A/N: Yay for longer chapters! I apologize for the first two being so short; it was necessary to set the story up and actually keep you reading. REVIEW! I would like at least some opinions on this!

Ch. 3

Elizabeth slowly sat up and rubbed the back of her head. Where was she? Staring out into the darkness that surrounded her, she struggled to recall what had happened. Someone had knocked at the door, then kicked it down. The last thing she remember was yelling for Marie to run. Marie. This thought brought on a whole new set of concerns. Had she escaped? Would she find Will? Was she alive? Elizabeth wearily leaned back against a wall, surprised to feel bars instead. She was in some kind of cell, and judging by the rocking she now noticed, it was somewhere on a ship.

She was startled by the door creaking open and a faint candle partially illuminating the brig. Someone walked in, but held the candle low enough that the light didn't reach their face. "Ah, glad to see you're finally awake, Mrs. Turner," a chilling voice said. Elizabeth shuddered…where had she heard that voice before? "I hope you've had a most enjoyable trip so far," the speaker continued. "No? Well, I'm terribly sorry, but we couldn't have ye makin' a fuss during our departure."

"Who are you?" Elizabeth whispered, half to herself.

The man laughed coldly. "All in good time, my dear," he said. "Until then, let's just say I'm a friend of an enemy." Still laughing, he turned to leave.

"My husband will not let you get away with this!" she shouted after him.

He stopped and slowly turned around. "I'm sure he won't, Elizabeth. In fact, I'm countin' on it. Sweet dreams, Mrs. Turner!" The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Elizabeth in the dark once again.

Frightened, Elizabeth curled up into one corner of the cell. "Please hurry, Will," she whispered. "Please hurry."

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Blackbird sat up straight in her bed, knife drawn. Sighing, she wiped the sweat off her forehead and shook off the nightmare. It was just a dream, she told herself firmly. Glancing out the window, she saw that the first rays of light were already peeking over the horizon. She muttered something under her breath and grabbed her hat off the table. Not even pausing to acknowledge the confused bartender, she rushed out of the tavern and headed for the docks.

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In her haste to be on time, she nearly knocked over Will. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Why the hurry?" Will asked.

"I overslept," Blackbird said with a shrug. "And you know how I am about punctuality. How's Marie doing?" she suddenly asked.

"She's her usual cheery self," he replied. "I'm not sure the seriousness of this has completely sunk in. Right now she's 'helping' Joe in the galley."

"And what about you?" she asked, studying her brother. "How are you holding up?"

Will sighed. "My wife's been kidnapped by some madman obsessed with revenge over something I don't even know about. How do you think I'm holding up?" he asked sarcastically. "…I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Then what d'ye say we get going, aye?" Jack said, coming up and putting a hand on Will's shoulder. When they had showed Jack the note, he had been reluctant to comply. Eventually, though, he had agreed and rounded up as much of the crew as could come on such short notice.

"Thank you, Jack," Will said with a smile. "I know you didn't want to do this."

"Nonsense!" Jack replied. "I was needing a bit of adventure anyway, mate. Now get on deck, you slackards! We have us a girl to save." Rolling her eyes at Jack's dramatics, Blackbird complied, followed by Will.

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As the Black Pearl set sail, Will stood leaning against the rail and staring out at the sea. Reading the note again, he crumpled it in his fist. I'm coming Elizabeth, he vowed silently. I'm coming.

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"Careful, lass, not too much," Joe warned as he reached out to steady Marie's hand. "There we go…Thank ye very much, Marie. You've been quite a help 'round 'ere. Ever consider a future in cookin'?"

Marie shook her head. "Nope," she said seriously.

"Well then might I ask what does interest ye?" Joe asked with an amused look on his face.

"I wanna be a pirate, just like Daddy!" she replied, smiling brightly.

"We'll see what your mother has to say about that," Will said from behind her, scooping her up into his arms. "It already kills her that I let you run around in pants all the time. Between the two of us, I think she's afraid you'll turn out like your Aunt Blackbird."

"I heard that, Will!" Blackbird said, punching his arm roughly. "Actually, I'm flattered that I'm so high on Elizabeth's list. It means I'm doing something right…"

"That's enough, Blackbird," Will warned.

She smiled sweetly and tried to look innocent. "What did I say?"

Shaking his head, Will turned his attention back to Marie. "What ever you do, Marie, do not grow up to be like your aunt." This time Blackbird didn't say anything and pretended to be suddenly transfixed with the mug of coffee she was drinking. Will suddenly stood up at the sound of a shrill whistle. "Time to go," he muttered. He set Marie back down on the stool and looked her in the eyes. "Sweetheart, I have to work for the next couple hours, but I'll be right back as soon as I can. Do you think you can stay out of mischief until I'm done?"

"Of course, Daddy," she promised sweetly. "You won't even know I'm here."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Will muttered as he left.

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" 'ey, Will," Gibbs said, shaking Will out of deep thought.

He stood up from the line he'd been tying down and straightened his back. "Aye?"

"You may be interested to see what that lass o' yours is doin'," Gibbs replied, pointing up into the rigging on the opposite side of the ship. Sure enough, there was Marie, scrambling up the ropes like a little monkey. Even as he pulled himself up to get her, Will had to admit that she was a natural at it. He quickly caught up with her and positioned himself so that she couldn't climb any further.

"And just what do you think you're doing up here?" he asked.

"Climbing," she replied obviously, trying to get past him.

"I can see that. Might I ask why you're climbing?"

The girl grinned mischievously. "I wanna be a pirate, just like you!"

Will laughed slightly. "Well to do that, you're going to have to survive your childhood. Do you think stunts like this help your chances any? What if you'd gotten hurt?" Marie just pouted and avoided looking at him. Sighing, he wrapped his arm firmly around her tiny waist. "Come on," he said, softening his voice a bit. "Let's get you down."

Using his free arm to climb, Will slowly made his way back down. As soon as they were off the ropes, he set Marie down gently on the deck. "Now," he said, kneeling to keep her at eye level. "Can you promise me you'll be good for the rest of the watch? I have to work, and so does everyone else. I promise in a few hours we'll do something together."

"Yes, Daddy," the girl agreed sulkily.

He stroked her wavy hair and smiled. "That's my girl. Why don't you go see if Aunt Blackbird has any jobs for you? I'm sure she could use some help." Marie's face lit up as she ran over to Blackbird and began excitedly asking questions without waiting for answers.

Blackbird shot him a murderous glare and did her best to answer a few of the questions. In response, Will just waved and turned back to his work. Blackbird deserved some quality time with Marie, anyway.

A/N: (I got this idea from someone else) To encourage more reviewing, the 10th person to post a review gets to help me create a character for my next fanfic (yes, there is yet another one!). I'll email the guidelines to whoever wins! (If you find that you're the 10th reviewer and don't want to help, just say so and I'll give it to the next person)