Disclaimer: The characters of PotC are not mine in any way, shape, or form. They belong to Disney and Gore Verbinski.

A/N: Hannah, I know you'll especially enjoy this one…it includes some of our crazy in-jokes. Finally, she and Jack are on the island…haha! And if someone catches the allusion to one of my favorite movies, let me know!

Ch. 4: The Island at Last!

The first thing Hannah realized when she woke up was that she was no longer in the freezing waters of the Atlantic. She must've reached land somehow, and after letting her fingers roam in the sand beside her, she concluded that she was lying on a beach. How on earth could I've have gotten here? She thought, trying to remember what had happened that led to such an unfortunate predicament. Her head continued to throb as she began to sort through her jumble of fleeting thoughts. I remember bumping my head on the ship's railing during the storm, fighting with Norrington, and jumping into the sea with Jack Sparrow.

Jack! Realizing who must've delivered her to land safely, she immediately tried to open her eyes to find him. But alas, she couldn't; her eyes were crusted shut with salt from the sea water. Beginning to panic, Hannah tried to shout his name but only managed a feeble cry – her mouth was much too dry to call for him properly. So when she felt a soft hand touch her shoulder it was perfectly understandable that she flinched and rolled away.

"Easy, luv, it's just me," said the unmistakably identifiable voice of Captain Jack Sparrow. "You've had a long day; just rest a little longer. I don't want you passing out on me again."

"Jack!" she rasped, reaching out for him with her hands. The pirate clasped them reassuringly. "I can't get my eyes open!"

"Oh – hold on just a moment," he promised, and soon wet fingers brushed the salty residue away. After fluttering her eyelashes for a moment, Hannah was able to see clearly. A concerned-looking Jack Sparrow was gazing down at her. Behind him, thousands of tiny white stars sprinkled throughout the night sky twinkled innocently back at her. She heard the pleasant crashing of the surf along the beach, the rustle of the wind blowing the palm trees, and the crackling of twigs on a fire that he must've made while she was passed out.

"Are you feeling any better?" Jack asked worriedly.

"Yes, much," she said, "Although my head still hurts." Her eyes were still tingling from where his fingers had touched them.

"Hang on, how long have I been out for?" she asked, confused.

"Just a day," he informed her. "I tried to clean off the scrape on your head, but I'm afraid you'll have a scar while it heals." She shrugged.

"Where are we?" Jack sighed.

"I couldn't really say, luv. We're stranded on an island in the middle of the Atlantic – that's all I know," he apologized.

"But I really think you should drink something," Jack suggested as she started to stir. "It's not good to go this long without drinking – trust me, I know." She nodded and tried to sit up, but when she did, her head swam and Jack's fair features slid out of focus.

"Woah, luv," he said, bending down to keep her from laying back down.

"Take it slowly…you're still not well enough to be doing things on your own." Jack sat down behind her, and cradled her in his lap, giving the exhausted girl the support that she needed to sit up. Hannah shivered, so Jack held her even more tightly. The pirate rubbed her arms and back, trying to warm her.

"You gave me quite a scare," he confessed. "If you didn't wake on your own tonight, I would've woken you meself to make you drink something."

"But where is there something to drink? I can't exactly drink the seawater, you know," she said dryly and Jack grinned, looking very proud of himself.

"When I went to gather firewood, keeping you in my sights at all times of course, I literally stumbled across an underground stash of rum. It seems that the rumrunners use this island as a cache, and from what I can tell, they were here quite recently."

"Oh, I hope they come back…we might even have a chance at being rescued!" She smiled at him hopefully and he nodded in agreement.

"With a stash this big of rum, there's no way that they're not comin' back for it – trust me on this," Jack said, gently smoothing her curls away from her face. "We should be rescued in a week, tops."

"I am a little thirsty," she admitted. "But I've never had rum before."

"Well then you are in for a treat!" Jack grinned at her. "Do you think you can sit up by yerself for a moment while I grab you a bottle?" She nodded and he gently eased away from her and disappeared from sight as he went to fetch the rum.

After a while, Jack returned clutching several rum bottles which he deposited near the fire. Hannah looked at him quizzically but then he explained himself.

"I think you'll sleep better tonight if you're closer to the fire." Without a warning, Jack carefully scooped her up in his arms and deposited her next to the blinding blaze.

"Here you are…drink this, savvy?" Jack handed her a rum bottle, which she immediately uncorked and took a swig. She'd always wanted her to try some, but Norrington wouldn't allow it. At first, it burned her throat but after a while she got used to the strong taste.

"Thank you for saving my life," she said quietly as they sipped on their rum. (Well, Hannah sipped…Jack chugged.) "I wouldn't have made it without your help."

"You're welcome, luv…I couldn't have just let you drown now, could I?" He smiled tenderly at her and she felt her stomach jerk. What a beautiful smile he has, she thought dreamily. Doesn't he just look lovely in the moonlight? Blushing, she tried to distract herself from such thoughts by asking him a question.

"Are we the only ones who survived the wreck?" He nodded.

"I'm afraid so. If only Norrington had listened to me, he and the others might've survived…" Jack hung his head dejectedly.

"It's not your fault, Jack," Hannah said, putting her arm around him in comfort.

"You didn't ask to be caught in the storm. Don't be too hard on yourself; remember that Norrington was the man who captured you." He sighed.

"I just hate it when anyone loses their lives to the sea…just because I'm a pirate doesn't mean I'm heartless." She was surprised to see him feeling so guilty.

"I know that," she told him. "You seem to have a high regard for people's lives…that's why you sacked Nassau without firing a single shot, am I correct?" Sheepishly, he nodded.

"But don't tell anyone…I don't want rumors circulating that I'm gettin' soft." He grinned at her, and Hannah knew that he was back to his old self. Suddenly, she yawned and Jack brought over some relatively soft palm branches for her to lie on. The pirate helped her lay down, and soon curled up a little ways away.

"Jack, you can get closer…I won't bite," she told him. "I'm sure you're freezing, even by the fire!"

"I wasn't sure if a lady like yourself would have any objections sleeping so close to a pirate," he said quietly. Hannah snorted.

"I'm hardly a lady; and you're not just any old pirate, you're Captain Jack Sparrow. And more importantly, you're my friend," she added. "I trust you, Jack. You wouldn't take advantage of an injured girl, would you?" Jack just smirked at her.

"Don't answer that," she sighed, shaking her head, but he knew that she was only kidding.

"Alright, if you insist, I promise to keep my hands to meself. Satisfied?" Hannah nodded and closed her eyes, although part of her wished that he hadn't promised to keep his hands off of her. Stop thinking like that! She scolded herself. Jack's your friend…he may not even think of you in that way. But we are all alone on a deserted island, she reminded herself. Who else is there for him to think of?

All the same, Hannah decided to test him and find out what Jack would do if he thought that she was asleep. Pretending to snore, she waited. Eventually, he came around to her other side, where he could see her face.

"Goodnight, Hannah luv," he said softly, giving her a light kiss on her forehead. Then he lay down behind her, and put his arms around her. Hannah fell asleep with a goofy smile on her face.

The next morning, she awoke as Jack was adding more wood to the fire. Slowly, she started to sit up. After not feeling any kind of dizziness, Hannah pushed herself up until she was standing.

"Good to see you walking on your own," Jack commented as she came to stand beside him. "Since you're feeling better, what would you like to do today?"

"Hmm," said Hannah, considering. What does one do when stranded alone on an island with an extremely hot pirate? "How about we explore the island?"

"Sounds good to me, luv," Jack grinned. "I didn't get very far when gathering firewood and I've been itching to take a look around meself." He offered his hand, and Hannah gladly took it. Together they went off to explore their island paradise.

"If you found rum yesterday, then maybe we'll find something to eat today," she enthused as they trekked through a dense forest.

"Perhaps," Jack mused, although he didn't sound too optimistic. But the girl was right…when they reached a clearing, Hannah spotted them first.

"Bananas!" she cried happily, running over to one of the many banana trees.

"I don't believe this," Jack mumbled. "Who ever heard of an island with bananas?" Still grumbling, he helped her gather some to take back to the beach. They hiked back, shaded from the glaring sun. Hannah and Jack helped themselves to bananas for lunch.

"So what are you going to do when we are rescued?" she asked him in between bites of banana.

"I'm going to get me ship back," he said firmly. "The Black Pearl – the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and the finest, too. "What about you?"

"I don't know," she considered. "I won't go back to Port Royal, that's for sure."

"You can come with me on me ship," Jack offered. "I'd love to have someone like you aboard…with some training I'm sure you could be a fine pirate." Hannah chuckled.

"I'll think about it." Jack let her nap the afternoon away but shook her awake just as the sun dipped behind the horizon.

"I wanted you to see the sunset," Jack said, and Hannah had no complaints there.

"It's gorgeous," she breathed as he sat next to her, slyly slipping his arm around her as they watched nature's vibrant show. But she didn't mind his advances, rather she welcomed them – not that she wanted him to know it. Resting her head on Jack's shoulder, she agreed with the pirate; the blended hues of crimson, gold, and pale orange were a sight to see indeed. They were content to watch as the sun bade the world her farewells until the following day.

"How about some dinner, luv?" Jack mentioned eating and Hannah's stomach gurgled on cue. "You have a choice of bananas, bananas, and more bananas."

"I think I'll have some bananas," Hannah said, seriously. "But I'll bet they'd taste better if we roasted them over the fire."

"Alright then – roast bananas it is," he agreed, and they roasted several each, spearing the bananas on long sticks which they held over the roaring blaze.

Once again, Jack gave her rum to drink. It didn't exactly complement their meal of roasted banana, but it did well to quench her thirst. Hannah decided that she more than enjoyed the drink and had soon guzzled two and a half bottles. Jack, being a more seasoned drinker, was on his fifth. When Hannah started on her fourth, she began to feel more than a little woozy. Jack then had the brilliant idea that it was the perfect time to teach her some pirate songs. Dancing around the fire arm in arm, they started out singing "Yo ho, yo ho, A Pirate's Life for Me" and ended with Jack's personal favorite, "For the Love of Rum and the Sea".

"You're drunk, luv," Jack pointed out, as Hannah kept walking in a zig-zag formation.

"No I'm not," she protested, running into him by mistake. "I meant to do that!" she yelled.

"Right," Jack nodded knowingly. "Have you ever been drunk before?" She ignored his question and continued to dance around, spinning in circles and kicking her legs high. Finally she stopped, as she was out of breath. Laughing drunkenly, she gave Jack a big hug.

"I'm just going to say what we're not saying, because it needs to be said." Hannah stumbled away from Jack and with arms wide open announced,

"I liiiiiiiiiiiike you!"

"What?" She giggled at him, mock-glaring at Jack with her hands on her hips as he raised his eyebrows at her.

"I do!" she insisted. "What about you, Jack? Do you like me?"

"Of course I do, luv," he said quietly. "I like you very much."

"Yes, but do you looooove me? I know people say that pirates only love their ships and the sea, but you're not any ordinary pirate…I know you're different."

"You know, I think I very well could learn to love you," he confessed, as serious as she'd ever seen him.

"Me too!" she screeched, jumping up and down.

"Oh good," he said, relieved. "I doubt that you'll remember this in the morning, so if you do happen to change your mind when you are sober, what can it hurt?"

He captured her lips in a searing kiss, and Hannah sighed happily into his mouth. He tasted heavily of rum and bananas, she decided as their tongues battled for dominance. Jack gently laid her down in the soft sand and they continued to explore each other's mouths. This went on for what seemed like forever, with only small breaks for air. Eventually, Hannah grew tired and Jack had to let her rest.

"I love you, Hannah Miller," he murmured softly as he stared at her slumbering form.

He gave her one last kiss, on the healing scar on her forehead. Holding her close, he fell asleep, sad that she wouldn't remember their special night together in the morning.

End Ch. 4

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