Dinah woke up from a disturbing dream sweating. She sat up and the remembered where she was…The Black Pearl. She got off the bed and opened the door and marched to the helm where he was steering with that stupid compass of his. She had never gotten why he kept the thing around, true, it led him to that one island, but other than that, it was no good to him.
"Jack!"
"Captain, luv, Captain." He said without taking his eyes off the ocean. Dinah gasped and kicked the back of his leg.
"DON'T CALL ME LUV!" She yelled as Jack grabbed his leg and turned around. He straightened up and was at least five inches than him. She straightened her five-foot-seven, 127lbs frame but it was no use.
"Bad dream?" He said through his teeth.
"How'd you know?" She asked raising her eyebrow.
"I know how you sleep."
She slapped him, and pointed her finger at him, "No, you don't."
"Is there something you wanted?"
"Yes, Where are we going, and please don't tell me Tortuga."
"Hmm… good thought lass, but no."
Dinah waited.
"I have a little debt I need to pay off then it's a surprise."
"But Ja-" He held up his finger, "Captain, I don't have any clothes! I also need something to write on!"
"Now why would you go and need somethin' like that, Dinah?"
She sighed impatiently, "Could you please not call me that? Miss Milton will do just fine."
"My apologizes, Miss Milton, but why do you need something to write on?"
"A personal request, Captain."
Jack stopped and studied Dinah's face, she looked serious enough, but was she just looking for a way to escape? "Okay Miss Milton, you convinced me. Ana Maria will go and get you a book to write in while I'm paying off a debt."
"Thank you, but what about my clothes!?"
"They look fine, lass." He said turning back around to steer.
"No! Not that!"
Jack sighed and called Cotton over to man the helm, though the man had no tongue, he had quick hands.
Jack led Dinah over to the side, "What is it?"
"This is the only clothes I brought! I was only supposed to be on that stupid ship for a couple hours but then you had to kidnap me for reasons that are beyond me."
"Everything is beyond you, lass," Jack said while thinking of what he was going to do about clothes. "Just borrow some from Ana Maria."
"What!? Those baggy man clothes? Look- they look fine on her, but me?"
"Unless you'd rather where that or go naked, that's your only choice."
Dinah narrowed her eyes, "Why'd you bring me on this stupid boat anyhow!?"
"Ship! It's a SHIP!"
"Fine! Ship! Why did you bring me here? It was obviously spontaneous so why not leave me with Douglas?"
"Oh, that's what you would want? Me to raid a ship you were on, not pay any attention to you and then leave?"
"Yes!"
"BAH! You drive me insane!" Jack yelled, throwing his arms up in defense. He stormed off to his room. He slammed the door and started pacing. Why did I bring her on board? Surely it wasn't for entertainment. Good Lord, I forgot how much that woman drove me insane! How could I forget? Those were probably the worst months of my life! She hasn't been here twelve hours and she's doing it to me again! What was I thinking? Jack stopped and then started again, I know why brought her on board…Jack stopped, No…that's not the reason…it's because deep down, I know she wants to be back on The Pearl. I saw it in her eyes. Yea…that's it. She wants to be here…
* * *
Jack slammed his door and Dinah flinched. He did always seem to be in a bad mood while she was around. But then there were times when she swore he was a different person. Someone tapping on her shoulder broke her thoughts, she turned and there stood Ana, all smiles.
"I heard you might need some clothes!"
"Yea…dresses are fine…but I feel a little out of place while wearing one when I'm on the Pearl."
"Aye, I imagine you do." Ana Maria smiled and led her old friend to her cabin. "You can sleep in here tonight, it's not the biggest on the ship, but it'll fit two…"
Dinah looked around. There was one cot and nails all around the walls. In one corner she saw a little pile of clothes, in another corner she saw a large pile of clothes, two pair of boots, a knife, gun and two hats. She finally realized how much she missed home.
Home. She sighed.
"That pile over there is clean clothes and you only change out of clothes when you get dumped in the water or you take a bath, which I must remind you, isn't going to be everyday." Ana Maria said, she almost sounded sorry for Dinah. "You can wear a pair of my boots, and a hat if you want. And I'm sure you know how to use a knife and how to work a gun…right?" She asked, sounding doubtful.
Dinah paused. "Yea, I think I remember how to work a gun…and a knife is fine, I'm in archery back home…"
"Okay, everything savvy about clothes? I don't have fifty pairs you know."
Dinah went over to the pile and searched through it, "And you don't have fifty different pairs either…"
Ana rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'll let you get dressed."
She closed the door and Dinah went for the top of her dress, at top speed she undid all the buttons until it was low enough for her to undo her corset. She untied the strings and took a REAL deep breath. She could feel the salty air fill into her lungs, her whole body seemed to be awakened by the scent.
She quickly changed into Ana Maria's clothes and the let her hair down. Her chestnut colored hair unfolded from the bun on the top of her head and reached the middle of her back. She quickly but loosely French braided it and put on boots and a hat. Dinah felt like a completely different person. Especially in the sea boots. What kind of a person would actually buy these…or in Ana's case at least wear these? She remembered what she had stuck in her corset that morning before Douglas arrived; she dove for her pile of clothes and found her harmonica.
She smiled and left the cabin. She went to the back of the boat and sat on the edge and started playing a song that she had played a hundred times in the past year. At first she played it just to calm her sorrows, then she played it to feed her sorrows (at that point she usually messed up because you can't blow very hard into a harmonica when crying), but now she was just hoping that Jack would hear it, but then again, it would be kind of embarrassing… She stopped.
"Please, keep playing," Dinah turned around and blushed.
Jack sat next to her, "I would love to know if you just remembered that or if you've been practicing…"