PotC Cabin Fever
Captain Jack Sparrow stood out on the deck of his beloved Black Pearl and smiled widely. The weather was fair, sea calm and he had the love and companionship of his first mate and personal cabin boy Will Turner. Jack's eyes roved to the slender young man standing a few feet away and who gazed seawards. Seeing the beautiful profile, Jack swallowed. That he had Will's love was still sometimes a shock to the pirate. Yet Will was always open and honest in his declarations and Jack felt a frisson of guilt. He could not hold back from his own declarations of love when in the height of shared passion, nor when rum loosened his tongue, but he had as yet to openly declare his true feelings to Will when simply together. He meant to; he wanted to, but was irrationally afraid that if he gave voice freely to his passion for the boy, he would lose him.
Will must have felt the pirate captain's burning gaze as he turned to look at Jack. The boy smiled, but Jack, who often appeared less sharply observant than he actually was, detected the smile did not reach the other man's eyes. The younger man's face was also flushed and Jack could see the sweat beading on Will's brow. Jack's smile faltered. His mind cast back to that morning.
He had awoke as normal with Will wrapped around him like a human squid. He had thought the boy warm, but he had awoken with an erection and a need to love his beautiful boy and had immediately begun awaking Will with kisses and arousing touches. He remembered now that Will had been slower than normal to get fully aroused. Jack had put it down to Will awaking more slowly and had positioned Will on his hands and knees and mounted him quickly. Will had come under Jack's caresses as Jack had come deep inside the willing body, but Will hadn't been the normally energetic and responsive lover Jack had come to know and appreciate. Jack was Will's only lover: male or female. He should have known something was amiss with the boy and chastised himself for being so selfish. He started to move with the intention of whispering an apology and some sweet words, promising himself he would tell Will how loved he was in the full light of day, when his feet took wings without conscious thought.
Will had taken his own step towards his beloved Jack when the deck seemed to tilt. The world span and Will felt himself begin to fall when he was swept up into strong arms. His dazed chocolate eyes gazed into the concerned hazel ones of his captain and he tried to smile.
"Sorry, love" he whispered hoarsely, forgetting where he was. "Don't feel well..." the rest of the young man's speech was forever lost as his eyes rolled back and he fainted in Jack's arms.
"Will!" Jack screamed. "Get Hop Li to my cabin. Move!" he bellowed at a hapless crewman who had stood frozen at the speed of his Captain's movements.
Jack carried his precious cargo cradled to his chest until he could safely deposit the boy on their bunk. He could see that Will's shirt was already sweat-damped and the young man's face was suffused with an unhealthy flush.
Jack turned as Hop Li tapped at his cabin door and hesitatingly stepped inside. Hop Li had only been with the crew a few weeks, but in addition to being able to improving the food with his culinary skills, the Chinaman had some skills as a healer and herb-master. As Jack couldn't have a trained medic aboard The Pearl, anyone with some medical skills was a valuable and welcome addition. Jack fretted and fidgeted as Hop Li examined Will. As the Chinaman concluded his basic examination, both men started as Will sat up suddenly.
"Don't leave me, Jack," the delirious young man cried. "Please don't leave me."
"I'm here, Love," Jack replied instantly, cradling the limp form to his chest as all of Will's strength drained. "I won't leave ye, Treasure. That I swear." The pirate turned beseeching eyes to the healer. "What can we do?" he asked.
"Hop Li has some herbs that might help with the fever," Hop Li replied. "Hop Li not have too much, Hop Li must get more soon. Your boy strong, Captain and he fit and healthy before the fever hit. These are all in his favour." He smiled gently at the younger pirate. "He loves you and that gives him a reason to fight, to want to live. In his fever, it is you he seeks."
"What can I do to help?" Jack asked. He couldn't bear the helplessness that tried to weigh him down.
Hop Li frowned. "Hop Li will try to put it in words you understand, Captain," he mused. "Think of the fever as storm at sea. Will is in that storm and his body is being assaulted and weakened by it. His anchor and safe port are both you. He seeks you. You must be there for him. He may not hear your words in these," Hop Li indicated his ears, "but he may hear your words in here." This time Hop Li pointed to Will's heart. "Make sure he drinks much fluids and the infusions Hop Li will make. Keep him sponged down to try and keep the fever down. Hop Li will return soon.
Jack nodded absently as the older man bowed and left his cabin. Bearing in mind his need to keep Will cool through sponging, Jack tenderly stripped Will naked. He felt the tears prick at his eyes and the beautiful naked body shimmered as Jack fought to stop his tears falling. It had only been a few hours since they had made love and Will had cried aloud his love for Jack. Jack bit at his lip as he pulled the sheet over Will's sweating and restless form. Had he told Will of his love in return? He couldn't remember. Did Will truly know just how completely he held the heart and soul of captain Jack Sparrow? Jack wasn't so sure. He vowed that if he was given a second chance with his lover, he would make sure the younger man knew every day how much he was loved.
When Hop Li returned, Jack was gently cleansing Will's sweat-drenched body. Will muttered incoherently and occasionally the two men heard Jack's name. Each time Jack heard it he clasped Will's hand to his chest and pressed it against his heart.
"Do ye feel it, Will?" Jack asked. "My heart, Will. It belongs to ye, it beats for ye. Come back to me, love. Don't leave Jack all alone".
"I will make the infusion every four hours. Try to make him drink. If you need to leave him, Hop Li will stay." Again the older man bowed and left as Jack shook his head. At that moment all he needed was his love to awaken.
The next two days were the longest Jack or anyone aboard the Black Pearl had experienced. News of Will's fever had quickly spread around the other pirates. They were as fond at the young blacksmith turned pirate as they were of their eccentric captain. It was common knowledge that the two were lovers. It was hardly an uncommon situation amongst such sailors. However, Jack and Will had been open from the start and the crew would often see Will with his hands on the wheel of the ship and Jack as close behind him as he could get, hugging his young Mate, both smiling widely and as carefree as the wind in the Pearl's sails. More than a few wondered with concern just how badly affected their captain would be if he were to lose the young man who was both his lover and the ship's popular first mate. Quietly and as unobtrusively as possible, they asked Hop Li to pass on their wishes to their captain. A duty the Chinaman undertook with all seriousness.
Jack sponged Will down every few hours. When he couldn't get Will to be able to drink from the cup Jack held in his hands, the older man would take a mouthful of liquid and press his lips to Will's, using his tongue to open Will's mouth and gently massaging the heated flesh of Will's throat to encourage swallowing. He left the cabin only long enough to perform the most basic of ablutions. None of his crew attempted to speak to him. They understood his only concern was the ill young man back in his cabin.
By the start of the third day, Jack lay with his head on Will's chest. He clutched Will's hand as though it was the only lifeline to the world the older man had. He had talked himself almost hoarse keeping in mind Hop Li's mental image of Will lost at sea and himself as the safe harbour Will needed to find.
"Come home to me Will," Jack begged once again. "I'm just here, Little One. I need you so much, Will. Please come home."
Jack's head shot up and his eyes fixed on Will's face. Was it his imagination? He was sure he'd felt the tiniest squeeze to the hand holding Will's. His gaze took in everything about his lover's face. For the first time in over two days, there was no sweat on Will's brow. The younger man's face no longer had the unhealthy flush, now he looked pale but healthier. Jack also realized that the rapid heartbeat he'd listened to hadn't been so fast, nor was Will's breathing as laboured.
"Will, love," he breathed. "Will, Treasure. Can you hear me? Can you hear old Jack? Please, Will. Try for me, Sweetness. Can you open your eyes?"
Jack's gaze focused on Will's eyes. He felt a smile growing as Will's eyes fluttered weakly and then briefly opened and shut. The smile threatened to crack Jack's jaw as a sound as rusty as any of the chains Jack had encountered reached his ears. Yet the sound was as beautiful as an Angel singing. It was Will's voice and it was one word:
"Jack."
Jack moved to cover the beloved face in tiny kisses murmuring endearments to his lover and pleading with him to open his eyes. As the older man leant back, he was rewarded by two brown eyes, heavy with exhaustion, looking at him.
"Will, Love," Jack husked as tears once again threatened to fall.