Disclaimer: I still do not own PotC.

A/N: Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. I always feel like writing more when I get such positive feedback.

Chapter 4:

Ana woke with a start to find herself on an uncomfortable bed in a very small room. A small room that happened to be moving. A ship? How did she come to be on a ship?

She rose somewhat unsteadily to her feet and slowly pushed open the door. Sticking her head out into the corridor, she discovered a man who appeared to be standing guard. He was not much taller than she nor did he look much older. He had a mop of dirty blonde hair and piercing green eyes. A tattooed snake slithered its way up his right arm and a lopsided grin showcased a single gold tooth, which only reminded her of Jack.

"Where am I?" she asked, hoping to sound authoritative.

"On the Lady Maria."

She furrowed her brow. "Who are you?"

"Name's Doyle Matthews."

"Well, Mr. Matthews, what am I doing here?"

"Captain brought ye on board."

"What do you mean brought me on board?" Ana asked, struggling to make sense of this and struggling even harder to remember any of it.

"Said ye fainted."

Ana shot Matthews a glare. "I do not faint."

He shrugged, smiling. "Captain said ye did."

Crossing her arms, Ana leaned against the doorframe of the tiny cabin. She fainted. Well, of course she did. It wasn't everyday that she walked into a tavern only to run into her dead husband. "Well, convey my thanks to the Captain and – " Ana abruptly stopped speaking as the ship lurched and she lost her footing. Matthews caught her just before she would have crashed to the floor.

"Easy there, Miss." He helped her back to her feet. "Not used to being at sea?"

"No. I'm – At sea!"

Doyle nodded.

"What do you mean, at sea? Aren't we still in the harbor?" Ana was almost yelling, now."

Matthews raised his hands defensively. "Captain had us get under way just after he brought you aboard. Tortuga's a quarter of an hour to our rudder."

Ana's mouth fell open. She was sailing away from the only salvation she could think of. Prescott was probably enjoying the company of a painted lady and who knew where Jack was. Neither of the men had any idea about Chris or Lucky or whoever the hell he had become during the past two years. What in the name of heaven did he want with her anyway?

"The Captain decided to set sail, did he?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I'd like to see the Captain."

Doyle shrugged. "I'll see what I can do, but he's usually pretty busy with –"

"He'll make time for me. Just tell him his wife would like to speak with him."

88888

"Any luck?" Prescott asked.

"Plenty, just none of it good," the pirate answered as he walked out of a pub called the Faithful Bride.

"Perfect. Just bloody perfect."

"Well, did she happen to say where she was goin', mate?" Jack asked.

They had searched all of the bars along Tortuga's main street. Prescott had been in eight different establishments, and still he had not found Annie. No one had even seen her. Jack had searched the other side of the road, the results were equally disappointing. However, he at least was brandishing a fresh bottle of rum.

"Well, she was looking for you," Prescott said grabbing the rum from Sparrow's hand. "So, it would stand to reason that she was looking in the bars." He shook the bottle in front of Sparrow's eyes to emphasize his point.

"Not the best place for a lady, ye know," he said, retrieving his bottle.

"Don't editorialize." Prescott ran his hands though his light brown hair.

"There's a few more places down by the docks?" Sparrow suggested.

"Lead on."

The pirate teetered down the street ahead of Prescott. He really should have just forced Ana to stay in Kingston. She would have been dreadfully angry, but at least she would be safe. Sparrow had sent her letters, so he must be able to read. She could have written and asked him to come to her. Now, she was wandering alone through the streets of a dangerous town, and could feasibly run into her husband, a man who had been dead to her for more than two years.

Prescott's eyes wandered up to the leather hat perched on the pirate's head. Now, he knew why it had seemed familiar. Sparrow was wearing Chris' hat. He probably did not realize that fact, nor it's significance. Annie must have given it to him. That hat was one of the few things that his sister had to remember her husband by, and she had given it away. Finally, she had been able to let go of Chris, and now she may have to face him again. What was worse, was the fact that she would have to face him knowing that he had been alive for two years and not come back to her. His thoughts were interrupted by a peel of laughter from inside one of the pubs. Scarlet. She had seen Annie. Maybe she could help. "We should ask Scarlet," he said.

The pirate stopped immediately and spun around to face Prescott. He had almost winced at the mention of the woman's name. "Why would we want to do that?"

"Know her, do you?" Prescott could only imagine how well a pirate would know the women of a town like this one.

Sparrow smiled and raised his eyebrows. "A few times."

"Hmm. And she seemed like such a nice girl." The pirate glared at him. Prescott sighed, "so, what's the problem with Scarlet?"

A devilish, gold toothed grin materialized on Sparrow's face. "Knew 'er sisters too."

Rolling his eyes, Prescott said, "fine. I'll go find her. You look in the taverns by the docks."

The pirate captain pressed his palms together and bowed slightly, mouthing the words "thank you," as he staggered away.

Shaking his head, Prescott entered the tavern where he had heard Scarlet's laughter. He decided that maybe it was best not to ask Sparrow anymore personal questions. The more he got to know, the less he trusted that man with his little sister. He spotted Scarlet immediately, sitting on top of the bar.

"Knew you'd be back," she said triumphantly.

"I'm not back. I just need to ask you a question."

"Yes, I'm available tonight."

"That's not the question. I want to know where my sister went when she was finished talking to you."

"Roddy's."

"Where?"

"Bar down by the pier."

Prescott nodded his thanks as he nearly ran out onto the street. Up ahead, Jack was standing outside of a pub talking to a man who was smoking a pipe.

"She has long black hair, amber eyes, and is a bit pushy," Jack was saying as Prescott approached.

"Aye, Captain, she was 'ere."

"She was?" Prescott interrupted.

"Aye, lookin' fer Lucky Laffley, she was."

"What do you mean she was lookin' for him?" Sparrow asked, an edge creeping into the pirate's voice.

"She came up an' asked if I knew where 'e was. 'E was inside. So, I told 'er so."

"Was inside?" Prescott repeated, "where is he now?"

"Left a while ago. Girl fainted, and Lucky carried 'er out."

"Fainted?" That certainly did not sound like Annie. Why would she be looking for Chris anyway? They had only just found out he was alive.

Suddenly, the pirate's hand grabbed Prescott's shirtsleeve and pulled him into the street.

"Sparrow, what do you think you're doing?"

"We 'ave a problem, mate," he said, staring out into the harbor.

"What's that?"

"The Lady Maria is gone."

Prescott followed the pirate's gaze to the empty spot in the water. Bringing his hand to his forehead he began to massage his aching head. This was not happening. The last time anyone could remember seeing Annie was in a tavern with her not so dead husband. Now, they were both gone and so was Laffley's ship. This was not happening. Who knows where they could be going. Maybe Annie left with Chris voluntarily. Maybe she did not want anyone to go after her. On the other hand, she could have been taken against her will, or, if she truly had fainted, perhaps she did not realize she was being kidnapped. This was not happening. Prescott glanced at the pirate, and then to the pirate's half empty bottle of rum. Decisively, he snatched the bottle away from Sparrow and drained what was left of the spicy liquid.

TBC

Well, that's it for now. I'm going on vacation and I'll be gone till Thursday. Sorry, to say I won't be able to update till then. If anyone's interested, I wrote a little Jack/Ana one shot called "Forgiveness." It doesn't have much to do with this story, as it takes place after the movie. But, it could help tide you all over till Thursday. I do plan to write during the drive, so hopefully I'll have some good stuff to post as soon as I get back!