A/N: Phew, just finished this chapter and editing it, too. This chapter got harder to write once I continued, I just hope that I interpreted what I envisioned the last part to be, lol. If any of you do get confused, then please, don't resist on letting me know in your review. I'm always looking for criticism to help me write better. But thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted the story, it means a lot. And for those who celebrate Easter this weekend, Happy Easter! :)

Thank you to nlech16, Rogue's Queen, Jojo1812, menono1011 for reviewing last chapter!


Chapter Eight: A Bit of Gambling

Lottie and Gibbs helped Jack out of his longboat, with a scowl on her face she let go of his hand. They waited a half hour for him, a half hour. With Will complaining in her ear about his tardiness and getting these men lined up in a straight line, she just about had it right now. She needed to get back on the sea... and quickly. "About time," she said under her breath. Lottie and Will stood by Jack, Lottie said to Jack, "We're on a schedule."

"Aye, you are, on mine, Lottie." Jack fixed the cuffs of his jacket while grinning smugly at her. Charlotte glared at him, but didn't hide the smirk that wanted to show. "Okay, so what do we have..." Jack trailed off as he looked down the line of men. His eyes narrowing at each one... this was definitely not the crew he was expecting. He added, "here."

"Feast your eyes, Captain!" Gibbs said loudly to him. Jack was feasting his eyes, but not in a good way. He walked down the line as Gibbs continued, Will and Lottie followed him, "All of them faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt." Jack stopped at the only one that looked to be able-bodied, he stood in front of Jack with his chest puffed out and his eyes not even following him as he walked. Gibbs then added, "And crazy to boot!"

Will looked up and down the line, like he was before Jack came and when Lottie brought him to the docks, he was far from being impressed, not even close to being satisfied. "So... this is your able bodied crew?" he said to Jack rudely, but who could blame him?

Jack shot him a quick look before looking back at the only able-bodied man that was there. "Gibbs, what's this one's name?" He was going to give the credit to Gibbs for bringing him? For a moment, Lottie felt her fists being clutched. He didn't think that she was that incompetent, did he? He probably thought that Gibbs brought him and she brought the others.

She answered before Gibbs could, "His name's Joseph Fletcher." Jack took a look behind his shoulder to see Lottie there grinning. Oh... she brought him. That was a surprise... no, not really actually. Lottie continued to name the facts that she found out about him the day before, "Spent some years in the Royal British Navy, is extremely loyal, and has some pirating under his belt. He was also a good hand at the bar. And he's not bad on the eyes either."

Charlotte smirked as she looked to Joseph and winked, before looking at Jack. Jack narrowed his eyes at her, not impressed by that. Jack glanced over at Joseph who was trying to not smirk back at Lottie, but be serious. Bloke should have stayed in the bloody bar, thought Jack. However, he didn't let that comment out.

Jack turned on his heel, eying a couple more men. Looking down to see a dwarf, who seemed just as attentive as Joseph was before, only he looked up at him. Jack didn't know what to think of his crew. He went forward, still eying them. But another one stopped him. He had a parrot on his shoulder as he stared back at Jack.

"You, sailor!" Jack started.

"Cotton, sir." Gibbs informed Jack as he realized who he was talking to.

"Mr. Cotton," Cotton seemed to jump at first by the sudden forcefulness in his tone. Lottie actually had to do a double check on that, she didn't remember him calling anyone... oh, yes, he did use that voice a lot now that she remembered. She just... she just hadn't heard him bark like that in a while. Jack narrowed his eyes intimidatingly at Cotton, "do you have the courage and fortitude to stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

Silence. There was nothing the man said. Cotton didn't seem to know how to answer that question. He kept his mouth shut as he looked around himself quickly for someone to help him answer it. Until he jumped again, hearing Jack's voice boom from not being answered, "Mr. Cotton, answer, man!"

"Jack," Lottie said putting a hand on his shoulder. Jack looked over at her with his brow furrowed. She added next to him, "Don't scare them away now, Captain."

"Scaring them away? It's a simple question, Lottie. He could answer that perfectly fine."

"Is it? It sounds like you memorized it." Charlotte retorted to him. Maybe Jack had gotten paranoid over the years with finding a loyal crew, she wouldn't blame him, but she knew that when they used to recruit men, he would never say that. Jack shook his head, rolling his eyes before looking back at Cotton who was still in need of help.

"Well, answer!" Jack said again. An answer for his question shouldn't take this long.

"He's a mute, sir." Gibbs said immediately after. Jack transfixed his gaze at him. It would have been nice to know this sooner than later. Gibbs continued to explain to him, "Poor devil got his tongue cut out. So he trained the parrot to talk for him." To demonstrate that he didn't have a tongue, he opened his mouth for the both of them. Lottie was disgusted by it, immediately she had to move her own tongue on the roof of her mouth. Jack stuck out his own tongue, looking down at it to make sure that it was still there.

Gibbs added, not noticing the look on either Jack's and Lottie's face. "No one's yet figured how."

Jack was going to have to talk to the actual parrot instead of the man then? This should be interesting... Jack looked over at the parrot. "Mr. Cotton's... parrot, same question."

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" The parrot squawked. Lottie staggered back surprised, eying the bird now.

"What does that mean?" Charlotte asked Gibbs with her eyebrow raised toward him.

"Mostly," mostly? So they weren't sure if it did? "we figured that means yes." Gibbs answered. Charlotte eyed Cotton and his parrot. Cotton seemed weathered from his sailing days and he was an older man, too. Charlotte suddenly wondered what he had done to get that tongue of his out. Was it an honorable reason? Or a betraying reason? Whatever it was, Lottie was never going to find out. She doubted that Cotton trained the parrot to tell the tale, or that Gibbs, the man who knew a lot of stories, would be able to tell it. She would just have to leave it be.

"'Course it does. Well, now I know what I'm going to do to you so I don't have to hear ya talk out of line again, eh, Lottie?" Jack commented to her after a moment of his disbelief with a smirk toward her. Charlotte didn't find any amusement in that, she only narrowed her eyes at him. He added to her, "Or perhaps to do other activities as well?"

"I'll do it right back to you and make you a eunuch before you could say 'Bugger', Sparrow, if you get even close to my tongue." Charlotte stated to him evenly. Jack's smirk fell as he narrowed his eyes right back at her. Lottie hummed successfully, letting Jack eye her hand that was already going to her knife under her belt. Jack didn't know if she was kidding or serious, but it made him look to Will either way, eager to hear his opinion... or the least bit of eager.

"Right, satisfied?" Will scoffed, now he knew that they would never reach Elizabeth in time with this crew.

He stated to Jack rigidly, "Well, you've proven them mad."

"Though they are mad enough to be around you." Lottie said under her breath. If there was a competition between her and Gibbs, she would win. Though Gibbs did bring more men, she did bring more men that were able. That had to count for something, right?

That was when Anamaria's voice went through the air. The very voice that Charlotte didn't expect to hear. "And what is the benefit for us?" Her and Will looked at each other quickly, he knew her as Andy. But her voice was feminine. Usually women liked to keep a low profile on ships, why was this one just throwing her voice around? Jack knew that woman's voice.

Jack moved forward as Gibbs, Lottie, and Will were left to trail behind him. Charlotte made sure to quickly follow behind. There was Anamaria with her head down and her eyes on the dock. She didn't even raise her head once she said it. Her big floppy hat was covering her face and dark hair. Jack cautiously stepped in front of her, debating if he actually wanted to take the hat off of her head. But unfortunately he did, and unfortunately he saw the woman he avoided in Tortuga since he moored the day before.

"Anamaria." He said with a knowing grin, a fake grin. He should have known that she would come.

Will turned to Charlotte confused, "You told me she was a man named Andy, Lottie?" Charlotte couldn't even talk, she was in a spot right now that she couldn't at all get out of. Anamaria's dark hair cascaded onto her shoulders, she narrowed her eyes at Jack and Charlotte saw what she didn't want to see in her eyes. Anger. And it was undeniable it was there.

That was when she did it.

Anamaria slapped Jack's cheek the hardest that she could. Charlotte stifled a gasp as Jack's face went to the side. She felt her blood boil as she looked to Anamaria, this was why? She wanted revenge for whatever Jack did to her? That was why she joined the bloody crew? "What in the bloody hell?" She looked between Jack and Anamaria in disbelief. This would look bad if Jack found out that Charlotte was the one who brought her there.

"I suppose that you didn't deserve that one either," Will said to him sarcastically. Charlotte couldn't wait to hear why he deserved this. She couldn't wait. Did he sleep with her? Did he pickpocket her?

Jack answered him honestly, "No, that one I did deserve." Charlotte saw Anamaria nod behind him. She shook her head, her jaw tensing as she put her hand over her mouth exasperated. It figured that this would happen to her. She needed to go to the tavern, gamble away some money. That was what she needed to do now. Jack turned back to Anamaria as Lottie looked up at the sky as if to ask, 'Why?'

"You stole my boat!" Anamaria said sharply to him. Charlotte seethed through her teeth as she looked over at Jack. Jack... now he really deserved that slap. Lottie thought it was something that wasn't as bad as that.

Jack held up his finger. He hated that word, stole. It made him sound criminal. It wasn't his intention to do that. "Actually—." He was cut off again when Anamaria slapped him again, his face turning the same way.

"Jack, if I were you I would just shut up." Lottie said to him through her teeth, lowering the brim of her hat to cover her eyes a bit. Jack ignored her as he turned back to Anamaria.

Jack quickly corrected her now, "Borrowed! Borrowed without permission," Charlotte shook her head, that was the definition of stealing. Nice one, Jack, very nice. Jack realized that it wasn't helping his case at all. So he added with his eyes bright and a broad grin, and with his hands extended out on either side of him, "But with every intention on bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't!" Anamaria yelled out.

"You'll get another one!" Jack retorted. For a moment, it looked like Anamaria was going to slap him again, but only this time she pointed at him, calming down a little.

Anamaria agreed with that one. She better get another one. "I will," she said through her teeth.

"A better one." Will added behind Jack. Jack looked behind his shoulder quickly, he knew the whelp would be on his side one day. Charlotte remained silent, she was still contemplating how Jack would take the news of her bringing Anamaria along. For a reason that she didn't know of.

He turned to Anamaria again with a nod, adding it on more brightly, "A better one!"

"That one," Will smiled smugly to himself as he pointed to the Interceptor that was anchored off of the shore.

"What one?" Jack asked Will. The grin was quickly wiped off as his forehead wrinkled in confusion. What in the bloody hell was the one he was talking about? Then Jack decided to follow where his finger was pointing only to see that it was pointing to... Jack looked back to Will. "That one?" He asked loudly, his face straining just as he did this.

"Jack." Lottie said under her breath as she made her way to his ear. It took every bit of Jack's being, to just deal with this. She said only for him to hear her, "We're getting another ship, too. Remember?"

"Aye," Jack nodded to her and then with his grin back on his face again, he turned back to Anamaria. He said much louder to her, "Aye, that one." Although, his tone was biting when he stated that. "What say you?"

Anamaria thought for a moment and it was a long moment for Charlotte. She glared at the woman, she really knew just how to get under Charlotte's skin already, didn't she? Lottie didn't know if she could get over this fact with her, she only just met her, too. Eh, maybe it would change. After they get the Pearl, she would be on the Interceptor anyway. "Aye!" The rest of the crew chorused that 'Aye' down their line.

Charlotte shook her head no, but she ordered the crew, "Get the ship ready to sail!" Jack was shocked to hear Charlotte actually order them around. He turned around to see her. "If we want to make it to Isla de Muerta in two days time we have to leave now."

Jack nodded to her in agreement, although he hated the fact that it was she called that order. "Aye, make quick now!"

"Anchor's away!" The parrot squawked again.

"Aye, Captain!" Lottie watched as the crew left them. Anamaria took her hat out of Jack's hands roughly before she walked past Charlotte. For some reason, Lottie felt betrayed by her actions, not telling her about what her plans were, who she was, going on the crew under false pretenses like she actually wanted to join and not find a way to take out her vengeance on Jack. Charlotte was a grudge holder, she enjoyed holding grudges. You would always have something to hang over that person's head because of it, too.

Lottie stood there as she watch the crew crowd the only longboat. Gibbs shook his head no repeatedly at this as he walked closer to them, "No, no, no, no, no, no," Lottie was briefly taken out of her thought as she looked over at him, "it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir!"

Charlotte chuckled at the superstition, "And two women is far worse. Soon it'll be three when we fetch that Elizabeth. I say we get rid of Anamaria," the three men looked over at her shocked by what she said. She didn't feel small by how they looked at her. She shrugged, explaining herself, "It's less dangerous, I mean."

"Why would you want to get rid of someone that you brought, Lott—?"

"Shut it," Charlotte turned her head quickly toward Will. Will raised his brow at her and Charlotte faked a smile at him and then at all three of them. "I think it would lessen our... our bad luck."

"No matter how terrific that suggestion may sound to you," Jack started to her. Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest as Jack looked directly to her. Then he looked at the sky, seeing something swirl in the air. They would have to leave soon. "It would be far worse not to have her." Lottie looked up at the sky after to see if she could see what he meant. Jack walked ahead of her before Charlotte followed behind him to see to the only longboat that would take them.

Will and Gibbs stared at the sky confused, wondering what it was that Jack saw that made him say what he did before. But they would just have to wait and see, they followed where Jack and Charlotte went. Lottie stared at the longboat, and then looked around herself to see if there were any other longboats that could take them. This one was just too crowded for her. But there weren't. Jack went to a dock where no one could notice that the Interceptor was a Navy ship. This wasn't the main dock, it was more hidden and less used.

Th dock-master wasn't even there yet. She shook her head, she wasn't going to go when it was that crowded. "The longboat... is a bit crowded, isn't it?"

"Aye," Joseph answered her, squinting his eyes as the sun went into them. He looked around the longboat before stating to her, "I think that we could only fit two more people before the boat will be too heavy."

Jack sighed next to her, looking at the men that weren't inside of it yet. There were only him, Lottie, Will. Gibbs, and the dwarf. Charlotte thought quickly, "Well, we'll do two and a half then. What do you say, Captain?"

Charlotte looked over to Jack for an answer. She wasn't going to be part of that crowd. She had enough of that from the tavern the night before. Jack groaned lowly, but she was right, he looked to Will and Gibbs, and then at the dwarf. Then he looked back at Charlotte, who still had her arms crossed over her chest. "As unfortunate as it sounds, you are right. You," he looked over to the smaller man, who looked up at him, "you go along with Turner and Gibbs on the longboat. Miss Hooke and I will wait here for someone," Jack looked over at Will, "meaning, Mr. Turner, to come back for us. Savvy?"

Will slowly nodded his head to Jack and then Lottie and him took a step back for Will and Gibbs to climb aboard the longboat. Charlotte helped, she believed his name was Marty, him aboard as well. Charlotte breathed in slowly as she thanked God, if there was any God, that she didn't have to go through that. She sat down on the docks and began waiting for Will to come back, but she almost forgotten that Jack opted to stay with her.

"Interesting how you decided to be the one that wanted to stay behind with me," Charlotte said with a smirk as Jack sat down next to her.

"Don't be too full of yourself, darling." Jack stated to her, but it didn't let the smirk on Charlotte's face go away. "I just trust Gibbs more than I trust you to run a ship."

"Really? Well, you could have gone along with him and have Turner wait with me. Or you could have gone with Will and have Gibbs wait with me, or you could have gone with me and have Gibbs and Turner wait there. Or you could have gotten—."

"Shut it," Jack said quickly, cutting her off. Charlotte chuckled at him, shaking her head as she looked over to watch the longboat go to the ship. "And I had a feeling that you didn't want to go along. You suddenly have a bigger problem with crowds," Charlotte snapped her head over to him, her smirk falling as he said that. How did he figure that one out? Jack noticed this, "What? I could see that just be taking one look at ya. You'd be blind otherwise if you couldn't see it. You had a problem with it last night in the tavern."

"You noticed it while others didn't though."

"I've known you too long to not know when something bothers your little head." Jack moved the brim of her hat so her eyes could be seen a little. He hated how she hid them all the time from him now. Charlotte swallowed as her breathing hitched a little, they were sitting close to each other now. For a brief moment, their eyes locked and Charlotte really thought that she couldn't breathe now. She had to move her head quickly forward, so the brief eye contact would break.

"So... you don't trust me still?" She inquired to him, changing the subject. She didn't want to look at him right now, not like... not like that.

"That depends," Jack started, "so far though you have proven to be more trusting than what you used to be."

"By how much?"

"I'm going to say just enough for you to stay around. You wouldn't be here now if I have the same lack of trust I did the moment when after..." Jack trailed off, not mentioning what Charlotte did to him as he looked away from her and to what was in front of him. Charlotte gulped at the words not spoken, heaving a sigh she took off her hat and placed it next to her. Jack watched her carefully as Lottie leaned backward onto the dock, putting her hands behind her head while looking up into the sky. Jack raised his brow at her, "What're you—?"

"Relaxing, we're going to have to give it at least fifteen minutes. You told the whelp to row, remember?" She closed her eyes as the light of the sun came in contact with her.

"Aye, but he isn't that incompetent." Jack agreed with her partly. Will was stupid, completely out of his element when it came to what they were doing. Lottie cracked open one of her eyes as she glanced over at him. "Knowing him he would rush back to get us, anything to save his little trollop quickly would make him want to row fast. He can't continue when he doesn't have us two since we both know the way."

Charlotte nodded, opening both of her eyes and staring back up at the sun as it tried to blind her again. Only this time she actually let it happen. "You're right, but I still think that you should tell him your plans so he would be sure to follow them accordingly."

"We're not getting—."

"I'm just reminding you, Captain, of what I think. Never have I said that I was going to tell him. Count on that."

"Ten years ago you would have done that."

"Well, I'm not that same person," Charlotte snapped at him, turning her head at him. "And if I hadn't gotten smarter and known what I was dealing with in this world then I wouldn't be here alive in front of you."

Jack chuckled halfheartedly to himself, "You were more careful back then, remember? Now you can hardly go into a port without getting into a lick of trouble."

"Well the level of how much I care went from this," she held her thumb up and pointed it up toward the sky, "to this," she pointed her thumb at the ground. Jack narrowed his eyes at her before she let her hand drop next to her. Then suddenly, Lottie felt herself go way off topic, back to the past. Although, she really didn't know what was coming out of her mouth as of now. "And you know what? Though, I was in the mutiny and I felt guilty afterward, it felt real good to finally get that respect from the crew instead of being looked or being treated as though I was your trollop. And though, I earned it the wrong ways, I was looked at as a pirate, not your whore, because you always babied me."

"I did no such thing! I treated you like anyone else would be treated on me—."

"You babied me an' you know it." Charlotte sat straight up as she narrowed her eyes at Jack. She continued to him with her lips curling back into a scowl, "I had more work than anyone else on the ship, aye, but I didn't have to do it like any other man on the crew. I didn't have to address you formally, I didn't have to do anything because either way I was still little Lottie to you. You were soft with me, Sparrow. And you know it, you always had that soft spot for me and there were times where you have shown it on the Pearl in front of the crew. And the work that I've done compared to Barbossa was far more greater, especially sometimes where he gave me his work to do for him. But did you ever noticed that? No."

"Oh, so that is why you did it?" Jack faked a smirk at her, figuring it all out now in her little rant to herself. She was a jealous, little minx. She was jealous of Barbossa being his first mate while she was left to do his work for him, a position below him. There were plenty reasons why Jack didn't make her a first mate back then and that was because Lottie was not ready to take on it. It was more than work like she had put it. No, you had to be smart like a pirate and think like a pirate, she didn't. For one, she was easily manipulated, easily distracted, and knew only enough that a third in command crew member should know. In fact, Lottie wasn't even going to be third in command for a moment, she lacked the experience of sea life when she was on the Black Pearl.

Jack laughed out loud at her and shook his head. He should have expected a reason like that to come out of her mouth. And it was random how her little rant went out, too. She just couldn't hold it in any longer? Was that it? Of course it was, that was a thing about Lottie that never even changed, she was still the out spoken little girl from Shipwreck Cove. He said to her knowingly, "You were envious of a crew member. That was why. You wanted to get what you deserved from me, but Barbossa offered it to ya when you weren't even ready to take it on."

"That is hardly the reason why. If anything I did it to save my own hide and not be the only one that would stick—."

"Oh, so... not only were you envious of Hector, you were being the coward that didn't even say a word to save herself from sharing in the dark fate of her Captain, eh?" Charlotte's eyes widened and she touched her mouth in disbelief, she didn't think that would come out of it. "I like this game you started at," Jack added for her, "please, make yourself look even worse than you do right now." He waved her off to continue what she was doing.

"I..." she started, but trailed off. Shaking her head mentally, she scowled at herself for saying that. For one, she did save her own hide when facing the others when it came down to the final stretch. She had the urge of jumping off the plank with it, but she was selfish... enough to not do that. She stood next to Barbossa, with her arms crossed over her chest and didn't shed the doubt that was in her head, or the urge to say 'I'm going with him!' She didn't do that. She watched Jack jump off and didn't even look back at the island as they left it.

She took a moment to think of something to say to him. She ended up biting her bottom lip and looked over to see that the longboat only just got to the Interceptor. "That... didn't mean to come out," she said finally to him.

"It sure sounded like it did."

Charlotte took a deep breath and she tried to say something that might redeem it, but she could only say what she had said plenty of other times to him in these last few days. "I... am the only one though that came after you. I gave up the respect I got from the crew, my position as Barbossa's first mate, and... and now I am a coward to them."

"And like I said before, I'm flattered."

"And like I mentioned before, the level that I care now is," she pointed her thumb downward again, "there. So frankly, I don't really care whether it flattered you or not. I'm here now. I'm making things right to my standards and you are going to like it. I don't care what I have to do, but by the time this is over, you will be on your precious Black Pearl. Even if I die doing it, it's going to happen. That's all I care about now." Charlotte's jaw tightened as she sat there in silence now, letting her head hang. It made Jack go to silence, too.

Jack contemplated now, frowning as he had done so. He watched Charlotte now with a new kind of feeling in his gut, it was a foreign type of feeling and he never felt it before. Charlotte went over to her hat and promptly placed it on the top of her head as Jack fixed his own awkwardly. He broke the silence, "There's a storm tonight."

The silence between them felt so long that Charlotte didn't know what else to do when he spoke words to her. She only looked up to see for herself once again, there were indeed a couple of small gray clouds coming into Tortuga. She felt the humidity of the air, too. She nodded to him, "Thanks for the warning."

"I thought that you'd might want one. Considering, you never liked working on the ship during a storm."

"I've grown used to it." Lottie assured him. "You think we're going to get caught in it later tonight?"

"Think it? I know it." Jack said to her. Charlotte didn't dare look at him as she waited patiently for Will to come with the longboat, he was just heading toward where they are. Jack didn't want to admit this to her, but if she died doing it, she wouldn't care, but he would. He pressed his lips together as he tentatively put his hand on top of hers on the wood. Charlotte didn't even notice yet. "You could always stay below deck if it bothers you still. I wouldn't mind."

"That's babying me, Jack. I'm a grown woman now and I'll be fine enough to be caught up in it with the rest of the crew." Aye, she wasn't the eighteen year old ten years back. It was a habit, babying her, he would at least admit that. Jack could take one look at her and he could tell that he didn't do what he promised John way back when, to prepare her for what was out there. Just because he always had that soft spot for Lottie. He would also admit that. "I've done it plenty of times before."

"And I don't doubt that." There was another moment of silence as Jack just watched her. The brim of her hat wasn't lowered to cover the glimpse of her green eyes that were there. The feeling in the pit of his stomach came back again with full force, he tried to ignore it, to gain her attention again. But who said that gazing at her would do just that? He did something that he wouldn't expect himself to do then.

Charlotte felt her breath pike again and she closed her eyes as Jack intertwined his fingers with her own. Charlotte slowly felt something moist touch her neck, and then the pair of lips trailed to go along her jaw, before she turned to look at Jack.

"J-Jack..." She managed to say his name before he gently pressed his lips on top of hers. Charlotte didn't know what to do when she felt Jack on her lips, but her other hand quickly went to his neck while her fingers curled around it softly as she kissed him back to bring him closer to her. Lottie felt Jack's hand going to her hip and no matter how much she would want to continue this, she parted from him with her brow furrowed toward him confused. "W-Will... Will is coming. He'd see."

"His back is to us and we don't need that much time, love." Charlotte parted her mouth shocked from his words, and she looked behind her shoulder to see that Will was getting closer to them.

"But Jack," she turned to face him again. Charlotte noticed that Jack moved away from her a bit, but she found that she was facing those eyes again that were just so... mesmerizing. It was just maddening to her. She whispered to him, "I don't understand this. We were just yelling at each other now... and look at us, we're tangled up together now."

Jack lightly chuckled at her and then took a look at them both, before nodding to her with a smirk, "If you really want to be tangled up we can see where this can go later on."

She smiled at him lightly before considering that offer. But she just had to ask him, with her smile falling briefly, "So, what is this, Jack?" Jack raised his eyebrow at her as they put some more space between them. She gestured between them curiously, "Us, I mean."

"Good question," Jack stated to her. He was just wondering that as well. What have driven them into such a position? He looked down at them both again. There was something that struck him odd about this, how strange it was that that one thing she said, that she would die getting the ship back to him, led him to this. And he started it, too. But... what do they call it? "What do you think?" Slowly he recoiled away from as she was starting to do as well.

Charlotte thought for a moment, but to her dismay, she couldn't think of anything either. They both seemed pretty confused on what to call themselves. She shrugged, looking in front of her distantly, "I really don't know, Jack."

"Neither do I. Let's just work off of that."

Lottie chuckled to herself, "Like a fresh start, in a way?"

"Aye, you could say something like that."

"Then, in that case," Charlotte looked back over at him, removing her hand from his with a crooked grin. She said to him after, "I want to propose something."

"Propose? Like a negotiation?"

"Something like that, actually more of another promise, if you will."

"Go ahead then," Jack said to her with his smirk still, but also with his eyes narrowed at her confused with where this was exactly going.

Lottie took a deep breath, "I, Charlotte Hooke, daughter of John and Gertrude Hooke, do solemnly swear," she gripped one of his hands in hers and formed them both in a sort of way so that they would already be in a handshake, "to do all that it takes to bring on the Black Pearl once more, you will have me on my knee at the helm waiting for you to take your place, and while this and maybe beyond, we'll try to forget, though it is very hard to forget, about the past and focus on your future as Captain of the Black Pearl. And we'll both do this together, and you will give me some breathing room for when I find an opportunity to do my duty to you as your humble... whatever my position is... which means you stay out of my own plans."

"'Scuse me?" Jack was caught off guard by that last sentence.

"You heard me," she stated. Her voice was clear enough to be heard and she wasn't going to repeat it. She continued, "You want a competition, Sparrow? Between you and me? Whoever's plan to get the Pearl works successfully, resulting you as the Captain of it, will win. Considering, I lost the one before with the crew by unknowingly, by the way, bringing the girl whom you stole a boat from and one other man, I think I should have a shot at this one."

She brought Anamaria? She was the one that brought Anamaria? Jack glared at her, even though she said 'unknowingly.' Lottie quickly corrected herself though, covering, "If it is in any form of consideration, I didn't know that she was a woman. She told me that she was a man named Andy."

"Aye, because you cannot tell if a woman under a hat is a woman when you do the same all the time," he said to her sarcastically. Charlotte breathed in deeply before biting her lip. That was definitely a poor excuse. She would know a woman under a hat anywhere when they were pretending to be a man, mostly because she did the same. She didn't expand on that, especially since Jack inquired to her, "So what you are saying is, whoever gets the Pearl through their own little plan and end up with me being the Captain of it, would win?"

"I didn't stutter, did I?"

"That is an all out interesting thing you've come up with all on your lonesome. But might I ask what is it that made you think of said interesting thing?"

Charlotte answered this quickly, she was actually just thinking of it the day before when they were about to anchor in Tortuga, "I don't feel like I'm doing much of a part in fulfilling my promise back at the jail when I'm just going along with what you say. I feel like I'm your pup."

"Just like you were when we were younger. Strange how that cycles, isn't it?" Charlotte growled under her breath, looking away from him. She shouldn't have even mentioned it to him. He wasn't going to take this seriously at all. "But what might I ask is the reward for winning? What would happen if you win?" That was something she didn't at all think about. But the first thing that came to her head when she looked back at him was something that she felt that she now deserved from him, especially when this would be over. She would really deserve it more than anyone on that ship.

She answered him, "I get to be your first mate."

What was Jack's initial reaction to this? He laughed at her, disbelieving what she had just said. Charlotte's face fell at this, she was being serious. He thought that she was kidding. Jack stopped laughing for a moment, stifling a chuckle here and there as he spoke to her, "That's... that's good. You... my first mate..."

"Well," when Charlotte started to talk, she couldn't help the dismayed tone coming through. She continued to him, "I thought you agreed to a fresh start, forgetting about the past, that sort of thing."

"Fine then," Jack said to her with an amused grin. Charlotte didn't like the 'fine then' that came out of his mouth. It only sounded like he thought through and through that he was going to win. "I'll consider it when you win." There was that word 'consider.' He was just going to do that... consider. That was... well, that was wonderful. She was only going to be considered. She should have at least expected that. "Now, what do I get if I win? Since, I get my ship either way it really isn't a good enough bet, and here I think that you are such a smart gambler."

She was a smart gambler. What did he mean by that? She thought quickly, going through anything that he could possibly want. She had no idea. Charlotte could think of one thing, but it was weak, "I'll... wipe up most of your debts. Consider them paid when you win."

Jack scoffed, shaking his head, "That's not good enough, love. I know you don't have that much money on ya to wipe most of them up."

"You'd be shocked, Sparrow. I have a lot saved up on my person that you don't know about."

The corner of Jack's mouth twitched for a moment as he looked her up and down. Now where exactly did she hide this money on her person? But when he locked eyes with again, he shook his head, "Nope, I'm not buying into it." Charlotte's jaw visibly tightened again and she felt her head ache as she thought about this. What in the bloody hell would this man want? Why was it so hard to think of it? She knew him for a while, she could think of something.

That was when she realized. That she really couldn't think of a single thing, being apart from someone could do that to you, especially for how long they were apart from each other. Ten years ago this answer would have been so much simpler, but now... it was damn hard! She gave up, "Anything you want. How about that?"

"What do you mean by 'anything?'"

"Exactly what you think it means, there are no boundaries as to whatever you want from me, none, whatsoever. How's that?" Charlotte scowled at herself now for being so stupid. That meant anything. He could be rewarded anything, what drove her to say that? It suddenly made her nervous as she noticed how long Jack was taking to just consider what she just said. She opened her mouth to quickly take it back, but Jack beat her to it, shaking her hand.

"You have yourself an accord." Now she had to win. She had to win. Charlotte pursed her lips and nodded stiffly as the longboat they waited for finally came.


A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And if I didn't interpret the last part of it right, please let me know in a review, because I'm worried that I got it all wrong. I'll try and update soon!

PS: I'm glad you all like Joseph because he is going to have a big part in the series ;)