Likewise

A/N: As always thanks to my beta DesiringPirates. Feedback is greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think peoples!! Enjoy

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"Jack, who was she?"

"No one luv, someone I knew a long, long time ago."

"Looked like she was quite friendly for someone from your past!"

"Luv, I haven’t seen her in years. Before I even met you."

"Are you lying?"

"Lizzie, after this long you need ask that question?"

"Jack, she was all over you! How am I to believe you?"

"I didn’t do anything did I? NO! So why are you bloody badgering me?"

"Because you didn’t do anything to stop it until I walked into the room, and I see her practically throwing herself at you. If I hadn’t shown up what…." She began to cry.

/Not good /"I would have done the same thing I did luv, get up and walk away. I would think that after two years together you would bloody get it by now!!"

"Get what Jack? That you think I don’t have feelings? That I can just be alright with it all the time? Every time I turn my back on you I find some woman coming on to you."

"You can bloody count on me!!"

"Don’t yell at me!" She snapped back through her tears. Why couldn’t he just give her some reassurance that she hadn’t been wasting her time with him? For once she just wanted to be certain that he loved her and only her.

He inhaled and tried to relax himself. Nothing could be heard in the cabin short of her tears. It was as if each one rolled down her cheek and struck a drum, piercing his heart. It was his fault she was distraught. Come to think of it, it was always his fault, and for the same reason. He’d make love to her, sleep with her in his arms, and hear her confess her love to him while he pretended to have already fallen asleep. He loved her more than anything he’d ever known. But saying it? That wasn’t something he had done... ever. He was never good at verbally expressing his emotions. Come to think of it, he just wasn’t
good expressing them period. Lizzie should know, he didn’t need to tell her, he hoped. She was still sobbing, but she moved to sit on her side of the bed and curled her legs up into her arms, buying her face. He’d never seen her this hurt before. He stood watching her as her body shuddered from the insistent sobs pouring out of her, he wasn’t sure how to react to her, but he knew she was in a very dangerous state. He tried to speak but for once found himself without words, lost between realms of anger, hurt, concern, worry, and fear. She finally looked up at him, eyes puffy and cheeks swollen red with streams of tears still rolling.

"I can’t do this anymore Jack." He noticed the severity of the situation coming through her tears, "I will be leaving the next time we port."

Suddenly he couldn’t get air into his lungs. He opened his eyes to see only her surrounded by a looming darkness. His heart rate erratic, and his body feeling pain he never knew existed. He couldn’t speak before but now he couldn’t move either. A screeching sound filled his ears as he dizzied. He could see her lips still moving but couldn’t hear a word that escaped them. His eyes burned as he felt an unusual wetness building within them. The blood seemed to rush to his head causing everything between his ears to throb at a nauseating pace. He saw her rise to her feet and storm past him, hitting him as hard as she could in the chest as if the physical blow could hurt more than the words she had just spoken. She had left him there. Common sense said to go after her, confess his love, and hope she believed him, but all he could do was plop himself on the bed and stare at the open cabin door in disbelief.

She’d gone to the ships stern, where no one would pay much attention to her. She really hadn’t another place to go anyways, it been far too long since she had not been in the cabin with him at such a time. Her sobs continued as she peered out at the port in the distance slowly disappearing. Her thoughts wandered to earlier in the evening when she had seen that whore in his lap. How he got up with that damned smirk of his placed firmly on his face, and his eyebrows raised in her direction as if proclaiming some kind of innocence. She always managed to walk in as he got up, walked away, or removed their hands from his manhood. She had always taken his plea of innocence and forgiven him, but somehow tonight it just wasn’t working for her anymore. She deserved better than that.

Why was it that he always had some meaningless girl in his company when she wasn’t at his side? Why was she always lucky enough to walk in at the "wrong time?" Maybe it was really the right time. Fate's way of intervening, in hopes that she would realize the mistake she had made in falling for Jack Sparrow in the first place. Punishment for how she had pushed Will’s feelings for her aside when she had rescued Jack. Why couldn’t Jack just love her the way she did him? Was that really that much of a request? She would be fine if he never said he loved her, but why was it that he always managed to get caught with these woman? This time she was fed up and he owed her a lot more than an explanation.

Meanwhile back in the cabin Jack had finally snapped out of his shock and found tears to be escaping his eyes. Something he had long since forgotten he even knew existed. He quickly wiped them away and headed for the door. He had to make this right and he had to do it tonight. He couldn’t lose someone he actually loved again. Even Jack Sparrow's demons could haunt him sometimes, none worse than his own pride. He walked to the crews quarters, checked the galley, bow, his cabin again finding instead a bottle of rum. He feared the worst. What if she had taken a long boat and headed back to port? What if she had been crazy enough to jump over board? Thoughts bounced around his head as he headed for the stern to examine the Pearl's wake; all the while his lips never left his rum as he sought some solace.

She had seen him coming. Not quite willing to face him she crouched behind some empty cargo crates that had been sitting there. She heard Jack mumbling to himself and decided she would listen.

"Bloody fool…just let her walk out of yer life. She was only the best thing that ever happened to ye. Lizzie…. " He lifted his rum to his lips. "…Can’t lose her. " He stare into the now empty rum bottle as if he were willing it to refill itself, maybe then he wouldn’t hate himself so much. "Bloody rum isn’t helping." He threw the bottle across the ship. It smashed into one of the walls and shattered causing Gibbs to abandon his watch to check on his captain.

"Cap'n, you alright?" He asked.

"Bloody wonderful!" Jack answered excessively sarcastic even for him.

"Out with it Jack. I know ye well and long enough to be able to tell when something has ye vexed." Gibbs joined Jack as he looked out over the water.

Jack leaned heavily on the rail, staring out to sea. "Did you see Elizabeth this evening Gibbs?"

"No." he looked around for a moment, "Fighting with the lass I take it?" Gibbs never would drop his cause when it came to her. For some reason Jack always found Gibbs to be taking her side when they fought.

"Aye."

"Whore in the tavern?"

Jack merely nodded, "Bloody woman doesn’t understand how those women are."

"Aye." Gibbs smiled, recalling how much he enjoyed those women.

"Gibbs, have you ever felt your life get sucked out of ye when a woman left the room?"

"Aye." He nodded and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Ye need to tell her, Jack."

"Tell her what Gibbs?" Jack looked at his first mate, somewhat surprised that he was always able to pinpoint the problem without much hesitation. He wanted to play stupid.

"How you feel about her, with her, without her. Even a lass as tough as Elizabeth needs reassurance from time to time Jack." Gibbs looked to his feet, "It ain’t gonna hurt yer pride Jack. Even ye can't be that daft Jack." With that Gibbs turned and walked away.

/Bloody Gibbs…. how does he do that? I love her… happy Gibbsy? Now how the bloody hell do I get that through her thick skull without…ugh /

Elizabeth’s muscles were starting to cramp in her hiding place. She couldn’t stay in the position she was in much longer. She couldn’t come out now either since he would certainly know she had heard and what was he saying now? She listened as she heard Jack.

"I luu…..luuu…. deep breath …..I love her. There I said it. HA. Lot of bloody good it does telling the sea." He kicked his boot into the rail in disgust.

Suddenly she felt a severe cramp running through her leg and lost her balance, falling into clear sight.

Jack spun on his heels as he heard a loud *thunk* and Elizabeth’s cries as she toppled to the deck letting out a pained scream.

"Lizzie!" he started to move over to her to help her when he stopped himself. "Was wondering where you were..." His voice losing some of the excitement it held as soon as he realized she had probably heard more than he wanted her to. He turned his back to her and returned his gaze to the sea, tightening his grip on the rail as every muscle in his body tensed. He longed to help her although he was feeling quite vulnerable when he realized that she had likely heard him.

She managed to get herself into a sitting position and stared to massage the charlie horse out of her leg, tears streaming from her eyes that were bouncing between him and her twitching leg muscles. Clearly he wasn’t going to help her and any hope she had gained in her eavesdropping quickly was dismissed when he turned his back on her. "I hate you." She spoke it so low, like she was almost uncertain, but the pain and hurt in her voice was as crystal clear as the words themselves.

He felt his chest tighten again. "No you don’t." he grumbled, still unwilling to face her, but she could hear the cockiness returning to his voice.

She somehow manage to stand up and hobble towards him, he could hear her sobbing as she approached. Suddenly hitting him in the back with all the force she had. "Bastard!" She screamed through her tears and began unloading her anger, her hurt, and her pain on him in an onslaught of ragged fists. He turned and grabbed her wrists to stop her blows, completely silent. "Let me go!" she screamed at him and tried freeing herself of his grip to no avail.

"Stop hitting me," he ordered his voice deliberate and harsh and his hands tightening on her wrists to get her to stop.

"Let me go you bastard!" She screamed at him and began swinging her arms wildly trying to break free of his grasp. "I hate you! Let me go!" She started sobbing more uncontrollably as she realized there was no way she could ever overpower him. She started sinking to her knees, as her leg muscles weren’t holding up to her anger any longer.

Sensing this could get worse before better he pulled her up and managed to toss her over his shoulder, and headed for the cabin.

With her hands free she started pounding them into his back and kicking her legs haphazardly screaming as she cried, "Put me down!"

He merely walked to the cabin absorbing her blows and ignoring her pleas. After struggling with her a few minutes he managed to get into the cabin where he promptly threw her down on the bed and turned to lock the door.

She was quick to her feet and after him to leave the cabin before he could stop her, not that she had anywhere to run off to. He stopped her, grabbing her upper arm and holding her steadfast. "Don’t make me have to shackle ye Lizzie."

She couldn’t take it anymore. Why was he doing this to her? What had she ever done to him to deserve such treatment? Unable to fight any longer, he felt her muscles relax and watched as her crying increased. He released her and she limped over to the bed and sat on the edge rubbing at the cramp still in her leg and sobbing uncontrollably.

Jack walked over to her and squatted in front of her. He was almost as emotional about the whole thing as she was, but he masked it better. He moved to help her massage the cramp and she tried to smack his hand away, rather unsuccessfully. She felt her muscle relaxing to his touch and just looked at him as that pain started to ease.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked him with more sadness and desperation in her voice than he had ever heard.

"I believe you’re the one that wants to leave, luv." He answered meeting her eyes for the first time since she walked out on him.

She saw something there that she hadn’t noticed before, regret, remorse, maybe a broken heart? "Not like it matters to you." She shot back almost venomously.

"Think what ye want." He released her and stood up walking over to his desk fiddling with a map on it with his back to her. "Ye know how the door works." his voice was holding a strange timber. He turned and watched as she stood and walked towards it. She turned and looked at him briefly before turning her back on him and unlocking the door. "So smart and yet ye haven’t figured it out yet have ye?" He asked as she moved to push it open.

She turned and faced him. "What Jack, what haven’t I figured out?" Anger was clearly becoming the dominant emotion again, she turned back to him one hand still on the handle "Why you are so bloody ignorant? How you can be such a bastard? Or maybe I haven’t figured out why I ever fell in love with you in the first place?"

That last one really hurt him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and walked to her.

"Maybe because ye know this bastard would go to the ends of the earth for ye." He swallowed hard as his eyes met hers, piercing them as he spoke. "Ye are far from a stupid lass, luv. Ye know me compass broke after it brought me to you."

Her sobs decreased as she looked deeply into his eyes noticing slight watermarks in the kohl that lined his eyes.

"I didn’t do anything with that whore, luv. Or any whore. Not since I met ye. I never wanted to touch another whore again. Can you understand that? I don’t want anyone, but you, Lizzie." He looked her dead in the eye, "Ye need to know that." He paused and turned his eyes to his feet, "Ye want to leave I’m not going to stop ye, but know I’ve never done anything to justify that." He started to walk back to his desk preparing for the worst.

He had taken a few steps from her when she could actually move from the frozen state his sincerity had left her in. "Jack." He turned to face her again."I don’t hate you." She walked to him and embraced him as his arms wrapped around her almost instantly.

His lips ghosted her ear, "Never doubt me love fer ye, Lizzie."

In that moment she felt everything she ever had for him build within her and explode. He’d finally admitted it, in his own way, but he’d admitted it. She pulled his face to hers and smiled at him before kissing him more passionately than she ever had. She pushed him back towards the bunk they had shared many a night before but now she felt it was as much hers as it was his.

As each article of clothing hit the floor they seemed to find some new piece of each other’s soul that had previously eluded them in all of their rendezvous. It was if they were drawn together by a force stronger than each of them. Each touch, each caress led them further on their trek to ecstasy.

He couldn’t help but kiss her until she was breathless as he entered her slowly but powerfully. She couldn’t take her eyes from his as he thrust deep within her, causing their hearts to beat as one. He couldn’t help the euphoric grin that spread across his features as she matched his every move with precision. She couldn’t help but hold him to her as he sucked and nibbled on her with meticulous care, enjoying every moment. He couldn’t help but watch her with awe as she writhed below him as if it were the first time.

When they had reached the pinnacle of their evening he pulled her into his arms and held on to her the same as he always had. She snuggled her head into his shoulder and he rested his head on hers. "I love you." She whispered, half expecting to hear the same silence she always had.

Instead, for the first time, she heard him reply. "Likewise Lizzie."