FicWad

Once we were back on the Endeavor, I paced around the deck nervously. Groves started to find my pacing annoying and grabbed my shoulders to prevent me from my continual pacing. Leaning down to look into my eyes, Groves said, "Jenna, please stop worrying. You're making everyone jumpy!" Sighing, I took a few steps backwards and leaned against the side of the ship.

Cutler came walking out of one of the cabins, face expressionless but still confident as he ordered, "The enemy has opted for oblivion. Ready the fleet." His gaze turned towards me leaning against the deck nervously. Even now I wasn't relaxed and kept twisting my hands in my lap as I stared at Cutler and all the officers. Fear was something I was becoming accustomed with.

"What's wrong, my dear?" Cutler said, resting a hand on my arm as he came to stand next to me. When I couldn't speak, he pointed behind us to the open blue expanse where numerous ships were gathered, "Look behind you. We have a whole armada behind us. Don't tell me that you actually think those good-for-nothing pirates can beat the Flying Dutchman?"

Okay, well, Cutler did have a point there. We did have a huge armada and the pirates had nothing. Trying to calm myself, I nodded. Cutler tapped a nearby officer and ordered, "Fetch some tea. And perhaps something to eat?" I didn't know how the hell Cutler could sit and drink tea when there was a war about to go on, but then again, that was Cutler for you.

The officer came back a few minutes later with a little table and two chairs. He placed two teacups on it along with a kettle and some sugar cubes. Cutler motioned for me to sit and sat next to me, looking quite content despite my anxiety. I sat stiffly as he dropped sugar cubes into our tea and started sipping peacefully from his cup.

"We have a favorable wind, Sir," Groves said, coming over to inform Cutler of the current situation. Cutler looked towards the sky and murmured, "Oh, so we do. Signal Jones to give no quarter. That should brighten his day." Groves nodded and disappeared somewhere. A few moments later, I saw the Flying Dutchman sailing past us.

Almost immediately, a heavy rain started falling. The sky turned black and dark above us while lightning flashed and the waves roared. My heart seemed to leap up into my throat and I looked around nervously. Cutler's smug gaze faltered momentarily and he stood up, taking my arm, "Come along dear, let's get out of the rain. We don't need to get soaking wet."

Only too glad to follow his directions, I followed Cutler to the deck and into the cabin. Someone had cleaned if since earlier and it thankfully no longer smelled of vomit. Cutler went to stand by the window and I started pacing around the room irritably. I wasn't sure what was going on, which might have been part of the problem. Sometimes the unknown can be your worst fear.

Sighing, I kicked the bedpost and suddenly froze as loud blasts sounded from the distance along with the roar of thunder. Cutler still stood calmly at the window, unaware of my anxiety. Looking at him in concern, I asked, "Cutler...what's going on? What are all those loud bombing noises?" I was tempted to join him at the window, but maybe it was better not to see. I didn't know.

"Those are just cannons, my dear," Cutler informed me. I squeaked, not liking the sounds of cannons. Cutler glanced over his shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile, "There's nothing to be alarmed about. The cannons are miles away. Nothing can hurt us here. We're perfectly safe. You do trust me, don't you? If you trust me, you'll calm down."

I thought about his words for a few minutes and finally nodded. I did trust Cutler. The only problem was that I didn't trust the pirates. They were so unpredictable. I had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Feeling a bit weak in the knee, I toppled back into the bed on accident and whined, "Cutler?" I knew I was acting a bit like a baby, but I couldn't help it! I was scared.

"Yes, Jenna?" Cutler asked, showing the slightest sign of irritation. Frowning, I asked the question about my worst fear, "What happens if the pirates take the Dutchman down?" Cutler frowned slightly as well before his normal confident look returned to his face and he replied, "They won't take the Dutchman down. They're just a silly little group of pirates."

"But what if they do?" I persisted, needing an answer to my question. Sighing, Cutler finally replied, "If they do, then we must go and fight. The Endeavor is the largest ship in the armada. It will take the pirate's ship down with ease." Really not liking this idea, I replied, "But what about you? What about me? What if we get killed?" Yes, I was still being paranoid, but I couldn't help it.

"Jenna," Cutler said firmly. "We won't get killed." Deciding there was no more reason to argue with him, I got up off the bed and started pacing around the room again. The fight seemed to go on for hours and hours. Would it ever end? Finally, Cutler turned away from the window, his expression unreadable. He drew the curtains and walked towards the door.

"Cutler?" I asked a bit nervously, very unsure of what he was doing or where he was going. Cutler blinked and looked over at me, saying, "I'll be right back." Cutler disappeared through the cabin door and went to the deck. I sat in the cabin very nervous and scared. Needing to see what was going on, I went over to the window Cutler had been looking through.

Once I reached the window, I was almost too scared of what I might see to open it. Finally, I summoned up all my nerve and flung the curtains open. What I saw was certainly not what I expected to see. The sky was a beautiful turquoise blue with a few fluffy white clouds floating around. Apparently, the storm had ended. On the now peaceful waters, the pirate ship was floating. And the Dutchman...where was the Dutchman? Gulping, I looked in every direction and couldn't find it. The Dutchman was gone.

So where was the Dutchman? It must have gone down. Heart thumping rapidly against my ribcage, I flung the curtains shut and went to sit on the desk next to Cutler's globe of the world. Don't ask me why, but Cutler had always had a certain fascination with maps and knowing all the places in the world. Oh well, we all had our certain obsessions.

I twisted the globe around nervously, waiting for Cutler to return to the cabin. After what seemed like far too long, the cabin door finally opened again. Cutler's face was blank and he still betrayed no emotion. He walked over to me and took my hands away from the globe. Entwining his fingers with mine, he murmured, "Jenna, I have some unfortunate news."

Not wanting to draw this out, I nodded since I already knew what this unfortunate news was and replied, "The Dutchman went down, didn't it?" Sighing, Cutler let a little bit of the worry show through on his face as he nodded and confirmed, "Yes, the Dutchman went down. Now we must send the Endeavor off to finish the pirates off. That means you are going to be transferred to another ship."

"What?" I asked, frowning. "I'm not going anywhere. If you're staying here, I am too! I want to be with you until the end." Cutler shook his head as a contradiction and said, "No, Jenna, you're not staying here. We're going to war. I'm not about to put you into danger. You know that. Now please stop arguing. That's not going to do you any good."

Deciding to try a different tactic, I asked, "What about you? You're going to be on the Endeavor, aren't you? What if you get hurt?" Cutler frowned and didn't look quite so smug anymore as he replied, "I'm not going to get hurt." Using this statement in my favor, I replied indignantly, "Well, if you're not going to get hurt, then I'm going to stay right here by your side."

"Jenna, you will go onto the other ship. You will obey me," Cutler said firmly, giving me no choice in the matter. I wanted to argue, to kick, and to scream, but I wasn't a baby. I knew I didn't stand a chance arguing with Cutler. Sighing, I looked at the ground and let tears fall down my cheeks and into my lap. Cutler's look of confidence completely vanished. He looked scared too.

"Baby, don't cry..." he whispered. I couldn't help it. I had to cry! Sighing, Cutler leaned forward to wrap his arms around me. Suddenly, he was all over me, touching me everywhere and stroking my body. This wasn't like Cutler. He seemed to have lost control of himself as he abruptly pushed my skirt up over my thighs and up to my waist.

I was surprised he was choosing right now to have sex, but hey, I didn't mind it. Cutler tugged the lace down my thighs and unbuckled his pants. Wrapping both his arms around me, Cutler spread my legs and pushed into me from where I was still sitting on the desk. I put my arms around his neck and held him tightly to me, afraid was going to lose him forever after this.

Cutler wasn't very gentle, but I didn't care. His thrusts were hard and vigorous as he pushed deeper and deeper into my warmth. I whimpered almost constantly and squeezed him tightly. Cutler squeezed me back and laid his head on my shoulder as he continued those hard thrusts. They were frantic and rapid, telling me just how nervous and scared he really was.

Cutler brought me to a peak quite fast. I cried out his name as his last perfectly placed stroke racked my body. As he continued to thrust, I heard a little sob and felt something wet on my shoulder. Oh god, so Cutler was crying too. I held him against me as he reached a peak too and stroked his back. Cutler must have reached his limit with playing impenetrable god. Because when it all came down at the end of the day, Cutler was just as human as me. We all had our limits.

Cutler stayed in me for a few seconds before he pulled out, buckled his pants, and pulled my skirt down again. He avoided my eye and tried to wipe his eyes on his sleeve without me noticing. Even now he was trying to keep his honor intact. Looking up at me finally, he said shakily, "Sorry. I don't know what came over me. We're going to be fine..."

I hated the way he said that. It was almost a question, not a statement. Cutler pressed his lips to mine in a soft, loving kiss. Rubbing his nose against mine, he whispered, "No matter what happens, know that I'll always love you." Cutler lifted me down from the desk and put me on my feet. He went back into confident leader mode and started leading me back onto the deck.

The two of us walked until we reached the deck. Once we were there Cutler pushed me towards Gillette. He pointed at a rowboat floating next to the large ship and explained, "Gillette will take you to another ship in that boat. When this is all done, we'll reunite and go back to Port Royal. Don't worry about a thing, my dear. All will be well."

Not caring that everyone was watching, Cutler pressed one last kiss to my forehead and stepped aside. I gave him one last nervous look, trying to memorize his features as I climbed down the ladder and stepped into the rowboat with Gillette right behind me. As Gillette starting rowing away, I watched the pirate ship in the horizon. Abruptly, another large ship came bursting out of the water.

Squinting at it, I could tell it was none other than the Flying Dutchman! We were close enough to the Endeavor for me to hear Cutler say, "Ah, she survived." He gave one last look in my direction, smiling at me with those beautiful full lips that were meant to be kissed and nibbled upon. I started feeling a little less nervous. If the Endeavor and the Flying Dutchman were fighting, they were bound to win against one measly little pirate ship...right? I watched the Endeavor floating out into the distance, eyes on my lover.

"He will be alright, won't he, Gillette?" I asked, needing someone to tell me that my fears were stupid. Gillette smiled down kindly at me and replied, "Of course, Miss Cook. With the Endeavor and the Dutchman both on our side, what could possibly go wrong?" I smiled back at Gillette, not realizing that some thing still could go wrong. Very, very wrong.