[IC] A Pirate's Life For Me (Catt/Monkey)

[Catt]

Elijah chuckled as she reiterated the stories that he was already familiar with. "Have you seen Alice? Who else's daughter could she be other than the Captain's?" Alice's looks all came from their mother, but the black hair and emerald green eyes were all Sebastian. On the flip side, he took after his biological father's looks, meaning he wasn't nearly as striking to look at as his sister with his brown hair and eyes. "I'm going to need you to keep the fact that I confirmed your suspicion to yourself. You don't know the uproar and possible riot it could cause if the men knew and decided to exploit the matter."

[monkey]

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Josephine thought of all the pirates who would use this information against the Captain. No doubt Sebastian would kill them all but even still. She thought about the other rumors that surrounded him on the ship and wondered what else of those were true. Many of the pirates felt threatened by him, despite his calm demeanor, calling him a ticking time bomb. And for a while, she believed them. There was no way a pirate could be so gentle. And yet, while lying in his arms and listening to him talk about his past, she felt ashamed for actually believing them. She laid her palm flat on his chest, feeling the strong thrum against her hand.

[Catt]

Yawning, Elijah turned and pressed his forehead against Josephine's as she rested against his shoulder. He had a feeling that there was something going unsaid, but if she really wanted to know, he was pretty sure she would come out with it. The ship was a rumor mill, and even though ninety percent of it was fabricated, that sneaky ten percent was true. She heard a lot more than he did, as he was the Captain's son. Loose lips just didn't happen around him. "I think it's about time we get some sleep, eh? We're just hours away from sunrise." He murmured softly, "Unless there was something else you wanted to ask." Slipping his hand up her soft skin towards her waist, he tucked his hands under her borrowed shirt and explored the areas of her lower back.

[monkey]

Shivers ran up her spine when his cool hand slipped under her shirt. "Aren't you bold." Josephine quirked an eyebrow but showed no signs of pulling away. Her mouth was pulled up in a small, crooked smile, "And actually, yes. I have one more question." She watched him closely, "When did all of this," She gestured in between them, "happen. How long have you liked me?" For as long as she had been on the ship, he was there and yet, it wasn't until now that she realized that he felt something towards her.

[Catt]

Her initial statement made him smile but didn't elicit a response, he just cracked looked down at her through the short distance. Pulling his head back to watch her motion with her hand, Elijah hesitated, his smile withering a little at the edges. Apparently he was hoping for another easy question about one of his scars, but this one threw him off. "T-that's a bit harder to explain." Squirming slightly, he looked away, looking for a way to tell her the truth but not sound pathetic. "To put it simply?" His nerves suddenly came back, blocking off most of his capability to think. "From the beginning." The blushing response was immediate, and he was afraid to look back at her... Afraid to move. His whole body went still as he awaited her reaction.

[monkey]

Thinking back to her first couple of weeks on the ship, she winced and gave him a questioning look. "From the beginning?" She asked incredulously, "You mean when I stowed myself away on the ship and almost threw Declan overboard when everyone tried to kick me off?" She was a savage, filled with anger. It took her a good couple of months and a beating from Sebastian to get her to calm down and act like a normal human. It pained her to think about how wild she acted. To think that Elijah found that appealing...She shook her head, laughing a bit. "You had a death wish, didn't you?"

[Catt]

Not able to help himself, Elijah laughed as he remembered the events she described. Between pulling a pistol on everyone who questioned her, until Sebastian took it away, and becoming spitting mad and spouting off Spanish, he had always known the type of woman she was underneath. "Josephine..." He started, finally looking back at her, his smile still present. "Have you met the women I grew up around? My mother is a socialite who somehow managed to tame a pirate lord, loves him through and through, and had children with him. Then there's the woman said pirate lord views as a mother, who tamed, loves and married Jones..." Pausing for a moment, he chuckled, "And lastly, there's my sister." The expression she still wore was priceless. "Trust me, you're normal in my book."

[monkey]

Elijah had a point. From the stories that she heard from Jack and Sebastian, Marabelle and Amy were forces to be reckoned with. Alice too. She chuckled lightly, "That is true. You pirates have a soft spot for headstrong women." For Jack, he apparently couldn't stay away from them. His face as he looked at an unconscious Alice flashed in her mind and sent a stab to her heart. She ducked her head, hiding her scowl. She wouldn't let herself think about him, not when she was with Elijah. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked softly.

[Catt]

Although Josephine's body language was worrysome, he didn't show that he noticed as she obviously didn't want to let him know that she has a bad thought. "Why didn't I say anything? Come on, Jo.." Elijah said with a chuckle, "I was still treated like a kid, pair that with the fact that every single man on board was vying for your attentions, I knew I didn't have a snowflake's chance in hell." Looking back towards the ceiling, he sighed. "I rather be overlooked than rejected."

[monkey]

"You were the first person who didn't treat me like some wild savage stow away. You had a better chance than others." Elijah had been the very first friend she had made on the ship. He had come in to her room after a particularly bad morning where she was cornered by two shipmates who felt the need to "tame" her and just barely managed to escape. Elijah had visited her afterwards with a small, nervous smile and a tray of food from dinner. There had been no snarky comments, no leery looks, nothing. Just a very simple conversation that left her feeling in better spirits then ever before. Since then, she had always come to him with to talk about her day and her problems and eventually, to gush about Jack. Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach as she realized all the times she spoke about Jack. She looked up at him and pressed a kiss to his jaw, "How were you able to deal with me?"

[Catt]

All of the memories of Josephine coming to him in confidence about one issue or another passed through his thoughts as he decided how he was going to answer. "As I said, I was happier knowing I was someone you could talk to and be there as just a friend rather than try for you and get shot down." Elijah said, still staring at the ceiling. The first time she had yanked him away from his post on deck giddy like a little girl, he wrongfully got his hopes up. She had apologized saying she couldn't wait to tell him that the ship's navigator had shown interest and requested she go off with him the next time they made port. He remembered pretending to be as excited as she was, talking Jack up and talking about how she should accept. It had killed him to do it, but he had thought that Josephine only saw him like a little brother and never pushed it. "I never thought you saw me as anything than a confidant..."

[monkey]

"I'll admit, I never did. That's because you never seemed interested." Also admittedly, she never realized how much of a man he had grown to be until today, both mentally and physically. She placed a hand on his cheek and gently turned his head towards her, stretching up and giving him a tender kiss, "And yet, now look where we are." She murmured as she pulled away, smiling at him. The transition was seamless and a tiny voice in the back of mind started to question it. But before it could grow any more, she pushed it aside. In this moment she was happy and that's all she wanted to be.

[Catt]

Following the gentle physical request, Elijah looked down at Josephine, smiling softly at the tender peck she placed on his lips. "I didn't have an idea in the world where to even start. That's not something that I wanted ask about from the crew." Chuckling, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Could you imagine? Approaching Christian or Samuel and asking for dating advice." With a sigh, he shifted, pulling his hand from underneath her shirt, but replacing it to the exact spot above the cloth. "But, as you said, all of that doesn't matter now." Tugging her body closer to his, he just held her, feeling his body's tension from the day slowly seep out. "We have plenty of time to discuss all of this. We need to get some sleep. Amy starts early."

[monkey]

"You do have a point there." Josephine laughed. Christian and Samuel were notorious for being the most misogynistic womanizers, even by pirate standards. On several occasions she had tried to kill them in their sleep for their comments but Elijah was always there to calm her down. She sighed and nodded, moving her leg down to settled in between his. She curled up against him, arm draped across his stomach, "Night, Eli." She mumbled.

[Catt]

Although the night went by without incident and Alice's fever eventually came down, the morning was a completely different story. It was as if someone had reanimated a dead corpse. Sputtering and coughing, she woke up suddenly, sucking down air as if she hadn't been breathing for hours. Holding completely still as she looked around, her eyes couldn't tell her much as her vision was blurred from the medication they had been pumping into her while she slept. Alice's muscles were screaming from the burst of movement and her skin pulled against their stitches, fresh blood bubbling up almost immediately. "Where...?" She started to say, her dry throat feeling like it was going to crack. Licking uselessly at her lips, her hands went down to the mattress to hold herself steady as her body felt ready to drop out on her again.

[monkey]

Every little movement had Jack on edge for most of the night, waking up every time there was a loud creak in the old house or a movement beside him. The long day, however, took a toll on him and after a point he fell into a deep sleep. He only awoke again when the body beside him moved completely. He peeled his eyes open, blinking several times to clear the bleariness. For a split second, he thought he was still asleep then the memories from the night before rushed back to him. "Alice?" He asked, his voice still rough with sleep, "How are you feeling?" He started to sit up slowly.

[Catt]

The movement beside her froze her on the spot. Not being able to see made Alice wary of everything that could possibly bring harm to her. The voice was familiar and should have calmed her down, but it made her more anxious. "I-I..." She breathed, squinting in the dimness of the early morning, trying to place a face to the phantom voice that asked how she was feeling. "can't see.." She croaked, swallowing hard to get some moisture in her throat. Everything hurt and she was almost afraid to move as that would cause her more pain. Slowly bringing a hand in front of her face, she attempted to focus by narrowing her eyes even further. Nothing she did helped, but she assumed she was somewhere in Amy's house. Dropping her hand down to her lap, she angled herself so her body weight counterbalanced itself and she just sat, trying to sort out what had happened.

[monkey]

Jack frowned and put a tentative hand on her shoulder, gently leading her back to the mattress , "Lay back down, love. It's probably just the medicine." At least, he hoped it was just the medicine. He reached over to the side table and poured a glass of tepid water from the pitcher. "You've been through an ordeal. Gave us all a scare." His chuckle was dry with lingering hints of concern. So far she seemed like his Alice which he had to take as a good sign. He slipped a hand behind her head to lift it up a bit before putting the glass to her lips.

[Catt]

Frowning as she was directed to lay back against the mattress, she felt more muscles pull and felt more of the damage as she tried to control her descent. As soon as the glass touched her lips, Alice practically drained it without coming up for air. The room temperature liquid soothed her rough throat bringing her a little relief. "How bad am I?" She asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Looking over towards the movement, she could make out the shape of the person beside her, but still couldn't see detail. Between the moment of getting out of the carriage at the dock and waking up, Alice couldn't remember anything. "Better yet, what happened?" It was then that it clicked who this person was beside her. Jack.

[monkey]

"You don't remember anything?" Jack moved back to pour her more water, putting the glass back to her lips. "You were arrested for hurting your stepfather. We broke you out and you were in a bad shape." He pushed the image of a broken Alice in her father's arms out of his mind. She was safe and awake. No longer broken. "This is the first time you've been lucid since yesterday." He frowned and pushed some hair away from her bangs tenderly. "How are you feeling?"