Disclaimer - Once again new story new disclaimer. I own nothing of POTC, it all belongs to the mouse. (Insert funny line about wanted to own Johnny here)

Also for those not in the know, this is a sequel to "Fan from the Future", so possibly it may be an idea to read that first if you haven't.

I Never Moved On

Chapter 1 - Unexpected Return

Louise looked around her, at first thoughts she considered that she might be hallucinating, or asleep on the train, therefore the only reasonable plan of action was to pinch herself which despite hurting proved it was all real. She slumped down into the sand, which was a feat in itself to slump in heels. She refused to believe it, and she refused to let it all happen again. Wherever she was, and she had her suspicions, she would not allow herself to be here. With that she decided to close her eyes until she was home.

Yet a short attention span meant after ten minutes she was bored with that idea, especially as it seemed to be doing nothing for her. She looked at the scene around her and had a feeling of deja vu. Which was strange as it was just a normal looking beach but still the feeling of being here before was apparent. Louise stood up and made a executive decision, she was going for a walk. Taking off her heels she allowed her feet to sink into the sand with each step, once the panic had subsided she was actually quite at peace walking along the beach, the feel of the breeze, the smell of the sea. She was trying to relax and take it all in, everything from the views to walking off a train into this new setting, one thing she was sure of was she wasn't getting her hopes up.

However had her hopes been high they would have been more than fulfilled with the town she recognised coming into view, "Tortuga" she sighed.

Louise looked into her bag which contained nothing remotely useful here, except maybe Jack's sash which was peeking out from underneath everything, it wasn't so much worth money but was at least from this time. She looked down at herself and considered her options, she looked like a outcast and she assumed that's what she would be after-all she had no money and from her brief inspection of the docks the black pearl, her beacon of hope, was not here. At least it was early morning and the town had it's picturesque charm she had enjoyed what seemed like a lifetime ago. She tried to walk into the town with a sense of decency, but she was forgetting that was just not what Tortuga is about, even in the morning. Within a few minutes a man awakening from his coma like state tried to make a grab for her skirt. She half ran her way into the nearest bar, with a deep breath and hoping for a spot of luck.

2 months and 4 days pass

Louise sat at the bar, she could see the sun was almost set which meant only one thing. In about an hour the place would be packed full of people ready to drink themselves stupid. At least she had come to realise that even here there could be a monotone, everyday had been the same for her, get up, clean the bar, serve the drinks, sleep. Of course she had been grateful to the fact that she had found a job without having to sell herself, something many girls seemed to lower themselves to in this town.

Another thing about her time here was that everyday had passed without a sighting of the pearl, she had almost given up on it or at least she had given up on needing to be rescued from Tortuga, after all she practically fit in, practically being the key word. She had a job which provided her with a room upstairs and a small wage, and her boss seemed to like her. Maria was a tall half Spanish, half English woman who oozed confidence. She was owned the bar, the rooms above it and she made a hefty income from the girls who worked for her. For some reason she had taken a liking to Louise, which was more than she could say for some of the other girls. A few spoke to Louise and made the effort to be welcoming but most of them saw her as the stubborn girl who thought herself too good to do their 'kind' of work. One of the few who had talked to her was Clara, who sat with Louise helping her to get ready for the evening rush.

"And then he said I should help him out a little more, I couldn't have done more if I'd tried!", Clara finished one of her sordid stories with a smile as Louise laughed. Clara was always good for a laugh, she was an outrageous person who seemed larger than life when really she was shortish and had a small frame. Louise dropped her cloth as they spoke and was picking it up as she saw a crimson blur rushed past her.

"Afternoon Scarlet", Louise acted polite not that Scarlet had ever struck up a conversation. She made a small huffing noise on her way to the door.

Clara shouted after her, "where ye off to?".

Scarlet turned briefly, seething "he's back".

Louise couldn't have been less interested at what one of Scarlet's many customers had annoyed her this time. She was a very 'emotional person' as Lousie put it and it seemed that she was always angry with someone. Clara turned to Lousie with a big smile on her face, grabbing her hand she dragged her in the direction Scarlet had taken.

"What's going on?".

Clara looked giddy, "you do realise who she means right?".

Louise just shook her head, Clara tutted. "Sparrow, he's back which means she's going to go mad at him, definitely not worth missing", she added a wink.

Louise stopped trying to process the current situation, "you mean captain Jack Sparrow?".

"Yeah, why you know him?"

Louise grinned, the kind of cheeky grin she hadn't used in years, "yeah I do actually".

Clara grabbed her hand again and continued to lead the way while making a "it's like that is it?" joke.

Louise couldn't believe what was happening, she was about to see him again, Jack. The man who's sash she carried everywhere, the man she had obsessed over for the last two years. Here she was dressed in a simple dress borrowed from Maria, hair slightly askew, on what had become a normal day for her and out of nowhere he was back. Upon consideration a panic attack sounded like a good idea but Clara didn't seem ready to let her stop again. They rounded a corner and at first all they saw was Scarlet's wild red hair but sure enough Jack Sparrow was currently whispering what looked like sweet nothings in her ear.

Clara looked deflated, "dam we missed it", her face seemed let down but when her gaze returned to Louise again she nudged her, "well go on then say hello at least".

Louise stood frozen for a few seconds before blurting out the first thing that popped to mind, "I see you got a new sash". The sentence fell from her mouth of it's own accord and instantly she wanted to crawl into a hole and die, she commented on his sash?

Jack stopped whatever he was saying to Scarlet. He turned slowly, as if all for effect and while it was mostly unnoticeable one of his hands was actually shaking. He looked at her with nothing less than disbelief, a feeling she was vaguely familiar with.

"Hi Jack", she smiled meekly. Of all the times she had imagined seeing Jack again this was not one she envisioned and the look on his face wasn't making her feel anymore comfortable, as well as the fact that he was yet to say anything.

Louise, who wasn't normally a nervous person noticed her palms were clammy and within seconds she chickened out, "Well okay I'm going to..." she trailed off and began backing away towards Clara who was herself trying to exit the awkward situation. Almost a blur she started a sprint back towards the pub.

Scarlet placed a hand on her hip unimpressed, "what was all that about?"

Jack's mouth was still hanging open except now he was opening and closing it repeatedly just without any sound coming out.

"You're impossible Sparrow" she huffed before walking off, he grabbed her arm.

"Was that...?", he asked as if expecting Scarlet to know about their past.

Scarlet raised a curious eyebrow, "Louise? She just serves drinks for Maria". He couldn't handle it, Louise was back and working in Tortuga of all places.

It felt strange to be in a situation he didn't know how to handle but as Scarlet gave up and left he allowed it to wash over him, "she's back" he whispered.

Back behind the bar Louise began taking orders, she had wasted no time in busying herself.

Clara ran in and caught her breath, "what was that about?".

Louise acted as if nothing had happened, "huh?".

"You, Sparrow, that thing back there", she jumped in front of Louise not allowing her to get past.

"It was nothing, honestly, I've got to get back to work".

Clara watched as Louise swept whatever issues she had under the carpet, talking merrily with the regulars she seemed completely normal so as Jack made his way into the bar she couldn't help but wonder where Louise would run now.

She snuck up on her and said in a taunting voice, "so you won't mind that he just walked in then?".

Louise clammed up again as she looked over and saw him standing by the doorway, eyes scanning the room. She ignored the man sitting to her right demanding another ale, she just watched as he caught her eye and grinned. That was her Jack Sparrow.

However she just didn't know what to do, so as she saw Maria make her way over to him, she did nothing but watch. Maria made some large gesture of welcome to Jack who graciously accepted it. She lead him over to a booth in the corner and began chatting with him, Louise couldn't take her eyes off them, Clara noticed and filled a few customers drinks for her.

"So Jack what can I do ye for? I'm assuming Scarlet's angry with you tonight", Maria had a look of knowing too much for her own good.

"Yes but that's not why I'm here".

Maria looked surprised, "oh?".

"I need to speak to someone currently in your employment" he stated formally, she almost laughed. Some people called Jack Sparrow eccentric she just enjoyed the ride.

"And who would that be Jack?", she asked just as regally.

He nodded his head in Louise's direction.

Maria followed his gaze and shook her head, "no Jack she's not for sale".

He feigned insult, pressing a hand to his chest he said, "on me honor all I want is a word".

She got up jokingly questioning a pirate's honor as she walked over to Louise and told her he wanted a word, adding "watch out for that one". Ignoring Maria's comment she made her way over to the table, she could almost imagine watching this from someone else's view, like it wasn't her about to sit with Jack.

"So hey Jack" she smiled as she sat down. He took a moment to look her up and down, much as he had done the first time he met her. He still was in a state of shock at seeing her but he was more overwhelmed with the need to talk to her again. He noted that she seemed less shocked at the whole being back from the future thing.

"So luv I take it ye've been back a while?", he asked ceremoniously tipping his hat to Clara as she brought over two drinks.

Louise grinned at Jack, how good it felt to grin at Jack again, "about 2 months".

He almost choked, "2 months?".

She nodded looking at her surroundings, the closest thing she had to a home here in Tortuga was this bar and yet she knew in a heartbeat she'd give it all up if he just asked her to go away with him.

"2 years Jack, 2 long years. You must of been up to something while I was gone?" she caught his eye again and knew that he was itching to tell her so many stories, he always was a storyteller. She felt a kind of strange ease between them, like the time had dissolved away into nothing but yet he was holding back and she suspected unconsciously she may have been too.

He leaned back and rested his feet on the table, "well darling ye know me, I get around".

Scarlet chose this moment to walk in with a rather clean looking sailor, Louise felt a pang of jealousy just looking at her and thinking of Jack, "I know you do".

She forced the feeling away, this was not the time to be jealous of the girls Jack pays. She replaced it with a more pressing question which she asked as she leaned in closer to him teasingly, "but do tell me Jack, as I'm just dying to know what's your latest adventure?".

--Authors Notes--

I was debating the reunion for the second chapter but to be honest I didn't want to hold out on you all :) aren't I kind? I'm really looking forward to this fresh start and for those of you who were left with your romantic sides unfulfilled in the last story I promise you warm fuzzy feelings eventually. Anyway I hope you like it, and as per usual a review never goes amiss. Thanks to all of you that join me from my first story and to all you new readers, hello! I've had a busy weekend so it wasn't up yesterday but I wanted to get this started this weekend. Enjoy.