Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, or any of the characters. My only profit is the lovely reviews I get from my wonderful reviewers! ^_^

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"Rachel! Rachel wake up!"

'He's there I know it!' I lashed out at the offending voice.

"Dammit!" yelled the voice. And then I heard snickering.

The blackness faded, and the room came into focus. Jack was massaging his nose, while Will was laughing profusely at him. I blinked several times, trying to clear my foggy mind, and sat up.

Then it dawned on me. "Jack? Did I hit you?" I asked groggily. He shot me an indignant look.

"Square in the nose darlin'. You have a knack for hitting me there," he replied, smiling slightly.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, feeling a little embarrassed. Pushing an errant braid out of my eyes, I looked at the two of them. Jack was giving me a curious look, and Will had slumped down into the chair that Jack had previously been sleeping in, and was also looking at me. It was starting to unnerve me. I shifted my weight uncomfortably, and cleared my throat. "What?" I demanded gruffly after about three or four minutes of their staring. Will glanced away, but Jack's thoughtful look grew.

"You were thrashing about something fierce, love," he told me. I suddenly felt queasy. "And you were yelling so loud the whole bloody tavern could've heard you."

I couldn't meet his intense gaze, and instead looked at the stained floor. " 'Twas naught but a dream Jack," I sighed. He didn't reply immediately. After a spell, he replied "Some dream."

He knew it wasn't just a dream. If it had been just a dream, I wouldn't have socked him in the nose in my sleep. No, he knew it was something horrible, and more then likely he knew it had to do with my past, which I still hadn't told him. 'Bloody memories,' I thought bitterly.

"What time is it?" Will asked, breaking the heavy silence. His question made me realize the faint light coming through our small window.

At once, Jack snapped out of his stupor. "Time we get a move on," he answered. I climbed stiffly out of the bed, and we gathered up our things, which weren't many, and prepared to return to the docks.

"Oh, and Rachel, don't look in the basin," Jack whispered in my ear. "Will was feeling the after effects of that rum." I smirked at Will, who, now that Jack mentioned it, did look a bit green. He simply shot us a glare and stalked out of the room.

"Wonder what bug flew up his arse," I wondered out loud.

"Seems normal to me," Jack commented, and we both chuckled at this.

Will was waiting for us in the tavern. It was so early that no one was awake, but I had a feeling there was probably someone in the kitchen. The floor of the bar was littered with passed out drunks, though it looked like the bar maids had made an effort to clean and sweep up the rest of the mess. 'Wouldn't want to be one of those for a living.'

"Want anything to drink?" Jack asked Will in mock seriousness. Will seemed to look even more sick, and shook his head. Jack shrugged. "Your loss. What about you?" he asked me.

I wasn't really in the mood for anything to drink, and I knew it definitely wouldn't help my throbbing headache. "Nay. Too early," I told him.

Jack spread his arms out to emphasize his point. "Pity. You of all people should know it's never too early for rum." I rolled my eyes as he sprang over the bar and grabbed a bottle of the precious elixir.

"Come on," Will growled impatiently. "We've already wasted enough time as it is."

"Don't fret, dear Will. Five minutes isn't going to make any difference in whether or not we rescue dear-" I pretended to search for Elizabeth's name. "Oh dammit. What's her name again?" And I successfully succeeded in irking Will.

His face grew pink with frustration. "It's Elizabeth," he snapped, and stormed out of the tavern.

"Nice," Jack complimented. "Hey! Wait for us!" he called after Will.

It's remarkable how different Tortuga is during the day. It's like everything has been cut in half. Half the chaos, half the whores, half the drunks, half the people in general. It could actually pass as a normal town. There are the usual merchants and traders and common folk that bustled around up and down the roads. There was a surprising amount on the streets for this early hour. 'Probably because most of the drunks are passed out now,' I mused. Will seemed fairly startled at the change in scenery. I laughed when he tripped over an unconscious drunk laying in the middle of the street.

" 'Tis better at night," Jack complained, looking as if he expected one of the many whores to appear right in front of him.

We did, in fact, pass several of them talking in a group. 'A herd of whores,' I thought dryly. They whistled and called to Jack and Will. Of course, Jack winked and grinned back at them, and Will looked determinedly at the ground. I was on the receiving end of some very freezing stares. I quickened my pace to get as far away from them as soon as possible. Unfortunately for me, Jack noticed this.

"If the stories I've heard are indeed true, I find it hard to believe that the captain of La Estrella can beat 10 men single-handedly and yet be afraid of a few prostitutes."

I stopped dead and turned around to look at him. 'What the hell? How does he know about my ship?' "It was five men," I snapped. "And how did you know?"

"Love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?" he drawled.

I fingered the hilt of my cutlass. "I would never have guessed," I replied acidly.

Jack smirked, and brushed past me.. "I saw your tattoo. And it didn't help that you kept saying it in your sleep," he said without turning around.

'Damn bloody dreams.' I didn't respond, but merely trudged along behind him and Will. "Now that the whole bleedin' world knows," I muttered to myself.

I hadn't really intended to tell him this soon, but he had found out of his own accord. Sure, I corrected people when they didn't call me captain, but that was more habit then anything else. If they hadn't heard of me, why advertise who I really was? It was an embarrassment to have lost my ship anyway. I wasn't worthy to be a captain.

Jack knew he had beaten me. He didn't have to verbally gloat either. It was more in his demeanor, and there was an added flare to his step. 'If that's even possible,' I thought. He wasn't going to let this go. Infuriating man.

Once out of the confines of the town, the warm sea breeze came full force. 'Glad my hair's in braids.' I loved the breeze. It always had a way to calm my nerves. And they were severely frazzled. The sun was higher in the sky now, and had warmed the air considerably. I pushed my sleeves up, since I didn't really need to conceal my tattoo anymore. The tangy sea air lightened my spirits considerably, and I jogged to catch up with the two men in front of me.

Jack was humming a sea shanty inaudibly under his breath, and would pause every now and then to take a swig of from his rum bottle.

"Well, I'm glad one of us is in a good mood," Will said irritably. Jack's response was to sing even louder, loud enough for me to recognize the song. "
Aft on the poopdeck
Walking about
There is the second mate
So sturdy and so stout
What he is thinking of
He only knows himself
Oh, we wish that he would hurry up
And strike, strike the bell,
" Jack sang. I picked up the refrain.

"Strike the bell, second mate
Let us go below
Look away to windward
You can see it's going to blow
Look at the glass
You can see that it is fell
We wish the you would hurry up
And strike, strike the bell
**," I finished, and trailed off at Jack and Will were both staring at me like I'd grown an extra head. "What?" I inquired indignantly. "I don't sing *that* badly do I?"

They shook their heads dumbly. "You just don't seem the type that would sing," Will explained.

"Actually," Jack began, resuming his usual amused look, "I was just surprised you know that song."

I sighed. "As *you* know," I said, looking at Jack and then to Will, "Every sailor sings."

"Aye. Even *captains*," Jack added.

I drew my cutlass. "Don't make me hurt you Sparrow. Because I will."

"But you wouldn't."

"Aye, I would. Unfortunately, we need you in order to save what's-her-face." I sheathed my cutlass. "One more time, though, and I swear I will."

Jack just looked amused. "Alright love."

I resisted the urge to strike him. By now, we had reached the dock near where we had anchored the Interceptor. There was a line of men waiting for us, and I could make out the shape of Gibbs talking to one of them. As we drew near, it became apparent that they were a sorry lot. One of them looked barely three feet high.

Jack shook hands with Gibbs. "G'day mate," he greeted.

I didn't pay attention to what they were saying. One man in particular caught my eye. He wasn't very tall, and had a hat draped over his eyes. Then I realized he wasn't a man. He was, in fact, a woman. I tried to look under the hat's large brim, but was unable to identify the face. 'Wonder if I know her,' I thought.

My attentions were drawn back to Will, Jack, and Gibbs. "*This* is your able- bodied crew?" Will asked in disbelief.

Smiling, I said " 'twould appear so wouldn't it?"

Jack, however, ignored us, seemingly in hope that the midget would magically grow and the rest of them would magically become ten years younger and a hell of a lot more formidable looking.

He decided to pick on one of them. He was an older man with a bright blue and yellow parrot perched on his shoulder. 'Poor soul,' I thought. 'He won't know what hit 'em after Jack gets through with 'em.'

"You, sailor!" Jack barked.

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs provided.

"Mr. CottonÉ do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Jack questioned, trying to look authoritative. Cotton didn't respond, but continued staring expressionlessly at Jack. "Mr. Cotton ! Answer, man!"

Still no answer.

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs put it. At this I began snickering uncontrollably. Both Gibbs and Cotton glared at me. I attempted to stifle them. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how," Gibbs continued.

Jack looked slightly shocked, but of course, didn't have the grace to look embarrassed. Seemingly disgruntled, Jack looked at the parrot. "Mr. Cotton 's... parrot. Same question."

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" the parrot squawked.

"Does that mean yes?" I teased in mock seriousness. Gibbs nodded.

"O'course it does. Satisfied?" Jack asked us.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Doesn't matter to me as long as we get off this rock as soon as possible," I answered.

"You've definitely proved their mad," Will snipped. (A/N: I know that wasn't a direct quote from the movie.)

"And what's the benefit for us?" a feminine voice demanded. I spun around to see that the woman had spoken, though she still had her hat over her eyes. Jack, being the daft idiot that he is, crept over to her, tried to peer under the brim to look at her face, and then pulled the hat off her head, revealing a dark skinned woman with long black hair. She didn't look too happy with Jack. The scalding look she gave him made me cringe.

"Anamaria!" Jack exclaimed in recognition and forced enthusiasm.

She slapped him.

"Nice!" I praised her. She smiled slightly at me. "I'm sure ye deserved it too," I said to Jack.

"Aye, that one I deserved," he replied. His head back in it's normal position, he looked at Anamaria.

"You stole my boat," Anamaria growled, her voice deadly.

"You did what?!" I exclaimed, horrified that he would do such a thing. Anamaria nodded.

"Actually-" he was cut off by another slap, this time made by me. "Bloody hell! What was that for?"

"Never, I repeat, never steal a woman's boat," I snapped, quite angry at how low he would stoop. 'He *is* a pirate,' I thought. "I'd probably do the same thing in his position.' But it was too much fun teasing Jack.

"Actually, I borrowed it. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to her."

"But you didn't!" Anamaria hissed savagely.

"You'll get another one," Jack promised, trying to soothe her.

Anamaria pointed her finger in his face. "I will."

"A better one," Will added, obviously quite fearful of the enraged women before him.

"A better one!" Jack said quickly.

"That one!" I announced, pointing at the Interceptor. Jack stared at me like I was crazy. "What the hell! Are you mad woman? That one?!" When Anamaria and I raised our arms threateningly, he quickly agreed. "Aye, that one! What say you?"

"Aye!" the whole crew answered, me included. Everyone began to make for the ship save me, Jack, Will, and Gibbs.

"No, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir. Even worse to have two," Gibbs warned. I rolled my eyes at his ignorance.

"It'd be far worse not to have them," Jack responded, looking up at the sky.

"Damn right," I growled so vehemently that Gibbs took an involuntary step backwards. Smirking, I strode confidently back to the ship, with the other three following suit.

TBC

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**A sea shanty called 'Strike the Bell'.

A/N: I'm a bloody forking liar! I'm soo sorry everyone! I was supposed to have this chapter out a week ago! Goddamn school...*growls* I hope y'all will forgive me!
Everything's been so hectic lately. My first volleyball tournament is tomorrow. I hope we win! *waves around pompoms* *feels stupid* Ok, so maybe I wouldn't make the best cheerleader in the world...

BlackHearte11- yay! You read this story! *does happy dance* I'm soo glad you like this! Now, if'n ya need any help in kidnapping Johnny, just say the word and I'm there! *evil smirk*

chibichibi386- Thankies for the review matey! Your story is good. Email me about that beta thing.

Jessi Lupin- Hi! Thanks for the review! And I'm glad to see that you've found a new obsession other than the Marauders! But you better not abandon your HP fics. I take it that Sessie lives in your head now?

San San As Herself- You always write such encouraging reviews! And you've reviewed for every chapter since chapter one! And, you were my very first reviewer! *beams*

PepaMynt- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the other story, but I prob won't post it cuz I have some parody ideas in mind!

DaydreamBeliever14- Glad you liked that story! But I have an even better idea up my sleeve that isn't so serious as that one! *laughs maniacally while lightning strikes in the background*
Rachel and Jack and Will: O.o
Me: Mwahhahaha.... :D

emeraldmedallion- Seeing as how you are the only person who responded to the beta reader thing, I guess you get to be it! Congrats!
Jack: Drinks all around!
Rachel: yay! *runs off to get the rum*
Will: *looks ill*
Me: WOOT!

That's all for now folks! I have no honest idea when the next update will be. Hopefully it won't take *too* long....

Until next time,

~TheSiriusSparrow~

*goes off to plan her upcoming possible parody which is currently still a daydream*