"Pirates!" The scream came from Will who had appeared in the hallway, his queue undone, sword held ready. Elizabeth wasn't far behind him, her face pale and drawn with fright. Will motioned for her to hide in the room with Annie, while Jack drew a cutlass and pistol from his sash.

"Not again" Elizabeth moaned as Will shut her inside the room. Looking around, she heard the haggard breathing of the people under the bed, and with some difficulty got to her knees and bent over. Annie relaxed when Elizabeth's face poked under the coverlet hanging off the side of the bed.

"What is it Elizabeth, who are they?"

"Pirates," Elizabeth answered back grimly. Ethan struggled to get out from under the bed hearing that. Annie restrained him and tried to be patient as she explained that these weren't pirates from the 'Black Pearl' and weren't friendly. She didn't think Ethan understood, he glowered at her accusingly before sullenly laying back down beside her.

Gwen mewled piteously as Annie hauled herself out from underneath the bed, dragging Ethan with her. Together with Elizabeth, they all huddled on the floor, trying to be silent. Elizabeth was frustrated, she wanted to be by her husband's side, fighting with him and Jack to get the pirate's out of her home but she knew that by being so pregnant she had no choice. All they could do was wait and hope that they wouldn't have to defend themselves.

"Jack behind you!" Jack whirled and cut the pirate sneaking up behind him across the middle with his cutlass before saluting Will with the tip of his sword to his hat, blood dripping down the naked blade. Jack smiled wolfishly and beckoned the next man to him, his white sleeves swaying. Both men had swiftly abandoned hats and coats for this battle. As much of a coward as he could be, he was a pirate through and through and pirate's loved fighting.

Jack didn't recognize these men; he had never seen any of them sailing with any of the other pirate crews in the Caribbean. It led him to believe that perhaps they were either very good at hiding their identities or their reason for being in Port Royal was very important and not just chance. Cursing a blue streak as a sword came close to skewering him; he abandoned thinking and flung himself into the battle.

"I'm scared Annie."

"Me too Ethan;" Annie drew Ethan close to her side, stroking his soft hair and trying to comfort him the best she could. She and Elizabeth screamed in terror as the door was suddenly kicked open. Will and Jack were nowhere to be seen, the fighting had drawn them away from the bedroom. A swarthy pirate with a long scar starting from the top of his head down the side of his face to his throat stood in the doorway.

Spying Annie, he growled and lunged for her. Annie shrieked and dove in the opposite direction, trying not to fall on top of Gwen who began to howl. The pirate caught a hold of the hem of her skirt and dragged her across the floor to him. Holding her close, he laughed in her face while she tried not to gag at the smell of his breath and body odor.

The pirate began pawing at the necklace that Connor had given her so long ago, his thick fingers scratching her and ripping at the bodice of her dress. She didn't make the connection between the necklace and the pirate yet, her yelps only growing louder as she was certain he was about to rape and kill her. When the pirate finally grew tired of her shrieking, he clubbed her temple with a ham of a fist, and throwing Annie over his shoulder, disappeared.

Elizabeth watched them go with wide eyes before hollering at Ethan to stay put and hiding Gwen under the bed again, charged out the door only to be met by a frantic Will. Will caught her around the shoulders and then ran his hands up her arms and looked her up and down.

"Are you alright? Is the baby alright?" Elizabeth nodded, before she pointed down the hallway.

"They took Annie, Will. Those bastards have Annie."

"Of all the scurvy, good for nothin' whoresons…" Jack paced around the small study, one of his sleeves ripped and bloodied, wee Ethan stalking along in his wake, the tiny boy's face just as angry. Elizabeth held Gwen, now sleeping on her shoulder, the poor infant exhausted. A furious Commodore sat in one of the chairs, watching Jack intently. Jack's presence could no longer be hidden with the pirate attack on the Governor's household, so they had made the Navy man agree to a temporary truce.

"Do you know who they were Jack?" Jack shook his head in disgust, pausing long enough to toss back the snifter of brandy that Will offered him. Jack was beyond furious, he was livid. To think that he'd had the opportunity to take the necklace from the wench all this time and some knave beat him to it. He'd get that damn girl back AND he'd get the necklace, you could be sure of that. Glancing down to see Ethan scuffing one boot against the other, he felt his heart sink slightly. He'd HAVE to get her back or else the children were as good as his. Placing a hand on the boy's head, he was rewarded with a smile.

Not that that would be such a horrible thing, he mused. He was fairly certain that he didn't want to ever settle down and get married; maybe having these two children around to take over things when he got older wasn't a bad idea. Stroking his goatee and watching Ethan menace Elizabeth with his wooden cutlass, he smiled; not an altogether pleasant sight with his golden teeth.

"What are we going to do?" The question was voiced by Elizabeth as she shifted Gwen across the vast expanse of her abdomen. Will smiled fondly at her and winced as Gilda, one of the maids swabbed a wound on his shoulder with a cloth. Making a face at her, she only grabbed his arm tighter and poured more alcohol onto the jagged slice. Will roared and the older woman made a 'tsk'ing noise that had Elizabeth smiling behind a hand, and Jack openly grinning.

"You my love," he said through gritted teeth and a snarl in Jack's direction; "Are going to stay here where you belong, with the future of our family safe and sound." Elizabeth's jaw set in a familiar stubborn way and Jack fluttered his fingers together nervously. A Turner family row was an amusing thing to watch, but not to get dragged into.

"Will's right I'm afraid, Miss Swann." Three pairs of eyes swung Commodore Norrington's way, one surprised, the other not, and the third furious. The Commodore squirmed slightly in his seat, clearing his throat before explaining that it wasn't that they thought her incapable, but she did have the unborn child plus Annie's two to look after. Elizabeth calmed down slightly, but only slightly. Her manner reminded Jack of a cat that had just been affronted, if she'd had a tail it would be twitching in indignation.

"We have no choice, we must go after her." Jack sighed inwardly at Will's statement. The man was going about this the honorable way, although he had just met Annie, he was already stepping forward to retrieve her. Blast the do-gooder. He was only after her necklace and the promise of treasure. Suddenly remembering the warm softness of her lips pressed against his, he scowled as the little voice in the back of his head questioned that.

"Of course not Damnit, I've only just met the wench!" Stopping, Jack's kohl-lined eyes widened slightly as he realized that he had spoken out loud. Bowing fluidly he gave what he hoped was a charming smile.

"What I meant to say was, of course we will go after her; 'tis the right thing to do." Will and Elizabeth exchanged uneasy glances. For as nice as Jack was to them, he was a pirate after all. His life's work was spent robbing people and on occasion murder. The Commodore rose then, his voice and face as stiff as the bow he gave Elizabeth.

"I will have no part in this; it is beneath me to chase after some pirate's wench when there are other more pressing matters to attend to." With that he stalked out of the room, slapping his hat onto his head. Jack watched him go, a dark eyebrow raised sardonically. Jerking a thumb after the departed man, he flashed Will a wicked smile.

"More pressing matters? Like what, pulling that stick out of his arse?" Will guffawed and slapped his knee before wincing as Gilda finished bandaging his injured arm. Waiting until the elderly, plump woman had left the room, Will motioned for Jack to join him and Elizabeth at the small table they sat at. It was time to make plans for Annie's rescue.

Annie screwed her mouth up in pain as she was dropped onto the wooden deck of a ship. Lying still for a moment, she took a deep breath, hissing in agony as the stitch in her side and the ache in her head flared up. Muttered voices surrounded her, and she was afraid to open her eyes, knowing fully well that she was on a pirate ship and that she would be looking up at a mass of unwashed, lecherous men.

Fearing the worst, she finally did open her eyes, only to see a handful of men standing around her. One was the ham-fisted baboon who had brought her there. The others were mainly young cabin boys and a few older men, one with his arm in a sling. Not fit to go out on the raid, they had remained behind on the ship. Annie wondered where the Captain was.

"O'Brien you bleeding idiot, the Captain ain't gonna like this one bit!" Annie was slightly taken aback to hear the musical lilt of Ireland in the voice of the man with the injured arm as he leaned forward to examine her. He had kind eyes, as kind as the eyes of a pirate in the moonlight could look. His red hair was pulled back into an unruly queue and hidden underneath a tri-corner hat. His leather vest hung open over the tanned expanse of his barrel shaped torso. She could see tattoos in the pale light that snaked up and down his arms.

"Ah sod off Ryan, I had to take 'er she put up a rare fight this one did." The pirate who had kidnapped her spat onto the deck, and it almost hit her hand. Jerking away, she huddled against the side of the ship, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. One of the young cabin boys prodded her with his foot and earned himself a cuff to the head from the pirate named Ryan.

"Away wi'ye Seamus, the Captain wouldn't like ye touchin' the lady." The sullen looking boy sneered and slunk off. Annie turned grateful eyes to Ryan, but he was already stalking away, O'Brien following after him in his wake. Annie was beginning to think that Ryan was the first mate of the ship; he carried himself with an air of authority.

Just then the scraping thud of a dinghy hitting the side of the ship alerted everyone that the raiding party had returned well before the pirate's themselves clambered aboard, sacks slung over their shoulders clanking, voices loud and triumphant. Most passed by her with a lewd comment or some sort of derisive remark; but the last man aboard paused and regarded her silently, his tri-cornered hat casting a shadow over his face.

This; Annie thought, must be the Captain. He wore knee-high boots that folded over and slightly baggy breeches. He wore a sash like Jack wrapped around his waist but instead of a pistol, he carried a sword and a black oaken shillelagh tucked into it. Broad shoulders filled out the white billowy shirt that appeared to almost glow thanks to the moonlight.

The man dropped to one knee in front of her, shooting a hand out and capturing her chin in a fierce grip. Annie struggled, but the man rumbled something softly to her in Gaelic and she calmed down before she realized what he had said. Stiffening, she fought him; the end result only being that he grasped her arms instead.

"Annie my annsachd did you miss me?" Eyes bulging so much she thought that they would probably drop out of her head and bounce away down the deck, she snapped her head up. The man tilted his face so that the moonlight washed over it and she almost fainted for there in front of her knelt her beloved, Conner Riley.

An evil smile played across his handsome face as he trailed his fingers down the side of her cheek and hooked them around the thin chain that she wore his ring on. Turning over the silver band etched with Celtic knot work, he ripped it off of her neck with a sudden vicious gesture and bounced it around in the palm of his hand thoughtfully.

"Ahhh Annie, my dileas lass you've kept this safe for me all this time, aye? Now I can finally seek out Gallagher's treasure on Fire Island and unlock that damned chest." Annie didn't know whether or not to be afraid or ecstatic that he was still alive and not dead like she had feared. She got her answer when he looked down at her huddled forlornly, her knees drawn up against her chest, hair tangled around her shoulders.

"And of course there is the matter of what we're going to do with you. Now that I have this, you have served your purpose and I'm not quite sure we need a woman running around underfoot." Annie's eyes widened and she desperately tried to open her mouth to speak, but she was shocked into silence. Who was this cruel, heartless man standing before her? Surely this couldn't be the same Conner she had known and loved.

She didn't have time to think about it any further for with a sudden wave of his hand, she was dragged away towards a set of doors that led down into the ship's bowels. The last taste of open air she got was marred by the sight of the man she had loved most in this world turning his back on her and walking away.

A/N – I am so sorry this took so long for me to update, I hope people still read this!

Shout Outs –

Jaina Kenobi – I'll go with it's someone else who shouldn't know Jack is in Port Royal, but Norrington shouldn't know either :D

Micheala90 – Yay update yours soon! And you clever, clever girl, yes that was blatant foreshadowing, yet no one else picked up on it I don't think.

Dell-Doo – Jack: ::wiggles finger in his ear:: Did she say STOP picking on Norrington? ::confused look::

No Jack, I think she said START…

Jack: ::happy look:: muuuuch better…

NadaZimri – Argh I've been horrible with updating lately! Forgive me! My foreshadowing is sometimes as subtle as getting hit with a baseball bat… ::Grin::

JamieBell – Psh I'd kiss Jack Sparrow anyday even if he had rolled around in a pile of garbage….::pauses:: Okay maybe after I made him take a bath, but you get my point.

JustDuck – Ehh okay well Duffy won that hand, I was trying to insinuate that but I failed.

Duffy:: WOO HOOO!! ::runs around in circles::

I love his character, I don't know why. Anywho, he'll be getting payment from Anna Maria soon enough. Yes, go read that mysterious author's work… ::shifty eyed look::

Reese Sparrow – Ack it's taken me forever to update this, and I'm sorry, hope you're still reading it!