Disclaimer: I don't own Jack. If I did, we'd be living in a mansion together in the Caribbean.

AN: It's really hard to write Jack Sparrow fics these days. I've been so wrapped up in my Willy Wonka joint fic with Hallow's Eve that I forgot about this one for a whole week! I hope you'll forgive me if updates are a little slow, but I will finish this story, I swear! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5: The Morning After:

Early the Next Day: Eleanor's POV:

I woke up with a slight pain in my legs and a very strong arm around my waist. Looking down, I remembered what I'd done the night before, and gasped. The arm around me tightened and pulled me closer to a warm, firm, strong body that was presently breathing the rhythm of sleep. I looked behind me and saw Captain Sparrow with an oddly troubled look on his face, a look that seemed to be one of…regret? Did pirates ever regret their actions? I doubted it, so I turned around again and closed my eyes, letting sleep once again claim me.

Hours Later: Ellie's POV:

I awoke to the sounds of people shouting and much commotion being made outside on deck. Sitting up in the bed, I noticed I was alone, but there was a set of clothes at the foot of the bed and a breakfast tray on the desk to the right of the bed.

'Well, at least he didn't try and make the situation uncomfortable,' I thought, moving to the end of the bed to retrieve the clothes.

Closer examination showed them to be men's clothes: black breeches, white shirt, a thicker white undershirt, and a red bandana. I'd only worn men's gear a handful of times in my life, and that was mostly when I'd gone out riding around our estate with no one the wiser of my actions. Back then, it had been of my own choosing, and I'd always felt a little ashamed afterwards; here I had no choice in the matter, and would have to live with it until I was safely returned to my family…whenever that was.

After I was dressed, I carefully lifted the lid of the breakfast tray and looked. There was fresh bread (not that horrid hardtack I'd heard about from sailors), some exotic fruits and…

"Rum?" I squeaked. "They have rum for breakfast on this ship?"

"That we do, luv," stated a voice from the other side of the room.

I whirled around. "Captain Sparrow!" I gasped, spotting him in the doorway connecting the cabin to what I assumed was the bathing room. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Now, luv, I thought I told you to call me Jack," he gently chided me. "And I've only been watching for a moment, don't worry your pretty head about it." He grinned. "I promise I didn't see anything when you were changing." I saw the captain's eyes quickly scan me up and down. "Sadly, I might add."

I backed up until my back reached the edge of the desk. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that last part and have breakfast," I retorted, turning my back to him and reaching for some of the bread. "I don't suppose you have any water aboard, do you?" I asked, turning back towards him.

"Water?" he asked, looking extremely puzzled. "What do you want water for?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "To drink, Captain," I said, exasperated with his thick-headedness. "You can't seriously expect me to drink nothing but rum while I'm here!"

The captain simply looked offended at my words. "What's wrong with rum?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion and disbelief. "And I told you to call me Jack!"

"You are a ship's captain, and my parents raised me correctly," I snapped in return. "As captain, you should be addressed accordingly." I turned my back on him. "Even if you are a pirate," I muttered, hoping he didn't hear.

He did. "Aye, I'm a pirate captain, and while you're on my ship, you'll call me Jack," he said.

I could hear him leaving the doorway and walking over to me. I did my best to ignore him, but the feel of his hot breath on my skin reminded me of last night and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. I certainly did not want this man to see my tears, nor take joy in the fact that he caused them. I heard pirates liked to see others cry; it gave them a sense of power, and I certainly did not want to give him that satisfaction! Instead, I bit back my tears and put some bread in my mouth to keep me occupied. As I chewed, I could feel his body press closer against mine, and had just swallowed my food before my body froze at his touch.

"I'm sorry," Captain Sparrow whispered into my ear.

"For what?" I forced out, trying to focus on breathing and not panicking when his hands gently touched my shoulders.

"For if I hurt you last night," he answered, his hands now rubbing my shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I said, sounding a little breathless.

I really wanted him to stop touching me, but I didn't know whether it was a good idea to order around a pirate captain, even one who had asked me to call him by his first name. Instead, I tried to work on eating my breakfast, the bread resting heavily in my stomach. Perhaps the rum was a good idea after all. Picking up the bottle I took a small sip and gagged.

"That's horrible!" I gasped, trying not to choke on the remaining liquid in my throat.

The captain chuckled. "It's an acquired taste," he said, rubbing my back to help the rum go down. "I'll make sure you get water from now on, though."

"Thank you, Captain-" I turned and saw him frown a little at me. "Oh, um, I mean, Jack."

He smirked. "That's better," Jack said, giving my back one final caress before leaving. "Finish up your food and meet me at the helm!"

I stood and stared as he walked away, his hips swaying in a manner that I'd never seen before. The man couldn't possibly be drunk this early in the day, could he? It was the only explanation for the way he was walking, and given his feelings towards rum, it shouldn't have surprised me if he was intoxicated at this hour of the day. Shrugging, I again turned my attention towards the breakfast tray and its contents.

Jack's POV:

'That woman sure is a stubborn one,' Jack thought to himself as he stood at the helm of his ship. The only other woman who was more stubborn than her was Elizabeth Swann! 'Well, it might be Turner, now, if the Whelp got up the nerve to ask the woman!'

Jack chuckled softly to himself. Eleanor really was a feisty one, though it was good of her to call him Captain; it'd taken him forever to beat the title into the heads of his crew! Still, the idea of Eleanor always addressing him by his rank bothered the pirate for some reason, one that was beyond his comprehension, and he didn't like it. Jack always liked to know the why of things, and this woman was beginning to affect the way he thought.

'For God's sakes, man, you've only been with the girl one night, and already she's in your head!' yelled a part of his brain that always liked to verbally slap him.

He had to agree with the voice this time, though. He had had her for only one night, but it had been on his terms, giving him that bit of power that he felt he'd lost when hearing those whores in Port Joseph five years ago. However, in another sense, it had also given her a sort of power over him. Yes, he had taken her and she'd done it willingly, but only because he had threatened her family. Jack had taken her innocence, but in doing so, he had unknowingly woven a web of guilt in his heart that made him feel as though he had to make it up to her some how.

"Wish I bloody knew why I feel this way," he muttered softly to himself. Thankfully, none of his crew heard him and he was free to leave that thought out in the open.

For some reason, his mind drifted towards tales of romantic notions that, whenever two people bed together, a part of them touched and joined the other forever. If that were true, Jack had probably left a goodly amount of himself scattered all around the world by this time. However, the notion probably only referred to people in love (or at least had some sort of attraction to one another), and Jack knew that he was not the sort of person to fall in love with anyone! He knew he was attracted to the young woman, dear God yes, but did not love her! As a rule, pirate didn't love…they lusted, they took what they wanted, and then ended it. Love was not a factor in pirate life; it had no place there.

Then as if to ruin those thoughts completely, Eleanor came on deck, brown hair done up in an elegant bun at the top of her head and wearing the few pieces of men's gear left behind by Annamaria after she'd abandoned the Pearl. Jack had to admit, though, that the clothes looked much better on Eleanor than they had on Annamaria! Pushing such thoughts aside, Jack smiled and watched as she spotted him, climbing up the steps towards the helm.

"And what did you wish to speak to me about, Captain?" she asked, giving a shy smile when he frowned at her using his title instead of his name. "To keep your crew's respect, I'll call you Captain in public and Jack in private, if that's alright."

Jack grinned. "Aye, no problem, luv, if that's what you'd prefer," he said. 'No trouble at all,' he thought, looking her up and down.

Eleanor really wasn't the skinny, empty-headed noblewoman he believed her to be. When he'd bedded her last night, Jack had been pleasantly surprised by the gentle curves of her body and how easily it was for him to rub his hands over them. He loved women with curves; they were so much more fun then women who were straight as an arrow, with nothing for a man to run his hands over (A/N: no offense to skinny girls!). Eleanor had fit perfectly against his body, and the feeling of warm, pale skin was enough to make his body long for hers once again.

Jack pushed his sudden urges down, locking them away for the moment. 'Not now!' he silently yelled to himself. 'Later, much later, and we'll have her again!'

Looking out the corner of his eye, he saw Eleanor staring at the sea, a bit of sadness flickering in her blue eyes. What was she thinking about at that very moment? Her family? Her loss of freedom? Or was she thinking the fact that she'd spent a night with a pirate, the one who had kidnapped her and stolen the one thing that guaranteed her a good marriage in high society?

'Doesn't matter, though,' Jack thought to himself. 'She's never leaving this ship, not while I'm still Captain!'

His mind didn't really understand why he had to have this girl onboard, but his heart did. But then, it had been a long time since Captain Jack Sparrow listened to what his heart was trying to tell him. Instead, he simply focused on whistling a tune as he steered the ship towards the closest pirate port.

Eleanor's POV:

I had seen the lusty look in the captain's eyes when he'd first seen me coming up on deck. He didn't speak of it or acknowledge it, but it had been there, and I didn't like it. I'd already given myself to him once...must I do it again? But then, I'd already agreed to sleep with him until my ransom was paid off. I hoped that it wouldn't be too much longer. I would ask him, were he not steering the ship, and I didn't want to distract him. But I truly wanted to know what he was asking my parents for in the way of a ransom price.

"Captain Sparrow?" my mouth asked before I could hold it back.

"Yes, luv, what is it?" he said, not taking his eyes from the sea nor shifting his focus to me.

I took a deep breath. "I was wondering…what are you ransoming me off for, and when are you going to send a message to my family for said ransom?"

Captain Sparrow jerked his head towards me. "I'm not asking for any ransom, luv," he said, looking at me with complete confusion. "When I asked you to come aboard the Pearl permanently, I meant for good." He gave me a small arrogant smirk. "Looks like you're stuck here with Ol' Jack for a very long time."

I could feel my heart stop in my chest. "Forever?" I gasped. "But…why? I'm worth nothing to you if I stay here! At least, with a ransom, you'd get something!"

"Oh, I'd say I'm getting quite a bit already without the ransom," he drawled, looking back at the sea. "Your lovely presence in the morning is quite worth any ransom, believe me."

I couldn't breathe. He was going to keep me here? Why? I was worthless when it came to anything, save for embroidery, writing, and some mathematical skills that my father had taught me. I couldn't do anything aboard the ship that would make them accept me as one of them, and the Lord knew that I did not want to become a pirate!

"I think I need to go lie down," I said, turning and running downstairs and into the cabin.

Slamming the door behind me, I flew towards the bed and buried my face in a pillow to stop my sobs.

Oh, God, why was this happening to me?

Hours Later, Ellie's POV:

I woke to the feel of someone rubbing my back soothingly and muttering a pirate song that one of my uncles had learned while in the Americas. I cracked my crusty eyes open and saw Mr. Gibbs sitting there, a kind and fatherly look in his eyes as he stroked my back. I managed to give him a slight smile and was rewarded with a smile in return.

"Ye alright, lass?" he asked, looking at me the way my grandfather used to after I'd just received a lecture from my parents. "I was worried about ye when ye flew in here and didn't come back out again for lunch."

I sniffed, my nosed clogged from my earlier sobs. Fortunately, I was spared from asking for a handkerchief due to Mr. Gibbs' foresight in bringing one. I swiftly cleaned my eyes and blew my nose, promising to clean the bit of cloth before returning it to him. He shook his head.

"You keep it," the elderly man replied, winking. "You might have more need of it later." He gave me a sad smile.

"Thank you," I whispered, returning his smile with one of my own. "Mr. Gibbs?"

"Aye?"

"Do you know why Captain Sparrow wants to keep me here on the ship?" I couldn't meet the elderly man's eyes for fear of seeing pity, which would only cause me to cry again.

"He's going to keep ye?" Mr. Gibbs said, sounding as though he were choking on his words. "Well, that's a new move for him!"

I looked up at him in surprise. "You mean you didn't know?"

He shifted uncomfortably on the side of the bed. "Well, I sort of had a hunch after seeing him stare at your ship for over an hour," he muttered. "Jack didn't look like he wanted to give up that ship for anything, I've never seen him so focused on one particular ship, not since he got the Black Pearl back from Barbossa."

"What?" He'd lost me with the last few words he spoke. "Who's Barbossa, and why would he have the Black Pearl?"

I sat up and listened intently as Mr. Gibbs told me the story of the Black Pearl. It was an amazing tale, but I had trouble believing in undead pirates sailing through the Caribbean. However, I seemed to remember a cousin of mine telling me of how the Black Pearl had raided the town she was in, and how they had seemed to be looking for something besides plunder. I loved every minute of his story, and begged Mr. Gibbs to tell me more. He obliged by telling me stories of Captain Sparrow and his famous escapes and adventures. However, one in particular puzzled me.

"Sea turtles?" I asked, not understanding how that could possibly happen.

"Aye, sea turtles!" Gibbs said, nodding.

"Well, what did he use to capture them and tie them together?" I pressed, wanting to know more details of how he had gotten off a deserted island with no boat.

"Gibbs, I swear if I catch the ending of that story, and hear you telling it one more time, I'll pull your ears off and toss them overboard," drawled a voice from the doorway.

The both of us turned and saw the Captain standing there, leaning against the doorframe, a small frown on his face. Seeing that Gibbs had stopped talking, he waltzed in and looked the older man in the eye before jerking his head towards the door. Gibbs took the hint and left, but not before giving me a wink of encouragement. Jack saw the small gesture and frowned, practically shoving poor Mr. Gibbs out the door and onto the deck before turning blazing brown eyes towards me.

"I don't want you flirting with my crew, young missy," he snapped, stalking towards me.

I swallowed, hard. "I wasn't flirting with him, Captain," I said, afraid of change of mood and angry at his indication that I might be a loose woman. "He was merely telling me stories about you and the adventures you've all had here on the Black Pearl."

His eyes narrowed. "I still won't have you acting that way with my crew," he growled as he reached the side of the bed.

I quickly pulled away, terrified at what he might do to me in a fit of rage. "I won't," I said, looking at his darkening brown orbs. "I swear I won't!"

"I'll hold you too that, luv. And for God's sakes, call me Jack!"

I nodded. "I'm sorry, Jack," I said, trying to do something that would make him happy and not so frightening.

A smile crept onto his lips. "Now, see, that wasn't so hard or too bad, now was it?"

The anger seemed to melt off of him as he spoke. Jack seemed perfectly happy now that I was doing what he'd asked me to do. A moment later, he was sitting by me on the bed and holding my hand in his rough one. Well, it wasn't exactly rough, but it had certainly seen a great deal of work.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you like that, luv," he said, surprising me by stroking the back of my hand oh-so-gently. "I just don't want you to be hurt by any of the crew, they can be a violent lot and they haven't seen a woman in a couple weeks. They get starved for attention and a woman's the only thing that can satisfy them at that time."

I hastily nodded. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind, Capt- I mean, Jack," I said, trying to cover my mistake in addressing him.

Jack looked me in the eye. "See that you do," he said, firmly, as though he were addressing a child. "I can't save you from all of them. I'm only one man." He smiled a bit al of a sudden. "Now how about something to eat?"

'But what a strange and good man you are, Jack Sparrow,' I thought, extremely confused by his mood swings as he left to get our meal.

AN: If postings get fade off a bit after this, it's because I'm busy with my newest fic, which can be found via my bio page. Thanks to those who are sticking with me, and please review!