Title: A Night to Remember
Author: SlayersGrl
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, unfortunately… They all belong to the evil that is Disney… *sigh*
Summary: Moonlight admirations and drunken ramblings lead to some unexpected developments… (Jack/Anamaria)
Author's Notes: I've been struggling to write the next chapter of "First Impressions" for the past three months, but haven't really felt inspired for it. Then I was watching a music video for the anime series Escaflowne done to the song "The Glory of Love" by Phil Collins. And my muse decides to give me an idea for a Jack/Anamaria fic… Don't ask…Oh, and I don't really like the title… It was all I could think of… Any suggestions?

You should have seen the scribbled first draft I made of this at 4am… Absolutely horrid! I've cleaned it up, but I still think I need to find a beta… Anyone know how to go about finding a beta reader?

Anamaria stood leaning against the sturdy railing of the ship and sighed in frustration. She had laid in bed for hours, unable to fall asleep, until she had finally given up and wandered to the main deck. She had remained undisturbed so far since most of the crew was below deck. Soon, she found her gaze drifting more and more from the expansive blue waters before her to the stern of the ship.

As usual, Jack was standing at his favorite spot: the helm of his ship, the Black Pearl, with a strong breeze rustling the beads in his hair. One hand was focused on keeping his ship on course while the other focused on steadily delivering him a supply of rum, courtesy of a French merchant ship they had ransacked the day before.

He seemed oblivious to her position by the railing, staring at some spot on the horizon that had rapidly faded with the approaching eve.

She hesitated to approach him, deciding to take advantage of this moment to observe him. Jack Sparrow was an enigma. On one hand, he projected the image of the hardened pirate captain who was somewhat less than sane and yet was not a man to be trifled with. But underneath the rough, fiercely protected façade, one would occasionally catch glimpses of the real Jack Sparrow: a kind-hearted, determined man who wanted more than anything to find his place in the world.

Her thoughts were interrupted by approaching footsteps. She turned to see Gibbs heading towards the helm.

He stopped when he reached her, and gave a quizzical glance between her and the captain. "What ya doin' up here?"

"I could ask the same of you," she retorted.

"Came to relieve the captain. I figured he's more 'n likely had enough to drink by now. And we had a busy day yesterday."

Anamaria turned her gaze to its previous object of attention. She noticed that Jack was swaying slightly more than usual. His tight grip on the wheel seemed to be the only thing holding him stable. However, to his credit, the Pearl was still gliding steadily on course.

"Damn… I should have noticed he was tired…"

Anamaria quickly approached Jack. "Captain, Mr. Gibbs is here to take the wheel."

Jack slowly turned his eyes to meet hers. "Oh," he said, blinking his eyes as if trying to pull himself back together. "Good then. I had just run out of rum." To emphasize this last statement, he raised his arm to wave the now empty bottle.

Jack relinquished control of his ship to the older man and then began the trek to his cabin.

Anamaria knew her captain would not accept any help from her while he remained on two feet. However, she stayed close behind ready to catch him should he topple over.

He had almost made it to his cabin door when he swayed a little too much and began to tilt at an alarming angle. Anamaria quickly grabbed him around the waist and threw his arm over her shoulders.

"You fool! How many bottles did you drink anyway?"

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but then looked around in confusion as if trying to remember something.

Anamaria simply groaned and then helped her captain walk the few feet to his cabin. He was soon seated on the edge of his bed. She was in the process of removing one of his boots when he suddenly proclaimed, "Six."

"What?" she asked, pausing to glare at him before moving on to remove his other boot.

"I think it was six bottles." He reached up to scratch his beard as he contemplated this revelation. "Or maybe I just imagined the last one…"

She decided not to engage him in anymore drunken ramblings and simply pushed him backwards so he lay sprawled out on his bed and threw a blanket over him. "I think you need to get some sleep."

Just as she reached the door to leave, he called out for her to wait. Annoyed, she turned back to see him still lying on the bed with his eyes closed. "What?"

"I just wanted to ask ya something," he replied. Then Jack opened his eyes and looked directly at her. "What exactly do ya find so appealing about my backside, luv?"

Anamaria felt her heart begin to race. She hadn't realized she had forgotten to breathe. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, you must have been staring at me for hours."

"I was just watching how well you steer the ship." She hoped the compliment would be enough to distract him from his current line of questioning.

"I may be drunk but I'm not stupid. That was more than a look of admiration on your face."

Anamaria knew she had been caught. And that Jack had been playing with her the whole time. "Fine. I was watching you. But don't let it go to that thick head of yours. It's a mistake I don't plan on repeating!" She quickly turned to storm out, but his voice stopped her again.

"Don't go! I didn't mean anything by it. I was just teasing ya luv."

She sighed and walked over to sit on the bed. "That's just it Jack. Why do you have to be like that?"

He just stared at her in confusion, raising himself up onto his elbows so he could look into her face.

"It's just you and me. There's no crew to impress or enemy to intimidate. For once, I want to see the real Jack. Not 'Captain Jack Sparrow', I want *you*."

Jack quickly broke her gaze and looked out the window to the starlit sky outside. "It's not that simple."

"Do you trust me Jack?"

"Of course I do. With my life."

"Then tell me what you're thinking, what you're feeling…"

He turned to look at her again. "I'm thinking that you're the most amazing woman I've ever met and that I'd be a fool to let this opportunity pass me by…"

He reached his hand up to stroke her cheek and then leaned forward until his lips met hers. His kiss was tender, almost hesitant as if he was sure she would slap him at any moment. When she didn't, he leaned in for a more passionate kiss and was pleased to feel her do the same. Jack then wrapped his arms around Anamaria and pulled her down on the bed in a warm embrace.

"You know," he said in between kisses, "if I don't remember this in the morning, be sure to remind me."

Anamaria simply ran her hand over Jack's chest. "Trust me. You'll remember tonight." The slight glint in her eye was all the assurance Jack needed that tonight was indeed going to be… interesting…

AN: This is pretty much from Anamaria's point of view… I plan on maybe adding some parts to explain Jack's thoughts during the scenes.

And as always, feedback is appreciated!