Disclaimer: PotC is still not mine. sigh

A/N: I'm so happy that you are all still leaving me such great reviews and that you keep coming back to my little story. Well, I guess, my not so little story!

Chapter 18:

"I hate to be the one to point this out, luv, but your house is going to be one of the first places they look," Jack said as he gingerly removed Cornado's coat and hat. Anamaria watched as he threw the ornate uniform on the ground as though it carried a disease. Maybe it did.

"I know," she said tying the horses to a tree, "so, if we leave the horses here, they will search the grounds first. But, we are not going to be on the grounds."

"No?"

"No."

Ana turned and walked down to the road. Pausing a moment to make sure no one was coming, Ana crossed to a wooded area across the street. She slowly picked her way through the dense trees, with the pirate behind her. Soon, the trees opened up to a dirt path. Jack looked tired and Ana's own wound was beginning to ache. She stopped long enough to lend support to the injured pirate. The pair followed the trail and before long, they were standing in front of a tiny wooden cabin.

Inside, the cottage was almost completely dark. A bed, a table, and three chairs were completely covered with years of dust. Sparrow limped across the room and sat on the small bed. He eyed Ana curiously. "You have a cave on your property and know the whereabouts of hidden cottages in the woods. Have you broken someone out of prison before?"

"But of course, Captain Sparrow," Ana replied as she sat down next to the pirate. "This is what I do in my spare time."

Jack arched his eyebrow. "Got yourself quite a hobby, luv."

Ana shrugged. "The idle rich are hard to entertain," she said.

Sparrow chuckled softly. His laugh was so melodious and carefree, despite the fact that they were hiding from the authorities. He had just spent a year in Don Cornado's prison, maybe anything, no matter how perilous was preferable to those memories.

"How did you know this place was here?"

"Before I we were married, my husband used to take me for walks down on the beach. One night it started to rain. We found this place and were going to wait out the storm. I was sitting at the table over there, when he proposed to me that night."

Gazing across the room, Ana could almost see the gentle glow of the single candle that Chris had found. She could feel his hand on hers and see his wet hair curling around his eyes as he knelt on the floor at her feet.

"I never knew my life was missing anything until I met you." She heard his words and his scratchy voice as though her husband were right there in the room. "Maria, will you fill the hole in my heart and be my wife?"

Before that rainy night, Ana had never cried tears of happiness. She had never felt the assurance and peace of loving a man who loved her back. She had never looked in a man's eyes and seen the hope of a new life. She turned to the pirate sitting next to her. He was looking at the same table Ana had been. Physically he was close, but his eyes were someplace very far away. Ana rested her chin on her hands.

Had Jack Sparrow ever been in love? Had he ever dropped to one knee and given himself heart and soul to a woman? What kind of a woman would capture the heart of this valiant pirate captain.

"So," Ana said, hoping to sound casual. "Is there a Mrs. Sparrow?"

He blinked away whatever memories he had been reliving. One corner of his mouth curled up as he shook his head. "I'm sure I would have remembered."

Ana laughed. "Well, have you ever loved a woman?"

The pirate's dark eyes sparkled mischievously. "Many times."

Ana's jaw dropped, and she was glad for the darkness. Hopefully, the night would hide the shocked expression that had no doubt taken hold of her face. Perhaps, this was not the best train of thought to pursue with a pirate.

"What does Cornado have against you?" she asked, changing the subject.

Sparrow shrugged and raised both eyebrows. "Pirate."

Ana scoffed, "I wasn't born yesterday, you know. I've seen what that louse did to you. There's more behind it than general dislike for lawbreakers."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Well, thanks for clearing everything up for me, Jack."

"What difference does it make?"

Ana could hear the edge in the pirate's voice. He had no intention of telling her what she wanted to know. She pursed her lips. In the past few days, she had opened her home to an escaped convict. She had shot a soldier to protect that convict and, just hours ago, she had broken more laws than she cared to remember to free that same criminal from prison. Yet, he could not answer a simple question.

Why did this pirate get to her. Why did she let him. Ana rubbed her injured side. She was hurt. She was tired. She was frustrated.

Abruptly, Ana got to her feet and turned on the pirate. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize we had to do this according to your rules. Why don't you make a list of subjects that we can talk about and I'll try to keep my questions within those parameters."

Sparrow was facing her. His dark eyes were masked, but his brow was furrowed into a face of perfect confusion. He did not seem to understand why Ana was reacting to him with such anger. Well, she was going to tell him.

"Am I permitted to know your favorite color or how about your birthday? Are those acceptable questions? Can I expect a straight answer to anything that I ask you?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but Ana did not give him the chance. An insane Spaniard had tried to kill her because she felt that Jack Sparrow's life was worth something, and she had not been willing to turn the pirate over to be tortured. She had risked her life, her reputation, and the reputation of her family to help a man that the rest of the town would see hang. And he could not answer one damn question.

"How 'bout this one, Jack? Why me? Why pick my house? Why couldn't you have walked a bit further and terrorized Mr. Cander next door? No, forget it. I already know why. You stopped at my house, because you knew you could get what you wanted. And, I'm not talking about the money. You saw a woman standing alone in her garden and you knew exactly how to get her to do what you asked. All you had to do was hide behind your big brown eyes and play the misunderstood rogue. Oh, and don't forget to tell the woman that she could have made a great pirate. Yes, that's the ace up your sleeve, isn't it? Make the woman believe that she could be something other than a pretty face in a pretty dress. Voila! She's hooked. Well, not me, Jack Sparrow. Not anymore."

Ana turned on her heels and stalked out of the tiny cabin. Let him stay there. Let him get caught. What did she care?

She wished that it would rain, like it had the night that Chris had first taken her to that cabin. If it were raining, then she would not have to admit that a pirate had made her cry. If it were raining, she could drown in her anger and self pity.

Concentrating on getting as far away from Jack as possible, Ana did not hear someone step out onto the path in front of her. She plowed right into the unsuspecting soul.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't watching-"

"Señora?"

"Miguel?"

That's it for now. Don't forget to review!