Usual disclaimers. blah!

Sunny day today - so it is washing again!

Thanks for all the nice reviews... here is something fuzzy to keep Blue Trinity happy!

***

Elizabeth was woken early in the morning by Richael who she could hear yet again sobbing in the girls' room. She still suffered occasionally from nightmares about the time on the Nessa Rose but at least they seemed to be lessening. Elizabeth rose quietly and wrapped her dressing gown around her, trying not to disturb Will who was still asleep.

She carefully lit a candle and crept across the landing, pushing open the door. Richael was sitting up in bed her eyes red. "I heard flames..."

"Ssshhh!" Elizabeth comforted. "It was just a bad dream again." She placed the candle carefully by the bedside.

"No... it was real! I know it was real!" Richael insisted, her voice rising indignantly that she was not believed.

"Shhh!" Elizabeth glanced across at Eilis. She was glad that Eilis had not woken as well tonight with the sound of her sister crying. Eilis was much harder to calm for she would scream for Jack - or Funny Man as she liked to call him. Elizabeth was not sure what Jack would say if he was aware that she knew his nickname. Perhaps she should tease him next time they visited. "Dreams can be like that some times, but they are just dreams." She hugged Richael tightly. "How about a glass of milk and a cuddle," she suggested, trying to distract her as she offered her hand to Richael.

She was relieved when Richael nodded, and they walked quietly from the room, heading down the narrow stairs. Elizabeth frowned as she walked - she had thought it still early, but the kitchen was full of light. Puzzled she pulled the thin cotton curtains.

"Oh my God!" Elizabeth gasped in shock as Richael screamed, grabbing her hand tightly in fear, remembering the Nessa Rose burning.

"It was real!" Richael screamed. "It was real! I told you it was real!"

Will!" she ran to the base of the stairs, shouting up at him. "Will! Come quick! Port Royal's on fire!" Elizabeth turned, comforting Richael as best she could.

Will stumbled out of bed, managing to pull on his trousers as he hopped and stumbled down the stairs. "What?" he gasped.

"The town is on fire!" She pointed out the window in fear at the flames which were clearly visible.

Will followed her panicked gaze, instantly taking in the danger to the town. "Get all the children and your father and head out of town. Keep to the road and go as fast as you can!" he ordered, dashing back upstairs to get his boots. He returned with the remainder of the money that Jack had given them. "Lock the door behind you," he reminded her as he dashed out the door. "And keep that safe!"

"Will! Where are you going?" she screamed.

He skidded to a halt. "I have to help! Get everyone to safety now Elizabeth - no arguments please!" He paused. "Don't forget the kittens!" Will turned and continued to race down the hill, terrified of what he would find. A large part of the poorer houses were made of wood and would quickly burn.

He turned the corner into the street that Theodore's house was in, surprised to find a crowd gathered and were trying to put out the fire with a bucket chain. The house was well ablaze which surprised him for it was constructed of stone and yet the fire seemed to be inside the house only.

Frantically Will shouldered his way past the crowd, trying to get into the building but the lobby and lower rooms were well ablaze. Even as used to heat as he was, it was searing and forced him back - he could not enter. A scream pierced the night, somebody was alive. Frantically he looked up seeing a face at the window. His eyes widened as he saw it was one of the maids, baby Charlotte in her arms. She had forced open the window but was too scared to jump.

"Someone's in there! Help me!" Will shouted at two of the men nearby, climbing over the railings and up to the window with their help. For a moment he clung to the ledge before hauling himself inside. The room was rapidly filling with smoke, stinging his eyes. He coughed. "Quickly," he urged. "Give me Charlotte!" He pulled a blanket from her bed.

"I..." she stuttered, but handed him the baby.

Will took Charlotte from her, wrapping the baby tightly in the blanket. He dangled the blanket out of the window, trusting and praying that she would not wriggle as those below reached up for her. He sighed in relief as she reached safety. He glanced backwards realising that the flames were licking the outside of the door and beginning to creep underneath. "You next!" he ordered, grabbing the maid.

"No!" she panicked, struggling wildly but he picked her up, forcing her towards the window.

"Hold my hand and I'll lower you down!" he shouted, aware that the wooden door behind him was now well afire, the heat causing rivulets of sweat to drip down his bare back. The maid continued to struggle. "Do as I say or you'll die!" Will shouted. "Now!"

She blinked as he shouted at her, grabbing hold of his wrists. He helped her through the window, leaning further out and lowering her down until those below could grab her. He looked behind him in panic as the furnishings of the room began to burn before quickly clambering down to safety himself. The maid had reclaimed Charlotte from the townsfolk and the baby was crying loudly.

"Miss! Take Charlotte up to the Governor's house, she will be safe there..." He was relieved when she nodded and ran up the hill with the baby.

"Was anyone else inside?" a voice in the crowd asked worriedly.

Will looked around at the crowd, frantically scanning faces. "Edmund and Mary... has anyone seen them?" Nobody replied. "Has anyone seen them?" he repeated urgently, glancing back at the house. He knew there was no way he would get through the nursery for the landing was well alight. A crash from within suggested it had collapsed. Thinking quickly he ran around the side of the building, climbing the wall and dashing along the balcony. He reached Theodore and Mary's room, shocked to see it was already well ablaze. "Mary!" he shouted. "Mary!" But there was no response.

He reached for the window to push it open, but the heat had become so intense that the glass shattered. Will threw his arm up, trying to shield his face, but the force of the heat and the glass pushed him backwards. The ornate railing behind him buckled and he fell backwards, landing heavily on the path below. He lay there, dazed and winded, looking up at the blazing house. He jumped, scrambling back as the roof timbers gave way and the inside of the house collapsed. He realised that if anyone else had been in there they were now dead. He sighed heavily, gingerly rising and checked himself over, surprised to find that apart from being cut by the glass and a little singed he was relatively unhurt. The same could not be said for the bushes that Mary had planted - not only had they broken his fall but already they were withering in the heat. Will staggered from the garden with the realisation that there was nothing more he could do. He turned, stumbling down the hill towards his smithy which was right in the middle of the fires, fearing what he would find for the smithy was largely made of wood.

Everywhere he ran he saw people forming bucket chains, their faces blackened with the smoke and terror in their eyes. Many livelihoods, and probably lives, would be lost that night. He ran on. "No!" Will realised one of the buildings well alight was indeed his own smithy, the beams crashing down inside with the heat. A small crowd of people were trying to extinguish the flames with water from the docks but he could see it was hopeless. A large part of Port Royal would be burned to the ground tonight.

"William!" He turned to see Nate Burns one of the local innkeeps holding the donkey. "We managed to rescue your animal, but the place was well alight... we couldn't save anything..." He looked at the blacksmith's cut and singed appearance. "What happened to you?"

"Theodore's house is destroyed too... I managed to rescue Charlotte and one of the maids but..." he gulped, his throat rough with smoke and tears, "but I couldn't find anyone else..." He sat down on the ground, his head in his hands as he dejectedly watching the smithy burn and his livelihood go up in flames.. "I guess I'm not the only one ruined tonight..." he sighed.

***

He was still sitting there hours later when Elizabeth and the children came to find them, the Commodore escorting her through the debris. Weatherby Swann walked in a daze behind them, shocked by the devastation of the fire.

"Will!" she cried in delight, relieved to find him alive, throwing her arms around him as she kissed him.. She had been frantic when he had not come to find them and when it looked as if the fires were safely contained she had come to find him.

"James!" Eilis squealed, throwing her arms around the donkey. She smiled at Will. "You saved James!"

Will winced, looking up at the Commodore. "The girls named him... they didn't know your name..."

James Norrington stood there speechless. Elizabeth began to giggle, trying to restrain her laughter and failing miserably. Will caught her eye and started to laugh too. Eventually James Norrington started to chuckle. "James the donkey, eh?" They all laughed, ignoring the strange looks from the nearby townsfolk.

Gradually he sobered, looking at the ruined smithy. "I will send some men to help with the rebuilding - we will need you in the coming days..."

"Best send me some carpenters then - I've no handles on my tools and all of the wheel mechanism is ruined!" He smiled affectionately at Elizabeth who hugged him tightly, shocked at the loss of the smithy but glad he was alive.

"Well, repairing the smithy is a priority, and any other vital business," the Commodore assured him.

"Is there any news on Mary or Edmund?" Will asked.

Elizabeth gasped in horror, not realising that Theodore's house had been affected.

The Commodore sighed deeply. "We have not been able to enter the building, it is totally collapsed inside. But there is no sign of Mary or Edmund Groves and I fear for them. I understand you rescued Charlotte and the maid... did you see or hear anything, anything at all?"

Will shook his head. "Nothing... the door was already on fire when I got out..." Elizabeth looked at him in alarm, not realising before how close he'd come to danger. She gasped when she saw the myriad of cuts partially concealed by the soot. He smiled at her. "Come, we'd better get your father and the children home... and the animals." He turned to James Norrington. "I will call by the Fort later Commodore to discuss the help I will need."

Will took Elizabeth, the children and the animals back to their house, relieved to find it unaffected by the fire. He was grateful that Jack's money had stretched to a stone house with a cellar. He tethered the donkey in the small courtyard garden before following them inside. He had been surprised at the offer of help from the Commodore, but considering how many repairs he would have to do and replacement items for things destroyed in the fire, Will knew he would be busy for many months.

***