Disclaimer: I do not own the movies or any of the characters that you recognize. I am making no profit off of this story.

Author Note: Okay, so when we last left off, Elizabeth had just discovered that Eric, the vampire, was responsible for her mother's death. Sorry, its taken me so long to get this posted. I plan on posting the rest of the story today. So here's chapter nine. Please read and review. Thanks!

Chapter Nine:

The New Friend

"Elizabeth? Hello?"

Jack's voice sounded distant and far away. Elizabeth knew she should get his attention somehow. She tried to open her eyes, but the effort needed to do so proved too great. Next she attempted to move, but the cold rain pelting her body seemed to be pinning her to the balcony. Finally, she tried calling out to him, but her voice was nothing but whispers.

Thunder rumbled behind her and a flash of lightning lit up the sky as the storm grew in intensity. Gusts of wind coming from the ocean bent the trees surrounding the manor house. The rain was coming down in visible sheets.

"Elizabeth!" Jack shouted again, but this time in triumph. He had found her. Sobs she barely contained from escaping caused her body to shake. She was exhausted from fighting Eric and her mind was flooded with the images of her mother's last moments.

"Jack…" she managed to say in a hoarse whisper as he knelt down beside her. Shattered glass crunched under his boots as he lifted her to a sitting position.

"Shh…save yer strength. I'll get ye back inside," he assured her. With a grunt of effort, he roughly hoisted her up, slinging her over his shoulder like a gunnysack. Hunching his back, he carefully wound his way through the room. "Ye never lost the baby weight I see," he remarked exaggerating his panting, trying to lighten the mood. Although she felt she should be offended, Elizabeth smiled against his back.

A few moments later they were back in the lounge room, and Jack carefully set Elizabeth down on a chaise. Then he wiped his forehead in a dramatic fashion and let out a big breath of air. "Ye'd best not be seriously injured, 'cause I ain't lugging ye 'round like that any more. Me back has enough problems." Behind the mirth in his eyes was true concern.

"Mum…" Thomas whispered close to her ear, his voice scared and worried. His face was pale and he looked ready to cry. Elizabeth knew she must look wretched for him to worry so.

She put a comforting arm around him and kissed his forehead. "It's alright honey. I'm going to be okay," she mumbled against his warm skin.

"Not if ye don't clean those wounds ye won't," Gibbs warned. "They'll get all infected with gangrene and then we'll have to cut off yer arm and feet."

Thomas' breath caught in his chest and his bottom lip started to quiver. "That will be quite enough of that Mr. Gibbs," Elizabeth scolded the old pirate. "I intend to dress the wounds very well. I'm not so foolish to just let them fester and cause me grief. Would you be so kind as to fetch me some clean water, soap, and cloth?"

"Course," he agreed and ran toward the door to get the requested supplies. He stopped before crossing the threshold. "Um…is that thing that attacked ye still out there?" he asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. Without another word, Gibbs nodded and left.

Jack brought her a dry blanket and a bowl of slightly warm stew, which she readily accepted. The food filled her empty stomach and warmed her up, making her feel ten times better. After she was finished, she began addressing her wounds.

Gibbs returned just as she was rolling up her sleeve to reach the gash on her arm. The bleeding had pretty much stopped, and she washed it with soap and water before wrapping it with a clean cloth. Next she bandaged her feet, digging out the bits of glass that she had stepped on. Everyone in the room was silent while she tended to her injuries.

Thomas was the first to break the silence. "Mum, what happened?"

"Well, I was having another nightmare…and when I woke up I was in a different part of the house. I assume I had been sleepwalking, but I've never done that before. But it's the only way I could have ended up down the hall without my knowledge."

"But ye just said ye've never done it before. Why on Earth would ye pick now ta start something like that?" Jack questioned.

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "I don't think I did it willingly. I think he was controlling my actions. He said he controlled my dreams, so I must be vulnerable when I sleep. Didn't Madame Harriet say vampires could control the weak-minded?"

"Well, yes, but yer hardly weak-minded," Gibbs offered.

"Perhaps not when I'm awake, but I maybe when I'm sleeping," she added.

"So yer saying ye were lured and attacked by a vampire? Like Harriet said?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Elizabeth stated. "His name is…was Eric."

"'Was'?" Thomas repeated, confused. "What do you mean 'was'?"

She fixed the knot of the bandage on her arm. "Eric's dead. I killed him."

"He should have fallen right around here," Elizabeth announced, glancing up at the balcony above her and then down at the overgrown bushes in front of her.

"Well, bodies don't just get up and walk away," Gibbs said, splitting the bushes apart to look behind them.

But he didn't find anything. No one did. There was no trace of Eric's body. The only evidence that something had happened was because the tops of the bushes were broken and dented, as if something heavy had landed there recently, yet nothing was there now.

"Yer sure ye killed the bloke? Ye weren't just…I don't know…dreamin?" Jack asked, his tone slightly skeptical.

"No, I most certainly was not dreaming when I killed him. Dreams don't leave you with scars. At least no dreams that I know of," she stated, indicating her bandaged arm.

"True."

"What if he wasn't dead when he fell off the balcony? He could have dragged himself somewhere," Thomas suggested.

The three adults beamed at the child's hypothesis and they spread out to search the area around the balcony, but their efforts were fruitless. No corpse was uncovered, and there were no tracks of any kind to hint where Eric could have dragged himself. The intense rain from the previous night would have washed away any footprints or drag marks the vampire might have left behind.

"We might never find him," Gibbs said, wiping perspiration from his face. "The grounds are huge. He could be anywhere."

"I agree with Gibbs. The body could be anywhere, and we're wastin' our time lookin' fer it," Jack declared. "I say what's done is done. We should ferget all about this nasty business and go home."

Home. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to go back to her cottage and resume life as normal. At the moment she wanted to submerge herself in domestic duties and put danger and adventure behind her.

Did they really need to find Eric's body? The vampire was dead and wouldn't be chasing after them anymore. The best thing for all of them to do would be to return to their normal lives. Elizabeth looked at each of their faces. They seemed to be waiting to hear an answer from her.

Letting out a sigh, she said, "Yes. Let's go home."

After packing up their provisions they set out for Elizabeth's cottage.

"So, how long will you be staying with us, Uncle Jack?" Thomas asked as the group made its way through town.

"Yes, how long?" Elizabeth repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, my schooner is ready to put to sea at anytime, but I'd like to find meself a worthy crew before hoisting anchor," the pirate explained.

"Oh? And what happened to your last unworthy crew?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Well, ye see…" Jack began what probably would have been an interesting and lavishly told tale, except that he was interrupted by a loud clattering of cans and metal coming from the alleyway they were approaching. Jack immediately drew his pistol and aimed it at the offending noise. Elizabeth's hand was on the hilt of her sword, the weapon half unsheathed. Gibbs pushed Thomas behind him and let Elizabeth and Jack go first.

"Who's there?" Jack called out. "Show yerself!" More noises sounded from the shadowy alleyway at Jack's shouts.

"Look Mum," Thomas said, pointing at the creature that emerged from between the piles of trash.

An extremely malnourished and filthy dog came into the light, staring up at them with sad black eyes. It shook its matted fur coat, causing dust and dirt to create a cloudy haze around the animal. Elizabeth sighed in relief and replaced her sword. Jack followed suit.

"Poor dog," Thomas muttered, regarding the mutt with kind eyes.

"Come on, let's keep moving," Elizabeth commanded, turning her attention back to the road.

The party began to trudge forward, but Thomas couldn't leave the starving animal without doing something. He took some bacon that he had saved from breakfast from his pocket and offered it to the dog. The animal quickly ate the scraps, licking the child's hand clean and making him laugh.

"Thomas, what are you doing?" his mother asked. "Now he'll follow us home."

"But he was hungry Mum," Thomas explained, wiping his slobbery hand on his breeches. "I couldn't let him starve."

"Oh, but ye'll starve fer a mangy mutt?" Jack asked. "Not a wise choice, me boy."

"We're almost home. I'll eat there," Thomas retorted, his hands on his hips.

The dog in question had come up behind Thomas and was nudging his hands and sniffing his pants in search of more meat. The boy rubbed the filthy dog behind his ears, causing the dog's tail to wag furiously. Thomas smiled down at the dog. Elizabeth hadn't seen him so happy in a long time.

Then the inevitable question was asked. "Can we keep him?"

She responded automatically with a "No."

Both Thomas and the pathetic creature beside him both gave her puppy-dog eyes. It was hard to tell which was more endearing.

"Please?" Thomas implored.

How could she turn him down without feeling like a horrible mother? Thomas would have a companion and a friend. It would also serve as a good lesson in responsibility. She sighed in surrender. "He'll need a bath immediately as soon as we get home," she told him, trying not to smile.

The boy ran to his mother and embraced her. "Thank you!" he exclaimed. The dog seemed to understand his acceptance into the family and celebrated by barking loudly and jumping around the humans.

They arrived home without further incident and they started the process of returning to normalcy. First, Elizabeth concentrated on cooking supper while Jack and Gibbs rearranged the living room so that they could have a place to sleep. Thomas hadn't even set foot in the house before running down to the shore to give his furry friend a much needed bath. Elizabeth was glad to see her son excited about something.

"Hey Mum, you have to see this!" he announced as he walked in the door, the dog following close behind him.

It was astounding what some soap and water could do. Originally the dog had appeared a muddy brown, but in actuality, it was as black as midnight, except for a patch of white around its neck and chest. Thomas pointed at the distinctive marking.

"Look. It looks just like a heart," the boy said, indicating the large patch of white in the middle of the dog's chest. The fur really did resemble a heart and with the thin line of white fur wrapping around its neck, it looked like a necklace.

"Pretty ironic for it being a boy doggie," Jack noted, skinning an apple and peering over at the dog.

"It's amazing," Thomas countered, patting the dog's head.

"Odd, more like," Gibbs corrected, his tone superstitious.

"Yes, it is odd," Elizabeth agreed, unable to take her gaze off the marking. "It reminds me of something…" she added, trying to think of why it seemed familiar. A curse escaped Jack's lips, breaking her out of her trance.

"Jack!" she scolded.

"Sorry, luv. Cut meself. This knife is sharper than I thought it was," he said, wiggling the knife between his fingers.

"What are you doing with Will's dagger!" she shouted, jumping to her feet and taking the sharp instrument from Jack's hands.

"I was just slicing up an apple," he explained.

"Use another knife. No one uses this dagger," she stated, cradling the gift from her husband with loving hands.

"Sorry, next time I'll ask," Jack replied as Elizabeth moved toward her bedroom.

She opened a wooden chest where she kept all of her jewelry and carefully placed the knife inside. That was when she realized her locket was missing. It wasn't hanging around her neck and it wasn't in the chest either. Had she lost it somewhere? She began to panic.

"Which one of you has my locket?" she asked as she came back into the main room. "Have any of you seen it?"

Before anyone could tell her they had no idea where her treasured trinket was, they heard voices and footsteps approaching outside.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know much didn't happen, but all good things come in time and I hate leaving out sections of the story that are important for future chapters. Leave me some comments and keep reading.