Wow, I have a very bad habit of leaving this fanfiction for huge amounts of time, don't I? Sorry it's been so long, but stuff happens. I don't really like this chapter, but I've read through it too many times and I'm talking rubbish, read the chapter...

DISCLAIMER: No, Jack, Bootstraps, Barbossa and other random pirates do not belong to me, they belong to Disney. I'm particularly upset about not having Jack... ;(

Plans began forming in his mind, going through possibilities and impossibilities. Taking them step by step, working on them, then abandoning them in a haste to find something that would work. He felt the ever tightening sensation of fear in his stomach, the dread and the instinct to run. But there was no escape, this was one thing he wasn't going to get out of.

That thought scared him out of his wits.

Barbossa pushed the door open, arm still clamped around Jack's shoulder. It creaked to a stop, showing the gloom inside. Jack was pushed into the room rather vigorously, Barbossa, Bo'sun and Koehler followed. The other pirate had been left up on deck to keep watch.

The door was swung shut, it clacked like the shutter on Jack's very chance for hope.

"Now, I won't be having any trouble from you tonight. I've already given up enough just to keep you from harm, which somehow finds you so easily." Barbossa said with somewhat of a temper.

Jack sank to the bed as lamps were lit, engulfing the room in a blood-like deep glow. He hadn't been listening to Barbossa, too busy thinking of how to escape. His mind had gone blank.

Then he noticed what Barbossa had just said: 'keep you from harm'. He frowned, that didn't sound right.

"I'm sorry, keep me from harm?" He deadpanned.

"Yes, the occurrence of events could have gone so much more smoothly if it wasn't for that friend of yours, Bootstraps. Thanks to him, you've been let in on a little secret you should have never known." Barbossa stepped closer, his two pirate lackeys closing in behind him. Jack shifted his weight nervously.

"Ah, right. That secret…." Jack paused, he'd just thought of a plan. "What secret?" He put on a quizzical expression.

Barbossa paused, he hadn't expected this.

"Do you mean to play games with me, boy? Because let it be known." He edged in closer. "I don't play games." The yellow eyes narrowed, staring directly into Jack's own eyes, into his mind.

Feeling his face heat up, Jack continued with his deceit.

"I wouldn't dream it, only, ol' Bootstraps told me a fair few secrets. So I'll be needing to know which one you're referring to." Jack drawled, a slight grin betraying his intentions.

Barbossa noticed the grin, and he didn't look happy. He gathered himself to his full height, and stepped back a little. Bo'sun and Koehler stepped forward. Before Jack could do anything, each had a grip on his arm, and he was lifted off his feet. He swung awkwardly for a few short moments. Then he was put down. The lackeys rammed him into the wall. A dull thunk told him he'd hit his head. The pain came moments later. A sharp splitting pain hazed his vision.

Barbossa came into his vision, he was proud, a grin planted on his face. It didn't stay for long.

"You know the secret. You know it, and we know it." He reached into his belt, a ringing filled the air as he drew a short knife. Jack tensed. "All we have to decide… is how we go about solving it."

The knife was held up to his chin. He squirmed to get away, but the two pirates had him in a death grip.

"Oh don't worry." Barbossa smirked. "There's no sense to be killing you…yet."

"Then what do you bloody want?!" Jack cried. He was sick of anticipating. "If you're going to bloody kill me then do it already."

"Temper, temper. Haven't you heard? Patience is a virtue."

Bo'sun pushed on Jack's wound. He screamed.

The pain was blinding. It seared through him, making him feel weak. He saw dark patches clog his vision.

"All we need to do here, is make you understand what is the right thing to do. Do you know what the right thing is to do?" Barbossa said mockingly, like one would to a young child.

"Bloody throw you off the ship and wait for you to drown?" Jack said through clenched teeth.

Bo'sun pushed on his wound again, this time harder. Jack screwed shut his eyes, desperate not to show the pain. He felt dizzy. Vomit rose into his throat.

"Wrong. The right thing to do, is to pretend like there is no secret. If there's no secret, you won't get hurt."

"How does…" Jack gasped in pain. "That work out?" He asked sceptically.

"It works out because we don't want to hurt you. Your uncle can't stand you, he wants to get rid of you as soon as possible. Did you ask him why he's taking us to the Caribbean?"

Jack looked up, pain fogging his vision, an expression of confusion on his face.

"He's going to leave you there. A friend of his lives on one of the islands. Don't believe me? I have letters, I have proof."

"No." Jack shook his head deliriously. "No." He felt the darkness closing in.

"I can help you Jack. All you need to do is to promise me, not to do anything about the mutiny." Barbossa's voice seemed genuinely sprung with concern.

Jack didn't know what to think now. All Bootstraps had said, what Barbossa was telling him now, his argument with the Captain. All of it was flooding his mind at once. But who was he going to believe? Barbossa had stacks of evidence and promised evidence, what did Bootstraps have? Nothing.

"Just tell me, you won't do anything about the mutiny." Barbossa seemed almost to be pleading.

Jack then remembered what Bootstraps had told him. Barbossa had ways of persuading people, what if this was just one of those ways? It made sense.

"No." He said firmly, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.

"No?" Came the incredulous reply.

A fist slammed into his wound. He screamed. He couldn't help it. Then all went black.

He collapsed. Sounds erupted all around him. Sounds of things falling. Of metal clacking on wood. Of feet shuffling.

Suddenly a grasp caught him under the arms. He felt a moment of weightlessness before being draped over a shoulder. A steady pace moved him from side to side. Every so often it would stop. He felt himself rising. He felt a cool breeze on his sweat covered skin.

But then he felt nothing.

Bootstraps' heart was racing, the blood in his arms was pumping forcefully. He pulled back the oars as quick as he could, feeling the water protest against them. His shoulders ached, yet he wouldn't stop rowing.

The Black Pearl was getting more and more distant now, becoming just a glowing speck among many in the bay.

A part of him said he'd got there just in time, another part said he hadn't gotten there soon enough. Jack lay unconscious in the bottom of the dinghy, the water around him was turning pink and smoky. His gunshot wound had re-opened and he was loosing blood fairly rapidly.

Overcome with guilt, Bootstraps stopped the boat. He pulled the oars in so they wouldn't fall into the water, and edged towards the young pirate. His face almost looked peaceful, it made the ordeal all the more terrible.

"Jack?" He ventured. There was no movement. "Jack, can you hear me? Jack, please wake up."

He paused. Nothing could be heard except for his own heavy breathing and the water lapping against the dinghy. He'd never felt so stupid, so unable to control the situation. Groaning, he sat back. The pink water sloshed around his feet. If he didn't stop that bleeding, Jack was going to die out here.

Urgently, he lifted up Jack's shirt, the bandage around his chest was soaked with blood. He searched for the ends, hoping that tying the cloth tighter would stem the bleeding. They weren't at the front.

That meant they had to be at the back. Carefully as he could, he lifted up Jack's skinny body. He found the bumps of the tied ends immediately. Fumbling around he managed to untie them, he quickly pulled the bandage tighter.

He thought he'd heard a noise coming from Jack, but had probably imagined it. He did up the knot and slowly lowered Jack back down.

Deep brown eyes stared at him in confusion.

"My, my. This is cosy."

I actually know what's happening in the next chapter. Go me! And no, it's not slash, but I can still have fun right? Slight pun on the cosy dinghy, if you've read my secret diaries you'll know I like referring to dinghies as cosy :P

Reviews: Jack Sparrows Secret Lurrver - I figure Jack's about 17, 18. Bootstraps is about mid-twenties and Barbossa is late thirties, just incase you wanted to know. Thanks for the compliments on my writing. Very much apreciated :D