Deliverance And Destruction

A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews!! I’m so glad that you like the story so far!. Here is the latest chapter…Liz decides to hide Jack from the King of Spain and she gets so caught up in his marvelous tales of all the adventures he has been on since leaving her behind in Port Royal that she doesn’t notice Will standing in the doorway to the sitting room until he makes his presence known. Please don’t hesitate to leave more reviews!!

Elizabeth quickly ushered Jack into the sitting room closing the French doors behind her. Turning around she nearly jumped out of her skin when she came face to face with Jack. Backing up she pressed her back against the French doors. Looking up Elizabeth could feel her face start to burn from the intensity of Jack’s gaze. She had nearly forgotten how captivating those dark endless pools of onyx could be. After standing there a moment she finally eased herself around Jack and headed for the safety of the sofa to get some much needed space from him. Feeling the need to make conversation so that she wouldn’t be tempted to let her mind wander to all the places it usually did when she thought about Jack she opened her mouth to speak.

“So tell me Jack, where have you been all this time?”

Flashing her a crooked grin he sauntered over to where she sat and sank down onto the coffee table in front of her. She felt her heart leap into her throat when he placed his hands on her knees. They felt hot even through the thick heavy fabric of her dress.

“Oh I’ve been here an’ there love.”

“Jack come on…tell me what you have been up to! Where’s the Pearl?”

“Gibbs is in charge for the time being…while I deal with this little misunderstanding with the King of Spain.”

“And Barbossa?”

“Left him stranded on the same little miserable spit of dirt that he marooned me on twice.”

“You left him on the Rum Runner’s island?”

“Aye…I thought it was rather fitting being that he was kind enough t’ do the same t’ me on two different occasions.”

Elizabeth couldn’t hold back the smile that stretched across her face as she watched Jack while he spoke. It almost felt as if they hadn’t spent a moment apart.

“So other than making an enemy of the King of Spain, what else have you been up to?”

“Well I’ve still got the map t’ the Fountain of Youth an’ I aim t’ find it love.”

“Oh Jack…you don’t really believe that it actually exists do you?”

“Come now love…after everything ye have seen ye can’t tell me ye don’t believe it exists?”

“That’s true…I definitely believe in ghost stories now.”

Jack grinned at her flashing his gold teeth as he stood up and walked around the sitting room. Elizabeth smiled as she watched him do what he did best and start opening up all the little trinket boxes that seemed to be on every table in the room. Standing Elizabeth walked over to the buffet table where all the bottles of liquor were lined up along with elegant looking glasses. Taking a glass she reached for the bottle of rum that sat on the table.

“Care for a drink Jack?”

“That’s very kind of ye darlin’.”

Elizabeth poured a generous amount of rum into the glass and replaced the cork into the bottle of rum before walking over to where Jack stood admiring a portrait of Elizabeth in her wedding gown that hung above the fireplace. Jack took the glass of rum from her and took her left hand in his right hand. She looked up at him with wide tea colored eyes as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss along her knuckles.

“Yer truly a gem darlin’…I hope the whelp knows what he has.”

At the mention of Will she jerked her hand from Jack’s grasp and looked up at the portrait that Jack was looking at.

“He does…Will loves me.”

Holding up a hand as if surrendering Jack sipped his rum before speaking.

“Never claimed otherwise love. Ye look beautiful…I always said it should be a dress or nothing at all.”

Elizabeth felt her cheeks go ablaze at Jack’s forward comment. She turned away from him and headed back over to the cream colored sofa and sat back down. Jack came to stand behind the couch placing a hand on the back of it.

“Did I say something wrong love?”

“No…Jack tell me a story?”

“A story?”

“Yes…about one of the adventures you have been on since leaving me behind in Port Royal.”

Clearing his throat Jack walked around the sofa and sat down next to Elizabeth placing his glass of rum on the coffee table. Turning towards her he waved his left hand in an all too familiar gesture as he began to entertain her with a story.

“Well after leaving ye an’ the whelp t’ get married I had the crew set sail for India.”

“India? Oh Jack what’s it like?”

“It’s very hot an’ dry an’ the food is very spicy love.”

“What did you go there for?”

“Well darlin’ that’s where me mum is from…an’ it’s where she’s buried so I went t’ pay her a visit. After paying her a visit we headed t’ Israel an’ searched for the infamous arch of the covenant.”

“And?”

“An’ it was a long an’ dangerous an’ unfulfilling journey love. Nearly got meself killed.”

Elizabeth laughed out loud at Jack’s comical expression as he waved his hand through the air as if to add drama to his story.

“Imagine that…Jack Sparrow nearly getting himself killed.”

“Now now love…mustn’t forget it’s Captain Jack Sparrow.”

“Oh yes…heaven forbid I should forget your precious title Captain.”

The room was filled with the sound of Jack and Elizabeth’s laughter as Will walked into the mansion. Hearing his wife’s laughter along with someone else’s he cocked his head to the side a moment as he listened before walking towards the sitting room. Will opened the heavy oak doors of the sitting room to see Elizabeth and none other than Jack Sparrow sitting on one of the sofas laughing like two little kids. They were so caught up in their antics that they didn’t even notice him standing in the doorway.

“I’ve really missed yer company love.”

“You have no idea how much I have missed being out at sea on the Pearl with you Jack.”

Frowning Will decided to interrupt the reunion between the pirate and his wife. Clearing his throat Will stepped into the sitting room. Elizabeth quickly stood up when she saw her husband walking towards them.

“Oh Will…I didn’t know you were home.”

“Of course you didn’t…you were busy entertaining Jack.”

Jack stood up as well and stretched out his hand towards Will with a broad gold toothed grin.

“Hello William…it’s been a long time.”

Will warily extended his hand and shook Jack’s.

“Yes…not nearly long enough. What brings you to Port Royal Jack?”

“Oh jus’ decided t’ pay ye a visit.”

“I see. Jack…would you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak to my wife.”

Nodding Jack watched as Will took Elizabeth a bit roughly by her arm and lead her out onto the terrace closing the doors behind them. Once outside Elizabeth jerked her arm out of her husband’s grasp.

“Will you were hurting me!”

“I’m sorry. What is he doing here Elizabeth?”

“He just came to visit for a while…he’s our friend Will.”

“What sort of trouble is into that he needs your help?”

“Why do you always assume the worst about Jack?”

“Because that’s usually the case when it comes to him.”

“Don’t be rude Will…he’s our guest!”

“He’s not my guest.”

“Well he’s mine and this is my house. Now if you will excuse me…it’s rude to leave a guest alone.”

“Yes…especially one that is a known thief.”

Elizabeth scowled back at Will as she headed back into the sitting room closing the doors behind her. Will walked over to the ledge of the terrace and placed his hands on the cool stone as he looked out towards the ocean. Why did Jack have to come back now? He and Elizabeth were happy…at least they had been until he had showed up. Will knew all too well about the not so secret feelings his wife harbored for the pirate and the idea of Jack being back in her life was more than unsettling to him. He just hoped that Elizabeth was telling the truth and that Jack was just visiting and that he had no intention of staying around long enough to unravel their perfect life together.