Disclaimer:

Me: ANNE?  Where are you?  Get over here and do the disclaimer!  You promised! 

Anne: Huh?  I prom- oh.  Sorry.  I was… busy.  *grins*

Me: Busy doing…?

Anne: Nothing, nothing.  Just… you know, tormenting Jack.  BUT ANYWAY, the disclaimer.  PED-Sarah does not own any of the characters or things in this story that aren't… hers.  *pause* any questions? 

*hands shoot up* 

Me: ANNE!

Anne: *sigh* never mind.  No questions.  But for those of you who were going to ask Sarah to update soon please put your hands down. 

*all hands go down*

Me: Oh… are you telling me nobody wanted to like… ask me out, or anything?

Anne: *grins evilly* No questions. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Jack woke up in the morning, he had no clue where he was.  He wasn't in his cabin… why not? 

            And then he remembered.  Anne.  She had taken everything, walked all over him.  Well, that wasn't very nice.  And Jack didn't like it.  He would have to… do something.  Just… something. 

            But for the first time in his life, Jack didn't have a plan. 

            And it was scary, marching into something blindly without any plan except that someone knew where the treasure was.

            Maybe, he could convince Anne to tell him where the treasure is.  Trust can easily be built up. 

            But that was scary too.  She had the advantage.  He had to be careful… she could have a plan in mind, for all he knew… she could mutiny against him or something. 

            But Jack decided there wasn't any plan he could come up with as long as he was lying in the dark on an uncomfortable musty hammock.  So he got up and pulled on his boots and effects sleepily while making for above deck. 

            To his immense surprise, the sun was high in the sky and the Pearl was sailing freely in the blue waters, the ship sparkling clean and the crew members with free time on their hands.  A redheaded figure was leaning lazily against the helm, sleepily staring into the waters which were sparkling off the reflection cast from the sun. 

            Jack was surprised and even a little angry.  Why was he not woken?  He was their captain!  They weren't allowed to do anything without his orders!  He looked around at all the crewmembers, just sitting about and he was about to start barking out orders and tasks for them to do when he realized that all the major tasks were completed.  He turned to Anne, who was at the helm.  The brim of her hat was hiding her face, but he could feel her haze and could see an amused half-smile on her face. 

            Jack felt like kicking something.  The girl was a good captain… better than him.  Better than him!  It could hardly be possible… but then again, the Pearl had never looked this beautiful and clean.  Jack felt a new feeling inside him… it was respect. 

            He walked toward the helm, and about halfway there he had fallen back to that sleepy arrogant swagger that he liked to adopt. 

            "You've certainly proven your salts…" Jack began, and she looked up at him, full in the eyes and grinned. 

            "And it's time to prove yours.  You can start with the galley, that hasn't been done yet, and after that, I was thinking we could sort of organize the treasure room, since everything seems to be just sort of… tossed in there.  Not a good way of taking care of your money, if you ask me." 

            Jack was gaping.  "What do you mean; I have to prove my salts?  I've proven everything to my crew already!  What did you do?" 

            Anne didn't even look surprised, just a little irritated.  "You are a terrible captain." She said, heating up a little.  "Part of the reason the Pearl was in terrible shape is because the Captain is lazy as a pig!  I actually got down on my knees and helped, Captain, something which you don't seem to do too often.  So the crew and I have agreed that, just to be fair, you will clean the galley."  She grinned evilly.  "And don't be lazy… I want it spotless.  If it isn't, you will regret it, Jack." 

            "Captain Jack." Jack said, practically foaming at the mouth. 

            Anne just kept on grinning.  "I can call you whatever I like.  I give the orders, remember?" 

            Jack moaned.  Quick as lightning, he drew his gun and had it against her forehead. 

            "I swear to god, I will kill you if I have to.  15,000 pounds is not worth it!" 

            Anne's smile was gone.  Jack was relieved… but the look that replaced it scared him even more. 

            She was dead serious.  Her mouth was set in a straight line, her eyes cold, but searching his eyes for some sort of… explanation?  No… just… searching, her green eyes were so big…

            Anne just stared at him for a long time, and he stared right back. 

            "Are you going to shoot me?"  She said finally, in a very soft voice, arching an eyebrow just slightly.  Jack couldn't think. Or at least… he was having a hard time thinking.  He had no plan; it was no easier to come up with one out here than it had been that morning when he was getting out of bed. 

            After a moment when Jack did not respond, she laughed a little and stepped back, shaking her head. 

            "You're pathetic."  She said.  "The galley is waiting."  Jack was angry. 

            "Did you really want me to shoot you?" 

            "To tell you the truth?  Yes, I did.  It would prove that you actually are the Captain I've heard so much about.  But you're not… you're just some pathetic, drunken idiot.  I have absolutely no faith in you, Captain.  And to tell you the truth, I don't think your crew thinks too highly of you either, except maybe that Anamaria.  But after you took me on board, she lost her trust in you too.  If I wanted to, I could just toss you overboard right now.  No loss to anyone, except maybe one of your girlfriends… a woman in every port, right Jack?" 

            Jack usually was very good at keeping his temper under control.  He actually found that the better he was at staying under control, the more it annoyed people.  But this woman was irking him in the weirdest ways.  And what got him the most was a small glimpse of the future; Anne sailing off, leaving him on a desert island with a pistol.  Because he refused to shoot her.  

            Basically, it came down to this.  If he didn't shoot her, his whole life was over.  Plus, he was extremely angry.  He felt his hand with the gun holding it twitch.  His sense of control was going down the drain; the only reason she was still alive was the treasure. 

            The treasure, he kept telling himself.  Think of the treasure.  Just leave, go do the job she told you to do, and think of the treasure. 

            But his temper was pushing at all his weak points.  Finally, he just sighed, giving up.  He raised the gun to her head. 

            Did he really want to kill her?  This whole mission that he wanted to go through, did he want it to be over, just like that? 

            He turned away from her, staring at the pistol in shock.  Had he really been about to shoot her? 

            "Are you going to get started on the galley soon, Sparrow?"  Her voice came from behind him, tweaked with amusement.  Obviously she could sense his torment. 

            Jack turned quickly and aimed the gun at her again, and then turned away again, clenching his knuckles around the gun until they were white.  

            When he turned back around, Anne no longer had the annoying smile on her face. 

            "I'm kidding, Jack.  Please stop worrying that I'm about to toss you off your own ship.  Are… you… alright?"  She actually sounded really worried. 

            Jack looked at his hand, still tightly clenched around the gun.  Any minute now she was going to go back to taunting him.  He couldn't let her; she was right, he had to prove to his crew that he could be a good captain.  He raised the gun back up again, so the barrel was aimed right at her forehead.  This time, he would not pull away. 

            But she actually looked scared.  Like she knew she had gone too far.  Jack realized that she wasn't about to torment him again; that her last sentence was the best apology she could give him.  He looked her straight in the eyes, and she smiled weakly.  Jack frowned and lowered his gun. 

            "This is my ship, savvy?  I don't want you messing up the way things work around here, and please stop using this treasure as an opportunity to blackmail.  15,000 pounds is not that important to me.  Do we have a deal?" 

            Anne opened her mouth, and the frowned and turned around.  Anamaria was standing behind her, slim fingers wrapped around the trigger of a gun, aimed straight at Anne. 

            Anamaria pulled the trigger and there was a loud noise as time seemed to stop. 

A/N I really apologize for such short chapters!  Seriously!  I will try to make the next one longer.  I have reviewers to thank! 

Orca girl, thanks for your encouragement, even small stuff helps me write, and I appreciate that you have reviewed… SOME PEOPLE ARE TOO LAZY, *COUGH, COUGH, HINT, HINT*, and also thanks to Lyra Silvertongue 13, thanks for keeping up with my stories, I like your story too!  Very nice, keep it up, and thanksies!  (I'm glad at least someone has read my bio…)