Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews/subscriptions! You're the best. P.S. There's now a picture of Katherine with her side braid in my profile. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. 'Nor do I own any of the characters except for my own, original ones. Thank you.

William's first thought when he woke up was to go and check on Katherine to make sure that Jack hadn't touched her the night prior. As he stood up to get out of bed, a wave crashed against the ship and he fell down, letting out a noise of surprise as his body connected with the wood. He groaned for a moment, before getting to his feet.

Jack had woken up about ten minutes ago, but as he stared at the brunette across from him, a sly smile crept onto his face. Women of her stature would often glance at him with curiosity, but he was a pirate and that often disgusted them. This was the closest he'd ever lied with someone like her. He moved one of his tanned, rough hands to rest on her neck, the thumb creeping over her chin and resting on her cheek. She mumbled something incoherently, nuzzling to his hand as she slept. He chuckled and as footsteps approached, he nearly flew away from her and laid on his back, playing dead again.

Will nearly slammed the door open and let his eyes scan the room. Jack was on his back, breathing slowly, facing away from Katherine. She was laying on her side, facing him, and it seemed as if she had crawled over towards him in her sleep. Will rolled his eyes and made his way to her side of the bed, nudging her gently. "Kate," he whispered.

"It's bad luck to wake someone when they're sleeping," Jack's voice caused him to jump away from his friend.

"You've got to stop doing that," Will whispered breathlessly as he composed himself.

One of Jack's eyes opened as he smirked, "Scare you?"

"No," Will glared. "Will you come out on deck and help me? I don't know where we're going." Jack sighed before following him. As Will glanced back at Katherine, Jack waved a hand, "Let her sleep, mate. You'll want her to be well rested when we set foot in Tortuga. She needs to be cautious there."

"Cautious, why?" Will asked.

Jack sighed as he checked his compass before turning the wheel of the ship a bit to the left. He could almost feel how sick he was at the fact that William's father was such a good pirate and William himself was not. That, and the fact that William would keep denying the pirate in his blood. Katherine had been inside during that argument yesterday.

"Tortuga is full of pirates, mate. None as nice as meself," he grinned. "Savvy? They're drunks and they're a violent, perverse lot. You'll want to stick as close as ye can to the girl."

"Can't she just stay on the ship if it's that dangerous for her?" Will began to do something off to the side.

"Mate," Jack looked at him, knowingly, "She's your friend. You saw how she was back at the jail…do you really think that she'll stay here willingly?"

"There's a cell below deck," Will suggested with a smirk. Jack let out a bark of laughter before there was a scoff behind him. He turned his head around to see the young girl in question.

Her hair was back into it's side braid, held together with a small scrap of cloth that matched the one around her waist. Jack could tell just by looking at her that her head ached from the rum she consumed the night beforehand. Her eyes were squinted due to the morning sun and she looked a bit groggy, but from the amount she'd drank, he was quite proud that she hadn't thrown up yet.

"You are not locking me up," she nearly sneered at Will. "Don't you even think about it, William." Jack chuckled to himself as she turned on him, "And you were encouraging it."

"'Luv, I was not!" Jack spoke out, eyes wide, "I told him that you wouldn't want to stay on the ship is all."

She glared at him, disbelieving, before she turned away in a huff and made her way out of their sights. "Where's she running off to?" Jack mumbled.

"Probably devouring the kitchen," Will joked, "Kate loves to eat."

"Really?" Jack made a face, "Well, I'd personally be surprised if she can keep anything down after what she drank last night."

Will frowned, "You really shouldn't let her drink. She's a proper lady. Once this is over, she'll be going back to her father in Port Royal."

"And Elizabeth will be going back with the Commodore, even if you save her, if you take Kate back," Jack noted.

Will was silent for a moment, "I could always run away with her once I get her."

"And leave Kate all alone?" Jack tsked, "And she's supposed to be your friend, mate." The bell from the kitchen dinged, signaling that Kate had made them all breakfast and not just herself. As the ship continued to move forward with the wind, Jack made his way to the kitchen, leaving Will to think to himself.

He sat down at the table across from the brunette and smiled at her. In the middle of their simple breakfast, Will finally joined them and began to eat his own. They left him there after Kate washed the dishes off and made her way to the deck, Jack following along.

She leaned against the railing, closing her eyes and smiling as the wind blew small pieces of her hair around that fell out from her braid. She could smell the salt of the sea and loved the feeling of freedom that the ship brought her.

"You alright, 'luv?" Jack leaned against the side of the ship next to her.

She nodded lazily, opening her eyes back up, "It's just so beautiful."

"Have you ever been on a ship before?" he questioned with a small chuckle at how amazed she was.

"Once, when I was ten," she explained, turning to look at him, "It was after…" she paused for a moment before continuing, "After my mum died. Father was made governor in Port Royal and we traveled over sea with him and, now, Commodore Norrington."

"So why do you look so amazed at the waters right now, then?"

"I guess I wasn't old enough to appreciate it back then. I was just worried about that one," she nodded in the direction of the stairs where Will was emerging, "We found him floating in the sea on our way. The coin I had on, the one yesterday? It was his," she lowered her voice to a whisper. "My sister took it to protect him from being called a pirate. A bit silly, to think back now, after all these years. William? A pirate?" she chuckled.

Jack laughed, "Aye, but 'luv, that was a pirate coin. Was it not?"

"What are you getting at, Jack?" she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"William's father, though he has refused to believe it, was a pirate. He was not a merchant sailor as William was led to believe by his mother."

"His father?" Kate's eyes widened as she leaned back from the rail, "That's so fascinating, why would you refuse to believe that?" She clucked her tongue in disapproval.

"You like pirates don't you, 'luv?" he leaned in so he was closer to her.

"Lizzie and I have always been fascinated with them," she smiled sadly as she thought of her sister.

"Then you know what happens to them, don't you?"

"A short drop and a sudden stop," Norrington's voice echoed in her mind. Whilst in front of her and Elizabeth, behind James, a sailor mimed out a noose around his neck and being hung.

"They're hung."

Jack nodded, "Aye. That is why William will choose to deny it. That and he thinks he's much better than us. Bloody blacksmith. I still think he's a eunuch." He made a motion like scissors snipping with his pointer and middle fingers.

Katherine scrunched her nose up at the word, disgusted. She didn't want to think of Will like that. But his father was a pirate, she sighed enviously. She found it quite ironic really. Her father was the governor but she longed for him to be like Will's father. A pirate, a rebel of the seas.

"See that?" Jack pointed, his arm had found itself around her shoulders, "That's Tortuga," he grinned, the gold of his teeth shining in the sunlight.

"You can see that all the way from here?" she whispered, squinting her eyes to look at the tiny dot of a town.

He chuckled, "A pirate's eyes must be keen," he told her, "Or else we miss what we're looking for."

"How long until we reach it?" she asked, anxiously. He smiled at her excitement, "By the afternoon, 'luv. Now, go run along and help dear William."

She scurried off to find her friend and help him with the rope he was struggling to untie.

"Why are we here exactly?" Will muttered in disgust as he dodged another drunk in the streets. Katherine was clinging to his arm in a death grip as they were stopped by a prostitute.

"Scarlet!" Jack cried out at the redhead. She took a look at Katherine who clung even tighter to Will before she turned to Jack and then walked off. Jack was facing Katherine as his head had turned around, "Not sure I deserved that," he told her as she raised her eyebrows up at him. She then nodded behind him to where a blond woman was standing.

"Giselle," he grinned.

"Who was she?" she asked, her voice light and sweet.

Jack opened his mouth to answer her, but he was again slapped. His face met Katherine's again and she was giggling to herself when he said, "I may have deserved that."

He shook his head a bit before they continued on, stopping at a table outside of a store. He browsed around a bit and looked at Katherine before holding up a shirt and looking back at her. He shook his head and threw it into the pile, grabbing a smaller one. This time, he nodded and picked up a few more that size, but in different colors. There were three shirts in his hands now, each long sleeved and off the shoulders. One was white, one was blue, and one was black. He also grabbed a black corset that tied in the front and was very plain. He eye measured her again and grabbed her a pair of black pants that would fit her better. She found a pair of boots that fit her better and had a feminine heel to them.

Jack paid for the items with the money he'd stolen off the dock in Port Royal that had been stashed with his things in the jail and as he paid he failed to notice movement out of the corner of his eyes. He waited for Katherine to change before they continued on.

Her pants were tighter, more form fitting and she had tucked them into her boots at the end. The shirt hung off her shoulders and she had the corset tied in the front. She pulled her hair out of it's braid to cover her bare shoulders, blushing with modesty. Jack grinned and tossed the rest of the clothes into a bag he swiped off of another table and handed it to her. She put the strap around her shoulder and caught up with him as he left her behind.

"Thanks, Jack," she grinned, "You didn't have to get me anything."

He shrugged at her, "Oh, well."

She then tossed something up in the air and he caught it out of instinct. After a moment, he grinned, "'Luv, you really are too much," he commented as he pocketed the money purse from the man he'd bought the clothes off of. She giggled as she and Will followed him into what looked like a barn.

A man was sleeping in the dirt next to pigs and she looked at Will, confused. Jack made a noise before returning with two buckets of water. He handed one to Will before tossing his own on the man. The man sputtered awake and began cursing. He glanced up at the trio, eyes narrowing on the woman in the middle.

"Isabella?" he muttered, shocked.

"Mr. Gibbs?" Katherine asked him.

No, he thought. Not my Isabella. She would have called me Joshamee. But…she's so familiar.. "Miss Swann?" he looked over at Jack, "Jack?"

Jack grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. "You know it's bad luck to wake a man who's sleepin'."

"Aye," Jack smiled, "But fortunately I know how to counteract it. The man who did the waking buys the man who did the sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

Gibbs, Will, and Katherine all processed that in their minds before Gibbs nodded, "Aye, that'll do it." He moved to get up and Will dumped another bucket on him. "Blast it! I'm already awake."

"That was for the smell," Will shrugged. Katherine giggled and held a hand out to Mr. Gibbs to help him up. The two younger persons followed their elders into a pub.

"Will, get yourself and Katherine a drink. Keep a sharp eye," he moved to sit down with Mr. Gibbs who was already drinking.

"Now, what's the nature of this venture of yourn?" Gibbs questioned his oldest friend.

"I'm going after the Black Pearl," Jack grinned and Gibbs almost spit out his rum. "I know where it's going to be and I'm going to take it."

"Jack, you know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl."

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to. All I need is a crew," he explained, giving Gibbs a look.

"From what I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one," Gibbs shook his head.

"Well then I'd say it's a very good thing I'm not a fool then, eh?" Jack went off with his charming smile again.

"Prove me wrong," Gibbs next to begged, "What makes ye think Barbossa will give his ship up to you."

"Let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?" Jack nodded to Will who was currently having a hard time trying to fight a wench off as Katherine clung to his arm, nearly hissing at the blonde. Jack chuckled, turning back to Gibbs.

"The kids?"

"That boy is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner," Jack explained, "His only child, savvy?"

"Is he now? Leverage, says you. I think I feel a change in the wind says I. I'll find us a crew," he promised Jack, "There's bound to be some sailors on this rock as crazy as you. I just got one question. What's with the girl?"

"The whelp is trying to save her sister," Jack explained offhandedly as he looked over at Katherine. She had succeeded in scaring the woman off of Will and was currently drinking a tankard of rum while Will sipped his timidly.

Joshamee Gibbs noticed Jack's stare linger a bit too long for her to just be a tagalong on the ship, "I know what's in your mind, Jack Sparrow and you get it out. She's the governor's daughter."

"How do you know that?" Jack turned to him, confused.

"I sailed with her and her father on the crossing from England, after her mum died," Gibbs looked down.

"So you knew her parents then? Or at least her mother, as it were." Gibbs looked up, shocked to see Jack smiling slyly, knowingly. "Gibbs, you old dog, I'm not as crazy as I look. I can tell you knew her mother. You slept with her, didn't you?"

"I loved Isabella," he whispered. "And when she married Weatherby Swann I was heartbroken. Even more so when she had Elizabeth and then Katherine. But that one there," he pointed over at the girl who was now getting William to dance around the tavern with her, laughing as he stumbled.

"She looks just like her mother," he finished.

Jack nodded, "Well, one can only hope about the crew," he changed the entire feeling of their conversation within a split second, "Take what you can," he raised his tankard high.

"Give nothing back," Gibbs smiled back at him and they clinked their tankards together.

Author's Note: I was in fact thinking of shirts and pants like Penelope Cruz wore in the new movie when I described the shirts that she got.