The Map

Endings

Jack saw Benjamin give a flick of his hand that told Jack they needed to head back to the Pearl  as quickly as possible. Jack gave a slight nod and tightened his hold on Nell who had fallen silent in his arms after telling him what had transpired.

"We need to move along, Mister Turner," Benjamin spoke softly to Will in his heavy accent. "We need to bring the babe into the dry and warmth of the Pearl; not to mention your good wife."

Will looked down at where Elizabeth had fallen into a sleep, her dark lashes accentuating the paleness of her face. He could see the dark blood that had soaked her skirts thoroughly; he wasn't a stupid man and it frightened him to see her this way.

"Will she be all right? She's lost a lot of blood."

Benjamin eyed the younger man and took a deep breath. 

"I won't lie to ye," he whispered, certain that Elizabeth was asleep. "That's a lot of blood she's lost. I know of a few tricks that'll restore her blood; but I need a good supply of food and there's not a lot here or on board. She's through the worst but we need to build her blood back up as quickly as possible."

"We'll make sail for Santiago with all speed," Jack spoke up, the usual slur still present. He staggered to his feet, bringing Nell with him. She looked across at the sleeping form of Elizabeth and sighed. She knew nothing about these matters and while she had been shocked at the amount of blood that had left Elizabeth, she had no idea whether this was normal or not. Now, with a chill seeping into her soul, she realised it was not normal.

"Maybe some of the pews in the church could be used to make a raft or something..."

"We have the long boats, Nell," Jack replied vaguely, his dark eyes still resting on the white face of Elizabeth.

"No, I mean to carry Elizabeth on, like the thing we used for Will on... on the..." Nell faltered, still not really able to mention aloud Benedictus.

"A litter!" He turned to her and smiled but it didn't reach his eyes and Nell saw it. "You mean a litter; excellent idea, use a couple of the pew seats and something to cushion the hardness. Slip down to Mister Hock, Nell darlin' and relay said idea to him."

Nell nodded and with a last look at the baby lying in Elizabeth's arms she went through the door and down the steps that lead below.

"Miss Nell!"

Soames and Dwent greeted her with a happy grin, glad to see she was alive and well. They chuckled when they saw her hair but said nothing that would embarrass her. She relayed the information to Hock and Norrington who immediately began to work on the idea with the others. Nell, unable to do anything but watch, decided to cross to the doorway to look for the return of the red coats and Timms.

Seeing the carnage from above was nothing to seeing the carnage from a level. It became clear to Nell just how much had been lost, not only in terms of possessions but more importantly life. With a quickening of her breath she turned to where Norrington was with Bryant and Hock ripping at the soaking wet pews with their bare hands.

"James..." She moved towards him already knowing the answer to her question before it left her lips. He looked at her and instantly knew why she had called him; he touched Bryant's arm and moved towards her leaving the other men to the task at hand.

"Nell." He reached out and took her hands into his. "I'm sorry, Nell, we looked; the entire street is submerged. I do not see how he could have survived; he rarely left the house as you know..." His voice was soft and etched with regret and his own personal pain in losing a friend.