Disclaimer: Just borrowing Jack, Ana and Norrington. I'll give them back, if I must.

A/N: I know I left you all with quite a cliffy last time. I'm hoping a quick update will help you find it in your hearts to forgive me!

Chapter 20:

The door opened wider. Ana closed her eyes and held her breath. She felt Sparrrow's grip on her arm tighten slightly and she would have sworn that he pulled her just a little bit closer, almost protectively.

She heard boots on the wooden floorboards of the cabin. Sparrow let go of her arm and stepped between her and whoever was entering the room. So slowly opened her eyes and peered over the pirates' shoulder into the face of her older brother, standing in the door holding a pair of irons.

"Prescott?" she said, astounded. "How?"

Her brother held up his hand, a gesture made to prevent Ana from saying anything more. His eyes seemed tired and filled with the last emotion that Ana had expected to see. Regret. He looked almost disappointed to find her and Jack, as though he would have rather declared the room empty and left.

Seconds later, he was joined in the doorway by James Norrington. James' eyes were different. He was relieved. His eyes exuded the sense of triumph and accomplishment. "Looks like we've got him," he said simply.

Prescott nodded. "So it would seem."

"Annie," James said. "Has he hurt you?"

Ana saw the pirate's back stiffen. He was insulted by Norrington's accusation, insulted by the prospect of assaulting a woman. Ana smiled inwardly. He was a gentleman beneath his rather uncouth exterior.

"No," Ana answered, not moving from her place behind Jack.

She could not believe that James thought she had been taken from the fort by the pirate. Surely, Prescott had put the pieces together. He must have realized that Ana had faked her fainting spell and somehow freed Sparrow from the hold. Ana eyed her brother suspiciously. He must know that she was as guilty as the pirate of crimes against the crown. Of course, he knew, but apparently he had decided against letting anyone else in on the secret. He was letting his men, his colleagues and his superiors believe that she was completely without blame. This would not bode well for the pirate, but Ana would not be charged with any of the crimes she had committed. She tipped her head to one side, thoughtfully. Prescott was much more willing to bend the rules than he had ever led her to believe.

"Captain Tarret, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Don Antonio and his men have just arrived."

"Very good," Prescott answered, "James will you see to our Spanish friends."

Norrington made no move to do as he was asked. "What about Sparrow?"

"This cabin is surrounded by marines. I seriously doubt he will fly away . . . again," her brother said, shooting Ana a glare.

Ana was surprised by the air of superiority Prescott was assuming when dealing with James. The two men were friends. She almost looked on James as her third brother. Prescott was senior to James, as he had held his commission for years before James became captain, but technically he did not have the authority to order Norrington around. Clearly, he wanted James out of the cabin, and James, just as clearly, did not want to leave.

Watching the confrontation and battle of wills between the officers, Ana suspected that James knew what was really going on. He probably did not want to leave because he suspected that Prescott would take some sort of rash action. He had always lived by the rules, much more so than Prescott. In his mind, Sparrow was a criminal to be punished and there was no two ways about it.

"With all due respect, Prescott, if Don Cornado is here to collect his prisoner, then we are obligated to turn Sparrow over to the Spanish authorities."

"Sparrow has committed crimes on British soil," Prescott said staring straight at the pirate. "I am obligated to keep him in British custody."
"Cornado will not approve."

Now, her brother turned to face James. "I couldn't possibly care less about offending the likes of Cornado."

"Prescott!"

"Listen to me, James. I am only going to say this once," Prescott said through gritted teeth. "Don Antonio is mad as a hatter. He has kept this man in his godforsaken prison for over a year and tortured him within an inch of his life. No man deserves that, pirate or not." Ana listened as her brother repeated the very same words she had said to him in la Cerradura. "So, I'm asking you. Go outside and make sure that Cornado stays as far away from this room as possible."

Ana could not see Jack's face at the mention of the brutality he had be subjected to at Don Antonio's command. She wondered if he relieved those painful memories every time Cornado's name was mentioned. She shifted behind the pirate so Norrington could not see her actions and placed her hand on the small of Jack's back, gently so as not to aggravate the wounds she knew were there. He made no indication that he accepted or rejected her gesture, but she hoped that he would take some small degree of comfort in her actions.

"Again, with respect, Prescott, if we are going to take charge of Sparrow, then we will not be holding him in British custody. We will hang him. Won't we?"

Prescott rolled his eyes.

"He's a pirate," James announced as though no one else in the room were aware of that fact. "That is a hanging offense. Now, he has escaped from prison, assaulted Don Cornado, kidnapped your sister, and stolen your horse!"

Norrington was nearly beside himself at the prospect of bringing one of the Caribbean's most legendary outlaws to justice. He seemed outraged by her brother's disinterest. In stark contrast, Prescott looked only saddened when faced with the inevitability of the pirate's demise.

"Thank you, James," he said, his voice playing the part of the slightly bored aristocrat. "I quite understand the severity of his crimes, but we cannot hang him five times. The gallows tend to lose their effectiveness after we do it once."

James pursed his lips and was about to reply, but Prescott went on.

"Now, if you would not mind going out and tending to Don Cornado. Explain the situation to him and make it crystal clear that we have no intention of handing Sparrow over to him."

James pulled himself up to his full height and looked Prescott in the eye. He saluted stiffly. "Aye, aye, Sir," he said, curtly.

"Prescott," Ana started, once Norrington had left the room. "What is going on? How did you find this place?"

He rubbed his eyes. "When Chris wanted to propose to you, he asked me if I knew of anyplace like a cave or a cabin where the two of you could be alone. I told him to come here."

"You could have mentioned that," Ana said.

"My sincerest apologies. There is a cave on your own property and another about three miles east of here. So, if you would kindly hide your pirate friends somewhere else then I will not disturb you."

"Well, you didn't have to bring the entire army straight to this spot."

"No, I suppose I didn't. But then, I didn't have to forget to mention that the only way he could have possibly escaped from the hold was with your help, when I found Don Cornado locked in Sparrow's cell."

For the first time since the pair had been discovered, Jack looked at Ana. A faint smile played about his features. She had not told him that she locked Cornado in the hold.

"I thought he looked appropriate behind bars," she said defiantly.

"For heaven's sake, Annie. You helped a pirate escape from prison and stole my horse. Lord knows what else you've done in the past few days that I haven't found out about. By all counts, you are just as deserving of the rope as he is."

Prescott crossed the room, but Sparrow stepped in front of him, before he got to Ana. Prescott raised his eyebrow.

"Sparrow, will not return to Spain with Don Antonio," Prescott's comment was directed at his sister, but he was staring straight at Jack as he spoke.

"Very commendable, mate. Saved from one death to be handed over to another."

Prescott held up the pair of irons that he had been carrying. "I am sorry, Mr. Sparrow."

"Captain," Jack said, holding out his arms for her brother.

"This is wrong," Ana said as Prescott pulled up the pirate's shirtsleeves.

She heard her brother's breath hitch as he looked at Sparrow's wrists. Deep scars that had been opened and reopened circled his wrists. The man's body was covered with constant reminders of the brutality of la Cerradura's commandant.

The irons fell to the bed. Prescott stepped closer to Sparrow and stared into the pirate's dark eyes. "Hit me," he said.

"What?" Ana asked.

"Hit me. Take my sword and break out the window behind you. If you are the pirate my sister believes you to be, then you will be long gone before the marines know anything is amiss. If you are not, then you will only face the gallows with one more black mark on your record."

Ana felt so many emotions churning up from her heart. She would never be able to find the words to thank her brother for what he was about to do. She wanted to hug him and tell him how she could not have asked for a better big brother. However, before she got the chance to even try, Jack slugged Prescott in the face, taking the officer off of his feet in one punch. He was not leaving room for error. Jack took Prescott's cutlass and pulled Ana towards the window.

"Time to go, luv."

That's all for now. After the last chapter, I thought maybe I'd end this part without an infuriating nail biting cliffhanger! Please Please Please don't forget to review.