Chancing Fate - Jack Sparrow x OC

Part 3 - Chapter 3

The sand under her feet felt unsteady as Lena watched the boat near them just as a familiar figure stepped out onto land. Just as she remembered him, Jack walked towards the crew as if nothing had changed. Still dressed as he had been on the Pearl, despite missing his hat, he looked every bit of the crazy captain she knew him to be.

At the sight of him, the crew raced forward, yelling as they did, but Lena didn't move an inch. The world faded out as their yells were muffled by the own sound in her mind. She stepped forward, eyes never leaving him as she struggled to take a breath, as if her lungs couldn't get enough air. It was a feeling she had become familiar with in the past couple months, just before her eyes started to blur from the tears.

Fighting past an almost lightheaded feeling, she stepped forward as her face crumpled, processing so many emotions as she realized everything had truly worked. With each step she could, she began moving faster, stumbling over the sand as she struggled to see through the tears in her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she sped up, eyes glued to Jack as he spoke to Gibbs.

Nothing else mattered as she ran into him, not caring how fast she had been going, as she wrapped her arms around him. Try as she might, she couldn't stop the cry that escaped her as she clung to him, holding as tight as she could. "Jack!" she cried as she clung to him desperately, afraid to let ago. Afraid she would pull away and lose him again. "You're really here," she choked out as she pressed her face to his chest, muffling her words against his shirt as she said it.

Jack chuckled as he placed his arms around her, holding her tight as rested his chin on her head. "This is a bit of a change."

Even if she didn't know what he meant, she didn't care at that moment when she knew he was there. That was all that mattered. She clenched her fists into his shirt despite him pushing her back slightly. Reluctant as she was, she eventually let go of him as he rested his hands on her shoulders, looking her over.

"A nice improvement, even if a bit emotional," he commented with his trademark grin, looking down only at her with a look she hadn't quite seen before.

Lena couldn't help but be even more confused and almost insulted. She could only imagine just how much he had gone through and what had changed during the months trapped. Swallowing as she looked up at him, she took a moment to look over at him before she registered the silence lingering nearby. Looking over, she spotted the entire crew watching as she flushed, embarrassed at the scene she had just made. There was little to do now though.

Finally, the silence was broken as Barbossa stepped forward. "Jack Sparrow."

Jack shifted to look at him, dropping his hands from Lena as he did. "Ah, Hector. It's been too long, hasn't it?"

As he stepped away from her, moving towards Barbossa, Lena stepped back slightly, falling in line by Gibbs. She shouldn't have expected to stay by his side after finally finding him, but she had to admit to herself that she didn't like the empty feeling that followed as she let him go.

"Aye, Isla de Muerta, remember? You shot me," Barbossa said with a smirk, almost as if he weren't bothered by that fact.

A pause followed as he gave no response before finally saying, "no I didn't," almost like a child in denial before he walked on. "Ah, Tia Dalma, out and about, eh? You lend an agreeable sense of the macabre to any delirium."

At the strange comment, Lena shared a look with the others. It seemed she wasn't the only one thrown by the statement.

"He thinks we're a hallucination," Will said, voicing what everyone was thinking, as he stood in his spot further down the line.

At his words, Jack turned his attention to Will, walking the rest of the way to him. "William, tell me something. Have you come because you need my help to rescue a certain distressing damsel? Or rather a damsel in distress? Either one."