FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

42—Bloody Pirate

DISCLAIMER: Jack'n'Lizzie etc. do not belong to me. I make no money from the writing of this fan-fiction.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, but I've been terribly sick. No fun at all—my deepest apologies for the month+ delay in updating. Between being sick and Christmas shopping and finals and my internship, there's been NO time at all… this chapter is a tad short, but I really wanted to make sure I got something up before Christmas.

Thanks for your patience and your continued reviews and thanks even to everyone who hasn't reviewed, but has added me and any of my stories to their "favorites" list. It means a lot! Thanks again and enjoy!

The sun had barely begun to peak its head over the horizon, leaving the sky with the faintest of glows. A few stars not yet ready to go to bed were still dotted across the skies. The ocean was smoother than glass and there was a breeze too slight to help the Pearl glide along her way towards Tortuga.

The ship itself was sleepy—only a few sailors were on shift. All was quiet and calm and Elizabeth found herself just starting to wake up from a much-needed good night of sleep. Since Jack had been pinpointed by Davy Jones, good nights of sleep had been few and far between. Now that he was free from Jones' mark, however, she found herself feeling peaceful and content. There was little to be worried about lately and that was how she liked things.

She yawned and stretched every limb and muscle in her body. She smiled when the tips of her toes came into contact with the warm body next to her. Rolling onto her side, she propped herself up on her elbow so she could just watch him. He was lying flat on his stomach, one arm under his head and the other at his side. His face was buried in the pillow so that only half of it was visible.

Elizabeth spent several contended moments just watching him sleep, fully enjoying the absolute state of peace Jack was in. Like herself, sleep for him had been a fleeting luxury since he had been branded by Jones. Though he would never admit how worried he had actually been, she knew he was grateful for the rest.

Getting out of bed was a sight that would have amused him had he been awake. She wanted to make doubly sure she did not wake him, so she slowly and carefully peeled back the covers and crawled to the end of the bunk. She then stood up, balancing herself along the wall and crouching so her head wouldn't hit the ceiling in the constricting space.

She bit her lip to keep from grinning and giggling at the ridiculousness of the situation as she cautiously stepped over Jack's feet. When she reached the edge of the bunk, she looked over her shoulder at the sleeping pirate, more than pleased with herself for not waking him or even causing him to stir.

Elizabeth elegantly placed her foot on the floor, still basking in her success. Instead of stepping onto the hard, wooden planks, however, she stepped on a soft, squishy, discarded pillow. This unexpectedly upset her balance and she stumbled to the floor with a hefty thud and a girlish (very un-pirate like) shriek.

"What, what?!?!" She looked up, rubbing her sore elbow and knee, to see that Jack was sitting full upright, looking around for her.

"Over here," she groaned, rolling over and sitting on her backside so she could face him. "So much for not waking you up," she grumbled.

Jack rubbed his bleary eyes before they focused on her, widening slightly. His head cocked to the side with amused curiosity before a smirk curled up onto his lips.

"Lizzie…" he began, a mocking concern in his voice, "what are you doing?"

"I was trying not to wake you," she said plainly, as if it were no big deal at all. She already knew, however, that the crimson in her cheeks had given her away.

"And you ended up on the floor because…?"

"Because I'm such a good person, I went to extremes to let you sleep," she replied quickly. "But alright, perhaps tonight I shall sleep on the outside of the bunk so this doesn't happen again."

Jack snorted. "Absolutely not." He crossed his arms and puffed his chest out to convey his seriousness, but Elizabeth would have none of it.

"And why not?" she asked, grinning cheekily at him.

He was silent, his head moving in a slow, circular motion as if he was deep in thought, racking his mind for a reasonable, Lizzie-proof answer. "Because," he finally said, keeping his arms crossed as a clear indication that he was going to offer no other explanation.

"Because?" She rose to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "So either you have no real reason or you do and you refuse to share it with me."

"Yes," he chimed, "that's the one. I refuse."

Elizabeth forced her irritation away and instead eased a coy smile onto her lips. She ever-so-slowly crossed the three steps towards him before sinking down onto his lap. She encircled her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, moving her head towards his so that their lips were a tantalizing mere inches apart.

"If you tell me," she whispered, placing one hand on his belly and splaying it before allowing her fingers to dance their way down the thin patch of hair that disappeared beneath his breeches. "I promise to make it worth your while tonight."

"Promise to make it worth my while right now and you've got yourself a deal," he said with a wink and a smirk.

"Alright then," she consented, leaning in and languidly kissing him before whispering in the most sultry voice she could muster, "but tell me first."

He took a deep breath and averted his eyes, clearly torn between keeping his thoughts to himself and the incentive for sharing in the form of his Lizzie.

"I prefer the outside of the bunk because…" he paused for a moment. Elizabeth leaned down and kissed his jaw, reminding him of the promise she'd made. "Ah… Lizzie… if you keep that up I'll have my way with you right here, right now before I'm able to muster another word."

"Well then. In that case, perhaps I'll leave you to your precious bunk for some personal alone time," she said slyly, beginning to slide off his lap.

"Not so fast, Miss Swann," he said, snaking his arm around her waist and holding her firmly against him. He took another deep breath before continuing. "In the event that the Pearl is attacked in the midst of the night, and during which said-event our attackers are able to make their way to this cabin unannounced… they'll have to go through me before ever getting to you."

"Oh…" Elizabeth was more than taken aback by this. She adored these subtle, unspoken declarations of love she got from him. She wondered if he even knew that that was what he was doing. She wondered if he knew that he made her heart melt and her insides turn to jelly when he did such things. She doubted that he did.

"So there. Perhaps it's a stupid reason, but I'm the captain of this vessel and what I say—"

"It's not stupid, Jack," she said, silencing him by placing two fingers over his lips. "It's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard."

He smiled for a brief moment before fully realizing the correlation that had been made. "I'm not sweet," he insisted, "pirates are not sweet."

Elizabeth laughed. "This one is, whether he cares to acknowledge it or not," she told him. "But very well. Shall I fetch you a bottle of rum so you can reassert your masculinity?"

Jack smirked. He wanted to pin her to the bed and declare that he didn't need a bottle of rum to reassert his masculinity, but the previous offer she had made involving her body and the taste of his most beloved beverage was too much to pass up. He assumed they would make a fetching combination.

"My Lizzie, you know the way to me heart too well," he said, releasing his grip on her and allowing her to slip off his lap. He watched her, propped up on one elbow, as she slowly and temptingly (which he knew she was fully aware of) gathered her clothing and got dressed.

She moved back to the bed and leaned over, kissing him very slowly the lips before winking at him and walking towards the cabin door. "I'll be right back," she called, quietly closing the door behind her.

Elizabeth blinked several times as she stepped outside, nearly blinded for the millionth time by the glory of the sunrise. She thought that by now she would have fully adjusted to a life at sea and in many ways, she had. She was in no way discontent with her life Jack. She loved him through all his infuriating little personality quirks and she loved the life that they had slowly, but steadily, built together.

She had adjusted to the lifestyle and she would never trade it for anything, but there were still things she missed about her life in the governor's mansion. She missed her father—terribly—and she knew she always would. She certainly didn't miss the pomp and circumstance that came with her previous lifestyle, but she wouldn't turn down a hot bath at the moment…

She was making her way towards the cellar when she spotted a head of long, dark hair at the railing, staring out at sea.

"Good morning, Miss Avery," she said cheerfully, stopping beside her.

Rosalind, clearly lost deep in thought, jumped at Elizabeth's greeting. She placed her hand on her chest and gasped. "Elizabeth! I wasn't expecting you to be awake this early."

"I could say the same for you," Elizabeth noted. "What's wrong? Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Rosalind said, her head falling. "I've had trouble with it for the past few days."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Elizabeth asked, concerned. "What's troubling you?"

Rosalind sighed, looking up at Elizabeth for a brief moment before looking back out towards the horizon. "It's Will," she finally admitted. "Oh, Liz, I'm so worried about him…"

Elizabeth's eyes drifted away from her friend's face. A plague of guilt washed over her as she realized she hadn't thought about Will in days. She'd been so preoccupied with Jack and Davy Jones and all the finite details in between that she hadn't taken a single moment to think about her long-lost friend.

"He's wasting away in jail waiting for me, depending on me… I just don't know if I can—"

"You can," Elizabeth reassured her, taking her by the hand. "You can and you will. Not only that, we will. You're not alone in this."

"I know Jack's a bit inattentive about Will, and understandably so with his own problems," Rosalind said slowly. "I just don't want him to be forgotten." She looked back to Elizabeth, her dark eyes glistening. "I miss him so very much."

Elizabeth studied the pained look on Rosalind's face before a realization forced a grin onto her face. "You like him!"

"What?" Rosalind's nose crinkled.

"You like him. A lot, admit it."

Rosalind looked completely aghast. "I… I do not!" she declared. "He's a friend is all and he was so good to me when my father left my in Port Royal. I owe a great deal to him, but that's all."

"I'm sure it is," Elizabeth said wryly. "It's okay if you have feelings for him. I have no claim to him."

"Well…" Rosalind sighed. "I suppose the idea of someone like me having feelings for him is not completely insurmountable." She paused for several moments. "After all, he is…"

"Handsome, loyal, kind, hard-working…" Elizabeth rambled on. "Repulsive qualities, really."

"Oh yes, repulsive," Rosalind said, smiling. Her eyes fluttered towards Elizabeth and both burst into laughter. "Oh, my parents would be horrified to know their daughter had fallen for a blacksmith."

"Yes, well, as far as I'm concerned, your parents forfeited any right to control who and who you don't have feelings for," Elizabeth reminded her. "Not that anyone did beforehand." They were both silent for a few minutes. "So are you going to tell him? When we rescue him, that is."

"Oh, no!" Rosalind shook her head, her dark hair falling off her shoulders and cascading down her back. "I couldn't. I really couldn't."

"You can!" Elizabeth protested. "And you should, don't you think he would want to know?"

"I don't know, that's the thing," Rosalind said. "I have absolutely no idea where his heart lies. Me telling him the whereabouts of my own would be completely ludicrous."

"So you're not going to tell him and throw away what could be the most marvelous thing that ever happened to you because you're unsure of his own feelings?" Elizabeth asked. "That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Excuse me?" Rosalind said, her voice reflecting how offended she was.

"Rosalind, love is about risk and taking chances," Elizabeth told her. "Where do you think Jack and I would be if we both played it safe all the time?"

Rosalind's eyes fell again. When she looked back up after a moment of thought, she had a slight smile on her face. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," Elizabeth replied. She stepped forward and gave her friend a much-needed hug.

"Well what are you doing awake, then?" Rosalind asked when they pulled apart.

"Rum. Jack. Need I say more?"

Rosalind laughed. "Well you better get to it then. Don't want to have a cranky pirate on your hands!"

"Right," Elizabeth smiled, rolling her eyes. "You get to your thinking and I'll get to my—Jack's—rum."

"Jack?" Elizabeth pushed the door to the cabin open, bottle of rum firmly in hand. She was halfway across the room when she heard a muffled snore.

She could have opted to be angry with him for falling asleep, but she wasn't. She set the bottle of rum down on his nightstand and crouched down beside him, stroking his bare back lightly with her fingertips. "Bloody pirate," she whispered.

A/N: Thanks for reading, now go review! See you next time!

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY, EVERYBODY!