A/N I got five reviews for the last chapter! I can not express how thankful I am to you all! Thank you so much for your kind words.

Chapter Seven : Morning's Chores

"Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood." William Shakespeare

Dawn awoke at half-light the next morning. Her arm felt sort of numb, and so she rubbed it to get some feeling back into the limb. Sitting up she glanced around the small cramped bedroom that she had stayed in. Billie was still fast asleep; he lay half out of the covers with his arm and legs flung in the most awkward position. She stifled a giggle at the line of drool hanging from his open mouth. If only there were cameras in this century, she thought as she gazed upon the perfect blackmail opportunity.

Billie's odd sleeping habits, however, could not compete with his room for Dawn's attention; never had she seen a more interesting room. Normally she would be afraid to snoop, but her distaste for the owner of the room, and with her reputation as "Jacks daughter" to uphold, she felt she couldn't resist.

Knickknacks of every sort covered every surface, and yet there seemed to be some sort of order in the madness that stopped it from appearing messy. Dawn gazed around the room agog with the amazing things she could see; charming model boats, unusual sea shells, drift wood, daggers and swords, medallions, dusty bottles, flags that Dawn did not know existed, broken ornaments, odd bits of jewellery, portraits of various people from practically opposite social status's, and there was even a grand and beautiful helm that stood in one corner as though lording over the rest.

She ran her hands over each item as she explored the room and marvelled at the utter intricacy of some of the items. The daggers, although not encrusted with gem stones and other fancy things, were still some of the most beautiful things Dawn had ever come by. The hilts of the daggers had been weaved and moulded into stunning and fearsome designs, that shone the colour of all the different metals and woods used, even the blades glinted where each cut was done in such a way to cause a different shade. The swords, while there were significantly less of them, were no different, and she longed to pick one up and swish it around the room just to see what sound it made.

Even the miniature ships were skilfully made and had little wooden people on board. Dawn couldn't take her eyes off of all the things and laughed in delight as she placed a shell to her ear to listen to the sound of the ocean. She traced the faces of the portraits with her finger, placed the medallions around her neck and tried on all the rings and bracelets that she came across.

A small and genuine smile crossed Billie's face as he watched Dawn in his room. He'd woken not long after she had begun exploring. At first he'd felt a little angry at her impertinent manner and had been about to snap at her for daring to touch anything of his. But then he'd caught sight of the absolute wonder on her face as she gazed upon one of his daggers, and he'd stopped to just watch. From the moment he'd met her she'd been angry and defensive, never really smiling unless it was false or sarcastic. He was amazed at the transformation from the scowling, shabbily clothed urchin, to the young and carefree girl that was currently laughing in delight at her refection in an ornate mirror he'd found washed up on shore.

She picked up a dusty top hat hanging on a hat stand and placed it upon her brown locks. The hat slid past her ears and over her eyes, coming to rest right on the tip of her nose. An amused snort sounded from behind her and she twirled around in shock. The movement of such an act whilst blind knocked her balance, and she tumbled to the ground in a whirlwind of limbs. She hit the floor with a thump and scowled as the snort became outright laughter. In fury she ripped the top hat from her head and threw it straight at Billie.

"When did you wake?" she asked,

Billie took in her wild eyes and messed up hair. It took a moment for him to quell his laughter and had to avert his eyes from her form to stop it from bubbling up once more.

"Just now," he lied fingering the hat that had just narrowly missed his head.

"Oh" said she as her cheeks began to tinge pink in the shame of being caught. She looked down at her hands and cringed as she noticed the jewels that now adorned them. Seeing her distraction Billie once again looked back at her and smiled at her ridicules appearance. She looked so forlorn sitting there in her guilt,and Billie sighed before saying,

"Around the other side of the Island there's a reef that causes many ships to crash. Some things wash up on the beach, others I find while swimming."

"You're not mad?" said she, glancing up at his face nervously. He shrugged in response and clambered out of bed to where she sat and held out a hand. Taking the hand Dawn allowed him to pull her upright, and there they stood face to face, their hands still joined between them.

"Why are you really here?" he asked softly, staring into her enormous blue eyes questioningly.

Dawn looked down at their joined hands before raising her eyes to his once more. No answer came to her and she bit her lip in worry. The way he was looking at her prevented her from saying any lie that came to mind.

"You are not Jack Sparrows daughter, of that I am certain. Why do you seek him?" he asked this time coming a little closer until they were stood nose to nose.

"To go home," she whispered, "his compass is the only thing that knows the way."

The door to the bedroom banged open and Elizabeth entered wearing a pretty yellow sundress. She blinked at the two of them stood so close before sighing and pulling Billie away by the shoulder, "There will be no fighting in this house," said she with a stern glare, "you boys need to work out your differences. Breakfast is downstairs on the table. I hope you like mangos Mr Gobbard."

Dawn followed Elizabeth down the stairs to the kitchen still puzzled at why she had told Billie the truth. It wasn't even like she thought of him as a friend and she certainly didn't trust him. But then again he hadn't told his mother that she was a girl… Maybe she could trust him a little. She peeked back over her shoulder at him to see him frowning at her back. What was he thinking?

Once breakfast was over with Dawn found herself once again in the sole company of Billie. Elizabeth had had several errands that she wished completed and so had set the two boys to them. The list was rather long and a bit odd when she thought about it; Billie was scowling something fierce about being given these jobs. They were to distract her, of that she was positive.

"Gather a basket of sugar cane and deliver to Sir Puttmire.

You shall be paid one bottle of rum which is to be sent to Miss Thawkins,

Miss Thawkins will pay you fabric for my new dress.

Gather a basket of Arrowroot and a basket of nutmeg and deliver to Dr Langford.

Give Dr Langford the fabric for my dress, for him to give to his wife," read Dawn incredulously,

"It is quite simple Miss Summers. Sir Puttmire brews fine rum, but is now too elderly to collect the ingredients himself. He is an eccentric man that thinks very highly of himself and Miss Thawkins is a batty spinster that drinks more than she ought. Only the visit to Dr Langford will prove to be a reasonably pleasant experience."

He spoke as they walked and placed the small section of parchment into his breast pocket. They were headed towards the beach, and since Dawn had no idea where sugar cane was collected she did not question the matter. Back at Mr. Sanderson's household she had only delivered and received from various sources, never had she had to gather the goods herself.

As soon as they reached the sand Dawn plopped herself down and pulled off her boots, letting her feet free. She ignored Billie's complaints of her wasting time and bade him to do the same. "It's so much more pleasant to walk on a beach barefoot Mr Turner," said she with a grin.

"Your ankles are showing Miss Summers." Billie muttered in reply and Dawn was amused to note that he would look at anything but her; however the self righteous voice he used still served to irritate her.

"My ankles are not your concern," she snapped and in a moment of childishness lifted her leg up and poked him on the thigh with her big toe. He sprang back as though stung glaring at her impropriety.

"Miss Summers!" he hissed looking around fugitively in case anyone saw,

"Oh do stop," sighed she as she placed her hands upon the hot sand to push herself upright, "To all those that are watching," she spread her arms wide and turned around upon the deserted beach, "I am a boy and therefore you have no reason to be worried for your honour." Her twirl stopped once she came face to face once again with the still scowling Billie.

"It is not my honour I am worried for Miss Summers. If someone were to discover… your reputation would be blemished enough with such an act of deceit, being a coquette would only serve to alienate you from all respectable society!"

Dawn's jaw dropped at his censure and at the liberty he took to tell her of it. Anger blossomed in her breast. She puffed herself up and marched over to where he was stood fuming in his disapproval.

"Then as it is not my wish to be accepted into such circles then I should care little as to what they might think," she hissed prodding him in his chest with every word she spoke, "and as to me being a coquette! You could have sooner called me a whore! You bilge-sucking maggot, don't you dare to ever assume to call me such a thing again."

"With language like that I would find rather difficult." Billie spat, "you have the mouth of a common sailor,"

Dawn ground her teeth in fury and half screamed in his face before twirling around and storming off down the beach in a rage. Never in her life had she ever met a more disagreeable person. Could they not speak with one another for longer than five seconds without getting into a fight? He was just so infuriating. So full of himself… She was aware that she had not the proper decorum that a young lady ought to have, but that did not mean that she appreciated him pointing it out.

How she longed for James to be there with her. He'd had set Billie straight. She could just see him now shouting at the stupid little numbskull for daring to talk to her in such a way. The idiotic little worm. How she despised him! She kicked up the sand in her wake and swung her arms viciously as though imagining he might be close enough to hit.

He did not follow her and she soon found herself quite alone. The beach was large and Dawn decided that her best course of action was to simply stroll its length until she came to something of interest. A pleasant walk was long wanting, and it had been forever since she had had a day free from work or toil.

After half an hour of walking she took refuge on a large rock within the shallows of the surf and allowed her feet to dangle into the cool water. There she sat in silence looking so tranquil and at peace and wearing such a delicate smile, that when Elizabeth came upon her she could have believed her son's claims on her gender.

In reality Dawn's smile was caused by the thoughts that had taken up her mind ever since she left Billie. Her mind did not reflect her outer appearance, and was busy creating various painful and humiliating things that should happen to Billie Turner in the course of the day. Elizabeth was of course insensible to these amusing and slightly sadistic thoughts and so addressed Dawn in a kind manner,

"Mr. Gobbard," she called from the beach, "Pray, do you know the whereabouts of my son?"

"Mrs. Turner!" Dawn squeaked and flushed at the shame of being caught. What must Mrs. Tuner think of her now? Skiving from the simple jobs she had been given in exchange for food and board. Undisguised horror showed plainly on her face and Elizabeth was very close to chuckling as she jumped down into the surf and came rushing over to where she stood. "I know not where your son is. We had a disagreement and…"

Elizabeth held up her hand to prevent her from continuing. "I suspected as much," said she with a smile, "The two of you do not seem to be able to be in one another company for more than a minuet without bickering." Dawn blushed again and stared down at her shoes at the admonishment. "I am only searching for him as he has failed to arrive at Sir Puttmire's. The gentleman was kind enough to inform me of it during afternoon tea at Mrs Hanky's when he popped round to borrow her eldest son."

Guilt welled up in Dawn's stomach as her past thoughts ran through her mind. Surely nothing that hideous could have happened to him? She bit her lip and glanced around fugitively. Nothing had been said out loud had it? There could not be a vengeance demon here upon this beach could there? Was it really that improbable? No… there could be… one could never be certain where they were. But no, Dawn was sure that all her sadistic little fantasies had been inside her own head and she was sure that vengeance demons did not read minds. And she was nearly ninety nine percent sure she had not said 'I wish' at any rate.

"Do not look so worried Mr. Gobbard," Elizabeth said as she led the way back down the beach, "he will turn up."

Elizabeth's assurances did little to quell Dawn's guilt and it wasn't long before they split up to comb the island for the elusive boy. After an hour of searching Dawn finally found him sitting with a couple of friends upon some makeshift benches. Annoyed and embarrassed she stormed over and yanked him upright by the top of his arm.

"What are you about!" she growled as she shook him roughly, "I've been worried sick! I thought you were murdered by rabid dogs and buried in pieces beneath a coconut tree!" she stamped her foot to emphasis the point and continued her rant despite his completely flabbergasted countenance, "I have looked everywhere for you! Combed every inch of this godforsaken island for your ungrateful arse I have and look where I find you! With a bunch of delinquents laughing at our expense I bet! You are an ungrateful, pathetic little scoundrel is what you are! By God I can not believe…"

Billie grabbed her other arm roughly and twisted her so that her back was to him and he could securely cover her mouth with his free hand. She kicked and squirmed in an attempt to free herself of his hold, and even bit the palm of his hand. There was no chance of her freeing herself however and Billie only tightened his grasp as he nodded to his friends,

"Good day to you gentleman. It was a pleasure. But a small and rather disagreeable pest has turned up that I feel much be seen to immediately. Do beg my pardon," he said, much to the amusement of his friends.

Dawn was dragged a good while away until they were alone once more. Only then did Billie release her and it was just to practically throw her from him. She landed with a thud on the forest floor and sat up rubbing her arms and glaring ferociously. Tears welled up in her eyes as her bottom stung at the impact and her arms ached from his grip.

"What was that?" he asked throwing his arms wide in disbelief not even noticing her distressed state, "Since when have you been worried for my well being! We are barley acquainted. If I had not known you was a girl I would have struck you for the way you just spoke to me in front of my friends. What must they think? Are you purposely obtuse?"

Dawn stared down at the leaves and bits of twigs that lay about her not daring to look up into his face. Tears tracked down her cheeks, partly from the pain and partly from embarrassment. She didn't know why she had acted that way. The guilt of their argument and her own vindictive thoughts had her so worried about him being missing, so scared of him having been attacked by some vicious fiend, that when she saw him alive, well, and perfectly happy she had been utterly furious at him for making her feel as she did before. But there was no way to convey that to him, not that she would want him to know all this. It would be humiliating. It was all just getting too much. She was lost, lonely and utterly spent: all she wanted to do right now was sit and cry.

"Are you going to get up? I have a mother to pacify and sugar to collect."

Dawn still did not move and it was only then that he saw her shoulders were shaking. Was she crying? The fiercest girl he had ever known was now sobbing on the forest floor simply because he had called her stupid? With a sigh he knelt down beside her and peered at her face that lay buried in her knees. His anger evaporated at the sight and instead he sat down besides her and pulled her arm gently towards him.

She landed on his chest and curled herself around him as she sobbed into his shirt. The closeness was a new thing to Billie and he shifted uncomfortably for a while before leaning back on a tree in defeat. He rubbed her back soothingly as he had seen his mother do to Isabelle when she got upset, but his words of comfort failed him. After all, he couldn't even figure out why she was crying.

He woke up around an hour later to see that her cries had stopped and that she was now fast asleep. Her face was red and blotchy from tears, but other than that she looked peaceful. Absently he let his fingers run through her soft locks as he eased out the tangles and straightened the green bandana she never took off. It was odd, he recalled his mother offering her a replacement for the now rather tatty bit of cloth, but she had been so viciously against it that the subject had been dropped. It was an odd little bundle of mysteries that now lay asleep in his arms.

The first thing Dawn felt when she woke was the feeling of protection and serenity she had not felt since before Glory came to Sunnydale. She felt light as though she had cried away all feeling, leaving her clean and ready to start anew. That dam had been building inside of her for too long, she supposed, and it was so refreshing to feel a little free from it.

Billie noticed the change in her breathing immediately and paled as he foresaw the awkwardness that would follow. To his surprise she took longer than he expected to leave his embrace and instead seemed to stay there for some time before sheepishly sitting up.

When she did finally decide to leave the comfort of Billie's arms Dawn did so reluctantly and nervously. She was aware of all the rules she had broken in proper decorum by embracing him as she had and as so was much more embarrassed at her behaviour than she normally would have been.

"I'm sorry," she whispered not daring to make eye contact, "for everything."

Her face was flushed and Billie could not tell if it was from embarrassment or from the tears of before. "I'm sorry too," he said softy eyeing the purplish hue on her arm from where he had grabbed her, "Let us forget. You can wash your face in the sea and then we can go and find my mother. We can tell her I fell asleep in the shade and that you found me and woke me."

Dawn nodded and followed him out onto the beach to wash. They completed the chores they were given in silence. Not a word was uttered from her lips all day and instead she acted more as Billie's shadow than anything. Twice he caught her trying to curtsy when she was addressed and twice he had to prod her with his elbow to stop her. She hardly even spoke at dinner and answered only yes and no to any direct question sent to her.

That night she went to bed early which left Billie downstairs with a very curious mother. The only answer that he could think to give her was that she upset over the lack of leads on her father.

A/N. Dawn's breakdown was mainly due to stress and anger. It appeared one day in the middle of my writing and so I let it stay. It also shows the softer side of Billie, the side we will see very little of in this story. (Don't worry… Billie is still Billie.) I also thought that Dawn was over due for a breakdown…In all honesty, this chapter was never in the plan. The argument was, but everything surrounding it was not. It wrote itself. I hope you guys don't mind the drama.

Please leave a review! I love them so much!