Author's note: NOW, Jack Sparrow appears....
Thanks very much to Scarlett for Beta reading this(as well as Blood in the Sand) Couldn't do it with out you girl! Now everyone go read her stories!

Disclaimer: Do not own Jack Sparrow or any other character from the movie, they belong to their respected creators.

Two and a half years later, Jacquelyn again stood at the helm of the Marcosa, watching the port of Georgetown come into view. At the wheel, Gallagher was swearing a string of curses under his breath. "Relax dear," Jacquelyn cooed in his ear, pausing only to pinch his rear. Gallagher jumped slightly, reached behind him and seized her wrist, bringing her around, capturing her between him and the wheel. Jac took a hold of the handles, holding it, under Gallagher's knowledgeable hands.

"Remember to put this on the list," He said softly into her ear. "This would be, what, the twelfth time I've had to do this?" he asked.

Jacquelyn sighed. "Yes, but he's got six over you, with 18." She heard Gallagher growl in response and sighed. "I just hope we're not too late," she said gravely.

"We're not. He'll have delayed it some how, he always does."

He rolled his eyes as the officer droned on and on about his charges. The ropes were chafing his wrists, but he continued to try and work out of them. He had to hurry if he was going to make it out of here before they sentenced him. The executioner looked all to happy, grinning and waving at him from the gallows. With a visible grimace, he turned his attention back to the ropes on his wrists.

"How do you plead?!" demanded the judge, and by the sound of it, he must have asked it once or twice before, because that little purple vein was popping out of his forehead again.

Captain Jack Sparrow flashed the man a sheepish grin and dropped his arms. "Not guilty?" he said, more or less hoping that would work. The judge glared at him. Jack tried to look innocent, but it wasn't helping him any. "I, really, if I could throw myself on the mercy of the court?" Jack asked, trying to actually throw himself at the judge's table, only to end up with two spears in his face. "Right," Jack muttered, stepping back. "I really didn't mean to do anything to get me arrested," Jack said, with the utmost seriousness.

"You're charged with piracy, above other things. Do you deny this?!" The judged demanded.

"Well, not entirely," Jack replied.

The judge began banging his gavel at the crowds' outrage. Jack looked behind him, grimacing. He wasn't helping himself. He was about to open his mouth again, when a cannon flew through the air and landed a foot away from the judge's desk with a deafening thud, knocking the old man off his chair. Jack took this distraction as something good and, grabbing the nearest guard, landed a knee into the man's stomach. As he doubled over, Jack hit him in the shoulder blades with his elbow, then bent down to retrieve man's saber. With a careful spin, he sliced the bounds in half and discarded them in time to pair up against another soldier. Another cannon came through the wall of the fort, crumbling the stones to dust, and Jack got a clear view of the bay.

He grinned his trademark grin. A silver and black ship was sitting in the water, blasting cannons into the fort. His dueling partner hit the ground with a thud, and Jack jumped from the platform and into the frantic crowd. Women screamed and scrambled to get out of the dangerous pirate's way. Royal guards were already trying to beat Jack to the wall, but Jack wasn't going to let them. He stopped for a beat. The scaffolding ropes around him were looking very good right about now.

Glancing at the ship and the soldiers, Jack sliced the rope, grabbing a hold of it. It pulled him upward and he landed on the wall above. The judge was just scrambling out from his hole, and Jack sent a bow his way before he took off, running the length or the wall. A life boat had been launched from the ship and Jack could see Gallagher at the head. Musket fire erupted all around him, as they aimed to bring him down. He ducked twice, but kept running.

At the end of the wall was a little rockless piece of the ocean. Jack took a deep breath, pushed off the wall and dove into the water. The musket fire continued to follow, now aided by archers. He inhaled sharply, taking a lung full of water as one of the arrows pierced him in the shoulder, and he came up under the rock bridge sputtering and gasping for air. He could hear soldiers running across the bridge and waited, before swimming out towards the beach. The cannon fire was still coming from the Marcosa, giving themselves cover.

The small schooner was waiting for him. "You're bleeding," Gallagher said tartly. "You're not getting on my ship bleeding."

"Well, glad to see you too," Jack popped back.

"Listen you!" Gallagher sneered. "I'll leave you here to hang." Musket fire began to follow Jack.

"Gallagher!" A figure snapped behind him, and Jacquelyn came into view. "You will not!" Gallagher grimaced at Jacquelyn's tone. "Hello Jack," Jacquelyn said, looking at the rogue captain.

Jack winked at her. "Jacquelyn, you're looking beautiful as ever!" She gave him a look when he used her full name. Jack grinned in response.

"Let's go, Sparrow!" Gallagher snapped, as the marksmen were getting closer. Jack hopped into the side of the schooner as one of Gallagher's crew members pushed it back into the water. The others began loading their muskets and firing back. "Where's the Pearl?!" Gallagher demanded. Jack gave him a look, as Gallagher's wife began fusing over the crossbow bolt in his shoulder.

"She's in Tortuga. I was taking care of personal business here," he said, before giving a scream of pain. "OW!"

"You scream like a girl," Jacquelyn remarked, her eyes on the bolt and the wound. Jack gave her a dark look.

"Getting yourself hung is personal business?" Gallagher asked, as the schooner got closer to the Marcosa, the cannon's still firing.

"No, this is." Jack reached into his shirt and pulled out a large gold medallion, holding it up for Gallagher to see.

Gallagher frowned, it was one side of a half, its jagged edges giving sure sign that the other piece, or pieces, were missing. "What is it?" he questioned.

"This is a map," Jack said, golden-brown eyes glittering.

Gallagher sighed. "To what?"

"A treasure worth an adventure," Jack answered, as the ladder was lowered.

"Hold still," Jacquelyn said, and Jack let out another scream as she pushed the bolt through his shoulder. Gallagher grinned. Jacquelyn quickly bandaged the wound.

"Hope you can climb," Gallagher said, already up the ropes. Jack rolled his eyes and managed to get on board the Marcosa without making his shoulder bleed anymore. "Fine, we'll take you to Tortuga" Gallagher said, heading for the helm.

"Thanks." Jack remarked, looking around. Jacquelyn came up beside him.

"I'd head below if I were you, you're no good with that shoulder," she said, nodding to the hatch. Jack frowned, then looked at her.

"He wouldn't have any rum, would he?"

Jacquelyn sighed, shaking her head. "In the cabinet near our bed."

Jack grinned. "Wanna come down and share a bottle?" he asked with a wink.

"Not really," Jacquelyn said, pushing him towards the hatch.

She shook her head as she watched him go below. For all his faults, Jack was a wonderful man. And the man both she and Gallagher could and would trust with their lives. She turned from the hatch and mounted the steps of the helm.

"Did you tell him where the rum was?" Gallagher asked.

"Yeah, the bottle laced with Laudanum."

Gallagher chuckled. "He'll be out like a baby within the hour." Jacquelyn grinned.

In the cabin below, Jack searched the cabinets, found a bottle and pulled the cork out, taking a long swig. He sighed, and sank down in a chair. His shoulder was throbbing terribly. He touched it gently, wincing. He wondered, vaguely, if it'd scar over, but this thought slipped from his mind. In fact, all thoughts slipped from his mind, as the bottle slipped from his fingers. His eyes fluttered closed, and he slipped into a deep sleep.