Walking out on deck the next day, I realized I was still the first up. The sun had just begun rising in the sky, and I walked around, waiting for the crew so I could do something. After about ten minutes, I heard a few people up on deck. My father was the first one I saw.

"Selesta!" He said. "Its nice to finally see you. Almost everyday you're off somewhere with Jack." He meant it nicely, but it reminded me of how bad I felt for him. But I hid my pain and walked over the the group standing with my father.

"Well. I guess I can finally meet you all." I said politely smiling. "In case you didn't guess, I'm Selesta."

The men all smiled, and told me their names. One was Jeffery, but told me to call him Gunner. The next was Neil, and he told me to call him Cat'O'Neil, which I thought was funny, condsidering the Cat'O'Nine Tails. The third was William who told me to call him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill. They all seemed so nice, and I felt at ease right away.

We worked the rest of the day, and eventually I told the men about Jack's surgery. They continuously would ask about the blood.

"No." I would answer every time. "I wasn't scared of the blood!" And they would just smile to themselves. I guess its a guy thing.

I walked around the deck, looking for something to do. Most of the men had everything covered, and there was even someone in the crows nest.

"I thought they were short on crew members." I mumbled to myself. I leaned against the port railing and began singing 'A Pirates Life for Me' in honor of Jack. Bootsrap looked my way and smiled. I smiled back and continued singing. During my song, most of the crew had begun to listen, while doing their work, of course. At the end of the song, they all told me to sing again.

"You liked it that much?" I asked. They nodded, so I began to sing again. After I finished it a second time, I didn't feel like singing anymore, so I looked around for work again. Still none to be found, but I did find Lola at the Helm.

"Lola!" I said when I saw her. Walking up to her, she had a look on her face.

"Is Jack ok?" She asked.

"Yea, he's fine." I answered, wondering why she'd ask. I hadn't seen him since last night, and even then, she was in the cabin last night.

"So did you really make it through Jacks surgery. Even with the blood?" She asked.

"What is it with you people?" I asked. "Every time this comes up, someone asks about the blood!"

"It's just that..." She began. "Well, we..." She seemed at a loss for words. "Its not important right now. I guess we're all so surprised you don't mind. Especailly since I do. They must think all women are scared of blood, I mean after all, most are..." Her voice trailed off, but it sounded like she was hiding something. But I knew Lola was not going to tell me anything, so I let it slide.

I walked back around, talking to the crew. By the end of the night, I had made friends with all of them, and I'd become really good friends with Bootstrap. It turns out that he has a son a few years younger than me.

"Why isn't he on the Pearl?" I asked. We were all done working for the night, and I was on my way to check on Jack. "I mean, you're a pirate after all. And I'm sure he'd like it, too."

"It's not a life I want for him, Selesta." He said, and I understood where he was coming from. A Pirates life was a hard one, and dangerous as well. "I do miss him a lot though. Hardly got to see him when we were in English waters. Now that were in the Caribbean, I wonder if I'll ever see him." I felt so bad for him, and his son. I knew what it was like to hardly see your father. I stopped in front of the Captian's Cabin, where Jack was resting, and turned to Bootstrap.

"Thank-you for being so nice today. I never expected Pirates to be so friendly." I said. He laughed and walked away, down to the bunks.

I walked in the Captians Cabin, knowing Jack would be the only one there. Walking over to his couch, I saw him, sleeping soundly. I brushed his hair out of his face and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind me. Walking back to my cabin, I heard a group of men talking. The group was noisey, and it sounded like the entire crew was there.

"So, thats what we're gonna do with 'er?" I heard someone say.

"Aye. We spent the day gettin' to know 'er. I like 'er, like a daughter a'course. We'll leave the other like'n to Jack." The men laughed.

"They're quite a pair." Someone else said. "But back to business. Ye sure its right? I mean we have Cannonbell and Lola's input, and Bootstrap's, now. They all say the samething. We goin' with it?"

"Aye!" The men said. I was getting scared.

'What are they talking about? They're talking about a girl, and they have Lola's input, so it can only be me.' I started to run away from the area. I ran to my cabin, hoping Lola wouldn't be there, but she was. I sat on my bed as far away from her as I could get.

"Are you ok?" She asked. I said nothing. "Selesta, what's wrong?"

"What are you all going to do to me?" I still didn't look at her. "I heard the crew talking about doing something to "'er". They said something about you getting your input, so that means they were talking about me." I kept my eyes glued to the floor.

"Look, we all just decided we really like you. We want you to stay on the Pearl for as long as you can! That's all!" I didn't buy it, but something in her voice told me not to worry as much. I finally decided to move, and I climbed into the bed. Without another word, I fell asleep, dreaming of the worst.