ManEater

A/N: I would like to first start off by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know, I know I haven't posted anything since May but life got in the way once again! I have sworn not to let that happen again! I promise! I am deterrmined to post more frequently and I will! Please keep in mind that Jack DOES NOT know that Will and Elizabeth are broken up. I hope you all enjoy the story. SO read and review!
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Jack Sparrow

A few minutes later…

It seemed like an eternity passed since Will had forcefully stolen Elizabeth out of my cabin. I would have run right after him but I was too enraged. I knew that I would have knocked him right on his arse, which would have resulted in a violent fight that neither Gibbs nor anyone on the ship could have broken up. For the sake of Lizzie’s safety, I did the proper thing and stayed in my cabin to calm down. But I didn’t stay for long. There was a nagging urgency in my heart that insisted that I must still follow them, even though a fight could happen. I knew in my heart that if I didn’t go now, I would lose my Lizzie forever…and I was not going to let that happen.

I immediately raced over to her cabin and swung open the door. My eyes immediately fixed upon Elizabeth’s sleeping form. I noticed out of the corner of my eyes that Dr. Thompson was sitting in a chair next to the bed, while Will stood by the window. They were both staring at me. Will immediately frowned, sending threatening glares in my direction.

“I thought I told you not to come in here.” He growled as he took a few steps towards me.

“Get the fuck out of my way.” I snarled back, as I took two steps towards him.

At that moment, Dr. Thompson immediately got up and stood between us.

“Gentlemen, please! There is no time for this!”

Will kept his icy glower on me while I ignored him and looked at the physician.

“Has there been any improvement over the last few minutes?” I asked as I rushed past them and made my way towards the bed.

“She is slightly improving…but the good news is that her normal breathing has returned and her fever has broken.” Dr. Thompson replied in a serious, yet optimistic tone.

“Has she spoken or made any movements?”

“She has made moaning sounds but no coherent words. She’s only moved her head and waist slightly.”

As I tried to get closer to Elizabeth, Will suddenly blocked my way.

“It’s time for you to go now, Jack. I think you’ve disturbed her long enough.”

I stared at him, and then shifted my gaze to Elizabeth. I noticed that her skin no longer appeared cold and pale, but flesh colored and warm. She looked absolutely breathtaking.

“Elizabeth…” I uttered softly.

“She doesn’t want to be bothered…especially with you…” The eunuch quipped.

“How the hell do you know that she doesn’t want to be bothered with me?”

Will took a step closer to me, his eyes filled with anger. “Don’t concern yourself with what I know…I just know that she doesn’t need some pathetic, piece of shit of a captain pretending as though he’s concerned about her.”

I was taken aback by his words, but they did not bother me. I knew for a fact that Lizzie wanted me here with her, and I was not about to allow some castrated boy intimidate me and keep me away from the love of my life.

“Just so you know, boy…I don’t believe for one minute that Elizabeth doesn’t want to be bothered with me. But what I do believe is that you are lying…doing all you can to keep me away from her. Face it William, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere…you are not the only man who loves her.”

Will stood quiet for a few moments as he digested my painful words. He bit his bottom lip, all the while glaring into my eyes.

“You need to leave right now or else...”

“Or else what? What are you going to do?” I then flashed a wicked grin.

“You may try to kill me but you will never insult me or keep me away from her.” I said as I took one step back and made a prideful bow, making sure my eyes stayed on him.

I then turned my attention over to Dr. Thompson, who was now examining Elizabeth.

“Have you examined her entire body?”

“No, I haven’t examined her entire body as of yet. I’m sure that we will find what is ailing her, but in the meantime she needs to rest and fight it off.” He replied as he lifted Lizzie’s left arm, examining it thoroughly.

“Keep me informed about her condition.” I said as I began to make my way to the door.

“That won’t be necessary.” Will’s voice thundered. “I’m her fiancé and only I have the right to know about her health and well-being.”

I couldn’t help but to smile slyly. I immediately turned around and slowly walked closer towards the whelp.

“I’m the Captain of this ship and if I need to know the health of one of me passengers, then I have to know. To put it more frankly, I will know…and there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it.”

“She’s none of your concern.” He spat back viciously.

I took one step closer and replied to his asinine comment. “Oh but she is. Not only are you her fiancé, but I’m also her lover. That means I have as much right to her as you do.”

His eyes widened, beaming with hatred. “You fucking son of a bitch…” He said as he balled up his fist and was about to strike me, until Dr. Thompson yelled.

“Stop it! Enough of this! Captain Sparrow, I do not mean any disrespect but it would be best if you’d leave…for the sake of Ms. Swann.”

My eyes shifted from Dr. Thompson to Will, who had a sadistic, satisfied smirk on his face. I then looked over at my beloved, who was still asleep.

I turned to leave and yelled out to the physician. “I want an update on her condition…Captain’s orders.”

With that said, I never looked back. I then heard the door slam. I already knew that it was Will who slammed the door out of anger of what I’d said. I didn’t care. My only concern was about Lizzie and getting her well, so that I can hold her in my arms again…

Instead of going back to my cabin, I felt an uncanny need to walk along the beach. Not only did I need to clear my mind, but I also needed to figure out what caused Lizzie’s mishap. As I walked along the white sand, I did not pay attention to my surroundings, for the scene of Lizzie’s motionless body haunted my mind. What could have made her faint? I remembered her being tired the night before but there were no bruises on her face. She didn’t seem sick, but her skin felt a little warm. I walked along the rocky area where I’d found Lizzie. Perhaps Gibbs was right. The sharp rocks caused the bruise on her face when she’d fainted. I guess the whelp didn’t put his hands on her, but I wouldn’t put it past him to ever do that to her.

As I walked along the rocky shore, the beauty of the sea mesmerized me. I watched how the glistening water crashed up upon the shore, spewing its treasures onto the land. That’s when something caught my eye. Wedged between two rocks was a small familiar creature. As soon as I bent down to examine it closely, I knew exactly what it was. It was a spiny fish…a dangerous fish known to have venom in its stinger. I remembered seeing blood in the water by Lizzie’s body…but I assumed that it came from the bruise on her face. At that moment, I knew exactly what had happened to her and I knew I had to inform Dr. Thompson before it was too late.

I quickly ran back to the Pearl, never stopping to catch my breath. As soon as I got on deck, I made my way to Lizzie’s room and flung open the door, nearly taking it off of its hinges. Will and the physician looked at me as if I were a mad man. I didn’t pay them any mind, but quickly ran over to Elizabeth and flung the covers off of her body.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?! Are you fucking mad?!" Will exclaimed. Dr. Thompson walked over to me and watched as I began examining her body.

“Captain Sparrow what is the meaning of this?”

“I know what happened to her. I know what caused her condition.”

“What? What are you talking about?” He asked in bewilderment.

“I was walking along the area where I’d found her and saw a spiny fish. A spiny fish stung her in the foot. I’m just looking for the puncture hole.”

“How the hell do you know that it was a fish that caused her injury? That sounds ridiculous!” Will said as he walked over to the bed.

I looked at him with a serious glower. “Because spiny fish are venomous and when you step on them, their stinger gets lodged into your skin, pumping venom into your body. I know because I’ve been stung by one of these beasts before in the past.”

At that moment, Dr. Thompson immediately ran to his bag and grabbed a small extracting tool and a canteen of rum. He then nudged me out of the way. “Let me find the issue here.” He said as he began to examine her left foot, then her right. When he examined her right foot, it was noticeably swollen and had a small puncture hole in the middle with something sticking out. There was also a spot of dry blood around the area.

“Here it is! The stinger is in her right foot!” He exclaimed as he held her leg in place. “Oh my God, how could I have not seen this sooner?”

Will and I watched closely as he began to meticulously remove the stinger from her foot. Lizzie nudged and moaned, so the physician poured a little rum on the wound.

“I use this to prevent infection.” He said as he finally pulled out the monstrosity.

The stinger looked like a tiny black thorn, with a small gray pulsating bulb that had white liquid dripping from it. Dr. Thompson quickly ran with the stinger and placed it inside of a small glass jar on the dresser. He then grabbed a bandage scarf from his bag and ran back to Lizzie. He poured more rum onto the wound, causing Lizzie to once again flinch and moan. Will grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear while the physician carefully wrapped the scarf around her foot. The sight of Will being near my beloved enraged me, but I had to control my emotions.

“Make sure she keeps this bandage wrapped around her foot. She must change it every few days because whatever poison has entered into her foot will now exit through the puncture wound as her body fights it off.” He then turned to me and nodded.

“If it weren’t for you Captain Sparrow, we would have never known what happened. Her situation could have been even direr than what it is. She is very fortunate to have you in her life”

I couldn’t help but to contain a triumphant smile. I could feel Will’s icy glare.

“Is it possible for her to still die from the poison? Will she be alright?” Will asked.

“It’s still impossible to tell at this moment. I have seen patients spiral up and down in this type of situation. Some days they improve, other days they may regress. She’s doing fine now since we’ve caught the stinger before it could pump more levels of venom into her body. I don’t want to say anything yet until I see how she progresses over the next week or so.” Dr. Thompson replied.

“We leave in two days, how will you be able to monitor her?” I asked.

“If you allow me to stay on board Captain Sparrow, I can set sail with you and tend to her. I’ve been wanting to leave Margarita Island for quite some time now and only agreed with your first mate to treat her if I can leave with you.”

“Agreed. I have to make a few stops before we reach our targeted destination.”

“And where’s that?” Dr. Thompson asked.

“The Leeward Isles.” Will interjected.

“I will be gone by then and I know that Ms. Swann will be fully recovered, too.” Dr. Thompson said as he began to place the blanket back on Lizzie’s body.

As he carefully tucked her in, he suddenly stopped. The look on his face emitted pure puzzlement and concern.

“What’s wrong?” Will asked.

“I just felt something abnormal around her abdomen. It could be swelling from the poison in her body that wants to come out. Some of it is starting to come out of the wound in her foot, but the rest may come out of other places.” Dr. Thompson replied in a shaken tone as he opened her nightgown and began pressing on her abdomen.
Will and I looked at each other quizzically as the doctor continued his examination. Fear immediately engulfed the room. Sweat beads suddenly formed on Will’s forehead for some reason. His eyes were wide as if they were about to fall out of his skull. His skin turned white with every passing moment. He was more disturbed than I was. When his eyes suddenly shifted from Elizabeth to me, they revealed a range of emotion from confusion to guilt. What could he be thinking?

“Dr. Thompson are you certain that her abdomen could not be swollen from something else?” Will abruptly asked.

The physician looked at him perplexedly. “Well yes I am certain. I don’t believe it could be anything else…do you know something?”

Will was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. As a matter of fact, he was quiet for too long. It was as if he did know something but was not going to say anything.

“No…no. I-I don’t know anything.” He uttered in a low tone.

I noticed that he did not make any eye contact with anyone in the room. He glanced over at me but quickly turned away.

“I will examine her again in another hour or so to check her progress. As more of the poison leaves her body, she will be able to move more and respond to outside stimuli.” Dr. Thompson said as he began buttoning up her nightgown.

Will then sat on the bed and held Elizabeth’s hand. He kissed her on her forehead and whispered something else into her ear. At that moment, he suddenly stood up and quickly made his way towards the door. He looked at me with a knowing, sideways glance. Before he walked outside onto the deck he faced us.

“I’ll return shortly. Dr. Thompson please take care of her.” He then left and closed the door.

I thought his behavior was very odd. Perhaps he did in fact know something that we didn’t know or he couldn’t help seeing Elizabeth in such a precarious way. I turned my attention back to my beloved. I brushed a loose strand of hair away from her forehead and entwined my fingers with hers. They were now warm and very soft. I leaned over and kissed her lips. She shifted in her bed. Perhaps my lips were so powerful that they were starting to have an affect on her. I leaned my forehead against hers and whispered.

“God Lizzie pull through for me…I love you.” I kissed her hand and turned to leave.

Before I opened the door, I took one last look at Elizabeth.

“Keep me posted on her condition. I will be in my cabin and then will go into town later on this evening.”
“Will do Captain Sparrow.” Dr. Thompson replied.

As I made my way over to my cabin, I happen to look over the rail. I noticed that it was Will once again making his way into town. Perhaps he’s meeting some lass or…”Oh who the hell cares!” I said as I walked into the cabin.

Little did I know that I would get the most shocking surprise of my life later on that night…
____________________________________________________________________________________A/N: ???? Well that's it for now! I will post soon! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Please review if you feel the need to! Thanks and have a blessed day!