I lay down and stared at the ceiling. Rebecca was lying beside me, looking tiny in such a large space. It felt bigger still because I wasn't used to being in it without Jack. I wasn't used to being in his Cabin without him either. I wasn't okay with it. If I pretended hard enough I could almost imagine that he was just somewhere else on the Pearl, perhaps at the helm and soon he'd come in, give me that glorious smile, climb in beside me and pull me in close. I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and closed my eyes. I was cold without Jack to keep me warm and I was lonely without his voice. I knew it was silly, I'd see him soon. Hopefully. But I missed him. I missed all the little things that made me smile. I even missed the way we fought. I missed the way his kiss could push an entire world away.

I did my best not to cry.

"I need you, Jack," I whispered into an empty room, squeezing my eyelids tightly shut as a defence against the burning at the edges of them. My heart ached as if it were bruised, the drowsiness hit me and then I slept.

It seemed that I was awake again almost instantly. I opened my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

Jack was still alive.

And he was asleep. While this meant that this trip to see him might not be a particularly interesting for me, I didn't care in the slightest. He needed rest. I wished that he was in a comfier position, but there was little I could do about it. He was slumped against a wooden desk, his head resting on his arms. I half expected to see an empty rum bottle, but the only thing on the desk that was Jack's was his open Compass, which his head was turned towards. Beside the desk, Baby James was sleeping soundly in a crib. A candle was almost completely burned out and at the other end of the room my physical body was lying alongside Rebecca's. We'd been moved out of the room that all the other bodies had been in and placed by a waterfall. I couldn't help but wonder why. We were at the opposite end from the door, which was standing ajar and letting a small chink of light through. I smiled as I watched them sleep. My boys. Looking so peaceful for a change. I wanted nothing more than to hug them both, but seemingly that was a physical impossibility for me in this state. So I settled for stooping down to get as close as I could to each of them in turn and planting a kiss, as best I could, on each of their foreheads. Then I turned to the candle and tried to blow it out, but I didn't seem to have all that much effect on it. My breath made it flicker, but the flame refused to go out. I reached out and covered the flame with my hand. It went out instantly.

The sudden darkness made Baby James stir and Jack twitched as he stated making a noise. I ran over to James's crib as quickly as I could. "Ssshh, darling… hush," I told him quietly. "You have to be quiet or you'll wake your daddy up."

My words had the opposite effect than I wanted them to have. As I spoke Baby James's eyes opened and he smiled. He started to laugh and his father woke up, turning immediately to see if James was alright. When he heard his son laughing, but couldn't find the source he frowned. I was confused too… could James hear me? Was that possible? Or could he somehow just sense that I was there? I backed away from the crib as quickly as possible in an attempt to stop James from making noises and allow them both to go back to sleep. Jack froze, his eyes on his Compass. They lit up. I heard the needle rattle and I stopped moving. "Belle," he said happily, and then a sudden urgency struck him, "Isaacio!" he shouted. "ISAACIO!" he bellowed urgently, standing up and clutching the Compass in on hand. His chair fell back and he didn't bother to pick it up again. He was staring at the Compass, but when Isaacio ran in he looked up. "She's here."

Jack grinned and Isaacio moved to have a look. He glanced at the Compass, up in my general direction and then back to Jack. "Would you like to see her?" he asked. Jack nodded immediately.

"More than anything, mate," he said. Isaacio nodded and strode immediately to the other end of the room, beckoning for Jack to come with him. He lit a few candles by the waterfall at the other side of the room. Then he turned to look at Jack again. "Where is she?"

Jack looked down at his Compass and then waved his hand in my general direction. He looked up, peering desperately, as if looking for me. Isaacio placed two chairs in front of the waterfall and motioned for Jack to sit in one. Jack sat down, but twisted himself round in order to continue looking in my direction. His eye carried on searching for me, even though he should have known that it was hopeless. Isaacio glanced up. "Isabelle," he said loudly. "Can you come over here for me?" I walked towards them both, wondering what on earth was going on. Jack's eyes flickered between the Compass and where it was telling him I was in the room. I went to stand over by Isaacio, who was next to the empty chair. Both of them kept their attention trained on the Compass as I moved. I stopped in front of him. There was a pause as they noticed that the needle had stopped moving. Isaacio glanced over at the waterfall. I followed his gaze and saw his smile as my jaw dropped. The waterfall was made of a shiny, silvery liquid. It was a lot like a constantly moving, ever-changing mirror. But it was one that reflected me as well as Jack and Isaacio. I could see myself. Could they see me too? I smiled, testing it and Isaacio smiled back. He indicated to the empty chair. "Take a seat, Isabelle," he said kindly. There was a pause.

I sat down. Jack was still staring directly at the space I was in, which would, to his eyes, look lie a completely empty chair. He blinked several times and then looked through me to Isaacio, "Where is she?" Isaacio's smile widened and he pointed to the waterfall. Jack frowned and then turned his head to look into the fast-moving water. His frown melted away and his mouth opened in a moment of shock. I could feel the smile spreading across my face along with a great warmth inside me. Jack's mouth split into a grin. His eyes were wide. "Is… Isabelle…" he whispered.

"Jack," I said, feeling just as breathless as he sounded. Jack glanced briefly at the chair I was sitting in and then back to the waterfall, amazed. "Hello my darling."

Jack frowned slightly, "What's she saying?" he asked. "Is she saying something? I can't hear her."

I sighed, feeling a little crestfallen. Isaacio looked slightly apologetic, "You won't be able to hear her, I'm afraid."

"Can she hear me?" Jack asked earnestly. I nodded.

"Yes," Isaacio nodded too. Jack looked back at my reflection.

"I love you, Izzy," he said and I saw him start to well up. He furiously blinked back tears. I could see his hands shaking on the arms of the chair he was sitting on. His voice cracked, "I miss you."

The look on his face tore at my heart. I hated seeing him so upset. His big, brown eyes were so lost, so sad. It hurt me to look into them, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. I just wanted to heal him. I looked back at him in the reflection of the water and said, "I love you," in the most over-emphasised way I possibly could, in the hope that he would catch what I was saying. I could tell by his smile that he did. Looking at him, I felt giddy, I felt like I hadn't seen him in years. I'd forgotten about the rush that just seeing him smile gave me. I hadn't seen him smile much at all recently. I'd missed it. So very much. I wished that I could tell him that, speak to him, let him know that I was missing him just as much, if not more, than he was missing me. Jack opened his mouth to say something else, but Isaacio stepped forward.

"Jack," he said seriously. "I don't know how much time we have with her. Use it well." Jack nodded, frowned slightly and closed his mouth. Isaacio stepped into view of the waterfall. "Do you know how long you have, Isabelle?" I shook my head and Isaacio nodded. "No, I didn't think you would. Now, listen, have you started your journey back here to us?"

I nodded again.

"Is it dangerous, love?" Jack asked. I didn't know how to answer him. It hadn't been so far… but I had been warned that it could be. He saw my hesitation and concern filled his eyes. I regretted thinking about it immediately. He sat up in his chair and leaned forwards. "Are you alright? Have you been hurt? Are you safe?"

I blinked at him, trying to thing about how best to answer this question, given that he couldn't hear me. So, I resorted to nodding, then shaking my head and then nodding again- yes I was alright, no I haven't been hurt and yes I'm safe.

Jack just looked baffled. "What's that supposed to mean, love?" he asked. I sighed and wasn't really too sure how to proceed. Luckily, Isaacio stepped in again.

"Is someone guiding you?" he asked me. I nodded. "That's good. How many people have you met on your journey?" I thought of my mother and held up one finger. Isaacio nodded. "One. I thought so. Has anyone explained what's happening with your physical body?"

I gestured to show that I sort of knew what he was talking about.

"Well I bloody don't!" Jack's concern had not vanished in the slightest, but rather it had intensified to a rather unsettling stage of alarm. "Will someone please explain what is going on?!"

"Well," Isaacio began, ignoring Jack's panic and looking directly at me. "When Jack told me that you had been here and visited him I told him that there was a chance that you could come back. Do you know this?" I nodded and beside me, relief flooded Jack. "Now that we know that you are in a state of deep sleep, we can take care of your body in this world. If we hadn't known then you'd only have had about a week before the condition of your physical body would deteriorate and you wouldn't be able to come back. If your physical body dies here, that's it. You'll know it's happened, if it does."

Jack tore his eyes away from me for a moment to look at Isaacio. I saw that his hands were beginning to shake. "But that won't happen. We'll keep it alive, won't we?" he said desperately. "And then she'll be fine. We'll just stop her body from dying properly and she'll be fine." There was a short silence. "She'll be fine," he repeated to himself.

Isaacio glanced at me. I raised my eyebrows, prompting him to tell Jack exactly what the situation was, so that if it all went wrong, he would know why. And then he might be a bit less angry about it. He'd be prepared. And that could be a good thing. If he knew now that there was a chance that I wouldn't make it back to him, he might be able to start the process of dealing with that now, which would make it less brutal, should the worst happen… Isaacio saw the look in my eyes and stepped forwards. "I certainly hope she will be, Jack," he said sincerely. "But there's no guarantee. Isabelle has a long, long journey ahead of her and there's a very tight timescale for it." Jack looked worried. Isaacio rested a hand on Jack's shoulder in an attempt to offer him some comfort. "We'll do what we can."

Jack nodded, but said nothing. He didn't look at either of us. "She'll be fine," he said again and I worried that this was a lost cause. I wasn't sure how much warning Jack would need to be alright with the idea that he would never see me again. Isaacio sighed, clearly sharing my concern. I was glad that he was there to keep an eye on Jack, but I knew that it would take a lot for Jack to listen to him. If there's something Jack wants, he'll do his utmost to get it.

My eyes met with Isaacio's and we shared in a moment of slight despair before he carried on trying to express the severity of the situation to Jack. "I hope she will be," he said again. "But, Jack, listen to me. This is a very fragile situation. She is very fragile," he emphasize, glancing at where my body was lying. Jack's knuckles turned white as he tried to stop his hands from shaking. He looked down at my body and then back at me, biting down on his trembling lip. I knew then that he was trying to stop himself from crying in front of Isaacio. Isaacio softened his tone. Jack wouldn't like that. "We can keep her alive for as long as we can, but the longer that she is away from her physical body, the weaker she will be. My people and I… we have ways of keeping her alive longer than would be possible where you are from, but you need to understand the risks involved for her."

Jack nodded. His voice was quiet, husky, "I understand."

He didn't say anything else. He didn't even look up. Isaacio looked to me. "Isabelle," he addressed me directly. I sat up a bit. "I don't know exactly what you'll face to get home, but our legends say that you could be trapped there. Something could trick you into staying and you need to be on the lookout for that." I frowned. I couldn't think of anything that would make me chose death over coming home. "There is powerful Magic there. Do you understand?" Isaacio asked. I nodded. "Good. If you do get back to us, we will be able to revive you with waters from the Fountain of Youth."

"The Fountain can help her?" Jack asked. Isaacio nodded. I was immediately concerned.

"Yes. It can."

"Will… will that make her immortal?" Jack was sharing my concern, largely because he already knew of my reservations regarding immortality. He would know that if it made me immortal I wouldn't want to do it. Unless everyone I loved could drink from the Fountain too. I would not spend eternity alone. I would far rather have a short life, full of love, than a long one lived out in solitude. There is very little happiness to be found in solitude.

Isaacio was smiling and I wasn't sure what to read into that. "No. It will not." I breathed a sigh of relief. "It was a common rumour that drinking from our Fountain would make the drinker immortal, but, as is the case with all interesting rumours, it is a false one. The waters from the Fountain of Youth don't have the power to make someone live forever, but rather to turn back the body clock and revive the soul." I suddenly remembered Nyssa and the first conversation that she'd had with me. That was how the people of Atlantis had kept alive long enough to protect their City- they had reached a certain age physically and then used the Fountain of Youth to become children again. But Nyssa didn't have the mentality of a child, that hadn't reverted back when she'd taken a drink. I panicked. I couldn't be a child again… How could I possibly go back to that? "If we give Isabelle a drink from it, it will turn her organs back to exactly the way they were before she died. Her gunshot wound will disappear and her heart will start to beat regularly again. Everything will work as it should. That's why it's called the Fountain of Youth, it doesn't make you live forever. It makes your body younger."

"Wait…" Jack frowned, clearly struggling with the same aspect of it that I was. "How much younger?"

Isaacio smiled. "Don't worry," he said. "If we just give her drop, it will only knock her back about a week or two and she will continue to age as she would have from that point on. You won't notice anything."

There was a moment of relief before Jack started to flare up again. "Well if it's that simple why don't we just give her a drop now? Why are we wasting all this time?"

"The Fountain of Youth also has an effect on the soul. Her soul needs to be here for the waters to be able to bind it back to her body," Isaacio explained.

"But she's here right now!" Jack protested. "What are you waiting for?"

I was amazed that Isaacio had enough patience to deal with Jack when he was like this. I was even more amazed that he could keep smiling reassuringly at him when. "It's not the right time, Jack," he said. "Each stage of Isabelle's journey is bringing her closer to our world. The closer she gets the stronger her presence will be when she visits us. Last time she was here, you wouldn't have been able to see her for long. Even if you had been looking into the Waters of Mortuis. We have to wait until she close enough to our world and strong enough to deal with it." There was a silence. Jack wasn't saying anything and I couldn't say anything that would be heard. Isaacio smiled at us both. "Well, that's all I have to say. I'll leave you both in peace."

Jack said nothing. I smiled and waved my goodbye to Isaacio. He turned to leave, but before he reached the door Jack stood up so violently that he knocked his chair back. Isaacio didn't seem startled, he never did, but he turned calmly to face my husband. Tremors were running through his body from head to toe. Until now I had thought that it was withheld anger that was making him shake, but when I heard him speak and saw the look in his eyes I realised it was a fear that he was doing his best to disguise. "Is there anything I can do… to help her?"

Isaacio shook his head. "This is her journey. The living cannot interfere with the dead. All you can do is wait and hope. Hope can do wonderful things."

Jack's body seemed to crumple in defeat. I just wanted to hold him. After a brief silence Isaacio left. Jack pulled his chair back up and sat down. His knuckles, on the arms of his chair, turned white again. Keeping my eyes locked on his face in the reflection, I reached out towards his hand. I did my best to place mine on top of his. After a moment he stopped shaking. He looked up and our eyes met in the reflection. He slowly turned his hand so that it was palm-up and I gently slotted my fingers in the gaps between his. I couldn't completely feel his hand in the way that I would have normally, but I could feel the heat and the shape of it. I couldn't take it properly, there was a thin barrier between us. For me, it was like holding your hand over a naked flame. I physically couldn't get my hand any closer to his without the heat searing my palm, but I did my best. Jack laughed as tears fell from his eyes. "I can feel that, love," he said. "I can feel it."

I smiled back and felt my own eyes fill with tears. We were literally worlds apart- torn apart by death, there was a chance that I would never see him again, but here we were, sitting side by side almost holding hands. I looked down at where our fingers almost entwined. I knew then that I would get home. Love can do impossible things… Jack and I were proof of that. But it can't do impossible things all by itself. If death wanted to part us, it could try, but I wasn't going to give up without a fight. I looked back up at Jack and we both smiled. All of the anger and fear were gone from his eyes. "Belle," he whispered. "You can do this, darlin'. You're the most stubborn person I know. Death can't get you."

I gave him a look.

"Don't look at me like that, love," he grinned. "You're far more stubborn than I am."

"Hardly!" I said, rolling my eyes. He couldn't hear me, but understood perfectly well what I'd said. We both laughed. I felt myself starting to fade from his world.

"Hurry home, love," he said and I was gone.

Hello Thanks for reading! Hope you all had a great holiday and New Year :D

Review replies for Chapter 13:

PirateNinjaCJS- THANKS, MERRY (LATE) CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO! Yeah, I actually dreamt that it was Izzy who fell from Port Royal's Battlements in CoBP, which is why it's her that happens to in my versions and not Elizabeth. In the dream everyone made it very clear she was James's sister and everything sort of sprang from there really.

GoTeamSkipper- Thank you and thanks for reviewing. I'm glad that you're enjoying the chapters that aren't so centred on Jack and Izzy. You wonder a lot of things, none of which I am willing to divulge right now :P

AdaYuki- Thank you for reviewing, that made MY day. So we're even :P

Sookdeo- Thank you :D Her father's story is coming up soon. And I'm glad you like the ghost's stories.

DelphineDrewIngle- Haha, I also often wonder where Isabelle is when I'm watching Pirates. And then I remember that she's all in my head. Thank you very much, I'm glad you've enjoyed them! Although, sorry for making you cry. You don't look like a creepy person, so don't worry Your English is good, what's your first language?

Please review.

LVxx