Anyhow! Thanks to all you for being patient and very helpful. Specially Namarie2Legolas who is now my unofficial muse! I also like to thank all of you who sent really good ideas that I'm playing off of.

Well Merry Christmas to you all and also Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanza! So this is the only Christmas present I can give you so here it is. Chapter 29!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Home Again

"Wait, you're not coming?" Alaina asked, alarmed, as her father gave the boys a hug and turned to her.

"I have to find him, Alaina," Will told her, ignoring the pain he felt as he saw tears well up in her eyes.

"But why?" she asked, her tears blurring her vision.

"I won't be a whole person until I do it," he told her, gently grasping her shoulders and looking in her dark brown eyes that were so much like his own.

"You'll never be a whole person again!" she almost yelled, shoving his hands off her. "Mom's gone," she told him, catching her breath. "And we can't bring her back. Nothing can bring her back."

Will's eyes threatened to fill with tears, but he held them back. "I know that, but I have to do this," he told her in a lower tone. Alaina bit her lip and looked down at the deck. "He took her away from me, from us," he said. "And I'll be damned if he gets away with it."

"Please don't leave us again," she begged as the tears began to flow down her face.

"I'm sorry," Will told her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"I have to do this," he told her, regretting that he had to leave them. Alaina pulled away from him and hastily made her way off the ship, followed quickly by her brothers.

"Carrick," Will called, and the young man came to his side. "Watch out for them will you?" he asked. Carrick nodded and followed the trio.

Will watched as what remained of his family make their way out of the harbor. He didn't know if he had made the right choice by just dropping them off and going out to find Captain Partuse alone. He knew Alaina and the boys wanted that man almost as much as he did, but they had been through enough and needed a break from all the turmoil.

James had taken the letter Will had written for Governor Swann; he'd had James promise that he'd give it to his grandfather as soon as possible. Will had also made his son promise him he wouldn't let anyone read it except his grandfather. It told Governor Swann what had happened and to take care of the children should he not return.

"Captain," Hans said, coming up beside his captain. "Are we sailing out now?"

Will looked over at his first mate and nodded.

***

Alaina led the group quickly through the streets of Port Royal, the town she'd grown up in and now resented. Her father was leaving again, to kill the man who had murdered their mother. And maybe yet to be killed. And each time he left them marooned in this god forsaken town.

"Alaina," Carrick said, coming up beside her and taking her arm, trying to get her to slow down. She glanced at him and he sighed. She looked horrible; she was stressed and traumatized by what had been going on the past few years, as well as what was going on now.

"I don't want him to die, Carrick," she whispered, not wanting her brothers to hear her. Carrick sighed and put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

"That's the house!" Jack yelled as he caught sight of the familiar red brick house and began to run.

"I don't want to go back," Alaina said in a low voice, wanting just to break away from her friend's comfort and run away. Somewhere. Anywhere but there, in that house.

"It'll be all right. I'm right here, and I'll be here," Carrick assured, knowing that she wanted to go away. Alaina gave a halfhearted grin and they slowly walked up the small sidewalk and in the door, which the boys had left open.

They could hear Mrs. Bates in the kitchen—praising God they were back. Alaina quietly turned and shut the door.

"Can you help me up to my room?" Alaina asked Carrick, taking in the house, its familiarity and the memories it brought back.

Carrick nodded and they headed up the stairs, arm in arm. "You have a very nice home," he told her, looking it over with awe.

"It's your home too," she told him, reaching the top of the stairs. He looked over at her, a little shocked and confused. "As long as you like," she assured, pointing at her closed door.

"Your room is right down the hall and to the left," she told him, motioning down the hall. "And you can change into my dad's things, which are in the room on the other end of the hall."

Carrick smiled at her gratefully and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Thank you, Alaina."

Alaina's heart fluttered, then she cringed. All she could think about was how Alex used to do that.

"I'll be right in that room if you need anything," he promised, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze before letting go and heading towards the room.

Secretly he hoped she would come to him. He enjoyed their talks, and lately they had developed a more intimate kind of friendship.

It wasn't uncommon now for them to hold one another's hand, or for her to rest her head against his chest and fall asleep on the deck after a hard day. Although, he had been cornered by Captain Sparrow several times and had been given a talk about how to treat her.

He had promised himself long ago that he would never entrust his heart to anyone. 'But still,' he thought, turning to see her slip inside her room, 'there is something about her.' Something that had first attracted him to her that he still couldn't figure out.

Sighing, he turned the knob and opened the door to a spacious room with a large double bed in the middle that seemed inviting enough. Silently he shut the door behind him and took off his boots and shirt, then slid into the soft, cushiony bed. Immediately he fell into a deep sleep.

***