Disclaimer: If Pirates of the Caribbean stuff is P, Delphein's stuff is D, and this story is S, then Sminus P equals D. Wasn't that easy?

Chapter 6: The Captive

"Do you still have that green thing?"

Gwen eyed Jack dubiously. "What 'green thing'?"

"That gown ye had when ye first kidnapped yourself onto the Pearl."

She grinned at his phrasing and at the reminder of the first doubtful day she had spent on the pirate ship. But then she frowned. Not even bothering to ask why he wanted to know, already sure he wouldn't just tell her, she simply pointed out, "It's meant to be worn with a corset, which I don't have."

Not to mention that, although she hadn't really put on all that much weight in the months since she had last worn it, she wasn't quite the scrawny thing she had been when the dress had been made for her. Especially considering the way, now that she took note of it, she was just beginning to thicken around the middle. She didn't speak these last points, though. She didn't want to draw his attention to, or remind him of, her condition anymore than was necessary if she could avoid it.

Jack frowned at her response. His eyes shifted down, as if to appraise her figure. "Anything more expensive than that?"

Gwen, relieved that he seemed to be considering her overall image rather than her stomach, asked, "Why do I need to look like a lady again?"

Jack grinned at her, taking note that she had skipped two points of the conversation. First, she hadn't answered his question or asked if she should find something more high-class than her usual garb. And second, she had jumped over the question of why she needed such a dress, to which he would have responded that she needed to look like a lady. It seemed she thought like him more and more all the time.

Before he could answer, Gwen added, "More specifically than just so you can use me as some sort of ploy against Norrington."

Now he narrowed his eyes at her, pursing his lips into what was very nearly a sincere pout. But there was no menace or annoyance in his voice when he responded. "Just do it, luv," he said lightly, offering a gold-edged grin to soften the command.

"Aye, captain," Gwen answered with a smirk.

Jack disappeared from the drawing room door once again, and Gwen smiled in spite of herself at his scheming. He had decided to trim their "errand," that of replenishing the Pearl's ammunition stores at some other port, out of his plans. Instead, to accomplish that goal, he had opted to indulge in a round of cat-and-mouse maneuvers with his favorite rival: Norrington. There was no telling what role Jack had cast Gwen into for the sake of the game.

Elizabeth appeared in the doorway just then, head turned as though watching Jack's retreat away from the room. She was holding her little son, one arm under Billy's bottom, the other hand supporting his head and neck and holding him against her shoulder.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asked, turning her attention to Gwen and entering the room.

"No," Gwen said quite truthfully, still smiling. "He only stopped by to give me orders."

Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow at this but didn't comment. She had hoped that perhaps the two had been talking about something important.

For Gwen to have been so anxious and distraught last night, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel unsettled at the way Jack and Gwen had been behaving around each other all day. As if everything were perfectly normal. For herself and Will, they had been overjoyed when they learned of their expected child. They hadn't rejoined the "real world" for days. But for all of the same reasons- of status of life and personal aspirations- that the news of Elizabeth's pregnancy had thrilled her, the same tidbit of news had troubled Gwen significantly. Not to mention the odd but tellinglook on Jack's face when he had joined them outside in the garden, looking physically barely-put-together and emotionally very concerned. Elizabeth just couldn't see clear that her pirate friends could have so easily settled their fears that offspring would threaten their trouble-free, light-hearted life-style. And if they hadn't settled those fears, that meant that they were trying to ignore them. For which cause Elizabeth worried.

Elizabeth realized, as she sat down on a divan, that Gwen was absently staring at Billy. "Do you want to hold him?" she offered automatically.

Gwen smiled politely but responded with a little shake of her head, clearing her throat and looking away from the baby. Elizabeth frowned at the sign of Gwen's ill-ease about babies in general and her own pregnancy resurfacing. Look but don't touch. Well, Gwen would have to change her mind about that not so many months from now, wouldn't she?

Elizabeth tried to banish the awkward mood in the room, taking the opportunity to ask something she was curious about anyway: "Any idea what sort of mischief Jack's planning now?"

Gwen only paused for a second before she said candidly, "He's intending to steal ammunition and artillery directly from under Norrington's nose."

"How?"

"I have no idea. But I know he wants to use me as some sort of diversion or high card. He needs me to 'look like a lady' for the occasion." As she said the last bit, she gestured at her clothing, a simple, light cotton skirt and a loose shirt.

"I think we can find you something," Elizabeth offered, absently rubbing Billy's back.

"You're too helpful sometimes, Elizabeth."

"Anything for friends," she smiled.

Gwen was almost surprised at the amount of activity on board the Pearl when she and Jack reboarded the next morning.

The crew was industriously storing away fresh supplies. The Pearl, unlike many pirate ships, kept a treasury for the purpose of buying food and other such necessities in bulk for all. They had found that the simple act of keeping provisions for themselves improved morale and helped them plunder more successfully, taking mostly riches rather than mostly stock items. While the captain and some of the other crewman had been enjoying a holiday (while hiding from Port Royal's patrols), Smithy and some helpers had apparently been very diligent in purchasing and covertly transporting crates and barrels full of supplies to the Pearl, where she lingered near the secondary bay just out of view of the actual harbor of Port Royal.

Now the only provision left to secure was armaments. And as soon as their weaponry was replenished, they could set off on whatever voyage or adventure Jack had decided upon for them.

Now, as Jack bounded away to find Gibbs, Gwen turned towards their cabin to set down her packages. Both Turners had come through with providing Gwen with the things Jack wanted her to have.

Will had returned from the forge the evening before with a beautiful sword, complete with gold filigree on the handle and both scabbard and baldric of new leather, all packed into a long, narrow case. He had been beaming with pride as he presented it to her, and Gwen couldn't help but think it was the nicest thing she had ever been given, regardless of the empty-hearted rich things her father had absently allotted her during her youth.

And Elizabeth had found Gwen a gown, perhaps just a shade out of the current fashion, but elegant nonetheless. It was one she had worn for a season a year or two before her first adventure with the Pearl and its cursed crew. She assured Gwen she had no use for it, and Gwen had accepted the donation willingly, inwardly quite pleased that Elizabeth seemed to have purposely chosen an older style that would not call for cinching her stomach with a corset.

Gwen lay her sword and the bundled-up dress on one end of the table in the cabin and took the opportunity to sit down for a moment alone to muse. She realized that Jack had provided her with everything she had now, whether directly or indirectly. Her home- this ship- and all of its benefits had been granted her when he allowed her to stay aboard, even though she could argue with herself that she did support herself in helping to crew the ship and pillage along with the best of them. Jack had also introduced her to Elizabeth, whom she had not seen in a while but still counted as her closest, really her only, female friend. He had even been responsible for gaining her this beautiful sword, even if it had been more directly a gift from Will.

And now, Jack was also responsible for…

Well. Gwen stood abruptly. No need to think about it. She went out on deck to assist the rest of the crew in taking cargo down below to be stored. She picked up a crate and headed toward the hatch, laughing along with a crude joke Tunnel was sharing to all within earshot.

Gwen made two trips down with cargo and then back up again for more, but on the third, before she could lift a new crate, a rough hand grabbed her wrist. She looked up at Jack, bewildered.

Jack leaned in close and spoke in a low voice, "Ye don't want to be doing that, luv."

At the mystified expression she gave him, he stood upright again and gestured flowingly toward the captain's cabin. "You'll want to change now, m'lady," he explained, offering a half-grin to go with the disguised command.

Gwen stared at him, unsure whether the order to don her newly-acquired gown was his original intended purpose for accosting her or if it was just a smooth save. She favored the latter as most likely. She had been irritated when she first realized that he was trying to make her eat even more. Was this his way of coping, of pretending to understand their plight? By acting as though she had some disease that required coddling and proper treatment, and perhaps that alone would be enough?

She scowled at him openly before stalking away to change, as per his request.

Jack frowned. He wasn't sure he liked pregnant women. Not when the particular woman in question was his woman to have to deal with. He had held her while she cried the other night. And when she had run out of tears, they had wordlessly returned to their room and gone to sleep, as though nothing were wrong. In spite of his masked desire to help her, though, he really wasn't sure why she had been crying in the first place, and wasn't sure how to act around her having witnessed that vulnerable moment. He had thought perhaps the pregnancy itself were somehow physically unpleasant, thought that perhaps if she rested and ate more, things might work out a little better. Well, his attempts to enforce that policy didn't seem to help her mood any.

He shook his head. There weren't enough hours in a day to figure it out.

Despite her previous, though short-lived, annoyance at Jack's cosseting her, Gwen couldn't help but grin as the Pearl approached the harbor of Port Royal. Like many of Jack's plans,this onewas quite simple, really. The plan consisted almost exclusively of using her as a point for negotiation, then boarding the Dauntless, which was conveniently in port at the time, and simply taking what they wanted. Jack expected resistance to this, of course, but how he intended to deal with it, he wouldn't share, partially out of his old paranoia, and partially out of his desire to save the punch-line for the end of the joke.

Gwen basked in the balmy Caribbean breeze as she stood at the prow of the ship. She was watching and waiting for the moment of realization when the small watch-crew on board the Dauntless recognized the dark ship sailing into harbor to be theBlack Pearl-- one of the main ships on Norrington's perpetual "wanted" list. Jack stood nearby, similarly awaiting the moment of recognition.

And then it began.

A shout went up on board the naval ship as soon as they were noticed, and Jack took his cue. Stepping up behind Gwen, he clasped one arm around her waist, holding her snugly against him, and with the other hand, he raised a dagger to her throat.

Damsel in distress. Classic negotiating device. But a rich-lookingdamsel? Even better.

Gwen took the opportunity to scream, yell, call for help, and generally act terrified in a very loud way before Jack's ears couldn't stand how well she played her part anymore. He switched up his hold on her, clamping his empty hand over her mouth, and using his dagger arm, crossed diagonally across her torso, to pin her back against his body.

By this time, the Pearl was bearing down on the Dauntless. Jack flashed a grin at the soldiers aboard the vessel as they drew closer and closer together.

"Act wisely, gen'l'men," Jack called to them as soon as they were within a few hundred yards, raising his blade higher along his captive's throat. Gwen squirmed appropriately, her eyes wide as she looked across toward the soldiers beseechingly.

For a long moment, there was no reaction. Finally, a cool, collected fellow stepped up, obviously the lieutenant in control of the smalldetachment which was to supposed to guard both the ship and the harbor.

The man was short with broad shoulders and carefully groomed wig. He spoke in a nasal accent, "What are your terms, Sparrow?" The last word he spat out.

Jack grinned. Bargaining was such fun. "The life of this lass-" here he gestured dangerously at wide-eyed Gwen with his dagger- "for possession of the lovely lass ye're standing on."

The man raised his eyebrows, as though uncertain whether the pirate could actually be serious. In a tone of disbelief, he asked, "You want the Dauntless?"

"For the lass. Yes," Jack confirmed.

"Are you mad?" the lieutenant couldn't help saying. But his eyes flicked sympathetically toward Gwen, as though he were realizing that a hostage was his responsibility to protect and rescue at nearly any cost.

"Extremely," Jack answered. "My ship, lieutenant. For the fair maiden's life. Of course," he added, "I can't guarantee I won't try to get her back after we trade, because I know you will certainly try to get your ship back, aye?"

The lieutenant seemed to waver at this. The prospect of chasing down a pirate to regain a ship… He reviewed the whole situation rapidly. The Corinth was in port and, of course, would be after the pirates before they could even leave the mouth of the harbor. He knew well enough the reputation of Captain Sparrow, but there didn't seem anything that could go wrong here. The young lady would be rescued, the lieutenant and his men and the maiden would row back quickly to warn the Corinth, and the Corinth would easily recapture the naval ship and arrest the infamous Sparrow and his band of reprobates.

Just as he was hastily arriving at his decision in this way, the maiden let loose a terrified squeal. He looked up guiltily to see that while he was taking time thinking, the pirate captain had pulled the girl's head back with a hand on her forehead and was grazing the dagger against the skin of her neck.

"Agreed," the lieutenant called out anxiously.

"I'll have me ship, and then ye can have the wench," Jack said, not missing a beat.

The man hesitated, but consented when Jack tightened his grip again.

The lieutenant called to his crew, discreetly giving some orders as they came, and the assembled crew piled into a shore boat and unwillingly abandoned their ship to the pirates.

The first sign that something was wrong came immediately. As soon as the shore boat had been lowered into the water and the first pirates had crossed over to the Dauntless, the captive maiden, rather than being turned over to the waiting officers, was simply released. The captain even handed his dagger to her, which she tucked down the front of her dress. The lieutenant watched in consternation as Captain Sparrow gave the lass a randy smack on the bottom, and the woman playfully slapped his chest as she strolled away to casually bespeak another member of the pirate crew.

There was nothing for it but to hurry back to spur the Corinth as quickly as possible, to compensate for the deceit. They began rowing fiercely into harbor, shouting as soon as they were close enough. The lieutenant realized at once why the Corinth hadn't been suspicious of the activity between the Dauntless and the black-sailed ship and come to their aid on their own. From this angle, the Black Pearl, while not completely hidden, was obscured from view behind the bulk of the Dauntless, so that the preoccupied skeletal crew of the Corinth hadn't noticed it.

As it happened, the Commodore himself was currently inspecting the Corinth today, and he emerged from his rounds below decks with Captain Giselle just as the rowboat of deposed soldiers arrived with their unsavory news.

"After them. Immediately," Norrington commanded, his voice dangerously calm. "Sparrow will not have the Dauntless."

As soon as the soldiers had cleared out, leaving the Dauntless in Jack's hands, the crew of the Pearl had quickly taken over the naval ship and begun their task. All but a handful of the crew hurried to snatch up every bit of artillery and ammunition on the ship, as well as a few other things that were easy to grab in passing. The naval ship ran heavily armed, and their munitions were more than enough to comfortably restock the Pearl's stores of balls, powder, and shot.

"Hurry, ye dogs, we'll only have a few minutes!" Jack urged.

"Jack," Gwen began, "why don't we just take the Dauntless?"

"First off, luv, they disabled the rudder chain as they were leaving. We wouldn't be able to get her out of port fast enough. And second… that's what they expect." He grinned and winked as he turned away to return to the helm.

Gwen smiled as she crossed to the Dauntless to help carry as much artillery as possible back aboard the Pearl so they could make their clean get-away under the easy cover of the dead-in-water Dauntless. Their mission was a success.

"Sir?"

Norrington didn't answer Captain Giselle. From where he now stood on the defiled deck of the Dauntless (which was stripped bare of all munitions but the empty cannons themselves, and disabled by the handiwork of the naval crew themselves), with the perspective of exactly what Sparrow had intended and had done, making a mockery of his forces yet again, he should be thinking of how the pirate should be caught and punished.

Instead, all he could think of was the woman. The woman in the gown whom he had seen through his glass, the womanabandoning the Dauntless with the rest of the pirates before the Corinth even had a chance to get in range of the Pearl around the disabled Dauntless. That woman. There had been something about her…