A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed! Here's chapter three. I'm going to warn you right now--I don't know a thing about the Fountain of Youth, so everything about it is was made up. Don't own POTC and thanks for reading!

Will Turner had always tried to remain guarded around his crew.

After all, they already knew a lot about him. They had attacked and hurt him when under command of Davy Jones, and although their humanity had returned, they hadn't forgotten. They knew all about Elizabeth because most of them had seen how Will became Captain and they knew she was on the island he was dropped off on.

But that didn't mean Will needed them to know any more then they already did—especially the new crew members.

One of the new crew members was a woman. She was on the older side, with some wrinkles and a big laugh. She had been a pirate and when Will asked her if she feared death, she responded, "I don't fear it. But I'm not going to pass up one last adventure, eh?"

"Will you serve?" Will had asked.

And she had laughed her big laugh and replied, "Aye."

Now, when most everybody was aboard and Will was staring off into the ocean, she walked up behind him.

"We're not goin' to the land of the dead, lad, are we?" she asked, even though Will was pretty sure that when he commanded the crew to go below deck when Elizabeth arrived, she went with.

"No, we're not," Will agreed.

"It has to do with the girl then?"

The girl. Elizabeth. He had a son.

Will knit his eyebrows together and turned to her. "How do you know about—"

She laughed again. "You're not that hard to figure out, mate. Every night you stand right here and you look out at the water and ya look terribly sad. There's a girl then."

"We're going to the Fountain of Youth," Will told her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Interesting destination, considerin' we're all dead."

" Elizabeth's sick," Will said softly.

"Oooh," she said. "Captain Turner, are you 'saving' her for her, or yourself?" And then she walked off.

Will just stared into the ocean and tried to comprehend the fact that somewhere, a little boy was growing up without his father,

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The next morning, Jack shoved a bottle of rum in Will's face. "You're gonna need this, mate."

Disgusted, Will shoved him off.

"What?" Jack asked. "It's not like you're not a pirate now."

And to think, once upon a time, Will had balked at the idea of just having a relative who was a pirate. What happened? How did he get to this?

"Tell me," Will said. "Why haven't you gone to the Fountain yet?"

"Maybe I 'ave."

"You're older, Jack," Will said bluntly.

"What say you about the idea that I help you save your damsel in distress and you shut it?" Jack asked, swaggering away. Will sighed. Some things never changed.

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The Flying Dutchman was fast, or as Jack would say, "nigh uncatchable" and they followed the map easily and quickly, arriving at the coast in only a few days. The crew prepared to lower a dinghy. "Alright, mate, let's get going then," Jack said.

"I can't go on land," Will reminded him.

"There's a river not too far from shore," Jack said. "Can't you just…erm…do that whole materializing thing? Terrific. I'll see you there." He quickly began to walk to the dingy.

"I'm not going until I get an answer," Will insisted, following Jack. "I know there's something you're hiding, and I want to know what I'm getting myself into."

He tossed Will his compass. "It shows you what you want most in this world," Jack said, before hopping in with several other crewmembers and ordering that it be brought down. Will wrinkled his brow. Then he faded and a second later, came out of the dirt at the river's bottom.

When Jack and the crew met up with him, Jack continued to ignore his questions. He just said, "Which direction?"

Reluctantly, Will flipped it open and waited before pointing. It turned out the river coincided with the path to the Fountain and Will followed it easily. Ultimately, however, they reached a cave. A waterfall fell down near the entrance, ending the river.

"Bugger," Jack muttered. "'Coulda gotten this far myself." He peered inside the cave. "You're in luck, mate, there's water in the cave. Just jump from here and you should be fine, savvy?"

Will nodded and made the jump from river to the inside of the cave. His stomach fluttered nervously—this was stretching it. But hadn't Davy Jones easily stood in the bucket of water? To Will's relief, he stood in the water just as easily.

The cave branched into seven different directions, and the other looked at him expectantly. His hand hovered near the compass. Could he do this? Give Elizabeth immortality? It wouldn't be a blessing—it would be a curse. She'd be with him, though, as long as he protected himself and his heart.

Captain Turner, are you 'saving' her for her, or yourself?

"Are you alright, sir?" Ogilvey asked. Will flipped open the compass. They walked northeast.

Will used the compass to lead them for another seven minutes than stopped at another fork in the road.

"There's a long way to go," Jack hinted. "In case you want to move a little faster, perhaps?"

Will closed the compass. "I can't do this."