Tortuga. No matter how far or long one was away from the Port it never was a pleasant place to dock. Of course after a bottle and of anything in reach and a edible meal it became much more appeasing but initially those first few steps were just awful.

For Nicolette, she felt it was because if always reminded her of when she first stepped off the small trading boat with her mother at just eleven years old. She was already used to ships, ports and sailors of all kinds given how much she had travelled from being just a babe, but this port was something entirely different.

Within mere minutes her mother had been approached more than once by a man for her company, old women had asked how much for the child. Nicolette, a child for labour, imagine... It was dirty and loud and smelly and nothing at all like the big cities and expensive formal manors she had grown up in at the other end of the World.

That first night she had been terrified, even more so when he mother had disappeared into the dark streets and she had been left in the company of a stranger. She cried as she tried to sleep in the cold, drafty and dripping room she had been assigned in the attic but of course sleep had never came. Sleep didn't come easily for her until after a month, after she had learnt to drown out the drunken screams and gunshots.

After a year or so she learnt to appreciate Tortuga for what it was, enough for her to voluntarily call it home. It was better than being on the streets after all. But even still, after multiple years, the first steps still took her back to that night she last seen her mother. So wine, wine was required.

Nicolette narrowly dodged a bar brawl with expert ease that was only ever achieved by a once tavern barmaid, and walked to the table Gibbs was sitting at. A couple of hours they had been recruiting, trying to find ninety nine souls who were actually willing to sail on the Pearl.

"How we doing?" She asked, eyeing the roster as she placed his mug of rum down. But she didn't get a reply just a very frustrated eye roll, which soon transformed into a smile as a sailor approached.

"And what makes you think you're worthy to Crew the Black Pearl?" She had to admit, for looking so glum only a minute ago the mans enthusiasm was impressive.

"For years I've wanted to sail the World with a young bride," The old sailor, and by old Nicolette meant old, started gleefully telling his story to Gibbs. "And I reckon I will find her on the open seas." Oh lord help her if these men were actually going to be her fellow crew, even if it was only for a day. However it got worse as the sailor turned his eyes onto her and grinned rather menacingly. "Of course, they don't have to be young." Her jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed.

"How lovely! Sign the roster!" Gibbs called out and she did a double take at the First Mate's bright smile.

"Gibbs!"

The mans glare told her to shut it as he leant forward over the table to whisper to her. "He's the first man to approach lass! And we can't look to be picky…" She pointed her finger right at his face, eye level, with a glare and sucked on her cheeks as she tried to come up with a threat…but she didn't have one for at the end of the day the man was right.

"Alright." She hissed and dropped her finger just as the sailor turned back to them, tipping his hat and winking at Nicolette. Gibbs managed to stifle his chuckle of amusement whereas she simply gave the man a weak smile which did not reach her eyes. "But I am not marrying anyone for the sake of this madness. I'll be over by Jack."

And with that she turned and walked to where Jack was sat at another small table near by, as Gibbs greeted another possible victim of Jones. She could just catch the hopefuls words over the tavern noise as she rounded the table and placed her chalice and Jack's tankard down.

"Truth be told, I never sailed a day in me life. I figure I should get out and see the world while I'm still young."

Nicolette rolled her eyes and took a drink of her wine, watching the useless man sign their once prideful roster.

"This is ridiculous. We're recruiting drunks and madmen." She muttered as she took a seat next to Jack, still allowing her a partial view of their new crew around Jack's feet as he reclined back, resting them on the table.

"Have you seen the men we recruit currently?" Jack asked, seriously, glancing at her before he went back to glaring at his compass which turned in his hands restlessly.

"At least none of them are perverts…" She muttered into her drink before adding a second thought. "Much."

The current crew could at least have a laugh, maybe not Cotton…or the parrot…or Pintel and Ragetti as she was pretty sure they were still scared of her. And Gibbs still much aired on the side of cation with her…as did Marty… But she was sure she had laughed with one of the nameless newbies? That still counted for something.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Jack chanting under his breath by her side.

"I know what I want, I know what I want, I know what I want." He opened the compass and Nicolette guessed it was not showing Jack what he wished to see, for he snapped it closed and sighed.

"Having a hard time there?" She drawled, holding her wine limply in her hand and pursing her lips. However, when she looked at him, Jack wasn't even listening as he was too busy singing sweet nothings to the compass…

His behaviour peaked her interest more than the sailors did, and Nicolette sat up slowly so as not to disturb Jack. Then she leaned over, only turning her head at the last possible moment and peeping over as slow as she could possibly move.

"I know what I want." Jack spoke more sternly and she frowned but leant forward a little further, seeing the needle spinning wildly but slowing ever so slightly upon each rotation.

Every time it seemed to be stopping however, the needle would hold still only for a second and then begin turning wildly in the other direction, jutting back and forth as if there were two equally precious destinations which Jack wanted. Nicolette sighed, frowning with more worry than frustration now, and glanced at Jack who was focusing on the little cube in his hand harder than she had ever seen him do.

Something Tia had said echoed in her mind and she wondered, did Jack Sparrow truly not know what he wanted? Was he torn between two different entities? Or was he simply confused whether he wanted one or not? It couldn't have been the chest, Jack needed the chest to be free…so something just as special to him was interfering. That had to be it, Nic thought, but what in the World was as important to Jack than freedom and living?

As Nicolette looked back to the compass, she noticed it was starting to slow at a steadier pace than before. The needle turned round and round, slower and slower until it seemed to be scanning the room looking for something all on its own. It was when it was finally about to make its decision, that Jack glanced back at her over his shoulder.

At first, he yelped, a horrible high pitched show of fright. It was so sudden Nicolette jumped and sat back, staring at him intently, and then Jack snapped his compass closed and held it to his chest.

Peculiar. And when Jack, off all men, was being peculiar there was a reason to worry. Something had Jack torn…and it was something he very much wished to keep private, at least from her.

"How are we going?" He asked Gibbs, looking away from Nicolette's intruding stare and over at Gibbs who had just seen off another recruit.

"Including those five? That gives us… five." The man rolled his eyes, barely casting the pair a glance and Jack grimaced, shaking the compass vigorously as he did so, knowing the chest was still their best bet over the ninety nine souls.

Nic kept her eyes of the compass for a few more moments as her brain searched for an answer on what could be causing Jack so much trouble, but there was nothing. She realised he had reacted the same way when she had came up behind him in his cabin, before they had sailed right around the edge of the Mediterranean hurricane. This had been plaguing him for months, practically since they had left Port Royal…

"And what's your story?" Her thoughts were interrupted by Gibbs greeting another hopeful and she turned, wondering what weird sole had wondered up to them next.

At first glance, this man looked a little younger. Just as dirty and roughed up and ill looking but at least he would be more use over the next few days than a man a few days away from a coffin.

Though…something about him was strangely familiar…had she gambled with him before? She hoped he wasn't one of the ones she owed money too.

"My story?" The man asked gruffly, even his voice was familiar. "It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas." Jack snapped his compass closed and began looking around them cautiously, wide eyed. "The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life."

"What's wrong?" Nicolette whispered harshly as she noticed Jack cautious behaviour. Then, as he reached across her body to pull the wide leaf of a palm over the both of them, she hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Hush!" Jack snapped and clipped her thigh, she was about to give him a slap of her own until she heard Gibbs ask the scruffy sailor with disbelief.

"Commodore?"

"Commodore?" Nicolette repeated and turned her gaze towards Jack before sliding deeper into her chair and allowing the leaf to cover her, this time without a fuss. "We can't just hide here!"

"What else do you suggest?" Nicolette simply shrugged but then stood, taking the leaf with her, and Jack didn't think twice about following her lead.

"No, not anymore, weren't you listening?" The Commodore…ex commodore now, exclaimed with sarcasm and Gibbs pulled back slightly. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would've, if not for the hurricane."

"You didn't try to sail through it?"

"So do I make your Crew or not? You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere nice!" Norrington upturned the table harshly, sending Gibbs flying back on his stool. He then began to prance around the tavern floor like a royal fool as both Jack and Nikki tried to avoid him, pressed tightly together behind the inconspicuous partly transparent disguise of a plant.

"So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Nicolette, who had been leading the way with wide strides and peeping out the corner of her eyes at Norrington as to avoid walking blindly right into him, spotted him pointing a pistol right towards them and stopped dead. Jack bumped into her back with an 'oof' and grunted for her to keep going until he too realised that they had been spotted. Unsurprising really, given leaves didn't normally travel, especially using four clothed legs…

"Or should I just kill you now?" She nudged Jack with her elbow as well as she could without moving much and the leaf rustled in her hand. Norrington as well as much of the tavern looked at them in wonder as behind the greenery, the couple bickered.

"He's talking to you!"

"He's after you as well."

"He is not!"

"He is too!"

"He is not!"

"He is too!"

The indistinguishable sharp whispering continued until Jack growled and popped his head out from the back of the leaf and then stepped around Nicolette, peeping out of her other side.

And just as he went to take a breath, Nic grew impatient and lowered the leaf.

"You're hired." She quirked with a smile though it was not well received...by anyone. Jack mainly who completed a double take at her before snarling, and then Norrington...well...

"Sorry." Norrington smirked and cocked the gun. "Old habits and all that." He was ready to shoot when two Pirates ran in from behind him and lifted his pistol hand to the sky as the bullet fired. Jack turned and grabbed Nic by the arm spinning her around and then pushing her forward with a hand on her back, between her shoulder blades.

"Move, quickly now love." He spoke as behind them the bearings ricocheted off one of the large lights and hit another man's bottle, smashing it into pieces and sending the liquid spilling onto the floor below. It wasn't long until a full brawl broke out across the entire tavern and Nicolette threw the plant she was still hiding behind into an empty rum barrel just as two men stumbled and fell into it.

"Time to go." Jack directed towards Gibbs who was cowering on the floor amongst the crowd. Upon seeing them he stood abruptly and ran to them.

"Aye."

Together they all turned, Jack in the lead, and walked towards the large staircase at the back of the room. Once they were climbing to the balcony above however, Nicolette wished she had stayed in the lead as every few steps Jack was either bending to pick up a discarded hat on the ground or taking one from a passing sailors head.

"Is this really the time for you to update your look?" Nicolette quipped as he tried on a third and she dodged a yet another glass bottle heading towards her skull. When they reached the top of the stairs, Jack turned to grin at her in a fashion which asked 'how do I look?'. At which Nicolette winced and shook her head, causing his grin to drop.

"Oh." He said and swapped it with a one a pirate balanced on the railing was wearing. Then again, he turned to Nic.

"Better." She nodded with a shrug.

"Thanks, mate." Jack tapped the pirates shoulder in thanks, but the gentle force was enough to cause the man to loose his balance and fall back off his perch to the floor below. "Ooh." All three winced and then they carried on walking and Jack placed the hat he had just took from the last pirate onto a man being carried off to be thrown off the balcony. "Carry on." And the man was thrown over in front of their very eyes.

They managed to leave the tavern after that and made it to where the Pearl was docked without any real drama at all. Not one punch was thrown and not a single drop of rum spilled, happy endings all around, leaving Nicolette with a chance to finally vent.

"And to call me old. I'm not old." Nicolette muttered to Jack although it was mainly directed in on herself as they walked side by side down the pier to the Pearl. Beside her, Jack rolled his eyes but found it hard to hide a smirk from listening to her little rant. "Do you think I look old?"

"Was probably the light love."

"What do you mean the light?" Nicolette stopped in her tracks, eyes tracking Jack's movements from that point forward with concern stitched into her brow. "How do I look in the light?" She called after him, skipping to catch up with his long strides as he silently chuckled under his breath.

She had almost caught up with him enough to quiz him, when a voice called out to them from behind them.

"Captain Sparrow?" Nicolette glanced over her shoulder and spotted nothing more than a young boy walking toward them in the darkness so she carried on forward.

"Come to join me crew, lad? Welcome aboard." Jack called back as he lifted the bottle of rum hanging loose in his hands, to his lips.

"I'm here to find the man I love."

Both Jack and Nicolette stopped at that moment with very different expressions marking their face. For Jack, dread and a little awkwardness swept through him, whereas Nicolette grinned and rejoiced in this new little nugget of evening entertainment.

She swung around on her heel, eyeing the young lad with glee and taking a few steps towards him.

"Oh Captain Sparrow will-" She began but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea." Looking alarmed, Jack gestured for Gibbs to throw the boy into the bay, the same one Norrington was busy throwing up into.

"Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow."

Suddenly, Nicolette's smile dropped and was replaced with a look of disgust. A tiny groan even came from the back of her throat and she took a step back as the figure raised their head and the narrow pretty face of Elizabeth Swann caught the light.

Jack finally turned around from where he stood just behind Nicolette. "Elizabeth?" He asked before quickly turning back to Gibbs and pushing the rum bottle into the first Mates chest. "Hide the rum." Gibbs took the bottle hurriedly and stumbled for a moment before running up the gangplank to the ship. Meanwhile, Jack turned his full attention on to the young proper lady.

"You know these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin."

"Good job I do…" Nicolette spoke up, loud enough for them both to hear and Elizabeth's eyes shifted to the woman as if noticing her for the first time as Jack only glanced at Nic from the very corner of his eye with an unimpressed pout, something Nic noticed and it bothered her more than she cared to admit.

"Jack." Elizabeth sighed sweetly, pulling the Captains attention back to her. "I know Will came to find you, where is he?" There was a pause, a beat, and then Jack began to take slow considered steps towards Elizabeth.

"Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me," Jack paused, taking in a breath. "Poor Will has been press-ganged into Davy Jones's Crew."

"Davy Jones?"

Norrington gasped as he vomited over the side of the pier again and then scoffed. "Oh, please. The Captain of the Flying Dutchman?"

"You look bloody awful, what are you doing here?" Jack asked, grimacing at the sight of the Commodore's return and Norrington took a break in throwing up to look at his new Captain.

The man leant over the barrels which had been stacked ready to be loaded into the ships hold and Nicolette finally realised how far the man had fallen. He couldn't even stand straight, he did in fact smell very strange and there wasn't a part of him with wasn't scuffed, mucky or frayed. She almost felt sorry for him but, hey, he chose to chase them.

"You hired me." Again Jack scowled at Nic who looked away whistling. "I can't help it, if your standards are lax."

"You smell funny." Jack bit back quickly but Elizabeth was quicker in getting his attention back on her.

"Jack!"

"Hmm." The girl bit her tongue anxiously, shaking her head.

"All I want is to find Will." She said in a small voice, so small Nic had to strain to hear her. She was so sweet wasn't she, so pretty and young and petite. So proper. Nicolette still hadn't warmed to the girl since dealing with her a year ago and it was hard too now as she watched Jack take a step closer to her and speak to the girl so softly it did not even sound like him.

"Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?"

"Of course." Jack placed his hand on her back and led her off the side.

"Because I would think, you'd want to find a way to save Will most."

"And you'd have a way of doing that?" Elizabeth asked suspiciously and pouted her lips while simultaneously narrowing her eyes on Jack.

"Well, there is a chest."

"Oh, dear." Norrington groaned loudly from behind them and Nicolette took it upon herself to approach him and take the rum from his hand, placing it into the crate which Pintel and Ragetti happened to be carrying by.

"A chest of unknown size and origin." Jack continued, his eyes never leaving the young girl even as the double act moved passed them and joined in with the story.

"What contains the still beating heart of Davy Jones." Ragetti screeched, acting as if pulling his own heart from his chest before pulsing it in Elizabeth's face repeatable until out of reach.

"And whoever possesses that chest, possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants. Including saving brave William from his grim fate."

"You don't actually believe him, do you?" Norrington looked between Jack and Elizabeth, coming to stand close to them while Nic remained hovering off to the side, not getting involved but intently listening and watching.

It appeared the little lady did believe Jack, Nicolette could see that sparkle of adventure in her eyes.

"How do we find it?" She asked and Jack grinned.

"With this." Jack held the compass at chin level and flicked it open quickly, snapping it closed just as quick. "My compass… is unique."

"Unique, here, having the meaning of broken." Norrington rolled his eyes before wondering off to the side, thankfully opposite Nicolette, to be sick some more. The lad really needed to learn how t handle his rum.

"True enough. This compass does not point north."

"Where does it point?" Her smile was noticeable now as her eyes shone brighter. Elizabeth was leaning into Jack's space and Nicolette's hands were gripping the handles of the daggers secured to each of her hips tighter.

"It points to the thing you want most in this world." Jack's voice was as smooth as butter, as warm as the burn in your throat after a cup of strong wine and the girl was falling for it.

"Jack." Elizabeth sighed softly, shaking her head. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Every word, love. And what you want most in this world…" He smiled, placing the compass in the girl's hand and taking her other, wrapping them both around the compass. "is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?"

"To save Will." She said sternly, her smile dropping, but of course Jack was quick to reconstruct the wish into what he needed.

"By finding the chest of Davy Jones." They shared a look and then Jack flipped open the compass and backed away as quick as he could, stopping meters away.

In Elizabeth's hold, the needle spun and it wasn't long until it stopped and the girl's eyes looked up and out into the direction it told them to take.

Jack crept back over to her side and peered up cautiously, careful as not to disturb the needle, and gathered the coordinates.

"Mr. Gibbs!"

"Cap'n?" The man answered sharply as he reached the bottom of the gangplank, rum gone and most likely expertly hidden.

"We have our heading." The grin on Jack's face was unmissable and had it not been for the way Elizabeth was not watching him, Nicolette would have been smiling along with him.

"Finally! Cast off those lines, weigh anchor, and trough that canvas!"

Jack, with a sweep of his arm, invited Elizabeth on board the Pearl. "Ms. Swann." He was a

Most bowing and she smiled, walking ahead with Norrington trying to follow.

"Eh Commodore!" Nicolette called, pushing off the side of the dock which she had come to be leaning heavily against. She was slightly bothered, worked up, rattled, and by luck there happened to be a man there she could take it out on. "You're part of the crew now." She said with a smile as he looked back at her, a snarl curling his lips. "Master Ragetti will see you are kept busy." She explained and held her arm out to stop Ragetti as he returned to the pier.

She nodded her head at the man who was now smiling at her nervously and smiled, causing him to giggle.

"Of course, Miss Barker." And she nodded again in thanks, walking away with a smirk and knowing the Commodore was watching after her with a dark glare. The next time she seen him he was carrying a goat and that just made all of the bitterness melt away…for a moment.