Full Summary: When Jack has no choice but to pose as a Navy officer in order to get his precious Black Pearl fixed from a sea battle against another crew of pirates, he ends up finding help in one of the most unlikely of places.

Chapter Eleven

The sun was just above the horizon by the time Nell awoke. She lay on her side, her legs bent at the knees so she was in a fetal position, and the first thing that asaulted her was a smell of rum, spices and the sea. Her eyes shot open and became used to the dawn light. Once the light no longer hurt her eyes, she took in her surroundings for the first time, properly, since the night before. It was a rather large cabin, the deep brown almost black. The bed she was in was against the left wall, and she could spot the sleeping form of Jack in his hammock at the far side of the cabin. Inbetween them was the dark shape of a large table, clearly littered with maps. Jack's clothing was thrown around the immediate area and Nell shook her head at the mess. Good thing she was here; it was a wonder that he could find anything in this mess.

Sitting upright, Nell carefully stretched and yawned before quickly pulling on a pair of the breeches. She binded her breasts and pulled on a top just in time to feel a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around, a loud gasp pushing through her lips and her eyes widening in fright. When she noticed it was Jack she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him lightly away, shaking her head.

"Don't you ever do that again, Jack Sparrow." She glared at him, eyes narrowing.

"Sorry dearie, but you seemed to be staring into space," He told her, waving to the ceiling as if the sky could be seen through the wood. "Anyways, I've worked out where ye can go while ye stay on me ship. Ben, the cook, could do with some help. He's no good a cooking, Nell. Ye could help him to stop poisonin' us."

Nell's glare grew more fierce and she slapped his arm hard before storming away, slamming the cabin door behind her. How dare he assign her to the galley just because she was a woman! But, then again, she supposed it wouldn't be quite right for her to work with the men on deck; they might take advantage of her. When she arrived on deck, she wanted to hit herself. She didn't know where the galley was, but she didn't want to go back in and ask Jack either; her pride wouldn't allow her to do that.

She looked around again, trying to take in the whole ship. The galley had to be somewhere... There was a door under the righthand flight of steps. Shuffling over carefully, Nell reached out a hand, glad for the shade the steps provided and grasped the cold metal, pulling the door open. Her guess had been right, for the smell of burning rushed into her nose and she pulled a face, walking inside. Through the foul-smelling smoke and the smell, she caught sight of bright ginger and walked over before stopping so she didn't trip over the various cooking equipment that surrounded the floor. The man looked up, took in her form, and nodded.

"Ye must be Nell, miss. The cap'n came in last nigh' before 'E went to 'is cabin. I 'ope 'E 'asn't said anythin' bad about me cooking."

"Just that he wishes for me to make it better, Mr..."

"Ben. Just call me Ben, miss. I'd rather ye didn't try to remember me last name. Tis a right mouthful."

Nell grinned and moved around the counter before directing her gaze to the small bottled and tubs of spices. She then looked at the pot that was currently cooking. The burnt smell was strongest from here.

"Ben, you'll have to get rid of all that," She told him, stirring around the ruined food with the wooden spoon that was there. "It can't be eaten."

Ben picked up the heavy pot and emptied the contents out of his small window before setting it back down.

"I was making a stew, miss. Can't say I'm good at it."

Nell let out a happy sound and pulled over the carcass of half a small calf. Most of the meat was still on the bones and all the organs removed. Picking up a large butchering knife, Nell began hacking away at the bones harshly, removing the lower legs, the upper leg and cutting the ribs apart.

"Fill the pot to quarter full with fresh water and boil it." She ordered, setting the meat to the side, covering it with a rag and rinsing her hands before glancing around and opening cupboards, letting out a small "Aha!" when she found some potatoes and carrots. Picking up an armfull of the carrots, she returned to the counter, finding a new chopping board and knife. She cut of the ends of the carrots and then quartered them, one by one, until they were done. By that time, Ben had placed the meat in the boiling water. Nell added the carrots and looked back at the cupboard.

"We'll need at least twenty potatoes, or ten large ones," She said, and Ben pulled out the ten largest one and placed them on the chopping board. She nodded her thanks and picked up the knife. "They should be peeled, then cut into eights; they'll reduce down a little as the stew cooks. This will thicken the water, mixed with the meat juices and bone marrow, which will produce a nice sauce. We'll add onions later if you have any, and a small, chopped and crushed clove of garlic. The bones should be removed just before serving. It shouldn't be hard, as the meat will be very tender."

Whiping her hands on another rag, she looked at the ceiling, thinking. There was breakfast to do, and quickly.

"What do you usually serve for breakfast?" She questioned, watching the sun out of the small window as a bell chimed. She had no idea what it meant, but Ben seemed to.

"It's around six-thirty in the morning. Breakfast is usually something simple, and served at eight. The men do a bit of work first, to get an appetite."

Nell nodded to this. Now she had to think of something...

"Do you have any fish?" She asked, her head cocking to the side and her hair falling in her face.

"One of the men might have caught something."

Nell disappeared out of the door, and there was indeed a man, rather old with grey-white hair and a round belly. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps and introduced himself.

"Joshamee Gibbs," He held out a hand, which she shook before looking over the rail. She was a bit wobbily, as she was not yet used to the rocking motion of the ship on the waves.

"I was wondering, Joshamee-"

He cut her off, shaking his head.

"Call me Gibbs, miss. It's a lot easier for everyone."

"Okay. I'm Nell, if you want to call me that. I was wondering, Gibbs, if you have any fish? I'm helping Ben in the galley, and wanted to serve up fish for breakfast."

"Aye. I do have some, Nell. Freshly caught and rather large."

The man ducked down and lifted what had to be at least a two-and-a-half foot long fish from the bucket. Holding it in both arms, he looked proud of his catch.

"T'was quite a fight to get this in off the line, and I'm fine for it as breakfast. Make a nice difference, it will."

Nell took the fish from him, nearly dropping it. It was quite a heavy fish but she managed to get to the galley door as crew members began to appear on deck, looking at her curiously. Fortunatey for her, Jack strode from his cabin, looked too and thro at the men and her before proceeding to explain why she was there. She didn't hear the words as she entered the galley once more.

This time, she payed more attention to the area. There were three tables with benches to sit at during the meal, and then there was the counter at the far side of the room, where Ben was stood, watching over the cooking stew. Stumbling over, she heaved the fish onto the side and slammed the lid down on the pot, shaking her head.

"It'll cook better with the lid down." She told him sternly before picking up a sharp knife.

"Gibbs had a fish. It should serve a good breakfast." She explained and drew the point of the knife along the underside of the fish, splitting the succulent flesh apart. Once this was done she put the knife down and picked up a bigger one, chopping off the head with a clean sweap. Pushing it away, she chopped off the end of the tail too, and left it with the head. She would take the small amount of meat from them later.

Turning to the main part of the carcass, she lifted one flap of flesh up.

"You hold that up, and I'll get the organs out. We'll throw them in the sea." Grimacing, she stuck her hand in and began pulling out the organs, gritting her teeth as they slipped between her fingers. When she finally had them out Nell spun the carcass around and spotted the spine.

"I trust you can debone the whole thing? Just look for anything that isn't flesh and pull it out."

Ben did as she said while she picked up a knife once more and pulled the head towards her. The eyes freaked her out a little, and she felt a shiver on her spine. Still, using the point of the knife, she removed the inside of the cheeks and the tongue; no one really ate them but they could be the best part of a fish. They were flavoursome and tender.

When this task was finished she washed her hands again and got out a smaller pot, filling that with a little water and placing the little bit of meat she had inside it. Ben moved over and placed the rest of the fish inside; he had chopped it up too. This made her task easier and the whole thing quicker.

Then she went about the cupboards again until she found a shrilved lemon. Cutting it neatly in half, she squeezed some of the juice over the fish before slicing the lemon halves into slices and laying them neatly over the cooking food. Luckily, Ben handed her a pepper grinder and she added some black pepper before placing the lid over that too.

"Fish doesn't take too long to cook." Nell said and sat down, exhausted. She must have fallen asleep, for the next thing she knew, Ben was shaking her awake.

"Crew needs feeding, Nell. Up ye get." He pulled her upwards and handed her a good dozen of pewter plates. "'Elp me serve up, and then ye can have some yerself."

The actual serving didn't take long and every man of the crew got a nice portion of fish. When Nell got her share, she looked around for a seat and found Jack saving one for her not far away. Sitting down in it gratefully, she servayed the crew. They all seemed particularly happy and Jack nudged her with his elbow.

"Told ye that ye'd do good, didn't I?" He asked, smirking.

"Alright, I admit you made a good decision." She grinned, and looked at his plate. It was clear. "You enjoyed it?"

"Best meal I've ever had, love." His arm snaked past her with a fork in hand and tried to steal some of her own food. With her mouth open in a shocked expression, she slapped it away and pulled her plate towards her.

"Mine."

"What did you expect, love? We're pirates, and we'll take anything; even food."

Nell laughed and rolled her eyes.

"It's still mine."

xxXXxx

That night, after finishing the stew (which she got many compliments for), Nell sat with her back resting against the main mast, looking up at the star-lit sky. She hadn't expected a pirate crew to be this nice to her, but she guessed she had been wrong.

Suddenly, she got a craving for hot chocolate. Hoping that there was some chocolate onboard, she stood and began walking over to the galley when an arm stopped her. She let her gaze drift along it until she came to Jack's face.

"Where ye going, love?" He asked, his head to the side.

"I'm seeing if you've got any chocolate. I fancy a hot chocolate."

"Aye, we have some. Ye'll have to add rum to mine, though."

Nell pushed him with her shoulder playfully but agreed. She quickly slipped under his arm and disappeared into the galley, finding the chocolate and melting it. While it was melting, she found a smaller door and opened it. Inside the room was a goat and three chickens. Grinning, Nell grabbed a bucket and stool and began to milk the goat. When she returned to the galley, the chocolate was melted. Adding the milk, she stirred it in and ran her finger over the small jars until she found cinnamon. Sprinkling the strong herb in, she stirred the mixture again before splitting it into two of the cleanest pewter mugs she found.

As she was leaving, she saw a half-full bottle of rum left on a table and poured some into one mug and continued on her way, pushing the door open with her side and moving over to Jack's side, where he was standing, leaning next to the main mast. Handing him his mug, she lifted her own to her lips and let out a happy sigh. It was wonderful. Her sigh was echoed by Jack's and she laughed.

"Like that too?"

"You, me dear, have to be the best cook we've had on the Black Pearl."

Nell didn't make a sound but gazed up at the sky.

"I wonder if they're up there..." She whispered subconciously.

"They? Who?" Jack asked, clearly confused.

"My... My parents. Before me and Katie went to Port Davies, we lived in Blackpool. Small port. My parents got ill and died when I was fourteen. We came to the Caribbean looking for work; that look the better part of a year before the Admiral employed us, when I was fifteen. That was the worst time of my life. We managed to get aboard a ship with slaves. It wasn't pretty."

Jack nodded, his face grim at the mention of slaves.

"Jack? Are you alright?"

"Fine, love, fine. But before I was a pirate captain, I worked for the EITC."

"The East India Trading Company?"

"The very same. They wanted me to transport a cargo of slaves. I refused and let them go free. I was branded as a pirate after that."

He pulled up his sleeve, and in the orange glow of the lamplight, she saw the raised, pale scar of a "P".