The next few days were understandably awkward for Elizabeth. She kept her eyes down as she worked, and she spoke only when she had to. She was embarrassed for leaving and embarrassed for coming back. She wondered what the men thought of their king for leaving like she had. They probably thought her foolish; and that didn't make her feel any better. She wanted their respect, not their gossip behind her back.

Maybe you should have considered that before you stole a boat and left like some immature, scared little girl, she told herself.

She had no argument for herself, but it was done; she couldn't undo it. She just hoped that everyone forgot in due time. Besides, she was certain that she wasn't the first pirate on board who had done something questionable and, more than likely, she wouldn't be the last.

After lunch, Elizabeth was standing by the railing, berating herself mentally for leaving for the hundredth time, when Gibbs joined her.

"You be hangin' the jib there, Elizabeth. Everythin' all right?"

She glanced at him and shrugged. "Everything except my pride, I guess," she answered sheepishly.

"Don't think on it," he encouraged her. "You know some of us have done worse than leavin'." He thought it was time to discreetly address what had been on his mind the past number of days. "Have you and the cap'n talked?"

Elizabeth considered Gibbs to be a friend; she'd known him most of her life. He was pretty rough around the edges, but he was a good man underneath the gruff exterior.

"Not really," she answered with a sigh, looking out across the churning ocean. "Not like we had been. He's pretty sore with me, not that I blame him."

Gibbs rested his forearms on the railing beside Elizabeth. "The cap'n was pretty upset when we figured out you were gone, and he was mighty worried 'til we found you. He didn't say that, o'course, but I could see it in his eyes." He paused as he thought about what he wanted to say next. "Forgive me if I'm oversteppin' bounds here, but I've never seen him look upon another lass the way he looks at you. And he wouldn't bring a spring upon her cable for anyone but you, either. You've found great favor with him, Elizabeth. I just hope he's found similar favor with you."

When she turned her head to look at him, Elizabeth saw a knowing look in the older man's eyes, and she wondered if he had figured out that something had happened between them. "He has," she answered truthfully with a small nod. "But Will – "

"Elizabeth, he be a fine man, but he will be gone from you for most of your life. I've known you a long time, and I just don't see you bein' satisfied with that." Gibbs leaned close to her. "Dine with Barbossa tonight, aye?"

Elizabeth smiled when Gibbs winked at her. As he walked away, she thought perhaps the best way to try to gain Barbossa's respect – and the crews' – was to behave as she had previously. Dinner was a good place to start; she had missed that. She would dine with the captain tonight.

If he'd have her, anyway.

About an hour before mealtime, Elizabeth went in search of the captain. She was nervous, but she held her head high. Thankfully, he was in his cabin when she caught up with him. He hadn't been hateful towards her for the past few days, but he hadn't been overly friendly, either.

Elizabeth knocked on the door and waited.

"What?"

She opened the door and stepped in. A look of surprise briefly flashed across his face.

"Captain, I was wondering if I might join you for dinner tonight."

Barbossa stared at her. He didn't look angry, but he wasn't smiling. He seemed to be contemplating his answer. Elizabeth resisted the urge to shift her weight where she stood or to look away from his steady gaze. She was the king – dammit – she needed to act like one for a change.

He was the one who looked away first, back to his map that he'd been working on.

"If yeh wish to," was his mumbled answer.

"Thank you," she replied and promptly left.

Elizabeth decided to take just a little care of her appearance for dinner. She changed into one of her cleaner shirts, brushed her hair and tied it back with a velvet ribbon and even dabbed just the tiniest bit of ravensara oil on her wrists. She'd picked it up in Madagascar as medicine for the crew, but it smelled good, and she did miss wearing perfume. He probably wouldn't notice her effort, but she did it, anyway. She didn't do it to impress him, exactly; she hoped that it would be a small step closer to getting back to their regular routine.

"Come in," she heard after knocking on his door.

The table was set, and the food was still warm. Elizabeth noticed the open wine bottle.

"Oh we're having wine tonight," she commented, struggling for conversation. "I was hoping we would." As she sat down in her usual spot, Elizabeth noticed that her favorite dish was on the table; potatoes with gravy. Barbossa detested them and would not usually serve them. Perhaps she wasn't the only one making a little more effort.

"And you had Cook make me potatoes. Thank you."

Barbossa glanced up at her but quickly looked away as he began to fill his plate. He immediately noticed her hair; she didn't usually wear it tied back. It looked good. "Some were goin' bad. Didn't want to waste 'em."

They ate in silence a couple minutes before Barbossa asked, "What's that smell?" He'd noticed a different scent not long after she'd arrived.

Elizabeth shrugged. "The food?"

He shook his head and sniffed again. "It smells…like perfume." He couldn't remember the last time that he'd smelled perfume on her.

Elizabeth's cheeks felt hot; she'd forgotten about the ravensara. "Oh – I put on a little of the oil that I bought in Madagascar. If you don't like it, I can –"

"It be fine," he said quickly, focusing on his food once more. He liked it quite a bit, but he wouldn't tell her that.

Elizabeth hated the silence, but at least they were eating together again. She knew that it would be up to her to initiate conversation.

"So, I've been thinking – I want to have more of a presence on board," she began, her heart fluttering some. "I should be making rounds during the day, checking to make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing, checking supplies, that sort of thing. And I can still look over the charts, as well." She nearly held her breath awaiting his response. She half expected him to laugh at her.

Barbossa finished his mouthful of food and considered her request. He had to give her credit – she was trying harder than he thought she would. He respected that.

"The crew has to trust yeh."

Elizabeth swallowed the jab; she deserved it. "They will," she said. "They can. Captain, I – leaving was wrong. It was selfish of me, and I – I wasn't thinking clearly. It will not happen again."

Barbossa hoped that she spoke the truth for more reasons than one. "Do I have yer word?"

Elizabeth offered a small smile. "You have my word, Captain."

Barbossa gave her a long, hard stare. "Start tomorrow," he told her. "We need to start goin' over inventories and checkin' the ship, anyway." There were many questions that he wanted to ask her, but he would not.

Her leaving like she had had given him all the answers that he needed.

Barbossa, Gibbs and Elizabeth met the next day to go over everyone's duties from the Quartermaster (which was Gibbs' title) to the cook and everyone in between. Gibbs wanted to work more with the Boatswain & Cooper, so he relinquished a few of his responsibilities to Elizabeth; mostly the recordkeeping since she was already navigating. Barbossa had hired on a doctor of sorts before leaving Madagascar (a real doctor; not an empiric), and he wanted the medical man to meet with everyone before reaching the Colonies to check them over. Gibbs and Elizabeth set about making a schedule of all that needed to be done.

"And I got Woodie puttin' oakum in the seams and checkin' for any leaks, as well," Gibbs was saying, referring to their carpenter.

"What about Gunner?" Elizabeth asked, tapping the end of her quill on her cheek as she scribbled notes. "He's double checked all the canons, yes?"

"Yes. We got plenty of gunpowder that he's constantly siftin' to keep dry," Gibbs answered. "Plus he's busy makin' grenadoes."

"Do we anticipate taking any ships before our rendezvous? Elizabeth asked glancing at Barbossa. She'd purposely been the one to grab the quill and paper first so that Barbossa would see that she was serious about what she'd said the previous night.

"Possibly," Barbossa answered. "The Atlantic be teamin' with Brits, but I be hopin' to stay south of 'em."

"How much longer 'til we reach Tortuga?" Gibbs asked.

"A couple more months at the most," Barbossa told him.

When silence fell upon the table, Elizabeth looked at the captain. "Is that it then?"

Gibbs shrugged and looked at Barbossa, so the captain said, "Apparently, this interview has concluded for the time bein'. Get busy then. There be a lot of loot out there for the takin', and I want everything in order."

"Aye Cap'n," Gibbs said, quickly leaving while Elizabeth gathered her lists so she could take them back to her cabin to organize them.

Barbossa cleared his throat where he sat. "Will yeh be joinin' the crew for dinner?" He'd argued with himself internally that he wasn't going to ask her. So much for that.

Elizabeth looked over at him in surprise. "Um…no. I wasn't planning on it."

"I see. Well, I'll have extra if yeh care to join me later," he told her before standing and exiting the cabin.

Elizabeth quickly gathered her papers and went back to her cabin. Barbossa had asked her to join him for dinner. In his own way, she thought with a smile. But it still counts.

As Elizabeth sat in her cabin rewriting her notes, she admitted to herself that she had been concerned that Barbossa wouldn't want anything to do with her after she'd left like she had, but if he was asking her to join him for dinner – sort of – then perhaps he wasn't as angry with her as she thought he'd be. She'd had a momentary lapse of reason; that was all. Leaving Madagascar had caused her to be overwhelmed, and she'd panicked.

The damned thing of it all was that she still wanted him, more than ever. When Elizabeth crawled into bed each evening, her mind was filled with images from their night together. She couldn't stop them, though she tried. A little.

Barbossa had been so different that night; Elizabeth couldn't forget it. The way he'd looked at her, his demeanor towards her, the things he'd said to her – it all played over and over in her mind. She instantly remembered their second time.

They'd been asleep only a couple hours. Elizabeth was lying on her side with Barbossa pressed against her back, his arm over her waist. She woke up to him nuzzling her neck, his hand fondling her breasts and his erect manhood pressing against her backside.

"Ready for me to show you another position?" he whispered huskily in her ear while gently pinching a nipple.

Elizabeth moaned as her body began to respond to his touch. She pressed back against him and replied, "More than ready, Hector."

"Mmm, good girl," he purred, pinching her nipple just hard enough to make her gasp before pushing her over.

"On my stomach?" she asked as he rolled onto her. He pushed her thighs open with his knees, holding himself up on his forearms and then he leaned close.

"Aye," he said. "On your stomach. One of my favorites."

While he put on another condom, Elizabeth pushed the pillows on to the floor out of her way. At first, she didn't think that they'd be able to kiss in that position – something he was especially good at – but she quickly learned that they could when she turned her head back towards him. He seized her mouth and ravished it while slipping his arm under her body. She felt him gently prodding her entrance but was uncertain that they'd be able to join that way. She should have known better, though, as it was only moments before he was inside of her again.

Once more, the room was filled with their moans as Barbossa filled her repeatedly, the bed squeaking in rhythm with them. Elizabeth wrapped her hands around the bed frame in front of her while Barbossa tightened his arm around her body, his speed increasing. When he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled back, forcing her head up off the mattress, it sent ripples throughout her entire body causing her to cry out and also causing her inner muscles to tighten around him.

"Yeh like that, don't yeh?" Barbossa growled. "Like havin' your hair pulled?"

"God yes," Elizabeth breathed, her throat stretched still.

"And how 'bout this position? How does it feel?"

"It feels amazing. I love it," she breathed.

He leaned close to her ear again as he stilled his hips briefly. "Yeh like bein' held underneath me while I take my pleasure, aye?"

Elizabeth groaned at his words; they were true. "Very much," she answered, pushing against him. "Mmm…why did you stop?"

Barbossa chuckled. "So I could do this."

He let go of her hair and held on to the frame, his hands above hers, before slamming back into her, causing her to emit a garbled cry of pain and pleasure. His years of unsatisfied lust consumed him once more as he submitted to his carnal side that was so very hungry. Part of him wanted the moment to last as long as possible while another wanted to rush through to completion. After being starved of physical pleasure for so long, he gave into the latter.

Somewhere way back in Elizabeth's mind, she knew whoever occupied the rooms on either side of theirs could more than likely hear them, but she was completely incapable of caring. Barbossa's control of her and their union was more than exquisite. She couldn't move much, but there was a strangely submissive side of her that bathed in his dominance.

Then she felt it – the stirrings of her release just beyond her reach. It hadn't happened the first time; it hadn't happened during intercourse with Will at all.

"Barbossa," she panted. "I feel…I'm close to…I – "

"Touch yourself," he growled. "I be ready, too."

Sliding a hand under her body, Elizabeth could just reach the sensitive nub desperate for attention. After only a few flicks of her fingers – and combined with his relentless thrusts – Elizabeth exploded underneath him, fisting the sheets in her free hand that had slipped from the bed frame.

Barbossa was only moments behind her, holding her tight against him as he came. There was no way to describe how it felt to be a man once more, and being with Elizabeth doubled that. She was so much more than he anticipated, and she seemed to like some of the same things that he did, which was an even bigger turn on.

He'd told himself that he would keep a certain 'intimate' distance from her, but after slipping from her and turning her over, he forgot all about that and crashed his mouth to hers in a long, wet kiss.

Elizabeth was overcome with emotion and panting when his mouth left hers. "Wow…that was…" She searched her foggy brain for the right word. "Effective."

He chuckled at her word choice as he lay beside her, his breathing labored, as well. "Effective," he repeated.

"Well…yes. That's never happened during intercourse before."

"Never?" he asked as he disposed of the condom.

"Never."

Barbossa smirked as he put the pillows back on the bed for them. "So that was a first then, I'm to understand?" Perhaps the whelp hadn't quite taken all of her firsts just yet. He felt rather proud of himself.

"Yes it was. And I really like that position, too."

"It be one of my favorites."

Elizabeth breathed deeply as sleep began to tug at the corners of her consciousness. "I can see why. I think it'll be one of mine, too."

When she rolled over towards him, he didn't move away and instead moved his arm so that she could snuggle up against him as sleep claimed them both.

A knock on the door startled Elizabeth. She jumped up to find Pintel on the other side.

"Gibbs says I'm ta tell you that the doc wants ta speak wiv you," he said and then walked away.

"Thank you," she called out, hastily leaving her cabin. Anything to get my mind on something else.

When Elizabeth left after dinner, Barbossa remained at the table for a few minutes. Dinner had been strained, to say the least, but the odd part was that he wasn't sure as to why. While he did keep a distance between them, he did not treat her coldly as he had the first few days after her 'trip' out to sea, yet there was still something off. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be her. She'd been friendly enough, but her mind had been preoccupied, and he could only guess about what. She seemed perfectly at ease getting over their night together, so he reasoned that her thoughts must be on her whelp husband. Most days, Barbossa didn't like him. Elizabeth failed to notice that in all the scheming at World's End, her husband had been more focused on his father than her. He hadn't mentioned it to her, of course, because he knew how it would come across, but it didn't change the truth. He'd had a couple chats with Gibbs about it, though; the other man had noticed the same thing. Will's main focus throughout the entire trip had been what he could do for his father, not for her, and Barbossa never liked that, knowing that most of her goal had been him.

Barbossa had caught Elizabeth looking at him a few times throughout their meal, but he'd been unable to decipher what the looks meant. She didn't seem angry or upset, and he didn't think that it was confusion. He thought maybe there had been curiosity there, but what would she be curious about? She knew him intimately, so there was nothing to wonder about there. And it certainly wasn't longing because she'd proven that she didn't want him anymore. So what in the blazes was it?

"Oh Jack," Barbossa said as the little monkey jumped into his lap. "What have I get meself into with her?"

Jack, sensing his owner's troubled thoughts, lay down in his lap and allowed Barbossa to pet him.

"How's it goin' with the cap'n?" Gibbs asked a couple days later. He'd noticed that things between them didn't seem as strained, but it didn't exactly seem right, either. He thought it might be time to pry just a bit more.

Elizabeth looked at the older man. They were in the storeroom checking the barrels in case any needed repair or to be broken down to save space.

"It's all right, I guess," she answered with a shrug. "We're having dinners together again, at least."

"Aye. He missed that."

"What?" she asked in shock. "Did he tell you that?"

"He don't have to. Barbossa speaks loudest with his actions. Haven't you noticed?"

"I…well…"

"And he's been different ever since Madagascar," Gibbs said purposely with a shifty glance towards her, noticing immediately how she stiffened.

"Really?" she said, trying to sound nonchalant as she looked at – but didn't really see – the barrel in front of her. "What makes you say that?"

"I'll tell ya, Elizabeth, you should have seen him the mornin' we left," Gibbs began, watching her reactions carefully. "Smilin', jovial, just as happy as a wench when the ships sail in, he was. I've never seen him like that before. I don't know what happened, but not long after returnin' to the ship, he grew angrier than a hornet. Almost as angry as he'd get with Sparrow. And this might sound a bit odd, but he looked betrayed."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and turned her head. She hadn't known that he'd been so noticeably different after their night together. Why the change? Why would he get so upset over something that hadn't meant that much to him in the first place? What they had was just physical, after all. There were no emotions involved.

"And I've watched him since then," Gibbs continued, noticing the guilty expression on her face. "That twinkle in his eyes seems to be gone. I just don't get it."

Elizabeth sat down on the top of a crate then and sighed. "I do," she said quietly, shaking her head. She'd promised herself that she would never tell what had happened, but the burden of keeping the secret was proving to be too much to bear, especially after listening to Gibbs.

"What do you mean?" he asked in feigned ignorance.

She looked up at him with a pained expression on her face. "If I tell you something, you must promise me that you will never repeat it to another soul as long as you live."

Gibbs knelt down in front of her where she sat. "Elizabeth, I be knowin' you since you were a wee lass. I know I be a pirate, but you can trust me. I won't say nothin'."

Elizabeth gazed into his eyes and seemed to find only truth reflected in them. She knew that she was taking a huge chance, but she had to tell someone. Other than the captain, he was the only other person on the ship that she thought she could confide in.

She looked down at her lap and said quietly, "We spent the night together in Madagascar."

Gibbs was not surprised; he'd already assumed it. "Well, that explains his happiness, but what happened after we returned to the ship?"

Elizabeth lifted guilty eyes to his. "It was just the one night."

"So, nothing since then?" he clarified.

Elizabeth shook her head.

"But why?" he asked boldly. "He would – "

"It was my choice."

Gibbs quickly put two and two together. "You felt guilty because of Turner. And that's why you left the ship."

Elizabeth nodded again.

Gibbs studied the young lady. She didn't look very happy with her choice.

"Do you not want to be with him again?"

Elizabeth stood up and walked away a couple steps. "No – I mean – I'm married. I shouldn't have done it the first time."

Gibbs stood, too. "That not be what I asked you. I asked if you wanted to be with him again."

Elizabeth wanted to answer in some form, but she remained quiet. She couldn't say no, she knew that, but she couldn't say yes.

"So you do then," he concluded, causing her to turn around.

"I'm so confused," she admitted to him. "Our night together was wonderful, but I keep thinking about Will."

"Have you ever thought that he might be doin' the same thing?"

"I don't think Will would be that selfish," she instantly defended, crossing her arms.

"I do. He was that selfish when it came to freein' his father."

Elizabeth didn't understand and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He schemed from the beginnin' to free Bootstrap. Nothin' was as important as that. You remember how he went behind all of our backs – includin' yours – to ensure that he could save him. Barbossa wanted to keelhaul him for that, he did."

Elizabeth thought about what Gibbs had said. She hadn't considered Will's actions in that way before. She knew that he had been doing everything that he could to rescue his father, but she'd never thought that he'd put the older man first. She'd always thought that she'd been first.

"Yes, I guess he did go behind all of our backs," she finally said. She'd have to think about that a bit more.

"And, Elizabeth, since we be sharin' secrets, it was no coincidence that we stopped by Shipwreck Cove."

"But Barbossa said – "

"I know what he said, but the real reason we were there was to get you."

Elizabeth's eyes enlarged as her heart beat faster. "Really? I didn't – I had no idea. I thought – "

"He be a right proud pirate," Gibbs continued. "You know that he wouldn't admit that to you."

Elizabeth bit her lip. He'd purposely come to get her? "Why are you telling me all this?"

Gibbs smiled at her. "Because I hate to see two people who obviously want to be together not be," he answered. "Life be awfully short, and bein' a pirate don't lengthen it none."

"So I'm to just forget about Will then? I love him."

"I wouldn't say forget about him, but maybe you should think of who he put first a few years ago and who made a special trip to Singapore just to get you," Gibbs said before walking away. He knew that he'd given her a lot to think about.

Elizabeth sat back down on the crate and stayed there a long time.

Special thanks to 0oBellina0o, lostsocks54, Krushie, Bloodsired and BrunetteAuthorette99 for your reviews - they mean the world to me!

Who would have thought that Gibbs could be a bit of a match maker? I personally think he's a romantic at heart.

So are Barbossa and Elizabeth playing somewhat nice, or is it just the calm before another storm?