Author's Note: Sorry about the slight delay for this chapter. Anyway. Enjoy and review (my birthday is tomorrow! PARTY)

Chapter Eighteen: Will's Observations

Out on deck, it was much cooler. Jack breathed out slowly, looking at the door he had just exited. She hadn't believed him... she didn't trust him. Yer already knew that, he thought, but it still stung.

"Jack!" Will hurried over to him, the chill breeze ruffling his brown curls. His brown eyes were curious. "How did it go?"

Jack stepped towards the edge of the ship, looking over into sapphire waves of freedom. Their gentle rise and fall, their beauty so rich... "Not good. She didn' believe me."

Will put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack shrugged. "I'm not givin' up, Will. The lake on Chalpa... it always helps me think, and I want to take her there, so we're goin' ter make a stop there, tomorrow." He caught sight of Will's bright grin, and lowered his eyebrows, looking at him suspiciously. "Why are you lookin' at me like that, Turner?"

Will leaned against the side, eyes shining. "The girl- Carmen- you must care about her a lot."

Jack glared at him. "I know what you think." He turned his eyes back to the water. It was calm, beautiful, so gorgeous under the moonlight. He found himself imagining how lovely Carmen would look under the same light, eyes huge and tender, hair long and flowing behind her... His mind was running away with him, reminding him of the funny feeling in his stomach when he had looked at the girl- the woman- wearing his hat; that feeling couldn't have been caused by rum. They had been happy together; for a few moments, he had felt so close to her.

"I think you think it too," Will observed quietly.

"Don't." Jack spoke softly. He didn't want to think about this. He was Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow, and his heart belonged only to freedom.

Will sighed. "You'll see in time." Then he shook his head. "On a more worrying note, Jack, if what Tobias said was true- about getting her- then we might have company."

"I doubt it was." Jack shrugged, struggling to keep his mind away from it's previous topic. "Besides, the Black Pearl is the-"

"No she isn't, Jack, and it's high time you faced that."

Jack threw Will a filthy look for insulting his beloved ship. But he supposed Will was right. Five years ago, the Pearl had been the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Now it was but a shadow of it's former self, and of course Tobias knew this. He shook his head, sighing bitterly. "You could be right, lad."

"I know," Will smiled a little, then became serious again. "I think we should win around Poelle." Jack raised his eyebrows but allowed Will to continue. "Well, he could be quite useful- you saw him with that sword. And he cares about the girl, so he would be willing to save her. Plus, if we don't, he could just be a pain- he's in the brig untied and being quite decent, but who knows when that'll change?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Yer right, lad." He thought for a moment. "When Carmen believes me, she'll want to confront him about why he never told her. Then, she'll be able to win him around. She'll trust me tomorrow, so Poelle will be dealt with after that."

"You're confident you can win her around?" Will asked.

Jack nodded. "She trusted me once before, mate." He sighed, his eyes glazing over with memories. It seemed like Carmen had been with him forever; how could she had forgotten?

"Good luck," Will said. "Erm, Jack...? Where are your boots?"

Jack glanced down at his feet, realising he had indeed left them in his cabin. "In me cabin!" he exclaimed, grinning a little. Then he sighed. "Can't very well go an' get them. Carmen'll be sleepin', and I don' wan' ter wake her."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Will was smiling a little.

"Right there," Jack said, pointing to a patch of deck right outside his cabin door. "Jus' in case..."

Will laughed, patting his friend on the back. "You've got it bad, my friend. Goodnight!" And he grinned and scuttled away before Jack could retaliate.

Jack sighed, dropping to the floor where he was going to sleep. He had left his hat with Carmen, but he didn't mind. He liked the idea of it being close to her. He blinked sleepily. Maybe Will was right...

Next chapter preview...

As he got outside, he collapsed against the wall. There was something definately wrong with him. He had wanted... he had wanted to kiss her. And not in a lusting way... in a loving way. Jack shook his head. He couldn't have feelings for Carmen- he couldn't have feelings for any woman. He was Captain Jack Sparrow.

But those red lips entranced him so...

He could imagine Will's teasing face. He mentally scolded himself. He was just being silly. Of course he wasn't attracted to Carmen. It was just because she had looked so angelic in the bed, because Will had insisted he cared for her, because she was a princess and pirates couldn't have princesses, because he was falling for her... No! He covered his face with hands.