Elizabeth did not like having dinner without Barbossa. Sometimes she joined the crew when she didn't dine with the captain, but she often felt that her presence interrupted their usual colorful conversations. (She'd tried to tell them to treat her as just another crewmember, but Gibbs wouldn't let them.) More often than not, when she wasn't with Barbossa, she dined in her room alone. It was really the only time that she felt lonely.

It's your own fault, she heard in her head, and she couldn't argue. It was her fault. But what was so wrong with wanting to hear from the captain that he'd made a special trip for her? He didn't have to shout it from the crow's nest for all to hear, but why couldn't he tell her? They'd already shared so much together; she didn't see why he couldn't share that with her, too.

You do so know why. He's prideful, and you're married. Why should he confess something like that for you to turn around and run back to Will? If the roles were reversed, would you?

Elizabeth knew the answer to that question, and it was no. If Barbossa had a wife that was stuck somewhere far away from him like Will was, she wouldn't admit anything emotional, either, for fear of being rejected when the wife returned. She couldn't really blame Barbossa for not wanting to tell her.

But that didn't mean that she didn't want to hear it, anyway.

As Barbossa stood at the helm, his fingers tightly curled around the handles of the wheel, it was one of only a few times in his entire life that he could remember wanting to be anywhere but on a ship.

And it was because of her.

Barbossa had asked himself a thousand times why he made the long trip to Shipwreck Island to get her; he'd known she was married, after all. He was certainly not naïve enough to think that he'd win over her charms, and in the beginning, he'd honestly not given serious thought to the chance of her warming his bed – he'd just wanted her back on his ship. Oh he'd had fantasies, yes, but it wasn't until they'd spent some time together that he began to think he might be able to make them real.

What he hadn't counted on was being driven absolutely mental by her indecisiveness. He knew Elizabeth well enough to know she'd feel a bit guilty about being with someone other than her husband, but he hadn't thought that he'd become her personal yo-yo.

You could send her off in one of those little boats that she stole not long ago, his frazzled brain offered. Or you could find the nearest speck of land and leave her there. You are the captain, after all.

Aye, but she be the king, he argued back.

Of bloody pirates. Who's going to care?

When he couldn't argue back, he heard, Ah there's the problem. You care.

Barbossa stifled a growl where he stood. He did care. In fact, he hadn't cared for anyone so much since Catherine many years ago. As foolish as he knew it was, and as often as he'd tried to tell himself to stop, he couldn't.

He reminded himself that his voyage to the Colonies would more than likely be his last. He told himself that he'd have plenty of time to nurse his wounds later when it was all over and she returned to the whelp. Maybe it made him sound like an old, washed up pirate, but in a twisted way, he would rather have her on board and making him crazy than not.

Not that he'd ever admit that, of course.

Two days later, Elizabeth was helping Doc organize his supplies when she suddenly heard shouting from the main deck.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The crewmen aren't fighting, are they?" Doc asked. Having only joined them in Madagascar, he was still familiarizing himself with the crewmen and their routines.

Elizabeth listened a few moments longer. "I don't think so. It sounds like – "

"Cap'n has spotted ship!" Huang yelled as he ran into the medical room on his way up to the main deck. "We attack!"

As he ran out as quickly as he ran in, Elizabeth and Doc exchanged looks of alarm.

With Doc calling after her, Elizabeth rushed from the room, up the wooden steps and across the deck to her cabin. Her heart was racing madly as she hastily grabbed her gun and sword. It had been a long time, but she was ready.

When she ran out on deck, everyone was in a panic as they readied their various weapons. She saw the ship that they were approaching; it was smaller than the Imperial, but she wasn't sure if it was British or not. She supposed it didn't matter. They could use whatever might be on the ship.

"What are yeh doin'?" she heard behind her.

Elizabeth turned around and saw Barbossa standing there.

"Apparently we're getting ready to attack that ship. What do you think I'm doing?"

Barbossa shook his head. "Yer to go below with Doc," he told her and immediately held up a hand as her mouth dropped in protest. "Don't be arguin' with me. It not be because yer a lass – I know yeh be more than capable – it be because yer the king. Yeh also be the only one that's been working with Doc lately, and he might need some help."

Elizabeth was furious, but she knew better than to argue with him. She threw her sword to the deck, thrust the gun into his hand and stomped away to join Doc.

Bloody pirates.

Two hours later, Elizabeth was helping Doc treat the wounds of nine of their men. There were a couple gunshot wounds, but there were mostly stab wounds. Three were somewhat serious but not fatal. A few other crew members were rushing around helping Doc and Elizabeth, and there was so much chaos in the room that she didn't see the last person that they brought in. She was working with Woodie trying to dress one of Pintel's wounds when she heard a groan that she knew all too well.

Elizabeth whipped around as Captain Barbossa was placed on a small cot not far from her.

"Hector!" she called out in a panic, oblivious to the curious looks she received. Elizabeth's heart was suddenly in her throat as she ran over to him. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Took a sword wound in the side," Gibbs answered, worry etched on his weathered face as Doc cut away the captain's shirt that was already stained dark red.

"Looks like he's lost a lot of blood," Doc told them. "Elizabeth, put your hand here, and press hard. We need to stop the bleeding so I can clean the wound and bandage it."

Elizabeth did as he instructed, but she felt like she was in another world as she stared at the captain's face. He was pale and unconscious, and she pushed away memories from Isla del Muerta that wanted to surface. She didn't understand all things medical, so she wasn't sure if she should be worried or not.

"How serious is this?"

Doc was rushing to clean the deep wound. "Blood loss looks like it was great which means it will take longer for the body to heal. The sword could have punctured his gallbladder or large intestine, as well. I don't think so, but there is a chance."

"How will we know?"

Doc gave her a grim look. "We might not. If the wound is deep enough, there can be internal bleeding that can cause more issues. There's also the threat of infection for all of them. The first forty-eight hours or so will be crucial."

Elizabeth looked back at Barbossa and bit her lip with worry. He's the captain, she told herself. He'll be fine. He has to be fine.

Around midnight, Gibbs came in. He noticed how tired she looked as she stared at the captain still unconscious on the cot.

"Elizabeth, you should sleep. Doc's got me on watch for tonight."

She'd helped tend to the other men the last few hours, but she'd mostly remained by the captain's side. She sat beside him and barely took her eyes off of him.

"I'm all right."

"They'll need you rested in the mornin'," Gibbs told her, leaning closer. "I'll get you immediately if anything changes. I promise."

When she lifted her eyes to his and saw his knowing look, Elizabeth nodded and slowly walked out of the room and up to her cabin.

It didn't seem real that the captain was hurt. He wasn't supposed to be hurt; he was supposed to be making her mad with his stubbornness. It had taken Doc some time to get the bleeding to stop, and he'd been afraid that the wound would continue to reopen, so she'd sat by Barbossa's side with her hands pressing on the bandages for almost two hours.

Elizabeth crawled into bed and, while she was exhausted, she didn't feel sleepy. She was not afraid to run the ship, but the thought of being without Barbossa was not something that she was prepared for. She'd already lost too many that she'd cared about – she wasn't sure that she could handle losing another, especially him.

He'll be fine, she told herself for the hundredth time. He'll be just fine.

Elizabeth woke to a sliver of sunlight shining in through a small break in her window. She yawned and stretched, changing clothes quickly. She stopped by the ship's bow to relieve herself and then hurried to the medical room to check on Barbossa. Gibbs never came for her, so she assumed that meant the captain was still unconscious.

Doc was checking on a new crewmember's wound so Elizabeth quietly walked over and sat by the captain. Along with other medical supplies, food and money, they'd also acquired a few new pirates.

"All right, Easton. Go find Gibbs," Doc instructed the young man. "Just keep the bandage dry and come see me tomorrow morning."

"I will. Thanks, Doc."

After he left, Elizabeth asked, "How's the captain?"

"No change yet," he answered, checking on another crewman. "The wound hasn't reopened, though, and there's no fever so far, so that's good."

She sighed as she stared at Barbossa. "So we wait then."

Doc nodded. "Aye. We wait."

Though Elizabeth wanted to remain by Barbossa's side until he woke, she knew she could not. She busied herself with logging in everything that had been brought on board from the raid. Thankfully, there was a lot of food and quite a few coins; they could use both.

She met with Gibbs after lunch, and they decided to take shifts as it was up to them to run the Imperial until the captain could resume his duties.

"- and I'll take the evening shift then," she was saying.

"No, Elizabeth. I'll take the evenin' shift. I be up late, anyway," Gibbs told her. "Have you had a chance to meet the new crewmen yet?"

"I haven't. I did see Easton this morning with Doc, but that's it," she answered. "Have you talked with them?"

"Briefly. They're all with Woodie right now, but I plan to talk with 'em more so I can find out what sorts of experience they have."

"They were willing?"

"Yeah. Didn't like how things were bein' run on their ship, apparently."

"All right," she replied, busy writing notes. "So they're taken care of, I'm logging the booty, you're handling the evening, I'm handling the day – I think most everyone has their assignments at this point and – "

Gibbs' hand covering hers caused Elizabeth to look at him. "He'll be all right, you know," he assured her.

She swallowed and bit her lip. She'd tried to push away her fears that wanted to surface every hour, and keeping busy seemed the best way to do that. Gibbs was the only one that she could let her guard down around, and tears filled her eyes quickly. "I hope so," she said quietly. "I've already lost so many that I – that I cared about. I don't want to lose him, too."

Gibbs smiled and squeezed her hand. "You do care about that ol' wily pirate, don't you?"

Elizabeth nodded with a sad smile as she brushed a finger under her eye to catch a couple stray tears. "I've tried so hard not to," she admitted with a slight shake of her head.

"Don't try not to," Gibbs encouraged. "Will's heart not be the only one in your care. Maybe talkin' to him will help bring him 'round quicker."

"You think so?"

"It can't hurt."

Elizabeth wiped a couple more tears. "How do you know so much about love, Mr. Gibbs?"

The older man's face fell. "I left a beautiful lass standin' on a shoreline many moons ago because I thought I wanted piratin' more," he explained, his expression somber. "And while I won't pretend that I haven't enjoyed bein' at sea, I won't pretend that I haven't regretted my decision to leave her, either."

"But you've traveled to many lands," Elizabeth pointed out, trying to see the good in his decision. "You've had a freedom that others only dream about, and your hands have held many treasures."

Gibbs gave her a knowing look. "One time, a pirate – one that we both know quite well – said that not all treasure was silver and gold."

Elizabeth had no argument for his statement; it was true.

Doc was asleep on his cot in the corner when Elizabeth sat down by Barbossa later that night. She'd thought about what Gibbs had said all day, and she'd decided that she would talk to the captain in the hopes that it might somehow help.

Nervously, she placed her hand on top of his where it rested by his side. She cast one more glance around the room to make sure that Doc and the other wounded crewmen were asleep before speaking.

"Hector, I – I'm not sure if you can hear me," she began, her voice quiet. "But I thought – I'd hoped – that maybe talking to you would help you wake up. You were hurt, and you've been unconscious for a couple days." She glanced around again, but all was quiet and still. "I just – um – wanted to thank you for coming to get me. I was so unhappy there and so bored. I didn't think I'd ever see you again much less be able to go on another voyage together." She smiled as she thought of what she wanted to say next. "I guess you didn't count on me being so difficult. I don't mean to be. I just didn't anticipate the – " She glanced around again. " – the extra that happened. That night did mean something to me, and I never intended to make you feel otherwise. I just – I don't know what to do. I've never been in this type situation before. And I love Will. I probably always will. But I – " She glanced around the quiet room once more. " – I do have feelings for you, as well, Hector, but I'm so confused as to what to do with them. I'll try to be better, though. For now, you need to wake up and get better because we've got letters waiting for us and British ships to take, and I know you won't want to miss that." She squeezed his hand and swallowed the lump that was trying to form in her throat. "So, you wake up soon, all right? The crew needs you." She cast one last glance around the dark room being lit by one lantern before whispering, "And I need you."

After returning to her cabin, Elizabeth cried herself to sleep.

Elizabeth woke to knocking on her door. She scrambled from the bed and rushed to see who was there.

"He's awake," Gibbs told her with a smile before she could ask.

Elizabeth, barefoot and rumpled from sleeping in her clothes, ran to the room below as fast as she could, her heart thumping wildly in relief. When she rushed inside, she saw that Barbossa's eyes were open.

"You are awake!" she exclaimed, hurrying to his side. "How do you feel? Doc, is he all right?"

"The wound has not reopened," Doc told her. "It will take a few more days to see if there is any internal damage or bleeding. No signs of infection yet and no fever, either."

"I feel weak," Barbossa said quietly.

"You lost a lot of blood," Elizabeth explained, not hiding her smile at the fact that he was awake and talking to her. "The wound didn't want to stay closed, so I kept pressure on it for two hours."

"That be a long time," Barbossa remarked, surprised to see such concern for him in her eyes.

"I would have sat longer if necessary," she confessed, squeezing his hand. "I'm just glad you're awake. How's everyone else, Doc?"

"A couple returned to their duties this morning," he answered. "I think three more will be able to leave by tonight."

"Should I get some food?" she asked.

"Cook is bringing up some bone broth," Doc answered.

"What about changing bandages?"

"All good for now."

"Help me to the cabin," Barbossa told Elizabeth. "I can lie there as good as here."

"Oh no, Captain, you're staying here," Doc said. "We need to let that wound have just a little more time to seal before moving you."

Barbossa grumbled in response.

Cook came in then with a tray of bowls.

"Perfect timing. Set them here. Grab a bowl and help us feed, all right?" Doc asked Cook.

"Whatever I can do."

Elizabeth got a bowl for Barbossa. She helped adjust the blanket behind his head to lift him up some.

When she started to feed him, he growled, "I can feed meself."

"No, you can't," Doc told him. "You need to keep your arms still."

"I'll help you," Elizabeth offered. When he opened his mouth to protest again, she smirked and said, "Don't be arguin' with me."

Barbossa shook his head. "Ornery strumpet," he mumbled.

"Would you rather me have Ragetti do it?" she asked, one eyebrow lifted.

He frowned and looked away. "No."

"Then open your mouth. The sooner your wound seals, the sooner you can return to your cabin, right Doc?"

"That's right."

Three days later around midnight, Barbossa was helped to his cabin very slowly. Elizabeth had relinquished running the ship to Gibbs so that she could remain by the captain's side, helping him with each meal, changing his bandages and anything else that he needed. When he napped, she helped Doc take care of the other crewmen. One had taken a turn for the worse with a fever that wouldn't go down, but all of the others had been released by the time Barbossa was.

"I'll check on you three times a day," Doc instructed before he left the cabin. "You are to stay in bed as much as possible for the next few days. No wandering around the ship."

"Aye," Barbossa said with a heavy sigh as Doc closed the door behind him.

As Elizabeth adjusted the pillows behind him, Barbossa had to admit that he'd liked her attention the past few days. She'd looked extremely worried when he'd first seen her, and it had surprised him. Her concern and all that she'd done since his injury spoke volumes to him, and he all but forgot about being irritated with her.

"Yeh don't have to stay," he said when she sat in a nearby chair. "You've done a lot the past few days. I know yeh be tired."

Elizabeth was tired – she was emotionally drained – and she knew it was the middle of the night, but she didn't like the idea of being away from him for too long in case his wound reopened. "I'm fine," she replied with a smile. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine," he answered with a wink.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but she laughed. "You're awful, you know that?"

Barbossa shrugged. "I've been called worse. Can yeh hand me that book on the floor there? I think I'd like to read some."

"Of course," she answered, handing it to him.

As he opened the book to where he'd stopped reading, he decided to test the waters a little. It seemed silly for her to just sit in the chair beside him doing nothing. "Would yeh care to read with me?" he asked.

Elizabeth looked at the book and then at him. "You're already halfway through."

Barbossa gently reached for the blanket and folded it down as an invitation for her. It was a step out onto an already broken limb, but the tree was still standing, so he took a chance. "How about we start over together then?" he purposely asked, knowing that she would understand what he wasn't saying.

Elizabeth stared at him from where she sat, considering his words. He wasn't just asking about the book; it was a white flag of truce being extended to her.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," she answered, walking around the bed to climb in the other side and slip under the covers with him. "What are we reading?"

"Robinson Crusoe", he answered as she got comfortable against the pillows beside him.

Elizabeth had read it a few times, but she'd happily read it again just to be near him. "Sounds great to me."

Twenty minutes later, the book lay in his lap as both were asleep.

Barbossa moved enough to cause him pain which made him moan and consequently woke them up.

Elizabeth yawned, blinking her eyes rapidly. "I guess we fell asleep."

Barbossa tossed the book to the floor. "Aye, we did."

"I'm awfully comfortable," she said sleepily, turning over on her side towards him. "And it's really late."

"I just hope me wound don't reopen during the night," he remarked, wondering how she'd respond.

"I'll stay right here if you want me to," she replied, her eyes closing.

"I want yeh to," he said quietly, more than relieved at her reaction.

Elizabeth curled her hand around his bicep. "Good night, Hector."

"Night Elizabeth," he replied before they both fell back to sleep.

Elizabeth woke first the next morning, and she immediately noticed that neither of them had moved much from the night before. She smiled as she stretched her legs. It was the third night that they'd shared a bed; the first when she'd had a bit too much to drink months ago and the second in Madagascar. What made her happy was that she felt no guilt and no regret.

When she turned over to face him and wrap her hand around his arm again, Barbossa's eyes fluttered open.

"Morning," she greeted with a smile.

He smiled, too. "Won't sure if yeh would still be here," he commented with a yawn. "I be glad that yeh are, though."

"I wasn't planning to leave," she assured him. "And with your wound, I – "

"So the wound be the only reason yeh still be beside me in me bed?" he quickly asked, turning his head to look at her directly.

Elizabeth met his eyes as she gazed at him. The confusion and frustration that she'd felt towards him didn't seem to bother her much at the moment. Perhaps the last few days had helped her straighten out some things in her mind.

"No, the wound is not the only reason," she told him, and she meant it.

Barbossa didn't comment; he didn't need to. Her answer was good enough for him. He just hoped that she'd do it again.

"I be a bit hungry."

"Me too," she agreed. "I'll go see what Cook has going."

When she sat up, Barbossa reached for her hand. He didn't smile, he didn't wink – he just squeezed her hand.

Meeting his eyes with hers, she interpreted the gesture, and she squeezed his hand in return, a look of understanding passing between them before she let go and left the cabin for food.

Elizabeth had a nagging suspicion that she wouldn't be spending many nights in her cabin anymore, and instead of that thought stressing her like it had previously, she looked forward to it.

Hope everyone who celebrates had a peaceful Thanksgiving!

And these two...anyone else get warm fuzzies at the end here? I think we may have FINALLY turned a corner!

I'm no medical person, so if I'm really off on the medical stuff, let me know.

I'm always grateful and thankful for reviews! Big hugs to BrunetteAuthorette99, Bloodsired, Black Heart, snapeygirl, PariahMoon, vampgirliegirl and for leaving me some luv last chapter.

And in case I don't get to post another chapter beforehand, have a GREAT holiday season, whatever you may celebrate!