Disclaimer: I still don't own Pirates... dang it... Anyway, don't sue me, this is just for fun... And I'm broke...

Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY! I totally lost track of this fic for ages, and I can't promise very many updates very fast, but I will keep working on it. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this one.

Josey moaned from the stretcher that lay in the dingy floating up the murky river. There was a cabin up ahead, brightly lit against the darkness of the heavily forested swamp. Before the boat was even tied to the building Jack had lept up on to the deck.

"Tia Dalma?" he yelled so loudly that he heard his voice echo back a few times. The familiar dreadlocked woman appeared in the doorway and gave one of her creepy smiles, but it made even less of an impact on Jack than it had so many years before. "We need your help," he blurted out, and then pointed down at the dingy. As the sea-goddess noticed the injured girl her face became very grave.

"Bring her inside."

Jack instantly bent down to snatch up his end of the stretcher, sliding it up so his friend could also climb up on to the deck. But Jack was too impatient to wait. He picked the injured girl up in his arms and carried her in to the cabin himself. He laid her where directed. The goddess began some sort of incantation as she wandered around the overcrowded place collecting objects. When she entered the little side room it left no place for Jack. He was forced in to the main part of the house, and had no way of seeing what was happening. It had once again been taken out of his hands.

...

Josey cringed, first at the strange smells that filled her nostrils, and then at the light that met her eyes. She groaned and shifted before she felt a hand on her face. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the flickering candles surrounding her and she could see her friend hovering above her.

"I told you I'd find a way." He smiled.

Only then did she realize she was no longer in pain. She sat up suddenly, almost knocking heads with Jack. He stopped her though and tried to get her to lay back down. "Donde estamos?" (Where are we?)

"In a swamp, up a river. We found Calypso... only she's Tia Dalma now."

"Calypso!"

Jack shushed her. "I'm not supposed to be in here, your father told me not to bother you. As soon as you are well we are to meet back up with the crew in Tortuga. I just... thought you should know that." He was about to step away but she again gripped tightly to his shirt, this time keeping his face very close.

"Tu saved me..."

"I... well..." In reality it was his determination that had gotten her saved, but he still felt like he'd been useless. He sat on the edge of her bed, suddenly more willing to risk getting caught. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have left you... and anyway, I'm not so certain I could go on without you." He expected her to roll her eyes at his exaggeration but he received a much more serious look.

"Es not your fault Jack."

She looked so much like she wanted to say more that he didn't feel bad prying. "Do you know who did this to you?" She looked around cautiously, but he reassured her that they were alone but for perhaps Bill and Calypso.

She looked directly in to his eyes for the first time that night and whispered "Barbossa."

"I knew it!" Jack covered his mouth for a second after practically shouting. "When I get my hands on him he'll regret being born."

But Josey shook her head. "Es too dangerous."

"I won't just let him get away with it!"

Again she shook her head, but this time there was a hint of a smile on her face. Her hand, which had never left his shirt, pulled him closer and she pressed her lips to his. His hand found her face again and the kiss deepened for a moment before he panicked and pulled away. Glancing over his shoulder (just to make sure his friend wasn't going to murder him yet) he then shook his head.

"I can't... I mean... Your father will kill me."

She nodded as if she agreed, but she did not release him from her grip.

"Josey..." he gulped, trying to make his throat work properly, but it refused his request. He found his fingers tracing the new scar on her cheek until he could no longer hold back. He desperately pulled her lips to his own and zealously explored her mouth in a long, passionate kiss. The situation was not helped by the fact that the young girl was naked beneath her thin blankets. Only when Jack was about to crawl up on to the bed was he able to snap out of his lustful trance and break the kiss. Josey lay beneath him with her arms wrapped around his back, eyes closed and panting. Planting a quick kiss on her moistened lips he whispered sincerely, "I love you, Josey Turner."

She calmed herself with a deep, slow breath and nodded. "Te amo tambien, mi amigo." Her hands moved to the sides of his face and she pulled him in for another, gentler kiss before pushing him back. "Vaya (go)... go before mi padre sees you."