Woo hoo. Howdy everyone! I'm back from Wheaty-a-gogo land aka Saskatchewan and am ready and raring to go! I am listening to the listening party on AOL music for the new POTC2 sound track. Very good so far I must say. Jack has his very own six-minute long track! One song makes me very sad though. And it is not the tres tres horriblement trance remix of "He's A Pirate" (which is a horrible abomination and Tiesto can burn in hell for all I care) But yes, there is one song and it is very very sad. It makes me a bit teary… just the emotion in it… but then again I know how the movie ends so I won't ruin anything for my lovely friends! You all better enjoy this chapter. A lot of blood, sweat and well… maybe not tears… or blood… or really all that much sweat come to think of it… but six hours in a minivan with kids between the ages of 2 and 6. Be greatful with this very long(ish) chapter and don't forget to hide the rum!

PS- Made a couple more connections to things that I like.

There is a line from the song Whiskey Lullaby in there somewhere and another line from The Breakfast Club. Enjoy.

----

Envy.

Molly stood at the railing of the Pearl, looking out on the still black horizon, the ship was bathed in silvery moonlight and all was quiet, save for the friendly chatter from inside Jack's cabin as the three friends talked.

The calm sea lapped softly against the hull of the Black Pearl, making everything seem soft and serene… it almost entirely drowned out the sinfulness of Tortuga.

Molly couldn't help but feel slightly alone as she stood on the deck of the Black Pearl. For the past few days she had Captain Jack Sparrow to herself, they were usually together, poking fun at one another or just talking. But now two old friends of his had appeared from nowhere and things were just like old times, except for Molly. The new and somewhat distant member of the crew that found herself even more enamored with Jack with each passing day.

You're a pirate Molly. Pirates don't fall in love.

My first and only love is the sea. Right?

But of course Jack would say the same thing right?

Shut up brain! Shut up!

I can tell that Elizabeth Swann fancies him… just the way she looks at him… isn't she married to that Turner bloke? Shouldn't she keep her eyes to herself?

I don't like the looks of her, not at all…

Molly stopped, her hand went over her mouth as she realized what she had been thinking.

I'm thinking about Jack as if…

Molly shook her head and pushed away from the railing, she glanced at the moon one more time before disappearing below deck.

----

Jack propped his feet up on the elegant dark-wood table in his cabin, Will and Elizabeth sat across from him.

"How have you been Jack?" Will asked.

Jack shrugged. "Can't complain, I've got plunder, me ship and rum." He bared his golden teeth in a grin. "How about yourself Mr. Turner?"

Will's hand moved towards Elizabeth's. Jack couldn't help but notice how she ever so subtly moved it away.

"Well uh… Elizabeth and I… we're going to start building a house soon…"

Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Oh! Movin' out on your own eh? Leavin' the nest so to speak?" Jack grinned. "And where, pray tell, will be the new domain of Mister and Mrs. Turner be?"

Will and Elizabeth exchanged looks.

"England."

Jack jumped and his chair slid out from under him, he recovered quickly and scrambled back up.

"What?" His eyes darted between Will and Elizabeth, desperately wanting an explanation.

Elizabeth smiled kindly at Jack. It made him secretly angry.

Don't you go and smile at me like that lass.

"Will and I thought it was ideal to go back because-" Elizabeth was cut off by Jacks cabin door flying open.

Molly stood on the threshold, her pistol pressed against the temple of a disheveled man.

"Look what I found skulkin' about me cabin!" She announced, poking the man in the side of the head sharply with her gun.

He closed his eyes in a patiently annoyed way.

"James!" Elizabeth cried, standing from her seat.

The man nodded, his sharp green eyes possessed a longing as he did this. Molly found it strange, based on the situation the stranger was in.

"Captain Sparrow. If you'd be so kind as to call off your crew member." The man demanded. Contempt filled every slightly slurred, yet authoritative word.

Jack smirked at the demand and seemed to be taking his time making his decision.

"Why were you skulking around me ship Norrington?" He asked coyly, examining the grime under his nails.

Norrington didn't look obliged to answer.

"Are you still after me mate?" Jack leant forward in his seat.

"Miss Winters…please release him! He means no harm!" Elizabeth plead.

Why do you care?

Molly considered not letting Norrington free, just to irritate Elizabeth, but she decided against it. She let the man go and he began to slink out of the room.

"Sit down Norrington." Jack called.

Norrington turned with a snarl and stomped angrily back into the cabin. He took a seat as far away from Jack as possible.

Molly stood at the door, regarding the angry, slightly drunk man. You used to be a commodore?

Norrington obviously noticed the disgusted expression on her face.

"Sparrow, your crew members seem to be getting even more disrespectful of late."

Jack looked over at Norrington and laughed.

"Miss Winters isn't a part of the crew now is she? I wager she can do what ever she wants." Jack grinned at Molly.

"She isn't a part of the crew?" Elizabeth asked, taking her seat.

"Seven Deadly Sins Miss Swann." Jack said.

"What? And actually it's Miss Turner now."

"Perhaps, but you'll always be Elizabeth Swann to me."

The slightly lusty way Jack said this made the blood in Molly's veins turn instantly to ice. She went immediately on the defensive and sat next to Jack.

"Seven Deadly Sins, a nasty curse from a bloke named Eddie Teach and some very painful tattoos." She said it all in one breath, through gritted teeth. "You either know about it or you don't." She pulled up her sleeve and showed her marked arm. There was a collective gasp from the three British subjects as they took in the intricate markings.

While Will, Elizabeth and Norrington were all staring at Molly's forearm, Molly shot Jack a fiery glance that he returned with one of confusion. She pulled her sleeve back down.

"Captain Sparrow has been kind enough to ferry me to wherever the hell I need to go. I'm stuck with you lot and you're stuck with me. Sorry. This isn't going to be a pleasure cruise for the married." She said it sharply. "Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't had a decent nights sleep in days." She left the cabin in a dignified-at-all times way.

"Doesn't pull any punches does she?" Norrington said.

Jack was staring after Molly.

"Evidently not."

----

Molly stood at the helm of the Black Pearl, enjoying the suns rays playing across her face. She felt undeniably refreshed, she had finally gotten a good sleep, uninterrupted by terrifying dreams of death or horrible guilty feelings.

"Mister Gibbs, where exactly are we headed?"

Gibbs only shrugged.

"How could you not know?'

"Cap'n hasn't given us a heading yet."

That's right, I have to figure out where to find Aquarius…

"Where the hell would a person seek out Aquarius?" She said out loud.

"Where ever their heart most desires."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and a small box pushed into her right hand. She turned to see Jack behind her. She flipped the dark burgundy lid. A simple compass met her eyes, the needle didn't point north but as soon as she opened it the needle swung wildly before finally resting to the south.

She gave Jack a questioning look.

He grinned and said, "We have our heading."

----

"How did it happen?" Molly looked up to see Elizabeth standing at the door of her cabin. Molly frowned and took her boots off the table.

"Ever heard of knocking, Miss?"

"My apologies." Elizabeth said. "May I come in?"

Molly looked her over, she had changed out of her fine dress and into sailor's clothing. She wore a simple white linen shirt and a green jacket with brown trousers and boots.

"Might as well." She said in-sincerely. She really wasn't in the mood for 'getting along' and 'female bonding'.

Elizabeth muttered her thanks and sat in a chair. There was an awkward silence for a moment, neither woman had anything to say to the other.

"You never answered my question." Elizabeth finally said.

"My, my you're bossy." Molly quipped. She rolled her eyes and leant forward to Elizabeth, her dirty blonde hair falling over her shoulders. She pulled back her sleeve to reveal the two sins written on her arm.

"This be what happens when a person makes a mistake in life. A cold-blooded, savage mistake." Molly said. "To betray and be betrayed with an intent of death… aye. I've done it. I murdered me father when he tried to take me back home." She grinned at the look of horror on Elizabeth's face. "Aye, sounds awful don't it? Big bad Molly murdered her father coz he wanted her safe and sound right? Wrong. My father used to beat me and mother. The only thing that stopped him was a musket shot right between the eyes. I ask you; would you go back without a fight if all you had waiting for you when you got home was a beating?"

Elizabeth sat, shocked and scared. Molly continued smiling at the topic that was obviously making the Governor's daughter very uncomfortable.

"I didn't think so." She said, "But then again, you have no idea what it's like, do you? You've been treated like royalty for your entire life. You have no clue what hardship really is." She finished bitterly, standing up from her seat. She went to her bed and groped around under her pillow. Her hand resurfaced moments later, a bottle of rum clutched in her long fingers.

"Nicked it from Jack." She grinned taking her seat again and uncorking the alcohol.

Elizabeth eyed Molly in an almost pitying way.

"What are you trying to forget?"

Molly's shoulder twitched in a non-committal way.

"What?"

"You're like Jack… he drinks to forget."

Molly smirked.

"Jack drinks only for the sake of drinking. I on the other hand, drink to remember."

She rolled her eyes at the completely lost expression on Elizabeth's face. "His name was Benjamin, he was the son of a bartender at one of our usual ports."

"When you were still captain of your ship?"

Molly's face turned stony.

"I am still captain of the Cirrus." She hissed. She tossed her hair and sat back, taking another swig of rum. She smiled as the drinks warmth spread from her throat to her toes. She sighed deeply. "Benjamin was a handsome, blonde haired bartender. He used to give me and the crew free drinks when we stopped by. God I remember when we used to visit…" Molly laughed fondly. "We used to get so smashed with each other… just me and Ben… well it turns out that over time, he fell in love with me. Honestly Elizabeth, I try and stay as far away from love as possible." She took another huge gulp from the bottle. "Benjamin died coz of it."

"What you killed him to?"

Molly shrugged. "He killed himself. I 'broke his heart' when I told him that I didn't fancy him and I left. I never saw him again. The next time we hit the port, someone told me he had committed suicide… he drank himself to death. They found him with his face down in the pillow, with a note that said 'I'll love her till I die'… I personally think he got his knickers in a twist coz me and the crew never paid our tab…"

"How can you speak of this so easily?" Elizabeth asked, appalled by Molly's lax attitude.

Molly shook her head; the initial light-headed effect of the rum was starting to take hold.

"Because I don't care, Miss Swann. Benjamin died coz he was a fool and he fell in love with a pirate."

Elizabeth looked slightly hurt. Molly had a feeling she knew exactly why.

"It's wrong to love a pirate then?"

Molly smiled knowingly.

"One of the biggest mistakes a person can make Miss Swann." She drummed her fingers on the table and glanced once more at the tattoos on her wrist. "It's all been a horrible mistake… a mistake I wouldn't trade for the world…" She said thoughtfully, taking another swig of rum.

----

"Molly Winters. What's so special about her?" Will asked as Jack manned the helm.

"Absolutely nothing." Jack said. "Never mind she's one of the few worthy female pirates in the Caribbean, she is… well… was captain of her own ship." Jack removed his hands from the wheel and turned to Will. "And that body…" He drew a woman's curves in the air with his hands. "I don't mind her 'company' for a short time."

Will rolled his eyes.

"Has it ever occurred to you that she might be using you Jack?"

Jack grinned.

"I'm sure she is dear William."

"Then what's the point?"

"The point?" Jack repeated, "Who says there has to be one? I'm a bloody pirate!"

"You haven't a clue as to where you're heading! This is foolish!"

"Pirate." Jack reminded Will. "What's the point of flouting the law and seeking out adventure if one is unwilling to be adventurous? The way I see it, if Miss Winters is simply using me and me hospitality it only seems fair she return the favor." He smirked at the slight look of discomfort behind Will's brown eyes when he repeated the phrase Barbossa had spoken years ago about Elizabeth.

"I cannot believe her!"

Jack's eyebrows arched.

"Speak of the devil!" He turned around to see Elizabeth marching angrily towards he and Will. "Elizabeth!"

Slap.

Jack reeled.

"Alright! I'm absolutely positive I didn't deserve that!" He protested.

"I can't believe you let that scum on board!" Elizabeth raged.

"Well Norrington isn't marvelous but I wouldn't go as far as to call him scum…" Jack mumbled.

Elizabeth moved threateningly and Jack recoiled, fearing for his life.

"That… horrible… cold. Awful woman!" Elizabeth pointed at Molly's cabin.

"You really shouldn't be all that surprised Elizabeth. With a surname of 'Winter' you would be foolish to expect someone with a warm and caring disposition… much like myself."

"You… you should hear her! The way she talks! The things she talks about! She's worse than you!"

"Perhaps…" Jack drawled. He shot Elizabeth a meaningful glance. "Or maybe she's telling you all of this because she wants to… intimidate her competition."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Jack's suggestion of attraction.

"She killed her father. She broke a mans heart so badly he killed himself! She doesn't even care that she has all this blood on her hands!" She hissed in a way Jack was all to familiar with.

Jack waited until Will had gone to talk with Gibbs before speaking again.

"A heartbreaker is she? You two should get along famously." He fixed Elizabeth with a meaningful look that was in between a glare and a smirk.

----

It was late and one of the few nights that Molly had some time to herself. The rest of the time she was speaking with Jack, Will, Elizabeth and Norrington.

It had been a week since the trio had arrived on the Pearl and Molly found herself increasingly sick of Elizabeth. Earlier that day after hearing Jack comment on Elisabeth's un-lady like attire (for what sounded like the second or third time) Molly marched down to Elizabeth, grinning broadly.

"Elizabeth." She said, putting forth her best Jack imitation. "These clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing." She leant forward, smiling peevishly. "There just happens to be a very nice gown at the bottom of the sea… off you go."

"Hilarious." Elizabeth said sarcastically. Molly straightened up and crossed her arms. "I think I know exactly why you act like that."

Molly snorted. "This should be stunning."

"You fancy Jack don't you?" Elizabeth said slyly.

"Is the Pope a Vicar? No… wait… not that. Let me get this straight luv. What your tiny little brain thinks is 'love' is actually me. Me, watching out for me own interests see? You tied Jack to a pole and fed him off as scraps. Don't get me wrong luv, I admire a person who's willing to do whatever is necessary…"

"You're a smart woman Molly." Elizabeth smiled. "But I don't entirely trust you."

Molly smiled in a way reminiscent of Jack.

"Peas in a pod darling."

Molly smiled as she remembered the conversation, she loved messing with Elizabeth and Jack seemed like an excellent topic to build on, but she couldn't deny the tiny, stabby feeling she felt in her midsection when she saw Jack gaze almost longingly at Will and Elizabeth as they stood on the bow holding hands or when Jack 'casually' made contact with Elizabeth. The warmth of his voice when he spoke to her made Molly secretly seethe.

How can you fancy her after all she's done?

She stood from her bench in the galley, making for the stairs. Slowly she crept up the wooden planks, careful not to make a noise. She frowned when she heard voices. It was late and everyone had gone to bed hours earlier.

She crept up the stairs as carefully as possible, anticipating the tiniest creak of the wood. She ran across the deck and hid in the shadow of one of the long-boats.

Snatches of the unfolding conversation reached her ears from the shadowy figures.

"… Miss Swann."

"Jack… Jack I—" Elizabeth was silenced when the other silhouette surprised her with a passionate kiss.

"Jack?" Molly whispered.

Elizabeth tore away from Jack's kiss. "Jack… I'm married."

Even in the dark, Molly could see Jack's grin and she felt her blood pressure rise as Jack moved to kiss her again.

"Jack no. If Will found out…"

Jack pushed Elizabeth softly against the wall.

"What Will doesn't know won't hurt him. Savvy?" Jack aimed for Elizabeth's mouth again, this time she accepted the kiss, Jack's arms slid around her waist and pulled her close, her arms went around his shoulders and he stroked her hair.

Molly ground her teeth.

Elizabeth pulled away and gently cupped Jack's face in the palm of her hand, an action that made a horrible beast rear inside Molly.

"You don't understand Jack…I'm pregnant."

"Oh honestly! That was needlessly dramatic!" Molly hissed angrily.

But can you blame him for loving her?

A voice echoed in Molly's mind.

Look at her. She's beautiful. Don't you wish your hair was that soft and curly?

Molly's eyes darted to Elizabeth's perfectly groomed hair and it made her realize just how plain her tangled, salty tresses were.

And look at her body… no scars… no imperfections… her breasts, her face… everything about her is smooth and perfect.

"Perfect…" Molly repeated, running her fingers over the huge scar on her back.

Yes. Perfect. He loves her because she's perfect. You're just Molly, the plain pirate. She's the Governor's daughter. You have to steal for a decent meal! Don't you wish you were like her? Don't you wish you had what she had? Maybe then Jack would love you…

Molly felt tears fill her eyes as Elizabeth murmured something inaudible to Jack before leaving him alone on the deck. He shrugged and proceeded to the crows-nest.

"She… she's p-perfect…" Molly sobbed quietly, "Why can't I… no…no… don't be envious…" She hiccoughed and turned her gaze to Jack who was staring solemnly at the moon as she had done only nights ago…

"Why can't I be like… like her?" She snarled savagely, tearing at her hair and tugging at her shabby clothes. "I'm not pretty, I'm not well-mannered, and I'm not honest!" She wrenched her blue beads and seashells off her neck and they went skittering across the deck. Molly froze when Jack turned to see what was happening. She prayed the small blue and white objects could not be seen from his point of view.

Familiar pain blossomed through her left forearm. She jumped up on her feet in shock. She cursed inwardly as she saw Jack spring from the crows-nest and down the rope ladder to investigate. He appeared seconds later around the long-boat to see Molly hidden in the shadows.

"Jack…" She breathed. Another wave of pain hit her and she felt herself stumbling backwards toward the railing. Wind whistled in her ears as she fell towards the Caribbean Sea. The warm water enveloped her and weight pushed down on her. Soon everything went quiet and dark as she slipped out of consciousness.