A/N: I recently took another glance at this story and realized how poorly written it was. So I've decided to polish it up one piece at a time. I don't know if anyone is still reading it, but for my sanity, I am going to retool it chapter by chapter. Maybe I will be struck with new inspiration and finish it.

Disclaimer: I own neither Pirates of the Caribbean nor any of it's characters, names or locations. This is a simple exercise in creativity that I will not try to sell or profit from. All credit goes to Disney.

The next few weeks passed relatively uneventfully. Their was a small skirmish with a Navy ship that caught them by mistake, one that had ended in the inevitable embarrassment of the Royal Navy when the Pearl not only escaped, but managed to strip the crew of all of its valuables--and the uniforms of its officers-- as well. They were now lying low, avoiding the military by sailing along the outskirts of the Caribbean. The crew of pirates was enjoying themselves. A little break was well-earned. Jack had promised them a little sabbatical once the latest incident blew over, allowing the crew time home with family and friends.

Hayden was looking forward to it. He hadn't seen his family in years. In fact, he wasn't even certain where they were now. He knew that somewhere, he had a mother and three sisters. Their letters had stopped coming years ago, though not by choice. Their family had been ripped apart, his mother forced to flee, the only father he had ever known hung for a crime he hadn't committed.

His nostalgia was interrupted by Gibbs' coughing next to him. Hayden turned to look at him. The older man's face was creased with concern as he looked out at the horizon.

"That's not good…" Gibbs nodded his head in the direction of the sky. The sun was slowly rising, lending the horizon a reddish hue. The rest of the crew was noticeably nervous. They were roaming the deck in various states of distress. Neither the captain nor Ana was on deck yet as it was still early in the morning. Gibbs and an extremely short crew member discussed something in low tones quickly before Gibbs nodded and went to knock on the door that belonged to the sisters. Hayden watched, aware that something had the crew up in arms. On the second knock, Anamaria answered, fully dressed, arms crossed. She took one look over Gibbs' shoulder. Her eyes widened. Without hesitation, she began barking out orders.

"Move everything that can be moved below deck!" she barked. "Tie the rest down. And hurry!" the crew scurried around her. Hayden had just enough time to watch Ana begin to knock furiously on the captain's door before he was roped into moving crates of ammunition into a cellar in the bottom of the ship. It took upwards of an hour to get everything below decks and tied down. Empty spaces were stuffed with straw, rags and nearly anything that was readily available to stop them from sliding around. During their work, Hayden was able to find out that the source of their panic was the color of the sunrise. Red skies typically signified storms. It had been raining on and off for a week now. The crew, Jack included, were bracing for something much worse than rainfall. Hayden was beginning to feel fear along with them as he emerged on deck only to be pelted with fat drops of rain. The wind whipped them unmercifully, stinging his skin. He blinked, clearing the water from his eyes and looked around. Jack, Ana and Gibbs were shouting over the sounds of the impending storm. The rest of the crew had succeeded in tying down anything that wasn't bolted to the ship and was now working on controlling the sails. Jack demanded that they be left up, insisting that the Pearl could sail through it. Ana was arguing with him. The rest of the crew was too busy to notice, but Hayden spotted them in the corner. Ana's dark hair was whipping around her face. She was clearly trying to get Jack to understand something. He was calmly rebuking her. She huffed but didn't give up, following him across the deck. Hayden watched them move off, wondering for the umpteenth time if there was more to those two than what met the eye. The rest of the crew suspected it too, but kept quiet. Hayden supposed he could just ask Laura if he really wanted to find out.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her all morning. It was unusual. He and Laura had become fast friends over the last few months. Hardly an hour went by where they didn't see each other, especially on such a small ship. Hayden looked round for her, scanning the deck. When he confirmed that the only female on deck was Ana, he went below to look. He found Laura leaning on a stack of ammunition, breathing heavily.

"Laura?" she straightened up hastily to face him.

"Oh, hey." she sounded out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Hayden took note of the sweat that dotted her forehead.

"I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy. I must be tired." she smiled weakly at him. Hayden wasn't convinced. He reached out to brush strands of hair from her face. Her skin was burning.

"You're sick." it wasn't a question, but a statement. Laura sighed.

"It's just a cold. I'll be fine."

"You should be resting," it was a weak point, but Hayden couldn't help but voice his concern.

Laura laughed softly. "The weather thinks otherwise."

"I'm sure your sister would let you--"

"Ana's hardest on me." Laura interrupted. "And besides, it's looking like we might be in a hurricane. I wouldn't be able to sleep, even if I wasn't needed."

"You think it's going to be a hurricane?" the color paled from his face. Laura noticed.

"Don't worry; they sound much worse than they are. The Pearl has made it through worse."

"What about the crew?" They were far too jumpy to pretend that they weren't worrying. Laura gave him a sharp look.

"Don't be so cynical." she pushed his shoulder. "We'll all be fine." Hayden graced her with a small smile.

"Sorry." Laura just shrugged. "I've got a bad habit of always thinking about the worst case scenario."

"And why is that?" Laura asked conversationally, attempting to turn the subject from her to him.

"A life of hard knocks, I suppose," he didn't really want to discuss it any further.

His counterpart opened her mouth to question him further but was cut off by the sound of a wave crashing into the hull, nearly tipping the ship over. He and Laura went tumbling backward, landing unceremoniously on a stack of crates. Hayden had the wind knocked out of him as Laura's entire body hit him full force, driving them both into the ground. She groaned weakly as the ship rocked back a second time, setting itself right again. Hayden braced his feet beneath him, pushing them both back upright. He held onto his best friend tightly. Laura was grasping her head dizzily.

"You need to lay down." he told her firmly. "You're in no condition to do anything but sleep."

"I want to," she admitted. "But I can't. They need me."

"They can do without you for a few minutes. Sit down." Laura looked like she was thinking about protesting, but Hayden pressed her firmly down by the shoulders. He lowered himself onto the barrel next to her, happy for a break himself.

"Don't sit too close," Laura warned. "Or you'll be the next one with a cold."

He grinned. "I think I'll chance it. Besides, I don't get sick."

"No?" Laura looked skeptical.

"No. Dock workers can't afford to get sick. That's a luxury for another job. So no worries." He grinned reassuringly at her.

"Neither can pirates." she laughed a little at her situation, but soon succumbed to a coughing fit. Hayden draped his arm around her shoulder to warm her up as her body heaved with the effort. "Sorry," she wheezed a moment later.

"Like I said, no problem. I only wish I has some chicken soup to give you. There's no point in being sick if you don't get soup."

"Chicken soup?"

"My mom used to give it to me when I was younger. It always did the trick."

Laura giggled. "Ana always just gave me brandy. I guess she was hoping I'd just pass out and sleep through the cold." Hayden laughed.

"My mom may have put some of that in there, now that I look back on it."

"Wish she was here to make some soup now," Laura sighed.

"Me too. If I ever find her, that's going to be the first thing I ask for." he sounded wistful.

"Where is she?" Laura softened her tone.

"I wish I knew. We were split up years ago."

"My family's gone too. All I've got left is Ana." Hayden looked over at her.

"It'd be nice to still have someone." he felt the familiar sting of loneliness.

"You can share Ana if you'd like." Laura attempted to lighten the mood.

"I might take you up on that." he gave her a half smile.

"And besides, you've already got me. So you're not really alone anymore." she leaned her head over on his shoulder and gave him a bracing squeeze.

"Thanks," he said sincerely. On an impulse, he bent down and kissed the top of her head. Laura shut her eyes against the cool feel of his lips on her feverish skin. "You've got me too." he added.

"Clearly." Laura joked. "You do realize Ana's going to murder us both if she finds us down here? That's quite a risk you're taking."

"You're worth it." he said lightly. A heavy silence followed his remark, and Hayden realized the gravity of what he had just said.

"You know," Laura replied at long last. "If I weren't sick, I might be inclined to kiss you properly." her cheeks colored with her announcement. Hayden felt himself flush as well.

"Then you better get some sleep once this storm passes. Because you owe me for the verbal reaming I'm about to get."

The trill of her laughter was lost under the sound of the rain pounding above them. "You know Hayden--"

Her speech was interrupted by another wave, this time accompanied by frantic shouts. Laura's eyes grew round as she realized what was happening. "We need to get up there!" she exclaimed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the deck.