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Lawrence had two options, either becoming regular deck boy on board of the first ship going east, or waiting for the Dauntless to write a missive asking for the help of another vessel belonging to His Majesty. That last option was much safer, but could take so long; however, Lawrence decided for the latter. It was either waiting for a couple of weeks while remaining an officer of the Navy, or risking her life at sea with men she didn't know and who would have discussable morals as they would be heading to Tortuga.

So she waited in Port Royal; a room had been given to her in the officer's aisle, and as long as she was with like-minded people, she could bear the passing of time. After a few days in the naval barracks, she befriended some cadets younger than her. They did remind her of her brother, their youth, their enthusiasm and readiness to live a big adventure at sea. She spent her days with them, practicing their swordsmanship whenever they could, and studying naval charts and other useful skills for any young officer of the Navy.

In the end, Lawrence was satisfied with her decision of staying here for a while, she knew the last two months in the company of either the French ladies, or her cousin Isabella had left her out of practice.

Two weeks passed before she was assigned on board of a ship; she had hoped no one would need her until they heard from the Dauntless, but life was that merciful. She was to serve on the HMS Perseverance under the commands of Captain Higgins, a man in his mid-forties with a constant serious face.

The ship left two days later for Port-au-Prince, where they were to escort a senior man back to Port-Royal. The journey wouldn't take more than ten days.

'But what if the Dauntless arrived while I am away? What if they left again during my absence? No, the odds are pretty slim for that last option, there is still hope then.'

Her days on board of the ship were dull; she had no one to talk to, the Captain and his subordinate officers weren't as friendly as her friends and they barely talked to her except for telling her what to do. Befriending members of the crew was even more unthinkable, so she spent her days alone with her thoughts, hoping the best for her friends, including Elizabeth, and watching over the horizon.

'Ship ahead!' shouted the sentry from the crow's nest. 'It's one of ours, Captain!'

'Thank you, Mr. Lloyd' Captain Higgins said.

He turned to his Lieutenant at hand and Lawrence who was also with him on the top deck.

'I do believe it is the Dauntless, let us be ready to welcome whoever comes to greet us on board.'

At the mention of the ship, Lawrence's heart skipped a beat; her eyes shot up to look at Captain Higgins, full of hope.

'Greet us, sir? Shouldn't we greet them on their board?'

He looked at her sternly.

'You didn't think this through, Ensign Reynolds. Don't you think that their ship is already overloaded with the addition of new captives, as they are returning successful from their mission?'

'Yes, captain, sir, you are right indeed.'

'Whenever am I not?' he said to himself.

Lawrence tried to hide as best as she could her enthusiasm, but she couldn't help smiling despite her efforts to keep a straight face.

'Oh please God, let them all be well' she thought as she waited impatiently.

'Who comes to greet the captain of another ship anyway? Is it the task of the Captain, or his officers, or both? Will I see James at last?' She kept thinking about those questions until the boat sent from the Dauntless reached them.

She forced herself to look away as long as possible to keep her surprise intact.

'Welcome on board, Lieutenant Gillette' said Captain Higgins emotionless.

'Andrew is here!' Lawrence finally turned round to greet her friend.

'Thank you, Captain Higgins. I am happy to meet you. What brings you in those high waters?'

Higgins explained him succinctly their mission, no bothering to ask about his.

Gillette listened and glanced at the other officers on board, in case he knew some of them.

When he saw Lawrence, his eyes grew wide in surprise. 'Law- Ensign Reynolds! I wasn't expecting to see you here.'

Whatever she found in his eyes was all but reproach and anger, so she smiled brightly in return; although, she seemed worried by the tired look he bore.

'It's a pleasure to see you again, Lieutenant Gillette. Was your mission successful?'

'Very. I…' He looked at Captain Higgins to see if the man had something else to say to him, but when he saw he had none, he beckoned Lawrence to talk with her aside.

'Oh Lawrence! I'm so glad to see you. We don't have much time, tell me, how have you been since we last saw you?' he asked when he was sure nobody was listening.

'You know, I would have hugged you if the situation had been different…' she laughed. 'I've been very well, bored, but well. I've spent some time with my family in Kingston and…'

'Kingston?' he cut her.

'Yes, my family lives there, well, just on the outskirts really. When I learned about the attack on Port-Royal, I came as quickly as I could to enrol again, spent a few weeks in the naval barracks, and here I am now.'

'Why didn't you tell us before that your family lived so near to Port-Royal? We could have…'

'Please Andrew, we'll talk about this later. Tell me about yourself, and Theodore, and… James. Are you all well? What about Elizabeth?'

Gillette smiled fondly at her worry. 'Yes, yes we are all well. And after much trouble, Miss Swann has been rescued with great success. This mission has been the strangest I've ever heard of; I wish you'd been there to live it with us.' He sighed, wishing he had more time to talk to her. 'I need to leave now, I wish I could tell you about this crazy story, but we'll have to do this another time. We've missed you, you know.'

'I've missed you so much, all of you. Please, take care until then, I'll soon be back in Port-Royal.'

'I certainly hope so' he smiled. 'Take care of yourself too. And I promise, we won't leave without you next time.'

'I count on that!' she laughed. 'Send my best to James and Theodore.'

'I will. They will be so relieved to know that you're well. Not sure about you being in the Navy again, though…'

When he saw her smile suddenly drop, he tried to reassure her.

'No, no don't worry, I was only joking! As long as you're alright, that's all that matters. I must go, have a safe mission, Lawrence.'

'Have a safe trip home, Lieutenant Gillette' she smiled again and saluted him formally.

He saluted her back, wishing he could be less formal with her, but it wouldn't do in this particular situation, then went to Captain Higgins to say his farewell and climbed down the ropes to return to his boat.

Lawrence watched him sail back to the Dauntless, wishing she were with him. Her mission would seem twice as long now that she had seen at least one of her friends and knowing that they would be waiting for her in Port-Royal.

'Why are you smiling so much?' asked Lieutenant Groves when his friend came back on board of the Dauntless.

'Theodore, you will never believe me!'

'Who was steering the ship then, Lieutenant Gillette?' asked Norrington coming up to meet him.

'Captain Higgins, sir. They are heading to Port-Au-Prince to escort the old Admiral Leyton to Port-Royal.'

'Ah, good. I knew this mission would come up at some point. However, that does not explain why you are indeed smiling, as Lieutenant Groves pointed out.' Norrington raised an eyebrow, curious to know the reason.

'Well,' Andrew began. He wasn't sure they would react, especially James. So much had happened on his side, the proposal, Miss Swann's lack of answer, the chasing after her, Mr Turner's open profession of love, Miss Swann sharing Mr Turner's feelings… His friend's heart had already endured a few blows, maybe now wasn't the time to tell him about Lawrence.

'Ensign Reynolds was also on board.'

Norrington raised his eyebrow higher. 'I beg your pardon? I'm not sure I've-'

'Lawrence, she was there too. She's a part of this mission.'

'How is she? Is she well? Where has she been all this time?' asked Theodore, anxious to know more about his friend.

Andrew smiled and told him all he knew so far.

'So, she's returned to the Navy in spite of everything that happened, and she resided so close to us all this time without any of us knowing about it? She will never cease to confuse me, I fear' James confessed, astounded by the news.

'Why not telling us about her destination then, as it were so close to ours? And why did she come back to the Navy? Anything could have happened to her, she was safer with her family. Why must she be so reckless and unpredictable?' Norrington wondered, looking at the Perseverance.

'She should have stayed with her family, I think; it would have been safer' said Groves.

'My thoughts exactly' concurred Norrington. 'Although really, I cannot blame her for her decision; we should have expected something like this. After all, she did escape the monotony of the aristocratic life once, nothing said she wouldn't do it twice.' He would never admit it to anyone, but he was proud of her, despite the dangers she presented herself to; not everyone would have done the same, which made Lawrence stand out all the more to his eyes.

Lawrence tried to forget about the brief encounter with her friend to focus on her mission; but it didn't really work. She was relieved to know that all her friends were well and that Elizabeth was safe now. 'And now nothing will delay their wedding any longer' she thought grimly. 'I may want them both to be happy; I don't care anymore about my broken heart. Friendship will remain at least.'

The rest of the mission happened without trouble or events worth mentioning; they picked up Admiral Leyton and made their way back to Port-Royal in the same silence as before.

In Port-Royal, when the Dauntless arrived, the whole harbour was filled with people cheering. Elizabeth went safely back home with her father, thanking once again Captain Norrington for all the trouble he took to rescue her.

Their exchange of words was very formal; Elizabeth felt sorry for him, after all, he must have had feelings for her as he had proposed to her, and she had treated him with much condescendence ever since. She knew she should have accepted his proposal, as everybody expected, but her heart had always belonged to a certain blacksmith's apprentice, ever since she was a little girl, and now the events of the Isla de Muerte had changed everything; she would be Will's wife and no one else's.

James had been surprised to discover the depth of Elizabeth's love for young master Turner, all the more so that it was unexpected given their respective social statuses. He had to concede that Will Turner, despite his past and more or less in tendencies towards piracy, was a brave young man whose merit had to be applauded. On top of that, the outcome of the events relieved of a weight he thought he would bear all his life; no more did he have to marry Miss Swann.

The prisoners were sent to the newly-reconstructed jail, and Jack Sparrow put in a special one, away from the other pirates. As for Will, the Governor decided to grace him for his brave actions in the liberation of his daughter and for the sake of Elizabeth's love.