A/N: Hey look at that, a new chapter! And in under a month, think that's a new record for me.


Chloe had never been so scared in her life. And given the past couple weeks, that was saying something. The ocean roared around them, waves a hundred feet tall and towered above the ship. Okay, maybe they weren't that tall but from Chloe's perspective they might as well have been. She wasn't sure how long the storm had raged but it felt like days had passed since she'd seen the sun. And it might have, given how tired her legs and arms were.

It didn't help that she couldn't see much farther than the first mast through the rain. Sheet after sheet of water slammed into the ship, ocean spray from below and rain from above. Chloe wondered if they'd ever be dry again.

The captain had given up on issuing orders to the crew. As loud as she could be, the storm deafened everything and anything around. They had to rely on the competence of the crew and hope that the patch in the hull held. Surprisingly, despite everything, they were still moving with the wind. The captain explained, yelling in Chloe's ear, that if the ship didn't keep moving then the sea would swallow them in minutes. Thank God that McKadden's crew was so experienced. Even if they couldn't hear the captain over the storm they kept the ship moving without the rigging or the sails from tearing apart.

Another towering wave loomed in front of the ship, taller and even more terrifying than the others. The bow of the ship started to tilt, cutting into the tower of water as sea foam washed across the deck. Chloe held onto the helm, certain that this would be the wave to finally capsize the ship. She looked at the captain, sure that she would find the same fear that was eating her. But the captain was smiling. A crazy, manic smile, like she was actually enjoying the terrifying onslaught.

McKadden noticed Chloe's look and winked, actually winked, at her before grasping Chloe's hand. "HARD TO PORT!"

Even though she was shouting Chloe was the only one that could hear her. But she was the only one that needed the order. Chloe threw her weight against the helm along with the captain, forcing the massive wheel to the left. The crew hauled on the ropes to compensate for the shift in wind and that's when Chloe realized the brilliance of the order. Using the speed the ship had built from the last wave, along with the wind at their backs, the ship rocketed towards the wall of water, but now it was at an angle. They crested the side of the wave, avoiding the massive wall of water and flying into the clear, literally as Chloe could feel the bottom of the ship soar through the air before crashing back into the waves.

The sea flooded over the rails once again, showering the crew and probably causing chaos below deck. Hopefully Flo and Stacie were doing alright down there despite the gale they were sailing through.

Lightning flashed across the sky, striking so close that it actually hit the top of the wave they just finished avoiding. The boom of the thunder was deafening and for a brief second the world was bathed in light. It made Chloe flinch and covered her ears, which was the wrong move to make. As soon as her hands left the wheel Chloe could feel herself slipping away from the helm. Or at least she would have if the captain hadn't grabbed her wrist at the last second.

With a great heave she pulled Chloe back to safety, effectively saving her life. Chloe looked up at the captain in amazement, the speed and reflexes needed for that was just...astonishing.

Once Chloe's hands were safely back on the wheel, McKadden leaned in to talk into Chloe's ear. "If that happens again you'll have to pull yourself back!" She tugged on the safety line attached to the two of them. "I don't know if I'll be fast enough next time!"

Chloe nodded her head. There was no room for error in a storm like this.

Lightning flashed across the sky again and this time Chloe held on tight. They went back to the plunging and rolling with the sea, dodging waves and hoping that the next one wouldn't capsize the ship. Chloe spared a thought to Aubrey in the cabin below her. Hopefully her friend was fairing well, although being trapped inside a wooden box while being tossed about like this would be terrible for anybody. And it would be even worse for Aubrey. Chloe knew that the blonde had an aversion to tight spaces. Usually she could keep it under control, but in a storm like this?

But she couldn't worry about that right now. At the moment all Chloe could afford to think about was following the captain's orders. Another deafening crack shook the air forcing the pair at the helm to look up. Lightning had hit the mainsail, tearing a massive hole in the sheet and causing part of the yardarm to snap.

"CUT IT LOOSE!" McKadden bellowed, shocking Chloe with just how loud she could be. Several crew members scrambled up the main mast and began working on the knots. In a matter of minutes they had the yardarm free and, at just the right moment, slid it over the side of the ship into the sea. Now that the sail was gone there was less control, leaving Chloe and McKadden with the difficult task of keeping the helm on course.

Several more hours passed on those seas. There were times that Chloe thought the ship would finally roll over and they'd all share a watery grave. But, thanks to the captain's cool head and the expertise of the crew, they finally cleared the dark clouds and were treated to the sight of the rising sun. The crew cheered before promptly collapsing on the deck, too exhausted to move.

McKadden herself leaned heavily against the wheel but she still had a smile on her face. "Well, that was exciting."

Chloe, who had fallen to the deck, huffed. "What you call exciting I call terrifying."

The captain laughed. "To each their own. But I always find it exhilarating when nature tries to kill me." She started to work on the rope holding them together.

"I think you might just be a little insane." Chloe chuckled as the rope slipped free.

"Maybe," McKadden held out a hand which Chloe took. "But what's the point of living if you don't face death once in a while?" The captain pulled Chloe to her feet and they stood there, noses nearly touching while they both tried to catch their breath.

"Um," Chloe whispered, it felt strange after all the yelling over the past few days. "Thank you for saving me back there."

McKadden shrugged. "That was luck. And besides, that's why I tied us to the rope."

"Still, it could have snapped and I would have gone overboard." She looked the captain in the eye and tried to convey how sincere she felt. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Miss Chloe." McKadden stared into her eyes for a second longer before coughing and letting go of Chloe's hand. "If you'll excuse me. I need to check on my crew."

The captain turned her back to Chloe and walked off down the stairs, leaving the redhead wondering if she said something wrong. She took a second for her body to recover, obviously the storm had set her nerves on edge and her heart was still racing a bit. The sea was relatively calm now, at least compared to the last few days. The waves still had leftover energy but the ship could handle those easily.

Deciding that it was high time she checked on Aubrey, Chloe headed for the stairs. She could use a familiar face after all the excitement. After making it down to the main deck Chloe spared a glance at the captain, who was busy talking to the crew. Chloe was still amazed at the skill McKadden had displayed, both back in town and the way she handled the ship. It must have taken years of hard work and dedication to become that skilled and self assured. It actually made Chloe feel a little jealous. There wasn't anything in particular that she could say she was good at. The closest thing would be horseback riding, but that wasn't exactly helpful when one lived on an island.

Of course Chloe was selling herself short. But after the display that McKadden and her crew had put on it made her want to find some way to be useful. Maybe be able to fend for herself, especially after she'd been so helpless in Nassau when she'd been captured or those soldiers showed up. Chloe shook her head to clear it, that was all something she could worry about later.

The door to the captain's quarters squeaked terribly when it opened, it probably needed to be reset after the pounding the storm had given them. Inside it was still dark, the windows were facing the wrong way to allow in the morning sun. "Aubrey? Are you okay?"

"Over here." Aubrey's voice called from the other side of the room. Chloe found her sitting in the corner, back to the wall and grasping a length of rope that hung from the wall. Aubrey looked more disheveled than Chloe had ever seen her, hair out of place and a pale face.

"Oh Aubrey." Chloe moved quickly to sit next to her friend. She took Aubrey's hand and tried to rub comforting circles into the palm. "It's over now, we're safe."

"That's nice." Aubrey's voice was distant. "Promise there won't be any more storms?"

"For now at least." Chloe smiled. At least Aubrey seemed fine, maybe a little rattled but hopefully some fresh air and food would help with that. After being trapped inside for several days the cabin was a bit on the rip side. "Let's go outside. Amy should be around soon with breakfast."

"Oh boy, dried biscuits." Aubrey said sarcastically which made Chloe laugh. The relief and exhaustion of surviving the storm was starting to make itself known as the adrenaline faded away and Chloe was practically giddy.

They both stood up, a bit stiff legged, and walked out to the deck. Most of the crew was still sprawled out, enjoying their own respite in the sun. McKadden was talking to her people, but now she had been joined by Flo and Stacie.

"We managed to patch the hull but it won't last very long." Flo was saying. "It's below the water line so there's a lot of pressure pushing on the boards. We'll need to put into port to fix it properly."

"That would work for me too," Stacie said. "I'm running low on medicines after that fight. And Rose could use some proper shore leave for her leg."

McKadden nodded her head as she processed the information. "All right then. Once I figure out where we are I head the ship to port. Who knows how far off course that storm blew us."

"Best hurry then capn','' Amy walked up to the group and dropped a dripping wet bag onto the deck. "One of the water casks broke and flooded the mess. Just about all the food got soaked." She opened the bag and pulled out a soggy bun. "Don't know about any of you but I'm not eatin that."

"We get it Amy." McKadden rubbed her temple before letting out a long sigh. "What about the crew? Did we lose anyone in the storm?" All she got were blank faces from the people around her. "Do a head count and get back to me. Lilly ought to spot something by then and we'll know where we are."

The group split up, each going back to what they needed to do. The captain turned around and saw the pair standing off the side. "Are you all right Miss Posen?" She asked. "You look a little pale."

Aubrey ran a hand through her mussy hair. "I'll be fine."

McKadden didn't look convinced but shrugged. "If you feel sick the medicine room is just down the stairs, first door on the right. I'm sure Stacie could come up with something."

The suggestion seemed to make Aubrey grow paler. "I think I just need the ship to stop rolling so much."

Chloe chuckled. "I don't think that's possible Bree."

"True." McKadden said with a small smile. "But it sounds like we need to dock the ship for a while. That ought to help."

There was a flutter of wings that made all three women look up. Descending from the crows nest was Lilly's parrot which landed on the captain's outstretched arm. It squawked loudly before speaking in its rough voice. "Ready the sails! Homeward bound!"

"What does that mean?" Chloe asked.

"It means we were blown much further north than I thought." McKadden mused. "But that's actually good news." She quickly ran up the steps and took her place back at the helm. "We have our heading men! Set course for Islé de Bardón!"


Without the main sail the ship moved at a sluggish pace. It took two slow days of sailing to finally reach the new island. From a distance it looked rather small, covered mostly in green jungle with a small mountain rising above the forest on the left side of the island. As the ship grew closer Chloe could just make out a village nestled among the trees, with a small jetty pushing into the sea for ships to dock. Strangely, the captain didn't seem to be heading for the pier. Instead the ship angled to port, towards several large rocks off the coast of the island.

"Prepare the ship." McKadden called. "We'll have to be careful so prepare the oars and rods. Be ready to fend off the rocks."

There was a general chorus of agreement from the crew and a few seconds later four long oars were produced from below deck. The slid into small stirrups along the railing and two men were assigned to each oar. Several other crew members brandished wooden poles, clearly meant to ward off boulders and other hazards. They maneuvered the ship through the jagged rocks that rose out of the ocean. With the captain's skilled hand on the helm, and the well trained crew, they finally cleared the rocks and were close to the mountain. Now that they were closer Chloe could see a waterfall spilling into the ocean and that seemed to be their destination. She gripped the wood of the railing, worried that they were about to run aground.

"What is she doing?" Aubrey looked at the helm like the captain was crazy. "We're going to crash."

Water sprayed across the bow, splashing the crew who seemed to enjoy it. As the water grew closer Chloe braced herself, it was just as cold as she thought it would be. When she opened her eyes she was shocked to see that they were in a massive cavern, more than big enough to hold five galleons. She looked overboard to see the emerald green water, so clear that if you looked closely you could see little creatures moving along the rocky bottom.

"This is amazing." Chloe whispered in awe. The ship was steered towards a long pier that jutted out from the rocks, with several people running out to greet the ship.

Stacie walked over, actually wearing a shirt for once, and stood next to the pair of wide eyed girls. "Yeah, that's how I felt the first time I saw it." She stared at the pier, her eyes sweeping over the people who had arrived.

"Tie her off!" McKadden called. "Remember, we have some work to do. There's a hole in the hull that needs patched, so report to Flo for assignment before you go running off."

"We'll have to beach her captain." Flo called back. "I can do that with the men from the island."

McKadden was quiet for a minute before consenting. "Alright, you're all dismissed." The crew cheered and a gangplank was lowered. The rest of the crew rushed off the ship in no time, running down the pier as quickly as they could.

"Gibbs, Pierre!" Stacie called at some of the stragglers. "Rose needs to be carried to the infirmary. Would you two lovely gentlemen take her there on the stretcher." She fluttered her eyelashes at the pair.

"Oui mademoiselle." Pierre ran to the hatch and disappeared while Gibbs sighed and followed after him.

"Bloody Frenchman. Pretty lady looks at him and suddenly he's falling all over the ship." He grumbled as he passed them, which made Stacie laugh.

"Stacie, do you have to flirt with the crew?" McKadden said as she joined the group.

Stacie shrugged. "It passes the time."

People started to make their way onto the ship, most of whom reported to Flo who started giving orders. "Looks like Flo has this well in hand." Stacie said before addressing the captain. "Permission to disembark?"

McKadden chuckled a little at Stacie's eager expression. "Yeah go ahead." She gestured with her thumb to Chloe and Aubrey. "Take them with you. Make sure they get rooms in the house."

Stacie smiled as she saluted. "Aye aye capn'. Come on ladies, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."

Chloe looked to the captain who nodded encouragingly. So, after grabbing Aubrey's hand, the pair followed the ship's doctor down the gangplank and onto solid ground. That weird vertigo feeling of the Earth moving beneath her feet hit again, making her wobble a little but she managed to correct herself without falling over. Thankfully it looked like Aubrey had the same problem so Chloe wasn't alone in her discomfort. Together they managed to stumble after Stacie, who seemed to be walking rather quickly towards a set of stairs. The step led up to a set of wooden double doors, about fifty feet above where they stood.

"Where exactly are we going?" Aubrey asked as she took the first step.

Stacie looked over her shoulder and smiled. "You'll see."

'Not much of an answer.' Chloe thought. But she followed along anyway. Making sure to be careful on the stairs with her vertigo and the lack of railings. Stacie pushed open the door and Chloe shielded her eyes from the wall of green that assaulted her eyes. Clearly they were in the jungle, in the distance she could hear bird calls and the strange noise that monkeys made. A small dirt path stretched out before them, winding through the foliage before disappearing in the green. Stacie kept moving, seemingly unperturbed by the jungle. Aubrey on the other hand was staring wide eyed at all the trees, flowers and colorful birds that fluttered from branch to branch. Having grown up in foggy London, and spent very little time in the colonies, Aubrey wasn't used to so many colors. It made Chloe smile, it was so rare that Aubrey looked like that.

They followed Stacie down the path for about five minutes. But even that short time was enough for the heat and humidity to make them all sweat. Eventually the trees receded and they emerged into a clearing. In front of them was a two story mansion, even bigger than Chloe's house back in Kingstown. The walls were painted white and there was a porch wrapped around the entire building. There were a few members of the crew loitering on the porch but it looked mostly deserted.

""Welcome to our little slice of heaven." Stacie said with a smile.

Then there was a noise that Chloe was not expecting to hear, the sound of laughing children. A dozen children came pouring out of the building to run around the yard, running around and playing with each other. "There are kids here?"

Stacie laughed. "Of course there are. What? Did you think this was just an island of pirates?"

"Your kind isn't exactly known for its good will." Aubrey muttered.

"I think you'll find that to be far from the truth Princess." Stacie grinned at the face Aubrey made.

"Mama!" A little girl separated from the group of children and came running towards them. Stacie's grin morphed to a full blown smile as she knelt down and caught the little girl who threw herself at the doctor. "You're back!"

"That's right my love." Stacie hugged the little girl with everything she had. "Were you a good girl for Aunt Emily?"

The girl shook her head enthusiastically. "Yup!"

"Good girl." Stacie stood up with the girl in her arms. "There's some people I want you to meet."

The girl looked at them and gave a little wave. "Hi."

Aubrey seemed a little stunned so Chloe held out her for the child to shake. "Hello there, I'm Chloe."

"My name's Bella. I'm five." Bella said as she shook Chloe's hand. It was hard not to notice just how similar the pair looked, Bella was basically a smaller version of Stacie.

"It's nice to meet you." Chloe gave her hand a squeeze before poking Bella's belly, making the little girl laugh. She held out her hand to Aubrey who looked at it with a confused expression.

But, ever the proper lady, she shook the little girl's hand and managed a small smile. "And my name's Aubrey."

After the introductions Bella turned all her attention back to her mother. "Mama, are you going to be here for a while?"

"For a bit," Stacie nuzzled her nose against Bella's, earning another giggle. "Tia Flo has to fix a hole in the ship."

"Mama!" Bella crossed her arms. "Did you hurt my boat?"

"What?" Stacie scoffed. "Why do you always think it's my fault?"

"I don't know." Bella rolled her head back to avoid looking at Stacie. Chloe had to keep herself from laughing at how adorable the little girl was.

"Here," Stacie put Bella back on the ground but kept holding her hand. "Let's go find Aunt Emily. We need to let her know that I'm back."

"Okay!" Bella tried to take off running again, dragging her mother along behind her.

"You two coming?" Stacie called over her shoulder. Chloe and Aubrey exchanged a look before starting after them.

"She has a daughter?" Aubrey asked.

"Apparently." Chloe was still smiling at the interaction between mother and daughter.

"But," Aubrey sounded like she couldn't believe it. "She's so young."

"Lots of women have children when they're young Aubrey." Chloe chided. "Not everyone is like us. We're practically old maids."

Aubrey shook her head. "Think about it, Chlo. The girl said she was five. And Stacie can't be that much older than we are."

"Oh," Chloe hadn't considered that. "How about you talk to Stacie about it before jumping to conclusions." They made it to the steps of the porch and stopped. Chloe turned to her friend and grabbed her arm. "And do remember that we're guests here."

"Chloe, we're still prisoners." Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I think you're the one that needs to be reminded of that."

Aubrey walked up the steps and into the building, leaving Chloe stunned. Honestly, she had almost forgotten that they'd been kidnapped. She caught up with her friend and tried to defend herself. "You have to admit that this pirate crew doesn't fit with the stories we've heard."

Aubrey scoffed. "That remains to be seen. They're still pirates."

Chloe wondered how many times Aubrey would tell herself that. After the Royal African Company incident Chloe was starting to wonder if pirates were really that much worse than the Empire.

More laughter pulled Chloe's attention to Bella, who had pulled Stacie and another woman out from a side room. The newcomer, who must have been Emily, smiled at the pair and did a little curtsy. "It's nice to meet you. We rarely get visitors."

"Mama!" Bella pointed to something behind Chloe and Aubrey, causing the girls to turn around. Pierre and Gibbs were standing behind them, carrying Rose between them on a stretcher.

"Pardon us but we need to get through." Chloe and Aubrey stepped aside to let them pass. Chloe managed to get a look at Cynthia, who was still rather pale but otherwise still breathing.

"If you ladies will excuse me." Stacie followed after the crewmen threw a door that must have led to the infirmary.

"Aunt Emily, what happened to Aunty Rose?" Bella looked like she was about to cry.

Emily picked the little girl up and gave her a hug. "I don't know, sweetheart. But I'm sure your Mama will take extra good care of her." She looked at Chloe and Aubrey and gestured with her free hand. "Come along, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

They were led up another staircase to the second floor and down a hallway. Emily opened two doors side by side, leading into two smaller rooms that were connected to by another door. The rooms weren't fancy, just a comfortable looking bed accompanied by a dresser against the wall.

Bella ran to the bed and spread herself out like a starfish, not a care in the world. "I hope you will be comfortable here." Emily said. "I know it's not much but-"

"This is great." After weeks of sharing a room with Aubrey, Chloe was excited to have a room to herself. Don't get her wrong, she loved her best friend, but Aubrey had a tendency to...snore. "Thank you."

"Oh it's no bother." Emily smiled and waved off Chloe's thanks. "It's my job to take care of the house. Along with running the school and taking care of the children."

"How many children live here?" Aubrey still looked suspicious. Like she expected Emily to draw a gun at any second.

"There's twenty three." Emily kept her smile despite Aubrey's attitude. "But it will be twenty four in a couple of weeks."

"That sounds exciting." Chloe said while she played with Bella on the bed.

Emily puffed out breath and suddenly looked tired. "Oh it is. But it's also a lot of work. I'm just glad Stacie's back, she's so much better at deliveries than I am." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Where do the children come from?" Chloe asked.

"A few of them come from the village but a lot of them are orphans." Emily answered with a sad smile. "The captain finds them and brings them here so they can have a home."

Aubrey didn't have anything to say to that, which had Chloe feeling a little smug. "That's very kind of her."

"Well it's not really a surprise." Emily said with a wave of her hand. "Given that the captain-." Her eyes went wide and she slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oops."

Chloe shared a look with Aubrey.

"I'll let you two get settled in. Come along Bella" Emily looked desperate to escape and promptly left as soon as Bella grabbed her hand.

"That was strange." Aubrey said once they were gone.

"Indeed." Chloe stood up and looked out the door. There was no one in the hallway, leaving the two alone for the first time in weeks. "At least we'll get to rest for a bit. It will probably take a while to fix the ship."

"And we can use that time to try and escape." Aubrey lowered her voice and shut the door.

"Because that went so well last time." Chloe gestured to her injured leg. It had healed shockingly well but there was still a bandage wrapped around the wound, per Stacie's orders.

Aubrey at least had the grace to look repentant. "I'm sorry, I should have thought that out more."

"It's fine Aubrey." Chloe sat back down on the bed. "But can we please relax for a few days? You've been strung out for weeks now. Try to use this time to get your head together." She laid her head down on her pillow. "Besides, we're still together and we're safe. We should consider ourselves lucky after everything that happened at Nassau."

"I still think-" Aubrey started to say before another voice filtered through the floor, silencing the blonde mid sentence.

"We'll need to send out a couple of sloops." The voice sounded like McKadden but it was hard to tell through the wood. "I want to make sure that the merchant ships survived the storm. And that the navy didn't somehow follow us."

"Of course." Said another voice, this one from a man. "And what about those prisoners?"

"They'll be fine for now. Emily can keep an eye on them." McKadden said. "Lilly put Bumper in a cell by the docks so he shouldn't be a problem. Posen might try something but Miss Chloe has proven herself trustworthy."

Aubrey scoffed and Chloe shushed her. Although how Aubrey could possibly take offense when she'd literally just been talking about escape.

"Very well," The man said. "And how goes your other venture. Any luck?"

McKadden sighed. "No. And with the ship in dry dock it will be at least two weeks before I can continue the search."

"Then might I suggest spending some time with her." The man's voice softened, like he was trying to comfort the captain. "Doctor Smith said that she was feeling a little better."

McKadden sighed again. "That's good. I'll go see her later, after I've wrapped up some other pressing matters."

"You know, you push yourself too hard sometimes. You need to rest."

"Two weeks of shore leave." McKadden scoffed. "That's too much rest."

The man was silent for a second before speaking. "Just take care of yourself. You have any idea how mad Gail will be if you keel over?"

McKadden chuckled at that. "Trust me, I know exactly how mad she can get."

"Then maybe you should get some sleep."

"I'll think about it." Chairs scrapped across the floor, clearly the two were done with their meeting. "Thanks for keeping an eye on this place Jesse."

"Of course. Who else would take care of your money? Amy?"

"Don't even joke about that."

The two laughed before the Jesse person spoke again. "Seriously though, get some sleep. You look terrible."

"I will, I promise."

They heard footsteps followed by a door opening. "Alright, I'll see you in the morning Beca."

"I'll see you then." the door closed and the girls couldn't hear anything else.

With a start Chloe realized what she'd just heard. 'Why did he call her Beca?'