Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own the delectable Captain Jack Sparrow or anything Pirates-related.

AN: A bit of romance in this chapter, which should keep everyone happy until they arrive in China next chapter. Also: I won't be updating next week because I'll be out on vacation, so try and be patient until I get back. I'll post the new chapter as soon as I can. Thanks, and please review!

Chapter 21: Off to China:

It was early afternoon when the party began to slow and people started to leave. With the entertainment and food gone, Jack decided to take a pleasant walk back to the docks. On the way back to the ship, we went through the fruit market and sampled the local fare, enjoying things both bitter and sweet on the tongue as we walked. Thus, Jack and I were in good spirits as we arrived on the Pearl, but I was surprised when he suddenly urged me to go rest in my cabin.

"I've got some important things to take care of, Vixen, so go change, rest, and meet me out here after dark," Jack said, not quite ordering me, but not quite merely suggesting it either.

Deciding to be obedient, I went to do as I was told. It was later that I found out that Jack had gone off in search of Mr. Gibbs to have him gather the men back together, intending for the Pearl to leave at dawn.

After changing out of the outfit Jack had given me, I washed quickly and decided to close my eyes for a bit. Closing my eyes turned into a full nap, one that was longer than expected, because the next thing I knew, Jack was knocking on my door, asking if I was alright.

Practically leaping out of bed, I answered that I was fine, just slept longer than intended, and that I would be out in a few minutes. Jack told me not to rush, and that he'd see me on deck. It took little time for me to tidy up, and quicker than a flash, I was outside.

His usual cheerful self, Jack greeted me with a grin and a wink. "A little too much fun at the party, luv?" he asked teasingly. "Not that I blame you; the nobles here really can throw a good time when they put their mind to it."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I think I'm just overwhelmed by everything I've seen," I replied as Jack led me down the gangplank. "I've never seen such wonderful people and animals in my life, and their culture is so fascinating! I'll be sad when we go."

Jack reached out and took my hand, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "No worries, Jo," he said. "When you see China, I'm sure you'll be just as impressed with them and their world as you are with India."

That did make me feel a little bit better, and I smiled at him. "Thank you, Jack. That's a very exciting prospect."

I squeezed his hand in return and tried to pull free, only to have him grip it tighter. Looking up at Jack's face, I saw that he was smirking at me in amusement, right before he winked. I quirked a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Don't want to loose you in the crowd, Vixen," he calmly replied. "You know how it is."

Yes, I did, but that still didn't stop me from blushing at the intimate gesture. Of course, I knew Jack didn't mean it that way, but what else was I supposed to think? Mama had always told me never to let a man touch me, unless he was my husband, and even then, I was only to hold his arm. Bare hands touching one another was for a man and wife when they were in private, not for out in the open as Jack and I were. Back home, it just wasn't done.

'But then, you aren't home, are you?' I asked myself.

The smells of exotic spices, perfumes, cook food and fresh fruits filled my nose. No, I most certainly was not home in England. The rules were different here in the greater world, especially in the life of a pirate, so why not indulge in a bit of inappropriate behavior?

Jack's thumb was caressing my knuckles, and a shiver went down my spine, straight into my belly and down into my toes. It was a strange feeling, like a cool warmth that seemed to make my heart flutter. What was it? I'd never felt this way before…it was so strange…

I looked down at Jack's hand. It was a rather nice hand, despite being somewhat dirty and roughened by work. The rings on his fingers were what made it interesting to look at, three or four of them on each hand, and each ring was different in appearance. I rather liked looking at them; it was a game of mine to try and guess the materials from which they were crafted.

But what truly counted about Jack's hands was that they were gentle. Oh, they could be deadly when wielding a sword or pistol, but mostly they were soft and caring when handling things that needed care. Sometimes he was both soft and firm, like when he was handling the helm of the Pearl, or when he was trying to keep a good grip on me so that we could not be separated.

For the most part, though, those crafty fingers were tender, and I rather liked them. Those hands made me feel safe when walking through a busy marketplace, and had taught me how to defend myself from those who wished me harm. They were wonderful.

"Joanna, is something wrong?"

I looked up. Jack was staring down at me, his face clouded with concern. That was another thing I liked about Jack; he always wanted to be sure I was alright. It was so sweet, but what made it more endearing to me was that it went against Jack's usual pirate persona. True, he did flirt, drink, curse, gamble, and did other sinful things like other pirates did, but there was another side of Captain Jack Sparrow that others rarely saw. The world knew him to be a feared man and Pirate Lord of the Caribbean; his crew knew him to be a (mostly) fair captain of their ship; Anna-Maria thought him to be a flirt with women and dreadfully annoying thorn in her side.

And yet, how many feared and dreaded Pirate Lords went around shopping with a young woman, showing her the world and helping her experience life to its fullest? How many would take care of a friend's daughter, look after her, teach her to fight, and make sure she was contented aboard his ship?

I smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Jack, really."

He gave me an odd look, but nodded. "Alright, then, if you're sure. We'll eat here, and afterwards, you and I can head back to the ship to get some serious shut-eye."

Gripping my hand a bit tighter, Jack pulled me into an eatery.

We departed India early the next morning, following a rather interesting evening out with Jack.

The two of us had eaten a traditional Indian supper of curry, rice, flatbread, a few potato and vegetable stuffed pastries, and, surprisingly, a cool, refreshing white wine. Jack had insisted that we celebrate our last night in port with something special, and so the wine had been added to the tab, despite my objections, which had been waved aside, as usual.

"You need to live a little, darling," Jack had said while pouring me a bit. "At least you can say that you've had wine in India."

I finally relented and indulged in a glass –or three, actually –and regretted it in the morning. Jack had somehow escorted a slightly drunken me back to the Pearl and gotten me into bed, pulling off my boots and even going so far as to tuck me in before leaving me to rest.

The next day, I woke with a slight hangover, but was relieved to spot a tray on my desk. It held a plate of food covered with a cloth napkin, and a pitcher of water. The food was bread, a soft, flavorful cheese, and some fresh vegetables, no doubt picked up at the last minute from the Indian markets.

Feeling revived from my meal, I quickly dressed and went to join the crew up top. There I was greeted to the welcoming sight of busy men and the beautiful ocean spread out before the Pearl. Up above, the sky was mostly clear with the occasional puffy white clouds drifting by, and I could hear the crash of water parting underneath the Pearl as she glided along the sea.

'What a beautiful day, perfect for sailing,' I thought happily.

"Jo, come over here!" Anna called. "I need help with these sails!"

Smiling, I rushed over to help my friend with her chores.

From his perch up at the helm, Jack diverted his gaze from the sea down to the deck, watching intently as Joanna went to help Anna-Maria mend sails. There she went, a blur of brown locks, delicately highlighted with a touch of red and blond hair, both lighter colors curtsey of her father, Charles Elliot.

She was dressed in one of the more colorful shirts she'd purchased in Spain, this one a pale lavender that went well with the brown leggings and boots she wore. Around her waist was a brown leather belt, from which hung her second-heaviest baton.

Jack made a note to try and train her a bit later today. She'd probably gotten rusty in the time they'd been in India, and he'd have to get her back into fighting shape. No doubt Anna-Maria would be able to help in that as well.

Taking a closer look at Joanna, Jack had to force his eyes away from her as the young woman stood up and bent over to pick up a mound of cloth, providing an excellent view of her from behind.

"Cap'n, are you alright?" Gibbs asked, coming up from the rear of the ship, where he'd been helping to coil rope. "You look a bit flustered. Do you think we'll be getting a storm or some such?"

Jack looked up. "No, we should be fine for at least another couple days, at least. Those clouds are moving off, so there should be no trouble for a while."

Gibbs nodded. "Aye, sir. But if you don't mind my asking, what's on your mind that's got you in such a state?"

Part of Jack wanted to tell Gibbs to bugger off, but a much kinder part simply looked over at his first mate and smirk, a lie already on his tongue. "Just wondering what kind of welcome we'll get when we arrive in China."

Chuckling, Gibbs gave a knowing grin. "Aye, should be an interesting time, indeed. Those Chinese women and their tempers…you don't know whether to love them or hate them!" That said, he turned and walked away.

Happy to be alone, Jack let his eyes wander again. That was a mistake, because they simply found their way back to Joanna. He bit his lip, wondering if she remembered what had happened last night, when he'd brought her back to the Pearl.

'Not that it was anything bad,' he hastily thought with a slight smile.

On the contrary, it had been rather good.

After watching Joanna partake in a bit too much wine, Jack had been desperate to get her to the Pearl, and fast. Considering what an attractive woman she was, Joanna was an easy target for a man who wanted a foreign woman as his captive mistress or lesser wife. Adding on that she was a bit drunk, anyone could easily make her into a slave and sell her to the highest bidder.

Not while Jack lived and breathed, they wouldn't.

He'd carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, and put one of hers around his own hips, making them look like a pair of lovers out for a stroll. With Joanna snuggling against his shoulder, both out of intoxication and for warmth from the chilling air, the charade was easy to carry out.

Within twenty minutes, Jack had his slightly tipsy lass up the gangplank and in her cabin, carefully laying her down atop the mattress and pulling off her boots so that he could tuck her in.

That was when it happened. He had just started to pull the sheets up to her belly when she suddenly wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him.

Needless to say, Jack had been shocked. However, he wouldn't have been Captain Jack Sparrow had he not acted accordingly, and began kissing her back.

On the deck of the Pearl, Jack closed his eyes, savoring the memory inside his head. Joanna's lips had been soft and slightly sweet from the wine she'd consumed, and Jack found himself weak at the knees, almost as though he, too, had consumed too much alcohol. Even at his most drunk, he had never felt this lightheaded or intoxicated in his life.

The kiss had ended much too quickly for his tastes. After a moment, Joanna collapsed, probably out of a mixture of exhaustion and too much wine. Jack had nearly groaned at being deprived of her soft mouth, but decided to bear it and finish putting her to bed. With a kiss to her forehead, Jack took his leave, mentally noting to send a tray of food and water to her cabin first thing in the morning.

Sighing, he forced his attention back to the sea, and frowned. They were off course.

With a silent groan, Jack retrieved his compass from his belt and flipped it open, keeping a steady eye on the needle. When it stopped, he looked in the direction where the needle was pointing. That was when he started cursing to himself.

The compass was pointing right at Joanna.

"Anna, what's China like?" I asked her, putting aside one mended sail and retrieving a damaged one.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the corner of her mouth go down in thought, though it was hard to tell whether it was because of my question or because she was focusing on her work.

A moment later, she answered me. "Well, it's very different from England, I'll tell you that. Everyone there has black hair, black eyes, and their skin is sort of yellow or olive tinted."

"What else?" I asked excitedly.

She cut a thread and began on a new tear in the cloth. "Well, their language is hard to learn, and can get rather loud when they're bargaining or angry. Not to mention that they don't use letters and numbers to read and count like we do. Their written words are supposed to be images of some sort, representing what they're trying to write about."

This was getting more interesting by the minute. "Really? Their words are like images or drawings?"

Anna shook her head. "Not exactly. I think the best word I can think of is that they use characters as their words. It's complicated, really. Maybe you should ask Jack about it, he's studied a bit of their writing. It was him who said that they can write a whole long poem or story in as little as four or five Chinese symbols."

Lord, how marvelous would that look? A whole story written in a few Chinese symbols! Incredible!

"What about their food?" I pressed.

To my disappointment, Anna shook her head. "Sorry, Jo, but if I say anymore, it'll ruin the whole adventure for you, and the Captain would never forgive me."

I looked up at the helm, and was puzzled at the sight I saw. There was Jack, one of his hands on the helm, but he didn't look as happy and carefree as he normally was when standing there. In fact, he seemed rather agitated over something. In his palm rested the compass that usually hung on his belt, and for some reason, he looked ready to strangle it.

'Oh, dear, we must be off course,' I thought, feeling sorry for Jack. 'Perhaps his compass no longer works correctly, or maybe the winds aren't in our favor.'

Well, no matter what sort of trouble it was, I knew that Jack would find a way out of it.

Meanwhile, I had better see what other kinds of information I could get out of Anna-Maria before we arrived in China…

AN: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but think of it as sort of a "filler" chapter until I get back. In the next one, I'm going to fast-forward to them arriving in China. I hope it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, please be kind and review! Thanks!