It was three more weeks before Captain Barbossa could return to his normal routine, which was excellent timing since Tortuga was about two weeks out. Elizabeth hadn't slept in her cabin since his return after being wounded, and her entire demeanor had changed.

Gibbs stopped her one afternoon on the deck. He'd noticed a difference in both her and the captain, and he was immensely relieved. Most of the others wouldn't have noticed it (though some of the crew did whisper curiosities occasionally), but he'd been around them long enough to tell something had changed in a positive way.

"You be lookin' mighty happy there, Elizabeth."

A huge grin spread across her face as she quickly glanced down, her teeth visible in her childlike smile that hadn't been seen in some time. Even the small dimple to the right of her mouth was present. She couldn't disguise her enthusiasm even if she'd tried.

"I am, Mr. Gibbs. I believe the captain and I have finally reached an accord."

Gibbs patted her on the shoulder affectionately as they stood together. "That's awfully good to hear. It's about time. And I have to tell you; he's lookin' a might bit happier, too."

Elizabeth reached for his hand that had been on her shoulder and squeezed it between both of hers. "Thank you for your small part in it."

He shook his head. "No need to thank me. Just tryin' to help."

"You did. More than you know."

Barbossa didn't return to his cabin until after dinner. Elizabeth was in his bed reading when he came in. She'd tried waiting for him to join her so they could eat together, but she'd been starving and ate without him.

"Food's still here," she told him, noticing that he'd locked the door behind him. There was usually only one reason why the door got locked, and her heart beat a little faster.

"I not be hungry for food," he growled, a predatory gaze shrouding his face as pieces of clothing were dropped to the floor. He tossed his hat to the table, lost his coat followed by his sword and pistol and kicked off his boots. By the time he reached the bed, only his shirt and breeches remained.

Elizabeth quickly marked her place in the book and set it aside as he rushed to the bed. He gathered her in his arms, pressing her thighs apart with his knees, and commandeered her mouth. She tasted rum and assumed that he'd partaken in the drinking of spirits with some of the crew before joining her.

"I think it be time," he said in between hungry kisses, his hands sliding up and down the sides of her body. "That I take yeh properly as a man should."

"Oh, so me being on top wasn't proper?" she asked as they shimmied out of their pants. "I didn't hear you complaining." She'd enjoyed their new position while his injury had been healing. It had given her more control, and she'd taken full advantage of it.

"No, I'll not complain about such things, but I be ready to feel like a man again," he explained, his eyes meeting hers, willing her to understand what he wasn't saying. There were just some things that couldn't be adequately explained. "Don't ever take that away from me."

Elizabeth heard the tone of his voice and knew that he was quite serious. In some way, it surprised her because she didn't think that he could ever feel like anything less than a thoroughly virile man. If she'd learned anything about him the past few months, though, it was that he did actually have some insecurities. It was endearing to her to be privy to them because she knew he kept them hidden well.

"You're every bit a man, Hector, in everything you do. Always. No one could take that away from you."

Quickly rolling on a condom, Barbossa settled himself between her legs and slipped his arms under her as her hands came to rest on his lower back. He kissed her more tenderly than when he first entered the cabin. Sometimes it was difficult to reign in his desire for her.

"Forgive my eagerness," he said quietly, touching his lips to hers. "Perhaps I need to give you attention first, aye?"

She smiled and raked her fingertips up along his back, wrapping her legs around him and feeling him at her entrance. "While your attentions are thoroughly effective, I don't think they're necessary right now. Later perhaps."

"In that case," he murmured. He waited patiently as she reached between them to help guide him in, and once she was comfortable, he pushed himself in as far as he could.

The first joining always brought simultaneous groans and sighs from them as Barbossa rested his forehead to hers for a moment.

"Mmm," he moaned, gently pulsing his hips forward, always amazed at how she felt around him. He definitely preferred being on top, though truth be known, he wouldn't deny her the opportunity to be on top occasionally. "That be much better."

She bit her lip as he filled her repeatedly, her fingers slipping into the hair at the base of his neck as their bodies moved together. "No pain?"

"No pain. I be just fine."

"Good. Now you can pull my hair for a change."

Barbossa certainly appreciated the adventurous side of Elizabeth and immediately complied, grabbing a handful of dark locks and pulling down, elongating her neck and planting wet kisses on the exposed skin as she gasped in reaction, her inner muscles tightening around his length deep within her.

"Like that?" he whispered near her ear.

"God yes."

Peppering kisses along her neck. "So yeh be glad I'm back on top? Like havin' me take yeh properly?"

As he latched onto her collarbone and nipped it with his teeth, Elizabeth moaned, "Mmm hmm. I'm not sure what feels better…it's all so good with you."

"Yeh know this feels better," he growled against her neck. "Admit it. Yeh like bein' underneath me. Yeh like me controllin' the speed – " He stilled his hips for just a second. "And the depth." When he plunged into her, she cried out and clawed at his shoulders.

"All right," she panted, a soft moan following. "It's better with you on top."

"Thought yeh'd see it my way," he said with a chuckle, growing closer to his release with each thrust. If someone had asked him what it was about being with Elizabeth that was so different than other women he'd been with, he wasn't sure that he'd have an answer. It wasn't anything that he could put into words, yet being with her was so very different.

Elizabeth tried to gather her thoughts – which was rather difficult at the moment with her eyes rolling back into her head from their coupling – but she managed to reach up and grab a handful of his hair and pull, causing him to let out a deep growl.

"Doesn't mean I can't still do this, though."

Barbossa forgot about any idea of taking his time as he released his passion for her, pistoning his hips into her, both because he was so ridiculously turned on and to pay her back for her teasing. They both had a death grip on the other's hair, and it helped bring them to completion rather quickly.

"Keep doing that," she breathed, the fingertips of her free hand digging into his lower back. "Pull my hair harder…yes – "

When he felt the sharp pulses around his manhood deep inside her as she came, he could hold himself no longer and released with a desperate, wailing growl that he was incapable of muffling. The room was filled with breathless moans and groans from two very satisfied people as their fulfilled desire ran its course.

As they came back down from the carnal high and finally released the grip on each other's hair, Barbossa relaxed on top of Elizabeth as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Evil wench," he panted, his scalp still tingling.

She laughed, relishing the way his body felt on hers; she'd missed it. "You know you loved it."

He chuckled then, knowing that she was right. "Aye," he agreed with a heavy, sated sigh. "I do. But yeh still be an evil wench."

"Correction. Your evil wench," she said playfully, poking him in the shoulder.

Barbossa lifted his head to look into her eyes that shone bright with happiness and couldn't help but smile at her; she was so damned beautiful. "That be a good thing since no one but me could handle yeh."

"I wouldn't want anyone else to, anyway."

Barbossa kissed her once more before saying, "I think I be ready for some food now. And then I want dessert." He winked.

"I think that can be arranged, Captain."

"Since we be a few days out from Tortuga," Barbossa was saying to the officers. "I thought this be a good time to let yeh know what the plans be. I'm to meet up with an old friend there who will provide us with our papers and instructions. As far as I know, once papers are in hand, they will allow us to join the others in fightin' the British ships. The Colonies want them stopped, and they don't care how we do it."

"So we'll have free reign then?" Elizabeth asked.

Barbossa grinned. "More or less. The papers be like guidelines."

When he winked at her, she smirked and rolled her eyes.

"And these papers," Gibbs said, glancing around at the others. "They cover all of us?"

"Aye, Mr. Gibbs, they cover anyone who calls themselves pirate aboard the Imperial," Barbossa answered from where he stood at the end of the table in his cabin where he'd called the meeting.

"How long do we anticipate going after them?" Doc asked curiously. "Since the Colonies are fighting for freedom, the Redcoats will come prepared, and I'm anticipating needing some medical help."

"We'll get that in port," Barbossa answered confidently. "As for how long, long enough to line our pockets like they've never been lined before. I want us to be as prepared as we can be, though. Doc, make a list of everythin' that yeh'll need and anythin' that yeh be out of. Mr. Gibbs, get with Woodie and gather all the manpower that yeh require to make sure that whatever repairs are needed are made throughout the ship. Gunner, yeh'll need to check all the stores of gunpowder; I'm sure we'll need to get more ammunition, and we can always use more guns. Cook, make sure that we'll have what we need for bone broth, and check all the stores of non-perishables; we'll need to restock most everythin' before leavin' Tortuga. Be there any other questions?" When no one said anything, he added, "Get to it, gents."

When everyone left, Barbossa remained standing. As Elizabeth gazed at him, he had a rather unreadable expression on his face. Contrary to what he probably thought, he didn't usually have many expressions that she couldn't read.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I need to ask somethin' of yeh."

"So ask."

He looked away from her and took a couple steps from the table. It was a strange moment for him, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. "I'm not sure if I should," he said honestly, not liking the way those words tasted in his mouth.

"Then why mention it?"

Barbossa sighed and turned to face her. He wanted to say that since things were different between them, he was leery about the idea that he had, but he couldn't; he didn't have the right.

"We need any information that we can get about the British, their current fightin' tactics, ports and such," he said. "I'm sure my contact will have some information, but –"

"What do you want me to do?"

Barbossa smiled. Of course she was a step ahead of him; he should have expected that. "Antigua is a British port," he began, finally sitting down across the table from her. "We can put yeh off there on the way to Tortuga. Any sort of information that yeh could acquire would be most beneficial to us."

She nodded in understanding. She also knew that there was a reason that he was asking her to do it – the only female on the ship. "In any way necessary, I presume?" Elizabeth assumed what his answer would be, but she couldn't deny that there was a small part of her that wished it would be different.

Steely eyes locked with hers across the table as Barbossa kept his expression guarded. He knew what she was asking, and while he didn't like it, he realized that it didn't matter; she wasn't his to begin with. There was a possessive side of him – especially now that she was sharing his bed – that made him see red at the thought of someone else being with her; just the image made his blood boil. None of it mattered, though. She did not have his last name; therefore, there was only one way to answer her question.

"Aye, in any way necessary," he confirmed, trying to hide his clenched teeth.

Elizabeth swallowed and looked away to hide the hurt that filled her eyes after hearing his answer. It was useless to dwell on it; they both knew the reality of the situation that they were in. Her marriage was always there whether they acknowledged it or not. She gathered her resolve, knowing that the bigger picture was much more important than one meaningless night in Antigua, and then she lifted her hardened gaze to his, her lips pursed in determination. "Where are we to meet then?"

"We can come back by – "

"You know very well that it'll be out of the way," she interrupted. "I'll get passage on a ship to - " She looked around and grabbed a nearby map, quickly studying the area. "San Juan. I'll meet you in San Juan."

"Elizabeth, I – "

"You know it's the best way. If Antigua is a British port, then the others around it are probably sympathizers. It'll be difficult enough just putting me off. In fact, you probably shouldn't. I should get on a ship in Tortuga and head south to Antigua."

"That's too -
"Dangerous?" she finished, one eyebrow lifted. "Have you forgotten that I stowed away on a ship from Port Royal to Tortuga – became part of the crew even – and that no one ever suspected me?"

Barbossa knew that he would not win that argument with her, so he decided to not try to. "Aye, we'll figure out the details after we get to Tortuga. Perhaps my friend will have some suggestions. How's that?"

Elizabeth nodded. "That's fine. Who is this 'old friend', anyway?"

"Name's Samuel Goodwin. I've known him over fifteen years. Currently, he's runnin' a small fleet of privateers and linin' his pockets quite handsomely."

"Are we to join his fleet?"

"Aye, in a sense. Because the Brits often sail in pairs, the privateers have taken to workin' in packs."

"Which means we have to share the plunder."

"Some plunder be better than none."

"Valid point. Do you trust him?"

"Our goals be the same," he answered carefully. "We care nothin' 'bout the Colonies, nor do we care about the Redcoats. All we care about is what we can get out of it."

"So that's a yes."

"I trust him enough."

Elizabeth nodded as she stood and walked around the table to where Barbossa sat. "Then that's good enough for me," she told him, sitting on his lap.

With one arm around her hips and the other across her thighs, Barbossa looked up at her with a wry grin.

"So tell me more about when you stowed away on the ship from Port Royal to Tortuga."

The days leading up to their arrival in Tortuga were exceptionally busy. Elizabeth worked with Doc and Cook, mostly, helping them go through stores of supplies to make lists of what they needed while the crew was busy with their tasks assigned to them by the officers. Barbossa made rounds throughout the day to check on what everyone was doing.

By the time Elizabeth and Barbossa climbed into bed that particular night, they were too exhausted to engage in extracurricular activities as they often did.

"Elizabeth, yeh know I want yeh, but I'll be damned if I have the energy tonight," he told her as they lay close.

As she placed her arm across his waist, she said, "I'm not expecting a performance every night, you know." Since she'd started sleeping in his bed, it had been nearly every night that they'd found themselves in a tangled, sweaty mess, and while it was quite fun, it wasn't necessary. Plus, she knew the condoms that he had to use were expensive, and she doubted the crew would understand all of their coins being spent on replacing them.

"Well, I bloody well am," Barbossa told her, his fingers trailing along the top of her arm across his body. "I've got years to make up for, yeh know." He wanted to add that he didn't know how long he'd have her, but it was an unspoken fact.

Elizabeth laughed. "So you do," she said, draping her leg over one of his. "But I'm tired, too, so let's just go to sleep."

Barbossa kissed the top of her head. "Aye. Goodnight Elizabeth."

"Goodnight Hector."

The next afternoon, Elizabeth was in her cabin trying on dresses for her excursion to Antigua when the door suddenly opened. Startled, she gasped and spun around.

"You scared me!" she told Barbossa as he shut the door behind him and locked it. "What are you doing?"

With a determined, steely gaze, he closed the small distance between them in a hurry and slid his hand up the back of her neck and into her hair.

"You," he answered, his voice raspy with need before his mouth crashed to hers.

Elizabeth was completely caught off guard, but he gave her no time to refuse him as he pushed her to the bed and crawled on top of her, his lips leaving her mouth and trailing down her neck as he reached to pull up the dress she had on currently.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing, Captain Barbossa?" she asked playfully, shifting her hips to assist him in getting the crinkly material out of his way.

"I'm havin' what I was too tired to have last night," he murmured, working on releasing himself from his breeches so that he could roll on a condom. He'd debated for the last hour about surprising her in that way, and when he'd walked in and seen her in one of those fancy dresses, that confirmed it. She was beautiful to him regardless of what she wore, but there was some fantasy that played itself out in his head of the bad pirate captain taking advantage of the innocent British lady, and he submitted to it. And he knew that if he ever told her about it, she'd play along with him. Might have to remember that for later, he thought quickly.

"And what if I was busy?" Elizabeth teased as she wrapped her legs around him and reached down to help guide him in.

As Barbossa swiftly plunged into her prized treasure, he growled and said, "That's too damn bad."

The smile on Elizabeth's face from his answer didn't last long. It was soon replaced with expressions of pleasure as he took her hard and fast. They'd never done anything during the day, but she figured there was a first time for everything. She knew she was enjoying herself, and from the sounds the captain was making, she knew he was, too. It was exciting, as well, with the crew just outside the door working on deck. While he had not addressed the crew about them specifically, he did not try to hide their involvement as he had wanted to initially. He didn't kiss her on deck or anything of that sort – their behavior outside of their cabins remained the same – but he did little to disguise the fact that she warmed his bed every night.

And she couldn't care less who knew.

Elizabeth had all but put her husband out of her mind. She knew that sounded awful, but the truth of it was she didn't think about him that much. Perhaps it was a subconscious choice. Perhaps it was the Colonies coming up and the preparation being done for that that commandeered her thoughts.

Perhaps it was the pirate captain that was currently taking her unabashedly in her cabin with the crew just steps away on the other side of the locked door.

God she loved being a pirate.

Barbossa's growls of pleasure increased, and when his completion was upon him, he buried his face in her neck to muffle his exclamation as his hips stilled their movements.

Both were hot and sweaty as they remained joined in the small bed covered with dresses. Barbossa lifted his head and kissed her gently. Elizabeth had learned in Madagascar that for every ounce of forcefulness about him, there was an equal measure of gentleness. At least in bed. She grinned as she gazed at him.

"Perhaps I should try on dresses more often."

Barbossa chuckled as he slipped himself from her and disposed of the prophylactic sheath. "Perhaps yeh should," he agreed, standing from the bed to adjust his clothing. He gave her a wink and then left the small cabin.

From where Elizabeth still lay in bed, she started laughing, and as she thought about the salty pirate who'd just had his way with her, she realized that she'd never been happier.

Elizabeth had initially thought that their relationship – whatever that might be – would be purely physical, after all she was married, and she doubted that he wanted to be. But the last few weeks especially, whenever they became one under the sheets, she felt more than just physical attraction. She felt a connection with him; she was beginning to care for him deeply, much more so than she ever anticipated that she would. She'd fought against it, but at the moment, it felt good. In some twisted pirate way, it felt right. And if her woman intuition was correct, he felt the same for her. Even though the last interlude a few minutes ago had been quick, there were evenings where he took his time with her, using only his mouth and fingers to bring her to completion over and over. The gazes that he often gave her in bed were not of a man that just wanted her for physical gratification; they were of a man that was in love.

Just a few short months ago, that realization would have caused her to jump ship – again – but at the moment, it made her smile for she was fairly certain that she was beginning to feel a little love for him, as well.

I bet you thought I'd forgotten all about these two. I did not, I assure you - real life decided to stomp it's foot like a petulant little child, and I had no choice but to take care of some things. Thanks for your patience.

And thanks to my faithful reviewers Preciossa, vampgirliegirl, BrunetteAuthorette99, Bloodsired, snapeygirl, SugarxPeach, Krushie, Suaviterinmodo and Barbossabeth. I know I'm not one of those writers who posts chapters every week, so I truly appreciate everyone sticking around for when I do. I try to make them worth the wait!

I am curious what you all think of Barbossa's reluctant request of Elizabeth. I always love to hear from you - whether it's one line or multiple paragraphs - so feel free to send me a message. I always respond!

And here's a question for all of you - who goes to cons? Send me a message - I have questions for you!