A/N: Oy, Lovelies. I am deeply apologetic for the delay. I hope that you all had a wonnnnnderful Thanksgiving and that you all will have a terrific holiday. Please accept this chapter as my gift to you—I only hope that it is juicy enough to make up for my untimely manner.

LunaCorrona: Thanks, chica, and welcome to my tale! And no, it is KFC!! I hope you keep reading.

Chewy518: Only you would think that Will dreaming about his childhood is "pervvy". Mind—OUT of gutter, silly. And stop havin' them vapuhs, for goodness sakes, we went to church twice this week, for the love of Christmas! lol

Ralinde: I'm so glad you're enjoying the tale, keep reading, it gets better! (Well, I'll do my best, of course!)

Terradaina: Yes, Beauty and the Beast is correct! And of courrrse I had the fireplace in the chapter, I'm not going to simply ignore your requests……I am afraid that I will have to pick and choose though! Making out......not yet, luv. The French version..I'll have to check it out!

Darkmistylagoon: Lol, I appreciate the complement. I'm glad that you are looking forward to the next "chappies" and I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, even though I am way late.

Chapter 11: Lies and Loyalties

Will woke up around noon to the smell of…Is that…honeysuckle? Wildflowers? What do I know and what do I care? It smells great! He inhaled deeper and then coughed when his nose got tickled by strands of hair. His eyes flew open in shock when he realized that he was smelling girl hair. Elizabeth hair. Sometime during the night, she had found her way into his arms which were snugly wrapped around her torso. Wow, he thought. This is a dream. Then he got a glimpse of her alarm clock: 12:03. Oh crap. I'm not at work. I'm not at work because I'm in bed with a woman. In bed with my boss's daughter. Oh, man. He carefully slipped away from her and climbed out of the bed. His leg was actually feeling a little better, but he decided to use that as an excuse to miss work that day. He left the room and went to use the phone in her kitchen, calling straight to Norrington's office.

"Hello, this is James speaking."

"Hey, Norrington. I've got bad news."

"William. Why aren't you here? What is going on? I tried to call your house a million times! The big meeting with the Creative Pub. execs was this morning and we both were supposed to be there!! I cannot believe you didn't show!!" He was freaking out. Just spazzing. Will smacked his forehead. The execs meeting! How could I forget? Oh, man. If he doesn't believe this, he'll go to Swann and I'm fired for sure.

"Look, I know that the meeting was this morning and I'm sorry. But I got into an accident last night-"

"An accident?"

"Yes. And my leg got busted up…I could barely walk. I'm going to have to go back to the hospital today. So I won't be in." He waited to hear Norrington's response, practically holding his breath. It was half true, but he was paranoid about the effectiveness of exaggeration anyway. Luckily, he didn't have to worry.

"Oh, man…well, don't worry about it. I covered for you, but I'll go ahead and tell Swann the truth," James reported.

"Ok, thanks, I owe you. Wait. What exactly did you do to "cover" for me?"

"Well…I told them that you were…sick…"

"Sick? Sick how, Norrington?" Will was getting worried about what he would have to face upon his return to the office.

"Ah, well, you see…diareahha."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, first I told them you were in the bathroom, hoping that you'd show up any second. When some time went by, they asked me to go look for you…I called and called…well, I decided to say that you had to go home because of-"

"Because of diareaha. Yes, thank you, oh SO much."

"No prob! Well, get better and come back soon, my man!" Will rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. I hope Alisa doesn't hear about this…

"What's this I hear about diareaha?" Will cringed at the sound of Liz's voice behind him. Aw, maaaan…

He turned around, about to explain, but all he could do was stare. She looked…different. Even after all of the getups he had seen her in- the casual elevator attire, a cowgirl outfit for KC Masterpiece, white party, pirate-style dress- he never ceased to be amazed by her beauty. Her soft curls were mussed up from tossing and turning in bed, her face was free from makeup, and she looked so relaxed in her Japanese style kimono robe. Leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed, Liz looked back at Will, only half thinking about what she just asked him. She had woken up that morning feeling extra warm. She felt oddly relaxed; usually she felt tired in the mornings, but this was a drowsy, comfortable feeling she had. Liz had taken a deep, satisfied breath and smiled when she smelled guy in her bedding, but then her eyes had snapped open when she remembered that William was the guy who had been in her bedding last night.

I wonder if he still smells like that…fresh, showery stuff, she thought as she looked at him in his wrinkled clothes from the night before with his wild brown hair. His face was no longer clean shaven, but Liz didn't mind…she thought it made him look extra "guyish".

After a few moments of looking at each other, Liz decided to break the silence. "Well, never mind that. There's plenty of food in the fridge, Will, make yourself at home," she said and she turned around to go into the bathroom. He let out the breath that he didn't even know he had been holding; he was glad she had decided not to pry about that phone call and he was glad that she was offering him something to eat. Finding out that his current crush was dating his coworker, having to sword fight to save his kidnapped crush, getting kicked out of the house with a busted leg during a blizzard by that crush, and then falling asleep-waking up cuddled next to her, all within 24 hours…man, that could make a guy hungry!

He began to pilfer through the refrigerator in search of some breakfast-y foods. Hmm…eggs, milk, bacon…not bad. I didn't know models ate these things. As he began to look for pans in the cupboards, his ears pricked up at the sound of the shower turning on. His lips spread into a soft smile as he thought of Elizabeth slipping out of the robe and into the water. The smile turned into a smirk of a grin as he began to fry the bacon on the stove. Twenty minutes later, Liz emerged from the bathroom looking beautifully refreshed and, a little to Will's disappointment, fully dressed. He saw her take in a deep breath.

"Wow, I didn't know you could cook, Will. It smells great!" He handed her a plate full of steaming bacon, eggs, and toast along with a tall glass of 2 milk.

"Well, my mom taught me. We used to cook the meals together on the weekends since I was always so busy during the week," he replied modestly as they sat down on the sofa together. They both ate in comfortable silence, eagerly chowing down because Will was not the only one who was hungry. When they had both finished, Will stood up to take the dishes to the kitchen.

"Oh, no, I'll get that!" Liz said, jumping up and reaching out to take them. Will deftly dodged her hands.

"If you had been a guest in my home after I took care of your wounds and shared my food with you, would you want me to at least just let you wash a plate or two as thanks?" Her mouth dropped open slightly as she realized that he had just played her own game with her. He looked at her patiently.

"Yes."

"Good. Then I'll continue with what I was doing," he said and continued walking toward the kitchen.

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"That was really good. Thanks," she said. He nodded and turned around, but he only took two steps before she called his name again.

"Yes, Elizabeth?" Is she going to let me get to the kitchen?! he thought, even though his heart undeniably began to beat faster at the shy expression on her face.

"Don't feel like you have to repay me…you-" Before she could say what she had said twice before, Will cut her off by briskly walking back to her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, and then flashing her a smile before disappearing into the kitchen. She smiled to herself in pleasant surprise as she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. He kissed me… Her grin dribbled of toothpaste as she smiled at herself in the mirror. Just then, a knock sounded on the door. She rinsed out her mouth and made her way to the door just as Will was unlocking it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw how Will stiffened up. Who is it? Please don't let it be another pirate in my doorway!! She timidly approached, and then relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey James. Thought you were someone else. Come on in," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. Why do they keep staring at each other like that? she thought as she closed the door and made her way to get her coat on.

James spoke. "Turner? What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, well…"

"I thought you were going to the hospital!" Uh, oh, Elizabeth thought as she buttoned up her coat front.

"Well, Alisa is taking him! She's just using the bathroom right now," she quickly interrupted. Looking back from Will to James she didn't know if she was happy that she just saved Will like he had been saving her, or if she was upset because she had been lying ever since she met him. Will looked back and forth from Liz to Norrington, unsure if he should be happy that she just covered for him, or upset because she was going out with Norry. Norrington squinted his eyes. He was no fool. He took Elizabeth around her waist and held the door open for her, looking sternly at Will.

"I didn't know that my girlfriend was such a good nurse, William, but I trust that that's all she was. And that I'll see you bright and early," he muttered, tight lipped. Will just looked at him guiltily until he closed the door behind him.

So now what?? he wondered, but then it became obvious when he began to feel a burning pain in his leg. Ah, right. Hospital. He called Alisa on the phone and told her what had happened…well, he did leave out the park bench, and the dating, and the feelings he had. She took him to Cartwright Medical soon after he called, and Will had to tell the doc that his injury was from falling on someone else's ice skates on the pond the other night. Will found out that he only had a slight infection, and was relieved when the doctor told him that antibiotics and continued topical care would do the trick. Will did wonder though: what lies he would have to come up with next?

"So, Will. What else happened between you and Liz last night? I know she took you to her house after you got sword-cut in the leg…but you were there all night," she said suggestively. They were in her truck riding to Jack's so that Will could get his own car back.

"Um, Alisa…we didn't do anything. At all. Trust me," he answered. He was a bit amused at Alisa's implications, but decided not to tell her about sleeping in the same bed as Elizabeth lest he further encourage her crazy imagination.

"Ok, ok. So would you wanna do something with me instead?" If Will had been drinking something, this was the part where he would have choked.

"Uh, well, what do you mean?" he stammered out. She glanced at him with a grin.

"I mean, I'm going to meet up with a client tomorrow. You know, ask him a few questions about his account, etc. I could really use your support," she explained, but when Will didn't seem so thrilled at the mention of work, she went on. "And I figured that we could go out to a movie afterward." That's more like it. I could use a date with Alisa, especially since Liz is still taken. Plus, Alisa's pretty hott. He got a good look at her before answering. She has great posture…nice legs, too. Her body was slender and firm; she was sitting up straight, yet relaxed and he watched as the fabric around her thigh shrunk a bit when she adjusted her foot on the gas. Does she work out? Alisa honked her horn at a sedan that cut in front of her, snapping Will back to reality.

"That sounds great, Alisa."

"Cool. I'll pick you up at six."

"Then I'll pay for the movie. By the way, what do you think we'll see?" She pulled up in front of Jack's house.

"Well, there's this movie out, some action-comedy. Somethin' about…the Caribbean…Crazies of the Caribbean? Yeah, I think that was it."

"Sounds good."

They knocked on Jack's door together, making a different song each time. First it was Jingle Bells, then it was We Wish You a Merry Christmas. When they had been standing outside for a couple of minutes, they decided to bring Jack to the door by singing the Twelve Days of Christmas as loud as they could. When they reached "five golden rings", Jack swung his door open to face the two laughing teenagers.

"Good gold of Cortez, I outta run me sword through the both of ye!" he shouted and then took a swig of rum. They stepped inside, ignoring Jack's comment.

"Oy, captain! I think I left my keys in here," Will said to him and began searching through the rubbish on the nearest table.

"Jack, what's taking you so long? Who's there?" The voice was female and the owner was Anamaria. She came downstairs in a silky red mini robe, her hair a bit of a mess. Will and Alisa's mouths dropped open and they looked at each other. Alisa then set a cold, hard expression on her face.

Will leaned over in Jack's ear and whispered, "I guess this means they're still fighting?" Jack nodded, afraid that another argument was about to break out.

"Well, I think I'd better be going," Alisa said, and simply walked out of the house without another word. Both men let out a breath of relief. Then Will grinned.

"So there is something going on between you and Anamaria!" That sexy, mischievous grin of Jack's had rubbed off quite nicely on Will. So much, that Jack's cheeks had actually gotten a slight pink tint of embarrassment. Anamaria closed her robe tighter and changed the subject.

"Will, I heard what you did last night. Great job," she said as she wrapped her arms around Jack's waist.

"Yes, lad, terrific job! Those gold statues were worth a pretty penny, but I found that they go nicely by my skeletons…"

"You dummy! I meant that he did a good job in saving Elizabeth!" Ana corrected him with a tug of his chin hairs.

"Thanks, but it was really nothing. I did what I had to do and…" Will began, but then trailed off.

"Yes, well I'm your dummy aren't I?" Jack mumbled in her ear as he ran his hands through her hair. She giggled.

"Yeah, I guess you'd be Captain Dummy?"

"How about Captain Sexy Dummy?"

Will rolled his eyes when he realized that any attempt to talk to them while they were so obviously wrapped up in each other was a waste of energy, so he continued to look for his car keys.

Alisa, meanwhile, was back on the highway dialing a number into her cell phone. After a few rings, her contact picked up and they began to speak.

"This is Barbossa," the man on the other line spoke in his thick pirate accent.

"And this is Alisa."

"Ah, my dearie. I assume you have talked to the lad?"

"Yessir."

"And he'll be meeting me tomorrow night then?"

"Yessir, around six."

"You'll be greatly awarded, bonnie."

"Thank you captain."

"But don't be late," he added.

"Aye, cap'n," she said and then hung up the phone with a satisfied smirk.

A/N: There we are, me latest part of the tale. I told you I'd make up for not having a cliffhanger last time. So, a few of you thought you couldn't stand miss Alisa before…well how do you like her now? Heh heh heh. Are you curious to know what happens next? Well, you know what to do!