Interlude for two captains

Interlude 1. Amicable partings and fond reunions

There had been no real argument about where they went to next, and once they had stowed the contents of the long boats and had crossed the reef they set course for Tortuga. Jack had been right when he had claimed that it was the safest place for them to go, perhaps the only place for them to go, and anyway both of the men showed marked signs of being in need of shore leave.

Behind them the island faded into a blue haze but somehow she felt that it was only weaiting and that one day they might find themselves back here. Elanor had watched it thin and fade with Jack silent at her side, his hair lifting in the wind and his face inscrutable. But when the horizon had swallowed it he had turned away without a word and gone to plan his shore leave with Mr Gibbs.

Elanor had understood his silence, and his desire to stake a claim to normality, and she had left them to their anticipation, retiring to her cabin to check the calendar with a sigh before sleeping for a few hours. She rose when the morning was still new, only half waking, to take her watch. As she stumbled up the stairs she wondered if her year was still in step with this world and what she planned to do if it was.

Jack had also retired below at some point and Mr Gibbs had taken the watch as Ariadne steered them into deeper waters and turned the Chaser towards Tortuga. He was alone on deck when she appeared, blinking, in the bright morning light, but he not had much to stay and had gone to his hammock almost as soon as she came on deck. As he left so Jack had arrived to join her; whatever else he might have done he had obviously spent time in the shower, maybe trying to wash, unsuccessfully, the lake water's scarlet stain from his skin, and his hair was still damp. He'd put on one of the shirts she had lent when he first arrived and his skin still appeared burnt and angry above the soft white fabric, yet he looked in some way better than he had done when they came aboard and the swelling around his eyes was almost gone. It was clear enough that however ill it might have made them the lake water was not now going to kill them. But it remained to be seen if anything else followed on their drinking of the water of life.

They had drunk coffee and eaten fruit on the deck, and in a strangely companionable silence, before doing the usual early watch checks, tasks that were almost a routine now. Jack had learned the routine quickly and if the morning tasks were not what they would have been on his Pearl he had fully accepted them as legitimate seagoing duties and performed them well. Only when they had seen to the Chasers needs, and made sure that Mr Gibbs was soundly asleep and snoring, had they settled down, somewhat reluctantly, to talk about the events of the island.

The conversation had been somewhat stilted even so, though more because they were both trying to observe the others privacy than from any other cause. Whether this was a new experience for Jack she couldn't say but for herself she was painfully aware of how exposed they had both been down there and it seemed better not to mention the fact, or anything that would draw attention to it. Gibbs had been right in his supposition that some things would only ever be spoken between themselves, and some of them not even that but by the end of that watch they had come to some form of agreement about what would and would not be spoken of and to whom.

The fountain water, and the map, were safety of the strong room and while the matter was still unfinished business in many ways there was nothing more they could do about it, other than wait. Jack seemed certain that there would be no more harmful effects, though he wasn't committing himself on whether he was hoping for any beneficial ones.
"Don't look so close to death now, leastways you don't. That glass of yours was not very flatterin', had I known how bad I looked before I might have given up there and then!" Jack had said with an uncertain smile as he peeled a banana.
"Not you," Elanor replied, "Somehow I don't think you would ever give up. Hope seems to be your middle name."
Jack shook his head as he took his tea and the smile became wry,
"Nothin' so useful luv. Marcus, middle name is Marcus, after the emperor if you can believe such a thing. Don't blame you if you can't, I have difficulties with it most of the time so I chose to forget it." His smile faded and he rubbed the brand on his wrist without thinking, looking suddenly pensive,
"You're wrong anyway, I've come close to giving up a few times and one of them was down there."
Then he frowned and buried his nose in his mug as he wondered why he had told her such a thing, indeed why he had told her anything at all.

Elanor smiled across at him,
"Since we are sharing such embarrassing details I will confess that my middle name is Petronella, after my other grandmother, Elanor, Petronella I ask you!! So don't complain." She looked him over carefully,
"Whatever it was is fading anyway, another day and I suspect we will be nearly normal looking again. Good thing too, couldn't have you wandering about Tortuga looking like that and scaring the ladies more than usual now could we."
He didn't rise to the bait and just smiled faintly over the rim of the mug, his expression part hidden by the rising steam.
She sighed,
" We aren't normal yet though, and Ariadne says not to be surprised if you feel a little odd. My temperature is still up and I'd guess yours is too but I don't think we are likely to drop down dead. It was probably some form of allergic reaction or inflammatory agent that made us ill down there, a local one most likely and once we were out of the lake it began to ease."
"Didn't feel like it!"
He set down his drink and flexed his shoulders uneasily with the words, and she wondered if he still ached as much as she did.
"No I know, but there isn't any other explanation," was all she said.
He shot her a sharp look,
"Your ghost no help on it then?" he said mildly.
"Not so far, but I haven't asked her much about it. Sleep seemed more important at the time. But if the effects go on fading then I think we have to assume we're fine."

She had spoken nothing less than the truth at that moment, true she had no intention of leaving it there but that would wait until she was alone.

***

The obvious effectsof the lake water did continue to fade as the days passed, but the aches persisted and for all their apparent recovery neither of them felt quite themselves; but neither mentioned it either, both putting it and the lethargy that seemed to have them by the throat down to the strange dreams that still came and disturbed their sleep. Neither of them were admitting to those either.

They reached Tortuga without incident and in good time, the sea seeming to clear their way and with the wind always at their bac,k filling the canvas and showing the Chaser's speed. Jack soon realised that this ship was faster even than the Pearl, perhaps much faster, and an idea that had been slowly growing in his mind sent out another shoot.

They anchored in the same bay as their last visit the waters calm in the gathering dusk. Up on the headland they could see the shadows of the farmsteads clustered around the road. On land lay the things they needed, and rum, yet neither Jack nor Gibbs felt any rush to leave and they spent the evening in playing cards and drinking the last of the rum, Polly's still would soon replenish that. Elanor didn't ask where they went from here, and neither man seemed willing to speculate, though some of the sideways looks she was getting form Jack suggested that he was planning another mad scheme and hoping to persuade her to aid him in it. Taking back his ship seemed to be the most likely idea, unless there was something else he had found on the map that he had a hankering for and that he thought he could persuade her to chase. For the moment she pushed speculation aside, content to wait and see.

They had put together another shopping list but this time it would be Jack who went to the town and did the bartering while Gibbs was to wait at Polly's farm. Elanor had the feeling that Jack didn't want her and the ship out of the sight of one of them. Not that such a concern would stop him going and Ekanor had little doubt that Jack intended to seek some R&R in the port, even if he didn't know what week it was. In fact he had not bothered to hide that intention, though he had not taunted her with it as once he might have done and he had looked thoughtful when she had explained certain facts to him.

The gold she had recovered from the seabed was barely touched and would provide all they needed for some time to come and she had no concerns about Jack taking some extra for his own use. She had gone as far as suggested that it might be worth him seeking out his 'ladies', as Gibbs called them, and discovering what, if anything, they knew of the people searching for him. Not that she had really expected him to do anything else. When his fingers had strayed over some pretty baubles she had suggested that he might find their memory improved by a present or two. That he had chosen to take a couple of silk wraps as well as two matched pearl necklaces had surprised her, but she had said nothing. Elanor suspected that Jack had generous impulses, and more often then some might think, but that he was both annoyed and embarrassed by them. What little he had told her of his expereinces in the locker strongly suggested that he had a perverse desire to be a worse man than he was, at least she if she was interpretating the locker world correctly. That might seem odd to one of her world but when she thought about the brand on his arm, and what it meant, she had to admit that such a desire might not be so illogical here.

And she had thought that her own world had gone mad and had wished for a saner and simpler time! Just went to show that her ancestors had not been so foolish, be careful what you wish for indeed.

***

That first day after Jack and Gibbs had departed to their respective celebrations of survival had been a blessed relief, her ship was her own again and she could draw breath and think a little about the events of past weeks without the distractions of the two men interrupting her or, in the case of Jack, watching her.

Ever since they had returned from the island Jack had seemed to be more than usually interested in her, if interested was the right word, for he hadn't actually said anything much at all, and certainly nothing unusual, at least not for Jack. But there had been something vaguely unsettling in the way his dark eyes had followed her when he thought she couldn't see him looking, for his expression was unfathomable. Half the time she thought he was plotting something but the rest of the time she thought that he wanted to ask her something and couldn't find the words. Sometimes she thought he was wondering about just what is was her 'ghost' had told her. While the two men were aboard she had been careful not to ask much at all,w hat she didn't know she wouldn't feel obliged to pass on, but once they were gone she had wasted no time in consulting Ariadne. She expected that Jack knew this and was wondering how he could gain the same information for himself.

Now with them gone she could get down to discovering how much of the meanings and consequences of the events of the island she and Ariadne could piece together.

"The test shows no indication of danger, the water is safe to drink in the conventional sense of the word. Not even any microbes that might cause gastric problems. In fact little microscopic life at all, the water you brought back with you was almost distilled." Ariadne reassurred her.
"That's one blessing I suppose. I'll run a blood test on myself to see if there is any sign of infection but I doubt that it will tell me much."
"I think you are correct in your assumption that if it were fatal it would have killed you already."
Privately Elanor wasn't so certain and wished that Ariadne had been provided with the necessary to analyse the stuff fully, but there had been no apparent need for such technical refinements when she set sail. So she had stifled her feeling that matters were not yet resolved and moved on to Jack and his watchful behaviour. Ariadne had already noted his scrutiny but seemed disinclined to be concerned about it.
'There appears to be nothing threatening in his regard, though it is true that he seems very concerned to know what you are doing, even more so than previously. On more than one occasion since your return he has approached your cabin then turned away, but his interest seems to be more considering than predatory. He knows I will not allow him to harm you, but in fairness I have observed no desire to do so on his part. In fact I detect a sense of uncertainty in him."

Elanor nodded slowly as that comment brought something clear in her mind,
"Yes so do I, and some confusion too, as if I'm a chart he can't quite read in the way he expected to."
"That seems to be a reasonable analogy. Did something happen on the island to cause this? Is the change something that, while trivial at the moment, might be a threat you or the ship's safety in the future?"
Ariadne never lost sight of her prorities however facsinating the subject might be.
Elanor thought about that then shook her head,
"No I don't think so. It's just that... well I suppose he saw more of me than I, or maybe even he, would have wished. I'm sure that I saw more of him than he is comfortable with. He's not a man whop normally shows much of his true self, even when he seems to be drunk. I think that we have crossed some sort of boundary with each other, though I don't quite know how or when. I can't really tell you more than that, and I know that it doesn't make much sense."
She got to her feet and stretched, wondering why she felt so uneasy and unsettled, as if something was about to happen,
"But there was nothing there that made any sense."

"Certainly it appears that there was some distortion of reality, and of time." Ariadne returned calmly, "that is possibly why you perceived us as losing contact,"
"Perceived?"
"I was not aware of any loss of contact, yet the calls you mentioned were not received, and the time you spent underground by the clocks here agree with Mr Gibbs assessment, yet you say that for you it seemed much longer?"
"Yes, much longer, days in fact. Your conclusion?"
"That much of what you saw and felt took place inside your minds, or some constructed reality that you and Captain Sparrow shared."
Elanor nodded,
"Oh I'd agree that place was a construct, but who built it and why? It just raised more querstions about the place. What purpose was it supposed to serve? What was that lake and what is the water we brought back? The compass seemed certain that it was the fountain of youth but it was most...... odd. Until that crucible thing started to fill there was no sign of either a waterfall or a fountain. Was it us being there that set it off or would it have happened anyway?"
Ariadne was silent for a moment,
"We do not have sufficient data to hypothesise either about the water," she said eventually, "or about the compass and its readings. The scanners have collected full geographic data of the area around the island, perhaps when that is fully analysed we will have a clearer picture."

Elanor had agreed and they had left it there, but she remained uneasy and she could not shake off the feeling that Adriane was too.

Now three days on the relief of being alone was wearing thin and she found herself wondering what the pair of them were up to. Though if she were honest she had pretty good idea. She sighed as she looked down the coast line to the direction of the port, she would trust Polly to keep Mr Gibbs in one place and safe, but there was no denying that Jack was taking a significant risk, and she rather expected that he was taking more of it than he needed to.

But she had no right to complain, he was just a man after all, and one without family or ties. A man who had long ago learned that friend could become foe without warning and that his life could be snatched away at a moment. A man who had been at sea a long time too. She could not blame him if he sought a little easy pleasure and forgetting when he had the chance. She only wished that she could manage the same. But she could not; this world was more dangerous for her than it was even for Jack, and while she might be resistant to alcohol, disease and even the STDs of this time and place, an unguarded word could bring a far worse fate down upon her head. Better that she stayed away from all but the few who knew something of her already, those who had their own reasons for protecting what little they knew of her secret. Elanor had long ago lost her belief in the incorruptibility of any man or woman, particularly the poor and the desperate.

She had told herself her restless feeling was nothing more than the realisation that today was Christmas Eve. At least it was for her, Christmas and she was more alone than she had ever thought to be, even the satellites she had once relied upon for contact should she need it were gone. Was it Christmas in Tortuga she wondered? How did they celebrate? Whatever it was no doubt Jack would be in the thick of it, enjoying himself to the hilt, and she could only hope that he remembered what he had gone for, and the fact that he was being sought desperately and for more than the usual reasons. Yet her unease persisted and the fear that she might face the new year yet more alone still would not go away.

With a sigh she descended down to the lower stores levels to where the freezers kept safe the few luxuries she had brought with her for this day. Having made her selection she returned to the deck,
"Ariadne, " she called, "some music please and don't worry about the noise, I don't think anyone is going to hear us."

***

If anyone had asked Jack why he was returning to the ship two days early he would have said it was because the news he had gathered of the searching for him suggested that he might be safer elsewhere else. Yet some small voice inside him knew that wasn't the whole and unvarnished truth. What that truth might be was something he preferred not to dwell on.

Having seen, and spent time with, both Giselle and Scarlett, and having heard their tales of the searchers, and with Christmas eve upon him, he felt a sudden urge to be somewhere else. He still had gold in his pockets but the supplies would be ready for collection the other side of the feast day and there was no longer any reason for him to be here. Other than his own pleasure that was, and for some reason that wasn't as... pleasurable as it should have been. That same little voice kept telling him there was rum to be had on the ship and far less danger. But that was not the truth either, he couldn't deny that a strange restlessness had taken hold of him and neither rum nor the inviting glances of the ladies of the town could ease it. With a shake of his head at his own intransigence he had cursed the water of life for complicating matters, for he had no doubt that he was still affected by that bloody lake.

As a last resort he had taken himself to a tailors and acquired a new shirt and a spare pair of breeches, as Elanor had suggested, then on impulse he had picked up a string of glass beads as he passed through the market. The beads were old but strangely pretty and he had shaken his head at his own foolishness as he dropped them into his pocket, no doubt the lady captain had no knowledge of Christmas and it was most unlikely that he would get any benefit from taking her a gift. But somehow the sight of the ship as they had rowed away, and the knowledge that she was being left to her own thoughts and memories without hope of relief, had made him feel uncomfortable. While glass beads would not change that, be they ever so pretty, they might, or rather his giving of them, might provide a distraction for her.

Jack said his farewell to the ladies and Sampson, the latter agreeing wholeheartedly with his caution, and had left the town early in the morning of Christmas Eve, taking a secret ride in the back of the first cart he found heading up the headland road. The sojourn in town had been tiring and he slept most of the journey away, the bundle of his new clothes tucked under his head and the remaining gold and the beads buried deep in the deepest inner pocket of his coat. The Christmas rum he had placed with great car beneath the straw.

He woke at the time he had decided for himself and lay watching the sky as the clouds piled in, then he slipped out of the cart unseen just as the little cluster of homesteads appeared.

At first he had started out towards Polly's farmstead, or more particularly her still room, but as he breasted the rise he saw the Chaser in the bay, the darkening clouds throwing her whiteness into relief, and found himself turning away and down the path towards the cove where the long boats were tethered. For a moment he stood uncertain, chewing at his lip while wondering what to do, it didn't seem to him that he had decided but he still found himself settling the rum where it wouldn't roll then untying the boat and starting the pull towards the ship.

***

The strange sounds started halfway across the bay, like tribal drums, a wailing wind and the heavenly host all rolled into one. They sent his heart rate rocketing as he rowed harder and wondered, with some trepidation, what it was that had got aboard the ship. The sounds got louder and stranger the closer to the Dawn Chaser he got and by the time he was tying up the longboat he thought it might be some form of strange music. That however didn't ease the anxiety, he had seen for himself and in greater detail than would be wished, that music could be the prelude to some very nasty forms of mayhem. Had Elanor's ghost turned on her or had some other form of spirit hijacked her? He hurried up the ladder. Making as little noise as he could manage, drawing his pistol as he reached the rail and sticking his head over with considerable caution.

Whatever he had been expecting it was not what he saw. On the decks Captain Elanor was alone and apparently in one piece, though her wits seemed to have gone wandering for she was moving in time to the sounds, at least some parts of her were, and in a manner that could not be described as at all ladylike. Jack eased himself a little higher and watched with raised brows as she gyrated and capered about the deck, body flexing and hips swinging in a manner that was both familiar and novel and more than a little... . exhilarating. Carefully and soundlessly he settled himself more comfortably, telling himself a little observation was needed if he was to know if she had truly gone mad, but aware of the smile that was lifting his lips and the slight tightening in his chest. She was very graceful, and even more flexible, and quite unaware that he was here and..... he rather wished she would stop what she was doing given that his activities in Tortuga had not been as unbridled as once they might have been.

The music was getting louder, the beat heavy and insistent, a throb that seemed to reach inside him and twist his gut and set his heart pounding. He must have made a sound for suddenly she span around to face him and stopped, her arms still raised above her head and her hip jutted to one side. For a moment they were both frozen and then she blinked at him and let her arms fall standing straight and unconcerned; he noticed that she had a spoon in her hand.
"Jack? What's wrong? Why are you back so early?" her voice was calm and friendly enough.
"It's Christmas," he said then wondered why he had said it.
Slowly he hoisted himself to the deck, and flapped a hand at the air, still vibrating with the heavy and seductive sound.
"What's that?" he demanded.
Elanor smiled,
"Where I come from it's considered music."
He stared at her for a moment while he absorbed the idea,
"Is it now. And what about the...." He flapped his hands in her direction swaying in time to the beat as he did so.
Her smile widened,
"We call that dancing."
She saw his startled look and laughed, coming forward with her hands extended,
"Want me to teach you?"

***

The clouds had massed and the sun had long since given up the battle and retreated over the horizon when the music fell silent, the lamps glowed bright upon the masts and rails. She had played more music of her world, some she thought of old and some as new, much of it with the same fast and heavy beat but some much slower and sensuous. Some of it was sad, and much of it seemed almost indecently erotic. Jack danced with her, then collapsed on the deck and watched her when the close proximity of her dancing showed signs of becoming more than merely embarrassing. She, however, didn't seem to embarrass easily, and as he watched her movements with appreciation he wondered what her ancestor would have made of the idea that such a thing could be respectable. Elanor had laughed when, as she guided his hands around her waist, wrapped her arms about his neck and pulled his hip close against her own, he had pointed out that if he did that with a lady like her in his world then they would probably add molestation to his charge sheet.

Truth was that as it grew darker he'd been glad to stop and retire to his rum, for he was finding the whole business more than a little disturbing. She might have known that, for all she had been apparently oblivious to some things, for she made no complaint merely danced alone for a while longer then turned the sound level down and collapsed beside him. Jack had the feeling that she was simply glad not to be alone on this night.

When they sat she had told him stories of Christmas in her world, of decorated trees and presents and things called cards, and instant messages around the world. But she had spoken of wars too, of hatred and want and fear and the never ending misery that man could inflict on man in the name of god. He couldn't be sure but there were times when the lamps on her face were reflected back in something that looked close to dampness. Then he remembered the shore of the lake was certain that she was glad that he had returned to break her solitude.

Shaking off her suddenly sombre mood she had demanded the details of Christmas's he had known. Most he'd invented on the spot for there was little of Christmas that he remembered. But other memories had intruded and he found himself talking of them while she watched with compassionate eyes.
"Memory," she murmured at one point, " a blessing and a curse. "
"Try to avoid it meself," he had said raising the rum bottle in her direction. "Most of mine you can have for no charge."
Both of them knew what they were referring to.
"Poor Jack, always the one to blame eh?"
"Not argue with that luv." He'd smiled, though he wasn't sure how much of a success it was.
Then she had reached forward and patted his leg,
"So let us stay in the present. Today the only day."
She rose suddenly and disappeared below returning with a tray and another spoon.

She had given him something she called ice cream, and what she named chocolate before she left again returning with a heavy green bottle of some fizzy wine and they had toasted Christmas past and present as the sun sank. When that was over she had brought out the brandy and allowed herself to be cajoled into trying the bottle of christmas rum. They had talked of other things then, of people and places and the stupid things that could happen. Then they laid back on the decks staring up at the darkening sky and invented stories about the stars, Jack had called her liar when she told him that a man had stood on the moon and she had disappeared below decks only to come back with a picture of a man in a strange suit stepping onto a dusty plane, swearing to him that it was a photograph of man doing just that, whatever a photograph might be. When the rum was gone they had gone to sit beside the helm watching the moon riding the drifting clouds in silver splendour and trying to decide exactly where the man had stepped down, and laughing about the stories Mr Gibbs could make of it.

As the clouds increased and the stars and shoreline disappeared into shadow Elanor rose unsteadily from her perch and staggered below decks for a while, reappearing with two new bottles of that wine, two new and full bottles.
"Last of these but might as well drink them. No saying if there will be another time." She said as she returned.

Jack watched her meandering progress back towards where he was sitting with a frown, for something was obviously wrong. He thought about it for a moment, watching her sway with the rise and fall of the decks, her face set in lines of fierce concentration. He recognised that look but somehow it didn't seem right, not on her face. But the conclusion was inescapable and Jack looked up at her in owlish astonishment as she handed him the second bottle.
"Y're drunk." He slurred, "I'm drunk but that's not unexpected, but y're drunk too." He leaned back, frowning as he struggled to focus on her face, "never seen that before." He pointed a wavering finger at her, "Why y're drunk?"
Elanor shook her head vigorously, overbalancing onto a hatch cover as she did so,
"Not drunk, can't be drunk." She said and took a swig from her bottle.
"Yr'e drunk I say." Jack leaned towards her and poked her shoulder with an emphasising finger, "drunk as a lord." He narrowed his eyes and flittered a hand towards her, "and I've seen enough drunken lords to know one when I see one."
She took another swallow and shrugged her shoulders elaborately,
"Not drunk, can't be drunk," she drew a deep breath, "Engineered.. Got enzymes, can't be drunk." She shook her head sadly, "Never."
"Never?" Jack peered at her.
"Never," she agreed.
He reached out a wavering hand and patted her thigh heavily,
"That's sad, ver' sad. How d'ye manage? Worl's a harsh place, too harsh to be always sober. Wha's a man, " he smiled his most golden smile and turned the bottle in careful hands, "or woman come to that, to do, if they can't get drunk when it hurts."
"Soldier on." she said morosely, "Engineered for that too."
Jack shook his head sending the beads in his hair rattling,
"Tis really sad, is that." He patted her shoulder in clumsy commiseration before taking a drink.
Elanor nodded in apparent agreement then sighed and raised her bottle to him, he crashed his against hers and they both drank some more.

They were silent for a moment both considering the evil of the world. Then she leaned unsteadily across to him,
"Y're not drunk as often as you pretend," she tilted her head sideways and, at the third attempt, managed to wink at him, before prodding his arm with an stiff knuckled finger, "I know. Not nearly 's often, " she nodded, "Know it."
Jack leaned away from her and frowned,
"Who says that?" he demanded, "take me to him and I'll.. I'll."
"You'll what?" she slurred,
He waved an aimless hand,
"Get him to buy me a drink." he pointed at her, "at pistol point.,. Am a pirate yer know."
Elanor nodded, her face serious,
"Did know."
"Did you? Who told you?" Jack attempted to get to his feet without success, "Show me the instigator of such slander and I'll run him through."
She pointed a wavering finger at him,
"You told me."
Jack thought about that for a moment and then sighed and collapsed back again.
"Oh. Bugger."

For a moment they stared at each other in wide eyed silence then Jack leaned forward,
"Says you can't be drunk but I says you are prev... previo...prevar...Y're drunk now."
"Am not." She insisted with a frown.
"Are so!" he carefully wagged a finger at her, "do not be lyin' to Ol' Jack about that, tis not comradely."
She squinted sideways at him,
"Are you old? Wouldn't be where I come from, but here?" she shrugged and overbalanced against his shoulder.
He straightened her with solemn courtesy,
"It is all a matter of perspective I expect." He nodded sagely then stared at the bottle noting the fullness of it with approval, "escape the noose often enough and twenty one is old."
She nodded emphatically and stroked his arm in commiseration,
"Must get very tiring, having to escape all the time, not surprised you take to the rum."
"Who says I do?" He demanded with eyes narrowed to slits again,
"You do."
"Do I?"
"Yes. All the time."
He thought about that for a moment, then smiled at her softly,
"Oh. Might not be telling the whole truth about that though, I admit, not always."
She smiled back,
"I know."

They were silent for a while the sound of the music's lament washing across the decks. The Jack leaned closer and looked at her from under his lashes,
"Now tell me, in confidence I swear, have you not left a husband behind you? Eh? How could a fine woman such as yourself, with all your....." his hand drew her outline in the air, "advantages..... not have a man to see to her needs."
"No husband, no children. Told you before I was in the navy. Resigned now o'course, but was. As for needs? Weeell. No different to you Jack, find what I can where I can." She looked at him sideways and a rather devilish smile appeared on her mouth,
"Though I'm more careful and I'd bet you're not without issue."
She seemed to find the idea funny and giggled as she dropped her head over the bottle in her hands. Jack frowned,
"Have not!"
She raised her head again and the grin widened at his expression,
"Bet you have, not as bad a man as you'd have me believe, you and your ladies. Next thing you know it'll be rocking cradles."
That brought the expected outrage,
"Will not! I'll have you know I'm very careful 'bout such things."
Elanor had found a certain item in his coat that suggested that he might mean that but was not in any mood to give ground.
"When your' drunk?" she scorned taking another swallow of wine, "Ha! Bet there are lots of little Jack brats running about the Caribbean looking for their daddy."
"Are not!" he snapped, for a moment seeming genuinely annoyed by the idea.
Elanor smiled to herself, hiding her amusement as she saw the speculative look slide into his eyes.

Jack looked at her thoughtfully for a long moment before smiling slyly and sidling closer, sliding his arm around her waist. His fingers began a slow meander across her ribs and towards her belt buckle, as he watched her closely through the fall of his hair,
"Though world moves on I suppose, time and tide if you take my meanin?" he edged his shoulder closer still, his fingers stroking the end of her belt, " and if you were a little more friendly..., well maybe we could make a start on addressing our mutual absence of...issue."
He tilted his head, looking at her from under his lashes now, for all the world like a child asking for more chocolate. Elanor understood the look and slapped his fingers away, shaking her head and ignoring the pout that followed,
"In your dreams!" she snorted, "even' if I were so inclined you can't stand up in one piece. Let alone get bits of you...." she waved a hand in the general direction of his groin. "Co-ordinated."

He gave an outraged squark at that and let go of her, hauling himself to his feet with some difficulty,
"Can I not?" he began pulling at his shirt, trying unsuccessfully to tug it free from his breeches, "I'll show you, missy.. Captain...I'll show you...I can take me drink and still see to a ladies satisfaction, as plenty o' ladies in Tortuga and elsewhere would attest to, Singapore too," he glared at her while still trying to disentangle his shirt, " my efficacy is no way impaired."
Elanor gave another snort and waved the bottle in her hand in his direction,
"Well y're payin' 'em so what are they likely to say? Eh?"
That brought more shirt pulling and a thunderous frown,
"Tha's a slander, and not a bit true. Come over here madam and I'll prove it to you, I'll show you who's bloody incapacitated!"
On which word he over balanced and fell beside her in a heap.
"Oh," he reached for the bottle, "but I'll just have a drink first shall I?"

He took another deep swallow then toppled sideways to lie with his cheek against her midriff, where he settled with a loud, satisfied and rather provocative sigh.
"Jack, get up!" Elanor protested.
"Why?" he said snuggling his face deeper into her, " I is comfortable enough here." He patted her thigh and settled himself as if to sleep.
Elanor pulled at his braids impatiently,
"Well I isn't and your beard is leaking wine onto my shirt. It's my favourite too!"
"Ah," his mouth was muffled by the shirt he was staining; then slowly and reluctantly, and with an unnecessarily convulsive wriggle, he turned over before settling himself comfortably again, nestling his head against her rib cage, "I's a nice shirt too," he slurred softly, "hangs very....." he caught her narrowing eye and smiled disarmingly, "prettily."

He closed his eyes and reached up winding his finger through her hair, feeling the silk snag against his rings. Pulling her down towards him, he sighed happily again,
"How about a little rest then what say you to another dance then, hmmm?"

***

In the end they didn't dance, probably just as well they would both tell themselves later, no saying where that might have ended up. Though they were both sort of sure they did know and couldn't decide whether sense or stupidity had won the day. But it was comfortable enough as they rested in a drunken haze. Jack's head was heavy on her thigh and her fingers had somehow found their own way into the thick folds of his hair, his eyes were all but closed while his hand was wandering aimlessly up and down her lower leg. The bottles were nearly empty and the two drinkers were sleepy and disinclined to move. They had laid like that for unmeasured time, the strange restlessness they both still knew settled for a while and memory quiet. They were alive and it was Christmas and that was all that mattered.

It was a church bell tolling somewhere on the shore that stirred them, and Elanor rather wished that it hadn't given that the return to her full senses was not comfortable. Reluctantly she sat straighter,
"Feel sick!" She said with a mix of outrage and horror in her voice.
Jack snuggled deeper,
"Ha! Woman can't take her liquor, and her a captain too." He smiled up at her, his eyes as wide and black as the night sky in the lamplight.
"Can too." Elanor shrugged him carefully off her lap and clambered uncertainly to her feet, where she turned and pointed at him, "Can drink you under the table any day."
Jack propped himself up on his elbows with a frown,
"Could not!
"Could so, I told you, got enzymes, ver' special enzymes." She squared her shoulders, over balancing slightly as she did so, and catching hold of the mast to stop her fall, "Alcohol does not touch me," she said with ponderous dignity.
Jack's frown dissolved and he giggled, reaching forward to pat her ankle,
"Seem pretty touched at the moment luv!"
Elanor glared at him then sagged, her eyes closing
"S'mthin' funny about this drink. I think I'm goin' be sick." She straightened and turned towards the rail flapping her hand at Jack. "Can't be sick on't decks, never hear the last of it."
She staggered forward slightly and stopped as if unable to make her legs work.

Jack got to his feet at the third attempt and slung an arm around her waist,
"Allow me to be of some assistance Captain Cavendish, been sick over more rails than you've....." his free hand circled aimlessly for a moment,".. well anything you've done a lot of."
Elanor clung to him her eyes dazed and half closed and Jack was more than tempted to claim that beautiful mouth as a Christmas present; but the look on her face told him that she wasn't jesting and against all odds she was indeed about to be sick. With solemn care he helped her to the rail holding her shoulders while she heaved and shook. Finally she stepped back and stared up at the sky in fear, Jack caught the look and the fumes of rum retreated as they always did when needed,
"What is it luv? Your just a little on the go, few sailors who havent been in their time, no need to look so distraught. I'll not blame you for it. Nor say anything of it if that is what concerns you."

She turned to look at him, wide eyed and horrified, and saw that he meant what he was saying, but then he didn't understand did he?

Jack felt his heart sink as he caught the look and fear tightened on him as she allowed him to gather her against his shoulder, not protesting at his hands tightened around her.
"We are alive Elanor, we made it back luv." He said into her hair, "What can there be for you to look so?"
"Something is wrong Jack, very wrong. I mean it. I am immune to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, I can't get drunk, just like I can't get pregnant unless I want to, and I won't catch the pox or the clap or die of malaria or cholera. I'm engineered so that I can't. So why do I feel like this? " her fingers tightened on his shoulder, "What has happened to me?"
He marked her words for later investigation and settled himself to calming her,
"Maybe it's the after effects of the lake water eh! Perhaps you are not quite well yet. It will get better, you will go back to being yourself I'm sure of it."
She pushed closer against him,
"Will I? How you sure when we know so little about it? What has that water done to me Jack? What did the map mean?"
She eased herself from the circle of his arms,
"What has it done to you Jack? What was that you were wishing for down there, what was it that you really wanted most? Was it immortality? Was that all you wanted?"

***

Gibbs returned to the ship early to invite Captain Elanor to take breakfast with Polly and her family, feeling somehow uneasy at leaving her alone while he and Jack took off to enjoy themselves. She had been quiet since they returned from that godforsaken island, and there had been shadows in her eyes, just as there had been in Jack's. As he pulled towards the white ship sitting all aglow against the lightening sky Gibbs wondered, and not for the first time, what had happened to them in the cavern beneath the sea. Something had he was sure of it, for neither of them had come back what you might call easy, and though they had brought the water back too Jack had shown little sign of triumph, being almost subdued. Yet he didn't think the problem lay between them for they had been careful, almost protective, of each other since they had returned.

The sight of Jack's boat moored cosily against the Chasers side sent his eyebrows into a hard line and his heart pounding, when Jack had set off he had been determined to reacquaint himself with the ladies and after the weeks of enforced... denial.... had seemed more than ready to enjoy their company. ' It would have taken something powerfully bad' Gibbs reflected with a sinking stomach, 'to cause him to return here before he had drunk and wenched his fill.' With Jack that was likely to take more hours than a night. But the boat was here, though he had been gone barely long enough to reach the port and find the lasses, which suggested that he had not gone to Tortuga at al, and that was certainly bad news. He must be ill or hurt mortal bad to abandon his trip and return here so soon.

Gibbs tied his boat along side Jack's and hurried up the sea ladder and onto the decks. The ship was silent, the ghost apparently taking no notice of his return, and the helm was unmanned. For a moment he debated calling out, then changed his mind and headed below to find his captains, neither of whom proved easily found. Jack's cabin was empty, and when he could bring himself to knock, then put an ear to, Captain Elanor's door he found it silent. With a curse he headed to the galley, it was likewise deserted but for a green glass flagon the labels all gold and white and the remains of some food he didn't recognise. He frowned, and then return to the decks to search.

It didn't take him long to find them, they were both sprawled in the shadow of the helm, and the sight brought an unholy grin to Gibbs face, and not entirely in relief. They were cuddled together and wrapped around each other like a pair of frightened babes. Captain Elanor's head was suspiciously close to being on Jack's shoulder while his cheek was definitely laid against the top of her head. One of Jack's hands was wrapped in her hair, the silvery sheen of it shaming his rings, while her hand was curled loosely around his hip. Beside them two more of those dark green flagons were empty and discarded.

With another smirk and a shake of his head he took himself back to his boat, breakfast would wait and tonight there would food and feasting enough to make up for a lost meal. Neither of them would thank him for waking them now so he'd leave them to sleep and wake alone and he'd come back later when it was safer.

'Merry Christmas, captains both' he thought as he descended back to the boat and headed off towards his breakfast.