Disclaimer: (Looks around) Shh! I'm hunting for Jack Sparrow! This means he's not mine…yet.

AN: Okay, here's a chapter that is going have our dear Captain Jack Sparrow drooling all over his boots. Rose's dress for this particular action is here (though I changed the color for my own taste): www (dot) hinab (dot) com (slash) sarees (slash) s4 (dot) htm. Also, I had a "situation" regarding Rose's wedding dress; all the info you need to know is on my bio page. Review!

Chapter 8: Bonding with New Friends:

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast with the Turner's. As we chatted and passed each other plates, I began to feel a certain connection with Elizabeth, a sort of friendship I had never been able to share with the young women in my former life. Whereas the girls back home had been dull, pale, and talked of nothing but dresses, marriage, and gossip, Elizabeth was refreshingly different.

From the first time we'd met, I felt as though we had a great deal in common. Elizabeth was a governor's daughter who had longed for freedom from society, just as I had left the life of a wealthy merchant-lord's daughter. We had both escaped horrid engagements to stiff-necked gentlemen, and instead found ourselves betrothed or married to decent men who understood our desires to think for ourselves and merely enjoy life.

"I do enjoy wearing a lovely gown, but not every day!" Elizabeth had told me last night. "And I've no doubts that corsets are the death of several women every year!"

Not surprisingly, Padma and Nidhi agreed with her. I did, too, of course, but I was surprised at how opinionated Elizabeth was about everything; William had to be extremely patient and good-natured to be married to such a vocal woman. It seemed rather wonderful to be able to speak one's mind, but I just couldn't do such a thing. Jack had tried many times to get me to speak up once and a while about what I was feeling or thinking, but it just never seemed right to me; I blamed that particular trait on the aristocratic opinion that women were to be seen and not heard.

Despite my being envious of Elizabeth's freedom of speech, though, I noticed that Jack looked as though he wished that she would stop talking occasionally. This was probably due to the fact that he kept trying to ask me something and she was constantly interrupting him. Finally, he told her to "shut it" before asking me how I was doing. I laughed and told him I was fine.

"Good, good," Jack had replied with a smile as he picked up my hand and pressed a kiss to it. After that, the meal resumed its usual chatter.

Once breakfast was over, Jack headed off with William and Jan to do….whatever men did. Nidhi took Padma off to do some embroidery, which left me to spend the day getting to know Elizabeth.

At present, we were seated outside, the two of us dressed comfortably in loose garments. Elizabeth wore pale yellow and I had a pale lavender outfit, the two of us shading ourselves from the sun underneath a large tree. A table sat between us and on the top sat a pitcher of cool water from the house's well. Beside the pitcher was a covered dish of fresh fruits and Indian sweet-bread.

"So, tell me everything!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she poured out some water for the two of us.

I looked at her blankly, a small bit of fruit inches from my mouth. "Everything about what?" I asked, setting the fruit aside.

"About how you met Jack, of course," she said, rolling her eyes and smiling at me. "And I want details, so don't gloss over anything."

Sighing, I rolled my eyes in turn. "Well, Elizabeth-"

"Oh, you can call me Lizzie," she interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I don't let many people do that, but you and Jack are the exception. Now, go on."

The rest of the morning was spent chatting with Elizabeth on how I first met Jack, describing everything from the day I met him in the tavern, right up to the moment we met the Turner's here in India. Elizabeth gasped when I told her about the dance I did to seduce Jack and cried out in horror at the tale of when I'd been shot trying to save his life.

"You were so brave!" she said. "I couldn't imagine doing that for Will."

I smiled and patted her hand. "In a situation like that, you don't think; you act," I gently chided her. "I saw that man taking aim at the pirate-captain I loved and reacted, jumping in front of the bullet so that he wouldn't be harmed."

Elizabeth nodded. "My Will often does that sort of thing for me," she said, her voice soft and her eyes dreamy. "Jack told me once that Will said he would die for me…he nearly did, trying to save me from Barbossa, when I was kidnapped."

Again I patted her hand. "And I'm sure you're more than willing to return the favor," I said. "Now, shall we move onto a happier topic of conversation?"

She nodded, quickly shaking off her gloom. A sudden glint in her eye was a warning of what was to come.

"About your wedding…"

Sitting in an obscure corner of Jan's house, Captain Jack Sparrow was doing his best not to strangle the young whelp in front of him. After all, he was the son of Jack's oldest friend, and he had no doubt that Bootstrap would return from the dead to avenge his son. Still, he wished that the lad would shut up and let him enjoy his rum and his thoughts about Rose.

"So how did you meet Rose?" Will asked, leaning back in his chair, a glass of water in his hands.

Jack sighed. "If I tell you, will you stop giving me marriage advice?" he retorted, rolling his eyes.

Will seemed to consider the idea for a moment before nodding. "Alright, we have an accord."

"Finally," Jack muttered to himself. "Alright, but don't judge me when I say I met her in a tavern."

The younger man rolled his eyes. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Jack waved the comment aside. "Are you going to listen or just comment on every sentence I say?"

Will shut his mouth and shook his head. "Alright, alright," he said. "Go ahead."

"Much obliged." Jack took another drink of his rum. "Well, as I said, I met Rose in a tavern, only she wasn't known as Rose at that time. Her name was Angela Nelson, and she was the daughter of a wealthy merchant-lord."

"Oh, no," Will said, clamping a hand over his eyes. "A noblewoman, Jack?"

"Aye, a noblewoman, Whelp, and stop interrupting me while I'm talking!" Jack sipped his rum and continued. "As I was saying, I met the lovely noblewoman in a tavern, though she was dressed up as a man at that time. She was sitting in a dark corner, sipping a mug of rum, but being the pirate that I am, I could clearly see that it was a woman sitting there, not a man."

"How did you know?" Will asked, puzzled.

Jack gave him an arrogant grin. "Let's just say that women have certain…assets that men don't, savvy?" Will blushed as he nodded. "Well, there she was, slowly nursing a mug of rum, and I found myself curious. Now, I've seen women dressed up as men before, and they never peaked my curiosity like this one did. But her eyes seemed sad, and the look she had was that of a trapped animal. So, being the kindly man that I am, I went over to talk to her."

"Out of the goodness of your heart, of course," Will said, smiling.

"Of course," Jack replied, grinning broadly. "Well, I introduced myself to the lovely creature, and she seemed shocked that I'd discovered her secret. But after promising not to tell anyone, we got to talking, and Rose (or Angela, as she was at the time) admitted the need to feel free for only one night in her life. Turns out the lass was due to be married in two weeks, and she wanted to know what lay beyond the pretty cage her parents had built around her. So I took her back to the Pearl for the night."

At that point, Will was looking slightly alarmed. "Jack, please tell me that you didn't…"

It took Jack a moment to realize that Will was insinuating. "No! No, nothing like that, Whelp," he said, shaking his head. "In fact, the lass turned me down flat." He smiled fondly at the memory.

"No, I merely took her to the Pearl, and as we walked, I realized that this girl was different. As I showed her my prized ship, and dear Angela sat and listened to me tell her stories until dawn came, I knew that there was something that needed to be done for the poor thing."

Jack's eyes glazed over as he remembered how thrilled Rose had been to handle the Pearl and see the world from the helm of his ship. It might well have been that moment that he had fallen in love with her, the moment her brown eyes had glittered with hope and joy at seeing the horizon open at her feet. Shaking his head, he focused back on his story.

"When it was time for her to go, I noticed how sad she was at the sight of dawn approaching. I asked her to return the next night, and she accepted." He smiled fondly at the memory. "She came back for the next two weeks, and when her wedding day came, I knew I had to help the poor thing get away."

"But why would you do that, Jack?" Once again, Will was bewildered at his friend's actions. "And please tell me that you didn't kidnap poor Rose from her own wedding!"

"What?" Jack asked, feeling appalled that his friend would think that about him. "No, I didn't bloody-well kidnap her!" Jack took another drink of rum. "No, I merely snuck into her room and offered her something that no one else ever had." He waved his free hand around to emphasize his words. "I offered her freedom; the power to do what she wanted, anytime she wanted, with no cage holding her in." He grinned. "Needless to say, the lass and I were on the Pearl within the hour and sailing far away from her home!"

Will shook his head in disbelief. "You took a noblewoman away on your ship on her wedding day," he muttered. "Well, I hope you've been keeping a sharp eye out behind you."

"I always keep a sharp eye out, dear William," Jack retorted. "Thanks for that, but why all of the concern?"

"Why all of the concern? Can't you see that her parents are probably searching for her?" Will said, his tone seemed to be torn between being scared for his friend and being angry at him.

Jack merely gave him a patronizing smile. "Will, I happen to be very experienced in this sort of thing," he said. "A quick, solid bribe to the harbormaster ensured that the Pearl was docked under a false name. I, too, was listed under a false name. Therefore, there is a very slim chance that anyone recognized me or my ship."

"And if someone did?" Will demanded. "What if her parents, who are merchants and have a fleet of ships spread out across the world, manage to find out who you really are and come after you? You and Rose could be in danger!"

Once more, Jack shook his head. "If you haven't noticed, Will, the world itself is a very big place," he said. "And if they did discover that it was the Black Pearl, and that the Pearl was native to the Caribbean, do you really think that her father would commit all of his ships on that area? The Caribbean happens to be on the other side of the sea, nay, the other side of the world, from her home port! Merchants just don't give up their business to focus on finding wayward daughters; by society's standards, it's just not done."

Will opened his mouth, but Jack cut him off. "Also, the Pearl is one of the fastest ships in any ocean. We can easily outrun any old merchant vessel."

"I hope you're right, Jack," Will said, taking a drink from his glass. "If not for your sake, than at least for your fiancée's."

Anger swelled in Jack's chest as he pointed a threatening finger in his friend's direction. "Don't ever question my ability to protect Rose," he growled. "The lass nearly died for me once, and I'll die before I let so much as a hair on her head be harmed for any reason ever again." Will elected to keep silent.

Frowning, Jack downed the rest of his glass of rum and poured himself another, his thoughts drifting towards Rose. He missed her, but she deserved to have some time with another female; he'd heard something about women needing other women around to talk to, so it was probably best to let Elizabeth keep her company. Men could function alone, like a lone wolf or stallion, but for some reason, women couldn't.

'Which would explain why Rose talks so much to that bloody cat of hers,' Jack thought with a small smile as he sipped his drink.

Still, it was one of the qualities that endeared her to him, so he put up with it. For some reason, seeing Rose coo to the feline did funny things to his heart…almost as though she should be cooing to something else instead of the cat…

"Lizzie, we've been talking about the wedding all afternoon. Can we please stop talking about it for a little while?" I pleaded. "I've had enough of flowers and decorations for one day."

"Oh, alright," Elizabeth said, pouting slightly. Suddenly a grin lit her face. "Why we plot against your darling Captain Sparrow instead?"

I looked at her, suspicious. "Plot against Jack?" I asked. "Why?"

"Well, I thought that it would be nice for someone to try and seduce Jack Sparrow for a change," my new friend explained. "It would be a taste of his own medicine, and since you've done it already…"

I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. "What did you have in mind?"

An almost evil grin lit Elizabeth's face. "Well, since we're having tonight with just Jan's family, you, Jack, Will and I, it would be perfectly fine for you to wear something rather…revealing, wouldn't it?"

"Revealing?" I said, feeling uncomfortable as I realized Elizabeth had the same mind as Padma.

Elizabeth gave me a concerned look. "Rose, are you alright?" she asked.

Nodding, I quickly looked down at my lap, my fingers twisting my veil into knots. "Lizzie," I said, avoiding her gaze. "I don't want this to lead to any sort of…nighttime festivities between me and Jack." I blushed. "What I mean is that I plan on saving myself for our wedding night, and I don't want to go back on that plan."

To my relief, Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "Alright," she said. "I'm sure that Padma and Nidhi have an outfit for you that will entice, but no more than that."

"Let us hope so," I replied, getting up from my garden seat. "Let's go find them to see what they have for me to look at."

"And to see if I can get anything that can make Will's eyes fall out of his head," Elizabeth teased.

We both giggled as we headed inside to find our friends.

Jack tapped his foot impatiently as he waited at the foot of the marble stairway. His fiancée had been upstairs with Elizabeth for two hours now, and since lunch had been ages ago, both he and Mr. Turner were eager to get to dinner. What was worse was the fact that several women were now holed-up inside the suite he shared with Rose. Jack had found his rooms invaded by four females, his clothes shoved into his arms as he was thrown out to dress in the Turner's rooms with Will. Both Elizabeth and Rose had locked themselves, as well as Padma and Nidhi, away to dress, and now both he and Will had to wait until all four women came down in order to escort their ladies to dinner.

"If they aren't down here soon, my stomach is going to eat the rest of my insides," Jack muttered to his friend. For once, William didn't argue with him.

Finally, Jack could hear the sound of slippered feet on the stairway. Turning his head, he thought that his jaw was going to drop to the ground. Beside him, William let out a whistle of appreciation, and for his sake, it had better have been aimed solely at the elegantly dressed Mrs. Turner. If there was one thing Jack Sparrow couldn't stand, it was someone else complimenting his Rose, especially when she was dressed the way she was tonight.

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Jack looked at the four women before him. Padma and Nidhi were dressed in matching outfits of a light yellow fading to dark green, silver threads and embroidery all along the edges. Their outfits surrounded them in clouds of silk, and their veils completed their attire quite well. Elizabeth was dressed in a tight outfit of midnight-blue silk, shot through with silver thread. However, it was what Rose was wearing that caught his attention.

Descending the stairs was his fair love, looking as seductive as the night she had danced for him. Her outfit, to his shock, was of three parts: a revealing top that showed off her toned stomach, a floor-length skirt, and the long wrap that hung from one shoulder. The silk was a lovely dark color that was a mixture of red and purple, and her hair, hanging loose and without ornamentation, looked wonderful next to her tanned skin.

'How did Rose manage to tan her entire body?' Jack thought to himself as his eyes wandered down to the bare skin of her waist. Then again, he couldn't watch her every minute of the day, so for all he knew, she could lay out on the balcony of their shared cabin and tan herself that way!

Just as he was thinking of a way to keep people's eyes off of Rose while she was tanning herself, Rose reached the bottom of the stairway and turned towards him, revealing the large, silver, rectangular clip that lay in the valley of her chest. That piece of jewelry was probably the only thing that held her top together in the front, and Jack had to swallow, hard, as Rose stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked up at him through fluttering eyelashes.

"Well?" she said, twirling to show him her entire outfit as her hair elegantly fanned out around her.

To his amazement, there was another large silver clip fastened at the back of the top. Different strips of red and violet embroidery fanned outwards from where the rear silver clasp was, and Jack could see tiny rubies and amethysts glittering from the silver metal. Swallowing hard once more, Jack tried to resist the temptation to snatch Rose up, fling her over his shoulder and haul her up to their bedroom, completely forgetting about the meal that awaited them.

"Uh…you look…" After that, all thought stopped.

Rose smiled up at him as she leaned close to his ear. "I'll take that as a compliment," she whispered, her breath warm as she spoke.

As she pulled back, Jack saw that she was giving him the most flirtatious smile he'd ever seen. Deciding to pay her back, Jack turned towards his friends. "Could you give us a moment?" he asked, trying to keep the pleading out of his voice.

Thankfully, his friends said nothing, merely heading to the dining room for the evening meal. Once they were gone, Jack reached out and placed his palms on Rose's bare skin.

I gasped at the feel of Jack's fingertips on my back. His skin, usually warm and soft, were hot as they touched me, his thumbs going over my stomach while his hands pulled me closer to him.

"It's not nice to play 'fire' with a pirate," he whispered into my ear, his breath as hot as his hands. "It could get you into all sorts of trouble."

Suddenly, I was thrown over his shoulder and carried upstairs to our bedroom, squealing to be put down. Once there, Jack proceeded to toss me onto the bed with a broad grin. I watched as he proceeded to lock the door before pouncing on top of me and giving me a deep, heated kiss.

AN: This is a PG-13 story, so there will be no smut. I'll leave it to your imaginations. Review!