Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far. I'm really glad that it seems to be popular with everyone. I forgot to mention in the last chapter, but thanks again to slobberneck for the beta thing.

It was unusually cool for a Caribbean night, but it did little to relieve the young woman hurrying towards the blacksmith shop in town. Elizabeth's hair whipped around her face as she ran. I have to see him. The desire to get to the shop was so powerful that she didn't notice the rocks creating cuts on her bare feet or her dressing gown blowing violently behind her, exposing the thin nightgown she wore. All that mattered was getting into the smithy as fast as possible.

After what seemed like hours, Elizabeth finally made it to the shop's entrance and immediately began to pound on the worn wooden door. The sound was loud enough to wake up everyone in the area, but she didn't care as long as it brought Will to the door.

Elizabeth's banging managed to wake up the young blacksmith sleeping in the small room in the back of the building. The sound caused Will to become disoriented, as he was not used to waking up in the middle of the night, especially by loud noises. He jumped off his modest sleeping mat and ran to the door, afraid that Mr. Brown had lost the key to his house again.

Elizabeth didn't stop her bombardment on the shop's entrance until she heard the sound of the wooden beam being lifted from inside the shop to unlock the door. As soon as the door opened enough for her to see Will, she hurled herself at him, knocking the breath out of his lungs as she embraced him in a fierce hug.

"Will! I had to see you! I had to see you were still here…"

Still groggy from just waking up, Will wrapped his arms around her and asked, "What are you talking about? I've been here all week."

Elizabeth turned towards him, and he was shocked to see a frightened expression on her face. "I had a dream, just a little while ago…You were dead! It was so real…"

"It was just a dream."

"No! Will, it was like we were there! You were fighting this…this man – he was huge! And everything was so blurry…I couldn't see very well. I felt like everything was moving so slowly…And suddenly – I don't know how it happened – you didn't have your sword anymore, and…he…he stabbed you. Will, he thrust his sword right through your chest! And I tried to get to you…I tried to save you, but you died right in my arms! I couldn't…I couldn't save you…"

She was breathing very fast, and Will was afraid she would faint if she couldn't get her breathing under control.

"Do you want to sit down?" He began to lead her towards a bench on the other side of the workshop.

"No, I'm fine. I just–"

Will stopped in the middle of the room and turned to her.

"I thought I'd lost you. Will, I don't think I could make it if you were taken from me."

Her eyes were still wide, and her face was very pale. Will moved his hand up to her cheek and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It was a dream. I'm right here. I'll always be here."

Elizabeth put her head against his chest as he continued, "The wedding is only a week away, and I imagine it is stress that's causing you to have nightmares…in addition to your…other stored emotions."

She smiled and said, "I love listening to your voice rumble inside your chest. It's soothing." She pulled away from their embrace and gave him a kiss on his cheek while grasping both of his hands in hers.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

They continued to hold hands as Elizabeth let her gaze wander around the shop. Everything was so organized, not that it ever wasn't, but it was tidier than most of the times she had been inside before.

"I see you've picked up around the shop." She was looking at the pristine area where Will kept his tools.

"I've tried to get everything ready for Mr. Brown to take over the smithy when I leave next week."

She turned her attention back to Will and caught him staring at her chest. He tried to look away before she noticed but failed miserably.

"William Turner! Were you looking at my bosom?"

"I wasn't…I mean, I didn't mean to stare…I was just – your gown was starting to fall away from your…"

"My what?" This is too cute.

Will began to blush as he thought about her anatomy. "You know…your–" He began to make motions around his chest.

"Breasts, Will. They're called breasts."

His blush exploded into a fantastic red. He backed away as Elizabeth began to advance towards him with a hungry gleam in her eye.

"It's perfectly fine to say the word, Will. It's just the two of us in here." Will became very nervous when he felt his back hit the wall. There was no telling what she was about to do to him.

"Do you want to touch them?" Will was sure he was going to faint.

When Elizabeth grabbed his hand, Will's eyes opened wide and stared at her face. She gave him the most intense stare he had ever received, and he could still see the small beads of sweat that had collected on her forehead when she ran to the shop. Her lips were open just slightly, giving him a small pout. She had never looked sexier.

Her hand guided his slowly to one of her breasts. When he felt her through the thin material, Will squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched his face as he used every ounce of strength and self-control he could find so that he wouldn't begin to move his hand. Because he knew if it moved just one inch, he would not be able to stop himself from taking her as his own.

When Elizabeth saw Will's facial expression, she dropped his hand and began to run for the door. Will's eyes flew open at the loss of contact and saw Elizabeth's retreating figure. When he realized she was about to leave, he took off after her. He was able to grab her arm and spin her around to face him just before she was about to wrench open the door. He was alarmed to find her in tears.

"Elizabeth, what's the matter?"

"Let me go! Just, let me go!" Sobs were racking her entire body. This alarmed Will. Although he had seen Elizabeth shed a few tears before, he had never seen her cry like this in all the years they had known one another.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll not bother you anymore, just let me leave!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't realize how badly I nauseated you. I'm sorry. Please, let me go home."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw your face – the way you grimaced when you touched me. I've practically thrown myself at you for the past month, and you've never so much as held my hand, Will. I know I'm not as attractive as other girls, but I never thought I was so repulsive…" She was shaking with her cries and couldn't stop.

"Elizabeth! You're beautiful. How could you say something like that?"

"If you think I'm beautiful, why have you not returned any of my affections?"

Will felt like his heart was being torn from his chest. He had heard that a person's eyes were the windows to the soul, and he could see the devastation she felt inside expressed in her teary gaze. The mischievous gleam that was usually present when he looked at her was gone, replaced by an empty and hollow stare. What made him feel even worse was the knowledge that he was to blame. He pulled her into a strong embrace and began to stroke her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I'm so sorry I've done this to you." She continued to sob into his chest, but they were beginning to dissipate as he spoke to her.

"There's no need to apologize for the way you feel. If you don't think I'm–"

"Elizabeth, stop. I need to explain the reason I've seemed so reluctant. It's my fault for not telling you before. I just didn't know how much it was hurting you. I've been keeping my distance because I wanted…"

Elizabeth's tears had stopped as she looked into his eyes, silently urging him to go on, needing him to finish what he was saying. Will could see the trails her tears had made on her cheeks and gently wiped them away and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I wanted everything to be perfect for you. I was afraid that if I touched you for a second too long, I would never be able to stop. I know you're ready, and I don't doubt your willingness to have me, but I wanted to make sure that your first time – our first time – would be everything you had ever hoped for it to be. Anytime you get near me I stop breathing because you are so beautiful, Elizabeth, and I want to be with you more than anything in this world. You don't know how much strength it took me not to move when I touched you a few minutes ago. I wanted to so badly, but I thought about you on our wedding day, and how horrible I would feel if we spent our first night together on this dirty floor or on my tiny mat, when I could have placed you on our bed, in our new home, after we were made husband and wife. I was just trying to make things special because I know you've wanted this for so long."

Tiny tears had begun to form in Elizabeth's eyes as he finished. Will was afraid he had hurt her yet again.

"Will…I didn't know…"

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'll be damned if I allow myself to ruin something so important to you."

The unshed tears in Elizabeth's eyes finally fell, and she rested her head against his shoulder once more. The couple kept their arms around each other for several more minutes, expressing every ounce of love they had for one another without making a single sound.

The silence was finally broken by Elizabeth, who spoke so quietly Will could barely hear her. "Are you looking forward to the wedding?"

"More than anything."

"More than the wedding night?"

When he looked at his fiancé, he noticed the mischievous spark had resurfaced and was shimmering just behind her eyes as a small smile was beginning to spread across her face.

"Nothing excites me more than the thought of sharing my sleeping space with the most beautiful woman in the Caribbean."

Elizabeth gave him a squeeze and rested her chin against his chest, looking into his eyes once more.

"Tell me what you'll do to me."

Will knew he should be used to Elizabeth's openness by now, but she always found new ways to startle him.

"Don't you want to keep it as a surprise?"

"Will, if I've got to wait a bloody week for the wedding, you could at least give me something to keep me satisfied until I'm yours…officially."

He considered her request for a moment before speaking. "All right, then. But only because you insist."

Elizabeth pulled away from him only slightly so she could keep her attention on his face.

"After the carriage takes us to our new home, I'll help you step down and promptly grab you in my arms and kiss you like you've never been kissed before, and I hope the whole town sees me and gets jealous because I'll have the most stunning wife anyone's ever seen." This made Elizabeth laugh softly.

"What next?"

"I'll pick you up, and it won't be difficult because you're the perfect size – just my size in fact."

"You don't think I'm too tiny?"

"No."

"What about my breasts? They're rather small…" She looked closely to see his infamous blush she adored. She was somewhat disappointed when it didn't appear but instead, was replaced with a defiant grin.

"From what I've been able to determine, they fit my hand quite nicely."

This time it was Elizabeth's turn to redden as she had never heard Will speak so boldly before.

He grinned at his own joke and continued, "I'll take you to our room, where the bed will have been perfectly made before we arrived, and I'll set you down, so gently, and climb next to you so I can feel what it's like with you lying beside me." His voice was becoming softer as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Then, I'll lean in to kiss you and help you undress."

Elizabeth felt her knees begin to shake. "What about you?"

"You'll have to do it yourself, milady."

She could feel her heart beat faster. "And then?"

"I'll lean in for a second kiss and continue down your neck to your shoulder and not stop until my lips have touched every inch of your skin. I'll follow my lips with my hands and touch you everywhere you command me. The movement will be so gentle and slow, you'll feel like I'm torturing you, but you won't want it to stop. You'll probably pull me on top of you, and my lips will return to yours before…"

"Before what?"

"Before I make love to you for the first time." He paused for a second before adding, "Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I promise you, it will be worth the wait."