Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings.

Author's Note:Ah, our first bit of good drama. Let's see how our dear Genesis handles it, eh?

Chapter 11: In Which Jack Realizes that Having Women on Board May Be Bad Luck After All

"You say her last name is Morgan?"

"Aye," Jack muttered, staring at the sea. "Not sure if she was lying or not, of course."

"Bad luck, Jack," Gibbs said solemnly. "Bad luck, she is."

"Why, because she's a woman, or because of the woman she is?"

"Do both work?" Will said, coming up behind them as they walked to the docks. Jack clapped him on the shoulder.

"Mornin' Willy, my boy!" he said cheerfully. Will scowled.

"Please, not you too," he grumbled. "It's bad enough that she calls me that without you following her lead."

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, son, I follow no one's lead," Jack said seriously. "I just think it's cute."

Will wrinkled his nose, color rising in his cheeks as they made their way to a line of men.

"Feast your eyes, Captain," Gibb said grandiosely. "All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."

"So," Will said incredulously. "This is your able-bodied crew?" His dark eyes traveled down the line of ragtag pirates, and he looked more than a bit discouraged.

"They look good to me."

The three men, as well as the rest of the crew, turned to see where the feminine voice came from. Genesis was making her way down the docks, in an outfit that was completely and totally inappropriate for a woman at that time in history. It appeared she had been hoarding every clothing item she had come across in that bag of hers, and it showed now. She wore the white blouse, still missing a sleeve, underneath the corset she had received from Giselle. She had cut off her jeans into short shorts, over which she wore the thick leather belt and pouch from the stolen bag, her sword still sheathed at her hip. Her garter was still on her thigh, a small dagger tucked into it, and she wore her tall black boots. Her hair, a mass of curls induced by the Caribbean humidity, was worn free and wild, held back from her face by a bandana similar to Jack's, clearly made from the fabric of the dress she had worn the previous night. She had taken a page out of Jack's book, smearing dark kohl around her eyes in an attempt to dull the glare of the Caribbean sun. It was clear by the slack-jawed expressions of all of the men that the amount of skin she was showing wasn't a normal day-to-day occurrence, and she grinned at Jack, whose mouth was hanging open ever-so-slightly.

"'Allo, Cap'n," she said, coming to stand next to him, hand on her hip. "Lovely weather we're having, eh?"

"Er, yes," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm surprised you showed up, Gen. You seemed pretty comfy in Tortuga."

Genesis narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "You seemed to want to get comfy with me, Captain Sparrow," she teased.

Jack smirked, then looked back to his crew. He spotted an elderly man. "You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs offered.

"Mr. Cotton," Jack said, his face comically serious. "Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

"How many takes 'til he got that right?" Gen muttered. Jack threw her a look before snapping at Cotton.

"Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs explained quietly. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured out how."

Cotton opened his mouth to reveal that, indeed, he was tongueless, and Jack bit his tongue reflexively.

"Poor Missus Cotton," Gen said, causing Jack to choke on a laugh. Jack grunted back into Serious Captain Mode, swinging a hand back to grab Gen and pull her close to him, clamping his hand over her mouth. She struggled against him for a moment, but he continued talking.

"Mr. Cotton's…parrot," he said, clearly uncomfortable with talking to a parrot. "Same question."

"Brawk!" the parrot replied. "Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" Gen, who had stopped struggling against Jack's stronger grip, began giggling behind his hand.

"Mostly," Gibbs said, "we figure that means 'yes.'"

"Of course it does," Jack said, clearly content with the bird's answer. He turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well," Will said, pulling a face. "You've proved they're mad."

Jack looked down to the young woman in his grasp. "Are you going to be quiet now?"

Gen reached up to gently pull his hand away from her mouth. "Wind in the sails, Captain," she said with a grin. He released her as another feminine voice called out.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

Jack froze, looking at a short sailor wearing a wide-brimmed hat pulled down low. He walked tentatively over, Will and Gen close behind. He grimaced, pulling off the hat, and feigned happiness to see the beautiful dark woman underneath. "Anamaria!" he said in a friendly tone.

Slap.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" Will said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No," Jack admitted. "That one I deserved."

"You stole my boat!" Anamaria snarled.

"Actually--"

Slap.

"Borrowed!" Jack snapped, then calmed himself down again. "Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't," she countered.

"Was that the boat you sunk at Port Royal?" Gen asked innocently. Jack shot her a shut-the-hell-up look, and Anamaria looked like she was about to have kittens.

"You sunk my boat?!" she shrieked.

"You'll get another one!" Jack said, throwing up his arms to defend himself from the female fury that was before him.

"A better one," Will said, pulling Jack out of harm's way.

"A better one!" Jack said, grateful for the encouragement.

"That one!" Gen said, pointing at the Interceptor.

"What one?" Jack asked, looking at Gen in confusion. He followed her gaze to the ship. "That one?!"

He suddenly smiled at Anamaria, realizing this may avoid future slapping. "Aye, that one. What say you?"

Anamaria considered, glancing at Gen for a moment, before yelling "aye," the crew echoing her agreement.

"Anchors aweigh!" Cotton's parrot screeched, excited to board the ship.

"No, no, no," Gibbs whispered. "It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir. Two is even worse."

"It'd be far worse not to have them," Jack replied, watching Anamaria and Gen chat as they made their way to the ship.

This was going to be a long voyage.

The storm swept down from out of nowhere. It was as if Barbossa had simply thrown the torrents of rain and clapping thunder back at them as a deterrent. It had come up so fast that they had no time to prepare, and they were now being thrashed by violent winds and stung by sharp splashes of salt water.

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?" Will cried over the high winds as he and Gibbs struggled with a rope.

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north, but we're not trying to find north, are we?" Gibbs said. He looked to Jack at the helm. "We should drop canvas, sir."

"She can hold a bit longer," came the strangely cheerful reply.

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked.

Jack smiled. "We're catching up."

Another immense wave hit the ship, rocking it violently and sending another downpour of seawater onto the deck of the ship.

"The girl!"

Jack frowned at the sound of one of the men yelling. The girl?

"Miss Morgan!"

Jack turned to Will at his outburst, then followed the younger man's gaze up to the main mast. Lightning struck, lighting up the sky and revealing the cause for commotion; Genesis was dangling at the end of a rope clawing at it wildly with her free hand in an attempt to get a better grip on the wet, slippery hemp.

"Bloody hell," Jack growled. "Gibbs, take the helm!"

Gibbs obeyed, and Jack ran to the base of the mast, looking up at the flailing young woman. "Genesis! Hold on!"

"Jack! I can't!"

She wasn't lying. She lost her grip on the rope, and time seemed to stand still as the crew watched her plummet into the raging waters below.

"Gen!" Jack yelled, racing to the railing. His eyes scanned the waters, and after a moment, he saw a flash of her pale shirt a few feet below the surface as she struggled to reach the top. Jack removed his hat, grabbing a coil of rope nearby. Will was at his side immediately.

"Tie this to the mast," Jack commanded, giving Will one end of the rope as he tied himself to the other end around his waist. Making sure that both knots were tight, he made yet another dive into the water in pursuit of a young woman. He broke the surface, the salt water stinging his eyes and the unpredictable waves sending gulps of water down his throat. He coughed and sputtered, trying to catch another glimpse of her.

"Ja--"

He spun in the water frantically, spotting a hand disappearing under another harsh wave. He swam toward it, diving down beneath the torrid water. He could barely see, between the darkness and the sting of the salt, but his thrashing arms made contact with something soft, and he latched on, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and giving the rope a sharp tug. He felt a pull in return, and wrapped his other arm around her waist for support, noting in the back of his mind that she didn't return his grasp.

When he broke the water's surface, he looked up to see Will, Gibbs, and Anamaria struggling with his and Gen's weight at the other end of the rope. He looked back down to Genesis; she was limp in his arms, head falling back away from him. He frowned.

Will and Gibbs grabbed him under the arms, while Anamaria clutched Gen by the back of the shirt, and it took a joint effort to pull the unconscious girl and exhausted captain onto the deck. Jack wanted to collapse, but Gen's lips were turning a discomforting shade of purple. He crawled over to her, placing a ear to her lips. She wasn't breathing. He tugged experimentally at her corset, hoping that the solution was similar to Elizabeth's, but her corset wasn't very tightly laced. He grabbed his hat from the place it had landed nearby, placing it beneath her neck to prop her head, and placed his hands underneath her breasts, pumping firmly a few times before placing his lips over hers, sending life-giving air into her lungs.

Will watched on, unable to move. Jack pumped Gen's chest again and again, returning to her mouth multiple times without any reaction. Suddenly, her body lurched, and Jack tipped her to the side as water poured from her mouth. She coughed and sputtered, suddenly grabbing at Jack's hands and pulling herself into his arms, eyes frantic and entire body trembling. To Will's surprise, Jack's arms flew tightly around the girl, rubbing at her arms in an attempt to warm her newly revived body.

"S'okay, love," he muttered. "S'okay."

"She seems more trouble than she's worth," Anamaria said coldly, staring at the trembling younger woman.

"I knew that when I brought her aboard," Jack replied in a blank tone.

Gen loosened her grip on Jack's shirt, looking up at him with a little smile. "You know, Jack," she said in a small voice. "If you wanted to kiss me, you could've just asked."

Jack grinned back down at her. "I'm a pirate, love. We don't ask permission for anything."

He stood, pulling Genesis to her feet as well. She stumbled, her legs shaky, and Will rushed forward to catch her.

"Hi, Willy."

"Miss Morgan."

"Take her to the captain's cabin," Jack said, smirking at the exchange between the two rival-friends. "She'll need some good rest. Make sure she gets something to eat, too, aye, mate?"

As Will helped Genesis away, Jack noticed Anamaria's gaze was still on Genesis, and still icy. "Jealous, love?"

Her dark gaze turned on him. "Never," she replied. "I just don't like distractions that slow us down."

With that, the dark woman turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving Jack and Gibbs alone on the starboard deck. Jack looked to Gibbs, who opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by the raising of Jack's hand.

"Don't start," the captain said tiredly, making his way back to the helm.