As always I do not own POC or Captain Jack they belong to the Mouse and his friends in the magic kingdom. Samantha Wolfe however is all mine. Thanks for all the great reviews, glad you like the story.
Please note that at the time of this story certain term were used to refer to those of color which today are no longer appropriate. While I have tried to stay faithful to the time period in the story so far I will not be using those terms.
Jack and Wolfe walked hand in hand along the road, stopping every so often to exchange a kiss. Jack had the silliest grin on his face that he just couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried. He was happy, Wolfe wasn't leaving him, she was right here by his side where she belonged. And Jack had no intention of letting her out of his reach. In fact he wasn't sure if he would ever let go of her.
Wolfe couldn't believe they way they were acting. If anyone would have told her days ago that she and Jack would be walking down a road in Tortuga and acting like a couple of love sick youths she would have laughed in their face. But here she was, walking hand in hand with Jack, stopping every so often for long lingering kisses. She just hoped that wherever Jack was taking her wasn't far, after his last kiss Wolfe had had to physically stop herself from pulling him into the trees and having her way with him. When she told him, he just laughed kissed her again and told her she was just going to have to resist his charms a little while longer. She hit him.
After about ten minutes they came to a large sugar cane plantation. It was here that Jack turned and started to walk up the long drive to the main house. Wolfe was a little surprised, but she had to trust that Jack knew where he was going. She could see a number of black men and women working in the fields, and there were about a dozen young black children playing near the house. As soon as they saw Jack they came running down the drive calling excitedly. "Captain Jack, Captain Jack" It was clear that Jack had been here more than once and was a popular visitor. Jack looked at Wolfe with a "What can I do" look on his face, while he fished around in his pocket for something.
"Jonah" Jacked called out to a boy of about fourteen who followed the gang of children down the drive in what Wolfe was sure he thought was a more adult pace. Even though the look on his face said he was just as happy to see "Captain Jack" as the rest of them.
Coming almost to attention the boy responded "Yes Captain"
Throwing the boy a coin, "Go into town and buy as much candy as you can with this and bring it back to share with the others" then looking at the children he told them. "Sorry kids you'll just have to wait for Jonah to go into town, I forgot to stop at the shop on way here"
"Jonah" Jack called again. When the boy turned, Jack threw him another coin. "And get something for yourself with this."
His face lit up. "Yes Captain, can I take Billy with me?"
"Only if it is ok with Momma Cassie" Jack told him and with that the boy ran back to the porch of the main house before head down the drive with another boy.
One little girl tugged at Jack's sleeve. When he looked down she told him with a big smile on her face "That's ok Captain Jack we love ya for more than your candy." The look on Jack's face was so adorable that Wolfe could help herself. "So you have been lying to me about other women" she said with a stern look on her face.
Jack stopped and looked at her, for a moment all the fear of earlier in the day coming back to him. "Wolfe I swear there are no other women. Just you"
"You can't lie to me when I see the evidence with my own eyes" she told him
"What evidence? You are the only woman in my life, the only woman I love Samantha" Jack told her pulling her into his arms trying to reassure her, and more than a little confused about what had brought this on.
"Please Jack" Wolfe said barely able to keep her face serious. "I can tell when I woman has you wrapped around her little finger, I am not a fool."
"And just what woman other than yourself has me wrapped up in knots" he demanded
Relenting she reach over and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Why my rival for your attention here" She told him, stepping away and picking up the little girl who could not have been more than six years old. "Tell me sweetheart, just what do you love about Captain Jack?" Wolfe asked
"Everything" Came the reply, "I'm going to marry him when I get big you know?"
Giving Jack an 'I told you so' look, "Would it be ok if we shared him till them?" Wolfe asked the child.
The child looked from Wolfe to Jack and after some consideration replied "I guess so, but only if you promise to look after him. He needs someone to look after him, and I'm too little."
It was all that Wolfe could do not to collapse into laughter at both the serious look on the little girls face and the embarrassed look on Jack's face.
"I promise, love, I will do my very best to look after him. He does need a lot of care. How about I look after him on the ship and you can help when we come here"
"Ok, Then I guess we can share him" she told Wolfe squirming to get down.
Pulling Wolfe back into his arms he gave her another kiss before whispering in her ear "You will pay for this later"
"I look forward to it" Wolfe replied with a laugh in her voice.
But before anything more could be said a voice came from the direction of porch of the main house. "Well, Well if it an't Captain Jack Sparrow his self."
Wolfe and Jack turned towards the voice. The largest black woman Wolfe had ever seen was walking towards them. She would have given Stonewall a run for his money; she must have been close to six feet talk. But there was no doubt she was all woman, and she must have been very beautiful when she was younger, but age and seeing far too much of the cruel side of the world had tarnish some of that original beauty.
"My, my, and what has my Jackie boy bought Momma Cassie?" the woman asked, looking Wolfe up and down. "A womans? Jack never brings no womans here. Least ways no white womans." Cassie told Wolfe with a smile. "He bring one or two black womans for Momma to looks after, but he never brings no white womans to Momma's"
Before either Jack or Wolfe could say anything Momma Cassie continued. "Awe, I know who this be." She told Jack, taking Wolfe's hand from his and spinning her around. Wolfe felt like she was being appraised. "This be your Wolfe. Captain Jack's Wolfe. Bout time ye brought her here, Jackie" Cassie continued looking Wolfe up and down. "This be the famous Samantha Wolfe"
"Hardly famous" Wolfe responded
"Now, Now my dear, I know the stories they tell about ye. You be the famous pirate lady who liberated three of Black Reilly's fingers, took a shot that was meant for my Jackie among other things." Cassie told her "But I know the other stories about Samantha Wolfe, the ones about the battered womans she has saved, the abused childrens she has helped."
Wolfe looked from the Black Woman to Jack. "I don't know what ye be referring to"
Smiling Cassie laughed "Oh dear, I know all about sanctuary? It be a good thing ye do with sanctuary. Your people don't care about the color of the womans and childrens they just help thems all. Yes I know all stories about ye Samantha Wolfe."
Then looking at Jack "What you don't feeds your womans?"
"I…"
Ignoring his attempted response Cassie turned to a couple of the older girls on the porch and started giving orders. "Janet run in and tells cook that Captain Jack has bought his Wolfe, tell her to send out fresh coffee and food for them." To another girl "Rebecca you go get Jessie and the two of you go down to Captain Jack's cabin and make sure everything be clean and tidy. And you have cook fix up a big basket for them."
Jack coughed in embarrassment.
Cassie rolled her eyes as she looked at Jack. "I not be so slow that I don't know you bring your Wolfe here not to visit Cassie. But for some private time in your cabin." Laughing as Jack turned beet red and couldn't meet either Wolfe's or Cassie eye.
Wolfe despite of her own embarrassment couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Jack's face. What was it about women of a certain age that made the great Captain Jack Sparrow act like a boy of ten, she wondered. Both Cassie and Bess seemed to be able to but Jack in his place with just a look or a word or two.
All the while they had been talking with Cassie the children had been hanging on to Jack and begging Captain Jack to come play. It was clear from their expressions that he was one of their favorite people and they really didn't care if he had candy or not. "You best go play with them" Cassie told him, "They be bothering ye until ye do. I'll look after your Wolfe"
Jack gave Wolfe a 'What can I do look', "I forgot they would expect…"
"It's all right Jack, Go play" Wolfe told him, "We have lots of time, Cassie's offer of food and coffee sounds wonderful" Cassie's offer of food and coffee reminded Wolfe just how hungry she was. After all she had only picked at her food on the Lady Maria, and yesterday she was so nervous about what was going to happen with Jack that she had not eaten at all. Today she had left the ship before breakfast, but now that she Jack had come to an understanding, that things were right between them, now she was actually hungry. By the time she and Cassie stepped up onto the front porch of the house the girl Janet had brought out fresh coffee, bread just out of the oven and real butter and jam.
"Cook says the stew not be ready just yet, but that this should keep them till it be ready" Janet told Cassie, before running back to the kitchen somewhere in the back of the house.
"Dig in child, ye look like you haven't eaten in days"
"Had other things on my mind" Wolfe told her as she took the cup of coffee Cassie poured for her, and cut herself a slice of the bread.
Cassie laughed, "You two been dancing around this a fair long time, good that ye finally admit what you feel." Then with a serious look on her face she asked "You do love him, don't ye?"
It was strange saying to someone other than Jack. It somehow made it all the more real. "Yes" she told Cassie looking out at Jack playing with the children, "With all my heart"
"Good, him been eating his heart out over you for far too long." also watching Jack, "Him be a good man our Jackie".
"I know"
"Ye know about that mark on his arm?" Cassie asked
"Yes"
"Ye know why he got it?"
"Yes"
"Good him tell you about it. Him don't talk about it much"
"I know"
Cassie looked out at Jack and the children playing. But it was clear that she really wasn't seeing them, her mind was across the water. "I lost my man to slavers. He tried to protect me when they came to our village. He was a good man, loved me good. Don't think I will ever love like that again. But then ye know what I mean don't you Wolfe?"
Looking at Jack Wolfe had to admit she did. Some women only give their hearts once in their lives. No matter what the man does, or what happens to him, he is her one and only love. For Wolfe Jack was that man. "Yes Cassie, I know." She responded with a sigh.
Cassie smiled for a minute. "Yes me thinks you do." She told her before returning to her story "They killed him, right before my eyes, him tried to protect me but they came with the white mans weapons and we was no match for them. I was pretty then. Me man he gave me father 2 herds of goats for me hand. But that didn't matter to the slavers. They took me and brought me across the ocean." Her voice rattled as she remembered "they used me bad and then they sold me to one who was even worse. Him like to hurt womans."
"Cassie…" Wolfe started to say, she had hear this tail to many times from the women that sanctuary helped. She understood where Cassie was coming from.
But Cassie just kept on talking "Then one days him tires of me. I not so pretty anymore. So him puts me up for sale. I don't care no more, I think about ways to end it. But then I sees this man in the crowd. Him dressed like a dandy. Pretty coat, rings on him fingers, beads in hims hair. And him be bidding on me. I thinks Oh Lord what does this one want? But when him buys me him takes me to his ship. He doctor me and bring me here."
"Jack?"
"Jack. Him tells me that him wants me to make this place a safe place for them like me. To make it a place where they can come and be safe. To connect with the underground for helping others gets away from their masters."
Wolfe coughed as the coffee she had just slipped went down the wrong way, she looked first at Jack and then at Cassie. "Your Cassie LaRocke aren't you? And this be "Refuge"!"
The light had come back into Cassie's eyes. "Aye, this me Refuge. Interesting that both sanctuary and refuge both me on Tortuga. Both be dependant on Pirate treasure. Course these days it be from the treasure of the same pirate ship"
"That would explain why he is always broke"
Cassie laughed "Be guessing him not told you that secret yet."
"What secret" Came Jack's voice from the porch steps " Cassie you be giving away all my secrets"
"Not all them be boy. Just the ones that I be thinking your Wolfe should be knowing and ye be too proud to let right. Now ye sit yourself down and eat." For cook had just that moment come around the corner with the promised stew. "Where be the children?"
"Jonah came back with the Candy and I got a reprieve." Jack told them as he pulled a chair over beside Wolfe. "I missed you" He whispered in her ear before drop at brief kiss on her lips.
"Ye might want to talk to that boy before ye head down to the cabin. Or him be down to bug you about joining the crew of the Pearl." Cassie told Jack as she dished out a bowl of stew for him.
"Jonah? I told him he can join the Pearl when he be 15."
"And he'll be 15 his next birthday, near as we can figure. And that be in a month."
"No, he can't be?" Jack said turning to look out at the children.
"He is and he don't forget your promise"
"Promise?" Wolfe asked
"Oh I kind of told the lad he could join the crew when he was 15, so he would stop bugging me." He told Wolfe, and turning to Cassie "You sure he be 15?"
"Sure I can be of these things. Not like I can ask him Mother when him be born." She said with a shrug. "Besides him has been learning as much as him can about sailing ever since you made that promise. Him knows his knots, how to read a compass. Even made a play ship for the children with rigging and everything so he could practice climbing the rigging. Anyone who comes here with the least bit of sailing knowledge that boy be pestering for learning."
"Sounds like a good addition to the crew." Wolfe added "Especially if he wants it so bad"
"You don't mind?" Jack asked her
"You're the Captain Jack?"
"But you be the first mate?"
"It's up to you Jack, you're the Captain and the decisions is yours. You know I always obey my Captain" she said with a wink.
"Only on certain matters" Jack responded leaning over and giving her another kiss "Hopefully even that will change"
Laughing "You can always hope Jack"
"Stop you gabbing and eat" Cassie told them "The stew be getting cold"
Jack and Wolfe both laughed and dung into the stew that Cassie had placed before them. While they ate Cassie filled Jack in on the comings and goings of refuge. Wolfe learned as she listened that refuge like sanctuary was self sufficient. Having a large garden and orchard for food, and the sugar field for income. They even had a distillery where they made much of the rum drunk in the Tortuga taverns. Course much of it she knew. Sanctuary and Refuge had worked together on many occasions even if she and Cassie had never meet in person.
When they had finished eating Jack rose and walked over to where Jonah had been standing under one of the shade trees in front of the house. As the two women watched Jack sat down and started to talk to the young man.
Without looking at Wolfe Cassie spoke "There be only one man I loved, but that don't mean I haven't let a man or two warm me bed over the years. But in all the time I knows him Jack an't been one of them"
"Cassie it doesn't.."
"Yes it do" she continued "We be friends, and I wants you to know how it be with Jack and me. Not that I wouldn't have let him. But he never asked and I never offered. It just isn't like that between us. You understand?"
"I think so"
"Good. Cause I wants him to be happy and me thinks you be the one to do it."
"I'll try"
"You know Wolfe, you and Jack dose a lot of good for a lot of folks. It be ok for you to be happy yourselves."
Jack returned having told Jonah to get his things and head down to the Pearl. He had given him a message for the crew that he and Wolfe were fine and that they would return to the ship in a couple of days.
Holding out his hand to Wolfe he told her. "Time I showed you my cabin". And even though she was suddenly nervous and more than a little shy Wolfe took Jack's hand and allowed him to lead her down the path that lead to his cabin on the beach below.