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When the Rum Runs Out	By : Ladykohl Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > Het - Male/Female > Jack/Elizabeth Views: 8483 -:- 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-Part I
- 2-Part II
- 3-Part III
- 4-Part IV
- 5-Part V
- 2
- 3
- 4
Title: When the Rum Runs Out

Author: Kohl Lined Eyes

Rating: NC-17

Chapter Rating: NC-17

Warnings: M/F, angst, dark themes

Disclaimer: Indeed.

Summary: Post AWE, Captain Jack Sparrow returns to Port Royal, and not even rum can numb the pain. Nothing can help him forget...
Author�s Note: Again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed... and also to anyone who has just read the story!
shel: Cute? Hmm... haha. Never would have expected that word. Yes, I�d be worried, too, if I were you... ;-)

DesiringPirates: I knew that would get to some people! I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that everything would just be that much more sad if Elizabeth had married Will already. I think was right... I hope this chapter keeps you addicted.

rejerito: You think you feel sorry for Jack now? There was a scene I wrote last night for an upcoming chapter that actually made me tear up...

heartjd: I hope you�re right! I�d hate to disappoint the readers... though I am quite concerned that everyone�s going to hate me when this is all done.

Trinity: Haha, thanks for the review. Here you go!
***

When the Rum Runs Out
Part III
�Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey.�
Proverb
Jack walked slowly through the dark cobble stone streets of Port Royal, trying to remember where William Turner had lived; trying to remember if he even ever knew. He was reaching the conclusion that, no, he never had. He�d stumbled in to the boy�s shop once, but other than that, he had no idea where to look for him.
Which was all the same, really. What did it matter when he found him, or how long it took him to do so?
Jack glanced around every now and then, but mostly kept his eyes forward. He arms hung limply at his sides, and his step contained almost no trace of his usual swagger. He could have lost the Pearl a hundred times, and not even that would have done this to his demeanor... which was saying more than a substantial lot. It was saying too much.
��Ello, there...� A drunk female voice sounded from his side, and then he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to see that he had somehow grown a woman on his right side. �Be you wantin� some company tonight?� She asked as she pressed her breasts in to him unabashedly. Jack quickly registered the unkempt sweep of her hair atop her head and the make up that appeared to be melting off of her face. He felt a great stab of sympathy for her, which surprised him because he didn�t think he was capable of feeling anything for anyone else just then. He moved out from under her and took her by the bare shoulders before she stumbled to the ground.
�Not tonight, love.� He said gently. �Got important matters need tendin� to.�
The woman pulled out of his grasp.
�Get your �ands off me then.� She slurred angrily. She reminded him so much of his Scarlet who was back at Tortuga. It never bothered him before, but now he wished with his whole being that these women didn�t have to resort to selling their bodies to men who didn�t love them just so they could live.
�I said not tonight.� Jack said as he reached in to his coat pocket. Pulling out a purse full of shillings, he tossed it in his hand a couple times. �Which does not pertain to future tonights, of course.� He handed the purse to the woman. She stuffed it in to her cleavage immediately. �Consider that credit toward my next visit, ey?�
The woman merely smiled at him.
�Of course, love.� She said, then turned around and walked away from him swaying her hips. Jack knew she would never remember him the next day, but at least she would have some money so that she could eat. He watched her sadly as she disappeared down the street - wondering when exactly he had come to care so much about people who were not him.
But that had always been in him, really. Elizabeth had always said so. Had always said he was a... good man.
With a deep breath, Jack continued on his way. He had important matters needed tending to.
THREE MONTHS BEFORE
�Tell me about the P.� Elizabeth said idly from her position on her hands and knees as she scrubbed the poop deck of the Pearl with a bit of holystone - her hair pulled back in to a tight braid and her face protected by her worn out bonnet. Jack, sitting on a wooden barrel of gun powder, and resting for perhaps the first time in two days - regarded her with a tilted head.
�Might want to be more specific as to which �P� you are referring.� He responded as he held his hand out in front of his face, examining his nails - then looked passed them to Elizabeth. �Is it �P� as in Sp-arrow... or--�
�You know very well which P I�m talking about.� She interrupted as she sat back on her calves - wiping the sweat off her forehead. She stared at Jack expectantly, waiting for an answer. He merely stared at her as though he hadn�t a clue as to what she was going on about. She rolled her eyes. �The brand.� Still he only stared. �On your arm.�
Jack�s eyes widened in mock realization because, of course, he had known what she was talking about the moment the letter P had left her mouth.
�Oh, that.� He said, then stood up. �Nothing much to tell about that really... other than being branded with a hot iron is not as enjoyable an experience as one might think.� He pat her on the head and then glided away from her and down the stairs. Elizabeth watched him for a good few moments before pushing herself up to her feet, and hurrying down the steps to follow the evasive pirate.
�Jack...� She called out to him - interrupting him mid sentence as he had already started a conversation with one of the crew whom Elizabeth recognized as Mr. Reed. He was quite a bit younger than most of the rest of the crewmen - perhaps closer to her own age. She had tried starting a conversation with him on more than a few occasions, but he was one of the more superstitious of the lot, and refused to talk to her. As she approached him and Jack, he did not even glance in her direction. Jack, on the other hand, looked over at her and smiled as though she was an old mate he had not seen in years.
�Lizzie!� He exclaimed, then pat the young man on the back. �That�ll be all, Mr. Reed.�
The Pirate looked quite confused.
�But you haven�t told me nuffin yet, Cap�n.� He said. Jack glanced over at Elizabeth who crossed her arms over her chest with a smile on her face. Now she knew he was most certainly trying to avoid satisfying her curiosity in regards to the mysterious P.
�Er...� He said as he looked back at Mr. Reed. �Exactly. Mum�s the word.� He made a locking gesture over his mouth and then flung his hand back as though throwing away the invisible key. He turned the boy around and pushed him away. �Off you go then, lad.�
Mr. Reed walked away scratching his head and mumbling confusedly under his breath.
�Jack...� Elizabeth said with a shake of her head as she approached the nervous captain. �Why don�t you want to tell me about--�
�Charles Town?� He interrupted as he walked across the deck, scanning it with his eyes. Elizabeth followed. �Lovely place... horrible manners.� Elizabeth walked in front of Jack, preventing him from going any further.
�The P, Jack! Out with it.�
Jack sighed as he looked Elizabeth in the the eyes, and his face grew serious.
�It�s an important thing for a man to remember his past so that a man does not forget where he came from or what he�s been through.� He paused. �But it�s one thing to remember your past, love... quite another to recount it.�
Elizabeth tilted her head.
�Tell me about the P.�
Jack looked in to Elizabeth�s eyes for a long moment.
�I�ll tell you what...� He started, and moved gracefully behind her, nearly pressing himself in to her back - moving his hands over her arms as he spoke, but not touching them. He had not been this close to her since the day nearly a month before when he had kissed her - correction, when she had allowed him to kiss her - and he didn't expect to be so effected by her nearness. Being this close to her, he could smell her different scents as they mingled together. Her hair, even now after she had been sailing along on the sea for a month, smelled of fruit and lilacs... though now it was augmented by the heady scent of her sweat. He would always associate these smells with the way her lips had felt on upon his, and the thought sent his heart racing. �You make a quick visit to my cabin at sunset, and I�ll answer all the prodding questions you�ve got stored up in that curious little brain of yours.� He backed away from her, afraid he would pull her in to his arms and have his way with her if he stood so close to her for another moment.
�What say you?� He asked.
Elizabeth did not turn to him at first, and Jack observed the way her shoulders rose and fell slowly - as she attempted to reign in her breathing.
�I thought we settled that.� She said, then finally turned to face him - and in her eyes was an emotion closely resembling regret that Jack couldn�t exactly place. �I�m sorry if I�ve ever led you to believe there is something more between us than there really is, Captain Sparrow.� The formal address was enough to pierce his heart... but he said nothing, and allowed Elizabeth to continue. �When I kissed you, it was to save myself and others from an unnecessary fate. I have no excuse for allowing you to kiss me other than I lost myself for a moment. If you have feelings of a romantic nature toward me, it is regrettable... but nothing can ever happen between us again.� She paused. �I must know that this is understood.�
Jack swallowed, and hoped the pain did not show in his face. It wouldn�t do for Elizabeth to know how badly her words stung. She must know that it was understood? Well it was. Every last word completely bloody understood.
�Unfortunately.� He responded.
Elizabeth nodded and walked passed Jack at that - digging her heals in to the pieces of his heart that lay scattered about the deck.
***
Jack sat reclining in a wooden chair in his cabin, passing a coin back and fourth through his fingers, wondering exactly when he had become such a great and bumbling git... and wondering why it was, precisely, that he felt so strongly toward the wench what wreaked havoc on his emotions. He did not understand. Any of it, really. All he could truly be sure of was that plucking the girl out of Port Royal and bringing her to the Pearl had been among one of his most gravest mistakes... and one that he could not immediately rectify at that. They�d been sailing for too long now - and the trip back toward Port Royal was always tougher than the trip away from it. It�d be at least two more months before reaching that port again.
Two more months of the most acute torture Jack Sparrow had ever endured.
But then... was returning her to her husband really any less painful a resolution? At least when she was aboard this ship she couldn�t be with him. So the real question, then, was which of the two evils was less evil: Living with Elizabeth and not being able to have her... or not living with Elizabeth and knowing she was settled down happily in married bliss?
If ever Jack wished for a third option, this was that instance.
Jack sat up straight, knowing what he had to do. Knowing it had to be done. There was a man back at Port Royal that was more than likely missing Elizabeth with everything he was... and there was no use keeping her from him any longer. Jack had left her behind before, and he could do it again. It was the right thing to do. The only thing.
***
�Though your abhorrence to meeting after sunset was clear and inescapable--� Jack started as he swayed in to Elizabeth�s small private quarters... only to be met by a scream and a naked Elizabeth pulling her blanket quickly off her bed to cover herself.
�Jack!� She exclaimed angrily - her eyes glittering in the dim candlelight. Jack raised a finger.
�Clearly this was unintentional.� He said quickly, and took a step back. �And before you go off and slap me, let us recall with the benefit of hindsight that I had no way of predicting that you would be doing...� He creased his forehead and gestured fluidly with his hand at her. �Whatever it is you were doing behind this door when I was on the other side of it.�
�I was washing my dress!� She spoke through her teeth as she wrapped the blanket securely across her body. Jack held his hands up as if signaling defeat or indicating that he was unarmed.
�No need explaining yourself to me, love... none of my business.�
Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
�Why are you still in here?�
�Other than that I am a man?� He asked, keeping his eyes level with her face, and spoke his next words in a tone of sad resignation. �I�ve come to tell you that you�re going home.�
�I am home.� Elizabeth said and sounded confused. Jack felt a dull ache stab at his chest and shook his head.
�Your real home, darlin�.� He said gently. At first, Elizabeth remained looking confused... and then realization poured over her face, washing away any confusion that might have been present.
�You�re taking me back?� She asked quietly with a furrow in her forehead as she sat down on the edge of her mattress. All the anger she had been displaying was non existent now as she looked up in to Jack�s eyes, the dark orbs confirming it to be true. �Why?�
�You don�t belong here.� He forced himself to say the words, and then added softly, �With me.�
Elizabeth stood up suddenly - anger flaring back up in her eyes even as they brimmed with tears.
�Is that what this is about?� She asked as she squeezed the material bunched at her breasts. �You�re getting rid of me because I wont kiss you? Because I wont share your bed?� Jack winced. No. That wasn�t it... but he couldn�t tell her the truth. He couldn�t tell her that it was becoming very apparent to him that he was falling in love with her and that the best thing for both of them was to send her back.
Falling in love with her? What? No. No, he couldn�t be falling in love with her. It was probably best just to shove that thought as far away from his consciousness as he could manage.
�That�s... not exactly how I�d perceive it--�
�You didn�t want to offer me freedom... you just wanted to offer me a different sort of enslavement. I�m free as long as I do what you want me to do. As long as I satisfy you!�
Perhaps if she knew what kind of hell she was putting Jack through just then, she would have stopped slinging mouthfuls of hurtful words his way, and understood that he was doing what he was doing for her. He had been wrong to take her away from her life, because he hadn�t truly done it just to help her. He had done it for selfish reasons as well, and he had to make that right now. He had to take her back to the world she understood and not let her rot away in a world of piracy and filthy men who only wanted to use her.
�I�m sorry.� Was all he could manage to say.
�Remorse and sympathy are emotions reserved for those who have hearts.� She spat out cruelly.
�I�ve heard of those.� Jack responded, his own anger having been piqued just a little - he was only human after all. �Men cut them out of their bodies and lock them in great, buried, secure chests... so I fail to see the motivation for owning one meself.�
�Have you ever cared for anyone other than yourself?�
Jack glared at her - his eyes narrowing to dark slits in his face.
�To a fault.� He responded. The fury on Elizabeth�s face died away a little. Never taking his eyes from her, Jack slowly pulled back the sleeve to his right arm - revealing the raised P that Elizabeth had been so curious about earlier. He raised his forearm allowing her a better view of it. �I was a merchant sailor aboard a ship called the Wicked Wench, and had the unfortunate experience of being employed by the East India Trading Company. Lord Cutler Beckett to be exact... you�ve met him. Stodgy sadistic man - has a liking for torture.� He paused, letting his words sink in. Elizabeth�s eyes widened.
�One day I find meself sailing the Caribbean with �precious and valuable cargo�.� He continued. �Being the man that I am, of course, I had to see exactly what it was that I was delivering.� He paused again, this time the fire of an old memory burned his anger brightly for fuel in his eyes. �Slaves, Lizzie. People, not unlike you and me, save for the color of their skin I suppose... bound to one another like animals. Some had already died. I had taken too long to take an interest in my cargo, and I�ll pay for that some day... but I righted what I could at the time. Set them free, the lot of them. Set myself square with God on that account...� He shook his head, and then quick as lightening, grabbed Elizabeth�s hand - pressing it to the scar on his arm. The blanket fell away from her body, but if either of them noticed neither of them let on.
�Good deeds come with a price, Mrs. Turner.� He said darkly. �My ship was burned down in the harbor, I was branded a pirate and sentenced to hang. Sentenced to hang for giving men back their freedom - something that should never have been taken away from them to begin with. Beckett pressed the iron in to my flesh with a grin on his face... and I knew then that I would rather be a pirate than live in a society what accepts men like him and the deeds they commit. You see, in a pirate�s world, Lizzie... everyone�s free. It�s just a matter of taking advantage of it.�
Jack let her go and backed away a little.
�In case you hadn�t noticed, I escaped the hempen jig for the first of many times and struck a bargain with Davy Jones to raise my ship back from her watery and extremely premature grave. She was the only thing that had ever been completely mine, and I wasn�t going to let her go without a fight. I rechristened her the Black Pearl, got myself a crew in Tortuga and... well, the rest you know.�
Guilty tears rolled down Elizabeth�s face.
�Jack--�
�So, yes.� He interrupted her, pulling his sleeve back down his arm. �I have cared... and no, I had no form of enslavement planned for you. As you might now be aware, and if not - will presently be, I am particularly unfond of the word.�
�I�m so sorry...�
�Yes, well... would that an apology could really make things better the way they seem to be meant to. The world might be a more enjoyable place.�
�I�m sorry I... I didn�t know.�
�Listen, love... I�ve done my fair share of things I�m certainly not boasting or singing merry tunes of bad eggs about, but I have lived my life with only one person telling me what to do... And that�s Captain Jack Sparrow. As you know, that�s my name which coincidentally comes attached with my person... so it happens to work out quite well for me.��
Elizabeth took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her face.
�No wonder you put such value to freedom.�
�There�s a marked difference between valuable and invaluable. You can�t put a price on freedom... or, at least, you shouldn�t - but I suppose I am generally disagreed with on that point.�
Elizabeth looked down to the floor sadly - no trace of her anger remaining. The knowledge she just received battled violently with what she already knew about Jack Sparrow. She had known that he could be a good man and do good things when the situation called for it, but she also always thought him something of a coward. A coward would not have risked everything he had and was to release a ship full of slaves. Only a hero would do that. Perhaps Jack would have went down with the Pearl on his own if Elizabeth had only tried to explain to him. Perhaps she would not have had to deceive him... and sentence him to death.
And then suddenly, as if becoming aware of her state of undress for the first time, Elizabeth swooped down to retrieve the fallen blanket and wrapped it around herself once again. She met Jack�s dark kohl rimmed eyes knowing he never looked at her body once.
�I know what you�re thinking.� Jack said, running his hand across the skin of Elizabeth�s cheek. �And you�re wrong. A man learns from his self sacrificing mistakes and aims not to make them again. You did the right thing on the Pearl that day.� Elizabeth looked surprised. How had he known? As if to answer her question, he smiled. �You don�t think I know what you were apologizing to me for? It was easy for you to believe you sacrificed a pirate for the greater good, but sacrificing a good man would make you a murderer.�
�Yes.� She said without hesitation.
�You�re no more a murderer than I am, pet.� He said sincerely, because contrary to what many people may have thought about him... he wasn�t a murderer. He had killed men, yes... but never in cold blood. Always in self defense or in the defense of others. He had sacrificed others� souls in place of his on occasion, but that had worked out in the end. Elizabeth looked deeply in to the eyes of the man whom she was really beginning to see for the first time.
�Jack, I--�
Jack stepped back away from her suddenly, breaking off the gentle contact between them.
�That�s enough of that, I think.� He said. �We�ll be back in Port Royal in an estimated two month�s time. Two months to square with the idea and to get your fill of the sea, savvy?�
He said nothing more before turning and leaving her alone in her cabin once again... never having once attempting anything improper with her.
So Jack Sparrow could be a hero and a gentleman?
Elizabeth sat down heavily on her bed... what more surprises could there be?
***
Jack awoke to screaming.
Looking around for a disoriented few moments, he realized it couldn�t have been passed two in the morning. He reached for his pistol instinctively, though he could not exactly remember why he had awaken in the first place. Something had happened. Something had made a loud or noise or something. No. Someone had screamed.
And that someone screamed again - a loud gasping scream, muffled the next second. Elizabeth was crying out, and someone had put their hand over her mouth.
Jack was already kicking through the door to her cabin which he had found locked as he tried to get in to it.
�Get off of her, mate.� Jack said with poisonous venom in his voice as he cocked his pistol at Mr. Reed who was holding Elizabeth around the head - his hand over her mouth, his dagger to her throat.
Elizabeth�s eyes widened in relief at the sight of Jack, only to widen further than that as Mr. Reed poked his blade in to her skin.
�I can�t.� The young pirate said in a strained and scared voice. �I �ear the men talk. All night long, Cap�n. Women are awful bad luck on ships... we �ave to get rid o� her before sumfin �appens to us. She�s already got you actin� strange as all get out.�
�The way I see it, you�ve got two choices, Mr. Reed...� Jack started in a deadly calm manner. �You can either let go of her and face up to whatever punishment I see fit for laying your hands on her, or I can pull this little piece of metal I�ve got against my finger here and take the choice out of your hands. I�d rather not be spilling your blood as I�m sure Miss Swann here would be quite dissatisfied to be trying to get pirate out of her mattress for the duration of the voyage... and you can think I wont kill you to save her, but you�d be wrong - so there�d be no point in thinking it.�
The boy stared at Jack for a long while - his hand shaking uncontrollably. He must have known he�d made a very bad mistake now.
�Don�t be stupid, Mr. Reed. You�ll be dead before you can spill a drop of her blood.�
After another moment, the dagger clanged to the floor - and Reed buried his head in his hands sobbing. Elizabeth gasped for air and ran to Jack as soon as she was free.
�Go to my cabin and wait for me there.� Jack said in a low voice, never taking his pistol down. Elizabeth glanced from him to the boy.
�What are you going to--�
�Go!� Jack snapped. Elizabeth jumped, and then scurried away.
Jack grabbed the boy roughly by the wrist and dragged him out of the room. Banging rapidly on the deck with his pistol, he called out:

�Up, everybody up!�
***

Not five minutes later the crew had assembled on the deck - staring with wide and angry eyes at the reason they were torn so unceremoniously from their sleep. Mr. Reed stood at the rail with his eyes cast down to the floor.
�Take a good look at him, men.� Jack barked out. �Every man aboard this ship went on account and agreed to the code... yet Mr. Reed here seems to think himself above that.�
The crew murmured in disapproval.
�Every man standing here knows that there�ll be punishment for attempting murder on any of the crew, prisoners, or women aboard ship. Isn�t that right, men?� He asked loudly. At that the crew hooted and hollered in agreement - a resounding �aye� coming from the collective group. They knew what this was about now.
�Cat o� nine!� One man called out.
�Maroon �im, cap�n!� Another shouted.
Jack shook his head.
�I believe the keel is in bad need of a scraping, what say you, men?�
Another resounding cheer from the men. Mr. Reed shook and cried - obviously understanding what was in store for him.
�What does he mean?� Elizabeth whispered to Mr. Gibbs who had been leaning against the stairs leading up to the poop deck. He turned to her a bit startled.
�What are you doing here, lass?� He asked, glancing toward Jack who was busy riling up his crew. �You ought not to be seeing this.�
�Tell me what he means.�
Gibbs was silent for a long moment, and then sighed.
�He means to keelhaul Mr. Reed.� He said with a shake of his head. �I�ve never known him to do it in all my years of knowing him... but it�s an unpleasant, painful business.� He looked over at the men preparing the rigging for the punishment. �They�ll bind his wrists together and rope him up... and drag him under the ship from stern to bow. The barnacles that have gathered there will cut at his flesh... which is why you need to be getting back inside or it�ll be a sight you wont soon be forgetting.�
�Will he survive?�
�Sometimes they do, sometimes they don�t... though I�d reckon the pain would be so unbearable they�d rather not live through it.�
�This is wrong.� Elizabeth whispered, her face having gone pale... knowing that it was because of her that a scared and misguided young man was about to be dragged through hell by his wrists.
�No.� Gibbs said warily. �It�s justice.�
Elizabeth watched as they tied a sobbing Mr. Reed to a rope that disappeared over the edge of the ship - the crew howling their approval. What kind of justice was this? It seemed that whenever a group of men were delegated the task of deciding what justice was, the end result was more often than not cruel and disgusting.
Reed was hoisted up in the air by ropes and pulleys woven in to the rigging of the ship, and Elizabeth could not hold back the scream of protest that tore from her lungs. She pushed passed Gibbs and stood plainly on the deck. Jack turned to her - anger flooding his features.
�Take her below deck!� He roared to Gibbs, and Elizabeth pushed him off her as he tried to obey his captain�s command.
�No!� Elizabeth screamed, her voice strained and quivering. �Either you stop this now or I stay here and watch what monsters you pirates really are.�

The crew was silent as Jack approached Elizabeth.
�Get inside.� He said from behind a clenched jaw.
�If you do this you�re no better than Cutler Beckett or any of the rest of them.� She said lowly so that only he could hear. �You said you're not a murderer... but this would be murder.�
Jack eyed her with menacing calm that frightened her.
�He tried to kill you, love.� He said, and he didn�t seem at all like the Jack she knew. �This is better than he deserves.�
Elizabeth shook her head.
�No one deserves this.� She said quietly. Jack stared in to her eyes until something in him softened, and then looked down as though ashamed. It seemed an eternity that Jack stood there staring down at his bare feet - a battle of conflicting thoughts raging in his mind. She was right. He'd never punished a man this way before, and it would be murder. If not murder, horrible torture at the very least.
But he'd threatened Elizabeth. He would have killed her. Would have slit her throat right there in her small makeshift cabin right under his nose. If she hadn't screamed... if he hadn't heard her...
Jack clenched his eyes shut for a moment as though it would make the thought less painful.

He'd be doing this out of revenge, then. He'd be killing out of revenge. His actions had been rash and fueled by anger and fear... and now he knew he could not do it. He could not stoop as low as to put himself on the same level as a man like Cutler Beckett. Jack swallowed, and nodded only twice to himself. Or to Elizabeth. He didn't know.

�Cut him down!� He yelled, though kept his eyes down on the wood under his feet.
Murmurs of confusion from the crew filled the air.
�You heard him!� Gibbs yelled. �Cut the lad down!�
The men scurried to do just that.
�Bring out the cat o� nine.� Jack said, walking passed everyone to his cabin - not even casting one more glance at Reed... or at Elizabeth. �Forty lashes minus thirty, Mr. Gibbs. See to it.�
�Aye, Cap�n.� Gibbs responded, as Jack closed himself behind his cabin doors. Gibbs walked to Elizabeth, who stood rooted to where she was watching as a man brought out a very horrid looking whip. She wondered briefly, as flashes of the scars on Will's back entered her mind, if that was the sort whip they had used on her husband while he was aboard the flying dutchman. Gibbs placed a hand on her back, bringing her out of her sad reverie.
�Reed'll be preffering that to the keel, believe you me." He said. "Brave thing you just did, lass... there�s not many men who�d challenge Jack Sparrow.�
It was as close a thing to a compliment she�d ever gotten from the man, and she smiled wanly.
�Best go inside now, Miss Swann. Leave the ugly business to us monsters, ey?�
Elizabeth could do nothing but nod and walk away.
***
Jack sat with his elbow on his table and his face buried in his fingers. That had been... well that had just been the most daft thing he had ever done. He reneged on a threat and it made him look weak in front of his crew... and who had he done it for? None other than the pecking little bird herself.
�Jack.� Her voice rang loudly in his ears through the silence of his cabin. He looked up to see the source of his extreme discontentment standing at his door. Her hands were clasped nervously before her as she worried at her lower lip.
�I could do without the company just now, Elizabeth.� He said looking her square in the face, meaning what he said - meaning specifcally her company.
�You did the right thing.� Her words almost came out proudly.
�The 'right' thing is a very subjective and abstract idea.� He responded with a dismissive gesture.
�You love me.� She said without much in the way of preamble. If Jack had been drinking something at that moment, this likely would have been one of those times where he spit it out all over himself in humorous surprise.
�Much like that one.� He said as he stood up quickly and crossed to his window, his heart suddenly racing. This was very dangerous water for him to be sailing in to. Love? She thought he loved her? It was the first time he had had the notion brought up to him aloud, and it seemed utterly preposterous. How could a pirate ever presume to love a woman like her? He couldn�t tell her that he very possibly did. He couldn�t allow her that much leverage over him. �Time for you to go back to sleep, Lizzie. There�ll be no more beasties hindering--�
�Admit it. You love me.�
Jack swung around to face her - his arms slightly raised.
�No, and also... no.� Was his response.
Elizabeth shook her head.
�Yes you do!� She argued. �You all but told me yourself the day you came to take me away from Port Royal. You told me you couldn�t get me out of your head... and now, now you do this.�
�Something I would have done for any one of my crew mates, I assure you.�
�Saving them, perhaps... punishing their attacker... but you would not have changed your mind as to the punishment at someone else�s request. I know it.�
�Er...� Jack tapped his fingers against each other as his eyes narrowed a bit and his mouth pursed in thought. �... Prove it.�
�The expression on your face when you saw the dagger against my neck is proof enough. You were terrified.�
�Yes, well pity you were the only one to bare witness to said expression... so your proof is inadmissible.�
Elizabeth crossed the room slowly to Jack just as she had crossed to him on the deck of the Pearl so many life times before this moment. The same look in her eyes. The same manner in which she stalked closer and closer. He could only watch - mesmerized as she brought her mouth close to his. She didn�t understand what she was doing to him. She didn�t know that she owned him with just one glance. One touch. One word. That was all it took from her. That was all it had ever taken. He was hers even if he�d never say the words.
He was hers whether he liked it or not.
�Admit it.� She whispered against his lips. He slid his eyes shut for only a moment, but then continued gazing upon her face so close to his. �The way you look at me, Jack. The way you watch me. The way--�
His lips were over hers and his hands entwined in her long soft hair before she could get out another word. She clutched at his waist desperately as her mouth and tongue melted in with his. Her legs wrapped around his body as he picked her up in his arms - turning her around and pressing her in to the glass of the window.
�Say it, Jack.� She said breathlessly as he pulled away from her mouth to run his lips and tongue along the smooth flesh of her neck. He looked up in to her lust darkened eyes.
�No.� He growled as he ripped open her bodice - revealing her cream colored skin to his gaze. She let out a surprised gasp - which he took full advantage of by sweeping down and tasting her once again. She kissed him passionately in return as his hands roamed over her body, over her breasts. She had worn this same dress every day she had been aboard the ship, but apparently had opted out of the accompanying undergarments.
Elizabeth pulled away from Jack�s mouth and pulled out of his grip - taking great effort to set herself on her own two feet again.
�We can�t do this.� She panted as she attempted to walk away. Jack grabbed her wrist and yanked her back to him roughly.
�Like bloody hell we can�t.� He said in a voice as coarse as his matted hair as he pushed her skirts up with his free hand.
�Jack--� The name broke off in a gasp of pleasure as his hands were upon her - sending a rush of white hot flames licking against her entire body. Jack had never seen anything like it; the look on her face as he touched her... had never felt anything like her. She was so warm and beautiful. She was the kind of woman great men fell from their pedestals for. Great men like James Norrington.
Like Will Turner.
And that was when the guilt finally began to pool in the pit of Jack�s stomach... He had already taken her from the man, could he really do this, too? Will was his friend. His good friend, despite what they had been through. The things they had done to each other. There weren�t many men in the world whom Jack would trust with his life, and Will Turner was one of them. How could he do this to him? How?
All he needed to do was look at the women moaning in his arms as his fingers worked under her dress for his answer. He could do this because he would die if he didn�t. He only had her for two more months... two more months out of an eternity, and then she�d return to her husband. He needed this memory to call up for solace when she was no longer with him. He needed this memory to soothe his broken heart.
He loved her. He loved her so much.
�I have to have you.� He whispered hoarsely in to her neck. �Just once. Just be mine tonight. Forget who we are, what we are. Just be with me.�
Elizabeth swallowed and looked in to Jack�s intense gaze.
�Tell me you love me, Jack.� She whispered. His response was in his kiss as his mouth descended on hers again. It wasn�t an admission, but he hoped it was enough for her. He�d never tell her he loved her. It was too much to ask of him... but he poured his emotions out from his mouth until he was sure she could feel them as deeply as he could.
The next moment Elizabeth was on a hard mattress staring up at Jack�s face - her chest rising and falling quickly. The pirate atop her pulled the material of her dress down over her shoulders with one hard yank. She lifted her body so that he could slide the material down the rest of her body, leaving her completely nude.
Jack bent over her and kissed her thoroughly as she helped him out of his breeches, then his shirt.
A moment later Jack was inside his angel - groaning as he finally reached heaven. He had been to hell and it was only right that he should experience all that the universe had to offer.
Elizabeth gasped in his ear, arching her body as he thrust in and out of her slowly. He knew he would never be with her like this again. He knew that this was just pretend... that she could never truly belong to him, no matter how often he had convinced himself otherwise. This was borrowed time. After all was said and done, he knew he�d regret betraying Will this way. He knew he�d regret allowing Elizabeth to forsake her wedding vows... and he�d regret not being a stronger man, but as he stared down at his perfect Elizabeth writhing and moving underneath him as though he was the only man who had ever existed in her world... He knew he could never regret this.
He�d never regret this view.
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When the Rum Runs Out