Disclaimer: Much to my disappointment, I still don't own any characters from Pirates of the Caribbean and am beginning to believe that Santa Claus really doesn't like me.

Last chapter: So that was how Jessica knew that there was nothing romantic about pirates. They were the most evil, greedy, perverted, disgusting, slimy creatures ever to crawl the earth.

Two Men Too Many

Years later life found Jessica and Ashley cleaning up in the tavern before the customers arrived and the night's business began in earnest.

"No Ashley, you've got to scrub. Running a wet rag over the table isn't going to help." Jessica said, sighing in exasperation. "Here let me show you." she volunteered, taking the rag from Ashley. Under the layers of her skirt, she felt a bag bouncing against her hip as she walked around the table. She smiled at the thought of the crystal bird inside it.

"You're lucky your living doesn't depend on your skills as a maid Ashley. One would think you didn't even know what a mop is for." She looked up, eyeing her sister warily, "you do know what a mop is for don't you?"

But her sister wasn't listening to her, she was looking at the door. Jessica followed the direction of her sister's gaze. Her eyes fell on the creature she hated most of all. The man's hair looked like it had once been blond, but it was now impossible to tell under all the layers of dirt. His skin seemed to have grime engrained into every visible inch. His tattered shirt billowed out over a rusty cutlass and pistol. She watched as his face twisted into a smile aimed at her sister. The teeth were a horrifying mass of rotting black and yellow, but it were the eyes that concerned her most. They held the look of dog that hasn't seen meat in weeks.

It wasn't often that pirates made their way through her city. With the failing business on the island however, the men at the docks became more and more lax. She cursed the men as the pirate made his way toward her sister with his hand outstretched and his eyes flashing greedily. She could hear his breathing from here, the disgusting pig. In a flash she had whipped out the dagger concealed it her skirts and the point was resting on the bulge in the man's pants.

"That's a dangerous game you're playing puppet" he said in a low voice.

"I wouldn't call it a game" she responded while applying more pressure so that the man was forced to walk backward towards the door. When they reached the open door she thrust the blade forward so that the man stumbled over the doorstep and fell into the street.

"If you ever set foot in this tavern again, or come anywhere near my sister, you'll lose that which you hold dearest." Closing the door behind her she turned around and added as an afterthought, "Not that there'd be that much to cut." She closed the door to the sounds of the man's fellow crewmen enjoying a hearty laugh and thumping him on the back. "She got ye on that one mate."

She slid her dagger back into hiding as she turned to face Ashley who still stood frozen. Jessica smiled at her and threw her the rag, "Now scrub." before heading into the Kitchen.

In the streets of a Jamaican island, Jack chuckled as a woman in a local tavern, The Lucky Dame, threw out Roche at knifepoint. The crew around him broke into roars of laughter that were slightly subdued when their shipmate pushed himself up angrily from the ground and shoved his way through them, "Go boil yer heads ye bilge rats" he shouted back at them as he took off down the road.

"Not to worry" Jack assured his crew, "once he has a few drinks in his stomach and a woman on his lap, he'll be back to his charming self."

"Speaking of such delicacies, I believe we deserve a few ourselves men. On to the Pub!" he announced to a cheering crew.

Jessica sighed in relief as the clock reached four and the last customer stumbled out the door. She glanced over at the sleeping form of her sister at a nearby table.

"Come on love," she gave her sister a gentle shake, "you just have to make it upstairs, I'll take the garbage out back" Ashley grunted in reply before heading upstairs.

Jessica grabbed the bucket filled with the day's slop of leftovers and carried it outside.

She carried the bucket out and around the house and was just about to toss out it's contents when a stench more unpleasant than the slop filled her nose. Suddenly a foul hand clamped over her mouth and a husky voice said in her ear, "'ello puppet."

Jack found himself strolling down the street once again, although this time th street seemed to be moving a whole lot more. "Damn road, won't say straight." he grumbled. He noticed Roche walking down the road and was about to call out to him when the man turned into a dark alley.

"Now what's he want in there?" Jack wondered.

He was soon distracted by the sight of a pretty little wench leaving a tavern with a bucket in her hands. He started walking over to ask her if she'd like to scrape the barnacles off of his rudder when a pair of hands lunged out from the alley and grabbed her.

"Can't have that." Jack said, making his way over to the alley.

He had to blink a bit as his eyes adjusted to the dark, but he was soon able to make out the forms of Roche and the wench. Roche had one hand over her mouth and another crossed over her waist so that she was crushed against him.

"Now that's not on mate" Jacked rebuked, "I can't have you givin' me crew a bad reputation with th' ladies on this island now can I? We may never see a fair pair o' legs here again."

"Away wit ye Sparra', this wench here's needin' a lesson in manners."

"That's Captain Sparrow," Jack said coldly, "Now I'll not ask ye again. Hand over the lady"

"Fuck off" Roche replied, spitting at the captain's feet. In an instant, Jack's pistol was out and cocked, aimed right between the man's eyes.

"Here's what yer gonna do" Jack said in a low voice. "You're going t' let this lady go nice and easy, then run down this alley as fast as your fat legs can carry you. And if I ever see your ugly face again, I'm gonna shoot it. Is that clear?"

Roche glared daggers at his former captain, but released his hold on the girl. He began to walk down the alley and Jack didn't lower his pistol until the man was out of sight.

He then turned his attention to the young maid standing in front of him. He chuckled to himself thinking that the maid part was questionable. "I apologize about that one. Some of the-" He stopped short when the girl threw herself against the wall as he reached out his hand to her.

"I ain't gonna bite ye lass, I was just-" the wild fear in the woman's eyes again caused him to stop. "Look you can't stay in this alley." He sighed, the woman was frozen to the spot, fear and mistrust written all over her face. Jack grabbed her waist and began to pull. "If you'll just get out and-" this time it was not the girls face that stopped Jack, it was the sword under his chin.

"Well, well, well, if it's not Captain Jack Sparrow himself, and look lads, he's got himself a lit'l lady friend too."

Well there you go. I hope you've enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think.