Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates.

"Shhh," Ragetti whispered. "Someone's comin'."

The footsteps coming down the steps to where the crew of the late Barbossa and Jack were being held were light, nearly dainty. And they were slow, almost agonizingly so.

Jack chalked it up to Elizabeth trying to apologize to him again. Kate hadn't been down to see him since he'd been locked down there. She had probably been too busy with the boy fawning over her earlier. He thought back to the kiss he'd shared with her and then frowned, he hated women.

"Jack?" her voice was light. He looked up from his cell. He had scored a single one like last time, Barbossa's old crew had been separated into two cells of their own. He tilted his head back, confused, "Miss Swann."

She frowned, wrapping her tiny hands around the bars of the cell as she leaned forward, "Jack," her voice was heavy with conflicting emotions. Why had he called her Miss Swann? Hadn't they gotten past their formalities?

"So," he stood up and wobbled for a moment before regaining his balance, "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Jack," she repeated his name once again, this time her voice cracking, and he met her eyes. They were wide with confusion and it looked as if she had been crying. He cursed himself for caring, but he moved towards her, getting as close as the bars would allow.

"Where have you been, 'luv?" he whispered, wrapping his own hands around the bars, atop of where hers were placed.

"Norrington hasn't allowed me out of the cabin he shoved me into," she spat out venomously, "They're all drinking with the supposed good news. That's how I got out now."

"What good news?" Jack frowned once more.

"We'll be back in Port Royal by nightfall," she whispered out, a tear falling from her eye.

"And by tomorrow afternoon, I'll be the late Captain Jack Sparrow," he added onto her sentence. She nodded and moved her face closer to him, "Jack, I couldn't just sit up there. Even Will…he thinks it's so wrong. My father has been writing documents up all night and I've been trying to convince him for the past half hour to grant you clemency as well. No one will listen to me."

" 'Luv, it's okay. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy? I'll get out of it somehow," he moved one of his hands to cup her face and rubbed his rough thumb over her smooth cheek. "I'll get out of it somehow."

"But what if you don't, Jack?"

He stopped rubbing her face immediately and his mouth fell open for a moment. What if he didn't get out this time? After all, the guards of Port Royal were certainly keen to his trickery by now. After a moment of silence he calmed himself down. If he could escape Cutler Beckett, he could easily escape James Norrington. Right?

"I will," he repeated with a small smile. "Now, 'luv, you'd better run back upstairs before the Commodore and your admirer are missing you."

She scrunched her nose up. "It's funny really," her voice was light again, "Lizzie can't stand James and I can't stand his cousin, yet they keep thinking that they should just try harder," she smiled softly, "But in actuality, we would rather them just go away."

"The one that fancies you-"

"Is the Commodore's cousin," she nodded with a sad look in her eye.

Jack nodded. Surely now that Elizabeth had agreed to marry the Commodore, Kate would be expected to marry or at least court his cousin. He frowned inwardly, wondering if there was anyway that he could remedy the situation. He could take her away if he ever got free, but did he really want the lass around that much? He knew he was going a bit soft, but this was ridiculous. He shook the thought from his head. She could marry the Commodore's cousin, and that would remove temptation from his path.

"I will save you, Jack," she whispered. She glanced up at a noise above deck before turning to face him again, "I promise you that."

He smiled forcefully, the lass had too good of a heart in her. She quickly leaned in and pecked the side of his face before scurrying up the stairs.

"Oy," Pintel cried out. Jack looked over at him, confused. " 'ow did you get on that one's good side?"

Jack smirked, "I don't know, mate. She just likes me, I guess."

"She's off her bloody rocker then, yeah?"

Jack's smirk grew, "Must be."

"Katherine, you have to go," her father was calling from outside of the room. Kate hadn't left her bed since they'd arrived in Port Royal in the morning. The gallows had been fixed since being blown up by the Pearl on it's first appearance in Port Royal and Jack was due to be hung in an hour.

"No," she cried out weakly. Her face was buried into her pillow and she had tear stains on her cheeks. Her father sighed, pushing the door open. She merely glanced at him from the corner of her eye, before turning her gaze off to the window.

"You have to go. It's for your own good. To show you what happens to pirates and those who engage in piracy." He sat on the edge of her bed, putting a hand on her shoulder, "It's to -"

"Scare me straight so that I don't ever engage in piracy again, by killing another human," she glanced up at her father. "Right?"

He gulped, "Yes, Katherine. That's right. Please? Let the maids in, stop throwing things at them. Elizabeth's almost dressed."

"I can get dressed by myself-"

"The maids will do it faster," he spoke quickly, stepping up. "Be downstairs in a half an hour or less."

Kate sighed, but allowed two of the maids inside her room to help her dress. She was downstairs in about twenty minutes. Again, her dress matched Elizabeth's, where as Elizabeth's was a beige and gold and Kate's was a blue and white mix. She glanced up from where she stood with her family and Norrington to where Jack was standing at the gallows. His hands were bound in front of him in rope, not irons, because they knew he could get away easily in the latter. His hat and coat were gone, and he looked miserable as he stared at the ground, the executioner standing perfectly still as the Official began to read the proclamation for Jack's death.

"Jack Sparrow," he spoke up, "Be it known that you have-"

Kate scoffed, Captain, she thought, Jack must be fuming now. And she could in fact see him mouthing the word Captain to himself. She smiled softly.

"For your willful commission of crimes against the crown," the Official continued on. Kate frowned, realizing she'd missed a few words in-between. "Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be cited herewith piracy, smuggling," he began to list off Jack's crimes.

"This is wrong," Kate turned to her sister who had spoken up.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law," her father sympathized for a moment before regaining his hardened persona, "As are we all."

Kate frowned. Surely Jack had a plan out of this right?

"Impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the Church of England," the Official read on. Kate scrunched her eyebrows together and had to bite her tongue from smiling when Jack smiled and turned to the executioner grinning before turning back to face the crowd.

"Sailing under false colors," the Official continued on again, "Arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness." Kate saw someone walking around in the crowd with a large feather on their hat. She squinted. Was that? "And for these crimes you have been sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on your soul."

The feather made it's way to the Swann's and Norrington and Kate realized she had been correct as Will smiled, "Governor Swann, Commodore. Kate," he then turned to Elizabeth, "Elizabeth…I should have told you every day from the moment I met you…I love you." He then walked away.

Elizabeth's eyes were wide and their father was freaking out, moving his mouth, but not speaking. Even James looked amazed. Kate grinned, "I told you!" She looked up and saw the noose being put around Jack's neck and frowned instantly, before glancing at Will who was walking through the crowd. What was he doing?

She looked up and noticed Cotton's parrot nearby. She nudged Elizabeth and nodded her head towards it. Elizabeth nodded, understanding. "I can't breathe," she whispered out as her father and Norrington glanced at her. Kate snuck off just as she fell.

The drums began to sound and Kate glanced over her shoulder to see James and her father trying to help Elizabeth.

"Move!" Kate turned back to look at Will as she became stuck in the middle of the crowd and as Jack fell through, Will threw his sword which stuck in the wood and became a foothold for Jack. Will began to fight his way to the gallows and Kate tried to slink over there as well.

As Will ran up the steps to the gallows, Kate followed after him. He began to fight the executioner and Kate found a sword laying nearby. She snatched it up and swung it, cutting the rope around Jack's neck down. She heard a thud as he fell. He used the sword to cut his hands free and as he ran out from under the gallows, Will did a flip off of the platform. They ran together, holding the rope from the noose and tripping the marines.

Kate ran down the stairs and followed after them, jumping over the fallen marines as she went. When she caught up with them, they had been surrounded so she stood with her father and Elizabeth.

James glanced at Jack, "When we returned to Port Royal I thought we would have to endure some type of ill conceived escape attempt, but not from the two of you," he glanced at Kate and then Will.

"On our return to Port Royal I granted you clemency, and this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate," the governor spoke to Will, ignoring his youngest daughter until she spoke up, speaking in unison with the blacksmith, "And a good man!"

Jack pointed to himself, proudly. He mouthed, Good man. That's me. And Will spoke up, "If all that I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

Kate set her jaw and stepped forward before standing with her friend, "It will be that he has earned three pairs of boots," she spoke up, "I wish my conscience to be clear as well."

Will smiled and grasped her hand, squeezing it. He knew that Kate's father wouldn't allow anything to happen to her.

"Lower your weapons," Governor Swann begged, "Please, for goodness sakes, put them down!" The weapons were lowered and Norrington sneered, "The two of you forget your places."

"Our place is right here," Kate spoke up confidentially, "Between you and Jack."

"As is mine," Elizabeth made her way over and stood next to Will. Kate smiled over at her when she noticed that Will held his sister's hand as well as her own.

"So this is where your heart truly lies then?" James asked, saddened.

"It is," Elizabeth nodded.

Jack finally noticed Cotton's parrot and understood the point of Will's action. He was going to escape! "Well," he spoke calmly, stepping up, "I'm actually feeling rather good about this," he made his way over to the governor, "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually? Ecumenically? Grammatically?" Governor Swann stepped back, disgusted that Jack was so close to him. Then, Jack went over to James, "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate." He moved over to Elizabeth, "Elizabeth, it would never have worked between us darling, I'm sorry." Elizabeth looked confused, moving her eyebrows together as he continued on, "You see, I've got this other lass," he frowned, before turning to Kate.

He didn't say anything, but just put one arm around her waist and one supporting her back, the hand resting on the back of her neck as he dipped her down and kissed her forcefully. She let out a little cry of surprise and heard the gasps from her family and the marines. He raised her up slowly and moved his mouth from her lips to her ears, "I'll be back for you," he whispered, making up his mind from the debate the night before. He then began to move backwards to the ledge.

"Oh and Will," he grinned, "Nice hat." As he walked backwards, grinning, he spoke, "You will always remember this as the day that you almost-"

He tripped backwards over the ledge and flew down. Kate gasped, moving to the ledge to see him land perfectly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Pearl coming to get him.

She turned back to face everyone. Gillette, who was fuming mad and his face red, glanced at Norrington, trying to figure out his orders. Norrington, who was completely out of it at this point just stared.

"Perhaps," Weatherby Swann spoke up, "That on the rare occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself can be the right course?"

Norrington nodded, still dumbfounded, before turning to Elizabeth and Will, "Mr. Turner," he spoke up moving forward. Will began to move towards him but Elizabeth pulled him back.

"I will accept the consequences of my actions," he looked down.

"This is a beautiful sword," Norrington began to speak. Kate turned away and glanced at the direction of the Pearl again, sighing. She could see Jack making his way onto the ship now and smiled to herself. When she looked back over at the new couple, they were kissing.

She began to hum to herself, turning back once more to the sea, the song they'd sung on the island making it's way into her head. And for a moment, she wondered if Jack would remember it as well.

"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs," she almost whispered to herself, smiling softly. That had been Jack's favorite part.

And at the helm of the Black Pearl, Jack stood with a smirk on his face, "And really bad eggs," he smirked wider, "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho."