I must give my most profuse apologies to my readers. I have been busy with school (essays galore, I bet your glad you're not me) and all that jazz and I have not had the time to update. However, I gave myself a boot up the arse and updated when I finshed my art folio!

I hope you enjoy it!

As always I ask you to review. I just hope I haven't lost some of you because of my long absence (sobs uncontrollably)

Chapter 10-The great escape

Jack grumbled deep in his throat and guzzled his rum down; he was most certainly not having a good time, apart from the rum; that was his only comfort.

He was watching Louisa with narrowed eyes as she played Rummy with his crew. She was winning obviously.

He had envisioned a night of unadulterated passion but she just stood up and dragged him over to the card table. After he refused to join in their game she had called him a grumpy old pirate, in front of his crew no less!

Louisa grinned at the crew making them extremely uneasy.

"I do believe that's one, two, three aaand four of hearts and a Jack, a Queen and a King, gents!" chirped Louisa, setting down her cards with a flourish.

The crew grumbled and threw their money sullenly on the table.

Louisa licked her lips and swept it all towards Jack's money pouch.

She stood up quickly, pushing her chair back across the grotty wooden floor.

"'Fraid I'm out here, mates."

"Are ya sure, lass?" asked Peg Leg Pete "Yer on a roll that be certain."

Louisa laughed and glanced back towards Jack who was pouting up a maelstrom.

"No, I think it be best if I leave it at that. Don't want to lose all of this now, do I?" she said patting the money back maternally.

"Aye, I suppose. Be seeing ya, lass!"

The crew waved goodbye to Louisa as she walked over to Jack.

Jack jumped as something heavy crashed on to the bar beside him.

"Here be yer money, you can stop all that pouting now."

Louisa sank down onto a seat and grinned at Jack as he picked up the money pouch and shook it.

"Seems about right" he said

"So…" said Louisa

"So, what?" asked Jack

"Aren't you goin' to buy me a congratulatory rum for getting' all that money back?"

Jack laughed loudly.

"No." he said after calming down

"Well, can I have some of yours?" asked Louisa hopefully

Jack pulled his rum close to his chest as though it were his first-born.

"Even more no." he said

Louisa sighed and rested her head on his shoulder

"Fine" she yawned

Jack looked down at her and placed his arm around her waist.

"Tired, love?"

He was answered with a snore.

"I'll take that as a yes then, shall I?"

Jack set down his now empty mug of rum and lifted Louisa from her seat to carry her bridal style.

The barman looked at him suspiciously as he carried the unconscious young woman upstairs but did not say a word.

Jack shook his head and grumbled.

As though he would take advantage her! He would never have to, all he usually had to do was spread word that he was back in port and he had dozens of girls floating about after him.

Louisa snorted softly and cuddled in closer to his chest. Jack smiled down at her affectionately but then shook his head and stared straight ahead.

Jack doubted his ability to let Louisa go after this curse was lifted with every passing day they were together.

This was a new emotion he was grappling with.

He was a loyal man who was a good(ish) friend to his crew but he had never truly loved anyone before.

When he had thought her in danger with Ballesteros he had been murderous. He wasn't sure if he wanted to experience that every day after she left him to carry on with her life.

Jack kicked open the room door and went to lay her down on the bed.

Then he stopped; those sheets were disgusting. He sat her down while he slipped his coat off and laid her on top of that instead.

He lay down beside her and pushed her hair out of her face.

That was his next problem; would she want to stay with him? Did she feel like she could put up with a, as she called him, "grumpy old pirate"?

The word old stuck out to Jack like a whore at a ball.

He sighed and lay his head down. He would never be too old, plus, he still looked better than men half his age.

With that thought Jack drifted into the comforting dark of sleep.

Louisa sat up and stretched her arms. She jumped as she felt her arm fall on something soft. She looked down and saw Jack snoring on the bed.

Louisa smiled and felt his coat underneath her.

Louisa stood from the bed and felt Jack's arm slide from around her waist.

She looked over at him and frowned.

Her feelings were incredibly complicated with him.

Her mother had always told her:

"When you find the man you truly love you'll have no doubt whatsoever, darlin'"

Louisa smiled sadly just thinking about her mother's voice and her rather usless advice.

She had died years ago from whooping cough but Louisa liked to remember her before the illness; laughing and full of life.

She wasn't sure what she would do when she would have to leave Jack. After the curse was broken he surely wouldn't want to stay with her.

She searched every inch of Jack face and seemed to decide upon something. She was hardly a coward and this was of the utmost importance to her.

Louisa reached forward and shook Jack's arm.

He grumbled, rolled over and opened his eyes.

He stared at her blearily for a second before sitting up.

"Mornin', love" he said tiredly.

Louisa crawled up the bed towards him and sat directly in front of him, so that they were face to face.

"Jack, I've been thinking." said Louisa, nervously playing with the filthy bed sheet.

Jack's face turned tense

"What about?"

"Well, you see, I've been thinking about you and me an-"

Louisa was cut off as the door burst open to reveal a very haggard looking Gibbs.

Jack stared at Gibbs for a moment before standing up.

"Well, go on. What is it man?" prompted Jack

Gibbs held up his hand and leaned on his knees, wheezing. He had clearly run here.

"It be..Cap- Captain Ballesteros, sir. He-here in….in port."

Louisa leapt from the filthy bed and ran to the window. They had a good view of the docks from their room.

Sure enough she could see the mahogany ship flying the Spanish flag.

"They've been asking around about the lass there, Cap'n."

Jack glanced anxiously at Louisa's horrified face before turning back to Gibbs.

"Gather the men" he said urgently "Ready the sails. We have some running to do."

Gibbs did an awkward kind of salute and stumbled from the room.

Jack twisted to face Louisa and grabbed her hand, pulling her forcefully out the door.

"Love, I would usually in circumstances such as these be sympathetic to a lady like yourself but we have no bloody time so hurry yourself up!"

Louisa let Jack pull her onto the balcony overlooking the main tavern area.

Jack grunted in annoyance as he saw two robust men enter the tavern. It was clear they were from Ballestero's crew.

One man looked up to the balcony just as Jack pulled Louisa back into the room and punched his companion on the shoulder, pointing up towards the rooms.

Jack shut the door and leapt over to the chest of drawers in the corner. With Louisa's help he managed to block the door.

It was not much but in this hurried situation it was going to have to do.

Jack looked around desperately as they heard thundering footsteps coming up the creaky wooden stairs.

Louisa secretly hoped the men were so big they would break the stairs but her hopes were shattered when she heard huge hands hammering on the door.

Louisa ran to the bed and pulled up the sheets.

"Love, really, I want to but in case you haven't noticed, now is not the best time." said Jack

Louisa ignored him and tied the two sets of sheets together to create a makeshift rope. She made sure she tied the rope with the devil's tongue knot Gibbs had taught her; the last thing they needed was to break their necks.

Jack watched as Louisa tied the bedclothes to the handle of the shutters on the window.

"Clever." muttered Jack as Louisa beckoned him over.

"This should hold as we go down, but just in case it breaks when one of us gets down, I'll go first." Said Louisa, staring down at the ground. It had seemed so much close earlier.

"So, let me rephrase that for you. You go down first and if the rope breaks you scarper off and leave me to fight the two Spanish beasts out there."

Louisa nodded and put one leg over the windowsill.

"It's not all that difficult to understand, is it?"

And with that she grabbed the rope and jumped from the window.

Jack watched as she landed lightly on her feet and threw the rope back up to him.

"Looks like you'll live to fight another day, eh Jack?"

Jack rolled his eyes.

"You're just lucky they make these sheets with strong cloth, love."

Jack landed with a heavy thud and grabbed Louisa's hand, hauling her towards the sidewall of the tavern.

They were a small distance away from the docks but it was a large enough distance that they could easily be spotted, especially since it was daylight. They needed some sort of disguise.

Jack ducked down and pulled Louisa into the seamstress next door to the hotel.

Louisa smiled when she saw all the dresses inside.

"Oh." She gasped as she found a particularly nice green one sitting on a wooden chest.

Jack rolled his eyes and rung the bell for service.

Louisa looked up as a jolly looking woman came from the back of the shop.

"Yes" she rasped in a deep voice. "Can I be helpin' ye with somethin'?"

"We need clothes." said Jack

"Well, what kind of clothes are you after?" asked the woman

Jack threw his hands up in the air and cried out in exasperation. Tense situations did not work with him, particularly if getting caught involved meeting an old "friend".

"Let her decide" he said pointing to Louisa

Louisa smiled and quickly pulled out the green dress, a corset and some shoes for herself and a long, white wig, black breeches, blue coat with brigade and feathered hat for Jack.

"How does a rich couple sound to you?"

Jack stared at the white wig as though it had just burst into the chorus of "A pirate's life for me."

Jack pulled at his rich coat uncomfortably as he walked arm in arm with Louisa towards the docks.

He had always hated rich clothes…and wigs. The white wig he was wearing felt like a dead rat.

Louisa was walking happily along, however, lifting her skirt slightly so as to not get it dirty.

"You enjoy nice clothes too much, love."

"I just take pride in my appearance sometimes, Jack. I'm only a woman, you know.

"Oh, I know alright, love."

Louisa detached herself from Jack when they reached the docks and climbed into the rowboat that was waiting for them.

Louisa had thought they were for it earlier when one of Ballestero's crew spotted them but it was just the young cabin boy who had saved her last time.

Louisa had smiled and waved to him but she couldn't help but notice he had a large gouge under his left eye and he walked with a slight limp.

She wondered if that was his punishment for letting her get away.

Louisa shuddered as she imagined being on that ship. It must have been horrible.

Jack hopped into the boat and tore his wig from his head.

"We made, love!"

Louisa smiled, still thinking of the cabin boy, and nodded.

"Some of your plans work after all, Jack."

Then Louisa realised something.

"We didn't pay for that room in the tavern, Jack."

Jack grinned and pulled the oars back.

"I know, but i'll let you decide if i plan it or make it all up as i go along."

Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Please review because when i beg it is not a pretty sight.

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