Title::..An Unexpected Arrival
Spoilers::..What They Died For
Rating::..PG for reckless alcohol consumption
Genre::..Cross-over
Characters::..Claire Littleton, Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner
Author’s Note::..I wrote this before I saw the finale of Lost. I had no idea Claire was going to leave the island, or get any kind of ending. The writers had screwed her over so many times before that I’d pretty much given up all hope. So I wrote what I thought could be a cool ending for Claire. It’s based sometime during the second Pirates movie, don’t even ask me how pirates from like a thousand years ago got to the island, it’s a weird island, okay? Just go with it, Emilie + Johnny FTW!
Summary::..Claire thinks she will spend the rest of her life alone on the island…until The Black Pearl washes ashore.
Claire reached the beach. Finally. After three years spent in the jungle she returned to what was supposed to be only a temporary home. The sun seared in her eyes as it had upon waking up, back in the old days. It was kind of a comfort (the only she had left) that the sand and the water were the same now as they had been on the day of the plane crash. Time would always change and people would alter. But this beautiful scene would always be the same.
She lay down under the shade of a palm tree and shut her eyes. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore lulled her off to sleep. For the first time since being abandoned she didn’t need to cling to her gun while sleeping. She relaxed, knowing no one was coming to harm her while she slept. She released her grip on the rifle completely.
Only forty minutes later she was forced awake by a loud crash. At first she thought the plane crash was occurring again. She sat bolt-upright, overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu. She struggled to her force her eyelids open. She was expecting to hear the terrified screams of her fellow passengers. But silence. The silence was so loud after the crash her ears rang.
It was the wrong kind of crash she had assumed it to be. The plane had been replaced by a large ship, which was now resting amongst the sand. Her rifle was back in her hands. She didn’t need to spare a moment of thought. Her hands instantly knew where to position the gun. Cautiously she began toward the ship bearing black sails.
She stood below the ship. She narrowed her eyes as an attempt to block out the glare from the sun. From her spot on the sand below she had no idea of the chaos unfolding above on deck. She could only blindly point her rifle upwards into the air. She kept her grip steady as the sound of frantic yelling was carried down to her.
“Hey!” She shouted. “Who’s up there?” The yelling on deck continued but none of it seemed to be directed at her. She’d had enough of not having her questions answered. Locke was gone and she wasn’t about to become the quiet, agreeable assistant again. “Come on! I’m not gonna wait around here all day.”
Four heads poked over the railing to look down at her. Each head belonged to a dirty man with unkempt hair. None of them seemed afraid of her, despite the rifle she pointed directly at them. Perhaps if she were taller they would perceive her as more of a threat. The oldest man had a large parrot perched on his shoulder. The large bird stretched its wings before taking flight over to one of the palm trees on the fringe of the forest.
“Don’t eat me!” It cried as Claire watched it fly over her head.
“What a fantastic example Mr Cotton’s parrot is!” The man with the black hat exclaimed. “I think we should all follow the parrot’s sterling display of courage and move forth onto this sandy shore of depression. Starting with you William.”
They moved away from the railing, out of Claire’s sight. Their voices faded away, becoming murmurs as they fought amongst themselves. None seemed too worried about the parrot, who was curiously exploring the trees. Upon seeing the four of them she was no longer surprised that the ship had crashed into an easily viewable island.
“Alright!” The man with the black hat exclaimed before he climbed up onto the railing. “I shall go first while you ninnies stand back and watch, as usual.”
There was a pause of silence where the man remained standing on the railing. Claire watched, along with the others, as he made no effort to leave the ship. “I thought you were going, you really don’t seem to be moving anywhere.” One observed.
“You really don’t seem to be moving anywhere.” He moved under his breath. “Stand back!” He announced dramatically, tossing a rope down to the sand. He twisted his hand around the rope.
Claire didn’t see him as dangerous but she kept the rifle focused on him. “Who are you?”
Less than gracefully he lowered himself to the ground. He removed his hat, bowing as if he had completed an impossible feat. Straightening up he replaced the hat on his head, grinning. “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.”
“And this is your ship?” She asked.
“Of course it is. The Black Pearl. Pretty nice, huh?” He boasted.
She lowered the gun. Jack couldn’t stand straight; there was no possible way he could bring any harm to her. If he pulled out a gun he was more likely to shoot himself in the foot rather than get a bullet anywhere near her. “Why are you and your ship here?”
“Well it’s such a lovely island we really thought we should visit it.” He told her.
A tanned man with a pony tail landed with perfect precision beside Jack. His expression cancelled out Jack’s look of enthusiasm. “We are here, because while attempting to steer the ship Captain Jack here was also drunk.” The word ‘captain’ was coated with sarcasm as it left his mouth.
“So that’s why the rum is always gone.” Jack observed. He smiled hopefully to Claire. “You wouldn’t happen to have any rum lying around your island here, would you?”
She remembered the pantries full of Dharma Initiative brand food in the houses protected by the barracks. “Actually I think I can help you out with that.”
“Perfect!” He exclaimed. “I am forever in your debt. Lead the way Miss...?”
“Littleton.” She provided. “Claire Littleton.”
Jack caught up with Claire, following her toward the jungle. Knowing there was nothing lurking between the trees she hooked the strap of the rifle over her shoulder. The black smoke ‘monster’ was now simply a distant nightmare. She felt confident stepping into the jungle, there was no danger within it anymore.
“Jack.” The man standing on the beach called out causing them to turn. “You can’t go to get rum, we need to fix the ship and get back to saving Elizabeth.”
“Oh right, that.” Jack muttered. “You said she was in prison, yes?”
“Yes.” The man agreed unsurely.
“Well it’s not like she’s going to be getting out of there any time soon. We know exactly where she is and she will still be there and awaiting rescue and we’ll get straight to that, after I get my rum.” Jack said. “Relax William, I have it all worked out.”
Will remained standing on the beach as Claire and Jack began into the jungle. He was clearly unhappy about being left behind. He clenched his fists while muttering under his breath.
...
Getting back to the beach took Claire and Jack quite a long time. Their voyage to the barracks hadn’t taken very long. They had been determined, moving quickly. Returning from the barracks they found that their intoxicated bodies did not move as fast as they needed them to.
When they did break through the trees the sun was setting. Claire didn’t notice the ship missing from the shore, but Jack did. The ship had been removed from the sand. It was in the water, floating away from the island. While Claire was preoccupied by the bottle of rum in her hand Jack was focused on the ship. He stood, watching hopelessly as the ship sailed away from him. Again.
“He took my ship, just like I took his dignity.” Jack stated.
“Yeah, so can I finish this bottle or do you wanna?” Claire offered.
Angrily he rounded on her. “No, dammit Claire, you finished the last bottle.” He grabbed for it but she removed it from his gasp.
“Hey! Don’t snatch.” She ordered. “I’ll give it to you when I’m finished.” She placed the bottle to her lips and tilted her head back. “There you go Captain.” She handed the bottle to him. She leant a little too forward and ended up falling into the sand. Lying in the sand her giggles were soon replaced by snores. Jack sat down in the sand beside her, sipping slowly from the bottle as the sun began to disappear.
The End.