Chapter 8

Will and Elizabeth slept for a good part of the afternoon
and did not wake until long into the evening hours. They could hear
the pirates hollering to each other on the main deck, every so often
breaking into song. Will's nose woke him first, when he felt an
almost unbearable tickle. Quickly, he reached under his pillow and
pulled out one of the handkerchiefs Elizabeth had stashed there for
him.

"KetCHUUSH! HutCHSHHH!" he sneezed forcefully into the
fabric, sniffling a bit afterwards.

Elizabeth opened one eye and slowly lifted her head,
yawning. "Bless you." She mumbled, rubbing her hands over her face.

"Thank you." Will whispered, coughing into his fist. He felt
worse than he had at their wedding, but he tried to hide it by
sitting as straight as possible. "Did you rest well? I'm sorry I
woke…eh…ATCHHUHH!" he sneezed once again, his body lurching forward.
Elizabeth frowned, resting the palm of her hand against his
forehead, checking for a fever.

"Hmmm," she thought out loud. "You feel a bit warm." She
kissed his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It seems like a dream, doesn't it?" Will asked, as
Elizabeth moved her kisses down his neck.

"What does?" she asked, burying her nose against his bare
chest.

"The fact that our wedding was merely eight hours ago, and that
we're once again on the Black Pearl."

Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair, pure love in her
eyes. "I know. But if it is a dream, I for one would never want to
wake from it." The two of them jumped when they heard a loud squawk
and a THUD from above.

"I'm going to get that bloody parrot if it's the last thing I do!"
Jack's voice shouted over the sloshing of the waves against the
sides of the ship. "Stupid pigeon!" They heard another THUMP, and
glanced at each other with amusement. Will snorted, shaking his
head.

"Perhaps we'd better get dressed and see if he needs help." He
cringed at his pounding headache as he slid out of bed and trooped
over to the armoire. He rummaged through the drawers, searching for
clothes. "You would not mind wearing a man's clothing, would you
love?" he asked, pulling out a pair of breeches and a cotton shirt.

Elizabeth laughed. "Not at all, Mr. Turner. They're more comfortable
than this wretched wedding dress and corset anyway. Let me be a
real pirate." She winked. He beamed, tossing her an outfit.

"I am reminded once again of why I love you so much." He coughed
again, glancing upward. "I guess Jack's given up on Mr. Cotton's
parrot. Unless he's caught him and it'll be tonight's dinner. I
don't hear him at the mom..eh…AHTCHUUH! Blast! Excuse me." Will
groaned

"God bless again. How are you feeling? I don't want you to go up on
deck if you are ill. You need to rest."

Will shook his head. "I'll be all right. Don't worry about me." He
rubbed his nose with the hanky, and then began to put on his
garments. It was still awkward, the process of helping one another
with dressing.

"I do worry about you, sweetheart," Elizabeth admitted as Will
buttoned his shirt for her. "You tend to catch sniffles when you're
stressed. And we've been through a lot in the past couple of weeks."

Will smiled. "Let us enjoy ourselves and not worry for once, eh?
This is our honeymoon after all, and I want it to be worth
remembering, aye?" He touched her cheek, pulling a loose strand of
her hair behind her ear.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "Aye!" she shouted, making him laugh.
Eventually they made their way through the trapdoor, greeted by the
cool evening breeze. It was nearly dark, and the first glittering
stars appeared in the sky. Jack and the crew sat on boxes when they
found them, drinking from either mugs or flasks of rum and chatting.
Jack turned and noticed them just as he took a swig from his bottle.

"We were wonderin' when you'd join us," he slurred.

"Sleep well?" asked Anamaria kindly.

Will nodded. "I believe so. What are you all up to?"

Mr. Gibbs hopped down from his perch, offering it to Elizabeth. "Go
on," Will encouraged, kissing her temple. She squeezed his hand
before sitting down, accepting Gibb's whisky flask. She took a gulp,
wincing as the drink burned her throat a little.

"What's it look like, mmm?" Jack answered, offering Will a swig.

"No, thank you." Will refused, shaking his head wearily. For some
reason, he never found that he could stomach alcohol. In fact, the
last time he had a glass of wine, he became very ill, and nearly
passed away from a high fever. He shuddered at the memory. But he
did not dare tell this to the pirates.

"What…" Jack blinked.

"No," Will repeated, "Thank you."

Elizabeth smiled, reaching out her arms for him to sit with her.
Jack cocked his head to one side as Will walked over and Elizabeth
stood. Will sat, and she perched on his lap, leaning against his
chest.

"You two make me sick," the captain grunted, rolling his eyes in
disgust.

Anamaria glared at him. "What did you expect from a couple who's
just married?" She put her hat on Elizabeth's head, and folded her
arms, grinning proudly. "There. Now you're a real pirate."

Will's breath hitched again suddenly, and everyone looked at him,
concerned. "Huh…eh…"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, waiting for it.

"HuhITCHHHUH! Eh…ETCHHUH!" Will blushed furiously when he finished.

"Bless you." Elizabeth sighed.

"Gettin' sick are ya?" Jack asked.

"No," Will insisted, sniffling wetly. His nose was tickling madly
still, and he wiggled it desperately.

"Don't feel self-conscious, love. Sneeze if you must," Elizabeth
insisted, craning her neck to give him a sympathetic smile.

"B-but I d-don't eh…want to…huh-ETCHHUH! ETCHUUH! ITSHHHUH!
CHSHHHUH! HuhESHHH!" Will's body lurched forward again with each
explosion, and Elizabeth had to steady herself to keep from falling
off his lap.

"Finished, Mate?" Jack asked, smirking a bit. The other members of
the crew were gaping at Will, open-mouthed. He nodded, his head
pounding.

"Bless you!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Thanks," Will replied, wishing he hadn't left his handkerchief down
in the cabin. Suddenly, he saw a linen cloth right before his face.

"Here." Anamaria insisted.

"I couldn't possibly," Will mumbled, wanting to sink through a hole
in the wood. He was really starting to feel sick and the last thing
he wanted was to spend his honeymoon lying in bed all day and night.
Or, if that was the case, he'd rather not be sneezing and coughing
the entire time. He wanted Elizabeth to be happy, and he would do
everything and anything to make that happen.

"I have more," she promised, shoving it into his hand. Will finally
relented, blowing his nose hard. Several of the pirates cringed at
the noise, backing away from the newcomer.

"Who's steering?" he croaked, glancing at Jack.

"Duncan's taken over," Jack replied. "I've been bloody steering for
three days straight."

Will nodded, his eyes closing. "HETCHUUH! KetCHUUH!" He caught the
sneezes in the hanky and coughed.

"Oh Will…you really don't sound well at all." Elizabeth touched his
cheek, frowning as she felt the heat radiating from it.

"Get back down and get some sleep, Mate. You're no use to us
sneezin' your bloody head off. We'll take care of your lass." Jack
insisted, waving his hand in Will's direction.

Will sniffled, resting his forehead against Elizabeth's neck. At
this point, he felt too miserable to care what the others
thought. "My poor Love." She felt her heart constrict. "I'll help
him to bed."

"Come back then," Jack told her with a nod. "We have to teach em
all the song, remember?"

Elizabeth nodded, helping Will to his feet, and let him lean on her.
She brought him back down through the trapdoor, allowing him to take
his time walking down the steps.

"Ib so sorry," Will whispered, once he was lying in bed under the
warm covers. Elizabeth kissed his forehead, caressing his forehead
with her fingertips.

"Eh—HETCHUUH! ETCHHUH! HUTCHUSHHH! KetCHSHHH! Excuse eh…ah…ATCHUUUH!"

Elizabeth clucked her tongue. "God bless, My Darling. Here." She set
a pile of handkerchiefs right beside him on the pillow, so he could
have easier access to them, and took his hand.

"Go od," he encouraged, placing her hand against his lips.

"I should sit with you," she protested, shaking her head.

"Bud I wad you to hab a good tibe. This was your wish, wasid id?"

Elizabeth smiled. "My wish was to spend this trip with you," she
replied lovingly, kissing his lips, ignoring his cold for the
moment. She wanted to crawl into bed beside him, just to hold and
keep him warm.

"Please, Elizabeth. Go up with Jack and the others. I'll be…
eh..TSHHHUH!"

"Bless. Is that really what you want?" she asked, narrowing her
eyes.

He nodded. "I want you to have a good time."

She sighed. "Oh all right, if you insist." She kissed him again,
before making her way back up to the deck.

"Yo, ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," she sung, joining the
captain and crew, who were singing in loud, drunken voices.

"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs…drink up
me earties yo ho! There she is!" Jack called, motioning for her to
come over. Elizabeth tried her best to look cheerful as she joined
them again, and soon Jack grasped her around the waist, dipping her
back.

"You owe me a dance," he slurred.

Elizabeth blinked. "What?"

Jack released her. "A weddin' dance, naturally. Savvy? Too bad I had
to miss the blessed event."

The other pirates began laughing and clapping as Elizabeth stepped
back a pace. "But there isn't any music," she pointed out.

"Mr. Cotton! Fetch the fiddle, Man!" Jack ordered, but Elizabeth
shook her head.

"No, wait!" She straightened up, snatching the bottle of rum out of
his hand. Jack stared at her, stunned. "I have to have a bit more to
drink first before I do such a thing." Everyone grinned as Jack
cocked his head to one side again, watching as she chugged down
nearly half of the bottle, gasping and wiping her lips with the
corner of her sleeve once she finished. She thrust the bottle at Mr.
Gibbs who stood behind her, and then grabbed Jack's hand. "All
right, Captain Sparrow," she announced. "I am ready."

Jack snapped his fingers, and Mr. Cotton began to play a lively tune
on the fiddle. The rest of the crew joined in by either clapping or
slapping the boxes to the beat, whistling as Jack and Elizabeth
pranced around the deck. When they finished, Jack dipped her and
then did the same dramatic bow he performed at the wedding.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You'll never change, Captain Sparrow,"
she sniggered, glancing up at the overcast sky above her. A few
seagulls cried as they swooped past, and she stumbled a bit as the
ship went over a swell. "Whoops!" she giggled as she fell back
against one of the crew members whom she didn't know by name, and
covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh now you've gone and done it,"
she told Jack, prodding his chest with her index finger.

"Eh?" Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Done what?"

Elizabeth snatched the whisky flask from Gibb's hand and took a
swig. "Never mind." She sat down, feeling a little dizzy from the
alcohol. Jack blinked, not quite getting it. He was drunk so often
that it was more or less a way of life for him, so he was used to
it.

"Don't drink much, do you?" Anamaria asked, rolling her eyes.

"We'll change that one, aye," Jack replied, offering Elizabeth
another mug.

Down below in the spare cabin, Will lay on his side, facing the
wall, feeling a tear roll down his cheek. Here he was, on his
honeymoon, and he could not even be with his wife. Don't be a
fool,' a voice spoke inside of him. You're the one who told her to
go.'

I didn't think she'd actually leave,' he thought to himself,
chewing on his lower lip, fighting the urge to break down in tears.
He was not one to cry like this he knew, but with the effects of not
only his being ill and the stress from the long day, it seemed to be
the easiest thing to do at the moment. At last, he turned his face
into his pillow, sobbing softly.