Sparrow 《Completed 》--

Author's note : I wrote this (shame on me) during work. So, I'm sorry for the spelling/grammar mistakes. 

Declan's POV - Fortuna's Ship

The captain of the vessel proved to be a special man, but Fortuna seemed to know what he was doing while he steered the ship into the direction of Scotland. After the introductions, Declan Harp payed Fortuna and the other man. The gold, they gladly took and the Whiskey that was so precious to McTaggart. Much to the Scotsman his displeasure and since then, there was a silence between the two men that soon became unbearable. 

That Fortuna and McTaggart couldn't stand each other, was the least of Declan's worries when they found out that Charlie got heavily wounded in the stomach on the beach. The wound festered and fever hit the man hard. Grace Emberly tried her best to take care of him : changed his bandages every hour, tried to keep his fever down and made him drink the old Rhum they found in the cargo. The Rhum was only to keep Charlie's pain as low as minimum...Still the man sometimes screamed and shouted. 

His dreams were restless and it was hard for the others to get some sleep. Declan mostly glanced at Charlie from a distance, his face always hidden in the darkness of the ship. He didn't know what to say nor what he could do to make Charlie's pain easier. 

Although, Harp was aware that the chances that Charleston would make it to Scotland were slim. Grace always brought him up to date and it was never good news. The fever didn't slow down, the wound kept festering and the living conditions on the vessel they were on, didn't help. Even McTaggart grew silent when he heard about Charlie. 

It was at night, after a day of hard work on deck and only Fortuna's man was above deck to steer the ship, that Charlie shouted Declan's name. Only then, Harp made himself walk over to the sick man. Sweat dripped of Charlie's forehead, his eyes wide and lips dry. 

"Do you need water," Declan asked, his voice hoarse while his gaze travelled from Charlie to Grace. 

"No," the man murmured while he clawed at his chest. "It feels like I can't breathe."

Declan saw tears streaming down Emberly's face before she turned and walked up the stairs. McTaggart and Fortuna, for once, stood next to each other in silence instead of bickering. 

"It's because your body is slowly shutting down," Declan said, his voice was strong, but he couldn't keep the emotion out of his features. 

Charlie grabbed Harp's hand and locked eyes with him. 

"I have a wife and child," he said, a small smile made his lips curl up, "I left them. To work. I haven't seen them in 15 years."

Declan swallowed hard and had to look away, but Charlie his grip tightened around Harp's wrist. 

"I loved her. Oh, I loved her," Charlie mused. He wasn't really looking at Declan in that moment. He didn't even see Harp standing above him. "But, I left."

Declan nodded. 

"I'm sure she understood."

He wasn't good in these sort of things. Declan didn't even want to talk to Charlie, but he was a friend...A friend who was dying a horrible death. Because he fought by his side. 

"She did," Charlie nodded, his eyes focused on Declan again. His smile disappeared slowly. "Promise me, you'll find Miss Liz."

The mention of Elizabeth made Declan close his eyes when the pain of her absence washed over him once more. The last few weeks, he started to feel physical pain when he thought of her being alone with Benton. And pregnant. Though Grace always reassured him she'd be fine and could handle herself, Declan more then once hit the wood of Fortuna's ship with his bare fists when he wasn't able to control his emotions. 

"I promise," he spoke up while he opened his eyes again. 

"Good good," Charlie nodded and somewhere behind him, Declan heard McTaggart curse and Fortuna pray. "I can't take it anymore, Harp. The pain. The dreams."

Declan nodded. Now, this was something he could Charlie with. The man only needed to ask. 

"I want to die," Charlie murmured and nodded slowly. "I had enough. I'm tired."

Declan watched him, tried to find doubt in the man's face and eyes, but didn't find any. 

"Are you sure," Declan asked. 

Charlie nodded with a grin. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Declan tried to find words that would ease the man's troubles and pain, but couldn't find any. 

"Close your eyes," he eventually murmured, a reassuring smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. 

Declan waited patiently until Charlie was ready and once the man had his eyes closed, Harp took a deep breath in before his hand came to rest on Charlie's mouth...

Even though, Charlie didn't suffer, Harp sat on a barrel at the front end of the ship. Sitting still. Not moving for hours on end while he stared at the horizon and the waves. It wasn't until Fortuna joined him, that Harp noticed the sun was slowly peeking through the clouds. 

"You're in a storm," Fortuna spoke, his gaze stayed away from Declan to something in the distance. A small frown settled between the man's brows, making him looked much more serious then Declan was used too. "Are you prepared to go to the depths of Hell itself for your woman?"

Now, the man locked eyes with Declan while he tipped his purple hat a bit back. 

Declan nodded slowly, but didn't speak. After Charlie, he wasn't sure if he was capable to say something without he gave away the emotional turmoil he was feeling. 

"You're only blood,flesh and bone," Fortuna his accent heavy on his tongue. "Are you sure you can take on the devil?"

Declan followed the Captains gaze to the right and saw heavy clouds rolling in from the distance. 

"It seems you'll have to face another storm to get to her," Fortuna murmured and turned back to face Harp. 

Declan stayed unmoved by the man's stare on him and clenched his fists. "I'll go to Hell for her. And back, with her," he stated dryly and heard Fortuna's laugh echo in his ears. 

"Good, good," the Captain laughed and straightened his back. He took a deep breath in through his nose and smiled wide at Harp. "Then let's go through the storm together."

He pointed at the clouds that were rolling in faster, carrying heavy rain inside of them and the wind that blew into their direction. The ship started rolling over the wild waves and Declan stood up slowly. 

He never faced a storm on the Seas before, but he rolled his head on his neck before he glanced at Fortuna. 

"What do I do?"

The Captain laughed again, patted Harp's shoulder and started to walk to the front end of his ship. 

"Let the sails down. There'll be wind enough," he shouted through the noise of the water and wind. "And, whatever you do, don't fall into the water."