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 10

"Gibbs, what're we doin' 'ere so early?" Matelot inquired tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "The sun 'asn't even risen yet!"

"Have you not noticed the rain clouds, Mr. Matelot?" Gibbs growled, his mind set on finding his captain and first mate. His orders from Ana had been quite clear: come to find her and Jack at the old carriage house outside of town only if they had not returned by dawn. Well, dawn had come and gone, but neither of the commanding officers had returned, which caused Gibbs to worry. 'Needlessly,' a part of his mind supplied. 'You're fretting over nothing and giving yourself more gray hair for nothing. Jack and Ana are fine. They probably just had a night of fun and are sleeping it off.' The last caused rather scandalous thoughts to invade Gibbs' mind, which he quickly silenced. It would do no good to be thinking such…inappropriate thoughts.

The small procession of sailors came to a halt a few yards from the entrance to the half-destroyed carriage house that had seen many decades of wear and tear from the elements.

'A rather uncomely place for a night out,' Gibbs thought to himself, looking the ramshackle building over with a critical eye. To the sailors he said, "Wait here." He then proceeded to enter the deteriorating building with extreme caution, not trusting the water-logged roof. True, the storm was finally dying down, but the rain continued to pour heavily from the sky, casting a grim countenance over the land.

"Jack? Anamaria, lass?" Gibbs called into the semi-darkness of the building's interior. All he received in response was a pop from the dying fire. He decided to try again, louder this time. "Cap'n Sparrow?"

Gibbs paced slowly to the center of the small space and looked toward the forge. Nothing. Letting his gaze wander, it fell on a slightly moving lump that soon revealed itself to be a person. But not just any person.

"Ana!" Gibbs was down at her side in an instant, taking in her pale appearance and the small amount of blood that dripped from a large gash in her side. The wound was mostly cauterized, but it still bled. "Ana, Ana lass, wake up," Gibbs prompted, gently shaking her arm and getting no response. He dropped his hand to his side and sat up. "Matelot The lot o' ye, get in here!" he yelled as loud as he could.

Moments later the group of sailors that had accompanied him were in the building, looking very anxious. When they saw Ana lying motionless their anxiety increased and Gibbs knew he had to take hold of the situation before it got any worse.

"Spread out, find Cap'n Sparrow. Kursar, Duncan, help me," he ordered, lifting Ana's shirt just enough to reveal the injury in her side before tearing his own shirtsleeve and pressing the fabric onto her wound.

The small group did as they were told, two going to help Gibbs while the other four began searching the small area for Jack. It didn't take long before the pirate captain was found.

"Mr. Gibbs! I've found him!" Moises cried from the darkest corner.

Leaving Ana in the care of Kursar and Duncan, Gibbs rose and hastily made his way to where Moises was kneeling next to Jack's shirtless and bloody body.

"He's in a bad way, sir," Moises muttered as Gibbs kneeled next to Jack and took an inventory of the pirate captain's numerous wounds.

"Not as bad as him," Gibbs returned, indicting the impaled body of Nigel lying just a few feet off. "And we'll let a doctor decide how bad off he is." Despite his semi-encouraging words Gibbs knew that Moises was right. Jack was already shivering violently, having been caught under a hole in the roof through which icy water poured down onto him for however long Jack had been laying there. But worse than that was the blood loss. From the looks of it Jack had had to fight after already losing a lot of blood and now he laid in a pool of his own blood.

Gibbs stood. "Alright. Duncan, you, Kursar, and Ladbroc carry Ana. The rest of you come and help with Jack."

And so they left, three crewmen carrying each of the injured nervously, afraid that they might inflict further pain onto their charges. Gibbs followed them out of the building after retrieving Jack's sword.