A/N1: You all have my express permission to lynch me and eat me alive, burning me upon a spit, although perhaps not in that order! I am SO VERY SORRY about this extremely long delay! Schoolwork and life, all of those factors are against me! I swear upon my lust for the lovely Captain Jack Sparrow that I shall be just a tad faster in updating!!! (In other words, MUCH faster), esp. with vacation coming up! So I hope I haven't pushed any of ye away from reading this with my long delay, and I hope that you shall all find time to review!!! (Sorry all you long-chapter lovers, but this one's a bit shorter now. Yes, sizes do fluctuate. :P)

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                        Leah Swann awoke feeling safe, warm. Still drowsy, half-asleep, she burrowed slightly back into the embrace in which she found herself, held in someone's arms.

Wait just a moment… held in someone's arms?!?!?! Gasping, she jerked forward, pulling out of their grasp, and being as close as she was to the edge of the bed… fell out of it again, landing with a loud "Bloody hell!" Embarrassed, angry, and annoyed, she began to get to her feet, the color rising in her cheeks. The sun was shining into the wonderful room she found herself in, and she found no trouble in meeting Jack's gaze as he watched her with some amusement.

"A bit clumsy this morning, eh?"

"What is it to you, Sparrow?" she hissed upon having stood, her hands on her hips, head cocked.

The pirate sat up, watching her curiously. "Sparrow is it now?"

"Jack, Sparrow, what's the difference? If you are behaving like a-"

"I am not behaving like a certain anything, darling. You, on the other hand, seem to have woken in not the best of moods."

Already, Leah was beginning to regret the past night's events. Had she really told this man the story of her life? She must have been drunk! Obviously more than she realized. But she was not that stubborn. Even she knew that she had been perfectly sober. "Well," she said instead, trying hard to find the right words without sounding as if she was lost for them, "obviously I'm not in the worst of moods, either."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Leah."

"How would you know, you chauvanis-"

"Luv, one question. What'll it be, Leah or Miss Swann? I would really appreciate some clarity here, savvy?"

She opened her mouth, about to snap something insulting and along the lines of "Miss Swann, of course!" back, but closed it altogether luckily before any sound had come out. What was she doing? Did she want to escape, or not? Her eyes averted, she gave him an answer, one that was almost too soft for the man to hear. "Leah. Call me Leah."

"Where are we going now?" Will asked suspiciously upon their having reached the stairs downstairs into the bar. The three of them had to stay close to the side of the thing so as to not disturb the various… activities going on on the steps, and Leah was situated in between the two, having no urge to be caught alone again.

"Now, we are going to the docks. I'm sure Gibbs has found us a lovely crew by now."

"Define lovely," Leah said, not quite sure exactly who they could find in a place like this that would be of absolutely any use.

"Lovely as in able and loyal, luv."

"So the complete opposite of a pirate?" she retorted, but bit her lip as soon as the comment escaped her lips, giving herself a mental slap. Why did she have to argue with him so much over absolutely nothing?

"First off," he said, stopping abruptly and turning around to face her and Will, who was last in line. This was strongly reminiscent of the preceding night for the female of the three. "You know not what a pirate does, nor how he lives, so try not to judge one before you've actually had a chance to."

Still biting her lip, refusing to allow herself to speak, she nodded. Nodding himself, Jack turned with his usual swagger and continued to the landing.

"I see you two are getting along," Will said from somewhere behind her. She could easily detect the sarcasm present within his tone but decided to ignore it.

Putting a hand to her forehead, sighing, she followed after the captain, having to dodge lithely at least three times to avoid getting pummeled, and realized something as he finished speaking with that same barmaid from last night and received a banana … she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything for over twenty-four hours, and this hadn't been the easiest twenty-four hours of her life either.

Stubborn as usual, she of course refused to acknowledge her hunger as she walked obstinately up to him, her head held high. Still, she could not take her eyes off of the fruit. Jack, being the brilliantly astute man he was, noticed this. "Would you be hungry, darling?" he asked.

Swallowing, she nodded. "I suppose so."

"And you would be too then, I gather," he said, motioning to Will.

"As long as the food isn't poisoned," Will replied. Not bothering with a reply-What did he do to get himself into these situations?- Jack turned back to the counter.

"Dina! Dina! Come back here for a second, luv."

Fuming, the barmaid turned, practically stomping back. "Captain Jack Sparrow, I've told you, I will not-"

"No, darling. This is something completely different. These two," he said, motioning to William and Leah, "are hungry."

Barely sparing "the two" a glance, she glared at the pirate before her, one who seemed to be trying very hard not to flinch under the heat of her stare. "This i'n't a bloody charity, is it? There'll be no free anythin' to anyone, got it? Even if they're bloody starving at m' door."

Sighing, Jack reached for his pouch and, with much regret, took out a coin, holding it out. "Whatever happened to trusting me that I'd pay you back, luv?"

"I smartened up, Jack," she snapped, grabbing the metal from him before he could change his mind. Then, reaching for a bowl somewhere behind her, she grabbed two apples and threw them at him. Jack caught them easily while she also fished out a loaf of bread, one that actually wasn't as hard as a rock, and placed it on the counter in front of him. Before she could say a word, though, she noticed that someone to her left was actually trying to get themselves some free beer from behind the counter, and ran down there, yelling.

Doing his equivalent to a shrug, the pirate tossed an apple each to the Leah and Will, who had been watching this with only a little amusement, and then handed the male of the two the bread as he walked past. "I suggest you two share that," he said, not bothering with another look back.

"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot." Leah walked beside the blacksmith and pirate, led more or less my Mr. Gibbs, eyeing the men who would pilot their ship, well, the Navy's ship, theirs for the present, with barely-concealed disdain.

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will commented, about as impressed as she was. Not saying a word, Jack continued his inspection down the aisle of subjects and stopped, turning towards an exceptionally… elderly man.

"You sailor-"

"Cotton, sir," Mr. Gibbs informed him.

"Mr. Cotton, do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" The man stayed silent. "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man."

Mr. Gibbs found this to be the perfect moment to interject. "He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the pirate to talk for him. No one's yet figured how." Leah blinked. The parrot… spoke for him…? He couldn't be serious.

"Mr. Cotton's… parrot. Same question." She could not believe this. She could not-

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!"

"Mostly, we figure that means yes."

"'Course it does," Jack said, hiding his own dismay very well considering, and turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well you've proved they're mad," Will countered.

"So in other words," Leah cut in below her breath, "no, not satisfied."

Jack gave the two of them a look, actually agreeing with them in some small part of his mind, before a voice rang through. "And what's the benefit for us?" Strange, that sounded female. Her curiosity piqued, Leah followed, along with William, as Jack went over to inspect. With a grimace that Leah could not see, he took off the hat of the woman standing second to last in line, exuberantly stating her name. "Anamaria!" He was met with a slap from this woman, who was plainly furious, and after her initial shock, Leah watched the proceedings with a quirked eyebrow.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will said.

"No, that one I deserved."

"Why do I not doubt that," the 17-year old female muttered as, behind Jack, she could see Anamaria nodding.

"You stole my boat," the one called Anamaria snapped the moment Jack was facing her again.

"Actually-" Another slap cut him off. This was just getting to be pathetic…

"Borrowed, borrowed without permission, but with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't!" How many boats did this man steal in a day!

"You'll get another one," Jack offered, and even Leah could tell that this was a simple last-ditch effort to keep Anamaria from doing worse to him than a mere slap. He even cowered as the woman's arm extended, pointing. It was obvious she was trying hard to restrain herself from doing just that.

"I will."

"A better one," Will cut in, and the Swann was shocked to actually find him helping Jack. Well this was certainly an interesting day.

"A better one!" Jack seconded.

"That one," Will said, and Leah bent over, strongly taken aback with what he was pointing to.

"What one…? That one?" Jack demanded as he too finally saw while Leah's voice failed her at the blacksmith's audacity. That was the Navy's ship! If her father ever found out she helped to actually put this, the fastest ship in the Caribbean, permanently into the hands of a pirate…

At Will's expression, and at the situation he was in, Jack was forced to submit. "'Aye, that one!"

Now regaining the power of speech, Leah interrupted before he could continue. "Are you two mad? It's not out bloody boat! It's the Navy's! You have absolutely no right to give it away like this! If my father learns that I aided in this matter, do you know what he will- oh," she finished at last, and looked down before another sound could leave her mouth. She was escaping Port Royale! She was not going to go back there! Why did she care? There would be no consequences for her, would there? She was free…

"Exactly," Jack said quietly, although Will didn't exactly understand, and turned back to Anamaria, though his voice reached far.

"Aye!" was the group consensus, though Leah barely heard it, her eyes fixed firmly on the dock. The food she had eaten earlier was no longer a comfort within her stomach, and she felt sick. Was this really going to happen? What had she been thinking? Could she really… She'd been so sure before, but now, Leah was having second thoughts, realizing the implications this could have. What this something she wanted? Was she willing to face the alternative?

"No, no, no, no," Mr. Gibbs said the moment Anamaria and the main of the crew was out of earshot, the former having snatched her hat back from Jack with a glower. "It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman onboard, sir, and we already have one comin' along." For once, Leah stayed silent, deep in her reverie.

"It'd be far worse not to have them, the both of them," Jack replied, and turned, walking briskly away.

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Shane: Glad ye like! Hopefully this shorter one is up to your standards. :P

Leah: lol Yes. And she could drink up, me hearties, yo ho! :D I love that song… But, on another note, yes, she has, but it has all created the absolutely wonderful character we have here with us today. ;)

TriGemini: Long review! Long review! *Hops up and down like a five-year old on pixie sticks* Yes, Jack IS fairly sincere in his advice, though Leah's starting to figure out that there will be… *gasp* consequences if she does this! (Yes, sometimes, she can be a bit… slow :P, but I still luvvle her. *Huggles her Leah* But could you elaborate a bit more on what you would like to know about my dear Miss Swann? I'm not quite sure on which part of her history/personality/etc. you would like to know about.

Neytari: Yes, I noticed that while writing it, but I purposely put it in there that much for effect. The girl was so completely mad/sad/mad in the sense of nuthouse at that moment in time she has to use some sort of "curse word", and since that's the next best thing and something she says a lot anyway… Savvy?

Ipzy: No you don't! *Gives cookie* Any review good review! Much appreciated! And I'm very glad you're enjoying. :D

Vagrant: Glad it has caught thy attention in a good way! Please, continue to read and enjoy!

Pirate: Yes, Jack can be such a sweetheart sometimes. ^.^ And sorry once again for the delay in update! Shall be speedier this time, I swear!

Bubble: It is? YAY!!! :D I was wondering if my writing was too choppy or something… Very glad 'tis up to thy standards. :D

Ourania: I am very honored that this is a proper fanfiction and that ye are taking the time to read it, but one thing… 'tis Leah, not Sarah. ;) Sure it's just a typo on thy part. Keep on reading and enjoy, though!

Zubachick: lol Yes, amuses me too, and others as well I hear. Hope you have enjoyed this chappie!