The next morning Lily was jarred awake by Jack pounding on the door and yelling, "Time to get up little missy!"
Groggy and in pain, Lily hauled herself out of bed, wishing he could stop calling her that, yet not entirely sure she wanted him to be calling her by name either.
She stepped out of the cabin, shielding her eyes from the harsh morning sunlight. The bright rays were reflecting off the ocean waters and already men were at work, adjusting the sails, tugging on numerous ropes, hammering way at some part of the ship or another.
"Miss Lily!" Jack called to her from his place at the helm. "Welcome to the Black Pearl. Please, join me."
Aware of the looks she was getting from the men, she quickly scampered up the steps to stand near Jack, though that didn't make her feel much more comfortable.
"Gents, this is the gal you were told about," he announced to the crew, which had momentarily stopped working to stare at her. Lily felt herself blushing uncomfortably. "Our very own Miss Lily who happens to be searching for her brother in Tortuga. Now since we have a bit of a flower on board, please be as gentlemanly as possible." But Jack was grinning and the crew chuckled unpleasantly. They were the farthest thing from being gentlemanly, and it was more than obvious. "All right, back to work you slime!"
The crew obeyed and Jack turned to Lily. "Gibbs'll give you something to eat and then you're to follow him and do as he says, savvy lass?"
Lily glanced over Jack's shoulder to see where Gibbs stood, eyeing her and eating a chunk of slightly unpleasant-looking bread. Knowing she had no other choice, Lily nodded. Jack gave her a quick nod of approval.
"Good."
Lily spent the next two days following after Gibbs, doing everything he told her and soon realizing he wasn't as frightening as he made out to be. He reassured her that he and Jack would allow no harm to come to her and she wasn't the first woman to sail with them. She asked about the woman named Elizabeth and simply earned a chuckle and a "That's a long story," from him. She began to feel more comfortable as long as she remained near Gibbs and Jack; she still didn't trust anyone else…except Cotton's parrot…and perhaps Cotton as well since he didn't pay her much mind. The others, when they weren't doing something that required their full attention, stared at her, their entire imagination floating in their eyes.
On the third day a ship was spotted on the horizon and the crew unanimously decided to go after her and double their catch before arriving at Tortuga. Staring at the ship through his telescope, Jack surmised that they could probably catch it before sundown as long as the wind kept up.
"Jack!" Lily called, racing up the steps to the helm. "You're not seriously going to attack that ship are you?"
He stared at her for a moment before leaning forward and raising up his eyebrows. "Pirate."
Lily sighed, a little deflated. Honestly, how ignorant was she?
"But, you don't expect me to help, do you?"
"'Course not love. I expect you to remain here, on this ship, happy as a sea turtle while we do what it is we do, ey?"
Lily pursed her lips. "Sea turtles must not be very happy then."
"Of course they're not—always being eaten." He glanced at her. "Delicious though."
She opened her mouth to reply and then stopped, trying to figure out if she had just been insulted, complimented, or if Jack really was commenting on the taste of sea turtle meat.
"Brace yourselves up lads!" Jack yelled. "We're getting close!"
It wasn't long before they were alongside the ship and yells and gunshots were being exchanged. The ship was a little smaller than the merchant ship from before and the small crew surrendered fairly quickly. Lily was near the stairs, quietly watching and gasped in fright when one of Jack's crewmembers was shot by someone hidden behind a crate, and fell overboard, dead. The dissenter was caught moments later, Jack chastising his group.
"Maybe if you worthless lugs moved faster, this sort of thing wouldn't happen."
Suddenly Lily felt a hand clamp over her mouth and a strong arm around her waist, pulling her backward and out of sight. Her struggles got her nowhere even as her fear grew. This was not normal—someone was doing something they weren't supposed to, but without any help it wasn't going to matter.
"I don't like it when the captain refuses to share," said a pathetic sort of voice in her ear. "It's high time I had my fun. Then I'll kill ya and dump ya overboard. Captain won't ever even know what happened to ya."
Lily's heart pounded in her chest. Someone…someone…!
"Actually," said Jack's voice at the same time as a pistol cocked, "I would."
The man turned, still holding Lily, to see Jack standing here, his gun to the man's forehead.
"Let her go."
He did so and Lily flattened herself to the wall beside Jack. He started walking, forcing the man to walk backward, his hands held up and eyes trained on Jack. There was no possible way for him to talk his way out, only the hope that Jack needed every man to crew the Black Pearl would save him.
However, the moment they were in full view of the rest of the men, Lily half hiding behind the stairs, Jack pulled the trigger and shot the man in the head, earning a startled scream from Lily.
"The next time one of you touches this woman here, you'll end up same as him," he announced to the surprised group. "She is one of the crew and is to be treated as such." He holstered the revolver and marched back out. "Now get back to moving that load. I haven't got all day!"
Lily sunk down behind the stairs and covered her face with her hands. There was never a time when she missed her brother more.
"Gents!" Jack was yelling. "Remember this as the day you were boarded by Captain Jack Sparrow!"
--------------------
That night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, Lily snuck out of the cabin to stand at the rail at the side of the ship, leaning on it gently as she looked out over the black ocean. At length she took off her hat, something she hadn't yet done when not in the safety of the cabin. Free of the hat's confines, her creamy chocolate locks fell down around her shoulders, unkempt and distressed. She wished she had a comb to run through her hair at least. Closing her eyes, she sighed slowly, letting the salty breeze play over her features.
"Lovely head of hair you've got," she heard Jack say, at the same time feeling his fingers twisting into it. "Pity we never get to see it."
She spun to face him as he came up at her left.
"How's your arm?"
The swift change in subject matter caught her off guard.
"Um," she started, trying to recover from her surprise. "Well. Thank you."
Jack was now leaning against the wood rail as well. Blinking, Lily did the same, returning to her former posture and overlapping one hand on the other. For a long time neither of them said anything and gazed instead at the stars and the moon and tried to find the thin line separating air from water.
"I know you're not a maid, love," Jack finally said, turning to her.
"Oh?" said Lily, refusing to look at him. "And how exactly are you to know something like that?"
With a quick motion Jack had taken up one of her hands in his.
"These are still much too soft." He ran his thumb over her fingertips and then the palm of her hand, grinning.
She quickly pulled her hand away but didn't say anything. It would be pointless to argue, he was much too astute and she really did not want him asking too many questions—her last name especially. She always was a horrible liar.
"So," Jack went on, "what makes this brother of yours so bloody special that a lady like you is willing to go all over the ocean in a pirate ship to find him, especially if said fellow is a pirate himself, being at Tortuga and all."
There was a moment when Lily said nothing until she felt confident enough and was able to look Jack in the face.
"Aside from the simple fact that he is my brother, which seems to be too much of an inadequate reason for you, he has helped me through many hard times and I think now is when I should return the favor."
"Hard times?" Jack questioned, narrowing his eyes at her in curiosity. Lily let a shadow of a smile slip.
"When I was sixteen, I had already played far too much with my brother; sword fighting, hunting, other sports meant for men. So my parents feared I wasn't becoming a proper lady. Their," she sighed, "solution to the problem was to arrange my engagement to a man more than twice my age and very strict in the ways in which women should behave. On the day of his arrival I fled into the woods beyond our home. They tried to find me, but I kept hiding, living on berries and the water in the streams for three days." Jack raised an eyebrow, pleasantly impressed. "Finally I saw my brother, riding alone, looking for me. I allowed him to discover me and he said he wouldn't let the wedding occur if I was so discontented with it. I don't think he ever fully approved either. The man was so far beyond anything I could ever even grow to love.
"When we returned home, my brother went straight to our parents and told them to put a stop to the engagement. They argued for a long time. Finally it was his announcement that if they continued their plan, he would cut himself off from them entirely and there would be no one to carry on their name and much of a scandal to boot. So they cancelled the engagement and three years later he entered the Royal Navy and I haven't seen him since, just letters."
"Ah," Jack cooed, "so he's a sailor gone pirate, is that it, ey?"
Lily froze. She had been so engrossed with telling her story she had entirely forgotten who she was talking to. But she had the advantage in Jack's thinking her brother was just a sailor.
"Yes—well, no. At least I hope not. My brother is a fine man. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to him."
"Don't like pirates much do you?"
Lily couldn't help but smile. "You're my first."
Jack turned to lean back, resting his elbows on the dark wood. "Your first, ey?" he said, grinning. "Well then I guess that makes me someone special."
She was sure he was playing with her words again, but decided it would be best for her not to ask. Things were quiet again. The ocean waves folded in on themselves or absentmindedly ran into the ship.
"How did you know what that man was planning to do with me?" she asked, turning to him again as the thought popped into her head.
"I thought he made that quite clear himself."
She sighed in annoyance. "You know what I mean."
"Well I knew you were busy looking horrified by what we were doing, and I know who all my crew is, and I only trust about five of 'em. So when I didn't see Wicks doing what he was supposed to be doing and I spotted the vacant area you had most recently been filling, I came back over, heard him talking to you, and bang, there you have it."
Lily nodded slowly.
"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, pushing himself up, "I'm off to have another wonderful night in that hammock, so enjoy my bed, and I bid you a good night."
He went off and she stood there a little longer before laughing quietly to herself and going to bed as well.
-------------------
The following evening it began to rain. The sea remained calm and the wind died into the merest whisper. Jack had decided to cut the men a break and allowed them to go ahead below and play cards, gamble, and drink the rest of the day away while it rained. They knew it wouldn't last much past the next morning and they would probably reach Tortuga the next evening.
Lily had just finished flipping her hair out of the hat and shaking a few raindrops from her clothes when the door swung open with a bang, causing her to jump in fright. She spun around to see Jack come in, no quite soaked through, but with water spilling from his hat and his clothes visibly damp.
"What are you doing in here?" Lily cried before she could stop herself, knowing the question was utterly idiotic. Jack stared at her and then closed the door to the gray wet outside.
"If I recall, this is my ship, and hence, that is my bed."
Lily's embarrassment gave way to shock. "You can't mean you're going to sleep here do you?"
"I don't expect to sleep in that bloody hammock in the rain."
"But, but—where will I sleep?"
Jack raised his eyebrows. "The bed's just big enough for two, love. Looks like you're gonna have to make due for one night."
Lily was rooted to her spot in the floor, mouth agape at the very idea of having to share a bed with a pirate captain. It didn't help that Jack was pulling off his belt and weapons and hanging them on a peg in the wall. Then he noticed Lily staring at him.
"Would you mind Lily dear? I know it's an impressive thing to see, but if watching a pirate change his clothes is going to addle your little head, you might want to look away."
Coming to her senses, Lily climbed onto the bed and stared out the window, gathering her knees to her chest and trying her best not to think about what was behind her. She could feel the color rising to her cheeks. Perhaps she should omit this part of the story when she found James. For the sister of Commodore Norrington to be in the same bed as Captain Jack Sparrow—
Her eyes widened and for a moment her heart seemed to stop. Captain Jack Sparrow. A hand went up to her mouth. My God, it can't be. Jack Sparrow—that's the pirate James was chasing!
She felt the springs creak as Jack sat down and took off his boots.
This cannot be possible. Of all the luck for me to have…
They creaked again as he laid back, hands folded behind his head.
"I don't bite, love," he finally said, jarring Lily from her thoughts.
"I'm perfectly all right, thank you," she said in a slightly shaking voice.
Another long silence passed.
"You can't sleep like that you know," he informed her.
"I may surprise you," she said, this time in a much firmer tone as she regained some of her resolve.
"Somehow I don't think something you'd do to surprise me would surprise me…surprisingly."
Odd man indeed, she thought.
"You might as well lie down and get it over with love. Just think of it as jumping into a pool of cool water; easier to go in all at once than to drag it all out."
"What on earth makes you think that I'll actually be able to sleep next to a pirate?"
She looked over her shoulder at him. Jack noticed her and propped himself up on one elbow. "First," he said, holding up one finger, "you know pure and simple that I won't do you any harm. Second," another finger went up, "I'm sure you're jus as tired as everyone else." With that he flopped back onto the mattress, hands folded over his stomach and eyes closed.
The darkening grayness outside blurred in her eyes as they went out of focus amidst her thought. Of all things to happen, she had to wind up in this exact predicament. She glanced back at Jack, his chest slowly rising and falling as he lay there. Sighing in discomfort and embarrassment, she flopped down on her side of the small bed, slightly curled up into herself with her back facing him. She heard Jack chuckle.
"That's more like it," he said.
"Good night Captain Sparrow," she said, her stern tone indicating the end of any further conversation. Jack said nothing else, but Lily knew he was grinning behind her.
--------------------
Hours later Jack stirred slightly. He began to stretch out when his foot came into contact with something. Momentarily confused, he cracked open an eye.
Ah yes, he recalled. Little Miss Lily was in his way. She was lying on her side, face near his though one of his hands was settled on the pillow between them. Her mouth was just barely open, warm breath grazing his hand from between those pretty parted lips. A smirk crept over Jack's face. He seemed to have a knack for acquiring tempestuous women.
He reached up to touch her chin with his thumb and forefinger.
"You're lucky you're on my ship, love," he said quietly, the same grin still on his face. "If this were any other ship and I any other captain, one of us would be a lot happier at the present."
Deciding there was no harm in it, he continued to explore the wonderful softness of Lily's face.
Pity we'll be at Tortuga tomorrow. I should have liked to have you on board a little while longer—might have persuaded you to become a permanent member of my crew.
The thought made Jack smile even wider.
When Lily finally began to move, he jerked his hand away to avoid waking her up—and having to deal with whatever she might say or do in the case that she realized what he had been doing. However, to his utter delight, she shifted closer so that her forehead was nearly against his chest. He began to wish it had rained more during this trip. As he fell back asleep, he also began to wonder; what would Lily do if she got to Tortuga…and couldn't find her brother?
What indeed?
---------------------
When Lily awoke, it was to an absence of warmth she'd felt all night. Then she remembered. Jack. She had been sleeping beside Jack Sparrow all night. Now he was gone—no doubt awake and at the helm already. Sighing and still feeling tired, she got up, made herself as presentable as possible, and went outside.
"Mornin' Lily darlin'!" Jack cried from the exact place Lily expected him to be.
She nodded and waved him off, still not exactly accepting of the fact that she had just spend the night next to him. Jack only grinned and spun the wheel a few degrees. After grabbing a bite to eat, Lily began to work, untying a rope from its place. However, she was only halfway finished when Jack called to her.
"Lily m'dear! Come up here and give me a bit of company will you?"
Half annoyed and half perplexed as to what his motives could be, she tied the rope off again and headed up to stand beside him. She stared out at the sea and waited for him to say what he wanted.
"I've got a question for you, love," he said. Lily tilted her head back toward her shoulder and stared at him out of the corners of her eyes. "Are you absolutely, one-hundred percent, positively certain that your brother is in Tortuga?"
"Yes," she said and returned her eyes forward.
But Jack knew better. She had answered much too quickly to be certain. Lily knew it too. She could just feel him behind her, grinning triumphantly.
"Now Lily," he said in a way that let her know he'd caught her, "I seem to recall something about a stone tablet somewhere that says thou should not lie…or shan't…or shouldn't…either way darlin', it's not very polite."
Lily didn't say anything. She hadn't wanted to think about that prospect. It was foolish not to, she knew, but she had no idea what she would do if that were the case. Would she try to return to Port Royal and then back to England? But what about James? Where would he be? What would he be doing?
"I don't know what I'll do if he's not there," she finally confessed. She turned to look at him and was surprised to see he actually looked fairly serious.
"And if you do find him and he is a pirate?"
"Then I must convince him to return with me and return to the man he was."
"What if he says no to your little request? What if," Jack let go of the wheel and began to walk around the front of it toward Lily, "he's enjoying himself so much, he refuses to return with you and you find yourself stuck on Tortuga with no boat and no brother. Or," he was now standing right in front of her, "he does agree to return with you, but that still leave you without a ship. Or," he took a few steps forward and leaned in so his face was just inches from hers; Lily didn't move, "you get to Tortuga, your wonderful brother is nowhere to be found, leaving you all by yourself, with no way home. What then, ey?"
He was looking at her with the tiniest hint of a smirk on his face—expectantly almost. Lily stared back for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. He wasn't suggesting…he couldn't be implying… Certainly not offering her the use of his ship, was he?
"Captain Sparrow," she began.
"Lily my dear," he jumped in, backing up a little, "you'd make a fine edition to my crew. You work hard, you're a very lovely girl—"
"Captain Sparrow!"
"And if you wanted, you wouldn't even have to work at all—"
"Captain Sparrow!"
"And perhaps if your brother really has turned pirate, he could come aboard as well—"
Lily stormed off. She might have accepted his help in the case of transportation, but she certainly had no intentions to remain aboard permanently—with him!
"Oh where are you going," Jack called, sounding disappointed. "Come here, don't get your dress all ruffled."
Lily spun around. "Captain Sparrow! If you even have the smallest thought in your head concerning me and this ship, I suggest you remove it this instant! There is no possible way I would remain here with you! What makes you honestly believe I would ever consider such a proposal?"
"Oh I don't know," Jack said in a way that indicated otherwise. "You mentioned last night how I thought it possible you could sleep beside a pirate," he began, coming down the steps to her, "but let me tell you something love," he stopped in front of her and put a hand to her shoulder, tilting his head a little, "you slept quite well last night."
Flustered, Lily pursed her lips, her hands curling into fists at her sides. She couldn't deny sleeping well; it would only make her look more pointlessly resistant. However, she was not going to admit feeling more warm and comfortable last night than she had on all previous nights out at sea.
Her lack of movement away from him prompted Jack to do more.
"In fact, I feel I should inform you that you slept much closer to a pirate than you would have liked," he smirked and put a few fingers just under her jaw line to tilt her head up so she would look at him. "Maybe I don't make you feel as uncomfortable as you like to claim I do."
He had her now, staring at his dark brown eyes, allowing him to touch her out in the open on the deck. Perhaps he really was right—she wasn't as uncomfortable with him as she put on. She was thinking again, he could tell. Perhaps this was the perfect chance; catch her before she thought too much about it.
What was he doing? Was he going to kiss her? Did she want him to? Just moments ago she'd been rallying against him for suggesting she stay on his ship if she was unable to find her brother. But that was different—this would just be one kiss. Was she actually considering doing this? It wasn't as though he was forcing her. He was moving slowly, closing the gap, giving her the chance to escape if she wanted. The scoundrel. He knew a part of her wanted him to…
Jack smiled inwardly. That's it love, stay right there…
"Ah, another fine, glorious morning!" cried Gibbs as he climbed up to the deck.
His abrupt announcement broke Lily from Jack's enticement and she slipped away, moving to the rope she had begun with and working furiously to untie it. Jack wobbled where he was, missing her and his hands turning into claws of frustration. He stared at her back for a moment before throwing an irritated glare at Gibbs, who caught the look and was momentarily confused until he spotted Lily and the pink color of embarrassment on her cheeks. Realizing his mistake, he gave Jack a "Sorry about that," expression and hurried off to work as the other crewmembers began to emerge. Still growling a little to himself, Jack swept over to Lily.
"Now Lily darlin'," he started, hoping he could get back to where he'd just been.
"I can't believe myself," she muttered, freeing the rope and turning around to throw it violently out of the way. Jack was beginning to think perhaps he should let her alone for a while, lest his efforts earn him yet another slap in the face. Lily turned on him. "I don't know why I put up with you."
"Because I've saved you from a rather nasty fate twice and I've been nothing but a gentleman to you…or as much as possible…until recently of course," he said quickly, hoping the little apology would lead him back into her good graces. Then he began to wonder—when was the last time he'd worked this hard for a woman? He really needed to get to Tortuga. Maybe by now Driselle had forgiven him over Scarlet…oh what a mess.
"And," he suddenly added, "I'm helping you find your dear brother."
She looked at the floor and began crinkling handfuls of her tired maid's dress.
"I know. I know Jack. I'm sorry. Just…please," she looked up at him, "don't do that again."
She went off to help with the sails and this time Jack didn't go after her. He did, however, watch her for a little longer before grinning widely and returning to the helm. He supposed she meant for him to take her seriously, but he was far from discouraged; it had been the first time she'd called him Jack.