FicWad

I froze when Barbossa asked me if I had slept with Jack. I stood speechless for a moment. I supposed that my hair, dress, and face probably gave it away, but I certainly didn't think it would be quite so obvious to Barbossa. I thought about denying it again, but then decided against it. Barbossa always seemed to know when I was lying. I was already in a hole. It was best not to dig myself deeper into it. That would just make it all the more harder to get out of.

Taking a deep breath and attempting to avoid Barbossa's eyes even though he was still gripping my chin tightly, I nodded and said weakly, "Yes." Barbossa scowled and snatched his hand away from my chin. He stood back up and went back to his pacing. I sat nervously where he had left me, twisting my hands in my lap and wondering what he would do next.

Barbossa stalked back and forth for a few minutes, not looking at me. When he didn't say anything for a good five minutes, I could no longer stand the silence. I didn't understand what the big deal was. I mean, what business was it of his if I slept with Jack or not? It had been nice and I didn't regret it. Jack had been gentle with me and had taught me exactly what to do.

I coughed softly to get Barbossa's attention and and carefully, "I...um...got your charts from Jack." I held out the charts to him and added, "This is what you wanted me to get, right?" Barbossa stopped his pacing and finally came over to me. He ripped the charts out of my hand and tucked them under his shoulder. His eyes were blazing and he was obviously upset. I was still confused. I didn't see any reason for him to be mad. I at least expected a thank you. I mean, it wasn't like I had done anything wrong.

"So ya did," Barbossa repeated, not even bothering to look at the charts. He glared at me, "And ya slept with Sparrow." I had just about had it at this point. I had only met Jack because of Barbossa. If he hadn't wanted me to sleep with Jack then he shouldn't have sent me on this errand. It was all his fault really and now he was trying to punish me for it. That wasn't working for me.

Feeling irritable, I stood up and said, "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but I risked a lot for you to get those charts and you aren't even grateful to me for them. I can't ever set foot in Tortuga now because people will be after me there. And why do you care what Jack and me do? Is that really a concern of yours?" I glared right back at Barbossa.

Barbossa stood very still and looked at me thoughtfully for a long moment. Out of the blue, his demeanor changed. Going back to his usual captain-like attitude, Barbossa said, "I thank ye fer gettin' those charts fer me. I'm sure it was difficult for ya. But now there's another concern. What do we do with ya now? Ya can't go back ta Tortuga, can ya?"

I thought for a moment and then frowned. Barbossa was right. I couldn't go back to Tortuga. If I couldn't go back to Tortuga, then where would I go? Would I have to keep sailling on the Black Pearl? As I stood thinking about all this, I couldn't help but notice Barbossa out of the corner of my eye. He was looking out the window of the cabin with a very odd expression on his face. It looked like the saddest face I had ever seen before. Barbossa's turquoise blue eyes looked very sad and he looked like he was in a deep sort of emotional pain. I also noticed that he had failed to answer my question about Jack. Something fishy was going on.

"No, I don't think I can go back to Tortuga," I said with a frown. "But isn't there some town nearby that you can drop me off at? You don't mind me staying on this ship a bit longer...do you?" I suddenly felt panicky. What if Barbossa wouldn't let me stay on the ship? That meant I would have to go back to Tortuga and then I would obviously be caught for stealing.

Luckily, Barbossa said, "Nay, I don't mind. You will stay with the ship until we reach the next town. Then ya can leave and go on yer way. How does that sound ta ya, Miss Cook? I don't really see any other options for us at the moment. But of course, if ya have a better idea, feel free ta go right ahead and voice it aloud. No need ta be shy."

I didn't have a better idea so I just shook my head and said, "No, that'll be fine." Barbossa and I stared at each other in silence for a few minutes. I could see his eyes fixing on my leg. I frowned and suddenly felt like I was naked and he was seeing right through me. Trying to get out of this very awkward situation, I said, "So...I'm rather tired since I spent all night getting those charts. I think I'd like to rest a little bit. Can I sleep here or is there somewhere else you'd like me to rest?"

"Hm?" Barbossa asked, looking distracted. I frowned at him. He obviously had something on his mind. Finally, he processed my question and then said, "This is fine. I told ya it was yer room earlier, remember?" Barbossa made his way to the door and then paused there. I tensed where I was sitting in the bed. I wasn't sure what to expect from him. Would he yell at me?

Barbossa was wearing that pained expression again. Something was hurting him. My heart immediately went out to him and I wished there was something I could do for him. When Barbossa spoke again, his voice was unnaturally gentle, "Thank ye again for getting the charts. I've been after these fer years now. I couldn't have gotten them without yer help."

I hadn't been expected that from Barbossa. Glad that he hadn't yelled at me, I replied with a smile, "You're welcome. I hope they help you find your treasure." I expected Barbossa to leave, so I swung my legs under the covers of the bed and laid down on my side. When I realized Barbossa was still standing in the doorway, I looked at him curiously and asked, "What?"

Barbossa opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. Finally, he asked, "Yer feelin' alright, aren't ya?" That was one of the most random questions ever. Having no idea why he had just asked me that when I obviously wasn't sick, I replied in a dubious voice, "Yeah, I'm feeling just fine..." I let my sentence trail off and I gave Barbossa a confused expression.

He stood in the doorway for one more moment and then questioned me, "Sparrow didn't hurt ya at all, did he?" Jack? Hurt me? Why on earth would Jack do that? Jack had made love to me; not hurt me. Totally not getting where Barbossa was coming from, I shook my head and said, "No, Jack didn't hurt me." Wanting to get out of this awkward situation, I said, "I'm pretty tired so..."

Barbossa took my hint and nodded. He gave me one last look with those sad blue eyes of his before he turned and stepped out of my cabin. He shut the door behind him with a little click. Left all alone in hte dark, I snuggled under the covers and buried my head in the pillow. As I lay there, I wondered what was wrong with Barbossa. Maybe he was sleepy. Or maybe he had been drinking. Realizing that I would never know, I tried to cast the thoughts aside and just sleep. That wasn't hard to do. I was asleep within moments.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Bern? Bern, wake up!" a voice said in my ear. I frowned as I jolted out of sleep. I was so tired and I had been having a good dream. I was back in Jack's bed and he had been caressing me just like last night. I wondered if I would ever see Jack again. Would I ever feel his strong arms around me again? All I could do was hope so.

Since I had kept my eyes shut and was ignoring the voice in my ear, a second voice joined in, "Bernadette Cook! Wake up!" This time, hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me. This time, I really was up. I jerked myself into a sitting position and rubbed my eyes. Pintel and Ragetti were standing above my bed, looking at me a bit too closely for comfort. I automatically backed away from them on the be as I rubbed my eyes to get a bit more room.

Frowning, I looked at the window to try to tell what time it was. Unable to tell much, I yawned and asked the two, "What time is it? I just fell asleep! I'm so tired. Did we reach another town or something?" I certainly hoped that they had a good reason for waking me up. If they had woken me up just to ask about those shitty charts again, I was totally going to blow up.

"The captain requests that you eat dinner with him," Pintel said, taking a step backwards and releasing my shoulders that I was now awake. It took me a few moments to register what he was saying. Dinner? Already? Had I really slept for a good twelve hours? Sighing, I protested, "But I'm still tired and I'm not hungry. I just got back!"

Pintel shrugged at me and gave me a rather sympathetic look, "Sorry, captain's orders." I made a face and crossed my arms. In a bad mood, I asked, "Does the captain have another one of those goddamned dresses that he wants me to wear?" Pintel and Ragetti looked at each other and then shook their head. Thank god for that.

Seeing the relief on my face, Ragetti tried to make me feel better and said, "It didn't look that bad, you know. It actually looked rather nice." I stared at Ragettti with an incredulous look while Pintel grinned and immediately sided with his friend, "Yeah, it was rather nice. I especially liked the neckline. It was very...uh...fashionable."

I remembered how the too-big neckline had pretty much dropped to my navel. I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, slapping Ragetti playfully as I said, "Okay, okay, knock it off you two." Before I went straight to dinner, I risked a look in the mirror. My jaw dropped and I gasped, "Oh my god, I look terrible! I can't see the captain like this!"

"Eh..." Pintel said, frowning slightly. Ragetti frowned too and then attempted a, "It's not so bad really..." I had to disagree with that. I really did look that bad. My eyes were puffy, my hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in a century, and my cheeks were very pale. I looked around for something to do to improve my looks. Where was that brush Barbossa had used for my hair the other day? I moved to a cabinet and opened it, wondering if the brush was in there.

"Uh, Bern?" Pintel asked. "What are you doing?" I opened the cabinet and started weeding through it. Not bothering to look back at Pintel, I called back, "Looking for a hairbrush. What do you think I'm doing?" I searched the entire cabinet and found nothing. Cramming all the items back into it, I cursed, "Shit."

"The captain said he was kind of in a hurry..." Ragetti said, looking at me nervously. Not seeing how that mattered, I turned to face Ragetti, still pissed about the hairbrush and shrugged, "So? I don't see how that matters." Ragetti shuffled his feet and replied, "The captain wanted to talk to you right away. He said it was rather important. It's usually best not to keep the captain waiting."

"Well, yeah," I replied kind of rudely, still frowning at my reflection in the mirror. "I don't see how that really matters though as I look like shit right now. You're not saying I should abandon my hair and go dine with him right this second are you?" I peered at Ragetti rather incredulously. No way was I going anywhere looking like this.

"Yup, that's exactly what we're saying," Pintel informed me. "I'm sorry to do this to you, Bern, but we've gotta follow the captain's orders." Pintel grabbed one of my arms and Ragetti grabbed my other. They started leading me across the room. Great. So I was going to have to see Captain B looking like a sleepless idiot.

As I was literally dragged along, I asked the two curiously, "What does the captain want to talk to me about? Why's it so important?" Ragetti looked sad and replied, "He didn't tell us. I even asked him, but he refused to say anything more. I guess you'll have to find out when you get there." Ragetti was right; that was my only choice. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope that this wasn't going to be about Jack Sparrow.