"You let her go in your place?" Will shouted, pinning Tia Dalma against the bulkhead, the ship's guns off to the side.

"Mind yer tongue, Turner!" Barbossa snapped at him before shoving him aside. "Had ye not gone against the rest of us there would have been no need for no one to go nowhere. As fer you, ye parasitic fishwife, so much good yer little angel's done fer us. One might think you don't care what happens to any of your pirate lords."

"Don't forget who it was dat made ya here in da first place to talk to me dis way," Tia Dalma said, showing her inky teeth. "As for Mary, all of ye left da Locker. Dat's what I needed of her."

"Meanwhile we're all separated with the East India Trading Company and the Flying Dutchman and the Empress after us," Will snorted.

"I said I'd free ya, Tia Dalma, and I mean to, but I never said nothin' 'bout treating ye like a lady. Take her to the brig and don't listen to a word she says. We got enough poisons to worry with."

Pintel and Ragetti led Tia Dalma away, leaving Will to climb back up to the helm. He relieved Marty and continued to steer them towards Shipwreck Cove.

"Will? Do ye agree with Barbossa? Am I useless?" Mary hovered next to him, a purplish hue framing her white, sheer face. "It's not as if I was what I was when I was on a ship like this, ye know, all heart and no head, raidin' any ship we saw out in the distance just to make ends meet. This role don't come naturally to me, nor does it to ye, methinks."

"No, it doesn't."

"Answer the question then."

"I don't find you useless, Mary. But it doesn't seem as if fate is really on our side. I had hoped you would have been an omen of good things to come, finally some smooth sailing, literally and figuratively. And now, now I don't know if I need to stab that heart or not. I made a promise to my father, Elizabeth and I aren't promised to each other anymore so it's not as if I would be leaving her, but…I've never been one who was unsure of myself or who I was, Mary."

There was a pause, and he turned to stare back at her, her face pensive, locked in on him and yet, looking past him, maybe decades past him.

"I'm going to help ye, Will, ye can be sure of that. Calypso, she, she's taken a fancy to this crew, more than the others, and so have I. There is a way to change the facts if ye wish it and I could be the one talkin' her into that change, ye see. It don't take much to steer Calypso's mind from one direction to another. Sometimes she's more like the wind than like the sea that way." She edged closer to the helm. "But the tide rolls in and Calypso thinks one way. It roll the other way, well, she does something different. It is why men and women love her…and hate her. I'm going to be of some help to ye, Will, to everyone."

"I'm not going to ask requests of you."

"If it eases that mind, this'll be helpin' me a might, too." She faded from his view down to the brig. Calypso, hunched over in the center, laid an ear to her locket, soaking in the haunting melody. She had stretched the chain until it grew taut and rubbed her thumb and forefinger against it, writhing and weeping. It was a familiar sight to Mary over the years, that locket never far away from the woman, the goddess, who held her in her power. There was just as many times when she wished she could take a mallet and silence the thing forever, just a tool that shackled her to her past, as there were times she wanted to take her thumbs and wipe Calypso's tear-stained cheeks.

"Ye still find Will Turner up to the task?" Mary asked.

The locket snapped shut.

"Mary. I tell ye to guard da crew. My ideas are my own."

"What of another good man to be the captain of the Dutchman in his place? There be others on this vessel, one of which ye almost tempted yourself back in the Locker." She flew straight through the bars and took a knee next to her. "He's had his heart broken before, easier to see than shine in swag, so why not let him keep it in a chest where no more harm can come to it?"

"James Norrington does have a touch of destiny about him, but him not a pirate lord."

"So he was just to be a conquest that night when you spoke his name to him? Just a whim?" Mary's eyes laughed, remembering how much her debtor loathed being called on her own flaws.

"He woulda been much more dan a whim, but what a conquest," she said wistfully before ogling her locket again. "But it don't change him not a pirate lord."

"I'm the guardian of this ship and crew, Calypso," Mary said. "That roughly means he ain't a pirate lord yet."

Jack had had enough swordplay and threw Mercer into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, knowing it would only hold him for a few seconds. Bounding up the stairs, he heard the sound of his pistol being fired by Gibbs.

"I'm out!" he heard him shout. Announce it to the whole world, Gibbs.

"Bash them on the head with it then!" he heard. He had a feeling he would eventually warm up to Governor Swann. He at last spotted them both fending off more red-coated soldiers on their way up to the main deck.

On the stairs, Jack whirled around to find Mercer panting from hacking away at the door. Dashing up to the main deck, he blocked yet another attack and positioned himself to the edge of the enormous ship. The sun blinded his vision, a stark contrast from the dimly lit underbelly of the ship. With a sharp kick, he knocked Mercer straight into the water, the splash as reassuring as church bells. Jack peered down only to catch a figure half-swimming, half-floating back from whence it came. It shocked him every time he saw him, the cold efficiency coupled with some sort of erotic fetish in torturing others. He ran his fingers over his brand. Where had Lizzie gone off to now? There she was, at the helm, surrounded by a horde of disgruntled faces. Already there was a nice distance between them and all the other ships.

"You are not my captain!" one of the crewmen barked at her with folded arms.

"This says differently," Elizabeth said, waving Wei Bo's Piece of Eight at him. "We're going to Shipwreck Cove whether you like it or not."

"You don't know that's what Wei Bo would have done!" they countered. Jack smirked. He knew well enough Lizzie Swann avoided negotiation like she avoided corsets and keeping to the Code.

"Where is he? What have you done with him?"

He couldn't have asked for a better cue.

"With the likes of Cutler Beckett up until recently in your company, it should not come as a shock if one or two or a dozen of you were to just disappear. Have ye not heard the man controls the seas?" he asked, placing his arm around one of them. "Such an obdurate, rancorous rapscallion as that might off any number of men on a whim. Now, though 'I am forbid to tell the secrets of my prison house, I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood…' Nary is a place more protected, more guarded, more defended than Shipwreck Cove, especially from such villains with which you traveled. Savvy?"

He ignored the fact that amusement, gratitude, and self-righteousness were all battling it out on Lizzie's face, instead nodding along with the man whom he had placed his arm around.

"Glad we're all in agreement. Let's leave said captain at helm and you all…trim the sails! Look lively now!" With smug eyes, he swaggered closer to Elizabeth.

"'A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true one to another,'" she recited with only a hint of scolding.

"I don't believe I said anything that was untrue, did I?" He pretended to think. "No. I was right. I didn't say anything that was untrue."

"You suggested it."

"And here you are claiming captaincy with an ill-gotten Piece of Eight, and I'd wager I know why."

"They would have never gone to Shipwreck Cove if they knew what had happened, at least not with us."

It reminded him too much of the Dauntless that night, a portentous blue mist veiling the caverns of Isla de Muerta, the two of them alone on the deck, not looking at one another but immersed in their own proximity. She had played with the railing when she had mentioned neither of them told Norrington about the curse. She'd called him Jack for the first time, the first time that he could remember anyway, and he wanted to hear it again and again from her. He wanted to hear it whispered to him in conspiracy and gasped out of her in ecstasy and everything in between. Since then Elizabeth had been one surprise after another, and yet, not a surprise, as he seemed to understand the thought process behind everything she did and had a suspicion that it was the same for her with him. Didn't help she was quoting Shakespeare in nothing but a silk robe.

"And how do you plan to stave off a mutiny until that time, Captain Swann?"

"Surely having Captain Sparrow on my ship has to count for something," she said, allowing them both to smile at the horizon in front of them. "Still, you probably shouldn't have led them to believe Beckett was responsible, Jack."

"Ah, but you allowed them to be led to believe, love. One's just as dangerous as the other."

"We have a full day before we reach Shipwreck Cove. I suggest you don't open your mouth and say something to them we'll all regret." Even the stern tone couldn't disguise the happiness radiating out of her, the captain of her own ship, sailing it in open water. Maybe that was the underlying reason why he loved her.

So you decided then, mate? It's to be love again?

It was never anything but.

He took advantage of the lumbering ship swaying to come closer to her, just enough to detect the potent aroma of jasmine about her. Good Lord, it was sometimes as if she had been custom-designed for him.

"More often than not, I don't regret the things I say," he said, tensing out him arms to keep them from swinging around her. He hoped it wasn't his imagination that noted a silent giggle in her eyes, her pouty lips tucking into her mouth. "I wouldn't speak them if that was not the case."

"You've never regretted anything you've said?"

"No," he answered, copying her knowing look and calling her bluff.

"What about something you haven't said?"

"What would ye like to hear?"

Flushed, she jerked back towards the horizon, grasping the helm tighter than before, a few heavy chest heaves accompanying her.

"Elizabeth. Thank Heaven," Swann sighed, Gibbs close behind him. "Where are we headed?"

"Shipwreck Cove."

"Aye! That's the plan!" Gibbs slapped her back harder than Jack figured she had expected. "Make sure ye keep a watchful eye once we get to the shallows, miss. Ain't for naught it's called Shipwreck Island, where lies Shipwreck Cove."

"I'll manage," Elizabeth said.

"Not in that, you will, if we're going to a place called Shipwreck Cove, which, I'm sure, hosts a hive of pirates," Swann said, moving in as if he were to take the helm. "Go get dressed."

"Father…"

"No. Bad enough you're caught out here in it amongst…amongst mixed company," he said, glaring at Jack. What? He hadn't been ogling her, and yet he did not figure it would be much help to venture to say he had seen several women in considerably less. Well, if Swann had to loosen up in regards to violence or…other matters, it was probably for the best violence won out. "Elizabeth, I'm still your father and I can promise you a whole ship full of men will not listen to you if you are wearing just a robe!" Jack winced at how much he was failing to keep the discussion at a whispering level. "Please. You'll want to wear something warmer, besides. Be practical here. She'll want to wear something warmer, won't she, Captain Sparrow?"

Don't laugh, mate. Don't laugh.

"Yes. Yes, I daresay she will." He cleared his throat to keep from chuckling. It didn't help Elizabeth was looking at him with her "shut it" look, a look she took from him. Don't worry, love, I won't be going down there with you to pick something out.

"Fine. I suppose it's only fitting the rest of the crew should be able to help me find something. You want the helm?" She held one of the spokes with only one arm, her eyes daring her father.

"Me?" Swann sputtered.

"Jack will show you."

"Jack will do what?" Jack challenged, for once not charmed at all by her opulent smirk.

"Everyone must pull his weight, Jack," she said, starting for below decks. "I won't be long."

For a moment, they just looked at each other, Jack unsure how to even address the man.

"I…I suppose I'll just take the wheel then," Swann said, holding the helm like an awkward boy dancing for the first time.

"Wheel. This, sir, is a helm. You are taking the helm. It's not hard, mainly just keep your eyes in front of you and not at the flagstaff. Gibbs."

"Fear not, Captain. I'm sure you'll be a great teacher," Gibbs laughed, smacking his lips at the sweet rum from his flask.

"With as little conspicuousness as you can manage, there's a body below in the tub that needs disposing of," he whispered to him.

"For the love of Mother and Child, Jack, why do I have to do it?" he blurted out, spitting out some of his drink. He glanced around to make sure no one else had heard his outburst.

"Because I'm teaching."

The time passed, Jack noted, seeing a few clouds hover over them, all the while sitting on the top step.

"You may go now, Captain Sparrow, if you have things to do. I feel I have the hang of it."

"Aye, that you may, but one can't help but fear that if I were to leave this little step, we would run afoul of our course, or hit a reef, or meet some other catastrophe. It is nice to be addressed by one's title, though, sir, and I do say thank ye for that." Will had better be taking care of the Pearl. That was all he could say about that.

"Your ship? Is it, is she, all right?"

"So long as Mr. Turner does not see fit to do anything stupid with her, she'll sail true." Was this a ridiculous conversation? He couldn't tell, but it felt like hours. He'd take the helm here soon, guide the Empress through the murkier waters ahead, a fitting setting to foreshadow facing Teague again. It would still be several hours before they would see the Cove and yet he could already see Teague's face, hear the smarmy threats oozing out of his mouth.

"Ah. Will. Captain Sparrow, may I ask you a question?"

"By your leave."

"Do you plan to kill my daughter?"

Jack snapped his neck in Swann's direction, squinting his eyes at him. Did he not hear right? Was this some aftermath of the Locker?

"Beg pardon?"

"She told me what she did, you know." No, he had not known. Devious, unpredictable, rum-burning Lizzie Swann, captain, no less! How could he kill the other half of himself? One really should learn to be angrier with her if the situation called for it, he thought, before Swann spoke again. "I have to know this journey to Shipwreck Cove isn't just so you can throw her overboard or maroon her or whatever it is you miscreants do."

"Shipwreck Cove is a long-established safe haven for said miscreants. It existed before me and it will exist after me," he said, stalling.

"Captain Sparrow, my daughter has been absolutely obsessed with pirates since she could walk. I'm the governor of Port Royal, or at least I was. Believe me, I've heard of you and what you are capable of doing. The story of you carrying around a pistol with one shot for ten years is particularly distressing and I want to be sure there are no such intentions aimed at my daughter."

"I carried that single shot for ten years because Barbossa was out of my line of sight for ten years and shooting at him would have done no good in those ten years," he said. "There would have been no need to wait had it been otherwise."

"So you've forgiven her?" Swann asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think I'll be takin' that helm now, mate." He moved in and succeeded in taking the spokes from him. His recent behavior dictated, if the concept of karma was true, something good should come his way. Maybe Gibbs would walk up at this very instant all in an uproar about some dainty calamity with an easy fix and pry him from such an interrogation. Maybe the waves would part just right that he would be able to get them all to their destination in the blink of an eye.

"I know I owe you her life, but if you plan on taking it…well? Answer me, man! How do you feel about Elizabeth?"

"I love her," Jack said.

A/N: Whew! Several things to cite here. First, Jack quotes Hamlet right before he starts describing Shipwreck Cove to the crew. There are also a few lines which are directly taken from the actual AWE, sort of salvaging what works from that movie. Elizabeth quotes Henry IV. Yes, she can pull Shakespeare lines out of nowhere too when she feels like it. Wish I could. The chapter title comes from Sophocles. "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love." I also need to thank "The Phrontistery" website for letting me know all the vocabulary that goes into ships and sailing. I learned a lot from the tours of the Elissa in Galveston, Texas and the Berkeley in San Francisco (with a PIRATE MUSEUM below decks!), but other than that, I have no experience in this field at all, so if you do, please let me know if I've made any errors. Please read and review!