"It's not good," Anamaria said, scanning the skies right to the horizon. Far off in the distance, a huge, dark cloud could be seen. "Looks like a storm, and a bad one at that."

"Can we get around it?" Jack asked.

"No, it's far too big. I've never seen one like it before," Anamaria replied.

"When will it hit?"

"Late afternoon, maybe just after sunset," Anamaria said, sounding anxious.

"We'll have to pull into port to weather one that big," Jack said.

"Only trouble is there aren't any ports around here, least not any we can get to in time," Anamaria put in.

"Then we'll have to drop anchor at the nearest island," Maria said, appearing from behind the two.

"How long have you been there?" Jack asked.

"Long enough," Maria replied, a slight smile on her face.

"It's a good idea, if there are any islands nearby," Anamaria said in agreement with Maria's suggestion.

"There's one, about three miles from here," Jack said, an odd tone of thought in his voice.

"How do you know that?" Maria asked.

"I was marooned on it twice," Jack explained. "I know exactly where it is, an' as I remember, it has a perfect little cove to anchor the ship and weather the storm." Anamaria nodded. "Three miles north-east of here," Jack added, and Anamaria walked off to steer the ship to its new destination.

"What now?" Maria asked, approaching Jack. It was three hours later, and they had found the island and dropped anchor, making sure that the ship could not break free. Then the crew had busied themselves, Maria included, by securing everything on board, and taking up all of the sails on the Pearl's huge masts. A few of them were still going around, double and triple checking that everything was secure, and there was no chance of anything coming loose in the oncoming storm.

"You get off the ship and onto the island," Jack began, and Maria pulled an appalled face. "Find somewhere you can sit and weather out the storm."

"No," Maria said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You can't expect me to leave you all here and wait on the island for the danger to pass over you and the rest of the crew."

Jack rolled his eyes, wishing that for once the girl would do as she was told. She had too much of her parent's temper, he thought. "Luv, you'll be safe on that island. The ship will be too dangerous for you, even if you stayed below deck."

"But I don't want to stay below deck," Maria protested stubbornly. "I want to stay here and help you."

"I promised Will and Liz that I'd keep you safe. Ship in a storm isn't safe," Jack replied. "Especially a storm as big as this one will be."

"Then you'll need all the help you can get," she pointed out, and Jack sighed. "Jack, it was you who brought me out here, and you who said I have pirate blood in my veins. I'm not going to sit on some beach, watching you all fight for your lives."

"Anamaria!" Jack called. Anamaria, who was talking to Gibbs, nodded and walked over to Jack, Gibbs in tow. "Kindly take Maria ashore, and make sure she stays there." Anamaria walked to Mariana, and put a hand on her shoulder, which was quickly shrugged off.

"I want to stay here, and help you all," Maria said, pleading with Anamaria.

"We will need everything to get through this," Gibbs muttered, hardly believing that he was campaigning for a girl to stay on board.

"Aye," Anamaria agreed. "And if you send me with her, you'll have lost two sets of hands. You've been saying yourself how well she handles sailing, and I'm inclined to agree. She'll be able to weather the storm on deck, and she'll be a help, too."

Jack sighed heavily and turned his eyes skywards, muttering something under his breath. "All right," he conceded. "But you're to stay here on the deck, and you're not to go climbing the riggin' during the storm; that's a job for the rest of us. Understood?"

"Yes," Maria said, nodding. Anamaria and Gibbs went back to what they had been doing, and Jack walked to the side of the ship to watch the oncoming storm. "And Jack?" Maria said, making the pirate turn to face her. "Thank you for trusting me to be able to do this." Jack nodded his acknowledgement, then turned back to the seas.

The storm hit hard and fast that evening, just after the sun had gone down. Maria had watched a hundred storms from the shore, but she had never experienced one on a ship before. Even though it was near the shore, the wind seemed so much stronger, and the crash of the waves that much louder. Maria ran across the deck to tie down a crate that had snapped its bonds and was now sliding around. She tied it tightly in its place; all the while the wind whipping the rain into her eyes.

Lightning cut across the sky, illuminating two figures up on the highest mast. Even from such a distance, Maria knew who they were: Jack and Anamaria. For a moment, she prayed they would be safe, then Gibbs called her, needing help and she raced over to him.

Early that morning, before the sun had risen, the storm weakened and finally dissipated. Jack had everyone line up on deck, primarily to make sure that everyone was still present. He walked up and down the line as he spoke.

"Well done all. That was a tough storm, and I'm very glad to see you all came through," he stopped at the centre of the line. "I expect that by now, you're all very tired, so you can all take the day off to rest." The men cheered, then quickly disappeared below deck, save for Anamaria and Mariana.

"Gibbs tells me that you were a great help in the storm," Jack said to Maria, a kind of pride shining in his eyes. "I reckon you'll make a good pirate yet."

Maria was about to protest, saying that she'd never be a pirate, when she decided to take it as a compliment. After all, her father and grandfather had been a pirate, so there was no point in denying who and what she was.