"I heard rumours, Jack. Rumours about your death."

Anamaria's voice was so quiet, her words were barely audible above the wind. Jack tilted his head slightly, his eyes still on the ocean in front of him, nothing in his stance betraying that she had his full and undivided attention.

"People said that Davy Jones chased you."

Jack waved his hand and finally turned to look at her. "Did they, now?"

"They said that you had disappeared to Davy Jones' locker."

Jack nodded slowly.

"Well, they've obviously forgotten one important detail then." His face turned into a wide grin. "I'm –"

"You're Captain Jack Sparrow, I know," Anamaria interrupted him. Even if Jack had not been looking at her, he could have heard from the tone of her voice that she was rolling her eyes. "I thought you had died."

Jack winced at the accusation in her voice. He opened his mouth to make a joke out of the situation, then caught the murderous look in her eyes.

"Maybe I have. Rough times. You know all about them, don't you?"

Anamaria huffed and pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"This is not about me, it's about you. How did you make it back?"

Jack had almost forgotten how persistent she could be. But two could play this game.

"It's as much about you as about me. I've got a story to tell, you've got one to tell. To me, it seems only fair if we both share."

He was almost disappointed when she turned her head away from him and looked out at the sea without further comment. Not that he had been keen on sharing details about Davy Jones' locker. But he was curious about Ana's story and what had happened to her. Ever since he knew her, she'd been able to care well for her. Looking that thin and worn out was new, and it didn't suit her at all.

"Shouldn't the Pearl be back by now?" she asked, pronouncing exactly what had been going through Jack's head for a while now. It was the seventh day of waiting on this cliff just outside Tortuga. Even if Barbossa, being the lousy Captain he clearly was, didn't check the charts daily, he should have noticed the loss by now.

Jack's face contorted into a frown and relaxed a second later.

"There she is."

It was only a small dot at the horizon, but Jack would have recognised her from even further away. She was his ship, his freedom, his ticket to go wherever he wanted to. He had raised her from the depths of the ocean, recovered her from Barbossa and brought her back from the locker. There was no way he was going to lose her again.

"Come with me." Jack stood up and took Anamaria's sleeve, pulling her into the jungle behind them. "Barbossa will expect me to wait for him, so we better hide for when they come close enough to see us with a spyglass."

Jack's whole plan depended on the fact that Barbossa didn't see him out here. As far as he was concerned, his former first mate didn't know that Jack knew about the secret anchoring point three clips west of Tortuga. Only ships as shallow as the Pearl could stay here and Jack had known that Barbossa would choose this bay.

He would have.

He would have chosen any place where the Pearl could be safe long enough to get to the Faithful Bride and negotiate, and he guessed that was exactly Barbossa's plan.

"Go and get Gibbs," Jack told Anamaria.

He watched her retreating form, not having missed the raise of eyebrows just before she had turned around. With a sigh, he leaned against a tree. Anamaria knew exactly what was going through his head, knew that he preferred a loyal Gibbs to no Gibbs, even if that man happened to be the one who had lost him the Pearl in first place.

It scared him, the way she could read his thoughts. They were getting close again. Last time their relationship had gotten too intense, Anamaria had left him. She hadn't explained why, it hadn't been necessary. One morning, she had stood on deck with her small bundle of clothes. He'd given her her share of plunder, a small pouch he'd kept in his desk for a while, knowing that this moment would come. She had left without saying goodbye.

Jack stroked his goatee with two fingers. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake. The only reason there had been so much tension in the last days was because they depended on each other. This time, he'd retreat before he could do any further harm. Anamaria was a valuable crew member and he wouldn't lose her again.