Disclaimer: I don't own Jack Sparrow or any of its characters. The Pirates of the Caribbean movie is the property of Disney. So there is no copyright infringement intended, nor do I intend to tick anyone off – so please don't sue me, I'm poor enough already! But I do own the story itself and the characters of Jess and non-POtC types…. :O)

This is my first Pirates fanfic. It is based on the 2003 movie and my own (twisted) imagination! I do not intend to rip off any other writer (I just can't wade through so many pages of stories to check, I'd lose the will to live!) so if this premise has been done before I'm sorry, I just hope mine is different enough for it not to be too boring. But if I digress from the history of the original movie and stuff a little, don't shoot me as I'm old and the brain (what little I have) is not what it used to be. Plus I might also change things to fit the story a little better –sorry. But that is what artistic license is all about! LOL

I watched the film recently; and wondered if I could do my own story – where this time Jack gets the girl (not Elizabeth for all the Will/Elizabeth shippers out there)!.

So here it is, it's set after the original movie – it's going to be reasonably dramatic, romantic and humorous (I hope!)….. It is nothing but fluff, so if you don't like this sort of stuff please don't read it! If you've read any of my other stuff and liked it, hopefully you'll like this too.

NOTE: If anyone wants to know a site for the script; e-mail me as I have one bookmarked now.

WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE, SO READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.

'—' signifies thoughts.

"—" signifies speech.

Anyway…on with the show!

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THE LADY PIRATE

Chapter One – Port Royal

The Black Pearl came into port and heaved to. Elizabeth Turner, neé Swann, and her husband Will rushed to the jetty; followed more slowly by a sardonic Commodore James Norrington – he couldn't believe that he was having to have that blasted man and his motley crew as guests of the Governor purely because of Elizabeth.

Still, he could bide his time – the man was bound to slip up whilst here and when he did…….James smiled, well he would only be doing his duty.

As the crew rolled onto land behind Jack Sparrow, all concerned noticed a laughing red-headed woman and small girl holding her hand looking around mistrustfully.

The woman seemed happy enough, but the child had an attitude that made Governor Swann shudder – it was too much like his Elizabeth at that age.

Jack came over to the couple "'Owdo loves, what ye been doin' while I been gone?"

"Got married, got pregnant, had baby – same old, same old." Grinned Elizabeth, hugging him "You?"

"Some crew died, got new ones – some crew didn't, they stayed." Jack shrugged. Elizabeth looked around the crew and noticed that Weaver, Dibbs and Marrow were all missing. Instead there was the woman and, she was shocked to see, Ragetti and Pintel. Something was different about them though; she looked at Jack expectantly.

He glanced back "Oh them? Aye, well that was her doin'; won them in a game of poker and decided the wretches needed saving." He pointed at the woman "she got 'em both some false teeth and Ragetti a proper glass eye and now they're her willing slaves!" he gestured to the two men who were chatting to the little girl.

Dropping his voice to a stage whisper he added "mind you she made it clear if they cross any of the rest of us they're deader than doornails; and havin' seen 'her temper I reckon we're on safe ground there. Mind you, it'd be fun to see her carry out the promise she made of what she'd do to them if they do; not sure it's possible mind, but that's the fun part."

Elizabeth and the others were only glad that Jack didn't elaborate on whatever it was….

James' eyes nearly started out of his head as the barefooted woman began to wander past. For a pirate crewman there was an air of gentility about her, an air that she was of gentry not this Godforsaken riff-raff. Well, that - and to him she was stunning.

Thick red hair, in tight corkscrew curls, tumbled down her back and past her waist; although encased in sun faded cropped grey trousers and a billowing blue shirt her lithe frame was easy to discern and could be sent to be muscular. She was tanned on the arms, face and legs from always being outside; she had dainty feet and the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.

Her face was smiling, and judging by the little creases near her eyes, it was something she did a lot. Though the sword at her side and the dagger in her waistband showed she was not averse to fighting either, the skinned knuckles on her right hand bore testament to that too… He glanced and saw Governor Swann staring as well – Elizabeth gave a cough which brought both men back to earth with a small start.

She glanced at Will to see him staring at her quizzically "remind me to tell you later how much I love you." she whispered.

"What did I do to warrant that?" he whispered back.

"Nothing, that's my point." She grinned as he shrugged.

"Oi! Jess, girl! C'mere luv and meet me friends." Jack eyed Norrington and Governor Swann thoughtfully "Well, two friends and two……people I know that want to kill me."

"Oh and bring the little bit with ye….oh, you have. Little Bit…" Jack bowed solemnly to the child who only then broke into a grin.

"Cap'n Jack…" she bowed equally as solemnly back, but could not wipe the smile from her face; then tugged his leg "who are they then?" she pointed at the four people before her "not sure I like them…" she dropped her voice to a loud whisper "too posh." She wrinkled her nose.

Elizabeth stifled a smile as did Will; Norrington and the Governor both rolled their eyes – yes, a copy of Elizabeth.

"Yea well, you can't blame them though pet, for an accident of birth. I mean I'm sure they'd want our lives instead o'what they got – but well, we're the lucky ones ain't we?" he leaned down to her level and spoke conspiratorially, waving his hands around in front of the little girl to emphasise his point.

The child looked back the Pearl, her eyes suddenly warm with affection; Elizabeth and Will noticed it, along with the way Jack's eyes followed and then he grinned briefly at the top of her head and made a kissing motion "Aye, I reckon we have, Cap'n Jack, I reckon we have at that." She eyed him suspiciously "did you just try and kiss me head? Coz you know I don't like all that noncy stuff."

Jack feigned hurt innocence as the rest of the crew chuckled "Nay luv, not my style….. all that 'noncy stuff'." He wrinkled nose and pulled a face whilst wiggling his fingers in distaste in front of him.

She nodded, sufficiently mollified; he looked at her mother, the crew and the others gathering "God, thought she'd run me through for a bloody minute there!"

"Jack leave her be – you do torment the Little Bit so!" her mother chided, but was grinning.

"Oh yeah, this is…" he seemed to consider for a moment, until the woman butted in.

"I'm Jess Simmonds and this is my daughter Maggie, aged 7; though we all call her Little Bit."

"Yeah, Little Bit getting Bigger Bit!" chuckled Ragetti, grinning lopsidedly at Maggie.

"Aye I am that Rags- what you reckon my name'll be next then?" Maggie looked at him with a grin.

"Big Bit?" he offered after some thought.

Pintel smacked his head, Ragetti just managed to catch his eye as it popped out "That ain't nice – makes her sound big and ugly! Nay, it'll be…." But he was stumped as well, then grinned "it'll be……Not So Little Bit!"

Maggie roared with laughter and patted their arms "You're both funny!"

Elizabeth could not believe the change in the two men – she still did not trust them – but they were obviously genuinely fond of the little girl, and seemingly her mother.

Joshamee Gibbs came up "Jack? Shall we be going? Coz we all got things we wanna be doing." He glanced at Elizabeth "Miss….or should I say Mrs Elizabeth now?" he dipped his head.

"Elizabeth is fine Jo…" she smiled.

"Righto, Elizabeth it will be then."

"C'mon Little Bit - you and your Ma are stopping with me." Jack caught the little girl by the shirt; she was wearing red cropped breeches and a billowy white cotton shirt similar to her mother; neither wore shoes. Her hair was the same as her mother's and her eyes were just as blue in depth, only a little paler in colour. He saw Elizabeth and Will's raised eyebrows "if it's alright with you like?"

"Yes Jack of course…special friends, are they?" Elizabeth grinned.

Jack rolled his eyes "Nay, they're just me mates and I like to keep them by me – she'll let nothing happen to me and I don't trust them!" he looked at Norrington and Swann "no offence." The others dipped their eyes in ascent, knowing he had reason.

"Yes Jack, of course your friends can stay at our house. I'm sure Maggie would…" Will started.

"Little Bit…." The little girl interrupted.

"I'm sorry?" Will looked at her.

"I only get called Maggie when I'm bad – I ain't that too often, but it's a worry to hear it all the same." She motioned to herself.

"Oh right, I see….I'm sure Little Bit would like to see our baby boy…." Will smiled.

"Why?" Little Bit asked curiously.

"I'm sorry?" Will said again.

"Right – why would I want to see your baby and why do you keep saying sorry? I mean you ain't done nothing wrong, 'ave ye?"

Jack smirked "lovely kid ain't she? I love her!" he ruffled her hair "couldn't eat a whole one though."

She glared at him "Captain Jack! DON'T do that! You know I don't like it!"

Jack raised his hands in placation as they continued walking to the waiting carriage "Oh, pissed you off now ain't I?" he grinned.

She hugged his side "Nah, not really – just don't do it again!" She trotted over to Ragetti and started chatting.

Elizabeth tried not to look surprised at the language used around the child, and dropped back to her mother "So Jess, how do you like the Black Pearl?" She noticed that Jack's ear was immediately cocked in their direction.

Jess grinned warmly and stared back at the ship "I love it! But then what's not to love? The crew are the best you could have anywhere's; and her…." She pointed wistfully to the Pearl "you couldn't find a better ship anywhere on the ocean."

Annemarie came over and draped an arm round the woman's shoulders, even though Jess was a good inch taller "Yeah and we all loves her too!" She eyed Elizabeth and then nodded at Jack, the two women grinned before the dark skinned woman said loudly "and if any bugger hurt her he'd have the rest of us to deal with!"

"Yeah, yeah! Now shout it louder so someone who cares can hear ye!" Said Jack over his shoulder.

Jess smiled at Elizabeth "I'm sure we can chat some more later yeah?" and trotted over to her daughter. She cuffed Ragetti lightly round the head as he told some off colour joke to the child, who also earned a cuff for laughing at it; both scowled at her.

Jack grinned and then saw Will grinning at him in a way he didn't like "What? She's a rum 'un that Little Bit, that's all!" Will merely nodded and carried on grinning.

Jack scowled and stalked over to Herring to talk about the new rigging that was needed on the Pearl; Will looked at Gibbs, who rolled his head to come over, and went to join him. Both he and his wife garnered the same information from their respective informants.

Elizabeth looked at Annemarie "Well? Where'd she and the child come from?"

Annemarie smiled "She's a rum 'un as he says, and the Ma – and he'd see naught happen to them I tell ye that much. Right, she was the captain of her own ship. The Esmeralda." Norrington's head almost spun off his shoulders.

"Pirate?"

"Aye….it was the only other true pirate ship left, next to the Pearl – she sailed round Ireland and the Americas though."

"So why is she crewing with Jack on the Pearl?" Elizabeth couldn't believe that even Jack could be that charming to make a woman give up her ship; especially when she was a pirate captain; Elizabeth certainly would not have done – not even for her darling Will.

"Well, it seems it were her grand-da's ship and he and his crew were old. As the crew left or died, she replaced them. But, as she says herself, even pirates ain't what they used to be. She found out they were planning on mutinying…" here the woman spoke with immense pride "but rather than let that happen and hand over her ship to those scurvy dogs - she scuppered it."

"What of the mutineers?" Elizabeth asked, agog at the daring of the woman.

"Well, she says, and I believe her, she damaged all the boats, 'cepting one which she set adrift - then she lit the powder! She jumped over board, and her and Little Bit swum to the boat." Annemarie chuckled in delight.

"She beat off the few that escaped by being blasted free with the oars, making sure they were cut enough to bleed; the sharks dealt with them all after that."

Elizabeth shuddered "I can see why Jack likes her so much, and the rest of you for that matter. Utterly ruthless…"

"Nay, she's a good soul Mi….I mean Elizabeth. She only dealt with those dogs the way they shoulda been anyways. I mean they mutinied, didn't they? What you think they woulda done to her and the Little Bit if she hadn't had her wits about her like she did?"

"True…that's true." The young woman conceded; "As to the Little Bit…is she Jess,' or is she just a child she or Jack picked up somewhere and adopted; for she seems fearfully attached to Jack?"

"Nay she's Jess' right and proper. Jess was married, but her husband was killed. Little Bit is her kid from that union. But you're right enough – she is fearful attached to Jack and he to her…" she dropped her voice to a whisper "and her Ma, though he'd rather die than admit it."

Elizabeth grinned "I see. How long have they been with you then?"

Annemarie thought for a moment "about 11 months I think; or thereabouts anyhow."

"Is she loyal?"

"Aye, she's the loyalist person I know. Jack could trust her with his life, as we all could. She'd kill anyone what threatened us Elizabeth, anyone." Annemarie sounded both proud and impressed by her new friend.

"How did she come by Ragetti and Pintel? Is what Jack said true, or just another of his tall tales?" Elizabeth smiled.

"Nay, it's true. We don't know how they escaped the night Barbossa died – but they did, we think they slipped over the side in the confusion and back into their little boat" She gestured to Norrington "he's men ain't the sharpest knives in the drawer as Jess is wont to say." She chuckled. "Anyways, they got picked up by this cargo ship; the captain treated 'them like slaves; but then we meets up with him by chance in Tortuga and he gets into a poker game with Jess."

Annemarie smiled at the memory "she plays poker better'n even Jack, she has the best poker face I seen. She plays the hand, and he's got nothing left so he bets them." She points to the two men "she beats him and takes them. She sees them both suffering so gets them sorted out with her share of the booty from our last raid. Ragetti gets his glass eye and some teeth and Pintel gets some teeth….they were so pathetically grateful it were pitiful to watch.

But Gibbsy tells her about you, Will and Jack and what happened….she hares round on a shilling – pushes them up agin' the mast and says real low and light like, but in a way that'd send shivers down ye back, 'hurt them agin; even threaten Cap'n Jack or anyone he knows and I swear on all that's holy the very next thing you'll be saying is 'bloody hell St. Peter how did we get here' - followed by 'sod it, hell ain't half hot'! and the journey there won't be a pleasant one; I'll be making sure the only way you'll be able to eat the coal and fire of damnation is through your bloody arses!" She laughed out loud then "she says last of all 'I can be ye best mate in the world boys, but more important like, I can be your worst nightmare too." She glanced at the woman still talking to her daughter "I reckon she could n'all."

"I'm surprised that bearing all that in mind she's not famous then; For I have never heard of a pirate called Jess Simmonds."

"Oh she is….just not by her given name. Her pirate name was Glory O'Reilly, for she sailed under her Grand-da's colours even after his death – her Grand-da was dead famous too."

Elizabeth stopped dead "She can't be her! That woman is a legend, a mere myth only!"

"No, she ain't – she's walking not 10 foot in front o'ye!" the girl grinned.

"If that's true I'm surprised she does not want her own ship again."

"Nay her Grand-da's ship was the only one she wanted to captain – plus now she's got Little Bit to worry about; better to be part of the crew with less to trouble ye, than to be cap'n and have the weight of the world on yer shoulders."

Elizabeth nodded, seeing James Norrington watching them she whispered "Best not let on to too many about her identity. But don't you think there is something different about her? I do not wish to be rude but she seems….different to the rest of you."

"No offence taken, I know yer meaning" she stared at Jess "Aye, we reckon her family were gentry at some point – they wouldn't be the first to lose a fortune or something, and turn to piracy to make ends meet. Though her grand-da weren't no gentry that's for sure."

"Ah, yes, you could be right." Elizabeth smiled at Annemarie "have to admire her either way."

"Aye – that you do, her and the whelp. She'll be a bloody little demon when she's older; I reckin that's why Jack's so bloody fond o' them."

The two women realised they had long since reached the carriage and everyone was stood waiting expectantly for them.

Jess wandered over with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye "had a good chat about me eh?"

"I only spoke nice Jess." Annemarie grinned.

Jess frowned, though her eyes were mirthful "Aye, well not too nice I hope – I got a rep to protect after all!"

They heard Jack chuckle "C'mon pet, get Little Bit so we can go – I'm half starved here! Sides I'm sure our Will and Elizabeth have got a bottle of rum with my name on it."

"Jack, every bottle of rum has your bloody name on it!" Jess laughed as she grabbed Little Bit and went over "You lot be alright yeah?"

All nodded, though they heard Ragetti say to Pintel "nice she cares ain't it? No other bugger would!"

0-0-0-0-0-0

Once back at the home of Will and Elizabeth, Norrington and Governor Swann (reluctantly on the latter's part) parted company and returned to the fort as they had work to finish, whilst Jack devoured the entire contents of the couple's rum bottle. "Thas better, I was getting too sober." He sighed happily.

"Jack that will never happen – I swear to God the only reason you ain't sickly or prone to injuries like the rest of us, is coz you're bloody pickled in that stuff!"

He grinned at her and stuck out his tongue "ooh it's a tongue – wow ye'r getting so clever Cap'n Jack Sparrow!" she laughed at him.

Norrington however, was keen to get to the bottom of the intriguing woman…she jogged his memory and so he went through papers he'd had sent from England. He was methodical in his paperwork, every notification or order was neatly filed away….always just in case. His men thought him mad, but it was on just this occasion he was pleased he had, as his hand touched the sheet he'd been looking for.

He turned and smiled, maybe he would go to the Turner's for dinner after all - this could prove an interesting evening……