Usual disclaimers and I still hate them as much as I love Jack!

With thanks to Hils, Miss Sophia, Lip Butter (great name!), Kat Carvell, kissmysash, Orli's Hot Chick, A Depp Girl, Jade (welcome and thanks) and special mention must go to johnny'shumiliatedgrape who has read and reviewed all four stories over the past few days! Ta! ;)

Chapter seven: If this is th'end, we take 'em down with us.'

Jack strode into the Faithful Bride, used by now, to the subdued atmosphere that pervaded the pirate town. John, Pete, Dan and Davy flanked him in case of trouble, as tempers were getting very frayed amongst the already short fuses of many of the pirates.

'What'll yer have?' enquired a face behind the bar that Jack did not recognise.

'Where's Zachary?' Jack demanded, wondering where the usual proprietor had gone.

'He upped an' left. I bought this place off him.'

'Bloody hell!' Pete exclaimed. 'Who are you then?'

'Bledri Jenkins,' the man behind the bar informed him. 'Now, what'll yer be having?'

'Rum,' Jack told him. 'Where're ya from, Bledri?'

'Originally Wales, more recently, Nassau Port.'

'Why did ya come here then?' Davy asked suspiciously.

'Let's just say I crossed one figure of authority too many…' he winked, placing five beakers and a bottle of rum on the bar, pouring a measure into each container.

'You'll fit in well here then!' Jack chuckled, downing most of his drink in one go. 'Zach left in a hurry…'

'He'd had enough from what I gathered. Moved to one of th'Bahamanian islands where he reckoned business would be better.'

'Can't say I blame him,' Dan agreed.

Jack made his way over to a group of men sitting around a table, the others following behind. 'What th'news, Tom?' he asked, pulling up a stool and sitting on it, flanked by his crewmen.

'We can't seem ter go anywhere without th'bleedin' Navy being there! Th'Courage sank Frankie Yates just last week off th'Windward Passage.'

'I heard about that,' Jack sighed. He had also heard rumours that the Navy's holds were bursting with armaments that they had taken from a pirate ship before blowing it out of the water. He fervently hoped it was not true, but doubted his luck ran that far. 'Anythin'else?' he asked.

'Nah, most of us haven't been out ter sea fer two weeks or more – we're besieged in this stinkin' place.'

'Ya can't let them hole ya up here,' Jack implored. 'What if they decide ter attack Tortuga – they've done it before, even when they were useless. Imagine what damage they could do now, eh?'

'S'all right fer you, Sparrer – you've got th'fastest ship on th'oceans. What have we got? Tubs – that's what!'

'What happens when ya booty runs out? What happens when th'shops run out of food? You'll have to leave then.'

'An' sail straight into their fuckin' cannons? I don't think so, Jack.'

'Then they've won already.' Jack shook his head and left the pirates to their maudlin thoughts. 'C'mon, let's get back to th'Pearl,' he told his men. 'I ain't stayin' here with so many ships in th'harbour. It seems ter me that's what th'Navy are waitin' for.'

'Where to then Cap'n?'

'Back ter San Juan or maybe Tortola.'

A week later

'Cap'n! Cap'n wake up!'

'What th'hell's goin' on?'

'There's a ship off th'stern – they just sprang out of nowhere!'

'Shit!' Anamaria hauled herself fully clothed from the bunk, fastening her sword belt around her waist as she hurried onto the deck. 'Kill all lights,' she ordered, wincing as she realised how close the other ship was. 'And total silence,' she added. Ana turned to her quartermaster, Jeb Butler. 'How th'hell did they come up so bloody fast?' she hissed.

'Dunno, Cap'n Ana, they must have been hidin' behind one of th'Caicos islands.'

'So how th'hell did they know where we were?' She fought down a well of panic bubbling inside her belly. 'Ready all guns,' she ordered as loudly as she dared. 'If this is th'end, we take 'em down with us.'

'Aye aye, Cap'n Ana.'

George Farrier listened carefully on the gloomy pre-dawn deck of HMS Adventurer, nodding to himself as he heard the roll of the pirate ship's cannons as they were readied for battle. 'They do it every time,' he smiled to himself, shaking his head at the fallacy of pirates. He had not believed his luck when they had chanced upon the pirate ship as they headed for the British town of Cockburn Town on Grand Turk to pay the Governor of the islands an official visit.

'All guns ready and waiting, Sir,' the master gunner informed him, breaking his reverie.

'Thank you, Master Smyth,' Farrier replied, nodding at the helmsman who knew it was time to get in close.

'They're closing Cap'n!'

'Well of course they're bleedin' closin', ya fool!' Anamaria retorted. 'They ain't goin' ter wait around until we escape, are they?' She turned to watch the Navy ship as it gained on them and closed her eyes slowly. 'This is it then,' she thought. 'No regrets…' Her eyes snapped open once more and she looked at her adversaries, a devilish smile on her face. 'Club haul!' she hissed loud enough for her crew to hear. 'Club haul, then fire!'

'Ya thinkin' of young Miss Elizabeth,' Marty grinned as he remembered the time they had been chased down by the Black Pearl under Captain Barbossa. 'It's been a pleasure servin' with ya, Cap'n,' he smiled up at her.

'Likewise, Marty,' Ana replied with a sad smile. She grabbed hold of the side rail as the Lone Star swung violently around and rocked as her cannons let loose their first and only load. Amidst the chaos, Ana caught the sound of cracking wood and men's cries, and knew they had done at least some damage.

'Take that, ya bastards!' she yelled

'Return fire and keep firing!' Captain Farrier ordered, angry with himself for being complacent enough to think that the pirates would not be in a position to damage them. He knew better now and the pirates would pay for his mistake.

'Are you sure it will be safe?' Jenny asked as she and Jack stood in the kitchen of their house in Newcastle, having dropped anchor some five miles to the east of the town and rowed to shore then walked the rest of the way to town.

'Aye luv, safer than out on th'seas at any rate.' He had decided to bring Jenny back - the Navy's successes were now starting to worry him and he wanted her and their child out of harms way. 'It'll mean that I won't get ter see ya as often though.'

'I know,' she replied quietly. 'How will I know if you're all right?'

'I'll get word to ya, I promise.'

'You had better, Jack Sparrow, or you'll have me to answer to,' she warned.

'An' that's infinitely more frightening than anythin' th'Navy can throw at me!' he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.

'You had better go,' Jenny told him, the words practically choking her.

'Aye luv, I had better. Daniel will look after ya an' Tom is still in th'town, so you'll be safe enough, eh?'

'It's not me I'm worried about,' she replied, tears starting to spilll down her cheeks.

'Hey, there's no need fer those now,' he chided gently, brushing away the tears with his thumbs. 'You keep forgettin', I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! Th'Navy don't stand a chance.'

'Go on,' she sniffed, pushing him away. 'Be safe.'

'You too, Jenny Wren.' Jack turned and strode from the kitchen and Jenny finally let the tears flow freely.

'Captain Sparrow!' Ben Watson called from atop the main mast. 'Sails!'

'Bugger! Bisi, take th'helm.' Jack yielded the wheel to his helmsman then took out his spyglass, training it in the direction that Ben was pointing. 'Too far away,' he muttered aloud, unable to get a clear view of the other ship.

'Do we stay or run?' Pauly Davies, a new crewman who had joined in Tortola, asked.

'This is the Black Pearl – she doesn't run!'

'Cap'n! They're firin' their cannons,' the watchman informed him.

'What? Now why would they do that I wonder? Unless…' Jack stroked his beard braids, deep in thought.

'Unless what?' Pauly asked.

'Unless they want to meet up with us.' He looked through his spyglass once more, still unable to see whether the ship was pirate or otherwise. 'Olabisi, take us round. I want ter get closer to them.'

'Aye, Cap'n suh,' the helmsman deferred, bringing the ship around in a slow, graceful arc until they were facing the other ship, albeit with some four or five miles separating the two vessels.

'You don't reckon the Navy are chasing them and they want our help?' Joshamee Gibbs asked as he approached his captain.

'If that's th'case, then they shall have our help,' Jack declared.

'You don't think it's the Navy themselves leading us to a trap?' John Williams put in, having come on deck to find out what was going on.

'That's why I want ter get close mate, just to make sure.' He kept his glass trained on the ship as did other members of the crew who were lucky enough to own a spyglass until they ship's flag became clearer.

'It's th'Wind Dancer, Cap'n,' Davy Phillips shouted down from the crow's nest. 'An' I can't see any sign of another ship astern of them.'

Another puff of smoke billowed from near the bow of the Wind Dancer as the two ships edged closer.

'Now why does Jack Fowler want ter be gettin' my attention?'

'Who is he?' Davies asked and Jack turned to face him, having forgotten he was there.

'A pirate an' big mouth - we've crossed words over th'years, if not swords. Wonder what he's doin' here?'

The Jolly Roger flew from the mast of the Wind Dancer with a white flag flying beneath it, to show he did not want a fight and Jack ordered the same to be flown from the mast of the Pearl, curious as to what Fowler wanted with him.

'Jack!' the other pirate captain called as the ships closed in. 'Got news for ya.'

'What's that then?'

'Ana's dead.'

Jack reeled at the news, staring wildly about him. 'Dead? She can't be dead…'

'How do you know?' Gibbs demanded, equally as shocked as his captain but recovering quicker.

'Just come out of Tortuga – th'whole place is buzzin' with it. Happened 'bout four days ago around Caicos – th'bastard Navy apparently.'

Jack turned and headed for the hatch, virtually flying down it in his haste to get to his cabin and a bottle of rum. 'Dead?' He uncorked it and tipped the bottle back, almost gagging as the rough liquid all but scalded his throat on its way down. 'I'm goin' ter kill th'bastards!' he vowed. Jack became aware that his ship was slowly changing direction and realised that Gibbs must have ordered them back on their original course, the Virgin Islands, but he now wanted to get to Tortuga, and fast.

'Jack…?' Joshamee Gibbs approached his captain cautiously, tears glistening in his eyes. 'I can't…'

'I know,' Jack replied curtly, holding out the bottle to his quartermaster. 'It's time ter hit back.'

'Is that w…?'

'No, but what else can we do? They bleedin' killed Ana.'

'You have Jenny and your child to think of,' the older man reminded him.

'I'm doin' this for Jenny an' our child as well as Ana an' her crew. We go to Tortuga an' see who we can get to fight with us.'

'Aye Jack,' Joshamee sighed, knowing his captain's mind was made up.

Author's notes: (ya know ya love 'em!)

To club haul is to literally do what Elizabeth suggested in the film – drop the anchors on one side of the ship so either the starboard or port side of the ship is face on to your enemy's bow.

Sorry I killed Ana, for those who like her…

Kat – you are a mind reader! ;)