"Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me," Elizabeth murmured as she prepared the evening meal. The song always brought a smile to her lips, holding the dual memories of her first meeting with Will, and her time on the island with Jack. The men were so different, she reflected, yet she loved them both very much. Of course, one love was different from the other. She smiled, and cast her eyes toward the door that joined the house with the shop. Will would be coming in any moment now, perhaps with a rose or other small gift for her. He did that occasionally, the ever-attentive husband.

Elizabeth was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the door to the outside creak slowly open, nor the soft footsteps as someone made his way in. In fact, she didn't notice the presence of another until he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Madam Turner, it's been far too long!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Elizabeth whirled about only to come face-to-face with none other than Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Jack, it's so good to see you!" Elizabeth exclaimed and threw her arms about him. Slightly surprised, Jack returned the embrace, grinning roguishly.

"Marriage seems to have done you good! It's certainly doing me some favors." Elizabeth laughed where once she would have been insulted.

"Don't expect too much of that; Will will get jealous. What brings you back to Port Royal?" Jack hooked a nearby stool and settled on it comfortably. He grinned his infamous shining grin and said cryptically,

"Business, love. Only business."

Will gaped at the horrible wound in Mari's thigh.

"How did this happen?" he asked. The young woman shifted her weight, grunting with the effort.

"How and why aren't important, mate. You need the other half of the sword; I don't, leastways not as it is now. What I need at this moment is help removing the thing; help me, and we may both have what we need." The tone of her voice, the way she spoke, the gleam in her dark eyes, all seemed suddenly familiar. These, coupled with her obvious need and Will's altruistic nature, convinced the young man to help her. He inspected the wound carefully for a moment, then picked up a pair of metal tongs.

"It's touching the bone, so I have to pull it out the way it went in. Here," he handed her a tie-strap of his leather apron, "bite this, if you need to."

"Thoughtful lad," Mari murmured, and put the strap between her teeth. Will clasped the bit of blade with his tongs and braced himself.

"Ready?" The young woman nodded; Will pulled. There was a very muffled scream as the razor-sharp fragment further severed muscle and nerve. It was longer than Will had previously thought, and he pulled quickly to spare Mari as much pain as possible. When the ordeal was finally over, Mari stood with her eyes closed, breathing evenly, her face taut. Will dropped the blade and tongs carelessly and bent to inspect the wound. It was bleeding profusely, now; there was little chance that a bit of tight linen would stem the flow.

"It'll need to be cauterized," Will said quietly.

"...the pistol was aimed right at me bleedin' head, love, cocked and a hair away from sendin' me down to Davey Jone's locker." Jack gestured expansively as he unfolded his tale. Doubtless he was embroidering quite a bit. Then again, Elizabeth thought, most would believe I was embroidering as well if I told them I'd sailed with undead pirates.

"But Fate had her right hand on me shoulder, and the blackguard took a step t' adjust his aim. He stepped on the spilled musket balls and flipped himself right over the rail!" Here, Jack's gestures nearly sent him from his stool. He righted himself quickly and continued. "Well, ye can imagine what happened then, us sailin' shark-infested waters and all..." His voice trailed off as he bit into a proffered apple.

"A just fate, I'm certain," Elizabeth agreed, then frowned at the door to the shop. "Will should be home by now. He would have told me if he were working late..." At that moment, a strained scream came from the shop, rife with pain. Elizabeth and Jack shared a wild look and dashed for the door.

Will held up the glowing metal rod, his eyes flickering between it and Mari's face. At the moment, she was unreadable, though her gaze never left the cherry-red iron. She reached down and ripped the hole in her trews wider so that Will could see the wound clearly.

"Just do it, mate," she muttered. Will did as he was told. Faster than he could think, so that he wouldn't have to think about it, he flicked away the cloth and plunged the brand against Mari's wounded thigh. Without the leather to dig her teeth into, Mari's scream was un-muffled, echoing from the shop walls. Will yanked the brand away, tossed it back in the forge flame, and placed a chair so that Mari would fall into it rather than to the floor.

Moments later, the door to the house flew open and Elizabeth burst in, followed swiftly by none other than Jack Sparrow. The two ground to a halt when they caught sight of Will standing over a young pirate woman with a bloody hole torn in her trousers. Sweat covered them both, and Will still held Mari's arm from helping her into the chair.

"Will, what happened?" Elizabeth rushed over to the pair and, seeing her husband unscathed, turned to Mari.

"This one didn't cheat, eh, whelp?" Jack asked, swaggering to his friend's side. Mari and Will both looked up. Will smiled enormously; Mari's mouth fell open.

"Jack! How are you?" Will said, at the same moment Mari exclaimed, "What the bloody blazes are you doing here?" Jack answered them both in the same breath.

"Right as rum in me hand, young Will." He glanced at Mari, his eyes widening in surprise. "I'm a friend of the family. What are you doing here?"

"I needed a sword," Mari said defensively. Elizabeth stood from her ministrations and offered Mari her arm to lean upon.

"You need more than a sword," she said firmly. She eyed Jack. "You seem to know her, Jack. Is she trustworthy?"

"As trustworthy as I am, love."

Will rolled his eyes as he took Mari's other arm. "Then we can expect twice the trouble?" "Aye," Mari said softly. No one heard her.

"That hurts, mate," Jack told Will as he followed them into the house. "It really does."