A/N: Another update! Yay for me! This one is not as long as some of the other chappys, but I like it. As always, keep those great reviews coming...they are good inspiration for me to keep writing and trust me, I need inspiration these days. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Even though they were aboard The Black Pearl, Anamaria served as the captain for the first day of the voyage. Jack wandered the deck of his boat with a distant unhappiness in his eyes. By morning of the second day, Anamaria was ready for a nap. She had been without sleep for nearly three full days, choosing to stay awake and make sure the ship made good time. Jack seemed to be doing better and he agreed to take the helm while she got some rest.

Anamaria retired to Jack's cabin and after several minutes, the pirate captain snuck below deck to see her before she fell asleep. Anamaria had already removed her hat and boots and had almost drifted off into a dream when she felt someone's weight shift the mattress. She blinked several times to bring Jack into focus.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Jack whispered softly.

Anamaria's lips formed a small smile as her eyes closed again unvoluntarily.

Jack watched her sleep for a moment and then whispered, "Sometimes I don't know what I would do without you," brushing a loose strand of hair off her face he added, "without your strength."

He kissed her softly on the lips and then moved to get back to the helm.

Anamaria slept for several hours before awakening and convincing Jack to come and rest with her while Gibbs took watch. She assured him that he would need the rest before they arrived at their destination. Jack laid beside Anamaria while she slept for what seemed like hours to him before getting up and going back out on deck. His body had enjoyed the rest, but his mind needed to be occupied.

In another fourteen hours, the island of Port Royal loomed into sight.

"Be careful Jack," Gibbs warned.

"Watch out for the weather," Anamaria offered, gazing up at the overcast sky. "It looks like it could get nasty."

Anamaria and Gibbs helped Jack with the rowboat and wished him luck before he dropped into the murky darkness.

Jack had made a quick trip back to The Blue Dragon before they had set sail for Port Royal to inquire as to how long it had been since the letter arrived for him. With the barmaid's calculations, he estimated that nearly two months had passed from the time Elizabeth had sent the letter to the time he arrived on the shore of Port Royal. Dragging the rowboat onto the sand and then up into the trees that stood on the edge of the city, Jack wondered how Elizabeth was holding up. Looking into the sky, he was glad he had rowed quickly, the clouds were growing darker.

It was nighttime, but it was not as late as it normally was when he visited and upon approaching her house, Jack saw one tiny candle burning in the window. He gave a few knocks and then waited patiently for her to open the door. Several seconds passed before he heard a shuffling inside, the lock twisted, and the door was opened for him.

Elizabeth looked as if she had aged ten years since the last time he had seen her. Deep circles were carved under eyes that shone with a profound and inescapable sadness. Her long blond hair that had been rarely out of place and always styled in the latest fashion was piled on top of her head and secured, loose ends sticking out every which way. Since that first day when she had made pancakes for Jack while dressed in her robe and Will had become so angry, she had never presented herself without makeup to him. Now, she stared at him with a bare face. But unlike that day that now seemed so long ago, her skin was pale and splotchy, red in places as someone who had spent too many nights crying herself to sleep. Her clothes were worn and wrinkled, even ripped in places as if they hadn't been changed in weeks. Her shoulders slumped and Jack saw none of the fiery boldness he had been so fond of when he first met her. She had been defeated, the flame extinguished.

Jack was speechless, but it was Elizabeth who spoke.

"I knew you'd come," she said, pulling him into a tight hug. She began to cry and he felt odd standing there holding her. It shouldn't have been his place to comfort her, it was Will's. But Will was gone, a thought that seemed impossible to Jack even now. So he stood there, holding her, until it began to lightly rain and she invited him in.

Elizabeth had not only neglected her appearance, but her surroundings as well, Jack noticed upon stepping inside. Dust covered the furniture, leaving a hazy coat that made the room seem cloudy. A raggedy blanket and pillow rested in the largest chair and Jack assumed Elizabeth had been sleeping there. Dishes were piled high in the kitchen and there was a slight odor of spoiled food. The floor that he had once felt uncomfortable walking on in his boots now made him glad of the protection they gave his feet.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "I could fix you something if you are."

Jack shook his head, "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Alright," she said, sitting down in her chair and wrapping the blanket around her.

Jack stood there awkwardly wondering how long he could put off sitting down when she commented, "Please make yourself comfortable, have a seat."

Jack looked around at the mess. "Alright," he said, pushing some things around so he could squeeze into a chair. He didn't know what to say so he started with the obvious, "I'm sorry Elizabeth."

She stared at him for a moment and then said, "Do you know how many people tell me that each day?" She paused for a moment, the tears coming to her eyes again, but she continued. "And what am I supposed to say? That it's alright? That I'm going to be alright?"

"Elizabeth, no one expects…"

She cut him off, "But it's not and I'm not. Will left me nothing, not because he didn't care, but because he had nothing. Everything he had was in that bloody blacksmith shop and now that it's gone, I have nothing."

Elizabeth began to cry and Jack sat in silence, feeling very uncomfortable and having no idea what to say to make things better.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked, sobbing harder. "I have no skills to get a job. I've been working for the Bancrofts for now as a maid. The Bancrofts! They're a wealthy political family who were at one time on social terms with my father, but they don't pay me well. I suppose they think it's a joke, my father disowning me even after the scandal he went through. It must make a good laugh for them seeing me slave away for them."

Elizabeth paused for a moment, before adding, "A couple of the girls I work with have mentioned prostitution. They think I could make good money that way or at least enough extra to get by."

Jack couldn't believe his ears. He had a hard enough time believing that he had heard that word come out of her mouth, much less that she would think about going into the business. After his initial shock, he felt an enormous wave of sadness. He stood to fish a bag of coins from his pocket. "I want you to have this."

He held it out to her and she reluctantly took it.

"I also want you to know that you're welcome aboard The Pearl or The Sea Wench if you want."

Through her tears, she managed a laugh, "I don't think I'm cut out for life on a pirate ship Jack."

"I just want you to know that the offer is there. It would be better than selling yourself, would it not luv?" Jack reached forward and gently brushed one of the tears rolling down her cheek away with his thumb.

Elizabeth shook her head, burying it in her hands as she started to cry harder, "I don't know."

Jack watched her for a moment before getting up and moving to sit on the edge of her chair. She had pulled her knees into her chest and it made it awkward for Jack to get his arms around her, but he pulled her into a hug and began to rock her back and forth, "Ssshhh…you're ok…Ssshhhh," he whispered in her ear.

Had Elizabeth not been so upset, she might have thought how strange it was that Jack was here playing the caretaker role, but the thought never crossed her mind. He held her until her tears had almost subsided when the knock surprised them both.

Jack was not going to get up and answer it because it was not his place and Elizabeth did not feel like seeing anyone. However, the person who knocked gave them no chance to answer because seconds later, he busted through the door.