Usual disclaimers

With thanks to KillerK, PirateAurora, lexie (yes they did!), Pendragginink (I can never spell your name right…), Darigan Sparrow, Roxula's Bride, RosePearl, Galleria, beatlechicksteph, Mrs Depp, Cayenne PP, Opi, and Hilary.

I'm over my hissy fit – for now. All the reviews and kind words have helped. To be honest with you all, I have been finding it hard to carry on with the story and have come close (closer than even Hilary knows) to ending it. Don't worry, I'm quite a few chapters ahead of myself so I wouldn't end it where we are now anyway and all the positive vibes coming from you have helped.

…

Chapter Fourteen: 'His name was Barbossa.'

'Land ho!'

The effect on the crew when the Isla de Muerta was first sighted was always the same. A tangible buzz of excitement swept across the decks and throughout the whole ship. They hadn't got much to stow there this time. The main purpose of the visit was for Scurvy Tom to collect his booty and live out the rest of his days in comfort. But for the crew, the best thing about going to the island was seeing the treasure stashed there. Their treasure.

Jenny looked around as Jack burst into the cabin, a sour look on his face.

'What wrong?' she asked. 'There's no problem is there?'

'Only that bloody woman,' he cursed. 'I swear one day I'm goin' ter throw her overboard…'

'What has she done now?' she sighed, starting to wonder whether it was a good idea having Patience as a companion, the way she and Jack did not get on.

'Just being…Patience!' he moaned. 'I managed ter persuade her t'come ashore though. That should shut her up.' Jack grinned to himself, knowing that the island spooked even the most hardy of people the first few times they went ashore.

'Well, you just behave yourself,' Jenny chided with a smile, reaching up and kissing him.

'I'm always good, luv…' he winked salaciously, hurrying from the cabin before she could reply.

'Drop th'anchors,' Jack ordered as he emerged from the hatch, knowing that this was the safest place to anchor his ship in the bay. 'Bring whatever is in th'hold to th'deck.' He looked at the young Tortugan woman as she emerged from the hatch, carrying a small chest and looking decidedly nervous.

'I thought ya'd have backed out,' he teased, watching as she put the chest down with the growing hoard at the side of the ship and went to fetch more.

'I wish you would leave her alone,' Jenny scolded, wagging her finger at him. 'She is going to be living nearby remember.'

'Well teach her some manners an' I might leave her alone. Yer not thinkin' of comin' over are ya?'

'In my state?' she remarked in astonishment, patting her growing bump. 'I don't think so – I don't like the place anyway. It gives me the creeps as you well know.' She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. 'You mind your shoulder,' she whispered so as not to be overheard.

'I will luv,' he smiled, snatching a brief kiss. 'Come on then Patience,' he grinned as she returned to the deck. 'Ya can have the pleasure of me company over there.' Jack climbed over the side and down the rope to the waiting boat. 'Patience... I'm getting impatient...' he teased.

He watched as the bosuns chair, containing the young woman, swung out from the deck and was lowered down, enjoying the look of terror on her face. He caught the chair and helped her from it with a broad grin.

'Thank you, Captain,' she sniped, glaring at him as she sat, clutching the sides nervously.

'Wait fer me!' Shay called from the deck, scrambling down to the boat and upsetting it further.

'Sorry cailin,' he apologised, smiling ruefully. 'Ye didn't think ye'd go without me, did ye?'

'Some chance it seems,' she snorted, pointedly ignoring Jack rolling his eyes at them. But then she looked at him, wondering why he wasn't picking up an oar, as Shay had done.

'I'm captain, ya don't really expect me ter row, do ya?'

'I don't know how to!' she snapped.

'Time ya learned then...'

'Ah fer Pete's sake!' Shay exclaimed. 'Will ye two give it a rest?'

Patience looked at Shay and then reached for an oar, breathing a sigh of relief as more men climb down and Davy Phillips took the oar from her, sitting down as she moved along to give him room. 'Thank you,' she smiled at him.

'Any time,' he grinned, winking at Shay.

Jack smirked at the scene and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and making the boat rock slightly. 'Ah, this is th'life,' he sighed.

Patience paled and gripped the seat even tighter, glaring hatefully at Jack.

'Don't ya like th'water luv?' he asked, innocently.

'I told ye she doesn't,' Shay put in, his voice angry. 'Leave her be, Jack.'

'Ye know I can't bloody swim!' she cursed, gulping audibly.

'That's captain ter you, Connelly, an' it's time yer learned missy,' he replied, somewhat sarcastically.

She shook her head, too terrified to even speak.

Jack turned and looked at the dread isle as they approached the entrance to the cave, not wanting to frighten the girl more, but not wanting it to be known. Teasing was one thing, but he could clearly see she was terrified. 'Ya won't believe yer eyes, either of ya,' he boasted. He turned back and saw the look of wonder in their eyes as they gawped at the coins and gems in the water as the men rowed the boat towards the mouth of the cave.

'I think ya dropped some,' Patience remarked caustically.

'Ya goin' ter collect it up fer me?' Jack smiled sweetly at her glare and clambered from the boat. He pricked his ears up at something the girl said. 'What was that luv?'

'I called ya a smug bastard… Captain. D'ya have a problem with that?'

'None that I can think of,' he answered reasonably. 'Been called worse.' He lead the way to the vast cavern and stood aside so they could get their first glimpse of his treasure, chuckling at their reactions.

'Bleedin' hell Jack,' Shay gasped.

'Told ya you'd be impressed,' he grinned, winking at Patience.

'Me mother always told me that money don't make th'man. Guess she was right…'

'So ya don't want Shay ter have his share then? All th'more fer me in that case.'

'What would Shay's share be ter do wi'me?' she frowned. 'Yer've paid me fer what I told ya.'

Jack looked knowingly at the young Irishman then went to organise Tom's share of the booty with Mr. Gibbs, leaving the two lovers alone.

'Ya sure ya want ter live near me?' he asked the retiring member of his crew. 'I might press ya into service again…'

'An' it'd be a pleasure, Captain Sparrow,' Tom smiled. 'But me old bones wouldn't let me.'

'Ya've served me well, mate. Thank you,' he smiled, clapping him on the back. 'Right, down ter business…'

The three men sat on a large chest and sorted out Tom's booty while the rest of the crew unloaded what scant booty they had collected since arriving back from England, placated by the fact that their captain had promised to persue everything that sailed once the houses had been built on the Fragrance Isle.

Jack looked up as the business finished, seeing Shay eyeing up the stone chest sitting atop its mound.

'What's that?' he asked, noticing Jack watching him.

'Th'chest containin' th'cursed coins. D'ya want ter have a look inside?'

'Not bloody likely!' he replied, looking fearfully at the chest.

'I will,' Patience said, catching the dare in Jack's eyes.

He hid his surprise and nodded to a couple of the men to remove the heavy lid, then helped the girl up the slope and peered inside, running his fingers along the coins.

'Impressed? It's more than yer life's worth ter take even one,' he said, looking with distaste at the coins.

She looked him squarely in the eye. 'I've held one b'fore. I ain't dead yet…' she shrugged, making her way back down.

'Ya have?' he spluttered, hurrying after her. 'When?'

She didn't answer as she stared at a skeleton at the base of the mound then crouched down, peering at the corpse.

'Recognise him?' Jack asked dryly.

She reached out and pulled the medallion from the body, causing the head to roll a few feet away.

'Ain't nice stealin' from th'dead, ya know…'

''Who was he? One of your men?' she spat, turning on him.

'Why? What's it ter you?'

'Who was he?' Patience demanded, throwing the medallion at Jack's feet.

'Why d'ya want ter know?' he pressed, looking from the girl to the skeleton and back again with a frown.

She turned on her heels, kicking the bones as she stormed past and headed for the box she had been carrying, picking it up once more, leaving a bewildered Jack in her wake.

'Now what was that about, I wonder?' he mused, stroking his beard braids. He looked at the medallion at his feet, wondering whether to pick it up before kicking it away, not bearing to even sully his hands with it. Jack watched Patience as she continued to unload the hoard, adding more to the already huge pile in the cave.

He slowly walked over to her, regarding her for long moments as she spoke with Shay. 'His name was Barbossa,' he said quietly. 'He was my enemy an' I killed him.

It was Patience's turn to regard him, digesting his words. 'Then I thank ya,' she said simply, carrying on with her task.

Jack went and sat by the entrance to the cave, lost in thought. 'Then I thank ya…' The words kept echoing around his head. 'Why would she thank me fer killin' Barbossa? What did he do ter her?' He shook himself and stood. 'Time will tell, no doubt,' he mused, walking back into the cave and seeking his friend.

'Shay! Come here,' he called, leading the way to a smaller cave, just off from the main one.

'What?'

He opened a small chest that was filled to the top with various pieces of jewellry, but mostly rings. 'D'ya want ter give th'hellcat one?' he grinned at the look of surprise on his friend's face. 'Take yer pick, plenty ter chose from…'

'Wha…? Why?'

'Well yer goin' ter make an honest woman of her, aren't ya, being Catholic an' all?'

'I might be,' the younger man replied, cagily.

'Well take one in case th'opportune moment present's itself sooner rather than later, eh?'

'Ah, she probably wouldn't have me anyway.' Shay dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand, but couldn't take his eyes off the rings.

'So keep it fer one who does… but I think th'little minx likes ya more than she'll ever admit, even ter herself.'

'An' yer an expert, eh Jack?' he snorted, his hand hovering over the chest and a plain gold band that had caught his eye.

'Nah, I admit my feelin's, just not publicly,' he grinned. 'Don't ya want a more fancy one?'

Shay raised his eyebrows at the frank admission from his captain and friend and shook his head, pocketing the ring. 'Thank ye,' he smiled.

'Fair enough.' Jack clapped him on the back and lead the way back to the main cave, waving at Patience who watched them with a suspicious look in her eyes.

…

Patience tossed and turned, trying every which way to get comfortable in the bunk but images of the skeleton and the medallion kept racing through her mind and she also found that she missed Shay's presence too much. 'I reckon Sparrow did it deliberately,' she thought. 'Making him do a night watch duty.' She stared out of the small porthole, thinking dark thoughts about the captain of The Black Pearl.

'S'no use,' she muttered aloud, rising from the bunk and searching about for her dress, which she pulled on in the dark then wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She fumbled about for the door and stepped into the dimly lit corridor, picking a lantern from its hook and made her way to the main deck, hoping to catch a glimpse of and maybe a chat with Shay but her luck was out. He was up in the crows nest, keeping watch whilst The Pearl was vulnerable at anchor, just off the Isla de Muerta.

'What ya doin' about at this hour?' enquired a lazy slur somewhere to her right. 'Not wantin' ter distract Shay from his duties I hope…?'

She jumped, nearly dropping the lantern in fright. 'I-I couldn't sleep,' she evaded, turning to go back to Olabisi's cabin.

'Ah. An' ya thought ya'd take a little walk, eh?' he grinned offering her a bottle of rum. 'Want some?'

'I don't drink,' she replied tersely.

'A Tortugan who doesn't drink? Th'world'll end,' he laughed, toasting her with the bottle and taking a long swig from it.

'Come an' sit down,' he patted the deck beside him and easing his shoulder, which was the reason he was out on deck in the first place, so as not to disturb Jenny with his tossing and turning. 'What's Barbossa ter you?'

'What was he to you?' she countered. She knew he would not answer and would thereby free her from having to answer him.

Jack regarded her for long moments, knowing that she would never open up to him if he did not offer the same honesty. 'He was me first mate,' he replied heavily. 'A good team we made too, but he betrayed me.'

'Your first mate?' She looked at him in disgust, her earlier quietness disappearing. 'How could ya have such a repulsive bastard as ya first mate?'

Jack smiled, almost to himself. 'It was th'curse that did that ter him.' His eyes took on a far away look as he remembered. 'I found out th'location of Cortez's treasure an' he came ter me an' said that it was only right an' fair that I shared it with th'rest of th'crew. They mutineed and left me on a tiny island ter die.'

'So what happened?' she frowned, curious despite herself. 'And I've heard the turtles and rope tale countless time in th'taverns… the truth would be nice.'

Jack laughed, shaking his head. 'An' why wouldn't it be th'truth?' he grinned, the torchlight glinting on one of his gold teeth. 'Th'island was used by rum runners an' I bartered passage off it then spent th'next ten years huntin' th'bastard down.'

She nodded quietly to herself, as all the myriad of tales she had heard about his regaining the Black Pearl gradually started to make sense. 'What did the curse do?' Patience always did like a good tale.

Jack's grin broadened as he realised he had her. 'They didn't believe in th'curse - neither did I come ter that, but it turned them into the undead. They were neither alive nor dead but somewhere in between,' he sighed, the grin fading. 'Therefore impossible ter kill.'

'But he was dead... ya killed him!' she exclaimed, seeing the skeleton in her mind's eye.

The smile returned to Jack's face as he remembered. 'Aye, I killed him,' he nodded. 'I was there when th'curse was finally lifted and shot him through the heart. Amazed he even had one...'

'He didn't,' she said sourly.

'I think, young Patience Riley, this is th'first time we've ever been in agreement,' he chuckled, raising the rum bottle once more in toast. 'So how did he cross your path?'

Patience looked away uncomfortably, knowing that because Jack had told, then she had to as well. 'He... he knew me mother.' she said quietly.

'I see...' he frowned as realisation dawned on him.

'Me earliest memory is holding this big gold coin, one of them,' she jerked her head back across the sea to the island. 'Mother said a man had given it to her for her company for th'whole night. She hoarded it fer years, but she fell sick an' things got hard. She had to use it for food - it was that or starve.' Patience paused for a moment, overcome with the memories. 'She never saw th' man again, not that I know, until he arrived at our door, banging it with his fist, nearly breaking it from th'hinges.'

'How old were ya?' Jack asked gently.

'Bout five I guess,' she shrugged. 'Mother was frightened an' made me hide in th'cupboard. I used ter sleep there when she was workin like. When she let him in she told him she did not have it. He went crazy, breaking up what little we had, beating me mother. I watched from a crack in th'door of th'cupboard. I saw him,' she shuddered. 'I saw his face, his teeth, an' that medallion he wore.' Patience jerked her head towards the island once more. 'He hit her so hard she went flyin' across th'table an' it fell against th'door an' I couldn't get out. I couldn't even see me mother for th'crack was covered up,' she swallowed audibly. 'After he'd gone, I screamed fer me mother, I screamed fer help, but no one came.'

'How long were ya trapped for?'

'Til th' morning. I didn't know if me mother was alive or dead until th'other whores came lookin fer her an' found us both an' helped mother ter bed.'

'So we both had a reason ter hate him,' Jack mused, finishing off the bottle. 'That why ya don't like being locked in?'

'Beg pardon?'

'Why ya made such a fuss about being locked in th'brig?'

Patience shifted, looking distinctly uncomfortable and staring at the deck before slowly nodding, hating admitting her weakness to him.

'It's understandable,' he smiled, opening another bottle. 'Ya sure ya don't want any?'

She looked at him in surprise, having expected some sarcastic or snide comment and shook her head at the offer of a drink. 'So now yer know... Patience Riley, afraid of water an' locks,' she snorted.

'Jack Sparrer,' he slurred. 'Afraid of betrayal and rats…'

'Rats?' She stared at him in disbelief.

'I was locked in a cell full o'the buggers once,' he shuddered. 'But that's a tale fer another night when we can't sleep, eh? Now go on. Yer man should be down soon, go an' warm th'bunk fer him. Go on…' he shooed her away with his hands.

She nodded slowly and stood up, walking towards the hatch. 'Night Captain,' she called softly.

'Ya can call me Jack when we're alone.'

Patience stopped and looked at him, undecided. 'Goodnight Jack,' she smiled.

'Night luv,' he smiled in return, raising his bottle once more.