Heh heh heh…. Oops… I didn't have enough time to finish this chapter yesterday. Sorry! And, Grr! The site was down for so long!!

I go back to my mom's house tomorrow, and she is overly possessive of her computer. If I can get Microsoft Word installed in my grandfather's old laptop then we have no problem, but if not then it'll take me a bit longer to do these chapters.

Quote: I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
--Douglas Adams Author, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Disclaimer: I own Jack, POTC and all the rest of the characters. The negation of the previous statement is correct.

-------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Greetings

Rhia walked out of her bedroom, having just woken up. The sun was very high in the sky, and she figured she slept in. Her father was deep asleep in his room, and Rhia was quite sure that those beyond the forest could hear his deep, rumbling snore. Smiling slightly, she thought of going for her walk, but refrained from doing so. Rhia didn't want to leave the stranger alone with a man who could sleep through the apocalypse.

Rhia was about to start on house chores when she heard something fall in her brother's old room, where the stranger slept. Wanting to investigate, she walked cautiously up to the door. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she began to turn, when all of a sudden a loud rap came from the front door. Rhia jumped and put her hand to her heart, steadying herself. Letting go of the knob, she went to the front door to find her friend Middy anxiously waiting to be let in.

"Good morning, sunshine!" She said loudly while stepping inside, looking avidly around.

Rhia grinned. "I just woke up." She said guiltily.

"So…" Middy said pointedly. "Where's this stranger o' yours?"

"Sleeping."

Middy looked at Stanley's old room. "Can I take a peek?"

"Middy, I don't think that's a great idea." Rhia frowned. Middy could be weird sometimes.

"Oh, why not?" Middy whined.

"He's recovering from something nasty…" Rhia said. "Highly contagious." She added on a whim. "He can't be woken or else he'll infect my father and I."

Middy made a face. "Oh…" She looked around from the tabletop to the ceiling and backed outside. "Er… Why don't you bring him by when he's all better? My mother wants to meet him too."

'Great… Dad was right.' Rhia shooed her out of the house. "I might. Now, leave before he gets up and infects us all."

Middy looked frightened as Rhia closed the door. Rhia stifled a laugh as she watched Middy jog into the woods. She turned back to the door of her brother's room and began opening the door again. She found the bandaged stranger pointing what looked like the leg of the bedside table at her. When he saw that she was a woman, he relaxed a bit.

After a few awkward moments of just staring at one another, he lowered the table leg, not seeing her as a threat. "Erm… Hello." Rhia said, holding her ground.

The man raised one eyebrow and looked her up and down. "'Ello." He sat down on the bed and pulled at a shirt of Stanley's that he was wearing. "Why am I 'ere?"

Rhia sat on the bed next to him and looked in his eyes. "I found you unconscious on the beach. My father and I have been watching over you a full day now."

"Ah… Where am I?" He asked, trying gingerly to take off the bandage on his arm. Rhia slapped his hand and he stopped immediately.

"Don't pull at that… You're in Rathaway. Where are you from?" Rhia felt comfortable in his presence, like she'd known him for a while.

"Er… I don't know." He said while looking around the room. "Where's me hat?"

"What hat?" Rhia asked.

"Oh… I don't know. Did I have anythin' with me at the beach?" He asked. "Who am I?"

Rhia was taken aback. "No, and how could you not know who you are?"

"I don't know." The man agreed. "It isn't somethin' tha' should be very forgettable, aye?"

"Amnesia." A deep voice from the open doorway said. Rhia looked up suddenly and found her father staring back at her. "What do you remember?"

The stranger looked down with his deep brown eyes. "Not much. I could tell ye I had a mother and Father, but naught of their names. I can't remember any small details of anything." He sighed deeply and laid back against the wall. "Damn. Don't even 'ave a name."

Rhia began to feel bad for this stranger she knew nothing about. "I wish I cou-."

"You're name's Jack." Evan suddenly said.

Rhia was confused. "Wait, how could you know that?"

"That tattoo on his arm. He's infamous among the navy and other pirates." Evan said cautiously.

"I'm a…" Jack started. He gave up and dropped his hands from the air and closed his eyes. "Okay… Does this pirate 'ave a last name?" he asked impersonally.

"Sparrow."

"Hmm…" Jack said, opening his eyes. "I'm named after a bird, am I?"

Rhia held back a laugh. "I understand now." Rhia said. Jack looked at her in question. "Before my dad met my mother he was a commodore, isn't that right, father?"

Evan hesitated a moment then nodded.

"So that would be how he knows this." Rhia grinned because she had figured it out.

"What else do ye know?" He asked her father.

Evan shook his head. "Not much more."

"Well… I 'ave a name. What abou' you two? Do you have names?" Jack asked, directing the question to Rhia inparticular.

"Rhia and Evan." Evan spoke for the both of them. "Come Rhia, let him rest."

"I actually don't mind the company." Jack said to Evan. Rhia smiled. 'Neither do I.'

"Rhia, come." Evan demanded. He held the door open and motioned for her to follow. Rhia huffed and left the room. "Go in your room a moment. I need to talk to Mr. Sparrow."

Rhia didn't like being told to do anything. When Evan closed the door the Stanley's old room, she put her ear to the door. 'What can't he say in front of me?' Through the door, she could hear only small parts of sentences from when voices were raised.

"-can't stay for long… get you…" Rhia figured this was her father's voice.

"-derstand… You were…." Jack's voice made it only slightly through the door.

"-on't tell her. It'd kill her to know…" Rhia decided she didn't want to hear anymore and went to her room.

She regretted ever hearing any of that conversation. With all the missing pieces, it'd be too hard to figure out what they were saying. 'But what doesn't he want me to know?' Rhia didn't want to think about it, so she thought of another subject. 'A pirate! How exciting…'

----------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------

Way short, and I apologize, but I'm going to Chinese!

BTW, peppermint is so much better than spearmint, so :P!!

QUESTION FOR REVIEWERS: Dogs, cats, or boa constrictors?

Rachel Sparrow – Oh definitely peppermint.

ProudMuggleGirl – I ain't telling. And ew!! Spearmint is gross!!

Blue Autumn Sky – What I meant by that is that my other stories, finding the lost and losing the found were taken off. This one is completely new.

Blackcharityflint – My first concert ever was Spice Girls! Oh yeah, GIRL POWER! Lol. Nah, I don't know why I liked them when I was 11. Dang, that was exactly 5 years ago yesterday.

Agent Katy – Well I dunno. Spearmint I suppose is okay… Marriage? They just met, dude.

devilsfan2615 – Hey! Another peppermint fan. Dang, If this was a vote, I think peppermint lost.

Morgan Martin-Jordan – Beauty and the Beast? I don't think so. That was definitely not an inspirational point. Hehe I can't wait for later chapters! They're gonna be so fun to write.

untouchable1400 – Yeah, Jake is gonna be fun to beat up later on… Lol!