A/N: Originally a short story for school, though I wanted to publish it as well. I never liked the cliffhanger at the end of 'On Stranger Tides' and here's my own opinion on what should have happened after Jack left Angelica on Sola Fide Beach.

Love Always Wins

Jack Sparrow. The man who left her twice; the man who killed her father, Blackbeard. She hated that man. She would kill him next time she saw him. Left with nothing, but a pistol, whose only shot she'd wasted trying to shoot him with as he rowed away in his dinghy. She had only her anger, her memories, and that empty, useless pistol.

Her fist clenched as she thought about where he'd be. His loyal first mate, Gibbs- was it?- would surely have gotten the Black Pearl from aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Why did her father have to let that man go? If she knew Jack, he and Gibbs would be trying to free the ship from it's bottle of a cage...and probably failing at it as well.

As she sat in the sand of Sola Fide Beach, she spotted something being pushed onto shore. A small object that resembled a doll. She picked it up, studying it for a moment. Red bandana, black-brown dreadlocks, white shirt, black vest, brown pants and boots, fairly tanned skin. It was the voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow himself.

Edward Teach, Blackbeard, had done a great job at creating it. He'd created it with the other man in the room, then tortured him- using pain persuasion to get the man to agree to help them locate the Fountain of Youth. And now, she had the same possibility in her very own hands. She had the opportunity to toy with him- or torture him- to get him to come back for her.

She smiled deviously. The useless pistol beside her was no longer her only weapon, but the very doll was one. She grabbed a nearby, sharp-looking twig. She poised it to strike the doll, but she hesitated.

"Angelica! DON'T, IT'S POISONED!" Jack shouted at her, but she raced to her injured father's side anyway in attempt to pull the sword from him.

Instead, she'd only resulted in cutting her own hand...and poisoning herself.

"I wouldn't be the fool to take on Blackbeard without a little, venomous 'vantage." The one-legged man, Barbossa, looked at Jack with a sly grin before taking Blackbeard's sword, claiming the Queen Anne's Revenge and her crew.

Jack had warned her, yet she wanted to kill him. It seemed wrong. Maybe, she wouldn't kill him- she'd just give him a few cuts and bruises to remember her for. Then he'd have to come back for her, certainly.

"This one has the tear and gives life?" Her father asked.

"Aye, hurry!" Jack answered.

Without another moment's hesitation, he'd swiftly snatched the chalice and gulped down the contents. Angelica looked at him with a mix of disbelief and worry, as well as relief.

"Angelica, save me, my child." Blackbeard pleaded, gesturing towards the other chalice.

"No." The other man protested, sounding more Englishman than cocky pirate.

She took it, much more slowly than her father had. She poured it into her mouth and swallowed it, muttering something to her father after. The man got to his feet without speed, as if he were older than he really was. Jack had walked away, but he suddenly turned around, facing them.

"Wait a minute...in fact, it might have been the other way around." He gestured to one of the chalices. "This cup had the tear, that one had the...other bit."

"Trickster! Devil!" Blackbeard roared.

"Father!" Angelica watched as the cut on her hand sealed itself beyond existence. The water her father was standing in began to swirl abnormally. She glared at Jack. "You bastard! How could you?!"

"Your father saved you, perhaps his soul is now redeemed. Eh?" He proposed as water burst from the remains of the Fountain and splashed it's way to Blackbeard. It began to swirl around him, rising up into the air like a sort of bubble.

She was horrified as it stripped him of clothes, flesh, and even blood- all of which dissipated into nothing. Even Jack watched with interest as the still living skeleton reached out an arm towards her through the bubble of swirling water. And then...it was all over. The skeleton crumbled to the stone it was on, falling apart. The water evaporated into thin air. She and Jack were left to stare at the remains of Blackbeard in disbelief and shock.

Jack had saved her life rather than her father's. And as they'd approached the island, he'd told her any father should have done the same; saved his daughter rather than himself. But, it didn't make her feel any better about it.

It felt wrong, all of it. Her anger screamed at her to hit and cut the doll, but it didn't feel right. The man she wanted to hurt had saved her. She only hesitated a moment longer before her impatience and anger took control.

Angelica whacked the back of the doll's head with the twig, before slamming it into it's leg. Jack's head. Jack's leg. She nearly laughed as she imagined his reaction to the sudden, unknown source of pain. She got carried away, poking, prodding, and whacking the doll here and there. The satisfaction of the all too realistic reactions she came up with driving her onward; her anger driving her on. Then she began carving words into his right forearm. When she'd finished that, they read:

Sola Fide Beach - 1 week

Yes, she'd give him one week. Sounded reasonable. Enough time to actually decide whether to come back or not, get ready, and make the trip. He'd only been gone for two and a half days already, so he couldn't be far away at all. Surely, he'd come.

She gave the doll one last smach to the neck before she put it aside with the stick and set to work on building a fire and a small shelter for the next few days. She collected decently sized branches and sticks, throwing them upon her spot of the beach. On her haunches now, she did the simplest trick in the book; she rubbed two sticks together. At first, there was nothing and she angrily tossed the sticks across the sandy beach with a scream of pure frustration. Then a crackling sound and the feeling of heat made her turn to see a small fire slowly spreading and climbing the sticks. She sighed sitting down and crossing her legs, folding her arms across her chest. Eventually, she laid down and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Angelica opened her eyes a couple of days later to see the faint outline of a ship through the mist and fog of the water. She quickly snatched the voodoo doll, walking down to the shoreline to spot what looked like the longboat Jack had left her behind in. She narrowed her eyes, both suspiciously and hopefully. Was he here? Could she trust him?

All of a sudden, someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her off of her feet. She struggled to get free, but without luck. She jabbed her elbow back, feeling it connect to her attacker, who groaned without releasing their grip. That groan sounds familiar… She thought, dreadfully. She stomped on a foot and her attacker's grip tightened. Clearly they didn't want to let go of her. She jabbed her elbow into the person's gut as hard as she could several more times. The attacker's grip finally loosened enough for her to twist free.

She found herself face to face with Jack Sparrow.

"Ow…" He complained, rubbing his stomach. "What was that for, love?"

"I should be asking you the same, Jack." She growled. Deciding to test him, she asked,"What are you doing here?"

"Your invisible pets sent me." He responded, his voice slightly cold, as he pulled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal the words carved into his rough skin.

Sola Fide Beach - 1 week

The words were very clear, as the carvings had left scabs that would last him awhile. The skin nearby was red and seemed to be irritated- possibly from scratching. Angelica froze in her tracks, almost feeling bad. She imagined it having been done to herself. Guilt filled her, yet she still found humor in what he'd said. She forced herself to hold it in and responded in an amused tone.

"No, Jack, it wasn't invisible pets." She told him.

"What was it then?" Jack seemed less than interested at the moment, even fingering the handle of his flintlock in consideration of pulling it out on her.

"This." She pulled out the voodoo doll and the small stick, giving it a prod in the side.

He flinched as he felt a sharp pain in his side, trying to give her a serious glare. He managed to keep a low tone as he questioned her. "Where did ye get that?"

"I found it in the water." Angelica responded, her Spanish accent thick.

"Give it to me." He demanded, holding out a rough, calloused hand.

"Why would I do that? I finally have you at killpoint after you-" She threatened.

"Ah, but so do I." Jack smirked humorlessly, drawing his pistol and pointing it directly at her face.

"Don't do this, Jack." She held the stick over the doll's chest, as if she were going to stab it; stab him. But she wasn't affected the least by him aiming the weapon at her. He'd made her immortal by giving her the chalice that saved her life. She couldn't die even if she wanted to.

"Put it down." He pleaded with her, though his arm held the flintlock steadily. "Put it down and I'll put this away."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Angelica asked, her tone demanding. "You are the reason this has all happened in the first place."

"And ye're the one who tricked me into gettin' put onto your father's ship, therefore this is all really your fault." Jack responded, the statement surprisingly reasonable. "So, the question really is, how do ye know ye can trust yourself?"

Not wanting to believe that it was her own fault, she forced the stick into the doll's forearm- the one that held the pistol. With a gasp of pain and surprise, he dropped the weapon and clutched his now bleeding arm to his chest. He seemed mildly impressed, the humorless smirk returning.

"Ye're only doin' that 'cause ye don't want to believe the truth." He accused, knowingly. "Takin' it out on me."

Angelica shook her head in reply, too overcome by emotion to be able to form words. She pricked the doll's neck, watching him as she did. His face twitched, the smirk fading, and he winced, but other than that there was no reaction. She saw the crimson red color of blood begin trickling down his neck. She smirked deviously. She saw him glance down at his flintlock, where it lay not even a foot away from him in the sand.

"Don't try it, Jack." She warned.

"Why shouldn't I? Ye're torturing me with that...thing." He responded in an equally menacing tone.

She turned the stick around so that the flat end faced the doll's chest. She gently put pressure on it, pushing it against the doll; against him. She noticed him tense and start dropping to grab his pistol. She slowly began to put more pressure on his chest, little by little until it almost looked painful for him. He grasped the flintlock's handle, aiming it at her and narrowing his eyes.

She pushed the stick even harder, almost as hard as she could. His hand shook as he tried to endure the pain, the pistol bobbing about. He let a gasp escape through gritted teeth by mistake. Seeing he was weak, she turned the stick around so the sharp end faced the doll and plunged it into the chest; his chest.

Jack's cry of pain pierced through the air more loudly than anything she'd ever heard. At the same time, a crack of thunder roared as he managed to fire the pistol before he dropped it. Of course it didn't surprise her when it didn't even wound her. She looked back to him, seeing him lying on the ground, beside the flintlock. His normally white shirt was now stained crimson and even his black vest had a darker tint to it.

Angelica froze in horror, finally realizing what she'd done. She'd tortured a man who'd hurt her emotionally, just as her late cruel father would have; just as Blackbeard would have. She was just as cruel as he was. Her hands shook as she finally figured out what she had in common with her father. They shared a lot of emotional pain and anger. And she'd let her own get the best of her, just as her father would have. The voodoo doll and stick slipped from her grasp, falling to the sand.

She crouched down by Jack's side after a few more moments of shock. He was breathing heavily, one hand clutching his chest, the other lying limply at his side. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed.

She cradled his head in her hands, watching him as the occasional groans and gasps of pain began to fade. "Jack, I'm so sorry. Madre de Dios, qué he hecho?"

His eyes slowly opened and he gave her what seemed to be a weak glare, which quickly faded into another one of his sly, humorless smirks. "I don't think I deserved that."

Angelica let out what sounded like a half-sob, half-laugh and pulled her his lips against hers, kissing him. A few moments later, she pulled back, watching him and repeating,"I'm so sorry."

Jack managed a small, sad smile around his pained expression. "It would never have worked out between us, Angelica, but I still love ye."