Disclaimer: Yup, still own nothing that you recognize from the movie. Surprised? You shouldn't be.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys, I love you all!!! Sorry this chapter's taken so long, I've been so busy lately!!! This is a short chapter, unfortunately, but I needed to get an update up. I'm already starting on the next chappy and conceptualizing my next story. I've also changed the formatting to double-space after getting a headache reading previous chapters. I'll start reformatting all the others slowly too. Enjoy!!

Chapter 11

Ashe smiled tremulously at Jack as he extended his hand towards her, aware that his eyes roamed over her entirely too many times to be casual, and also aware of the fact that he wasn't making any effort to hide it. Great.

What the hell was wrong with her anyway? Why had she agreed to this? Whenever she was around Jack, she seemed to act like a complete fool. Why the hell was she ready to go out to dinner with a man? Why the hell had she worn this dress? What was happening to her? She was just about to say that she couldn't go after all and risk his ridicule when she glanced up toward him.

She caught his eyes and all of her fears were erased. What was she so worried about? It was only Jack, after all. Nothing to get all stressed about.

For the first time since she had met him, Ashe was suddenly aware of the creeping sense of wrongness she felt in the back of her mind when Jack was around. But while she was staring into those deep blue pools, she couldn't, she wouldn't pay attention to that. She was being over-calculating as always, trying to be a step ahead of herself.

'Time to grow up, Ashe,' she thought grimly as she placed her hand in Jack's. The contact once again brought with it that stinging sense of being ripped open and searched for something. But who, she wondered, was doing the searching? She ignored the feeling, marking it down to her nerves.

Jack smiled and led her through the door.

"You look great," he said, obviously being generous. Ashe appreciated the effort, but doubted his sincerity. She wondered again why she had chosen to wear this dress. It had been given to her prior to her departure, for the purpose of helping her with her assignment here. She suddenly felt a surge of shame that she was completely ignoring said assignment, but it passed quickly. For the first time since her birth, it seemed, Ashe was having a good time that had nothing to do with the sea or nature around her. And everything to do with the man still holding her hand as they mounted the stairs that led to the fourth deck and the dining room.

As they walked in strangely comfortable silence, Ashe tried hard not to remember the nightmare she had had. It was no different from all the other nightmares that had come to her since her ordeal two years ago, but it had been more vivid, more real. Closer. She shivered, causing Jack to look over at her inquiringly.

"Cold?" he asked, his hand snaking up her arm to wrap around her shoulders.

'Nice move,' Ashe thought dryly as she shook her head, trying not to freak out at the gesture.

"No," she said, smiling apologetically, "Just got a little chill. I'm fine, really."

Jack nodded but didn't move. Ashe frowned slightly, not liking the awkward silence that had suddenly come between them. Jack was looking at her with an odd light in his eyes, one she didn't entirely like. Once more she was struck with the sensation of something being dreadfully wrong, and this time it was harder to shake. Se wondered if she was going crazy and inwardly snorted.

'If anyone was to go crazy,' she thought bitterly, 'It would probably be me. I don't have the best record for that, do I?'

"Uh…Jack?" she said, nudging him slightly. Jack, who had been staring at her with unfocused eyes, shook his head slightly and smiled.

"Sorry," he said smoothly, "I guess I just zoned out there for a minute. Must be the rocking movement," he joked, reminding Ashe of the previous day when she had knocked into him. She blushed slightly at the memory and she couldn't tell whether she felt intensely relieved or disappointed when his arm came down from around her shoulders and got stuffed into his pocket.

They commenced walking again. The entrance to the main dining room was just around the next corner, and the muffled noises of hundreds of people eating, drinking, talking and laughing filled the hallway.

Ashe fought down a surge of panic at the thought of facing that many people. It had been one thing that afternoon in the pub to feel safe. It was quite another in a gigantic, packed ballroom.

Amazing how much had changed in a day. When Ashe had arrived onboard, she had been too skittish to go near a pair of people, let alone a room packed with them. She had not let a male within her personal space for eight years, let alone kissed one in a public place. She had never in her life been out alone with a man, and now she was going on what amounted to an unofficial date. What had changed so quickly?

Ashe glanced over to the tall brunette beside her. What was it about Jack that had brought about all these changes? Was it truly the fact that he not only noticed her but sought her out to talk? Was it the charm that seemed to drift from him to wrap around her when he looked at her?

Ashe made a face behind his back as he entered the ballroom ahead of her. What was it about Jack that made her do something stupid like go out in public and…

Oh dear god. There were so many people! They were eating, dancing, socializing. Laughing, talking, yelling to each other. Ashe felt every muscle in her body freeze and concentrated on breathing.

A few people close by glanced up as Jack walked into the ballroom, and Ashe saw the whites of their eyes. She froze, shaking like a deer in headlights. Her chest heaved and she shook her head violently. What had she been thinking? She couldn't face these many people! She was invisible Ashe that nobody noticed. She was a bitch, she was a nobody, she wasn't meant for being around people. She hated people!

Without another coherent thought, she bolted back down the hallway. Why had she agreed to come here? Why had she thought that she could possibly make a difference? How was she supposed to find the person she was looking for if she couldn't even walk into a crowded room? Why had she allowed herself to get swept away by her trust in Jack and believe even for a second that she would be alright?

She had been away from the world for too long. Tears leaked from her eyes and she wiped them furiously away as she walked quickly back to her room. She wasn't aware of any voices or footsteps behind her until someone touched her shoulder. The touch was icy cold, almost numbing, and Ashe spun around with a scream, caught up in images from her memory. She gasped in shock when the touch turned out to be that of the Sean Murphy.

The man put a finger to his lips and beckoned her toward a staircase. From the looks of it, the staircase wasn't used very often. It probably led down to one of the storage holds. So why did Murphy want her to go down there with him? Ashe could think of a few reasons.

"I don't think so," Ashe said coldly, resorting to her ice bitch mode as she always did when threatened. Memories cascaded back to her: the pack of men, the screams for help, the dark, dirty alley…

Ashe began to turn away, readying herself for a quick fight or flight if he decided to assert himself. She knew from the moment she saw him that he was trouble. The way he had looked at her up on the deck earlier…no wonder Jack didn't seem to like him.

But before she could start to continue back to her cabin, Ashe realized something. Where was Jack? Had he bothered to come after her?

Her heart fell and shattered for what seemed like the billionth time. Of course not. After all, she was nobody. Jack could have any woman he wanted; he didn't need a terrified, unstable, invisible nobody like her. Tears welled in her eyes again as she realized what a fool she had been. She had been sent here to find someone, not to fraternize with some asshole male that had come so close to…She remembered that sense of something being wrong that she had felt in her room as she had looked at him. Fury suddenly sprang up in her mind. Could it be…could he be…?

Ashe resisted the urge to club herself over the head with the wall numerous times and contented herself instead with biting her lip till it bled, trying to stop the tears from falling. What was wrong with her? How could she have been so blind, so stupid? How could she have allowed herself to hope that she could find happiness with people? People were an inconvenience, an obstacle that she had to get around in order to live the life she had always wanted, free of their confines.

Then she looked at Murphy. The old man had the look of one who had seen a lot in his lifetime. His eyes held a wisdom that came not from any books but from years of learning the ways of the world firsthand. He certainly didn't look like the kind to lure women down abandoned stairways.

Ashe was suddenly reminded of the fantasies she used to entertain about her father. She had always imagined her father with the same wisdom in his eyes, the same cynical world-weariness that Murphy's held, and yet the same contentment of a life lived well away from the confines of what others wanted, away from the pressures of being tied to a family. Ashe's mother had told her that her father was a seaman, a wanderer. Ashe saw in Murphy's eyes the gleam of one who had done what he loved for years and an appreciation of what the sea had to offer, the same appreciation she herself held.

Ashe closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, there stood Murphy. His eyes held a calculating look as he stared at her. They were also tinged with hurt at her cold words. Giving her head a slight shake, Ashe smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I don't know what got into me."

Ashe looked at the floor for a moment, silently ashamed at her rudeness. Murphy had never done anything to harm her. She remembered his words of earlier that day:

"Makes you wish you were out there, doesn't it? Out amongst that blue world where you can make your own rules."

Ashe looked up with a smile. Murphy gave her a flicker of a smile in return, knowing that she had changed her mind. His arm once more beckoned down the stairwell.

"Come here, Ashe," he said softly with that slight Irish lilt, "I have to show you something."

Taking a deep breath and deciding to try once more to trust, Ashe followed his strangely silent footsteps as he led the way down the staircase.

Jack took Ashe's hand and led her out of her room. This was it. He had wasted enough time on her. If he was going to use her for his plans, he had to win her over tonight.

Her hand was warm in his, and for a minute Jack allowed himself a small moment of anticipation. The trust he had implanted in her mind was growing, fed by the thoughts of comfort he kept pushing on her. Things were going perfectly. If he could just get past that wall, he would have her. His eyes roamed over her as he allowed his mind to wander toward what he would do once he had her under his control. It had been a long time since he had indulged in the pleasures a woman could give him, and Ashe was just the kind he liked…

Suddenly, he felt Ashe shiver beside him. He glanced over at her face, which was still pale from whatever had haunted her dreams.

"Cold?" he asked, taking the opportunity for more physical contact by putting his arm over her shoulders. She tensed but, to Jack's immense satisfaction, not as much as the previous day.

"No," she said with a faint smile, obviously lying through her teeth, "Just got a little chill. I'm fine, really."

Jack nodded slightly as he looked her over again. He didn't believe her. For the first time, he started to get an uneasy feeling. He didn't doubt that whatever had caused her this much unease both in her sleep and in waking had something to do with that mysterious ordeal she had gone through two years ago and her apparent removal from her former life. Once again he wondered what it was. That was the first thing he would find out upon gaining access to her mind and all of her dirty little secrets…

"Uh…Jack?"

His mind snapped back to the hallway to see Ashe staring at him, her eyebrows lowered into a polite frown. He shook his head slightly.

"Sorry," he said quickly, striving for his normal suavity, "I guess I just zoned out there for a minute. Must be the rocking movement."

He attempted at a joke, only causing her to blush and look at the floor. Okay, not a joke kind of girl. That was fine, because he felt the need to be serious right now. He had work to do. Sensing her growing discomfort with his arm around her, he lowered it and jammed his hand into his pocket.

They continued on their way, Ashe tensing more and more as they approached the dining hall.

Jack stepped into the ballroom and looked around. Ashe was a step or so behind him, and as he waited for her to enter his eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the huge space. This would be a perfect place to start his plan, but how to get everyone in here? And, that done, how would he go about killing them quickly and efficiently? His eyes traveled upwards to the chandeliers criss-crossing the ceiling like a glittering web, his lips pursing in approval. Electrical wire, heavy brass, shattering glass. Chaotic. Perfect.

His gaze lazily, casually drifted over to the doors leading to the kitchen. Those could easily be rigged to explode inward, creating a barricade. The heavy doors leading into the hall could also be blocked, but he would need willing help; help his ghosts couldn't provide him with. Help with tangible hands. That's where Ashe came in.

Jack's eyes opened wide. Wait a minute. Where was Ashe? He glanced behind him only to see the hallway clear of people. Gritting his teeth, Jack cast his mind out, seeking her. After a minute, he snarled in frustration. He couldn't find her! What the hell was going on? Maybe all the living minds in the ballroom were interfering with his senses.

Backing casually out of the doorway and back into the fluorescent-lit corridor, he leaned against the paneled wall. He tried again. Nothing. Light from the dining room poured out into the hall, mixing with the moonlight shining through a window on the opposite side. Closing his eyes, Jack fought down the unease rising in his chest and tried once again, concentrating on the feel of her.

There! By the staircase leading down to the lower hold. The hold where his crew and the gold was kept!

Something was wrong. Something was different. The small cracks and fissures he had succeeded in making in her mental wall had closed and there was now what felt like an extra layer protecting her. Like a mental barbed-wire fence that cut sharply at his own mind. What the hell was going on here?

His face set in a mask of concealed fury, Jack broke mental contact and stalked back down the corridor. This was it. He would find someone else to help his plan. Ashe was going to be of no use to him now. He had to kill her.

A small, sadistic smile bloomed on his lips as Jack thought of the advantages of her position. He would catch up with her and drag her down the stairs to the hold. Then he would make Murphy watch as he killed her. Jack's pace quickened as the thought of revenge swirled in his mind.

"This is it, Ashe," he thought, "You blew it. That was your second chance, your last chance. Now your time's up."