A/N: Here it is! I apologize for the wait! Life and stuff...you understand, surely. I won't keep you with some boring message about what I've been up to. Have at it!

And remember to review! It's the holiday season, after all!

Chapter 6

In most circumstances, leaving a pub to go to one's ship is a simple task. Unfortunately for Jack and Kate, this was not the case; Will was just tipsy enough to need assistance in all movement. Kate tutted indignantly as Will's head lolled around his shoulders, his knees subsequently giving out beneath him. Jack, who had Will's arm around his shoulders, groaned at the sudden change in weight and signaled to Kate to help him. In his own drunken attempt to help, Will swung his arm around what he thought was Kate's shoulder and instead knocked off her new hat. She bent down to retrieve it, causing her companions to stumble and fall.

Jack swore angrily, rubbing a his back painfully. Will looked down and cleared his throat, standing up with support of a nearby barrel. "Jack, if it's too much trouble, you can leave me in that alley. I don't want to be a problem," Will said.

Jack got back on his feet. "Well, if you think it's best, mate--"

"No!" Kate interjected. "We can't abandon him in this state, Jack, and shame on you for thinking so! He's your friend, for heaven's sake."

Jack pursed his lips sheepishly. "Was his suggestion..." he muttered.

When at last the trio reached The Pearl, Jack dropped Will from his shoulders and waved them off, swaggering off to his cabin. Kate, who needed to clean up the galley anyhow, led Will below deck, extremely careful to mind his condition. Kate dropped the fabrics she'd been carrying and lit the lamps along the posts in the galley, filling the dark room with bright yellow light and forcing the few rats back into hiding. Will slumped down on a crate and groaned. He held his head in his hands, rubbing his temples gently.

"I do hope I've not given you a bad impression of myself, Miss Kate. I don't make a usual point of drinking myself into unconsciousness. In truth, I am a generally respectable person most of the ti--"

But Will wasn't able to finish his sentence. He gagged and reached for a bucket, retching deep into it. Kate immediately closed her eyes and turned away, raising a hand to her mouth in silent disgust. When he was finished, she knelt beside him and took the bucket from his hands. She placed it beside him should he need it again and smiled up at him genuinely.

"I have no doubt that you are, indeed, a respectable man, Mr. Turner. It grieves me to see that you've physically and mentally exhausted yourself with the drink, and all because some woman wasn't fortunate enough to see just how respectable you are. It's true, I don't know you, Mr. Turner, but I can read people. This isn't you, and if I may, I'd like to become friends with the real Will. Here, allow me."

Curious, Will stood and followed Kate over to the wall. There were two barrels of water standing side by side, reflecting a very nauseous Will and grinning Kate. She placed one hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"As you and I don't know each other personally yet, I know you won't hold this against me."

Before the statement's meaning could entirely sink in, Will's head was completely submerged in water, being held down by Kate. After a second or two passed, Kate was lifting his head back up, flinging water in the process. Will gasped for air frantically before Kate once again plunged his head into the barrel. This demonstration was repeated no less than three times, each time adding a few more seconds for good measure.

When she was finished, Kate promptly sat Will down on his crate and fetched him a cloth. He looked up at her with bewilderment and dried his face. She simply smiled in return.

"There...sober?"

He said nothing until his breathing was regular. "Thank you," he replied.

"You're welcome," she chirped. "I'm afraid to say that I've had to perform that technique on our captain a few times already in the short time I've been aboard. We are sharing living quarters at the moment, and as he's usually intoxicated--"

Will snorted and shook his head. "Sounds about right. For his own good?"

"No...for mine." Kate's smile disappeared. "You see, I've had some problems with men taking advantage of me before and...well, let's just say that I did something unforgivable."

Will smiled and held up a hand. "Say no more, Miss Kate. I understand. I wouldn't dream of forcing you relive such a nightmare by recounting the terrible events for my sake."

Kate nodded. She was thankful for his dismissal, to say the least. For some strange reason, she felt like she could trust Will, but even so, talking about her late husband was the last thing she wanted to bring up to a stranger. A stranger that could potentially know her crime and therefore, her true identity.

At that moment, Will cleared his throat, sensing her discomfort. "Well, Miss Kate, tell me what you are doing aboard the Pearl. I hope you'll excuse me for saying so, but you don't seem like the type of woman Jack would bring aboard."

"Why is that?" Kate asked somewhat indignantly.

"Well, for one thing...you're a proper lady. Your features are clean, and you don't smell of dirt and disease like all the others do. Please, enlighten me." Will leaned forward towards her to express his interest.

"Oh," Kate muttered. She climbed on top of a crate beside him and folded her legs. "I was a tavern girl in Tortuga for a year before I met Jack. I fell on hard times and he took me in. Now I work as his galley mistress. What of you, Mr. Turner? Tell me about yourself."

Will smiled. "I'm a blacksmith by trade, pirate by accident, and the general smarts behind all the half-brained, life-threatening escapades Jack might drag me on."

Kate chuckled, and stopped when she saw the dead serious expression on Will's face. "Oh," she muttered again.

Will saw the expression on her face and laughed. "You thought I was joking? I can appreciate that."

The two laughed together for a few moments, and when the amusement was gone, Will launched into his life story. His mother, his father, Port Royale, Barbossa, Elizabeth--every part of his life was covered in full detail, and Kate was totally enthralled the whole time. Kate couldn't help the solemn expression that etched across her face. His misfortune was heartbreaking and Kate wanted nothing more than take him into her arms and tell him everything was going to be alright. In a few short minutes, she'd grown to feel so close to this man, this poor man who just took everything in stride.

In the middle of a sentence, Will took a moment to pause so he could gather a breath. He opened his mouth to start again, only to be interrupted by Kate. "You're so brave. I wish I had your resolve. If there's anything I can do, anything at all to ease your pain, please--"

Will held a finger to his lips and shook his head. "No, Miss Kate. I don't regret anything that's happened to me. You see, if someone dwells on hardship forever, their misery consumes them, leaving no room to remedy the situation. Optimism is the key to happiness. I've learned the hard way that self-pity is no substitute for contentment. Please don't feel sorry for me. I am a better person for it."

Kate closed her eyes and sighed, "You're absolutely right."

Deciding his tale was finished for the night, Will stood and grabbed two bottles of rum from the rack on the wall. He uncorked them and handed one to Kate. "Don't you think it's your turn now?" he said, sitting down in front of her again. "All I know of you is that you were a barmaid and you're sensitive to the feelings of others."

Kate blushed. "I am very embarrassed for my behavior just now, Mr. Turner," she murmured.

Will took a swig of his rum and waved her off. "Not at all. And it's 'Will,' Miss Kate."

"And it's 'Kate,'" she stressed. smiling sweetly, "and there's not much more to me than you've already figured out. I grew up in a privileged household due to certain circumstances was forced to leave and work for scraps in a pirate hovel. That's pretty much my entire life, only in less detail than I'd like to divulge."

"I see." Will leaned forward. "And what were those 'certain circumstances'?"

Kate shrugged and fiddled her fingers nervously. "Well, er--"

Before she could finish, there was a very loud 'thunk-crash!' behind the entryway. Will stood protectively in front of Kate, until a beaming Jack stumbled in, holding his nose. Jack sneezed and looked up at the confused pair. "What? I came down for a nibble, inhaled some dust--" he glared at Kate, almost like it were her fault.

Kate stood, crossing her arms. "I did nothing. You're drunk."

"Am not. And it's your bleedin' hair. I told you, redheads are deadly. And...like I said, I'm not drunk," Jack retorted, peeling a banana.

Will scowled. "Don't belittle her for something she can't help. I've seen you with countless redheads and the ship hasn't sunk yet."

Jack took a bite of his banana and adjusted his hat. "Ahh, good to see you've sobered enough to regain your chivalrous charm, William. It's comforting to know that in your shiftless chattering Kate found time to half-drown you in a barrel, for once."

Kate hung her head, while Will remained firm. "You were eavesdropping," he said.

Jack scrunched his face, looking at Will ludicrously. "No I wasn't. She got sentimental about something and you forgot to tell her about your incident..." Jack made a snipping motion with his fingers. Will rolled his eyes and folded his arms, and Kate only shook her head shamefully. Jack held up his hands and took another bite. "If I did overhear anything... and I didn't...it's a good thing I did because Miss Porter here has failed to assign you duties."

Kate sighed and took his banana peel from him, tossing it in a thick bag. "I'll do that immediately, Captain."

"Marvelous work, love." Jack clasped his hands and provided a cheeky grin. "Try not to wake me when you get in. Good night, Master William."

Will nodded his head once as Jack left the galley, thudding loudly up the stairs. He turned to Kate and shrugged, at a loss for what to say. Kate smiled and picked up the fabric for her dresses and folded them neatly. "I don't really know what you could do. Honestly, I don't care if you do anything, really. I'm just glad to have the company. All I ask is that you help me with any odd job that I might have."

Will bowed gallantly. "As you wish, Galley Mistress."

The two laughed and put away their rum bottles. Kate found an old cloth in a corner and strung it through the beams on the ceiling, improvising a hammock for Will to sleep in. After bidding him a fond goodnight, she extinguished all but one lamp and made her way to the deck. Only a few were still about, Marty and Cotton were playing a card game and a man whose name Kate didn't know was steering the ship. They turned when they heard her approach, nodding politely. Kate repeated their gesture and quietly opened the door to Jack's cabin.

She was surprised to see that Jack wasn't asleep yet, rather he was at his table with dozens of charts and his compass. Kate walked over quietly and he looked up at her from behind a large pair of spectacles. "Yes?"

Kate raised an eyebrow. "You look very odd. Are your eyes going?"

Jack prodded his compass with a quill and removed his specs. "No. But I feel that if I wear them I might see something I'm missing."

"What are you missing?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, standing and picking up the charts. "Have you given our William his duties?"

"I have," Kate lied, "and he's very eager to begin in the morning."

Jack stuffed his charts in a cupboard, uttering only a 'Mmmm.' After a moment, in which time Jack stripped his coat and boots, Kate decided that was all he was willing to say. She hesitated, and meekly said, "Are you jealous of my talking to Will, Jack?"

Jack next shed his vest, belts, and shirt. "Where's your hat?"

"Beg pardon?" Kate automatically put her hand to her head. He was right, her hat wasn't there. "Oh. It must have fallen off while I was soaking Will's head. I must have forgotten to recover it."

Jack blinked. "Right. Well, come on, then, out of your frock. I did a rather nasty knot in your stays this morning and it might require my nimble fingerwork to undo."

Kate did as he said silently, feeling only about an inch tall. He had every right to make her feel this guilty; he'd only tried to do something nice for her and she'd treated his gesture like garbage. As he loosened the stays on her corset, she reached behind her and took his hand, turning around to face him. Confused, Jack dropped the strings and furrowed his brows. Kate bowed her head shamefully. "I am terribly sorry, Jack. I've been ungrateful to you, and I feel wretched for it. Forgive me?"

Jack simply tugged off her corset. "Don't know what you're talking about, Katie."

Kate sighed. "Right."

She grabbed the shirt that she'd been sleeping in and shrugged it on. Jack extinguished the few lamps that were lit and climbed into bed. "Pleasant dreams, darling mine."

Kate stood still until she heard Jack snoring softly. She found her leather bag and pulled out a brush, running it through her hair and staring out the window. The view was fantastic, only it didn't register to Kate. She was preoccupied at the moment, and cared not about the glittering sea and the shining moon.

Once finished, she tossed her brush back into her bag and slid in beside Jack. When morning came, Kate hoped Jack would forget everything that happened today. For the strangest reason, she couldn't bear the thought of him being upset with her over a hat.

------

As the crew slept or played their meaningless card games, another ship lingered behind many leagues away. Though the proper instruments, the Black Pearl was a tiny speck on the horizon, making it unlikely that they would be discovered. A crew member aboard this ship was conferring with another, and seemed to receive some rather unpleasant news. He darted off for the captain's quarters at once.

Within was a slender woman with black hair, dark eyes and lips: the captain. She was surly looking from the moment the man barged in, and that he was even there obviously gave her reason to be unhappy. "Well?" she spat.

The man recoiled and spoke. "They docked...and picked up a stranger."

"A woman?"

"A man."

"Damn." She sighed and cracked her knuckles. "So this isn't just random play for our old friend. Next I need to know why she's there...and if she's an essential asset to the crew. If not, dispose of her."

The crew member saluted and went on his way. Closing the door, he sighed and took over the helm. He felt sorry for this girl, whoever she was. Shaking his head, he silently prayed that God would have mercy on her poor soul.

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A/N--A few things, first a quick thank you. Thank you to all of you for being so patient while I worked this chapter out. Your devotion makes me happy. Many many thanks and cookies for you all!

Second, I wanted to briefly say that I do plan on updating more frequently, only I've hit a mild sandtrap, as it were, in the story and I need to sort it out. Also, I'd like to warn you that I did vague outline of this story and right now we're looking at a minimum of 20 chapters. So I'm in for a long haul. Thought you should know.

Third, I've gotten some comments about the plotline of Elizabeth leaving Will. I understand that this seems a bit unlikely to some of you, and I'm overjoyed that you have an opinion on the matter. Simply put, ever since I saw Curse of the Black Pearl, I felt that she was indeed capable of such treachery, especially character development shows that Elizabeth will do whatever it takes to make Elizabeth happy in the long run. Maybe it's just me. Either way, I didn't want to kill her off in case I ended up doing a plotline that I had planned.

And fourth, updates on my other stories are coming soon. I'd really like to start a new story, I just haven't decided what yet. But, no, I haven't forgotten about them. Life happened.

Lastly, Happy Holidays! Whatever it may be that you celebrate, I hope it's exciting! Cheers!