Disclaimer: If I owned Pirates I would not be writing fan fiction... don't sue me, I have no money anyway...

Author's Note: Mwahaha, another tad bit of a cliff hanger for ya'll... hope you enjoy it, and reviews are always nice...

Bill insisted on caring for the girl himself, but he could not completely keep Jack away. While the young man respected his friend's wishes and turned his back while dear Josephine's shirt was lifted, he left the room only when necessary. They were nearing Tortuga now, arriving any day. Part of Jack was naïve enough to think that getting her there would mean saving her life. But the pirate in him knew that no doctor in Tortuga could do more than the ship's surgeon. They needed either someone more skilled, or with the help of a higher power.

Bill was on his watch now, and Jack sat by Josey's hammock trying very hard not to fall asleep. He hadn't gotten a decent night worth of sleep since she'd been hurt. He couldn't bear the thought of being asleep if she were to wake, if she were to need him. She'd slipped into unconciousness soon after her wounds had been sewn up and she had yet to come back to them. There seemed to be less and less hope for her survival.

If only he had made her stay with Teague. She would have been safe in the fortress for years and years. And why had he let her go off on her own during the battle? He was such a fool. Her father had been right all along, why did he not listen? A pirate ship was no place for a young woman.

Suddenly a small moan came from the hammock. Jolted fully awake now, Jack jumped to his feet so quickly he tripped and nearly dumped her from the hammock. She cried out in pain, but reached out to help steady him anyway. "I'm sorry," he said, laying his hand on her shoulder. "You're awake!" he stated dumbly. It made her smile if nothing else. "Are you, I mean... how do you feel?"

"Horible," she croaked out.

Jack had guessed this before she answered. She was wincing with every breath and she looked exhausted despite having spent 3 days lying in her hammock. "You'll be alright," he tried to assure her. That too brought a smile to her face. She wanted it to be true as much as he did. He was feeling very helpless at the moment and he couldn't take it any more. "I don't know what to do Josey. They keep saying there's nothing more we can do for you, but that can't be true. There is always something more. Always..." Ashamed of his outburst he looked away, but only until his young friend's weak fingers gripped his shirt. He let his hand cover hers, noticing its slight quiver. She had that look in her eyes... a hidden fear that no one else could recognize. She knew what was in store for her if they could find no one to help. Jack shook his head. "No... No I won't let that happen. We'll find some way."

He could tell that she did not believe him. She did not have the strength for hope. But he could not give up on her.

"You need rest," he told her. "Everything will be fine. Es una promesa mi amiga." (It's a promise my friend) He had not stroked her hair but 3 or 4 times before her eyes closed in sleep.

A bell tolled on deck, change of shifts. Reluctantly Jack turned away from his young friend only to find himself face to face with her father.

"Jack, you can't talk to her like that. She needs to be ready if..." Even the tough old pirate couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"We'll find a way." The young man stubbornly repeated as he tried to walk past his friend. He was supposed to be up on deck now and there were plenty of crewmembers who wouldn't think twice about ratting him out. But Bill grabbed him by the shirt and held him back.

"Get a hold of yourself boy. It would take some sort of magic to save her now."

Though the words were meant to be discouraging, they had quite the reversed effect. "Magic?... That's it! Calypso! Calypso will help her. She seemed to really like her, if we can find her again..."

"Calypso's been in hiding for 7 years Jack. Even if she would heal Josey, we've no way of finding her or getting to her in time."

The younger man pulled himself away from his pessimistic friend's grip and pointed at him accusingly. "I will find a way."

...

As a younger member of the crew Jack was forced to stay behind the first day in Tortuga to help with the loading and unloading of cargo. But as the sun began to sink he snuck down and into the crowded streets. He began asking anyone who looked sane if they knew where he might find a woman fitting Calypso's description. After the tenth wrong match he was finally beginning to lose hope in his plan. Maybe it really was too much of a stretch.

Ducking behind a well, the young man watched some of his crewmates push their way into a tavern. What he wouldn't give for this night be just like all the others. Joining his friends for a drink or two before sneaking some back to the ship for Josey. She wouldn't need anything to drink tonight, they'd kept her quite pickled in an attempt to dull the pain (not that much of what she ate or drank was staying down lately. She really was quite ill now.)

All this thinking was depressing him. He came out from hiding and asked a few more people if they knew where he could find Calypso. As a man walked away from him shaking his head, a young woman pulled at his sleeve.

"I might be knowin' who you're looking for."

Jack anxiously gripped her shoulders and urged her to tell him anything.

"They say a woman like that lives in the swamps of a land two days northeast of here. Goes by the name of Tia Dalma, or something like that. She's a witch of sorts... all sorts of stories about her floatin' around Tortuga."

"Thank you!" Jack overzealously kissed the girl and began running toward the docks. He was sure he could find some smaller vessel to take them to the swampland. He'd do whatever he had to in order to get passage.

He found the perfect vessel docked not far from the Pearl. He blurted out his story and his plan to the owner of the vessel and waited impatiently for a reply. He could tell that he had spoken too quickly for this stranger to understand but his desperation must have gotten the point across anyway.

"Alright lad, I think we can make a deal."

He wanted to hug this new captain so badly that he actually had to try to restrain himself. "Thank you sir. I promise you I can pull my weight and hers."

He received a pat on the shoulder. "I believe you can. We'll leave in the morning then?"

"Aye, Captain." He was about to run off again, but paused a moment. "Uh.. Captain?"

"Yes lad?"

"Would it be too much of a problem to bring one more man along?"

"If he can work, he can come," The captain offered.

Jack nodded and then began his sprint to the Pearl. He skidded to a halt in the doorway of the infirmary, nearly running in to Bill. The older man was about to reprimand his young friend for leaving the ship and wandering off, but Jack's lips moved faster.

"I found a way!"

Bootstrap was taken aback. "What?"

"I found a way. I found passage for the three of us to see Calypso..er, Tia Dalma now I guess.. but either way, I've done it."

"Jack, we've already got a ship to crew. We can't just leave."

"Would you rather sit down here and watch your daughter die?" the young man yelled his question and he could instantly see its effect on his friend. "I'm sorry, that's not... I didn't mean to insult you Bill, but... I can't ... I can't stay."

After a moment of awkward silence between the friends, the old pirate finally nodded. "I'll go speak to the captain. He's a reasonable man, we might get him to wait here for us." Jack's face brightened up immediately and he watched his friend pass by him with more admiration than ever before. Before he started up the steps though the pirate turned back to his young counterpart. "Stay with her Jack. Don't leave the ship."

The command was stern, and Jack swallowed the lump of fear in his throat before nodding his compliance. "Aye sir."