Disclaimer – I don't own POTC, any characters, events, plots, settings,
etc. from it. It belongs to Disney.
The room was still pitch black. Jen blinked a few times, and sat up. The window showed a dark blue sky. Jen suddenly lay back down; feeling like a sledge hammer had fallen onto her head. She groaned. A hangover. How wonderful. The Turner's had awfully strong rum! Still, Jen slipped out of bed. She wanted to apologize to Will and Elizabeth, and she had to go now, seeing as when the sun rose the hangover would be made worse with all the light.
"Avast!" Jack mumbled in his sleep. "Get ta work, ya scurvy ocean dogs!" Jen rolled her eyes, and considered waking him. No, that would be unkind. His hangover would probably be far worse than hers. Jen pulled on a new dress and to the Turner's house. The town was still dark, and silent, a heavy darkness fell heavily upon the quiet streets. Upon reaching the Turner's, Jen quickly hurried up the steps and opened the door. To her surprise, it wasn't locked. She slipped in quietly and shut it behind her. Apparently, the Turner's had been very tired last night. The ruined furniture was still there, and Jen felt a stab of guilt again. She made her way towards the living room and suddenly tripped, landing sprawled out on the floor. Cursing her hangover, she got up carefully, praying the loud crash hadn't woken anyone up. Jen groped in the dark, finally locating a candle and lighting it. She surveyed the work to be done. The rug was a blackened mess, charred and scorched beyond repair. Jen couldn't even make out the elaborate pattern anymore. Jen ran her hand over the mahogany coffee table, which had been quite the beautiful piece. Now it too was scorched, and lying on its side since one of the legs had been burned off. The chair that had been used to start the fire was completely mangled; there would be no salvaging it. The second chair was also badly burnt, and would have to be tossed. Jen ran a hand through her hair. She was no stranger to hard work, the Pearl was quite a lot of it actually, but she had never had to clean a house. She decided to start with the rug. She rolled it up and moved it away, and then managed to find a scrub brush. After locating the bucket, she realized she'd have to go to the well to get water, since it would be too noisy trying to get it out of the indoor pump. The sky was beginning to lighten, Jen saw a few more people. The faint light scorched her eyes at first, but finally she grew accustomed to it. Hauling the water was a fairly easy task, and Jen managed to lug it safely back inside.
"And really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties yoho!" She muttered, humming under her breath. Jen tied back her hair with a bandanna she had brought with her as she scrubbed the floor, which was covered in ashes and lightly singed black. Jen was quite a mess an hour later. She had half spilled the bucket. On the ship this was no problem, but it meant she had had to chase the water with a mop to keep it from further ruining the Turner's home. Some of the soot had blackened her palms as she leaned on the floor, and the knees of her dress were black as well from kneeling. Without realizing it, she had rubbed the soot onto her face. She was just grabbing the bucket to keep it from spilling a second time when she heard a knock.
"Jack finally got up, that lazy scum." She muttered, heading over to the door. She paused though, in front of it.
"Who's there?" She called. There was no answer. The knock came again, more insistent. Jen hesitated still, biting her lip. She cursed herself for not brining the pistol that Jack had taught her to use. The knock came a third time. Jen took a deep breath and flung the door open. Jen stepped back, horrified, turning away from the door to face the stairs.
"Miss Raven?" Asked a startled voice. Jen nearly groaned, but managed not to. She turned around.
"Yes, Mr. Hawk?" Adam Hawk stood uncertainly on the doorstep.
"As I said before, call me Adam." He looked uncomfortable a moment more, then regained his composure and acted like he saw ladies of society standing in soot covered clothes and drenched all the time.
"I uh...apologize for my appearance, Adam, but my friend who was watching my cat watched her here last night because...the inn would not allow a cat, and I'm just cleaning up after it." Jen lied quickly. Adam's eyebrows rose.
"Your...cat, did this?" He asked in disbelief, the rising sun casting a fairly decent light of the ruined furniture.
"A...a little boy tied a firecracker to its tail, and it ran in here." Jen stammered desperately, hoping he would leave it at that and leave. Adam's eyes narrowed, turning into dark brown slits.
"I shall inform Commodore Norrington immediately. He holds the most authoritive sway on this island, he will see to it that pranks such as these are no longer performed, Miss Raven." He said in a chivalrous manner. His protectiveness reminded her of Jack for a moment, as did his dark brown eyes.
"Thank you, Adam." Adam nodded and straightened up, his face clearing of any traces of anger.
"In my youth, I had a cat. My younger sister named it Marble after it's strange colored eyes. Might I meet yours?" He asked, peering through the house with interest. Jen panicked. There was no cat! Thinking quickly, she said the first thing that came to mind.
"It...died! It died!" She blurted out. "It was burned by the firecracker. My friend buried it last night." Jen said, adopting what she hoped was an upset face. Adam patted her hand in a comforting manner.
"I'm so sorry. No wonder you rushed out last night." Jen nodded, lowering her eyes to the floor.
"So Adam, what are you doing here?" Jen asked.
"I was looking for Mr. Turner. But it was no pressing matter. I'll return later. I hope you will still come for dinner tonight despite your loss." Adam said hopefully, yet respectfully.
"Of course. I'll be there as promised." Jen said quickly, ushering him out and shutting the door behind him. Suddenly, Elizabeth was descending from the stairs.
"Jen! Good morning, what are you doing here?" She asked.
"Cleaning. And playing maid." Jen answered. The headache that she thought she had lost earlier was now back, throbbing painfully.
"Why on earth would you do that?" Jen stared in disbelief.
"Because Jack and I nearly burned down your house last night when we should've been watching your son!" Elizabeth grimaced, a shadow passing over her face.
"Oh, right. I'd forgotten."
"Well, I'm nearly done. I'm sorry the furniture can't be saved, but I cleaned up the floor." Elizabeth smiled.
"Thanks, Jen. I thought I heard you talking to someone."
"I was. Adam Hawk. He was looking for Will." I told her.
"Mr. Hawk? Oh, Will was working on a sword for him. He might've wanted a change in design. Are you meeting him tonight?" Jen was beginning to worry about how much of the conversation had been heard.
"Yes. We are actually." Jen said carefully, wondering what direction this was going in.
"I'll drop off a dress for you. You can't go in that!" Elizabeth said, eyeing Jen's outfit with an amused smile.
"Thanks."
"Why don't you join us for breakfast? I'm sure Jack will stagger his way over soon." Elizabeth offered. Together, they headed into the kitchen. Elizabeth was making pancakes while Jen poured milk for Charlie and orange juice for the rest of them. Will came down the stairs bearing Charlie and sat at the table with the two women. They were eating quietly, making light conversation, when they heard the door open and then slam.
"Morning Turners!" Jack called out.
"In here, Jack!" Will shouted. Jack sashayed into the kitchen, shaking his head.
"Captain, captain mate. So what's for breakfast?" He asked, pulling up a chair and beginning to butter some toast.
"So," Elizabeth began, turning to Jen, "I guess you met Adam at the party? What prompted the invitation?" Jack and Will stared at Jen. Only Charlie's eyes weren't fixated upon her. He was mashing his pancakes with a tiny spoon. Jen picked up her glass of orange juice and began to drink, desperately trying to squirm out of answering. Jack's stare was as immovable as stone, and Jen hadn't answering to him. She gulped down the orange juice slowly, not taking it away from her mouth until she had drained it of every last drop. Then she picked up her napkin and wiped off her mouth. Trying to cause a distraction, Jen knocked the milk jug with her elbow. It teetered on the table, milk sloshing around the top of it.
"Sorry!" Jen said, getting up to get a rag. Elizabeth reached out coolly and righted it, giving the milk no chance to spill. She grabbed Jen's arm and pulled her back down.
"Go ahead. Tell us about Adam." Jack said slowly, his dark eyes boring into her.
"Well, we met at the party. He seemed very nice, and asked me to dinner. I think he's lonely. He just needs someone to talk to." Jen applied to Jack, begging him to give approval.
"You can go, as long as he doesn't end up with his 'loneliness' satisfied." Elizabeth scowled fiercely at the speaker.
"Jack! Have some decency! Jen wouldn't do anything of the kind! Besides, Adam is a gentleman! He wouldn't do anything like that either!"
Jen and Jack were heading back to the inn, killing time.
"What time is Adam coming?" Asked Jack.
"Umm, five I think." Jen was nervous. Jack was a very protective person, and he wasn't very good at sharing things. Jack nodded.
"Listen Jack, I'm really sorry. You know I'd rather stay home with you but I had to make a quick getaway last night and I was so fed up with that corset I was ready to agree with anything just to be able to go home!" Jen protested. "And if I'm not home by ten, come and get me, all right?" Jack grumbled about being a babysitter, but he looked much more assured.
The room was still pitch black. Jen blinked a few times, and sat up. The window showed a dark blue sky. Jen suddenly lay back down; feeling like a sledge hammer had fallen onto her head. She groaned. A hangover. How wonderful. The Turner's had awfully strong rum! Still, Jen slipped out of bed. She wanted to apologize to Will and Elizabeth, and she had to go now, seeing as when the sun rose the hangover would be made worse with all the light.
"Avast!" Jack mumbled in his sleep. "Get ta work, ya scurvy ocean dogs!" Jen rolled her eyes, and considered waking him. No, that would be unkind. His hangover would probably be far worse than hers. Jen pulled on a new dress and to the Turner's house. The town was still dark, and silent, a heavy darkness fell heavily upon the quiet streets. Upon reaching the Turner's, Jen quickly hurried up the steps and opened the door. To her surprise, it wasn't locked. She slipped in quietly and shut it behind her. Apparently, the Turner's had been very tired last night. The ruined furniture was still there, and Jen felt a stab of guilt again. She made her way towards the living room and suddenly tripped, landing sprawled out on the floor. Cursing her hangover, she got up carefully, praying the loud crash hadn't woken anyone up. Jen groped in the dark, finally locating a candle and lighting it. She surveyed the work to be done. The rug was a blackened mess, charred and scorched beyond repair. Jen couldn't even make out the elaborate pattern anymore. Jen ran her hand over the mahogany coffee table, which had been quite the beautiful piece. Now it too was scorched, and lying on its side since one of the legs had been burned off. The chair that had been used to start the fire was completely mangled; there would be no salvaging it. The second chair was also badly burnt, and would have to be tossed. Jen ran a hand through her hair. She was no stranger to hard work, the Pearl was quite a lot of it actually, but she had never had to clean a house. She decided to start with the rug. She rolled it up and moved it away, and then managed to find a scrub brush. After locating the bucket, she realized she'd have to go to the well to get water, since it would be too noisy trying to get it out of the indoor pump. The sky was beginning to lighten, Jen saw a few more people. The faint light scorched her eyes at first, but finally she grew accustomed to it. Hauling the water was a fairly easy task, and Jen managed to lug it safely back inside.
"And really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties yoho!" She muttered, humming under her breath. Jen tied back her hair with a bandanna she had brought with her as she scrubbed the floor, which was covered in ashes and lightly singed black. Jen was quite a mess an hour later. She had half spilled the bucket. On the ship this was no problem, but it meant she had had to chase the water with a mop to keep it from further ruining the Turner's home. Some of the soot had blackened her palms as she leaned on the floor, and the knees of her dress were black as well from kneeling. Without realizing it, she had rubbed the soot onto her face. She was just grabbing the bucket to keep it from spilling a second time when she heard a knock.
"Jack finally got up, that lazy scum." She muttered, heading over to the door. She paused though, in front of it.
"Who's there?" She called. There was no answer. The knock came again, more insistent. Jen hesitated still, biting her lip. She cursed herself for not brining the pistol that Jack had taught her to use. The knock came a third time. Jen took a deep breath and flung the door open. Jen stepped back, horrified, turning away from the door to face the stairs.
"Miss Raven?" Asked a startled voice. Jen nearly groaned, but managed not to. She turned around.
"Yes, Mr. Hawk?" Adam Hawk stood uncertainly on the doorstep.
"As I said before, call me Adam." He looked uncomfortable a moment more, then regained his composure and acted like he saw ladies of society standing in soot covered clothes and drenched all the time.
"I uh...apologize for my appearance, Adam, but my friend who was watching my cat watched her here last night because...the inn would not allow a cat, and I'm just cleaning up after it." Jen lied quickly. Adam's eyebrows rose.
"Your...cat, did this?" He asked in disbelief, the rising sun casting a fairly decent light of the ruined furniture.
"A...a little boy tied a firecracker to its tail, and it ran in here." Jen stammered desperately, hoping he would leave it at that and leave. Adam's eyes narrowed, turning into dark brown slits.
"I shall inform Commodore Norrington immediately. He holds the most authoritive sway on this island, he will see to it that pranks such as these are no longer performed, Miss Raven." He said in a chivalrous manner. His protectiveness reminded her of Jack for a moment, as did his dark brown eyes.
"Thank you, Adam." Adam nodded and straightened up, his face clearing of any traces of anger.
"In my youth, I had a cat. My younger sister named it Marble after it's strange colored eyes. Might I meet yours?" He asked, peering through the house with interest. Jen panicked. There was no cat! Thinking quickly, she said the first thing that came to mind.
"It...died! It died!" She blurted out. "It was burned by the firecracker. My friend buried it last night." Jen said, adopting what she hoped was an upset face. Adam patted her hand in a comforting manner.
"I'm so sorry. No wonder you rushed out last night." Jen nodded, lowering her eyes to the floor.
"So Adam, what are you doing here?" Jen asked.
"I was looking for Mr. Turner. But it was no pressing matter. I'll return later. I hope you will still come for dinner tonight despite your loss." Adam said hopefully, yet respectfully.
"Of course. I'll be there as promised." Jen said quickly, ushering him out and shutting the door behind him. Suddenly, Elizabeth was descending from the stairs.
"Jen! Good morning, what are you doing here?" She asked.
"Cleaning. And playing maid." Jen answered. The headache that she thought she had lost earlier was now back, throbbing painfully.
"Why on earth would you do that?" Jen stared in disbelief.
"Because Jack and I nearly burned down your house last night when we should've been watching your son!" Elizabeth grimaced, a shadow passing over her face.
"Oh, right. I'd forgotten."
"Well, I'm nearly done. I'm sorry the furniture can't be saved, but I cleaned up the floor." Elizabeth smiled.
"Thanks, Jen. I thought I heard you talking to someone."
"I was. Adam Hawk. He was looking for Will." I told her.
"Mr. Hawk? Oh, Will was working on a sword for him. He might've wanted a change in design. Are you meeting him tonight?" Jen was beginning to worry about how much of the conversation had been heard.
"Yes. We are actually." Jen said carefully, wondering what direction this was going in.
"I'll drop off a dress for you. You can't go in that!" Elizabeth said, eyeing Jen's outfit with an amused smile.
"Thanks."
"Why don't you join us for breakfast? I'm sure Jack will stagger his way over soon." Elizabeth offered. Together, they headed into the kitchen. Elizabeth was making pancakes while Jen poured milk for Charlie and orange juice for the rest of them. Will came down the stairs bearing Charlie and sat at the table with the two women. They were eating quietly, making light conversation, when they heard the door open and then slam.
"Morning Turners!" Jack called out.
"In here, Jack!" Will shouted. Jack sashayed into the kitchen, shaking his head.
"Captain, captain mate. So what's for breakfast?" He asked, pulling up a chair and beginning to butter some toast.
"So," Elizabeth began, turning to Jen, "I guess you met Adam at the party? What prompted the invitation?" Jack and Will stared at Jen. Only Charlie's eyes weren't fixated upon her. He was mashing his pancakes with a tiny spoon. Jen picked up her glass of orange juice and began to drink, desperately trying to squirm out of answering. Jack's stare was as immovable as stone, and Jen hadn't answering to him. She gulped down the orange juice slowly, not taking it away from her mouth until she had drained it of every last drop. Then she picked up her napkin and wiped off her mouth. Trying to cause a distraction, Jen knocked the milk jug with her elbow. It teetered on the table, milk sloshing around the top of it.
"Sorry!" Jen said, getting up to get a rag. Elizabeth reached out coolly and righted it, giving the milk no chance to spill. She grabbed Jen's arm and pulled her back down.
"Go ahead. Tell us about Adam." Jack said slowly, his dark eyes boring into her.
"Well, we met at the party. He seemed very nice, and asked me to dinner. I think he's lonely. He just needs someone to talk to." Jen applied to Jack, begging him to give approval.
"You can go, as long as he doesn't end up with his 'loneliness' satisfied." Elizabeth scowled fiercely at the speaker.
"Jack! Have some decency! Jen wouldn't do anything of the kind! Besides, Adam is a gentleman! He wouldn't do anything like that either!"
Jen and Jack were heading back to the inn, killing time.
"What time is Adam coming?" Asked Jack.
"Umm, five I think." Jen was nervous. Jack was a very protective person, and he wasn't very good at sharing things. Jack nodded.
"Listen Jack, I'm really sorry. You know I'd rather stay home with you but I had to make a quick getaway last night and I was so fed up with that corset I was ready to agree with anything just to be able to go home!" Jen protested. "And if I'm not home by ten, come and get me, all right?" Jack grumbled about being a babysitter, but he looked much more assured.