"Elizabeth." Gibbs greeted her.

"Mr. Gibbs." Elizabeth gave a small smile. Then she noted his downhearted expression. "What is it?"

"It's Jack." The man sighed, shaking his head. "He won't cooperate with anyone. Not even Will. The two of them almost pulled swords on each other."

"Really?" She asked, shocked. Had she really done that much damage to Jack?

"Afraid so, miss." The First Mate nodded gravely. "You can try to convince him if you want, but chances are he'll be most hostile to you."

In that moment she had her mind made up. "I'll go in there. What do I need to do?"

"Make him eat so he doesn't starve, make him drink so he doesn't die of dehydration." Gibbs shrugged. "Make him sleep because he looks like he hasn't slept since we got him."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Elizabeth." He called after her. She turned back, confused. He gave a not very reassuring look. "Good luck."

*X*

Elizabeth opened the door of Jack's dark, unlighted cabin, hearing it creak. She softly closed it, letting her eyes adjust to the poor light as she looked around.

"Jack?" She called in a soft voice.

"Won't anyone leave me alone?" An annoyed voice came from the back corner of the room.

She walked towards him, stopping in front of him. "Jack."

"'Lizabeth." Jack sighed. "Why are you in here?"

"To help you." She told him, her voice not as gentle as before.

"Why does everyone want to help me?" He complained. "I don't need help. For the third time, I'm fine!"

"No, you're not." She responded.

"I am too."

"You are not."

"Am."

"Not."

"Am."

"Jack!" She half yelled in annoyance. "Listen to me. You need help. You haven't been the same since...since I killed you."

The pirate raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"So, the point is, you need help."

"You already told me that."

"Look….Jack," She said quietly. "I'm really sorry about it. I shouldn't have done it."

"Some things can't be prevented." Jack murmured, his voice showing acceptance in it. He sighed. "Look, the kraken was going to catch us anyway, one way or another. Perhaps it's for the best that it only got me instead of all of ye."

"Jack…" She gasped, shocked at his acceptance towards all of this.

"Sometimes change is good after all." He finished, slowly getting to his feet. "Don't feel bad about it, savvy? I'll be fine in a few days' time."

Elizabeth couldn't think hard enough to form a complete sentence, so she just stood there staring at him.

"What?" Jack asked, skirting around her. "Need to light that bloody candle so I can see things…"

A minutes later the room was bright and she squinted in the light. "Jack-"

"Don't worry, I'll eat." He read her mind.

She walked over to the door and was about to leave. Before her hand could touch the handle, she heard him clear his throat.

"'Lizabeth." He spoke up. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's alright…" She finally said.

"Also," He continued. "There's going to be another one of those parties below deck tonight. Care to join?"