A/N: Hello everyone, I just got back from a two-week vacation and I must say that it's so good to be home!! But guess what... I went to Florida and got caught in Hurricane Charley!!! Yep, I went outside in it and everything. I also got to spend lots of time with my cousins, who are sometimes annoying but mostly entertaining. If you've read my bio and liked the quotes, check it out cuz I've added some new ones from my cousins.

Anyways, a big thank you to Leena for her help with this chapter. So without further ado....

Elizabeth entered her house numbly, feeling almost nothing save the sore spot on her arm where Gillette had gripped her forcefully and led her all the way home. "I will be informing Commodore Norrington of this immediately," he had snarled, tugging her along beside him. "He will be ultimately responsible for deciding what will happen next, but until his decision is made I am placing you under house arrest. You are not to leave your home at any time, for any purpose…" he had continued drabbling on, but his voice became a distant echo as her clogged head began throbbing mercilessly.

In the early days of their marriage, Elizabeth and Will had lived in the governor's mansion with Elizabeth's father. They were happy, enjoying the luxuries that came with inhabiting such an elaborate residence, but Elizabeth had always desired a place of their own, and she was sure Will had felt the same. Several months later, Governor Swann had decided to resign from his position and move back to England, for reasons unknown to everyone save James Norrington. His daughter had, of course, chosen to remain in Port Royal with the man she loved, and the kind governor had had a house built for the young couple shortly before he left.

Elizabeth's home was comfortable, humble but endearing with everything she and her husband would need for themselves and the children they would surely have. It had always radiated contentment and joy for Elizabeth; it always seemed to glow warmly with the love of a happy family. But not now, not anymore. Part of that family was gone, and he would never be coming back. Her home was incomplete.

Will strolled into the parlor, smiling brightly when he saw his wife standing before him. "Elizabeth," he greeted. "Finally, you're home. I was getting worried. I was actually just about to go and look for you. What took so long?"

Elizabeth didn't answer, just stared blankly at his shoes, her lips slightly puckered as she breathed shallowly through her nose.

Will frowned slightly as he studied her appearance. Her hair was wet and tousled as it fell down her back, her dress was also soaked and clinging to her tiny frame. Her face was damp, her honey-colored skin shining with moisture, and her eyes were vacant, like she was reeling from an enormous shock and had drifted into another dimension of herself, a quiet place where she could sort out her feelings. However, more than the appearance of his wife – he supposed it was to be somewhat expected, as it was storming outside and she had most likely walked home in the rain – Will noticed the absence of his son.

"Where is Gavin?" he questioned.

Her gaze swiftly rose to meet his and pain devoured her eyes as they filled with tears. Her lips pressed together as she contained the sobs so desperate to break free, and all breath seemed to escape her. Will read the signs immediately and his worry heightened alarmingly. He stepped closer to her and gripped her by her arms. Elizabeth winced slightly as he touched the forming bruise where Gillette had held her, a painful reminder of the cruel accusations that had been pinned upon her.

"Elizabeth," Will spoke again, more urgently this time, staring straight into her gleaming eyes, "where is our son?"

She inhaled slowly, oxygen trembling as it entered her feeble body. She was nothing; she could not live without her child, could not live with this grief. She stared back into the measuring eyes of her husband, eyes pleading for an answer but still holding an undeniable compassion that made her quake under the intensity of his gaze.

"He's dead," she whispered, feeling her heart break with each word. She pitched forward against Will's chest, releasing her tears to the coarse fabric of his shirt.

"What?" he pulled back in utter disbelief, giving her a hard look of the wildest bewilderment and skepticism. He was struck dumb, completely and thoroughly stunned.

"Please, Will." She stepped into him again, wrapping her arms firmly and desperately around his torso. "Please…" she sobbed, begging him to offer some comfort before asking any more questions.

Will recognized her distress, and though he was desperate to know what had occurred, he pushed his concerns aside for a moment in order to calm her. Elizabeth still felt the nervous tension in his muscles as his loving arms came around her, his fingers combing through her salty hair and his soothing voice murmuring in her ear.

After some moments of nothing but Elizabeth's harsh, ragged sobs, Will pushed her back gently and took her face in his hands, wiping her cheeks with his thumbs. He looked lovingly into her tortured brown eyes, trying to slow her shaking, hysterical breathing with the steadiness of his gaze, but his worry and alarm was still painfully obvious to the woman who knew him best of all.

He stroked her hair back out of her face. "Tell me what happened," he implored quietly but urgently, his voice breaking. "Please."

Her face crumbled as she returned to his embrace, pressing her body against him to avoid the crushing walls of truth constricting her, and sobbed out the story on his chest.

"He drowned, Will. I tried to save him, but the waves and the rain and everything and… and Gillette! He came and pulled me away, I was so close and he stopped me, Will. And then… then he accused me of killing Gavin!" An unforgiving sob broke her words. "I tried to tell him, I really tried but he would have none of it… And now, now I am not to leave the house until Commodore Norrington makes a decision about what will happen next…" She broke off choking on her high-pitched voice, her heart throbbing and her jagged breaths agonizingly loud in her ears.

Will felt tears filling his own eyes as her tale was concluded, and a terrible emptiness ate away a piece of his heart. His son was dead. And his wife was being blamed for it. Her hands were clenching fists around his shirt and her face pressed firmly into his neck, his skin collecting her tears. He could hear her whispering faintly between her broken cries. "I'm sorry," she murmured breathlessly. "I'm so sorry…" Her desperate tone brought more tears flooding to his eyes.

"Shhh," he soothed, stroking her back with shaking fingers. He kissed her hair and guided her to the sofa, where they sat down together and Elizabeth continued to weep into his shoulder. Her hand moved from his collar to his sleeve, touching him with fidgeting movements to quiet restless limbs, until both arms came to rest around his neck, and he rubbed her back with tears slipping past his closed eyes.