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"Cutler," I said with a strange expression on my face, "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Cutler was spooning the awful soup into his mouth and his glazed eyes told me that he was a million miles away. At my question, Cutler made no answer and just continued mechanically spooning more soup into his lips. Okay, something was very off here.

Hoping he wasn't sick, I turned to him and tapped his shoulder. Cutler jumped and hastily turned to me, "Yes?" Giving him a funny look, I replied, "Are you sick? You're not acting like yourself." Cutler looked into the bowl of soup and stirred it around with his spoon. Finally, he replied, "No, I'm not sick. I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Aren't you hungry too?"

I gave Cutler a what-the-hell look and shook my head. He really should know by now that I wouldn't eat unless he forced me too. Still distracted, Cutler went back into his trance. Not liking to see him like that, I tried to think of something to talk to him about. I remembered seeing Mr. Swann earlier and decided that he would make a good topic of conversation.

"I saw Mr. Swann today," I said a-matter-of-factly. Cutler seemed to stiffen as he asked, "Oh, did you?" I nodded, glad to finally have gotten his attention only if it was for a few seconds. I continued on with the subject, "He looked quite lonely. I think he misses Elizabeth. I think we should invite him to dinner sometime, don't you? He needs some company."

"Mm," Cutler commented, not really saying yes or no to my question. Wanting a more resolute answer, I pressed the subject and asked, "Will you invite him over next time you see him?" Cutler gave no answer and went back to spooning soup into his mouth much too quickly. Leaning across the table, I looked at him nervously and asked, "Cutler...?"

Cutler abruptly set the soup down and said, "Jenna, Mr. Swann is dead." His words took me completely off guard. How could Mr. Swann be dead? He had looked sad earlier, but he certainly hadn't looked sick. I shook my head frantically and burst out, "No, no, that just can't be! I saw Mr. Swann only a few hours ago and he looked very healthy."

Cutler's jaw stiffened and he gave me a look that meant Mr. Swann really was dead. My eyes widened in horror. How had Mr. Swann died? I just didn't get it. Suddenly, comprehension filled my eyes. My jaw dropped and I looked at Cutler in alarm, "You?" Cutler looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than sitting in front of me right now.

"It wasn't me," Cutler finally murmured. "It was Ian." My thoughts raced and my heart sped up. Narrowing my eyes, I asked, "But you ordered it, didn't you? You told Ian to kill Mr. Swann!" Cutler looked like he was going to protest, but finally, he simply nodded and said, "The chest was no longer safe. I didn't have a choice. You would've done the same as me in the situation."

"Me? Never!" I screamed, going into hysterics. "I would never have killed an innocent person!" I stood up from my chair and knocked it over. Without bothering to fix it, I got up and ran to the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. Cutler called after me, but I was in no mood to listen to him. No wonder he had sent me home to make dinner; he didn't want me to see Mr. Swann's death.

I swung myself up into the bed, stripped off my dress, and buried my head in the pillow as I cried. I still didn't see how Cutler could possibly do such a cruel thing! It must've been hours that I laid there and cried. However, all things must come to an end, and I eventually stopped crying. Now I was just exhausted and downright miserable.

After some time, the door cracked open and footsteps sounded. Too tired to do much of anything, I made no acknowledgment of Cutler's prescence even after he was lying in the bed next to me. Soon, soft lips moved over the back of my neck and loving hands started rubbing my naked back. I pretended to be asleep since I had no strength to push Cutler away.

"I'm so sorry," Cutler whispered in my ear. "But it had to be done." He continued kissing my neck and stroking my back. Despite the fact that I was trying to be mad at him, it wasn't really working anymore. I murmured, "I still love you." It wasn't many minutes later that I fell into a deep sleep with Cutler still rubbing my body and whispering sweet nothings in my ear.

The next few weeks passed quickly. Cutler and I spent a lot of time at his office on the Endeavor. Apparently, there was some friend from Singapore who was going to turn a large group of pirates in and we were waiting for their ship to arrive. It was a normal afternoon when Cutler looked up at me from his desk and said, "Admiral Norrington has summoned you."

I blinked and tilted my head, unsure if I had heard him right and asked, "James? He asked for me?" Sighing at my casual use of James' name, Cutler nodded, "Yes, he did. He's aboard the Flying Dutchman which, at the moment, is floating next door. If you wish to visit him, you may. I'll just be here in my office. I do expect a visit from an 'old friend' sometime soon though."

I knew I immediately wanted to go see James. Bounding to my feet, I nodded and said, "I'm going to go see James. I'll be back in just a little bit." Cutler gave me an almost sad look as he nodded and returned to something he was looking at on his desk. I hurried out of the Endeavor and climbed up to the Flying Dutchman. There were those strange fish people everywhere. I froze.

Thankfully, a familiar voice called out my name as I stood there frozen. A gentle hand on my shoulder turned me around. Face to face with James, I sighed with relief and saluted him, "Hello Admiral." James smiled at me and offered his arm to me as he replied, "There's no need for that. I'm just James, remember? And you really are Miss Cook now."

It took me a moment to think about what he meant until I remembered that I was no longer married to Ian. I smiled and nodded, "Yes, no more Mrs. Mercer. Cutler said that you summoned me?" I took James' hand and let him lead me off to an empty, secluded room. I was super relieved to get away from those fish people. They were still creeping me out.

"Yes, I did," James said, sitting on a crusty-looking bed. He motioned for me to sit next to him. I eyed the bed a bit apprehensively, but went and sat next to him. James put a gentle arm around me and slid a bit closer so our thighs were touching. A tingling sensation was going through my body at being so close to him. God, I thought I might be in love with him...

"I couldn't ask you this before, but now I can," James said, smiling for the first time in ages. He had looked sad and tired too, just like Mr. Swann, but now he was smiling and his green eyes were lit up. I wondered what he was going to ask me. Tilting my head to the side, I gazed up at him curiously and asked, "What is it that you wanted to ask me, James?"

James took a deep breath and pulled something small out of his pocket. He dropped on his knees in front of me and cleared his throat. Looking up into my eyes, he stretched out his hand and asked, "Jenna Cook, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" James' words took me off guard and I just sat there stunned for several long minutes.

What should I say? What should I do? Alright, I liked James. No, that wasn't accurate. I felt a lot more for James than that. It would be a lie if I said I didn't want to have a wedding night with him. But...marriage? Marriage was eternal. It lasted until the day you were dead. You couldn't cheat or have flings without being considered a slut.

You're probably thinking I am a bit of a slut for thinking those kinds of thoughts, but my mind had already conjured up an image of the man I had spent the last few months with. Could I marry James without hurting Cutler? It did surprise me how Cutler hadn't proposed or anything. After all, he knew I loved him and wanted to marry him. so why hadn't he said anything?

But when it really came down to it, it didn't matter what Cutler thought. It really just mattered what I thought and who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Did I want James? Or did I want Cutler? My mind continued to spin and I still hadn't answered James. Seeing that I was torn, James said, "Would you like to take a few days to think about it? I know it's a big decision."

Marriages weren't suppose to start out this way. You weren't suppose to say that you had to think about it. But in my case, I did have to think about it. Sighing, I gave James a wry smile and asked, "You don't mind? It's just that I've had a lot on my mind lately." James smiled back and shook his head, "I don't mind at all. Here, you should keep this in the meantime."

James pushed the ring into my palm and closed my fingers around it. Abruptly, shouting and clanging could be heard overhead. James immediately jumped up and brought me to my feet. Looking alarmed, he said, "That must be Sao Feng's ship. I must go take charge of the prisoners. Come on." James helped me to my feet and towed me across the room.

"Sao Feng?" I asked curiously, having no idea who that was. James nodded and echoed, "Yes, Sao Feng. He's our friend from Singapore. Now hurry back to the Endeavor. I can't have you getting hurt." James gave me a little push. Still scared of the fish people, I scurried along across the deck to get back to the Endeavor.

Just as I was about to get off the Flying Dutchman, James called out, "Jenna?" I paused and looked back at him. Blushing a faint shade of pink, James asked, "Think about my offer, alright? I love you." With that, he turned and pushed through the crowd of crew members. His words left me shocked. James loved me? He really did? I thought I loved him too. Did I? Or didn't I?

Now wasn't the time to think about that. Right now, I just had to escape the fish people. I hurried off the Flying Dutchman and over to the Endeavor. Once I arrived, I hurried to Cutler's office and burst through the door. I was about to speak, but I suddenly realized that Cutler had company. A tall man with dark hair, a bandanna, and brown eyes was standing across from him.

Gaping, I stared at the man curiously. He was as different from Cutler as night is from day. They were circling around the room, eying each other warily. When I stepped inside, the stranger raised an eyebrow and hurried over to me. He held out his hand and said, "Hello, luv. I'm Jack Sparrow. And what's a pretty little lass like you doing on here?"

Cutler cleared his throat and went over to stand by me, "She's mine, Jack. Which means no, you can't sleep with her." Jack looked disappointed and reached out to run a hand over my cheek. He took a step closer to me and said, "I do pay lots, luv. And you are quite beautiful." I didn't quite feel intimidated by Jack, but was he really asking if I was a whore?

"Jack!" Cutler exclaimed and tugged me across to the opposite side of the room. "Jenna is not a prostitute. I'm sure you have enough wenches to sleep with on your little dingy. Now, let's get back to business. Tell me what your purposes here are and we'll perhaps see if we can make some sort of bargain." Cutler eyed Jack cautiously.

"Square my debt with Jones," Jack said immediately. Cutler pulled out two glasses and started to pour some wine. Tilting his head, he said, "Of course. It's just good business." Jack nodded and reached out a hand for one of the glasses. Looking at Cutler carefully, he asked, "If I was in...let's say a 'divulgatory mood', what exactly would I be expected to divulge?"

"Everything. Where are they meeting? Who are the pirate lords? What is the purpose of the nine pieces of eight?" Cutler asked, leaning forward to whisper all this in Jack's ear. Jack paused and hesitated. He took one of the glasses from Cutler and gulped it down. Then he took Cutler's glass and gulped that down as well. Cutler looked annoyed, but said nothing.

Jack thought for a moment and then said, "How about I lead you to Shipwreck Cove and hand the pirates over to you? And in turn, you promise NOT to hand me over to Jones." Jack hesitated for a moment and let his dark eyes flicker over to me. Smiling, he added, "And I want the girl. Just for one night. After that, you can have her back."