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The seas had been rough and Meg didn't exactly have the best crew on her ship. She had to fight to get anyone to even join her. Most men wouldn’t hear about a woman captain, said it was bad luck to even have a woman on the ship. So she had to offer incentive to them, better pay, and a shorter term on the ship. Just one trip was all she asked of anyone. And that time was up for most of them.
A few stragglers who just needed the money stayed on board with her, but most of the others left, claiming that if they stayed on her ship too long the bad luck would rub off on them permanently.
Now Meg had never really ran into any trouble and the fact that everyone claimed bad luck always got to her. She’d almost given up a few times and just went back into some kind of normal life. But somehow she always ended up getting enough men for her crew to go back out again.
She’d been out on the waters for at least a year now, only setting anchor to board another ship and take what she and her crew could get their hands on and splitting it equally between them all. The only captain out there who didn't take more than their fair share and still no one wanted to be a part of her crew. Their loss.
Her ship was docked at a small town known for being easy to recruit for trips and she was currently making her way to one of the open pubs where the crewmen were usually found. But she was stopped short by a tall scruffy looking man. Meg readied herself for trouble, knowing she had at least some sort of reputation around these parts. But instead the man gave a top of his hat to her and a smile crept across his face.
“Mornin’ ma’am. Heard you were lookin’ for some new crew members.”
Meg just stared at him for a moment, no one had ever approached her to join her crew, it had always been her having to scour the bottom for whoever she could take.
“Might be. Depends on who you are and what you've got to offer” she said, meeting his eyes for the first time with her own small smirk.
"Name’s Benny Lafitte ma’am,” he took his hat off and held a hand out to her, “Heard you’re a fair captain who treats her crewman fairly. Don’t hear much about anyone like that ‘round here anymore.”
Meg took ahold of Benny’s hand and gave it her best firm shake.
“Well Benny. I guess if you’re lookin’ then you've got yourself a place on my ship. Think you could help me round up a few more men?”
Benny just nodded his head and made his way into the pub Meg was on her way to. Within ten minutes he had an entire crew of men ready to board Meg’s ship. Maybe Meg was a little impressed by how quickly Benny had been able to put a crew together, but she still had to inspect the men he’d found.
She lined them all up outside of where her ship was docked, giving them all a good once over, Benny included. Most of them still had their teeth at least, but a lot of them looked a little straggly. Well, can’t exactly be choosy in this business she figured.
For Benny’s help Meg offered him extra pay but he refused it. “All in a day’s work” he’d said, and Meg had smiled and sent him off to start swabbing the deck with a few others before they set out.
They’d been out on the water for a few months now and this crew had proven to be one of her best yet. They’d acquired more jewels and gold than she had on any other trip, and she figured a lot of that had to do with Benny. He’d all but become her right-hand man, sending the men out to do their jobs when Meg was busy on her own. Again she’d offered him more pay, but he’d refused it saying he only wanted to get paid what the other men were.
One night after boarding a ship thought to be abandoned, Meg had ended up getting shot in the leg. Benny of course had been right by her side, ordering the men to finish up and grab what they could then get back on board their ship. He had scooped her up and headed back to her quarters. Without a word he’d ripped the pants around her wound and used the cloth to tie around it and stop the bleeding until he found the right things to remove the bullet.
Meg was losing blood fairly quickly and within a short amount of time she had blacked out. When she woke she was in her bed with proper dressing around her wound, all the bleeding almost completely stopped. Her eyes fluttered opened and scanned the almost dark room only to stop short on the silhouette near the end of her bed.
She sat up quickly, thinking the worst, that maybe she’d been captured. But she remembered Benny carrying her off the other ship and stopped short.
“Benny?”
His head shot up from an in and out sleep he’d been in, constantly checking the bleeding of Meg’s leg throughout the night.
“Hey there darlin’…” he stopped and corrected himself, clearing his throat slightly. “Mornin’ ma’am…how’s that leg feelin’?”
Meg caught the sort of affectionate tone in his voice and leaned over to light the lantern by her bedside, groaning a little bit from straining the wound. But Benny was quick to her side to make her lie back down.
“Careful now, don’t wanna bust it back open. Did my best stitchin’ job on it ya know” he smiled giving a nod toward the wound.
“Benny…I really wish you’d take that raise I've been trying to give you. You’re the reason I've got this crew and now I owe you even more.” Meg knew that if Benny hadn't been there she may not have made it off that ship.
“Wouldn't be fair to everybody else. I appreciate it, but I was just doin’ my job is all. You’re the captain of this ship, we don’t sail without you.”
Another affectionate tone to his voice now joined by a smile made Meg reach over to place her hand over Benny’s much larger hand. Meg wasn't blind, Benny was a nice looking man, but he was also a part of her crew.
“Why’re you so noble Benny Lafitte? Any other man would have left me there and taken the money for themselves, along with my ship.”
“Other men must not be as faithful to their captains I reckon…”
Maybe Meg was reading Benny wrong but she could have sworn this was some weird way of flirting. Or at least she hoped so. She shifted her weight from the wounded leg and leaned up to grab Benny by his collar and gently tug him down to her level.
The light from the lantern next to them flickered on both their faces as Meg pulled Benny into a soft kiss. “Consider this your raise” she mumbled between their lips on each others.
The next few years being on and off the water was always spent with Benny Lafitte by Meg’s side. Men from all over fought to join their crew now, they quickly became legendary for their yearly trips out and all the loot they’d manage to come back with.
Captain Meg and her right-hand man Benny Lafitte were known countries over, and any time they docked they had a line of men to inspect being able to pick and choose who they brought aboard.
They traveled together for years after, eventually making what they had official and making Captain Meg, Captain Meg Lafitte. They had a good ten years out on the waters together until one thing forced them to dock for good.
A dark night together in that same bed, Meg rolling over to smile at Benny and grabbing his hand to lay across her stomach. “I reckon we’re gonna add another one to this family.” And that was when they hung it up for good. Taking the money they’d accrued over the years and buying themselves a nice house to raise their family in.