Okay, this starts long before any of the films, and before Barbossa's mutiny. It should go on until after AWE, if everything goes to plan and people like it. Basically Jack gets shot, and sees his future when he's in a coma, and then spends the next however many years trying to make what he sees come true. Elizabeth does come in, but not for a while and any kind of romance between her and Jack is even further off, but I promise it will come.

Sorry if some things aren't entirely accurate. I know I've changed some things to fit with this story, but I've tried to keep things as close to the films as possible. Please let me know if it's dreadful, or equally if it's really good (which I doubt) and you think I should write it twice as quickly!

Enjoy!

1. Rum

The Captain of the Black Pearl was happy. He and his crew had looted a merchant ship loaded with gold and, to the captain's personal delight, rum.

Jack Sparrow drained his bottle of rum and put the empty bottle on his desk next to the others and took out his compass. It spun wildly for a few seconds before settling on a point behind his left shoulder. He stood up and stumbled slightly, before slowly following the direction of the arrow. He walked into a cupboard.

'Bugger !' he muttered, rubbing his toe. It hurt twice as much, seeing as he'd taken his boots off earlier and was barefoot with nothing to soften the blow.

He took a look at the compass and saw it pointed straight at the cupboard. Shrugging to himself, he opened the cupboard door and found two more bottles of rum.

'Why, hello!' he grinned, putting the compass back on his belt and grabbing the bottles, stumbling back to his original laid-back position on the chair.

Rum was definitely the best thing in the world. Well, that and Tortuga wenches. Except you could always guarantee that a bottle of rum wouldn't slap you if you double-crossed it. The same couldn't be said for the whores. But who could blame him for taking their money and running while they were still asleep?

'I'm Captain Jack Sparrow,' he muttered to himself.

So that was it. Rum was the best thing in Jack Sparrow's life. Although a bottle of rum would most certainly be useless at giving him pleasure in bed. Perhaps he should reconsider.

Jack took a large swig from the bottle. Oh yes, the rum was good.

But there was one other thing that Jack loved. The Pearl. His beloved ship. Who needed rum, or whores, when they had the Pearl? And who was captain of the Black Pearl, the most beautiful vessel ever to sail the seven seas? Jack Sparrow. Which made him quite the best pirate in the Caribbean.

And what was the Pearl full of right now? Rum.

'To ships full o' rum,' Jack mumbled, raising the bottle to nobody in particular and taking a hearty swig, just for good measure.

There was a loud knock on the cabin door and Jack sat up with a start, waking from his daydream.

'Cap'n?

'Bugger off!' yelled Jack.

'But cap'n…'

Jack stood up and marched across the room, flinging open the door.

'I thought I said I wanted no disturbances this evening!' he said loudly and slightly tipsily.

'Well yes, cap'n, but this is important,' said his first mate Barbossa.

'Yes, but listen here, Hector,' said Jack putting his arm around Barbossa's shoulder. 'The captain doesn't like to be disturbed, especially when he's warned his first mate he's only to be disturbed at risk of death of the offending disturber. And when that said first mate who has been warned that the captain wants no disturbances, disturbs the captain, it means one very unhappy captain. Savvy?'

'Aye, I get yer,' said Barbossa. 'But I though ye might want to be knowin' we be approachin' another ship.'

'Another ship?'

'Aye.'

'And its colours?'

'It be Beckett, cap'n.'

Jack grinned.

'Oh, well that changes things,' he said. 'Let me just get me hat and I'll be up on deck. Make full sail towards that ship, and prepare the cannons.'

Jack picked up his hat, sword and pistol from where they had been lying on his bead and headed to the door.

'Wait,' he said to himself. 'I can't attack an enemy ship without me rum.'

He picked up his bottle of rum off the table and returned to the door.

'That's better,' he smiled, placing his hat on his head and walking out onto the deck.

Jack climbed the stairs to stand at the helm and took the wheel off one of his crew. 'Bootstrap' Bill Turner was Jack's closest friend on board the Pearl, perhaps his only friend. Definitely the only man he knew he could trust.

'Ready the cannons,' Jack told him.

'Aye cap'n,' said Bootstrap. 'We're taking Beckett down for good this time, eh?'

'Aye,' said Jack, grimacing as he remembered the last time they'd tried that. It had ended in the Pearl fleeing to Tortuga with quite a lot of gold's worth of repairs needed.

Bootstrap went down the stairs and joined in with the rest of the crew, loading cannons, guns and readying swords and ropes to swing onto the enemy ship. The Pearl drew alongside the other ship, but Jack held back the order to fire as Beckett lowered a gangplank between the two ships and walked across it with three of his men.

'Sparrow,' said Beckett, looking up and down him with a scrutinizing gaze. One of the men next to him laughed. Jack looked down and realized he had forgotten to put his boots back on after taking them off earlier, and that he was still carrying the bottle of rum. He grinned sheepishly and hid the bottle behind his back, noticing Barbossa roll his eyes and a couple of his own crew snigger amongst themselves.

'Captain Sparrow,' Jack corrected him. 'What a pleasure to find you standing on my ship.'

'If only I could say the same to you, Captain Sparrow,' said Beckett, staring at Jack's bare feet.

'Is there anything I can help you with?' asked Jack, mocking politeness. 'Or can I get straight to blowin' holes in your ship?'

'Your compass, Sparrow,' said Beckett, holding out his hand. 'Hand it over and nobody need get hurt.'

'Surely one of your lovely men has a compass,' said Jack. 'Why should you need my help to tell you which way is north?'

'It would be all very well, but one doesn't often go looking for north, do they?'

'Well, if that's all you want…'

Beckett pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Jack. Several of Jack's crew reached for their swords.

'If you aren't prepared to give it to me, I'll have to take it from your lifeless body,' sneered Beckett.

'I don't think ye will, mate,' replied Jack, staring into Beckett's eyes. 'Not with all my men on this ship. There's thirty-eight of them standing on this deck. And only one of you. Plus yer three sidekicks, but I don't think they'll make much difference. Eunuchs, if ye ask me.'

One of the men started forwards, but Beckett put an arm out to stop him.

'What makes you think I won't shoot, Sparrow?' asked Beckett.

'Ye love chasing me,' teased Jack. 'Why shoot your favourite hobby?'

'Jack…' pleaded Bootstrap from his side.

'It's okay,' said Jack. 'He won't shoot. 'I'm Captain Jack Sparr…'

There was a bang and Jack tried to duck, but he felt a sudden sharp pain in his shoulder as he was thrown back across the deck. He heard Barbossa's yell of 'Attaaaack!' and heard swords clash, and cannons fire, but his vision went blurry. He looked down and saw the whole of the left side of his shirt was drenched in blood.

'It's okay, cap'n,' said Bootstrap, picking him up in his arms and carrying him towards the cabin. 'I'll look after you. Everything'll be fine.'

'Turner…' Jack gasped. 'Beckett, kill him.'

'S'ok, Jack,' replied Bootstrap, pushing open the cabin door and laying Jack down on the bed. 'Barbossa's taking care of it.'

Jack could hear the battle through the wooden panels of the cabin. His vision blurred once more as he heard Barbossa yell, 'Pearl! Captain's down! Retreat!'

'No,' muttered Jack. 'Don't retreat…'

'Come on Jack,' said Bootstrap, walking over the bed with some pieces of cloth and a bottle of rum.

'Rum…' said Jack, before everything went black.