Kithwynn- Ouch, painful. tear Sorry to upset you. I know you reviewed chapter three, but I figured if you kept reading you'd eventually find this. . . I guess the reason I made Alex come across like that is because when you see someone on the street that you think is perfect, or at least nearly, you don't realize what they've hidden. Peoples' lives crash, and fast . . . You can see what's on the outside, but you can't see what they've hidden on the inside. Just because her appearance seems perfect doesn't mean she's a Mary-Sue; perfection goes deeper than that. Alex knows the stuff about the rumrunners because she slept with one of them, and she obviously wasn't too drunk if she remembers it. I'm sorry you don't like the first three chapters, but keep reading. After all, it is my first story, and I had to start somewhere. But thanks for reviewing, it's appreciated! (Please don't think I'm rude or anything.)

The Flying Breadstick- Sorry I uploaded so much . . . did I mention I was bored? laughs awkwardly And, my school has already let out for the summer, so I have way too much time on my hands now. Oh, yes, rum will be a big problem . . . and all I can say to the whole 'Elizabeth-on-island' predicament is Alex will be very drunk, and Jack's a pirate. And I promise to delay this chapter for awhile . .

cornishxxxpixie- Hey! I'm glad you like it, and I'm so glad you've stuck with me through all this! Yes, trouble is a-brewing . . . Good trouble and bad trouble, if that makes any sense at all.

Piratelass1963- Hey, it's great that you like the story! I'm so happy! Lol Anyhow, you're request for hotness will be fulfilled . . . but things will be bumpy for Alex and Jack until the sequel. (Yes, I know it's kinda early to think about a sequel, but I have an idea that I wanna run with.) Hope to hear more from you!

jackslittlefriend- I'd call you, too, but one, long distance, and two, I don't know that number. I hope you're having fun - at least we can keep in touch this year through reviews. Lol> If you're in town, give me a call and we'll see if we can get our 'group' over to somewhere where we can meet up (skating rink or something.) No promises, though, my grandad's in a nursing home and all, but we'll see. You'll like this chapter!

Chapter ten: The Past and the Pirate

Alex swallowed and looked back down at the water. She could swim, yes, but she really didn't want to be marooned. Although, she wasn't going to let Barbossa have his fun and make her fall like he had done with Elizabeth, so in onenot-so gracefulmovement, Alex dived in and swam a small distance before looking back. Jack was speaking, but he would be following her soon. She began to swim again, making it to shore before both Elizabeth and Jack, but mostly out of fear that Barbossa might change his mind and force her onto the ship again.

Jack had severed the bounds on his wrists and was removing them completely, staring at the Pearl. 'That's the second time I've 'ad t' watch that man sail away with me ship,' he muttered. Elizabeth sighed heavily and took off for a walk, and Alex sat down on the shore, removing her boots and emptying them of all water, surprised by just how much spilled out when she tipped them upside down. Jack turned to her and sat down by her. 'I'm sorry I got yeh into this, love.'

'Don't worry about it, Jack,' she soothed. 'I'd rather be here with you than stuck on that ship with Barbossa.' He sighed and began to disassemble his pistol to let it dry, and Alex lay back onto the sand. 'Elizabeth's not gonna get very far, is she?'

'Nah, the island isn't but so big.' She sat up, brushing the sand out of her hair and off the back of her shirt. He sounded truly miserable – hopeless, even.

'We'll get the Pearl back, Jack,' she said, 'no matter what it takes. We don't need rumrunners.'

'It's a lost cause.'

'No, it's not. We'll think of something. . . You're a pirate, after all. Oh, look who's back,' Alex muttered with a grin. Jack looked up and shook his head as Elizabeth stopped in front of him.

'Not all that big, is it?' he asked, beginning to reassemble his pistol. Elizabeth's gaze lingered on the pistol for awhile, and Alex watched her with interest.

'If you intend to shoot me, please do so without delay,' Elizabeth muttered after awhile.

'Is there a problem between us, Miss Swann?' Jack asked coldly. Alex grumbled something about 'more arguing' and stood, leaving the two to their business. Jack watched her go regretfully, and was about to end the argument, but Elizabeth prevented him from doing so.

'You were going to tell Barbossa about Will in exchange for a ship!'

'We could use a ship righ' now, couldn't we?' he asked. 'Fact is, I was going t' not tell Barbossa 'bout bloody Will in exchange fer a ship, 'coz s'long as he didn't know 'bout bloody Will, I had somethin' t' bargain with – which now no one has, thanks t' bloody stupid Will.'

'Oh.'

Jack stood and stuck his pistol back in the sash around his waist and joined Alex, kissing her cheek before searching for something.

'Still ... Will risked his life to save ours –'

'Ha!'

'- so we have to rescue him!'

'Off yeh go, then! Pick me up on yer way back 'n tell me 'ow it worked out!'

'Would you two shut up already!' Alex snapped. 'We're stuck on this island, and the least you could do is make some sort of agreement? Please?'

'I'm sorry, Alex,' Jack stated, walking over to her to embrace her. She buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder and sighed, the feeling of a desperate need to cry slowly leaving her. He ran his hand up and down her back until she relaxed . . .

'Listen, Liz,' Alex sighed, her voice tired. 'Last time Jack was here, he was here for three days. This island used to be a cache for rumrunners, but Norrington hung them and so that's not how we're going to be leaving.'

'Oh. How did you know?'

'I slept with one of the rumrunners,' Alex stated simply.

'Oh,' Elizabeth muttered, obviously disgusted. Alex glanced at Jack, and he walked out into the middle of the small, treeless spot with a knowing, anticipating grin on his lips and unearthed a hidden room underground, filled with rum.

'Now, I don't know about you two,' Alex muttered, grabbing herself a bottle of rum, 'but since I'm going to be here awhile, I'm gonna get bloody drunk tonight and sleep it off tomorrow. See you in two days.'

'I'm with you,' Jack stated, getting himself a bottle, also, and pressing one into Elizabeth's hands as well.

Alex got herself a good, comfortable spot on the shore with a good view of the sunset and uncorked her bottle, comfortable with standing at the moment but knowing she probably wouldn't be on her feet for long.

'Is there any truth at all to the other stories?' Elizabeth asked, looking put-out. Alex answered for Jack.

'No, no truth.'

Jack shook his head, muttering, 'Truth?' and pulling up his sleeve to reveal the P branded into his arm and the tattoo of a sparrow flying over the ocean with the sun at its back. He pushed back the other sleeve, and on the underside of his forearm were scars from where he had been tortured – Alex gasped softly, but Elizabeth's gasp drowned it. Finally, he hooked his fingers under the neck of his shirt and pulled it back – there were two bullet wounds on his right shoulder. Alex turned, unable to take it, but Jack was too busy watching Elizabeth to notice.

'If someone has something to hide,' Alex muttered, brushing away her tears and turning back around, 'something they're ashamed of, they create a mask. Truth . . . is a misconception. There are many levels of truth; you can tell the truth without telling the whole story. No one's perfect, but yet they are expected to be. False perceptions are how pirates survive.'

'How much do you know about this topic?' Elizabeth asked Alex, sounding surprisingly kind.

'You'd be surprised.'

'Tell us?'

'It's . . . It's a long story,' Alex stammered. She looked out at the horizon. Please, please don't make me tell . . .

'We've got time,' Elizabeth persisted. Alex sighed heavily and looked down at her hands.

'First, tell me what you know about me,' Alex said.

'Well – I met you on the crossing from England . . . you tried talking to me, but I didn't respond. I was jealous; you always seemed to get all of the attention and you seemed to know everything. I didn't see you for awhile after we arrived . . . but I remember seeing you from my bedroom's balcony, unconscious and bruised in the gulley, when I was fourteen or fifteen.

'I began to see you more after that, and I heard rumors. You always seemed to be bruised or beaten in some way, and the rumors said you were with abusive men, and that you had started drinking heavily.

'You were everywhere, then. I was nearly nineteen, and whenever I'd go to see Will, you'd always be there. Again, I was jealous. I wanted his attention and instead you had it. I began to pick at you silently, in my mind. I was taller, I was the governor's daughter, and such things, but it did not comfort me. I was hesitant around men, and you were open as if none of it mattered, and because of that you were more favorable.'

'I did not mean to overshadow you, Elizabeth,' Alex stated truthfully. 'In fact, I wanted quite the opposite. If you had the attention, then nobody would notice what happened to me. I came to England on my father's will. He abused my mother to the point where she took her own life, and so we ran. He was ashamed of what he had done, but his shame turned to anger and he took it out on me. I had learned to sail, starting when I was six, because I had plans of getting away – by I never followed through. As much as I hated him, I knew my father needed my help, and so I couldn't leave.

'My drinking was a cover-up for worse things. I did indeed get involved with a few men that were less than savory, but they did not physically abuse me. Their abuse was silent . . . seduction, I would call it. They'd lead me to trust them and then use me for a body and not a person, for pleasure and not love. I was, and am, naïve, and I did not notice until it was too late . . . Again and again I fell into the same trap. I'd stay out late and my father would be furious when I returned home – he'd beat me and tell me it was all my fault, that if I didn't make him so angry it wouldn't be like this. But I never learned; I was so ashamed of loosing my innocence and myself in such men that I figured it would make me feel better to know I was drunk when such things happened – I never thought about helping myself.

'The shame never left me, but the drinking took over. I'd wake up with strange men, or wake up naked and alone. I wanted to get away, but I did not have the will power. I hardly ever saw my father, and whenever I did he was as drunk as I. I told Gibbs my father's heart failed him, but it was the alcohol that killed him in the end. I knew I was finally free – from my father, at least. I had developed so many other things I was afraid to leave; what if it only got worse somewhere else? At least here, I had a friend.

Will and I were always just friends. He began to teach me sword before my father died because he always saw me bruised and battered, but I would not tell him how I got that way. I hurt him, I weakened our friendship, by not trusting him, but I could not tell. I felt . . . stuck. I needed something new; I didn't know what, but I knew I couldn't change myself, because I had no money. I remember being hungry one night, when Will was away with an order, and so I stole an apple – then a necklace, soap, gloves, more food, a blanket – until that, too, took over. Many times I remember almost getting caught, but being able to barely get by each time.

'Each time, the thrill grew but the fear, also, grew – fear that I'd get caught, that I'd never find anyone. Marriage is a big thing in this age, you know. If you aren't married people look at you strange – they judge you. I was wasting away, and I knew it. No one ever even looked at me anymore. And then this happened.'

Alex's voice cracked, and she stopped speaking. Jack slowly reached out and took her hand, watching her silently. 'Alex, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I had no idea,' Elizabeth whispered, embracing Alex and looking as close to tears as Alex seemed to be. Jack felt like he should comfort his newly found lover, but he wasn't sure how. Falling for her had been knew enough, but now this? But she seemed not to expect it from him, and instead looked down at her rum bottle.

'I shouldn't drink this . . . but I want it,' Alex muttered, laughing softly. Elizabeth tipped her own bottle and cringed, but shrugged.

'Might as well,' Elizabeth stated. 'What else is there to drink? And I daresay it will provide us with some entertainment – if we remember it.' Alex smiled in relief and held up her bottle.

'Cheers!'

Jack and Elizabeth both held up their bottles and they clanked together with a cry of, 'Cheers!' Jack gave Alex a challenging look and grinned.

'D'yeh think yeh can out-drink me, little lady?'

'I'm pretty sure I can, Sparrow,' she retorted.

'Winner takes all,' he murmured. Elizabeth laughed gently and walked off, sitting down at a safe distance to watch the fun, and missing the suggestive look Jack cast on Alex's body.

'Deal.'

'One the count o' three,' he instructed, placing the mouth of his bottle next to his lips to get ready. Alex did the same, tensing in readiness at his every word. 'One . . . two . . .'

'Three' was lost in a gulp of rum. Alex let out a yelp of 'Unfair!' and tipped her own bottle, and then noticed his bottle was smaller than hers. She began to drink more than she knew she could, and fell to her knees as she neared the end. Jack wobbled and found himself in the sand, also, several seconds after Alex fell, but neither of them had stopped drinking. Jack was only halfway through his bottle when Alex dropped hers and punched the air with triumph.

'I win!' she laughed, but paled and pressed her palm to her head. 'Uh-oh . . . too much excitement . . . headache.'

'Yeh gonna take yer prize?' Jack slurred, crawling on his knees over her.

'When I know what . . . I'm . . . doing,' she stated. Elizabeth was laughing drunkenly, and Alex looked over. The governor's daughter had already finished half of her own bottle. Alex wobbled on her knees, and Jack grabbed her, grinning.

'Now can yeh 'old it?'

'Yeh, I can hold it,' she stated, pulling him backwards with her. She landed with a small groan, and Jack landed on top of her, slowly rolling off of her to lie in the sand. 'Can you?'

'Course I can.'

'Good. No getting sick on me, then,' she smiled, brushing a dreadlock from his face.

'Drink up me hearties, yo ho!' Elizabeth sang loudly suddenly, and both Alex and Jack looked over.

'What?' they asked in unison.

'It's nothing. A song I learned about pirates when I was a child - when I thought it would be exciting to meet a pirate.'

'Well, I thought it was exciting,' Alex muttered, and Jack grinned, his gaze lingering on her before he turned back to Elizabeth.

'I know a lot o' songs 'bout pirates, but none I'd teach a child. Let's 'ear it,' Jack nudged, and Alex grinned. He glanced at her, glanced back at Elizabeth, and then turned back to Alex. 'What, love?'

'That was cute,' she stated.

'What was cute? Wait . . . I'm not cute, I'm a pirate!' he protested drunkenly.

'You caring about a child, it was . . . well, it's still cute,' she said.

'I'm. Not. Cute!' he retorted.

'No, you're right, of course.' Jack met Alex's gaze and kissed her lips softly, leaning over her and caressing her cheek before glancing expectantly at Elizabeth.

'Oh, alright, I'll teach it to you two, but I need more to drink first,' Elizabeth muttered. Jack glanced down at Alex, who he was still leaning over, and then grinned.

'We can do that.'

'We're rascals and scoundrels and villains and naves! Drink up me hearties yo ho!
We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs! Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!'

They all stopped singing as Jack grabbed Alex and spun her around, declaring, 'Really bad eggs! I LOVE this song!' Alex grinned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before he lifted her from her feet, spun her around again, and continued to dance around the fire. Elizabeth laughed and stumbled, but slowly regained her balance.

Only Jack continued singing, and Alex stopped, listening to his rich, flowing voice with a grin on her lips. Elizabeth, on the other hand, finally stumbled to the ground and stayed their in a drunken haze.

'We're beggars 'n blighters, ne'er do well cads!
Drink up me hearties, yo ho!'

He added a touch of Irish ballad:

'Aye! But we're loved by our mums and our dads!
Drink up me hearties, yo ho!'

He wrapped his arms around Alex, and tripped, pulling her to the ground with him. She landed in his lap, and he kept her there. 'When I get the Black Pearl back, I'm going to teach it to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!'

'And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirates to sail the Spanish Main!' Elizabeth stated in one breath, and Alex rested her forehead on Jack's head, her lips hardly above his ear.

'Not just the Spanish Main. The whole ocean ... the whole world. Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, you know. Not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That's what a ship needs ... but what a ship is what the Black Pearl really is ... is freedom.' Elizabeth rested her head on Jack's shoulder, and Alex set her jaw, snaking her arm around Jack's shoulders.

'Jack, it must be really terrible for you to be trapped here,' Elizabeth muttered. Alex pulled away from Jack, stumbling off into the night. Jack sprang to his feet, not caring that Elizabeth fell to the sand behind him, glaring at his retreating back.

'Alex? Alex, wait up, please?'

'Jack Sparrow, you are the most daring man I've ever been with!' she growled, spinning around to face him and slipping to the ground. He kneeled by her, pushing her hair out of her face.

'You're clumsy, darlin'.'

'I've had more to drink than you,' she muttered, laying back and rubbing her aching head. His hand drifted to her stomach, and her flesh quivered. 'But that's beside the point. I've been with men that could care less about me, but they've never run off with another woman, especially right in front of me!'

'I didn't 'run off' with 'er, love, she jus' got a little close. Yeh were closer,' he pointed out. 'Look, she did that all by 'erself. I 'ad nothin' t' do with it. Please don't get mad at me.'

She sighed and leaned against him. 'Sorry, Jack. I just . . . I dunno.'

'Don't worry 'bout it,' he muttered distantly, and she looked up at him, her brows furrowed. But he did not meet her gaze – his attention was on something he, as a man and a pirate, saw far more interesting. She looked down and grinned.

'Like your view?'

'Very much,' he mumbled, kissing her temple, and then her cheek without ever looking away. Finally, she shifted so that she was again facing Jack, lifting his chin so that he would meet her eyes.

'Do you want me or my body?'

'Yeh, darlin' . . . all o' yeh,' he purred. She stroked his cheek, studying him, and he kissed her nose playfully. 'I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow, not one o' those other men yeh've been with.'

'I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow,' she mimicked, laughing gently. 'You're Jack . . . my Jack.'

'Aye, yer Jack,' he murmured, grinning, showing off his few golden teeth.

'And I'm not a whore.'

'Yer not a whore, no . . . what're yeh gettin' at, love?'

'Don't treat me like a whore – I don't want things rushed.'

'I've ne'er heard that from a woman 'fore,' he muttered. 'But I think I like it, though maybe only temporarilly.' His hands slid down her sides as their lips met, and they were lost in a drunken bliss, oblivious to all else . . .

Elizabeth woke from her light slumber with a start, and then cringed with disgust and sent a glare in the direction in which Alex and Jack had disappeared. With a drunken, sleepy mutter of 'Quiet down,' her head hit the sand and she began to snore again.

There, I'm done with this chapter . . . hope you liked it! Again, I have to thank the Script Scanner for the lines taken directly from the script and integrated into this story, so no, I don'town some of the morewordy lines. . . But I hope it didn't stick too close to the movie or anything.

LiM