Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Norry, Ana or anyone else you may recognize.

Chapter Three: "Bloody Bad Timing"

"That'll be Admiral Delaney," Ana said emotionlessly. "Tell him his services were refused once already."

"My God," Devin gasped. "Miss Annie?"

Shocked back to action by the panic in her butler's voice, Annie turned to see what the Admiral had done to him. However, instead of seeing Delaney's perfectly manicured visage, she stared into fathomless black eyes that visited her in her dreams. In an instant, Ana's despair turned to elation to intense worry. The mask had fallen from those dark pools, and Ana saw agony. Her own eyes snapped open. She saw blood . . . she saw his arm clutching his side. Rushing forward, the lady caught the pirate as he fell to his knees. "Jack?"

"Anamaria." A cough cut short his words, wracking his body and bringing fresh blood to his lips. The pirate's black shirt hung in shreds, barely concealing the tangle of cuts and bruises on his torso. The dark fabric was soaked through with blood around the nasty, bleeding wound on his side. His boots were caked in mud and his hair was wet and matted to his head.

"Devin, help me," Ana said, slinging the injured man's arm around her shoulders and attempting to pull him to his feet. The pirate's body trembled ever so slightly at the exertion and Ana's heart nearly broke for the suffering in his face. "Devin?"

The butler had thrown the door shut and was standing with his back to the wall as though he wished he could sink beneath the wood and disappear altogether. Staring back at Ana, Devin's face was an amalgamation of disbelief and horror. He was a proper butler having, after all, worked in the Admiral's house. A strange man coming to the door covered in dirt, grim, and blood in the middle of the night was definitely not proper. Devin was confused and probably a little frightened, but at that particular moment, Ana did not give a damn. She did not have time to explain a very complex relationship to a butler.

"For the love of God, Devin! Don't just stand there. Help me!" she demanded. The pirate winced slightly at the volume of her voice. "Now, Devin," Ana hissed, locking her brown eyes on the butler and daring him to disobey her.

Apparently knowing better than to cross his mistress when she was angry, Devin took hold of the pirate's other arm. Painfully slow, the trio made their way towards the staircase. Dozens of questions swirled around inside of Ana's head, but she voiced none of them. Instead she whispered soothingly to the pirate, telling him that everything would be okay. Telling him that he was safe. She fought desperately to keep the trepidation from her own voice. Would it be okay? By the time they made it to the foot of the stairs, Devin and Ana were supporting nearly all of the pirate's weight. He was breathing heavily and sweat began to dot his forehead. Was he safe?

A loud knock on the door suddenly reverberated throughout the room. The pirate's body tensed. Ana exchanged glances with the butler. Devin's eyes were nearly a wide as the full moon hanging in the night sky. Ana's heart hammered against her chest. "Answer the door, Devin," she said, forcing herself to speak calmly.

"But, Miss Annie – "

"Answer it and get rid of them," Ana repeated her request. Nodding, Devin hurried to the door. "Come on, Jack," Ana said, leading the pirate away from the stairs to the parlor. There, at least, he would be out of sight of anyone that would enter the foyer. "Just a few more steps," she whispered encouragingly, as she helped the pirate to the davenport. The ivory upholstered sofa had once belonged to her husband's aunt. In all the years since its construction, not the tiniest speck of dirt had been allowed to find repose on the finely woven surface. Tonight, the fabric was almost immediately stained with the blood of a pirate.

"Miss Annie?" Devin appeared from around the corner, anxiety drawing lines on his face.

"Yes," Ana said, her attention never wavering from the pirate's face.

"It's – It's Captain Norrington."

The pirate's eyes shot open. "Bloody bad timing," he said, his voice a halting whisper and his lips curling into a familiar devilish grin.

Ana smiled in spite of herself. His body was battered and bruised, but his spirit had managed to come through unscathed. Jack Sparrow had come back to her, and the warmth bubbling up from her stomach was undeterred by the manner of his appearance. Still, there was James to deal with. Clearing her throat, Ana banished the memories of kisses and stolen moments with Jack, and set her mind to finding a way to get rid of an officer in His Majesty's Navy. With a strong sense of déjà vu Ana rose to her feet to meet Norrington. "James," she said simply.

The officer, having removed his hat, was fidgeting nervously with a piece of brocade that needed to be re-stitched. His light brown hair had begun to disengage itself from his pigtail, his uniform jacket and vest were unbuttoned, and the dark blue tie hung loose from his neck. She had never seen James so disheveled. Facing enemy broadsides or locked in a man to man fight with a vicious criminal, James Norrington was always been completely in command of his emotions. Very rare was the day when the officer's face was marred by grief, sadness, fear or worry. Tonight, however, that same imperturbable face was twisted by all four. His light blue eyes hesitantly met Ana's. "Annie," he said softly. "I'm sorry to trouble you so late, but . . ." he paused, reaffixing his eyes on the hat in his hands. "I couldn't leave things the way they were left." Looking up again, he said, "I loved your brother too."

The feeling of warm happiness that Ana had been enjoying abruptly disappeared. The officer's words flew across the room and hit her heart with the force of a hundred stones. Loved? No wonder Norrington looked so unkempt. He was already mourning for her brother. He thought Prescott was never coming back. Lifting her chin, Ana said, "Do not say loved, James. Prescott isn't dead."

A sad smile passed over James' lips. "I would not presume to say that I knew Prescott as well as you, but I knew him well enough. He never took that cross off, Annie, not for any reason."

He didn't. In all the years since Findley's death, Prescott had worn two crosses. One was silver with a tiny emerald in the center, given to him by his sister after he passed his lieutenant's examination. The other was smaller, and gold, given to him with his younger brother's dying breath. Nearly fifteen years had passed since Findley's passing. Prescott had seen battles at sea and on land too numerous to recall. He had been shot at, imprisoned, and even branded a pirate. He had never lost the small pendant before. What, short of his own demise, would cause Prescott to take the cross off now? No! Ana's mind had wandered to a place that she did not want to be. Prescott was fine. Ana's thoughts drifted to the injured pirate in her parlor. Well, maybe not fine. But, Prescott was alive. He had to be.

"No, you do not know my brother as well as I do," Ana said, her throat suddenly very dry. "He is alive, James. I know he is."

Norrington's face fell. His shoulders slumped. "I should never have let him go," he said so quietly that Ana was unsure the officer spoke at all.

"What are you talking about?"

"That night, the last night he spent in Kingston. I spoke with him. I knew what he was going to do. I knew he was saying goodbye, and I did nothing."

Ana took James' hand in her own. "I do not doubt your ability, James," she said, a smile in her voice. "But, what do you really think you could have done? Prescott always had – has a way of getting what he wants."

The officer laughed.

"I have not given up on Prescott, nor will I," Ana paused, meeting Norrington's eyes. "Nor should you."

Norrington nodded. "I suppose – "

What James supposed, Ana never did get to find out. His words were completely drowned out by the piercing sound of a woman's scream and a loud crash coming from the parlor.

"Sarah," Ana said, realizing that she hadn't the time to let her maid know there was a pirate in the sitting room. "Damn her to hell," Ana swore under her breath. James, chivalrous as ever, would never miss the chance to rush to a woman's aid. Ana, in turn, was forced to follow him to the parlor, her mind already scrambling for some rational excuse for having a pirate in her house . . . again.

In the sitting room, Sarah was on her hands and knees trying to clean up the broken remains of tea cups and saucers. Ana's eyes darted back and forth across the room. Blood still stained the davenport, though a throw pillow had been hastily placed over the spot, but Jack was nowhere to be seen. "Are you quite alright, Miss?" James began, leaning down to help Sarah to her feet.

"Oh, yes, Sir," Sarah said, her freckled cheeks flushing nearly to match her red hair.

"What happened?" Norrington asked.

"I heard you arrive, Sir," Sarah responded. "So, I thought to make some tea. I was just bringing it out when I saw . . ." her voice trailed off and her eyes wandered to the empty sofa.

"You saw what, Sarah," Ana said, her voice hard as she moved to stand between James and the soiled couch.

The maid's eyes widened. "A – A mouse," she stammered. "Silly really, but it startled me so." Sarah bowed her head as though terribly embarrassed.

"Did you see where this mouse went, Sarah," Ana asked.

"It, um, ran past me," the maid said hesitantly. "Down to the kitchen, I should think."

"Very well, we shall deal with it presently, but I do not think we need to trouble Captain Norrington with such a trivial matter," Ana said turning to James. "It was good of you to come and see me," she said, walking back towards the front door. "Perhaps we can help each other keep hope."

"Captain Norrington, is everything alright? I heard a scream."

Ana stopped speaking and turned her gaze towards the unfamiliar voice. Her eyebrow arched at the sight of the slight blonde woman standing in the doorway. The young woman's long tresses were piled precariously on the top of her head, kept in place by a mauve flowered hat. Her slender figure was somewhat overpowered by the huge flowing gown she wore. Brown eyes flashed with youthful excitement. Crossing her arms and smiling suggestively, Ana regarded a suddenly flustered James Norrington with a look that begged to know "Just who is she?"

"Yes, a minor furry mishap. Everything's fine," Norrington murmured.

The blonde woman pursed her lips as though disappointed.

James cleared his throat. "Anamaria Tarret, may I introduce Miss Elizabeth Swann."

"The governor's daughter," Ana said, stepping forward to take the younger woman's hand. "What brings you to Kingston?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Fornin's Christmas ball," Elizabeth answered, a further arching of her blonde eyebrow indicating that the governor's daughter recognized Ana's surname. Plenty of gossip for the ride home, Ana mused.

"Of course."

James cleared his throat a second time. "Miss Swann, I'm certain your father would much rather you wait for me in the carriage."

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth turned to leave. "I'm sure he would, at that. A pleasure meeting you Miss Tarret."

"Well, well, James," Ana said, as soon as the younger woman was out of earshot.

"Well, nothing, Annie," James insisted. "She only accompanied her father because she found out that they would have to travel to Kingston aboard the ship that was escorting Loyalty. Been going on about pirates and the chance to meet one ever since we left Port Royal."

"And you were heartbroken to have to listen to her, I'm sure."

"Good evening, Miss Tarret," James said, heading to the door without responding to Ana's insinuation.

"Goodnight, Captain Norrington," she said, closing the door behind the officer. "Sarah! Devin!" she shouted nearly the instant the door was shut.

"Yes, mum," Sarah appeared from the parlor, with the butler close on her heels.

"Well, where is he?" Ana demanded

"The kitchen, mum. I'm sorry I screamed. It's just . . . I didn't expect – "

"Yes, yes, Sarah," Ana brushed past the maid towards the kitchen. "Nothing to be done about it now. Go upstairs and make the guestroom ready."

"He'll be staying with us again, mum?" Sarah asked, unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face.

"Again!?" Devin stammered. "You mean to tell me – "

"Devin," Ana sighed stalking down the hall towards the kitchen. "I do not have time for you to be shocked and appalled. A man is bleeding in my house and I do not intend to put him out. So, I'm going to tend to his wounds, and you are going to help me . . . Now, Devin!"

In the kitchen, Jack was seated at the small servant's table, his head in one hand the other hand still holding his side. He had taken off his hat, the hat that Ana gave to him. "Your friend Norrington can't seem t'get enough o' me," he said, laughing softly.

"And what's more, he's brought the governor to Kingston with him," Ana said, taking a seat across from Jack. "Boil some water, Devin, and find some bandages and a needle and thread."

Wordlessly, the butler did as he was bade.

"Sorry 'bout scaring your maid," Jack said, lifting his head to look Ana in the eye.

The lady silently chided herself for forgetting how handsome the pirate was. "Sarah's happy to see you. After all, she still firmly believes that you and I are involved in a completely inappropriate relationship.

Jack held Ana in his dark eyes, smirking as though he were visualizing some of the most inappropriate relations he could have with her.

"Here you are, Miss Annie," Devin set a pile of bandages, a needle, thread, and a bowl of hot water on the table, disapproval evident in his tone.

"Thank you. That will be all."

Kneeling on the floor next to the pirate, Ana took his hand away from the wound in his side and peeled back his shirt. A perfunctory examination revealed a matching pair of cuts. One on the pirate's stomach, the other on his back. Jack had lost a lot of blood, but the cut, at least, was clean. No sign of infection. Dipping a bandage in the bowl of water, Ana gazed up at the pirate. Jack's eyes were closed and he appeared to be using all of his will power to ignore the lady. "This will hurt," she said.

"It already hurts, luv" he said, opening his eyes. "Doubt you could make it much worse."

Despite the nonchalance of his words, Ana noticed Jack grip the sides of the chair, his knuckles going white. Hating herself for causing him more pain, Ana wanted to work as quickly as possible. Yet, at the same time, she wished to take forever, because the sooner she finished the sooner she would have to ask him what happened. She would have to ask him what happened to Prescott. Shaking her head, Ana went back to stitching up the cut. Her hesitation, however, did not go unnoticed by Jack.

"Somethin' wrong, luv?" he said, no doubt trying to focus his thoughts on something other than the pain.

Ana drew a deep breath. "Prescott sailed with you, on Loyalty?"

"Aye."

"James found Loyalty. Said she was a ghost ship."

"I know."

"Jack, where's my brother?" she asked, unable to keep the tremor from her voice.

A shadow descended over the pirate's face, and his black eyes darkened. "I don't know."

TBC

I know, I know. It was awful of me to make you all wait for this update. Bad author! Anyway, I hope it was worth the wait, I really will try to get Chapter 4 up much quicker. As always, I'd love to know what you think of this. I especiallywant to knowwhat you think about Lizzie showing up. As soon as I decided to make Ana a member of Kingston's upper class, I wondered what it would be like for the two ladies to meet. So, I put Liz in to see what would happen. I think you'll see more of her. Well, as you all know, I crave feedback, so please leave me a review on your way out!