Just This Once (F- Elizabeth Swann)

[Dusty15]

"Just This Once" by Dusty15

This was written as part of a request. I finally saw Pirates 3 the other day, and I have to say, despite being a love of men, I totally dig Keira Knightly. Thus, I decided to take on the challenge of writing a little sneezefic about her character. Enjoy

Will Turner stood at the bow of the boat, gazing out at the horizon line. It was a hazy blur in the distance as the sun rose through the low clouds. Through the misty air, he could see the puffs of his own breath mixing with the fog. It would be a cold day, but hopefully not as cold as night had been. He’d barely slept, huddled under damp wool blankets on his hammock in the crew quarters. Jack had been snoring from the far bunk on the wall, and Gibbs had been mumbling old songs in his sleep. Elizabeth was lucky. Jack had graciously given her the bed in the Captain’s Quarters at night so she didn’t have to sleep with all the men. He wasn’t quite as kind during the day, when he ruled the cabin like it was the throne room of a king. Elizabeth had taken to waking early and manning the early shift of the sails so that she was clear of the chamber by the time Jack got there.

However, Will hadn’t seen Elizabeth yet this morning. Perhaps she was down in the galley getting a bit of breakfast or someone else had volunteered to brave the cold winds to do the sails for her? Securing off the bit of rope he’d been tightening, Will left the deck and headed below to find her.

The area around the food storage was buzzing with men, many drinking a

morning nip of rum and munching on hard biscuits. Jack was among them, laughing at the antics of the ship’s resident parrot. Elizabeth was no where to be seen.

“Have you seen Elizabeth anywhere?” Will called out to Jack.

“Can’t say that I have,” he replied. “Door to the cabin was shut, so I figured it best not to sneak up on ‘er if she was still asleep.”

Will shrugged, grabbing a biscut and heading back towards the front of the ship where he climbed the stairs again and scanned the decks. He caught sight of a figure at the opposite end of the boat struggling with a coil of rope. He ran along the side of the ship until he reached the stern. Elizabeth was lugging a heavy bundle of rope and bent to help her.

“Good morning!” he said brightly. “I was looking for you earlier. What on earth are you wearing?”

She had on her normal sailor’s garb that she’d acquired from assorted crew members, but now overtop she wore a heavy, grey coat that nearly reached her ankles. She had a tri-corn hat atop her head.

“It was Jack’s, but he said I was welcome to any clothes in one of his trunks. It was cold out so I took this, and an old hat.”

Will bent down to peer up at her under the wide brim.

“Your voice,” he said. “It sounds…different.”

She pushed past him, dragging the rope.

“It isn’t,” she said. “Perhaps the wind is making it so?”

He followed her down to the middle of the ship where she stowed the rope with the rest of the spare coils. Breathing heavily with the exertion, she leaned on the rail of the ship and closed her eyes. She raised a delicate hand, now scratched and red from the toil of working a ship, to her mouth and she coughed softly.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Will asked. “You seem a bit off. Did you not sleep?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I…”

She broke off, her hand fluttering before her face a bit. Her breath hitched in with a small gasp, and she reached into the pocket of the oversized coat, her hand digging wildly for something. Without a second to spare, she yanked out a large white handkerchief and sneezed daintily into it.

“Hiiiiitshoo!”

Will frowned.

“You’re not fine!” he said. “You’re sick! That’s why your voice sounds different.”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, dabbing her nose with the edge of the handkerchief. “Just a bit of chill, that’s all. You know how the cabins get at night. My nose is just a bit irritated from it all.”

He sided up to her along the railing and gently wrapped an arm around her.

“I worry about you, out here,” he said. “It’s no place for a lady.”

She furrowed her brow.

“I’m fine, Mr. Turner,” she said tartly. “I can manage just fine, lady or not.”

Her eyes closed and she sneezed once more into the handkerchief.

“Hetschooooo!”

He looked at her crossly.

“It doesn’t sound fine,” he said. “but I’ll respect your wishes.”

“Thank you,” she said, turning her face away and blowing her nose very softly into the hankie.

“Can I help you with any of the other duties?” he asked.

“I think the ropes down by the far right cannons can come here as well. I’ll get the rest from the back.”

She turned and made her way to the stern again. Will sighed, and went to fetch his rope. There were several coils and he looped them over his shoulders before stumbling back to meet Elizabeth. She came, dragging two more, and breathing heavily with the effort. Her breath sounded a bit ragged, Will noticed. She dropped the coils and turned away, coughing into her coat sleeve. He winced at the sound. He could hear that she was not well.

“Elizabeth,” he said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling her towards him. She turned, and rested her head on his chest. She sneezed a wet “hetshumff!” and grimaced.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve mussed up your shirt.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Will you come inside with me? It’s too cold out here if you’re coughing like that.”

She begrudgingly obliged.

“Only if we take over down in the cargo hold. Jack said yesterday that we needed a few more barrels of that salted meat moved up to the galley.”

Down in the hold, by the lantern light, they worked together to roll a barrel over to the stairs and heaved it up to the galley. Elizabeth was wheezing, her

chest rising and falling rapidly beneath her coat and thin sailor’s shirt. Her nose began to run, dripping down onto her lip, and a bit of her beautiful brown hair was stuck to her damp forehead. Will lifted her in one swift motion and sat her down on top of the barrel. He crouched a bit, looking at her in the eyes and he put a cool hand on the back of her neck beneath her plait of hair.

“You’re not well,” he said seriously. “You need to get back to your quarters.”

Elizabeth stared back through glassy eyes, and she coughed a little into her handkerchief.

“I’m not…”

“No,” Will interrupted. “You are not well and I won’t have any excuses. I’ll carry you there if I must. You know the whistling of the lungs means nothing

but harm, and you are feverish.”

She nodded in defeat, and he took her hand, helping her off the barrel. They made there way through the lower deck and into the Captain’s Quarters.

Jack was sitting at the table, drinking a glass of rum and tracing paths on a map with no apparent rhyme or reason. He looked up when they entered and raised an eyebrow.

“Something you needed?”

“Elizabeth has a cold,” Will said. “I’ve told her she’s to be a-bed for the rest of the day at least. She’s in no state to be doing any duties.”

Jack looked Elizabeth up and down, taking in her flushed cheeks and the heavy coat she wore.

“I liked that jacket,” he said, standing and rolling up the maps. “Got a bit too small though.”

He patted his stomach with a smile.

“You are master of the quarters then, Miss Swann. Rest well.”

He sauntered to the door.

“Do you have any medicines? Tonics?” Will asked.

“In the far chest on the left,” Jack replied with a wave of his hand. “I’ll leave you to tend to your sweet.”

Will nodded, shutting the door behind the Captain. Elizabeth swooned a bit and leaned heavily on Will.

“You’re burning up,” he said. “We need to get you in some sleep clothes and into bed.”

He sat Elizabeth on the edge of the bed and she fumbled for her handkerchief in the coat’s deep pockets. Once she found it, she held it to her reddening

nose and sneezed twice.

“Hiii….hhehhh….hitschoo! Atschewww!”

“What do you sleep in?” Will asked.

“Usually this,” she said, indicating her sailor suit.

“You can’t sleep in that,” he said. “You should have something fresh. I saw a dress in one of Jack’s trunks once…”

“I can’t sleep in a dress…eshhhh….etschoo!”

She sneezed again as Will fumbled around in a trunk.

“Not the dress,” he said. “Aha!”

He pulled something from the bottom of the trunk.

“The chemise!” he said, holding up the cotton gown that any proper lady would wear under her dress, and to bed at night.

Elizabeth smiled a bit and dabbed at her dripping nose.

“That’s perfect.”

Will helped her out of the heavy coat and her boots, and then turned away as she undressed and slipped on the chemise.

“Okay,” she said.

He turned to see her standing there in only the thin nightdress, with her long brown hair spilling around her shoulders. The chemise clung to her pert, supple breasts and he could just barely see the curve of her hips. He stepped over and kissed her softly on the cheek.

“Now into bed with you,” he said, smoothing a bit of hair off her face. He lifted back the coverlets and Elizabeth lay down, her hair spilling over the pillow and framing her face. She coughed, and the whole bed shook with the force. Will sat beside her and took her into his arms, rubbing circles on her heaving chest right above her breasts. She whimpered as her lungs crackled and wheezed. A sneeze snuck up on her and her head jerked forward with a feminine “hitchshoooo!” Sniffling, she snuggled against William.

“Where’s your hankie?” he asked.

She pulled it from beneath the pillow, and he took it and folded it over to a clean spot, and gently wiped her nose.

“Lie still,” he said, lowering her back onto the pillows. “Let me see what Jack has in the way of medicines.”

He opened the trunk Jack had indicated, and squinted at the labels on the bottles. There seemed to be an awful lot of tonics and elixirs claiming to cure hangovers, but few for a cold and cough. He moved aside the small bottles and read more. Finally, he found what he was looking for. There was a packet of dried leaves, and another little bottle that contained a syrupy brown liquid. He found a spoon and poured it in.

“Here,” he said, holding the spoon towards Elizabeth’s lips. “This will help a bit.”

She accepted the spoonful and made a face as she swallowed.

“Egh,” she said, sticking out her tongue. “This is why I refused to be helped in the first place.”

They laughed, but hers quickly turned into coughs and Will wrapped her in his arms as she shook. When the coughs died down again, he tucked the

coverlets high up to her chin.

“You rest, and I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said.

She nodded, closing her eyes. He made his way to the kitchen, and returned a moment later with a large wooden bowl filled with hot water. He cast the

leaves into the basin and soon a strong, spicy-smelling steam filled the air. He helped Elizabeth sit up in bed, and he put the basin on her lap.

“Now lean forward, and breathe in,” he said.

She did as instructed, inhaling the steam. She coughed a few times but slowly the steam loosened her cough and she slumped back into the pillows. The congestion in her nose cleared a bit too, but now it came in a steady drip, and she blew her nose with a loud honk.

“That helped a bit I thi…hih…..hetshoo!”

She sneezed again and moaned.

“Well, it helped a bit, I tried to say.”

Will smiled.

“I think what you need now is some sleep,” he said, sitting beside her again and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. “Roll over.”

She did as asked, and Will rubbed circles on her back as she lay facing the wall. After a moment, he heard soft, congested snores. She was asleep. He

stood and crossed the quarters, sitting down in Jack’s padded chair. He kicked off his boots and leaned back with his feet up on the table. He began to read a bit of a book, but soon his eyes were drooping and his head lolled. Within moments, he was asleep.

When he woke, his legs slipped from the desk and he stumbled forward in confusion. There was a sound from across the room, and he shook his head, willing the sleep to leave his eyes. When he finally focused, he realized it was Elizabeth, sitting up in bed and coughing mightily. He rushed to her side, putting a hand on her back and the other on her burning brow. She sniffed and wheezed, her coughs stopping for a moment as she leaned against him, gasping. Her eyes fluttered and her mouth hung open for a moment before she pitched forward with the force of a “hetshooooooooo!”

Will found her sodden hankie beside her pillow and he tried to help her to blow her nose, but another sneeze was coming and he caught her dainty “atschoooo!” in the damp folds of the cloth. Pulling her closer to him, Will leaned back into the pillows with her and she tucked her head against his shoulder.

“Poor thing,” he murmured softly. “I can’t believe you ever got up and out onto the decks this morning.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, her breath warm on his neck. Suddenly, her breath became ragged again, coming in quick puffs, and she sneezed “etschooo!”

into his neck.

“I’m sorry!” she gasped. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” he soothed, stroking her hair. “Don’t worry about anything. Would some hot tea help you? Maybe with a bit of brandy?”

She nodded, sniffling a bit. “I can go get it.”

“No,” he said sternly. “You’re staying right here under these blankets. I’ll be right back.”

He slipped his arms from around her and made sure she was secure under the coverlets again before retrieving a steaming mug from the kitchen. She

sipped it carefully, the brandy calming her cough and warming her.

“Thank you,” she said, her flushed cheeks blushing redder.

Will patted her on the head. “Anything, anytime.”

“You don’t have to spend all day with me you know….hehhhh…hetshooo!”

She pitched forward with the force of another sneeze, and Will’s quick reflexes saved the mug of brandy from spilling everywhere.

“Listen,” he said, setting the mug down on the table. “I know you don’t need me to take care of you every moment. But, please, just this once, let me take care of you. You’re ill, and I want to be here with you, okay?

Elizabeth smiled gently.

“Okay,” she said, resting her cheek against him.

“Now back to sleep.”

He lay down beside her so that she was tucked into his arms, with her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I love you”, into her hair.

But she was already sound asleep.

[starpollen]

This fair screams for a sequel or next chapter in which he catches her cold... I like the caretaking, tenderness aspect. He's a cutie.

[The Sneezster]

Mmm . . . I likes!

[crazy_cat_girl]

This is just lovely! Oh, I love the Pirates movies sooooo much! (I don't really get into female sneezing so much, but this was really well written! And I love it when characters accidentally sneeze on other characters :-P t *melts*) It was very romantic.

Thank you thank you thank you for writing this!

[Guest Obsessed With Sneezing]

that was amazing!!!! im so glad it was quite long too, def prefer it when theres enough to read! lol thank you so much dusty!!

[Jules]

I have not followed the POTC movies, but I love this story! The caretaking is lovely. I hope there's more to come.

[Fantasneezer]

That was wonderful! I definitely wouldn't mind another one of those to read! Thanks so much!