AN: My Muse is back! I picked up the Visual Guide and the junior novelization to Dead Man's Chest. Definitely worth a read for all you diehards out there. Two more weeks!

I'm in the process of revamping this a bit. I'm only changing a few minor details, ie. How Jack and Evelyn get the Pearl, etc. to fit in better with Dead Man's Chest. I've also done some editing.

This story contains SPOILERS! If you don't want to be spoiled, then wait until you've seen the movie, and then read it, okay? Okay!

Disclaimer: I Own nothing really… (Except a few characters) Just borrowing for myself and other's amusement… although I do wish I owned Jack… :smiles innocently:

Every Rose Has It's Thorns

Chapter One: Little Girl Lost

Tortuga. A pirate's haven. To the upper-class it was considered to be a vile and disgusting place. But to a pirate, it was excitement. It was the joy of life itself, if you don't include being at sea that is. Or in one particular pirate's words, la joie de la vie. This particular pirate was not just a thief, but he was one of the few decent pirates in the Spanish Main. His somewhat portly shape and cheerful manner, made him seem very trusting. His long curly dark hair added to this as well as did his dark, inviting eyes.

Porthos, the infamous pirate and Musketeer, walked among the streets of Tortuga, finding his way back to his ship through the crowd of whores, buccaneers, and scallywags that seemed to be everywhere. As he walked he thought of his friend he had just finished a round of grog with. Good old Bootstrap Bill Turner, Porthos thought, the only pirate I've ever met who has the decency to care about someone besides himself.

As Porthos reached the docks, he had the inkling that he was being followed. He quickly glanced behind him, but saw nothing. "Come on Porthos. Stop looking for trouble," he told himself quietly. He boarded his ship and began to approach his cabin when he heard a slight rustling sound coming from the hold. The sound was too big to have been an animal and his small crew of three men would still be out enjoying themselves. Slowly, he climbed down the hatch and began to investigate. "Hello!" He bellowed, "Is anyone down here? I won't hurt you if you show yourself, now! Otherwise I may be forced to-" just then a tiny head peeped out behind a post in the center of the compartment. "Hello there," Porthos said calmly, "What are you doing down here my dear? Are ya lost?" The tiny little thing just shook its head. "I'm Porthos. What's your name, sweetheart?" He asked what he could now tell was a small girl of no more than five. He didn't frighten her. Most children would be terrified out of their minds if they had met a pirate but Porthos' jovial and kind demeanor demonstrated an inner child in him.

"Evelyn. Are... are you a pirate?" She asked with wide eyes. She had a hint of an Irish lilt to her voice and she was very little for her age. Her long auburn hair cascaded down her tiny shoulders. Her sea green eyes held an innocence and sparkle to them that only a child could possess. She was dressed in dirty rags. Porthos could tell by her extremely thin and pale appearance that she hadn't eaten in days.

"Well, I am at the moment," Porthos answered.

"You're not going to kill me are you?" Evelyn asked with fear in her tiny little eyes.

"Of course not! We're not all that bad!" Porthos replied with a smile. He walked toward her and held out his hand. "Give me your hand little one. Let's get you home to your mother where you belong."

"But she's gone!" Evelyn stated. "She left with a man on a ship."

"How long have you been here by yourself?" Porthos asked, astounded that anyone would leave a child alone anywhere much less Tortuga. He assumed that her mother was probably either a whore or did not care to have a child.

"A week, I think," she replied. Porthos looked mortified. It's a wonder she hasn't been killed, he thought, or even worse... He mentally slapped himself for thinking such a thing.

Porthos sighed. "Well, it looks like you're going to have to come with me then. Have you ever been to Paris?" Evelyn shook her head. "Have you ever been on a ship before?"

"Yes," She said meekly.

"Well that's a start," He said bleakly. "Lets get you up top and into my cabin. You can sleep in there."

How in the world do you get yourself into these things? He asked himself as he picked the small child up and carried her into his quarters.

Porthos walked proudly among the streets of Paris holding Evelyn's tiny little hand. In the crossing to Paris he had grown greatly fond of the little angel. He began to think of her as his own. He had dressed her in a beautiful dress and he had had her hair curled. She now looked just like a common, wealthy child in the streets of Paris. She also looked much healthier.

Porthos climbed up the steps to Athos' home, and let himself in without even knocking. Evelyn followed him dutifully.

"Hello!" He yelled as he walked through the hallway. "Guess who's back!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock?" Athos could be heard yelling from another room. Porthos walked towards the sound of his voice and entered the room it came from.

"Just when it was starting to get quiet around here..." Aramis said quietly from the chair in which he was seated when he saw Porthos enter. He wore a crucifix around his neck and an open leather-bound book sat in his lap. He had a calm yet sarcastic demeanor. His long, dark hair and dark eyes invited trust and guaranteed understanding.

"And hello to you too," Porthos replied, "And look what I brought back!" With that Evelyn slowly appeared behind Porthos and curtsied. Porthos looked proudly at his friends.

Athos turned around from the fire where he was stirring the coals, "Where did you get that?" he said, a look of confusion on his face. He stood up and took a few steps toward Porthos. His medium-length dark blond hair shone softly in the firelight. His eyes held both wisdom and pain. One would at first think that he was an angry and temperate man, but if they looked a bit closer, they'd see that he is only very troubled by his past.

Aramis glanced up from his book, "Good Lord, man! Out of wedlock?" He shouted, standing.

"Calm down. She isn't mine," Porthos said, "I found her in the hold one night. Her mother left her in Tortuga. What was I supposed to do? Leave her there to die?" Evelyn quickly went back to hide behind Porthos.

"You're not going to attempt to raise her are you, Porthos?" Aramis asked.

"Of course I am! Where else is she to go?" Porthos stated.

"What about an orphanage?" Aramis asked.

"If you expect me to desert her like her mother did, you're insane! Have you ever seen the way children are treated in those places?" Porthos stated, enraged.

"Porthos, you couldn't even raise that kitten! What makes you think you can do any better with a little girl?" Athos asked.

"The kitten was not my fault," Porthos said, "It was that insane cart driver's! I kept it alive otherwise didn't I?"

Aramis sighed. "Have you given any thought as to what you must do to raise this girl?"

"Of course I have. I plan on sending her to the best schools possible and spoiling her rotten!" Porthos answered with a grin.

"Wonderful. That's just what we need around here," Athos said.

"Now that that's settled," Porthos began, "Evelyn, this is Aramis and Athos. They're my most trusted friends."

Evelyn slowly came out from behind Porthos. "Hello, Monsieur's," she said quietly.

AN: Please tell me what you think whether you're a first time reader, or just rereading for the changes!