Shadows, Sails and Pirate Tales

Jack woke up, surprised to see Dette asleep next to him, after a few moments, he remembered what happened last night. It was the best night's sleep he'd had for a very long time.

Will, who had been up a while, was up on deck, wondering whether he should wake the other's up.

Jack, not willing to leave the comfortable position he was in, leaned back, and looked over at Dette's sleeping form.

She was lying on her side facing him, her head resting on the pillow, lips parted slightly. Jack looked at her carefully; she was fair, with dark brown hair, delicate pink lips. What colour were her eyes? He couldn't remember. He looked at her intently as he tried to remember what colour eyes she had. Whilst he was lost in thought, Bernadette's eye's fluttered open. They were the most stunning emerald green. How could he forget eyes like that? Pulling himself out of his daze, he sat up.

"Morning Jack," Dette smiled, "Sleep well?"

"Good morning Dette, Bernadette, Miss Swann," he corrected himself, "I slept very well thank you."

"Jack, you can call me Dette," Bernadette told him, laughing quietly.

"So," Jack said, climbing out of the bed, and putting his boots on, "Shall we see what Mr Turner is doing?"

"Yes," Dette agreed, climbing out of bed, "Jack can you see my boot?"

Jack looked around. "No," he replied puzzled.

Dette left the cabin and bumped into Will.

"Oh, Will," Dette said looking up at him, "Have you seen my shoe?"

"Found it!" Jack yelled from in the cabin.

Dette walked back in to the cabin and put it on.

"Did you sleep well Will?" Dette asked him, as she re-emerged from the cabin.

"Well enough," Will replied, his thoughts obviously with Elizabeth.

"We'll find your bonny lass soon," Jack said, patting him forcefully on the back.

"Mr Gibbs!" Dette greeted him as he came about the ship.

"I have ye a crew Jack," Gibbs told him, leading him onto the pier.

Will and Dette followed Gibbs and Jack onto the pier.

"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot," Gibbs said to Jack.

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will asked him.

"You, sailor!" Jack called to an old man with a parrot perched on his shoulder.

"Cotton, sir." Gibbs told him.

"Mr Cotton? Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? Mr Cotton! Answer, man!" Jack shouted to the man.

"He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how," Gibbs informed him.

"Mr Cotton's... parrot. Same question," Jack said loudly.

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" Cotton's parrot squawked.

"Mostly, we figure, that means yes," Gibbs whispered to Jack.

"Course it does," Jack said and turning to Will, asked "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proved they're mad," Will replied.

"And what's the benefit for us?" A voice cried out.

"That's a woman," Dette said to Will.

Jack walked over to the voice and pulled off the hat they wore.

"Anamaria!"

She slapped him across the face.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will asked.

"No, that one I deserved," Jack said.

"You stole my boat!" Anamaria shouted.

"Actually-" Jack began, before being slapped once again, "borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't," Anamaria argued.

"You'll get another one," Jack pleaded.

"I will," Anamaria stated.

"A better one," Will called.

"A better one," Jack repeated.

"What one?" Dette asked.

"That one," Will said, pointing at the interceptor.

"What one? That one? Aye, that one. What say you?" Jack asked.

"Aye," chorused the crew.

"No, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir." Gibbs stated.

Dette cleared her throat from behind him.

"It'd be far worse not to have her." Jack murmured to them.

They all climbed onto the ship and sailed away from the island.

Dette, who felt somewhat unhelpful on the ship, went onto the captain's cabin, and sat down in the chair. She was sitting peacefully, looking out of the window, when she heard footsteps.

"Where's my compass?"

"It's here Jack," Dette called to Jack as he entered the room.

"Thank you Lass," Jack replied, taking it from her hand.

"Why are you in here?" He asked.

"I'm not much help on deck," Dette sighed, "There are other's much more able than I."

"Mr Turner could show you the ropes," Jack said, "Or you could talk to Anamaria about whatever women talk about."

"Anamaria?" Dette asked, pretending to be puzzled, "Oh that woman who slapped you, your girlfriend?"

"Anamaria? Girlfriend?" Jack said, "No, no, not at all."

Dette raised an eyebrow at him.

"I know I'm frightfully good looking, but no, she's not my girlfriend, why? Were you jealous?" Jack laughed.

"Of course not," Dette replied calmly, "I'm going to find Will."

She stood up and walked out on deck.

Later in the day, a storm broke out.

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?" Will asked Jack.

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north but we're not trying to find north, are we? We should drop canvas, sir." Gibbs called, over the noise of the storm.

"She can hold a bit longer." Jack replied.

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked. He paused before mumbling, "I can think of one thing."

Jack glaring at him said, "We're catching up."

Dette's face lit up at the prospect of seeing her sister again.

About an hour later, Jack called for canvas to be dropped, as it was getting late and the storm was passing.

"I think it be time to turn in," Gibbs said to Jack.

"Aye, aye," Jack said, "Turn in."

"Do we have any problems with the sleeping arrangements?" Will asked Dette and Jack.

"I'm fine," Dette told Will.

"No problems," Jack told Will, "Now go have a good night, safe in the knowledge that your bonny lass will by your side soon."

Dette hugged Will and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight Will."

"Goodnight Dette," He said, kissing her cheek, and turning to the crew's quarters.

Dette turned to the captain's cabin.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Jack told her as she walked away.

She nodded and smiled.

Flipping open his compass, his compass was now pointing in her direction. "Dammit," he mumbled to himself, before following Dette into the cabin.

"Floor, Chair or Bed?" Dette asked him.

"I'll join you in a minute," Jack replied.

Jack looked down at the compass. It was pointing from one direction the next, from Dette to presumably the Black Pearl.

"Dette?" he called, quietly, "Hold this compass and let me see which way it points."

Dette, taking the compass from him, showed him where it pointed.

It pointed toward the Black Pearl, where Elizabeth was, and then to his surprise, toward him.

"Interesting," He mumbled, as she passed it back to him, "Very interesting."

"I don't understand. Why did it change direction?" Dette asked.

Thinking whether to tell her that it pointed toward what you wanted most, he said, "I'm not sure. Probably just a gust of wind, are you cold?"

"A little," she admitted.

Jack led her towards the bed and tucked her under the covers. He took off his boots then joined her. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her up. She shuffled closer to him, shivering slightly.

"Are the crew's quarter's any warmer?" Dette asked him.

"Err, No," He replied, still rubbing her arms.

He shivered feeling her breath on his neck.

"Thankyou Jack," Dette whispered.

She craned her neck to kiss his cheek, but he moved his head and their lips met. Dette, didn't know what to do. She just hoped that Jack did. Jack, after letting the kiss linger a while, pulled away.

Looking down at her, he whispered, "You need to sleep."

Dazed, Dette nodded and lay back. She wasn't going to be able to sleep after that.

Jack lay back, disappointed. He knew he had to pull away from Dette. His emotions would deter him from reaching the black pearl. And she was just a girl, 18 years old. But part of him wanted to kiss her again.

The next morning, when Dette awoke, Jack was no longer in the cabin. Yawning, she climbed out of the bed. put on her shoes and went onto the deck. It was early, so nobody but Will was up. She walked over to him and asked him if he had seen Jack.

"With the crew, or maybe in the galley," Will replied, twirling a sword around in his hand, "What about your lessons? You've not had any for a while."

"Our last was before Norrington's Promotion I believe," Dette replied, picking up a sword.

"So," Will grinned, "Let's see how much you can remember."

Will assumed an en garde position. Dette did the same. They stood in one place, trading feints, thrusts and parries with lightning speed, almost impossible to follow. Dette had no trouble matching Will.

"Well, I see you've been practicing," Will laughed, as Dette began moving backwards.

"Indeed, although not as much as you," Dette replied, concentrating.

They continued fighting for a while, as the crew came up on deck. Jack walked out with Gibbs and they stopped and looked up as they heard the clashing of swords.

"Blimey, She be good for a lass!" Gibbs said, surprised at Dette's skill.

"And what are you to do if you opponent begins to move towards you?" Will asked her, moving towards her at speed.

Dette jumped up the stairs, and knocked a sail, jumping onto the yard as it swung and jumped off, landing on her feet behind him. Will stood still for a second, shocked, "I didn't expect that."

Dette laughed "Surprise."

Will put his sword away and Dette put hers down likewise. To Dette's surprise, Will pulled her into a hug. "I'm really proud of you Dette," he smiled.

"Thank you Will," Dette replied, looking up at him and smiling.

"I don't see why he doesn't just have that lass," Gibbs mumbled to Jack, "They seem to like each other well enough."

Jack huffed, before walking over to the pair.

"Well Mr and Mrs Turner," Jack said sarcastically, "Having fun?"

Dette looked at Jack, surprised at his outburst.

"Yes, I was just fighting Dette," Will said, ignoring the comment, "She is a very good fighter. Better than you I daresay."

Jack turned on his heel and marched back into the captain's cabin, muttering that little girls shouldn't fight.

Dette looked up at Will, unsure whether to follow Jack. Will, who clearly no idea what to do, looked down at Dette with a puzzled expression. Gibbs ended the awkward silence by getting the crew started on their duties.

Dette walked slowly towards the cabin door, and paused outside it. She knocked on the door and waited for a response. None came. So Dette pushed the door open slightly and stepped in.

"Jack?" Dette called softly.

Jack was lying on his back, on the bed, his eyes closed.

Not knowing what to do, Dette walked quietly over to the chair and sat in it. Leaning back she closed her eyes, and thought about last night.. Smiling she opened her eyes, to see Jack looking at her.

"Oh, Jack," she said quietly, getting up off of the chair, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Jack mumbled, "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Sorry," Dette mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"'Tisn't your fault," Jack said, looking at her.

After a few moments, she left the cabin, leaving Jack to his thoughts.

"It is your fault," He said under his breath, remembering their kiss.