Having never been on a ship before, Saoirse was in awe of the way it swayed and bounced over the waves. Kneeling on the cushion by the window, she leaned against the glass and pressed her forehead (she'd removed her hat) against one of the panes as she tried to peer down into the water, curious as to how the ship was able to move so fast.

"Don't lean against the glass, missy, it ain't strong enough to support yer weight." Horrified that she was caught somewhere she shouldn't be, Saoirse quickly jumped down from the window seat and stood on the cabin floor. Standing with her heels touching and her toes pointed out slightly, she dropped her chin to her chest and tried to be brave as she straightened her arms in front of her with her palms flat and facing the floor.

Nothing happened.

"What are you doing, lass?" Not daring to look at him, she squeezed her eyes shut as she answered him.

"If I misbehave I get my hands hurted. Uncle Cutler hit them with a stick that had lines on it. If I cried I got more hurted." Saoirse wondered why the Captain hadn't started hitting her yet, or even asked her how many she thought she deserved. Uncle Cutler always did. If she said too few, he'd double it. If she said more than he intended, he'd give the number she offered. "I-I think I deserve thirty." Tears welled up in her eyes and her throat hurt but she fought them back, afraid she'd be punished more.

Instead of feeling the crack of a hard, flat stick of wood, Saoirse felt the warmth of the Captain's hands as they wrapped around hers gently and were lowered to her sides but still stayed in his slightly rough hands.

"Open yer eyes, Saoirse, and look at me." Biting her lip, she didn't obey right away but unlike Uncle Cutler, the Captain didn't snap at her for not doing what she was told instantly. Bracing herself, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find him again kneeling in front of her so he was only a little taller than her. She liked when he did that, for he wasn't as scary when he wasn't towering over her. Shyly, she dropped her eyes again and looked down at their joined hands. Her small freckled ones almost disappeared in his big hands that were darker and a little dirtier than Uncle Beckett's, or any of his friends that she'd met when she had to come to dinner and sit quietly unless someone spoke to her (they never did). They always talked long after her bedtime but if she fell asleep at the table, she got either hit on her hands or whipped for insulting the guests.

The soft touch of a hand to her chin made Saoirse jump, thus breaking into her thoughts as it lifted her eyes to his. When she first met him, she thought his almost black eyes were scary and mean. She was still intimidated by him but not as much as before.

"Listen to me, little one. You don't deserve to be hit thirty times, Saoirse." She almost asked how many but he gently pressed his fingers to her lips and answered her. "You don't deserve any and I promise ye that as long as yer on me ship, you will not be disciplined that way." Saoirse narrowed her eyes in confusion, wanting to ask a question but was afraid he'd get mad if she spoke without being asked a direct question. "What's wrong?"

"What is diplin? Is it like being punished?" Captain Jack smiled slightly and started to stand up. She got worried that he would stand up to finish talking to her but instead he turned to sit on the cushion she was on when he entered. She just stood in front of him until he patted the space next to him, indicating that she should join him. When she was settled, he smiled.

"My knees were starting to hurt. To answer yer question, that's usually how it's used but discipline really means to teach, usually teaching right from wrong." Saoirse looked down at the backs of her hands and sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"I was wrong a lot cause I'm a bad girl." She jumped slightly when she felt his big hand on the back of her head, softly smoothing over her hair.

"Ye ain't a bad girl, lassie." Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded. "No yer not. Yer naught but a little angel." Why was he being so nice to her? Sniffling, she wiped her wet cheeks with her palm.

"Angels don't have red hair." Captain Jack caught one of her curls around two of his fingers and smiled kindly at her.

"Well I disagree because I see a little angel in front of me with the prettiest red hair in the world. Nice and soft too. I bet God had this beautiful hair spun from the finest silk threads just for you." Saoirse blushed. "Come on, I know you can smile, lass. Give me a smile." Her lips twitched slightly. "You call that a smile?"

"Yes." He grinned.

"That ain't a smile." Saoirse allowed her lips to part to show her teeth but he still shook his head. "Aw come on, little one. It ain't a smile till your eyes are smilin' too."

"Eyes can't smile." How silly was he?

"Actually that's where the smile really comes from. Yer mouth may move like yer smilin' but it ain't real unless your eyes are showin that yer really as happy as yer mouth says ye are."

"You're being silly." He sighed.

"Ah fine then, be that way. Don't smile." Saoirse was confused.

"Huh?"

"Don't smile at all." To her surprise, she actually felt the sides of her mouth tilt up without her even trying. "I mean it. Don't smile or your ears will go up." Now that was just the silliest thing! Not only did she smile, but she grinned and giggled at the silly captain. "Now that is a real smile." As if she couldn't believe she could really smile, Saoirse lifted her hands to her mouth and felt the grin on her face.

There was a knock on the door and the Captain called for the person to enter. It was the man who helped her fly over the stairs earlier. He was smiling.

"I thought I heard an angel singin'!"

"Ye did cause our li'l Irish lass was laughing." The other man grinned as if he understood the Captain.

"Glad to see ye havin' fun, Miss Saoirse. Cap'n, we're comin' up on the Irish coast and there's a port we could stop at and get her some more clothes."

"Uncle Cutler didn't bring any for me?" They got a funny look on their faces as they shook their heads quickly. She wondered why their faces dropped their smiles so fast when she asked that question. "Why?"

"Cause he wanted us to buy some for you, lassie." Mr. Turner gave her a small smile. "So do you want to make port, Capt'n?" Captain Jack nodded. Mr. Turner left the cabin and Captain Jack came back to her.

"We have more to talk about but now we have to get the ship into this harbor so we can get ye somethin' to wear since ye can't wear that dress to bed and every day for the year you'll be on this ship."

"A whole year?" She had no idea it took that long to sail.

"Aye. You can look around but just don't touch anything that looks breakable and don't go near my desk." Saoirse frowned sadly, disappointed that even in the Captain's quarters she wasn't allowed to touch anything. He looked around quickly before smiling. Walking away from her, he found something before walking back. It was a small box with a knob sticking out the side.

"What is it?" Bending over, he held it in one hand while twisting the knob between his finger and thumb. When he let it go and lifted the lid, it played a little happy tune as the two people inside twirled together.

"A music box. That song is 'When Irish Eyes are Smiling'. Now I have to get going. Just sit and listen to it and if it finishes before I return, twist the knob like this," He put her fingers on the knob, "And turn it away from you until it won't turn anymore." Saoirse nodded, the music box enchanting her. The only thing that interrupted its hold on her was when the Captain bent to kiss her on top of her head.

"Why did you do that?" He smiled as he headed for the door.

"I like ye." She grinned again, looking back at the dancing couple when he shut the door. It was a nice tune. Maybe she'd ask him to sing it to her later.