"But, Commodore, you've seen for yourself! Jack's a good man. And all the food supplies were accounted for and returned to Master Jenkins." Will spoke up defensively. He, Elizabeth, Governor Swann, Commodore Norrington, and other officers were gathered in Norrington's office, deciding or rather arguing over the fate of Captain Sparrow.

"No doubt your sentiment for the rogue has remained intact." Norrington said dryly.

"No doubt." Will said confidently.

"But you must admit, there have been no more attacks on Port Royal, pirate or otherwise, since Jack regained his commission as captain of the Black Pearl." Elizabeth pointed out. Norrington sighed. He knew she was right.

"Elizabeth, I know how you feel about this scalawag, that you actually consider him a friend," Governor Swann spoke up, obviously conflicted. "But the law is the law. And Sparrow hasn't given up his thieving ways though he escaped us."

"Yes, I know." Elizabeth sighed. "Let me make good on his bail, and we can send him away, back out to sea where he won't bother us again. Commodore?"

"Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth is right. I'm sure Jack will agree to it, and that he'll be more than happy not to return." Will added hopefully. Norrington seemed to be contemplating the matter. Jack had helped him capture the mutant former crew of the Black Pearl. And he'd save Elizabeth's life. But, still he was a pirate, and a pirate in Norrington's custody was to be hanged.

"It's out of the question, Elizabeth." Her father said.

"Then release him into my custody." I spoke up as I climbed up the steps. They all turned, gaping at me, as if I had two heads.

"Yours?" Norrington sputtered.

"Kate, you can't be serious." Elizabeth said in bewilderment.

"Why not? You certainly were." I grinned, but cleared my throat after disapproving looks from both the governor and the commodore. "Miss Swann." I curtsied. Elizabeth gave a small smile.

"Governor Swann, Commodore Norrington? I wish to make good on Mr. Sparrow's bail, and I will be more than happy to see to it that he behaves himself." I offered.

"Kate, have you gone mad?" Governor Swann's jaw dropped.

"You forget your place, Miss Summers." Norrington scolded. I bit my lip and felt my face grow hot. How foolish I must have looked. Who was I? Nothing but a maid, a servant! And here I was, trying to free the wiliest pirate in all the Caribbean.

"I beg your indulgence, Governor Swann." I hung my head and slightly bowed. "I know, this must be disgraceful for you. But that is why I offer my services. If it would be such a terrible thing to let the dirt-bag go, then let me be the one to do it, then you and Elizabeth-your daughter, would have nothing to do with it. The consequence would be on my own head." Elizabeth hoped her father would agree to that, though she had no idea why her personal companion had such interest in Jack Sparrow.

"Kate, why you?" Will frowned.

"I-it's personal, Mr. Turner." I said.

"Mr. Turner does bring up a point." Norrington spoke up, narrowing his eyes. "Just what is your interest in this Captain Jack Sparrow that you would go to such great lengths to save him, Miss Summers?"

"He...he has information, about my family's separation in England years ago." I said. Elizabeth's eyed widened. "I promised I would help him, if he gave it to me."

"Kate, how can you be certain he was even telling the truth?" Governor Swann asked, still not thrilled about this idea. "How do you not know that he was only using you as a ticket to getting out of jail?"

"I-I do not have an answer for that I am sorry to say." I gulped. I glanced pleadingly at Elizabeth and Will. They were pondering the best way to negotiate.

"I will not allow such a foolish notion, Miss Summers." Norrington shook his head firmly. "Hadn't you best get back to your duties at the governor's mansion?"

"I granted her the day off." Elizabeth spoke up.

"The commodore is right." Governor Swann said determinedly, but not unkindly.

My heart sank! We had to save Jack Sparrow! If he went to the gallows, how would I ever know the truth about my father? And knowing Norrington, he would probably arrange the hanging at the earliest opportunity, if not by the crane on the dock this very afternoon! No, I had to know the truth from Jack! And he'd said that just telling me wouldn't be enough, which meant only one thing...but I would need Elizabeth's help.

"Then I'll add another condition!" I blurted out.

"I believe we've heard enough, Miss." Norrington argued.

"Please listen!" I begged. "I'll make a deal with you, Commodore. He steps out of line, to the point of committing burglary again or worse before he exits Port Royal, then you can lock me in the brig next to him!"

"Kate!" Governor Swann gasped. "Do you realize what you're saying?"

"Yes."

Commodore Norrington slowly stepped up to me, his excessive height towering over my shorter stature. I could feel his steely gaze looking down at me. He wasn't a man to be crossed, and ordinarily I rather tried to stay out of his way. "You'd better be right about this, Miss Summers." He said stiffly. "It's your neck to risk."

"I understand, Commodore. And if this goes down the results we don't want it to, I will accept the consequences of my actions. You have my word."

"Very well." Norrington sighed. Elizabeth reached into her small purse she'd carried with her into town, and thrust coins down onto the table then stood back with her head stubbornly erect.

"There! That should be more than enough." She pursed her lips.

"Not quite." Will interjected and tossed a few meager coins into Elizabeth's lot. Governor Swann sighed, knowing it was useless to convince his daughter to change her mind.

Norrington signed the release papers with a very loud grunt, like a bear. He frowned at me as handed it over. "Here is the release paper. You keep it on you at all times. You lose it, Captain Jack Sparrow is no longer a free man but a fugitive!" He warned me.

"No surprises there, right?" I attempted a snicker. He didn't share my sense of humor. "Sorry." I cleared my throat.

"Now get that filthy pirate off this land and out of these waters before I change my mind." Norrington said tersely.

"At once!" I curtsied quickly.

"Kate, think about what you're doing!" Governor Swann pleaded with me.

"I have, Governor." I assured him. "If Will and Elizabeth can survive this, so can I."

"Be careful, dear girl." Governor Swann urged me.

"Don't worry, my friend. It should all come out right in the end." I smiled, then turned. I hope! I gulped.

Elizabeth and Will excused themselves and caught up to me as I descended the stairs. "Kate!" Elizabeth called me and I turned.

"Thank you Eliz-Miss." I smiled.

"Kate, this is extraordinary of you." Will said. "What is Jack Sparrow to you?"

I lowered my voice and leaned in closely to them. "He knew my father! He knows what happened to him! Or...at least why he disappeared." I whispered.

"Oh." They both nodded. "I see." Elizabeth nodded.

"Elizabeth, I...this is going to be a most ridiculous request," I stammered, "but I must humbly beg your consent to an indefinite leaf of absence for me." This felt so awkward. I'd never asked her such a thing before, except on the anniversary of my mother's death.

"You intend to sail with him, to find out the truth, don't you?" Elizabeth replied, more of a statement than a question.

"Kate, you can't!" Will gasped.

"Why not?" I asked in exasperation.

"Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." He said. I gave him a longing look.

Oh, you're one to talk, Mr. I'd-Do-Whatever-It-Takes-To-Save-The-Girl-I-Love! I thought, but it wouldn't be my place to say, and I'd made a terrible spectacle of myself already.

"Did you realize the full extent of your actions when persuaded him to help you rescue me?" Elizabeth chided at Will, grinning. I smirked at him triumphantly.

"That...that was..." Will tried to argue.

"Different?" Elizabeth smiled wryly.

"Well, if it has to be done, you're not going alone." Will told me.

"No, you won't." Elizabeth agreed. She knew her father would be upset, but she also knew how long I'd waited and prayed for an opportunity to find the truth. Now it looked like those prayers were about to be answered! Though certainly not in the way any of us expected!

"Thank you." I breathed, unable to keep the smile off my face. "And I give you my word, my lady, when I return, I will serve out the rest of my days to you, unless circumstances forbid it."

"Don't worry about that." Elizabeth smiled. "We have more than enough staff to take care of us."

"I will be eternally grateful to you." I curtsied then grabbed her in a hug.

"I think it's time we had a good talk with Captain Jack Sparrow." Will declared.

Jack was on his feet before I even reached the cell block. He was eagerly waiting at the bars of his door. "What took so bloody long?" He asked gruffly. But I could tell by the way he was gripping the handle bars that he'd been waiting with baited breath.

"Well, that's gratitude for ya." I replied sarcastically. "Commodore is more often than not, inflexible."

"Aye. I seem to remember feeling that impression meself." Jack agreed. "So? What did they say?"

"Well, we argued a lot, like two ships chasing each other in circles."

"Results." Jack said impatiently. "So, I gettin' out of here, or do I have to spend another night in this smelly place?"

"Relax, Mr. Sparrow." I grinned triumphantly.

"That is Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow to you, missy." He said sternly.

"Mmm." I shrugged. "Here are your release papers, Captain Sparrow. Courtesy of Miss Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner." I proudly held up the pamphlet.

"Good!" Jack declared excitedly. He reached for them but I held them back. "What is this?" He grunted. "What's your game?"

"There is one catch though." I warned him.

"Oh, come on already." Jack whined pitifully with a puppy dog face. "Must you delay my escape any longer?"

"If you bide by the agreement, when you return me safely back to Port Royal..."

"What was that?!" Jack sputtered in alarm. "Come again?"

"After we set sail, once..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there for just a moment, missy!" Jack waved his hands. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Look, you were the one who said that 'just telling me about my father wasn't going to be enough'. That means you have to show me. To put it in logical terms, Mr. Sparrow, you're going to have to take me with you."

"That is out of the question!" Jack argued stubbornly. "I never agreed to that!"

"Why not?"

"Wh-it's bad luck to have a woman aboard."

"Oh, come now, Mr. Sparrow." I laughed.

"Captain..." Jack gritted his teeth.

"You don't really believe that, do you? Then how is it that you did not toss Miss Swann overboard, after all the hassle you were put through, trying to rescue her from Captain Barbossa?"

Jack sniveled. "Barbossa was the one who ordered her across the gang plank."

"Indeed. As I was saying, once I have the answers I need and you escort me back here no worse for wear, you are commanded and required to give up pirating, on a permanent basis." I said, trying to sound like Norrington. I could barely hold down a laugh. The petrified, mind-blown look on guy's face was almost too much. He looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"Give it up?" He squirmed. "What kind of bargain is that? That's not a square deal. That's uncivilized piracy!" He exclaimed, huffing. "That's...not fair."

I lost it. His reaction like a child was overwhelmingly funny and I burst out laughing. He glared at me. "I don't see anything so funny about it." He sulked. "Oh, would you please shut it? The very idea, asking a pirate to give up pirating! It's...purely a sacrilege." I giggled so hard I couldn't breathe. "Wait a minute..." He squinted. "What are you going on about?"

I finally straightened up and had to cough to find my voice again. "Nothing. I was only fooling with you." I snorted. "That's not really part of the policy. I just thought I'd throw it in for good measure."

"Wait. What?" He sputtered.

"I was bluffing." I smirked. Jack puffed out his lip and his shoulders sagged.

"Do you have any idea of what you've just done?! That nearly took fifteen years off my life! And I am much too valuable to this fine world to die."

"I'd think it wasn't the first time you'd been opposed with such technicalities."

"You're right there. But did you have to be so-so..."

"Like Commodore?"

"Not even close. You're not that overbearing, or might I say, ugly."

"I can assure you, Mr. Sparrow, that that is not part of our agreement. But you are required to escort me safely back here when our business is concluded."

"That is Captain Jack Sparrow, dearie." He sighed heavily. "And I don't know as I am inclined to agree with that keel in the deck. I just might be reconsidering your wild notion. What if I say no?"

I grinned hard and crossed my arms. "Then I shall linger here, day and night, and pester you to death till you give me the answers I know you have." I said coyly. Jack threw me an exasperated glare. "Oh, and by the way, you won't be able to shoot me, because your gun is out of reach." I said with satisfaction, eyeing the pirate's effects hanging on a rafter behind me. Jack stood there, pouting and twisting his lip in thoughtful contemplation. "You will be released into my custody, Mr. Sparrow. That means that wherever you go, I must be there too, and vice versa, as far as travel and transportation goes."

"Ye know how to drive a man to despair." He sighed.

"Take it or leave it." I said.

"Fine, fine." Jack shrugged. "Now, ye gonna let me outta here?"

"Guard!" I shouted, startling the wobbly-legged captain. A guard appeared and after I showed him the official documents, he begrudgingly unlocked Jack's door and opened it. Jack smiled and bowed then swaggered out. He immediately reached for his effects.

"Thank you, dearie. And I'll be taking this if you'd be so kind." He slipped his fingers toward the pamphlet. "Seeing as you have no further use for it." He was about to tear it up! I smacked his hand hard.

"Oh, no you don't, Grease Fingers!" I scolded, snatching it from him. "We shook on an agreement. I kept my end of the bargain. Now, are you going to keep yours, or shall I sound the alarm before you can even waltz out of this place? It's your call, captain." Jack sulked and slumped his posture.

"Fine!" He huffed. "I'll take you. But the one thing to remember, or you aren't going anywhere. We do things my way. You listen to what I say, and I can assure you, you'll be back in this city before you can say Captain Jack Sparrow."

"All right." I mumbled. "As long as your crew men don't have 'fun' with me! Savvy?" I mentioned seriously. "I am not bluffing about that!"

"No problem there, love." Jack grinned smugly. "I am the captain after all. You will be perfectly safe with Captain Jack Sparrow. The lads won't bother you, if I order them not to. Shall we be off then?"

"Yes. Just let me grab a couple things." I nodded, heading up the stairs with him trailing behind me. "And keep your hands in your own pockets!" I scolded, looking back at him, just in case he was attempting to snatch the papers from me again.

"Take what you can, give nothing back." He muttered to himself. "Just why did you try to give me a premature heart attack back there?" He whispered.

"I wanted to see the look on your face." I grinned. Jack shrugged.