Chapter 3 - Testing her Limits

Louise had been surprised as Jack lead her around the ship. Firstly she was surprised that he had lead the tour rather than passing the buck to someone else and secondly she was intimidated by how large the ship really was, and she knew after about ten minutes without Jack she would be lost and possibly end up walking into the armory instead of the galley. However Jack clearly enjoyed showing off his ship, explaining every nook and quickly trailing off into stories with every new room. She attempted to stifle a laugh as he tripped over a loose board interrupting his story about sacking Nassau port. He glared at her, she was laughing, laughing at Captain Jack Sparrow. He had given her the tour as a way to get to know her better, he didn't know if he trusted her and he also didn't know if he trusted some of the shadier members of his crew, she was after all a pretty young girl. He had quickly learnt she wasn't afraid to answer back, she had a cocky arrogance he hadn't seen before in a woman, usually his women wanted to get paid then they were happy.

"Nice trip Jack?" she teased as he got up, brushed off his jacket and straightened his hat. She had noticed how her hat was only slightly smaller than his and it seemed to bother him, he glanced at hers briefly before continuing,

"Now as I was saying..."

The rest of the tour went on without anymore falls but Louise did find she was getting her sea legs, the more she walked the easier she found it to steady herself against the constant movement of the floor.

"And Louise luv this is your cabin" he said with a satisfied look on his face.

"Awww Jack, I get a cabin? thats so sweet" she put on a sing song voice which made him grimace slightly.

"Tis nufin special luv but I couldn't very well have you sleeping with me crew now could I?", he'd much rather have her sleeping in his cabin but she didn't seem like the type to jump into bed with him no matter how charming he was.

"So Captain Jack what would you like me to do now?" she asked saluting jokingly, though there was truth behind the question, she really didn't have any idea of what to do, how to get home, she felt rather lost.

"Well luv I suggest ye make yourself at home and come and join me on deck when your ready, aye?", he wasn't going to suggest what he really wanted her to do.

"Yes, yes I'll just unpack" she looked pathetically at her bag, her only ties to home. He didn't notice the emotion in her eyes as he opened the cabin door for her and patted her rear.

Shocked at first she regained her composure and quipped "look with your eyes Jack, not with your hands" which got her a raised eyebrow and no doubt gave him all sorts of ideas as he sauntered towards the stairs.

Louise looked around the room, small and basic, like he had said nothing special not that she wanted any special treatment. She made her way over to the small dresser and placed her hat on it, smiling she was reminded of Shelly. She couldn't imagine what they must be thinking, and she hadn't had the chance to think about her own feelings on the subject. How did she feel being seemingly trapped on a pirate ship 300 years before her time? Slumping on the bed she began going through her bag, exploring her modern relics. However the first thing that greeted her was her birthday presents, looking down at herself she wasn't quite ready to give up her modern clothing and the last ties to home but maybe in time she'd want to try out her pirate gear 'at least I have a weapon' she thought. Putting it aside she came to her usual things, firstly her iPod, smiling she noticed a full battery 'maybe all isn't lost' but picking up her mobile phone the smile faded, she very much doubted that her mobile would work here, not only for the lack of satellites and signal but also when she bought her phone she had checked it had bluetooth not time traveling capabilities. Continuing into her bag she found her purse, 'pretty much useless here' she thought, followed by a large arrangement of makeup, looking at it all she wondered if she was really that vain to carry that much about. She stopped though when she picked out her keys, it wasn't so much the keys but the key-rings, she had always been a friend orientated person spending as much time as possible with them and her keys showed that. Multiple key-rings from theme parks showing her and her friends posing on water rides and roller-coasters, she sat there for how long she didn't know just looking at them, she didn't notice she was crying until the tears hit her hands. It was so strange being here, at any other time it would have been a dream but now all she could think of was what she had left behind, her friends, family and home. Not bothering to continue with her exploration of her bag she got up and took out her pocket mirror, all she could do was smile, smudged black eyeliner, and tears still leaving their streaky mark down her face.

Wiping away the tears and getting out her eyeliner she quickly remedied the situation and began talking to herself "come on Louise, pull yourself together, stay strong, everything is fine just go and show them you aren't useless".

She hadn't realised she was talking out loud till she turned around and saw who she knew to be Anamaria who chimed "not useless? well what do ye know about sailing then?".

Louise just stared at her wondering how long she had been watching her, she was inwardly praying the intimidating woman hadn't seen her cry "not much, but I'm quick to learn and who's to say I'm not a natural". Anamaria watched the younger woman with a twinge of admiration, it wasn't every day somebody answered back to her.

"Come on then let's test that theory".

Five minutes later and Louise stood there like a child waiting for their punishment as Jack and Anamaria discussed what she could do, she hated being discussed like she wasn't there "so come on then, give me something to do?"

Jack, not taking his eyes off the horizon felt a grin pull at the sides of his mouth, he had no idea of her limits and there was one way to test them "I've got an idea luv, why don't you make yourself comfortable in the crows nest". Louise's face became visibly shocked as she turned and looked up at the crows nest, she wasn't great with heights and she didn't know what was worse the climbing or actually sitting up there at that height.

She turned back to them smiling with a fake confidence "Fine by me" and with that she jogged over and began climbing the mast. Easy at first, she slowed the higher she got, the wind whistling around her face and making her ears ring, 'just don't look down' was her only thought and repeating it over and over was the only thing keeping her going, well that and her determination to prove herself.

Gibbs had since joined Ana and Jack "Jack you know nobody makes it all the way first time" he said said almost scolding him, he didn't like having women on board but if she must be here Jack shouldn't be putting her though this.

Jack smiled at his first mate "don't worry mate I'll give 'er a good drink when she comes down", but as they watched it seemed she wasn't giving up, far from it she was almost there. She was finding it harder and harder now, her thin top was barely keeping her warm against the wind and her hands were beginning to hurt but it was worth it as she reached the small crows nest and looked down at a mildly impressed crew, of course looking down gave her a idea of just how high she was and she quickly averted her gaze. She was pleased she had made it rather than giving up but she quickly hoped she would find a different task to occupy her while she was on board, working up here for as long as she was in 1725 seemed like a little too much for her to think about without getting vertigo.

Gibbs stared disbelieving "I can't believe it, no man makes it up first time let alone a woman", he quickly found himself under a icy glare from Ana who began ranting about women being able to do whatever a man could do. Jack just laughed to himself, he couldn't believe that he had a second woman on his ship as headstrong as Ana who, after lecturing Gibbs, calmed down and slapped Jack on the back commending him,

"I think I'm starting to like this gel"

--Authors Notes--

Hello again.

Since the last chapter I have some very helpful advice (thanks Leanan) on how to lay out speech. Hope it helps the ease of reading, I just hope I get it right :S And I know I am getting through this quite quickly and I hope to keep it up but remember this is like the preliminary, no doubt in a week or two my pace will slow down to maybe one update every few days, rather than 2 per day as my current rate is :)