Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't really wish to own it- so don't assume I do.

(Quick Note from the Author: This is a sequel to Joy of the Hunt- but it can be read as an individual story, should you happen upon it. But if you care to know what exactly some of the things mean mentioned here, I'd suggest you'd read its leader.)

The Ties That Bind

By: J.L. Dexter

Rating: PG

Summary: Sequel to Joy of the Hunt. Months after their fierce battle, Jack and Anamaria find themselves in the most awkward of discussions dealing with their past, their present and their future.

Morning couldn't have come sooner for an exhausted Anamaria, who was slumped over in a chair in Jack's cabin. Several times during the night Jack had woken and tried to leave the cabin on the false excuse of needing to steer his ship because they were off course.

Anamaria would spend the next half-hour afterwards convincing Jack that they were either on course, docked in Tortuga or that he was too drunk to do anything. Jack had insisted that he be let out of his cabin because he had things to do. When Anamaria asked him what kind of things he needed to do three o'clock in the morning, Jack had given up and pouted until he fell asleep once again.

Some odd three hours after that, Anamaria had woken to the sound of Jack falling over into the floor, his hind end sticking in the air like a monument. She had managed to control her laughter long enough to ask him what he was doing to which he promptly replied, "I'm goin' to check on Will and his lass to see how they're doin' their first night together."

Anamaria rolled her eyes and told him that he was dreaming because they had left Will and Elizabeth in Port Royal months ago. She helped him up and led him back to his bed, but Jack simply refused. Anamaria told him he was drunk, too drunk to even be up and Jack had protested. The pirate captain had put up a wonderful fight; that is until Anamaria had had enough and quickly put an end to it using her fist.

Now as the sun peeked through the poorly shaded windows of Jack's cabin, Anamaria woke to find her captain entangled in the bed sheets, snoring. Crossing the room, she leaned over him and tapped his shoulder in hopes of waking him. Jack stirred and rolled over, taking Anamaria's arm with him. Caught by surprise, Anamaria stumbled and soon found herself lying on her back on top of Jack.

Well, she thought sarcastically. This certainly is one way to start your day.

She tried to pry her arm free from Jack's grasp only to find he had a vise like grip on her that refused to loosen. Anamaria huffed with frustration as she drummed the fingers of her free hand on Jack's leg. She wriggled her caught hand in hopes of squeezing out of Jack's grip but stopped as her fingers traced something jagged in their hold.

Anamaria turned to look up at Jack. In the morning rays, she could make out a discolored line upon the man's cheek. Anamaria traced the scar that Jack had acquired- a token of Flood's hatred. She had known he bore it, but she had never seen it look so rugged before. Perhaps it's just the light and the angle in which the sun is catching it, she told herself as she ran her finger the length of the cicatrix.

She could remember, in her own state of recovery, watching him in his. Jack always covered his pain, never letting it show through. But Anamaria had seen it. She had seen Jack hurting but he was so concerned for her own wellbeing he neglected his. Anamaria recalled the injuries he had sustained during her absence, and they were so much worse than he was letting on. It came down to that once Anamaria was able to handle her own, she forced Jack to stop standing over her and to tend to himself.

When the stubborn man had refused, Anamaria took it upon herself to see to his recuperation, something in which, Jack had protested against but never complained about. His arm after having been seen to by Norrington's men was healing nicely but Jack's numerous cuts had become infected. Because Jack was so adamant on running his ship, he wasn't allowing the wounds to heal and therefore he kept reopening them to the point where Anamaria gave up and stitched them closed when he'd been three sheets to the wind.

It had been several months and Jack was back to his eccentric self with nothing but scars, reminders of his fight for freedom and survival, reminders that Anamaria teasingly referred to as his war wounds.

Jack didn't pay the scars any mind and simply shrugged them off by saying they were nothing but signs; each with a silent story of its own if one looked closely enough. Freedom comes with a price, Anamaria remembered her captain saying. 'The scars are the price of victory,' Jack had said.

That may be true, Anamaria thought. But he has more scars not from battles more than any thing. Betrayed by his crew, loosing his ship and a close friend, barely escaping with his life- and now this. Not to mention the hell I've put him through, something he doesn't deserve, as much I'd like to think.

She tilted her head and frowned. He seemed so sincere yesterday- and what if what that whore said was true? Is he even capable of doing something like that? Maybe I should-

Slight movement caused her to look up and smile. Anamaria shifted her position to where she was lying upright able to stare at Jack at eye level. Reaching over, Anamaria tangled her fingers in the pirate captain's hair as she murmured, "Ye suffered so much, Jack."

"Pirate."

Anamaria rolled her eyes. "Pirate or not, ye have gone through so much. More than ye should have had too." She stared at the man beside her. Jack stared back.

Feeling the uncomfortable silence, Jack spoke up, "Well this certainly is amusin'. The one time I don't beg a woman to sleep with me, I find one in my bed, beside me. I think I can get used to this."

"You're such a rogue!" Anamaria chirped as she finally tugged her hand free.

Jack smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Ah, admit it, ye like it."

Anamaria looked bemused rendering, "Ye don't." from Jack to which she replied, "No, I do."

It was Jack's turn to look bemused at her answer, his brow furrowed in thought as he ran a hand through her hair. Jack pushed himself up on an elbow as he draped an arm over the woman beside him, blocking her escape. "Ana… what's happened to us?"

Anamaria stared at him for the longest time before closing her eyes. "There is no us, Jack," she whispered as she slid under his arm and off the side of the bed. She headed for the door when Jack gently grasped her by the arm stopping her retreat.

"Ana, don't walk away from me," Jack said sternly. "At first, ye turned me down because ye thought ye were sick and not goin' to make it. And I didn't say anythin' about it, only 'cause I wasn't sure of what was goin' to happen."

He paused as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "And where are ye now? It's been two months Anamaria, and ye have ignored me like I'm a plague. Ye can't even tell me why. But I'd like to know."

Anamaria swallowed hard as her breath caught in her throat. "Tell me why, Ana. Look me in the eye and tell me that nothin' ye feel matters. Tell me why ye are goin' to just throw it all away."

Jack waited, his eyes roaming the back of her head expecting her to answer. She never did. He let her go and turned from her, the anger and sadness rising visibly in his dark eyes. "So that's it then. Just like that-"

"Don't ye dare!" Anamaria hissed as she spun around. "Ye can't stand there and blame me for any of this, Jack Sparrow. The problem is, I was never the problem to begin with."

The pirate captain turned and stared at her. "Are ye sayin' that I was?"

"If the boot fits," Anamaria accused.

Jack's eyes widened at the accusation. "I beg your pardon, but I don't see where the problem ever was me either, love."

"Don't call me that." Anamaria's eyes flashed with pain and anger. "And ye can't stand there and tell me that ye have suddenly had a change of heart. For so long, Jack, you've used your charm to get your way. And ye used that same deceit to get in the beds of every whore in Tortuga. Jack, don't ye understand? I wouldn't be able to handle being on a back burner in your passion."

She hung her head and looked away to hide her tears. "You're right. It's no longer about my being sick. It's about how much of ye I'm actually goin' to have. I'm not like the girls in Tortuga Jack and I won't stand to be treated as one either."

Jack tilted his head. "Ana, I never said-"

"I know ye haven't, but I don't want ye to start sayin' that or even thinkin' it," Anamaria stated softly. It's now or never. Taking a step closer, she placed a hand on his back. "I see it this way- if I can't have all of ye Jack, I don't want any of ye."

Jack suddenly turned around and looked at her. "Ana."

"I see ye with the women in Tortuga all the time and I can't help but wonder, does he think about me? Am I on his mind? Does he wish that were me he was with? All those things run through my head Jack. Silly, I know, but its true. For so long, I hid those feelings, but I can't any longer," Anamaria confessed. "I just can't. I can't keep runnin' from it- from you. I'm tired of thinkin' those things and not ever knowing the truth."

Jack was, for the lack of a better way to describe it, speechless. He had always known she had harbored feelings for him since their encounter with Barbossa, but he had never known they ran that deep. He raised a hand to her face but Anamaria moved away, her head bowed, refusing to look at him.

"Ana, look at me, please," Jack asked as he drew her chin up to gaze at her. "Despite the stories and rumors or from the looks of things- there hasn't been anyone since you. All those women in Tortuga, they never meant anything but the fact is that, even if they had, they would never sell themselves short to settle down. That's why they'll never amount to much for me. Fun was all they were and all they are ever goin' to be."

Closing her eyes, Anamaria pointed out, "But ye were with them nonetheless."

"Aye, I won't deny it, "Jack said after some hesitation. "I was with them, but never attached to them."

A sad smile graced Ana's lips as she stated, "Aye, nor will ye ever be attached to anythin' but your rum and ship."

"Now that's not true!" Jack protested. "Though not far from the truth."

"Ye really are daft, Jack," Anamaria told him humorously.

Jack in an attempt to shatter the awkwardness, stuck a pose and grinned. "Daft and handsome."

There was a soft snort from Anamaria as she rolled her eyes. "Maybe ye should go float your ego boat else where, Captain."

Raising one eyebrow Jack said in a mock-offended tone, "Ye don't think I'm handsome?"

With a mischievous grin, Anamaria shook her head no. "No, I don't."

Jack frowned as he stepped closer, playing his luck to see how far he could get before Anamaria decided to slap him senseless. "Do ye- think I'm attractive?"

With another shake of her head, Ana answered, "Nay, not attractive in the slightest."

Still being led by luck, Jack snaked his arms around the woman's waist seeing what kind of reaction he'd get. He prepared himself for the painful slap that was sure to accompany such a bold move, but surprisingly, one never came. "Surely ye think I'm gorgeous?" he asked with interest.

"Uh-uhn… gorgeous isn't even an option," Anamaria answered with a grin.

"Sexy?" Jack questioned as he titled his head.

"Hmm, nope, I'm afraid I have to disincline."

Jack wrinkled his nose at the answer. He closed the space between them, his face proximate to hers enough to where he could feel her breath on his neck under his chin. "Ye don't think that I'm in any way captivatin'? At all?"

Again Anamaria shook her head no. She felt Jack tense under her touch- most likely out of fear of being slapped at his actions. Smiling to herself at the control she had over him, she brought her arms up around his neck as he asked, "Well what do ye think of me?"

"I think you're mad," she clarified as she pulled his lips to hers.

Jack's lips lingered above hers before he answered, "Aye, madly head over heels."

Anamaria chuckled. "Well then, does what I think of ye really even matter?"

"I guess not, but ye can't blame me for tryin'," Jack stated as he kissed her once more.

"That's Jack Sparrow for ye," Anamaria chortled. "Always tryin' to beat the other in his own game."

Jack laughed before meeting her lips again. "Aye, Ana, but I think this time- I won for good."

---

A/N: All right- this is the end! That's all she wrote- got it? No more for this story, savvy? But that doesn't mean it's the last of the series. Oh no, not by a long shot. The next story to follow this won't come for a while. I only decided to write this because my previous story In Your Absence really doesn't to be taking off like I had hoped. Unfortunately, I'm either going to finish it or take it down- since its miniscule to my plot.

If I decide to finish it, which is most likely the case as it stands, then the next story in this series won't be written/posted until after In Your Absence is completed. And seeing as, things are getting more and more hectic around here with work, family, friends, etc. plus I'll be out of town this weekend (Friday-Sunday) it may be a few days before anything is posted. But that's not a guarantee.

Hope you all enjoyed this short after-story as much as I did enjoy writing it- as stubborn as it was!

Review Thanks- (I'm going to keep the review thanks short since this is the last chapter)

Jorja- Thanks for the review and yes! She lived and she will continue to do so until she feels the need to do something rash. (wink wink)

Jackfan2- Don't mind the long reviews, honestly. Gives me something to laugh about. You're right, Ana doesn't know the deeper Jack, but given the benefit of a doubt, she knows him better than most. Uncertainty emotions can lead one to assume things that are not true, simply out of the state of confusion. Hope this chapter answers your questions on how they both handle the situation.

Kingleby- Hehe, Jack is a weird one, yes? But always, always gets what he wants in the end. ^_~

SpecialEddie- Hey, thanks so much! I'm glad you think they are still in character, something I strive for over any thing else. And I agree- in reality, love isn't that straightforward, there are the ups and downs, and not a single relationship that I can recall has never had the bumps in the road. Its those bumps that makes the two stronger in the end- something I'm definitely going for without throwing them completely out of whack in Mushy Love World.

Original Max A- Thanks again. Anamaria's feelings are slightly harder than Jack's because we got a nice long glimpse of him/his in the movie unlike we did Ana, so that I have to improvise a bit on. And hey, great job on your fics as well!

AHHHH Cliffhangers- Do you really mean it? Cause I hate cliffhangers! I honestly do try to avoid them at all costs, but sometimes its hard when you have a scene staring you in the eye daring you to go on because it'll ruin the whole moment. -_-

Cal- Heh, trust? That's always been there, just not a public extent. And you have a good point about why he should keep things in order, never thought of it that way. I was trying to add some shock to Ana (as well as readers) that perhaps Jack's not as untidy and uncouth as we think. He was putting her on- as stated in a review (how I view Jack as well) He's not the kind to take advantage of someone out of their condition. I don't think Jack would kill a man whose back was turned to him and therefore, I don't think he'd take advantage of Anamaria out of knowing it'd put him back at square one. As for the other guy in a bar, there always is a fine line of flirting/disgusting. I think… and as for as your question from chapter 1- dirty mind. Very, very dirty mind. (laughs) I meant workout as in, her still regaining her balance after recovery and the duties of a day onboard. After having been out of the loop for a while, Ana has to get the feel of things again and overexerting herself on her job, can be tiring. Make sense? ^_^

And to anyone who read, thanks so very much!