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Claimer: I own everyone/ everything that isn't PotC.

. Reviewers .

x) Orlando's Hot Chick – GASP! You're the only one! LoL. I noticed I'm way passed my deadline, but I've only got one main chapter left and an epilogue after this! It WILL be done by New Years! That's one of my resolutions! LoL. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy the chapter and what's to come in the next two weeks!

Thanks everyone!

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Chapter Twenty

. Val's PoV .

. 9 PM .

BJ, Clay, Jack, Will, and myself were sitting next to the truck in a circle around the dying fire. My head was killing me…

"Everything all right?" I heard Ronie asked as she returned to the circle, throwing some twigs on the fire.

"Peachy…" I moaned. "Are you sure there's no aspirin?"

"Sure," Will said. "Just hang on, Val. Someone'll find us soon."

"Yeah, we're all pretty lucky to have gotten out of that not too badly injured," Ronie said. "Could've been worse."

"Ha! Speak for yourself!" Clay said. "You weren't shot, thrown into a tree, and then fell out of it!"

"Oh, boo you," Brandon said angrily. "Broken legs hurt, too."

"What about my head?" I asked.

"Calm down," Jack said. "Gripin' and groanin' won't help ye much. Try te relax."

I closed my eyes at the suggestion, but Ronie screwed that up.

"Val, don't!" she yelled. "You can't fall asleep for another half hour."

"But I'm tired," I whined, leaning my head back on the truck.

"Yeah, well if you fall asleep, you might not wake up."

"I'll take my chances…"

"Val!"

"Okay! All right! I'm up!" I shouted. "Damn police… they were right behind us! They should've found us by now!"

"Val, please shut up," BJ said.

"I can't shut up or I'll be tempted to fall asleep and then I'll die just because you told me to shut up and I listened!" I said. "Well forget it, B! I'm never listening to you again because now I see all you wanna do is kill me!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do, you snot!"

"VAL!!! Stop it!"

"You stop it! Murderer!"

"What!"

"That's right! You blood-thirsty killing machine!"

"Oh my god! You're crazy!"

"It's better than being a vicious murderer!"

"Vicious? I never touched you!"

"JACK! Shot him! He tried to kill me and Chloe!"

"Chloe? Who's Chloe?" Jack asked.

"You mean to tell me that you don't even know your own daughter's name!" I asked in outrage.

"Ye never told me!"

"It's a girl?" Clay asked. "How do you know?"

Then I broke down in tears and started crying.

"Oh, I'm never gonna have a happy family!" I wailed.

"Yes you are, now cut it out," Ronie said. "Besides, I have something that'll keep you awake but feel like you're asleep."

I sat bolt upright.

"You have my attention!" I said eagerly. "What is it?"

"Meditation," she said. "Just shut your eyes, clear your head, and think about nothing."

"But you're always thinking about something!" I said. "'Nothing' is a something, too!"

. Ronie's PoV .

"Val, goodnight!" I yelled, chucking a rock at her head. Val was out again, and I sighed happily.

"Are you crazy?" Clay asked. "You just gave her another bump!"

"Small price to pay for some peace and quiet," I said.

"Yeah, but-"

"Okay, everyone, shut up," Will shouted. "Maybe we should all get some sleep."

"I'll stay up and keep the fire going," Brandon said. "In case, you know, someone finds us or something."

"You sure?" Clay asked. "Maybe you should get some rest yourself with that leg."

"I'll stay up," I said. "Jack and Val are already out, and I'm the least injured. Don't argue, cuz I'm doing it."

Will, clay, and Brandon exchanged looks. Finally, Will nodded.

"All right," he said. "Night."

"I'll stay up with you," Brandon said, trying to scooch towards me. He winced in doing so as he grabbed my hand and settled.

"Brandon, go to sleep," I said. "You need the rest."

"Nah…" he said. "I'll be fine, I just…"

"Are you going on a guilt trip?" I laughed.

"Yes," he said, making me giggle again. "No, listen. This is serious. When you showed up a week ago… I dunno, I was just afraid to get sucked into our past and stuff… but I was so willing and happy to see you again."

"I wouldn't exactly call running from me happy to see me."

"Well, you were chasing me with an ax and a freaky-ass murderous gleam in your eye," he laughed. "Of course I was gonna run."

"Well you shouldn't have hung up on me when I called," I said, leaning towards him.

"Well you called at a bad time!" he said, mimicking me. Then, when our foreheads were touching, he lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "I cannot begin to describe to you how I felt when I saw you come through that door."

"Were you… scared shitless?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost did that," he laughed. "But really… My hear stopped, panicked, and I loved it." He looked me in the eyes (one of his rarities) and gripped my hand saying quietly, "You have that power over me, and I don't know why. But it's awesome, yet so unfair."

"That's how I play the game," I said.

"I know, and I love it," he said with a smile. "And I love you."

I smiled softly before we kissed.

Yes! I can do it freely now! Ha!

. Val's PoV .

. 4 hours later .

I came to with all of this pain hitting me at once. I opened my eyes slowly, sitting up in Jack's arms a bit. I looked around; to my left, Clay was asleep against the truck, Ronie and Brandon were in this sleeping embrace, and Will was lying on the ground. The fire was reduced to glowing embers now.

Cool… everyone's asleep except me!

I smiled and leaned back into Jack just looking and listening. I would've thought someone would've come by now, but nope. No one whatsoever.

The, it hit me. My eyes bulged and everything.

I have to go pee!

I bit my lip and slowly slid out of Jack's arms. I then tiptoed out of the circle, being careful not to wake the others. I went farther into the woods away from them about fifty feet before I stopped.

"Sorry, tree," I said, patting it, "but I really gotta go."

Just as I went to gather my Glinda skirt up, I was grabbed from behind. I was pulled against a body, and a hand covered my mouth so I couldn't scream.

"Shut up, girl," my captor said. "If you let so much as one word out, I will not hesitate to shoot your friends."

My eyes got big again. It was Norrington!

"You will come with me," he ordered. "Any escape attempts will not turn in your favor, either, so you best not try anything. You're safer with me anyways. Now lead me to the road."

He let go of my mouth and grabbed my wrist. His other hand held the gun so I moved on silently. I had to thing of something! I snapped every twig I could, rustled every leaf…

"Quiet!" he hissed, pushing me in the back. So I continued on as we approached the camp. How do I get their attention?

Suddenly, I stopped. I don't wanna do it, but I will if I gotta…

"Why have you stopped?" Norrington demanded. "Keep moving."

I stood frozen, then I turned around to see him. I really don't wanna do this, but it's my only hope! Sorry, Schnoz…

"John-"

"James," he said, correcting.

"Right," I said with a nervous smile. "James, would you do me a teensy, weensy, little favor?" I asked, standing right in front of him.

"What?" he asked skeptically.

"Kiss me?"

He looked at me in shock, but I only smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Valerie-"

"Please," I begged. "Just one…"

"What about Sparrow?"

"What about him?" I asked. "He means nothing to me when I compare him to you. After all these years, you've opened my eyes to what I truly deserve."

Oh my god… What power has possessed me to say that? So there I stood, about to kiss this guy…

"I did?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "No other can do what you… do to me."

Boy, that leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

"One look at you now, and I go crazy," I said. Then I leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Kiss me now."

I then looked him in the eyes, trying not to give myself away. He was very hesitant and confused, so I moved closer until he finally kissed me. I pulled him tight against me as he backed me into a tree. His arms were around my waist and heading South, so I executed my ingenious plan.

I kneed him in the crotch as hard as I could.

He fell to the ground, and I screamed 'help' really fast. Then I bent down and tried to get the gun off of him, but he overpowered me and pinned me to the ground, gun at my head.

"You lying heathen!" he shouted. "I should've known it was a trick! Why do you deny me? Because of Sparrow? You-!"

THWAP

A big tree branch hit him in the side of the head, and I saw Will pounce on him along with Ronie. I felt someone grab me, but it was only Jack.

"Ye alright, luv?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure,"
I said. "I'm fine."

"Ye don't look it."

I swallowed hard as I looked up at him, then I sobbed a bit and hugged him. He put his arms around me, and I felt safe again. We swayed a few times before Will and Ronie went passed us each dragging Norrington along by his foot.

. Ronie's PoV .

Once will and I had the dude back at out camp and tied up underneath the bed of the truck, Val and Jack came back without word, sitting down quietly.

"Val, what happened?" Clay asked immediately. "Did he nab you?"

"I had to go pee, he grabbed me, we kissed, but only so I could get close enough to knee him and run away," Val said.

I sat down, poking at the coals. Val told her grand and epic tale for fifteen minutes until I interrupted.

"And then, BAM! Right in the-"

"Wait," I said. "Shh… I hear something."

"What?" Will asked.

"Shh…"

I listened for about ten more seconds until I jumped up and threw a rock into the darkness. Then, the rock hit something. We heard this voice go 'Oop!' and fall to the ground.

"Ha," I said. "Jack, Will, help me tie him up. Bright light."

Jack came over immediately. Will stabbed all these dead leaves onto a stick and caught them on fire after a few tries, and then he kneeled next to the body with us.

"He's a cop!" Will said, pointing at the badge. "You hit a cop in the face with a rock!"

"Like I knew he was!" I said.

As Jack tried to revive him, Will and I looked up the slope towards the road. Read and white lights were flashing! They found us!

"Hey! They found us!" I shouted. "We're down here! Here! How's the guy I just hit doing?" I asked Jack.

The cop sat up rubbing his forehead, so I hurried to apologize.

"Oh sir! I'm so sorry! We're lost and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "Just get going."

. Brandon's PoV .

. Hospital – Noon .

"Ugh! Four weeks?"

"You're lucky, Mr. Edwards," the doctor said. "It's usually six weeks for a broken limb."

"Grr… can Ronie, Val, Will, and Jack come in yet?" I asked.

"I about five minutes," she said. "I'll have lunch sent up, and the seven of you can eat together."

"Um, six," Clay said from the bed next to me. "We don't like that guy," he explained, pointing at Norrington who was asleep on Clay's right.

"Well I'm bringing him lunch, too," she said. 'Though he's asleep, he's still hungry."

"Yeah, and it's not for food," Clay muttered lowly as our doctor left the room. "Say B, you think you and Ronie'll stay here or go home after you're hitched?"

"I dunno," I laughed. "Wherever we decide. As soon as this damn cast is off though, look out world. Brandon and Ronie are a troublemaking team once more."

"And what a perfect team you make," Clay said.

"Thanks."

"Hey, I am the best man, right?"

"Need you ask?" I laughed.

"I dunno…"

"So what happened between you and Ghetto Mama?" I asked. "You didn't seem too upset that we left her in Vermont."

"We left her in Vermont?" he shouted. "Crap! Man, this sucks…"

"You can always go find her," I said.

"Nah…" he said, waving me off. "She probably went back in time or some stupid thing like that… do you even know how we ended up there?"

"No," I said. "I saw no point in going there anyways! It just screwed with us even more."

"I thought it was cool! I wanna go back…"

"Clay, shut up."

"What? It was fun!"

"It was not, now shut up. You act like it's party central."

"Pretty darn close…"

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