A Pirate's Dream

Chapter 8 Staying

Jack doesn't expect him to come over, but he does. "What do you want Finn?" he asks.

"Your punching skills need some work." Finn spits out.

"I don't think so, I knocked you out."

"So you think that you're strong?"

"Do you want me to knock you out again? That can be arranged."

"You got lucky."

"I did not."

"Of course you did. There's no way you could have just knocked you out."

"Izzy, move." He says moving her behind him.

"What-"

"I don't get lucky." Jack says cutting Izzy off and punching Finn. Twice. The first one knocked him down, the second one knocked him out. "Yeah, I got lucky." Jack scoffs. "I know what I'm doing."

Izzy smirks. Finn should have listened to Jack. She knew that he knew what he was doing.

"Jack. What's going on?" his dad asks.

"He thought that I got lucky when I knocked him out. I proved him wrong." Jack explains and he pulls Izzy into him.

The captain looks down at Finn, and then back up at Izzy. The girls is clearly terrified of Finn, and himself, but more of Finn. He saw them talking a few days ago. They looked like they were getting along fine.

"The next time we stop; we'll leave him there. I loved, and still love your mother. A good woman should never be disrespected." The Captain tells them.

Izzy looks up at him surprised. Jack told her that he wouldn't do anything, why is he doing something now? "Really?" She asks. Jack hold her as close to him as he can.

The captain tells him. "Yes, really."

Izzy is still nervous around him, but she will feel safer. All the other pirates stay away from her. She wonders if someone told them all to stay away.

They captain walks away from the two. Jack picks Izzy up and spins her around. She giggles as Jack sets her down. Jack smiles; That's the first time that he's heard her laugh.

"How do you feel knowing that he'll be off the ship?" Jack asks her.

"Relived." Izzy tells him.

"Do you feel safer?"

"Yes." Not by a lot, but a little.

"I'm glad. I want you to feel safe." Jack tells her.

"That's all I want as well." She says.

Without Finn on the ship, Izzy thinks that she could live with Jack. Without Finn she can rest easy. She can easily stay away from the captain when needed. It's easier to avoid one person on a ship than two.

"I'll be right back. I have to do something." He say walking away from her.

Izzy goes to the railing and looks out at the water. This time she's sees it not as her cage, but something more. Not her home, she doesn't know if she could ever call this home, but it's not her prison anymore.

"Are you okay?" he asks coming back over.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She says turning towards him.

"Good."

~#~

A few days later, the dock in a port. Jack and the captain are both concerned that Izzy might try to run.

Izzy doesn't know what to do. She wants to run, but at the same time she doesn't want to.

"Keep an eye on her, don't let her out of your sight." The Captain whispers to Jack. "She's been good and earning out trust, as well as trusting you. You don't want to ruin that, but don't let her fool you."

"Yes father." Jack says. He has doesn't plan on letting her go anytime soon, or ever. His father like to over explain things to him.

"Just remember-"

"Yes father. I know." Jack says walking towards Izzy. "What are you going?" he asks putting his arms around her.

"Thinking." She tells him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I don't know."

"You do know; you just don't want to tell me." He says pulling her into him.

"No, I wish I knew what I was thinking about." She tells him.

Jack sighs. She's telling him all she knows. That or she really doesn't want to tell him. He keeps a hold of her as he looks out at the water.

Izzy shifts in Jack's arms. She knows that Jack might be able to figure her out. She's thinking about whether or not she should run. She's leaning towards not running. She feels safe with Jack, and she at least kind of knows him. If she went back home, they'd just marry her off anyway. Staying in the ship is probably going to be better for her.

Jack is her best bet to be somewhat happy. "I think you do know."

"Fine. I'm thinking about my life. What would happen if I ran. I'm thinking about which one is going to be better." She tells him.

"Uh-huh, and have you decided which one is better?"

"Here. I guess."

"You guess?"

"It's better than being married off." She tells him as he lets go of here.

He sighs and backs up a few steps. Izzy turns around and watches him. She knew no matter what she said that he wouldn't be happy. If she said she wanted off, he wouldn't have let her.

If she said yes, he might think she's just trying to gain their trust to get away. She hoped trying to explain herself would help, but it doesn't look like it did.

She slides down and sits down and sits against the side. "What do you mean? He asks.

"What?"

"What do you mean married off? I don't know what that means."

"It means my parents would get something from that man's family when I marry him." She tells him.

"Your family gets something when you get married?"

"To the man of their choice." I add.

"Of their choice?"

"Yes."

"So you wouldn't get a choice?"

"No."

"That's dumb."

"You kidnapped me, that's basically the same thing." Jack sits down across from her so she didn't have to look up at him.

"Yeah, but your parents don't gain from this."

"Yeah." She sighs. "You have a point."

"What do you think about that?"

"I'm glad."

"Why?"

"I saw two of my sisters end up with bad mane." Jack doesn't seem nearly as bad as either of them, even with the kidnapping. "I don't want that to happen with me."

"Neither do I." he tells her. "Do you think that you're better off with me?"

"Yes." She says without hesitation.

"Even with the kidnapping?" he asks.

"Yes." She tells him. Jack looks stunned.

"I wasn't expecting you to say that."

"I never thought I'd say that either." She admits.

"So, you're going to stay? You're not going to run?" She asks.

"I'm not going to run." Izzy confirms with a smile.