This chapter's more Jack-centered. Hope you like it.

Iggy knew it wasn't the best idea to be running in his weakened state. Hell, he was supposed to be lying down knocked out by some mild poison or strong alcohol, like the stuff he had stolen from the cabinet. But he continued going, following Jack through the back streets of Port Augustus. Jack had was already dressed in his usual clothes again and all his effects were on him, unlike Iggy, whose cutlass was still hanging in the prison.

"Wait a mo," he called out to Jack, who only unwillingly stopped.

"What?" the captain asked, clearly annoyed by the hold-up. "My ship leaves in an hour, and I am not letting that bloody thing sail away without me again," he hissed at Iggy, but the boy merely shrugged and pointed to his right. Jack looked up to see a blacksmith's logo. Iggy's plan was now clear in his eyes- of course the boy would want a weapon, hell, the boy needed a weapon. The only question was: how was he going to hold it? His right hand was bandaged and he could barely move his left arm without cringing in pain.

"Wait here," Iggy muttered, disappearing into the shop. A minute or two later, he came out, a very nicely made cutlass hanging at his side.

"Great, now you have a murderous weapon you can't hold, can we bloody go now?" Jack was just about to turn and leave again, when an arm held him back, accompanied by a soft chuckle.

"You think I have no weapons?" Iggy questioned, for the first time, full-out grinning and opening his mouth. What Jack saw was definitely unusual. Iggy's canines, the upper ones, had been replaced, by sharp silver ones, probably steel or so, curving slightly inward. The lower ones had also been replaced, though they weren't as long. "Ever wonder how I got my last name?" Iggy grinned, and let go of Jack.

Jack shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the 'snake teeth' in Iggy's mouth, but kept going; he was not letting the Pearl sail on without him again.

"Jack? That be ye, Jack?" Jack heard Gibbs' voice.

"Aye, I be me. And I has company, so if you'll kindly get out of the way…" ye filthy pig, Jack finished his sentence in his mind as the smell of Gibbs wafted towards him, making him cringe slightly.

"What the hell have you been sleeping in?" he heard the boy, Iggy, ask from behind him. Gibbs grunted and shrugged, turning back to Jack.

"'E's yer company, Jack?"

"Well… wouldn't exactly call him company, but th'boy has me bloody compass and won't give it back till Shipwreck Cove."

"Ah, so that be where we're headin', cap'n?"

"Aye, Shipwreck Cove," Jack responded; by now they were on the deck, and the familiar feeling of home was settling in him. "Ye wouldn't have happened to pick up more crew along the way, would ye, Gibbs?" he queried.

"Aye, I did; many a seaworthy lad in Port Augustus. Even a young lass 'oos here to see ye," Gibbs grinned and Jack frowned.

"Lass? Woman? Thought you were always the one to say it was bad luck to bring a woman aboard, mate."

"Aye, sir, but this 'un wouldn't let loose- says she 'as a letter for ye."

Jack grunted in frustration and pushed Gibbs aside, his eyes scanning the seven men who were standing there.

"Th'names are Larry, Lucas, Oliver, James, Jacob and Sammy. And this 'un… well, this 'un's the lass I told ye 'bout. Refused to give up her name," Gibbs muttered the last part, clearly annoyed at this. It was only then that Jack noticed the last man to actually be a girl. Thinking about it, it should've been obvious- she was slighter than the others. Shorter, and had no facial hair. Well, some of the men didn't either, but you could see the stubble on them.

The girl had to be in her early twenties, so still fairly young, and was a few inches shorter than Jack, but still about five inches taller than Iggy. Her dark brown hair was braided down either side of her head, and at the back, the two braids joined into one. Her skin was a light cappuccino color- pleasant, and her eyes were dark green.

The reason Jack had probably thought her to be a boy was that one, she was standing alongside men, and two, she was wearing men's clothes. They were slightly too big for her, especially the jacket, which covered her hands. One of these jacket-covered hands was now holding out something to Jack- a letter. As he took it from her, he noticed her hands were shaking slightly, though it was impossible to tell whether it was out of nervousness or something else.

Taking the letter somewhat suspiciously, Jack opened it and started reading.

Dear Jack, well, this was starting out well, Jack mused.

I don't know if you remember me- probably not. My name is Jennifer Hale, and by the time you read this, I will probably be dead. The young woman you got this letter from is my daughter- and yours. Yes, Jack, you have a daughter.

I don't know if this happens to you a lot, having children run along to you, but I honestly don't care. You are in debt to her, Jack, to both of us. Leaving me with a bastard child has not made life easy, and people look down upon her. The least you could do is take her into your crew and train her to be a pirate. Teach her to be like you, Jack.

With not so much love,

Jennifer.

Jack found his eyebrows raised by the end of the letter, and his eyes flitted between the girl and it. Finally, he let out a small breath of air and turned his attention to the girl, folding the letter and slipping it into a coat pocket.

"Well, lass, if you are going to be sailin' wiv me, I'm going to have to know your name."

"Aline Hale," she answered in a quiet voice, not looking into Jack's eyes. Jack simply nodded and briefly turned his head to face the rest of the crew.

"All hands, make sail! I want to get out of this bloody port as soon as possible!" Jack shouted, and the ship came to life, with people coming on deck, to their stations, letting down the sails, trying to gain speed as they sailed out of Port Augustus.

.

"Jack?" Ah, bugger. It was that annoying snake boy again.

"Yes, lad?" Jack said, not turning around to face Iggy.

"Uh… how long is it to Shipwreck Cove? It's just, the Van Trixen only makes port there once every six weeks and… well… after a few incidents, I'm not all that welcome there anymore."

Jack chuckled at the boy's ashamed voice.

"The Van Trixen, you say? Dutch boat. Built by young Evan van Trixen, no doubt. But to answer your question, boy, I'd say, give it… a month. A month till I get me bloody compass back and a month till you'll stop being bloody around, savvy?" Jack turned and gave Iggy a sarcastic grin, showing his teeth- the normal ones and the silver ones, but silently praying Iggy wouldn't do the same- those snakebites, as Jack called them, really freaked him out.

"Ugh…" Iggy seemed just as annoyed over the journey. "You knew Evan?"

"Not directly, no. What purpose d'you 'av on the Trixen anyway?"

"Haven't you heard, Jack? 'M the captain now. When I was six, I ran away from my home. Evan took me under his wing on his ship, and when he died, he named me captain."

This perked Jack's interest. He had heard of Iggy Adder before he met the boy, and he knew he captained a ship, but the Van Trixen? That was pretty serious. People told stories about the ship- horrible stories. Well, then again, it was a pirate ship.

"Go on, son, ask," Jack muttered absentmindedly, feeling Iggy's eyes still on him. The boy's stare made him somewhat uncomfortable- it wasn't every day he met someone with a… not really 'death glare', more like, a very pointed stare.

"There wouldn't happen to be a doctor of sorts on this ship, would there? It's just, my bandage on my left arm needs to be changed and one of my stitches came out."

Jack shuddered at the mental image of this.

"Well, boy, sorry to disappoint ya, but I can't think of a single one of these filthy sea dogs that are able to help ye."

"I can," a clear voice said from behind Jack. Said captain spun around to come face-to-face with Aline Hale. His daughter. No, he did not fancy that idea, not one bit.

"That so, love?" he questioned, and a faint blush crept into the girl's cheeks.

"Well, I was apprenticed to a doctor in Hispaniola, and what the boy described isn't that hard to fix up. Since I don't really know anything about sailing, I thought I could help out here."

"A doctor, ey? Well… if you think you can fix this… thing's ouchies, then by all means, please do. And make sure he stays unconscious for the longest amount of time possible!"

"Oi! I'm a man! Boy, male! Not a thing," Iggy hollered, but Jack simply grimaced and turned around again.

"Mister Gibbs should've stocked up on bandages and such; you can ask him where they are. Now take that annoying snake away before I shoot him," Jack grumbled to no one in particular, but Aline heard, took Iggy by the un-bandaged wrist (ignoring said boy's protests) and went in search for Gibbs and the supplies she needed.

Short chapter, not that good at writing Jack-centered stuff. What do you guys think of Aline? Iggy? How do you like the interaction between the characters? Review, please!