Disclaimer: Oops, I forgot to do this in Chapter 2. Oh well, it's not like the creators of PotC are going to actually read this and sue me. But I'll do it anyways * in monotone * I don't own any of the original characters in this story, except for Victoria. Savvy?

A/N: WOO HOO! Midterm exams are over; the semester is over, now I have more time to work on this story! YAY! Btw, I may use some quotes from the movie, in case you didn't already know that. Let me know if it clogs up the story, I can be a sucky writer…but please, no flames...I don't take criticism well...

Victoria watched as Jack followed Barbossa out of the cabin. She felt incredibly stupid.

Curious, she heaved herself from the bed and went out the door looking for Jack. Before she could go in a certain direction, she heard a voice. It was Barbossa's. Quickly, she hid behind the wall as she saw the silhouetted shapes of Jack and Barbossa in Barbossa's sleeping quarters.

"All I'm saying is, if ever' thing's an equal share, that should also mean the location of the treasure, too. C'mon, Jack-"

"Captain Sparrow."

"-Yes, yes we know all that. Be a good captain. Be fair. Give up the bearin's." Victoria frowned as she pressed her ear to the wall. Jack must have agreed, because they both left, Jack trailing behind Barbossa. His steps seemed leaden, as if he was reluctant to go. She made to follow them, but something compelled her to go back and wait in Jack's room.

She tumbled onto his bed and tried to wait for them, but she fell asleep on top of the covers, still clutching the bottle of rum.

Victoria woke hours later, in the middle of the night. She noticed a dark lump on the other side of the bed. It was Jack. He had come back from his meeting with Barbossa. She noticed that his arm was holding up her neck, acting as a pillow. She smiled to herself as the stomachache came back. He had moved her to under the covers while she was asleep. She suddenly felt giddy. Very slowly, she drifted off back to sleep, content as a pirate full of rum.

She awoke again hours later, but this time Jack was up, leaning against the door. He seemed to be struggling against something. Or someone.

"What's going on?" she said sleepily. Jack's eyes widened.

"It's Barbossa and his mates. They're tryin' to get in. Come 'ere and give ol' Jack a hand, seeing as I gave you my whole arm during the night." He smirked, struggling against the other side. Victoria got up as her stomach churned again. She leaned against the door as she heard people on the other side. They were yelling.

"Get 'im outta thair!" a voice Victoria recognized as Barbossa's yelled. She struggled to keep it shut, as Jack did the same. Finally, he turned to her and noticed her face screwed up in concentration, trying to hold them off.

Victoria moaned in pain as the doorknob went into her back, shifting the weight. The slight slack in pressure caused the door to fly open, tossing both of them onto the bed. Barbossa stood in the doorway. He smiled viciously.

"Why, hello Jack," he said menacingly, "I seem to have interrupted something." Jack smiled sardonically. "Hello, Victoria." She nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, Jack, ye need ta come along with us. We got somethin' we wanna show ye." Pintel and Koehler appeared from behind him and grabbed Jack by the arms. Bo'sun and Ragetti grabbed Victoria's arms and dragged her behind them. On the deck, all the pirates were chanting as they pointed to a plank. Victoria stared, wide-eyed at it.

"I can't swim," she whispered.

"Off ye go then! Ladies first!" Barbossa said, shoving Victoria forward. She stepped tentatively onto the plank. The pirates cheered as she took another step forward. She distinctly heard Jack whispering to Koehler, "I've always liked you." A pang of fear shot through her. She didn't know how to swim at all. Last time, it was Jack who had saved her from the watery death. And it took her days to recover. She was going to die. She was going to die before she saw her parents again, before she even saw Jack again.

"Too long!" Bo'sun yelled, shaking the plank. Victoria screamed as she toppled over into the water. She choked on saltwater, the familiar feeling of drowning coming back to her. She sunk lower and lower into the water, as she kicked toward the surface. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do it. Her lungs were on fire. Salt was going up her nose and into her mouth. Victoria let go completely and let herself sink to the bottom, hoping to die quickly and painlessly.

But Jack seemed to know where she was. A pair of arms grabbed her around the middle and propelled her to the surface. At last, she took a gratifying gulp of air as Captain Jack Sparrow dragged her through the water with one hand. Victoria squinted as she noticed a spit of land not very far ahead. So she wasn't going to drown, and Jack wasn't going to die of exhaustion.

Finally, they reached the tiny island. Jack collapsed on the shore, as did Victoria. They lay there for hours, exhausted, letting the small waves beat against their legs rhythmically in a lullaby.

The next morning Victoria's muscles were aching. She awoke to the sound of a pistol being loaded. It was Jack, sitting next to her and playing with a tiny bullet, inspecting it and reloading it. She jumped up.

"Are you going to kill yourself?" she said nervously. He shrugged.

"That was a very stupid thing I did, Victoria. I gave up the bearings for Isla de Muerta. If there's one thing you don't do as a captain, it's to give up the bearin's. I was the only one who knew how to get to it, and now, Barbossa has me ship and me girl."

"G-G-girl?" Victoria said, blinking.

"Crystal. My girl. She's from Tortuga. I been there once, met her and fell in love with her. There's no doubt that he'll head stright for there and take her as well, since I told him about her, as well," he huffed, squinting out to the horizon.

"Oh," she said, closing her eyes in disbelief. "Well, I'm just going to take a walk around the island. I'll be back soon." She turned stiffly and began to walk. As soon as she was out of sight of Jack, her mind exploded with words.

He has a girl! WHY am I so stupid all the time? WHY didn't I see this coming? He's Jack SPARROW, after all, the one known for luring all the women! Why am I always the girl that loses? WHY am I here in the first place, with Jack Sparrow-CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow? I actually liked him, I LIKED him, and I slept next to him! What does that get me? A torn heart! I can't get anyone to like me at all! It's not fair! I HATE Jack!

Her thoughts stopped abruptly as she curved around a palm tree and found herself back in front of Jack, who was playing with the stray bullet again. She felt like she was being executed, slowly and drawn out.

"If you're going to shoot me, please do so without delay," she said, squinting in the sunlight.

"Is there a problem between us, Miss Reming?" Jack said, putting the pistol down. He was oblivious to the fact that he had broken her heart. Jack looked at Victoria intently. She shrugged.

"I thought-" but Jack stopped her. His expression grew from jaded to keyed up, looking behind her. She turned her head and looked in the same direction and saw white sails.

"There's our way off this godforsaken spit of land," Jack said, smiling. He squinted and looked closer. "And look, I believe they're rumrunners!"