"Right," Jack narrowed his eyes, as if he was accusing the women of crime. "Well, I think I've had my share of lies in the last few weeks, so I'm just going to grab a roll and pretend that you girls are gossiping about all the dreamy captains out there." He plucked a piece of bread from the basket and sat in a chair, resting his feet on the table.

"Where's Frederick?" Elizabeth asked, finally cutting the subject of the map. "I told him to retrieve you and then come back down."

Jack started spooning helpings of food onto his plate. "Hell if I know. I didn't even hear him come up." Angelica watched Jack eat his food like a pig. She was actually considering going against Elizabeth's statement and giving Jack the map anyway. On one hand, he was half of this quest. On the other, he was a lying, sneaky, bastard. Angelica felt stupid for always wanting to give in to Jack. She was a lot tougher than him, but she sure didn't act like it. Jack caught Angelica staring at him. He grimaced and she quickly looked towards the stairs, pretending to be waiting for Frederick.

"I'm sure he'll be down soon," Elizabeth nodded, sitting at her own chair. Angelica saw this as her cue to place herself in a wooden chair. There were two empty seats: one for Frederick, and one-Angelica could only assume-for Will. "In the meantime," Elizabeth motioned to the numerous baskets on the table," please, eat. The food will get cold in a few minutes." As Elizabeth was passing around a bowl of cheese, they all heard clomping coming from the stairs. After a moment, Frederick was standing in the doorway, his face still as flustered as ever. Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Frederick, what's wrong, honey? Are you sick? Dizzy? You look pale." She put her hand on his forehead, only for it to be pushed off.

"No, mother. I'm fine," Frederick smiled like he was in a dream. He stared at Angelica, whose cheeks immediately went crimson. He stumbled over to the seat next to her and sat down in it. He couldn't stop staring at her, and Angelica felt awkward sitting like that in front of Jack. She laughed nervously, anxiously hoping that Jack wouldn't look up from his plate of meat. There was a very long silence at the table. Frederick was too busy admiring the woman next to him, and in turn, she didn't want to say anything, for fear of messing up her words. Jack was engulfed in his food and rum, while Elizabeth sat there quiet and timid, barely touching her dinner.

"When do you plan on returning to the sea?" Elizabeth broke the silence. She was curious about the journey that Jack was taking and wanted to know more. When Jack supposedly didn't hear Elizabeth, Angelica stepped in.

"In a few days. If we're able to, we might leave tomorrow evening. That is, if he doesn't complain," Angelica shoved her thumb towards Jack. His head whipped up and he had a blank look on his face, almost as if she had just insulted him.

"Excuse me, love, but I am most certainly not one to 'complain'" He quoted with his fingers. He groped for his half-empty bottle of rum, looking to down it. Elizabeth reached across the table and snatched it from him.

"I think that's enough rum. I wasn't planning on having to go to Tortuga tomorrow to get a whole new box." Elizabeth scoffed. She closed up the bottle and went to put it away. Jack crossed his arms.

"Now why would you need rum? Frederick is much too young, there's no possible way that certain meals require that much-" Jack stopped mid-sentence and grinned maliciously. "Unless….Lizzie, do you drink all this rum?" He smirked, catching Elizabeth in something she never thought anyone would know about. Frederick looked at his mother, wide eyed with curiosity. Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"I-You see-Yes," Elizabeth hung her head. She felt ashamed, especially considering that her son had just found out that she was a rum-drinker.

"Now," Jack tapped his chin, mocking Elizabeth. "If I remember correctly, you didn't drink alcohol. Why the sudden change?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

"Will," Elizabeth whispered. "Will's death. When I heard about it, I thought…I thought that I couldn't continue. My love was gone. I couldn't kill myself because Frederick needed a good, nurturing, caring mother. I found no solution but to drink." She frowned in disappointment at herself. She poked at her dinner with her fork, embarrassed and ashamed.

The rest of the meal went by very quietly. The very rare small-talk was only for Jack to demand that Elizabeth give him the rum, in which Elizabeth would refuse, and drink it to show her point. After dinner, while Elizabeth was cleaning, Angelica started to converse with her. Now that Jack had gone back upstairs, it was just Angelica, Frederick, and Elizabeth in the kitchen.

"What does it feel like to have loved ones?" Angelica asked. She knew this was such a straightforward question, and might be too soon to ask, but she wanted to know. She hadn't loved in a long time, and no one really showed love to her. Her father didn't count, mainly because he had placed her in a convent when she was small. She never had children and she never had siblings.

"It's a strange feeling," Elizabeth started to explain. "Not the bad strange, but the kind of strange that gives you butterflies in your stomach when you're around these people. It's a natural feeling: you know that they would die for you, do anything for you. It's..different." Elizabeth smiled slightly. "Of course, when they're gone, the whole world comes crashing down on you."

Angelica nodded and looked over at Frederick, who was listening intently to their conversation. "I always figured anyone to be in love was the luckiest person there was." Angelica sighed. "I guess not." She felt depressed. This topic had certainly stirred many feelings inside of her. Jack was the only person she thought she loved, and if he didn't work out, she always had Frederick.

Elizabeth sensed that Frederick was going to add his opinion, but she interrupted him before he managed to say anything. "Frederick, why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed. It's getting late."

"Aw, Mom!" Frederick complained. He pouted in his seat, unwilling to move. Elizabeth gave him a glare that sent him shooting out of the room.

"Children," Elizabeth laughed, "I don't think I was ever like that when I was younger." Angelica smiled slightly and looked down at the ground. She had nothing else to say.

"Well, thank you for dinner…it was wonderful. I think I'm going to go to bed as well." Angelica stood up and waved to Elizabeth. She quickly walked up the carpeted stairs to finally have a word with Jack alone.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why are you here?" Jack grunted at Angelica, laying on the bed. His boots and jacket were strewn on the floor, and the place already smelled like rum. Although the bed was very larger, Jack was sprawled across it, taking up as much space as possible.

"I need to talk to you," Angelica decided to finally tell him about the map that Elizabeth had given him. She pulled it out of her shirt and unrolled it so Jack could take a look. He slowly sat up, puzzled.

"Where did you get that?" He pointed to the crumbling piece of paper. He wasn't sure where she had received that, he had been by her side for hours. Except when she was outside alone and he was in this room. He went to grab it, but it was yanked away before he could touch it.

"Elizabeth," Angelica said as if he should know already, "and don't try and steal it. Elizabeth told me not to show you because you would run off on your own."

"She knows me too well, that bloody wench," Jack cursed under his breath. Of course Elizabeth would think that. He had tried to run away from a group numerous times before.

"You won't do that this time, yes?" Angelica asked, cocking an eyebrow. She wasn't asking him, she was telling him that he'd better not do that. Jack had no choice but to agree.

"Yes," he rolled his eyes. "Why did you make Frederick stay this afternoon once I left?" Jack changed the subject. His mind as thinking about that all day. Why did she want to see the little boy? Did he have even more knowledge about the maps?

"I wanted to talk to him. In Tortuga, he seemed scared after I almost choked his mother. I thought I could lighten the mood between us." Angelica shrugged.

"What did you two discuss? Nothing about me?" Jack was wary about what was going on when he wasn't around.

"He told me about Will, and I explained to him about Blackbeard. He was so amazed when I told him who my father was. At first he didn't believe me, but I managed to convince him." Angelica chuckled to herself.

"What's so funny? And why was he all flustered when he came in for dinner?" Jack was still going to press the subject until Angelica told him every detail of what she was doing. He couldn't trust her, even though she has proved to have done nothing wrong in the past.

"Lay off the questions," Angelica groaned. "He was only pale and shocked because he listened so intently with a lot of interest that I couldn't help but give him a small kiss on the cheek for being so nice. He walked me back to the house, holding my hand. It was really sweet. I wish you could be like that sometimes." Angelica laid down the truth. What she was wanting to say for a while now.

"Hold up," Jack held up his hands. "You're saying that just because Frederick was being all romantic and lovesick towards you, means that I should start?"

Angelica was offended that Jack had taken it that way. "No. All I'm saying was that he was kind and sweet. You need a lot of work in those categories, Jack. I have been trying so hard to get close to you. And you don't realize that. You say you love me, but you never show it. The only time you make an effort to be kind to me is when you get something out of it. I didn't mean for you to take it the wrong way, but I've been honestly wanting to say that for a long, long time." Angelica wasn't sounding angry. Her voice wasn't raised, it was just stern so she could tell Jack her case without his dozing off.

"Oh," Jack frowned. That's all he had to say. He couldn't think of any other words of consolation for her. He actually felt pity for her when something took him aback. Angelica's tan, slender arms had wrapped around his waist and she had rested her head on his chest. A hug. Jack stood there, bewildered, when his body took over. His own arms enveloped her body, the palms of his hands resting on Angelica's shoulder blades. Angelica spoke softly into Jack's worn shirt.

"I'm sorry for pushing this all on you, Jack. It's just…you're the only one I have left," she closed her eyes and breathed heavily. She smelled the permeating rum on his jacket, but for once, she ignored it. She pulled away and saw Jack smiling.

"No worries, love," he brought his head closer to Angelica's lips and she returned the gesture. The connected and a sense of relief flooded through Angelica's body. She did have someone left to love. A warm, rushing feeling was making its way into her nerves. The kiss was different and intense. It was a true kiss, not just one Jack forced because he wanted Angelica happy. No, this was one he had started, and she couldn't be happier.

They parted and Jack led Angelica to the bed. The two sat on the edge, at an awkward distance from each other. Scooting closer, Angelica rested her head on Jack's shoulder. She grinned with pure happiness for the first time in months. Silently, Angelica let a small tear of joy fall onto her lap.

So guys! Chapter Seven! Sorry I didn't post on a Monday as promised, but that doesn't mean I'll abandon my schedule. What did you guys think of the chapter? I thought it would be cute to end with another Jack/Angelica thing. ;) On the other hand, I wanted to continue the chapter more, but I didn't want it to be too long. Anyways, tell me what you think by posting a review!