Will spoke up. "You see, Jack, Elizabeth and me decided early on in our marriage that we would wait for the right time to start a family. Recently, we came to the conclusion that we were finally ready."

"And as it turns out," Elizabeth continued for him, "I've lately begun to notice certain...things happening with me. Things that only happen to pregnant women."

Jack looked from one to the other, appearing amused with the good news. "Well, congratulations to you both." He paused a moment. "However, I think both of our concerns are one in the same. How can you have a child in prison?"

As Jack said those words, a lump began to form in Elizabeth's throat, and she found herself unable to stop the torrent of emotions that came pouring out of her. She immediately grabbed Will, pulled him close, and sobbed into his chest.

"You're right," she said in between sobs, "we'll never have the chance to be proper parents. Blackbeard may even kill our baby once it's born!"

Will consoled her by hugging her, rubbing her back, and rocking her back and forth. "Shhh...shhh. It'll be alright, sweetie. We'll find a way to escape, I promise."

It stayed like that for a few more moments, until Jack spoke up again.

"I'm sorry," he uttered.

Will looked up at him through his own minor tears. "What," he croaked.

"I'm sorry. Sorry for dragging you two into this mess, sorry for allowing us to be captured and tortured. I should have never come to you for help on this. You were living happily in Port Royal until I came in and took you away from it in one fail-swoop. I can understand if you aren't able to forgive me." Jack hung his head solemnly.

For a few moments, Will and Elizabeth sat there, staring at Jack in stunned silence.

"Jack...," Will sputtered, "you...you've never been that...honest for as long as we've known you."

"Same here," Jack's father piped up from the cell next door.

"Well, I never imagined that things would go this far," Jack confessed. "In fact, we're all sorry. Right?" he turned to face his crew.

"Yes," every crew member said in synchronization.

"Argh, that's right!" Cotton's parrot added in its usual manner.

"Thank you. All of you. That really means a lot to us." Will and Elizabeth each looked gratefully from one pirate to the other, smiling for the first time in quite a while.

Jack even cracked a smile himself before glancing around at the outer space of the holding room inconspicuously, searching for one of Blackbeard's guards that may overhear him. Seeing none, Jack turned his head back around.

"Obviously, if there was a chance that we could escape, you two would be with me on it, right?"

Will and Elizabeth eyed the mysterious captain before nodding. "Yes, of course."

"Exactly what I wanted to hear, because I believe that I have a plan."

Pleased at the thought of escaping the dreadful prison they were in, Will and Elizabeth leaned forward, eager to hear more. "Go ahead," Will said.

"Alright, here's how it is. Last night I woke up for a moment and was lucky enough to hear Blackbeard discussing something with his crew. Apparently, a ship was spotted just on the horizon last night, and that means there'll more likely be new inmates coming here today. So here's my plan: The moment Teach and his crew depart to meet their new guests, we create a scene that'll leave the guard left behind to watch over us with no choice but to try to help one of us. The moment he unlocks the cell door, we knock him out, take the keys, retrieve our possessions from the torture chamber along with the map, find the treasure, come back here to settle things, and finally ride off into the horizon to take you two lovebirds home. Savvy?"

Will and Elizabeth briefly glanced at each other. "Yeah," Elizabeth replied, "sounds simple enough."

"Excellent. Just stick to the plan and before you know it, you'll be back in your cozy, overstuffed mansion raising your dear, sweet child."

"And you're certain this will work," Will inquired.

"Have you forgotten who you're speaking to, mate? I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"So, all we have to do is wait for them to go capture the ship?"

"Exactly." Jack turned to face his crew. "Sorry, mates. But this plan only has any real chance of succeeding if just Will and Elizabeth come along. Everything's understood, right?"

"Of course it is," James smiled. "Go ahead and get the treasure. We won't be going anywhere." As he said those words, James grabbed the iron bars firmly and tugged, reminding everyone of their strength.

Two hours had passed, and finally Blackbeard and his crew had suited up, prepared to greet their new batch of victims with welcome arms. As he passed their cell, Blackbeard grinned smugly at Jack, Will, and Elizabeth.

"Don't go anywhere. We'll return shortly."

Blackbeard and his men cackled maliciously as one of them pulled on a small lever that lifted the huge iron gate; within a matter of seconds, the ruthless pirates had exited the cave, leaving only one guard behind to monitor the prisoners.

Jack turned to Elizabeth and gave her a curt nod. "You're up," he whispered.

Just as they had discussed, Elizabeth clutched at her stomach in fake pain and keeled over on the floor, yelling in mock grief. Will then did his part by immediately going to his wife's aid, questioning her condition. Jack grinned to himself as he spun around and shouted out to the guard.

"Oy, thickhead!"

Just as Jack had anticipated, the guard responded to the remark.

"I think we need some help over here! We don't know what's wrong with her!"

The pirate looked from Jack to Elizabeth, and then back to Jack.

"Well, what're you waiting for? C'mon!"

Reluctantly, the guard crossed the room and came to a halt in front of the cell, fiddling with his keys. Finally, the pirate came across the right one, slid it into the lock, and swung the door open. The guard made to help Elizabeth, but didn't get too far, though, as Jack whipped the sword from the brute's hilt and brought the handle down over his head.

"Your concern is both touching and appreciated. Thanks, mate." Jack looked over toward Will and Elizabeth. "Are you coming or just waiting for an invitation?"

"One moment," said Elizabeth. The pirate at her feet was the one who had sexually harassed her earlier, so she kicked him many times before taking his pistol from his belt and then running off with Will and Jack.

Once all three of them were out of the cell, Jack pulled the iron door shut and re-locked it. He paused at the next cell.

"We'll be back for all of you after we obtain the treasure. Don't wander off."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," said Gibbs sarcastically.

Jack, Will, and Elizabeth then scurried down the many hallways, halting at each corner in case any other guards were lurking about. At one of the corners, Jack turned his head to look at Elizabeth. He eyed the loaded pistol that she grasped tightly in her fingers.

"I feel the need to ask if you know how to use that thing?"

"I know how to use it better than you know how to use it," Elizabeth shot back.

Jack gave her a brief look. "Good enough for me," he said finally, before taking off around the corner.

Soon, the trio reached the torture chamber, where their necessary weapons and the treasure map were located. Each one of them strapped on their belts and slid their swords and pistols into their proper place. They then searched the room until they found a couple of fairly shaped shovels. After that, Will scooped up the treasure map from Blackbeard's table.

"He's confident enough to leave the map out in the open like that?"

"Of course. All of his crew members know better than to cross Edward Teach or they'll find themselves floating around in Davy Jones' Locker."

Will nodded. ""Now, let's get out of here."

"Not without my hat," said Jack as he retrieved his beloved three-cornered hat from a nearby hanging pole protuding from the stone wall.

Jack, Will and Elizabeth soon found themselves racing once more through the maze of halls and corridors of the cave until they finally ended up where they had started.

The guard was still locked unconscious in the cell and the crewmates were silently cheering them on. Jack firmly grasped the lever that was used to lift the steel gate and he pulled with all his might. After a few moments of heaving, the gate finally lifted and Jack, Will, and Elizabeth ran out of the prison.

Once outside in the fresh air and radiant sunlight, Jack quickly scanned the area, making sure that no one was headed their way. However, they did have a direct view of part of the ocean, where two ships currently floated. Dead silence hung in the air, until the ship on the right suddenly exploded in an orange blast that caused a shower of wood to rain down into the sea. Blackbeard had apparently just rounded up a few more prisoners. Wanting to avoid the forthcoming pirate crew's return, Jack whipped out the map, unfolded it, and scanned it over.

"Well, it seems we're blessed with a bit of good luck. All we have to do is head straight north 50 feet and we'll happen to be right on top of the treasure. Come on, let's not waste time."

The trio then sprinted ahead, determined to reach their goal without any problems. Not one of them looked back.

Back inside the Bermudan Prison, Gibbs was pacing back and forth in great strides from one side of the cell to the other. James looked at him from his comfy spot on the ground.

"Relax, Gibbs. I'm sure they'll find the treasure."

"But what if Blackbeard gets to them first?" Gibbs couldn't quite keep the tone of worry out of his voice.

"C'mon. You know that Jack doesn't give up without a fight. They'll be far away from here once Blackbeard and his crew return." He turned around to eye the guard in the cell beside them. "Besides, Jack should be the least of your worries right now."

Gibbs halted. "Oh? Tell me, what should I be concerned about, then?"

"How we're going to explain the absence of Jack, William, and Elizabeth to the guard over there. He's waking up."

James was indeed correct, because in the cell next door, the knocked-out guard slowly stirred as he regained consciousness.