A low groan emitted from his throat as he came back to the conscious world at last. He could feel the pain as he moved slight in the side of his stomach, but the fever that had been plaguing him had burned itself out. He opened his eyes, looking around the room. It was early evening by the looks of it, and there seemed to be no one around. The perfect time to escape...that is, if he could move.

Sitting up slowly, he felt the stitches in the side pulling, fresh pain tearing up his side. He looked down, running his hand over the dried blood on the once white bandages. Estrella had left him a fresh shirt on the chair a few feet away, telling him that he could have it when she was satisfied that he was healing ok. But time was at stake and he needed to get going. Throwing his legs over the side, he got to his feet slowly. Standing up slowly, he winced at the new pain, then walked over to the chair. It was hard putting on the shirt, but after a few moments of cursing and struggling, he buttoned it up, slipping the vest on as well. He grabbed his coat, then reached for his weapons. Which weren't there.

"Damn..." He cursed, looking around the room, but the weapons were no where in sight. He dropped the coat on the chair, going through the room, getting down on his knees to check under the cot and the table.

"What are you doing?" Will turned to see Thomas and Alex starting at him. Thomas was holding a pistol at his side, one of Will's, a scared look on his face.

"Where's my other pistol, sword, and dagger?" He asked, getting back up to his feet. Thomas brought the pistol up, his hand shaking, and Will frowned, raising his hands. "What are you doing?"

"We know who you are." Thomas said, and Alex nodded, hiding behind his big brother.

"You and all the rest of the town. Why the sudden hostility?"

"Because you killed innocent people." Will's eyes grew dark, an angry expression crossing his face.

"Where did you hear that?"

Thomas backed up slightly, even more terrified of the pirate. "The soldiers came around this morning, after Estrella left. They were looking for a Captain Matthew Stryder, and the way they described him was a lot like you."

He knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to flush him out by spreading false rumors, hoping someone, an innocent citizen trying to do the right thing would come forward and turn him in. They were even using his assumed alias to do it.

"I am Matt Stryder." He said slowly. "But I've never killed an innocent person."

"The soldiers don't lie to people." Alex spoke up.

"They don't, but maybe someone's lying to them." The two boys look confused. "Sit down." Alex and Thomas scooted towards the chair, Thomas still tightly clutching the pistol. "Look, my real name isn't Matt, it's....how old are you boys?"

"Five." Alex piped up.

"Thirteen." Thomas responded. Will nodded.

"See, there was a man who used to live here, a blacksmith."

"Will Turner." Thomas said. "He was a really nice man. But he died because people thought he was a pirate. Estrella never did, because she knew that even though he had pirate blood, he was a good man." The boy's words quieted Will for a moment, before continuing.

"I'm Will Turner." He said finally. Alex stared at him for a second before bursting into tears. "What? Hey...." Without even thinking about it, Will scooted forwards on his knees towards Alex, trying to calm him down, his fatherly instincts taking over. Alex curled up in the corner of the chair, shying away from him. "What's wrong?"

"You're....you're...you're a g-g-ghost." Alex cried. Will shook his head, an easy smile on his face.

"I'm not a ghost. I'm still alive." The boy sniffled, looking at him. Thomas regarded him as well.

"You're Will? I thought you weren't a pirate." Thomas said finally.

"I wasn't, until that happened." To his surprised, Alex crawled over to him and laid his head against Will's chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around the boy, looking over at Thomas. "I was falsely accused."

"Estrella was right."

"Aye, that she was." Will held out his hand, looking down at the pistol. Thomas looked down as well, then set it in Will's hand.

"Why did you come back?"

Will wasn't sure how to answer the question, staring at the floor. Finally he spoke up. "Bad things are happening and I think Eli...Mrs. Norrington might be in trouble." Thomas nodded.

"They said weird stuff was happening. I'd hate if anything would happen to Mrs. Norrington and Emma, they're both really nice. Commodore Norrington was really nice too." He said quietly. Will felt guilt bloom in his heart, but refused to let his face show it.

"Yeah...which is why I need you to show me where my weapons are so I can go help her." He pleaded. Thomas bit his lip for a moment.

"In the kitchen, in the big pot." Will got to his feet, letting go of Alex.

"Thank you." He strode into the kitchen, and sure enough, there was the pot. There was also someone standing next to it. A very familiar someone. Will's eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded the other man.

"Regular bunch of Lazarus' we all are, aren't we?" He said, an ironic smirk on his face.

Michael, his supposedly dead best friend smirked back. "Well, I never really died, just made it look like I did." He cocked his head. "I thought you'd be more surprised to see me."

"I'm not stupid." The smile disappeared off Will's face. "How much did they have to pay you to betray your best friend, eh? Better be a good sum, or I'll be really insulted." His temper was rising, his hands clenched in fists, cursing that the traitor was between him and his weapons.

"You should know, Will, you looked right at it that night..."

Clapping and cheering filled the tavern as Will and Elizabeth burned up the dance floor, energetically dancing among the rest to the small band that had volunteered to play that night. The smile on Will's face could not be wiped away, and Elizabeth's cheeks were flushed red, glowing happily. Nearby, Governor Swann laughed and clapped his hands, Michael sitting next to him, baby Emma cuddled protectively in his arms as he watched Elizabeth and Will dance. It was the perfect night, no worries to bog them down.

The song ended, and Will came to a halt, catching
Elizabeth in his arms. She sighed, snuggling up against his chest as they walked back to the table, tired.

"This is a wonderful birthday party."
Elizabeth told Michael as they approached. "Thank you."

Michael smiled. "Anything for the beautiful, loving wife of my best friend." He teased, and Will nudged him with his elbow.

"She's taken." He joked, as Michael mockingly hit his head with his palm.

"I knew that." He looked up. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have to go play tavern keeper." He handed Emma to
Elizabeth and took off through the crowd. Elizabeth looked down at the child in her arms.

"She's so tired. I should take her home." She said, looking up at Will. Will nodded, smiling gently.

"Just let me go say good-bye to Michael and I'll be right there." He wandered through the crowd, looking for the other man. He finally found him in the back, talking with two other men. Will stopped a few feet away, and they stopped talking, looking over at him.

"Lieutenant Gillette, sir." He wasn't sure who the other man was, but he nodded to him as well to be polite. He would later come to find out that this man was a mercenary named Ghost. Michael looked over at him.

"Everything ok?" Will nodded.

"Yeah, I just wanted to come thank you for helping me throw this birthday party for
Elizabeth and to say goodnight. Emma's exhausted, so we're going to take her home." He held out his hand to shake Michael's. Michael juggled the large coin purse in one hand over to the other.

"I didn't mind. Anything for my best friend." He said, laughing.


"That was a pretty hefty amount, but looks can be deceiving." He stared at Michael as he said it. "I trusted you..."

"And I could make a fortune off of you." Michael pointed the pistol at him. "And I can make double of what I did last time, because you can't stay dead. So thank you, Will."

Will stared at him. "Why fake your death?"

"Elizabeth was too needy and she was becoming attached. Needed to get away. And being second in command of a mercenary ship has its rewards."

Will growled. "You sold me out for a position on a ship of scumbags."

"And pirates are better?"

"Aye, they ar...." He winced as Michael pulled out another pistol and shot it into the ground near Will's foot. The boys stayed silent and Will thanked God for that.

Michael pointed at the door. "Come on, Mr. Turner, we're going to go see an old friend."