A/N Well… I don't know. Thanks to my reviewers who have assured me that Raine is not a Mary-Sue… I'm sorry but I don't believe you. She's incredibly annoying, actually, but I'm sure she's a Mary-Sue and it's something I can't exactly change, now can I? But it still bothers me.
Wow, I'm on chapter 6 already and I still haven't thanked reviewers. Okay, here goes. (Wow, there are soooo many of you…) VagrantCandy, Jessicagreenblue, Lady Phedre, Daroga's Rainy Daae, kmshalias, Oria*Rose, Dimonah Tralon, Blues Goddess, lemluvspirates, Emily Knibbe (WILL TURNER!!!), just2spooky, Rood-Roosje, Pirate Rhi, Rainne, Jorja, and gypsy. Really, thank you to all of you, even you Lady Phedre. Flames are welcome as ever. How can I be upset with all of you rooting me on? I'm afraid the guts of this chapter might be rather short… I'm in a bit of a hurry, you must understand.
Chapter 6
Raine leaned back against the door and sighed, staring at Will. He was trying to over hear the conversation going on between Jack and Gibbs, but Raine knew better than to let that happen.
"So Will, boy, tell me more about this lass. Do you think she's the kind of girl to fall in love with you after you rescue her?"
Will frowned. "I'm not sure… I mean, that's not important. That's not why…" It would have been one of those things that would make Raine smile, but she didn't, she just stared at the floor.
"You're so much like Bootstrap, you know that?" she said, shaking her head slightly. "He loved his wife and child more than anything, mate."
There was an awkward silence as Will realized that she had known his father, just like Jack.
"What happened to him?" Will asked, leaning forward. Raine looked up into his eyes, perhaps searching for something, but then she shook her head.
"Honestly? I don't know. He was killed or something, by Barbossa's crew. He was a good man. A good… good friend." She said, and there was another awkward silence.
"So, Jack tells me that you don't know how to use your sword." Will said, in another pathetic attempt to make conversation.
Raine glanced at Jack and sent him a glare, and then turned back to Will with narrowed eyes.
"Did he?"
"Yes. Well, I was wondering if you would like to learn how. I could teach you."
Raine shrugged. "I doubt you could teach me in the next few days, lad, and that's only about the time we have to do this. Besides, I'll live. Jack rescues me all the time. Whether I want him to or not." She muttered something under her breath about Jack, which Will didn't catch, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know what she said either. Just then, Jack and Gibbs clanked their mugs together, drawing the immediate attention of Will and Raine.
Raine stepped forward.
"Can we go now, Jack? It's bloody boring here. Why did I get stuck with the eunuch?" She turned and walked out of the Faithful Bride, obviously expecting Jack and Will to follow. Will waited behind while Jack stood up and started toward the door, but before he could get there, Will stopped him.
"She's not very nice to me." He said quietly.
"She's nicer to you than she is to most people, boy." Jack said quietly. "She's never really been that nice to anybody though."
"Well then, I suppose I'm honored."
Jack grinned. "You respectable citizens and your crazy ideas. Honored?"
Will watched him exit after Raine, and then turned to Gibbs to comment on Jack.
"Don't even say it, boy." Gibbs said, following Jack out the door. "The two of them might be crazy, but they seem to be alive and well, so what is there not to trust?"
When Will finally got outside, Gibbs said farewell to the three and went off to gather the sailors, and in the meantime, Jack, Raine, and Will headed back to the interceptor to get some rest.
Jack scanned the faces standing in front of him… indeed they were a sorry, miserable sight, but it truly was his kind of crew.
"It is a bit sad, but then again, who said that we would have to stick with them after we have the Pearl?" Raine muttered so only he would hear.
"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will said, more than just a touch of doubt in his voice.
"You sailor!" Jack said, stopping before a man with a parrot on his shoulder.
"Jack, wait a second." Raine said impatiently. Jack ignored her.
"Cotton, sir." Gibbs said, referring to the man with the parrot.
"Cotton! Do you have the courage and fortitude to…?"
"Dammit Jack don't ignore me!" Raine interrupted him. Jack continued.
"…follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"
Raine protested loudly. "Will you just listen to me, just for once? Jack!" He still ignored her. Gibbs continued.
"He's a mute, sir. Poor devil got his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. Now one's yet figured how."
"Jack! Down by the end, is…"
"Mr. Cottons… parrot. Same question." Raine sighed dramatically and put her hand on her forehead, once again ignored.
"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" The parrot said.
"Mostly, we figure that means yes." Gibbs said.
"Of course it does. Are you satisfied?" Jack asked Will. Raine said nothing, which was a first for her… but she was quite obviously angry at Jack.
"Well, you've proved they're mad." Will said.
"And what's the benefit for us?" A strangely female voice called from the end. Raine took a few steps back from the voice, but Jack stepped forward, stopping just near the end of the line, in front of a figure with a large hat on. He pulled the hat off.
"Anamaria." He said, glancing back to where Raine was. Anamaria slapped him, and then interrupted what he was about to say next.
"Where is Raine? I know she's here somewhere. I'll kill her when I find her!" She pointed her finger at Jack. "You stole my boat."
"Actually, I believe its called borrowing, without permission." Raine said, stepping forward and pointing her finger in the air. She stepped backward quickly as Anamaria moved to slap her.
"It wasn't even that great of a boat anyway." Raine said, shrugging. "Sunk before we could even tie it up." She covered her mouth quickly.
"You sunk my boat?" Anamaria repeated dumbly. She frowned.
"You will get another one." Raine said, to cover up for her mistake. Anamaria glared at her.
"A better one." Jack said quickly.
"That one." Will said, pointing to the interceptor.
"Aye, that one." Jack said quickly. "What do you say?"
Anamaria turned to Raine. "I agree. But only if she keeps out of my way."
Raine took a step to the side, as if clearing a path to the ship for Anamaria. When Ana and the other crewmember turned and marched up the ship, she turned to Jack.
"I bloody told you she was there…" Raine started, bursting with anger. "But no, let's not listen to me… nobody ever listens to me, dammit Jack, did you think that what I had to say could have waited, the way I kept interrupting you?" Jack seemed to literally shrink under the glare she was giving him.
"Alright, love, alright, you were right, I'm sorry." Jack said quickly, if only to get her to shut up. Will seemed to be enjoying what was going on. Jack glared at him, but then called to the crewmates, "Let's get moving! Anchors aweigh!"
Gibbs frowned at Raine and Anamaria and turned to Jack.
"It's frightful bad luck…"
"I've been sailing with women my whole life, mate, do you think that I will change my mind now?" Jack interrupted him.
***~***
The boat rocked fiercely in the midst of the storm, and yet Jack stood firm at the helm of the Pearl… having complete faith in all of his crewmates made it easier for him to stay brave, so he tried not to think of all the bad things that could happen.
Raine was only a few feet away, as usual, and she tied a rope around her waist with shaking hands, and then tossed another rope to another man.
The man was soaked, because of the storm, but everyone else was sodden also. He hair dark brown hair and eyes and was tall and tanned, and handsome. He quickly tied the rope tossed to him around his waist also. When he looked up again to meet Raine's eyes, even he could see she was grinning at him through the storm, and he quickly looked away.
Jack called an order to them, unheard through the wind, and Raine wiped her wet bangs away from her face and called back to Jack.
"What did you say?"
He repeated the order, and her eyes widened, turning to the sea.
"Bootstrap!" She shouted, referring to the other man. "Move!"
But it was too late for either to move, because a wave crashed over the deck, over both of them, and both were left disoriented in the mass of salty pressure, unsure of which was up or where they were. Bootstrap recovered faster and grabbed the rope around his waist, pulling himself to a better place, and he grabbed Raine's rope also, before realizing it had snapped. He panicked and jumped over to the railing, leaning over to see where she might be.
He turned around when he heard coughing behind him, and was relieved to find Raine standing, still on deck, only leaning on the mast weakly. She lifted her head to meet Bootstrap's eyes, and grinned weakly.
"Are you both alright?" Jack called from the helm, and their attention was drawn to him… he looked them over with concerned eyes, and left the helm temporarily to his first mate, Barbossa, walking over to see if any harm was done.
"Fine, Jack." Raine said, still grinning weakly. The three of them staring into the choppy depths for a moment until Raine started to giggle.
"What?" Both men said, almost simultaneously, annoyed that she was laughing.
"Bill, you thought… I was…" She stopped laughing for a moment and grinned again. "You're just too gullible." She said.
"I'm not allowed to be afraid you might have died?" Bill said, clearly irritated.
Jack and Raine both looked at him oddly.
"What's up with you?" Jack said.
"Nothing." Bill muttered, looking at Raine and then tossing her the rope around her waist. "Get a better rope. We're not out of this storm yet."