Disclaimer: I own nothing. There, that should just about cover it...


The Pearl reaches Port Royal just before dusk, leaving little time before the party. Still a little unsettled by his earlier feelings, Jack returns to his cabin to find Madison rummaging through one of his trunks. A few others are open as well and there are clothes scattering the floor and flying through the air. She doesn't notice he's entered the room and tosses a shirt over her shoulder, hitting Jack in the face.

"Luv! Wha' the hell are ye doin' with me effects?"

"Jack, I can't find anything to wear!"

He begins collecting articles of clothing from the floor. "Did ye really expect t' find dresses in me wardrobe? 'Cause they're not very flattering on me, luv."

Great. She's about to meet the gorgeous Will Turner while having nothing descent to wear and he was making jokes. "We are going to a formal affair, aren't we? They won't let me in wearing this." She tugs on his shirt that she's currently adorning.

"Calm yerself. I'm sure Elizabeth 'as something in yer size. Now come on. Grab wha' ever yer takin' ashore an' let's go."

Madison grabs her messenger bag and follows him out on deck, down the gangplank, and through town. Jack leads her quietly through the back alleys and in between buildings she can see that the main streets are busy with people. Not like Tortuga, but busy still.

"Jack, why are we sneaking through town when you have an official invitation?"

"One can never be too careful luv. Besides, it's habit."

"Will the rest of the crew be joining us?"

"They're not invited. Jes' me an' you. Well, me…an' a guest."

"What will they do then?"

God, women ask a lot of questions. "I don' know...Piratey things." He elaborates his point with wild hand gestures.

The tension between them is killing her but any silence is worse. He was acting as though their earlier conversation had never taken place but thankfully he hadn't tried to ditch her yet either so she certainly wasn't going to bring up the subject again. "So what are the Turners like?"

He sighs, "I guess ye could say young Mister Turner was a whelp until 'e saved me life a while back an' Elizabeth is…well Elizabeth. You'll see soon enough."

He ducks into a random door, followed by Madison who quickly realizes it's the back entrance to the blacksmith shop. Her heart nearly skips a beat. There stands Will hammering away at the anvil, rather symbolically as a matter of fact. At the sound of the door, he swings around spying his most treasured friend. The friend who had helped him gain the love of his life. "Jack! What are you doing here?"

"Last I checked, ye invited me, mate."

"I know, but I didn't actually think you'd be able to...fit it into your schedule. What with your demanding line of work and all."

Both men laugh before giving each other a friendly hug. Doing so, Will takes notice of the woman shadowing Jack. "And who might this be?" Jack steps aside, allowing Madison to move forward into the light. Will takes her hand in his, kissing it. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Jack never mentioned having such a beautiful...lady friend." She blushes. Not just at his kind words but also because he pretends not to notice the wound on her cheek.

Jack eyes him closely. "Tha's exclusive lady friend t' ye, mate."

"Oh really? You never ran that detail past me, Captain." She turns back to Will. "My name is Madison and it's a pleasure to meet you as well."

Jack is eager to move things along. "So Will, ye failed t' specify the reason fer tonight's little celebration."

"It's funny you should say that. To be completely honest, I haven't been informed myself. Governor Swann has kept the details of the entire affair a secret from both Elizabeth and I."

Jack ponders this for a moment, wondering just what Swann and possibly Norrington could be up to. It was against his better judgment to walk into a situation without knowing the facts.

"So tell me. 'ow is Lizzy these days? A handful I'm sure."

"Indeed."

"An' the babe?"

Will beams with pride. "Any day now."

Madison couldn't hold back. "Elizabeth is pregnant? I didn't even think you were married yet. Way to go Will. Congratulations!" She was sure he was hands down the hottest father ever.

"Thank you. We've been married for just over a year now."

Jack interjects, "O'course their married. I set them up."

She rolls her eyes. "You mean nearly got them both killed."

He gets defensive. "How would ye know lass? Ye weren't there t' see me in action."

"I know more than you think I do, Sparrow, lest you forget where I come from. I could probably even name off a few other things that might surprise you..." She was threatening him playfully.

Although Jack is curious, Will was now eyeing them in a perplexed manner. "Tha's fine, luv. Perhaps ye could inform me later. Righ' now I believe we 'ave a gatherin' t' get to."

With that, Will realizes the time. "Right. We best be on our way." He offers his arm to Madison and she graciously accepts it. He wouldn't win her heart in a competition with Jack but that was no reason for her to refuse his gentlemanly gestures. Besides, she found it rather satisfying to see the jealousy hiding in Jack's eyes. Maybe he would end up coming around to her after all.


The ball turned out to be a huge affair, just as Jack had anticipated. Every well-to-do person in Port Royal was there, not to mention nearly every member of the navy, which left the rest of town relatively unguarded. His plan would go off without a hitch. Now, all he had to do was kick back and enjoy Madison's company. If only he could manage to fight off all the other men asking her to dance. Elizabeth had loaned her a red wine colored dress and fixed her hair up with random ringlets falling down, making her look like a lady of the time. And for that, she'd had a dance partner from the very moment they entered the ballroom. There was a feeling inside Jack that he didn't want to admit to. He was jealous. He wouldn't have been if she didn't appear to be enjoying herself so much without him. And although he was determined not to let her have all the fun, he was finding it rather difficult to match her. The women did their best to avoid him, though he could still sense their stares and hear their whispers.

Norrington was watching each of them closely, trying to size up the situation. Gillette joins him. "Who's the girl?"

"Apparently a guest of Sparrow's."

"But she doesn't appear to be an unfortunate or a pirate."

"How did Sparrow manage to find himself a decent woman?" Norrington said it more to himself than anyone else.

"You don't think she's here against her will, do you Sir?"

"It doesn't appear so. Look at her. Have you ever seen a woman so happy?"

Madison had watched Jack try to pick up several women despite the fact that they were not his regular cup of tea or bottle of rum in this case. She wasn't trying to be mean to him, but she also didn't want to push things. She had told him that she was interested and that left the ball in his court. She could see that he was jealous and it was killing her not to be dancing with him at this moment, but he still refused to ask her.

Against his character, Jack now stood alone on the sidelines watching Maddy across the crowded room. She was dancing with Will. Elizabeth approaches and asks him to dance. She had also been watching and was aware that he was fighting his feelings. She wastes no time in cutting to the chase.

"Yes, she likes you."

He was caught off guard. "Wha'?"

"The girl. Madison. Now, are you planning on doing something about it or are you going to keep her waiting?"

"Wha' makes ye think I want t' do somethin' about it?"

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Oh please. It's the most obvious thing in this room...right up there beside the fact that I'm with child. He looks down at her swollen belly in a failed attempt to avoid her words. "Now, stop being so...Captain Sparrow and just be Jack. Go ask her to dance."

Just then, they hear the sound of someone rapping on their glass and the music fades. Everyone's attention is drawn to Governor Swann who calls Elizabeth and Will to stand beside him. Madison quickly takes her place beside Jack as the governor begins his speech.

"I would like to thank you all for being here on this fine evening. As you know, my daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first child any day now..." There's a brief round of applause and Will places an arm around Elizabeth. "As a gift to them, I am making William the captain of the 'Majestic', our newest addition to the fleet."

The room erupts in cheers and applause. Will is completely taken by surprise. Elizabeth hugs him before her father proudly shakes his hand. Madison takes the opportunity to whistle at him. Hey, it went with the moment and look at him. Even her own mother at home had a crush on the man.


...Later...

Jack is regaling a table consisting of himself, Madison, Will, Elizabeth, Norrington, and Governor Swann. Norrington finally decides to ask the question of the evening. "So how did you and Miss. Madison come to know one another?"

"I rescued 'er. Didn' I Maddy?"

"Rescued? How?"

Jack began his wild hand gestures. Whether they were to accentuate details of a story or to confuse the listeners was anybody's guess. "Well ye see, me crew an' I were sailin' through this cluster o' islands a few days back when we spotted a fire an' torch lights in the distance. Bein' curious, we neared it only t' discover local tribes were havin' a sacrificial type o' gatherin' an' Maddy here was t' be the first t' go. Well I couldn't let tha' happen to such a fine lady, so we..."

Madison interrupts him. "Jack, please stop. Wherever you're headed with this, no one is going to believe it. You see the truth is...I was on a ship crossing from England en route to the Americas when we were attacked. Not by The Pearl, mind you. I was one of the few ladies taken to Tortuga to be sold as a bride. Fortunately I managed to escape only to find I had nowhere to go and no way to pay for accommodations. Nearing despair, I was wandering the streets a few nights ago when I was accosted by a man who nearly did me serious damage before Jack came to my rescue. He took me under his wing so to speak." She almost laughs at her intended pun. Seeing the fading bruises on her face and wrists, no one dares doubt the validity of her tale. "Indeed, I would like to seize this opportune moment to thank you Jack..." She raises her wine glass as does the awed crowd. "To Captain Sparrow...I owe you my life."

There's a rumble of cheers as glasses clang together, sealing the toast. Grinning with pride, Jack watches Maddy from across the table. She glances at him from above her wine glass as she sips from it. Her seamless ability to lie intrigued Jack even further. He had to admit his storytelling had just been outdone, and by a woman no less.

He's pulled from his thoughts as he sees Norrington approach her and apparently ask her to dance. She graciously takes his arm and is lead out into the center of the room. More jealousy comes over Jack at the sight of Norrington's arms wrapping around Maddy. He reminds himself that it's just an innocent dance with no hidden agendas involved. However, she is laughing and smiling an awful lot. That's it...he finishes off his drink before approaching them.

Madison is still laughing from the Commodore's recount of his first capture of Jack, when said pirate decides to join them. Jack taps Norrington on the shoulder, interrupting their dance. Madison knew it had been driving him crazy to see them together. "Well, speak of the devil. James here was just telling me a few stories about you." He had told her about the time Jack was trying to escape and ended up swinging around in the air by a rope. The navy had since come up with a joke about having seen the Sparrow fly.

"No doubt ye foun' them amusing, luv." He speaks directly to Norrington, "How 'bout lettin' me cut in fer a bit eh Norry? She is my guest after all."

"As you wish Sparrow." He kisses Madison's hand. "Thank you for the dance milady."

"What a lovely man, that Norrington. Not at all as pompous as you made him out to be."

"That 'urts luv. Now abou' tha' wonderful story ye told..."

"Oh Jack, is that all that's bothering you?"

"Tha's not wha' really 'appened, is it?"

She laughs. "No Jack. You see, all of your adventures would be more believable if you just incorporated bits of truth instead of completely fabricating them."

"I's called elaborating, luv."

"It's called lying."

He laughs. "I'm a pirate. What'd ye expect?"

"I expect you never to lie to me Mr. Sparrow."

"Very well then. In return, I expect ye not t' take any other dance partners fer the remainder of the evenin'."

She can't resist. "Jealous, are we?"

"Jus' makin' a deal, luv."

She smirks. "I bet."

"Deal, not bet."

She rolls her eyes. "I'll make it a deal on one condition. You quit trying to save face and just admit you were jealous of every man I spoke to tonight."

He laughs uneasily. "Tha's not true...I mean, ye were talkin' with other men?"

"Hmm...I guess I'll just have to find a nice gentleman to dance with then. Norry perhaps..." She starts to walk away but he spins her back toward him and into a kiss. Upon reaction, she pulls back. It had taken them both by surprise, but it also set the ball rolling. Madison felt Jack's arm tighten around her waist as he moved a hand to her neck and kisses her deeply. In that moment, they were entirely alone with each other in the crowd of partygoers.

Back at the table, Will, Elizabeth, and Norrington are watching them closely. Jack notices them and breaks their kiss. "It appears we 'ave an audience."

They watch as Will shakes Norrington's hand, with the suggestion of a job well done. Both realize they've been set up, though Madison couldn't really care less so long as it worked. They return to the table where Jack addresses their personal cheering section. "S' ye were all in on it t'gether from the start then, eh?" He turns to Norrington. "An' Norry, I didn' know ye cared mate."

"For the record Sparrow, don't make the mistake of thinking this makes us friends. It was a simple favor for Elizabeth."

Jack eyes her. "So i' was all yer doin' then?"

She grins. "Just repaying an old friend, that's all Jack." Will places an arm around her.

"Repay?"

She can't help herself and even tries to mimic his accent, "Peas in a pod, da'ling." Only Madison understands the reference, and both girls have a laugh together.

Jack leans a little closer to Will, jabbing a thumb in Elizabeth's direction. "Ye migh' want to 'ave 'er head looked at. Somethin's no' right. She's bein' nice t' me."

Elizabeth pretends to be offended and Jack gives her a gentlemanly kiss on the cheek. "Thank ye fer yer 'ospitality, bu' we're callin' it a night."

"Oh, but it's early still."

"I didn' say we were goin' t' sleep, luv." He winks at her and is gone with Madison before anyone has a chance to react.

Norrington looks disgusted. "Someone ought to warn that poor girl. We just delivered her to the devil himself."

Will laughs to himself. "Oh, I think she has a pretty good idea." He and Elizabeth kiss.


(A/N: Thanks to all of you who have left reviews so far. They've made me more confident in the direction that I want to go with this fic. I hope you all enjoy.)