Both victims of sleepless nights, Mike and Danny were only half cognizant at the breakfast table the next morning. Thankfully, the ranch was closed on Mondays to give the horses and both men a break. Usually, it was used for a trip to town to pick up supplies. Nina looked at both of them in concern as she transferred the bacon from the pan to Mike's plate. Danny's eyes grew heavier and heavier, and his head started slowly dipping through the bowl of cereal sitting in front of him. Mike was staring off into space, not aware of anything going on around him. Nina was the most worried about him. He'd been acting unusual since Danny had dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night to go get the horses that had gotten loose. Unbeknownst to him, she had been awake last night when they were curled up in bed. She'd heard him talking in some strange accent. Something about someone not wanting them alive, that they'd been double crossed and the name Will had cropped up. Wasn't that what he'd called Danny yesterday morning? When she'd confronted him about it before breakfast, he hadn't remembered a thing. She knew he was under some stress dealing with that loan shark Joshua Smythe. The man was acting completely unfair, constantly after Mike about getting what he was owed when Mike had paid him back everything.

A sudden thump brought her out of her thoughts, made her jump. She glanced over just in time to see Danny's head shoot up, blinking in shock. He'd fallen asleep, and his head had hit the cereal bowl, knocking it over. She let out a nervous laugh, reaching over and pulling a few Cheerios out of the shocked young man's hair. Mike also snapped out of his reverie, looking over at Danny. A smirk appeared on his lips, and he sat forward, picking up his fork. "Up too late reading again?" He asked, spearing some scrambled eggs and shoveling them into his mouth. Danny rubbed his eyes, but for the moment, he looked more awake than he had been.

"No. Just that late night excursion got me thinking, and I was going through some history books in the living room till about four this morning." He stifled a yawn, leaning over to grab the dish towel off the handle on the stove door. Nina handed it to him instead as she placed the pan down on the stove. "I was rereading some of the legends about Captain Jack Sparrow. I kind of hoped that someone might have had the guts to sketch him and all. But I didn't find anything, although a few of the books had something resembling a description of him. He sounded a little…" He twirled a finger around next to his head. "…nuts, but intelligent. Not the kind of man you'd want to double cross."

He doesn't want us off this island alive, Will. We've been double crossed.

Mike was vaguely wondering if he was starting to develop schizophrenia. Those voices he kept hearing couldn't be normal, could they? He picked up the last piece of bacon, chewing thoughtfully on it. Maybe he'd make an appointment with the psychiatrist someday this week, get his head checked out. Danny finished cleaning up his mess, and reached for the box of cereal. However, he didn't pour himself another bowl, eating from the actual box instead. Mike glanced over at him, popping the last bit of bacon in his mouth. "Not like any of us might've wanted some cereal at some point…" He muttered. Danny pulled his hand from the box, eating from the handful in the palm as he held the box out towards Mike. Mike laughed, waving the box away. "Don't want that now. It's got your germs all over it." He joked. Danny rolled his eyes, his mouth too full of cereal to make an actual comeback. Mike got up, stretching his arms over his head. "Wonderful breakfast again, luv." He told her, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair and heading towards the door. "I'm leaving for town in fifteen minutes, Danny. Your ass better be out there, or you can stay here." The screen door slammed shut behind him. Nina glanced over at Danny, a strange expression on her face.

"Is it just me, or is he getting odder by the day?" She asked, looking out the window towards the barn. "Maybe I'm hearing things, but I could've sworn he just called me 'luv.' He never has called me that, and just now…it came out so easily, like he's always called me that." She trailed off, staring out the window at her lover. Danny finally swallowed half his mouthful of cereal, getting up to go outside.

"Maybe he's trying out new pet names." He said, the words slightly muzzy from the food in his mouth. Nina quickly wiped the frown off her face, turning towards him.

"You're right. I'm thinking too much about this." She said, laughing. "You must think I'm nuts." Danny shrugged, and she swatted him with the dish towel. "Now move, or Mike will leave you here and I'll make you do the dishes instead." The threat got the boy moving pretty fast. He was out the door a few seconds later, and she turned towards the full sink, shaking her head.

Danny trotted out towards the barn, where Mike was squatting down by the front right tire. He came up behind him. "What's going on?" Mike looked back at him.

"Nothing, just thought the tire looked a little flat. Just shadows though." He explained, reaching up to grab the hood of the truck to pull himself up. As he did so, the sleeve of his jacket slipped down slightly, and Danny noticed the odd little marking on his wrist.

"What's that?" He asked, frowning slightly. Mike glanced over at him.

"What?"

"On your wrist." He grabbed Mike's arm, yanking up the sleeve slightly to show him. Now that he had a closer look, he could see that it was a little 'P', burned onto the skin like a brand. "That looked like it had to hurt."

A look of confusion crossed Mike's face. "I couldn't tell you because I don't even remember getting it." He said, pulling his arm from Danny's grasp and staring down at the mark. "That's really strange."

"Just a little." Danny said. "It's like back in the colonial days, in the East Indies, if they caught a pirate, they would…" Mike held up his hand.

"I don't need a history lesson. Let's just go make our run into town so that I can come back and take a nap. Not sure why, but I've been feeling more and more tired lately."

"Gee, could it have anything to do with the fact that neither of us has gotten any decent sleep the past two nights?" Danny asked sarcastically. Mike shot him a warning look, walking around and sliding in the driver's side of the truck. Danny hopped in the passenger's side. "Actually, a nap sounds really good." He muttered, stifling a yawn.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike leaned against the truck, looking down at his watch. Danny was caught up in talking to that blonde girl from the colonial reenactment again. He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms again, knowing that he might be in for a little wait. His eyes wandered over to the row of stalls set up down Merchant's Alleyway, a street used as a flea market location. If Danny was going to take his own sweet time, so was he. He wandered off to explore the different stalls, maybe to find a little present to take home to Nina. She loved it when he brought her home small little things that he'd bought there. They usually had no rhyme or reason to them. Just little things that reminded him of her. A slight ways down the street though, he got the odd feeling that he was being followed. He turned, glancing over his shoulder. A dismayed groan escaped his lips as he saw two all too familiar faces approach him. He wanted nothing more than to smack the egotistical smile off their faces.

"What do you want? More threats again?" He asked, turning to face them. He crossed his arms, staring defiantly. "I paid my debts. Tell your boss to take his idle threats and his imagined debt, and shove them up that uptight anal hole of his." He snarled. The two men continued to smile at him. The urge to just hit them grew more within him.

"Idle threats are not longer idle." The man he'd come to know as Brick, and unfortunately the reason why he was known as that, said, that smug smirk still on his face. "Boss got tired of waiting. Since you wouldn't pay up, he decided that it would only be fair if he took something in return." Mike's eyes narrowed, staring at them from under the brim of his hat.

"What the hell is he going to…" The realization hit him hard and painfully. "No…no, no, NO!" He shouted, brushing past them and sprinting own the alleyway. People stared at him, running like an insane man down towards Main Street. They couldn't. They wouldn't. Not her. Not his beloved Nina. "Daniel! DANIEL! We've got to go, NOW!" He bellowed. Danny was immediately heading towards the truck when he heard Mike's hoarse screams. He got into the truck as Mike did. The engine came to life with a roar, and he peeled out of the parking spot and onto the road. Nothing, not road block or cop, could stop him now.

"Mike...Mike, what's going on?" Danny asked in a shaky voice. His knuckled were white from grasping the arm rest so hard, as the needle on the speedometer reached eighty. Mike didn't respond, his eyes set on the road.

When they finally arrived at the house, he knew he was too late. The screen door hung from the door frame by one hinge, the inside door thrown open. He ran towards the house, screaming her name. Let her be alright, please. The words repeated over and over again in his mind as if some kind of mantra. He burst into the house, knocking the screen door off its one remaining hinge and coming to a rest on the porch with a loud crash. Inside, the house was torn up. Plates smashed on the floor, silverware spread across the floor. The living room was no better, furniture knocked over, books pulled from the shelf and scattered on the floor, and the coffee table in splinters.

No…not my Nina, not my girl….

The Black Pearl is yours…

Nina…please be alright….

You stole my boat!

This is all my fault…

Borrowed! Borrowed without permission!

I never should've dealt with Smythe.

I love you, Jack. I couldn't tell you before, but now…

The alcohol does a mighty fine job of loosening tongues, aye?

I shouldn't of…

I love ye too, Ana.

Jack…

Nina…Ana…

The voices in his head grew overwhelming, fighting for dominance to be heard over one another. He started to lose focus, dropping to his knees. The room swam, the voices growing louder. Her voice mingled with his, and memories of long ago pushed to the surface. He had known her longer than he'd been cognizant of. A lot longer than he'd ever known.

I loved her before I knew her, because I'd known her before.

Jack…

Ana…

Mike…

Nina…

One last voice echoed through his head before his eyes rolled up and he hit the floor, everything going black.

I am Captain Jack Sparrow.