A/N: Thanks a million for reviewing!

Disclaimer: PotC belongs to the people at Disney.

"Simmons!"

The captain's loud voice startled Elizabeth. She looked up quickly from the initials she'd been scratching in the railing.

ES.

She had a new name for her new life, Edith Simmons. It wasn't a particularly preferable name to her, and she hadn't picked it because it had any significant meaning to her. It had simply been an ordinary name for an ordinary lass with sailing knowledge, seeking work on a ship. That was who she was now, to the captain, to the sailors, to everyone. Too many people had heard the story of Elizabeth Swann, and there were many versions of the tale—she was vicious, she was heroic; the stories were countless. But Elizabeth Swann was still a pirate, and she couldn't be caught now. Now she was just a young woman seeking to live life the way she wanted. She was on a ship again, and in a little pouch around her neck that she kept hidden under her loose shirt, she kept the money she'd earned. It hadn't taken long to find a captain willing to take a woman on board—the recent war and all the tales of Elizabeth Swann fighting the likes of Davy Jones, had changed younger minds and their thoughts about women on ships. But it had taken persistent searching to find wages as high as those she had now, on one of the many ships belonging to a wealthy man who made money in the fishing industry. In several months she'd have enough to buy her own small ship. And then, finally, she would be able to be a pirate again, to find the person she was looking for.

"Get to work! Finish the planks and take the night shift. We're close to the next trade stop but we've got to pass Tortuga first."

"Yes, captain."

She tied a few ropes securely and moved on to clean floorboards. The ship had been recently repaired after it had been damaged in a storm, and the new planks were hard and stiff. The railing hadn't been replaced, though, and Elizabeth had been able to carve into it with her fingernail. She gazed at it contemplatively, the initials staring back at her, and finally turned away to dip an old mop into a bucket of soapy water.

She would stay disguised until she'd found a certain ship.

Or was it a certain ship's captain?

ES could mean something else… Someone with the initials ES could have the same first name, a different last name…

Elizabeth sighed. She'd been falling in love with him for a long time, without even realizing it, and her own ignorance had only been making her emotions stronger. And now, now that she was ready to admit it, there was only the fear of his reaction. But she'd been observant even before the bolt of realization struck her, and she was almost certain of reciprocation…

Almost was never enough. She'd lived her life being the one with 'almost,' and now she wanted it all, now she was finally able to have it all, and she had promised herself this time she would get it.

She moved closer to the other sailors as she mopped the floor vigorously, praying that today they'd be gossiping about something useful to her. The afternoon sun was radiating the full amount of heat it had. A drop of sweat trickled down her face. She gripped the mop tightly and did her best to block out the sounds of it scrubbing the wooden floorboards. They were talking about the hurricane that they'd been lucky to avoid a few days ago. Elizabeth let out an inaudible sigh and wondered whether or not they would ever gossip about something closely related to what she needed to know.

"I heard the East India Trading Company's lost a ship in the hurricane."

"Shame for them; they've had 'nuff trouble this year, with the pirates."

Elizabeth kept her eyes on the floor and continued the monotonous movement of mopping the floor. She was listening intently now, and carefully moving a tiny bit closer with every sweep of the mop.

"Aye. I'd thought he'd have caught them all for good."

"That Jack Sparrow's nigh undefeatable."

Elizabeth froze for just a fraction of a second before she dipped the mop back into the water and out again, concentrating on the swish-swash of it, back and forth, back and forth. This was the first time she'd heard any of the sailors mention his name.

"Ah, but it's said he's searching for something now. Without his ship."

Elizabeth frowned slightly. Without the Pearl? That can't be true.

"What's he searching for?"

The sailor's voice lowered a little and Elizabeth strained her ears to hear it. "They say it's the Fountain of Youth."

"Impossible!"

"Taylor, the Fountain of Youth's just a legend, fool!"

"Who'd you hear it from? He must have been drunk, for sure."

"Nay, he was Sparrow's first mate before, told me all about Sparrow, 'bout five months ago. I was on Shipwreck waiting for a storm to pass, found a tavern…"

His words faded away as Elizabeth considered what she knew. Her heart was beating so quickly she found it hard to breathe. Gibbs had been on Shipwreck Island five months ago, of course. Five months ago had been the battle, and the One Day on the island, and then she had smuggled herself onto a ship bound for Port Royal… And then a few weeks later she had found her job on this ship.

I have to find Gibbs.

She carefully thought about how the man named Taylor would react if she joined the conversation. She was still relatively new to the crew, like Taylor, but Taylor had stories he was willing to tell, and she was a woman the sailors were only beginning to trust. But there was the matter of Gibbs.

"Where do you reckon that first mate is now?" she asked, loudly enough for them to hear. The group of men turned to look at her oddly.

"He left in a bit of a hurry," said Taylor. "Said something about his ship leaving for Tortuga. Pirate town. Looked like he was sailing off with Sparrow, and that other pirate, Barbossa."

"Has she been listenin' to us?" said one of the men quietly.

"I haven't found anything else to listen to," Elizabeth said coolly. She finished her mopping, dumped the dirty water over the edge of the ship, and took the mop and bucket to store away.

As soon as she'd put the cleaning supplies away she lay down on her hammock in the corner of the large room where the crew slept and closed her eyes, thoughts flying in her mind. She had to get to Tortuga to find Gibbs, or begin a wild goose chase to find Gibbs, and ultimately, Jack Sparrow.

The captain and crew of a ship belonging to a man who became wealthy in the fishing industry would never stop in the most notorious pirate town in the Caribbean.

Unless they're desperate…

Elizabeth smiled faintly as she remembered the captain's words. They had to pass Tortuga before they got to the next trade stop. And she was taking the night shift soon.

The sun was setting over the Caribbean Sea. Elizabeth climbed on deck quickly and silently. She crept past the galley slowly and glanced quickly toward the stern. The captain was at the helm, talking to the first mate and jabbing his finger at spots on a map. Elizabeth turned back and ran swiftly toward the bow where the captain's cabin was located. She raised her head quickly to look up at the crow's nest. The sailor sitting in it had his head turned away, and she seized her chance. With careful hands, she turned the knob on one of the double doors of the cabin, sighing with relief when it opened. She pulled the door out the least amount possible, and, making sure again that no one could see her, slipped inside.