Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: You know, in the movie when Jack wakes Gibbs up, I swear to God, I thought he had said "My first love!" and not "Mother's love!"

A/N: The snacks are a tribute to shattered-demon. Props to DesertRoseTemari who sent me the longest review.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 4: A Talk for the Ladies and a Dance in the Sheets

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Jack forgot to get me clothes while we were on Tortuga. But that aside, I was alone and in a lot of pain, dying almost.

I was curled up on Jack's bed in the captain's quarters. I had a cramp and not just any cramp, but MONTHLY cramps. Oh, how I despised those. I get cramps so bad, that I can't get up out of bed and just lay there, curled up holding a pillow. I moaned and turned over, clenching my teeth. Fuuuuuuuck… This sucked donkey balls hella badly. I rolled over on my stomach and screamed into the blankets. God must really hate me. I felt soothing circles rubbed onto my back and I jerked up, hurting my stomach even more.

"What the fuck is going on?" I mumbled rather quickly. Anna-Maria raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be slapping Jack around, not helping your fellow woman?"

"I can be a woman when I want." She retorted snappishly. I looked down. That was probably the wrong thing to say, but she didn't seem to like me when we had first seen each other.

"Sorry," I muttered. She sighed.

"No, I should be." Her voice was soft, "I know I can be a bit rough at times, but… usually the women I be surrounded with are a far cry from ye are." We looked at each other for a little while before I turned to Poppins, demanding the Midol he… she… it had denied me.

"So," I began popping the pills, "why are you a pirate?" She didn't seem too perturbed by the bag. Perhaps Jack had spoken to the crew… I didn't bother saying that she didn't have to tell me if she didn't feel like it or that if she felt uncomfortable, it was okay. If she didn't want to, she didn't want to and I had a feeling that if I had said that, she would have seen it as pity.

"Me da." She looked straight ahead, jaw set, "Tried to marry me off." I didn't say anything. This was probably the most typical reason for women running off to Tortuga, but coming from Anna-Maria, it seemed a little heart breaking. "Me da… me da had a dance in the sheets with a slave girl." A rich family then. "I was his mistake." It was obvious to me when I first met her that she wasn't dark skinned just from the sun but I hadn't said anything, seeing as to how good of a bitch slap she could dish out. "So, when I fifteen, he decided that sending me off ta live with a rich old white man," she spat with disgust, "Was the best thing ta do." She snorted, "I was having none of that, so I came to Tortuga." I nodded.

"Seeing that you didn't become a whore, who taught you to sail and fight?" A tired smile spread across her lips.

"Jack did, elven years ago. I met him when he still had the Pearl." There was a wistful look in her eyes, "Then the damn bastard stole me boat." She snarled, gritting her teeth. I grinned,

"Anna-Maria," I started rather slyly, "Do you love Jack?" She looked like I had just run her through the gut with a pike.

"Wha? No! No, no, no, no, no!" She sputtered as I kept smirking, "Nothing of the sort!"

"Then why are you here? On the Pearl I mean," I shifted, "You could have stayed on Tortuga."

"It's all about the freedom," and I could see the twinkle in her eyes as she went on. I listened politely, as she had when I explained my story. Even though it was Anna-Maria talking, I knew those were Jack's words.

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I sat comfortably in the crow's nest with Anna-Maria. She had insisted that the sea air and sunshine was good for me. As I looked out, I realized that there was no evidence of the storm. Funny how nature worked… Between the two of us was a thuper duper bag of original Doritos and two Dr. Peppers. When she had first tried the soda, she had sputtered and choked on the carbonation. Even though I would've died at her heated scowl, I couldn't stop laughing. She rather enjoyed them now and I wondered if it was a bad idea to bring items from the future into the past. Poppins assured me that it would be alright, as long as there was no recording of it. While the two, or three including Poppins, sat up there, I discovered that even though Anna-Maria was the daughter of a plantation owner, she never wore the fancy dresses and jewelry. She never had lessons and tutors. She was kept out of sight and out of mind. It had been the local African 'minister' that taught her the letters. When I say 'minister' I mean that he was one of the only slaves who could read and it was he who read the Bible to the fellow slaves.

I still hadn't talked to Jack. I avoided him as completely as I could for the past twelve hours.

"Ye'll have ta speak with him at some point," Anna-Maria had pointed out to me. You want the truth? I didn't want to talk to Jack. Why? He saved me. I know, I know, it's weird and childish and cliché all at once, but… The fact that he risked his life when I was so ready to give up mine bothered me a little.

As emo as it sounded, I had wanted to stay beneath the waves. I was no longer a girl stuck in the storm, I was the sea. I was freedom. With no restraints, no limits, no chains, no laws to hold me back. I was boundless, endless, infinite, eternal. It was me, who sprayed upon the Interceptor's deck. I was the one who churned and tossed the ship about like a toy. I was the terrible, horrifying sea that you loved and would either let you go to battle again, or swallow you into the nadir and keep you there, a captive. I felt like Calypso, the sea nymph who kept Odysseus her prisoner of love for seven years. The Interceptor was to be my prisoner, never to be released.

I was power.

When the air was forced back into my lungs and the sea water forcefully hacked up, all of it was stripped away from me and I felt naked and bare. I was alone and lost. I had become a wandering child in the darkness of my mind. I felt like a child ripped away from her mother. That's what the ocean felt like. A mother who opened her arms to me and accepted me, dragging me down to become one. Then I was the mother and the storm was my child. I was alive for once and I was in sheer bliss, even if it was only a few moments.

I supposed I would forgive him one day if not soon. I had to. If I didn't, I'd be left a vengeful, heartbroken creature, like a mermaid who couldn't return home. Vengeful? You ask. Heartbroken? You laugh. But it's true. The sea has always felt like a home. Despite the freezing waters, it felt warm and comforting. The lull of the waves was like the whispers of a forgotten love. It was the sea, ever changing yet always unchanged, that washed away my tears, never the one to break my heart. It was the sea who pushed me back up to the surface when all I wanted was to drown in her depths. The sea was my mother, my father, my sister, my brother. The sea was my friend, my teacher, my lover, my home.

But, I ramble. I would have to forgive Jack because when I truly thought about it, he pulled me away from his lady love, the sea. And even though it hurt me in the echoes of my mind, it touched me that he would take something away from the very thing he loved so deeply.

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When Anna-Maria and I came down from the crow's nest, I made her swear never to tell of the contents in 'the bag', we were met by Mr. Cotton.

"Swab the deck!" the parrot cawed, "Captain's orders!" and he kept spewing other random sea worthy shit. Anna-Maria grinned,

"That means ye," and she practically skipped away. I scowled and went in the direction that Mr. Cotton pointed off to. I found Will, already scrubbing away at the grim on the deck. I sighed and dropped down next to him.

"Give me a rag," I said, thoroughly exasperated.

"Make sure I don't get wet," Poppins sniffed. Just for that, I flicked droplets of water on my back. Will handed me a rag with a smile. I smiled back, albeit a bit nervously. He didn't have a shirt on. But why should I care? I'd seen him shirtless before. Hell, that's the way he slept. I began 'swabbing' the deck, wishing I could just pull out a wand and say "Scourgify!" and be over with it. After an hour or two of my incessant grumbling, Will sat up and wiped his forehead on the back of his hand,

"Are you alright Miss- Ashlyn?"

"I'm fine," I said shortly, imagining that the deck was Jack's face,

"I could finish if you want. We're almost done anyway…" He offered. He was sweet. He really was.

"No," I moved on to another part. I didn't want to wear the wood down. Maybe I did, because if a certain annoying pirate captain had stepped there, perhaps he would fall through… "If we don't finish together, then that means Jack is going to give me an earful and I don't feel like hearing from him."

"Is it because he saved you?" Will asked quietly. I froze and stayed silent. "You don't have to answer," he said softly. I nodded numbly and sat up. My back cracked and a cool relief spread through my body. I turned to him with a smile,

"Let's finish up, eh?" he nodded, his smile a little weak. The sun was about to go down I wanted to watch the sunset up in the crow's nest. We finished and I dragged him up the crow's nest like an impatient child. He laughed and I felt something swell within me. We stood in the crow's nest, watching as the sun sank into the ocean's embrace. I turned to look at Will. The lights cast a dazzling glow on him. His skin became a true gold and the shadows were a deep red, tinged with the jovial orange that the sun radiated at every dusk and every dawn. I smiled softly. Will always seemed to have a soothing affect on me. I don't know how long I had stood watching him, but soon, we were set in a deep violet, the brief moments before nightfall. The crew scurried below, lighting lanterns and retying knots before heading to their cabins.

"Will?"

"Yes Ashlyn?" he faced me, a gentle smile still on his lips.

"Could you- could you spend the night with me?" he raised his eyebrows and I cursed how inexperienced I sounded. He seemingly had grown used to my 'unladylike' behavior. He didn't ask why, a small favor I was grateful for. He followed me back down to the deck and I diffidently took his hand. I looked up. He smiled, a bit unsure, but he smiled. Giving me a friendly squeeze, we began to walk down to the Captain's cabin. I could feel Jack's eyes on my back and I spared him a look. I kept my face blank as he glanced to our hands. He shrugged and I led Will down the steps. We entered the Captain's quarters and he looked around, a bit awed. I smiled.

It was well furnished with gold and blues and creamy whites. He ran his hand down a piece of fine wood work as I set Poppins down. I quietly asked the bag for a chemise and pulled it out. Turning my back to Will, I undressed and slipped on the chemise. When I turned around, he was watching me, unabashed. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm the slight fluttering in my stomach. I took a seat on the edge of the bed as he prepared himself for sleep. When he turned around, with no shirt mind you, I smacked him in the face with one of the many down pillows. I laughed,

"Pillow fight!" I crowed. He grinned and obliged, ripping the pillow from my hands and hitting me on the shoulder. Rolling backwards, I grabbed another pillow and so began our war. The down feathers were flying everywhere and the air was filled with my shrieks and his laughter. In a swift motion, he pinned me down.

"Ha," he smirked, "I have you now Miss Woods,"

"Oh, whatever shall I do?" I simpered mockingly, "I have been captured by the dread William Turner! Perhaps a kiss will amend this and he shall let me go!" I reached up and kissed him on his teeth. I colored. "My aim's a bit off," I chuckled. He lowered his head and kissed me back.

"Mine isn't." We laughed and I tried to kiss him again. He jerked back and sat away from me. He looked ashamed and he averted my eyes.

"I'm sorry." He blurted, "I shouldn't have done that. We're on our way to save Elizabeth and I- I… I love her," he finished lamely. I lowered my gaze.

"Will,"

"I'm sorry. I can not ask for you for-"

"Will!" I took his hand in mine and reached to pluck a feather from his hair. "It's okay. Where- where I'm from," and I realized with a sudden shock that we were from completely different worlds. With a pang of something I couldn't name, I also realized that I hadn't thought of my time, "Where I'm from," I began again, "It's okay to ease your smaller feelings for someone despite loving someone else." And if you think about it, it's true. When a man loves a woman but goes out to a bar, he's likely to have a one night stand to satisfy a lust for another girl. The same goes for women. One night stands were one night stands, a way to make sure that small feelings wouldn't cause your love to spiral down to rock bottom. I explained that to him and he held my gaze in silence,

"Then," he started slowly, a bit unsure. Always so unsure, "Would it be alright, if I-" I didn't let him finish as I captured his mouth, fingers tracing every shape of his upper body,

"It's alright," I breathed. I heard the door creak open and suddenly snap shut. Will didn't notice; the echoing footsteps I knew so well faded. We continued, disposing of our clothes as quickly as we could. They ended up as a scattered pile on the floor amidst the down.

He was tender but sure, one of the kindest lovers I'd had in a while. He was both eager and easy to please. It didn't take that much from my side, but I intended on showing him the finer points. On entry, he was worried and gentle, afraid that I would be in pain. I laughed and told him it wasn't a problem, that I had done this before. I knew that when it was his time with Elizabeth, despite the fact that I despised her, I wanted him to be confident and know what he was doing. Will reminded me of those lovers who seemed like they would love you forever. The ones who were timid at first, not too bold, trying their hardest to make it perfect. It wasn't perfect, nothing is, I won't lie. But it was fulfilling and I knew that he was as satisfied as I was, if not more. As he drifted to sleep, our arms around each other, the sheet draped haphazardly over us, I smiled. Ha, I thought, take that obsessive fan girls. And I fell into a content slumber.

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I awoke when the sun arose and quickly skidded off to the washroom, taking Poppins with me.

"I assume you two had a nice time," it teased, " I couldn't get any sleep with the noise you two made,"

"Shove it," I snapped, "I need buckets of hot water." Poppins complied and I had to close him… her… it to get a new bucket until the silver tub was full, "Goddamn, the British sure know how to take care of their navy." I sunk into the water, washing myself and rubbing the sweat and other crap off. Poppins supplied both soap and shampoo and conversation and I bathed.

"Just put me in to empty the tub," Poppins announced. I threw it in as I wrapped myself in a towel. I watched with amazement as the bag sucked the water of the tub,

"Holy shit." I blinked, "Can you turn that into clean water?" I was answered with a gurgle that suspiciously sounded like a 'yes'. I emptied the bag back into the tub to find clean water. Some bubbles escaped from the mouth of the bag. It burped,

"Never ask me to do that again," Poppins grumbled. I grinned and stepped out to see Will still sleeping. I quietly got dressed and shook him awake,

"Your hair is wet." Was the first thing he said to me. I laughed,

"Go take a bath. I'm going up on deck," He nodded and sat up. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. That boy was so adorable. "Oh, and follow everything Poppins tells you," I left.

Once on deck, Anna-Maria passed me with a smirk,

"Good Lord," she said loudly, "Couldn't get a wink o' sleep last night, did we boys?" the crew shouted their answers.

"Aye!"

"Not a wink!"

"Suppose ta two of ye had fun?" I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the grin.

"Satisfied?" All expression fell from my face. It was Jack, leaning against the rail. I raised my chin,

"Yes,"

"I'll be expecting ye to change the sheets pet for, ah, next time,"

"It was a one time thing." Came Will's voice. He stood next to me, trying and failing to keep the blush from his cheeks. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as hurt as I had thought I might. I looked Jack straight in the eye.

"So, young William, not a eunuch, eh?" Jack was grinning and I couldn't tell if it was a defense or genuine. I shook the feeling off. Jack could have any women he wanted. I shouldn't think that he was jealous over a little girl.

"No, he's not. Rather well-endowed young William," I jerked my thumb at him. The snickered as Will colored deeper. "Better then you could be Jack," I breathed, taking a childish and weak stab at his male ego,

"Aye, I'll be holding you to that lass," His grin was confident, like I new it would be. I had just dug a hole for myself, both clichéd and stupid. But I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to dig myself out.

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This is shorter then the others, terribly sorry. Chapter 5 will be longer.

When I talked about the sea (I got a bit carried away. It's actually how I really feel) and Jack pulling Ashlyn away, I know that the Black Pearl is Jack's first love, but really. What would the Pearl be without the sea?

Oh, and to itsallaboutme, Ashlyn is real. She's practically me. I really want to change my name to Ashlyn. My current name is far too girly for my persona.