LAST TIME: well…parts…of last time…
*"The Rising Sun, Cap'an." Gibbs answered.
"What do they want?"
Ana looked at him and said, "Two things, Captain. The two things that we happen to have…"
*Yes, everything he was thinking about in the galley was true, but now, when this Captain threatened to take her away, he pushed his pirate thoughts aside.
*He locked eyes with the Captain of this ship next to him and realized that Dinah would be leaving. The Captain gave him a deadly glare and kept eye contact with him. Jack would never have imagined that he would see this man again. But here he was, standing yards away, giving him the glare that Jack probably deserved. Jack finally said, "Gibbs, go get Mr. Johnson. Ana, invite the Captain of The Rising Sun over. And I'll…I'll go get Dinah."
Jack knocked lightly on Dinah's door. "Come in!" She answered.
He opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed, looking at him with expectant eyes as he tried desperately not to show the hurt in his eyes.
"Jack?" She asked after he went a couple of minutes without saying anything.
"There's someone to see you…" He said, looking at her, determined to let this roll off his shoulder. She got up, a little confused about everything. Jack was acting awfully strange.
She walked out of the cabin and heard the name that she had not wanted to hear on this ship. "Dinah Eileen!" She turned her head and saw her brother, James. He walked over to her and gave her a big brother hug and said, "What the heck are you doing here?"
He let go and looked her in the face. She looked at Jack, who had his eyes glued to her, and then at Ana, who had her arms crossed. "More importantly- what are you doing here!? I thought you were stationed…else where…"
"Port Royal…but when I heard that my good friend Kevin was aboard a pirate ship, I had to come get him."
"Actually, Jack saved him. His ship was sunk by The Douglas and we saw him struggling for life…and…"
"Then why was he in the brig?"
"Because he killed your sister's pet." Ana Maria said. James glanced at the child-hood friend of his baby sisters. He remembered her, but barely recognized her now.
"Ana? Is that you?"
She nodded, with no expression on her face.
"Mates, I suggest we go down to the galley and have a round of rum!" Jack proposed, but before anyone could protest, Jack was already opening the hatch.
Once in the galley and seated, James started talking to Ana about old childhood memories. Jack and Dinah sat across from each other, not saying a word, but looking at each other.
I wonder if Dinah's going to leave. Jack thought. While Dinah herself had that question in the back of her mind, she was thinking of something that Ana had said earlier. "You may not want to start this again and he may deny about being attracted to you, but think 'bout this, he kidnapped you, for no apparent reason. But if another ship came along, would you sneak off on to it?" Now I don't have to sneak…my brother has practically forced it upon me to go with him…forced…wait…I want to go with him…right?
"But Jack! I almost forgot!" James said, disrupting Dinah's thoughts, "I was in Port Royal right? And Will Turner is a friend of mine, and I mentioned coming to rescue my sister from Captain Jack Sparrow, and he gave me this," He said, pulling out a folded up letter with his name on it.
Jack took it and as soon as he did Dinah said to her brother, "Rescue?"
He turned and looked at her.
"Come to rescue me? Are you saying that I can't take care of myself? James, I'm twenty-one years old. I know how to throw a knife and use a gun. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! And you, who haven't seen me in two years, decide to come and rescue me from a ship that I have been on before? What did you think I was going to do? Leave my life at home and live on the Ocean?"
"Dinah, don't be ridiculous, mother told me that you were kidnapped by pirates. I just figured Jack would be behind it."
Jack looked at James and was about to get his gun out, but Ana shot him a look, telling him not to get involved.
"James! You don't get what I'm saying! I'm telling you that I don't need your help! I've done fine without you in my life! You left to no one knows where when I was six! And then I don't see you again until my eighteenth birthday? Then you show up a year later to scold me on my behavior with…" Dinah looked at Jack and then at James, "…with useless company, and now…what do you expect me to do?"
"Dinah," James said sternly, rising from his chair, "I expect you to get out of those outlandish clothes and come to The Rising Sun and sail home with me."
Dinah paused. She looked at Jack, then at Ana, and then back to James. "When are you planning on leaving?"
"Maybe an hour…the crew needs to rest, we just got out of a storm. I'm not sure, I mean, both these ships are anchored in the middle of the Caribbean."
Dinah breathed a deep breath and let it out. "Okay…" She said, getting up. She looked at Ana and moved her head towards up on deck and then left, with Ana close behind her.
For half an hour Dinah and Ana just sat in the cabin. Both lying on their own beds, waiting for the other to speak. But when someone did speak it was Dinah.
"He didn't need to come get me…It's not like Jack would've harmed me…" but then she rubbed her wrist, which was starting to fade, "…purposely…"
Ana nodded and sighed.
"Ana, have you ever fallen in love?"
She gave her a strange look. "Aye," was all she said.
"Tortuga?" Dinah asked.
Ana nodded and smiled, "He's a Captain and everything…"
"How? You and I have always thought of love as a weakness…a flaw…"
She shrugged. "I dunno, lass, it just happened. The bloody man got to me…And lord knows that love is too blasted impractical on the open seas…but it's happened to me, and I don't even know if the man feels the same…but I know that I would swim the Caribbean if it was the only way."
Dinah soaked up Ana's words and then said, "Not like I'm in love…anymore…"
Ana looked at Dinah and said, "Do you want to leave?"
"I dunno…Jack kidnapped me…and at the time I was about ready to throw him of the ship…but now…I dunno…things are changing…their going back to the way they were when we were together…but I don't know if I want them to go back to that…you know?"
Ana nodded.
"You think I should talk to him…don't you?"
She nodded again. Dinah groaned but got up and slowly walked over to Jack's cabin, paused and then knocked.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Jack went to his cabin and tried to get Dinah out of his mind. He didn't want to think about this current problem anymore. It was always one thing after another with Dinah. Jack thought, remembering the time when he ended up shooting a man for Dinah…not that he necessarily regretted it, because if he didn't, Dinah would've been hurt.
So Jack sat on his bed and opened the letter from Will.
Jack-
Hope you stayed on your ship after I left. You seemed like you were going to stay there, but I never can tell with you. Elizabeth sends her love and says to stop drinking rum. She says that after the honeymoon, she got complaints of you hitting on people because you were so drunk…and the people were NOT people of the female sex…
But anyways, I hope you enjoyed the wedding and we would love to have you come visit again. I wouldn't mind clashing swords with a first class swords fighter. Jack looked up from the letter and smiled. First Class… He kept reading, Elizabeth keeps telling me that when you come down again you can meet some ladies that she thinks would be "perfect for you". But I keep telling her that Tortuga and the Sea keeps you satisfied. I mean, what kind of pirate would you be if you had a wife who was sea-sick and almost fainted at the idea of wearing pants?
Of course she insists that you need something more than one-night stands…you know Elizabeth, romantic all the way… Jack laughed, She a romantic? You're the one dressed up in a hat with a HUGE feather on the back of it…he can't tell me that wasn't for her…Jack smiled again and kept reading. But I assured her that all Pirates need are One-night stands…especially you. You've never been the settling down type, have you? Well try to write soon, but I know you're busy…being a pirate and all. –Will Turner.
Jack folded up the letter and heard a knock on the door. He got up and opened the door to Dinah.
"Dinah!"
"Hi…Can we talk?" She asked, acting a little nervous.
"Take a seat, luv." Dinah heard the luv but let it slide; she had bigger things to argue about.
"Why did you leave?" Dinah asked, standing, looking up at Jack.
"Leave where?"
"Leave me."
Jack hesitated. "The Pearl, luv, I took Ana's boat to go get a ship from Port Royal…things got complicated…but I finally got her back."
"Then why didn't you come back for me…?"
"Why are you asking me this, luv? Are you thinking that if I tell you something certain, you'll stay? Sorry, this is your choice."
"But you kidnapped me!? Why aren't you fighting for me?" She asked, on the verge of breaking down.
"You don't want to be fought for…"
"How do you know what I want?"
Jack took a step closer and looked down at her. "Dinah, I can't do this for you. I told you that I would bring you home…but if you want to leave, I'm not going to be the one stoppin' you."
Dinah waited a few minutes before leaving. She had made her decision. She walked out to the side of the Pearl and looked for James. He saw her and came to his side of his ship. "I can't, James…I'm staying here…" She said to him. Jack came out of his cabin and watched her turn around and look at him and then walk to her cabin.
Jack looked at James and James glared at him and yelled, "I won't hesitate to tell The Douglas where you are!" and with that he turned around and told the crew to leave. Within ten minutes the ship left, leaving in the opposite direction. Jack looked around the ship and caught Ana smiling at The Rising Sun. She was glad that Dinah had stayed.
Jack turned and went to Dinah's cabin and knocked. She opened and he asked simply, "Why'd you do it?"
She smirked and said, "Why are you asking me this? Are you thinking that if I tell you something certain that you'll…" She stopped. "You're my Captain…" She said and waited for his response. He smiled wide and showed all the colors in his mouth, "Gibbs!" He said, turning, still smiling, "Pull the anchor and get back on course!"
AUTHOR NOTE:
AgentStarBuck: Yes, I did mean her chest…as in chest of money…lol