"The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him." Proverbs 20: 7

As they sailed away from Whitecap Bay, Elizabeth found a fresh, dry change of clothes for Kate. She changed in their quarters then came out to join the others, but she was still shivering, half from chills, half from fear. Ragetti brought her a burlap blanket which she gratefully clutched around her shoulders. She sat on a crate watching Thomas tenderly clean and bandage Will's slashed back. Anamaria was on hand, handing the young physician in training what he needed. Elizabeth sat next to Kate, rubbing her arms. Both girls shed tears at the sight of Will's ugly injuries. Thomas finally finished with his treatment, then Pintel and Cotton brought Will a dry, clean shirt which he gratefully accepted. Gibbs brought all of them some hot broth to sip to soothe their overwrought nerves.

Jack emerged from the cellar, as usual with rum. Gibbs stepped over to him. "Are ye sure you're all right, Jack? Maybe we should have the lad take a look at you." He said with concern. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Gibbs," he grimaced, "I assure you not one of the fishy-tailed darlings had the chance to leave so much as a precious scratch on me. Not that I wouldn't have let her if she'd been in a more friendly, negotiable mood. Not that I would've let her do it either, as I've heard they can get quite ravenous when they want to shower us of the male species with such female affection..." Jack rambled, and he hadn't even sipped his rum yet!

"I get the message." Gibbs cut him off, just relieved that Jack was alive.

"Good man," Jack nodded in approval. He made his way over to the young people who were gathered in a huddle. Anamaria sauntered up closely to him as if she was going to kiss his lips. Jack smirked and closed his eyes, waiting. What he received instead was a painful slap across the face. He blinked and gaped. "Oui now. Not sure I deserved that!"

"Don't you ever just jump off and scare me to death like that again!" Anamaria shook her index finger an inch from his nose.

"Had to, luv. Had an urgent rescue to perform. But with every intention of coming back..." Jack explained sheepishly like a guilty child.

"But you almost didn't!" Anamaria snapped.

"But I did!" Jack exclaimed with gusto.

"But you almost didn't!"

"But I did!"

"You stup..." Anamaria started, but Jack cut her off by giving her a full kiss on the lips. She began to feel much calmer. But she wasn't about to let him know that. She blamed him for getting them into this mess in the first place. And he should be punished. She breathed in delight as he broke away. He smirked lazily. She loved it when he did that. But, in this case...she smiled warmly back, then...slapped him again. He wagged his head, trying to shake off his throbbing cheek. Then he narrowed his eyes at her with a winning smile.

"Ahh, Anamaria, sweetness. You do care." He teased her.

"No I don't!" Anamaria thundered back. She fidgeted, searching for the right retorting words. "It's just..." Oh, she couldn't imagine what she would've done if Jack had fell behind. But good grief, the man could drive her to insanity sometimes! "I'm used to havin' ye around, ye know? Who else am I gonna kick out of his bunk at the seat of his pants when he's lying around like a lazy bum? And who am I gonna take his bottle of rum away from when he should be working like the rest of his mangy crew? And who would I have to slap around if you were asleep in the deep? And..."

"You know you love me." Jack teased.

"Do I know that?" Anamaria sputtered. "Yes. Yes, I do." She finally smiled. Then she shoved him on the shoulder. "I think you'd better have a word with the youngins'. They all be a bit shook up right about now."

"I've heard that mermaids have been known to leave that kind of mark on a fellow." Jack sighed. Anamaria gave his shin a hard nudge as she brushed passed him. Jack grunted, and strode over to Thomas, Kate, Will, Elizabeth, Marty, Pintel, and Ragetti. "Rum, anyone? It'll soothe the jitters." Jack offered. Pintel and Ragetti both eagerly licked their lips. "Not you." Jack groaned. "Lizzie?"

"A little, thank you, Jack." Elizabeth nodded quietly. He handed her a bottle.

"Good woman." Jack grinned. "Tommy?"

"Not tonight. I'm afraid I'm too far nerve shot to befuddle my mind even more so." Thomas declined. Jack offered the bottle to Will.

"No thank you, Jack." Will whispered, clasping his bowl of broth and sipping it.

"Ahh, Katie. Little drink, dear?" Jack stepped over to her.

"No thank you." She said in a shaky voice.

"Good grief." Jack complained. "Is there not one of you here who can teach the rest of these whelps how to sit back and enjoy life?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Will just ignored him. Kate gaped at him, and tried to say something, but no words came out. Thomas, however, was not amused. He rose to his feet.

"Forgive us if we're just a bit traumatized, Captain, but in case it slipped your mind, we just narrowly rescued our friends from a vicious mermaid ambush!" Thomas fumed, rising to his feet. "So, pardon us if we're not exactly in the jolliest of moods at the moment!"

"That I did notice." Jack sighed.

"Then why are you acting as if everything is fine? It's not! Our friends could've died! We almost lost them!" Thomas vented vehemently. "You just don't care!"

"Not entirely true, lad." Jack said.

"Really? Then why do you act as if you don't care?" Thomas cried.

"Thomas..." Will tried to calm him. Thomas stomped off.

"Wound tight good and proper that one, isn't he?" Jack chuckled.

"Jack, please." Elizabeth gave him a pointed look.

"Right now is not really the best time for jokes." Will sighed in exasperation. Jack bit his lip and drank some more rum. He noticed Kate shivering.

"Cold, luv?" He asked, in a more serious tone.

"A little." Kate replied. Jack came behind her and pressed the blanket in a little tighter on her shoulders. She looked like a frightened little girl to him. "Thanks." She whispered.

"Don't mention it." Jack smiled.

"You need to remember, Jack, that Thomas has spent a good deal of years under a man who considered human life cheap." Elizabeth said tersely. "I think he associates that terrible experience with your flippancy."

"Perhaps it'd be best but a long shot if you could persuade him to believe otherwise." Will added. Jack grunted, and walked away.

"Morning, Mr. Gibbs!" Jack greeted eagerly. "And a most appealing morning it is for a pirate, eh?"

"Aye. That it is, Cap'n!" Gibbs smiled. "Especially after the spine-tingling events of last night, no?"

"Quite." Jack glanced around and frowned suspiciously. "Aye, where be all the whelps on this fine day?"

"Trying to get some much needed rest, Sir. Afraid none of them slept too good last night."

"Ahh." Jack nodded. "Well, at least we won't have to be bothered by their dizzy love talk, eh?"

"Aye, that be true." Gibbs glanced out at the ocean. "I say it take us about four days' journey before we even get close to Tortuga, yes?"

"Possibly more. Our unfriendly skirmish with bloody Briggs set us back more than I'd prefer." Jack grumbled.

"Well, at least we don't need to worry about the likes of him anymore!"

"Aye." Jack nodded.

Will was asleep in his bunk, dozing heavily with Elizabeth sitting at his side on a barrel. She tenderly held his hand, massaging his palm with her thumb. To think of how closely she'd come to losing him last night made her shudder. She gazed down at him, taking in every inch of his beautiful face. Thomas quietly tip-toed in to check on him. "Hey! Everything all right down here?" He whispered to Elizabeth.

"Yes. He's still asleep." Elizabeth nodded with a smile.

"That's good! I feel so bad for him, what he was put through on that horrid ship. I'm afraid that I'll have to check his cuts though when he wakes."

"Thanks, Thomas. But I can do that." Elizabeth suggested.

"I don't doubt your efficiency, Elizabeth." Thomas said solemnly. "It's just that, I need something to keep my hands busy! I need something to help me feel useful right now."

"Maybe you should check on Kate then."

"I have, several times already. She's resting too." He ran his hand over his face. "Oh, our chance to leave this ship cannot arrive soon enough for me!"

"You are still cross with Jack?" Elizabeth furrowed her brows.

"Wouldn't you be? How are you not?" Thomas sputtered.

"I didn't say I wasn't. But I have grown accustomed to Jack's light and addle-brained manner of responding to danger. He doesn't truly mean it, Thomas. He has suffered too, at the hands of his ship mates! His first mate led a mutiny against him, marooned him on a desert island to die, and stole Jack's ship!" Elizabeth explained. "Even I still have difficulty dealing with his odd and eccentric mannerisms! The man can drive me to absolute madness sometimes!"

"Glad I'm not the only one then!" Thomas crossed his arms.

"But he is a good friend." Elizabeth insisted. "If he didn't care about us, he wouldn't have gone to Whitecap Bay to rescue Will and Kate, the people we love! He knows they are important to us, so they are also important to him, because we're his friends. Not only that, but do you not remember, how Jack told all of us to stay behind in the boat while he jumped and swam in the water with treacherous mermaids to bring our friends to safety? He cares about his crew and his friends. And believe me when I tell you, I have been most surprised at how protective and tender he has been with Kate! That is the most affectionate that I have ever seen of Jack Sparrow!"

Thomas sighed. "I didn't realize." He muttered. "I just wish he would act a little more serious during critical moments!"

"I know." Elizabeth said sympathetically.

"But what you told me...I didn't know that he'd been betrayed by his own. Maybe I've misjudged him. Slightly." Thomas said quickly. Elizabeth giggled. At that moment, Will grunted.

"Will?" Elizabeth's eyes lit up. Will didn't open his eyes just yet, but he smiled fondly at hearing her voice. He winced though from the lacerations on his back.

"Elizabeth." He murmured groggily. "It's so good to hear you voice. You have no idea how much!" Elizabeth smiled and kissed his lips. He gritted his teeth at the pain in his body.

"Morning, mate." Thomas greeted, standing over him. "Good. Now that you're awake, I need to have a look at those wounds on your back."

"Ohhh. Elizabeth, make him go away." Will groaned, acting like a baby.

Kate bolted upright, gasping in panic. Anamaria came to her side. "Easy there, love." She said soothingly. "You're safe." Kate blinked in bewilderment.

"Anamaria? Where am I?" Kate panted.

"You're back safe and sound on the Pearl, love. Take it easy."

Kate looked at her surroundings and realized she was in her and Elizabeth's quarters. "I thought...I thought..." Kate shuddered.

"Well, you're not. Let that sink into your head." Anamaria said.

Kate didn't want to stay inside any longer than necessary, the idea of confinement overwhelming her. She ventured outside as soon as she could. It was sunset! "Evening, Miss Kate!" Gibbs smiled at her. "How about some supper?"

"No thank you. I am not hungry." Kate shook her head. Food was the last thing on her mind.

"Ahh, now that's not what I want to hear." Gibbs said.

It was night now, and the ocean was peacefully quiet. Finally having a moment's peace without having to constantly look over their shoulders, Kate sat in her usual spot below the helm and tried to jot down in her diary all the whirling emotions and circumstances she hadn't been able to process properly in the passed week, with all the danger they'd been in! Thomas was just coming up the stairs below deck from tending Will again, when he laid eyes on Kate. He stood there wistfully, feeling sad about all she'd had to go through, but at the same time glad she was all right now! Jack was coming from his chambers when he saw the lovesick boy staring at the forlorn girl. Heeding Will's suggestion to act a bit more discreet on sensitive matters, he quietly sidled up behind the boy.

"What's to be done, eh?" Jack spoke in his ear, startling Thomas and making him jump.

"Drat you, Jack! You nearly scared the skin right off my back!" He hissed.

"Did I now?" Jack smirked. "So, what ye gonna do, mate, when we reach our destination?"

"I'm still working on that." Thomas sighed.

"We'll be there before ye know it. Once we reach Port Royal, she'll be gone." Jack said nonchalantly.

"I know." Thomas hung his head. "But I don't want her to be! I might never see her again!"

"Well then, mate, why don't you do something about it?" Jack clapped his shoulder.

"I would! But...she's going through a very hard time, Jack." Thomas said softly. "She just lost her father. I don't understand what that kind of grief feels like, but from what I have seen, it is most insidiously painful! Now may not be the right time, for her."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Lad, when the opportune moment is starin' ye in the face, you best seize it, before it knocks ye flat on yur back and runs away, never to return." Jack said. Thomas glanced at him incredulously. "These 'stirrings' you have for the girl, if they be driving you mad now, I hate to think how they will eat away at yur insides if ye don't speak up, like little worms."

"Stirrings?" Thomas frowned.

"You know. Thoughts without words. Eh...the sickening pining! Err...you know what I mean!"

"You mean, feelings, right?"

"Eh, I suppose. If it has gone that far, from stirrings to those tragic feelings, then there's no hope for ye, mate." Jack sighed dramatically. "Better tell her." He poked his arm. "If it's really the way you feel, don't let her get away."

Thomas cleared his throat. "All right." He swallowed hard. He let out a high-pitched squeak of a breath. Jack rolled his eyes.

Love, most vexing thing! He huffed to himself. Turns the most brilliant minds and sturdy fellows into gooey-eyed dolts. He made his way over by Kate but pretended to look at the stars. "You know, no matter how many clouds obscure the sky view, the stars are still up there." He sighed contentedly.

"I know." Kate mumbled. "But it's hard to remember, when you can't see them."

"Can't argue with that." Jack nodded. "So, once we reach the fair city of Port Royal, is it back to changing the bed sheets and fixing up the fine clothes for Lizzie?"

"I do not know. Most likely." Kate sighed. "It's what I've done for years, and it serves me well. I can get along by it...I suppose." She just stared at the book in her hands.

"Well, this is one tale I shan't forget before long." Jack said lightly. "Captain Jack Sparrow, sails the seas, with Darling Katie, the Heart-breaker!"

"What?" Kate frowned.

"He can't wait forever, luv." Jack said.

"Who?"

"You know who." Jack rolled his eyes. Kate hung her head. "Smitten would be putting it lightly." Jack teased.

"I don't know, Jack." Kate sighed. "I feel as if I truly do not understand anything anymore, at least about life. So much has happened in so little time."

"We'd all have died from boredom otherwise." Jack grinned.

"I was just getting to know Dad, and then...Thomas. I've barely known him but for a little while. But now I can't imagine life without him. But I've never been in love before, so I do not understand it."

"You will. When the time comes." Jack said. She looked up at him quizzically. He shrugged and sauntered away.

How does he know so much about it?

Kate decided to visit Will and see how he was doing, when she bumped into Thomas. "Ohh. Sorry about that!" Thomas smiled.

"No, it was clumsy of me." Kate mumbled. "Suppose I'm not too steady on my feet these days."

"Can't blame you." Thomas said. "Kate, I...I want to live in Port Royal when we arrive. I want to...be able to be near you. I can find a job to take care of myself. I just...don't want a life without you in it." Kate looked into his blue eyes and tears filled hers as she smiled. She didn't know what to say. "I love you!" Thomas whispered. Kate panted, overwhelmed.

"I...love...you...too..." She said shakily. Thomas beamed. He leaned his head down and met her lips. She'd never felt anything like this before, and neither had he. It was so new, and pure, and just...beautiful. He placed his arm around her and nuzzled the top of her head with his chin.

"You know, I am the captain of a ship. And being captain of a ship, should you and the lass choose to tie the bloody knot, I could in fact perform a marriage, right here, right on this deck." Jack hinted in Thomas's ear. Thomas gave him a look, and shoved him backwards.