Okay, I'm going to go ahead and get started – because this one's so early, I don't have anyone to address specifically, but thanks and hugs to all of my readers (and reviewers)!

Chapter eight: Cookies 'n Rum

Alex woke early the next morning, carefully rolling over in her thin hammock. Anamaria was still asleep, so if Alex had overslept, she didn't feel too guilty. Carefully and quietly, Alex got down, slipping into her boots, and exited the room.

Everyone but the few watches on board and the helmsman were asleep, with no sign of Jack anywhere. She made her way down to the kitchens after her short walk on deck, and was shocked with the sight she was met with. Jack sat at the table, and a plate of untouched food set out on the opposite side of the table from where he sat.

'I figured yeh'd wake up early 'n come down 'ere t' fix some food,' he said as she entered, 'so I made yeh a little something. I wanted t' apologize . . . Ana talked some sense into me.'

'She must have talked to you awhile, then,' Alex stated, and then smiled. 'Thank you, Jack.'

'Enjoy – I don't cook often 'n don't plan on doin' it again. Now, Ana told me somethin' int'restin' . . . Yeh wanted t' be firs' mate?'

'Sort of, maybe. It doesn't matter.'

'I don't see yeh as a firs' mate, darlin'.'

'What do you see me as, then, Captain?' she asked, thoroughly enjoying the food – ham, bacon, and eggs. He probably only made it for me because it would have spoiled soon, anyhow, she decided. But oh well.

'I see yeh as a cap'n. Yeh'd make a good cap'n.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. Yeh know the seas, the ropes, 'n 'ow t' deal with people . . . but yeh wouldn't make a good merchant cap'n, love, t' vicious. Nah, yeh're a pirate, through 'n through.'

'So you're not mad at me for stealing anymore?'

'Nah . . . I was bein' selfish – I've never been that good at taking stuff outta stores and such.'

'Really?'

'Stop stayin' that, savvy?'

'Savvy.'

'Good.'

'Alright then.'

'I'll see yeh later; 'n I might, jus' might, let yeh take the helm, if yeh want.'

'Savvy.'

'Now yeh're jus' doin' that t' get on me nerves,' he grinned as he stood, walking towards the door.

'Really?'

'Alex,' he growled, and she stood, embracing him warmly before sitting back down to her breakfast. He grinned boyishly and walked out of the room, and she laughed gently.

'You would fix me breakfast and then leave me to clean up, wouldn't you!' she shouted after his retreating back, and he shrugged, smiling devilishly before disappearing up the ladder.

'Old fool,' she muttered, pushing the last piece of ham around her plate lazily, resting her head in her hand and her elbow on the table. 'Nice fool, though.' She stuck the last piece of meat in her mouth, set the plate in the sink, and starting on breakfast for the rest of the crew. Once that was done and laid out like it had been yesterday, she cooked up something her mother had taught her to make when she had been little, stuck it in a bag, and carried it on deck, to the helm. Jack turned when he heard her footsteps, and she pressed the bag into his hands.

'I thought I'd return the favor.'

She walked off, and he heard the dinner bell ring seconds later. Carefully, he opened the bag, and smiled. With one hand on the wheel, and the other occupying the treat, he took a large bite, surprised. Where had she gotten the chocolate to put in the cookies?

Anamaria smiled as Alex passed her in the hallway, and Alex returned it, entering her room and getting ready for the day. She strapped her belt around her waist and redid her hair, gathering it simply at the nape of her neck. Then, Alex made her way onto the deck again, asking Jack for something to do. He looked around for something, and then broke the news that there wasn't anything.

'What do you mean 'there isn't any?' This is a bloody ship, there's always something to do!' she said, shocked.

'What can I say? It's a new ship, not much t' do, unless yeh wanna mop some, but some o' the crew seem t' prefer that job.' He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 'I enjoyed yer snack. 'Aven't had those since I was a tyke.'

'Good, mean's I'm useful.' He pulled something out of his belt and handed it to her. She smiled to see the whiskey canteen and took a long drink before placing it back in his belt.

'Yeh don't drink as much as I thought yeh would.'

'I drink when big stuff happens. I drink when something hurts me, basically. I've been too busy to think about needing a drink.'

'Cravin's aren't killin' yeh?'

'No.'

'I wish I was yeh.'

'No, you don't. You don't know enough about me to wish that.'

He stayed quiet, his arm draped around her shoulders and not seeming to mind how close they were. She gave the rum time to ease what little cravings she had and then turned to him. 'Do I get the helm now, Captain?' He nodded, and without speaking took a step back, allowing her to take his spot. But the moment her hands were on the spokes, he stepped closer to her again. He told her the course to keep but never moved, until she decided she had better things to do and stepped away from him. His behavior was peculiar, and she wasn't sure how to take it. How could he go from being so rude to practically holding her?

'I saw you with Jack,' Ana spoke up, grinning, as Alex entered the room. 'D'you fancy him?'

'I . . . I don't know. I mean – he's so hot and cold at the same time. It's hard to figure out how I feel when he's so unstable.'

'Yeah, true. I've never had the problem – never met a man I could put up with long enough to develop feelings.'

'Neither have I.'

'Looks to me like we're in the same boat, mate.' Ana looked around, rolled her eyes, and sighed, smiling gently. 'We're in the same boat in more ways than one.' Alex laughed softly, and the two walked back onto the deck together, talking and laughing as usual. In a split second, though, everything changed.

The winds changed direction slightly, filling every inch of canvas. Alex heard something creak, and looked up at the rigging.

'Jack, move!'

The captain jumped out of the way just in time. The rope that had snapped had held the canvas, and when it had broke, the canvas unfurled itself so fast and hard it tore the boom off the mast and fell to the deck. It was an easy fix compared to what might have happened, yes, but it was even easier to avoid.

'Which bloody inbred can't tie a damn rope!' Jack yelled with fury. 'None of us can afford to be a crewmember short right now!'

No one spoke up, but Jack took the privilege of fixing it, and only entrusted Alex to help him, since she had spotted the problem. They made a temporary but strong brace for the boom until they could stop somewhere and fix it completely, and then they hung the canvas and climbed the rigging back down to the deck to tie it off. Each of them knew that if the boom had shattered when it had hit, or if the breaking point hadn't been quite so clean, they would be stuck.

'Fools,' Jack muttered under his breath. 'Thank yeh fer lettin' me know in time, Alex.'

'No problem.'

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing, I was just thinking about something,' she half-lied, glancing out at the horizon and then swearing loudly. 'Jack, there's a storm coming – a heavy one. Will the brace hold?'

'It should, if we don't put t' much weight on the canvas, which means we'll be goin' slower 'an we need t' be righ' now,' he muttered. He clapped her on the back gently and then embraced her quickly before walking off to inspect the rest of the ropes. Anamaria was waiting for Alex at the ladder to below and they went down together, searching for anything to help prepare the ship for the storm, only to come up empty-handed.

'Ah, oh well, we'll get by alright, I guess. After all, our cap'n is Jack Sparrow,' Ana grinned throwing herself in a large, leather armchair. Alex took the one across from hers, and both were quiet. Slowly, they drifted to sleep . . .

A large crack of thunder echoed through the hulls of the ship, and both Alex and Anamaria sprang to their feet, bounding up the ladder that was flooded with water. There was only one thought between the two – they had slept too long.

Jack stood faithfully at the helm, looking thoroughly soaked. Rain poured from the sky like it was being poured from buckets onto them, and the ship rocked so violently it was hard to stand. The waves alone were taller than the ship's sides, and occasionally one would splash across the deck and knock everyone in its way to their knees. Alex saw Will helping Gibbs, and so she rushed off.

'Jack, how's the brace holding?' she asked above the wind and the thunder. He pulled her closer before she fell, bracing her against the elements with his own body.

'Good enough. How are yeh?'

'Better than you,' she stated, helping him with the wheel. He sighed softly in relief as the weight was taken off his aching hands, and on closer inspection, he realized his hands were embedded with what looked like hundreds of splinters from the wheel, and were bleeding freely.

'Thanks, missy.' She nodded and made sure they were on course while he talked with Gibbs.

'We should drop canvas, sir!' Gibbs called, blinking away the salty raindrops.

'She can hold a bit longer,' Jack replied, smiling wickedly.

'What's put yeh in such a fine mood?'

'We're catchin' up,' Jack stated. Gibbs wandered back over to where it was needed, and Alex noticed with a start that Will was injured, a gash in his shoulder from being knocked against debris.

'Ana, you help Jack for a minute, okay!' Alex called. Ana nodded and rushed forward, and Alex made her way across the deck and over to Will.

'C'mon, Will, I need to fix this up,' she stated, motioning to his shoulder.

'It's fine.'

'It'll get infected! Ever had maggots in a wound? You'll loose your arm, and don't come crying to me!' she stated, and he followed her. She pushed him in her room and searched desperately for what she needed. Unable to find it, she told Will to stay where he was and then helped herself inside of Jack's room. Lucky bastard has a bed, she noticed. She grabbed a bottle of rum, and then continued to look. Finally, buried in the bottom of one of the drawers in his chest-of-drawers, she found a needle, some thread, and strips of cloth. She grabbed them and took them back to her room. Will was sitting on her hammock, and she skidded across the room until she was by his side.

'It's going to hurt, okay?'

He nodded and she poured rum onto a strip of cloth, and then pressed it to his arm. He took in a sharp breath and clenched his hands into fists, but said nothing. She threaded the needle, and with a sympathetic grimace, she began to sew his wound closed as quickly and accurately as she could. When she was through, she bound it with the rest of the cloth and pulled his sleeve back down.

'I think the storm's letting up,' she stated. The boat had indeed stopped rocking quite so hazardously, and the planks no longer creaked as bad. 'You're lucky this wasn't worse.'

'It wasn't that bad to begin with,' he snapped, then exited the room loudly and pounded up the stairs. Alex rolled her eyes and was about to return Jack's items to his room when the captain himself appeared in her doorway.

'Could yeh fix up me hands fer me, Alex?' he asked. She nodded and motioned for him to make himself comfortable on her hammock. He walked forward and plopped down on the fabric, laying down and looking quite at home.

'Comfortable?'

'Very.'

'Okay, good,' she muttered, and then took his hand. He found the rum and took a swig, careful not to empty it so she wouldn't fuss at him. 'How much damage do we have?'

'None so far, but the crew's inspectin' the ship righ' now.'

'And the boom?'

'It's fine, Alex, everything's fine.'

She nodded and got to work on his splinters. Most of them were large, though painful, and easy to pull out, but some she struggled with. In the end, his hands were splinter free, and she cleaned them with the rum, but he asked her not to wrap them.

'They're not that bad,' he stated, and she agreed with him. 'I heard Will mutterin' somethin' 'bout maggots?'

'Well, it's true.'

'Aye, it is.'

He was watching her, still lying in her hammock. She sat down on the edge of the desk she and Ana shared, and suddenly noticed she was no longer holding his hand – he was holding hers.

'I wanted t' apologize fer everythin' I've ever done t' yeh,' he stated quietly.

'You already have – several times.'

'I wanted t' do it again.'

'Why?'

''Coz I don't want t' be a eunuch,' he grinned, but she got the feeling he had avoided what he had really wanted to say. He sat up, simply watching her, and she smiled softly.

'I guess you liked the cookies, then?'

'Aye, I liked the cookies – they hit the spot,' he stated, his voice soft, almost dreamy. He stood up, on his way coming so close to Alex she thought he was up to something, but didn't do anything. 'I'll see yeh on deck later, then.' He began to walk away, allowing her hand to slip away slowly, but dared not look back. He had done too much already . . .

Alex smiled and sat down on her hammock, grinning when she found it was still warm from his body. You shouldn't be doing this, her conscience reminded her. You shouldn't fall for a pirate.

But she knew she couldn't help it, not even if she tried. And that dress Hurston had given her had shown her something she had never realized before – she was weak to men, weak to the attention they gave her. She liked feeling wanted, and because of it, she ended up hurt.

She sighed softly and pulled herself out of the gentle grasp of her hammock's cloth. The least she could do was make dinner – she had a feeling everyone was taking advantage of her because she had done it the first time, and she wasn't sure she minded.

Okay, this one's done, and . . . oh, look I still have hours left. Looks like another chapter's coming today, too – which would make it a total of three.

If these chapters suck, I'm really, really sorry, but I'm just so bored!

LiM