Disclaimer: Pretty standard if you catch my drift. I, the author, am just borrowing these characters without permission, with all intentions of returning them. Nor do I own the lyrics to Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. So get off my case and go sue somebody else. I hear the doughnut shop is a good place to start. Pirates of the Caribbean ® All rights reserved, Disney 2002-03.

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Chapter Five- Losing the 'Us'

I never had schoolin' but he taught me well with his smooth southern style…

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So Jack stuck around after that, and every day for a solid month he visited me. I can't recall just how many hours we spent walking along the beach, or talking or just star gazing. We were together many times after the first, a fact that to this day remains the source of our relationship. True, I was only eighteen, he only twenty-four but to us, age was never a question. It's not such an attraction like his eyes and smile was.

He was quite the catch back then, and I kept on telling myself that there were a lot of women out there with their eye on him. I noticed a lot of them were jealous; a simple sneer when I wasn't looking told measures of feelings. My parents despised him and took every opportunity they could to run him into the ground, yet they remained silent in his presence.

He taught me so much about life and it's offers. We shared so many secrets and so much more. He told me of his ship, the Black Pearl, and beneath the new moon, he told me of his betrayal by his first mate, Barbossa. He shared his tale with me, his scars, sometimes his dreams. I told him of my past, of my family and relayed the tale of why the gypsies were condemned.

Those were the days, the memories I hold so dear, and yet- they too have now become dreams.

Jack and I were so different, but so alike. We both yearned for adventure, for the feeling of the sea beneath our feet and the wind in our hair. His tales of captaining enthralled me and I looked forward to every story I could get out of him. But some things were left hidden to himself only- promises were among those things.

One night he promised to take me onboard his ship with him when he once again was her captain, to whisk me away off my feet and take me far away on an adventure I'd not forget. It was a promise I held close, one that gave me the determination to go on day to day, and a promise that picked me up only to allow me to fall.

He never did keep his promise, I should have known. Should have seen the signs; he wasn't going to stay true to what he said, he was going to leave me. His ship meant so much to him and the sea would never give him up- not to a landlubber like myself. And then one day he came to me, that apologetic expression upon his face.

I was losing Jack and didn't even know it; we were losing the us…

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They walked arm in arm down the street catching the looks of several people as they passed; Ana held her chin high as Jack avoided their gazes, his own eyes concentrating on his boots. She did not know why, but for some reason it felt like he was hiding something from her today; he had been silent most of the day, an attitude which she knew was so unlike him.

She had asked earlier that morning what was bothering him, but he had swept the question aside and assured her all was fine, so Ana didn't press that matter. She figured he'd tell her when he was ready, same as he had done so often before.

"So what's on the schedule for this evening, love?" Jack asked breaking the silence.

Ana momentarily paused, her brow creased in concentration. "Well, the council is having a gathering tonight after sunset, I'm obligated to be there."

Jack watched her, a sly grin coming to his face as he asked, "Dancing?"

She laughed at him, taking his arm as they continued walking down the street, "Of course," she answered matter-of-factly. "I'd much rather dance than present the dancers."

"I'd rather you dance too," Jack added innocently.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Sure you would," she prompted. "Same goes for anything with two legs in a skirt."

"Not necessarily," he corrected. "The only legs in a skirt I want to be looking at, are yours."

She chuckled then, drawing him closer as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "What about you?" she questioned. "What are your plans?"

"Haven't got any to be honest," he answered, shielding his eyes from the sun as he tilted his head upward. "Figured I'd go see Gibbs, maybe get drunk or-"

"Or you could join me," Ana finished for him.

Jack looked down at her. "What of your parents, Ana? We both know they don't like me," he made a face. "Have you seen the looks they give me when I am around?"

"Oh don't be silly," Ana chided. "Of course they like you. They're just… well, being parents. C'mon Jack, give them a chance to get to know you."

He wrinkled his nose. "Haven't I?"

She playfully shoved him, "Not with that attitude you haven't. So will you?"

"We gonna meet afterward?" he asked hopefully, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Placing a finger under her chin, she pretended to think hard before answering him, "Only if you promise to come," she taunted.

He stared at her, his sun kissed face wrinkling. "Alright, alright, we have an accord. I'll go to your 'party' tonight-" he trailed off as she kissed him.

"And I'll show you my world," she quickly stated picking up where he left off.

Jack grinned as they started walking again, "I like your world, it's my kind of place."

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Night happened upon them and soon Ana was dragging Jack toward the center of the small town; even in the distance he could see the glow of a fire on the horizon and the sweet melody of fiddles and voices filled the air.

Ana pulled him through the crowded streets toward a small group standing in a circle at the fire's edge. She disappeared into the group of dancers and before he knew it, he had been separated from her as the meeting started. He yawned as the minute's drug by as an elder of the council spoke out about the dawning of a new era where their kind would be welcomed among the nobles and peasants alike.

He started to nod off when a loud cheer brought him to and he watched as several of the women began to dance around the fire and soon random people of the crowd joined them. Jack backed up through the mass of people trying to blend in or at least vanish from the sight of the one's rejoicing and enjoying the music. He spotted a familiar face in the crowd circling the fire, an expression of pure enjoyment in her eyes.

Ana danced alongside several others, her fingers holding the hem of her long skirt as she twirled about. He continued to watch her every move, much as he had done the first night he saw her. She was magnificent; such fluid movements as if she were one with the music.

As much as I am one with the sea, Jack thought sadly. He cocked his head to one side as he watched her spot him, a smile lighting up her face as she moved closer to him, a twinkle in her eye. She made her way to him where she stopped before him, a hand on her hip as she grabbed his arm, "Come dance with me, Sparrow," she suggested as she drug him out into the crowd.

Hours later, the dancing and singing were still going on, the fire slowly getting smaller as several people began to branch off gradually as others yet continued to dance. Ana and Jack had long since disappeared from the crowd, their absence never even being noticed.

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A/N: It's not long, I know and the next chapter, ultimately and probably the last chapter, will be even shorter I am afraid. Then perhaps I'll do a follow-up of this one- it all relies on how life goes and what reality has in store for us.

Also, review Thanks will be next chapter, so here's just a quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed already.

-J