A/N Ok, here's your update! I know that it took me awhile to post, since I've been working on other stories… but I assure you that there is no way I could forget about this story. My friends would kill me. Only so far, I'm positively sure that there is nobody reading this except them. If you'd like to prove me wrong, REVIEW! Please? This chapter doesn't have much Hope in it, but… I hope you like it.
***~***
When Jack woke up there was a soft light filtering into the room, suggesting that it was morning, so he rolled out of the bed and went downstairs to the Tavern to see if Hope was still there.
She was sitting in the corner on a stool, leaning against the wall with her feet propped up on the table, and in her hand was a dirty mug, half full of rum. Her hat cast a shadow over her face, and her dark hair curled slightly over her shoulder. For a moment, Jack thought she looked almost pretty… but she was too small. He stepped closer, and she looked up at him, and he saw signs of weariness in her normally strong eyes.
"You need to get to sleep." He said.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep with you in the same room." She told him.
"I thought you said you trusted me?" Jack said, taking the rum from her hands. "How much rum have did you drink? Are you drunk?"
"No." She said, standing up. "I thought I trusted you too, but apparently not."
"Well, then…"
"Can't we just leave? We have lingered here too long."
"No. You can't leave when you're so tired."
"Couldn't I just sleep on your ship?"
Jack looked at her for a moment, and he thought about this.
"You would feel comfortable sleeping in my quarters?" He asked her finally.
"No, actually." She said sheepishly. Jack smiled and handed her the keys to the room.
"Go get some sleep." He said. She took them and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
Jack rubbed his forehead and thought about this. "I need to relax a bit. I might go get some rum, and maybe some company."
Hope frowned. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
Jack grinned. "Jealous?"
But she wasn't smiling, or blushing. "No. I don't think it's a good idea, Jack. One of these days, something is going to go wrong. I grew up in the brothels; I know how those ladies think. If one of them could figure out a way to get the money without doing the job…"
Jack sighed and stood up. "I appreciate your concern, lass, but nothing's happened so far, and I don't think anything is going to happen. I can take care of myself, you know."
She made no reply to this, only turned to go back upstairs to the room.
Jack walked down the streets of Tortuga, wondering if he could possibly get any company during the day. He felt like he needed to relax, but there didn't seem to be any women available this time of day. So he went into a tavern a little ways down and ordered a drink. Maybe by the time he got drunk, there would be women available.
***later***
Jack picked up his rum bottle and left the tavern, swaying quite a bit more than when he went in. He spent the day in there, and he was still conscious… he felt immensely proud of himself. He turned to the street corners to find a girl.
Two of the things he prided himself on were his ability to handle large amounts of rum, and the fact that he knew every available woman in Tortuga. He was always looking to meet new ones.
On this day, there was a new woman on the corner, who drew his fancy easily. She had the look of newness around her, but she seemed resigned to her job, and looked well-trained. She had curling dark brown locks and a dirty green dress that was not extremely revealing, but revealing enough, and she wasn't wearing anywhere near as much makeup as most women. He walked up to her and grinned.
"Hey, handsome. Need some company?" She asked him, smiling flirtatiously.
For a moment, Jack hesitated. Did he want to go through with this, as usual?
"Yes, I do. Willing to comply?" He asked her, flashing his trademark grin.
"Let's get some drinks first." She said, taking his arm. Jack didn't tell her that he was already practically passing out from alcohol; he only followed her into a nearby tavern.
Glancing at the tavern before they went in, the girl said, "We could get a room upstairs when we're ready. I'm not going to take you to the brothels."
"All right, love." Jack said, stumbling along next to her. He had no clue what they were doing, but he decided just to follow her around, and he might get what he wanted.
"Whatssyer name?" He asked her.
"Sophie." She said, leading him toward the counter to the bartender.
"Right, Soapy." Jack mumbled, following her.
***About four drinks later…***
Sophie and Jack went up to a room, and they both stumbled inside. They were both carrying nearly full mugs of rum, and although Sophie wasn't nearly as drunk as Jack was, they were both giggling insanely at something Jack had just said. Falling onto the bed together, Sophie raised her mug of rum and said, "Wait."
"What, love?"
"Let's have a toast first."
"Toast to what, darling?"
"Umm…"
They both collapsed into more insane giggles.
"To the morning." Sophie said, raising her mug.
"Aye, I'll drink to that." Jack said, and they clanked mugs. He raised his to his mouth and finished off the mug, and Sophie moved to drink hers… but she didn't drink it. She held it to her mouth and watched as Jack drank the last in his mug and then fell over, unconscious onto the bed.
Moving quickly, Sophie leaned over him with nimble fingers and searched for his bag of coins. She unhooked it from his belt, and set it on the bed. Standing up, she pulled off her skirt, and under it was men's clothing. Pulling off the rest of her outfit, she slipped a loose shirt on and then hooked Jack's pouch onto her belt. She leaned back over him, and watched him sleep for a moment… he really looked quite harmless while unconscious. She debated whether to take his jewelry also, but remembering an unfortunate run-in with cursed jewelry that she stole once, she wasn't about to repeat that mistake.
She looked at the sleeping man once more and found his tattoo, the sparrow flying over a sun setting over the ocean. Recognizing it, she smiled.
"I hope you don't mind if I borrow this, Captain Jack Sparrow." She said, jingling his money. Then she stood up and left the room, still grinning inwardly.
***later that night***
Jack woke up and was confused for a moment. Standing up, and getting off the bed he was lying on, he nearly fell over with the extreme headache that was pushing at his mind. He noticed that he felt lighter than before, though, and he remembered in a flash that he was supposed to meet Hope at the tavern at dawn. It was still dark outside, so he resolved to go down and get another drink before leaving to find Hope. He got about halfway down the stairs and was already reaching for his money bag to get out the coins, when he realized it was missing.
Memories of earlier that night flooded him like a river, and he felt a horrible dreading feeling. He ran back up to the room and searched frantically for the bag of money, but it was nowhere to be seen.
The wench had taken it! What was her name again? She would regret ever coming across Captain Jack Sparrow!
But he would probably never see her again. Tortuga wasn't exactly tiny. She could be anywhere. Was she even a prostitute?
Then he realized that he would have to explain to Hope exactly where his money had gone.
Oh, no.
***~***
Sophie was down at the docks, looking at the ships. Now that she had money, and a fair amount too by the way it was jingling, she could either buy a pathetic ship, or barter passage on a bigger ship to places where ships were cheaper. Or, she could steal a ship and save her money. She could…
Sighing, she sat down on one of the docks and let her feet dangle over the edge, hoping she wouldn't be in anyone's way. Who was she kidding? She would never be able to steal a ship, she didn't have the guts. It was dangerous in Tortuga… who knew what sort of things she would have to barter with in order to secure a passage? The only people who would barter with women were pirates. And they didn't barter with money, either.
She then spotted the most beautiful ship she had ever seen. It was finely crafted, and the white sails looked new, like they had only recently been swapped for old ones. Along the side, in bold, beautiful letters, it said The Black Pearl.
The name seemed familiar somehow, but she could not remember where it was from, and she couldn't connect it with any danger… but it was such a beautiful ship, and she wanted a closer look.
She crept up onto the deck and took a look around, running her fingers over the helm and over the railing of the ship. On an impulse, she went downstairs to the captain's quarters and looked around. It was like, her dream ship.
Only it wasn't hers.
But she couldn't bear to just leave it behind, never come back again and see this ship.
She slid underneath the bed. She would be a stowaway.