Elizabeth had no idea how long they remained like that, but in the end, Jack was first to move, propping himself up on his elbow to eye her with a boyish grin on his face.

"You look somewhat messy," he observed and she looked down at herself, finding she was still sticky with his seed.

"Well, hardly my fault, I'd say. And besides, you don't look much better," she replied and pointed to his hip, reminding him of the fact that he'd collapsed on top of her.

He pulled a face and she laughed, now convinced that whoever had wrote the "Young gentlemen's guidebook" didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. The whole act was not only as exciting as some novels tried to imply, it was even better and besides that, it was not in the least a "sacred duty" or "the natural consummation of marriage" but a wonderful and even funny thing that involved lots of sweat, saliva and other juices, not to mention that after you'd done it, nothing would ever feel embarrassing again.

"Alright," he sighed. "Just give me a second."

She watched him get up from the bed and found she was still intrigued by the sheer perfection of his body, the scars only adding to his uniqueness. He looked around and finally picked up a piece of cloth that turned out to be her undergarments, ripping them apart.

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, nobody will see that you're wearing nothing underneath." Grinning mischievously, he bent down to wipe her stomach clean, then repeated the same action on his hip.

"Better now?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

"I still feel like I got overrun by a horde of heavily armed pirates …," she admitted, coming to realize how tired she really was.

"So I managed to wear you out?" His hands brushed over her hip tentatively and she couldn't help but feel amused at his pompous attitude.

"No," she said, pretending to be serious. "I merely wanted to imply that it's pretty hot in here."

She waited for him to make some witty remark, but he just closed his eyes and yawned, every bit as tired as she was. Getting up again, he patted her affectionately on the thigh and turned to blow the candles out.

When she felt him at her side again, Elizabeth shifted closer and he put an arm around her waist, sighing contently.

"Jack," she whispered, suddenly in need to hear his voice. "Please tell me a story."

And he did, his words taking on the scent of sandalwood and patchouli, the sound of the sea and the longing for adventure on a faraway shore while she drifted off to sleep, peacefully and unafraid of what the morrow might bring, for together, they had braved the devil and death itself and she knew they could do it all over again.

The first thing she saw when she woke in the morning were the bright spots the sun painted across the wall, holding the promise of a warm and sunny day. She must have slept longer than usual, for the heat had already conquered the room and she found she had divested herself of the blanket which lay crumpled around her feet. Stretching leisurely, she wondered why Estrella hadn't come to wake her up. And then, it dawned on her that something was wrong. Something was missing … her nightgown! Not only was she completely naked, there were also bloodstains on her thigh - and a strange soreness between her legs.

"Good morning, luv!"

She sat up in panic and looked around wide-eyed, trying to make out the owner of the strangely familiar-sounding voice and when she finally saw him, sitting in the window frame and wearing nothing but his breeches, she let herself sink back on the bed and covered her face with both of her hands. So it hadn't been a dream, after all ...

She had really done it, given herself to Jack Sparrow, a pirate, and, worst of all, - she didn't even regret it, no matter how hard she tried. A warm smile gradually spread across her face while she remembered all the details, the touch of his hand and the taste of his kisses, and when she took her hands from her face, looking at the puzzled expression on his own, she felt nothing but affection for him.

"No good morning kiss?" she asked, smiling at his obvious confusion.

"Come here and you'll get one," he replied, relaxing. "I just figured I'd better stay out of reach, in case you intended to slap me."

Getting to her feet, she noted that her body seemed strangely limp, not to mention the pain between her legs that made it hard for her to walk. She staggered over to him, feeling a bit awkward at her nakedness but then remembering he'd already seen her anyway, and the thought made her smile again.

When she'd finally arrived at his side, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, the look on his face suggesting that he was up to something.

"Wasn't that a bit … chaste?" she cooed, giving in to the game he obviously intended to play.

"Oh, I can see what you mean … ." And with that, he pulled her to his body and kissed her on the mouth until both of them were completely out of breath.

"Good morning!" she panted, leaning against his shoulder while he stroked her back and she readily gave in to the renewed waves of arousal when she felt his lips on her throat, trailing down over her collarbone and back to her jaw-line. She pressed herself against him, sliding her hands down his sides and to the waistband of his breeches, but when she was just about to pull them down, he stepped back, pushing her away.

"Not now." He was breathing hard and there was something in his eyes she could not quite name, a seriousness that was so unlike him it actually scared her. He took her hand and led her over to the bed, sitting down on the edge and she followed suit, feeling like a little girl expecting a lecture from her father.

"Lizzie, we need to talk," he said, sounding grave, and she immediately went pale. So that was it, then. It was over. He'd tell her to go back to England and … no, she couldn't let that happen!

"Jack, I …," she began, but he took hold of her shoulders, silencing her.

"No, listen to me first. I realize I am not what you would call a respectable suitor … I am, after all, a pirate and as such, I am chased by the Royal Navy, the East India Trading Company and a lot of other people all over the seven seas and beyond, which means that my life can't exactly be termed stable and quiet. Besides, it is not in me to settle down, not anymore … I am probably older than you might guess and it's hard for me to change certain … habits. I can't deny I've been with plenty of women, some of them whores and I've also been with men. I am not asking you to understand any of that because I realize you probably can't … but I want you to keep these things in mind when I ask you to … to … "

He bit his lip and looked away from her, his tense features indicating that he was struggling with himself, and when he faced her again, she could see the fear in his eyes.

"Stay with me, Lizzie," he finally whispered. "Not … not as my wife, for I don't believe in marriage, but as my friend … and lover."

Elizabeth found it impossible to look at him, completely startled by what he'd just said.

Stay with me …

So he really wanted her with him. Friend, he'd called her … and lover. She couldn't believe it, tried to find a different meaning to his words, but they remained what they were: Not a promise, but an offer and a plea, and she felt her heart beat twice as fast when she finally dared to look at him, his eyes still full of unasked questions and unspoken fears.

"Yes," she replied, meeting his gaze. "I'll stay with you. Not because I have no place else to go, but because I want it. I want to be with you."

She held her breath and looked at him expectantly, but he didn't move, his face still grave and shadowed with doubt.

"It won't be easy and frankly, I don't know if I have it in me to make obligations to anyone, let alone a woman," he said hesitantly, shaking his head. "But damn it if I didn't try!"

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, and when she pressed his cheek to his, his beard rough on her skin, she knew that the ghosts had left this place forever.

What remained was a chest full of memories and the faint echo of a song, nothing more than the shadow of a whisper in a darkened hallway, and she thought she could live with that.

THE END

Many thanks also to my friend True Romance for many, many discussions about this story and a first opinion on each part. I think it is mainly due to her influence that I actually finished a multi-chapter fanfiction for the first time in my life! (Besides, she writes wonderful HP-fanfiction, unfortunately only available in German so far)

For this chapter (and in general) I have to specifically mention artaxastra to whom I owe the idea that Jack may seem closer to Governor Swann's age than Elizabeth's (yes, I know this is not exactly canon, but I prefer "my" Jack in his late thirties or early forties). Furthermore, the "Five Nights Out in Tortuga"-series have inspired this story to a great deal.

And, finally, my thanks go to everyone who has read and reviewed "Exorcism" here or elsewhere. Your concrit was more than appreciated and hopefully helped to improve this story, and your compliments kept me alive while busy with university work and other creepy stuff! Thank you so much, again!

There are so many wonderful authors in this community, and I really feel honoured to be a member of it!

I might write a commentary-track for "Exorcism" in the future, so maybe there's more to come on this story, though no new chapters, sorry. I prefer to leave it to the reader's imagination what becomes of them. Maybe they break up after 2 weeks, maybe Elizabeth steals the Pearl and sails away alone, maybe Jack gets hanged in New England, maybe Elizabeth dies in childbirth – or, maybe, they'll live happily ever after!