Title: Send Her My Love
Pairings: JS/OC, WT/ES
Overview: The Infamous Captain Jack Sparrow has had interesting acquaintances and activities in the past. This story is of a chain of many events that have gone awry, and come back to haunt him.
Disclaimer: -looks at paperwork- All of this, just to own this thing?! And money?! Gods, it's almost not worth it… -looks up- What are you doing here? Oh. No, I don't own it. Go away.
A/N: Is it possible? To put TWO up in short succession?! Let's try!
And I got a review! Which I hadn't when I started writing this, mere hours after finishing the last one. I'm planning on wasting all my sleeping time on the computer tonight.
To HeavenlyKitty, was the 'about time' regarding my posting of the next chapter, or for the random lemon which appeared spontaneously? Either way, yeah, that chapter was pretty good. Not as good as the one with the parrot though, chapter fifteen. That one has to be my favourite. So far.
Now! To the next one! Maybe I can finally finish arc one of this impossible story!
Chapter Eighteen: What You're Lacking
Where the Black Pearl is pursued by the most unlikely of pursuers – we're not out of hot water yet folks!
It was in the dead of the night that Calico Jacques found himself being awoken, most rudely, by a thunderous pounding on the door. He was a deep sleeper, it took a lot to wake him, and not often would a crewmember dare to stir the captain when he was in his cabin, asleep or not. With a growl, he stood from his bed, moving with an uneven gait to the door. "What?!" He snapped upon opening it to find a bedraggled boy standing behind it.
"S-s-s-sir! Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh – the, the girl! H-he c-c-c-came, an' h-he t-t-t-t-t-took h-her!"
The boy seemed to be suffering from a severe stutter. Calico ran him through without a thought. "GILLES!" He roared, kicking the dying boy out of his way as the child coughed up blood, looking at his captain in horror and shock while the red liquid poured out. Moments later, the first mate appeared beside Calico, a smarmy grin plastered on his face.
"Yes Capt'n?"
"Wha' in 'ell was zis boy speakin' of?! Which fille?!"
An awkward silence. "Ahhhh, yes, that."
"Zat?! What of zat?!" Though Gilles was taller than Calico, the pirate captain was looming over his first mate.
"Well, Capt'n, you see, it would appear that Miss Smith… left. With a bit of help from her friends tha' is."
"Left? Which friends?"
"Sparrow."
Calico raged in indignation and fury. "NON! CA C'EST LA FINALE TEMPS! Zat is it! Zee last time zat… zat… zat bird will keep me from what is mine!" He fumed, eyes wild.
"Shall we go after him?"
"Non." Calico shut Gilles up with a sweeping gesture from his hand. "Non, we would not catch them. Non, we will go find someone who will be … willing to assist us in such matters."
Payton felt herself coming into the world of wakefulness gradually, and blearily clung to the last remnants of a good dream – one where Jack had come for her on the Helio, and had taken her back to the Black Pearl, and then… she blushed to think about what happened after, especially now that she was likely to be assaulted by Calico's men, or that atrocious man himself. She shuddered just to think of it… and then she noticed a warm, firm body behind her. Payton froze, unsure of what to do, unsure of where she was. When she looked around, instead of finding strange and alien surroundings as she feared, Payton was greeted with the familiar sights of the captain's cabin on the Black Pearl, which likely meant…
Turning her head to the side, she found herself looking at the familiar, and very nude, body of Captain Jack Sparrow. With a relieved groan, she settled back against him, causing him to hold onto her a little more tightly.
"Aye… we really should have done this a long time ago." She could feel his breath against her ear as he whispered to her, and she giggled, rolling to face him. She stared directly into his eyes, fully content.
"And good morrow to you too, oh devastatingly dashing pirate vagabond."
"Hey!" He good naturedly protested. "That's Captain devastatingly dashing pirate vagabond to you." He laughed as she swatted at his arm lightly, before closing her eyes, moving closer to him. He cleared his throat, clearly feeling awkward. "Uh, Payton luv, I know you'd like to sleep some more, but my friend is a bit more interested in round two…?" He asked hopefully, gesturing to the hardness that Payton could feel up against her stomach. She opened her eyes, striving to keep her face impassive.
"Well, your … 'friend' will just have to get used to disappointments, won't he?" She rolled back over, but not before giving him a cheeky grin. She could hear Jack grumbling to himself, and chuckled silently.
Just as Payton was about to be lulled back to sleep, she felt a hand brush over her breast. With a shiver not at all from the cold, she moved away from the questing hand, directly into Jack. Exactly where he wanted her.
"Changed yer mind luv?" She could almost hear the smirk as his hands moved over her skin very much as they did the night previous.
"Uh…" She weakly got out, before Jack appeared overtop of her. He silenced any further resistance with a kiss that she melted into. Not too long after that Jack Sparrow, and his 'friend', got the round two that he was looking for.
Much later Jack woke again, Payton still asleep in his arms. He smiled softly to himself, gently stroking her hair while his thoughts travelled elsewhere. If this is what it's like to have a woman aboard, then maybe the bad luck was all about jealousy. An' I might even enjoy this more than I thought I would.
Later, he could see Payton waking, and he pulled her closer to himself. "Mmm?" She asked blearily, still half asleep.
"Good mornin' luv. I trust you slept well?"
She blushed, covering her face with her hands, not looking at him.
"Now now luv, what's to be shy about?" When she muttered something under her breath, he placed a hand to his ear and said, "What was tha'? Couldn't 'ear ye luv."
She looked up to see his dark eyes sparkling. "I said that it was weird!"
"Weird? How is this weird?" Jack regarded her, astonished.
Payton flailed her hands around a bit, causing Jack to move lest he was hit. "It… it just is. I… I… I'm not comfortable with the whole idea of this! An' on top o' tha', what would the crew think?"
"What matters what the crew thinks? I'm still their captain-"
"And I'm still the girl you took over from England, then dumped in Tortuga! Do any respectable pirate captains keep women aboard?"
"Well, there is Anamaria-"
"She doesn't count and you know it!"
"I'd say she'd be a mite offended if she knew ye said that of her."
"Oh, at least she'd know what I meant! Stop dodging the question Jack, ye know what I'm askin'." Payton was getting more and more flustered and worked up by the second.
Jack gently pet her hair, making her relax against her wishes. She half-heartedly batted at his hand, but had to admit it felt nice. A few moments of silence passed before Jack spoke again.
"There are none too many pirate captains with women aboard, but!" He gave her a look to stop her from interrupting him. "But, there is only one Captain Jack Sparrow."
Payton sighed exasperatedly. "Could you please be serious?"
"I am luv. Payton, it doesn't matter what they think so long as they respect you. An' they will. This crew is filled with good men." She gave him a look. "What? Pirates can be good men."
"That wasn't my point. Anamaria…?"
"I told ye she hardly counts as a woman." He waved a bejewelled hand.
"You're blind Sparrow." If she had been able to rest her hands on her hips, she would have.
"Am not." He defended staunchly, before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "C'mon, we'd best be getting up." He removed himself from the bed, looking for his clothing.
"Afore the crew mutinies from hunger?" Payton laughed from the bed.
Jack stopped dead in his tracks. "Not in the least bit funny." She looked in his eyes, and saw a man haunted, pain and heartache showing through for the first time.
"Sorry." She whispered, feeling thoroughly guilty.
He shrugged. "Not yer fault luv."
Payton returned to her mutilated galley with a grim expression set on her face. Looking around, she was pleased to see that at the very least the holes were gone, but no one had bothered to finish cleaning anything. That included used dishes. With a sigh, she started picking up what debris she could, chucking it in a pile in the corner for later cleaning.
Captain Jack Sparrow was having a good day. He had an open horizon, a busily working crew, and he had woken in the morning beside the only woman he had wanted to see. Despite the slight hiccup, he was feeling pretty good about life in general. Until crew members starting running up to the deck from the galley. Handing the helm to Cotton, Jack walked down from the quarterdeck to see what exactly was going on. He moved over to one of pirates, and grabbed his shirt. "What's going on?"
The man seemed to snap out of his hysteria for a moment. "Someone tried to pilfer from the galley. And… they… er, cabinets."
"What?"
"She's right mad now Capt'n."
He sighed, seeing what they were asking for him to do. "I'll deal wiv 'er." As he disappeared below decks, silence fell over his crew. He rolled his eyes, and hollered over his shoulder, "Back ta work ye spineless jellyfish!"
The door of the galley was slightly ajar, and he could hear infuriated ranting coming from inside. A sudden loud crash caused him to jump, and he stalked closer, gently pushing the door further open.
"Alright luv, what's botherin' ye now?" He leant on the doorframe, watching a rather irate Payton. She whirled to look at him, scowl planted firmly on her lips.
"That blasted crew of yours! Comin' in where they're not wanted, messing up what I've only just managed to clean, and look at this! The whole row of cabinets! How do you manage to knock every single one on the floor?!"
Looking at the room, and then back at her, Jack started to chuckle, causing Payton to become even more annoyed.
"What's so funny?!"
He moved over and pulled Payton into an embrace, which she resisted to no avail. "Calm yerself Payton. I'll get the bilge rats ta clean the mess they made."
"But-!"
Jack placed a finger over her lips. "Shush luv." He smirked. "Leave it to ol' Jackie. I'll fix everythin' fer ye."
She grudgingly acquiesced.
Jack reappeared on deck moments later, without Payton. "Alright men, who knocked down the cupboards?"
No one spoke, and Jack sent a calculating look over them. "Pilfering from the galley's a serious offense. If someone doesn't come forward, I'll hafta give the punishment to everyone."
A sailor came forward. "It – it was me Capt'n." He winced at the dark glare that was sent to him from the captain, now fearing for his skin.
"Come with me mate." Jack returned below decks, and the unfortunate sailor had no choice but to follow him.
Payton was leaning up against the wall of the galley, waiting. Jack entered with the sailor. "Alright, tell 'er."
The man gulped, now seeing first hand Payton's wrath. "It – it was me who knock yer cupboards down ma'am."
Payton's glare intensified, and she looked at Jack, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this.
"I have a proposition for you about this mess…" Jack grinned, and Payton dutifully expressed her curiosity.
By dinner, the cabinets were firmly back in place, and the poor sailor who knocked them off in the first place had decided against ever trying to steal from any galley ever again. Once Payton was appeased with her cabinets, she nodded to let the sailor go eat. He eagerly scampered off, well aware that on any other ship he'd have gotten far worse.
Payton took her meal on deck, in the view of the setting sun at the prow of the ship. Shortly after getting there, she heard feet behind her, and she turned to see Jack.
"Evening Captain."
He nodded to her, and moved to stand beside her. Neither spoke, a companionable silence residing between them. Payton slowly finished her meal, listening to the waves whisper against the hull of the Black Pearl. She counted back the months – it had been nearly half a year since she left England. Only a half a year.
"What's on yer mind luv?" Jack's voice broke the silence.
"Hmmm?"
"Ye seem ta be distracted by summat. What's on yer mind?"
"Just… thinking about England, and how far this is from there."
Jack raised an eyebrow at the rather vague response, but kept his peace.
Later that night, when Payton was asleep against him, only then did Jack Sparrow begin to question what it was she meant by thinking of England. Surely she didn't miss the place, so then what was it? He rubbed at his eyes furiously, mind fogging with sleep. It was the girl's fault – she tired him out, befuddled and confused him to no end, pulling his heart one way and then the other. No, if he was going to think about this clearly, he had to get up, away from her. He removed himself from her side, and almost went back when he heard her discontent sigh from the lack of warmth. Steeling himself, he pulled a pair of pants on, and sat on the window ledge, much like Payton had done when she had first arrived. Looking out at the sea, he smiled at the expanse of the water, and propped a window open, breathing in deeply. The smell of the ocean calmed him, and he relaxed, looking up at the moon. It had been six months, or theres about, since Payton had been dumped on his ship in England. Three since he had dumped her in Tortuga, and only one since she had returned – well, kidnapped from Tortuga under the pretence of stopping her from being attacked because of a misunderstanding during a bar fight. He chuckled softly to himself, looking over at her. She had twisted in the bed, brows knit in worry while she murmured words which he couldn't hear. Curious, he moved to her side, catching fragments of her worries as she spoke through sleep.
"No, no…"
"Shush luv, relax. I'm here."
"They're coming Jack… what are you doing here? I told you to get away… s'not safe anymore… Please…" Her voice faded in and out, he couldn't hear half of what she was saying, and couldn't understand the rest. Sighing, he hoped these bad dreams were only memories.
"Sleep love, I'm by your side. Nothing'll harm ye." He lay back down beside her, knowing that there wouldn't be any time now for reflection. Anxious arms clung to him, drawing his body to hers, and he glad moved to fit beside her. He could feel her body relax, and he turned his mind to thoughts of sleep once more.
They fell into an easy routine – during the day they would keep to their appointed tasks, though on occasion at some random point in time, Jack would find the need to jump Payton when she was altogether too busy with something important, claiming in his defence that if she got too stressed she'd become old and grey far too soon, to which she'd attempt to hit him. It rarely worked, but at the very least she tried before he rendered all rational thought completely useless. During the nights, the two of them would keep to his cabin, and Payton found that despite her inexperience, she had no trouble keeping up with the pirate captain. Once they went to sleep though, it was a different matter, as Payton found herself plagued with night terrors, which she never could quite remember when asked. All that she knew was the feeling of dread settling over her didn't ever seem to go away, and she knew, in the back of her mind, that something was coming. Something, or someone.
One afternoon, as Payton found herself sewing patches on the damaged sails, a shadow fell over her, and she grumbled. Having a splitting headache didn't make her day particularly good to begin with.
"Would you kindly move yerself out of me light?" Her demand came out harshly, and she was moderately surprised that she hadn't cursed. A throaty chuckle greeted her.
"An' I see yer in a fine temperament Miss Dumer. What's got ye up in knots?" He moved to her side, and out of her light, his hands deliciously cool on her overly warm skin.
She smiled appreciatively, closing her eyes as she leant back against him, not aware of the small group of onlookers they were collecting. "Mmmm, it's just my head's killin' me Capt'n."
"Oh is it?" He gave a crooked smile, and moved his fingertips to massage her temples. "Well that's not very nice of it. Not nice at all."
"Aye, but, ohhhh… that does feel good."
He leant down by her ear, whispering now. "An' I can make it feel even better… if ye have the time for it that is."
Payton cracked an eye open, raising an eyebrow curiously. "And what might you have in mind, Captain Sparrow?"
He smirked. "Well, I suppose ye'll hafta find out later, now won't ye luv?"
She grumbled as he swaggered away, headed back to the helm whilst giving rather pointed glares to those of his crew who had gathered to watch. Payton shook her head and returned to sewing.
Her reprieve was short indeed, as Anamaria had other ideas about leaving the girl alone. "Annnnnd?"
"And what?" Payton refused to look up.
"What was that?" Anamaria grinned.
"Nothin'. He was just… talkin'." She replied, sounding just a bit guilty.
Anamaria laughed. "Listen, I haven't seen him 'talk' like that to anyone onboard. Well, asides from Lizzie, but she doesn't count anymore."
"Who is this girl?! I keep hearing about her, but no one'll tell me anything about her!" Payton threw down her needle angrily.
"It's not for me to tell." Anamaria held her hand up before Payton could interrupt her. "Look, I know it's frustrating, but it's something that only Jack could tell ye. I don't rightly know the half of it, and I bet he'd not even tell that much."
"So why should I bother askin' him if he's not going to tell me?"
"Why d'you even ask about her?" When Payton didn't reply, Anamaria nodded. "Thought as much. But, onto more important things… What was that about?"
"What was what about?" She asked tartly, picking up the needle again, angrily attacking the sail.
"Carefully, or you'll-"
"Ow!" Payton sucked on her finger reproachfully.
"Do that." Anamaria sighed. "Would ye stop avoiding the topic Payton? For one second? Honestly, yer worse than Jack!"
"Am not…" She muttered while sending dark looks toward her friend.
Anamaria chuckled. "C'mon girl, out with it."
"Like I said, it was nothing. We were just talking!"
"Riiiiight. An' if I believe that you can just call me Mister Cotton's parrot. Listen, Payton, that was nothing like talking, an' everything like more than just crewmates."
"I dunno what you're going on about." She insisted stiffly.
"Stop being daft! The entire crew can see it!"
"See what?!"
"You 'n' Jack!"
Payton paused, looking down at the sail. "Well, maybe…"
"Maybe?" Anamaria pressed.
"Well, there's… definitely something."
"So you'll admit you have feelings for him?" Payton muttered under her breath, and Anamaria laughed. "English is still the only language I speak."
"I guess, yeah, I do."
"You do what?"
The glare Payton sent Anamaria was positively murderous. "I have feelings for the blasted Captain Jack Sparrow."
Anamaria grinned. "Now, was that so hard to say?" She had to dodge a bucket Payton sent flying at her as she left, almost giggling.
Night fell, and Payton wearily made her way to the cabin she shared with Jack. Anamaria's questions earlier made her wonder about Jack, and her thoughts were buzzing through her head like angry hornets. Wholly exhausted, she closed the door behind her, slumping onto one of the chairs in the captain's quarters. Jack came in a few moments later.
"Tired luv?"
"Ye could say that…" She rubbed her eyes, gathering courage. "Tell me, 'ow come everyone here talks about Elizabeth, but never talks about Elizabeth?"
"Ye've lost me luv."
"Well, ye see, I keep hearing about her, but I honestly can't say I know anything about this woman."
An' that's a good thing. "Don't you fret about it. I'll tell ye soon enough." He walked over and embraced her, a flirtatious grin playing on his lips. "Come now, about that headache…"
A light knock at the door roused Jack from his revere early in the morning, and he tried, rather futilely, to untangle himself from Payton. Though asleep, she was just as stubborn as she was awake, and would have none of it. Finally, with an aggravated sigh, he compromised. "Come in."
Gibbs opened the door, and moved into the room. "Capt'n, I hate ta interrupt, but we may have a problem."
"An' what'd tha' be Mister Gibbs?"
"Lookout spotted English Navy colours."
"Navy? In these waters?"
"Aye Capt'n."
"How peculiar. Very well Mister Gibbs, we shall have to lose them. There are islands around about 'ere somewhere, aye?"
"Aye Capt'n?"
"Head for those. I'll be out in a moment."
Confused, Gibbs nodded, knowing better then to question his captain's ideas. He closed the door, leaving Payton and Jack alone again.
Jack looked over to Payton and sighed. She wasn't going to like this one bit. "Luv, c'mon, ye've got ta get up."
His only response was a groan, and she wormed her way further into the blankets, holding onto him.
Well, that certainly did the opposite of what I had planned… "Payton, there's Navy about. I need to steer the Pearl."
Success! He could see an eye as she looked at him. "Navy?"
"Aye, the English are trailing us for some unknown reason."
"Not Calico?" She asked curiously.
"Well, it has been a week since we saw him last."
"I'd have expected he'd have put up more resistance."
"An' I'm glad he didn't." His dark look ceased all of Payton's conversation as she let him get away. Now freed, he quickly hopped up and gathered his clothing, leaving the cabin without a backwards glance.
So much for what Anamaria said having any stock… Payton suddenly realized that she was being selfish, and she sighed. After a few moments of sulking on the bunk, she got up to find some clothes of her own. Once dressed, she looked around at the chaos of the cabin. She'd have to clean it at some point, or she'd go mad. Then, she took her leave of the captain's quarters in favour of the bright Caribbean sunlight on deck.
Appearing at Jack's side on the quarter deck, she asked, "Can we out run them?"
Jack jumped. "Aye. But they'd likely still follow us anyway. Nay, we need to discourage them following us any further."
"Meaning what?"
His loopy grin returned. "We discourage."
"Um, Jack…?" Payton sounded worried.
"Yes luv?" He responded distractedly.
"Could you tell me why it is that those ships appear to be getting bigger?"
"Because we're headed towards them."
She paused, unsure if she had heard right. "Headed… towards them?"
"Aye luv." He verified for her.
"So, we're not getting away from the Navy?"
He chuckled. "Aye."
"An' we're head back towards the Navy?"
"Aye."
Payton stared at him dumbfounded. He seemed to not be grasping her point. "Are you mad?!"
He turned to stare her directly in the face. "Luv, if I wasn't, this would probably never work."
The Black Pearl, being the faster ship, was cutting the distance between the naval vessel and herself very quickly. Payton gripped the hilt of her sword as she watched the larger ship move steadily closer. Turning to Gibbs, she found the elderly pirate at ease, which surprised her.
"Aren't you the least bit worried about something going amuck?"
He shrugged, taking a drink from his flask. "When ye've a captain as daft as Jack, ye tend not to question his plans, an' just get on with things."
Jack had assessed the Navy ship when he had seen it, and already knew that their cannons were much shorter than his own. The two ships passed close, but not close enough for the other ships cannons to be of use.
"Run out the cannons an' wait for my order!" The crew were quick to obey, regardless of any misgivings.
The Pearl was almost clear of the Navy ship, when, suddenly, Jack shouted something unexpected. "Weigh anchor on the starboard!"
"Capt'n?"
"Don't ask, just do it!"
"Aye Capt'n!"
Dropping the starboard anchor caused the Pearl to veer hard to port, placing the cannons directly at the other ship's stern. "FIRE!" Jack bellowed. The cannon's sounded, and shouts astonished rose from the enemy ship as the cannons ripped through the hull, one of them striking the rudder, rendering all steering useless – leaving the Navy vessel dead in the water.
Pleased with his work, Jack yelled, "Weigh anchor!"
The Black Pearl slipped around the now useless Navy ship, and Jack stood in the rigging to wave his hat at the now furious British officers aboard. Jumping down, he found Mister Gibbs standing nearby, waiting for a heading. "Set sail for South America. I still want to find that gold."
"Aye Capt'n. The prospect of a bit of shiny plunder sounds mighty good right about now."
There was one more thing he had to deal with, and she was standing at the rail, watching as the Navy ship grew smaller and smaller in the distance. He walked over to her, but before he could speak, she asked, "D'you suppose they'll be alright?"
"Ah, they should be fine. What I did was nothing permanent, just an … inconvenience o' sorts. Why?"
She shrugged. "Wouldn't want to think we left decent men to starve ta death."
"One, ye can't know they were decent men, and two, they were intent on killin' us." He settled against the rail beside her.
"You can't be sure of that."
"Hmph. I'd like ta say that I have certainly had far more experience with the British Royal Navy than you, young miss."
"Oh, the nerve!" Payton pushed herself away from rail, and headed down to the galley, grumbling about irritating pirate captains.
Jack watched her go helplessly, then turned to Anamaria who was standing nearby. "What'd I do?"
"If ye hafta ask that, yer far more daft than I thought Jack." She too walked off, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.
Ugh. Women.
And that's Chapter 18! Hope you enjoyed it, please review!