DISCLAIMER: I think we all know the truth. But for those who want to know, here it is: I do not claim ownership of anything you recognize. They belong to whom they belong and those people know who they are. Savvy?

Summary: For years Jack has kept his darkest secret close beside him. However, he is forced to tell Ana the truth when a mysterious figure confronts Jack and claims to know the answers Jack seeks. J/A. Rating for some violence.

Half-Life

Part 3

Jack slowly advanced towards the bones and looked them over cautiously, feeling another strange twinge of memory pull at his heart. He ignored it. "Poor soul," he muttered under his breath, preparing to turn away from the unnerving empty stare of the skull's sightless sockets.

"Poor soul indeed."

Jack spun on his heel with his cutlass raised, prepared to fight. Thoughts reeled through his mind as he mentally prepared himself to fight the large batch of foes that he was sure were near.

"Relax friend. What are you doing here alone?"

Jack relaxed significantly when he saw that the only other person in the carriage house was the hooded man he had spoken with the night before. He sheathed his cutlass and took a deep breath to regain his nonchalant composure. "Just thought I'd have a look around."

"It is not safe here."

"Then why did you bring me here in th' first place?" Jack inquired with a subtle challenge.

"That is not for you to question. Get out."

"Won't you tell me more?"

In reply the figure lunged forward and drew Jack's cutlass before the pirate could react. The hooded figure grasped Jack's arm as it snaked toward the now-empty sheath and tossed Jack over his shoulder. He had the cutlass pressed to the pirate's throat before Jack could recover from being thrown. Slowly, Jack raised his hands in defeat, having no intention of fighting back. He knew he didn't have the means as he gazed with hidden worry up at the cloaked figure wielding his cutlass.

"Now, I give you a friendly warning," the figure said in a low, dangerous tone that belied the posed friendliness of the words. "Do not come back here unless I bring you. There is nothing to be learned on your own. Stay away from here unless you want both yourself and your first mate to meet her fate." He indicated the pile of bones in the corner with a nod as he said the last, moving the tip of the blade away from Jack's throat just enough so the pirate captain could glance at the bones. "Is that understood?"

"Clearly," Jack hissed, giving in reluctantly. The sword was gone from Jack's neck and as soon as he stood he soon felt the press of the warm hilt in his own hand.

"Good. Now act on it. Out with you and collect your first mate from beside the next building," the cloaked man commanded, pointing a stern finger at the only exit.

"Ana?"

"Go."

Jack turned away from the cloaked figure and exited the ramshackle carriage house dejectedly. He continued on the dusty road until he was near the next building. "Ana!" His voice held all the anger that he bore directed at both her and the cloaked figure whom had caused him to rethink his whole being. And the anger was not suppressed.

Slowly, as if unsure whether or not to approach him, Ana stepped out from the building's shadow and went to stand awkwardly at Jack's side but being sure to stay out of striking distance. She could sense his tension and anger and so decided silence was the best choice. But how had he known she was there?

The two pirates took their time getting back to the docks and their ship. Ana would have liked to travel faster but she knew it was wisest to keep pace with Jack; no matter how slow he was walking. From the look on his face he was lost in his thoughts and probably not very happy ones either.

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When the two pirates set foot onboard the Black Pearl they were unsurprised that the decks were virtually vacant; Jack had given the crew a few extra days of shore leave that morning and they were making the best of it. In other words, most of the hands were probably lying in a gutter somewhere in Tortuga and sleeping off the previous night's fun.

Jack crossed to the sea-facing side of the ship's deck without bothering to announce his presence per usual and thoughtlessly stripped down to only breeches on his way, tossing clothing garments to either side of his path. Ana watched him with a mixture of worry and amusement; she had only seen Jack be so thoughtless a few times since she had known him and even though each time came about when he was deep in serious thoughts she couldn't help but find it entertaining.

When Jack climbed over the railing and dove into the water below Ana slowly strode over to the rail with the simple intent of watching over him. As she leaned heavily on the rail and relaxed, preparing to let her mind wander a bit, she let out a slow, quiet sigh.

"'ello luv,"

Ana started from her half-daze and looked down. Jack was treading water just beside the Pearl's hull and grinning his infuriatingly coy smile up at her.

"Hi Jack," she said back, her voice more monotone than she had intended. As she had suspected Jack's grin faltered at her flat tone and he looked up at her quizzically.

"You a'right luv?"

"It's Ana and yes, 'm fine." Ana replied somewhat tartly, deciding that now would be a rather opportune moment to get revenge on him for his earlier hard edge toward her.

"Ah,"

"What?"

"You need t' relax, luv," Jack said floppily as he leaned back in the water and floated on his back while gazing up at her with that stupid grin back in place.

"Jack I'm not coming down if tha's what yer thinking," Ana growled with a dare just below the surface of her words.

The grin widened. "Get in th' water, luv. That's an order."

Ana shot a dirty look down at her captain before turning her back on the rail. She paced the deck near the rail agitatedly, fighting with herself to come to a decision.

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Jack watched the railing of his ship where Ana had disappeared moments ago with a hopeful look buried deep in his eyes. Surely she wouldn't disobey…

SPLASH!

Jack shook the water from his face and moved instinctively toward his Pearl while he waited for his vision to clear of water. When he could once again see properly he found himself looking into Ana's fuming face. He grinned.

"Good t' know yer're no unruly wench." Instantly he regretted his word choice and Ana's slap seconded the regret. When he had spoken he had overlooked the minor detail that Ana would kill—or castrate—a man for calling her a wench. Luckily for him, he was no ordinary man. "I deserved that. Sorry, Ana."

Ana snorted indignantly and glared daggers at her captain. Eventually his kicked-puppy look cooled her raging temper and she smiled. She reached for his cheek and Jack instinctively flinched, expecting another slap. To his surprise all he felt was Ana gently trailing her fingers along his jaw line. His grin returned with a more mischievous light.

Ana froze and lowered her hand. "No."

Jack's grin broadened, glad she had gotten his meaning. He raised a hand over the water and paused for effect even as Ana turned her back on him and tried to swim away. Jack caught her ankle, holding her near him, and brought his hand down on the water, sending a spray of salty liquid over Ana. Ana hissed and turned to face him as he released her ankle with a grin. The grin was washed away when Ana splashed him back.

"Yer're askin' for it now, luv," Jack drawled, sending another cascade of water at his first mate. Ana returned the favor. The two continued to splash and chase one another in the water just inside the Pearl's watchful shadow for quite some time.

Ana lunged at Jack and got behind him, gripping his muscular shoulders to ensure that she would remain behind him even if he tried to turn. After resituating her grip on his shoulders she pushed herself up out of the water and in turn she pushed Jack under.

Jack was barely able to take in a breath before he was forced down into the dark abyss of the water by a force other than his own. Before he could place the sense of foreboding he felt, he was thrashing wildly in the water, fighting the force that was no longer holding him down. In his wild rage he released his only breath into the water and forced his way to the surface.

The moment he broke the surface Jack took a deep breath as if he had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes when he had only been beneath the water's surface for a few seconds. After calming his nerves, but not his temper, sufficiently he turned a sharp gaze on Ana; his look alone made her recoil.

"What the-"

"Jack,"

"Was tha' for?!"

Ana looked down at the water, suddenly very timid. When Jack got this mad even her temper knew that arguing would only make things worse; she took his yelled berating in silence. She remained placidly in the water even after he swam for the rope hanging from the Pearl's railing and began climbing.

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Ana crossed the deck slowly, silently going over her plan for confronting Jack which was sketchy at best. She knew he was not one to go wandering randomly through any town without a purpose in mind. Therefore she had to discover the method to his madness from that afternoon. The only hindrances to this discovery were Jack's reluctance to answer her questions and his uncharacteristic anger. She knew she was treading on thin ice by even trying to understand her captain's newest torment.

And normally she wouldn't be as inquisitive as she was now except that he was also behaving strangely, even for him. Once they had finished their duo swim in the early afternoon he had instantly retreated into his cabin and hadn't been seen or heard from since; it was now well past sunset.

Finally having reached the door to his cabin she knocked lightly. "Jack?"

"What?" His response was much harsher than she had expected but she felt that she somehow deserved it.

"Can I come in?"

She heard her captain sigh in irritation and soon a series of footsteps crossed to the door. After a moment's pause Jack opened the door slightly and peered out. "An' why would you want t' be doin' that, I wonder?"

Somewhere deep inside Ana was hurt by the cold sarcasm in his voice but she was careful not to show it. "T' talk," she replied without missing a beat.

Jack sighed in his overly dramatic fashion and stepped aside, opening the door wide and grandly bowing as he waved her in. Ana stepped into the cabin and shortly after jumped when the door was slammed shut. Jack swished past her and went to sit at the table, propping his feet up on the tabletop and leaning back in the chair. "Wha' do you have t' say? Try t' make it quick Anamaria."

Ana, having no intention of leaving him alone until she had learned all the details of his plight, sat down across from him and fixed her steady gaze on his face. In response Jack simply pulled his hat down to cover his eyes.

"Speak up."

"Why did ye go to tha' carriage house today?"

"A better question is, why did you follow me?"

"I asked first."

"I'm th' cap'n."

"Fine. If I answer first you answer after that, deal?"

"Perhaps."

Seeing that she didn't really have a choice, Ana decided to tell the truth. "I followed you because you were actin' kinda strange last night. You left th' tavern early and I went back t' the ship, thinking that's where you had gone. But you weren't here."

"What does that have t' do with today's trip?"

Ana shrugged. "I suppose what you will."

"Fair enough. But I don't need you watchin' my back all th' time. Or any of th' time, fer that matter." Jack's face was still cast in the shadow of his hat and that fact was starting to get to Ana. She hated when she couldn't see his face while talking to him for even though he was very good at keeping his emotions masked, when they spoke alone she could usually read his emotions by looking into his eyes.

"Now answer me."

"I were meetin' someone."

"Tha's a lie and we both know it, Jack Sparrow."

"Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Not here yer not. Not when we're havin' a talk. Now answer truthfully."

Jack remained eerily still and silent; Ana set her resolve and waited him out. He broke with a slow exhalation and ran a hand down his face as he leaned forward conspiratorially. When his movements brought his dark gaze from the shadow of his hat the look in his eyes froze Ana to the core of her being.

"I can't tell you why unless you know the whole story. And it's a story I'd rather not delve into now. Or ever." Ana was shocked at how clear-cut his speech was as he spoke. Never in all the time she'd known him had she heard him speak so seriously. Even when he had been addressing life and death issues before he had maintained the drunken slur that was so characteristic of him. She must have stumbled on to his darkest secret.

"If you told me I could help. Or it could at least help me understand so I wouldn't be tempted t' skin you alive every time I saw you." She had expected the last bit of her speech to draw even a hint of a smile from him but his face remained as cold as stone.

"This is no joking matter Ana. The only other person in the world who knows—knew—this about me was the same man I owe my life to a hundred times over. But now he's gone."

"Bootstrap?" Jack didn't respond directly nor did he move to show any acknowledgement but something deep in his eyes told her that she had guessed right. "Jack you can trust me. Just tell me this once an' I swear I shall never bring it up again."

Jack's fiery brown eyes met her steady hazel gaze and she could see his inner struggle. She knew he had problems trusting anyone, no matter how long he had known them, ever since Barbossa and his first crew had mutinied. A part of her was angry with him for not trusting her outright even though she understood, to some degree, why. Jack and Barbossa had once been as close as brothers, or so he had said. Then, when Barbossa had led the mutiny, Jack had been nearly broken. Nearly. But now he was older, wiser, and used his past to learn. Now he was very careful about who he let into his heart and the current number of residents there was zero.

"Alright."

Ana jumped when Jack spoke, startled her from her thoughts. "What?"

"Alright. I'll tell you. But if you let anyone else know, I'll have to kill you."

Ana nodded gravely knowing full well that his word was his bond. "You can trust me. I want you to know that."

Jack tentatively wet his lips, seeming to fortify himself against what he was about to say. "Why do you think I avoid questions about my past?"

Ana shrugged then silently chided herself for the action. Jack might take it as a sign that she didn't really care. "I always figured you just had bad experiences in the past and wanted to avoid bringing them up. Or just to add to the mystery of your title."

Jack nodded, the movement barely noticeable. "It's good that you think that, but you're wrong."

"Will you tell me the truth?"

"The truth? If only I knew."

"What do you mean?"

Jack fell completely silent and as the minutes ticked by Ana began to feel awkward. Her captain's eyes took on a distant light and she began to fidget. She soon began to feel as if she had gotten as far as possible with the infuriating man.

"I don't know the truth."

Ana jumped, having not expected Jack to say anything more on the topic. When his words finally registered with her, her eyes filled with compassionate sadness for him.

"All I remember is waking up in an inn in Tortuga and Bootstrap…taking care of me." Ana was speechless. She wasn't sure if he was lying to her…but his tone was so serious; so sincere. She kept her compassionate expression and remained silent, trying to coax him into continuing. "He claimed he had watched the captain of a merchant vessel throw a burlap sack over the ship's rail when the pirates had boarded. So, he jumped over and fished the sack out…"

Ana couldn't help herself; she had to ask. "What was in the sack?"

"Me." Despite her resolve to keep her emotions masked, as Jack did so well, Ana's jaw slipped open in shock. Jack ignored her reaction as the words continued to pour from his mouth, but not unchecked. "Bootstrap told me that I was half-drowned when he found me. So he took me in, thereby loosing his position on the ship, and cleaned me up; nursed me back to health. Heck, Bootstrap made a better nurse than a pirate. I wish he would have quit…right there…" Jack paused and swallowed several times, obviously he was loosing control of his speech to his emotions and he was fighting to regain the control he valued above everything else.

Finally he was able to continue in a more collected manner. "Then he asked me why I had been in the sack in the first place." Jack paused again while the memories of his closest—now deceased—friend choked him further and gave his emotions a gateway to Jack's composure. Ana waited as patiently as she could; she thought she knew how hard it must be for him to talk about what he remembered, but she only knew the half of it. Jack finally forced himself to continue, his voice barely above a whisper as he finished his story. "I don't know."

"You don't remember?" Ana asked gently, trying to keep her emotions from overcoming her voice.

"No. Apparently I had received a bad head injury before I was shoved in that sack." Jack answered bitterly. "And that's that. I don't know my past before I was thirteen."

"Jack," Ana breathed sympathetically as she placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and squeezed gently, trying to use her presence to reassure him.

Jack slipped out from under her hand's comforting warmth and paced to the far side of the room. Though she couldn't be sure, it looked to Ana as if he was…shaking. Shaking with silent sobs. She crossed the cabin hesitantly and when she came to a stop just behind him her suspicions were confirmed: the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow was crying. Ana chided herself silently once again. Of course he was crying, who wouldn't in his position? After all, Jack was still only human…

Ana was pulled from her thoughts as Jack sank to the cabin floor, his back still to her, and placed his head in his hands. The inaudible sobs that wracked his body were more pronounced and Ana knew he was using quite a bit of energy to keep himself silent. Ana sank faithfully beside her captain and pulled him into her arms. She was mildly surprised when he didn't resist the offer of comfort and she held him as he began to cry openly, staining her shirt with his tears.

Ana waited for him to calm down before finishing his story; he still hadn't explained his being at the carriage house. Finally Jack was able to squelch his emotions and as he wiped the stray tears from his eyes the guard slipped back into place. The only evidence that he had been crying was the redness of his face and eyes and the smeared kohl.

"Don't worry captain, it never happened," Ana said quietly, wanting to win his trust before prodding him for more of an explanation. Jack nodded with the ghost of a thankful smile. "But why were you at the carriage house? What does that have to do with any of it?"

"The man in the hood."

Ana's eyebrows pinched in confusion as her captain stood and brushed past her with his head lowered contemplatively. "Who?"

"I don't know who he is exactly. But he said he could tell me my past…at a price."

A red flag went up in Ana's mind but she pushed the feeling away roughly. "Price?"

"Ne'er mind," Jack muttered, slipping off into his own thoughts. He took in a deep breath and Ana waited, feeling that he was about to speak. "I just owe Bootstrap so much; I'd gladly take his place at the bottom of the sea."

Ana stood and went to Jack's side once more, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "If it's all the same cap'n, I like you where you are right now." Jack grinned at this and Ana's heart fluttered with hope.

As Jack returned to his musings, however, the grin faded. "I should have died in that mutiny, not him. He took me on, taught me how to fight, helped me deal with not knowing my name or where I came from." The ghost of a smile lit Jack's face as memories of his first few years under Bootstrap's council surfaced. "He helped me make a new identity for myself with an utterly absurd beginning involving mermaids and sea monsters." Ana allowed herself to smile slightly as well, feeling content that Jack trusted her. "That's when Jack Sparrow was born," Jack finished wistfully. Then something flashed in his eyes: a determination from deep within his soul. Before Ana could react Jack was heading for the cabin door, fixing his hat firmly on his head.

"Jack, what are you doing? Where are you going?"

"I need a drink. I'll be back before dawn."

Ana watched her captain go silently. She didn't believe his reason for leaving but she wasn't about to get into an argument over it either. She knew he hated being watched over; it made him feel weak, however she couldn't help the fact that she worried over the pirate captain who was too daft for his own good.

So she watched him go quietly and waited for the opportune moment.

[a/n: 00;; It...grew. Originally this chappy was 3 pages but when I edited it it grew to 7 pages. XD ...sorry?]