Lighten Up Would Ye?

Arrrrrrrrrrrright, it's done.

I'd like to thank all of you reviewers for squeeing so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was a blast to write! :D

and just to let you know, there is a part two, but its more a prequel and it's going reeeeeal slow. LOL. I'll post it later. right now I need a nap.

oh, and a welcome to all of you who've found beforethebeard at LJ... :D

me hush up now, enjoy the fluff.


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(1.10) Epilogue

A miserable groan of pain woke me from my dream. I’d been re-enacting bits and pieces of earlier today, mostly the scar-stories and some very naughty things happening afterwards. How I could manage to have sex-dreams after the night I’d had was beyond me. I blamed it on the rum.

My head pounded, like someone with a hammer was trying their damndest to break my skull open. My stomach was doing flip-flops and my limbs shook. I didn’t want to open my eyes just yet so I felt for my Captain instead, hoping he had some magical cure for me. He wasn’t there, but his spot on the bed was warm so I rolled over onto it and burrowed deeper into the blankets. He couldn’t have gone far. His scent lingered in the pillow so I breathed in deep. Sea salt, rum, and man. Only afterwards did I open my eyes to see what the groan was all about.

BRIGHT! FIRE! I slammed my eyelids shut and buried my face into the pillow.

“Blast the sun!” Came a nearby cry from Davy. I groaned my agreement, risking the pain of opening my eyes again to find my Captain standing a few feet away, gloriously naked with his hand covering his eyes. Even bed-mussed and hung-over, he still managed to look regal and sexy. I would have spent more time admiring his sunlit form if it didn’t hurt so damned much to do so.

“Where’s the bloody rum?” He grumbled, his head turning to face the bed but his eyes still covered.

“It’s gone.” I complained.

“Why is the rum gone?”

“How the hell should I know? You hid it!"

He snarled as a fresh wave of pain went through him. I felt bad with him out of bed alone, probably cold, and so obviously in pain, so I dragged myself out too, taking the top blanket with me. As soon as my head was straight up I found out why he hurt so much.

“Uuuugh!” A sharp pain shot through my brain like a nail pounded into my skull. The bright room only made it worse, every beam streaming through the cracks in the walls and windows felt like hellfire, shooting more pain through my eyes.

I remembered just a few short hours ago I thought the sun was beloved… how wrong I was.

My eyes opened to slits and my legs wobbly I semi-blindly plodded, blanket in hand, towards Davy. He stood in the same spot, teetering in his misery, tentacles curling in pain, muscles tense, with his eyes firmly covered still.

It felt like I was running the gauntlet, every step taking great effort and rewarded with great pain. “Ow… ow… ow…”

“Isa?” His voice was scratchy and strained.

I swore when my toe got caught in some discarded clothing. “Here.”

He fumbled for me and once he found my arm, pulled me close and his hid face in my hair. My poor miserable captain! I kissed his cheek and flung the blanket around his shoulders, covering a bit of his head as well. He purred a ‘thank you’ and leaned back for a kiss which I happily gave, then he buried his face in my hair again. I put my arms around his neck and just held him there, ignoring as best I could the bright sun and the pounding headache. He took the edges of the blanket and wrapped it behind my back up to the neck, pulling me flush… ooooh was he warm. We just stood there for a few moments, plastered to each other to stay upright, trying to regain some semblance of strength, but in my case it wasn’t working. I would have fallen asleep against him if a stray sunbeam hadn’t hit me directly in the eye. I whined rather pathetically and moved my face to hide in his beard.

“Bed?” I suggested, muffled by his tentacles.

He groaned. “Tha’d mean movin’.”

“Why’d ye move in the first place?”

“Hungry.” As if to accentuate the word, his belly grumbled. I had to smile. I wasn’t at all hungry, actually my stomach felt like a few thousand buffalo were running around in there buttin’ heads. I didn’t know if I could even keep anything down! Water would have been nice though, my throat was dry. Probably from all the screamin’ last night. Despite my pain I smiled.

I pulled on his shoulders and took a step back. He got the idea and stepped with me. Like a strange dance I walked us backwards towards the broken cabin door and wondered what the crew would see if they were spying on us through a window, a big purple blanket covered lump swaying across the room and moaning in pain.

Neither of us was willing to relinquish our holds on each other so we combined our efforts to kick the chest away enough for the door to swing open a bit. Sunlight streamed through and we both hissed at the renewed ache in our heads.

Davy turned us and with a deep fortifying breath, stuck his head out the door.

“Boot-he… MACCUS!”

Thump thump thump grumble thump.

“Yessir?”

“Food…” He ordered, and then paused. Suddenly I felt the tips of beard tentacles blocking my ears and had to wonder what he was up to. All I could hear was muffled speech from Maccus and the vibrating bass of Davy’s voice, but his words were garbled.

Davy then closed the door and leaned back against it, shutting his eyes. I gazed up at him curiously and he just smiled at me, pulling me tight against him again. “I nearly expected him to have the boots on his head.”

“He ain’t livin’ that one down anytime soon, is he?”

Davy shook his head, amused, then whined at the dizziness.

“What were you two talkin’ about?” I asked, knowing damn well it was a secret but wanting to know anyways. Devious man that he was, Davy always had a plan.

“Ye’ll find out.”

I raised an eyebrow at him but let it go for now. Like he said, I’d find out. Anyways I was too achy and dizzy to fight, so I laid my head on his chest and relaxed.

A few minutes later came a tentative rap on the door. We must have nodded off for we both started and groaned again.

“Cap’n?”

I let go of Davy and plodded naked towards the bed, hearing an appreciate hum from Davy before the creak of the door again.

There was some shuffling and clanking but somehow he got a platter balanced on the nearby chest. I noted there were 2 cups, not one, (that answered whether or not the crew knew I was in here) sitting near the kettle of steaming… sniff… coffee, and some fruit and bread, a light fare but perfect for our unsettled stomachs. I even saw a jug of water and wanted to stick my entire head in it.

“One more thing here, sir.” Davy was handed a bundle, which he took and placed on the floor. His hat was soon placed atop of it, and with a nod to Maccus, Davy shut the door.

“How’d ye manage not to expose yerself to the entire crew?” I asked with a saucy grin.

“Who says I din’t?” He winked, dropped the blanket and then knelt to get the bundle. “Ah, our effects.”

I wolf-whistled as he knelt, admiring how the muscles in his thighs flexed. Hey, I was in pain, I wasn’t dead!

Well, technically…

Shooting me a heated glance, he rummaged in the bundle and pulled out one big boot, two small boots, a bandana, a worn shirt, and… “Rum?” Whose bright idea was that?

“Hair ‘o the dog…”

I shook my head, but that only made me dizzy. “No more rum…” I fell back onto the bed and rolled myself in blankets. By the time I was finished, affectively cocooned, I sat up and saw Davy with his hat back on… and that’s it. It was cleaner but none the worse for wear. I giggled at him and he put his hand and claw on his hips and glared at me, and I laughed harder.

“You. Overboard. Remember?”

Still laughing I asked with a wink, “You’re not finished with me already, are you?”

His glare softened. “No, not even close.”

He joined me in bed with the tray balanced across our laps and we ate peacefully, sharing grins at the fruity mess we’d make on purpose (which was quickly licked up by the other) or miserable groans when a wave of headache hit us. I drank half the jug of water and left the rest for Davy, who grinned at my eager swallowing and satisfied moan. It soothed the throat wonderfully.

“I absolutely refuse to move for the rest of the day, threats of being keel-hauled or not.” I stated, after placing the tray on the floor.

“Agreed.” Davy grunted, nestling down and pulling a sheet over his head. The breakfast was filling, and did a marvellous job of settling my roiling belly, and the coffee granted its usual miracle of clearing my muddled brain, but not good enough to stop the hangover completely. My limbs still felt like wet noodles, so I joined Davy under the blankets, curling up in his waiting arms again.

“Can you destroy the sun so we can get some sleep?”

He laughed. “All in good time.”

When I kissed him he tasted like strawberries and strong coffee. If I didn’t feel so exhausted and sick I would have pounced on him.

We lay like that for a while, this time I was the one blocking the breeze from him. My belly felt a lot better and while laying here my limbs nearly stopped shaking. The water definitely helped. I was disturbed to think that sooner or later I’d have to move from our little cocoon to relieve myself, so I ignored it and shut my eyes, snuggling in close to my Captain and curling an arm around his waist.

A few minutes later I heard multiple voices cry out a word from outside the room. It sounded like the entire crew yelled… down.

Down? What does that mean?

Suddenly the ship lurched forwards, tilting so that the front was going downwards… I leapt out of bed immediately, gaining my feet only to nearly lose them when the floor tilted further. If I had slipped, I would have slid and slammed into the wall.

In a panic I grabbed onto the headboard and caught the sliding breakfast tray with a toe, practically screaming “What the fuck’s going on?”

Davy reached for me and I think I heard him tell me to calm down… but when I heard something huge slamming against the door, the chest blocking it starting to bounce and scrape across the floor and water erupting upwards like a volcano, I lost it. We were going underwater? I’d die! I’d drown! Oh Great Spirit, get me out of here!

I bolted for the organ, fully intending to climb it and somehow reach the windows. I didn’t even think, I was turned totally into fight or flee mode, and there was no way I could fight the rushing water which was already at my feet. My entire body trembled as I watched in sheer terror the water pouring in from the cracks in the walls, churning and bubbling.

I reached the organ and was about to climb up when I felt Davy behind me, turning me around quickly and wrapping me in his arms. “Calm down, Isa.” He was laughing, the bastard! His eyes were lit up and despite his aches he smiled down at my trembling frightened form with that fondness that would have melted my heart if I wasn’t so goddamned scared.

I struggled like mad, but it was useless, he was much bigger and stronger than I was. The water was at my knees and climbing fast. For the life of me I couldn’t say how Davy stood there perfectly balanced when I was nearly falling.

“Yer not going to drown, Isa. Yer one of my crew, ye can’t die from drownin’.”

By the time he finished saying that the water was at my chest and I was nearly mad with fright. His words finally penetrated and I stopped struggling. “What?” Oh. Stupid woman. He’s right. But still! I’d grown up landlocked, the nearest ocean literally thousands of miles away, and although by now I was used to living atop a seemingly endless ocean, I hadn’t gotten used to it hovering around my neck, threatening to engulf me. I’d seen a drowned child when I was younger, bloated with their face forever frozen in terror, and ever since the fear of drowning was one of my worst. I’d had nightmares for years afterwards.

Keeping his words in mind I gripped Davy in a crushing embrace when the cold water went over my mouth. Instinct took over and I held my breath, screwing my eyes shut and burying my face in Davy’s beard. My entire body quaked and I could hear him chuckling but at the same time stroking my hair, comforting me. I could have really been offended but I could see it from his perspective. He’d probably done this thousands of times.

I needed to breathe, my lungs burned. I looked up at his amused yet sympathetic blue eyes and he leaned down and kissed me… by now we were completely submerged and the ship was slowly righting itself, the floor tilting back to normal. I could feel it under my feet, felt my hair floating around and Davy’s lips caressing mine as gently as he could.

He released me slowly and I opened my eyes. The cabin was filled with water, a comforting darkness all around us and the currents moving anything not nailed down. Every couple of seconds the organ would make a little noise as something landed on it or a stronger current caressed the keys, but the noises were muted under water.

I wanted to say something but I couldn’t… I still hadn’t breathed and my head was getting muzzy. I felt Davy’s claw move and suddenly he poked me hard in the gut and bubbles spewed from my open mouth. I had no choice but to breathe in the cold water now…

It felt horrible, swallowing water like that… eventually its heaviness filled my lungs and I was sure I was going to die, despite Davy’s assurances I couldn’t. He held me tighter as I laboured with breathing, watching my face as I gradually realized that I could breathe just fine underwater. I didn’t know how, but slowly I inhaled water and exhaled water and some bubbles… I looked up at him amazed, and he smiled gently at me, patient as ever. His tentacles were waving around behind him, slowly settling back where they usually were as the ship righted itself.

The panic subsided, replaced by total bewilderment and curiosity. I was alive! I wasn’t dead! I could move, I could breathe! This was… unprecedented. My astonishment hitched up a notch when a fish swam casually beside us, not afraid. What…

Davy just grinned and caught the fish in his hand, bringing the little multicoloured wiggler closer to me. I reached out and touched it, feeling like I was about to touch some mythological creature even though it was only an angelfish. It let me.

Davy let the fish go on its way and smiled at me again, and although I only caught it out of the corner of my eye I appreciated it. He was being very patient with me. I laughed at this entire situation, and laughed harder when more bubbles came out of me. This was beyond insane. If Nimoshom could see me now! The old man would probably keel over.

This was amazing… I couldn’t get over how things moved underwater, that I could actually see this, be alive now (well, semi-alive, whatever) and witness this. And Oh, was I ever glad that this happened while alone with Davy Jones instead of out on deck with the rest of the crew… they’d never let me live down my panic.

I folded Davy in a tight embrace, unable to wipe the stupid grin off my face as another, bigger and more colourful angelfish swam by us. I giggled, feeling more than a little befuddled and exhausted and still hung-over and… underwater. Wow.

Davy, apparently just as unable to speak underwater as I was, glanced over at the bed and its hovering sheets, the hint unmistakable. I wondered what it would be like to sleep underwater, or if I’d end up floating to the ceiling. I laughed again but allowed myself to be led back to the bed. It felt like I was swimming but not quite. My feet were still firmly attached to the floor, but… I couldn’t get over how strange these sensations were.

By whatever magic kept the Flying Dutchman, we somehow got into bed and didn’t float. I couldn’t stay still though, being here like this was beyond fascinating… I kneeled on the bed and went to the wall, peering out through a crack big enough to see though and just staring in wonder as the ship moved. I saw a colourful school of angelfish swimming casually along, and then dispersing as a hammerhead shark descended upon them. I laughed, jokingly thinking it could have been Maccus’s twin if it only had boots on its head.

Davy appeared behind me, wrapped me up tight in blankets and pulled me away from the wall, blue eyes dancing at my child-like enthralment. He laid me down, kept his arms around me so I wouldn’t go crawling off again, and despite how amazing this whole thing was, I was past exhausted, and with the water flowing over us and relieving our aches, we both quickly fell asleep again. My last thoughts, besides how much I adored my Captain, was that he did as promised… he got rid of the sun for me.

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MOO.