Author's Note: Oh my god, I'm sorry it's been so long, butJack and Solia are back!Tennis season's over so that's a little bit of a relief, but I've still got homework. I asked them not to put me in chemistry and trig at the same time, but what do they do? You got it. Chem and trig. Thanksgiving break's coming up and I'll be writing. Thanks for sticking by me during the long waits. This is in Jack's POV.

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It had been hours since she went in her cabin to change. We had just arrived in Tortuga, The Pearl docked in the harbor, and I was getting sick of waiting. "How long does it take to put on a dress?" I ask Gibbs, who is still trying to secure a rope.

"I couldn't say. I've never had to do it." I glare at him. "Easy, easy." He puts his hands up, trying to calm me down as if I had been attempting to attack him. "I don't know." He says finally.

"It couldn't take two hours." Two hours to put on clothes is ridiculous. Give her some time, Jack. Once She sees what you gave her, she's going to need it. I start to head below deck to her cabin, I need to know what's going on. And so does she, but you don't always answer her questions.

"She's a big girl, Cap'n." Aye, and in all the right places too. "She can get dressed by herself. No need for you to bother her." He continues to lecture after I don't respond. "My guess is that it takes longer for a woman to get dressed because she has more to squeeze into those clothes." He chuckles. "She's just trying to look nice, Jack. It's what all women do."

"She's trying to make me angry, Gibbs. Two hours is ridiculous." I've spent enough time with whores to know that even an hour is too long for a woman to take getting dressed. You see, Jack? That's the thing. She's not a whore. She's a proper woman. The governor's daughter, for Christ's sake. Be nice to her, and maybe she'll cooperate with your plan.

"It's just women in general, Jack.." I decide not to argue with him. "You should know that."

"Aye, but I'm still going to check on her. I'd like to actually set foot in Tortuga before next week." Gibbs chuckles and I mentally try to straighten everything out, every aspect of the plan before I knock on her door. She has to cooperate. She has to trust me, and if she doesn't, maybe bringing her along wasn't the best idea. "Solia." I knock on her door, hoping for an answer, some noise of any kind, but there is only silence. "Solia, are you ready?" Still no answer. I swear she's trying to make a fool of me. I reach for the keys in my pocket, the cold metal tempting me to even catch a glimpse of the girl behind the door. Jack, you can't open that door if you want her to trust you. She didn't ask for the keys this time, so you've already gained a little bit of her trust... The keys are in my hands and positioned at the lock before I can thoroughly convince myself that I'm doing the wrong thing. "Solia, I'm giving you till the count of three before I open this door. Decent or not, I don't care." Although I would prefer indecent, I don't think that would be the best thing for either of us. "One...two..." This girl is hard headed, anyone else would have opened the door already, and if it was any other girl, you would have opened I by now, Jack. "I'm serious Solia. Open the door." Still no response. I put the key in the lock, prepared to open the door before I can change my mind. "...Three." The key is still, my hands at my sides. The door remains closed and a few seconds later the lock clicks. I listen to her footsteps, and I open the door slightly. "Solia...?" I step into the cabin, she's standing near the bed glaring at me.

"You bastard!" She screams, and throws a shoe. I dodge it, and it hits the door. "I just thought you would want something nicer to wear when we go into Tortuga!" She mimics me, finding more objects to throw. "Like hell you did!" Honestly, I didn't think she would be this angry.

"I can explain..." She interrupts me.

"Like hell you can Jack! You're a two-faced bastard that only wanted to see me half naked and looking like a whore!" She looks beautiful in the dress, but I can't tell her that. It would only make her angrier, and right now, an angry woman is not what you want."You're not a whore." I try to tell her, but she's glaring at me. Seeing her like this makes it hard for me to say anything. I didn't know she'd be so angry. Well what the hell did you expect, Sparrow? She'd go along in that dress perfectly and according to plan? You knew it was going to take a little more then a nice conversation on deck and a smile...

"That's not what it looks like to me!" She screams. "I don't want to go out there looking like a whore!" She starts pacing, as if trying to figure a way out of this mess.

"You'll blend in!" I almost shout at her. Don't get angry, she won't cooperate that way... "Do you want them to know who you are?" She stops and just stares at me. I've hit a nerve, and I intend on making my point. "There's a reward for your return, that I'm sure of, and every bastard in that town wouldn't hesitate to collect it."

"You wouldn't!" She practically threatens me, but it's only confirming the fact that I know what I'm doing. She may hate me for it, but in the end I'll have my way.

"They would take you back. Back to Port Royal, back to that stiff Norrington. And then where would you be?" Fear seeps through her eyes, betraying the fact that she's not as tough as she wanted to be, not as brave as she's supposed be in front of me, at least in her opinion. "I'll tell you. You'd be Mrs. Commodore Norrington, with little James Junior on the way. One BIG happy family, right?" She looks as if she's about to cry.

"You bastard..." She's fighting back tears. "You wouldn't...you can't..." I have her right where I want her. There's no way she can get out. She knows I'm right.

"Try me." I tempt her. "He'll be so happy to see you. Wouldn't want to waste another minute. Think of a wedding night with him. You'll have a wonderful time I'm sure..."

"They'll kill you." In a sudden attempt at bravery she interrupts me. "You take me back there and they'll kill you." Damn! She's got you there, Jack. How are you going to dance around this one?

"They haven't succeeded yet, and it's highly unlikely they'll even realize it was me. I wouldn't be that stupid to go up to Norrington and try to collect the reward."

"And if I tell them? Then what? I'm the governor's daughter, the Commodore's fiancé. You think they'll believe a pirate?" That stung a little. "You kidnaped me..." I'm only doing this for her benefit.

"...But once again you'll be stuck with the Commodore, back where you started. It wouldn't do you any good." Now stop arguing with me. You're not getting out of that dress, and you're going into Tortuga. Give it up.

"It wouldn't do me any good?" She asks. "At least I wouldn't be wandering around sin city looking like a whore!"

"No. You'd be wandering around Port Royal looking like his whore." She sighs. I'm close to breaking her, so close... "Is that what you want?" She says nothing. "No?"

"No." Plain and simple. I know she doesn't want to go back there. Why did she fight so much? She wanted to prove she wasn't easy, Jack. You'll get your way eventually, but let her have a say in things too. Don't try to force her into things, that's why she left Port Royal, that's why she's here with you...

"All right then." Now I've got her attention, her full attention, and most likely her cooperation. "So if life in Port Royal isn't exactly your cup of tea, I'll expect you to cooperate, savvy?" She doesn't nod or show any sign of agreement, but I know that she's going to do as I say. "Here's what's going to happen. We're going to go into Tortuga to find Daniels. He owns a pub, and as you know this is a pretty rugged town. Not too many chances for prissy governor's daughter's to go by unnoticed. That's the reason for the dress." She glares at me for the prissy comment, but I figure it helps to drive the nail into the wood. "But then again it's the same situation with the dress. Lots of whores in this town, and lots of lonely men." I can tell she doesn't like where this is going, but I have my reasons. "Now I'm not asking you to be my whore." It almost seemed like she had been holding her breath, but now she looks a little relieved. "But we're going to have to look like we're together, savvy?"

"You're not going to kiss me." She says. "You kiss me and I'll slap you again."

"You're going to have to give me a little bit." I tell her. "You don't have to kiss me, but you're going to have to give me a little bit, to make it look like we're together." I offer her my hand, she sighs, but she takes it. Her skin's so soft, so warm.

"You're not going to kiss me." She says again, almost threatening.

"I won't kiss you." But I wish you'd let me. "Promise." She sighs and starts walking towards the door.

"All right." She says. We step outside, and I close the door behind us. I take her outside, and we walk off the Pearl. We walk off together, off to what I hope is a new beginning.