Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize as being owned by Disney, are in fact owned by Disney and not me. So take note, savvy?

Madison sat on the beach, drink in hand, giving one last look over her shoulder at the night's big event. Her friends were having the time of their lives mingling with the usual crowd of locals, complete with the few new additions they gained every year. It was their annual bonfire beach bash. The kick off signifying the start of summer. A summer she already knew would be filled with nights like these. Drinks, raucous laughter mixed with offbeat singing, and perpetual hookups. Nothing ever changed.

Of course, spending summers at her parents' beach house had always been ideal and not without benefits. Since she could remember, the sound of the ocean had always inspired her. Many of her nights, and days for that matter, had been spent dreaming of what was beyond each horizon. Tonight was no exception.

The sky was an endless array of stars. The moon shone across the water and light from the bonfire danced on each wave as they rushed to the shore, leading Madison to wonder where each had come from. Had they been here before? In another time? What had they seen while they were out there? A voice in the back of her mind reminds her that "normal" people aren't supposed to question these things, but she couldn't help it. It was second nature. Her philosophy professor had even called her the missing prodigy of inquisition, though he may have gone a little overboard. All she did was explain Descartes' reasoning behind "I think, therefore I am." Whatever. It just made her friends call her more of a freak. They didn't understand her; no one really did.

A sigh escapes her lips and she begins fidgeting with her necklace. It consisted of a thin chain and a ruby ring she'd discovered snagged on the reef while scuba diving. Despite much grief from her friends, she hadn't taken it off since that day three weeks ago. True, the band of it was tarnished and its inscription illegible, but the gem that lay in the center remained flawless. Indeed, she would have had it appraised had it not seemed priceless.

Sipping from an almost empty bottle of Captain Morgan's Rum, her eyes are drawn to the label and she remembers the drink's advertisement, "Just Ask For The Captain." Well, there's certainly one Captain she'd like to ask for and it isn't Morgan. She raises her drink, toasting the horizon before finishing off the brazen liquid. "To the Captain...I wish you were here."

The last thing she remembers before slipping into deep oblivion is the dark outline of a seemingly handsome man looming over her. For a split second she could swear she'd seen that swaying figure somewhere before, but her thoughts won't concede to organize and her head hits the soft sand as the immense intake of alcohol envelops her.

Slowly awaking the next morning, she finds herself suffering from the most God-awful hangover witnessed to mankind. Not only is her head pounding, but every last inch of her seems to be throbbing. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts and attempting to understand why she must be feeling this present hell, she reasons that she had consumed well over her tolerance level of alcohol and since she doesn't remember much, perhaps she'd passed out while standing. That would explain why her muscles ached as though she'd just finished every event in the modern Olympics. Pushing that problem aside, another one quickly arises.

"Where the hell am I?"

The bed seems soft enough but it isn't her own bed and it certainly isn't the beach that she should've woken up on. Without moving she gazes around the room in an attempt to piece everything together. This doesn't do much to help since the magnitude of her hangover is making her vision, as well as her thoughts a little more than hazy. That in fact does not keep her from noticing some movement coming from across the dimly lit room. Suddenly she finds herself staring up at the figure much like she had the night before. This time however she's hit with an immediate thought: Jack Sparrow.

No. Not possible. She must be out of her mind. She'd definitely seen "Pirates" one too many times. It was surely going to her head for her to imagine she was seeing the Captain hovering over her. Perhaps she was even dreaming. Still, she feels very much awake, contrary to what she wishes she were feeling.

"I's good t' see yer still with us luv." His deep throated voice boomed throughout the room. She clenches her head in pain. Why did he have to shout? "Welcome t' The Pearl."

Did he just say, 'The Pearl'? "I think I'm gonna be sick."

He speaks again, more softly this time. "I 'magine so. Ye 'ad quite a night there."

He holds a mug to her mouth and coaxes her into taking a drink. As she grips the glass, sipping from it, he lightly strokes her dark hair in a nurturing manner. Although the water itself is quite unpleasant to down, the man's apparent rum lingering scent alone is enough to send her. She seizes her stomach and bolts to a nearby open window, heaving the previous night's poisons over the side. So much for making a graceful first impression. Realizing her body's pain once again, she feels overwhelmingly weakened. The man's arms are suddenly around her as she falls back into a profound slumber.

Upon her second awakening, Madison finds herself to be well rested and finally with coherent thoughts. After lying in bed studying her surroundings for a few moments, she assesses that she still has no clue where she is or how she had gotten here. She does note, however, that she is still fully clothed. That was always a good sign. The best she can figure is that her friends must have tried to hook her up with some guy at the party last night. What's his name? She can't remember but it doesn't matter anyway. She wasn't interested in wasting time on random guys. She had spent every day of her twenty years searching in vain for her prince charming and all but held out hope that he would eventually come for her. Especially since her friends kept trying to pair her up with one immature, ignorant, ingrate after another.

Determined to get the hell out of whoever's place this is before they return, she plants her bare feet on the wooden floorboards. Striking her as odd at first, she decided it was befitting of a room that reeked entirely of alcohol. Seriously, it could use a little airing out. She definitely would not be calling this guy any time in the near future.

Searching for her shoes and any other items that may be hers, she figures she must still be under last night's effects because she could swear she felt the entire room rocking slightly beneath her. "Wow. I've got to quit drinking."

At this point she notices something odd across the room. On the bureau is a colorful assortment of beads and other trinkets. Among them she recognizes two of her own rings. She hadn't even realized that they were missing before, but she promptly slips them back on. Odd, indeed. Why would she remove her jewelry? She does a quick check for the rest of her accessories, discovering that her favorite hoop earrings are still intact as well as her necklace. Wait... the ring is gone. Why is the ring gone? Did the guy have some kind of quirky ring fetish? She couldn't have lost it. She hastily sifts through the remaining items on the bureau, but it's nowhere to be found. Under any other circumstances, she would have laughed at the title she allotted her thief, but she is furious. "Damned pirate!"

The door bursts open unexpectedly and she is no longer alone in the space. "Aye?"

All previous thought flees her mind and she gasps at the sight before her. It's him. Jack. Or is it really Johnny? Did it matter? Her heart nearly stops and she holds her breath, afraid he will vanish.

"Didn' mean t' startle ye luv. Thought ye mighta been dreamin' again." She gapes at him. "Luv? Ye alright?"

"Y...you...you're..."

"Tha's right. The i'famous CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. Alive an kickin'."

A tremor spreads throughout her body. Unable to contain her excitement, Madison doesn't waste another second before throwing herself into his arms. Instinctively, he holds her close to him. A little startled at her sudden change in disposition, Jack peers down at the woman in his custody. She had been so fragile earlier and when he found her on that deserted beach, but now…now she was so full of life. Did he really compel her that much? Granted, he was known as the greatest pirate lover to sail the seven seas and could easily charm a woman out of her clothes, but they were always whores, or strumpets as he preferred to call them. This innocent thing he now found himself embracing was neither. She's clean, well fed, and although not appropriately dressed, still resembling something from the upper class. Why hasn't she begun begging for her life? Proper women were appalled by his pirating ways. He was feared by them in every port known to the Caribbean. Perhaps the girl isn't in her right mind. Must be the heat. But how had she ended up alone on the beach in the first place? A shipwreck? The thought of his own beloved Pearl at the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker sends a chill throughout him. The girl did have a sack of belongings lashed to her when they picked her up. Maybe she's a runaway from a wealthy and restrictive family. In that case there could be 'ransom' written all over the situation.

"An' what would be yer name, luv? That is, if it isn' too bold t' ask."

Miraculously she maintains her voice. "Madison."

He thought the strange, but beautiful. "Well Miss. Madison, I see ye've reclaimed yer personal items." He peers down at her rings and grins a little sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. Habit, if ye will."

She's no longer angry. She has long forgotten the dilemma of her missing ring and is now bursting with joy. She may be unable to explain the situation she presently found herself in, but if she was indeed on board The Black Pearl with Captain Sparrow, dream or no dream, she'd be damned if she wasn't going to take every possible advantage relative to the situation.

She realizes she's been staring and apologizes, blushing slightly. He crosses his arms. "Tha's all right. Look all ye want." It was only fair. After all, he had been admiring her sleeping form all through the night. He stands unwavering as she circles him, observing every aspect of his being. Pirate attire...check. A hairstyle only Jack could pull off...check. Kohl rimmed eyes...definite check. The verdict: he's undeniably the sexiest thing to ever grace the planet!

It was too good to be true. He's even more attractive in person than Disney could have ever made him out to be. Wait. Does this mean that he had actually existed at some point? Had she somehow traveled back in time? Or had he come to the future? Nothing made sense, but at the same time it felt so real. She thought out loud, "Where did you come from?"

"Always been 'ere luv. I's ye who's new on board me ship."

"How'd I get here then?"

"Found ye lyin' near lifeless on a deserted beach. 'ad a bit much to drink ye did. Thought ye might o' liked savin'."

"You saved me?"

"An' yer effects."

"My effects?"

He motions with a nod of his head toward a tattered bag lying on the floor. It looks as though it had been through hell and back again, but she recognizes it as her messenger bag. What luck.

"Don' worry. I didn' pilfer through it. Tha's yer business."

She dumps the contents out on the bed and examines all that she owns in this new world: some extra clothes (revealing enough for Jack to enjoy), her journal (thank God he hadn't read that), cell phone (a lot of good that'll do), a can of Red Bull (where was that when she'd needed it?), a book (An Extensive Look Into the History of Piracy, of all things), a cd player with several compilation cds, her recently developed photos and a video camera. Video camera? Video camera! Mother of God, please let the battery still work!

Jack saunters toward her. One look at the objects cluttering his bunk and an eyebrow arches up in a perplexed manner. This girl was an oddity if he'd ever seen one. And he had seen his fair share of wonders in the world. The instruments she possessed were bizarre to say the least. His curiosity gets the best of him and he picks up an item to examine it more closely.

Madison watches as the arduous man before her delicately examines the cell phone in his calloused hands. The uncanny nature of his inquiry causes her to smile. His inspection of the item is short lived as he dares to press a button, causing the ring tone to sound. He immediately drops the contraption and Madison watches as it nearly shatters on the hardwood floor. Her laughter changes to fear for the well-being of her remaining possessions and she promptly tucks the video camera back into her bag. It is after all a priceless device to have during this experience. Jack begins to apologize but she assures him that the mechanism was useless. It would be if she were indeed somewhere in the seventeenth century. And if anything at all it would have been roaming, but then again, when wasn't it?

"Int'restin' stuff ye got there. Where'd ye say ye were from again?"

Oh no. What should she say? Of course he wouldn't believe the truth even if she told it to him, but what else was she to claim? That she had amnesia? No, it was too late for that. Wait a minute. He said she had been on an island, but her parents' beach house was on the coast of Florida. Surely she couldn't have moved in both time and space. Her philosophy courses come to mind, but after all she'd learned of possible time travel this was certainly an anomaly. She looks to the map tacked up over his desk. "Could you point out where you found me exactly?"

He indicates an island he has since carefully circled. Indeed, it was nothing more than a forsaken spit of land in the Caribbean. "Really don' see 'ow ye got there all by yer onsie. Were ye shipwrecked? Marooned perhaps?"

Boy, he's a curious one. She'll give him that. But he has every right to be and she can't bear to lie to this man. Here goes nothing. "Well, to be completely honest, I'm not sure how I got here myself. I'm…from the future."

God, it sounds even more ridiculous to hear it said out loud than it did in her head. She waits for him to laugh. Nothing. Through the deathly silence she hears the ship groan around her. It was eerie enough to give her chills. Or maybe it's due to her being in the presence of her favorite pirate captain.

He moves his hand up to stroke his beard in a ponderous manner. "The future, eh? What year?"

Did he really believe her? "The twenty-first century."

"Two-thousand five, to be exact?" How the hell did he know that? "Saw the date on your whatchamacallit…" He peers down at the cell phone, now in ruins at their feet.

"So you believe me?"

"Luv, I've seen far more unbelievable things occur in me life. Cursed men 'ave come back from the dead. Eunuchs 'ave produced children. Me very Pearl 'ere is a paranormal entity in i'self. I'm not 'bout to call ye a liar for sayin' yer from the future."

Wow. She knew there was a reason she loved this man. How great it was to have someone believe you when you hardly believe yourself.

"I do 'ave questions though. This future ye speak of with all these gadgets," he motions with his hands, "wha's it like? Is there treasure t' be found?"

Leave it to Jack to think about treasure at a time like this. "Well, there may be but there aren't any pirates. At least not in your sense of the word."

He was aghast. "No pirates?"

"I'm sorry to say but your class has become extinct."

"Who plunders the treasure?"

She considers this. "Archeologists I suppose. But they don't spend it. They put it in museums." He appears unsatisfied by this fact and she can tell that there are many more questions to be asked. Perhaps telling him she was from the future was a bad decision after all. Who knew how long this venture would last and she'd much rather spend her time getting to know the Captain better, not giving up the bearings to a future that he would never see.

It quickly occurs to Jack that if said treasure were discovered in the future and the girl knew the location, what was to keep him from filching it now? How should he go about this? Subtly drag it out of her or bluntly divulge his plan? He would of course present her with an equal share in the spoils. With that in mind, what was to keep her from agreeing to help?

Before he can interrogate her further, she shifts the conversation. "So where are we headed exactly?"

"Why?" His demand came out more anxiously than he'd meant it to, but she had caught him off guard with that particular question.

Oh, right. She should've guessed that question would make him a little nervous. "I've never been to Caribbean before." She knew just how to get to him. "And I've certainly never been on a pirate ship. Your life must be terribly fascinating."

Jack perks up. He was always looking for any excuse to show off his Pearl and inform new ears of his seafaring adventures. Besides, he will have plenty of time to learn of the future. It isn't like she was going anywhere with the ocean surrounding them. Indeed, if it was fascination she sought, fascination she would surely get. "There's a lot t' tell. What d' ye want t' know 'bout me life luv?" He examines his fingernails nonchalantly.

Perfect. It's an opportunity for her to find out what the movie had failed to specify and to see how accurate it had actually been. She still can't place how the creators of the film had known about him in the first place.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Impeccable timing, I know.

"Aye?"

The heavy door opens a bit and a familiar voice calls out. "Cap'n. Are ye descent?"

Madison smiles at the fact that the man must be cautious from having interrupted Jack at an inopportune moment in the past.

"I'm descent mate. Wha's the emergency?"

Swinging the door all the way open, the man enters. Forgetting his philosophy of women on ships, Madison doesn't bother to hide her surprise. "Gibbs!"

The silver-haired man is stunned for a moment. "'ave we met missy?"

"No. I'm from…"

Jack quickly interrupts. "I may 'ave mentioned ye. Now wha's yer business?

"Land Cap'n. We should be pullin' in t' port soon."

"Right. The crew's been restless. Tell 'em t' take the night off an' report back in the morning. That includes yerself."

"Aye." Gibbs tips his head in Madison's direction, then departs the room, closing the door behind him.

Playing things closer to the vest as he tends to do now, Jack has every intention of keeping the girl's secret for himself. No telling what could happen to her if word got out. "'ere's 'ow it is luv. Ye can' go 'round claimin' t' be from the future. Ye mus' know 'ow it sounds. No one can find out 'ho ye really are 'cause it could be dangerous."

The fact that he still doesn't even trust Gibbs makes her a little uneasy, but she understands since the man is his first mate. And in Jack's mind, first mate equals Barbossa, which equals betrayal. Yes, she would keep her mouth shut and besides, it was fun to share a secret that only the two of them knew.

(A/N: This is my first fic. Please send me feedback to let me know what you liked and what I could improve on. Thank you so much.)