I don't own anything that belongs to Disney or indeed to real pirates that are in the story. Everything else is mine – and that includes Shay! ;)

With thanks to Bauer4ever, Sparrow's Slutty Strumpet, Orli's Hot Chick, A Depp Girl, toratigergirl (welcome), Miss Sophia, Lip Butter (enjoy Switzerland), Pendragginink and last but not least, Hilary.

Toratigergirl, after 4 stories, I should hope people know whether it's a 'Mary Sue' or not! ;)

Ani contemplates sending out a search party for her reviewers on affnet…

Chapter ten: 'I'll live, but I'd like Luke's opinion first...'

Elias Beauchamp smiled as HMS Adventurer approached the natural entrance to Tortuga harbour. HMS Courage was to her port stern and HMS Sutherland to her starboard stern with a much smaller sloop carrying troops further behind still. There were only three pirate ships in the harbour and Beauchamp knew from years of experience that the pirates would all be sleeping off their hangovers as it was not yet dawn. He wanted to attack before the eight bells of the mid watch sounded, when the chances of the pirate watchmen being asleep on duty was at its greatest.

'As you like, George,' he ordered as the captain of the Adventurer joined him at the bowsprit. It has been agreed between Captains Farrier, Groves and Peasgood of HMS Sutherland, that the attack would start when the Adventurer fired the first shot.

'Very well, Sir. I think I will take us in a bit closer though,' he replied, smiling in the dim lamplight. He hoped that one of the dark shaped hulls in the harbour belonged to the Black Pearl. He was getting heartily sick of the supposed legend of Jack Sparrow and was determined to crush it.

'You're the captain,' the Commodore chuckled, breaking his reverie.

'You're the Commodore,' Farrier grinned at his long time friend.

The three ships slipped almost silently into the harbour, unnoticed by all until the first boom of the cannons shook the stillness and immediately brought the town to life.

'What the hell...?' Billy shot off the floor of Francine's ramshackle house, looking around in panic as the children started screaming and crying.

Patience was on her feet, only a few moments behind him, throwing open the door and scrambling up on the roof to get a better view of what was happening, worried for Shay out in the harbour on the Red Dragon.

'What's happening?' Fin called up. 'Who is attacking?'

'There's three ships... I can't see their colours – it's too dark,' she informed them from her lofty perch, moving over as Billy joined her.

'Will we be safe?' Sive asked fearfully, wishing she had stayed in Ireland, cold and damp though it was.

Patience exchanged glances with Billy, remembering the fires and riots of when Jack attacked.

'Probably not,' he conceded. 'Looks like we'll need th'hidey hole sooner than we thought. Although, it'll be fun goin' up there in th'dark with children…'

'It's the Navy,' Luke informed them from where he was standing in the doorway.

'WHAT?' Patience and Billy chorused as they began to scramble down to the ground again.

'I recognise the sound of the guns,' he shrugged ruefully as Patience looked at him in horror.

'Who are you?' Francine asked worriedly, not having quite believed her friend that he was a pirate.

'He's th'doctor th'navy were huntin' fer,' Patience admitted. 'Lanty, Fin - get what yer can. We're leavin' now!'

'Th'one who killed one of their own?' Francine exclaimed, looking at the bespectacled man with shock

'Aye, an' th'one who helped Jack rescue Jenny,' Patience replied caustically.

'Come on, we're wasting time,' Luke urged, turning back into the house and helping to gather all their belongings up.

'They ain't attacked fer ten years... why now?' Patience worried as she too joined in with the packing.

'Probably because of what Sparrer an' them are doin' – tit fer tat,' Francine replied, jumping as a cannon shot hit a building a couple of streets away from her house.

'Time ter go – lead th'way Billy,' Patience ordered, not knowing the route past the church.

Billy and Lanty took the refugees past the church and up along the path, feeling their way in the dark for they did not want to risk using torches. But it was a long and slow process and dawn was breaking when they finally broke through the dense woodland and reached the cave. Billy chanced lighting a torch and led the way deep into the cave, looking back as he noticed Patience lingering at the mouth and staring out towards the bay.

'Hey, c'mon on,' Billy urged.

Patience bit her lip as she heard sounds of fighting in the town below them and saw the glow of fires spreading rapidly. 'They're 'ere ter do a proper job,' she fretted.

'It looks like it,' Luke agreed, joining her at the entrance. 'I think Tortuga's finished...'

'She'll rise again,' Patience assured him with the confidence of one who had already seen it happen.

'Aye, it's risen before,' Billy chipped from from the back of the cave where he was trying to light a fire. 'Ya can't keep a good town down – or even a bad one,' he chuckled.

'It'd bleedin' better,' warned Francine, worried as to how she was going to make a living if all her punters were dead.

Patience looked around the cave briefly. 'It ain't much, is it?' she snorted. 'Strange ter think that Valentine would kill ter keep it secret.'

'Aye, but not many would find it easily,' Billy replied. 'An' it's not too far from town, so it's ideal.'

Patience made a small bed from a blanket, for Erin, settling her down before turning back to the cave mouth and staring at the glare of the fires, realising with horror that some of the flames were coming from the harbour itself and therefore the ships anchored there.

'Hey, Shay will be fine,' Fin assured her as if he had read her mind. 'He's always been th'best of us at lookin' after himself.'

'But he's out there,' she whispered fearfully. 'An' unarmed…'

'Not fer long,' Lanty quipped, knowing better than she, his brother's ability to look after himself.

'Where're we goin' from here?' Francine asked, already fed up with the discomfort of the cave.

'We wait,' Patience said. 'Wait fer Shay, wait fer Jack, an' most assuredly wait fer the bloody Navy ter leave.'

Captain Jack Sparrow looked with some amusement at the worried frown on his quartermaster's face, wondering what on earth the man could be fretting about now. The attack on the small base in the Cayman Islands had been a roaring success and they had virtually flattened it to the ground. Finally, he could stand it no longer and swayed his way to the older man, who was leaning on the capstan, staring out to sea.

'All's well with ya, Mr. Gibbs?' Jack enquired, clapping him on the back.

'Yes, thank you, Captain,' Joshamee Gibbs replied uncertainly.

'Then why d'ya have a dark cloud just about here…?' Jack waved a hand some four inches above the portly man's head.

'A wha…?' Gibbs looked up, an even more perplexed frown creasing his brow until he realised that his captain was pulling his leg. 'Ah… no reason…' He sighed as Jack arched an eyebrow at him. 'The sea's too quiet. We're close to Port Royal and… nothing! No sign of the Navy anywhere, nor has there been.'

'Eh? That's bad?'

'It's not right, Jack. Something is not right.'

Jack frowned, realising that his right-hand man was correct. 'Is it a trap?' he wondered aloud.

'How can it be? The Navy didn't know we were going to attack Cayman – or anywhere else for that matter,' Gibbs reasoned. 'I say we make for Tortuga as quickly as possible.'

'Ya read my mind,' Jack nodded, his earlier good mood having disappeared completely. 'Look lively, ya scabrous dogs! I want ter be in Tortuga like yesterday, savvy?' he barked, sending his crew scurrying in all directions to add more sail, all of them wondering what had got into their captain this time.

'This is what I call a job well done,' Commodore Beauchamp smiled with complete satisfaction as he surveyed the ruins of the pirate town from the top of a hill overlooking the town and harbour. Barely a building was left standing.

'Aye, it most certainly is,' Theodore Groves agreed, proud of the fact that the ships and troops had done a thorough job and only losing some fifteen men.

'There aren't many survivors, Sir,' George Farrier informed Beauchamp as he climbed the hill and joined them. 'Some on the ships and some in the town. The troops are escorting them to our ships now.'

'Excellent,' Elias Beauchamp replied. 'Looks like the hangman is going to be kept in boots for life!' he joked, laughing with his two subordinates at his joke. 'Any women alive?'

'A few - do you want them bonded?' Captain Groves asked. It was not unheard of for whores and pirate's women to be turned over to bonded servitude, although Theodore had never seen it done in his time in the Caribbean.

'Yes. We'll take them back to Port Royal and arrange bondage from there.'

'Very well – shall I arrange it?'

'If you would, Captain Groves,' Elias Beauchamp smiled, turning to George Farrier once they were alone. 'No sign of this brotherhood, I suppose?'

'No,' Farrier sighed. 'My spy says that they are not due to meet for another three days or so.'

'Damn! If we had left it…'

'With all due respect, Sir,' Captain Farrier interrupted. 'If we had left it a few days, we would not have had this success,' he said, sweeping an arm over the ruined town below them.

'You're right, of course,' he agreed. 'Let's get these pirates and whores rounded up and we can be gone from this Godforsaken place by morning.'

'Aye, Sir - the sooner the better.'

'Patience! Patience, wake up.' Luke Martin shook the sleeping woman gently.

'Eh?'

'Come here,' he smiled, holding out his hand to her in the dimly lit cavern.

'What's wrong?' she asked, suddenly fearful.

Luke silently led her to the entrance of the cave, where he had been on watch, and pointed at a figure, still some distance away, but unmistakably Shay.

'Shay!' she cried, running down the path towards him, tears pouring down her face.

Shay glanced up, sighing with relief as he saw Patience running towards him. 'Patience,' he called softly, holding out his arms and embracing her as she reached him.

She pulled away from him, looking worriedly at his torn, bloodied shirt and a gash across his cheek.

'Are yer alright?' she gasped, reaching to help him.

'I'll live, but I'd like Luke's opinion first,' he joked, wincing with pain. 'Is everyone all right - Erin?'

'We're all safe,' she assured him. 'Includin' yer daughter. We've just been worried.'

'Yer not th'only one... th'town's practically burned to th'ground. I didn't know if ye'd managed ter escape or not.'

'How bad is it?' Patience asked as they reached the cave mouth. 'Have th'Navy taken many?'

'I don't think there are many to take. Most of them are dead.'

'An' th'women?' she asked, worried for her other friends still in the town.

'I don't know, I didn't see any women. I just wanted ter get up here as quickly as possible. Thank God I know my way around th'town – thanks ter ye.'

Shay waved away Lanty's hand as the younger Connelly went to clap his brother on the back. 'Luke, I think ye might be a little busy…'

The former naval surgeon took a sharp knife and carefully cut away Shay's shirt, pulling a face at the splinters. 'Nasty,' he sympathised, motioning for his friend to sit down at the cave's entrance. He would need good light for this job.

Patience gasped at the sight then turned away and headed for the back of the cave in the hope that they could heat some water on the meagre fire.

'What happened?' Finan asked his brother as he joined them, handing him a mug of brakish water.

'I was locked in th'brig an' th'ship got hit. If I hadn't been on th'cot asleep, I'd probably be dead now.'

A horrified gasp from the back of the cave was all that could be heard from Patience as she and Francine chivied the fire into life.

'I'm all right, cailin,' Shay assured her as she passed them, carrying a bucket.

'I'll get some water,' she assured Luke, heading out of the cave.

'Hey! Stay here an' look after yer husband – I'll fetch th'water,' Billy offered, taking the bucket from her and disappearing on his errand whilst Patience turned gratefully back to Shay, embracing him carefully.

'Thank God ye an' Erin are safe,' he whispered, yelping as Luke pulled a long splinter from his arm.

'Ya big ninny,' she teased, smiling and crying with relief at the same time.

'It bloody hurts,' he moaned, glaring at Luke who pulled another splinter out.

'Sorry,' Luke smiled, shrugging apologetically. 'Do you reckon the Navy will be leaving soon?'

'I don't know,' Shay told him. 'It was quiet when I came through th'town durin' th'night. But I can't see any reason fer them ter stay much longer, there isn't much left fer them ter do to Tortuga.'

'Th'sooner th'pissin' bastards leave, th'better,' Patience retorted, angry that her hometown had been all but destroyed once again.

Two days later

'Captain! Captain Sparrow!' Daniel Woods called down urgently from the crow's nest. 'Sails, at least two ships that I can see an' they're comin' from th'direction of Tortuga!'

'Bugger!' Jack swore, glancing worriedly at Joshamee Gibbs then retriving his spyglass and looking through it, seeing not two but four naval ships.

'Mary, Mother of God!' the quartermaster cursed, looking through his own glass at the sight. 'Do you reckon they've…?'

'Razed Tortuga to th'ground? Aye, Mr. Gibbs, that's what I'm very much afraid they've done.'

'Let's hope it was quiet.'

'I doubt it,' Jack sighed, lowering his glass and closing his eyes. 'Ya know some of th'pirates were too afraid ter leave th'town. I just hope none of th'brotherhood made it back early.'

'Pity we haven't got a couple of other ships with us,' Pete put in. 'We could take them on…'

'Maybe…' Jack mused, opening his eyes once more. 'If they have attacked Tortuga, I'll bet they haven't much in th'way of ammunition. Still, we haven't either, so it's just a pipe dream.'

'You don't think they'll follow us in, do you?' Joshamee worried, looking at his captain.

'I don't know,' he admitted. 'But I do want ter see what's what, so we'll put look-outs on the hills above the harbour entrance. Th'cannons should still be workin', but if not, we'll put some carronades up there.'

'Aye, Captain. Come on you lubbers!' the quartermaster barked. 'Let's get to Tortuga, pronto!'

'Shay! Billy! There's a ship in the harbour,' Lanty panted as he ran up the hill to the cave after having been on a looting expedition in the ruined town.

The two men dashed from the cave, followed by Patience, Luke and Sive.

'You lot stay there, me an' Shay will go an' check it out,' Billy called over his shoulder as he ran down the track, praying it was friend and not foe.

'We'll have to be careful,' Shay warned as they reached the outskirts of the town. Some pirates had survived and were living rough, scavenging for whatever they could find and killing their rivals for food.

'I'll climb up th'church roof,' Billy suggested, accepting a leg up from the Irishman when they reached the chapel.

'Well?' Shay asked impatiently, jigging from foot to foot. 'Can ye see anything?'

'Bleedin' hell!'

'What? It's not th'Navy again?'

'I don't believe it!'

'Fer gawd's sake, man! If ye don't tell me who it is, I swear I'll come up there an' throw ye off!'

'It's Jack,' Billy grinned. 'It's th'Black Pearl.'

'Ah, thank the dear Lord fer that!' Shay breathed as he turned tail and ran back up the track without even waiting for his companion, who instead of going up the hill, ran down the street towards the wharf, ignoring any possible danger from vagabonds.

'Where's Billy?' Finan wondered aloud as he saw his younger brother haring up the hill alone.

'I hope he's all right,' Patience fretted, having a soft spot for the pirate.

'It's them!' Shay called, waving his arms frantically.

'What'd he say?'Lanty enquired as they continued to stare at the his brother approaching them.

'It's them!' Shay called again, wondering why they were not reacting. 'It's the Black Pearl!'

'What?' Patience cried, her mouth gaping open as she hugged her daughter close. 'Th'Pearl,' she repeated in wonder.

'Your friends?' Fin asked hopefully.

'Aye, our friends,' she smiled.

'Did ye not hear me?' Shay gasped as he finally reached them. 'It's Jack.'

'Aye, we heard ya well enough,' Patience teased, winding her free arm around her husband and hugging him to her. 'An' not a moment too soon,' she added.

'Ye always could rely on Jack Sparrow ter turn up when ye most need him. Home again,' Shay smiled down at Patience.

'Aye – I'll even kiss th'beedin'deck!' she retorted, the sharpness of her voice belying the relief she felt.

'Get what ya want ter bring together,' Shay instructed the others. 'We'll be leavin' as soon as it's safe.'

'I wonder if Jenny's on board?' Patience mused as she gathered up her meagre belongings.

'I don't know. From what Luke said, she will be heavy with child an' I can't see Jack lettin' her out of his sight until th'last possible moment,' Shay said as he helped her.

'Aye,' she agreed, remembering the last time.

'Bloody hell!' Jack muttered as the crew stood on the decks and stared at the ruined town.

'They did a good job,' Andrew McCarrick observed, shaking his head sadly.

'Billy?' Davy Phillips said in disbelief as he spied a figure on the quayside jumping up and down, waving his arms frantically. 'Billy Wheeler?'

'Eh? Where?'

'There, look!'

Jack opened his mouth to order a boat to be lowered, only to find his crewmen were already on the job and Daniel Woods and Davy climbed down, eager to meet up with their friend once more.

'Billy!' Davy yelled gleefully, waving and thus upsetting the stroke of the oar and making the boat wobble violently in the water.

'Will ya bloody concentrate,' Dan grumbled. 'Ya know I can't swim that well.'

'Sorry,' Davy grinned, the horror at what had happened to the pirate town temporarily forgotten in the excitement of seeing his friend again. 'Where're th'others?' he yelled as they neared the wharf.

'Well I ain't goin' ter announce it to th'whole of Tortuga!' Billy sniped, his hands on his hips. 'What's left of it…' he added.

'Are Shay an' Patience all right?' Dan asked as they pulled alongside the quay and threw the mooring rope to their mate.

'Aye, they're fine – an' so is their daughter,' Billy chuckled.

'Daughter? Ah, we'll have ter wet th'babe's head tonight,' Davy laughed. 'So, where are they then?'

'Up at th'hideout. We had ter flee when th'Navy attacked.'

'Right,' Davy nodded, looking back to yell for more men only to find that two more boats were on their way.

'I trust you've got th'others with ya?' Jack drawled as he climbed from his boat once it was moored.

'Aye Cap'n Sparrow – all safe an' sound.'

'Olabisi, Ben, Daniel, Pete, Davy an' John, you can all go an' escort Shay an' Patience back. Th'rest of you with me.'

'Where to?' Joshamee Gibbs enquired, although he had a good feeling where they would be heading.

'Th'Bride,' Jack announced, confirming the older man's though. 'I want ter see if anyone is around.'

'I doubt it…'

'Me neither,' Jack shrugged as he lead the way along the alleys and streets to his favourite tavern, stopping in surprise when he saw it was intact when surrounding buildings were damaged or flattened.

'S-sorry Captain,' Pauly Wilson stammered as he cannoned into the back of his captain who turned and glowered at him.

'Bledri?' Jack called as he pushed open the doors. 'Are ya about?' He looked about the building, taking in the upturned tables and chairs and the smashed crock bottles that littered the floor.

'I guess not,' he sighed, turning away again.

'He got taken,' a woman's voice informed him. 'Th'Navy captured him an' most of th'other men that were in town an' too slow or drunk ter escape.'

'How come he got captured then?' Jack asked the buxom redhead who was leaning against the wall of the tavern, idling looking him up and down. 'How come you escaped?'

'Dunno why he got caught, but I know th'back alley's like no-one else,' she boasted. 'Th'pissin' redbacks didn't have a cat's chance in hell of catchin' me.'

'What's your name?'

'Rebecca, or Becky as everyone calls me.'

'Not seen ya around before,' Jack drawled, although he acknowledged to himself that he didn't keep company with whores any more.

'I've been around, ain't I, Josh?' she said to the ship's carpenter.

'Aye,' he confirmed with a salacious grin.

'I'm thinkin' of openin' th'place meself,' Becks said nonchalantly.

'What? Th'bride?' Jack replied incredulously. 'What with? There ain't no booze left an' no punters ter drink it ever if there where.'

'There's booze aplenty ter be found if ya know where ter look,' she sniped. 'An' they'll be back – you are, ain't ya?'

'True,' Jack admitted with a shrug. 'How about we give ya a hand clearin' th'place up then, in exchange fer some of this booze ya reckon you've got, eh?'

'Fair exchange,' she grinned, shaking his hand and disappearing up the alley than ran at the side of the tavern.

'Ya heard me – th'sooner ya get crackin', th'sooner we'll get some ale,' Jack ordered then stood back whilst his men set about clearing the wrecked interior.

'You bloody fools!' George Farrier exploded, glowering at a group of hapless marines shuffling nervously on the deck of HMS Adventurer. 'I expressly said to leave the Faithful Bride alone.'

'B-but Sir, we did,' one man ventured, cowering as his superior towered over him.

'You did not! Bledri Jenkins was my spy in the town – how the hell do you think I got to know so much about this brotherhood, you imbecile!'

'Y-you s-said nothing about leaving t-the proprietor… just the tavern.'

'And just what the fuck would I want to leave a tavern standing for?' Farrier cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

'So that's it then?' Commodore Beauchamp enquired, looking as though he would throw the marines into the gaol in a thrice.

'No. Fortunately I have another spy in place,' Farrier growled. 'Hopefully one that won't be put in jeopardy by incompetant fools!'

'What of Jenkins?'

'He's too well known by the brotherhood. I'll keep him at Port Royal until I find another use for him.'

'Very well,' Elias Beauchamp nodded. 'No doubt he won't be sitting on his hands for to long.'

'Probably not, Sir. I'm sure he has a part to play yet.'

'Blimey! You lot 'ave done well,' Rebecca grinned as she opened the doors to the tavern, her arms laden with bottles of ale, which she set down on a righted table. 'I've got some of th'girls together an' we'll be openin' tonight, if ya want ter come down?' She looked suggestively at Jack, arching an eyebrow when he shook his head. 'Why not?' she asked him.

'We'll be settin' sail soon, an' I'm married.'

'What!' she exclaimed, starting to laugh. 'Yer havin' me on?'

'Nah,' Jack grinned. 'Fraid not, luv. Come on lads, we'd best be off ter see th'Connelly's,' Jack said as he downed a bottle of ale in two gulps.

'Who are the Connelly's then?' Becky asked, as she started to move the bottles to a shelf at the back of the bar.

'A crewman an' his wife… bloody hell and child! I'd forgotten that! Come on yer lazy dogs, let's get movin'. If any pirates should come in askin' fer me, tell them I was here an' we'll meet as arranged.' Jack slapped a crown on the bar.

'Ta,' Rebecca smiled, winsomely. 'I'll be sure ter tell them, so long as you pass on th'word that th'Bride is up an' runnin' again.'

'It's a deal,' Jack chuckled, shaking her hand once more, then bringing it up to his lips.

'Bloody charmer,' she sniped without malice, watching with interest as the captain of the Black Pearl left the tavern.

(4am)