Harrell Island was many miles from the Fountain of Youth. The days alone in the cell dragged on and on and Elizabeth and Jack eventually lost count of the weeks. Elizabeth spent most of her time sleeping or eating what little food they were offered, while Jack thought up a plan for their escape. Collins came down for a visit every once and a while to taunt them and tell of the progress the ship was making to their destination.

One morning, Elizabeth woke up just like she had on previous morning; with a tear-stained face and an aching back. Her head was lying on Jack's chest and her arms were hugging his waist. No matter where she ended up falling asleep in the cell, somehow she always ended up next to Jack in the morning. He head rose and fell with his chest as he breathed. She could hear his snores rumble beneath his rib cage.

Elizabeth fell back asleep with a smile on her face, but a nightmare followed as she drifted. She was standing on the platform of the hangman's noose, the feared rope was dangling in front of her. "Step forward," a soldier instructed her. As she obeyed, she searched the crowd. Far in the back, she found a familiar face. Will stared at her with sad eyes. "Will! I'm so sorry!" she shouted to her husband as the hangman inserted her head in the noose. Will replied to her call, yelling, "Don't apologize to me, Elizabeth! Apologize to our child!" She screamed as the lever was pulled to end her life.

"Lizzie! Love! Wake up!" Jack uttered, shaking her nightmare away. Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open and she tilted her head up to face the handsome captain. He gazed back at her with concerned eyes as he told her, "You seemed to be having a nightmare. You were making strange noises and sweating and you kept saying 'I'm sorry'." She let go of his and sat up, leaning on the wall behind them
"Jack, are you afraid."
"Of what, love?" He pushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.
"The noose. Being hung. Dying."
"If you remember, Lizzie, I've already been to the noose before. You're brave whelp of a husband valiantly rescued me... although I would have found a way out myself."
"Yes, but Will won't be there to save you this time."
"Don't be so negative."
"I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic. You're just overly optimistic."
"Elizabeth-"
"Jack, do you realize that, some day soon, Collins is going to walk down those steps, drag us to the hangman's noose and you, I and my child are all going to die. And it's all my fault." She buried her face in her hands and bean to sob.
"How is it YOUR fault?" Somehow his voice had gotten closer and she could feel his breath on her ear.
She lifted up her face and looked at him. His face was close to her and his eyes lingered with curiosity. "If I had just stayed on that island-"
"Elizabeth," he interrupted her, "if you had stayed on that island, you would have suffocated. That island was a prison that William unintentionally sentenced you to. You could never live a life like that."
She just shook her head.
"Like I've told you before, you long for freedom. You knew that that island was no place for you, or you wouldn't have agreed to come with me. Cause the Lizzie I know is far too stubborn to do what Ol' Jack will tell her. You longed for freedom. You longed to do what you wanted to do because you wanted it. You finally acted on selfish impulse."
She sighed. "You make it sound like that's a good thing."
He smiled at her. "Well, aren't I right? I knew you wouldn't be able to resist."

Elizabeth frowned and she felt a tear escape her eye. It wasn't a tear of sadness, to her surprise. It was a joyful tear. The frown on her face flipped into a grin. Jack's smile matched hers. She found a small reason to be happy. She wasn't going to go through this alone. If she was going to die, she was glad that Jack would be there with her. She couldn't think of anyone better. However, within a few moments, that happiness slipped away.

The smile disappeared on her face, and Jack's faded with it. She swallowed a lump in her throat and stared at him with pleading eyes. "Jack," she said, "hold me." His eyes were confused and he gazed at her like SHE was the crazy one. She managed to say through the tears, "Please." He said nothing, but nodded and pulled her towards him, sitting her on his lap. She latched onto his arms from behind and brought them in front of her so that they wrapped around her waist. He set his chin on her shoulder.

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side and leaned it on his. She held onto his hands and rubbed his knuckles with her thumb. "You know," she told him, "you should be telling me to get off of you, saying that this can't possibly be allowed." She shrugged and merely replied in one word, "Pirate."

Why was she letting him do this if she knew it was wrong? Jack's head hurt from all of the confusion he was feeling. He thought back to what Calypso had told him. "I know how she feels about you." Did Elizabeth have feelings for Jack? 'No,' he told himself. Why would she always bring up Will at his weakest moments? After convincing himself that Elizabeth was just lonely, he heard her say, "I feel like a murderer."
Trying not to point of that she was, since she had killed him already, he asked, "Why?"
"Because I'm killing my baby."
"I already told you, Lizzie, it's not your fault." He felt her tears drip on his chest.
"No, but it feels like it. My baby will never see sunlight. He'll never feel that spray of the sea. He'll never see his father... or me."
Jack burned with the frustration of his helplessness as he said, "I'll find a way to get us out of here."
Another voice entered the conversation, "Oh, I highly doubt that, Sparrow."

Jack patted Elizabeth's stomach and said, "I need to get up, love." She scooted off of him. Collins stood outside the cell and glared, teasing, "You two seem to have grown close in the last couple of months." Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise, "We've been in here a couple of moths?"
"Roughly a couple. Maybe a little more. Sorry, but we had stops to make."
"Jack, that means I could have this baby any day now!"

Jack grew stiff and his fists clenched at the realization that the ship was stopped and they were most likely docked at Harrell now. Collins's face stretched into an evil smile. Jack turned around and helped Elizabeth up. They both walked to the door of the cell and stood in front of Collin, who said, "Such a shame that you're going to die so soon, isn't it, Mrs. Turner?" Elizabeth huffed and reached through the bars on the cell, grabbing the collar of Collins's jacket. "You heartless bastard!" she growled at him, pulling him abruptly forward, smacking his face into the metal bars, knocking him unconscious. She let go of him and watched him drop to the floor.

Collins twitched and moaned on the brig's floor. Jack looked towards Elizabeth and smirked, stammered, "That was very..." He couldn't find the right word. "Stupid?" she tried.
"I was going to say 'attractive', but that works too."
"He's not going to be happy when he wakes up."
"Probably not."

At that moment, two soldiers came down the stairs, each carrying a pair of shackles. When they saw the fallen lord, they quickened their steps. "Lord Collins?" They leaned over and tried to shake him awake. Once his eyes opened, Collins jumped back on his feet and put his hat on straight. Jack saw that one side of his face was purple and covered in blood. Jack hadn't realized that Elizabeth had pulled THAT hard. He could have sworn that Elizabeth stifled a giggle right then.

Collins unlocked the cell door and grabbed Elizabeth by the arm, yanking her out of the prison. Jack watched in worry. "Well," Collins said to Elizabeth, "I just thought that you should know that the only reason you're not dead now is because if I don't deliver you to Lord Duran alive, I could lose my ranks." She glared at him and snarled, "You're too kind, Collins."
"Nevertheless, I think you owe me now."
"I don't think so." She tried to free her arm.
"Before you die, you're going to have to make up for what you just did."
As Collins touched her neck, she screamed, "Get off me!"
"Maybe pirates ARE worth more than information. At least the women. Isn't that right, Jack?"
Jack was losing his self-control with every second that rolled by.
Elizabeth tried to threaten Collins, "Let go of me, or I'll-"
"What?" He worked his hand down her chest.
"Ugh! Get off me!" She shrieked as she struggled to escape.

Jack couldn't take any more. He grabbed the pistol from Collins's belt and shot the lord between the eyes. Elizabeth screamed as Collins's eyes rolled back into his head and fell to the floor, dead. The two soldiers in the room seized Jack and pried the pistol from his fingers. The shackles clicking around his wrists still did not ruin his feeling of triumph and satisfaction.

One of the soldiers yelled to the upper deck, "Can we get some help down here?" Elizabeth's eyes never moved from Collins's dead body on the floor. His blood swam through the cracks in the floor boards. Three more soldiers came running down the steps, bayonets in hand. After both pirates were handcuffed, they were escorted to the upper deck.

Jack took in the first breath of fresh air he'd had in months. The soldiers followed behind him and Elizabeth, carrying Collins. Elizabeth stood next to Jack and said to him, "Thank you for what you did." He turned and smiled at her replying, "No one gets to act like a disgusting pig towards you, except for me."
"Can't you just say 'you're welcome, Elizabeth'?"
"Never understood why people are permitted to say that. It's like being punished for being thanked."
"Very well... good man." She whispered the last part.
"I hate it when you do that."

A carriage arrived at the docks. Jack felt a whimper emerge from his chest as he watched the passenger step out. Duran walked up the gangplank in all his glory; medals, nice hat, flowing coat and guards. "Oh no," Elizabeth murmured under her breath. Jack shifted his weight and he grumbled, "One down, one to go." All of the soldiers stood perfectly still at attention as Duran passed by them, walking towards the pirates on the ship.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Duran nodded at his prisoner, then the next, "Mrs. Turner." "Lord Duran," Jack greeted, "you look well."
"As do you, Captain Sparrow. Too bad it won't be for much longer."
"I know. 'Specially since once you stab the heart, you're going to get all tentacley."
"I was talking about YOU. Seeing as you're not going to live past high noon. In a matter of hours, you'll be hanging, lifeless, from a noose."
"That doesn't sound too pleasant."
"It-" A soldier whispered something in Duran's ear. "Are you serious?" the Lord asked.
The soldier nodded.
"Jack, I've just received word that you've killed Collins."
"My deepest sympathy, Duran." He bowed his head.
"Actually, I was going to thank you."
"Come again?"
"He was too by-the-book."
"Collins? By-the-book?" He scoffed.
"Yes. You see, he had a problem with hanging Elizabeth because she's pregnant."
"But..."
"I told him to play it safe and pretend like it didn't matter while I thought about it. I was going to have him shot down before we hung the two of you."
"I knew it wasn't allowed to hang a pregnant woman. Seemed fish to me... no pun intended, Lord Duran."
"Well, you see, Jack, all I have to do is tell the king that the child died inside of Elizabeth before we even hung her."
Elizabeth cut in and spat, "You're sick."
"Am I? Or just smart?"
"You spend your days hunting down pirates for their crimes, while you're just as much as a criminal as we are."
Jack was surprised that she included herself by saying "we".
"Miss Elizabeth, I want to show you something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a document.
"What is it?"
"This is the key to your life. All it takes is my signature and seal, and your slate is clean. You'd be surprised at all of the benefits you get for just being pregnant. But, I don't feel like signing it. What a shame."

Jack stood beside Elizabeth in the doorway outside of the courtyard, surrounded by soldiers with their guns ready. He could see the platform of the hangman's noose in the distance. The masked man in charge of setting up-the hangman, rather,-was tying the first rope into a perfect noose. Jack Elizabeth's personal guards were by each captive, with a hand on one of the pirate's arms, just in case. The last time Jack had been sentenced to the noose, the crowd was fairly larger and there were fewer soldiers. Now, there was a smaller crowd and more soldiers. Duran stood front and center with more lords and leaders of the East India Trading Company at his side. Jack remembered what Collins had said, "He wanted to be one of the few to witness your demise."

Beside him, Jack saw Elizabeth shaking. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. Her hair and face were both covered in dirt and her forehead was damp with sweat. Her cheeks sparkled with tears. Despite all of this, she was still the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her chained hands were resting on her swollen stomach. To Jack's surprise, a smile was on her face and she shook her head. "What?" he asked her. "Nothing," she replied, "I just never thought in my wildest dreams... or nightmares, that I would be standing here next to Captain Jack Sparrow, waiting to be executed for piracy."
"Exhilarating, ain't it?" He smiled.

As the hangman tied the second noose, Jack felt his foot tapping with anxiety. He glanced at Elizabeth, who was still staring at her stomach, but then turned her head up to look at him. "Jack," she asked, "could you please fulfill a dying woman's last request?" Her words tugged at his heart. He told her, "We're not going to die, Lizzie."
"Jack, please."
"Don't see what I could possibly do with these irons clapped on my wrists, but go for it."
"You promise to do it?"
"You have m word as a gentleman AND a pirate."
"Very well... kiss me."
He was not expecting that. "What?"
"Kiss me. Just do it, Jack."

Jack inched forward, little by little, and then brushed his lips quickly against hers. When he pulled back, she looked hurt. "That's not fair," she whined. "Are you serious?" His eyebrows rose in shock.
"That doesn't count!" She stomped her foot.
"You want one that counts? Fine!"

Lifting his shackled hands over Elizabeth's head, Jack pulled her close to him and kissed her in a way that definitely would count. He moved his mouth on hers fiercely and with passion. He could feel her accept him freely. The way he had the irons around her neck reminded him of the first day they met when she had put his effect on for him. He smiled at the memory, which made it a little harder to kiss her.

One of the soldiers took Jack by the shoulders and yanked him back, grunting, "Break it up!" Jack lifted his arms back over Elizabeth's head as she gasped for air and blinked uncontrollably. He realized that both nooses were prepared and felt a soldier push him forward. As he neared the platform, he saw a familiar blue parrot fly across the sky. He heard Elizabeth begin to ask, "Was that-" Then she tripped over a rock.

Standing behind the nooses in front of them, Jack and Elizabeth stared down at the men who had been waiting for this moment for almost nine months. Duran glowed with pride and gazed at the two pirates like a hunter would gaze at his prized animal heads on the wall. Jack looked around for an escape, but they were surrounded by high stone walls with a guard at every post. "Don't even think about it, Sparrow," he heard Duran say. He frowned at he evil lord and lied, "I was just admiring the fine architecture of this fort."

"Step forward," a soldier instructed Elizabeth. She felt like she was reliving her nightmare, but Will was nowhere in sight. She placed her hands on her stomach and watched her tears fall onto her shirt. The hangman inserted her head in the noose and she waited for him to tighten the rope, but nothing happened. "Miss Elizabeth," she heard Gibbs's voice come from beneath the mask behind her, "take the key." He reached his arm around her and handed it to her. She obeyed as he tightened the rope.

Gibbs moved onto Jack, but didn't even bother with the noose. He pulled off the mask and shouted, "Now, lads!" The soldiers took off their hats and threw down their bayonets, grabbing pistols from their belts. Elizabeth saw the faces of her comrades and smiled. She unlocked the irons, freed her head from the rope around her neck and unlocked Jack's irons. "Take these," Gibbs instructed, handing the two pirates pistols of their own.

Duran's shock was priceless. He and the other lords searched frantically for an exit, shouting, "If any of you are my men, fire!" Elizabeth asked Gibbs, "Are any of these soldiers his men?" "Well," Gibbs replied, "Let's just say that when the real soldiers were briefed this morning, it was a big hit."
"Brilliant!" She shot one of the lords as he pulled out a gun.
"Aye. Captain Teague be real good with explosives."
"Captain Teague?"
"You don't think Jack will mind, do you?"
"Uh... "

Jack shot down all of the lords, except for Duran. As Duran tried to get his gun from his back, Jack shot him in the hand and the weapon went flying. "Hope that wasn't your writing hand," Jack told him, taking him by the neck and shoved him through a door of the fort. They were in some sort of living quarters. "Hands up," Jack ordered Duran, who did what he was told. "Sit in the chair," Jack commanded, aiming his pistol at his enemy. "Now," Jack said, "pull that document that frees Elizabeth out of your jacket." Duran obeyed. Jack grabbed an inkwell and a pen off of a nearby table and instructed the lord, "Sign it."

Duran took the pen and dipped it in the inkwell. He unfolded the paper and marked it. Jack snatched a candle and melted some of the wax onto the paper. "Your seal, if you please." Duran pressed his ring onto the wax and then lifted his finger up again. His seal was now caked onto the document. "Jack," he said, "It appears I've lost THIS round." The pirate shook his head and replied, "Oh no, Duran. There won't even be a next round for you. This is your last. I win." He pulled the trigger and shot Duran in the heart.

Pintel and Ragetti came running up to Elizabeth, carrying the Dead Man's Chest. "We got it, poppet!" Pintel exclaimed to her. "And here's the key," Ragetti added, handing it to her. She stuck it in her pocket and smiled. Teague said, "Congratulations, King Swann." "Thank you, Captain Teague," she replied. Jack came towards them, yelling, "Let's got out of here before more landlubbers show up!" He turned to lead them to the docks, but then turned back. He cocked his head and looked at Teague, asking, "What the bugger is he doing here?" "Gibbs came to me for help," Teague replied.
"Did you?" Jack glared at this first mate, who flinched.
"Don't be so hard on him, Jack. You needed all the help you could get."
"I did not. Lizzie and I would have found a way out."
"Really? Cause it looked like you were just about to be hung an hour ago."
"I always find a way. Even when I don't have a plan, I've got a plan."

While the father and son continued to argue, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and listened. She patted her pocket that had the key in it and a wave of relief engulfed her. Suddenly, she felt something strange inside of her and water started trickling down her legs. What little knowledge she had of medicine told her what was happening. "Jack," she interrupted his and Teague's argument, but Jack seemed oblivious. "It wasn't a complicated plot," he retorted, "I could have come up with something better if I was in your shoes." "I doubt it," Teague replied.
"If I was in charge, Elizabeth and I would have been freed before we even got to the noose."
"Sure..."

"JACK!" Elizabeth shouted at him. "What?" he asked, annoyed. She used her will power to not punch him as she said, "I'm going to have this baby."
"I know, and we'll be ready when that time comes."
"No... " Her first contraction ht her. "I'm in labor NOW!" She grabbed onto Gibbs's shirt and leaned over.
"Bugger."