Chapter 5

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! I'm glad that you found the flashback helpful, but we're back to the real story now. I noticed the chapter mess up in the last chapter. Whoops. Bear with me on that, I don't pay much attention to that when I have something I want to write. Lol. It either gets written or I go mad. Which is another reason why I have two chapter 3's. lol.

Ana woke up to a feeling of such content she never wanted to move again. There was no one rapping on her door, no one to snap at her and tell her to move faster, nothing to worry about except the care of two horses and-

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around. Jack was gone. She didn't see the horses anywhere either. It couldn't be, he wouldn't have left her! Not after he had risked his life to save her! It was impossible!

Scrambling to her feet she forgot about the rock ledge they had been sleeping under. After receiving a knock on her head that made her vision blur, she sighed in relief. Walking into plain sight was not only one, but two Jack Sparrow's. Leading four horses that oddly resembled Thanatos and Poseidon.

"Happened to you too?" he asked as he again tied the horses to the ledge. Pushing the hair away from the side of her head he examined the wound. There was no blood and it didn't look as if bruising would color her skin.

"Where were you?" she asked trying to keep the panic from her voice.

"'fraid I left you?" he quirked a brow, "Took the horses, the food, and escaped?"

"No." she replied stubbornly. Picking up the leather that was still on the ground he could swear he heard "Bloody daft-"

"What was that, love?" he refrained from laughing.

"I asked where you went." She said with traces of mischief still in her eyes.

"To water the horses, the grass no doubt would have had enough for them, but I figured that you'd do it anyway." He shrugged. "Saved time."

"You're as smart as you look." She smiled to herself as she put together what they had in the saddlebag. "The magazines lied."

"Beg pardon?" Jack tipped the end of his hat up again.

She evaded his question and to his amusement appeared not to have heard him at all. After taking care of the necessities she refastened the bit to their horses, and they were on their way.

"Now what was that you were saying before?" Jack wasn't about to let that slip so easily. If she won this one there's no telling what she might take into mind the next time.

He didn't like the look of the narrow stone pass they would have to cross through, too many places for animals to hide. Horses were fair game in this territory and the predators would have seen them coming for miles. Keeping on his guard he made sure that she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"The magazines, load of rubbish." She had known this topic would come up again, "They painted you as a daft, rum-toting, addled-in-the-mind pirate."

"Am I not?"

"Not one whit." She replied for the first time noticing the blue ring on Jack's right hand. When it caught the sun every color blue imaginable could be seen in the azure stone. "Can't believe everything you-"

Jack had dismounted and was lifting her down from the saddle as well. The look on his face stopped her from questioning him. His eyes never stilled on any place for more than a few moments, always moving from rock to rock, especially in the upper confines of the pass. 

Unconsciously placing his body in front of hers he stilled completely and listened for any movements around them. They were out in the open, there were any number of places for ambushers to hide. He had no weapon aside from his dagger, the pistol was safely inside the saddle-bag and there it would stay until the most opportune moment.

He reacted instantly at the familiar sound of a gun being loaded. Sure enough, bullets ricocheted through the air narrowly missing Ana as they bounced off the stones sending sparks flying. One sliced a wound into his forearm, he ignored the pain more preoccupied on where the shots were coming from.

They had time, it would take them awhile to get the pistols loaded again. Ana wasn't about to give them any advantages. Throwing a hand to her forehead, she gave a breathy little sigh and fell to a slump on the floor.

Jack stared at her body laying at his feet for a moment in pure shock. "Bloody hell!" he muttered as three sword-wielding men surrounded them.

"Hand over all you have and forfeit the woman to us." The tallest one stepped forward, he had blonde hair and deep gray eyes. He was obviously the leader, the other two stayed behind him as if used to the routine.

"And why would I want to do that, mate?" Jack crossed his arms lazily, "What do you have to barter with?"

"Your life, knave." The shortest one snarled, his hair was light brown but he had the same color eyes, the thrill of victory already shone in the silver pupils. "Do as we say or die."

"Son, you're forgetting one very important thing." Jack grinned showing a multitude of gold teeth, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

"Jack Sparrow?" the man closest to him asked squinting, "That's impossible!"

"Captain, if you please." Jack replied, "And improbable. Not impossible."

"It doesn't bloody matter, Roy!" the only person Jack hadn't heard from yet spoke, "Take the woman and leave him to us." Unlike his brothers he had hazel-colored eyes, but a mix of both blonde and brown hair.

"Been a bit deprived have you?" Jack looked at the finger-nails of one hand, "That's too ruddy bad because…" he launched his attack before they could get him. At the clubbed fist to his head, Roy went down in a heap much like Ana had.

"… she's mine, savvy?" he took the fallen one's sword and circled the oldest warily. He didn't notice Ana sit up and meet a very surprised pair of hazel eyes. She punched him squarely in the jaw and got to her feet when he staggered backwards.

"You fainted!" he muttered as he wiped a trickle of blood that ran from the corner of his lip.

"Didn't I though." She countered and brought her knee up to collide with his stomach. He grabbed her by the shoulders as he doubled over throwing off her balance calling for Issac to help him.

Jack's attention was diverted when he saw the man fall heavily on Ana's shoulder. The quick muffled yelp hadn't gone unnoticed by him. Issac took advantage of the situation and changed the sword from right to left hand. His movements were a lot neater now, more precise, but this wasn't the first time Jack had seen such a maneuver used.

He countered the attacks lithely always staying one step ahead. A cut to the rib-cage was blocked, the slash to his cheek was prevented, and Jack drew first blood as the tip of the rapier drew a fine line of scarlet down Issac's forearm.

"Damn you!" he snarled having to switch hands again. Ana no longer was in any danger, both Roy and his brother were in the same realm of unconsciousness. With a quick insert of pressure to his jugular, she had rendered him in his unfortunate state.

She had never seen anyone so evenly matched as Jack and Issac. While Jack had the agility and speed that kept him ahead of the attacks, Issac had the weight and force behind his blows that met Jack's opposition. She also noticed that Jack didn't aim to kill, he picked vulnerable points on the other man's body, but nowhere that would render it a mortal wound.

The two circled one another like rabid wolves, the gleam of adrenaline in Jack's fiery-golden eyes matching the glare of hatred in Issac's pewter ones. Ana felt the tension in the air, the fear in her stomach, she had never seen Jack like this before.

"Ready to surrender?" Jack thrust the sword in an arc towards Issac's thigh. The blow was knocked aside by the flat blade of the other.

"Never."

Jack had been planning this move from the beginning, moving just a little to his left he used the sun against his opponent. Issac was caught unprepared as the sun hit him fully in the eyes. Jack had maneuvered them so that they were no longer within the close confines of the stone pass. The elements could be used to his advantage and Jack would use anything he could to his benefit.

The hilt of the sword collided with Issac's head and he too was knocked out. Jack caught his breath a moment before walking slowly back to where Ana stood staring. The new white shirt had dots of red along the sleeves and collarbone. As Jack walked past Roy he bent down and undid the buckle of his belt.

Taking the sword's sheathe he attached it to his own belt with a small grin. "Pirate." Was all he said before taking the arm that was cradled within her grasp. "Did he hurt you, love?"

"No. The oaf fell on me, he's dislocated my shoulder." She struggled to keep things humorous, after the fight she had just witnessed… Jack had his own injuries to be worrying about.

Jack muttered something under his breath, she didn't understand what it was he said, but she didn't have to as he asked, "Can you move it at all?" he could see the effort it took her when she released the death-grip she had on her arm. The paleness of her face and deepened lines around her eyes spoke for themselves.

"After it's set, yes." She said through gritted teeth. "At the moment? No."

"Hold still." He inwardly counted to three and then took hold of her uninjured shoulder. Before she had time to grasp the concept of what he was about to do, he had already applied pressure to the socket.

Pain lanced through her and she jerked trying to get away from its source. With all of his strength he held her still and forced the bone back into it's proper place. Once he felt the click as it slid to where it should be, he made her sit where she was and take long deep breaths.

"That… hurt… like ruddy hell!" she smacked him on the cheek her anger getting the better of him. "Don't ever do anything like that again!"

"Alright! I deserved that, I'm sorry, love." He laughed as he tested his jaw. "There wasn't any other way!"

"Never again, you understand?" she pointed a finger at his chest, "I'll kill you myself next time."

"Understood, but it doesn't hurt anymore, does it." He said meaningfully.

"That's not the point." She glared at him for a minute more before surging to her feet and over to the saddlebags. "Where else are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." The wounds weren't deep, the worst was the one on his arm from the bullet. The rest were barely scratches. She already had the salve out and had unscrewed the top.

Before he realized her intent, she pushed him onto the grass and knelt at his side. "See, how do you like it?"

"Point taken!" he said holding up a hand to ward off another smack.

"Where?" she said again not taking no for an answer.

"Right here."  As she leaned over to dab ointment on the wound he entwined his hand through her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. She stiffened for a moment, but after only a slight hesitation was kissing him back.

Whether it was from the aftermath of battle, the edge of anger wearing out, or just an act that both had secretly wanted to partake in, the kiss lasted for a good few minutes before Jack pulled away.

He stared at her for a moment, she did the same, both had forgotten about the bruises, cuts, and wounds. The salve was forgotten as he leaned in again.

Authors Note 2:

Smartie-terri: lolol, I hope your happier now, I'm so glad that you find my story interesting. :)

Jackfan2: Your reviews are always loved, I hope you find time to write and that your computer stops acting up… more's coming and I'm glad that you approve of their first meeting. Hehehe

JungfuchickL Another Angel watcher!! WHOO-HOO!! The last episode, I can't believe it. It was so good though, wasn't it! I can't wait for the DVD's too, hopefully there'll be extras…

Dawnie-7: I'm glad the flashback helped, thanks for the support! Means a lot, it really does

AhiFlame- hahaha, so Ana's gone, eh? I hope this chapter was… enlightening. muhaha