Chapter Three

I promised an update as soon as possible and here it is. I've finished the next chapter as well but I'll make you wait for that ;)

Disclaimer – I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, no sir. I do own Belle and Jacqueline.

"Mum, wake up. WAKE UP!" I heard Jacqueline yell but firmly ignored her. It was far too early. "Captain Jack Sparrow said we could come with him on his adventure!" That got my attention. I shot straight up in bed and looked at my fully dressed daughter.

"Captain Jack said WHAT!" I cried and Jacqueline looked sheepish suddenly.

"He said we could come with him. Please, mummy, please?" she begged but I wasn't having any of it. If Jack didn't want to endanger my life, he was not going to endanger my daughter's. I dressed quickly in a white shirt secured with a thick black leather strap, black breeches and black boots with silver buckles. I snatched my sword and my pistol, ran a brush through my hair, grabbed my jacket and hat and ran out of the door with Jacqueline at my heels. I stormed onto the ship and straight up to Jack who was at the helm.

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU SAY THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO RISK MY LIFE AND HERE YOU GO RISKING MY DAUGHTER'S! I'VE MET SOME LOW PEOPLE JACK SPARROW, BUT YOU ARE THE WORST OF THE WORST! DON'T YOU EVER, EVER COME NEAR ME OR MY DAUGHTER AGAIN!" I screamed loudly and the entire crew stopped to stare at us. Jack looked shocked but then looked over my shoulder and smirked.

"It's too late now, love," he said and I whirled around. We'd left Tortuga. I'd been so caught up in my rant that I hadn't noticed us leave port. I turned slowly towards Jack and threw myself at him, shrieking swear words and hitting every inch of him that I could. He ended up on the ground with me on top of him, still pounding him. I was eventually dragged off kicking and screaming by Will and Gibbs. They struggled to hold me as I continued to scream at Jack who just looked slightly amused with himself.

"Mummy," said a quiet voice and I immediately stopped, looking down at Jacqueline. She looked slightly upset and I immediately crouched down to her level. Will and Gibbs let me.

"What is it?" I asked in my mothering voice.

"Why are you mad at Captain Jack?" she asked in a scared voice. I placed my hands on her arms and she looked at me with watery eyes. I decided honesty was the best policy.

"Captain Jack hurt mummy a very long time ago. And you could get very hurt on this voyage. It's very dangerous and you're a bit too young. He didn't have a right to ask you to come with him," I told him and Jacqueline looked thoughtful.

"You always said that daddy hurt you a very long time ago, before I was born," she said and I frowned.

"Yes, I did," I said slowly, wondering what she was getting at. I could see Jack watching us carefully over Jacqueline's shoulder. Despite my better judgement, I looked up at him and he shrugged.

"Is Captain Jack my daddy?" Jacqueline asked and my arms dropped to my sides in shock. A mental war began in my mind. Should I tell her the truth? Should I lie? Should I avoid the question completely? What kind of questions will she ask afterwards? Was Jack even good with kids? Sweet Calypso, this is the worst thing she could have said besides 'how are babies made'. Taking a deep breath, I looked into my daughters eyes.

"Yes, Captain Jack is your father," I finally said and Jacqueline's reaction was to beam widely and turn towards Jack.

"Hi, I'm Jacqueline Roberts. You're my father," she said, sticking out her hand. I rose to my feet and watched in horror and amusement as Jack looked down at Jacqueline.

"You're just like your mother," he commented and shook Jacqueline's hand. She nodded.

"If you ever hurt her again, mister, I will challenge you to a sword fight. And I will win. I've been learning since I could walk," she warned and marched off to terrorise the crew. I honestly felt sorry for them. Jack looked at me with confusion clear on his face.

"She's not lying. She's been learning since the age of two. And she will challenge you. And she'll most likely win. I think she cheats," I commented as lightly as possible. I was still furious but there was nothing I could do about it now besides jump overboard. Instead, I walked to the railing and looked out over the ocean, breathing in the scent of freedom.

"You look like you've been away for a while," Jack commented as he came to lean next to me.

"I haven't been on a ship since those rumrunners dropped us in Tortuga," I informed him and he made a noise of surprise.

"Why not?" he asked and I snorted.

"I had someone else to look after in case you haven't noticed," I said, turning away from the sea and looking towards Jacqueline. She was talking excitedly to Will and a short man. They looked a little lost but seemed to be teaching her to sail. I smiled happily. I realised it was time for her to finally see the world and learn the ways of pirates through experience and not my stories.

"She looks at home," Jack pointed out and I nodded.

"This is where she belongs," I acknowledged. Jack's hand on my arm turned me to face him.

"I'm sorry love, for asking her to come here. Yer right, I shouldn't have. But I spent all night thinking and I want to know her. I may not be the world's greatest father and I may mess up at times, but let me know my daughter," he begged and I looked into his chocolate eyes properly for the first time in ten years. I was immediately transported back to a time when we were happy. I knew I had to let him know her. I would feel horrible if I didn't and Jacqueline clearly wanted to know her father.

"Of course you can know her," I answered and Jack smiled widely. I had missed that smile. He made to walk away but abruptly halted and turned towards me.

"What's she like?" he asked and I grinned.

"She's loud, opinionated and almost perfect with a sword. She doesn't like any shortened versions of her name and loves to hear Captain Jack Sparrow stories. She's always wanted to learn to sail and meet you in both the father sense and the Captain Sparrow sense," I informed him and he nodded, turning away again but then whirled around to face me.

"Belle, I can't-." I cut him off. I had never seen Jack this scared before and it was kind of amusing.

"Jack, you can do this. Just be Captain Jack Sparrow and she'll be thrilled," I assured him and this time he didn't turn around again. I watched as he let Will and the short man go and began talking to Jacqueline. Judging by his hand gestures and her excited expression, he was telling her one of his many adventures. My expression turned soft as I saw that he was relaxing and Jacqueline obviously enjoyed his company. Maybe this wasn't so bad. Jack looked up then and caught my eye. I smiled softly at him and he winked, turning back to Jacqueline who'd smacked his arm and appeared to be scolding him. It was a habit she'd picked up a while ago. She didn't like men looking at me and it was hilarious to watch a ten year old tell a forty year old man off. I shook my head and turned to look back over the ocean. I couldn't believe I was on a commandeered navy vessel on my way to rescue some damsel I had never met with Bootstrap Bill Turner's son and Captain Jack Sparrow. Whatever it was, it was bound to be an adventure.

There you have it, another chapter. I've just been inspired for more writing so that's good. I said that this story was going to have huge chunks of Curse of the Black Pearl in it but it's not really. There are going to be some areas that are from it but I've narrowed it down so the whole film isn't in this story. I just want to let you know that this is going to be a short story, like the last one, but I suspect slightly longer than the last one. Alright, that's all you really need to know. Love Bianca :) x