[No no no! You misunderstood. She's not ashamed of him, he just thinks that she is. She wants him to look nice mainly because he's wanted in England and if he looks different, then maybe he won't get caught. And back then, if someone thought that you were a criminal, you got hung. No matter who you were. Amanda's trying to protect Jack and if he acted like himself, then they would get in trouble. It's complicated. I'm sorry, I'll work all this out in chapter 7. Oh, and the first time it was her leaving him. Now it's his turn. But don't worry, he doesn't leave. You'll see. Just wait. By the way, thank you so much for your reviews. They really make my day sometimes. :-)]

That night, I paced my room. What had I said? What had I done? I chewed on my pointer finger in concentration. Dried tears stained my face and fresh ones covered them. After about an hour of pacing, I walked over to the porthole and opened it. I looked up at the sky.

"God, I know that you're out there. You've done great things for me, but please don't take Jack away from me." I sank down into my arms and cried again.

After I was finished, I settled on the bed and hugged Jack's pillow. A few minutes later, Jack came into the room and lay down on the floor next to the table. When about an hour had passed, I fell asleep.

The next day dawned, but I didn't leave the room. Jack had left before I was awake, and was probably thinking about how mean I was. I sniffled.

After I changed my clothes and washed my face, I sat back down on the bed. I had no desire to see Jack again.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

Jack walked in. "We are nearing England. Pack up your stuff." He slammed the door behind him.

Still his wife, I obeyed his command and packed my few belongings.

When I was finished, the ship stopped and I felt the anchor hit the ocean floor. I slowly walked out onto the deck with my best "I'm sorry" face on and found Jack lowering the lifeboat. He acknowledged me with a nod and helped me into the small craft. He picked up the oars and silently rowed to shore.

A tailored man helped me onto the deck. With a bony finger, he opened his ledger.

"That'll be 5 shillings to dock your ship."

I looked over at Jack, who was intentionally ignoring me. I smiled at the old man and took 6 shillings out of my purse.

"There you are. Keep the rest."

He sifted through the coins. "A shilling. Now I can die happy." He slammed his book shut, stuffed the coins in his pocket and stomped away.

I looked over at Jack, who was holding my bags, and still ignoring me.

He knew that I was looking at him. "You said that you have relatives here. Let's find them." He started walking to shore so I followed.

It took us a while, but we eventually found the house of my Aunt Felicity and Uncle Benjamin. I jingled the bell by the door and a toy soldier butler answered the door.

"Yes," he said with a voice as stiff as a board.

"Hello, I'm here to see Benjamin and Felicity Swann. Are they at home?"

The butler looked at Jack with disgust. "They are indeed, my lady, but I will not allow that man in this house."

I scowled. "If you do not, then I shall have to tell my Aunt and Uncle to fire you."

His expression didn't change. "Very well, come in."

He led us inside the front room just as Felicity walked in the room. She gasped at me.

"Amanda, is that you?" She ran to me and gave me a hug. "Oh, my dear! 15 years is too long a time! I've missed you so much!" She looked over at Jack. "Who is this?"

"Aunt Felicity, this is my husband."

I detected a bit of displeasure in her face, but she smiled and shook Jack's hand. "You are welcome to stay with us. Any friend of Amanda's is my friend as well."

"Well, it sounds tempting, but I'm afraid that I must be gone. So I must say my farewells." He fiddled with his hat and looked at the ground.

Felicity pulled me aside. "Is there something going on between you and your husband, dear?"

I looked over at Jack who was very uncomfortable. "There will be time for explaining later. Excuse us." I took Jack's hand and he walked back outside with me.

I stared at the ground for a while before I had the courage to look at him. I tried to say something a few times, but my throat caught. "I'm sorry, Jack." Before he could pull away, I hugged him, sliding my lips up his cheek.

He unwrapped me from his embrace and took my hand. He slid Bootstrap's ring off of his right pointer finger and slipped it onto my thumb. Placing his hands on my cheeks, he kissed my forehead.

I savored the feeling of his hands. "Please, Jack. Please don't say goodbye." He stared at me with his big brown eyes and didn't answer. My sniff broke the silence.

A glint of a tear was in his eye. "I'll let you know when I find the children."

With one final glance, he turned and walked away and never looked back. I know, because I watched him. When he was no longer in sight, I sank to the ground and cried until I passed out.

[Waaaaaaaah! That's sooooo sad! I'm going to write chapter 7 with speed so they can be back together again.]