As I warned you before, this story cannot take place on a day-by-day basis. It has now skipped forward to when the first movie occurs—with Elizabeth and Will fully grown. Considering Tortuga, I am using the historical Tortuga, meaning there is a French, English, and Dutch influence; it is technically considered "neutral" territory, though the tobacco plantation on it sends its revenue to France. On historical Tortuga there were at least two forts, one major plantation, the port/town of Cayona, and one Catholic mission. Also dialogue towards the end is taken directly from the movie.

1739, Tortuga

"Ye really mean to go after him then?" She polished off the last of her ale and swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. She didn't bother with proper etiquette; it didn't fit the place, and it didn't fit her, at least not anymore. She was dressed in trousers and a loose shirt, with her pistol and dagger secured to her sides under the Navy-issued coat she'd "relieved" from its deceased former owner. "Nothin' I say will dissuade ye?"

Her drinking partner fervently shook his head, causing his whole body to sway slightly, "There is nothing that will keep me from getting back what's mine. Not you, not the King's noble navy, and not a crew of mutinous pirates." He tilted his head to the side and leaned forward until his face, and his sickeningly sweet breath, was close to hers. "My quest now is no less noble than yours was when I first fished you out of the surf." His eyes took on a more malicious gleam. "We've been helpful to one another over the years, well mostly me with your quest for vengeance and etcetera, and now it's only right that you be helpful to mine. Savvy?"

"I savvy, Jack." Ashlynne pushed against his shoulder until he was properly seated across from her again. "I do hope ye remember that we havenae been ungrateful. In fact, I'd say that my bustin' ye outta the stocks around, what is it now, three times within the past ten years, has proved how grateful I am for yer help with my family."

"You can't count the last time as-"

"Oh yes I can Jack; e'en Hope helped on that one. Or were ye too inebriated at the time to remember her clumsy attempt to seduce the guard and pose as yer sister?" When Jack started smiling, his mind no doubt filling with the awkward images of her younger sister's attempt at seduction and the ensuing madness it had caused, she shook her head. "In any case, I just wanted to remind ye of all that before ye start makin' demands on me or my family."

Jack pressed a hand against his chest, "You would think me so heartless?" When she merely raised an eyebrow in response he smirked. "I suppose ten years has been long enough for you to understand me a wee bit better than most then."

"Indeed. Now what do ye want from me? Ye wouldnae have come here and told me about goin' after Barbossa unless ye wanted somethin' from me, so what is it? I donnae have a boat for ye to borrow, I donna have a crew to lend ye, and I cannae leave here myself without riskin' my family, so what I can I do for ye Jack?"

His eyes trailed from her face, down her neck, to her chest, his voice only slightly slurred now, "Ye have something I could use in my endeavor, something that would give me the advantage I need."

"I canna give ye the pendent Jack." Ashlynne sighed. "We've tried to get it off me almost every year since I put it on. The cursed thing willnae come off. No knife, shears, or metal will cut through this chain. I am nay about to let ye cut off my head just so ye can have an advantage either. No, I'm sorry Jack, there will have to be somethin' else that I can do to help ye."

There was a ruckus by the door of the tavern and they both looked up to find Parlan and Devlin arguing with a few sailors over a game of cards, her cousin complaining of foul play. Ashlynne winced. Tortuga was not the ideal place for any of them to live, not if they wanted to maintain some semblance of honor and integrity. However, they had little choice in the matter since the lot of them were fugitives of the British Empire, each with a large bounty on their heads.

After she'd managed to make it back to Scotland all those years before—only after she and Jack had been rescued by the rum runners—she'd ruined their chances for remaining in their ancestral home when she'd killed Ingram, as well as more than a few of his men. It had been in retaliation for not only his murder of her parents all those years before but also, since she'd been "late in returning," he'd killed both Brendan and Gamaliel, the latter only a few hours prior to her arrival. After the ensuing bloodbath, Devlin, Parlan, Hope, and herself, had had to fight their way out of the keep and out of England.

There were still Comyn men out that wanted their heads, as well as more than a few of their allied clan members; they would not have been a proper clan if they hadn't wanted vengeance as well, no matter that Ashlynne had merely paid a blood debt to Ingram and had been in her full clan rights. No part of Europe would have offered shelter for Ashylnne or the remnant of her family, as Comyn had had his hands in many pockets and spies in many places across the Continent. Tortuga had only seemed like the logical destination as it had been the last place she'd felt some semblance of safety—an odd thing living amidst cutthroats, greedy bastards, and harlots—and it was also the last place she'd seen Jack Sparrow.

He'd proved to be most useful in not only rescuing her from being shark bait after having been thrown overboard by Barbossa's men—though she had drowned in the process—but also in getting off the island, as well as forming introductions with some of the more connected locals in Tortuga. After some scheming and conniving, they'd managed to strike up a bargain with Sparrow. Devlin, Parlan, and herself would make sure to aid him while he was in Tortuga, providing accommodations and safety once their own lot was secured, as well as venture out to the closer colonies to rescue him if they heard of any trouble he might be in with the locals. In return, he had made sure to connect Devlin and Parlan with some of the more legitimate local fishermen and plantation workers and had helped Ashlynne find a suitable vocation for Hope—she volunteered at the rarely-used-for-religious-purposes mission/clinic. As for Ashlynne, she did repair work around the island—and there was much to be done since the inhabitants were so insistent upon destroying things almost immediately after they were built. It wasn't an easy life but at least they weren't on the lam anymore.

"Keep your ears open for any news regarding the Pearl and an eye open for sailors willing to be part of my crew." Jack's voice brought her back from her musings and her eyes refocused on his, for once, serious expression.

She raised her brows, "Yer so confidant?"

"Oh I'll be coming back here with a ship all right. You can rest assured I will." His eyes were playful and she couldn't even begin to image what sort of plan he had, or where he'd gotten the information.

There were so many things she still didn't understand about the pirate. He blew hot and cold, sane and insane, one minute about to double cross and the next fighting with honor. It was enough to make her head spin; almost worse than when she'd been involved with Norr-

"Well then, shall we drink to smooth sailin?" She interrupted her own thoughts and beamed at her "friend," if a pirate could be counted as such.

"Aye, lassie, let's." He grinned back and clanked his mug against hers.

Sometime later, Tortuga

She couldn't stop her jaw from dropping open. It was her cousin Devlin who used his finger to snap it shut that brought her out of her stupefaction. "He's back already? With a ship ye say?"

"Aye, that he is. Most resourceful, our cap'n Jack is." The man chuckled. "Why have I told you how he managed to steal the Interceptor out from under their noses?"

"Yes," Parlan groaned, "this would be the third time tonight if I didn't stop you now Gibbs."

Gibbs looked a little off put by Parlan's interruption, obviously not understanding that not everyone was as enthusiastic a supporter of Sparrow as he. Ashlynne couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. She'd seen the ship's arrival earlier that day and while she'd had an initial panic at seeing a Royal Navy ship making port she'd only been reassured later when she'd found Gibbs sitting at her kitchen table with Hope, Parlan, and Devlin, looking for all the world at home with her family.

"Cap'n Jack said you would have a list of eager recruits for us to choose from." Gibbs smiled over his mug. "Be that the truth?"

Ashlynne traded a look with Hope which only resulted in Hope's smothered giggle, "Well, I'll admit I didnae think Jack could get a ship here so fast so as of right now I only ken of perhaps five men that would be able and willin' to sign up with him."

"I see," Gibbs frowned, "well then that's no real bother. We'll just have to make a late run of the taverns and see what we can scrape up."

Ashlynne nodded, though she was less than eager to begin. The taverns of Tortuga were not her favorite place to frequent and the later it got in the evening the worse it become. She glanced at Devlin and he nodded. Hope was never to be left alone. It didn't matter that their cottage was situated higher up on the Mountain near the plantation and well away from the rowdiness of Cayona, they weren't about to let their guard down. For her part, Hope didn't seem to resent the extra precaution. She knew that she was no fighter like Ashlynne and so seemed resigned to the kid-glove treatment.

"Well let's get to it then. I'd like to get a few hours of sleep before the morning." Parlan stood and retrieved his pistol and scabbard.

"Aye." Gibbs unceremoniously downed the rest of his ale and stood, only slightly wobbly on his feet. Ashlynne had yet to see him fully sober.

They spent the rest of the night scouring the taverns and whore houses until Gibbs was satisfied with their list of recruits. Ashlynne had even managed to find an old "friend" of Jack's that would no doubt serve as a beneficial surprise for both parties, if either didn't kill the other first. She also managed to get a few hours of sleep before she met Gibbs and the rest of the potential crew on the dock near the Interceptor. Sparrow arrived with a young man close on his heels almost an hour later.

Ashlynne felt the years melt away in an instant. It didn't take much squinting to see, in this young man, the boy she'd witnessed fished out of the waters all those years before. She exchanged a look of surprise with Jack but he either didn't understand the source of her surprise or didn't take note of it. For his part, the now much older Will Turner, seemed none-the-wiser, though he wouldn't have recognized her in any case-she wasn't trying to disguise her sex anymore.

"Feast your eyes cap'n, all of them faithful eyes before the mast, every man worth his salt, and crazy to boot." Gibbs sounded more than proud as he, Jack, and Will examined the recruits in the bright morning sun.

Will looked less than impressed when he spoke up, "So this is your able bodied crew?"

Ashlynne covered her mouth to smother a laugh. Gibbs shot a glare in her direction but she merely shrugged in response. Most of the recruits here had been his choice to make and no amount of discussion the night before could have convinced him that perhaps some of the recruits were less than desirable.

"You sailor." Jack stopped before the mute.

"Cotton sir."

"Mister Cotton, do you have the courage and fortitude to stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Jack looked firm and Ashlynne again marveled at all the layers Sparrow seemed to have. "Mister Cotton, answer me."

"He's a mute sir," Ashlynne finally spoke up.

Gibbs nodded in agreement, "Had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him; haven't yet figured how."

Jack looked over to Ashlynne in surprise and she again shrugged. Will also glanced over his shoulder at her, seeming to have noticed her for the first time. She couldn't help but shiver as the image of him as a mere boy floated over his adult face for a few moments. They maintained eye contact for a moment longer than was necessary; he broke eye contact first.

"Mister Cotton's parrot." Jack spoke up again. "Same question."

"Arr, wind in yer sails, wind in yer sails." The parrot surprisingly didn't curse, disappointing Ashlynne as usually he had a colorful repertoire of euphemisms.

"Mostly we figure that means yes." Gibbs offered

"Of course it does." Jack nodded, mostly to himself, before he turned towards Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well you've proved they're mad." Ashlynne chuckled, not bothering to hide it, and earned a conspiratory gleam from Will.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

Oh yes, Jack's "surprise." Ashlynne shifted on her feet in order to see around Gibbs, not wanting to miss a moment of whatever would happen next. Jack grew very still for a moment before he carefully picked his way across the dock. It was with overly cautious movements that he removed the cap and even from her distance, Ashlynne could see him gulp when he recognized the woman before him.

"Anamaria."

It took only a moment but soon enough Jack's head twisted violently to the side after a resounding slap from Anamaria assaulted him. Will didn't look surprised by the action and merely smirked down at Jack. Ashlynne covered her mouth to smother her mirth.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" He sounded as if he'd witnessed a similar moment previous and Ashlynne had to wonder just where Jack had taken him the night before.

"No, that one I deserved."

Ashlynne laughed out loud at this and could barely stop laughing all the way up to the moment they finally set sail. Jack had tried to convince her that her presence was needed, what with her "added advantage" and all, but she'd politely declined and instead stood on the dock and waved them off. It had been through Gibbs that she'd learned of some of the particulars of Jack's plan—Will's connection to a cursed treasure of sorts, a kidnapping of Miss Swann by Barbossa, Will's lack of knowledge of this connection, and Commodore Norrington's imminent pursuit—and from there the details got sketchy or Ashlynne had purposefully stopped listening. She felt keenly that Jack wouldn't decisively bring about Will's demise, though some harm would most likely befall the lad before this quest was over, and so she felt no real need to get involved.

In fact, if Norrington was still in the "picture," she had every desire to have nothing to do with the lot of them.