A/N: Wow, what an encouraging response! Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed this time around. My next chapter is ready to be posted. I am going to try and update more frequently these days.

As I posted the last time, the outline for this story in its entirety has been complete for some time now. DMC has changed nothing in my storyline or any of the outcomes.

To my Jack/Ana fans…We are entering a new act in this story…I will only give you one spoiler. This story only came to me one way. I, too, find Elizabeth quite annoying at times, but she is essential to this act of the story. I promise that if you trust me ("Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?) and hang in there through the entire story you will be happy with the way it ends. I really think you will enjoy Ana's part. She is definitely my favorite character, other than Jack of course, and I promise you will be happy, even giddy possibly, at the end. But you have to trust me.

LongingforLlangarlia: I missed Ana in DMC too. I kept checking to see if she was on the list, but she never was. Very disappointing. Although I thought Tia Dalma could have been her long lost sister. Something about her was very similar.

Johnnycakesdepp: Pirate! The last line actually made me laugh too when I wrote it.

Kungfuchick: I'm glad to see you're still reading. Hang in there with me mate, we've got some rough waters ahead, but Ana will be back I promise.

Captainme: I love Jack and Ana together too. I think she is the only woman Jack could ever possibly love. But will the Captain ever actually realize that? Jack can be so daft.

JackNanamaria: Yes, everyone has been very kind to remind me of how much we all love Jack and Ana together. I am trying to develop this story a bit more by adding some depth to all the characters involved. I don't want it to turn into one of those "Disney" pirate stories where everything is happy all the time…lol. But I do promise a happy third act.

An-angel-in-hell: Don't we all envy anyone who gets to be with our sexy pirate :o)

Fredsonetrueluv: Don't give up on me yet mate. I'm back! And with regular updates! I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying!

Eddie: Ahhh, yes, very touching isn't it? Elizabeth mourning her loss of Will even in the Captain's bed. Can't say I would be doing the same, but I guess that's what keeps it interesting ;o)

And here's Chapter 32. Trying not to keep anyone waiting too long these days!

Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!

Chapter Thirty-Two

After finishing his business with the whore, Jack continued his search for Anamaria. The whore hadn't satisfied him, not way he needed to be satisfied at least. He stopped and had a drink or two at every tavern he thought she might possibly be in, hoping at the very least someone would mention her name and he might draw a clue as to her location, but he had no luck.

After a seemingly endless search, he thought for sure he had found her, but as he drew only steps away he realized the person he had been staring at was a young man. Apologizing awkwardly, Jack decided to abandon his search in Tortuga and try a visit to The Sea Wench. He was growing very tired and since the rain had yet to let up, he had been soaked to the bone for hours now.

There were few crewmembers to be found when Jack stepped on board Anamaria's ship and he went directly to her cabin, pounding several times on the door. His knocks went unanswered and Jack cursed silently under his breath. He made his way back up to the deck, passing Nuri in the process.

"Where's your Captain lad?" Jack asked.

"I haven't seen her in a few days Commodore Sparrow," her first mate answered. "Since that night the fight broke out actually, but I'm sure she's fine. You know she likes to go her own way when we make port."

"Aye," Jack agreed.

He was beyond disgruntled at this point. The sun was just beginning to rise on the horizon and Jack found himself in an unusual predicament. He was not nearly drunk enough and highly unsatisfied. To top off the night, he was soaking wet and wanted nothing more than to strip down to nothing and fall asleep in his nice warm bed, a bottle of rum in his hand. But he couldn't do any of that because he had told Elizabeth he would stay away. What had he been thinking?

He could see her now in his head if he tried hard enough. He could see her lying there dozing soundly. Sighing as he rubbed his head, he decided to go back to The Black Pearl. He would sleep in Anamaria's old cabin for a few hours and then he would go back to his cabin and hope Elizabeth would either be willing to share the bed or ready to get up for the day.

As soon as he shut the door behind him he stripped off his wet clothes. He laid down on the bed, wishing more than anything that Anamaria was here with him. The bed was hard and uncomfortable and he tossed and turned uncomfortably for a very long time before finally giving up. He put his wet clothes back on, hating the way they stuck to his skin, and went back to his cabin.

Letting himself in the door, he noticed the sunlight pouring through the windows. Elizabeth lay asleep on his bed, sprawled out and taking all the room, but looking very peaceful. For a brief instant, Jack felt a twinge of regret for coming to disturb her. However, his poor frame of mind didn't allow him to feel bad for long. He pulled off his wet clothes again, not really caring if Elizabeth woke up or not, dropped them on the floor and pulled out a piece of cloth. He dried his wet skin and tried to dry his hair somewhat, but this process, as he had learned many years ago, was useless.

He pulled on a pair of pants and pondered whether or not he should bother to cover his chest. Deciding against it, he went over to his bed. Elizabeth remained sound asleep and he was able to push her over enough to make room for himself without waking her. She must have been drunker than he thought to be in such a deep sleep. Any other night and he would think she would have been awake in an instant. Jack shrugged to himself. It felt slightly unusual lying down beside her, but they had slept in the same bed before and he was incredibly tired. He closed his eyes and tried not to think of what a long night it had been, but thoughts continued to pop in and out of his head until he fell asleep and even then, he dreamed.

The dreams came in odd flashes this time. He was there, flirting with Elizabeth, touching noses before he kissed her. Then it was Madelyn and he was making love to her on the beach just outside of town at sunrise. A flash again and he was throwing Anamaria up against a wall before she licked at his throat and took him as her own screaming his name. Three very different women. Three very different relationships. What was it that connected them in his head? He had been on the verge of making a connection when it had only been Ana and Maddy, but now that Elizabeth had entered the picture, he was more confused than ever. Of the first two, one had been his one true love, the other, his closest companion, but the third, the third he wasn't close to at all.

Ahhh, the kiss. The kiss had been nice and yes, there were definitely other activities he might enjoy with the young lass. A dirty smile spread over Jack's features as his mind carried him further into the dream. But there were no feelings there, not the deep camaraderie he shared with Anamaria and definitely not the love he had felt for Madelyn. It was shallow, superficial lust, nothing more and nothing less. The pirate slipped back into the dream, failing to interpret it tonight, as sleep refused to let go of him this time.

Elizabeth awoke a couple of hours later to find Jack lying beside her and snoring soundly. In an instant, all of last night's memories came flooding back to her…the rum…the talking…the kiss. It had all seemed such a natural progression.

And then she had thought of Will. She had betrayed Will. Except that Will was dead. So she couldn't really betray him, could she? Then the weight of it all began to set in and her head started to swim, much as it had last night.

She tried to switch her thoughts' gears. Hadn't she asked him to leave her alone? And he had deliberately ignored her wishes. Her head was starting to pound from drinking too much rum. No wait, he had left. She had seen him go. She took a glance around the room and noticed his wet clothes crumpled on the floor. She almost felt bad for sending him out in the rain like that.

Rolling over, she studied his peaceful features. He had been almost gentlemanlike the night before. She had actually been slightly surprised he had left her alone as easily as he did. Of course, he had promised Will he would take care of her. She wasn't sure whether that included getting her drunk and taking advantage of her or not, but then she had kissed him back, hadn't she? Her mind was playing games now, seesawing back and forth as to how exactly the kiss had happened.

Out of curiosity she slowly pulled the sheet back to expose his chest, being very careful not to wake him. The two bullet wounds drew her attention first, as they always did. He had shown them to her on the island, but had never explained them to her. She had seen them again on the day she had given him a bath, but hadn't really thought it was an appropriate question to ask. They seemed so close to his heart, how had he managed to survive that encounter? she wondered, vowing to ask him the next time she remembered her question.

Will's skin had been so smooth. Granted, his hands had been rough from all of the work he had put in at the blacksmith shop, but Jack, Jack's body was rough all over, weathered from his time spent at sea. She studied the intricate sparrow tattoo on his arm and ever so gently fingered the raised welt where he had been forever branded with his career. Jack stirred in his sleep and Elizabeth pulled her hand back, going back to mere observation.

Jack was dreaming. He was at the beach with Madelyn playing one of their silly little games. He would stare out at the horizon while she would trace letters on him arm with her fingertip. He would guess what word she was spelling when he thought he had enough letters.

During this particular round, he wasn't paying attention very well because there was a big three master on the horizon and he kept finding himself lost in thought. P. She was huge, so beautiful, her sails billowing out in the wind. A. One day he'd get his own ship. T. He was just beginning to work his way up, but he wouldn't be working for another captain for the rest of his life.

"Jack," Madelyn was shaking his arm. "What word?"

"Pat," he answered.

"Jack," she sounded as if she was starting to get angry, "You're not even paying attention!"

Jack took her hand in his own. "I'm sorry my love. I was just thinking how wonderful it's going to be when I own my own ship. How we can go out to sea together. I'm going to make you the happiest wife on earth."

Her eyes twinkled and she smiled broad, kissing him on the mouth.

"Ok, I'm paying attention," he said. "Try again."

P – I – R – A – T – E

"Pirate," he whispered. "Where did that come from?"

Madelyn rarely ever picked serious words. It was usually just fun nonsense. She squeezed his hand in hers.

"Jack, what if you run into a pirate ship out there?" she asked, focusing on the ocean, rather than meeting his eyes.

"It's going to be fine Maddy," he reassured her. He knew she was worried about his safety at sea.

"Would you decide to turn pirate if they asked you?" she asked, seeming very concerned.

Jack shrugged, "Only if I could give you a better life that way."

Her eyes clouded with tears as she stayed focused on the ocean, "No Jack, you can't do that."

"Why not?" he asked, unsure.

"My father already hates it that we are together. If you ever became a pirate, it would only give him a reason to hunt you down. To make sure you're hung. Promise me, Jack. Promise me you'll never decide to be a pirate no matter how bad things are," she said, finally meeting his eyes.

"I promise I will always do my best for us," Jack said, laying a small kiss on her knuckles.

A flash and the dream changed. It always did. Some happy memory always turned horrific. They were sailing back home after months at sea and he was finally going to get to hold Maddy again.

Then as they got closer to the harbor, he could see the dress billowing in the wind. The girl, pregnant, hanging from the noose. His head screamed for the dream to stop.

Please, no. Please don't let it be her. Don't let it be Madelyn. Not my Maddy.
And for the first time in roughly twenty years, Jack found himself not staring into the face of his dead fiancée. He let out half a sigh before he realized it was Elizabeth.