Ah, my lovely reviewers. My inbox overfloweth. (I yelled to my mom that my inbox was flooding and she freaked out since all she heard was "flooding"...I think she thought we would be floating away soon...Probably some of you are thinking I must be pretty weird to be excited over like 4 reviews, but my only other fic was posted in the Shakespeare section, and shall we say that not so many people frequent that section than this one. (POTC has a ton of really rabid fans...including me.) Anyway, on with my responses.

Mr. Nozzers--Thank you for pointing out the Norrington deal, yes, perhaps he does have an evil twin. I suppose I was a bit too harsh in making his character do such a dreadful thing, but it makes the story more interesting. Thanks for your constructive criticism, and I hope you can find some good gauze to stop the bleeding in your eyes. :)

I will respond to reviews as I recieve them in future chapters.

Now on with the story....(by the way, please no one flame me for this chapter being Mary Sue-ish. I tried to avoid that, and I'm not sure whether or not I succeeded. Please do review and tell me whether or not you think it crossed over the Mary Sue line. :)

"I suppose we better start back on our course; we don't want to get too far off just drifting like this." he said awkwardly and quietly, as he climbed over carefully to retrieve his shoes. He moved over to the oars as Stella returned to her original seat. "Well that was bloody wonderful," he thought. "I was sitting right next to her, probably as close as I'll ever be to her, after that, and I couldn't even tell her why I saved her! How much more pathetic could I have been?"

While Jack bewailed his foolishness, Stella had her own inner battle to contend with. "Did he mean that?" she wondered, "he took long enough, one would think he'd have come up with a better lie than that if he was avoiding the truth." She looked over at him as they neared the island dock. "All answers come with time." Norrington's voice echoed in her mind. Of all the voices to hear, his!

Jack had been right. The island, so scenic from a distance, was a much different story up close. Dark, run-down buildings lined the dim, dingy brick streets. Stella walked slowly, scared to death of this sick place, and sticking close to Jack, who confidently made his way through the mess of people. He obviously was accustomed to such utter chaos. He brushed past several clusters of rather shady looking men and women, without a flinch. Suddenly, from one of the dimly-lit taverns on the street, several brawling men came crashing through a window. Stella gasped, and almost in reflex, she grabbed onto Jack's hand. His head quickly turned around, and their eyes locked. She wanted to let go, but instead she found herself tightening her grip on his hand. His dark face slowly relaxed and he smiled. He wrapped his fingers around hers, and then began to lead her around the brawl. It was Stella who finally broke the silence that had haunted the pair for hours. "Where exactly do we go from here?" They had shared a quiet meal in one of the less-scary taverns of the village as soon as they hit port, and now the sun was beginning to set over the ocean. "I know someone we can stay with for tonight. Tomorrow we can look for a way to get you back home to your family."

Just the thought of returning to her family, with the shame of her lost marriage made her feel twisted inside. "Uh, yes. That's great." Jack took a long look at her as they walked, sensing the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. They entered a large brick building, faintly lit with a tall candle in each window. They met a short, squat man just inside the door, who after marveling that the fact that Jack was still living, "I's so sure that you'd 'ave gotten yourself shot by now!" then escorted them to a room upstairs. "Hope this will do," the man said, "It's the best I've got right now."

"I'm sure it'll be just fine," Jack assured him politely. "Thank you."

The man left, leaving Jack and Stella rather awkwardly standing in the large room. It was completely empty, spare for a couple of straw mattresses on the floor. Stella strode over to one side of the room, and slid down the wall to sit slumped over on the floor. Jack walked over and sat beside her. Both were silent, leaning against the wooden wall.

Jack drew a deep breath, and began to speak, "Stella," he began as she turned her head towards him. "I didn't save you because of 'nobility' or 'righteousness' or whatever I said earlier. I just...just when I talked to you, I didn't want it to end, when I saw you I didn't want to look away, I couldn't lose you, I know I don't know you that well, but I didn't want to lose you, I just love you." he rambled quite a bit before getting to the point. Stella raised her hand, and he flinched, expecting quite a slap on the face for his confession. Instead, she put her hand gently to his face, turning him towards her. She smiled sweetly, and whispered, "Thank you. I didn't want to lose you either."

Feeling a sudden excitement and nervousness, he managed to say, "You mean..." he couldn't find the right words so he went with what came to him, "you love me, too?"

Stella giggled, still grinning. "Yes, I suppose I do."

Jack paused, staring into her eyes, trying to find a response. "I am so incredibly glad," he finally said. He laughed, and said, "I knew you couldn't resist me....." grinning from ear to ear. Stella laughed and grinned. Stella's smile was broken by a yawn.

"Ah, I better be going on to sleep now I suppose," Stella said, crawling off towards her mattress.

"Me, too." Jack said, also getting up to go to bed. The mattresses on the floor lay so that the two faced each other. Stella reached her hand out to Jack's. They held hands, smiling at each other.

Jack sighed and whispered, "You are so beautiful."

Stella was at a loss of words. Such an extreme happiness had overcome her. "You are so," she couldn't figure it out. "So...amazing." She smiled, although the words didn't do him justice whatsoever, it was as close as she could get.