You asked for it, ladies! Here it is!

And I hope that we can break it down so it's not so black and white -this is the last stop.

Dave Matthews – The Last Stop

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Janetta crawls out of bed, her bedmate too drunk to even grunt and remember his own name. She puts her dress back on in the darkness of the room, walks back to the bed, and begins pilfering through the man's pockets like a common thief. She finds a roaring 12 shillings and a diamond ring, the money she puts into her purse hidden between her breasts and the ring on her finger. Without a look over her shoulder, Janetta leaves the room and goes back out onto the floor, grabbing a tray of tankards off the table by the bar.

"Table three, Atlantica!" calls Magee, the barkeep. Nodding, Janetta weaves her way through the mass of men and women to the card table by the fireplace.

"Here ye are, lads," she says, handing out the tankards to the men. Janetta starts when a hand is placed on the small of her back. A man sits down by her standing form, taking a pint for himself. Before leaving, the man smirks at her.

"Evenin' Atlantica."

Janetta glances down at the man's arms, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A tattoo of a blue sparrow is dimly outlined in the dull firelight.

"Atlantica!" someone shouts. The secretly smiling woman walks away to find Sadie.

"Angelique!"

Sadie turns around at the call of her 'name' to see Janetta approaching, a wide smile on her face. It had been a week since anything good had happened for Sadie, so she was curious as to Janetta's smile. Her friend grabs her hand.

"Sparrow's back!" she says excitedly, tugging on Sadie's arm. Sadie, having no conquests as of yet, follows. Janetta points over at the card table by the fireplace. A vaguely familiar hat appears between the shifting forms of strumpets. Sadie nods and begins to walk. As Janetta had trained her, she walks around instead of directly, a way to gain attention and interest from a buyer. Sadie glances over her shoulder at the table, but still all she sees is the hat. She turns her head, the red feathers in her hair fluttering gently in the midst of all her hair. Around Sadie's neck and shoulders is a wide black feather boa, and a black lace dress with a black shift adds to the allure like a dark princess.

Jack looks up when he senses someone looking at him. He sees the bare back of a lithe woman dressed in black lace, a boa around her neck and red feathers in her hair. Jack smiles and goes back to his cards. He hears footsteps nearby, and out of the corner of his lowered eye he sees the edge of the boa and the dress. With a smirk, he reaches his arm out to grab the mysterious woman, temporarily forgetting his actual purpose for being there. But as he swipes, all he feels is air. Looking up, the woman is in the arms of some unsavory creature, her back still to him. But the captain senses her unease as the man whispers something in her ear. Jack goes to stand and help (being such a generous man), when the woman reaches up and backhands the man herself. Jack would have smiled had his eyes not come to rest upon the ring on her left index finger: his ring that he gave to Sadie 10 years ago. Still looking up from his chair, Jack watches as the woman turns around. The pirate's blood goes cold, his eyes widening. He wanted to not believe it, but it couldn't be mistaken.

Standing before him was in fact Sattelle de Pearl.

Sadie looks down at the pirate staring at her. She finds him exotic, but he couldn't be the Jack she knew. Sadie goes to walk away when a hand grabs her wrist. She turns around to tell the person off as her patience was wearing extremely thin, only to see the pirate looking right past her eyes and into her soul, making her feel unbearably exposed like never before.

"Can I help you?" she asks, not meaning it at all. The man opens his mouth to speak, the glint of gold teeth shining out underneath a mustache and beard and goatee. Eyes lined heavily with kohl, the man looks…questionable. She flinches as he raises his hand quickly. She closes her eyes, ready for a strike. Instead, she feels cloth on her eyelids. She opens them again, and the man proceeds to wipe away the red paint on her lips. After regaining her sense, she smacks his hand away.

"What are you doing?" she snaps. The man steps closer to her, and Sadie swallows hard.

"Sadie?" he whispers. Sadie glares at him, desperate to get away to bed.

"My name is Angelique," she states, trying to get away. The man grasps her hand and keeps her from leaving.

"Sadie it's me," says the rogue, taking off his hat and putting her palm on the red headscarf. Sadie's heart skips a beat. "It's Mr. Jack," the man finishes quietly. Sadie looks into his eyes, trying to see. Foggy memories return, and she sees him. A rush of guilt washes over the young woman, tears pricking the back of her eyes. She wrenches herself out of the man's grip and runs off towards the door, the pirate following while trying to get through the crowd. As Sadie makes it towards the beach, hair no longer done up and riddled with feathers, the man is hot on her heels. When he finally catches up to her, he grabs her by the wrist, gently whirling her around. Sadie falls against his chest, her body overcomes with sobs.

"Oh god, Mr. Jack…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Slightly unaccustomed to such a situation, Jack awkwardly puts his arms around her quivering body.

"No need te cry, eh love?" he says. Sadie pushes herself away, shaking her head and facing the ocean.

"I'm a terrible person, Mr. Jack. After what you did for me, I've gone and become a whore…"

Jack smiles, putting a hand on the side of her neck, willing her to turn back around. She does so, looking up at him shyly.

"You look so different," she mutters, wrapping her arms around herself. Jack smirks, moving a lock of hair away from her face.

"Yer not exactly the little lass I said farewell te either, love," he says. Sadie nods, dropping the boa to the ground.

"You must be disappointed in me."

Jack shakes his head, his hand gracing the side of her perfect swan neck again.

"Yer tryin' te survive. Though I give ye credit fer bein' so elusive."

Sadie looks confused.

"What do you mean?"

Jack motions for her to sit down on the sand of the beach, and she joins him. Jack goes to put an arm around her shoulders, but he notices her flinch. Pulling back, he opts for a handful of sand, letting it sift through his fingers.

"I went te Marseille te find ye, but the midwife was gone. Then I found yer governess house place an' asked around for ye. Nearly got molested by a lass named Caldonia."

Sadie lets out a chiming laugh, nodding her head.
"Caldonia will bugger anything on two legs and male anatomy."

Jack looks at Sadie, leaning back in surprise at her comment. Sadie blushes.

"Janetta told me that one," she whispers to the ground, tucking her chin between her knees. Jack smiles, taking a moment to look her over in the most modest way possible. Somewhere in the woman he saw now still lingered the little girl he knew then. Where a cute button nose once existed now poised an elegant, straight nose aligned with soft, angelic eyes, still the same startling blue. She had gone beyond rosy cheeks and now owned high cheekbones and soft skin, milky white in the light of the moon. Her hair had grown lighter, long enough to frame the soft curves of her body.

Jack clears his throat, picking up another handful of sand.

"Looks like we've both changed, eh? We had the time."

Sadie nods, smiling. She looks at Jack for a moment.
"You most of all, Mr. Jack."

Jack blinks.
"Me? Now, are ye sayin' that in a good way or bad?"
Sadie smiles.
"In a good way, Mr. Jack."

The pirate smiles and stretches out on the sand, putting his hand over Sadie's.

"Sadie, I'm gonna repeat meself."

The young woman looks down at the pirate, still amazed by his physical change. From the teeth, the kohl, the facial hair and dreadlocks and jewelry, Mr. Jack had changed to become Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Go on," she says.

"How'd ye like te run away…again? I got me ship back."

Sadie hesitates. Did she want to run away with Jack again? She looks out to sea, playing with the ends of her hair. Slowly, she nods.

"Just let me say goodbye to Janetta?"

Jack nods, standing up. He takes Sadie's hand and lifts her onto her feet. The ocean creates a moonlit backdrop for them as a look passes between the two, Jack looking down into the young girl's eyes. Sadie looks away for a moment, uncomfortable as to the situation. She begins to walk back up the beach to the tavern in town, Jack following a few steps behind, replacing his hat onto his head.

- - -

Happy? I am! Enjoy! Rachel