A/N:

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Chapter 8

Scrubby Bubbles

Izzy sat on the hammock Gibbs had assigned her and stared at the floor of the ship. She was completely confused. The only conclusion she'd come to was that she had become confused more times in the last few days than she had in her entire life.

Izzy reached into her pocket where the ring she grabbed off her dresser table had sat and pulled out both the ring and the chain. She looked at the inscription and shook her head. Finding true love on the sea while on board the Black Pearl with a shipload of pirates, it wasn't going to happen.

Izzy put the ring on the chain and connected both ends behind her neck. If only she could understand what was going on. Where were they going? What were they looking for? Who were these men she was traveling with?

"Izzy, c'mon up," Gibbs called standing at the top of the stairs. "The Captain has our course of direction."

"Our what?" Izzy said. She quickly hid the necklace beneath her shirt and stood up.

"Where we're goin'. C'mon or we'll miss it."

Izzy followed Gibbs up the stairs and onto the deck and they joined the rest of the pirates.

Jack Sparrow was standing in front of his crew.

"All right lads," he started. "We have a course of action. We are going to sail to Port Royal first. Everyone remembers Elizabeth Turner, right?"

There were many nods of heads and murmurs of agreement.

"Well, she wants to write a book about our, what did she call it? Astounding adventures and discoveries. I'm not quite sure what we've discovered," he said with a contemplating frown. "But I told her she could write it. Mrs. Turner will be accompanying us on our latest journey and might question you. Do your best to answer these questions. If I hear that any one of you bloody pirates has given her a hard time, there will be no rum for the rest of the voyage. Am I clear? Now, we will next be sailing to a tiny speck of an island that goes by the name of well… tiny speck of an island. Does anyone know what the name of this is?"

Jack held up the map and pointed to the island.

No one answered his question.

"Obviously not."

"What are we looking for?" Izzy asked.

Murmurs of agreement ran through the crowd at her question.

"Wow, not bloody one of you trusts me, now do you?" Jack asked his crew incredulously. "Not that I can blame you after all we've been through. Ya see, at this nameless island there is supposed to be a treasure that will "complete" us. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'm willing to give it a shot. What do you say?"

Words of encouragement soared through his audience.

"Wonderful, Mr. Gibbs post the list of who I want doing what jobs and then set a dead straight course for Port Royal. I've missed Elizabeth's deadly personality."

"Aye, Captain."

Izzy waited in the long line of pirates to discover what her new job would be. When she got there she laughed.

"Gibbs, where might I find some decent scrubbing water so I can give the Captain a clean deck?" she asked.

"What?" Gibbs scanned the list, eyes wide. "Now, lad, I'll go talk to Jack. I'm sure he made a mistake about your job."

"Oh, no," Izzy said. "I highly doubt the Captain made a mistake about my job. If the Captain wants me to scrub his deck, he'll get one as spotless as a new bar of soap."

When they reached Port Royal, Izzy was, once again, scrubbing the Captain's deck, down on her hands and knees with a brush and a bucket full of soapy water. Captain Jack Sparrow had ordered her to scrub the decks three times since she had been assigned the job and had been watched every minute by the Captain. She was getting very fed up.

Izzy felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Mr. Perry," Jack Sparrow said. "You will come ashore with Gibbs to get Mrs. Elizabeth Turner and bring her back to the ship. You will be as polite as a pirate can be even though you are overly polite for a pirate and most of all do not talk to strangers."

Izzy looked up into Jack's serious brown eyes and laughed.

"Now why would the Captain be interested in me? I'm just the ratty pirate boy from Port Cunningham who scrubs the Captain's deck four times a day."

"Izzy, laddy," Gibbs yelled. "Time to go."

Izzy stood up and left her bucket and scrub brush. She looked up into Jack's eyes again and froze. There was something there….it was almost like he could see through her….

"Just be careful," Jack said.

Izzy walked away leaving Jack alone.

When am I going to tell Izzy that I know her secret? Jack thought. She's so…what's the word… beautiful, even if she's dressed up like a pirate. I wonder what her hair feels like. It looks like such amazing dark brown under her hat. I wonder how long it is. I love long hair….

Coming up….

Will Jack tell Izzy he knows her secret?

What will Izzy think of Elizabeth?

Will Izzy figure out why Jack watches her like a hawk?