/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter Two

Finding a corner, I set up my bed and stretching out, hugging my pillow close to me. I was uneasy in this place, and I wanted to get out of it as soon as I could. Listening to the crew talking quietly among themselves, I felt myself slowly drifting off to sleep. The next I knew, I was awake again, Will shaking me violently.

Rousing myself, I slowly sat up, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. I could see that Will had an impatient look on his face. He always had that look when he wanted to get something done and over with.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

"Just before dawn," he answered. "We must make a move on if we're to find Jack."

"Do we have a ship?" I asked, stifling a yawn. I was so tired. Everything that had happened was finally catching up to me.

"No, but we'll use the boats that got us up here until we can commandeer one," Will said.

My eyes narrowed. "You mean steal one."

Will rolled his eyes. "This is the only way, Elizabeth. Do you want to get Jack back or not?"

"Yes, but—" I started.

"Then let's go," he said, offering me a hand.

I took it and he gently pulled up. Falling slightly into him, I let the full solidness of his body. Pulling away quickly, I looked up into his eyes. I could tell he had similar feelings running through his mind, as well.

"It's time to go, Will," I managed, turning away to follow the rest of the crew.

Will caught up with me and helped me into the boat, sliding himself into the seat beside me. I glanced over to him and noticed that he seemed to want to say something to me, but said nothing. I was curious in what he wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to push him over into the oblivion. I might lose him forever if I did that and there was no telling what I would do if he left me.

As the boat floated slowly down the river, I felt Will cover my hand with mine. A soft smile found it's way onto my face, but I didn't look at him. A gentle hand touched my face and I felt Will turn my head towards his. I could see he was concerned for me.

"Maybe you shouldn't have come with us, Elizabeth," he said. "It might be dangerous. Perhaps you should have stayed with Tia Dalma."

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "Nothing that can happen now can be more dangerous than what I've been through in the past."

Will gave me one of his rare smiles, the ones that weren't tainted with hard toil and grief over the things that were happening. The ones that he wore before everything had happened. It made me smile back, despite everything that we've been through.

"Of course. But I'm just worried about you, Elizabeth. I can't lose you again," Will said quietly.

I just smile and then rest my head on his shoulder. That was all that needed to be said from my part. It seemed we could still talk to each other without saying anything. We had a chance still.

"So when are you two lovebirds going to get married?" Ragetti asked, chuckling softly under his breath.

"It still has to be arranged, but we have faith that it will be soon," Will said.

"We were supposed to get married last week, weren't we, Will? But under the circumstances—" I left the sentence to hang in the air. Everybody, or almost everybody, knew what the circumstances were. If we hadn't saved Jack Sparrow, if we didn't have go searching for Davy Jones, we would be settled down and going on with our lives peacefully.

"Well," Barbossa spoke up, clearing his throat. "We aren't here to tell about the romance of our lives, because I don't think we're here for love stories, eh? We're here for Jack Sparrow, and that's all we're coming out here to risk our necks for."

I stared resolutely at self-proclaimed captain. If he only knew half of it, he wouldn't be looking around at us so confidently. But I couldn't expect anything less from a pirate, and a good one at that. He couldn't be trusted, even though he had promised us that he would be a man of his word. Whatever his word amounted to, I was going to have to trust it, whether I liked it or not.

The rest of the trip down the river was spent in silence. Nobody had anything else to say, else they couldn't think of anything else.

Sighing, I leaned against Will for support. I was so tired, I had a rough night, and then we had to get up early this morning. Soon I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of nothing.

Waking suddenly, I found myself in a strange place. Panicked that I didn't know where I was, I sat up suddenly, crying out. A strong hand was placed on my shoulder. It was Will. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"We found a ship to commandeer," Will said. "Actually, we just found it washed upon the shoreline. Apparently from the looks of things, the crew had died of starvation. Nothing seems wrong with the ship, no major damage."

I sigh, leaning against the headboard. "That was a bit of luck, then, wouldn't you say?"

Will sighed and nodded. "Apparently, but this ship makes me uneasy. Why would a ship wash ashore with no apparent damage with no crew to steer it safely? No man is that lucky. Like we're dealing with the devil himself."

"Then we must take great care not to get ensnared by his traps while we're on here," I say comfortingly.

Will looked down at my face, his hand cupped around my cheek. "You're always the optimist, Elizabeth."

"No," I said. "I just take hope in that we'll all make it to the end somehow, that somehow it will be over soon and nothing more than a memory."

"How could I have ever doubted you?" he asked.

I place a hand on his. "Because we're human. I still doubt you sometimes."

Will opened his mouth to reply when Gibbs came thundering down the stairs to the room where we were staying. Will quickly stood up as Gibbs came closer.

"Captain Barbossa needs all hands on deck," Gibbs said. "Except for the lady, of course."

I half rose out of my bed, protesting, but Will stopped me. I sunk back into the pillows with a sigh.

"Gibbs is right, you need to stay here. You need your rest." Will's eyes seemed to say the rest—rest for later. I sighed. I knew I couldn't fight with someone as hardheaded as Will.

"Go on, then. If the captain says he needs you, then go," I said, giving them an encouraging smile.

Will nodded. "I'll come back to check on you later."

Following Gibbs up the stairs, I watched them disappear to the decks above. Waiting for several moments, making sure they were well gone, I got up and began dressing in my worn sailor's clothes. Dressed, I quickly head up the stairs. I wasn't going to miss the action if I could help it.

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Author's Note: Here's chapter two for everybody. I hope everybody's enjoyed it so far. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, I appreciate it. I'll try not to make it a Jack and Elizabeth story; I never did like that pairing anyway. Anyways, hopefully I'll get chapter three up soon but until then, I hope you enjoy this one. Don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy!