A/N: I apologize that this chapter has been a long time in the making. As I was talking with one of my faithful reviewers several weeks ago, they mentioned an ending to this chapter that I had not thought of before and yet once they brought it up I couldn't see it as ending any other way. And so began the task of reworking the plot to make sure it would all fit...with several new twists and turns, no doubt. So here, we have what you have all been waiting for. I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but hopefully, I now have something much more intriguing that in the future allows for a much greater level of character development. Enjoy!
Cal...Thank you as always for your insightful review. I hope you don't get too angry with me after this chapter. I've still got my fingers crossed about that.
Miss Anya...Thanks for being a faithful reader and reviewer. Your reviews are always much appreciated.
Kenn...I'm glad to see you're enjoying. The dream was interesting to write...still not exactly sure where that one came from.
C'lyn...Hope I cover Decker's feelings well enough for you in this chappy...
Kungfuchick...Always good to see another reader/reviewer :o) I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long for an update.
The rest of the night went by in a blur. There were times when Anamaria would become so still that Jack was sure she must have drifted off to sleep. And then suddenly, her eyes would flash open and her face become gripped in pain and they would have to use pillows to help stifle her screams. Jack truly admired the bravery the lady showed through her most difficult moment.
As the pink light of dawn slowly began to brighten the windows of the cabin, Jack said a small prayer of thanks that the night had passed. Although Anamaria's pain was still growing increasingly worse, it somehow seemed easier to deal with during the daylight. With every hour that passed, they were becoming all that much closer to the tiny island of St. Croix.
Not long after dawn had come did Jack hear the knock that he had been dreading. He looked at Anamaria, sleeping so peacefully for the moment, and hated knowing that he would have to answer Decker's questions. The knock sounded again and Jack hurried to the door before the man could wake Anamaria with his insistent pounding.
The doctor nodded a good morning to Jack and immediately crossed the room to stand at his patient's side.
"How is she?" he asked.
"Last night was a bit rough," Jack began.
Decker began to unwind the bandages and the pressure of his touch on her damaged flesh awoke Anamaria. She came to quickly and her eyes flashed hotly at the captain as she realized that he had let Decker in.
Several seconds later, the doctor found himself faced with one of the worst looking injuries in his entire career.
"Captain Sparrow, you were supposed to inform me immediately if something happened during the night."
"I know, but..."
"This is one of the worst cases..." Decker began to interrupt.
He stopped himself when, despite the great pain it caused her, Anamaria snatched her arm away from him. She clutched it to her chest, tears springing to her eyes as she studied the rotting flesh. Jack felt a small wave of nausea roll over him, but managed to contain it, remaining strong for his first mate.
"Miss Anamaria," Decker said softly. "You have to let me take care of that."
"By cutting it off?" she snapped harshly at him.
"You're badly injured. If we don't do something for it now..."
She cut him off again, "It's my arm and it's my pain. Therefore it's my decision."
"Miss Ana..."
At that point, Jack stepped in to interfere. He placed a hand on the doctor's arm and forced him to look at him rather than Anamaria. "She's made her decision Decker," he said softly, but firmly.
Decker looked angry that his captain was second-guessing him, but it was Anamaria who snapped at Jack, "I don't need you to stand up for me."
Jack's eyes clouded and then cleared as he desperately attempted to remind himself of her situation. It was the pain talking to him, not Anamaria. Jack stepped back, taking his hand away from the doctor's arm.
"I've asked Captain Sparrow to set a course for my hometown," she said firmly. "There is a woman there who can help me."
Decker looked at her strangely before it occurred to him that she was referring to a witch doctor. "Miss Saldana, I hope you don't think there's any truth to those sorts of stories..."
"I think there's a lot of truth to those stories. I've been healed by her before when I was a child and I'm sure that this will be no different."
"Please," Decker tried, "if that wound gets much worse, it's going to endanger your life."
Anamaria shook her head, holding her ground. "If I lose my arm, I will be nothing."
"Ana, you know that's not true," Jack started.
"It is true. What good is a pirate with one arm?" she snapped, then softening her tone, "Much less a pirate captain with one arm...and a woman at that..."
Jack wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say. He wanted what was best for her, but he knew that she was as stubborn as he was. Possibly even more so at times and this was definitely one of those times. So he remained silent.
Decker studied both his captain and his patient and found himself at a loss of words as well.
"I appreciate your help up to this point, Doctor. But I must see if there is another way," Anamaria explained.
Decker nodded slowly, "I understand Miss Anamaria. But I can't promote your notions that a witch doctor is going to solve this problem."
"I'm not asking you to promote my idea nor my decision. I am only asking that you heed it," Anamaria said.
Decker had never had a patient so blatantly ignore his advice, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to convince her that she was wrong, especially not with his captain on her side.
"So what is it that you want me to do Captain?" he finally asked.
"Stay with her," Jack ordered. "Make her as comfortable as possible. There's two bottles of rum left in the cabinet. I'm going to take the helm. See if I can't get us there any faster."
Anamaria's eyes met his and Jack's agenda instantly changed. "On second thought, I'm sure Mr. Gibbs is doing fine by himself. I'll just go check on our status and then I'll be right back."
Anamaria smiled gratefully as Jack turned to go. Once he had left the cabin, Decker continued to try and reason with her, but she quickly silenced him through her harsh tone and almost instantly felt bad about doing so. She genuinely liked Decker and she knew he was an excellent doctor, especially to be aboard a pirate ship. Most crews were forced to settle with a carpenter who served as a doctor only when the need came about. Fortunately for The Black Pearl, Decker had been one of the few men that Jack had actually managed to recruit during their initial voyage to Tortuga. Anamaria was still amazed that her captain had convinced someone of his caliber to join their crew. She supposed, however, that Jack could be very persuasive when he hadn't consumed too much rum the night before. It had seemed as if he had just left, when he opened the door again and briskly crossed the room, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, "Mr. Gibbs said we've made extremely good time and we should be there within another three hours approximately." Anamaria found herself impressed with the older man's sailing skills. As Jack passed the cabinet next to his bed, he took out a bottle of rum and brought it to Anamaria. She took it from him, immediately popping the cork and swallowing the burning liquid.
The next three hours seemed surreal at times to Anamaria. There were moments of intense pain. There were seconds that the pain eased so much that she thought she must be dead and on her way to heaven. There were times when Jack and Decker were completely silent, staring on at her and then there were times when Decker wouldn't stop hounding her about letting him solve all of her problems. Finally, she let Jack speak up for her, not because she couldn't stand up for herself, but because she was exhausted from fighting the battle. Her injury had worn her down and she was beginning to struggle mentally in addition to her physical battle. It only took several sentences from Jack for Decker to be put in his place, but Anamaria could tell in his eyes that they had hurt the man deeply. She knew he must feel that his expertise had been ignored.
"Land ho!" suddenly sounded from above and Jack, who had been resting his head in his hands, jumped up and quickly moved out the door.
He returned shortly, the smallest trace of a smile on his lips that could be mustered at this point.
"We're here," he said, just above a whisper.
Mr. Gibbs and Jack were lowered in a rowboat with Anamaria into the ocean. Decker had kept her arm wrapped up and the crew was sympathetic as they saw her pass. She hated knowing that someone felt sorry for her. She hated knowing that they saw a lesser person when they looked at her. Keeping her eyes hard as she passed them, she let no one into her emotions or the pain they all knew she must be feeling. Jack and Gibbs didn't waste time getting to the small island from the ship and Gibbs agreed to wait by the small rowboat while the captain escorted Anamaria into the interior of the island. The two pirates remained silent as they took the hike through the brush that used to be Anamaria's village before the pirates had attacked so many years ago.
Now, there was little left that even showed a village might have once been present. Several strange structures were left. Frames of houses that refused to fall and give in to the forces of nature that had swept over them time and time again.
When Anamaria found the path that she remembered from her childhood, she turned to Jack. "I appreciate your support so far," she said, pausing, "and the fact that you've stood up for my decision. But the rest of this, I must do by myself."
Jack nodded silently, reaching for her hand. He squeezed her fingers gently and then leaned forward to kiss her briefly. "I'm right here," he whispered, softly brushing her cheek with the tips of his fingers.
Anamaria had been gone for almost twenty minutes when Jack got the feeling that something might be terribly wrong. He was sitting in the grass, staring through the brush and struggling to make out the outline of The Black Pearl when he suddenly felt the urge to check on his first mate.
At first, he tried to shake the feeling, but when he could not, he stood and began to make his way down the tiny path that led through the forest where he had last seen her disappear.
Fifty yards into a clearing he saw her sitting on a fallen tree. She was clutching her arm to her chest and crying desperately harder than he would have imagined possible. He rushed to her side, squatting on the ground in front of her and brushing her hair out of her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked, searching her eyes. "Are we in the wrong place?"
Anamaria shook her head, pointing towards a large tree. She attempted to choke out the words to explain, "She's...not...here."
"Well, maybe she moved," Jack attempted.
"How stupid could I be?" Anamaria continued to weep. "She was killed along with the rest of the village when Barbossa attacked...I'm a fool."
Jack felt his heart sink. All of the hope she had carried, all of the hope he had carried for her was gone in an instant.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Anamaria began to cry harder, her body racked with her sobs.
Jack felt entirely helpless. He closed his eyes and involuntarily dropped his head in a desperate attempt to try and imagine everything as it was supposed to be. But the picture wouldn't come.
His eyes rose to meet his first mate's and he knew they had no other choice. No other choice but to go back to the ship and face Decker. Decker and his cruel, jagged saw. He felt as if he had let her down and he held back tears that threatened to flood his own eyes at any moment.
Anamaria caught the hint of sadness, despite her own tears, and said the only thing she knew might comfort him.
"It's alright. I don't blame you...only myself. We must do what has to be done."
Her brave words did not make Jack feel less guilty, but they did give him the strength to stand. Surprising her, as well as himself, he stooped to pick her up and carried her back to the rowboat where Gibbs was waiting for them.
When the man saw Jack carrying the girl, he was overwhelmed with sadness. He knew what that must mean and it was not the outcome that he had hoped for. He said nothing to either of them as Jack placed Anamaria into the boat and they began a silent trip back to The Black Pearl.
When they were back on the ship and Anamaria was in Decker's office, Mr. Gibbs attempted to explain things to the crew for Jack. In any other circumstance, he would have insisted the captain do it himself, but for once he thought the crew would be understanding.
As Jack stood beside Decker's operating table, holding onto Anamaria's good hand, he wondered if he would ever be able to forget what was happening today. Her screams pierced the air and Jack would have given almost anything to have his own bottle of rum to numb the pain. He would never forgive himself. Never. More shrill cries and Jack thought he might lose his mind. He had closed his eyes long ago, unable to watch the brutal procedure that was being carried out only inches away. Anamaria was gripping his hand with a fierceness that he had no idea even she was capable of and he knew her nails would leave little cuts of their own in his flesh. It seemed almost fitting, that he too be marked from her injury.
The dull cutting sound of bone and flesh burned through Jack's mind and he knew as her screams continued to echo through the cabin, that he would never get this incident out of his head. Instead, it would continue to haunt his dreams for years to come.