AN: This takes place in between the first and second movie, when Jack is captain of the Black Pearl before the hurricane.

888

Gibbs was sitting in the captain's study, staring absentmindedly at the steaming bowl of "soup" when Jack timidly knocked on the door.

Gibbs smiled, "Hello there, Jack. Just in time, I was able to find more spices." He said, pointing to the soup (then he realized with a kind of guilty horror that Jack would be unable to taste anything).

Jack nodded, and teetered over, one hand clutching his left side. He sat down across from Gibbs at the edge of the chair.

Gibbs nudged the soup over to him (along with both a spoon, and the wooden straw). Jack grabbed the spoon (after making a wavy motion with his fingers at the straw), and took a sip of the soup, and then another.

"You must be hungry." Gibbs said

Jack froze, and the hand holding the spoon shook. He nodded his head. Gibbs wondered if they had given him any food at all in the three days they he had been hostage (another violation of the code).

"I know it's hard to think about now, but I need to know, what else did they do to you? You know as well as I do that it's against the code to hurt a hostage." Gibbs said gently.

Jack froze again, eyes cast down.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you can nod or shake your head."

Jack remained frozen, and suddenly Gibbs felt like he was an intruder, going somewhere that Jack definitely did not want him to go.

"Did they give you any food at all?"

Jack shook his head.

"Water?"

Another shake.

"Were you bound?"

Jack nodded.

"Did they use torture?"

Jack paused again, his eyes staring at some point that only he could see. He nodded his head.

Gibbs was taken aback, torture on a hostage?

"Bastards." Gibbs swore

Jack visibly flinched.

"Sorry, sorry Jack."

"Is there anything that I am missing? Did they do anything else to you?" Gibbs asked, feeling like he was missing something but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Again, Jack froze. His hand went to his left hip, his gaze far away. After a few moments he shook his head, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Just then, the cabin door banged open and Anna Maria came stomping in, face full of fury.

"I've had it up to here with that blasted monkey! It keeps pooping on the deck, and it's getting everywhere and this morning it ate an entire crate of bananas. That's a week's worth of food. OUR FOOD! Food that we need for us! Something has got to be done-."

She stopped midsentence. Her stomping and yelling had caused Jack to jump so hard he fell out of his chair onto the cabin floor where he scuttled backwards until his back hit the wall. He curled in on himself, pulling his knees up his chest and clutching his hair, entire body shaking.

"Oh no." she whispered, looking up at Gibbs "I'm sorry, I didn't know you both were in here."

Gibbs nodded his head, "Next time knock."

She looked from Jack, to Gibbs and then to Jack again.

"Is he alright?" She asked

Gibbs nodded again, and then stood up. He walked up to the front of the cabin and motioned for Anna Maria to follow. The fact that Jack had flinched and fled, instead of standing and fighting (which was what Jack would normally do) was enough to cause real concern.

"I will handle the monkey. Lock it in the brigg if you have to." Gibbs said in a quiet voice.

She nodded.

"Everything will be fine. Set coordinates for Port Royal. That's as good as place as ever to restock on supplies."

She nodded again.

"Im so sorry, I forgot-."

"It's okay. Jack will be fine. Everything will be fine." Gibbs said again, in the same soft voice.

She straightened a little.

"Lock it in the brigg, you say?" She asked.

" It won't stay there forever, but it'll give us time to make a cage...or something."

She nodded, "Aye, aye."

She gave him a small salute, and then left, closing the door softly behind her.

"Jack?" Gibbs asked softly

Jack remained exactly where he was, hands still in his hair, eyes closed.

Gibbs kneeled down next to him, well aware of the space between them.

"It's alright, Jack. No one is going to hurt you now. You are going to be fine."

Jack shook his head. His eyes opened, but they were blank, seeing things only he could see. He shook his head again, and flinched backwards knocking his head against the wall.

"it's me, Jack. It's Gibbs. You are here on the Pearl."

Gibbs reached out and put a gentle hand on Jack's knee. Jack immediately winced, and flinched away from him, further into the shadows, further up against the wall. Gibbs pulled his hand away.

They remained like that, sitting on the floor for a few long minutes. Until finally, finally Jack stilled. He blinked a few times, and shook his head.

"Are you with me, Jack?" Gibbs asked

Jack nodded his head.

"She didn't know we were in here. That blasted monkey had her all worked up. I think it's about time we made it walk the plank, eh?" Gibbs asked

Jack shrugged, and Gibbs frowned. Usually a remark like that would spark a rant about that blasted monkey, how it was the vain of his existence and so on, but all he did now was shrug.

Gibbs re-positioned himself so he was sitting cross legged on the floor.

"You know, I once knew a man who had a cat companion. He said the cat was his mistress, enchanted by a witch to live forever as a cat. She would sit on his shoulder and meow, like a parrot. Now that would be a sight to see, wouldn't it?" He asked

Jack smiled a small smile, then nodded his head. He seemed slightly better now, more present than before. Gibbs wasn't fully relieved yet though. He felt like he was in over his head. Jack needed help, help that Gibbs was necessarily equipped to give. Jack needed a refuge, a solid place on land. And the only place that Gibbs could of was Port Royal.

And so there they would go.

888

Sorry this is a short one, but more will come soon. Please like/follow/review!

Thanks!