After she was sure Katrina was gone and seeing Gibbs out she went back upstairs where'd she left Thomas and Jack. Which now that she thought about it, might not have been a very clever idea. She ran up the stairs and into the room. Thomas wasn't in the front room, which meant he was back in her bedroom where Jack was. Oh dear,

"Thomas?"

She walked in there and Thomas was standing by the bed just watching Jack intently, he looked behind him to see who his intruder was.

"Hey Ana,"

"Hey sweetheart, what are you doin' back here?"

"Watching the pirate."

"Jack."

"Huh?"

"His name is Jack, Captain Jack Sparrow." She said the last sentence pretending great importance.

"He's a Captain?"

"Sure is,"

"Ana, is it true? Did you used to be a pirate?"

"No sweetheart, of course not."

"Because if you were. I wouldn't tell Daddy," He told her innocently.

"I'm not a pirate son."

She probably shouldn't call him son as a pet name since he had a lack of a mother, but she couldn't help it, it just rolled off of her tongue. She loved the boy, and she didn't want to hurt him. After all the boy was barely five years old.

She shifted her gaze from Thomas to Jack.

Jack on the other hand, was a full grown man. Completely capable of deciding who he lets into his heart and who he didn't. The Black Pearl, and the sea, they would always be in Jack's heart and there was no denying it, but she found herself wondering if she made the list, if she was something that was in Jack's heart.

"Stop thinkin' so hard, ya gimme a headache." Jack mumbled looking at her hazily.

"Jack?"

"Cap'n Sparrow."

She ignored his response. "Hey Thomas, why don't you go downstairs and go find something to play and bring it back so we can play together?"

"Okay!"

She watched Thomas leave the room and then turned back to Jack.

"How are you feelin' Jack?"

He had fallen back asleep again so she felt his forehead. His fever hadn't gone down any, so she went over to the pitcher and wet a rag and started to try and cool him down.

"Cap'n, I will never understand you. First you let me leave and then you get sick at my port no less. It's almost like you planned it, but you'd never be fool enough to get sick here, you know how the Doctor's are, you were lucky I was there today, Dr. Prick would of turned you away if I hadn't of been."

She felt silly talking to herself, but at the same time she felt like Jack could hear her.

" I broke the code Cap'n. I lied to you, but then again you aren't surprised right?" She smiled to herself. "I never could manage to surprise you, but anyway, for the suspense of the journey, you'll have to wake up to find out what I lied about."

There, Captain Jack Sparrow. Now you had to wake up, if you ever want to find out my secrets. It's brilliant. She thought to herself.

Now there was the small manner of figuring out what to do with Thomas. She only had one bed, and she didn't have an extra mattress or anything like that and since Captain Jack was hogging the bed, she had to find the two of them a new sleeping arrangement. She could get the spare key to Mr. Townsend's house and sleep there. Yeah, that's what she would end up doing.

She turned around to see Thomas holding a chess board upside down. "Can you teach me to play Ana?"

Truth was, no one ever taught her how to play, and you couldn't teach someone something you didn't know yourself.

"How about we make up our own rules?"

"That's sounds funner!"

She smiled. "Good."

She played make believe-chess with Thomas until it got close to dark.

"Ha! I beat you!"

"Okay Thomas, it's time to go home."

"I thought I was stayin' with you tonight?"

"Yeah, but we're going to spend the night at your house, there's not enough room up here for both me, and you and Jack you know."

"What about the pirate? What if he gets lonely?"

More important question was what if he escapes?

"He won't get lonely Thomas, I left him a bear incase he does." She reassured the small boy.

She barricaded the outside of the door after she made sure he was in steady sleep. She wouldn't put it past Jack to leave once he got his legs up under him, ill or not. She couldn't let him, after all the Pearl had set sail until the new moon, and she had to explain that to Jack. She also had to clear her conscience with him, and she wouldn't let him go until she did.

"Shouldn't somebody stay with him?"

"I'll come back to check on him a couple times,"

"Okay."

She got Thomas settled and once she was sure the small boy was asleep she went back to check on Jack. She opened the door carefully to minimize any noises. She walked over to him and he was tossing and turning in a dream, or at least she hoped it was a dream.

"Ana, please don't go." He murmured in his sleep. He was dreaming about the day she left. She sighed and went over to get another cold rag.

"Jack, what am I going to do with you?" She asked the unconscious captain as she put the rag on his forehead.

"Whatever you wan' love,"

She jumped at the sound of the raspy voice.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

She smiled. He still sounded horrible and looked even worse, but at least he was in good spirits. Leave it to Jack to be in good spirits after suffering a horrible sickness. He tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down.

"You're not well Jack, lie down."

"Not well? 'Course I am."

"Jack you've had a fever for the past twelve hours, you are not well."

"When'd you start speakin' good English anyways?"

"I've always spoken English Jack,"

"You never enunciated like that."

"I'm surprised you even know what enunciate means." She said meaner than she intended to.

"Okay not in a talkin' mood, mkay.."

"What happened Jack, why'd you let yourself get that sick?" She said cutting to the chase.

"I didn't no' I was that sick. I thought it was just a floozy."

"You know the difference Jack, you are not stupid."

"Who the hell are you to be tellin' me if I'm stupid or I ain't?"

"I'm second in command, I get this right."

"No you aren't. You left the Pearl fo' some one bedroom complex! I gave you everythin' Ana, and you threw it all back in my face!"

Jack had a lot of feelings for Ana Maria right now, and they weren't all pleasant. He was angry with her, angry with her for leaving the pearl and angry with her for leaving him without closure. It was her fault he'd turned into the worst Captain in the seven seas. He was that way because he couldn't live the ways of a Pirate without thinking about her, Ana Maria was always on his mind. The thing that angered him most about the situation was no matter how hard he tried he could never shake it, and it was driving him mad.

"Go to sleep Jack, we'll talk about this in the morning." She said picking things up, getting ready to leave for the night.

"Don't you walk away from me!"

"Jack, you've had a long day, you need to rest and you obviously aren't going to if I stay here."

"What if I wanted you to?"

She gave him a small smile. "I can't Jack."

"Why not? This is your place ain't it?"

"Yes, but I can't stay here tonight."

"God damn it woman! Why. not.?"

"Because I have to stay with Thomas."

"Who the bloody hell is Thomas?"

"Good night Jack." She said walking out of the bedroom.

"Who the bloody hell is Thomas!" He called after her.

He heard the door shut and lock. Ana Maria had locked him in here, damn the woman. A wave of drowsiness came over him and he fell asleep, given little choice by the drugs that had been injected into him earlier.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Ana Maria had gotten up early to check on Jack. She still needed to come up with a plan. She couldn't hide Jack from Mr. Townsend forever, no matter how much she wished she could. She got up from the spare mattress and went into Thomas's bedroom. She carefully waked the sleeping boy up.

"Do we have to leave right now?" He asked her groggily.

"Yes, we have to beat your dad back to my house." She said picking him up.

"Okay," He said through a yawn before he fell back asleep on her shoulder.

She struggled up the stairs with an unconscious Thomas and un barricaded the door, with the feeling that Jack was already awake.

"Good Mornin' Ana Maria."

She looked up and Jack was sitting at the table, looking smug as always with a few differences.

"Jack? What are you doing up so early? Actually what are you doing up at all?"

"Hate to break it to you love, but that bed ain't as comfortable as you think it is."

"Look, you cannot be out here in the front rooms,"

"Why not?"

"Mr. Townsend will be here soon."

"Who's Mr. Townsend?"

"My boss!"

"Ah, don't want him findin' a pirate here huh?"

"No, I don't want him finding a pirate in my house."

"So what? You want me to hide?"

"Yes Jack, I want you to hide."

"No."

"What?"

"No, I'm not going to hide."

"Yes you are!"

She put Thomas down in a chair and started pushing him backwards towards the bedroom.

"Jesus, Ana! All you had to go was ask!" He said mockingly

"Just get back there, and please Jack don't come out. This is the only place I have to stay. "She said with all seriousness.

"Okay love, okay, gees you're no fun when you're stressed."

"Thank you."

She heard a knocking on the door. She closed the bedroom door and headed for the front door and swung it open, taking Mr. Townsend by surprise.

"Good Morning Mr. Townsend." She greeted.

"Mornin' lass, " He said walking in.

"How was your trip?"

"It was okay, it went better than I thought it would. How was Thomas?"

"He was great, an angel the entire time."

"That's nice to hear,"

Then there was a loud crash that came from Ana Maria's bedroom.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That crash that came from your bedroom."

"My bedroom? That's impossible, there's no one back there."

"Best to check it out lass," He said heading for the bedroom.

"No! Mr. Townsend, there's nothing back there!"

Too late. He opened the door and saw Jack trying desperately to scoop up the pieces of the broken pitcher that he'd knocked over and Jack snapped his attentions to Mr. Townsend.

He chuckled nervously and stood up. "Hello sir."

"Who the hell are you? Ana, who the hell is this!"

Mr. Townsend spun around and looked at her with a look that demanded an answer.

"This is Jack Sparrow, he came in last night."

"Sparrow? The one who tried to assassinate the governor of Port Royal's daughter!"

"Now, now that was all a big misunderstanding, see Elizabeth, that's the governor's daughter's name, had suffocated under a corset and fell from a cliff n I saved her, and then Commodore Norrington, I don't know if he's still a commodore or not, but anyways. He arrested me for piracy-"

"Piracy! He's a pirate! Ana! Is he a pirate!"

"Mr. Townsend, please listen to me. Jack Sparrow is a pirate, yes. But he saved my life a couple years back and I was just paying back the favor." She explained using the same lie she'd used on Dr. Jones.

"The favor?"

"Yes, he had a horrible fever last night, you can ask Dr. Jones. He can vouch for that."

"You had a pirate in my shop, and around my son."

"It was completely supervised the entire time sir, I promise."

"Then why is he still here?"

"Excuse me?"

"He looks well enough now, why is he still here?"

"Because.. because.."

"Because I asked if I could stay another night." Jack told him.

"What?"

"I was still feelin' sick this morning, so I asked if I could stay another night. I told her I'd pay her for it. Thanks for tryin' to save my pride Ms. Maria."

"Yeah, you know me." She agreed. It didn't sound right to her when Jack called her Ms. Maria, she didn't like it at all.

" Ana, I need to talk to you down in the shop."

"Okay."

She followed him out, only stopping to pick Thomas back up.

"Tell me the truth lass, lay it on me."

"What?"

"You've been my Shopkeeper for six months, you've been my Nanny that long too. If I can trust you with my only son, my only living family. You're going to have to tell me the truth lass, all of it."

"That is the truth."

"A pirate, one that's on the run from countless felonies saved your life?"

"Yes,"

"I don't buy it lass, not for one second. Now tell me the truth." He told her, the last sentence striking her like a whip.

"Jack Sparrow," She took a deep breath to keep the tears from falling. "Jack Sparrow is my ex-captain. We served on the same ship, I was the first mate."

"That's more like it. What else?"

"The ship was The Black Pearl."

" The last real Pirate threat in the Caribbean,"

"Yeah,"

"Well lass, this is what's going to happen."

"What?" She said inticapating the worst

"I'm not going to fire you."

Ana Maria visibly relaxed and exhaled slowly.

"Thank you sir,"

"But, if I found out that you've been lying to me again, or that pirate does anything to ruin my name, or do something that he shouldn't do like steal anything, I'm not going to have any other choice."

"I understand."

"Be careful who you stick your neck out for Ana, it can bite you in the ass,"

"I know."

She started back for the stairs after handing the still sleeping boy over to his father.

"And another thing lass. Thomas thinks the world of you, if he had to see you go it would break him. Please don't make me choose between what's right and my boy's happiness."

"I love him too sir, I'd never have you make that choice"

"As far as you bein' a Pirate, I'm the only one who knows" He paused for a minute so she could catch up. "and Ana, don't make me regret sticking my neck out for you."

"Yes sir,"

She ran back up the stairs and bolted into her room, close to tears. That was not how she wanted it to go. He wasn't supposed to find out that way, he wasn't supposed to find out she used to be a pirate. Her job and her home wasn't supposed to get threatened. Her future wasn't supposed to get threatened. The encounter shook her up more than she thought it would.

"Ana?" She heard Jack ask her in a concerned tone. "Ana, love what's the matter?"

Jack's concern was not helping her. All it did was remind her how much she'd hurt him by leaving him the way she did. The tears in her eyes were more than she could contain and she finally started audibly crying.

"Ana? Are you alright?"

She looked up at him in all of her shame. "I'm sorry Jack."

"Oh, Ana." He pulled her into a hug, all of his anger for her melting seeing her so pitiful. "Don't be sorry love, it's against the code."

"No it's not." She choked out.

"Well it is now."