Finally, Jack reached a serviceable branch in the tree. The first few he'd passed were already occupied by birds nests. Jack had fended off a few sets of parental birds before getting away, escaping with a few scratches.

He strode across the wood, nodding with approval. A soft chattering behind him caused him to spin around, nearly falling out of the tree.

A squirrel was behind him.

The furry creature looked at him quizzically, trying to decide if he was friend, foe, or food. Jack fingered his sword.

"Oi! Off with you, rat, before I cut off that pretty tail of yours and make it into a mattress, savvy?"

The human voice put the squirrel on alert. Jack fell firmly into the 'foe' category.

Jack cautiously edged nearer to the rodent, drawing his sword. "I've fended off a giant, I'll not be run off by the likes of you."

He took a mock run at the creature, yelling.

That was too much for the squirrel's peanut-sized brain. It vacated, not only the branch, but the entire tree. The last thing it needed was a crazy animal trying to kill it. Jack stretched out on the smooth bark of the tree branch, grinning in triumph.

-

Matt had emerged from the house again to search for the Captain. The Whelp was searching the car at the moment. The dim glow thrown off by the porch light was just enough to make him out. His hands were plunged under the driver's seat.

"Not there. Try the next one." Jack taunted from his perch. The branch was about twelve feet in the air and across the street, effectively shielding him from the Whelp's search.

Matt cursed under his breath. Jack could be miles away by now, but somehow he doubted it. Jack's style was more…localized.

'He's probably holed up somewhere, laughing at me.' The teen thought sourly.

"I hope a cat tries to eat you, Sparrow." He said to the wind.

"And I 'ope that one day I can come back here at proper size and give you a sound thrashing." Jack replied, snickering. This was the most fun he'd had since Matt had taken him home.

Finally, with total darkness all around him, Matt gave up. Jack watched carefully as he went back inside, then started back down the tree.

Now that Matt had apparently reached the conclusion that Jack had hidden for the duration, the Captain intended to make his way back into the house.

'Why spend the night in an rat-infested tree when I can sneak back in the vents and p'haps even find some beverages of an alcoholic nature?' He reasoned as he crossed the road. As he made his way up the lawn, a bright light flashed into his eyes.

"What the dratted hell!" He cried out, his hand flying to shield his eyes.

The sound of the door flying open and slamming into the wall startled the pirate even more. He started to stagger backwards and felt the sickeningly familiar sensation of being grabbed hold of and picked up.

"Ah-HA!" Matt's voice rang through the Pirate's head as he was taken back inside. "I knew you wouldn't stay outside all night! You tripped the motion sensor! And to think, I complained that it was triggered too easily."

During this monolog Jack was trying to clear the sunspots out of his vision. By the time he finally succeeded, Matt was placing him into a small cage. Wood chips lined the floor.

"I didn't think they made jails here for people my size." Jack grumbled.

"Not a Jail, Jack. It's a hamster cage." Matt smirked down at him.

"I don't know wot a hamster is, but I'm guessing its not a good thing for me." Jack watched in dismay as Matt placed a padlock over the otherwise penetrable door latch.

"You're just lucky I don't have it anymore, or I'd have taken your weapons away and let you fend for yourself." Matt replied.

"A gentleman of the highest order, you are." Jack said sarcastically. "And I suppose you'll be keeping me in here until Dana arrives?"

"Oh crap, Dana!" Matt grabbed the phone and started dialing frantically. "Hello? Yeah, is Dana there?…SHE WHAT!"

Jack watched with great interest as the teen panicked. He seated himself in what appeared to be some sort of metallic waterwheel. It shifted under him, squeaking faintly.

"Please, can I talk to her just for a second?…Thanks."

"Oi, if you can hear me Dana he's got me in a cage!" Jack yelled. Matt shot him a death glare, and mouthed something fairly nasty at him.

"Dana? Yes-yes-I got him! Yeah…no, he ran away. I got him back."

"I may have been running, but only as you were the one chasing." Jack replied sourly.

"He's fine, I got him when he tripped the alarm system outside-No, no one saw him. He was only out there for like, an hour…Yeah, you can talk to him."

Matt placed a hand over the mouthpiece. "You exaggerate what happened and I will kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jack said as Matt slipped the cell phone through the bars.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Dana's tone was full of worry. Jack sighed, mentally giving himself a hard slap (which he fully deserved).

"Yes Love, I'm fine. Just took a bit of a stroll." Jack said calmly.

"That's not the way Matt tells it." She said, laughing slightly.

"Well, things may have gotten a tad out of hand when the Whelp and I had a slight altercation."

"Meaning he made a joke and you stabbed him, then ran."

"Pretty much."

Dana sighed. "Tomorrow I'm sitting both of you down for a long talk. Can I trust you to stay there the night?"

"Aye, there's not many places I could go as the Whelp has me locked up in what he calls a 'hamster cage'."

"WHAT?"

Jack grinned up at the teenager. "I believe she'd like to talk to you."

Matt swore under his breath as he retrieved the phone.

-