They were stuck. For all their having a ship and a crew and the charts that Sao Feng had given them, not one crewman aboard the Pearl seemed to know how to escape the land of the dead. Even Tia Dalma appeared to be at a loss, or at least she did a wonderful job of pretending to be. The whole thing seemed rather impossible. It had been straightforward enough to reach their destination, but it would all be a waste if they couldn't get back.

It didn't help that tensions were high aboard the ship. If things had been tense before they'd retrieved Jack, it was nothing compared to what it was now. Jack seemed to be overly cautious among them all, although he tried his hardest to make it seem like he wasn't acting any differently. Will and Elizabeth had not spoken since the truth of her actions had been revealed; Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to face him just yet. As for the rest of the crew, they'd taken to giving Elizabeth strange looks when they thought she wasn't paying attention. Nobody had ever suspected the former governor's daughter of being able to do something so sinister, regardless of the motives behind her actions.

It was a frustrating situation. Elizabeth felt more alone than ever before. She hadn't really been on speaking terms with Will before they'd rescued Jack, but at least she'd had the company of the others. Now she had no one. It had to be fixed. She could not go a moment longer being treated like some leper. Everyone would know her side of the story, but first she had to speak to Jack. If he was on her side, maybe the rest of them would forgive her and move on.

But the idea of speaking to Jack wasn't one she particularly enjoyed. How could she face him after her betrayal? Would he even listen to a word she said? It would be difficult, but she had to try.

Elizabeth made her way to the captain's quarters, ignoring the looks she received along the way, and rapped her knuckles against the door gently. She waited, wondering if perhaps he wouldn't even acknowledge her, but then his voice rang out an invitation to enter and she hastily stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

Jack was sitting at the table in the corner, the charts and his compass laid out before him, both feet lounging on the tabletop. When he saw who his visitor was, he quickly dropped his feet to the floor, his back going slightly rigid. He had expected Gibbs, or perhaps even Barbossa come to order him about, but not Elizabeth.

He quickly wiped his shock away and determinedly set about controlling his expression. He couldn't let her see how much she bothered him. "If it isn't my charming murderess," Jack said finally, a lazy grin upon his face. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Elizabeth visibly cringed. That wasn't exactly the way she had been hoping to start off the conversation. "Jack, please…can we at least be civil with one another?"

Jack raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips turned down. "As civil as a man can be with the woman what killed him." Perhaps he was being too harsh with her…but then, in comparison to his murder, this hardly seemed harsh at all. "Now what is it you've come to discuss, eh? Hoping for forgiveness?" When she dropped her gaze and didn't answer, he continued. "Well I forgive you."

Elizabeth's eyes shot up, and a shadow of confusion fell over her face. "You forgive me?"

"S'what I said, innit? I forgive you." He leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head nonchalantly.

The young woman eyed him carefully. This had to be some sort of trick, some sort of payback. He was lulling her into a false sense of security, he had to be. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes contemplatively. "Why do you forgive me? I… Surely I don't deserve it. I've never known you to be so charitable."

"Charitable," Jack repeated, scoffing. "I'm not being charitable, love. You did what you had to do. You're a pirate, just like I said then. You may not've been born a pirate, but you're a pirate now just the same. You did what you had to do." Why was he being so easy on her? She deserved to be on the receiving end of all his hatred and rage, but he was forgiving her. Perhaps it was the dejected look she had going for her that made it so difficult to be angry with her. "Unless you want me to hate you for it," he added after a moment, chuckling. It sure seemed like it.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I don't. I just expected a different reaction. I betrayed you, after all, and I didn't think – "

She stopped speaking, looking perplexedly at Jack, who had a hand up to silence her. "Betrayal implies that we were ever anything more than acquaintances, Lizzie. Pirates don' make friends for that very reason." He smiled sardonically. That was a rule he always seemed to forget, and he always came to regret it in the long run.

These words, Elizabeth found, cut more than anything he'd said previously. They weren't friends. They weren't anything more than acquaintances who worked together because it was convenient at the time. Once Beckett and Jones were defeated, they would go their separate ways. They would be, in all truthfulness, enemies competing in a cutthroat world and profession. This concept was upsetting to her. She ought to have known that Jack wouldn't come to be a friend, or anything else, but…well, she felt a connection with him that seemed to ignore the silly friendship rule amongst pirates.

She cleared her throat, aware of Jack's dark eyes on her. "For what it's worth, Jack, I never would have done if it there had been any other choice."

Jack grinned. "I know, love. But let's save the trouble of an apology, aye? You already said you weren't sorry. I'd hate for you to go back on that statement because it's what you think I'd like to hear."

"That's not what I meant," Elizabeth responded hurriedly, immediately regretting it.

"Ah." Jack stood from his chair, looking intrigued as he came around the table and leaned back against it. "And what exactly did you mean, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth took a subconscious step back, struggling to find the words to help her out of the hole she'd managed to dig for herself. Damn her conscience! If she had only refrained from apologizing in the first place, she wouldn't be in this situation.

As Elizabeth continued to stammer, Jack took a few steps toward her; it was enough to make her nervous, but Jack was still aware that he needed to keep some distance. Despite the carefully set expression on her face – the same one she'd adopted when he insisted so long ago that she persuade him to return the Letters of Marque – Jack knew that his close proximity was affecting her.

"Your conscience is eatin' away at you, I can see it in your eyes." He grinned as Elizabeth hastily looked away. "You're sorry for killin' me, eh? What're you not sorry for?"

When Elizabeth met his eyes again, his gaze was intense, as though he was attempting to see through her and into her mind. She was used to being scrutinized by Jack, but not so closely as this. Worse still was the fact that she couldn't read him very well, and therefore had no idea what he was thinking.

Elizabeth squared her shoulders, determined not to let her thoughts and emotions show on her face. She wasn't going to give in, not this easily. If he wanted to know the truth, to hear the truth from her lips, he would have to do better than this.

She thought for a moment, determining what she ought to say, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, a knock came at the door. Reluctantly, Jack tore his gaze from her, his grin fading as he stepped back around his table and took a seat, ordering the newcomer to enter.

It was Gibbs. He looked between the two of them anxiously, sensing the tension in the air. "Sorry to interrupt, Cap'n. Jus' wanted to run a few ideas by you…"

Elizabeth shook her head, smiling weakly at Gibbs. "You weren't interrupting anything. I was just leaving." Her eyes roved back to Jack for a moment. He met her gaze briefly before turning his full attention to Gibbs. Frowning, Elizabeth turned and left the cabin, closing the door behind her.

When she glanced up, Will was standing a few feet away. A flash of something like pain went over his features, and Elizabeth knew she was the cause. He had seen her come out of Jack's cabin, which probably only served to fuel his beliefs that she loved Jack. Will had never spoken of his suspicions aloud to her, but she could see it in his face, in the way he watched her, and in the short, jealous glances he sent Jack's way.

She couldn't deal with him right now. As much as Elizabeth hated to see him hurting, she couldn't bear a heartfelt conversation with him. Before she could tackle that task, she would have to figure out her feelings once and for all.

Turning, Elizabeth walked away from him, her thoughts swimming and her heart beating rapidly as she thought of her recent meeting with Jack.