Author's note: Welcome back, I would like to thank all my reviewers: (in no particular order) grape soda queen, pyro-pyrate, Bizzy125, Oceanchick94, Silvia X, Saegeous-Capernaum, and Lostwitch5. Due to popular demand, I believe this chapter to be long. Hopefully I'm keeping in character with Jack. Hopefully you won't think Jessica's a wimp after reading this chapter. (I should seriously call this, the crying chapter.) Also the Captain I mention is a real historical figure and a pirate. He was actually the man Daniel Defoe based "Robinson Crusoe" on. Also, one million points to the people who notice any of "The Godfather" references. (It's really doesn't mess with the story, I assure you.) Also some references to the first movie, may have ripped it off, but I liked it. Now to the disclaimer and story.

Disclaimer: I don't own POTC or any of the characters, but like Jack I do own Jessica Carr.

A gift most unwanted: Chapter four: The Craft

"You have the craft," Jack repeated. He couldn't believe it. He thought of her powers, first there were her swimming abilities. She could swim without a lesson, with inhuman endurance, and could hold her breath for ridiculously long periods of time. But the big part was her ability to predict the weather.

"You're worth a fortune luve, between 100,000 and 200,000 pounds."

She started to cry. "I thought you didn't believe in owning people."

He stared at her as though she were insane. "But you have the Craft, that's different."

He let her arm go and she stepped away.

"Your father didn't know, did he?" Jack asked

She shook her head. She was now standing and was swaying on her feet from fear and exhaustion. Jack rushed to managed to get her to sit down on the bed, while he took the chair this time.

"I'm assuming pirates kidnapped you when they discovered you had the craft. Can you tell me what happened now?" he asked

She took a shuddering deep breath, trying to calm down. She jumped when he touched her, thinking he was trying to hurt her, but was surprised to realize that he was simply putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, gathering all her thoughts together.

" In a way, it really all began when I was a child. My mother, like myself had the craft. At sixteen she married my father to hide from those who wanted her. She quickly realized she had made a grave mistake, he got drunk and hit her. Like most wives, she blamed herself and was afraid to leave and then she discovered she was pregnant. Funny thing is, when she told him, for a while he stopped drinking and hitting her. That stopped when I was born. She still didn't leave, because she was afraid I would starve. Then when I was two, he started hitting me and that's when Mum had enough."

"She knew she still had to hide, so we moved to Italy. For ten years we were happy. She always told me my name was Jessica, but in public, our names were changed. When I was twelve, she got sick and died. I grieved terribly, I was also foolish. I sat on the beach, grieving, when a pirate saw my bare arm. I was kidnapped and brought to his captain. This is the first thing he did to me."

She showed Jack her bare ankle, she wasn't wearing stockings. There was a tattoo on her ankle, very much like her birthmark, that had a name weaved in it.

"William Dampier," Jack breathed.

She then withdrew her ankle and continued. "That was the beginning, I gave a different name in case I could ever escape. I was kept in the brig, they didn't feed me much. They made me work on that ship, besides my duties to predict the weather. I was always tired, cold, wet, and hungry. Then the first thunderstorm came. No matter how much I tried to explain to them, they didn't understand, I couldn't control the weather. So this is what came next."

Surprising Jack and herself, she unlaced, with difficulty, the back of her dress and corset. Jack sucked in a sharp breath as he saw her back. Horrific scars covered her back. With more horror Jack realized they weren't all from whips, there were scars from swords as well. He thought back to her shivering at the sight of his sword. She attempted, with shaking hands, to lace the gown and corset back up, but couldn't. Jack did it for her. She was crying, but continued.

"I think they did understand I couldn't control the weather. I think they just liked taking out their frustration on me. I don't know how many times I nearly died of infection. At the time I wished I would die. Once, they tied me to the mast during a thunderstorm. Of course I received a terrible chill and I thought I was finally going to die. No such luck. Finally after I'd been on that ship a year, the captain began giving me suspicious looks. He asked me how old I was. I told him thirteen, not understanding why he wanted to know. That night I was summoned to his quarters, he decided it was time to add more to my duties."

Jack bit his lip as she hesitated. He asked her, "So he raped you?"

She shook her head. "No, he almost did. He was pushing drinks at me, trying to get me drunk. Then he had me on the bed, trying to pull my clothes off, when I reached around and discovered a letter opener, he had so stupidly left out. I only gave him a flesh wound, but he stopped to bandaged it and cursed my name. Then an unexpected thunderstorm came. With fury, he realized I had lied to him about the weather, but had no time to punish me. He left the cabin, with me locked inside. Fortunately for me, it was a weak lock. I ran and swam away. The first bit of land I came to was Tortuga and I found my father, thinking I could hide. Turns out he beat me too, although I was never scarred. I tried to run off, but he always caught me. Then when I was fifteen, he allowed me to get a job as a barmaid in Tortuga, so I'd stop complaining how he always gambled away our food money. And that's the way it was, until now." She said starting to cry.

Jack got up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her. "Shh, it's all right, no one's going to hurt you, you're safe, luve." She finally calmed down after a few moments and Jack got up and poured her a drink. "I've got to go and get this ship sailing, luve." he said handing her the drink. "You need a drink, I'll be back soon. Try to relax."

She stood up at this. "Captain you don't understand. You've got to let me go."

"Call me Jack," he said. "We'll talk about this later." He walked out, locking the door behind him.

Jack came out, "All right gentlemen, I have an important announcement." When they'd all gathered around, Jack asked them a question. "How many of you have heard of a magical power that some people are gifted with, called the craft?" Everyone raised their hand. Jack grinned. "That girl I've won tonight is blessed with that power." They all stared at him in amazement, until someone spoke.

"But the craft, well it's not real is it?" It was Mullroy speaking.

Jack sighed, he didn't know why they had kept this man and his friend on the ship. Murtogg and Mullroy were originally from the Navy, but had become pirates. Mullroy, had, at one time believed the Black Pearl didn't exist.

"Of course it's real." Jack said with a groan, "Don't question me. Let's prepare to make sail." He then pulled out his compass to see where to go. "Our heading's southwest."

Just then Jack heard a sound from his cabin.

Wham!

"Ouch!"

Wham!

"Damn!"

Wham!

"Oh Bugger!"

Jack winced, it was Jessica. Sounded like she was banging her head on something. "Murtogg, Mullroy!" he cried

"Yes Captain?" Mullroy said

"Go and stop Miss Carr from hurting herself. Tie her up if needed."

The two men ran off and then they cried out, "We don't see her." Then, "Oh there she is, no you can't come out. Where are you going?"

Jack turned and ran seeing her flee from his cabin, then she jumped quickly and easily over the side, while the two men called out, "Come back Miss Carr."

Jack was infuriated, looking at the spot where she had disappeared

"She can't stay down there long captain, she's got to come up for air." Mullroy said

"She's got the craft, she can hold her breath for an hour, before it becomes an effort. I don't want to imagine how long if she's desperate." Jack said as he jumped off the Pearl.

He saw her immediately under the water. He snuck up behind her and startled her, which caused her to gasp and begin to choke. Jack quickly attempted to pull her up to the surface, but the dress was to heavy. Pulling out a knife to cut it off, she broke free of his grasp, but hit her head on a rock. Now she was unconscious.

"Why do I always have to rescue drowning girls in heavy dresses?" He thought to himself as he cut her dress off and swam to the surface. Pulling her onto the deck, he noticed she wasn't breathing, but before he could do anything, Mullroy cut her corset off. Jack gave him a stunned look as she awoke and started coughing up water.

"Thanks mate, maybe there is hope for you after all." he said

Jack pulled her up and brought her into his cabin, wrapping blankets around her.

"Dry yourself off and change into this." he said tossing her a shift for her to wear. "Then have a drink and get into bed, I don't want you getting sick." Then he walked out before she could say a word.

She sighed, drying herself off and changing. She sat down with the glass of rum, drinking it slowly and reflecting. Ever since she had worked at the tavern, she'd had a drink after every shift, to relieve the stress. To calm herself, before going to her father. She normally drank it with her two friends she'd had for the past couple of years. It hurt to think about them, those had been the only good things for the past two years. Their names were Bonny and Denise. Bonny was red haired with bright green eyes. Denise had blonde hair and grey eyes. Both unlike Jess, with her auburn hair. They all three were barmaids and talked together about their hopes and dreams. Jessica blinked back tears, she'd never see them again. Would they worry? Would they wonder what had happened to her? Would they ask her father? She set the empty glass down, thinking. Her life had reached an all time low, she was owned by this pirate, never to see her friends again, not to mention what sort of hell this man would put her through. She lay down, starting to cry again. She also hated crying like this, she never cried this much. She felt, pathetic, he couldn't see her like this, he'd think he could get anything he wanted. She resolved to make his life a living hell, like he was going to make hers. She rolled over, ready to go to sleep, until she remembered something.

"The nightmares," she thought. "They'll come back tonight, I can't face them."

She always had such nightmares when she thought heavily about her terrible past, they were awful. Just then the door opened and she sat up.

"Did I wake you luve?" came Jack's familiar voice.

"No," she murmured, getting out of bed.

"No don't get up," he said approaching her.

"We need to talk."

"You need rest luve."

"I need to talk with you." She said raising her voice. "You promised."

He shook his head, "I said later luve, I didn't say when. Come on, back to bed, I'll change and join you in a minute."

She blinked, "What do you mean, 'join me in a minute'?

"Well luve, there's obviously only one bed." He spoke to her as though she were a child. "But it's big enough for the two of us. So it's practical if we share it, isn't it?"

"In that case I'm going to sleep on the floor," Jessica said.

Jack frowned, "Why?"

She began to talk to him like he was a child. "Because, Captain Sparrow, I know what men like to do to girls in beds, especially you. I don't know why I didn't recognize you when I first saw you, but I have heard of you. From every prostitute in Tortuga. So I would feel much better if I could sleep on the floor."

He shook his head, " Then you shouldn't have told me how you escaped from Captain Dampier."

Now she frowned, "Why?"

"I don't think he had a weak lock, I think you may know a way to pick certain locks. So if you're in the same bed as me, I'll know if you escape." He paused studying her. "Unless you want to be locked in the brig, I'd trust you in there." He said this as a joke, but realized she was seriously thinking about it, apprehensively. "It was a joke luve." Her face cleared a little. He then went behind a sort of curtain to change.

"At least he's not changing in front of me." she thought to herself a little relieved. "Of course he could be doing that to lure me into a false sense of security." she thought as well

She lay down and waited, studying the room for a weapon. She finally sensed him come back and lay down next to her, his arm snaking protectively about her waist.

"Captain," she began

"Call me Jack," he said stroking her hair.

"Jack, when I think hard about my past, much less discuss it, I have horrid nightmares."

"Makes sense."

"I scream and cry out, I'm sure I would wake you."

"It's alright luve, maybe for once you'll feel a little safer."

"All right I warned you," she murmured

He laughed, "Good night luve."

"Good night and one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"Call me Jessica."

"Alright, Jessica," he said putting a lot of emphasis on her name.

She sighed and quickly fell asleep.

The dreams started that night. Jessica was sitting outside her mother's bedroom doorstep. Dr. Corleone was inside with her mother, he came out shaking his head.

"Ms. Moretti," he started, then remembering she liked to be called by her first name said, "Appolonia, your mother's dying. She's not in pain and I believe she'll be dead by nightfall. You can now see her if you wish." Jessica walked into her mother's room, collapsing at her bedside. Once the doctor had left they could talk.

Her mother smiled at her, "I'm going to miss you Jess."

She shook her head, "You're not going anywhere."

"I'm already gone sweetheart, I'm dead this is a dream."

"I know," Jessica whispered with tears in her eyes. As always they talked for what seemed like hours, then her mother died and the pirates kidnapped her.

"Nooooooooo!" she screamed as they tattooed her.

"Hold still girl," came cruel Captain Dampier's face.

Then that whole year flashed through in her dream. The cold, dampness of the brig, the hunger, the first storm. As they demanded her to make the storm stop. As she screamed in pain and fear, when they took out their frustration on her. Then, the captain on top of her, she stabbing him, escaping. Suddenly she was drowning, screaming for help.

"Jess, wake up!"

She sat straight up breathing hard and fast. She was in Jack's cabin, with Jack's hand on her arm, from when he shook her awake. She realized she had broken out in a cold sweat and was shaking hard. Jack wrapped her arms around her.

"You're safe, Jess, it was just a dream," he said speaking comforting words.

But as she looked around the room, she was scared that, while it was a dream, she was facing a greater nightmare with Jack.