Sorry it's been so long. I get wrapped up in school work and drama easily... Anyhoo! Here's more. :D

The ship started heading out of port immediately and I sat Wisteria down on a staircase on the left. I stood nearby and shut my eyes, trying to clear my mind. Wisteria started humming to herself. I laughed quietly at her song of choice 'A Pirates Life for Me.' I listened to her for a while, the tune oddly comforting.

"I love that song!" I heard Jack exclaim.

I looked over at the staircase. He was coming down and stopped beside Wisteria.

She grinned up at him and slurred, " 'ello, Captain Sparrow!"

He was very obviously fascinated by her breasts, as he won't look away from them.

"I always wanted to teach it to me crew," he continued.

" 's a damn good song. Everyone ought to sing it!" Wisteria replied.

"What's your name?"

"Wisteria Sage."

"And you?"

I looked over and said, "Aeron Sage. This silly girl is me oldest sister."

Wisteria pulled herself to her feet and said indignantly, "I'm not silly." She then clamped her mouth shut to keep from giggling.

"Not a'tall," Jack said. "You're drunk."

"You're sexy," she replied with a giggle.

"You're my kinda girl, love."

"Oh really?

Feeling that this had gone far enough I asked, "Where do the crew sleep, captain?"

Jack reluctantly looked away from Wisteria and said, "Down those stairs there."

I nodded and took Wisteria by the arm.

"Thank you again, Captain, but if you wish to make a move on me sister, you have to wait 'til she be sober. Say goodnight, Wisteria."

"Goodnight Wisteria. Oops…" She giggled. "… I mean Jack. Goodnight, Jack."

I led her to the stairs and went below deck.

"God this place is filthy," I murmured as I found her a hammock. "Wouldn't see our ship in such a condition. Now you just stay right here 'til you're sober, got it? And keep your sword right here with ye. I'll be up top if ye need me."

"Goodnight," Wisteria muttered, clinging tightly to her sword.

"Goodnight," I said quietly.

I returned to the deck and leaned on the railing again. I realized Wisteria's bag was still with me. I pulled out the tall bottle of vodka. I stared at it for a long while, turning it over in my hands a couple of times.

I looked at the ocean and muttered, "This stuff had better be good."

I took a big swig and coughed, nearly dropping the bottle on the deck. It burned my throat something fierce. It was very strong and I could feel its effects beginning immediately. I took another drink and put the lid back on. I started to feel warm inside and everything suddenly seemed to make me want to giggle. I hummed some long lost tune to myself happily, throwing my head back to take another long drink.

I lost track of how long I watched the crew from a distance, making up their dialogue in squeaky voices and laughing to myself. Half an hour and a better part of a bottle of vodka later, the tingly good feeling I had began to leave me. When my mind wandered back to this evening's events, I didn't try to block it out. I folded my arms on the railing and laid my head down, watching water spray out behind the ship. I vowed to never stay more than an hour in Tortuga again.

I started humming a lullaby our mother used to sing to us. Doing so only added to my misery. I hadn't thought about how much I missed my parents for a long while. Something splashed on my arm and it took a few seconds for me to realize that I was crying. God it felt so good to cry again. I took another swig and put the bottle away. My head felt light, but I didn't feel continuously giddy anymore like Wisteria always seemed to. Someone stepped up beside me. I quickly wiped my face and looked the other way. I hated for anyone to see me like this.

"Are you alright?" James asked.

"Fine, I'm fine," I replied immediately.

He didn't seem convinced because he didn't leave.

"Everything important to me 'cept Wisteria is gone, but other than that just peachy. Guess that makes me a true pirate, eh?"

'Damn it, why can't I stop crying!' I thought angrily.

Trying to hold in my tears only made them worse. I wiped my face and laughed.

I looked over at James and said, "I haven't cried in over seven years. Not since me parents died."

I noticed all over again how handsome James was. I blushed madly and looked away.

I rubbed my temples and mumbled, "I don' see why anyone drinks. I feel terrible."

My head felt cottony and I had a hunch that the alcohol would affect me physically if I moved.

"So what about you, Mr. James Norrington?" I continued. "Is there something important you've lost?"

He was quiet for a long moment before he said, "I used to be Commodore Norrington. Not anymore. I was in love with a girl, but… things didn't work out."

I looked over at him and stupidly blurted out in my drunken state, "Oh, was she in love with another lad?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"I'm so sorry, James. That must be awful."

"… Have you ever been in love?"

I looked at him abruptly and thought for a few seconds before I replied, "No, I haven't. Never thought too much into it. Often hard to find a respectable pirate, ye know?"

I stood up straight, fighting to stay up, and looked at James again. He was looking at me as though he expected me to drop at any moment.

I smiled again and said with a giggle, "Look at your hair. I'll have to fix it as soon as everything stops moving and starts making sense again."

I took a few swaying steps and murmured, "How can Wisteria function like this…?"

I started falling over and let out a squeak. James grabbed my arm to catch me, but ended up getting pulled down, too.

I started laughing hysterically and choked out, "I-I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

James started laughing too and said, "I'm fine."

A good few minutes later we finally managed to stop laughing enough to move. I noticed how close we were and felt my face going red again. James helped me to my feet and I clung desperately to his arm.

"Whoa," I muttered. "I think me head might blow up. Everything's… spinning…"

"Aeron, are you alright?"

James' voice sounded so distant, blocked out by the blood pounding in my ears. I swayed a bit and my eyelids started fluttering. Before I can say anything, I blacked out.

James' Point of View
I caught Aeron before she hit the ground. I shook her gently, but she only groaned. She was out cold. I looked around, feeling awkward and not so sober myself. I carefully picked her up and shuffled toward the staircase. She was surprisingly light, but my head was pulsing. I set her down beside a stack of crates. I took off my coat and draped it over her before I sat down beside her.

I stared up at the sky for a long while deep in thought before I looked back down to check on Aeron. Her face was peaceful and she was breathing slowly. I had tried not to pay attention before, but she was actually very pretty. Now that she was asleep I had time to really take in what she looked like.

Her fiery red hair was shoulder length and wavy. Her skin was smooth and pale, her lips a rosy pink. She was from Ireland, that much was certain. I could hear it in her accent. She was quite different than the women I was used to seeing. Other than Elizabeth I had only ever seen one female pirate. Even then, they still wore dresses. It was intimidating to see Aeron and her sister wearing pants and men's shirts – especially with a bustier. She groaned in her sleep and snuggled against my arm. I looked down at her and tried to push those thoughts away, yawning widely. Exhaustion was seeping in and I stretched, leaning back on the crates. I glanced down at Aeron again before I shut my eyes. I wanted her face to be the last thing I saw before I fell asleep.

Aeron:

I woke with a groan, the cool sea breeze caressing my cheeks. I opened my eyes to the dark sky. My head was splitting open, but I sat up anyway. I rubbed my forehead as I tried to recall the last few hours more clearly. I realized I was still on the deck. I looked around dazedly and saw James sitting with his back against some crates. He appeared to be sleeping. Something fell to the ground when I stood up. I saw his coat at my feet and tried to keep myself from falling over as I picked it up.

I draped it over James and whispered, "Thanks, mate."

I headed for the other side of the deck, stopping a moment to look for the staircase. I clung to the to the railing as I staggered down the steps. My toe caught an uneven board and I fell on my face. I snorted and lay there laughing for a few minutes. I finally stumbled to my feet and continued on, trying to keep my balance.

"What are ye doin'?"

I whipped around to look at Wisteria. The fast movement threw me off again and I caught myself on the railing.

"You're drunk, aren't ye?"

"Course not," I said with a serious expression. "You're the drunk one, 'member?"

"Be that as it may, you're about as sober as I be."

"Aye," I agreed reluctantly. "Sad, isn't it?"

"A bit."

We linked arms and stumbled back to the staircase. We shuffled past some crates near James. She quirked an eyebrow and I pressed a finger to my smiling lips.

We moved a little farther away and Wisteria said, "At least I've sobered up enough to make sense of things."

I laughed quietly and replied, "Made a fool of yourself, ye did. Hope Mr. Sparrow don' think you're like that all the time."

She looked to him standing at the helm and blushed.

She looked at me suddenly and said, "Wait - what? Are we on the Black Pearl?"

I smiled glumly and said, "Right. Forgot ye were too sloshed to remember."

She stood up quickly, steadying herself against a wall. "Where's our ship? Why are we here?"

"Last night in Tortuga our ship got shanghaied, Wisteria. Bellatrix and the crew are still onboard."

She chuckled. "Boy are they goin' to be sorry."

I bit my lip and said with a fond smile, "That's what Sebastian said…"

She frowned at me and sat down again. "Wait… Where's… I saw 'im passed out on the dock…"

I looked up at the sails and said with a sigh, "No love. Sebastian's dead. Someone ran him through with a sword."

"Oh…" she mumbled. "No wonder ye got drunk. You're bringin' me down. Why don' we do somethin' fun?"

I stared at the horizon for a few seconds, where the sky was lightening. I watched Jack come down to the deck to say something to the few members of his crew who were up.

"Like what?" I asked, not terribly hopeful.

"Do ye remember that Irish drinkin' song Father used to sing?"

I laughed loudly and replied, "Mum hated that song! Said it poorly portrayed the Irish."

"Can ye remember the lyrics?"

"Most of 'em."

Wisteria got to her feet and, after swaying a bit, exclaimed, "C'mon then! To your feet! We'll sing and dance is what we'll do!"

"I can hardly walk," I protested. "What makes ye think I can dance, let alone sing?"

"That's the fun of it! We can look like a couple of sods together!"

She hauled me to my feet and started tapping out the tune with her boot heel. I laughed and started clapping along.

We started on, "Let's all raise our glasses high to friends and family gone, and life our voices in another Irish drinkin' song."

We laughed and clapped as we sang. When we got to the chorus we linked arms and swung around and around. We just hummed and clapped the parts we didn't know, dancing around cheerfully. I noticed with amusement that some of the crew who were up and about had learned the tune and were clapping and laughing with us. We finally finished and hung on each other giggling madly. After the crew returned to what they were doing, Jack strolled over to us looking baffled.

"What on earth was that?" he asked.

"Our father used to sing that song with his friends. Mum hated it," I replied, trying to contain my laughter.

"Are ye both drunk now?" he continued in a surprised tone.

"I am not drunk, Mr. Sparrow. I have never been a day in me life."

" 'til now, of course."

I waved my hand flippantly. " 's nothing a'tall. I'm perfectly fine, thank you."

I stumbled away and saw James at the front of the ship. I leaned on the railing and tried to avoid staring at him. I couldn't figure out yet what it was, but something about him made me feel good, relaxed. I had, in fact, been staring at him for the last five minutes. I blushed and quickly averted my gaze elsewhere. I looked over at Wisteria. Jack was chatting her up nicely. She seemed at a loss for words – which in itself was quite amazing – and all signs of previous drunkenness had vanished. She was standing erect, her face excited and cheerful.

I could feel the effects of the alcohol beginning to dissipate, leaving behind a throbbing pain in the center of my forehead. With some level of disappointment, my misery returned once again. I climbed onto the railing and swung myself onto the rigging. Looping my arms and feet firmly through the spaces in the ropes, I leaned back and shut my eyes.

A short time passed before I heard Jack say, "If ye plan to be jumpin' could ye allow me time to find a replacement?"

I rolled my eyes and replied, "I'm relaxing, Mr. Sparrow. Relaxation tends not to be very relaxing when it's interrupted."

"I see. When you're finished, Wisteria wanted to see you. Something about your sister."

"Thank you, Mr. Sparrow. I'll see to it immediately."

I listened to him walk away, and then watched the horizon tint orange and pink. I sighed heavily and swung back down onto the deck. I nearly ran into James, but managed to spin out of the way.

"Sorry James," I said with a smile as I regained my balance. "You gave me a fright. Didn't see you there."

"No harm done," he replied with a smile of his own.

'This must be how Wisteria feels about men. I just want to jump him. 'I'll bet he's a great kisser.' I thought distractedly.

I then thought back to that morning and asked sheepishly, "Exactly how drunk was I this morning?"

"No more so than your sister or myself," he replied evasively.

"Oh, well that's comforting."

"At least you didn't get sick."

"I did pass out though, didn't I?"

He laughed and said, "For a bit."

I sighed and leaned my back against the railing. "I don't see why anyone drinks. I still feel awful. I thought ye were supposed to feel happy when you're drunk. I just felt… depressed…"

I turned around to watch the sun rise.

"I should've been there," I muttered angrily after a couple of minutes.

"It's not your fault your ship was stolen," James said seriously, leaning on the railing beside me. He was watching me with a deep crease in his forehead.

"I never do anything in Tortuga – I hate the place. I should've been the one to stay with the ship. Bellatrix gets a little… distracted sometimes. Boredom, music, shiny things… Point being, I should've let her go into town. I'm so paranoid I would've suspected someone hangin' about, eyin' me ship."

"That's completely ridiculous. You had no way of knowing."

I could feel the tears welling up and shut my mouth tightly in a frustrated line.

"That ship's been in me family for three generations," I said quietly. "Me great-grandfather built that ship with his own hands. That's why we take such good care of it." We grew up on that ship. It's the only piece of family history we've got, 'cept for some jewelry from me mum."

"I'm sorry about your ship," James said sincerely. "I know what it's like to lose everything you've worked for."

I smiled and wiped my face while mumbling, "Loot at me. Plenty of people are worse off. Something goes wrong in my life and I go to pieces."

"How do you think I ended up like this?"

I chuckled and added, "Guess we're quite a pair then, eh?"

He smiled and nodded. Then we fell silent again. I looked over at James and smiled.

"Look at your hair," I said with a laugh, moving some hair out of his face.

He looked over at me and once again I found myself blushing.

"Come on," I continued. "I told you before I'd get you cleaned up."