Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long but a LOT has happened since the last time I updated and, as a writer, I have to be inspired to write and, sadly, I do not have my own Kate Beckett (I did just meet Stana, but that's a whole different story, altogether). Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

It took nearly a week for them to finally reach their destination, and Castle spent most nights filling up the journal the Captain had given him, only writing a couple of chapters a night, hoping to make it last until he received another. Captain Beckett practically snatched it out of his hands every morning and he could see her gaze riveted to it throughout the day, as she steered and gave orders to the rest of the crew.

At mealtimes, she went over plans with Tory, Esposito, Ryan, and Lanie about what they would be lifting in the marketplace while she and Eustace made the scheduled trades with some customer they'd had for the last few years.

"Mr. Salvador will be waiting for us at the docks," she said. "He still believes that Eustace is the new captain, so, please, nobody slip up; it could cost us greatly."

"Why does he believe that?" Castle asked, tilting his head in confusion when all eyes turned on him and his daughter, who was sitting quietly in his lap, munching on a piece of bread.

"Because," Lanie answered, "the real captain is a woman and Mr. Salvador is not one who takes kindly to our kind."

"The twit still believes that Captain is Ryan's bride," Esposito snickered, making the Irishman flush and elbow him in the side.

"Shut it," he grumbled. Jenny giggled and reached over to take his hand, squeezing it momentarily before pulling away at a cold, calculated look from the Captain, which did not go unnoticed by Castle. But he stayed smartly silent.

"Mr. Castle," Kate said, turning to him, "you have my permission to take your daughter to the shops for clothing. I will give you enough money to buy new shoes, trousers, shirts, and anything that constitutes one outfit each. No more."

Castle nodded. "Thank you, Captain," he said.

"It is not a gift," Beckett replied. "You will have to work off the cost; as will she." She motioned to the child, whose cheeks were puffy with the food she'd just shoved into her mouth. "Lanie tells me that she's teaching the girl to sew."

Lanie smiled and nodded brightly, looking to Castle. "She is a very good student," she said with a proud smile. "She'll be doing her own alterations before you know!"

Castle smiled back and nodded, stroking his daughter's red hair affectionately. She looked up at him and smiled brightly, reaching up to touch his face.

Over the last few days, Alexis's vocabulary had grown and she could now say most of the crew's names, as well as the names of more than a few of the fish the boys had caught for dinner, and Lanie had been teaching her songs in both English and her Native tongue as she sewed.

Castle, who had originally been convinced that the pirates would have a negative impact on Alexis's well-being, had to admit that their presence was doing wonders for his child. Not a single crew member treated Alexis like anything less than their mate; especially Lanie and Antonio, who adored the small child.

"Come, Princess," Antonio would coo at the end of meals, "help me bring out dessert." Dessert rarely consisted of more than a few stale cookies or, sometimes, sweetbread, but to Alexis it was more of a treat than she'd ever received at all, let alone every single night. She would toddle around the long table with a small plate, handing out cookies with an infectious grin to a myriad of gruff "thank you's" from the men and Tory and a kiss on the cheek from Jenny.

When she ended up at the Captain's spot, the woman tried to keep up her façade, but even she had to admit that the dimpled grin made her a tad softer on the inside. She always offered Alexis a tip of the hat and a wry grin in exchange for her dessert.

Kate didn't know what it was about having a child on deck—especially one that reminded her, somewhat, of her best friend when she'd first arrived—but there was a more light-hearted aura around the entire ship; it felt somewhat like…happiness.

But she had to keep it subdued, Kate had decided early on. Otherwise, her crew and her ship would be at great risk for attack.

Which is probably why she refused to so much as grin the morning they docked in Manila, keeping a grim face as she ordered Paulo to lower the anchor and Eustace to lower the sails. She didn't even spare a smile for Alexis when the child waved good morning to her; just gave a curt wave back, before leading half her crew off of the boat, including Castle and his daughter.

She'd given Eustace her hat and coat, being that he was the only one skinny enough to wear it without tearing, and walked beside them as they met an elderly man, dressed in fine silks, waiting on the dock for them, flanked by two burly-looking men.

"G. Salvador," Eustace greeted with a firm handshake as Kate kept her eyes down. "It is nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Mr. Salvador replied, his English heavy with an accent. "How are you?" He spoke slowly, but confidently, enunciating every word. "How is wife?"

"G. Salvador," Eustace laughed. "I am not married quite yet. This is Javier's wife, remember?"

"She look much better on your shoulder," the man said with a sly grin. Eustace laughed too hard at that, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"I'll have to steal her away some day, I suppose." Esposito rolled his eyes at that as he and Ryan put down the crates they'd carried out, backing away so the Filipino's men could get a good look at them.

"You bring me what I want?" Mr. Salvador asked, eyeing the crates.

"Yes, sir," Eustace said, with a nod. "All one hundred pounds of gun powder, as you requested."

"One hundred?" Salvador scoffed. "I say three hundred. This will no do."

Kate's spine stiffened at that as she looked at the man from beneath the curtain of her hair, though she said nothing.

"No, sir," Eustace replied, startling a bit at the murderous looks Mr. Salvador's men sent his way. "I believe you did say 100 pounds, which is what we've brought you today."

"No, no, no," the man argued, shaking his head. "I say three; this not enough. I will not pay."

Eustace glanced at Kate who sighed, but nodded her head. "Very well, G. Salvador; we will just be taking our gun powder back then…"

"No," Salvador said, firmly. "I keep; no pay for mistake."

At that, Kate fully looked up, her eyes alight with anger. "You can't keep it!" she exclaimed, without thinking. All four men looked to her, eyes wide—in fear on Eustace's part; shock and anger from the Filipinos.

"Excuse?" Salvador asked. "What did the tramp say?" His tone was condescending, the words spat in her direction, though he was not speaking to her directly. All of which made the anger flare up in Kate further.

"I said," she growled, stepping towards him, ignoring the swords that were immediately unsheathed and pointed towards her, "that you are not taking my gun powder without paying what was promised to us; understood?"

Mr. Salvador, while still shocked, grinned humorously at the woman in front of him, who was at least a head taller than he, before nodding.

"Understood," he said, before turning to the man on his left and saying, as simply as one might say hello, "Kill her."

REVIEWS please! I'mma try to update this every Friday, but I need a muse. Somebody send me Stana Katic please! I'll pay for shipping.