AN: Sorry It's been so long!!! I was almost done with chapter 12 when Windows decided to take a vacation and crash on me. I now have Word though. Yay! So I'll try to update more. Enjoy && R&R.

Disclaimer:: Durhhh.

Weeks passed and we arrived in Singapore. I knew what Jack was doing. He was taking his sweet time getting what Barbossa wanted him to do. It was his way of saying that he might've been doing what he was told but he was doing it his way. As we approached Singapore day by day, Jack became more and more protective of me. If he were at the wheel, he'd make sure that I was somewhere on deck within his sight. No one would've ever thought that he would do that for a woman, let alone me. He would hold me close during the night and watch me until I would fall asleep. I loved the gestures he was making towards protecting me. I knew that he was concerned about the future and that he was trying to calm not only me but himself.

I awoke one morning to see that I was in the cabin by myself, which shocked me. Knowing that Jack was up to something, I went out onto the deck to see Gibbs at the wheel. From the look of the sun, it was early morning. I went up to the helm and stood near the railing that was there. "Where's Jack?"

Gibbs looked at me and grinned half-heartedly. "He went into town. We arrived in Singapore last night. Figure he was waitin' 'til morning to leave so he could stay with you."

I turned and faced the city. There were pirates and merchants all over the streets accompanied by residents. A certain man caught my eye. He was Chinese and slightly plump. He was walking along the decks and watching the ships. I could tell that the one to my left was his. I watched him carefully, something familiar about him, as if he fit with one of the many names that Jack had spoken of. When he turned and progressed into the crowd, I averted my gaze to see Jack coming up onto the Pearl, looking proud of himself. He went up to Will, who was standing with Elizabeth on the far side of the ship, and exchanged brief words with him. Will turned back to Elizabeth and began discussing with her. Jack saw me at the helm and grinned, strutting up the steps and over to me. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around my slender waist and sealed his greeting with a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and spoke softly. "Did you get a ship?"

A ring-laden hand came up to my face and brushed the hair from my face. "Yes. Will is going to steer it once we get out into open sea, which shouldn't be long. I connected it to the Pearl until it's under his control." I watched his face.

Jack was proud of himself for pulling the ship stunt off without any obvious trouble. My smile grew into a full-fledged grin as he captured my lips once more. We exchanged a few more kisses before he pulled me into a warm embrace. I rested my head against his chest. His back was against the helm's railing now, obviously not caring about this public display of love. Apparently we were further out into the ocean than I had known and the stolen ship was next to ours. I watched it for a moment then recognized what was puzzling me; it was the Chinese man's ship. I looked at Jack and pulled back slightly. "That ship. Whose is it?"

"Sao Teng's. He'll never miss it for a moment."

Sao Teng. That was the man I had saw this morning, pacing the decks and watching the ship that was now being sailed by Will and Elizabeth. I knew that I'd heard his name before. Jack noticed my hesitation to respond and squeezed my sides gently to pull me back to our conversation. "I saw him this morning pacing the decks."

That news didn't shock Jack one bit. Instead, he laughed. "He'll get over it."

"Will he?" I gave Jack a stare that made him stop. "Or will he come after us? He could attack his own ship or kill Will and Elizabeth. Maybe even you. He could take me, which I'll do to save you. I'm not worth this Jack."

He loosened his hold on me tremendously and raised his eyebrows at me. "Will he now? Or maybe I know what I'm doing."

I immediately felt guilty. Jack had donated every last free moment he'd had to me for the past three or so weeks and I was questioning his tactics. "I'm sorry. I just…" He didn't let me finish. I had made a mistake.

"You just what?" His tone scared me. I'd never had it directed towards me and I didn't like it. I felt the tears form.

"I'm just scared." The words left me effortlessly. I had been fine ever since the beginning, but ever since Barbossa had held me tight and almost suffocated me, I couldn't help it. The ship situation didn't help at all. "Am I not allowed to be scared?"

Jack softened his tone. I was still within his arms and I felt them tighten slightly. "You have every right." Then his wild imagination caught him off guard. "So you've been lying these whole four or so months? You kept telling me you weren't scared but you really were, eh?" My eyes widened as the tears threatened to escape.

I shook my head. "No! I…" He released his hold on me and walked to the bow.

"I have things to do."

I stood there, defeated. If anything showed his concern, this demented form of a fight we were having showed it. He was honestly worried, if not scared, himself. I didn't know why this was happening. We had never bickered before, so why now? Then again, half of the Caribbean was on our tail. I knew we would probably get through this, but for now it didn't help. I felt the tears fall and I walked down onto the main deck. Before I progressed into his cabin, I thought twice. I turned and saw him standing where I'd left him, his braids flying out behind him as the wind blew. I changed my mind and went the other direction and towards my old cabin.

When the door had been closed, I looked around. It was much smaller than Jacks and held no memories but the one of Jack placing me there before lying with me. That was the last time I'd been in there. That same time was right before he told me he loved me for the first time. Sighing, I flopped face first onto the bed, the pillow softening my sobs as I cried. After a while, I fell asleep, hurt and scared.