Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. However I do own Rosalie and anything else you do not recognise.

A/N: Firstly I want to apologise for not updating for such a long time. The only excuse I can give you is that I started University in September. The workload and moving away from home for the first time made it hard for me to find time to write. I am ever so sorry for keeping you all hanging and I hope I haven't lost all my readers. Anyway…here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Twenty

Will looked from Jack to Rosalie and then back to Jack again. "What did you just say?"

Ignoring Will completely, Rosalie pushed around him to stand in front of the dreadlocked pirate. "Do you know Lily?" she asked in a rush, her eyes wide.

"Huh?" said a baffled Jack, his head jerking back and forth between the pair of them. He looked thoroughly bewildered.

Will grasped Rosalie's elbow and tugged her back to his side. "Jack, this is Rosalie Middleton."

"Rosa-…" Jack whispered, looking her up and down. "But she looks jus' like Lily."

Rosalie pulled herself free from Will's grasp. "I have a sister called Lily. Do you know her?"

"Well she's got your eyes…and ye about the same height I'd reckon…but then again I haven't seen her in a while, so I couldn't be positive." The pirate looked her up and down again before making eye contact with her once more. "Maybe if I took a closer look-"

Will frowned and reached for Rosalie's elbow again, pulling her away from the smirking pirate. "Stop that train of thought right there Jack."

Jack glared at Will. "I was just being friendly." He glanced around the crowded tavern again. "Anyway, where is the lovely Miss Swann? Or is it Mrs Turner now?"

"Elizabeth is in Port Royal," said Will, taking hold of Rosalie's hand after feeling her stiffen beside him. "But that is beside the point. We're here to ask for your help. And it seems you might be able to give us some. We're looking for Rosalie's sister, Lily. Do you know where she is?"

Jack looked between Will and Rosalie, a frown marring his rather handsome features. There was something between these two. He could feel it. He vowed to find out what it was later, and while he was at it, what had happened to Lizzy Swann.

He sat back down and lifted his legs up on the low table in front of him. "And so what if I do?"

Rosalie broke free from Will's hold and kneeled down in front of the pirate, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Mr Sparrow, please, if you know anything of my sister's whereabouts then tell us. I have reason to believe she is in danger and I need…need to find her."

"It's Captain, love," said Jack, studying his dirt-caked nails.

The table was suddenly kicked out from beneath Jack's legs. He and Rosalie looked up at a red faced Will in shock.

"She asked you a question Jack. Just answer it will you!" said Will, his voice hard.

The pirate slowly got to his feet and brushed himself down. "You've toughened up Turner. I'm glad to see it."

Will's expression didn't change.

Jack sighed and turned to Rosalie who was still kneeling at his feet. She was staring up at the blacksmith, her eyes wide in shock. He coughed and the dark-haired woman returned her attention to him. "I have met Lily Middleton a number of times – in this very tavern in fact."

Rosalie's eyes widened again. "She's been here? You've seen Lily here?"

Jack nodded his head and then smiled lazily. "A pretty little thing she is too." He looked down at Rosalie. "The two of you look remarkably similar you know."

She blushed and Jack noticed Will visibly tense up out the corner of his eye. There is definitely something going on between these two, Jack thought.

Smiling, he held out a hand and after hesitating briefly Rosalie took it. As he pulled her up she stumbled and he caught her against his chest with an arm around her waist. His smirk widened as she blushed more deeply at their close proximity. "In fact if I remember correctly, we were in a very similar position to this."

Will cleared his throat and stepped up beside them. "What was she doing in a place like this?"

"She was with Captain Sterling" said Jack with a shrug. "I just assumed she was his whore." He paused and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I do remember wondering how a man like Blythe Sterling had acquired a beauty like Lily but I was in no position to pick a fight with him. If you have any sense whatsoever then you leave Sterling well alone."

Rosalie's face whitened and she grabbed on to his shirt with one small fist. "What do you mean by that? Who is this Blythe Sterling?"

"He's one of the most ruthless and cruel pirates to sail the seas," Jack answered, pulling his shirt loose and turning to pick up his tankard of rum. "Like I said, you keep well out of his way if you value your health at all."

"W-Why would my sister be with someone like t-that?" asked Rosalie with a furrowed brow. "What could he want with her?"

Jack turned back to her and arched an eyebrow. "What does a man need a whore for?"

Rosalie's eyes widened and she took a step backwards. "Y-You mean my sister-"

"I'm not saying anything. I was obviously very wrong with my first assumption. I had my doubts before but if she's your sister then…well you're no whore are ye?" He looked to Rosalie who looked scandalized, and then glanced at Will and saw that the younger man's face had coloured with undisguised fury. The pirate blanched and turned away quickly. "Like I said, I'm not saying anything."

Will looked like he wanted to throttle Jack, but realising the pirate captain might very well be their only chance of getting some information, Rosalie stepped towards him. "Did you talk to Lily at all?"

He glanced back at her. "Well we've spoken a couple times, but Sterling doesn't let her out of his sight for long, and he doesn't like her talking to anyone else."

Rosalie's eye widened yet again and she grabbed hold of his arm. "You have? What did she say?"

"I can't really remember."

"Which probably means he mistook her for a whore and got slapped," chuckled Will from behind her. He quickly sobered up though because Rosalie shot him an irritated glance.

Jack noticed this and chuckling to himself, he turned and gulped down some more rum. He put the tankard down and turned to face Rosalie. "The first time I met her was about four years ago. We exchanged pleasantries but then Sterling appeared and dragged her away."

Rosalie gasped. "Did you see where they went?"

"Well I followed them of course."

"And where did they go?" asked Rosalie breathlessly.

"They went outside and Sterling started to shout at her. It was something along the lines of 'Ye don't leave my side ever again!' from him and 'Ye can't keep me locked up forever!' from her. It was all rather strange if ye ask me," said Jack stroking his goatee thoughtfully.

"Didn't you go up to them and try to find out what was happening?" asked Rosalie.

"No, of course I didn't! Haven't ye been listening? If ye have any sense at all then ye keep well away from Sterling."

"But-…but-…" she stuttered. "This man could be doing anything to her! Why didn't you step in and-…I don't know, rescue her or something?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, was I going to use as an excuse for butting in on something that was absolutely none of my business?"

"I don't know! But you should have done something!" said Rosalie, her tone turning rather hysterical.

Jack was frowning now. "Why should I have done something? I didn't know the girl. I wasn't her keeper. I had never seen her before that day! Why should I have done anything?"

Rosalie grabbed at his sleeve. "You've just told us – told us that you had your doubts about her being a whore. Didn't you stop and think that there was something wrong with the whole situation? Didn't you want to take a closer look, to put your mind at ease?"

"She wasn't my responsibility!" said Jack. "I wasn't about to put my health on the line for a girl I had exchanged a mere few words with."

"What about the other times then? Didn't you see her again?"

The pirate sighed and picked up his tankard again. "Aye I did see her again. But the situation was exactly the same as the first time. She was dragged away before I could find out any more."

"So…that's it? You said no more than 'good afternoon' to her?" said Rosalie.

Jack paused and glanced at the young woman before him. He hesitated before speaking once more. "The last time I saw her, we spoke a little more. I wanted her to come with me. Sterling was obviously not treating her right and I knew the pirate's reputation. She didn't belong with him and his crew. I told her that I could help her escape."

"And she didn't accept?" said Rosalie disbelievingly.

"No, she didn't," said Jack with a shake of his head. "She told me her place was with Sterling and she couldn't leave."

"You're lying!" said Rosalie, shaking her own head. "My Lily wouldn't have said those things! She would have wanted to get back to her family. She would have jumped at the chance of getting away from that monster."

"Well she did. She thanked me for her concern but told me she was fine. Then Sterling appeared and led her away once again."

"Then you should have gone after them! Or just done something! You shouldn't have let that man take her off to…god knows where!" she cried. The full horror of the situation was becoming very clear.

"She's the one who turned down my help. She's the one who went off with Sterling!" Jack turned away and murmured, "And anyway she was just a whore to me."

Time seemed to freeze. The yelling and noise of the tavern's clientele disappeared. Will wasn't sure if Jack had meant for them to hear that last sentence, but he had…and so had Rosalie.

She just stood there, staring at Jack with her arms hanging limply by her sides. Her eyes were wide and glassy with unshed tears. Jack kept his back to her, holding his tankard to his lips but not taking a sip.

As Will watched she turned and their eyes met. A couple of tears spilled over and slid down her cheeks. He went to take a step forwards but before he could get his feet to cooperate she turned and disappeared into the throng.

The silence lifted and suddenly Will's ears were full of the yells and catcalls of the men surrounding him. He stood frozen for a moment but then managed to shake himself into action. Uttering a curse, he followed after her.

She could certainly move fast. She had already pushed through the crowd and stumbled back onto the street. He cursed again and looked around, searching for a flash of her dark blue dress. There she was. She was halfway down the street already. Will followed after her, trying to keep her in sight as wenches in filthy dresses hurried towards him.

"No thanks. I said no!" he told them, pushing them away as they tried to grab at his arms. He looked up again, just in time to see Rosalie disappear around a corner, and with a burst of speed he followed in her wake.

xxxxxx

Rosalie swiped at her cheeks as she ran, clutching at her skirts so as not to trip over. She didn't know where she was running to but she'd had to get away from that tavern…away from that horrid pirate.

Why had she thought he would help her? Why had she thought a pirate would offer her anything?

She finally broke free from the narrow streets and looked out to find that she had reached the beach. She slowed to a walk and headed for the stretch of sand, thinking the clean fresh ocean air might help her feel just a little bit better. Once she was a good distance away from the town, she stopped and looked out over the ocean.

What was she going to do now? Where could she go from now? She had been counting on Jack Sparrow's help.

Her thoughts evoked a spiral of emotions; each fighting for dominance over the others. This resulted in a sort of deadening feeling settling over her. She wasn't feeling anything anymore. She felt numb.

"Rosalie!"

She whirled around and her heart leapt as Will came running up to her. She didn't move but just watched him catch up with her.

"Don't listen to him. The man doesn't know what he's talking about half the time," he said as soon as he reached her.

Rosalie smiled weakly. "It's alright Will. I wasn't thinking." She let out a short laugh and swung around to face the ocean again. "I mean, why should Jack have done anything!"

"Nevertheless, he shouldn't have called her such a thing," said Will softly. "He had absolutely no right."

"It might very well be the truth!" she cried, swinging around to face him and staring up at him again.

"Now, I think you know that it can't be." He grabbed her hand and covered it with both of his own. "Deep in your heart."

Rosalie nodded slowly. "It's what I hope."

"Then don't entertain such thoughts for a second longer."

A smile flickered across her face then vanished again. "But that won't bring her back will it? I'm no where nearer to finding out where she is or what has happened to her than I was before. And now we've reached a dead end with our only lead."

"No, we have found out something. We know Lily has been seen with this Blythe Sterling. We know she's visited Tortuga. That's a lot more than we knew before," pointed out Will. He tightened his hold on her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It wasn't completely pointless."

"What shall we do now?" she asked. She stepped closer and looked up at him. Her eyes were wide and fixed entirely on his.

Will almost didn't hear her question. He was too absorbed in her eyes. She seemed to be begging him for answers and he wasn't sure if he could give her any.

It was only the gentle tug on his arm and the softly spoken "Will?" that prodded him into speech.

"W-We'll ask around and see if anyone else around here has any information on this Sterling fellow. Maybe someone else saw him with Lily, or knows of his current whereabouts. Even a little more knowledge on the man himself could come in useful."

"That sounds like a good plan to me," nodded Rosalie.

Will smiled and then looked back towards the town. "But right now I think you should get some sleep. I bet you are exhausted. I'll see if I can get us a couple of rooms for the night."

"A couple?" she asked surprised. She bowed her head and studied their entwined hands. "Don't you think it would be better for us to share a room? I-I mean we aren't likely to find two free rooms at this time of night, are we?"

Will tried not to smirk. "Well yes it will be hard. But I'm sure we will be able to…eventually. Unless…you wouldn't mind sharing a cabin with me again?"

Her head shot up. "No! No, I w-wouldn't mind sharing at all." She felt her cheeks redden as Will's smile widened. "In fact I-I would quite like to."

"I would too," he answered softly, keeping his eyes focussed entirely on hers. "I would like it very much."

Rosalie smiled but it soon faltered when she realised how close they were standing to each other. Their chests were mere inches apart.

Her breath caught in her throat when she looked back up into his eyes. They were even blacker in the dark. She almost shuddered under the intenseness of his gaze.

She had never been looked at by a man like this before. The foreign feelings flooding her body were strange but not unpleasant. If anything, they were quite wonderful.

Will released her hands and slipped his arms around her waist, bringing her even closer. She lifted her hands to clutch at his arms, leaning further into him as his grip around her tightened.

Her senses were on fire. She could almost feel his hands through the material of her dress. Her breathing had turned shallow and her head felt light. She was stunned by how much he affected her.

Will felt her shudder and inwardly smirked; he was pleased he was affecting her as much as she did him.

His gaze moved to her lips. He teetered on the edge of indecision…then his eyelids slowly lowered as he began to lean towards her.

Her softly uttered "Will…" was smothered as their lips met. It was the most exquisite kiss he had ever shared. It was soft, but full of passion at the same time.

Will felt Rosalie sigh and press herself completely to him. Her hands tightened on his arms as she gave herself completely to the kiss.

The worry and stress of their present situation faded into nothingness. Nothing else existed apart from the pair of them. For the moment, Will and Rosalie's world revolved around the taste and feel of each other.

A/N: So…did you like it? Please review!