"Really," reasoned Rose, "It's fine. I can bunk with the rest of the crew. If Anamaria can manage, so can I."

"Nonsense!" Jack scoffed. "No sister of mine will be turned away from a place in the Captain's quarters. If I didn't already have a First Mate, you'd be it!"

Rose smiled as she folded a sheet across her makeshift bed, the self-same sleeping arrangement she had had all those years ago.

"It was kind of you to keep Ben on," Rose said for about the fifth time that evening. She kept stating her gratitude just in case Jack had suddenly changed his mind.

"Mmm…" he hummed, still with a tone of skepticism. "We'll see how he does. I've got Gibbs keeping a close eye on that one. But if you say he's changed…"

"He has!" lied Rose. While Ben no longer wished ill upon Jack, his mind and physical health was still unsteady as a result of the hardships he had just endured. There was no doubt in her mind, however, that she could bring him back to normal. "He'll serve you well," she assured him.

Jack was reclining in a large chair, feet up on his desk. "It feels good to be back," he said with a smile.

"I should say the same for myself," said Rose, taking a seat upon her newly made bed. "It's been far too long!"

"Aye!"

Rose took a deep breath, then encroached upon the subject that had been keeping her so fearful for such a long time. "Jack?"

"Mmm?"

"Barbossa mutinied against you upon that deserted isle shortly upon leaving me with Tia Dalma, correct?"

"Indeed."

"And when did you escape it?"

"Three days later," said he. "Rumrunners can come in quite handy when they need to be." He suddenly sat up, "But if anyone asks, I was there for months!"

Rose smiled, but quickly returned to the subject at hand. "And…when you got off it, what did you do with the remaining ten years?"

Suddenly, Jack understood her meaning. "Ah…you wish to know why I didn't find a way to come back to the bayou and fetch you, eh?"

"In so many words, yes."

Jack stood and meandered towards her. "Truth is, love, I had made you a promise that the next time we'd see each other is right here, onboard the Pearl. And here we are! Promise fulfilled!"

Thanks in no small part to me, Rose couldn't help but think. She left these words unspoken, however. "So…you're saying that if I wasn't already aboard today, you would have made your way to the bayou to retrieve me?"

Jack paused, eyes darting from side to side, considering this before he replied. The silence was incredibly painful before he replied with what Rose considered to be a boldfaced lie, "Yes, of course!"

She decided to shake off her fears at this moment, however. What was done was done, and she was here now. Anything else didn't really matter…at least for the time being. "I could have helped you take her back, you know," she said to prove her worth. "Perhaps with more help, even in less time!"

"I don't doubt that, but it's better this way, methinks. And it wasn't too terrible in the bayou, was it?"

"No," Rose replied.

"And Angelica? How was living with that?"

"Tortuous, but what won't kill you makes you stronger," she reasoned. "Tia let us both leave at the same time. I lost contact with her as soon as I met up with Ben."

"Oh, I doubt I've seen the last of her," Jack said demurely. "If not in my nightmares, certainly to take whatever I possess as what she feels is justified revenge."

"On that thought," Rose questioned, "What about the Navy? They're certainly not going to let you just get away with your freedom."

"Certainly not! I may have left the Commodore bamboozled, but he'll soon enough recover and come at us full score. We'll be ready for him, though." He leaned closer to her, as though sharing a secret. "Improvisation, remember?"

Rose grinned. "So what's next for the great Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"And the infallible Rose Hexfury!" he announced. "I still like that name, by the way!"

"Well, now that you have the Pearl, we're utterly unstoppable!"

Jack stopped and gave a slight, uncomfortable sneer at this. "Well, actually, I don't really…"

Rose's expression fell. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"I owe someone quite a deal for it…"

Rose gave an exasperated sigh. "What man? How much?"

"Well I don't necessarily owe him money…nor is it a man, strictly speaking…"

"Jack… What have you done?"

"Well…remember the deal I made with Jones for the Pearl?"

"I recall a ridiculous tale you told to a frightened girl you were leaving behind on Tortuga…"

Jack took her by the shoulders, suddenly growing quite serious. "It was real. He's real. Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman are very real, very slimy, and very prompt with their deadlines."

Rose furrowed her brow. "What do you owe him?"

"Er…my soul?"

"JACK!" Rose exclaimed.

"BUT! But! I intend to circumvent the whole nasty confrontation entirely! There is a chest, and inside the chest is the root of Jones's power. And if I get that power… I'll live forever."

Rose was quiet for a time, and cast her eyes downwards, considering all this. Of course this reunion wouldn't be easy, how foolish to expect any less, she thought to herself. Jack was trying to peer into her eyes as if to better read her expression.

Finally, Rose returned his stare. "How do we go about finding that chest, then?"