Title: First Impressions
Author: SlayersGrl
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack or his crew, although I wish I did… I do however claim Katherine and Jacob as my own.

Summary: A young woman and her brother find themselves in the midst of a pirate attack. Katherine realizes she must do anything to protect her little brother, even if it means facing one of the most feared pirates on the open seas, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Author's Note: Yet another story demanded to be written at 1am as I was about to fall asleep… I'm not sure where this idea came from, but I felt like writing something a little different than the usual Pirates fic. Please R&R! It would absolutely make my day!

Chapter 1: First Encounters

It's strange really. I've lived by the sea for my entire life, but I never realized how truly breathtaking it was until I was standing at the bow of a merchant ship with the wind rushing through my hair, the salty sea water misting lightly against my face. My younger brother Jacob and I were on a voyage to the Caribbean to join our father in Jamaica. He had left a few months earlier to set up his trading business and then had sent word for us to come join him. After being on the open sea for over a week, I honestly could not see why my mother refused to join us. She was scared to death of the ocean and absolutely refused to accompany us on our trans-Atlantic journey. Of course, that left me to watch over my hyperactive younger brother.

"Katherine!" a young male voice shouted across the deck. I shook myself from my musings in time to see my seven year old brother slip on the recently swabbed deck and land flat on his back, much to the hilarity of the crewmembers on deck.

I groaned and quickly made my way over to help him to his feet. "I thought I told you not to run on the deck! They're forever mopping it and you were doomed to slip sooner or later!" I noticed that my reprimand was a little too harsh when I saw the tears begin to well up in Jacob's bright blue eyes. "Just promise me you won't do it again, alright?"

He nodded his head in agreement and quickly wiped the moisture from his eyes.

"So, what were you rushing up here to tell me?"

"Well, um…" he began, hesitating nervously. "I wanted to know if you had seen any other ships…"

"No, why do you ask?" Then I realized I already knew the answer. "You've been listening to those awful pirate stories, haven't you?" He simply nodded his head. "We are not going to be attacked by any pirates, ok? There's hardly anything worth stealing on board this ship." I could tell he was not entirely reassured by my reasoning. "I promise I will protect you. No one will hurt you while I'm around."

With that, Jacob smiled and reached up to wrap his small arms around my neck. "Thanks sis."

Several hours later, I discovered I might have to make good on my promise.

Jacob and I were sitting at the stern of the ship, simply watching the ocean. For once, my brother was being absolutely quiet and I intended to enjoy the moment for as long as it lasted. Unfortunately, it was interrupted in the worst way possible.

"Sail ho! Starboard side!" a sailor shouted from high in the crow's nest.

"What flag does she fly?" another sailor shouted while peering anxiously towards the horizon.

Several seconds passed as the first sailor tried to determine his response. "The jolly roger! It's the Black Pearl!" Those two simple sentences sent the crew into frenzy.

The captain immediately began to issue orders. "Raise the sails to full mast!"

"But sir," the first mate called out, "we'll never outrun the Pearl!"

The captain paused for a moment and then issued a new set of orders. "Then we'll stand and fight. Load the cannons!" Then he seemed to notice the young woman and small boy standing at the rear of his ship. "And get those passengers below deck!"

Jacob and I were quickly ushered to our room by one of the sailors and told, in no uncertain terms, to stay put. I then turned my full attention to the scared boy sitting on his small bed in the corner.

"You said they wouldn't come…" he whispered, as if he was afraid the pirates might hear him if he spoke too loud. My heart wilted at the accusing stare he gave me, as if to say this was somehow my fault.

I knelt down on the floor beside the bed so my face was level with that of my brother. "Jacob, I'm sorry. I honestly believed this would never happen. But I did mean what I said about protecting you. Everything's going to be okay." I smiled, hoping my words would comfort him, even if they did little to comfort myself.

Our moment of sibling bonding was short lived. A loud explosion shattered the relative silence our small room. The accompanying tilt of the deck informed me that the ship had been fired upon. All I could do was hold my brother while the sounds of battle loomed over our heads. I could hear the roar of the cannons and the lesser roar of pistols being fired. And in-between I could hear the faint yelling of the men above deck as they fought to keep the pirates from boarding.

As quickly as the battle had begun, it suddenly ended. I heard a loud roar of victory but could not tell which side had won. Minutes passed by slowly and then I heard my answer. I could faintly make out a man yelling "Take what you can!" followed by an even louder response, "And give nothing back!"

"They're here!" Jacob whispered.

"Jacob, you have to hide!" I quickly scanned the room and realized the only place big enough to conceal my brother was underneath the bed. "Hurry, under the bed." His look informed me that he was about to protest my order. "Do not argue with me. It's the only option we have."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Now, no matter what happens, do not move from this spot! Ok?" I waited until he nodded his head and then threw the blanket over the side of the bed to hide him from view.

Now that my brother was safely concealed, I realized just how vulnerable I was. If I wasn't going to hide, I decided I would at least defend myself. I again scanned the room, this time looking for any possible weapons. I eventually settled on the heavy iron candlestick holder sitting on the desk on the opposite wall. As I walked over and picked up the object to test the weight, I realized it would have to suffice. I could hear voices outside the door. I took up an ambush position beside the door and waited.

The door creaked open and a disheveled head appeared in my line of sight. With only a slight hesitation, I swung my arm and felt the heavy object in my hand connect with soft flesh. However, my small hesitation had allowed the man to bring his arm up in defense and I had suddenly lost the element of surprise.

The man, being much more experienced in the art of combat than myself, had me disarmed in a matter of seconds. "What have we here? What's a pretty lass like you doing down here all by your onesies?"

His face was only inches from my own and his breath reeked of fish and rum. Inwardly I was relieved. He hadn't noticed Jacob's hiding place. However, I was now standing mere inches from a man who could kill me at any time. I only had one option left. "Parley!" I shouted.

The man groaned. "Oh, not parley!" He paused to glare at me and then turned his attention to the doorway. For the first time, I realized another pirate was standing there staring at me in a most inappropriate manner. "Guess we have to take her to the captain now." Each man then proceeded to grab one of my arms and lead me up the stairs to the main deck.

As I was roughly dragged toward the front of the boat, I realized that, if I was indeed destined to die today, then I would not meet my fate like a coward, kicking and screaming like a little child. I tried to muster as much dignity as I could while being held captive by two roguish pirates. The illusion lasted a whole three seconds before I was shoved forward the last two steps and landed on my knees at the helm of the ship.

"Hey, Captain. Look what we found below deck," the pirate to my right shouted. It was then that I noticed two very grungy looking boots before me.

I took a deep breath and, believing I had prepared myself for anything, I stood and raised my head to look my death in the face. I found myself sorely unprepared for what I saw.

I had steeled myself to look into the eyes of a coldhearted, bloodthirsty criminal, a man who took great pleasure in pillaging and plundering from the innocent and then calmly dispatching all witnesses to a watery grave. What I found staring back at me, however, was quite the opposite. I saw a hint of childish amusement in this man's eyes and what appeared to be a small smirk on his face, as if he was trying very hard not to laugh. It was a look I often saw on my father's face as he watched my brother and I play together.

The overwhelming fear I had felt up until that moment was rapidly replaced with a new, even stronger emotion: rage. I couldn't believe it! This… this… pirate… had the nerve to actually laugh at me! He thought it was amusing that I was scared to death of him?

The pirate captain continued to stare into my eyes for a few seconds and then his gaze began to drift south, to my lips, to my chin, to my shoulders, to my… His lustful wanderings were cut short by a swift slap in the face that would have been followed up by a well placed kick if I had not been grabbed by the two pirates standing behind me.

To my disgust, he simply smiled, displaying a row of shiny gold teeth, while he absentmindedly rubbed a weatherworn hand against his cheek. "Ah, a feisty one I see. You aren't from Tortuga, are ya luv?"

I had no idea what he was talking about, but decided it would be best to not dignify his comment with a response. Instead, I simply rolled my eyes in disgust and turned my attention to the main deck below.

The sight before me was almost too much. I nearly emptied the contents of my stomach right then and there. There were several bodies strewn across the deck, including that of the ship's captain. Their blood had barely gone cold and the pirate crew, intent on the single task of hauling cargo from this ship to their own, was casually stepping over the bodies like they didn't even exist.

The pirate noticed where my gaze had drifted and had seen my reaction. "Unfortunately, that's what happens to those who don't cooperate. On the other hand," he added while waving his hand towards the rear of the ship, "that's what happens when you do cooperate." I turned my gaze to the location he indicated and noticed the small group of survivors being held at bay at the rear of ship.

"Captain," the pirate whom I originally assaulted suddenly interjected, "the girl claimed parley."

The captain merely gave me a quizzical glance before shrugging his shoulders. "Alright, luv, name your terms."

"What?" I stammered, completely thrown off by his response.

"You're the one who invoked parley. Ya do know what the rules are, don't ya?" As he asked me, he swaggered forward so that his face was mere inches from my own.

Quickly, I tried to formulate some response. All I could remember about parley was that any captive who said it was to be brought in front of the captain. Why didn't I pay more attention during those stories? Ok, so, I get to name some terms… "I want you to promise not to harm another soul on board this ship and leave immediately for whatever hellhole you crawled out of."

"Well, luv, I'm afraid we can't be leaving just yet."

"And why's that?" I asked, trying very hard not to show how disconcerting his close proximity was.

"We haven't finished loading all the booty."

"Fine, when your crew has finished looting us, will you leave?"

"Aye, since such a pretty lass is the one doing the asking." As if to emphasize his sincerity, the captain gave me a small bow and then turned to address his crew. "Hurry it up ya scurvy dogs! Make ready to set sail!"

A quarter of an hour later, the last of the loot had been carried across the planks temporarily bridging the two ships together. The only pirate left was the captain standing in front of me. He leaned in close and said, "May you always remember this day as the day you met Captain Jack Sparrow." Then, to my absolute horror, he planted a kiss on my lips.

I barely registered the fact that he then grabbed a line hanging from the rigging and swung over the narrow strip of ocean separating the two ships to land squarely on the opposite deck. As I watched the ebony sails billow in the wind and the ship rapidly began to glide away, I slowly raised a hand to touch my lips.

That damn pirate! He left me with my life, but he couldn't resist stealing my dignity!