Disclaimer: Squirrel is my intellectual property. POTC is not.

Squirrel slowly opens her eyes. Her head is throbbing, and her vision is blurred. She shuts her eyes again and moans.

"Don't worry, Squirrel." An indistinct voice murmurs. "I'm here for you. Fight it, Squirrel. You've been sick long enough. Come on, girl, you're not useless."

"Fight… it?" Squirrel's mouth feels dry and her tongue feels like a piece of wood. "Useless…?"

"Stop it, man." Another voice orders. "You're not helping."

Squirrel coughs and groans. Her whole body feels heavy. She risks opening her eyes again. "Where am I?"

"Still on the Pearl, Miss Grey." Blurred figures come into view. "You were poisoned, remember?"

"Go get the captain, Gibbs." Ana's stern face is softened with relief. "He wanted to know when she'd come around."

Squirrel slowly tries to sit up, her whole body complaining. "What… P-poisoned?" She sways and almost topples.

"Whoa, easy." Ana steadies the girl. "You've been in a fever for three days, lass. Don't push yourself just yet." Ana's face splits into a rare smile. "It's good to have you back, Miss Grey."

Squirrel blinks, trying to clear her not only her vision but her thoughts. What was real? What was a dream? Reality rears its ugly head, and Squirrel doubles over, retching. Ana quickly lifts up a half-empty bucket.

"Get it out of your system, that's good." Ana says, rubbing Squirrel's back. "You've been doing a lot of that over the past few days. You should be just about right, I think." Ana grins her trademark wry grin. "Though it may be due to Gibbs' cooking more than anything." Ana stops. "Anything wrong, Squirrel?"

Squirrel lifts her leaden hands and smears the tears rolling down her face.

Gibbs comes back. "Captain won't come." He shrugs, confused.

Ana rolls her eyes. "Still brooding in his cabin, is he?" Gibbs nods, then stares. Ana whirls around and gasps. "Squirrel! You shouldn't get up until you get your strength back!"

Squirrel leans against the wall, legs trembling. "I h-have t-t-to know. Truth or l-lie. I h-have to kn-know." Ana and Gibbs stare, uncomprehending. Squirrel staggers past them both on weakened legs.

"D-devils and black sh-sheep." Squirrel mutters. "R-really ba-bad eggs."

"I think she may still be a-fevered." Gibbs whispers to Ana.

"No." The Negro woman shakes her head. "The poison Smith fed her is gone. Now it's something else that plagues her."

Gibbs watches, concerned, as Squirrel wobbles her way towards the deck. "Should we help her?"

Ana shakes her head. "Aside from drowning, the only thing she fears is being useless. Let her do whatever she feels she has to do."

After a moment's silence, Gibbs sighs. "I'll go tell the Captain she's waiting for him above deck."

Squirrel leans heavily against the railing, staring out at the sea. The salt spray whips around her hair and stings her eyes. It's a cloudy day, overcast, but not in a way that threatens to bring rain. Storm warning? Squirrel wonders. Probably a 7 per cent chance.

"Squirrel?"

Squirrel doesn't bother turning around. She barely had the strength to walk across the deck, let alone stand up in the first place. She pretends the salt spray is what is making tears roll down her face.

Jack leans on the railing next to Squirrel and looks out at the ocean. His tone is short, unsure, maybe even embarrassed. "Welcome back to the land of the living, luv." He says. There is a long awkward silence.

"I…" Jack takes a deep breath. "I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying while you were in the fever." Jack scans the horizon, watching the sky and the sea. "Dreams can be cruel, can't they, luv?"

"Who am I?" Squirrel asks. "Who am I to you, Jack?"

Jack turns to face Squirrel. "You're the only girl for me, Squirrel. An' I mean that like I've never meant it before."

Squirrel lowers her eyes. The salty water is irritating her. "You know I've l-loved you since I first s-saw you, Jack. But I d-don't know if I c-can believe you."

"You've changed me, Squirrel." Jack says, face pleading. "I don't know what it is about you, but you're different. Everything about you… I don't want to lose you, I don't want to let you go. It's like when you're around, no-one else in the world matters. I have a pretty dodgy past, sure." Jack leans forward. "But you've changed me, Squirrel. If I can't have you, I don't want anyone else. This I swear."

Squirrel looks down, tears stinging her eyes. "How can I know?"

"For what?" Jack sighs, then looks back over the ocean. "You know, luv, maybe you'd rather believe Smith than me." Jack sighs again. "You know in your heart that Sparrow loves you. But it's up to you whether you believe it or not. I gave you your freedom. Do what you will with it." Jack starts to walk away.

Squirrel looks up again. "I'm sorry." She shuts her eyes. "All this t-time, I thought you'd betrayed me. But it was me. I didn't trust you when I should've. I believed someone I don't even know… Jack… I'm so, so sorry."

Jack comes back over, smiling sadly. "It's alright, luv. We all make mistakes. Besides," Jack looks up into the cloudy sky. "You had every right to be the way you were, luv. I was like that, before I met you. I couldn't trust anyone, didn't care who I associated with… But now that I've found you…" Jack peters off, grinning, but obviously struggling to find the right words. "Like I said, I want no-one else."

Squirrel struggles to stand, and then turns to face Jack. "I've asked to so many t-times if you loved me. But you've never really asked me… Why?"

"Because." Jack smiles, leaning on the railing again. "Because you always seemed so sure there's nowhere else you'd rather be. You always seemed sure of yourself. Savvy?"

Squirrel lowers her head, sobbing softly. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry."

Jack puts his arms carefully around the girl. "'S alright, luv. Jack understands. Jack still loves you."

"And I love you, Jack." Squirrel whispers. Jack catches her as she faints. He grins.

"You really shouldn't push yourself like this, girl." Jack looks up at the horizon, and his face hardens. "Especially not where we're going."

A/N: My goodness - I have passed 25 chapters and I didn't even notice. Officially my longest story yet! Wowage!
… Also… the longest story with the FEWEST reviews! Curses be to the scurvy bilge-rats who read but do not review, arrr… But love, rum and a whole lot of pilfered gold and stuff to those who do n.n