Fate Intervenes

Title: Fate Intervenes 2/?
by GylzGirl
Rating: NC-17.
Warnings: Sparrabeth. Spoilers for DMC.
Summary: Elizabeth is in trouble and it seems Jack, and something he asked her a long time ago, are her only hope..
Other headers attached to chapter one.

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CHAPTER TWO: A Clean Start

Elizabeth had gone quiet again as soon as they entered the bathhouse. Jack had left her by the door as soon as Madame Larrouse, a plump, redhead who looked to be in her fifties had emerged to greet them. He'd crossed the room to negotiate the arrangements for their baths… or bath. Elizabeth wasn't quite sure how this was going to work yet. She was currently finding the pattern of the wood in the floor of the lobby rather fascinating. Maybe it was just her nerves, but she didn't like the way that woman would cast her eyes over to her, as if she were sizing her up. It made Elizabeth very uncomfortable. She also couldn't understand how every time the Madame Larrouse laughed, she sounded as though she'd just been told a filthy joke. Then again, she was talking to Jack. Either way, Elizabeth decided she definitely didn't like this woman.

She went to the window and looked out across the water at the Black Pearl, silhouetted against the setting sun. Suddenly, Elizabeth found herself feeling as though she were back in a corset again. She pulled at her shirt, tugging at the linen wrap she bound her breasts with underneath her boy clothes. Perhaps she'd gotten it too tight this morning. She held on to the window frame to steady herself. What was she getting herself into? 'A pirate's life for me,' her mind answered helpfully. She'd always wanted to meet a pirate. Then upon her meeting Jack Sparrow, she found that she really wanted to be with one and have that life. She had thought her schoolgirl fantasy that a gold trinket made Will Turner an honest-to-God pirate would be enough to sustain her. And maybe that would have been true if Jack Sparrow hadn't, literally, dove into her life and saved her from drowning in the Elizabeth Swann that she was expected to be. Now he was saving her from having to comply with Gabriel Chase's abuse of the power polite society had given him. Men like Chase and Cutler Beckett made the choice between tea parties and raiding parties seem as clear cut as the constellations over the Caribbean sky. But part of her feared she was out of her depth; a naïve little princess playing dress-up as pirate.

Elizabeth looked over to Jack. He smiled at her before turning back to Madame Larrouse and her horrible laugh. This was the point of no return. She was about to ruin herself forever in society's eyes. No respectable man would ever want a pirate's leavings. She frowned. Not that Chase was exactly respectable, but maybe it would be enough to rid her of him. Marriage to Jack Sparrow seemed a drastic course of action to take but she'd have time to consider the consequences after the monster was slain. She'd have the rest of her life.

More than that, she was about to cage Jack Sparrow within the bonds of holy matrimony. And he seemed content to allow her to. Perhaps it was all a trick. Perhaps he would take advantage of her in the bath. She smiled a little at the thought. How freeing it would be to just be taken by the pirate she most wanted to have and then have him refuse to marry her. It would lift this horrible burden of decision off of her shoulders and then perhaps she could breathe again. It wouldn't be her fault if Pirate Jack proved pirate after all and plundered her treasure. Fault and blame; responsibility and consequence, these were the vestiges that moored her to her life as a governor's daughter. 'Time and tide, Love,' the little voice inside her head intoned in Jack's way of speaking.

She reached for the window frame once more. Soon nimble fingers slid around her wrist. She turned to find Jack looking somewhat amused. "Not feeling faint are ye, Love?"

"No," she lied. "Why would I?"

"The thought of Captain Jack Sparrow all naked and at your tender mercies has caused more than one fair lass to swoon."

She returned his smile. He did so love to dare her. He was always pushing her; challenging her with looks, words, actions. She felt better already. A dare she could live up to. Dares were all charge ahead and worry about how you'll get out of it later. She'd take a good dare over responsibility every day of the week and twice on Sunday. 'Pirate,' her mind told her, respectfully.

"Well, then I expect I will soon see what there might be worth swooning over. I'll try not to get my hopes up then shall I, Captain?"

Jack grinned wickedly, his brown eyes darkening to a smoky color. Elizabeth made herself walk confidently past him and into the bathing room, all the while praying her knees would hold out.

She entered just as a girl near her own age was emptying a final bucket of steaming water into the large tub in the center of the room. Now that the tub was full, the girl quickly made her way out of the room. Jack shut the door after her. Elizabeth jumped at the noise. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Jack had noticed. If he had, he was politely pretending not to.

******

Jack swayed over to the tub and dipped his finger in the water. "Hmm," was all he said. He dropped his gun and cutlass on the small table near the head of the tub. He looked to Elizabeth as if to explain, but stopped with a smile when she showed no signs of confusion. He supposed it was obvious that a soon-to-be-naked pirate would want his effects close to him in his state of vulnerability. He just hadn't been so sure Miss Swann would have thought of that. Brave though she was, she had appeared balanced on the edge of hyperventilation ever since he told her she'd be bathing him.

Jack retrieved a clean cloth from the neat little stack in the splintered armoire in the corner. Moving back to the tub, he dunked it into the water and then hung it over the side. He crossed back to Elizabeth, who stood fast just inside the door. The fear she tried so hard to cover was intoxicating. It reminded him of the way she'd looked just after the shackle had closed on his wrist when she'd left him for the Kraken.

Upon his return, he'd given her a hard time about her decision to sacrifice him to save the others. However, he'd never really held a grudge about her actions. It wasn't a betrayal constructed out of conniving, spite and greed as Barbossa's mutiny had been. Her betrayal was inspired, spontaneous, and executed out of a sense of needing to do what no one else would to save them all. He'd told her a long time ago that he admired that ability, and he did. One of the things he respected most about her was her ability to assess a situation and do what needed to be done. But, he also couldn't help enjoying the fact that, after making said huge decision; the fear of what she was doing left her a bit exposed. It wasn't a helpful trait for a pirate, to be sure, but it was terribly endearing. He stopped barely a foot in front of her and smiled down.

"Yes?" she said impatiently.

"Thought perhaps you'd like to do the honors?"

She arched an eyebrow. "I'll pass."

He pouted slightly and shrugged his coat off. It landed unceremoniously on the floor. He began to unwind the sash he wore around his waist. "No good playing the disinterested lady any more, Elizabeth. After all, it was you which proposed to me and not the reverse." He tugged his shirt over his head and topped the pile on the floor with it. He turned around and scooped up his clothes, placing them on a rickety looking chair. He slipped out of his boots, setting them beneath the chair. "It seems there's a decision you need to be making. If Jack Sparrow is so far beneath ye, would you really be having him to husband?" His hand went to the front of his breeches and undid the ties there. He slid his thumbs into the waistband, paused and looked at her over his shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on his rear end. Her cheeks were flushed. He smiled smugly. "Or perhaps it's just that the lady likes to watch?"

Her eyes rose up to meet his just as he pushed his final garment to the floor. He watched her fight not to lower her gaze to look at what she'd been so interested in mere seconds ago. Soon, she lost the battle. With his audience secured, Jack bent to pick up the discarded breeches and add them to the pile on the chair. He heard Elizabeth exhale raggedly. He turned to her slowly, allowing her to take in her fiancée in all his glory. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as Elizabeth's eyes widened. If he was any judge of a woman, she was impressed with what she saw.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack supposed that if he really were any judge of women, he might not get slapped so often. His pout returned. "Well wait until I've cleaned up a bit before ye change your mind."

"No," she said quietly. "N-not that. I'm sorry if I've been… it's just how I'm used to being around you. I didn't mean… well, you're not beneath me. I'm sorry if I made it seem otherwise."

"I'm up here, Love."

Her eyes flew up to meet his, crimson creeping into her face as she realized she'd just addressed her heartfelt apology to his "goods". When she finally did look at his face, the absolute amusement she found there spread to her and she couldn't help but smile. She shrugged and bit her lip. "At least I didn't swoon."

"Yes, well, we'll work on that." He walked around the back of the tub and carefully climbed in. He sighed as the warm water surrounded him. Leaning forward, he retrieved the wet cloth from the side and held it out for Elizabeth.

She went to his pile of clothes on the chair. She removed her coat, waistcoat and hat, sitting them on top of Jack's things. She slid out of her boots, sitting them beneath the chair, next to his. Rolling up her sleeves, she walked to the tub and took the cloth from him. Elizabeth turned for a moment to rub it along the hard soap cake on the little shelf on the wall adjacent to the tub. Saturating the cloth with as much soap as it would hold, she went back toward Jack who had his arms folded behind his head.

Elizabeth knelt beside the tub and moved her hand to begin with his chest. She stopped short however when she saw the two round bullet scars there. He had showed them to her briefly when they had been marooned together. She'd never bothered to ask more about them. Jack noticed and gently gripped her wrist, bringing the cloth to touch his skin right over the scars. "Don't worry about hurting me, Love. What damage as could be done there was already done long ago."

Her petite hand made soapy circles over his chest, shoulders, back, neck and arms. Each time her fingers would brush his flesh, he'd feel a slight tremor in her hand. Each time the cloth got close to the waterline, it would just as suddenly sweep back up to safer terrain.

Once more, Jack gently gripped her wrist. She stilled her actions and looked into his eyes. Holding her gaze, he guided her hand down his torso until the only thing that separated her skin from his privates was the soapy cloth. "Softly now, Love. Wouldn't want any other delays for that wedding night you've been looking so forward to."

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth began to stroke the cloth along his body. They never broke eye-contact. If her hand seemed to slip against his skin even more frequently now, he chose not to mention it. Jack could feel a trembling again but could no longer tell if it were Elizabeth or himself. She started to move the cloth down his legs.

Licking suddenly dry lips, Jack said, "More soap." She stood, retracting her arm from the water and went to rub the cloth on the soap cake once more. Bringing it back to the tub, she made to kneel down. Unexpectedly, Jack grabbed her arms and grinned. "That's good enough for me, Love. Your turn." He tugged mightily and lifted her into the tub with him.

The water splashed up and drenched her clothes. Elizabeth's mouth widened in surprise. "Jack, what are you doing?!"

His face was now all seriousness. He leaned forward and kissed her. It was a thorough kiss and he was in no rush to stop. When finally he did, he brushed a wet hand down the back of her head to loose the boy-braid she wore. He shook her hair free with his hand and then cupped her face. "Decision time, Lizzie. If ye really want to marry me, I'll leave you to finish your bath in peace. If it's just to be relieved of your cumbersome virginity, I can accommodate you right here and now. But ye must decide before we start to sail waters there be no return from."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak. He dipped his hands into the water, grasped the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head in one swift move. He flung it across the room. She shivered as the air hit her bare damp skin. Her hands instinctively crossed over the wet linen bindings that were the only thing preserving her modesty. His fingers left wet trails as he stroked her collarbone, her shoulders, her arms. His hands submerged once more. She jumped when she felt them brush her stomach under the water. Soon, she realized that Jack was untying her breeches. It was all she could do to breathe.

His eyes, dark with desire, captured her own. "Take them off, Lizzie."

She licked her lips and stood on her knees. His hands came around her waist to steady her as she reached under the water and pushed the breeches down her hips. She sat back in the water and Jack took over from her, pulling them down her legs and out of the tub. They landed with a wet slap somewhere in the room. Elizabeth didn't turn to look. She couldn't tear her gaze from his.

Jack pulled her towards him, causing her uncovered sex to slide along his leg. She gasped at the contact, placing her hands on his chest. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he must be able to hear it too. She felt him tug on her bindings and looked down. His long fingers quickly unwound her last covering. She started to duck under the water to cover herself only to find that the actions pressed his thigh more firmly into her womanhood.

As the binding went sailing through the air, he leaned back to look at her; his Lizzie. God, but she was gorgeous. Her long blonde hair was still dry at her head, the rest hung dark in dripping strands. Her skin was smooth and creamy, a pleasing blend of the tan from their previous adventures beginning to recede into the pallor of high society. Her full flawless breasts bobbed tantalizingly close to the water's surface, allowing him the glimpse of a rosy nipple on every alternate breath. She was trembling from the excitement of it all. Her eyes were wide and dark. Her breathing was ragged.

He took the washcloth from the side of the tub and began to rub it against her neck. Her hands came to his shoulders for anchor. He stroked the cloth down her arms and across her clavicle. Holding her eyes with his own, he moved it down over her breasts. She whimpered quietly and closed her eyes, unconsciously grinding against his leg below the waterline. When the side of Jack's hand brushed her nipple, Elizabeth's eyes flew open. She grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and pulled him into a kiss. His hands went to her hips and he smiled against her as she attacked his mouth. The idea of having a dose of this at his daily disposal for the rest of his life certainly sweetened the idea of marriage.

Jack groaned as that thought brought reason rocketing back to his mind. He pulled back from her. "An answer, Liz. Now."

"I.." She was panting so hard, she could hardly speak. She swallowed and started again. "I want to marry you, Jack," she whispered.

He breathed heavily. "Then, dearie," he said softly, taking a deep breath, "I'll leave you to your bath."

She blinked, took a deep breath herself and nodded her head. He gently moved her off of him and stood in the tub. His fully hard cock bobbed gently against his stomach, right in Elizabeth's line of sight. If he thought her eyes had widened at the sight of him before. 'Yup, definitely impressed.' He smirked.

He lifted his leg to step from the tub but she stilled him with a hand on his thigh. He looked down to her.

She took a shaky breath. "Is there nothing I can do for you?" Her eyes looked up to him.

He put his foot back down firmly in the tub. His legs had suddenly become untrustworthy to keep him upright. "Elizabeth, it's best if I…" His words broke off in a hiss as she reached out and tentatively stroked his length with a feather-light touch. He stopped her hand with his own. "You sure you want to be doing this, Love?" She nodded.

Jack sat back down and encouraged her to move beside him. With both their backs at the head of the tub, he put his arm around her shoulders. He leaned his head against her own and whispered in her ear. "Go on then, Lizzie. Touch me."

Her nimble fingers moved down the line of his chest, then under the water. Gingerly, she encircled him. He hissed and held her more tightly. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest as she turned more toward him. His hand disappeared below the water and covered her own around his cock. He squeezed her hold around him. Her eyes came up to meet his. "Show me, Jack."

His grin glinted gold. He began to move their joined hands over him; slowly and more firmly than Elizabeth would have thought comfortable for him. She watched him intently, fascinated. She was unprepared for how aroused just pleasuring him could make her. His eyes were half-closed in pleasure. He nuzzled and kissed her cheek as he sped up their movements. Jack's eyes closed tightly now, their hands at a furious pace. His breathing became harsh. Elizabeth leaned her head back and kissed his neck. His head fell back in bliss as his hand dropped away from hers and she continued to stroke him in the way he'd taught. His hand tightened on her shoulder and he moaned loudly as he came.

Her hand slowed on his member. Elizabeth pulled back and looked at him in awe. She had never known anything as sexy as Captain Jack Sparrow smiling faintly in afterglow. The fact that he was in that state due to her somehow made her feel beautiful and powerful and strong.

"Jack?" she whispered as she stilled her hand. She wondered vaguely if he had fallen asleep.

His eyes drifted open. He turned to her and smiled. "Lizzie," he said languidly. "My Lizzie." His hand moved from her shoulder to tangle in her hair. He pulled her to him and kissed her.

A knock on the door caused Elizabeth to jump away from him. Jack reached for his blunderbuss. He cocked it and aimed it towards the door. "Yes?"

"It's Sarah, Love. I've got what you asked for."

Jack relaxed visibly and put his firearm back on the table. He looked to Elizabeth who had her arms crossed over her chest and still seemed very tense indeed. Their eyes met and Jack smiled. He gave her a quick kiss and then rose from the tub. Gracefully stepping out, he moved to the armoire in the corner and opened its lower cabinet. From there, he removed a large sheet and hastily wrapped it around his waist. He headed toward the door.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Elizabeth scooted further down in the tub.

"Relax, Love. It's a surprise." Jack opened the door to allow Madame Larrouse entrance.

She stepped into the room and smiled as she caught sight of Jack. "Ah, Wicked Jack." She turned her attentions to Elizabeth. "You've got your hands full here. Marrying up with this one, dearie." She snatched up the wet articles of Elizabeth's clothing from the floor then went to their pile of clothes on the chair and scooped everything up into her arms. "Your new things are in the hallway, Jack," she said and promptly left.

"Jack, where's she going with our clothes?"

He bent over the tub and kissed her quickly. "She'll be right back, Love." He grabbed his boots and weapons and followed Madame Larrouse out.

Elizabeth chewed on her lip. He'd left her naked in a room with no clothes to change into. And he hadn't even shut the bloody door behind himself! Before she could fully work herself into a panic, Madam Larrouse appeared again. This time, she was carrying a bundle of cloth with her. Elizabeth wouldn't meet her eyes but out of her peripheral vision, she could see the older woman unfold her bundle and lay what seemed to be clothes over the back of the chair, then move to the armoire.

Elizabeth saw a flash of white next to her and so looked up. Madame Larrouse stood with a sheet held open for her. "Come on, Love. Out of the tub. We can't have you all wrinkled up for your wedding night." Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth rose and stepped out of the tub. Madame Larrouse instantly wrapped her in the dry cloth.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said as she busied herself with tucking the sheet securely around her person.

"I hope this'll be alright."

Elizabeth looked up to see that the clothes Madame Larrouse had brought in earlier were being held up for her perusal. She proffered a clean linen chemise and a simple light blue overdress. It was, by the standards of someone of Elizabeth's social station, a very plain garment. By the standards of someone who'd been dressing as a man for a fortnight, it was beautiful.

"Course, leave it to Jack to send someone who doesn't know you to pick out your wedding dress. Men, eh?" She smiled at Elizabeth. "But at least it was a kind gesture."

Elizabeth fingered the sleeve of the gown. "It was."

"I'll tell you one thing, dearie. You could do worse than Jack Sparrow for husband. 'Specially on this godforsaken rock."

Elizabeth met her eyes. "That much I know."

Madame Larrouse smiled and brushed Elizabeth's hair back off her shoulder. "I know the dress isn't much, Love."

"No, it's perfect." She glanced to the dress once more. "It's beautiful." Elizabeth looked at Madame Larrouse and decided she definitely liked this woman.

"I've got some rose oil in my room and some combs you can use in your hair." Madame Larrouse looked to Elizabeth's boots, still under the chair. "I'm afraid I haven't any shoes I can lend you."

Elizabeth followed her gaze and smiled. "That's alright. If nothing else, the sight of me in this dress with those boots should amuse Jack to no end." Madame Larrouse laughed uproariously. It was a warm sound that Elizabeth decided was very endearing. "Thank you for all your help. It's very kind."

"Nonsense. If you're wedding Jack Sparrow, you'll need all the help you can get." She chuckled again. "Now let's get you to me room and pretty you up."