Broken

Title: Broken (2/?)
Author: Mahie/EvenStar
E-mail: persefone_rj@hotmail.com
For other warnings and such see part 1.
No infringement is intended.

----

Jack awoke the next day at Will's smithy. He had hidden himself well, and
no one had seen him. Not that he cared much. He was feeling really
worried about Will and wanted more than anything to see the lad again.
To see if he could help. To see if Will had slept well and how he was
feeling. Jack just needed to see him.

Jack stood up and rubbed his eyes. He sat on Will's bed and wondered. Why
was he so worried? He was a pirate, for God's sake. He wasn't supposed to
care; but, deep inside, Jack knew Will was different from any other person
he had met - better,*Jack* considered him different from any other person
and cared for him all the more.

Sighing, Jack went to the bathroom. As soon as he left, he saw Elizabeth.
Her eyes were swollen and Jack felt uneasy. Was Will alright?

"Jack," Elizabeth said. "You have to come with me."

"What's wrong, lass? How is Will?" he asked, worried.

"He keeps calling for you, Jack. You have to see him. He hasn't slept at
all. He kept crying over and over and didn't sleep."

‘'Oh, God.' Jack thought.

"Sure. Let's go, then. But...has anything happened?" Jack eyed Elizabeth
suspiciously, as if *knowing* why Will was so sad. After all, he was
depressed because Elizabeth didn't want to spend much time with him.

"Nothing but what you already know."

Jack nodded. No need to push Elizabeth even more. She was already very
distressed; and, she being childish or not, she was suffering, too.

Elizabeth hid Jack behind herself as they entered her house and climbed
the stairs. The sun had barely risen; it couldn't be more than 7AM.

"I wanted to call you all night," Elizabeth confessed, while they climbed
the stairs. "But Will wouldn't let me. He said you needed to sleep and
he didn't want to disturb you."

Jack felt his heart melting with such tenderness. Will was hurt, had been
raped and was worried about disturbing him. The lad was really special; Jack
really wanted to help him. And he would.

Elizabeth left as soon as Jack entered Will's room. The pirate approached
the bed slowly. Will had his eyes closed but wasn't asleep. He opened his
eyes when he heard the footsteps.

Jack had knelt beside the bed and took Will's hand in his. "Hey."

"Jack!" Will smiled sadly. "Thank God you're here."

"Elizabeth told me you were unwel


Will nodded,feeling his eyes water again. "Why is it so hard?" Will cried, finally.
"Why do we keep remembering everything all over again?"

"People say it's normal, lad." Jack said, caressing the hand he held. "Will,
I know it doesn't make you feel any better, but you're not the only one
who passed through this."

"It really doesn't make me feel any better." He replied bitterly.

"It's common to feel this way. It's too recent."

Will nodded: “You said you...have seen this before?"

"Yes."

"Did it happen to you,Jack?"

"No, not to me," Jack sighed. "To a dearest friend." And he fell silent,
as if praying for Will to change the subject. But Will was no simpleton,
really.

"My father?" he asked, but Jack wasn't looking at him. "Jack?"

"Yes," Jack replied faintly, not looking at Will in the eye.
Will fell silent and tore his eyes off of Jack. Jack took the moment
to reach his arm and touch Will's forehead.

"You're cooler...yesterday you had a fever." he said, smiling at Will.

"I think so." Will said. But now he was even sadder to know his father
had been raped, too. Smartly, he chose not to ask anything more. He didn't
need to know, really.

Jack spent the day with Will and the lad felt better because of it. The
memories were still fresh, but somehow Jack knew how to say the right
things and make Will's pain ease a bit. By nightfall, Will was smiling
again and he talked to Jack as if nothing had happened.

Jack said: "Yer sensible, lad. This bastard who...did that to you...didn't take your
innocence away."

Will smiled sadly. "Thanks for staying with me. I'm really feeling better,
but it's all because of you."

It was Jack's turn to smile. "No, Will. You'll pass through this because
yer strong. You have your own purity. Yer not bitter, despite all that
happened."

Will felt silent, and Jack did the same. After some time, the captain asked:
"Were you a virgin, Will?"

"I was," he replied sadly. "In every way."

Jack nodded, taking one of Will's hands in his. The intimacy made Will feel
a little uneasy. Trying to break the tension, he said:
"Come, let's have dinner downstairs."

"But..." Jack said. "What about the Governor? What if he sees me?"

"Nay, he won't." Will said. "Elizabeth told me he was going to travel to
England today. He has duties there, it seems. You could sleep here. If you
want, of course."

"I do," Jack replied. "But...what about the Commodore?"

"If he comes here, we're going to be informed by the servants."

"Alright, then. Let's eat." Jack smiled.

They had dinner with Elizabeth, who didn't say a word all evening. It seemed
she was feeling rather embarrassed and sad. Will didn't speak a word to
her, and they both knew their relationship would change. Elizabeth knew
she was being cold towards Will, and he was aware of that fact, too; so,
the girl barely talked, and Will only spoke to Jack all the time.

After dinner, Elizabeth excused herself by saying she was going to sleep.

Jack said: "Elizabeth?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Will you mind if I sleep here, luv?"

"No. Not at all," she said sincerely. "I'm happy you're making Will feel
better. At least one of us should be doing this," and she left, leaving
an astonished Will Turner and a surprised Jack Sparrow in the hall.

"Why doesn't she do anything, if she *knows* she's not helping me?" Will
said between gritted teeth.

"Maybe she can't do anything, lad." Jack said, helping Will climb the stairs.

"She was supposed to love me!"

"She's not used to this kind of thing, Will. She can't understand violence,
because she's been living in a fictitious world since she was born. I'm
sure she's hurt, too, but she doesn't know how to deal with it, how to help
you."

Will considered Jack's words for a moment. Then, he said: "No, Jack. The
problem is she's very much spoiled."

Jack said nothing, but noticed how much Will was resentful. It couldn't be
only because Elizabeth was being cold towards him. It had to be something
else. So he asked: "Were ye both alright, mate?"

"What do you mean, Jack?" Will asked.

"You and the lass. Do you still love one another? Do *you* stiove ove "
"

"Of course I do, I..." Will cut himself. "Hell, who am I trying to fool?
I don't know anymore, Jack. And it's not because she's avoiding me. I’ve felt
rejected for a long time. Not that I give her much attention
myself. I work too hard, you know."

Jack nodded; and, as they were back to Will's bedroom, Jack helped him lay
down. Then he lay on the couch next to Will's bed.

Will looked at Jack and saw how he was uncomfortable. He said: "Jack?"

"Aye?"

"Isn't that couch uncomfortable?"

"It is. But don't bother."

"This bed is big. You can lie here...if you want to." Will said, somewhat
shyly.

"Um...well, it's better than the couch, that's for sure," Jack said, grinning.
"Move aside, lad. I promise I won't try anything. Pirate's honor," he joked.

"As if I thought you would," Will joked, but then his tone became more
serious. "You are one of the few people I trust, Jack. I don't know why
I do it, for we know each other for so little. I don't know, I just do."

Jack felt touched by Will's words and didn't say a thing. He just touched
Will's forehead softly in the dark and said: "Sleep well."

"You too, Jack," and Will fell into a dreamless sleep, feeling really better.
Better to know he had someone he could trust. Not to mention someone he
really loved to be near.

----

The next day Jack awoke early, and Will was still asleep beside him. Jack
smiled bitterly. Will seemed so peaceful now in his sleep, but Jack knew
better. He knew that the boy wouldn't feel really well soon. A rape was
no joke; it would take time for him to forget it. Despite himself, Jack
felt a tear running down his cheek. Even though he wanted desperately
to help Will, he didn't know what he could do to help the lad.

He wanted to take his pain away more than anything and felt bad to know he
couldn't. It wouldn't be that easy.

Will opened his eyes slowly, having felt the bed shift, and looked at Jack's
eyes. He saw immediately that the pirate had been crying.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Will asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Jack replied, trying to hide the tears, but it was helpless. Will
had already seen them. And the more Will pressed, the more Jack cried, without
hiding now.

"Tell me," Will asked softly, caressing Jack's hair. "If you want to."

"Don't worry about me." Jack said, sniffing, as if finishing the talk. "You
have much to worry about."

Will just hugged Jack tightly, then. Jack returned the embrace and kissed
Will'reherehead softly.

"Tell me if I can help you," Will demanded slowly.

Jack nodded and said sadly: "You, too."

Will understood Jack was sad because of him. But he said nothing. It was
still very hard. He didn't want to talk about what had happened, not yet.

"I'm going to have breakfast." Jack said. "You?"

"I'll be going soon."

"Alright," Jack said and, with a loving glance to Will, he left the room.
Will sat there in the bed, lost in thought. How could a man he barely
knew be so worried about him? Why, for God's sake, didn't Elizabeth care
that way? She who had claimed to love him since childhood? But Will knew
the answer already.

Time didn't count when it came to love. Nor words counted.

Acts did.

----

Jack went downstairs. His eyes were swollen. He had cried in front of Will;
he had showed him his vulnerability. And he didn't care one bit. For once,
Jack Sparrow didn't care about being seen in such a helpless state.

He descended the stairs and went to have breakfast. The servants treated
him well, even though they knew he was a pirate. They had nothing to do
with that and were paid to do their work; so, Jack sat on the table and
ate as if he was the Governor himself. Well, the servants treated him all
the same.

After having breakfast, Jack went to take a look at the house. The Governor's
mansion was really stunning. Big, full of the greatest fineries and
spirits...bottles of port, of whisky, and even rum. Jack smirked. He could
/really/ use a glass of rum right now.

He took two glasses and poured rum for him and for Will. He couldn't wait
to make the lad drink something. Jack was sure Will had never drunk anything.
And he knew it could make Will feel better. He didn't even care if it
was probably earlier than eight in the morning.
Jack didn't even notice the doorbell, busy with the rum.

----

Elizabeth awoke a bit later than Jack and decided to see Will. She was
feeling guilty about not giving him much attention, even though she knew
Jack was doing that for Will. But she needed to do it as well. Will was
hurt and the more attention he received, the better.

Elizabeth opened the door warily, entered the room and closed the door.
Will was back asleep. It was the thing Will was doing most after the
rape; he needed to forget it, so he slept a lot.

Elizabeth sat on the bed, staring at Will. She touched his hair and face,
wanting him to wake up. It took some time, but eventually the lad awoke.

Elizabeth smiled sadly, but Will didn'turnturn the smile. He asked
nonchalantly: "Where's Jack?"

"I think he is having breakfast downstairs." Liz sighed. "How are you
feeling?"

"I could be feeling better if you cared about me." Will replied bitterly.

"Oh, God, Will...I've been so busy...you don't know, I'm doing...um...a lot
of things..."

Will couldn't believe that. Elizabeth was lying! How could she be so
heartless?

"Busy? You don't do anything all day long!" Will laughed. "If you find
me disgusting, you don't need to lie. Tell me!"

Elizabeth avoided his gaze and said: "No, Will...it's not like this...I'm sorry, I..."

"You don't care about me! And truth be told,/I/ don't care about you, either."

"Will..."

Will stopped himself. His eyes were watering. The pain was still strong.
He didn't want to deal with Elizabeth now. "Would you mind leaving me
alone?"

Elizabeth saithinthing; but she left, her eyes starting to water as well.
She went to her room and didn't really notice the doorbell either.

----

A servant came from the kitchen to open the door, after hearing the doorbell.
She opened it, and Commodore Norrington entered.

"Hello, Julie." He said politely. "Is Elizabeth in?"

"I think she's asleep, Commodore. She hasn't come to have breakfast yet."

"Mind if I wait for her? I want to know how Mr. Turner is doing."

"No problem, sir." She pointed him the couch. "Mr. Turner is not well.
He keeps crying and barely eats. But, thank God, that friend of his showed
up, and I think he's better than he was," said the oblivious woman.

"Friend?" the Commodore asked, sitting on the couch. "Who is it?"

"That Jack Sparrow...the pirate."

The Commodore stood up from the couch. "What?! That pirate is /here/??"
Julie looked at the Commodore, nodded quickly and left to the kitchen,
excusing herself.

The Commodore couldn't be more pleased. He was furious he hadn't caught
/any/ of the bloody pirates who had attacked the city next to Port Royal.
He was really irritated that the Navy's men seemed to be questioning
his work. All he needed to do was surprise the pirate and take him to
the jail. It would be perfect to his status right now.

He couldn't know Jack was helping Will more than anyone else.
Silently, Norrington went to climb the stairs. Jack could be sleeping
as well, and he would surprise him.

Tiptoeing, James climbed the stairs and tried opening the doors silently.
Each one of them was empty. Well, the Governor's mansion had almost twenty
rooms, so it would take some time for him to find the one Jack Sparrow
was in.

Feeling a strange excitement, the Commodore continued his ministrations.
He opened one, two, three doors. Still nothing. The ninth was Will's room.
The lad was asleep, alone, for Jack was still downstairs and hadn't seen
Norrington. The Commodore closed the door carefully, not wanting to disturb
the boy.

The eleventh door was Elizabeth's room.

And she was in her underclothes.

The Commodore stopped, stunned.

"What are you doing here in my room, Commodore?" Elizabeth tried to hide
herself behind the wardrobe door. "Go away! Jesus, what an improper man!"

The Commodore blushed a deep shade of red and excused himself:
"My apologies, Elizabeth. I'm really sorry," and he went to descend the
stairs quickly. He didn't even remember about the other rooms; he
barely remembered Jack Sparrow was there, for God's sake! What an
embarassing situation to a gentleman like himself!

James stepped in the living room again, and this time he saw Jack, who had
two glasses of rum in hand and making his way to the stairs. The
two men stared at one another for a moment, befJackJack dropped the glasses
and started to run.

The Commodore ran after him, and they left the house. It didn't take long
for Jack to be captured. This time, he hadn't had some brilliant idea to
get free. He had really been caught by surprise and was too worried about
Will to care about himself.

"/Now/ you're going to be hung for piracy, Jack Sparrow." The Commodore
spat, taking him to the jail. "Yer really a daring man. Coming here and
hiding at the Governor's house after a pirate attack nearby. ‘Yer’ really
courageous. I'm impressed." James smirked.

Jack smirked back and said sarcastically: "Thanks, Commodore. I really
appreciate a hypocrite’s praise this early in the morning. Couldn't make
my day better."

"You're more than welcome," was the sarcastic retort. "Now shut your dirty
mouth." James took him to the jail and locked him up.

"Goodbye, Sparrow. You have a dawn appointment wthe the gallows tomorrow."

"Why, thyou you for letting me know." Jack smirked. "Though I must say
it was pretty obvious."

The Commodore smirked back and left with a triumphant smile on his face.

-----

Will awoke by 10AM and went to the living room to have breakfast. Elizabeth
was reading a book and looked at Will guiltily. Will paid no attention
to her and asked one of the servants: "Did you see Jack?"

"You don't know, Sir? The Commodore came here and found him. Must be at
the jail right now."

"WHAT?!" Will yelled. No, he couldn't take yet another disgrace. He had
been raped, and now that bloody Commodore would kill his friend?
"Why didn't you stop him?" Will shook the servant girl. "Why?"

Elizabeth had stood up as well: "When did it happen, Julie?"

"Less than two hours ago. Mr. Sparrow was going upstairs, and the Commodore
surprised him."

Will didn't want to listen to anything anymore. He left the house only in his
shorts and ready to start yet another turmoil.

"Will!!" Elizabeth called. "Wait."

He didn't care about the woman coming behind him and strode to the jail.

----

"And you're going to release him /right now/" Will yelled at the guards.
"I'm the Governor's son-in-law. You're going to obey me."

"Will, stop it." Elizabeth pleaded. "You're still hurt."

"Leave me alone, Elizabeth!" Will said, irritated, and glared at the guards.

"So?"

"I'm afraid it's not our decision, son. You'll have to speak to the
Commodore."

"Where is he?" Will asked.

"I don't know."

Will sighed. Hell, he was still weak. He barely ate. He couldn't be losing
that much energy. He calmed himself and asked: "Can I see Jack?"

A guard took Will there while Elizabeth waited outside. Jack was lying
on the ground, his hand waving in the air. Will smiled. It was like that
day he had come looking for Jack, asking him to help save Elizabeth. But
Will was uneasy about his friend's situation and couldn't make a joke
of it. He said: "Jack!"

"Will! What are ye doing here, lad?" The pirate stood up and looked intensely
at Will.

"I'm going to talk to the Commodore and get you out of here, Jack!" Will
said with conviction.

Jack looked at Will's chest. The lad was pale, but so fucking beautiful
that Jack didn't realize he was staring at him. Will felt a bit ashamed,
but continued: "You're not going to be hung." He approached Jack. "I promise you."

"Will...you're not well, lad. I don't want you to bother."

"Bullshit." Will said. "I'm very well to take care of my friends."

It seemed the irritation Will felt for being raped was getting to him.
He wouldn't stand to suffer again. He wouldn't stand losing Jack. He
didn't know what he was going to do, but he would do something. Anything.

Jack took Will's hands in his, and the lad looked at him. Jack knew how beautiful
Will was, but the boy's beauty always overwhelmed him.

Even being hurt, even being depressed, Will was the most beautiful lad he
had ever seen. Jack stared at Will's brown depths and said: "Thanks."

"I'll do anything it takes to get you out." Will promised.

Jack nodded: "Just don't hurt yourself, alright?" He said in that serious
concerned tone.

"Aye, Captain." Will said, but he wasn't joking.

Jack couldn't help but wonder how Will would fit in his Pearl's crew.
He was sure he could make a pirate out of the boy. It was in his blood,
after all.

Will left, with the guard at his heels. Seeing himself alone again, Jack
sighed. He hoped Will wouldn't do anything brash to save him.
But he couldn't help feeling happy to know his friend - who had been
raped and seriously hurt, that is - was so worried about getting him out
of jail. Jack smiled to himself.

Then he heard shouting: "And you're going to release him, Commodore!!!"

Will again.

Jack grinned. But it would be difficult to convince Norrington.
Would the man release him just because Will asked?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Turner. I'm happy to see you well and to know Jack Sparrow
helped you, but I cannot release him. It's my duty to protect this town
and the others from his pirate attacks."

Elizabeth, who was beside Will, was silent. But she didn't want to see
Jack hung, either. The Commodore barely looked at Elizabeth, completely
ashamed because of what had happened in her room earlier.

But it was she who spoke to him: "Commodore...may I have a word with you in private?"

"Certainly, Miss Swann." He said, trying to hide his embarrassment.
They went to another place near the jail. Will stood there with the
guards, pacing with his arms crossed.

"Look, Miss Swann, I'm really sorry for earlier...I..."

The Commodore started by apologizing, but Elizabeth cut him off:
"I'm not here to talk about it, Commodore." She said with a glare. "I
want to ask you something."

"Please, miss, do so."

"I need you to concede a temporary pardon to Jack."

Norrington sighed: "Elizabeth, I..."

"Listen to /me/!" Elizabeth said with conviction. "Will is hurt, and
you know it. After Jack came, he started to feel much better. You just can't
kill my fiancé's best friend. My fiancé's /only/ friend!"

"Eliz-"

"I didn't finish, Commodore! You can also tell everyone I asked for this
pardon. Your men are not going to think you faileain.ain. They are going
to praise you for doing Will a good deed." She said knowingly. She
knew Norrington worried about his image when it came to his men.

Norrington seemed to consider this, but he was unsure of whether he should
do it. But Elizabeth solved the problem for him:
"You don't think my father would want to know what happened earlier today,
would you, Commodore?"

Norrington looked at her with wide eyes.
"Don't...Elizabeth, don't tell him."

"So, do as I tell you. Release Jack now."

Norrington smiled bitterly. "You say Jack is helping Will feel better.
Why don't /you/ help him?"

Elizabeth's face softened. She dropped her gaze.
Then she looked at the Commodore with renewed strength.
"Because it'll be over for me and Will soon, Commodore."

He eyed her weirdly...almost hopefully, Elizabeth thought. Maybe...maybe
he could be a good husband, yes. But she couldn't think about it then.

She smiled sadly: "I need to do this last something for Will, James."
The Commodore felt his face soften as well, after hearing Elizabeth call
him by his first name. “Would you let me?" She pleaded.

The Commodore felt touched. For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he turned to the guards: "Release him."

Elizabeth smiled and looked at Will, who was totally unaware of anything,
but he felt completely happy to know Jack would be released.
He approached Elizabeth while Norrington was going to release Jack.

"What did you tell him?"

"That I needed to do this last something for you, Will."

"Last?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Don't you think it's already over for us?"

Will stared at her. Then he dropped his gaze.

"Maybe we can be friends." Elizabeth said, sobbing.

Will held her tightly and sobbed, too. They stood like that for a while,
then they saw Jack looking at them.

"I'll have your clothes and other things taken to your house." Elizabeth
said.

Will just nodded, while she left. The Commodore did the same and took
Elizabeth home, all the while trying to talk to her, but she was really
sad and didn't give him much attention.

Jack looked at Will, whose face was wet, too.

He approached the boy and hugged him. They went to Will's house, Jack's
arm around Will's shoulder.

Just before they got there, Jack said: "Thank you."

Will smiled sadly: "It wasn't me."

"I heard you yelling at the Commodore." Jack smiled affectionately.

Will smiled back: "It was Elizabeth."

Jack's eyes widened. "Well, then I'll have to thank her later."

Will just nodded. Jack noticed the boy was even sadder now. He asked:
"What's wrong, Will?"

Will looked away. "She broke up with me."

Jack looked at Will, sympathy clear in his eyes.
But he couldn't deny - at least, not to himself - he was happy to hear
it. Far too happy, he realized.

End of Chapter 2

TBC