Author's Note: This is my first ever fic of any kind. Reviews are appreciated. Even bad ones. Flames can be used to warm my tootsies.


Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean ( except for the copy in my DVD rack). However, if anyone out there has a life sized blow up doll of Captain Jack. . .


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Chapter Two: When did you say?


She awoke the next morning feeling as though an elephant sat on her chest. The pain was still there, but duller than before. She shifted her weight and suddenly became acutely aware of a presence beside her in the bed. She jerked a little with surprise causing her to gasp as the pain in her chest flared. The man beside her shifted slightly in his sleep but didn't wake. She slowly turned her head to look at him. It was the handsome man from the night before.


/ / What is he doing in my bed? Or maybe I'm in his bed / /, she thought to herself. After all, this did not seem to be a hospital. Maybe he had nowhere else to put her. Since he was still sleeping, she took the time to study him a little closer. She'd never seen anyone like him. He was very handsome. His face was pretty deeply tanned. / / He must spend a lot of time in the sun / /, she thought. His clothes were draped over the back of the chair he had been sitting in when she saw him last, but he still wore the bandanna around his head. / / Wait a minute! His clothes were on the chair! / / Somehow she didn't think there was a pair of pajamas under the blanket he was covered with.

"Morning, luv," he said


She had been paying so much attention to his state of undress that she hadn't seen him open his eyes. She once again flinched with surprise causing her chest pain to flare.


"Ahh," she gasped.


"Sorry, pet, didn't mean to startle you."


He threw back the blanket and swung his legs off of the bed. She noticed that she had been correct about the pajamas. He wore nothing from the waist up and below that only an odd looking pair of underpants. She started to blush and turned her head away. She hardly knew this man and he was nearly naked in a bed with her! He reached for his clothes and turned back toward her. Noticing her discomfort, he gave her a lopsided grin.


"You're blushing, lass. Haven't you ever seen a man in his skivvies?"

"Yes, I have," she replied. "But not until I've known him a bit longer than this. I just met you, was it last night?"

"Aye, it was." He started to pull on his clothes.

"Would you mind?", she yelled. "Oh, never mind!" She turned her head to the side.

"I'll just be getting Gibbs t'look you over. After that, you can have some breakfast while we talk. D'ye think you can eat, luv? You need ta keep yer strength up."

"I think so. Who's Gibbs?", she asked.

"Gibbs is my first mate," he replied. "He was the one that removed the shot from yer chest. Closest thing ta a ship's doctor we got."

"Ship? This is a ship?" So that was the strange feeling she had been having. With all of the other sensations she had been feeling, she had failed to notice the faint rocking of the ship.

"How did I get on a ship?"she asked.

"You were on one t'begin with, lass. We just moved you t'this one."

"I don't know what you're talking about. The last thing I remember was going to bed at home and then I woke up here."

"We'll talk about it some more after you've eaten, lass. Perhaps you'll feel better after ye've had a bit" he replied. "Maybe you'll even tell me yer name."

And he was gone. The door closed behind him and she took a look around her. Now that she knew what to watch for, she could feel the slight rocking of the ship beneath her. The room that she was in was rather large. It almost seemed like a small studio apartment. She was lying in a large bed made of some dark wood. There was a desk against the wall with a dresser across from it. On the other side of the room stood a heavy round table with two chairs. The room also contained a complex aroma. She sniffed. Hmm, she could smell the sea . . . sweat . . . and . . . what was that? She sniffed again. Something sweet. Rum! That was it. All of this mingled over the smell of the wood. She decided that she liked the room. It was dim but it definitely had its charm.

There was a knock on the door. It opened slowly and a man's face appeared. The face was roughly shaven and he sported a large pair of mutton chop sideburns.

"Mornin', lass," he said. "The cap'n said ye'd be expectin' me. How be ye feelin' this mornin'?"

"You must be Mr. Gibbs", she replied. "I understand I owe you my life."

"Aye, lass, I suppose ye do. But I 'magine yer kin will be payin' enough to make it up t'me. And ye still haven't told me how ye be feelin'."

"Much better. It still hurts, but compared to last night it's nothing."

"D'ye mind if I have meself a look, then?" I'll try not t'hurt ye, lass, but I need t'check yer bandages and make sure the wound's not festerin'." He walked to the side of the bed. "I'll do nought more than check yer wound, miss."

"Alright, then. But, can you tell me what happened to me? I can't seem to remember any of it."

"Well, missy. It seems that Captain Hemingway decided ye'd be better off dead than with us. He shot ye right in the chest. Lucky fer you, he missed anythin' important. Not by much, though. And ye did lose a lot o' blood. Fer a minute there, I thought we'd lost ye."

"I don't understand. The last thing I remember was climbing into my own bed and going to sleep. How did I get on board a ship?"

"Can't tell ye that, lass. Ye were there when we got there. Yer wound looks pretty good this mornin'. Ye must be a fast healer. Ye'll still be weak fer a bit, though. Ye'd best stay abed fer a few days.

The door opened and the other man came back in followed by a young man carrying a tray. He pulled up a chair to her bedside and sat down astride it. The smell of the food reached her and she couldn't decide which was worse, the nausea or the hunger. She decided to take the chance and go with the hunger, and started to sit up. She gasped sharply and fell back to the pillow.

"Slowly now, lass. I told ye ye'd be weak. And ye don't want t'start it t'bleedin' agin. Let me help ye."

Gibbs helped her to sit and put pillows behind her for support. The boy with the tray brought it to her and she put it across her lap. It smelled good. Some kind of chowder, it looked like. She picked up the rough wooden spoon laying on the tray and tasted the soup. Not bad. She couldn't quite pin down what was in it, though. But she was hungry so down it went.

"Slow down, lass!", Gibbs warned. "Ye keep up like that and ye'll never hold it down."

She forced herself to slow down. It wouldn't do to throw up all over the place. They'd been so nice to her. That would be a poor way to repay them. Besides, it would probably hurt like hell.

"Now, luv. Time for that little chat I mentioned. You've slept in my bed fer two nights now and I still don't even know yer name."

"Rachel," she replied. "Rachel Finch."

"Finch. Odd name that. Pleased t'meet you, lass. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow and this is my ship, the Black Pearl."

"I'm still kind of confused as to how I got here, Captain," she said.

"We brought you aboard after that fool of a Captain shot yeh", he replied. "Almost killed you, too. Seems he was trying to protect your virtue. Better dead than took by pirates, eh?"

"Pirates?", she burst out. "You're pirates? I didn't know there were any left. I thought they all died out in the middle ages or something. Well, a long time ago anyway."

"I assure you, luv, I'm not a dead man. If you like I can prove it to you when yer feelin' a bit better."

"But it's 2003. Who believes in pirates anymore?" She'd heard of video piracy and the like but she didn't think that was what he was talking about.

"2003? Maybe you hit yer head when you fell, lass. It's 1763."