Wow, you guys really love getting regular updates. Oh well, I suppose I would too. Exams are over! Yay! *happy dance* Well, this chapter is done, but it took me a good while. Its pretty long, though, so I guess I'm off the hook. *shrugs* Oh, and sorry in advance to all the die-hard Will fans here, but you'll have to put up with my Morgan/Jack innuendos in this chapter- couldn't resist putting a little Jack in me… uh, I mean… in here… uh, right, scratch that. My sick jokes should just stay in my mind. Ok, here we go…

Oh, by the way, to either Homestar's Girl or Lizard, there is indeed the one true pick-up line in here- the second-last line of the chapter. I just had to… it was so tempting.

And on one final note, tell me if you think I should up the rating to R now. I'm bad at choosing ratings. Anyways, please and thank you to reviewers!

***

Will's face lit up and he lifted her slender figure off of the ground and twirled her around by the waist. "You're amazing, Aletté." He let her feet touch back down onto the smooth marble floors. "You're beautiful."

"Oh where have I heard that before?" A cool, scathing voice interjected. The pair of them spun around to discern the speaker.

Elizabeth was standing in the doorway.

Will's lighted face seemed to darken a little. Aletté however, much to her own surprise, felt no resentment towards the woman who stood observing them with her cold stare and merciless eyes. He loves me, she thought. That's all I need to know. For Will, though, the situation was not quite as simple. Yes, he loved Aletté. He knew that most assuredly. But the fact remained that Elizabeth was the mother of his son- something he couldn't change, even if he'd wanted to.

"Good evening, Elizabeth." He said, trying to sound warm though still sounding formal despite his efforts.

"It's Miss Swann!" She snapped. Her eyes turned their bone-chilling attention to Aletté, almost staring right through her. Aletté trembled and looked at her feet. Elizabeth turned back to Will. "I wonder how I'm going to explain this to your son."

Will glanced up at her questioningly. "You didn't have much trouble in explaining your betrothal."

"That's different." She justified, taking a few heated steps into the room. "Captain Jacobs wasn't Jacky's nursemaid. It's not like I knew him before now." She turned her attention to a quivering Aletté. "Whatever flattery and slander he's been feeding you, I'd advise you not to buy it. He'll save your life, oh yes, but he wont have the human decency to stay by your side!" She stamped her foot.

Aletté looked up and said, in a very quiet voice, "I can choose men for myself."

"So much you know." Elizabeth muttered sarcastically.

"What?" Aletté hissed.

Will winced. "Not good." Any confrontation between two such feisty women was bound to end badly.

"I said-" Elizabeth spun on her heel to face the slender girl. "-what do you know about men? You- you!" She laughed maliciously in her throat. "You the sheltered nursemaid! What have you ever been through? How much do you know?"

Will could feel Aletté's anger hanging in a thick fog around her. This would be bad. Very bad. "Oh not good!"

"What do you mean what have I been through? What do you think I had to do to earn a living in Singapore? What do you think?" She clenched her fists tightly. A look of utter abhorrence crossed Elizabeth's face. "This is the first decent thing that's ever happened to me!" Aletté noticed the disgust that was plainly visible on the other woman's face. "Oh fantastic! You- you think I'm unclean too now don't you? Ugh! You- you pig-headed, arrogant aristocratic fools!" She turned and ran from the room, making her way out onto the balcony. The sun had dipped beneath the horizon now, and the stars had come out over the rolling hillside of Sierrbo. The cool midsummer breeze was soothing on her warm cheeks. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" Aletté turned around. King Rico was standing on the balcony a few feet down. She blushed, realising this wasn't exactly a private area. Rico did not see her embarrassment in the darkness. "I do love Sierrbo. It makes Madrid look like a foul settlement of swindlers and busybodies." Aletté laughed. "It's so quiet here at night."

She nodded. "It's lovely. Much nicer than Singapore, though I haven't travelled all that extensively."

Rico shook his head. "It is not in the number of comparisons we make that we find a true fit. It is by what brings rest to our souls."

"Some souls are not looking for rest." Aletté murmured, forgetting that she was talking to a king, feeling more like he was an old friend.

"Like yours, Katharina?" Her mother's name again.

She nodded. "Like mine." She paused. "Why did I stand to inherit the throne- you're not my grandfather, are you?"

Rico chuckled. "Heavenly love, no. No, I am… well, I suppose I am your great uncle. I had two brothers, one of them was your grandfather. The other- the youngest- married a Portuguese princess who had a son from a previous marriage. I believe you've already met him- Devante deMalpien. He's no true nephew of mine- thank the Gods! But he is of royal blood by more than marriage- he was next in line to the throne after Katharina. Dear, dear Katharina- she was quite fond of parties also. She was such a bright child…" He closed his eyes and reminisced.

"But I thought my mother was disowned." Aletté said. "If she was disowned she wouldn't be able to claim the throne, would she?"

"Disowned?" Rico scoffed. "Not in my kingdom! No niece of mine will ever be disowned- not in my dynasty!" He sighed. "If only I had had children of my own… but no matter. I suppose the crown will have to be appointed when I pass into slumber, now that you have abdicated and Devante stripped of his title- I never liked that fellow, did you?"

Aletté shrugged. "I didn't really get a chance to meet him away from… awkward circumstances." Rico laughed at her wording.

Will made his way out onto the balcony, catching Rico's attentive green eyes. The boy intrigued him, to say the least. If anything, he wondered at the nature of his relationship to Rico's great niece. As Will paced further from the room from which he had come, Aletté smiled weakly at him. "What did Elizabeth say?"

He sighed. "She's going back to Peridio with Jack's crew in two days. She's taking my son- our son with her. She doesn't want to stay here longer than she has to. She says Jacky needs to be raised in a more nurturing milieu."

Aletté suddenly felt so… guilty. Will needed to be there for his son- that was his first duty. "Will," she began, "if you want to go with them I'll understand."

He glanced at her timidly. "I don't want to leave you."

She pasted on a smile. "It wouldn't be forever. Besides, I'll be more than occupied here. New home, new family. I can wait for you."

Will turned away and looked up at the stars. "This is the first time in my life that I have had absolutely no idea what to do."

Aletté placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just do what's in your heart." In the background, Rico slowly tottered away, smiling to himself.

Will turned back to her and touched her cheek. "I don't know about that- you know, you're the only thing that's in my heart right now."

She laughed. "Follow your head then."

"My head says I should go where my son goes."

"Then do." She didn't feel like she was losing him this time. "I want you to be a good father- better than mine, at least." A laugh escaped her lips. "Jacky needs you right now- I can wait. When he's older, you can bring him here sometimes. I'll be waiting for you."

Will couldn't express how indebted to her he felt at that moment. "I love you, Aletté." A lone tear spilled out from her eye and danced its way down her cheek. "Oh God, Aletté, please don't cry." He swept her up into his arms, burying his nose in her straight blonde hair.

She smiled to herself. "I'm not crying because I'm sad, Will." His fingers traced their way up and down her back. She pulled out of his embrace reluctantly. "Now go help Jack prepare for the return journey."

"You'll be alright alone?" He asked.

"I'll manage by my lonesome." She smiled and watched as he left the room. Then she added to herself, "I have for ten years now." She strolled out onto the balcony and felt a few raindrops as they fell from the heavens. More and more joined them, until Aletté was soaked to the bone. And yet her mood was not in the least bit dampened.

He loves me.

She felt so amazing, so full of life. She felt immortal.

The rain cant hurt me now.

***

Morgan stood on deck next to Jack, watching him bellow out orders to his crew. She smiled, placing a hand on her still-small abdomen. Being only three months into her pregnancy, nothing but morning sickness plagued her. She was thankful to be back with Jack… back were she felt safe.

He turned to her and smiled. "Care to come indoors, luv?" She nodded, laughing as he winked and lead her down the steps, through the doors and into a dimly-lit, messy room. The moment she turned around, his arms were around her, his mouth tantalizingly close to hers. "Mmm…" Jack mumbled. "I've missed you, Morgan darling."

He kissed her hungrily, his tongue sliding in and out of her mouth. She responded almost immediately and nibbled at his lower lip, hearing him groan into her mouth. His lips left hers and traveled farther down to the place between her shoulder and her neck, where they paused to suck and tease the skin there. She moaned.

"Liked that, didn't you?" He smiled and leaned her back against the table, spilling papers onto the already-messy floor. They kissed again, Morgan's hands massaging the back of Jack's neck and toying with his beads. He moved further down her body, stopping when he came to her abdomen. He kissed her lightly there, but this one playful, almost innocent touch of his lips to her skin sent an achy tremor coursing through her body.

"Oh for God's sake, Jack-" She pulled his mouth back up to hers and let her tongue explore his own. He groaned.

"Now, luv, you don't want to get me started, or I wont be able to stop." He whispered in her ear when she finally desisted her persistent delving into his mouth.

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Jack," She gasped, "pants off. Now."

She didn't have to tell him twice.

***

Review Replies:

Erin Richards-

I needed an eccentric character. I figured King Rico would fit the bill. Uh, Aletté just said baby Jack was her son so they wouldn't kill her. Hope that was clear. Sorry, I can be a little vague sometimes. Please get to work on your fic ASAP- I love it! (dearly not queerly- hahaha… boohoo, that was lame!)

-SQ

blueglass25- (who must really hate logging in)

Wow- favourite fic? I'm so flattered! You rule- thanks for all the reviews. Let me know if you ever want me to review one of your stories. And sorry Aletté cant be queen. *mutters* Stupid abdication form…

-SQ

untypical-

Sorry about the cliff-hangers… really, I am. But I couldn't write just one giant chapter- where's the fun in that? Well, glad you liked the plot twistiness…The Morgan/Jack thing was a bit out of place, but I love Jack. *blushes* I couldn't resist. Rico is Aletté's great uncle- hope I cleared that up in this chapter!

-SQ

**A note for Elentari II**

I'm not sure if I can get Meryl into this, but I'll try- really I will! She's a cool character and I want to write her in, but I'm not sure if I can without interrupting the flow of the story too much. Just letting you know that I'll try.

-SQ

PLEASE REVIEW!

-SQ