Nick woke up three days later to find the house unusually quiet. Getting up, he quickly donned his clothes and went down into the kitchen: nothing. He stared. There was no breakfast set out on the table or anything. His heart beating fast, he raced up to his parents bedroom and pushed open the door. The sheets on the bed were torn back and thrown across the floor. His parents would never have done that. Nick screamed. Almost to his relief, the door down the hall flew open and a very unruffled Tori poked her head out. "Would ya mind shuttin' up?" she asked, yawning widely.

She suddenly noticed Nick's fearful expression: not even something she could have done. Throwing aside the dislike she had for him, at least for the moment, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Nick opened his mouth and nothing came out. He pointed to Will and Elizabeth's opened room. Tori raised her eyebrows and shuffled down the hall in her nightgown. Her mouth fell as she looked into the room. "Do you.?"

Nick didn't get any farther. Ignoring the fact that she was wearing a dress, she raced down the hall and threw open the door of the guest room Jack and Anamaria had been sharing. It was the same as Will and Elizabeth's room except worse. Vases were broken, the curtains were torn, and it looks as though someone had put up a very good fight. "No," whispered Tori, she sank to her knees, shaking.

Nick entered the room. If the situation had been so serious, he would have been surprised to see Tori kneeling, shaking uncontrollably. In an act to calm her down some, he softly out his arm around her shoulder. She angrily threw him off. "I don't need that," she snarled.

He quickly gave her some distance, seeing her even more angry than she had ever been. "It would 'ave had ta be a lot of them," she said, softly, "My father would never 'ave let 'em take him if their was just a few."

Her eyes skimmed the room. She suddenly walked over to the window and put her finger on something on the wall. "What is it?" Nick asked, coming behind her.

"Blood," she whispered faintly, not quite believing that the sight of it would make her as dizzy as she felt now.

Nick's eyes narrowed and he looked at it closely. "How would we have not heard?" he asked.

Beside him, Tori suddenly swayed. Nick caught her just before she hit the ground. Weakly she pushed him away, collapsing on the bed. "We were drugged," Nick whispered suddenly, the idea occurring to him. His head was pounding uncomfortably. Tori looked as if she was going to lose conscious any minute. Nick hoped she wouldn't. He would be quite alone if she did. "Water," she groaned, the word barely coming out of her mouth.

Nick got up, stumbling and somehow made it to the pump outside and pumped her some water. When he got up to the room, she was breathing shallowly, her eyes flickering slightly. Whoever had done this had definitely overdosed her. He felt even sicker. Handing her the water, he sat down in a chair, resting his head in his hands.

After a few sips, Tori managed to sit up, fighting the overwhelming feeling of unconsciousness. "Ya said yer father had enemies," she whispered.

Nick had to lean forward to hear her. "What?"

"When I first met ya, ya said ya wore a sword 'cause yer father had his enemies. Who are they?" Tori asked.

Nick remembered his words back at the dock. He hated to admit this to her but he had no idea. "I don't know," he admitted, "I only know that my father always made me wear a sword."

"Fancy that not even knowin' yer own father's enemies," Tori managed to be sarcastic despite her state.

"You don't seem to know yours," Nick said angrily. She just had to get after him all the time, even now, "Whoever it was would have to have been your father's too or he would have just left him like he did us."

"Why do ya assume it was a he? It couldn't be a she?" Tori asked.

Nick gave an irritated sigh. "I know most of my father's enemies," Tori continued, her dark eyes mocking, "But he has so many I've a hard time keepin' up with them all. I thought as yer father might 'ave less that would be a good place ta start."

"If I knew," Nick added.

"If ya knew," Tori sneered.

'Damn her' thought Nick. It was taking him all he had to not draw his sword. Then he realized he didn't have his sword. He quickly went back to his room, leaving Tori muttering after him. His sword was not in its usual place: in its sheath, on his night table. He cursed silently and began throwing things every which way, looking for it. It wasn't there. Nick stood up, as close to anger as he had ever been. Will was going to kill him. 'If he wasn't dead.' That was even more of the problem. If he was going to do anything about this, he would need his sword.

He stomped back into Jack and Anamaria's room, so despairingly Tori stared. "What is it now?" she taunted him, "Did they take yer doll?"

He glared, but not at her: at the wall above her head. Why couldn't he look at her? "They took my sword, if you must know," he said hollowly, "And if you have a weapon, I'm sure they took it, too."

She shook her head, her smile fixed. She lifted the sleeve of her nightgown, revealing a dagger. Nick snorted. "You sleep with that?"

"Ya never know when someone might attack."

"Well they did and it didn't help, did it?"

He slammed his fist against the wooden dresser, making her jump. "I hate feeling this helpless," he snarled.

Suddenly Tori was smiling again. Nick was irritated that she found anything to smile at now. "What?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly helpless, am I?"

He just looked at her. She smirked. "My father does 'ave a ship, ya know. And a crew."

A new hope spread over him but then was quickly squelched again. "And how do you propose we get to this ship and the crew?"

He emphasized the "crew" just as she had done. "They were goin' ta pick us up tomorrow, anyway," she told him.

"How does an infamous pirate ship just come sailing into Port Royal's harbor?"

She groaned. Her head already hurt, she didn't need this. "They don't come all the way. They come in the middle of the night, and we take a boat and row out ta them."

"Oh," Nick's hopes were rising again.

"Then it's a deal?"

Her eyes were bright but murderous. "What's a deal?" Nick asked.

"That ya'll actually help and won't ran away and act cowardly?"

"If course," his eyes blazed at the suggestion that he was a coward.

"Good," her voice was soft and deadly, "We'll show these bastards not ta make enemies of us."

"Why do you assume they're male?" he asked, mimicking her.

She grinned. He was starting to catch on.