A/N: Hey everyone!!! So sorry that it's been a while since I last updated. This week has been the week from hell. Midterm exams…enough said. But I also sent my piccolo in to get key fixed and I got a phone call saying that I had a crack in the body of the piccolo. So, basically, its garbage, and I haven't been in the best mood to write fluffy romance. Had I tried, it probably would have ended with me axing someone in this chapter. Well, anyway, sorry!!!

Chapter 12

Denial

She tasted like honey and smelled like roses. It was a combination Jack couldn't resist. He should stop before he scared her but she just tasted too good.

"We can't do this." Izzy pulled away from Jack and tried to take a step back, but she ran into the painting of the woman.

"Give me one good reason why we can't?" Jack demanded.

"You are the Captain of this ship," Izzy said. "You can't be having an affair with a crew member, even if she is female."

"Well, first off, love, I'm not too keen on having a…what did you so crudely call it… An affair, with a crew member on my ship."

"Then you agree that we can't…"

"You are now fired from my crew."

"I'm what!" Izzy shouted.

"You are not part of my crew anymore. You are now considered a guest. You may work on the ship if you wish, it is your choice. If you choose to you will go to Gibbs for your orders as usual. If not, you are welcome to do whatever you please. I will tell Gibbs to move you into the room next to Elizabeth's so you don't have to sleep with the crew. Don't you dare say you would rather stay there. You would insult me horribly if you did. I also don't want a crew member to get his grimy hands on you. It is against the rules for the crew. But if you stay there I can't guarantee that they wouldn't try it. And, since I am the Captain, I am allowed to have an affair with anyone I wish. So, because I can and because I want to and because I have a choice, I choose you."

Izzy's mouth dropped open.

"This is ridiculous. You can't just choose me. I'll say it again, we can't do this!" She shoved past him and started towards the door.

"Are you sure you mean we can't, or do you mean you can't?" Jack asked quietly.

Izzy stopped on the spot. "Of course I mean we can't," she said stiffly. With that she left the room and let the door slam.

Jack watched her leave and smiled. He was going to let her walk away this time, to think and wonder about what had gone on between them. Something definitely had, but what was it? However, next time she wouldn't get so lucky. Jack licked his bottom. She had definitely tasted good. Honey, the flavor was irresistible.

The bloody pirate captain! Izzy thought. What right did he have to try and take advantage of her? He wasn't interested in why she was on the ship. He was interested in what she could give him. Bloody pirate! Oh, she hated him at the moment. But what could she do to get off of the ship?

Izzy stalked up the stairs and onto the deck and looked around. All she saw was a deep blue color. Well, she thought. I won't be doing anything at the moment.

Izzy turned to the railing and stared out at sea. So much had changed in the past weeks. She was a different person in a world she didn't understand. If only she had someone to talk to, to have someone to answer her questions. Then, she might begin to understand. But there wasn't anyone. The only other female on board was so close to Jack it was scary. Their relationship was almost like they had been lovers at one point. But lovers didn't often stay friends after a break up so maybe they had a brother-sister relationship. It was something to contemplate at a later date.

"Aye, you remember, Captain, what it was like when we went to the end of the world," Izzy heard Gibbs said.

"Yes, I do, but I want your version of the adventure," Elizabeth said.

"All right," Gibbs muttered. "We sailed over a cliff. We thought Barbosa was mad. It had to have been a death sentence, or so we the crew thought. But it seemed Barbosa was right. We survived it."

Izzy turned and saw Gibbs and Elizabeth sitting on boxes full of rope. Gibbs was drinking a bottle of what looked like rum and his nose was getting slightly red. Elizabeth had a notebook that looked like a diary, and she scribbled down while Gibbs wrote.

"May I listen?" Izzy asked curiously.

"Sure, Izzy," Elizabeth said. "As long as Gibbs is okay with it."

"Umm…Captain, I think Jack will be gettin' upset with me if he saw that I'd been slackin' off."

"Sure Gibbs," Elizabeth said with a smile. "We can finish this later."

Gibbs slowly stood to his feet, took a nice gulp of rum and moseyed away.

"Bloody pirate," Elizabeth muttered under her breath.

"I'm so sorry," Izzy told Elizabeth sincerely. "I just don't understand why he has such a problem with me on board."

"It's all right; Gibbs has a major problem with females aboard the ship."

"I don't understand. No offense, but you're female."

"Yes, but I've proved myself. I have been part of Jack's crew; Barbosa's for a short span of time, gone on many dangerous adventures without giving them a second thought, become a pirate captain, and the king of pirates. I've also killed many men without thinking, stolen, tricked, and lied along the way. In Gibbs's eyes, I'm not female; I'm a pirate just like he is."

"Wow," Izzy said flabbergasted. "You've done so much and seen so much in such a short span of time."

Elizabeth laughed. "You sound awed. It wasn't all fun and games. There were many times where we could have died, or even worse, lived forever."

"But isn't that what a pirate wants?" Izzy asked curiously. "To be rich and live for eternity?"

"For some yes, but for others…"

Elizabeth looked out to sea and her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

"But for others, they just want to be with their loved ones."

"You really do have a story to tell, don't you?" Izzy asked surprised.

Elizabeth came back and focused her attention on Izzy.

"Of course I do. Haven't you heard the stories?"

"Yes, but I've never believed them. They all seem, well, impossible for a person to survive through."

Elizabeth chuckled darkly. "Yes, to most they are unfeasible, but to us, to us they are now just another chapter in our lives."

"Captain, when you are finished with you book, I would really like to read it," Izzy added. "To see what really happened."

"Sure," Elizabeth said. "By the way, don't call me captain. I don't have a ship at the moment. The crew calls me captain because that's what I've been for a while now, but you, you are a guest on Jack's ship, you can call me Elizabeth."

"Okay."

"Now, I must get moving," Elizabeth said. "I have a few other people I need to question today."

Coming up…

Will Izzy ever let Jack in?

What stories will Izzy find in Elizabeth's book?

Will Darkness in Starlight ever find a piccolo?