Disclaimer: Pirates are for life, not just for Christmas.
When the dawn comes, Squirrel wakes up, stiff all over from sleeping on the hard wooden floor. If she is disappointed to discover she is still in Tortuga, she doesn't let it show. She sighs, then climbs up to the crow's-nest and snacks on the bread and cheese that was left in her cabin. The morning fog climbs into the bay on cat's paws, cloaking most of the town in white. Some people, brave, stupid or both, continue to fight in the street. Most, however, have fallen asleep where they fell, weapons, food, drink and other items still in their hands.
"Just like Jack." Squirrel mutters. She is slightly pleased to notice she no longer stutters.
But why should you show everyone you can speak normally? A voice inside her whispers. Why not keep this a secret, and tell that black woman that you were only faking to get her to leave you alone. It's revenge, really. To Squirrel, who, in the course of her entire life, had never even considered the concept, revenge seemed like a pretty new idea. And one Squirrel finds she enjoys.
A noise on the docks below wakes Squirrel from her plotting.
"I told you!" The voice of Sharky stammers. "She was taken by these pirates. I would be surprised if their ship's … still… here." Squirrel looks cautiously over the edge of the crow's-nest. Sharky is staring at the Black Pearl, as if he can't imagine why the ship would still be there. Standing beside him, cracking his knuckles threateningly, is Squirrel's uncle. Sharky's face is bruised, and his arm looks like it is broken, but Squirrel still feels betrayed.
He got too drunk last night. He should've just stayed away from the rum.
"Ahoy, Black Pearl!" Her uncle shouts loud enough to wake the dead. "I would speak with the captain!" Squirrel smiles wryly.
That may not be a good idea. Then her stomach drops. But what if Jack talks, just like Sharky?
No-one on the ship below Squirrel moves. Her uncle shouts again, louder. The crews of the other ships are waking, groaning and grumbling, but they watch the drama unfold in the early hours.
Finally, Mister Gibbs appears, adjusting his vest. "Good mornin' good sir. Welcome to the Black Pearl. Can I help you?" Squirrel stifles a giggle as she watches her uncle go white with rage.
"Are you the captain?" Her uncle doesn't even know Jack Sparrow? This is priceless.
Gibbs shakes his head. "Sorry, mate. Our captain's… indisposed right now." Squirrel snickers, then blushes. "However," Gibbs continues, "I'm sure we can talk like gentlemen, even if you are an unannounced guest." Other crew members of the Pearl are appearing now. Sharky slides out of the way and disappears. Squirrel's uncle doesn't notice.
"Fine then." He booms, spreading his feet. "There're two things I have problems with. Firstly, according to a very valuable source of information…" The man looks around for Sharky, and cannot find him. With a scowl, he continues. "… Has told my that my dear niece has been kidnapped and brought aboard this very vessel."
Gibbs looks shocked. "You don't say." Squirrel feels the blood drain from her face.
"Secondly." Squirrel's uncle makes a signal, and a gang of men wielding blunt objects and pointed sticks comes out of the fog. "Secondly, your captain owes us a great deal of money for the theft of said niece. And more besides."
Said niece? Squirrel thinks through her panic. Someone else wrote him this speech.
Gibbs shrugs apologetically. "Can't help you there, mate. Everyone knows it's bad luck to have a woman on board. Besides, if there is one here, wouldn't we know about it?"
"Pieces of eight." The parrot appears beside Squirrel again. Squirrel ducks out of sight as everyone below decks looks up at the sudden noise.
"No, no, shoo!" Squirrel whispers, waving a hand at the bird.
"PIECES OF EIGHT!" The bird screeches. Squirrel fumbles in her belt-pouch and pulls out a nut. She gives it to the bird, which caws happily and starts eating it.
"What was that?" Squirrel's uncle booms.
"That would be Mister Cotton's parrot." Gibbs says. Squirrel sighs slowly. "Mister Cotton?" Gibbs asks. "Could you go fetch your bird? Thankee kindly." A few moments later, a grizzled face appears over the top of the crow's-nest. The man, seeing Squirrel's frantic expression, taps the side of his nose with a grin. The parrot clambers onto his owner's arm, still crunching away at the nut, and Mister Cotton disappears again. Squirrel decides she cannot risk being seen by her uncle, so she sits at the bottom of the crow's-nest and listens to the conversation.
"Don't play coy with me, mate!" Squirrel's uncle roars. "I know she's here. Bring out my niece or suffer the consequences."
"And what consequences would they be?" Mister Gibbs asks patronisingly.
"Goog MORNIN' eveeb'dy!" Comes a third voice, lurching across the deck. Squirrel feels her heart beat faster again, and at the same time her stomach lurches. Why is it I always suffer two different types of panic whenever Jack's involved? She wonders.
"Are you the captain of this vessel?"
"Mebbe I am!" Jack's voice wobbles around the deck below. "An' mebbe I ain't!"
"ANSWER MY QUESTION!" Squirrel winces at the anger in her uncle's voice.
Jack pauses for a moment. "Look, mate, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but, unfortunately, I have a very, VERY bad hangover. So if you and your friends could just… shove off, that would be great."
There is a very drawn-out silence. The pirates and sailors watching wait with baited breath. In the silence, the ship's timbers creaking seem to get louder.
As well as the sound of someone loading a pistol.
Squirrel risks a look over the edge of the crow's-nest, searching with her sharp eyes. Not Jack, not her uncle, not any of the hooligans with him, not any crew member of the Pearl. Who, then, had the gun?
Dawn.
A sneer on her face, she holds the gun steady, standing on the roof of one of the nearby taverns. Squirrel's eyes fly wide. She is going to shoot Jack.
Without thinking, Squirrel leaps from the crow's-nest, coat flapping behind her as she swings down the rigging. Using her momentum, Squirrel swings right off the ship, straight at Dawn. Dawn's eyes widen, and she quickly raises the gun so it is aiming at Squirrel. A shot rings out, making everyone on the Pearl and the docks turn.
Squirrel screams, not in agony or fear, but in raw anger. She lets go of the rope, falling towards her cousin, feet first. Her soft-soled leather boots collide with Dawn's chest, knocking the girl to the ground. The pistol drops, spinning, and as soon as she lands, Squirrel runs to get it. Dawn, slightly winded, rolls to her feet, pulling a second gun from a belt on her waist.
"No-one makes a fool out of me!" She screeches. Squirrel stops as she feels Dawn's second gun against her head. Dawn's first gun was just in reach, but even if Squirrel manages to grab it, she'd already be dead.
Chance of survival? Squirrel makes a mental note. 15 per cent. She lashes out with her feet, knocking Dawn to the ground and grabbing the first gun at the same time.
"Except maybe me and Captain Jack Sparrow!" Squirrel smiles pleasantly. Dawn stares at the gun in her face, then up at Squirrel.
"You… You didn't stammer!" She says, shocked stupid, unable to think of anything else to say. Squirrel smiles again, tightening her grip on the trigger.
But something stays her hand.
This is Dawn! A voice screeches in Squirrel's head. She's the bitch that's tormented you, beaten you, and almost killed you! You still have the burns, right? This is your chance to pay her back!
No, Squirrel thinks, I can't do it. Sure, she's a bitch, but do I have any right to kill her?
Revenge! You were nearly killed so many times; she might as well be dead… for revenge!
Squirrel stares at her cousin. Dawn sees the hesitation under Squirrel's hood, and grins.
"You always were such a weakling." She laughs, pulling her gun out from behind her. Squirrel raises her own pistol quickly, but not fast enough.
A shot rings out, clear as a bell. The crew of the Pearl, who had raced for their weapons as soon as the fight had started, now stand in shocked silence. Dawn's father stands, his jaw open, halfway between screaming in rage and screaming in grief. He'd either lose a daughter, or a way to make a lot of money. And right now, money is more important to him.
Dawn stands up, grinning. Squirrel's hands fall limp to her side - the pistol still clutched in her hands, however - and her breaths become shaky and loud. Dawn walks around her cousin, cat-like even now.
"Thought you were better than me?" She laughs. "Thought you could get me back, did you? Well, now look at you. You're still weak. You were never better than me, and now you never wi--"
Squirrel turns, barrelling straight into Dawn. Dawn screeches in surprise, dropping her gun. Squirrel keeps running, until she reaches the edge of the balcony. Dawn falls backwards, and Squirrel, unable to stop in time, follows after her. Into the ocean.
Pirates and sailors alike rush as close as they can, watching as the foaming splash fades, waiting for the two girls to surface. They wait. And wait. And wait.
"Bloody women!" Jack throws off his coat, dropping his gun, hat and sword to the deck. With a dive, he goes under the water. A moment later, Squirrel's uncle does the same, but does not dive nearly as gracefully. The crew of the Black Pearl and the hired men watch, waiting for their respective leaders to surface.
Jack comes up first, the limp cloaked figure of Squirrel across his shoulders. The crew of the Pearl throw a rope over the edge of the ship, and, while Jack holds onto one end, the crew pull him back onto the ship. Jack lowers Squirrel onto the deck, and the crew crowd around. Carefully, Squirrel's sopping cloak is peeled off of her. Jack tilts her on her side and whacks her between the shoulder blades. Squirrel starts coughing up water and gasping, eyes wide. There isn't a mark on her. There is no bleeding bullet-hole. Gibbs, who has the cloak in his hands, holds it up. There is no hole in it.
Squirrel's silver coin amulet slides out from under her clothes. The shot is lodged right in the middle of it.
"Well, that's interesting." Jack says, reaching for the coin. Squirrel's hand slaps him away. She struggles to her feet, coughing weakly.
"Wh-wh-where's D-Dawn?" She gasps. Jack rolls his eyes. Everyone turns to look.
Dawn is climbing out of the water, dress and hair plastered to her body, her makeup running like tears down her face. She snarls at the Pearl, waving a fist as she hauls herself over the docks. There's a shout from the water.
"M-my uncle!" Squirrel swallows, shaking the water from her hair. She and the crew struggle over to the side of the ship and look down. Squirrel's uncle is struggling in the water close to the ship.
"Pull up anchor!" Jack shouts, hangover forgotten. "We've been in this stink-hole far too long!" The crew rushes to obey. Jack smiles his most charming smile at Squirrel, but it is wasted.
She's disappeared.
Jack looks around for the girl. She suddenly appears again, a length of rope in her hands. Squirrel throws it down to her uncle. The beefy man grasps hold of it and starts heaving himself out of the water. Squirrel braces herself at the side to stop herself from being pulled in again.
"You are in so much trouble, Rodent!" Squirrel's uncle snarls at his niece, bulldog-like jowls flapping.
"R-r-really?" Squirrel smiles. "I th-thought I w-was the one h-h-holding the r-rope!" The man's eyes widen as Squirrel releases it. He falls back into the ocean with a splash, having let go of the rope before Squirrel did. She grins, slowly pulling the uncle-less rope back on board. Squirrel's uncle splashes around, screaming curses and obscenities as the Black Pearl moves away from the docks and sails out into the bay.
"That was very nicely done." Jack swaggers over, putting an arm around Squirrel's shoulders. "Congrats on that very brave move, luv."
"Wh-why are y-you saving m-me?" Squirrel keeps looking out at the sea, hoping Jack will not see her red face. "Wh-what's s-s-so import-important ab-about me?"
Jack shrugs, the smile still plastered on his dripping face. "The same reason you decided to come, methinks." When Squirrel looks at the pirate captain, confused, Jack grins back, then lets go of the girl's shoulders.
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, luv. I don't need a reason, savvy?" He swaggers back across the deck to pick up his belongings. Squirrel grins, trying to smother a giggle. She looks back out at the horizon, watching her hated home fade into a tiny dot.
"Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho." She smiles.
A/N: I'm pretty sure I can hear the collective "Well, it's about TIME!" lol.