Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the places, just the plot and imaginative background collaborating this story. The standard disclaimer and all: Writer to reader and but to butt; stay off my ass you crazy nut. --;;

Exodus: From Past to Present

Previously on Exodus: "I'm leaving Jack." Ana fidgeted before saying, "I guess this is good-bye."

Jack nodded sadly. "Aye, guess it is," he paused, his hat in his hands. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," she whispered, her attention suddenly focused on her feet. She felt a hand on her arm and glanced up just as Jack gently kissed her cheek. "Take care of yourself," he offered.

With last regrets, Jack watched her sail away until she became a small dot on the horizon before completely disappearing all together.

---

Anamaria sat at her desk, the only sound the steady scratching of the quill upon the parchment she wrote on. The letter in which she wrote was a lengthy one and she finally ended it signing her name to the bottom as she sat back in her chair. Replacing the quill in the inkwell, she picked the letter up and quickly reread it. Setting it back down, she folded it before sealing it closed with wax.

Turning it over, she wrote Captain Jack Sparrow on it, the writing crisp and clean as she stood up. Her eyes lingered on the parchment a moment longer before a feeling of nervousness knotted in the pit of her stomach as she remembered the letter from Jack she had received.

It had been six years since she last saw him, and every now and then she'd find a letter waiting for her. That was their connection now; a few letters here and there. After she had left the Pearl she traveled around a bit, signing on from one ship to the next until she finally landed herself in the Carolina's. When she reached the colonies, her spark for adventure on the high seas just seemed to die right along with her spirit, so instead of bartering passage back to the Caribbean, she stayed where she was.

It took some time, but she eventually had success as a dressmaker's apprentice and before long, she had a shop of her own. For the most part, she was happy- she was well off, had made a few friends here and there and she still had her health; something Ana found to be cherished.

She stood in front of a mirror and studied her reflection, her nose wrinkling in scrutiny. Not much had changed she mused as she continued to stare at herself. Her hair was notably longer, the once course edge from the salt water gone, replaced with a black shine. She ran a finger over a cheek, the brown skin barely rippling in her youth. She sighed and turned away, a wooden model of a ship atop a chest of drawers catching her attention.

Ana traced the fine sail with a smooth fingertip before looking away, memories flooding her thoughts. She missed Jack… Their letters were so few, Ana sometimes wondered if he remembered she was still alive. But this previous letter left no doubt; she knew he knew.

There had never really been anything but lust between them; love was simply out of the question and Ana was sure that Jack had never really felt that way about her. The only thing that had been there was the desire: his desire for her and nothing more. Of course, six years was a long time for someone to change their mind and maybe, just maybe, a little something had changed in Jack's.

But just as Ana thought, things didn't last. In her heart, the saying 'when it seems too good to be true, it usually is' had settled deeply. The loss of her daughter was proof of that. But yet, despite that one tragedy, the world had not ended. The sun still rose and it still set, even if it set a little lower in Anamaria's heart. And the one thing that remained was, Jack had still been there for her, and she had run out on him.

Her heart fluttered for a moment as she reminisced what she had read in Jack's latest letter. He had said he missed her terribly- that without her, nothing was the same. Not the crew, the raids, or the ship; to Ana, his letters made it all cease to exist. The captain's words were full of sorrow and she had to briefly stop and wonder if maybe there was something else there that she was missing. She finally shrugged it off as her being paranoid, that Jack and the crew were fine.

They were pirates after-all she mused, and everyone knew that pirates could take very good care of themselves. The dull white of her letter caught her eye and she deftly moved across the floor to the desk. Shaking her head, she slipped the parchment inside her cloak as she stepped out the door into the evening.

---

The steady swish of skirts broke the silence as she strode through the dusty streets for home. She had had a tiring day at the shop, and her aching feet were all but agreeing for her to finally rest and take her awful shoes off. As she picked the hem of her skirt up to keep it clean, she had to stop and mentally chuckle at herself, Jack would definitely be shocked if he were to see me like this, she pondered, a grin upon her face.

She finally reached the comfort of the little house and heaved a sigh of relief as she opened the front door and hurried inside. A flash of white captured her attention and she stooped down to fish a clean and neatly addressed envelope from the floor, a frown settling on her face. Certainly the note was not from Jack; her letter hadn't even reached him yet, she was sure. And the handwriting scrawled on the front, was definitely not Jack's either. Tossing her black bag on a side table, she eased herself into the desk chair and tore the letter open

Withdrawing the clean cream colored parchment Ana unfolded it, a small scrap of paper falling from its confines. She reached down to pluck it from the spot by her feet, a chill running down her spine. Turning it over, she saw a brown seal stamped into the paper's grain; an anvil and a hammer. Ana narrowed her eyes in confusion as she ran a finger over it, its significance meaning nothing to her.

Setting it aside, she looked back at the letter in her hands, her dark eyes slowly reading down the page. A small gasp escaped her as she allowed the letter to flutter to the floor. The chair scraped across the floor as she rose to her feet and grabbed a shawl before rushing out into the chilling night.

---

Normally, a letter such as this Ana would have shrugged off, but something about it frightened her. In the back of her mind, the warning bells were going off saying that she should heed the note and heed it she did.

She gripped the ships' railing tightly, her thoughts retreating back to that particular night. After having read the anonymous letter, she had rushed out to the docks looking for anyone who would allow her passage onboard their ship back to the Caribbean. After a great deal of haggling with several captain's she finally found one who agreed on her price and they set sail as soon as she was ready.

It had only been a few hours since they left port but already she was dreading the voyage, the feeling had set in as soon as the shoreline vanished from her sight. A month onboard after six years on land worried her, would she still have her sea legs? She lifted her chin high, a proud look crossing her features; she was a pirate, and a damned good one at that. Besides, who ever heard of a pirate losing their sea legs? It was absolutely absurd.

Turning her face toward the sun, throwing her caution to the wind, Ana closed her eyes reveling in the feeling of the sea beneath her once more. Soon, she'd be home again, back with Jack and the others. Back where she had left everything behind.

Author's Notes: Now that the two pirates are meeting back up, things will start to look a lot better, I hope. And maybe we can get this story moving along with the rest of them.