Disclaimer: I tried to lure Jack away from Disney using vast amounts of rum, but he was too crafty for me, and therefore isn't mine.

AN: I'm so glad that people like my story; it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I do appreciate all of the support, thanks so much for the positive reviews! Oh, and for those who are curious: Jack finally gave Annamaria her ship, so she will not be in this story…or at least, I don't think she will. Sorry, but we can't afford Jack being 'distracted,' now, can we? Enjoy chapter four!

Chapter 4: A Woman's Worth:

The rest of the stint in Tortuga had been fairly uneventful for me, as I decided to pass the rest of our stay on the Pearl. Knowing that the crew disliked keeping watch of the ship, I offered to take the place of anyone who wanted to stay ashore and indulge in rum or…other things. Not surprisingly, my offers were always accepted, though Jack tried to get me to go into town a few times to "go drinking" with him. I refused (due to my previous experience) and instead relaxed on the deck of the Pearl with a little bit of mending or a book by my side to keep me amused during the watch. Sometimes I would even practice using my sword to pass the time; my sword lessons had turned into a daily ritual which occurred whenever Jack or Mr. Gibbs was onboard to teach me.

To my surprise, I had a constant companion during my watches of the Black Pearl. Jack would come aboard late in the evenings to keep me (and my co-watchman) company. He would then relieve the other man so that he could go have fun in the town, and once we were alone, Jack would proceed to tell me remarkable stories that made the night fly by. It puzzled me as to why he did this, but I believed it to be him wanting me feel part of his crew, thus why I never protested Jack spending time with me on the Pearl.

Finally, the week-long venture in Tortuga was over, and with a freshly loaded ship, we sailed off into the Caribbean. Once we were in the open sea, I went to the bow of the ship and let the sea air wash over me, making me feel as though I were flying. It was an incredible experience, and I was thankful that I had a free moment to savor it. A few deep breaths of salty air later, I was back to the galley, doing what was expected of me without fuss.

It took me a little while, perhaps a few days, to realize that I had no idea where we were heading. Before, I knew that Jack's sights had been set on returning to the Caribbean after his brief stint of plundering in Europe. Now that we were here, I had no idea where we were going or what Jack wanted to do. I figured out that we would (eventually) turn to attacking ships or finding treasure, but I didn't know which option Jack would choose. I knew that, as Captain, Jack had to be quite good at planning attacks and foreseeing the outcome of it, hopefully planning a successful plunder that would make the crew very happy with their earnings. And yet, Jack was quite talented at finding hidden (or buried) treasures, using a means that I could not even begin to comprehend. The whole concept tended to make my head spin, so I put it out of mind for a little while, if only to rest my weary mind.

After we had been at sea for a week, and with no one telling me where or what we were doing, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Supper was cooking on the stove, and since it was a stew, it would need to simmer for another hour, at least, so I took advantage of the available time and went to go see Jack. I knew that he wasn't at the helm, as he had yelled at Mr. Cotton to take over for a while, so it would make sense to go and visit him in his cabin.

As I left the galley, however, I grew nervous. What would the crew think if they saw me going into Jack's cabin? The first few weeks I'd been here, most of the men had poked (fairly harmless) fun at me for doing such an act, cracking lewd jokes and winking at me and their friends as they nudged one another in the ribs. At first, I had blushed out of shame at what they might think of me, but after Jack had seen my expression one day, he'd told the crew to shape up or scrub the decks with their tongues. Things had gotten better since then, but I still couldn't get the knowing looks out of my head.

"Don't let it bother you, luv," Jack had said. "They're only making fun. Since we lost Annamaria to captaining her own ship, and you're not only a new crewmember, but our only female to boot, it's you they're going to take their boredom out on. Let it go and they'll soon forget you're even a girl."

'Just let it go,' I repeated to myself as I made my way up to the main deck. 'They're accepting you now, so there's no need to worry about it anymore.'

Upon seeing me, several men waved or silently nodded their greeting as I passed by on my way towards the helm. Mr. Gibbs was actually there next to Mr. Cotton (complete with bird), and both men smiled down at me as I approached the door to Jack's cabin. I could hear faint mutterings through the wood, which made me giggle slightly.

"Who's there?" Jack's voice pierced through the door, making me wince.

'Blasted, I forgot how good his hearing is when he's edgy,' I thought to myself. And considering what he must be planning in there, Jack most certainly had to be on edge if he was going to do our next adventure right.

"It's me, Captain," I announced.

The door suddenly swung open, surprising me so that I jumped back with a small yelp. Jack chuckled before waving me inside, smiling as I walked by him and into the room. Glancing around, I noticed that the room seemed messy, the desk and large circular table covered with written documents and maps. I had never been one for map-reading, but the complicated marks on the yellowing paper caught my curiosity enough so that I inadvertently leaned over one just to get a closer look.

"Snooping about my things, luv?" a soft voice whispered into my ear.

"No!" I said, blushing shamefully as I jerked away from him.

Jack laughed as he walked around the table, taking a seat in a chair that faced the door of his cabin. How he had managed to hear my soft giggle from such a distance from the door, I will never know. Perhaps he heard my footsteps, or seen me approach from the crack under the doorway? The boots I was currently wearing were loud, so I suppose that's what had given me away. Mentally shaking my head, I focused back on the task at hand, the reason I had come here.

Nervously, I cleared my throat. "Actually, I wanted to know where we were going, or if you had anything specifically planned out," I said, glancing about the room.

I had been in here before, but had never gotten a good look at the interior of the Captain's cabin. I had mostly stayed in here long enough to ask a question, give a comment, or, for that brief day, stayed to sleep off my hangover. None of those events had been a chance for me to actually take in the details of the cabin, but now I was glad to have the opportunity.

Most would have expected a room with walls bearing nothing except framed maps or charts, and with clutter piling up in the corners and rum bottles rolling around the floor. The maps and charts were there, as were the piles of clutter, but there were also lengths of well-made fabric hanging from the walls, giving the room an elegant and tasteful air. There were also several mismatched chairs, worn from use, but comfortable-looking. It was a bit disorderly, but it was warm and comfortable, telling people that the man who lived here was a bit scatterbrained, but still orderly where it counted the most. I found myself at ease in this friendly, though still professional, room.

"Luv, I always have something planned out!" Jack quipped, drawing my attention back to him.

One of my eyebrows rose. "And what, may I ask, have you got planned, oh wise and organized Captain?" I asked, smiling at him.

He chuckled. "That's for me to know and you all to find out." A broad smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Though, I do promise that you'll like where we're going."

"Aye, sir," I said, rolling my eyes. "Permission to withdraw, sir?"

"Granted!" Jack said, now fully grinning. "But I want you to meet me for sword practice an hour after supper; we need to get you in shape in case we encounter any…unpleasantness on our voyage, savvy?"

I gave a brief nod before heading for the door, shutting it quietly behind me so as not to disturb him.

Sword practice had pretty much gone the way it had before we left Tortuga. Gibbs or Jack would corner me somewhere, quickly dragging me down to one of the large storage rooms to exercise what I had learned the previous lesson. I was incredibly thankful when, after my fifth lesson with Jack, Mr. Gibbs had finally overcome his discomfort in teaching me the sword.

"Mostly, I figured that Jack's taught you enough so that you can block me most of the time," he'd said one night, after surprising me with an offer to teach me. "I'm sure you can handle yourself."

After that, I was learning two different styles of sword fighting. Gibbs saw to the "dirty" types of fighting that most pirates, assassins, and other scum fell to whenever they were desperate to win…or kill. Jack, on the other hand, taught me the "respectable" techniques that the nobles took part in, a style that had fancy footwork and countermoves that were more of a dance than a style of fighting. I preferred learning from Jack, though, as he was more graceful and quite handsome while sweaty. However, I was glad to have both teachers at my disposal, expanding my knowledge of self-defense to the point where both they and I were becoming more confident in my abilities. I know for certain that I received fewer injuries, and the blisters on my hands were beginning to fade or harden so that they were no longer painful. My grip on the sword was improving as well, meaning that I did not lose it as often as I had before. Best of all was that both Gibbs and Jack looked proud of me and my accomplishments, the two of them occasionally giving me praise along with criticism.

Soon, my day became a routine that I found quite to my liking. My day would start with my getting up early and cooking breakfast for the crew (who usually grunted their thanks while eating). After the food was gone and the dishes done, I would get started on sewing torn canvas during the morning, working until my fingers were full of needle marks and my back ached. After that, it was time to make a simple, cold meal for the crew to help themselves to throughout the afternoon, since there was no set time for lunch. Following the cleaning of the lunch preparation dishes, it was time for sword practice in the afternoons before I had to cook supper. After that, there was an hour or so before bed that I could call my own, using that time to read or merely let my mind drift before falling asleep.

I never thought that I would be happy to a routine day after leaving my home. At home I was expected to do many useless things that bored me to tears. I would be constantly required to go for walks, shop in town, or take tea with other society girls whenever I was asked to by my mother and father. In short, I did nothing useful as a woman of stature. Here, my routine was productive, and I was actually thanked by members of the crew for doing my work. In fact, my friendship with many of the crew was developing quite nicely, and far quicker than I thought it would…

After my little "rum adventure" in Tortuga, most of the men had found themselves impressed with my drinking abilities. I had tried to forget about it, as the memory wasn't exactly a good one, and had hoped that the men had, too. Unfortunately, one night, a gambling game that had been set up in the galley and I had been invited to watch the matches. It was then that some of the crew had asked if I'd ever done something like that before. All of them were surprised by my negative response and my claims that, before that day at the tavern, I'd never had anything stronger than a single glass of strong wine. Several of the men had slapped me on the back, laughing that they'd be sure to help me "fix that" as soon as they arrived at another pirate port, making me stutter a refusal as I blushed.

Oddly enough, it wasn't just my ability to hold my rum that got the crew to try and become friends with me. Some of them actually began to remember that I was a female member of the crew and that, while I was off limits to any sort of 'advances,' I could still be useful in giving them little bits of advice when it came to wooing over a disinterested girl. Since I had fled from my own wedding ceremony and marriage to a handsome nobleman, the rest of the crew wanted to know what it took to be sure that no girl ever fled from them the way I had from my fiancée.

It all started with the men teasing Barton about him getting a face full of beer after trying to sweet-talk a girl in Tortuga (his hurt feelings leading up to the drinking game I had participated in that night). Since then, Barton had been the end of every joke on the Pearl, and his irritation was beginning to show. Jack wouldn't put a stop to it, especially since he participated in those jokes, but I could tell that if someone didn't do something, a fight amongst the crew was going to occur. So, one day, after seeing poor Barton getting an earful, I grabbed him by the arm and began leading him to the bow of the ship to cool his temper. As I did so, I took a good look at him.

The tallest man on the Pearl, Barton was easily six feet tall, with broad shoulders and strong arms from pulling ropes and climbing them all day long. From the red in his hair, I guessed that Barton's tamper came from an Irish side of his family. Presently, his green eyes were flashing with anger, and he appeared to be mouthing curses to the wind in an attempt to feel better. I couldn't stop the soft snicker that escaped my lips, and that brought Bart's attention to me immediately. Before he could begin throwing insults at me, though, I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not laughing at you, Barty," I said, using one of the nicknames the crew had given him. "It's just that with your hair flying all over the place, it looks like it's on fire." I gave him a small smile, knowing that Bart was a good man that could calm down fairly quickly, if you knew exactly what to say to him. "And that look in your eyes is bound to send something on the Pearl into flames."

That gave me the reaction I was hoping for. Bart's anger seemed to instantly drain away as a stream of laughter burst from his lips. I smiled as the crewman laughed for a few minutes, finally calming down when I patted him on the back to keep him breathing.

"Thanks, Rosie," he said, gently patting my shoulder with a large hand. "I really needed that."

"What he actually needs is advice!" called Gibbs, causing the rest of the ship to explode into laughter.

"Aye, as do the rest of ye!" Bart yelled, his temper flaring up again.

I patted him on the shoulder. "What kind of advice do you need?" I asked in a soft, soothing tone of voice; it was the one I used whenever I went riding and my horse became spooked.

"Huh?" was the answer I got.

I sighed. "I asked what kind of advice you need," I repeated, looking up at him.

"How to win a girl without getting beer tossed into my face," Bart replied, though he still looked a bit puzzled. "But what does that have to do with…"

This time I chuckled and pointed to myself. "Female, remember?" I said, winking at him with a smirk on my face.

I could swear that the entire ship went quiet for a moment while the crew absorbed that information. While they did, I couldn't help but wonder how they could have forgotten I was a woman, considering I was the only one onboard. All of a sudden, the sounds came back as some men laughed while others edged closer to me and Barton so that they could hear what kind of advice I was giving out. Knowing I had to be very careful about not revealing all of The Secrets of Womankind, I would make it a point to ask what, exactly, they needed help with. But first, I needed to help Barton…

"Well, what did you do to get beer thrown in your face, Bart?" I asked, looking at him.

He blushed slightly. "All I did was say how lovely her large bum was," he said. "Not sure why that would make a girl mad…"

"Considering you called her bum 'large' was enough to get a good yelling and a slap in the face," I said, frowning. "I wasn't even the girl you talked to and I feel insulted. Next time, compliment how nice she looks in her dress and leave the word 'large' out of it." I bit my lip in thought. "Actually, don't use any word that refers to size unless it's to tell her how thin or slim she looks."

Glancing around the ship, I was thoroughly amazed to see that the men appeared to be taking notes in their heads. Some had even begun repeating my advice to themselves, as though storing it for an 'opportune moment' in the future. It was actually quite amusing, and I couldn't help but feel a bit better about myself.

"Any other questions?" I asked.

One dark-skinned man, the one called Tony, raised his hand. "Do women really like getting flowers from gents?" he asked.

I smiled. "Well, I personally like receiving flowers, as long as they're freshly picked. No woman likes getting wilted, half-dead flowers."

"Why not?" asked Tony, who seemed truly curious about the whole thing.

"Because wilted flowers mean that you don't think she's attractive," I replied, watching as realization dawned on some of the crew's faces. "Fresh flowers mean that it looks like you put a lot of time and effort into finding something as pretty as she is, and every girl likes to feel that she's pretty to a man."

"Right!" exclaimed Barton, who was listening as though I were giving him the meaning of life. "Anything else you've got for us?"

"If you spill anything on a girl, make it up to her by buying her a new dress," I said, grinning broadly. "After all, it's the least you could do."

Jack almost wet himself laughing at Rose's last bit of advice. The crew turned to see him laughing his head off at the back of the crowd, his amusement eventually fading to a light snicker before he straightened himself out. Once he was calm, he put on his Captaining face and looked around the deck at his crewmen.

"Well? What are you slimy dogs waiting for? Get back to work, this isn't a bloody pleasure cruise!" he snapped, kohl-lined brown eyes glaring at everyone.

Immediately, the men started racing back to their posts, though they still looked thoughtful about what they had just heard. However, with their captain looking on, they turned their attention back towards doing their work. Barton looked a bit ashamed of himself as he climbed the ropes up to the crow's nest for his lookout duties. Once he was sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be, Jack's gaze landed on Rose, who looked as though she wanted to sneak away from him while she could.

"Now, what exactly have you been telling my crew about wooing young women?" he asked, swaying over to her side and sliding an arm around her shoulders. As he did so, Jack plastered on one of his infamous smiles.

"Oh, the usual things," she said evasively. "Just how they shouldn't talk to women about how large their bums might be, or how they should give fresh flowers instead of wilted things they find at the side of the road."

Jack nodded. "All very good advise, luv," he said, pulling her closer. "Now, I'm wondering what sort of flowers it would take to woo you, my dear Rose."

The brown-haired beauty under his arm merely laughed. "It'll take more than a few charming lines and a bouquet of flowers to win me over, Captain Sparrow," she said, removing his arm and stepping away from him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go prepare things for supper."

Watching her leave, Jack Sparrow felt the oddest thing in his chest. However, he couldn't figure out what it was, and so he decided to simply let it be. Instead, he walked back up towards the helm, humming his favorite song.

I thought my heart would leap out of my chest when Jack asked me what it would take to woo a girl like me. In truth, Jack's voice and his ability to weave words together would alone be enough to get me swooning, but I couldn't tell him that. I would not be just another conquest for the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, no matter how charming, handsome, and courteous he was to me.

'Besides, I'm probably more like a challenge to him,' I thought as I cut up some meat to fry for tonight's meal.

I already knew that Jack Sparrow wouldn't be one to back down from a challenge. He was attracted to them, like flies to honey, and once he found one, he wouldn't back away until he'd either conquered it or had had to walk away while he still could. It was possible that, since I had run away from my fiancée, Jack probably thought that he had the ability to win me over.

However, what he didn't know what that he already had…

AN: Aw, Rose is falling for Jack! But does he like her in that way, too? I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Please review!