A/N: Hello! :)

Here comes chapter 10… by the way, I don´t believe any of you have found the „easter egg" yet, it´s hard, but the first person to find it is very clever ;)

Disclaimer: I don´t own PotC, although Chrissy, Alayna and Arthur and his crew are mine.

Port Royal

„Alayna?" Elizabeth called upstairs in concern, because she had heard the 16-year-old girl from the future cry for help, but it was followed by young Henry´s giggling.

„I caught you, now you can´t get away! Hey, I have an idea!" Henry suddenly sqealed, holding up a pirate´s hat. Alayna grinned, trying to hide her exhaustion and gestured for the boy to continue.

„I am Captain Jack Sparrow and you´re his wife from spain. Angelica Sparrow." Alayna laughed. „Sure, sounds like fun…- wait, WHAT?! ELIZABETH?!"

Upon hearing her name called, Elizabeth jogged upstairs and stood by the door. Alayna was tied up against a chair, Henry knealing in front of her with a toy-boat in his arms.

„Have I missed something? Jack and Angelica are married? Since when? Really? How does he even know of those two trouble-maker pirates?" Alayna asked, bombading Elizabeth with questions.

Elizabeth chuckled. „Sorry to disappoint you, but they´re not married, Henry just says so. I don´t even know the woman personally, I´ve told Henry about my adventures with Jack and how he stole a ring from the goddess Calypso herself. He asked me why he stole a goddess´s ring and I said that I overheard him tell Gibbs that that ring used to belong to Angelica, a mysterious woman from Spain and he planned on giving it back to her."

„Oh." Alayna was truly diappointed. Elizabeth decided to change the subject and clasped her hands together. „Now. Do you two want to head off to the forest and get some mushrooms for dinner? Henry, I trust you´ll teach her which ones one can eat." Henry nodded eagerly and untied Alayna, who sighed in relief. Finally, she was free. She felt like a sparrow, free to fly over the seven seas of the world…

Shipwreck Cove

It was late at night. Everyone was asleep, except Jack and Teague. Father and son just sat at the table, no more than three candles lighting up the room slightly, not talking.

Just sitting.

And thinking.

„Jackie?" Teague broke the silence. Jack grunted in response.

„How are things going with Miss Angelica?" Jack rolled his eyes. Of course he had to ask that, of all questions.

„Nothing´s going on, dad. We´re just like you ´n´ me. Somehow conneted, but not at all close. She´s so… distant. Dunno how to get through to her, to be honest. She´s got that wall around herself, ye can´t easily get through." Jack thought intentely about what he had just confessed. It was true, though.

„Jackie, don´t deny yer feelings towards her to me. But if ye really don´t want to lose her again, I´d suggest being… nicer? You know, treat her like she deserves to be treated. When are ye gonna make her your lass, Jackie? I know ye still have that ring." Teague said and nodded towards Jack´s pocket.

„I already told ye. That ring is not an engagement ring. I bought it for her in St. Dominique. And I´m saving it for the opportune moment, which is definitely not now." Jack answered, trying to end the conversation, but Teague continued to speak.

„She´s the one. She´s the one, Jackie, and ye know it. Ye won´t ever get another woman!"Teague was really annoyed by Jack´s stubbornness, so he shouted, forgetting Gibbs and Angelica were asleep upstairs.

Jack banged his fist on the table in response. „I DON`T WANT ANOTHER WOMAN, DAD!" Jack was fed up with Teague always bringing Angelica into everything and how he always tried to get that father-to-son-talk and how he constantly tried to help Jack with his relationship-problems.

Angelica woke up to hear Teague getting worked up over something. She listened intentely. „Ye won´t ever get another woman!" Angelica rolled her eyes. That was just Teague. The conversation was about herself again.

The next words, Jack´s reply, made her freeze and then smile uncontrollably. „I DON´T WANT ANOTHER WOMAN!"

Teague was quiet. Jack was too. He had said too much. He needed to get back his „couldn´t-care-less-attitude", so he quickly added: „Not like her. I mean, Scarlett and Giselle and Anamaria and Rosalie and Naomie and all of them from Tortuga, they´re different. I just meant not someone like her, someone I have a past and could -theoretically- have a future with, not that I want a future with her, I´m happy if I don´t have one… on the other hand, if I have a future with her, it means she hasn´t killed me yet and…"

Teague sighed. Jack was rambling and rambling and rambling. He often did that when he wanted to bring his attention to another subject.

Angelica sat on the top stair of the wooden stairs and leaned her head against the wood. That was when she realized it.

She loved him.

And she realized that she was lieing to herself. She was lieing about having to make sure Blackbeard didn´t kill him and therefore accompanying him. She just wanted to be near him.

She felt her fingertips touch her soft lips. She smiled. She remembered how Jack had comforted her in the bathroom and how he had kissed her… and how Gibbs had interrupted.

What was she going to do? She couldn´t tell Jack how much he meant to her, she still wanted to keep the facade of her strong, independant self that was done with him. But what about him? Did he still feel something?

Earlier that day, Port Royal

„This is it." Henry announced and pointed proudly at a big forest in front of him and Alayna. They were supposed to get mushrooms for dinner. Alayna smiled and entered the forest with Henry. „And you´ll tell me which ones are fine to eat, okay?" She made sure. Henry nodded eagerly.

He sprinted towards a small clearing. „THERE, LOOK!" he cried excitedly and Alayna chased after him, laughing. Henry was such a cute child.

„These you can eat. Those are poisonous. Got it?" Henry explained while pointing to two different mushrooms. „Yes." Alayna nodded and started to walk around the clearing, trying to find more mushrooms, but there were none.

Henry noticed this too. „There was a sailor here once, you know. In mommy´s house, when I was four, I think. He loved this forest and he had come to my mum because it was raining outside – for shelter. Anyway, this man told me that there were a lot of nice mushrooms on the other side of the river. We could go there, Alayna." Henry suggested.

„How do you get to the other side of the river?" Alayna asked while the two were hiking through the forest to the river. „There´s a bridge." Henry said at the moment they arrived at the river. There was indeed a bridge… or what used to be one. And it wasn´t just over a river. It was a pretty long drop down until you even reached the water.

„Umm… Henry, let´s go back, this isn´t safe." Alayna suggested and grabbed Henry´s sleeve to pull him away from the high cliff. But Henry insisted on going and stepped onto the first wooden plank of the bridge.

Confidently, he jumped over holes and always reached the next plank safely. Alayna quickly hurried after him. „Henry, no! Come on, this is not safe!" She pleaded, but couldn´t reach the boy because of a big gap in between two planks. Kids could be so stubborn!

Finally, Henry gave in and tried to jump over the hole again – and slipped. He screamed and dropped the basket full of mushrooms.

„HENRY!" Alayna bellowed, fear in her eyes. He was only holding on to a piece of rope and it was too far down for Alayna to reach.

„TAKE MY HAND! HENRY, LISTEN TO ME! DON´T YOU LET GO!"

Henry was crying. He reached out for Alayna´s hand, but couldn´t reach it. Alayna held on firmly to the bridge and leaned down further.

Henry could take her hand now, and so he did. Alayna pulld him up with all her strength and then carried him back to safe land, where she put him down.

She and the boy were breathing heavily as they stood there.

„What will we eat for dinner?" Henry asked Alayna. He was disappointed that he´d dropped the mushrooms. Alayna sat down, breathing heavily. „I´m sure we´ll find something. Come, Henry, let´s go home." She answered and took his hand.

They had only walked two steps, when Henry stopped to say: „Alayna? Thank you."

Alayna smiled at him. She couldn´t even imagine what could have happened today, had she not been able to reach him.

R&R, as always :)