A/N I love my reviewers!  Thanks guys!  I sincerely appreciate all the support, and I'm glad that the few reviewers I have have been consistent this whole time.  And, new reviewer, woo hoo!  Thanx Lip Balm, you're talking about the lesbian thing?  Yeah, except quite a few sources say it was more than just a rumor… but in real life, Anne supposedly really was pregnant, so how do they explain that?  Of course, before she gave birth, she escaped from her cell and disappeared from all records… how perfect is that?

I do not own anything except Tawny, Sam, Marissa, Daniel, and Marc. 

            Jack and Tawny both looked up, startled, when the door slammed shut quickly.  Neither one of them had noticed it open… Jack was curious and set down his cards to walk over to the door and see who had opened it.  When he looked out, there was nobody there, except the gray sky he could see through the open hatch, cloudy and overcast.  He supposed that maybe they had forgotten to close the door and it had been blown shut by the wind, which was still slightly strong after the storm.  He went and sat back next to Tawny at t he table and picked up his hand, frowning.  He noticed that while he had been up, Tawny had cheated, but he did not mention it… actually, he felt a little bit of pride swell up in his chest, and he forgot all about the door. 

            ***

The sky was getting dark again.  Tawny had continued to play cards with him until they were both quite drunk, (Jack had called for Gibbs to bring them rum) and then they still continued to play cards, falling all over each other and laughing, not having any clue who was winning, or if they were even still playing cards.  Sam came in a while later and took no notice to the fact that Tawny was drunk, just picking her up and carrying her out the door.  Didn't even say bye.  Didn't matter, though, because Jack was too drunk to notice.  He blacked out on the floor. 

In the morning, he awoke to someone pushing at his jacket frantically.  He had a splitting headache and when he finally looked top see who was shaking him, it was Tawny; and by the grimace on her face, he knew she had a hangover too.  

"Jack!"  She cried desperately.  "Marissa's gone, and Daniel says that Anne came over and took her somewhere, and she hasn't been back.  Plus, I can't find Anne… she's not in her cabin!  Daddy is working, so he doesn't have time to deal with it, but Sam is so frantic that he shut himself in his room and won't speak.  I don't know what to do!"  Jack pushed himself up with his hands and rubbing his eyes, urging the sleep out of them.  Meanwhile, Tawny was hysterical, practically sobbing, because she had no idea what to do.  Jack, not knowing what else to do, grabbed her shoulders and then pulled her flush against him.  She calmed instantly and pulled away from him. 

"What do you think, Jack?"  She asked him, her golden eyes large and concerned.  Jack tried to focus through his headache. 

"Wait… Anne is gone?  What do you mean?  Where is she?" 

Tawny shook her head.  "I don't know.  I looked for her, but she ain't in her cabin or anywhere on the Pearl, so I really don't know." 

Jack frowned and tried to think.  He remembered that time before they had the treasure when Anne disappeared and showed up again in the middle of the night.  He made a decision and then looked at Tawny, unsure how she would take it.  Anne had warned that she was unstable. 

"We wait.  The last time Anne disappeared, she showed up again a day later.  So she'll probably be back soon." 

Tawny looked disappointed, but slightly reassured.  She sighed and sat down in a chair, staring at the table.  She knew that Jack had his eyes on her, and she refused to meet his eyes. 

Jack sat down also, and there was a long silence. 

Waiting was torture. 

***~***

A/N Last afternoon;

Anne walked down the street, starting toward Tawny's house, and she kicked the reddish brown cobblestone gently before turning and heading back toward the docks.  She wanted to take Marissa with her, to give the small girl a chance to live, really live, and Anne already knew that Marissa would be down at the docks instead of at her home.  Anne steered clear of the Pearl and hung around the other parts, looking for a small girl.  She soon found Mari, with two little boys tagging behind her. 

"Mari!"  Anne called, and Mari turned at looked at Anne. 

"Hello, Anne!"  Mari called excitedly.  She turned to her two buddies, and Anne noticed that one of them was Daniel, which surprised her greatly.  Daniel wasn't usually down at the docks.  "This is me pirate friend, Anne."  She told the other boy happily, and the boy looked at Anne with wonder and confusion. 

"Listen, Mari, I'm leaving, and I want you to come with me.  Tell your friend good bye and give your brother a hug, because you might not see him for awhile."  Anne said to the girl.  Mari looked shocked for a moment, but then grinned from ear to ear and started bouncing excitedly.  She grabbed Anne's hand and waved goodbye to the two little boys, and then followed Anne down the docks.  She was chattering excitedly about being a pirate, until Anne hushed her. 

"Listen, Mari, we're going to go on that ship."  Anne pointed to a merchant ship, getting ready to leave.  Mari looked confused for a moment. 

"But what about the pirate ship?" 

"No, Mari, that ship is better."  And without waiting for a reply, Anne stepped forward to talk with one of the men on the ship, and bartered a cheap passage to Tortuga, where she would take Mari until they could find a crew to be apart of. 

Once they were on the ship, Mari stopped chattering excitedly as they watched the island grow farther and farther away.  Anne looked at the little girls face, but there were no tears.  Just a little bit of sadness at leaving; that was all. 

Anne wished that she could have been so carefree.