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Deliverance	By : Bluemidget57 Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > Het - Male/Female > Jack/Elizabeth Views: 7843 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Deliverance
- 2-Elizabeth
- 3-will
- 4-Sand
- 5-Pearl
- 6-Journey
- 7-Cave
- 8-Ritual
- 9-Calypso
- 10-Return
- 11-Awake
- 12-Asleep
- 13-Reunion
- 14-Avoidance
- 15-Cabin
- 16-Jones
- 17-Tattoo
- 18-Irrevocable
- 15
- 16
- 17
Jones

Jack immediately sought out Will and Barbossa; not that he was expecting treachery, but they were certainly the most volatile components of this crew, and it was sensible to have their whereabouts marked. He found Barbossa below him on the main deck, priming one of the cannon which placed him firmly in the ally camp.
Will, however, had climbed on the starboard railing, one arm wound in the ropes for balance; his eyes were scanning the dripping, barnacle-encrusted decks of the Dutchman, no doubt in search of his father. Not good at all. This visit from Davy Jones could not end well for any of them, and Elizabeth would no doubt kill him all over again if he let anything happen to Bootstrap�s hotheaded and impetuous boy; therefore this was obviously the moment for some extremely delicate and sensitive negotiation.
�Jones, what have you done with my father, you fish-faced bastard?� Will yelled across the intervening water. �If you�ve hurt him because of what I�ve done, I promise I�ll carve your heart into tiny little pieces and feed it to the Kraken myself!�
Jack winced; obviously the opportunity for diplomatic conciliation had also passed by.
The Flying Dutchman was making no overt show of aggression; Jones was merely ghosting the Black Pearl, with the Dragonfly falling steadily behind as the superstitious sailors tried to put the maximum distance between Jones� legendary ship and themselves.
Jack was not too concerned about the smaller ship; it had been their shadow since he awoke, but he felt no solidarity with its crew. In his mind they belonged to Barbossa, and if they chose to commandeer the older pirate�s ship at the first sign of trouble - well, that was Barbossa�s problem to deal with.
Jack�s concern was heading off whatever foolishness Will was on the brink of getting embroiled in at the moment. �William, come down from there right now!� He hissed through a clenched smile, sidling up to stand behind the lad, but not wanting Jones to perceive any dissention on the Pearl. Will spun around at Jack�s voice, his eyes quickly searching for Elizabeth, but he seemed satisfied on finding her absent, and chose to ignore Jack�s command.
Jones himself had been ignoring Will with the same aplomb that Will now ignored Jack, but once he saw that Jack had appeared on deck, his gaze narrowed and his beard swayed.
�Sparrow!� He shouted across the distance which separated the two ships. �I see you�re back to being a pestilence on the oceans, and none the worse for the experience!�
�Not worse, no.� Jack agreed with calculated cheer. �Much more better and improved it would seem, since our contract is now fulfilled. So - I have to ask myself - Self, what brings Davy Jones to visit humble old, recently resurrected moi? And you know, I find I am unable to come up with an answer!� He strolled away from Will, attempting to draw Jones� attention with him and off the lad.
��Tis true our debt be settled,� Jones called back. �But, Jack Sparrow, you changed the rules. You took my chest to bargain with me for your cheating life, but you lost what was inside it. Sparrow, you couldn�t even do that right, could ye - do you know where it is now - do ye?�
Jack narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. In truth he had spared very little time reflecting on the fate of Davy Jones� heart; after his discovery that James Norrington had double-deceived him with his �heroic� decoy flight on Isla Cruces, everything had fallen apart so quickly that the ultimate destination of the oft-stolen heart had not featured largely in his speculations.
But Jack was no fool; Norrington had snatched it from right under his nose, and he obviously had been formulating his plan even as he dug in the sand, intending to restore his reputation. There was only one person, and one place where he could go to achieve this, and although Jack sincerely thought that Cutler Beckett and Davy Jones quite thoroughly deserved each other, this was probably not the ideal time to express such sentiments.
�I could venture a guess,� he settled for. �In the hands of a previous employer of mine, I imagine. Feel your pain, mate. Never did have a good working relationship there meself, either. What with him giving me this pretty little tattoo, and me - well, never mind what I gave him -�
As he spoke he was acutely aware of a scuffling behind him, and he sincerely hoped it was Gibbs trying to restrain Will from any more foolish excesses. Jack�s eyes scanned the deck of the Flying Dutchman even as he focused on keeping Davy Jones� attention with him, hoping for some sight of Bootstrap Bill. The appearance of the Flying Dutchman was unexpected; certainly after the tale he had heard via Gibbs of what had been decreed during the unconscious phase of his rescue, and if he had been a less practical person, he might have attributed it to his one-sided conversation with the memory of Bootstrap in the hold earlier.
But common sense told him that Davy Jones had been festering on the destination of his heart for a lot longer than just since this morning, and that this conversation had been on the cards for equally as long. He really just wished they could see that Bootstrap remained in whatever state of acceptable aquatic good health would satisfy his hotheaded son, and get this episode over with.
�Aye, Sparrow! A plague on you for putting me in the way of Cutler Beckett! Have you any idea what he uses his possession of my heart for?� Jones roared across the intervening waves.
�Well, Beckett can be quite creative. I�m sure he�s come up with a variety of interesting uses for the undead but still-beating heart of an aquatic pirate captain,� Jack called back provocatively. �But mostly I expect he just wants you to do exactly what he tells you. Oh! I know! Has he told you to come after me? Must be quite the dilemma for you then - especially since the Sea King told you not to bother me again! Sucks to be you, mate! Damned if you do, damned if you don�t! Nasty range of choices there!� He taunted.
Jones turned and mumbled something to his crew which Jack could not hear, before marching right up to the rail. He glared at Jack who cautiously moved one hand to his sword and the other to his pistol. He did not especially want to get into a duel with Jones, but it never hurt to be prepared.
�I�m coming over there, Sparrow!� Jones shouted, and Jack was surprised that he had even warned them. It was a courtesy he had not observed from the other before. Maybe something of the Sea King�s declarations had impressed Jones after all. Of course, he did not wait for an invitation once he had announced his intention, and by the time Jack�s crew had absorbed his statement, he was already standing on the deck of the Pearl, having used whatever mystical means he possessed for traveling between vessels.
�I want my heart back, Sparrow.� Jones declared, planting himself in front of Jack. �I know you don�t have it, but I also know - much as it pains me to admit this - that you are probably my best chance at actually retrieving it. So you and I are going to come to an accord on how to achieve this, since neither of us are particularly enamored of he-who-currently possesses it.�
�An accord? You and I?� Jack echoed disbelievingly. �I have had some experience with your brand of accord, Jones. What on land or sea could possibly induce me to make the same mistake again? Especially whereas I have me a free pass now, as it were.�
�Aye, it�s true that I have to leave you alone, Sparrow. But there was no stipulation about your crew or anyone else on this ship, that I am aware of.� Jones hissed threateningly, and Jack could not control the involuntary shift of his glance towards the cabin. Stay put, Lizzie. For once do as you�re told and wait for me to send someone�he thought fiercely, as if hoping to restrain her by the sheer force of his will.
Fortunately, his worried glance skimmed over Will in passing and Davy Jones apparently inferred that Jack was expecting him to take the younger man again. He quickly disabused Jack of that notion. �Oh, no. Young Master Turner won�t do at all. Still have his conspirator locked in me Brig. Not planning to bring your thieving charlatan back on me ship again, so he can scheme and conspire with Bill Turner on your command. No, I need someone who will ensure everybody�s good behaviour. I do believe my ideal guest would be someone more cultured, more feminine than anybody on deck right now�.. Where be your feisty lass, who pleaded so prettily for your worthless life at World�s End?�
Jack�s instinctive draw on his sword was preempted a second faster by Will throwing himself towards the tentacled pirate. �You leave Elizabeth out of your quarrel with Jack!� He yelled, drawing his own sword, and Jack let him take over Elizabeth�s defense. It would do no good to any of them were he to reveal at this point just how important Elizabeth had become to him. With that information known only to him - although he thought it likely Elizabeth might have cottoned on to some hint of it by now - there might still be some leverage to be found in the situation. As long as she stayed put.
Even more surprisingly to Jack, the crew of the Flying Dutchman made no attempt to cross over and assist their Captain when Will attacked, and this fact alone made Jack - unhappily, and much against his better judgment - step forward to head off the confrontation between Will and Davy Jones. Holding his hands high and clear of any weapons, he inserted himself carefully between the scowling pair.
�Now, boys - let�s not be hasty here. Jones - you already had the chance to separate William here from his dolly-belle, and you declined it; can�t see no advantage in taking her now.� He sidled closer to Davy Jones, lowering his voice to a pseudo-confiding tone. ��Sides, she�s a dangerous addition to a man�s crew, let me tell you; mean, vicious, unstable - prone to sending sea Captains to their death. You think the whelp caused trouble on your ship before - the boy�s an amateur when compared to his intended.�
Jones stared thoughtfully at Jack. �I find that very interesting, Sparrow,� he said, distracted momentarily. �The girl sends you to your death, yet still you defend her. Makes me even more convinced that she�s the perfect choice to pay me a visit. You can be sure that I�ll be on me guard thanks to your timely warning. However, I doubt the lass would ever believe that she could hoodwink me into captivity just by offering me a taste of her.�
Jack and Will both winced, admittedly for different reasons; Jack certainly didn�t enjoy having his weakness for the piratical Miss Swann revealed in front of his crew, and Barbossa in particular, but Will was more concerned with having the depth of Elizabeth�s treachery exposed to men who had accepted and admired her up to now, despite their superstition of women on board. Jones had made no particular effort to moderate his voice as he spoke.
Oddly enough, it was Barbossa who spoke up in defense of Elizabeth whilst the other three men stood locked in a glaring contest. �Ye won�t be taking the lass, Jones.� He said with finality. �She is under the protection of the witch Tia Dalma, and I don�t need to be telling you what an extremely bad idea it would be to add annoying her to your catalogue of transgressions.� He stepped forward to impose himself in the stand off Jack, Will and Davy Jones had created. �None of us wants to see Beckett in possession of your heart, but the best way to overcome that is to work with us, not alone.�
Jones huffed; his beard twisted and snapped in obvious annoyance, but given his recent experience at the hands of the Guardian, he was unhappily reluctant to draw more negative attention to himself. The reunion with Calypso in the cavern at World�s End had completely throw him off balance. Having cut out his heart to avoid the pain of her loss, it had completely undone him to discover that seeing her again still brought with it a crippling sense of grief and sadness, and had forced him to finally examine whether his actions had been all for nothing, as his loss apparently not only resided in his heart, but also in his mind and his memories, too. He should have felt nothing on seeing her again, and instead he had felt far too much.
But Hector Barbossa spoke the truth in his caution of antagonizing the witch. Calypso had threatened to return his heart, and although that would achieve the aim of removing it from Beckett�s control, he was quite sure she did not intend to deposit it conveniently into the buried chest, but instead to insert it back in his mutilated body, which would no doubt lead to a certain death of the most unpleasant and painful variety.
Will and Jack waited, poised to attack, as Jones appeared to consider Barbossa�s words. Just when the silence had stretched into the realm of uncomfortable, and Will - always the more impulsive - began to fidget with his sword, Barbossa continued smoothly, �What is it that Becket actually wants? As I understood the matter, he sent young Master Turner here after Jack because he needed the compass to guide him to the chest. Appears to me that due to actions by persons not here present, he bypassed several stages of his previous plan, and went straight to the prize. So I�m thinking he must have some other scheme in mind now, and if he�s using the heart to control your participation in it, then whatever you can tell us will no doubt aid in the dispatching of him to parts unpleasant.�
Surprisingly, it was Will who spoke up at this juncture. �I want to see my father, Jones.� He demanded flatly, sheathing his sword deliberately, which surprised both Jack and Barbossa. Jones� reaction was harder to decipher under the tentacles, but as a gesture of good faith it could not have come from a better quarter.
His mind suddenly rife with possibilities, Jack stepped alongside Will. �Aye, that�s a far better idea.� He agreed. �You send Bootstrap over here to us, and instead of a ship full of coerced allies, constantly on the lookout for a way to overthrow you, you will gain the gratitude of a father and son, and the assistance of a crew whose first inclination is not to see you all dead, but to remove Beckett�s threat to the seas. And moreover, you will have the support of Captain Jack Sparrow!�
Jones glared at Jack without answering, seeming to actually be considering the offer. Will turned to give Jack a look which was narrow with suspicion, and Jack kicked him surreptitiously on the left ankle without ever letting his gaze waver a moment from Jones�. He couldn�t spare a worry for Barbossa, either. Hopefully the older man was sufficiently tied by his link to Jack�s resurrection that he was not in a position to create a problem with this barely formulated plan.
Jack allowed the contemplative silence to stretch a few moments longer, before stepping closer to Jones. �Come on, mate. You know this is the best solution,� he pressed persuasively. �You can�t lay a finger on me, you know that - but Beckett doesn�t. What�s he going to do when he finds out you kept that juicy little detail from him, eh? Imagine it might turn out to be rather painful, don�t you?�
Jones glowered, but the truth of Jack�s words was inescapable. He was stuck between the Devil and the deep blue sea. Beckett was a cruel and ruthless manipulator, but Triton was a Sea God. Davy knew quite well which of them would prevail should a confrontation occur; the trick was not to lose his own life during the skirmish. He positively hated the ludicrously festooned little popinjay who was alive again and posturing before him again, and it preyed unbearably on his mind to concede even this small victory to him, but he could see no alternative which did not bring down the wrath of one or the other of his current adversaries on his head.
�Agreed,� he growled. �I won�t take the wench, but I won�t surrender Turner, either. The whelp may board my ship and talk to his father.� He turned back to the Flying Dutchman and called to one of his crew. �Macuus, let the boy in the brig and watch him at all times. He can have five minutes, then bring him back up here.�
Within seconds, Jones� first mate had materialized behind Will and taken him away trapped in a tight headlock. Jack gazed almost enviously at the spot where they had recently departed. �Got to tell me how you do that, mate,� he sighed wistfully, and Barbossa snorted from behind him.
�Is it too much to expect that you do have a plan in that twisted mind of yours, Sparrow?� Jones asked impatiently. �Or are you wasting everyone�s time again with more of your theatrical posturing?�
Jack straightened and all traces of levity fell away from his countenance. �I don�t like you, Jones.� He stated coldly. �And I am not the fool I once was. The only reason I care in the slightest about what Beckett does to you, is because the consequences will affect every man who sails these seas under any colours other than those of the East India Trading Company. Most especially me. I want Beckett off my back, and if achieving that also releases you from your service - well, it�s a price I�m willing to live with.�
�And I�m still waiting to hear a plan,� Jones hissed snidely.
�I will give you our heading.� Jack replied calmly. �If we are to meet Beckett, I want it to be on my terms and where I specify. You can get back to your master,� Jones snarled at this intentional jibe, and his claw-hand clicked restlessly, �I am assuming that you have a means of contacting him? Tell him that word has reached you of where we will be in five days or so, and that we will be restocking and vulnerable. He won�t be able to resist -�
�That�s it? That�s your fiendishly cunning plan?� Jones mocked scathingly. �You couldn�t convince a seasick cabin boy on his first mile out of port with that idea!�
�Probably not,� Jack conceded. �But it�s all you�re getting. Whatever else I may be intending is for my information alone. I�m willing to give up our position, and let you know that we will be expecting a full-out battle. What you chose to do on your own behalf with the information is up to you, but I�m sure the intervening days will give you plenty of time to think of something. Hector, would you be kind enough to give Captain Jones our heading?� He added, without turning to look at Barbossa; it was a risky move, but necessary if Jones was to believe the Pearl sailed united.
Barbossa stepped forward with credible promptness and supplied the co-ordinates to Davy Jones, and Jack allowed a smidgeon of the tenseness to relax out of his shoulders; it seemed the first step had been taken successfully. �Now, send me the whelp back, and we can both be on our way to make our plans.� He concluded cheerfully, going to pat Jones on the shoulder, but thinking better of it as the other Captain turned away and presented Jack with his barnacled, slimy back.
He was just on the verge of congratulating himself on his masterful handling of the situation, when his cabin door opened and Elizabeth emerged, looking extremely flushed and disconcerted. Jack didn�t see her immediately as all his attention was focused on making sure Jones departed the ship expeditiously, but Gibbs� sudden horrified cry soon changed all that.
�Miss Elizabeth - No!� Gibbs wailed, and there was a scuffling sound as if the first mate had tried to pounce and physically restrain the girl, and Jack barely had time to swing around and register her approach before she was upon him, and then beyond him - sword drawn and heading straight for Davy Jones, missing him only by virtue of his uncanny ability to pass between ships instantaneously.
Jack had no doubt in his mind that Elizabeth would have slung herself over the rail and followed Jones, had he not grabbed her round the waist and hauled her back against him, kicking and struggling as she yelled threats across the intervening waves. Many of her curses were lost in between grunts and gasps for breath as his hold tightened in response to her fighting but no one was left in any doubt as to the theme of her tirade which was liberally peppered with Calypso�s and Triton�s names, and threats to see Jones turned over to the Kraken should he ever think about coming near Jack again.
As for Jones, he stood at the rail of his own ship laughing heartily at the sight of Jack struggling to keep the girl under control. �Seems you did do me a favour, after all, Sparrow.� He roared over the widening distance between their ships. �The girl is a regular harpy; sooner you than me! I�ll see you in five days!� He added gleefully, simply to enjoy the outrage on Elizabeth�s face, before he gestured for the Dutchman to submerge.
Elizabeth finally stopped struggling as the tip of the highest mast disappeared beneath the surface of the waves, and the only other ship visible on the ocean was the distant Dragonfly, now quite some way behind them.
Jack cautiously let her go, and stepped back from her vibrating frame; a quick glance around the deck confirmed that everyone except Cotton, who unfortunately for him had relieved Gibbs at the wheel and was therefore unable to flee, had disappeared, leaving them to fight it out alone.
Frustrated beyond measure that she had not obeyed him and stayed put, Jack glared at Elizabeth, ruthlessly forcing down that part which could not help being thrilled by her instinctive, heated leap to defend him without even pausing to wonder why Jones was on board. �Well done, Lizzie,� he sighed exasperatedly. �You chased Davy Jones off all by yourself; unfortunately, I am doubly unhappy to have to tell you that due to circumstances which this time truly were unforeseeable and entirely beyond my control, poor William is still on the Flying Dutchman, talking to his father!�
***********
Many apologies to those of you expecting the resolution of Elizabeth�s dilemma in this chapter. Did she or didn�t she? Find that out next time! However, I hope the removal of Will to the Flying Dutchman makes up for that. The opportunities are boundless now��..
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Deliverance