Prologue:

"'E ain' doin' so good…" A teary eyed Tia told everyone. "Prepare yeselves fer da wors'"

Elizabeth held Will tight, looking absolutely miserable. She buried her head into his shirt and wept, unable to believe this was all happening. It felt like a dream to her, a total nightmare gone wrong. Frequently she would remind herself that it was real, and that she was really sitting in Tia's little hut with the crew, awaiting the death of their Captain, her beloved. Everyone was too preoccupied to ask questions about Barbossa's living, and why he was standing so nonchalantly against the wall, as if nothing was happening.

Will rubbed her back and spoke to her in a sweet voice, trying to calm her down. He was in denial about Elizabeth and Jack's kiss, and he believed that Elizabeth truly loved him, and the kiss meant nothing. Of course Elizabeth thought differently, but she wasn't about to voice her opinion. Not right now at least. She picked her head up and looked into his gentle, wet eyes and smiled faintly.

From the corner of her eye she saw a women, someone she had never met. Her head was planted on Tia's shoulder, and she sobbed uncontrollably. Elizabeth turned her head and looked at her, seeing that her eyes were terribly bloodshot and her face beat red. The poor girl looked deeply depressed, and Tia rubbed her back comfortingly as her head went back down into her shoulder.

"Dare's notin' dat can be done 'cept to wait," Tia said softly, turning to the crew. Gibbs nodded and wiped a tear from his eyes with his grimy thumb.

"If nothin' can be done...we best be going," he said gloomily, not wanting to bare the loss anymore. He put his head down and walked to the door, trying to hide his tears from everyone. The captain was dead. No, not just the Captain…his best friend.

"NO!" the women yelled out desperately. "HE'S NOT GONE! HE CAN'T BE! Not yet…" her voice held such sorrow, and shook so badly, and she jammed her face into her hands, crying harder.

"Lass, 'e be gone." Tears started trickling down Tia's dark face, and she fought hard to muffle her sobs.

Gibbs motioned for everyone to follow him outside, and they did. All except for Lizzie, Will, Barbossa and the girl. The women's chest heaved hard as she bawled, and Tia could do nothing but feel pity for her.

"Aye, lassie, don' cry no more." She held the girls head in her hands and dried her soaked face with her dress, which was pointless as more tears gushed from her eyes and dampened her face again. Elizabeth had no idea of what she was feeling anymore. Depression? Guilt? Pity? Perhaps grief? And that poor girl… clearly she knows Jack well. Things are worse then I expected. I screwed up everyone's life, and this poor innocent girl… she put her face down into Will's shirt and he felt her warm tears.

"Aw Elizabeth not you too. Stop crying - C'mon not more tears - No don't cry harder - Wait -"

Will tried to make her stop, but it was no use. He already pitied the stranger, but not Lizzie too. No more tears.

"Please stop crying. - Your gonna make me start - Aw look what you did." His eyes welled with tears, and he fought to contain them. One slipped down his cheek and Liz brushed it away gently.

The women picked her head up feebly.

"C-C-Can I s-say-" she choked on the words, struggling to get them out. "Final goodbye?" She was barley audible. Tia nodded sadly and lead her to a room towards the back of her shack. The old door creaked softly as the girl opened it and went in.

"I leave ya alone…" she lowered her head with empathy and closed the door slowly.

The girl ran over to Jack, who lay motionless in a bed against the wall. His shirt was half open, a slash visible across his chest, and it shone bright with blood when the light hit it. She wrapped her arms around his limp body, staining her white shirt with his blood.

"Oh look at you!" she yelled at the body, crying hard again. "I finally find you and your like this! Oh I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner!"

She put her head to his chest and breathed hard. He smelled of the ocean, of the salt and the freedom. It tickled her nose, and then another smell crept up through her nostrils. Rum? No, rum smelled good. It was more of a rotten-fishy kind of smell. The kind that anyone would wrinkle their nose at, like the reeking breath of the Kraken.

She cried into his shirt, wanting so badly for him to be alive. For him to speak to her and laugh with her, like they always used to do. She pressed her cheek to his cold one, her tears outlined on his dirty face. His hair brushed against her face, and she ran her hands through it, picking her head up and looking into his face. His eyes were closed, his mouth open slightly. She put her face down to his and felt his prickly moustache, making her remember when they were young. She moved her hand to his and held it, swallowing hard.

"Please," she begged quietly. "Please hold on. Please don't die." She choked back a sob and squeezed his hand tighter.

"Please," she pleaded in a shaky, tearful whisper. She closed her eyes and tears streamed through her eyelids and ran off her chin.

"Hold on...Just hold on...Please…For me…"