Hello everyone! (If in fact anyone is reading this... ^___^ ;;) I'm brand new to , so please excuse any awkwardness or general not knowing what the heck I'm doing. I dabble around with this fanfic whenever my novels arent flowing smoothly. Critiques and comments are welcome, just please be cruel and please dont skewer my OC. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!

"Hmmm…" Captain Jack Sparrow rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No, I really don't think I will." He was standing in the corner of a dimly lit tavern. A place well suited for a meeting, for the general uproar shielded any private conversation from outside ears. Here they were just faces in the rather disheveled and none too savory crowd. Far too many bodies were crowded around the splintering wooden tables and straddling the benches, creating an overpowering and noxious human odor that mingled sourly with the smell of liquor. It was probably due to that same liquor that no one really minded the smell, and it muted the senses enough to further ensure that their conversation would never be successfully repeated. Candles dripped wax in moldy looking puddles and dusty lanterns flickered, adding smoke to the sickening aroma, and there was the subtle awareness that someone in the vicinity had pissed themselves. Not the most pleasant of places, but certainly one that Jack could feel comfortable in. The young woman sitting before him angrily leapt to her feet, but the man on Sparrow's right hurriedly blocked her path.

"Please, Miss. Let me." He flashed her a brief, apologetic smile before whipping around and chasing after Jack, who was already drunkenly flouncing away in the general direction of a cluster of scantily clad barmaids.

"Jack! Jack!" He caught his quarry roughly on the shoulder and spun him around. With a furtive glance about the tavern, he pulled his fellow in close. "Jack, I don't know what your relationship is with this girl," He whispered urgently. "But I think you should take her up on her offer."

"Relationship? There is no relationship. She's the niece of a friend's… cousin's… daughter… or something." Jack waved his hand dismissively and began to turn away once more, but the younger man gripped his shoulder firmly. Sparrow glanced down at the hand and after a moment plucked it distastefully from his arm. "Will." He shook his head. "Will…when will you learn to trust me? I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" He drew himself up, spreading his arms with a flourish and a rather pretentious air for a moment before deflating slightly. "And I don't need help from some silly little wench knee high to a midget, least of all that one." He eyed the young woman angrily over his companion's shoulder, crossing his arms. "I can handle my own bloody affairs, mate."

Will Turner shook his head wearily as his wife Elizabeth drew up beside him, taking his arm and throwing a scathing glance at Sparrow. "Really? And exactly what affairs do you plan on settling in our current state? Or perhaps you hadn't noticed. We don't have a ship!"

Jack shrugged. "Details, love." He grinned winningly, a grin which quickly faded in light of the unmoved faces before him. He sighed in disgust. "Oh al-right!" He shoved Will aside and gestured languidly at the girl sitting patiently at her table. "Oi. You." Will jabbed him roughly in the ribcage with an elbow. Jack winced. "Beth."

The girl glanced up, arms crossed with a rather dignified look of annoyance. Jack cleared his throat and beckoned reluctantly, calling out over the muffled roar of the tavern and its sinful dealings. "Over here, if you will."

She rose, uncrossing her arms to pick up the skirts of her simple dress and made her way, with some difficulty, through the merry crowd. Standing before him, the top of her blonde head barely drew level with the man's chin. Jack looked down on her, secretly pleased at how tall he appeared in comparison.

She forced a small, compulsory smile, hiding her clenched fists behind her back. "I believe I have been more than reasonable. I have offered you the use of my ship and crew. What better offer could you hope for in your position?"

"Your place as Captain."

Blue eyes widened as Beth stared incredulously up at the man.

"Jack!" Will gaped at him, horrified. Sparrow took a step back, raising his hands in front of him as he began to stave off the verbal attack by his companion. Elizabeth's furious shouting joined the fray a moment later, but to Beth, all of this noise faded seamlessly into the background.

She chewed uneasily on her thumbnail. Give up La Reigna to Jack Sparrow? She shouldn't even be considering it. Yet business hadn't been very good as of late. And with the way things were going… She subconsciously pressed a hand to her throat where the pinprick of a knife was still visible, an ever present warning.

Yes, she needed to leave Port of Spain. With him to deal with… perhaps fading into the unknown would be best under present circumstances.

Beth looked up, vaguely aware of this woman, Elizabeth, screeching something along the lines of 'self centered, egotistical, half-drunk bastard' and studied the pirate before her. Surely Jack would take care of La Reigna. Not nearly so well as the Pearl, but with his ship out of the picture, he would certainly be more careful. He had always been a resourceful little weasel. Besides, she reasoned, she had always treated her men better than this lout would. She could easily stage a mutiny at a later date and reclaim her title.

Jack was spluttering inanely as Elizabeth rounded on him once more, but they both fell silent at the sound of Beth's soft voice next to them.

"Alright."

Will blinked at her, flabbergasted. "Excuse me?"

Beth bit her lip and dusted off her skirt absently. "I said alright."

Jack straightened up and grinned. "See, lad? A perfectly reasonable request, am I ri-"

"-On one condition."

Jack's face fell slightly and he eyed her with some suspicion. "And what might that be?"

Beth's hands were on her hips now. "That I come with you."

Jack frowned. "You know that it is bad luck to bring a woman aboard-"

"And you know that is as much of a load of poppycock as I do. It is my ship after all, and this is far more than an even trade. Now, do we have a deal or not, Mr. Sparrow?" She held out her hand, looking expectantly up at him.

Jack looked at it hesitantly, with a grimace. "Err…" He took her hand, gingerly. "Captain. It's… Captain Sparrow. And, yes… I believe we do."

He shook his hand free of hers and wiped it on his shirt with a very unconvincing smile. He then turned and staggered away, out the door. After exchanging an incredulous glance with her husband, Elizabeth turned sharply on her heel with a groan and stormed after him. Will, in turn, lingered behind. He looked at the small woman before him and smiled uneasily. "Charming, isn't he?"

Beth smirked ironically. "Some people never change."

Will blinked, but as he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"If you will forgive me, Mr. Turner, I have business to attend to. If you would be so kind as to tell Mr. Sparrow that I will meet him at the docks tomorrow morning, then I will take my leave of you." Without waiting for an answer, she abruptly turned on her heel and strode away, leaving Will spluttering in her wake. She waved stiffly over her shoulder, allowing the tavern doors to slam closed behind her without affording him so much as a second glance.