AN: Okay, before I let you read any further, I must let you in on a little secret.  I accidentally forgot to put a scene in one of the earlier chapters.  You see, in the second chapter, I had made mention of Ashleigh's brother and father.  Now, there was supposed to be a scene in a chapter where her brother meets with Norrington and they talk about the attack on the Port and the kidnappings, and Norrington tells him that Ashleigh was one of the ones that were taken.  But, for some reason, I completely forgot to put it in there!  I feel like such a moron, but I wanted to let all of you know about it so that when I make mention of her brother again, it won't confuse you!  I am so sorry!

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter 7: Emotions

Ashleigh's skin felt on fire as she continued to kiss Jack.  Her hands tangled themselves in his hair, wrapping around the few strands of beads that he wore.  Jack's fingers entwined themselves in hers, holding them down near their legs.  His other hand reached blindly up to pull off the large, red bandana, unleashing her wild hair, allowing the soft strands to fall around their shoulders.

Ashleigh laughed softly as the ends brushed against her cheeks.  Against every sense in her body, she pulled away slowly, brushing his lips with hers one more time before lowering her head slightly.  Jack leaned his forehead against hers, his breath brushing against her skin.  "Why. . ?" he started.

"I have been asking myself the same question, Captain," she replied, releasing a strand of his long hair, "and the only answer that comes back is that it needed to be done before I exploded."

Jack pulled away slightly, leaning back to look in her eyes.  "What do you mean?"

Give him the truth, a small voice told her.  Tell him how you feel.

Don't be a fool, another, louder, voice answered.  You are a lady, he is a pirate.  Lie to him.  He does not deserve you.  You don't need to get involved with someone like him.

"I meant that I have never been kissed before," Ashleigh lied, her heart wrenching at her words.  "I thought that I. . ."

Jack pushed away from her before she could finish her words.  He leaned down slightly, picking up his hat from where it sat on the table and walked quietly out of the galley, leaving Ashleigh to stare after him.

Later that night, Ashleigh sat on the small cot in her room, staring out the small porthole in the side of the ship.  The moon shone down on the water, its rays causing the ocean to look ghostly.  Sighing, she threw her legs over the side of the cot and stood up, making her way over to the wooden door.

She opened the door quietly, careful not to make any noise lest she wake up any of the other pirates that slept on the ship.  She walked out of her room and made her way up onto the dark deck, the moonlight casting shadows over the ship.  She looked up slowly at the helm, her head leaning to one side slightly.  She walked up the few stairs to stand beside the wheel.

Her hands roamed over the handles of the wheel, her fingers lazily tracing the rounded ends.  Her eyes gazed out at the endless ocean, the soft waves brushing up against the still ship.  She realized now why Jack was so fond of this spot.  This one spot that stared out over the whole ship, the whole ocean, seemingly the whole world.             

Ashleigh's mind wandered to the events that had transpired hours earlier.  The words that she had said still left a bad taste in her mouth.  Her heart still pounded with pain.  She ached to heal the wounds that she created, although she figured that she had injured herself more than she had him.

She sighed, closing her eyes and letting the cool breeze brush her face.  Her fingers left the handles as she stepped back from the helm, walking slowly back down the stairs to the top deck, and then back down the short hallway to her room.

Her hand reached for the knob to her door, ready to open it when her eyes caught sight of the door that led to the captain's quarters.  Ashleigh withdrew her hand slowly, and, taking a deep breath, made her way down the hallway, stopping once she reached the large, ornate door.  She raised her hand, quickly knocking on the door before she could have second thoughts.

Ashleigh stood waiting, her breath held so that she made no sound.  Minutes later the door opened to reveal a fully awake Jack, barefoot and shirtless.  Her eyes roamed quickly over his bare flesh, taking in the two bullet scars, and the one slight scar in the middle of his chest.

Her gaze made its way up to meet his eyes, eyes that held no emotion, adding to the cold mask that he wore on his face.  "Jack, um, sorry, Captain, I-we-, um, we need to talk," she said, flustered.

Jack stared down at her for a moment, his cold eyes gazing into hers.  Then, he stepped aside slowly, opening the door a little wider, allowing her to enter.

Elizabeth was jolted awake by a soft hiss of pain.  She opened her eyes quickly, turning her attention to the dark bed.  Will sat on the edge of the bed, one hand clutching his bandaged shoulder.  "Will," she whispered, sitting next to him on the bed, her arm wrapping around his waist.  "You're not supposed to be up.  You must rest."

"I'm tired of resting, Elizabeth.  We must get out of here.  We need to escape before Templeton gets a hold of Jack."

Elizabeth kissed him lightly on the cheek, her fingers running through his short hair.  "Jack can take care of himself, Will.  All you need to focus on is getting better.  You would not be able to do much with that shoulder, you would be more of a hindrance than a help."

"I can't sit here forever Elizabeth, I have to do something."

"And you will, I promise, but for now you must rest."

"I cannot just stand by and. . ."

Elizabeth jumped to her feet quickly, her eyes blazing with anger.  "Damn it Will!  Stop being so stubborn!  Can't you do at least one thing that you are told!" she yelled.  "Why can't you ever just sit back and wait like everybody else does?  Ashleigh would have found Jack by now and are on their way to find us.  Why can't you ever just trust in your friends, in Jack?"

Will stared up at her speechless.  Elizabeth had never yelled at him, never once had she been angry at him and shown it.  He had never seen her angry, save for perhaps when she fought with him against the cursed pirates.  "Elizabeth," he said softly, "calm down, I'm sorry.  I just feel so useless.  I couldn't protect you in Port Royal and I can't protect you now."

Elizabeth sat back down, laying her head on his one, good shoulder.  "Don't think like that Will, you do protect me.  Even if you do not think so, you do.  In fact, you are protecting me now.  You are protecting what little sanity I have left," she paused, one hand grabbing hold of his own, cold hand.  "God, Will, I think I'm turning into Jack."

Will laughed softly until a slight twinge echoed in his shoulder.  Suddenly, the door to their little room swung open, revealing Templeton.  "Having a lovers quarrel, are we?" she asked, a slight smirk crossing her face.

"Nothing that would concern you," Will replied, his brown eyes glinting in the candlelight.

Templeton smirked again as she closed the door after entering the room.  She sat down slowly on the floor, leaning against the thin wall, pressing the small bottle of rum against her lips and taking a quick swig from it.  "Yer lucky ta be alive, mate," she said.  "Markson usually doesn't miss."

Will said nothing to her, merely stared down into her dark eyes.

"Is there something you needed, Captain Templeton?" Elizabeth asked, her fingers clutching Will's even tighter than before.

Templeton smiled slightly.  "Heard some arguing, thought I would come see what it was about," she said, shrugging.  "Figured I couldn't let you kill each other before my plan is complete."

Elizabeth shook her head slowly, saying nothing.  She turned her face away slightly and burying her face in his shirt.  Templeton tilted her head slightly, staring up at them.  "Do you trust him?"

Elizabeth looked down at her.  "What do you mean?"

"Do you trust him with your life?  Do you trust him enough to place your life in his hands?" Templeton asked, her voice turning cold.

"Of course," Elizabeth replied without hesitation.  "I trust him with every part of me."

Templeton rolled her eyes.  "Except for that tiny part of you that didn't trust him enough to. . ."

"I trust him with my life, Captain," Elizabeth interjected.  "I trust him enough to protect me in any situation."

"What if you didn't?  Would you still stay next to him?"

Elizabeth looked down at Templeton, her eyes gazing into the woman across from her.  "Of course," she whispered.

"Then you are even more of a fool than I thought," Templeton said, rising to her feet.  "Love gets you nowhere, my dear.  It gets you hurt and perhaps killed.  Maybe you should think of it like that."

Will stared up at her as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.  "Is what you said true?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When she asked you if you trusted me, did you tell the truth?" he asked again, looking off into the shadows.

Elizabeth's brow furrowed slightly.  "Of course I did.  Why would you ever think otherwise?"

Will shook his head slowly, remaining silent, refusing to answer her.

Ashleigh sat quietly on the chair behind the large oak desk in Jack's quarters.  Jack sat silently on his bed, his long hair hanging about his shoulders.  His kept his eyes averted, refusing to look up at her.

After several minutes of complete silence, he looked up at her.  "You said you wanted ta talk lass, so talk."

Ashleigh jumped at his voice, not expecting him to break the silence.  "I'm sorry, I just. . ."

"Just what, lass?"

"I wanted to explain to you. . ."

Jack held up his hand.  "You don't need to explain anything, lass.  I know what yer gonna say."

"No Jack, you don't.  What do you expect me to say?  Do you want me to say that you are not worthy of me?  Do you want me to say that whatever happened between us meant nothing?"

"You already explained that, love," Jack said, his brown eyes growing dark.  "Don't you remember?"

Ashleigh looked away.  "Of course I do," she said quietly.  "And you believed it."

"Uh huh," Jack replied.  "That makes no sense love."

"Do you believe everything that a woman says, Jack?"

"When it normally comes with a slap in the face, yes I do."

Ashleigh stood up slowly, brushing imaginary dust off of the breeches that she wore.  "I see.  Well, then, good-night Captain, I hope you sleep well."

She made her way to the large, wooden door, her fingers reaching for the small, brass, knob.  Her fingers wrapped around the knob and she twisted it slowly, opening the door to the dark hallway.  A hand slammed against the door, shutting it before she could exit the room.  A calloused hand wrapped around her left arm, pulling her around roughly and pushing her up against the wood.

Her green eyes flashed in the candlelight before Jack pressed his lips to hers.  He pulled away slightly, his cheek brushing against hers, his mouth hovering near her ear.  "Trust me, I will."

AN:  Up next, Chapter 8: Revealing Lies. 

Seaspray:  Yes, I know that it had been awhile since I last updated, but I am updating now, so I expect that 100 word long review!  JK! ;P  I hope you like it!