Liam stopped crying. Jack couldn't believe it. The minute Elizabeth shut the door behind her, the cabin was lost to the quiet of the evening. Although he most certainly wouldn't admit it out loud, Jack was growing to like Liam. Sure, he cried too much and he smelled sometimes, but the faces he made were entertaining and they made Elizabeth smile bigger than she ever had before.

Jack gazed at the child in his arms. He noticed that Liam had drooled on himself. Jack started rubbing the slobber off with his thumb. Without warning, Liam reached out and grabbed it. Jack tried to free his finger from the baby's grasp, but the child was stronger than the pirate had thought.

"Decided to take my finger hostage, have you?" Jack asked Liam, "Eager to be a pirate already?" The baby let go of his thumb and attached to one of the captain's dreadlocks instead. The owner of the captured dreadlock pulled his head back, hoping Liam would let go, but it didn't happen. "Let go;" Jack ordered him, "Let go. Savvy? Let go or I'll throw you in the brig. Believe me, the brig is no easy escape. You have to know the proper technique. You see, most cells are made of half pin-barrel hinges, which can only be freed with-"
"The right leverage and the proper application of strength. Then, the door will lift free."

Jack turned to find that it was Elizabeth who had finished his sentence. She held Gibbs's stuffed bear in her hands as if it would break if she gripped it too tight; like it was made of glass. The smiled on her face forced Jack to use all of his strength to not run over and kiss her.

"You buccaneers are obviously up to no good," Elizabeth teased the pirate and baby. She set the bear on Jack's bed and walked over to him, asking, "May I have my son back?" He looked down at Liam and replied, "I think if you want him, you're going to have to take me too, seeing as he appears to be latched onto me."
"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to work around that. He needs to go to sleep."
"Then save me from this little thief!"

Elizabeth came over and took Liam's hand, making him let go of the dreadlock. The baby started to cry when she took him from Jack. "No, sweety," she cooed, "it's okay." Liam reached out once again and grabbed Jack's hair, ceasing his crying immediately. Jack stifled a fake gasp, "Little devil only likes me for my hair. How typical!" Elizabeth told him with a smirk, "Just like his mommy."
"Wha-"
"I'm only fooling, Jack."
"Yes, well, I only like you for your-"
"Don't even go there." She glowered.
"I was going to say 'for your smile', before I was so rudely interrupted."
"Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you were going to say something vulgar."
"I was. But, I have a quick mind, you see."
She shook her head at him. "Jack... "

It was then that the two adults in the room realized that the one baby had let go of Jack and was now sleeping. Elizabeth carried Liam over to the bed and set him next to Gibbs's bear. His nose twitched and Jack heard Elizabeth chuckle. She got a blanket off of a chair and covered Liam from the new cold that had began peeking through the broken windows. Jack pursed his lips and admitted, "Should have had Robert Stanson fix THOSE too."

Elizabeth bent down and kissed Liam on the forehead. Shoe crossed her arms over her chest to protect herself from the chill in the room. Jack stood there simply staring at her until he got an idea. With a comical grin on his face, he took her hand and said, "Come with me."

"Yes, well, I think Captain Jack likes Elizabeth very much," Pintel told Ragetti, "and I think she likes him back." "No," his comrade argued, "Captain Jack might like Elizabeth, but she don't like him. Why else would she kill him? Besides, he placed his bet on Will." The pirates swabbed the deck.
"It don't mean he don't like her."
"I think that both hate each other. They're always arguing and calling each other bad names."
"Haven't you heard of the philosophy that people are sometimes mean to each other to hide their true feelings for one another?"
"No, I don't believe I ever got to that part of the Bible."
"It's not in the Bible! And now you know." He flicked the wet cloth at this friend.
"So, does that mean you're mean to me cause you like me, Pintel?"
"Uh... "
"I think you like me"
"You're only an acquaintance."
"But you still like me, or else you wouldn't let me be your acquaintance."
"Where's Jack taking the poppet?"

Ragetti turned and saw Jack dragging Elizabeth below deck. Pintel and Ragetti exchanged glances. They both giggled like schoolgirls. "Where do you think they're going?" the one-eyed pirate asked his acquaintance. "It don't matter where they're going," Pintel replied, "just what they're going to do when they get there." He laughed an evil laugh.
"Oh... "
"Are you winking at me or just blinking? That bloody eye patch confuses me."

Elizabeth held her hat on her head so the wind that was being created by the speed at which she was moving would not blow it off. She had no idea where Jack was taking her. He hadn't said a word since he'd seized her hand. Her whole arm was tingling. "Where are we going?" she asked him. He looked back and smiled at her, but said nothing. "Jack!" she whined.

Not long after, they reached their destination, it seemed, since Jack had stopped. They were in the rum cellar. He still hadn't let go of her hand. She felt her palm start to sweat, which was quite embarrassing. Jack searched the rum rack until he finally uttered, "Ah, there you are!" He bent over and retrieved a bottle from the rack. He handed it to her and said, "Here you go."

After getting his own bottle, Jack stood upright once again and gave Elizabeth a strange look. He glanced down at their joined hands. She nervously wet her lips and averted her eyes from him. He slowly slid his hand from hers, almost like he didn't want to...

Elizabeth sat on a barrel of gun powder and pulled the cork off of her bottle. Jack did the same and asked, "You gonna burn that or drink it?" She laughed, "I think I'll drink this one."
"Good. Figured you'd want some rum since you haven't been able to have any for these horrible nine or ten months." He chugged his favorite drink from the bottle in his hand.
She followed, then nodded, saying, "I guess I did miss it a little. Don't tell Will."
A strange look crossed his face again and he sipped more rum. "Don't think the whelp would like you drinking very much, do you?"
"I don't know. I'm growing to like rum. I've changed so much. I'm a pirate king, I have my own ship, I kill people, I want to raid places, I like rum... I used to sip tea with dignitaries, now I'm sipping rum with Captain Jack Sparrow."
"I don't think think you've actually changed all that much." He brushed his fingers on the neck of the bottle.
"What do you mean?" She asked him out of confusion.
"You... you haven't really changed. I think you've been a pirate all along. The first time I met you, Lizzie, you had this fire... it was barely a flicker of light... all you needed was a fuel to set it ablaze. There's always been a pirate king inside of you, you just needed something-or someone-to come and let that king escape you." He locked eyes with her.

Elizabeth swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd never heard Jack speak like that before. The way he'd said it showed her that he meant every word. She wanted to kiss him so badly. She had to do it. She leaned in to do so...

"Follow me," Jack said, shooting off the barrel and walking towards the exit. Elizabeth sat, frozen. Dumbfounded. She blushed in disconcertion and got up, hurrying after the pirate. Drinking her rum, she tried to make her feelings go away. She almost lost Jack in the different compartments and corridors of the Black Pearl. After a few minutes, Elizabeth realized where they were heading. Why was he leading her to the brig? He looked back to see if she was still behind him, continuing there.

When they arrived, a very bewildered Barbossa stared awkwardly at them. "What ye be doing here?" he asked, his monkey shrieked. Elizabeth shrugged; Jack replied, "We're giving you a job-scorekeeper."
"Scorekeeper?"
"Aye. Lizzie and I are gonna fence and you're gonna keep count of how many times the enemy sword fighter is disarmed. Savvy?"
"I see. At least it's something to do." He turned to Elizabeth and said, "Do me a favor, Mrs. Turner, and humiliate him by winning." Jack, the monkey, screeched.
She replied, laughing, "You won't be disappointed."
Jack scoffed, "Oh, yes he will!"

The captain unsheathed his sword and took his stance. The she-devil followed, ready to fight. "Ye ready?" Barbossa asked. "Are you?" Jack asked Elizabeth with a gleam in his eye. She replied, "Ready as I'll ever be." "Very well then," Barbossa stated, "On guard!" Jack and Elizabeth crossed blades. The prisoner let out a cackle and exclaimed, "Fence!"

Elizabeth was not the least bit surprised when she found her sword on the floor and the point of Jack's cutlass touching her throat, not long after they'd started fencing. He teased, "That was a lot easier than I thought it would be." "I'm just warming up," she retorted. Barbossa sighed, "That's one fer Jack. I think we'll say first to three points wins." "Agreed," Jack replied with a golden smile. Elizabeth glared.

Picking up her sword, Elizabeth watched Jack's eyes follow her. She crossed blades with him for a second time. Barbossa proclaimed, "Fence!" Elizabeth tried a few moves that Will had taught her, but Jack seemed to know every move she was going to make before she even did. "You fight like Will," the pirate pointed out. She smirked at him and, with one swift move, disarmed him. He sword clanked on the floor.

"Perhaps that's not such a bad thing," she countered. He replied, "Perhaps." Barbossa chuckled, "Good job, miss. One point fer ye." Jack retrieved his cutlass andhe and Elizabeth crossed blades once again. "Fence!" Elizabeth moved her blade as skillfully and quickly as she was able. She's never been in a duel with Jack before. She was actually having fun. Her mind floated away for a second, making her hand mistakenly move. Jack took advantage of her moment of weakness and removed the sword from her grip. He grinned mischievously.

Elizabeth frowned. Jack taunted her, "Having trouble Mrs. Turner?" "Don't get cocky, Jack," she warned him, snatching her sword from the ground.
"Sorry, but cocky is just one characteristic of me you'll have to live with for now, love. I have every right to be."
"And why is that?" She crossed blades with him for the fourth time.
"Because I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
"And I'm Pirate King Captain Elizabeth Swann." She gave him a mocking grin.
The pirate was speechless... for once.

"Fence!" Barbossa ordered. Elizabeth tried to think of a way she could disarm him to make it an even score. She thought back to what Will had taught her. Something popped in her head that she remembered him telling her about Jack, "If Jack was ever right about anything, it would be this: wait for the opportune moment." Once their swords clashed now, she awaited precisely that.

When it came, Elizabeth slashed her sword at the right angle, relieving Jack of his weapon. The disbelieving shock on his face was terribly enjoyable for Elizabeth. Barbossa's snickers in the cell added to the amusement of the moment. Jack just stared at his fallen cutlass. Then, with an unreadable expression on his face, he put it back in his hand.

Elizabeth crossed blades with him for the last time. Before Barbossa could utter the call, Jack mumbled just loud enough so she could hear, "Beginner's luck." "Beginner?" she cried, "You filthy pirate!"
"You filthy pirate KING!"
"Ugh!"

She didn't even wait for Barbossa. She charged at Jack in anger, but he blocked her blow. Elizabeth swung her sword with the strength that her fury granted her. Her breath started coming out in huffs and she was sweating; growing tired. Before she knew it, her sword-wielding hand was empty. Her weapon crashed onto the floor.

Jack laughed whimsically and touched the edge of his sword to her neck. She was defeated. Barbossa groaned. Elizabeth glared at her challenger, who took his sword and flipped her hair back. He managed a minor chuckle before sheathing his weapon. She did the same and folded her arms over her chest, pouting.

"The most important rule of fencing, my dear Lizzie, is to never let your emotions determine your actions," Jack lectured her, giving her the smile he had when he'd told her years ago, "I saved your life. You saved mine. We're square." Not long after it faded, Elizabeth realized something. He knew. He knew that, if he got her worked up enough, she would act on it and mess up.

What was more, he had gotten her worked up on purpose! He'd probably let her win those two times so that she'd think she had a fighting chance against Captain Jack Sparrow. He'd been planning it from the beginning! Her mouth gaped open at the horror as all of the facts were coming together to reveal the dreadful truth.

Jack stared at Elizabeth with curiosity. She was zoned out, it appeared. She was thinking about something. Her mouth dropped open. 'Uh oh,' Jack knew, 'she's figured it out!' "Captain Jack Sparrow!" she yelled. 'Here we go!' He rolled his eyes. She continued, "I cannot believe you! That was the most selfish, rude, inconsiderate-" "Piratical," he added. Her voice drifted. He looked at Barbossa, who only shrugged. After a few more seconds, she finished, "I'm not even going to waste my time shouting at you."

Elizabeth turned around and started to stomp off. Jack couldn't help but suppress a half-grin. He came up from behind her and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her out of the brig. "Put me down!" she screamed, "Put me down! I'm mad at you!" "So long, Hector!" the pirate called to Barbossa, saluting.

"Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth shouted, "Put me down right now, or I'll burn all the rum in the cellar!" "You wouldn't do that," Jack argued, walking up the stairs to the upper deck, "you like rum now, remember?"
"I lived without it for nine months, which mean I can live without it for the remainder of this voyage!"
"Good point. However, I must remind you of the fact that there are a lot of rum-loving pirates on this vessel who would not lose any sleep over throwing a rum-burning woman in the brig for the remainder of said voyage."
She gasped. "You wouldn't!"
"Try me."

At the top of the stairs, Jack opened the door and walked onto the deck. Elizabeth was kicking and hitting him, still yelling, "Put me down! I hate you! Put me down right now!" The crew watched their captain carry on as if everything was perfectly normal. "As you were, gents," he said to them, "nothing to see here!" All of them did so and talked amongst themselves. Jack walked up some more steps, to the helm, where Cotton was steering the ship.

Elizabeth continued to scream, "Put me down! Why are you taking me up here! I want to go back in the cabin! I'm mad at you! Put me down!" Jack loved this. It might have seemed cruel, but he enjoyed irritating her and getting her all worked up. Besides, it was as he'd said before: cruel is a matter of perspective.

Cotton seemed startled by the situation that was in front of him. His parrot spoke what he was most likely wanting to say himself, "Shiver me timbers!" "Why don't you take a break for a while, Mr. Cotton...and Mr. Cotton's parrot? I'll take it from here," Jack offered. The sea dog let go of the spokes of the helm and left his station. His parrot let out a few squawks. Elizabeth commanded, "Jack, as your king, I order you to put me down this instant!" "As you command, Your Highness," he replied, dropping her on the ground. He couldn't hold back the smile that demanded to come.

Elizabeth just sat on the deck and glared at him. Her hat was tilted to the side and her hair was frizzy. Her stained shirt was wrinkled and her vest was buttoned incorrectly. The kohl that she had started to wear on her eyes was smeared on her cheeks. There was dirt in the creases of her face and her tan was uneven. Her fingernails had some unmentionable element underneath them. To top it off, she hadn't bathed in weeks. So, why was Jack still uncontrollably attracted to her?

The pout on Elizabeth's face quivered. The sides of her mouth started to curve, then fell back into a frown. Jack knew she was trying not to smile. He took hold of the spokes of the helm and steered his beloved Black Pearl. The sea water pushed the ship as if it weighed next to nothing. Night had fallen. The crew started lighting lanterns around the deck. The moon also served as a beacon to the darkness.

Jack heard Elizabeth stand up and, not long after, he felt her presence behind him. He slowly brought one of his hands off of the wheel and reached back to hold one of her hands. He brought it up and placed it on one of the spokes. He let go of her hand and the helm. He stepped away from the steering device and told her, "Go ahead." Her eyes widened in surprise, "You mean 'take the helm'?"
"Aye."
"You're going to let ME steer the Pearl?"
"You might want to hold onto it before I change my mind."

Elizabeth quickly placed her hands on the proper spokes and held on tightly. Jack stepped back and watched her. "How do you do it, Jack?" she asked him. "Oh,don't worry, love, you're doing a pretty good job. Well, not as good as me, but-"
"I'm talking about getting me not to be mad at you any more."
"Because, Lizzie-love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow; well-equipped with both charm and undeniable good looks."
She she shook her head. "You're impossible."
"Impossible to resist."
She blushed.
"Ah, the pirate king is blushing."
"I am not!"
"Liar."
"Pirate."
"Pirate king."

Elizabeth blew out a sigh and stared out to everything that lie ahead of her. Jack wished desperately that she wasn't really going home. He wanted to take her to so many more places, like the Mediterranean Sea, to show her the coasts of Europe. He wanted to sail to Africa with her and let her see the Sahara Desert and Morocco. He wanted to take her to Asia so she could discover the birthplace of her ship and the heritage she needed to learn. But, he was taking her back to Curdy, where she would have to be wary of the bloodthirsty pirates that lived in town. She would have to make a home there and raise her son alone. It was almost like she was being punished for marrying Will.

Jack knew that she was right and that she needed to keep Liam safe. The smartest, safest thing to do was get her home. That's why he was trying to make up for the time he had taken for granted whilst she had been with him for the past months. He'd wanted to sip rum with her again. He'd wanted to fence with her for once. He'd wanted to let her steer the Pearl. So many more things he wanted, but could never have. He still had that opportunity she had granted him. She would tell him whatever he wanted to know or do whatever he wanted her to do. He'd fulfilled his part of the bargain, now, it was her turn.

He placed a hand on her back and whispered in her ear, "About that arrangement... "