INTO THE CARIBBEAN

CHAPTER SEVEN – Toasts in Tortuga

&&&&&&

Only one question commonly repeated itself in Alex's mind, and it was out of all the places she had been with her father when they sailed, why she never had been here before. Tortuga was a place where you could do whatever you want without getting in trouble…most of the time. There was rum that never seemed to end, numerous drunk people to steal from, and new sailors or pirates from all over the Caribbean coming into port at every hour. Jack was busy explaining the joys of Tortuga while Will looked around in disgust and Alex looked around in awe and amusement. Brawls broke out almost everywhere, and usually over the most stupid things, and gunshots were fired every so often into the air, causing Alex to jump a few times when they shot a little too close to her liking. Yeah, Alex thought, this was going to be an interesting night indeed.

"More importantly," Jack spoke, leading Alex and Will through a crowded alley, "it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?" He took a silver cane from a man beside him, examined it, and decided to keep it as he asked both Will and Alex, "What do you think?"

Will eyed a man to the left of them, who lay next to a few stacked barrels, and watched as he practically inhaled the rum in his mug, followed by the one in his other hand. Alex watched with raised brows.

"It'll linger." Will told him, and Alex laughed.

"This town is my kind of place." She said, and Will shot her a bewildered look. "Oh, come on! Look at it!" She waved her hands around. "Doesn't this place just scream my name?" She looked across the street to some prostitutes who were cat-calling their potential victims, and Will rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe some things are screaming my name…"

"I'll tell you mates, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted." Jack explained as he too looked across the street. One woman, who was plastered with too much make-up with red hair and wearing a matching crimson dress, walked in fast-paced steps towards Jack with a scowl on her face. "Scarlet!" Jack exclaimed as he rushed out to meet her, but the only to be met with was a powerful slap sending his face flying back to Will and Alex. His face was full of surprise while Alex tried to hold back a loud laugh, but she just settled with a greatly pleased smirk.

"I don't think I deserved that." Jack stated. By the time he recovered, another woman approached him, but this time with blonde hair and a smaller petite figure and same amount of make-up as 'Scarlet'. "Giselle..." Jack greeted, his voice taking on a low, seductive and pleased tone.

"Who was she?" Giselle asked with both hands on her hips and an angry expression that dared him to answer.

Jack took the dare and acted clueless. "What?" He was instantly slapped, possibly harder this time, and Alex began to laugh hysterically as Giselle marched away.

"…I may have deserved that." Jack said as he rubbed his cheek.

"I entirely agree." Alex laughed. She heard Will let out a chuckle from beside her while Jack regained his posture again, glancing at her with a small momentary glare.

The three began walking through the seemingly crowded town with Jack in the lead and Will and Alex taking the rear side by side. Carefully, Will watched his surroundings and made sure his hand didn't wander too far from the sword at his hip, but Alex amusedly and curiously watched Jack lead them to their unknown destination. She then noticed for the first time how his walk, or rather swaying stride, either consisted of a permanent pair of sea-legs or he was drunk and slightly waving his hands around for balance with the cane in hand. It was hard to tell which was correct. His stride was cocky yet confident with each step he took...the step of a man who knew no fear, for he had already become less than acquainted with it and swiped it away with whatever insane courage he had inside of him.

"Where exactly are we going, Sparrow?" Will impatiently asked.

"To visit an old friend o' mine, lad. He owes me a favor, thus will help me out when he knows I'm ready to collect it." Jack wisely answered without looking back. After avoiding a few runaway horse drawn carts and staying clear of the countless fights, they arrived at a small house in a somewhat quieter part of Tortuga. Dark and quiet, it appeared empty, but Jack wasn't fooled. He walked to the back of the house towards a small muddy pen, where lied three sleeping pigs and their slumbering human companion. He was a somewhat large man with bushy grey sideburns and a face so soiled, it looked like he had not taken a bath in quite some time. At least, it smelled like that, Alex thought.

Jack laughed, not surprised at the fact that this man was sleeping among pigs. "What have you drunk this time, Joshamee?" He asked himself with a shake of his head. "Here, William, pick up that bucket and let's wake up Mr. Gibbs here, aye?"

Standing side by side, they stood ready with their full buckets of water while Alex just leaned with both arms crossed against a dark wooden support, and when Jack suddenly threw his bucket onto the sleeping form, the man named Mr. Gibbs instantly jolted awake and drew out his dagger with an enraged look on his dirty face.

"Curse ye for breathing, ye slack-jawed idiot!" He pointed the sharp dagger at Jack, and when he realized who it was, his eyes grew wide then rested with relief. "Mother's love! Jack! Ye should know better than to wake a man when he's sleepin'. 'S bad luck."

Jack grinned. "Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it." He said before kneeling on one knee before him. "The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking." He nodded his head and stared at Gibbs through narrowed eyes once he finished his persuasive explanation and waited for an answer.

Gibbs, who was still leaning against the large pig who had fallen back to sleep despite the sudden commotion, took a moment to contemplate the so called 'counter-curse'. "Aye, that'll 'bout do it." Jack pulled him up, and when he took a step backwards, Will threw his bucket of water. "Blast, I'm already awake!" He hollered.

Jack confusedly looked at Will, who clarified, "That was for the smell." The now soaking-wet Joshamee opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it and just shrugged in agreement.

"Is the Faithful Bride still where I remembered it to be?" Jack inquired.

"Aye, it 'tis. Men wait to hear from you and women are ready for yer pleasure." He chuckled, and Jack slyly nodded with a knowing eye. Alex glanced at Will and rolled her eyes.

"Not this time, Gibbs, this visit is purely business."

"That's what ye said last time, ye lyin' dog!" Gibbs laughed.

"But this time it isn't pleasurable business. Come on, let's go get a drink and catch up on old times and I'll explain, savvy?"

"Wait, what's this, another woman pirate?" Gibbs asked as he looked over at Alex with interest.

"She's not a pirate yet, mate, but soon will be once I'm through with her!" Jack laughed followed by Gibb's own loud laughter. Alex rolled her eyes with a chuckle, but when she glanced over at Will, she saw not a grin but a disapproving face. She quickly distracted herself with the muddy pigs and hid her frown.

"What be yer name, lassie?" Gibbs asked.

"Alex, Alex Keller." Alex answered with a smile as she extended her hand. Gibbs took it and gave it a firm shake, but she held his hand and narrowed her eyes at him. "You look awfully familiar…" Alex answered as she continued to study him. Even his name sounded familiar to her. She knew she had seen him before…but where?

"I'm not sure I've seen ye around before, lass." Gibbs replied, shooting a confused glance towards Jack.

Wait…the way he said 'lass' and those bushy sideburns...it was unforgettable. "Wait a second, I remember you! Eight years ago on the Dauntless coming from England, you were on that ship!"

Gibbs raised his brows in surprise. "Aye, I was…me last voyage with the Navy, actually…how did you know?"

"My father, Peter Keller, was a sailor. You would play cards with him after dark down in the galley. I'm his daughter."

His eyes went wide with understanding and he let out a hearty laugh. "Mother of God, it's the hellcat all grown up!" Alex laughed at the old nickname, and was met with a brief cheery hug.

"You two…know each other?" Jack asked dubiously, his eyes shifting between the two of them. Will lifted his brow and stared at Alex curiously.

"O'course we do! Spent an entire voyage with each other, we did." Gibbs chuckled. "How is Pete doin' these days? Does he know you're gallivanting with pirates and Jack of all men?"

Alex shook her head. "I'm afraid not, he passed on about four years ago."

"Aw, lass, I'm sorry, I didn't know. He was a good man."

"Thanks." Alex smiled. "So what are you doing here in Tortuga? I thought you were in the Navy!"

"I was…but let's just say I didn't 'fit in', and I'm more welcome in places like Tortuga, aye?"

"Ahem…" Jack coughed, catching everybody's attention. "I hate to break the reunion here, but I'm becoming a bit antsy for some rum, savvy?"

&&&&&&

They reached the Faithful Bride in no time at all as they filed inside, with Jack holding the door for all of them. Alex entered last, and when she took a step into the pub, it instantly seemed much louder than it was outside. It was like someone grabbed a small handful of Tortuga and shoved it into a small enclosed space with rum to keep it fueled. It felt warm and smelled of alcohol, sweat, vomit, and other sour and somewhat sweet smells mingled together to create one indescribable odor.

"Keller," Jack said from behind her. Turning around, Alex noticed how close he was standing to her. She could see the flames from the torches and candles everywhere flicker in his deep, mysterious brown eyes. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the way of a few fighting men and looked intently into her eyes. "I want you to watch the Turner lad while I have a private drink with Gibbs. He'll get himself into some trouble with no supervision, and you seem to know how to handle yourself more than he would in a place like this."

"Uh, sure." Alex unsurely agreed. "No problem."

Jack grinned. "Thanks, lass. I'll buy you a drink later, savvy?"

"Damn right you will." Alex laughed. They separated, Jack disappearing through the crowd while Alex pushed herself through the unruly group of people, ignoring the rude remarks and pushing aside any drunk man who mistook her for a whore. Eventually, she found Will and Gibbs in the back near a more 'quiet' and secluded part of the pub. Gibbs took a seat at an empty table, leaving Will and Alex standing alone near a wooden pillar overlooking the entire room.

When Alex looked up at Will, she saw him cautiously survey the crowded pub through alert brown eyes. With any sudden gunshot or sound of a fist connecting with a jaw, he would instantly cover the handle of his sword with his calloused hand.

"Lighten up, Will. You act as if someone will try and beat you to death if you take your eyes off of them for one second." Alex joked, but Will didn't seem to laugh.

"In this place, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. It's dangerous."

"Maybe so, but I'll bet you that most of these people here are too drunk to even walk properly. Your chances of getting hurt here if you stay out of the way are grim, Will."

Jack emerged from the said crowd with two mugs in his hands, taking a careless step to the side when someone was pushed towards him. When he reached Alex and Will, he abruptly stopped and looked at them in turn with narrowed eyes.

"Keep a sharp eye." He warned. He gave a reminding nod to Alex, which she knowingly returned, and then strode over to the table with Gibbs. Alex was about to say something to Will, but she decided against it when he was once again watching the pub. She softly sighed, and decided to "watch" too…while she listened to Jack and Gibbs.

"Now, what's the nature of this venture of yer 'n?" Gibbs asked before bringing the tarnished mug to his lips.

"I'm going after the Black Pearl." Gibbs almost choked on his drink. "I know where it's going to be, and I'm going to take it."

"Jack, it's a fool's errand! Why, you know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl!"

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to. All I need is a crew."

"From what I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one." Gibbs warned.

"Well, then I'd say it's a very good thing I'm not a fool then, eh?"

"Prove me wrong. What makes ye think Barbossa will give up his ship to you?"

Jack grinned. "Let's just say it's a matter of leverage."

Alex raised her brow in interest, and Will sharply turned around and looked over at the table. Something was telling her that he had been listening just as she had, and she decided they had heard enough for now. "How about a drink, eh? My treat." She offered.

Will looked down at her. "I don't drink, Alex."

"Ha!" Alex scoffed. "That's a lie! I've seen you drink before."

"Wine!"

She laughed. "C'mon, just one or two drinks. We'll toast one for our safe arrival, another one for our journey ahead, and another for best friends reunited."

"That's not one or two."

"No, but there will be more things to toast as we go along. On we go!" Alex hooked her arm with his and led him towards two empty stools near the counter full of crumbs and pieces of food, spilled drinks, and a few passed out faces. "'ey! Two rums over here!" Alex called out to the barkeeper, who nodded and began to prepare the order.

When their drinks came, Alex smiled and kindly thanked the barkeep. Will picked up his mug and sniffed the drink, curling his nose in disgust. "What's in this?" He coughed.

"Definitely not what's in Port Royal wine. Take a drink and guess." She watched as he took another whiff of the smell, hesitantly bring the cup to his lips, and then take a large gulp as his adam's apple moved as he swallowed. Clenching his eyes shut, the liquid flowed down his throat, leaving a burning sensation and a weird aftertaste.

"This is awful!" Will coughed. Alex laughed and patted him on the back.

"Take another drink, it'll get better, I assure you." She watched as he repeated the process of drinking the rum, more hesitantly this time, but the reaction wasn't as bad.

"Elizabeth would kill me if she knew I was drinking. She thinks it's a foul and vile drink." Will sighed.

"I know, I've had that lecture, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her though, right?" Alex laughed in attempt to lighten the thought. She frowned as she watched his expression change, and though he wouldn't say it, she knew that look and what it meant. He missed her. A lot. She looked down into her untouched drink, and staring at her reflection, she ran a hand through her short black hair, then took the mug in her hand and faced Will. "To finding Lizzie, and not telling her that you were drinking."

Will looked at her and gave her a breathtaking smile. "To friends." He took his cup, clanked it with hers, and in unison they took a drink. After that, they finished their drinks in silence, and then Alex called for the barkeep once more.

"Ey! Two more! We have another toast to make!" Alex yelled, and Will shook his head with a laugh as the barkeep scrambled to keep up the numerous orders from the pub.

&&&&&&

"A toast to the seals on the Interthep…Interceep….our ship, that they won't ever tear in a storm!" Will slurred.

"You mean the sails?" Alex laughed.

"Yes!" Will said loudly. Alex lost count as to how many drinks they've had since their first toast, which seemed so far away, but she knew that Will was more drunk than she was, even if they almost had the same amount to drink. She knew how to hold her liquor better than he did, but she was still a little on the drunk side. Hell, who wouldn't be?

"Another!" Will shouted, and the barkeep obeyed. He didn't care how many drinks he served to these two people, just as long as they paid in the end. Instantly, they were supplied with two more mugs, and as Will reached out for his mug, Alex put a hand over his and stopped him.

"I think we've had enough, Will, especially you." Alex warned with a laugh.

"You're right, Alex, but I promise this will be the last one. Quick, think of a toast!"

They both pondered for a moment, but both drew up blank expressions. "Can't think of one, Will, I think we've thought of all the toasts we could toast to."

"Nonsense, I've already got one."

"Well?"

"A toast," Will started as he clumsily picked up his mug. "A toast to us, that no matter what, we'll be there in the end for the other."

"Sounds good to me!" Alex laughed, and they clanked their mugs together and drained it. When Alex finished, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and pushed the mug away. When she looked over at Will, she laughed. His eyes looked glassy, and he was leaning against the counter for balance.

"Alex?" Will slurred, looking straight into her eyes with a somewhat serious expression on his intoxicated face.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You're a really, really good person. Good friend, my best friend." Alex smiled inside as he continued, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Same here, Will." She paused. "And you're not just my best friend…you're more than that to me." Bloody hell, where did that come from? Alex nervously thought. She was known to say strange things when she had a little too much to drink, but this one won the prize. Out of all the things to say, and to Will of all people! Did she just admit what she thought about him? Damn, I did!

Will gave a lopsided grin and she noticed that he began to slowly slump closer to her before he paused an inch from her face, staring deeply into her eyes. Alex's breath caught in her throat when she finally realized how close he was to her, how close his lips were to her own…

"Will…" She whispered his name, but she didn't know whether it was to encourage him to go on or make him stop. He was drunk, but was he as drunk as she thought he was? Maybe Will understood what had accidentally slipped from her mouth…then this would be the moment she had dreamed of for years, for him to finally kiss her, for him to finally know how she felt.

As that thought passed through her racing mind, she saw his glassy eyes roll to the back of his head and watched as his entire body fell forward onto her, knocking them both out of their stools and onto the floor. Alex fell first, and when she hit the ground, pain shot through her shoulder causing her to suddenly cry out in pain, and then Will followed and unconsciously fell on top of her. The moment was ruined and laughter was heard moments thereafter.

"What are you two doing down there, lass?" Jack laughed as he strode over to her.

"We decided to get some sleep," came the sarcastic reply. "What do you think happened?" Alex irritably answered. She tried to push herself up, but her left shoulder burned with pain when she shifted, so she slumped back to the floor in defeat. "Can you help me out here or are you just going to watch?"

Jack finished his laughter, and with one last chuckle, he bent over and rolled the unconscious Will off of her and then pulled her up. "What did you do to him, Keller? He looks awful."

Alex brushed off the dirt from her breeches and innocently shrugged. "We just had a few drinks, that's all." She answered, remembering what almost happened after the few drinks before he passed out, and after uncomfortably clearing her throat she said, "He'll be fine, he needs to learn how to hold his liquor."

Jack smirked as he pulled up the unconscious form of Will with a grunt and leaned him against the counter with a few wavering steps. "Place his arm around your shoulder and I'll do the same. We'll have to drag him out of here"

"Wait, are we leaving?"

"As much as I don't want to, yes. You children need your rest."

"I'm not a child, thank you very much." Alex scowled. "I can stay out as long as I'd like whenever I want to. Plus you said you'd buy me a drink!"

"I think you've had enough for one night, lass." Jack replied with a smirk. Alex grumbled under her breath as she flung Will's arm around her shoulders and sharing the equal weight with Jack against the right side of her body. She winced slightly when Will's fingers grazed by her injured shoulder. They began to slowly head towards the door when the barkeep called out angrily. He sported a sharp dagger in his grubby hand and was running his thumb up and down the blood-crusted blade.

"'ey! Ye jest can't leave! Who's goin' to pay fer all of these drinks?"

Alex eyed the blade with wide eyes before sheepishly looking at Jack. "Um, I owe you?" She nervously chuckled. Jack irritably rolled his eyes as he took a small pouch and tossed it over to the large man. He counted the money, and then looked disapprovingly back at Jack.

"Tha's not enough."

Jack shot another look at Alex, who innocently shrugged, and pulled out a few more gold coins. "Here, this should do it." He tossed them over as well, the barkeep counted them, and nodded in approval. Jack then glared at Alex as they went out the door. "Never say you owe Captain Jack Sparrow if you don't fully understand much he's going to do for you. You owe me a lot, lass."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll get you drunk next time we're in a pub and pay for it." They were walking down the street when she realized something. "Where are we going to stay, anyways? In the street?"

"We're going to stay at Gibb's tonight and depart in the morning. He'll be finding a trustworthy crew before then." Jack explained as he adjusted Will's weight on his shoulder.

"Trustworthy? Here?" Alex mockingly questioned.

"You'd be surprised." Jack answered, and they fell silent for the remainder of the walk back to Gibb's home.

Ten minutes later they reached the empty, dark house. Jack opened the front door as if he already knew it was unlocked and took Will from Alex and went inside. Alex remained outside in the chilly air and she watched, with help from the faint lights from outside, as Jack practically dropped Will onto the torn cushioned couch. Jack then proceeded to look around for some candles and matches, and lit them up one by one around the room.

"Are you just going to stand out there?" Jack asked after he lit the last candle and waved the match in his hand to extinguish the flame.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." She took a step inside and while doing so accidentally hit her left shoulder against the door frame and yelped in pain. She grabbed her shoulder to somehow cease the stinging sensation as Jack instantly turned around to her and narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"What's wrong?" He slowly asked her.

"Nothing." She answered all too quickly. Jack gave her an unbelieving look and approached her.

"You're hurt."

"No, really?" Alex sarcastically retorted. She was wearing a dark shirt so it wasn't obvious to the naked eye that she was bleeding, but Jack saw that she was clenching her shoulder and noticed. "I must have scratched it when I fell, it's nothing."

Jack didn't say anything as he stood before her and looked from her face to her hand, which was now tinting red. He then took a calloused hand and began to roll the sleeve from her wrist up her arm, but she jerked away. "Back off!"

Jack put up his hands in defense and narrowed his eyes. "I just want to take a look...unless you want an infection from who knows what you picked up back there." Sighing with defeat, Alex had no choice but to succumb, and he continued to roll up the sleeve. She watched him delicately push the fabric up her arm where there were a few small streams of blood staining her skin and she hissed in pain when he pushed it over her wound.

"Ow, that hurts!"

Jack narrowed his eyes for a closer examination. "There's a piece of glass deep in your shoulder. You must have picked up from a broken rum bottle in the tavern." Without any warning, he pulled it out and she yelled again.

"Bloody hell, that hurts you bastard!"

"Go sit down and apply some pressure to it, I'll go get something to clean you up." Jack instructed before disappearing into another room.

"Oh, great." Alex muttered. She looked down at the large cut on her bare shoulder. There was some dry blood around the cut, but it continued flowing freely. When she poked at it while walking over to a vacant chair, she shivered in pain. No doubt it would leave a nasty scar.

As she slumped down into the creaky wooden seat, she applied pressure with her hand like Jack told her, and looked over at the sleeping form of Will on the couch. His feet dangled over the side of the small couch and his head was tilted back with his mouth slightly opened…the mouth she remembered she almost kissed.

What was I thinking? Alex scolded herself, her mind now sober. What if I kissed him and he remembered? Stupid, stupid, stupid…what if he remembers that we almost kissed? Her eyes widened. What would he think if he remembered that she was about to kiss him? What would he do then? Would he never talk to her again or…or maybe further seek what almost happened? Don't think like that, it will never happen. He loves Elizabeth…

"Here we go." Jack cheerfully stated as he sauntered back into the room with a white rag resting over his shoulder, a needle and thread in one hand and a bottle of dark liquid in the other. Alex snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at the sight of the incoming rum.

"Ah, thank you." She smiled and reached for the rum, but he moved it out of her reach. "Hey!"

"That isn't for you, lass, it's for your cut." Jack explained, and Alex's eyes grew wide in horror.

"No way, that isn't nessecary!"

"I need to clean the wound and disinfect it." He kneeled beside her and uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid onto the rag. "Now, hold still." When she deeply sighed in defeat, he slowly applied it to her arm and firmly held it while she tensed up and hissed loudly in pain, clenching her eyes shut.

After a few painful moments, he began to dab the rag on her cut. Alex finally opened her eyes when she felt cool air gust by her cut, and she when she looked over, she saw Jack blowing on the wound. He watched her through his kohl-lined eyes, which made his chocolate brown orbs appear darker than they actually were. His lips formed a small 'o' as he softly blew, all the while staring intently up at her. She slowly began to relax when the searing pain faded away under his touch.

"I'm going to have to stitch it up, savvy?" Alex nodded her head, and Jack threaded the needle and began to fix her wound. "You and young William have a nice bonding time while I talked with Gibbs?"

Alex shrugged. "I suppose so. We've been best friends since we were children, so there wasn't really anything new to bond about."

"Ah." Jack replied. "I don't remember much of any of my friends when I was a young lad. I lost touch with them when I turned to the life of a pirate."

"Really?"

"Aye." He didn't speak anymore on the subject. "There we go, all done."

Alex looked at her shoulder and lightly ran a finger over the professional stitching on the clean cut in her skin. She looked at Jack as he stood. "Thank you, Jack." She quietly said.

"You're welcome, lass." He winked with a grin before looking at Will. "I say we follow young William's example and get some shut eye ourselves."

Alex yawned and suddenly realized how exhausted she was. It had been a long day and even a longer night. "I agree." She waited until Jack exit the room to walk over to Will. After watching him for a moment she pulled off his boots and quietly set them on the floor and then grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over him. "G'night, Will." She whispered. After blowing out all the candles in the room, she walked into one of the only three doors in the small house into a candlelit bedroom where Jack was. There was a dirty glass window, a tilted dusty painting on the wall, a wooden chair with Jack's coat and vest draped over it and his tri-corn hat resting on the corner, and a small drawer beside the bed covered with white sheets and pillows. The only bed.

Alex's eyes grew wide when she saw Jack sit at one side of the bed and begin to remove his boots. "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready to sleep." Jack simply answered with a grunt as he pulled off the second boot.

"Oh, no, no, no, you are not getting that bed, Sparrow." Alex objected while waving her hands around and shaking her head in disapproval as she approached.

"Who said I was getting it?" Jack slyly grinned. "I'm planning on sharing it with you."

"No way in hell am I sleeping in the same bed as you! You might try and grope me in my sleep or something!"

"I wasn't planning on it, but you have no other choice, lass. Where are you going to sleep, on the floor?" Jack smirked, and Alex glared. "There are rats down there, you know."

"Perfect, then you'll feel right at home." And with that, she headed to the opposite side of the bed and didn't bother to remove her boots as she lied down on the bed and crossed her arms, looking at him with a satisfied look.

Jack turned his back on her, and though Alex couldn't see it, he held a smug grin and a mischievous brow. "You know, my dear, you do owe me a favor for paying for all those drinks you consumed, remember? I could have let him cut off your fingers, but I didn't." He slightly turned so she saw the side of his face. "And I haven't actually slept with any warm, womanly body nearby in bloody ages. I had been too occupied with other things with them to do so…"

"I didn't need to know that, and you're not helping change my mind."

"Keller, tonight I just want to sleep because I'm too exhausted to do anything else. Just share half the bed with me and that's all you'll owe me." Jack spoke in a very low and tired tone. "For now." He added with a smirk.

Alex sighed in annoyance, knowing that it would be pointless to fight with him any longer. Plus, it wouldn't be that bad as long as he kept his hands to himself. "Agh, fine, but if you try anything then I won't think twice about pushing you onto the floor, understand?"

Jack only laughed in reply as he crawled underneath the white sheets on the right side of the bed with Alex lying on the left. She kicked her boots off and pulled the sheets over her and carefully shifted to lie on her right shoulder with her back to Jack. After he blew out the candle, they were momentarily left in complete darkness until the moonlight settled in a ray across the chosen floorboards.

The bed creaked when Jack began to move around and adjust his position. An arm or leg would sometimes brush against her, but finally he ceased his movement. When Alex turned to look at him in the darkness, she saw the dim form of his body lying flat on his back like before with an arm draped over his eyes with the other lazily resting over his stomach. His dark braided hair was sprawled around his head on the pillow, and his mustache twitched as his adam's apple suddenly rose and fell down his throat.

"You're not going to get much sleep if you're going to be staring at me all night, lass." Jack suddenly said with a smug tone in his wide grin.

"I wasn't staring at you, for your information, I was just making sure you were keeping your hands to yourself like what we agreed upon."

He smirked. "I don't recall ever agreeing to that." She hit his shoulder hard. "I'm just playing, lass, rest assured, I lay no hand on any woman when she doesn't request it."

"Good, let's keep it that way." Alex replied before she turned so her back faced him, and took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling and closing her eyes.

Jack chuckled from deep inside his throat. "G'night, lass."

"Yeah," Alex tiredly replied as exhaustion overtook her.

The last thing she heard was Jack's even breathing as well as her own before the peaceful blackness overtook her, dragging her into the unknown state of realistic dreams.

That night, as she slept beside Jack, she had a dream that had visited her on many other accounts, but this time was different. She was chained to an unseen force in Port Royal, forced to watch Will and Elizabeth's wedding, but there was another guest at that wedding. It was a man, hidden in the shadows of her dream, who showed her the key to her chains. She never saw his face, for it was unclear in her dream, but in the morning when she woke, Alex would wonder if she saw a tattoo of a flying bird and the brand of a pirate on his right arm.

&&&&&&
&&&&&&

A/N: Wow, I almost forgot how long this chapter was. 11 pages! Man...haha. Anyways, this is PunkDPirate here, I just changed my name to RunawayPirate because I felt like change, and change is good. Sorry if I'm confusing anybody with that, but don't worry, it's still me!

Well, you guys have been great! I love hearing from you and reading your reviews. :) On that note, I'd like to thank BlackGoldSilverTiger (Oops, sorry! It said your name was different when you reviewed.And I'm only updating quickly because I already have the chapters written...I'm usually slow, haha) Sparrows Rum (Thank you!) VagrantCandy (Haha, yeah, to each his own, right? Thanks!) doctress (Glad someone else agrees! By the way, I checked out your story, and definetly think you should update! It's great!) Cayenne Pepper Powder (Haha, yeah, it's always a good thing that Jack's there) JosieAndThePussyCats (Thank you. It's been hard, but I know I'll feel better over time. THANKS!) Terriah (Yeah, I didn't make a new account and transfer, I just went to account prefferences and edited my penname...but it's still the same me, just different name and URL) EverVengeful (I'm glad you found this the second time around! ButI don't understand what you're quite telling me...maybe give me another example?)

Thanks again everyone! Your reviews are like food to my writing!

Please review!