Author's Note: So off I go on vacation. Remember there'll be a hiatus for probably three weeks after this. Sorry about rushing this, but I've got to get going! Also I meant to include a little more in the ending, but I simply don't have time to type it. Reviews are always appreciated!

Kat woke with a grin on her face despite the "naked" feeling she had. Not because she was unclothed, but because there was no one lying beside her. Yesterday had been the same way. Those days of sleeping with plenty of men in hammocks nearby and a few of having James' arms around her had caused her to become used to sleeping with others. Actually James could've slept with her last night, but it probably would've been more awkward than comforting after how the rest of the night had gone.

Though Kat was happy to have been reunited with Norrington she was a bit disappointed in the change their relationship had gone through due to their fight. After their warm reunion they had sat down to talk together as they used to do. However the conversation had been different than usual. Instead of the words flowing freely and easily there had been several awkward silences and all too many empty words. It was odd for the two of them. They'd never had a problem with conversation before and even silences had been comfortable ones. These facts made the issue far more dramatic and noticeable. Kat hated it, but there really wasn't anything either of them could do. They were both too afraid of starting up a new conflict with an unwelcome topic so they stayed in the few safe waters of conversation.

"If only things were back to normal," she thought. "Though I suppose time should help and when we get back James will have a job to do so we probably would've suffered through his time away even more if we hadn't gone through this." Kat knew she was just trying to find a good side to this mess and admittedly she had done a decent job, but even that wasn't enough to make her feel like this was a positive situation. To put it simply, it sucked. These negative thoughts pulled the smile right off her face as she continued to lay there hoping something good might happen.

- - -

"Land ho!"

That sudden exclamation startled Kat from her dozing. She sat straight up much too quickly which caused her to feel a bit dizzy. "What's going on?" she asked with evident confusion in her tone.

Daniel grinned and replied perkily to her question. "We've almost arrived at Port Royal! Just another hour and we'll be back on land." He was obviously excited so much so that he was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Why're you so eager to get back?" she asked him. Daniel was a fairly young sailor though he did seem experienced. She wouldn't judge him to be a day over twenty-five, but he'd always seemed rather mature before now so what had caused this sudden change in attitude?

"Is it that obvious?" He blushed as his voice became weaker with nervousness. "Well, I've got a girl there—"

"You do?" Kat asked not in surprise, but in excitement for him. "Lucky you, Dan! What's her name? Tell me about her." She was strangely excited about this bit of news. Though over the short time she'd been on the ship she'd come to see Daniel as a good guy and one worth trusting, so now she was curious to learn more about him and she'd just gotten the chance.

"You're interested?" he asked with pleasant surprise. Most sailors didn't want to hear another story about how anyone missed their girl back home. After all, such stories would become quite repetitive after a while since most men had someone back home to long for.

"Well, yeah. You know a lot more about me than I know about you so I wouldn't mind evening out the playing field a bit," Kat answered him good-naturedly. She patted the cot beside her in offering of the space for his use. Daniel took the invitation and sat down beside her before pausing nervously. Kat decided to help him out a bit. "So what's this girl's name?"

"Molly Douglas, she works in one of the Company's stations as a maid—"

"The company?" asked Kat in confusion.

"The East India Trading Company," Daniel replied as if she was a bit daft for not knowing.

"Oh, right," she said like she'd known all along. "So, um, are you two married?"

His face colored in embarrassment before he answered. "Well, not yet."

Kat squealed in happiness for her friend. "Are you planning to ask her?"

"Once I've got enough funds to get her a nice house and all set up. We're both still going to have to work, but I'd like to give her a better place to stay once we're married." The sailor's face was still reddened in nervousness, but he seemed happy about this idea.

"That's so sweet Daniel! You've thought about this a lot haven't you?" Without waiting for an answer she went on, "I'd help if I could, but I'm afraid I don't have a cent to my name."

"A cent?" he asked in confusion.

"I mean a shilling!" Kat corrected herself quickly. She was so used to modern terms that she'd said the wrong one which wasn't exactly surprising, but she didn't want to have to come up with some explanation for why she'd said such a thing.

"Ah. Well, I just hope Molly's still waiting for me." Daniel's face took on a thoughtful expression which Kat interpreted to mean that he was thinking about Molly. She decided to let him remain in his thoughts as she muddled through her own.

Luckily he'd ignored the fact that she'd used the word cent. Whether it was due to disinterest or her obvious panic after she'd used the word he'd chosen not to pursue it which she was thankful for. When she conversed with Daniel it was so easy, like it'd been with James before their fight. Kat's face crumpled as she thought about their argument again.

"What's wrong? Did I say something to upset you?" Daniel asked concernedly. He placed a friendly arm around her shoulders while observing her face closely.

"Oh, it's not you. I was just reminded of something else," Kat replied avoiding the subject. The sailor respected her wishes and left her cell locking the door as he went.

"I'll be back soon to bring you to Company headquarters alright?" he said quietly before leaving the area. Kat remained on her cot still thinking about the fight. Everything was resolved, but that didn't make it hurt less. Things weren't the same and so she couldn't be happy like she was before. They had been reduced to acquaintances by a mere mistake. Or perhaps it was a purposeful attack on their relationship.

Kat had gone over this before. She'd agonized over whether and why Mercer would try to sabotage them and came up with nothing. She had no need to think through the same ideas all over again. It didn't matter anyway. He'd succeeded. Things had changed. Even if they weren't completely avoiding each other she and James were certainly having troubles. "Damn it," she thought as she gave up on fixing everything. It wasn't going to happen. They were going to have troubles and she couldn't fix it. She couldn't frickin' fix it and it was all Mercer's fault. Which made it Beckett's fault right? Suddenly a new idea washed over Kat. She was going to give Beckett living hell for what he'd done. He'd regret his actions before this was over.

- - -

The steady rhythm of the sailors' boots had caught Kat's attention. The men walked in such perfect coordination that it seemed impossible, but she figured with practice it wouldn't be overly difficult. She wasn't the most rhythmic person. She enjoyed music and could sing decently, but she was horrible at playing musical instruments. Synchronized movements were also difficult when you had a tendency to move to fast or too slow.

It was a short trip to Beckett's office. She was standing beside James and walking at about the pace as he was. Neither of them had spoken, but of course the two men pushing them forward impatiently probably wouldn't have taken kindly to conversation. They were now making their way down a hallway toward a fine wooden door which was probably the way into Beckett's office. Kat wasn't quite ready for this confrontation. Mercer had said that she wouldn't be freed, but what would happen to her then? Was she to remain a prisoner for the rest of her life? She had associated with pirates, but that couldn't mean she'd be jailed forever. A hanging was more likely though it seemed like a silly response to her "crime". Of course she did know that Beckett hadn't worried about that in At World's End and he probably wouldn't now.

"I'm screwed," Kat thought as the door was pushed open. Mercer entered the room first followed by his two prisoners. She disliked having the man beside her gripped her arm so tightly, but she couldn't do much about it. Hopefully Beckett would send both the guards away instead of just James'. Then, conversation began and Kat was distracted from her own worries.

"The last of our ships has returned," Mercer said calmly, beginning the exchange.

"Is there any news of the chest?" Beckett asked him with well-disguised frustration or perhaps just plain boredom.

"None, but one of the ships did pick up a pair adrift at sea, a man and a girl. He had these." Mercer held up the case containing the letters before setting it on to the desk before him. Beckett opened them and looked inside though this action was really just a confirmation of what he already knew. Yes, the Letters of Marque were there.

Kat meanwhile was a bit angry with Mercer for calling her a girl. She wasn't that young! There were plenty of boys half her age out there on the seas so why did she have to be a girl? Then, James spoke up, interrupting her thoughts.

"I took the liberty of filling in my name," he said to catch the lord's attention. Kat wondered when he had done that, but she figured it didn't matter. It was probably when they were fighting anyway.

Beckett gestured for James to approach and waved both guards away. Kat relaxed once she had control over her own body and leaned up against one of the walls of the office. Meanwhile Norrington stepped toward the desk, listening to the lord's words. "If you intend to claim these, then you must have something to trade. Do you have the compass?"

"Better," James replied with a grin as he dropped a pulsing bag on to the desk. "The heart of Davy Jones." A short period of silence encompassed the next few minutes as Beckett raised a slightly impressed eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" he asked as he reached for the pouch and opened it. "So it is true." He held the beating organ in the palm of his hand and stroked it with surprising gentleness.

"Is that good enough for privateer?" Norrington asked.

"I think we can do better than that, Admiral Norrington," replied Beckett while still staring at the heart. "Yes, a bit better…"