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Straight on Til Morning	By : LuluPopalot Category: M through R > Peter Pan > Het Views: 5319 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
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- 9
Sorry it's been so long between, but time with the family for the holidays was a bit of an impediment for writing/updating. Hope everyone (in the US) had a lovely Turkey Day!
Thanks for reading.
-L
Laura awoke with a cramp in her neck where she had slept leaning against some boxes. Groaning, she rolled her head around and did her best to massage the tight muscles.
‘Good morning to you too,’ Church said lightly.
‘You’re entirely too cheerful,’ she ground out, squinting up at him.
‘Sleep well?’ he asked, ignoring her morning mood.
‘Super,’ she said, pushing up to her feet where she stretched again.
‘Then you are prepared for our lesson, yes?’
‘Before coffee?’ she groaned.
‘I’m afraid there is no coffee on board,’ Church said, although he didn’t sound particularly apologetic.
‘My kingdom for a Starbucks grande white chocolate mocha!’ she cried to the sky.
Church chuckled. ‘You are an unusual woman.’
‘Hell, just being a woman on this damn boat is unusual,’ she grumbled.
Church shook his head. ‘We must work on your use of such foul language,’ he said.
‘What? Are you a priest or something?’ she asked, irritated.
‘I was a pastor of a small parish in Spain before I became a sailor.’
Laura was dumbstruck for a moment. She laughed lightly and shook her head, pulling her hair away from her face. ‘That’s what I get for asking, huh? I’ll try to watch it, but I’m not making any promises. This is the first time I can say I’m actually cussing like a sailor.’
He laughed. ‘Trying is all I ask. So are you ready for your lesson?’ he said, handing her a sword.
‘We need to redefine your understanding of early,’ she muttered as she took the sword and followed him to a place he had obviously cleared out for this purpose. The rest of the crew continued with their morning chores around them.
They were an hour into the lesson when Laura finally broke down and asked for a break. Her sword arm burned and all of her back muscles were screaming. Church relented, and they each had a drink of water.
‘You’re a really good teacher,’ she said, stretching her arms to work out some soreness.
‘You’re a good student,’ he replied.
Laura smiled smugly. “Told ya so.”
‘With more practice, you would be a formidable opponent,” he said.
‘But not more practice today, right?’ she asked. She knew her arm wouldn’t hold out much longer against Church’s assault.
‘No, not today,’ Church said. ‘I believe we both have tasks to do today.’
The rest of the day passed easily. Smee had brought her more clothes to mend after her lesson and she sat in her regular spot until well after lunch.
As the day wore on, the crew began to buzz with barely concealed energy. They still worked, but their shouts were louder, and they laughed easier. Finally, she grabbed Church’s attention as he walked by.
‘What’s gotten into the crew?’ she asked.
‘The Captain has given leave to some revelry tonight, seeing as how we reach land tomorrow,’ he answered.
‘We get to Neverland tomorrow?’ she asked, suddenly excited too.
‘Aye,’ he said, smiling at how her face had lit up. ‘And tonight we will celebrate a bit.’
‘Like a party?’ she asked.
‘A bit, yes.’
Thinking of partying pirates made Laura a bit nervous. ‘I might just stay out of the way for that,’ she said.
Church shook his head. ‘You’ll be safe. The crew knows the punishment for messing with you now.’
Laura smiled wryly. ‘Then maybe I’ll have some fun after all.’
‘I hope you do,’ Church said, and then excused himself.
********************************************
As night fell, whoops of joy sounded as large bottles of rum were passed around. Laura wandered the deck, hearing parts of stories and songs as she moved quietly between the groups. She told herself she was not looking for the captain, then called herself a liar when she saw him at the helm. He stood out against the night in his ice blue coat and white shirt, even with the ever present feathered hat.
She was studying him so intently that she bumped into one of the pirates just as he was turning up his jug of rum.
‘Oi! Watch it!’ he cried, as he turned to face her. He had to turn because the eye closest to her was covered by a patch.
‘I’m sorry!’ she said, shying away from the man.
When he saw who she was, he glanced up at the captain with his one eye, then back to her. ‘Aw, s’alright,’ he grumbled and turned back to his group.
Laura was turning away when one of the other men called out and asked her to join them in a drink.
She studied them warily for a moment before shrugging and joining their circle.
‘Sure,’ she said. The man with the patch passed the jug and she forced herself to take a drink without hesitation.
‘Yuck!’ she cried, as she wiped her mouth and passed the jug along. The men laughed and she laughed along.
‘As I was sayin’’ one of the men started, before a man beside him elbowed him roughly in the ribs.
‘What choo were sayin’ ain’ fittin’ for a lady’s ears, Pitt,’ he said, throwing a not-so-subtle look her way.
‘Oh please!’ she cried, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig for effect. ‘ I’m all for chivalry, guys, but where I come from, the ‘ladies’ have as many bawdy stories as you men do.’ She passed the jug back to Pitt, who was looking at her with rounded eyes. ‘So come on. Were you talking about one of the many women you must have in ports around the world?’
Pitt blushed furiously as the other men threw cat-calls and crude comments his way. He took a long pull from the bottle before thrusting it to the next pirate. As the ruckus died down, he told his story about how he had seduced a tavern wench once, only to have her wake in the morning to find him filling his pockets with anything valuable in the room.
‘She chased me down the street, and me in nothin’ but me skivvies!’ he said, as the group erupted in laughter.
Pitt looked at Laura for her reaction as the jug was passed her way. Looking at him, she shrugged.
‘That’s what she gets for letting a pirate in her bed, eh?’ and smiled as shouts of approval went up around her, and rough hands clapped her on the back.
‘Miss, we all been a-wondering,’ the man with the patch started, looking around at his cohorts, ‘how ye managed to end up in the middle of the sea where we fished ye out.’ At this, he leaned in conspiratorially, and whispered, ‘Some o’ the crew says ye’s a mermaid here to bewitch the cap’n.’
Laura laughed as she looked at the faces around her, now staring at her with open curiosity. ‘I hate to disappoint,’ she said, ‘but I’m no mermaid. I’m afraid my story resembles Pitt’s a bit. Except I was the tavern wench, not the pirate.’
‘What happened?’ one of the men asked.
‘I met a handsome man, and since it had been sometime since I had met a handsome man, I let my guard down,’ she shrugged, trying to be flippant even as the anger and embarrassment mixed with the alcohol in her system to make her nauseous. ‘I don’t remember much but I’m sure he drugged me and threw me over board. Next thing I remember was you kind gentleman coming to my rescue.’
‘That weren’t sportin’ of ‘im, miss,’ one of the men said fiercely. ‘Not sportin’ atall.’ Grumbles of agreement went around the group.
‘I agree,’ she said. ‘And thanks for the sympathy, but I thought this was a party? Tell me a story or sing me a song!’ she cried, and the men raised a cheer around her.
Laughing, Laura realized something had shifted in the crew. She felt accepted, comfortable in their midst. And they felt comfortable with her now, too. She tossed a look over her shoulder, and met the eyes of the captain looking at her from the helm. He gave her a small smile, and dipped his head to her. She smiled back, and dropped him a nod. Once she had turned away, she still felt his gaze, but she blamed the alcohol for playing tricks on her.
Quick AN: With my iPod on shuffle, U2's Party Girl came on right after I typed in the title. Hurray for signs from the fanfiction gods!
"I know a girl, a girl called Party
Party Girl.
I know she wants more than a party
Party Girl.
But she won't tell me her name,
Oh no, not me."-Paul Hewson
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Straight on Til Morning