Damned to the depths whatever muttonhead thought of disclaimers!

Evileyedpirategrrl – I'm glad you enjoyed that little romp. ;)

Chelsey – will Jenny stay with Jack…? Hmm, you'll just have to wait and see! :p

Caribbean-Mama – well I'm glad I've brighten up housework for you!!

Hilary – missed you? Nah, not a bit! :p

Thanks to Rachel Sparrow, JacksFoxyLass, Elfmaiden07 and Niccah for your reviews. Special thanks to Linnie and Hils for editing XX

A little bird tells me that a certain reader/reviewer has a special birthday today. So this chapter is just for you Caribbean-Mama – have a great day!!

…

Chapter twenty: 'Course I'm all right luv, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.'

Jack cursed out loud as he and Paul Rochester struggled with the helm, the strong current in the Strait trying to send them to the rocks that lined it. It had taken them four hard days just to reach the narrow passage near the beginning of the Strait and Jack was seriously beginning to wonder whether they would make it through in one piece.

'I reckon bleedin' Lopez had th'right idea, goin' across land an' all…' he muttered, staring darkly at the passage looming ahead.

'Shall we drop anchor, Sir?' The same thoughts had been going through Paul Rochester's mind and a sick pit of fear was welling up inside him at the thought of attempting the passage.

'Nah, the current's too strong. It'll drag us to th'rocks.'

'Cap'n!' Jack looked up at the look-out, stationed high on the rigging. 'Cap'n, there's a fog closing in from th'north.'

Jack laid his head against the wheel, too dejected to curse any more. 'What else is goin' ter go wrong, Paul?' Jack looked back up to the look-out. 'How fast's it comin' in?' he called, sending up a small prayer of hope.

'Not that fast, Cap'n. Reckon we might have time ter get through th'channel.'

Jack looked at his helmsman then at his quartermaster, Joshamee Gibbs, who had joined them, then at the narrow opening ahead. 'Unfurl th'fore an' topsails, an' run out th'sweeps. We need to do this fast but gentle, savvy?'

'Aye Cap'n.' Gibbs spun on his heels, barking orders as he went and the deck of The Black Pearl became a hive of activity as the crew leapt to the orders. Jenny climbed the rigging and helped unfurl the mainsail then went back down and stood and watched with the rest of the crew as Jack and Paul steered the ship on a steady course towards the narrow gap, her heart in her mouth the closer they got. She glanced up and saw the first swirling of the fog over the cliff tops and she clasped her hands together, murmuring a prayer under her breath.

Jack hung onto the helm for all he was worth, as the wind caught the sails and battled with the current to pull The Pearl off course but he and Paul somehow managed to keep control. Her bow edged into the gap as the fog came over the top of the Strait and started to make its way downwards, enshrouding those at the top of the masts.

'All hands, keep watch over th'sides,' Jack ordered, feeling the deck rumble beneath his feet as his crew made their way to the sides of the ship, scanning for any rocks or other hazards.

Slowly The Black Pearl eased through the channel and a muted cheer went across her decks, the relief evident in the voices of all on board.

'It ain't over yet, ya scabrous dogs, furl th'sails, an' maintain th'sweeps until we're well away from the passage then we'll drop anchor,' Jack ordered then scanned the deck for Jenny, smiling as he saw her figure faintly through the mist.

…

'Ow!' Jenny scowled at her grazed knuckles then sucked the blood off. Polishing the gratings was her least favourite job. It almost always ended with blood being shed – hers.

'Go an' get some salve off Cotton.'

She looked up as Jack squatted beside her and snorted. 'I'm not running to Mr. Cotton every time I skin myself,' she smiled at his laugh.

'Spoken like a true sailor, Jenny Wren.' Jack took her hand and licked the blood away then kissed it gently. 'Wonder how much longer we're goin' ter be mired in this fog?'

The Black Pearl had inched forward slowly during the past couple of days but Jackhad not wanted to go too far in case they went off course and headed for the rocks and cliffs lining the Strait of Magellanes. The ship shone like new as all hands had polished and cleaned and repaired her, anything to keep their minds and hands busy. But now they were running out of things to do and patience was wearing a little thin. One of the crewmen was currently in the sick bay being tended to by Ned Cotton, having lost his footing in the thick fog and fallen from the rigging to the deck, landing with a sickening thud. Jenny hoped there would be no more incidents for she was starting to feel nervous about the native's warnings against opening the burial mound and knew the crew were whispering the same to each other, too afraid to voice it out loud.

'Hmm? Oh, sorry Jack, I was miles away.'

'I wish we were luv,' he smiled ruefully. 'Leave that Jen, let's go below. Ya can chart a course to Tortuga for me.'

'Is that where we're going?' Jenny was not sure she wanted to go to the infamous pirate town. After all, San Juan and Fortaleza had been bad enough.

'Aye luv, making a slight detour on th'way back.' Jack led the way to the hatch leading to his cabin.

'Jack, why don't you use the main cabin? I know the captains on other ships do.'

'Can't bring meself ter use it after Barbossa took over me ship. Gibbs don't have a problem with it though an I like th'quarters I got well enough, they're more private,' Jack winked salaciously, chuckling at Jenny's mock stern frown. He strode over to the chest that contained his maps and took out an unmarked one that he had drawn up while the ship had been stationary in the fog, and spread it across the table.

'Where did this one come from?' she queried, as she thought she had seen most of Jack's maps and knew that they had all got markings and lines drawn on them.

'Drew it up yesterday an' this morning luv.'

'You drew it up?' Jenny looked in amazement at the map, noting how professional it looked.

'Aye, when I stowed aboard The Heart of Oak, I was apprenticed to th'cartographer on board. He was th'best map maker I've ever come across, good man too. Right, c'mon missy, get this route charted.' Jack leaned over deliberately close as Jenny set about charting the course to Tortuga, via Montevideo and Fortaleza, knowing they would need to pick up supplies. 'Excellent luv, Bert Heathcote would be proud o'ya.'

'Bert Heathcote?'

'Me old cartographer master. There's just one thing, we'll be making a slight detour before we get ter Tortuga but we won't be puttin' it on th'map.' Jack rolled the chart up and stored it with the others in the chest, making sure it was shut tight.

'Where will we be going?' Jenny eased her aching back, then smiled as his nimble fingers set to work on the knots in it.

'Isla de Muerta.'

'What? Is not there where…..?'

'Aye luv, it's where th'cursed treasure of Cortez was found. It's also a bloody good place ter store me booty.'

'But doesn't the Navy know about it?' Jenny knew all about the story, having heard various versions of it from the crew, as well as Jack himself.

'Aye, which is why they'll never suspect me of usin' it as a cache,' Jack grinned smugly, then left Jenny sitting and there and walked to his tallboy, producing his pipe and some hemp leaves from it and lit it, inhaling deeply. 'C'mon, come an' sit on me lap Jen.' He sat on the window seat and looked out at the fog, sighing to himself.

'How long have you used Isla de Muerta as a cache?' Jenny sat against him and tried to hold her breath for as long as possible, feeling Jack chuckle as she let it out in a wheeze.

'Won't kill ya Jen, here try some.' He handed the pipe to her as she looked at him doubtfully. 'Don't inhale it too much, savvy?'

Jenny sucked slowly on the pipe then let her breath out again before it hit her lungs, and tried again, taking a deeper breath of the hemp smoke but was too late in letting it out and choked as her lungs filled with the smoke. 'N-no more,' she wheezed, her eyes streaming and nose running. 'Well?'

'Eh? Oh, Isla de Muerta? Since th'curse was lifted. Gibbs an' them went back before th'Navy could get their hands on th'loot and took as much as they could then came back fer me. Th'Navy took th'rest of it, apart from Cortez's chest then blew the entrance to th'cave. But there are plenty more caves around th'island. Not that th'Navy go anywhere near th'place, bloody load of nonces.'

Jenny giggled, the hemp starting to affect her. 'Nonces! Ha! Nonces with brooms down their backs,' she laughed, inhaling a cloud of smoke that Jack blew out.

'Up their arses more like,' Jack snorted then joined Jenny giggling until they were both clutching their sides, quite helpless with laughter.

'Cap'n? Cap'n, the fogs liftin' sir.'

'Aye Daniel, we're comin.' Ya comin' Jen?' Jack uncoiled himself from her and stood, swaying from side to side, his arms flailing about.

'I'll make it to the deck before you do, that's for sure.' She ran for the cabin door and up the steps, squealing as he tried to grab her legs and pull her back.

'Get back 'ere woman, ya cheated,' Jack growled good naturedly then looked around as he stepped out on deck at the thinning fog, spying the cliffs on the starboard side of the Strait. 'Reckon we can sail through this, eh Mr. Gibbs?'

'Aye Cap'n, we can, not so sure about you though…' Joshamee Gibbs ignored the indignant splutter from his captain and ordered the crew to make sail, relieved to be on their way once more.

By the time they approached the opening of the Strait, Jack had sobered up enough to take the helm with Paul Rochester. The seas did not seem as rough as when they had entered it, which pleased him. But he still told Jenny to strap herself into the bunk and take a slop bucket with her, just in case.

The Black Pearl rocked and pitched the nearer they got to the gap and the open ocean, and the two men at the helm had a struggle to keep hold of the wheel and stay on course. The waves started climbing higher and higher until they reached the upper gun deck and poured through the ports that had been forced open by the sea until the crew fastened it shut again and turned their attentions to the next open port.

Jenny unstrapped herself and watched the waves through the stern windows with a certain amount of fascination and much to her relief, no queasiness in her stomach at all. She clung on to the side of the bunk as the ship pitched violently and seemed to carry on down for an age, before righting herself again. She chewed her lip, worried for the men on the deck, especially Jack, and she had to fight the urge to go up and check if everyone was all right. She looked out of the window again and immediately noticed the waves did not seem as high and the roll of the ship not quite as violent as it was before then she saw the land behind the ship and knew they had made it out of the Strait.

Jack ordered a course away from the land. Now they were not looking for an opening, they did not have to hug the shore so closely and he was hoping for calmer seas. He told Paul to get some rest and got Pete Symmonds to take over the helm while he checked on Jenny, not being altogether surprised when he met her coming up the steps to the deck.

'Are you all right Jack?' Relief clearly showed on her face as she saw that he was and Jack felt that his heart was going to pound out of his chest, knowing that she had been worried for him.

'Course I'm all right luv, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.' He followed her as she made her way back down the steps then held her close to him, burying his face in her loose hair. 'Were you all right luv?' he whispered, kissing his way along Jenny's neck and up her face to her lips.

'Mmm,' came the reply, as Jenny eagerly returned the kiss then broke it off as Joshamee Gibbs interrupted them with a discreet cough.

'Sorry to interrupt, but there's a fair bit o'water in th'bilges. I've got a team pumpin' it out but thought you should know, Jack.'

'Aye Gibbs, I'm comin'.' Jack rolled his eyes at Jenny then followed his right hand man down the corridor and back to his duties.

Jenny made her way to the galley where John Williams was trying to re-light the galley stove, cursing under his breath as attempt after attempt failed. 'Is there anything I can do, John?' She stood hesitantly in the doorway, not knowing whether to stay or go.

'Aye sweetheart, ya can turn into a fire breathin' dragon an' get this bleedin' thing alight.' John let out a sigh as the wood finally caught light then smiled ruefully up at Jenny who was laughing.

'I remember the trouble I had trying to light the fire at home in the winter. I used to have to fetch a man from down the lane to do it for me some days.' She smiled fondly at the memory then walked across to the side cabin where the animals were kept. 'How were they?'

'Th'goats bleated like summat possessed but th'hens were fine, just carried on pecking at th'grain.'

'I'll bet there's no milk to be had then.' Jenny fetched a pail from the hook and sat on the floor beside one of the goats and started tugging at its teats, surprised when milk began to squirt out into the pail. 'Looks like I was wrong, John.'

'That's good luv, we could do wi'some decent fresh food. Th'hens laid ten eggs, an' there are five left over from th'other day, so I reckon we can cook us up some scrambled egg if ya get enough milk from th'goats.'

'I'll make sure I get enough milk in that case,' she laughed, settling into a rhythm of milking, half filling the pail from the one goat then moving it to the other and starting again. She carried the three quarters full pail out to the galley and carefully strained it through a piece of muslin into another pail, then poured the milk into a cauldron. She broke the eggs into it and used a long wooden spoon to mix it all thoroughly.

'What's fer supper?' Jack padded barefooted into the galley, saw the fire was lit and went and warmed himself by it.

'Scrambled egg, spuds and cured beef.' John had pressed one of the younger crewmembers into peeling the mound of potatoes and the cook lifted the pot and placed it on the stove. 'We'll have ter go easy on th'food though Cap'n, just about have enough ter get us ter Montevideo. We're all right fer water though.'

'Aye Cookie, whatever ya see fit,' Jack grinned lasciviously at the sight of Jenny's backside sticking up as she bent to stroke behind the ears of one of the cats, whomshe had named Smokey.

'Jack Sparrow, if you were a gentleman you would avert your eyes….' Jenny glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes narrowed.

'Eh? How'd ya know what I was lookin' at? 'Sides, I never pretended ter be a gentleman,' Jack grinned, broadly. 'I'll leave yer in peace to get supper. We'll have ours in th'cabin Jen, savvy?'

'All right Jack, I'll bring it along later,' she straightened and pecked Jack on the cheek then turned her attention back to the scrambled eggs, mentally reminding herself to fetch a bottle of wine from the hold to take along as well. It promised to be a good night.

…