Thank you as always for reading and reviewing…and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY for all you Americans reading this! :D God Bless the USA!

"Aye love! There you go!" shouted Jack with a laugh as he and Paige circled one another, swords clanging together as they parried each other's blows. Jack had been instructing and teaching Paige over the past several days on how to properly hold and handle a sword. She had been a quick learner and was nearly ready for her first plundering.

Paige practically glowed under Jack's praise as they continued their mock fight on the deck of the Black Pearl. Several members of the crew gathered around them to watch the spectacle, placing bets on who would win the battle. The odds were tipping quite drastically in Jack Sparrow's favor as the fight wore on.

Paige grunted with effort as she dove quickly, narrowly evading the tip of Jack's sword as he thrust it toward her aggressively. Jack smirked in amusement as he noted how fast Paige's reflexes were. She was a natural…and there was just something incredibly seductive about a woman who knew how to fight. Seeing her now, her dark wavy hair splayed out and her chest rising and falling quickly, her fighting stance and sword in hand, green eyes flashing with a mixture of excitement and anticipation…it was all so incredibly attractive.

"Have I worn you out Captain?" asked Paige, her eyes glittering with mischief, "Are you getting a bit winded and need to catch your breath?"

Jack's dark eyes glittered, matching her amused gaze, and shook his head, "No love…you have no idea how long I can go on."

Paige flushed at that when she saw the look in Jack's eyes and realized the double meaning in his words. Noticing he had flustered her a bit, Jack took the opportunity to make his move. He lunged toward her, stabbing his sword out quickly. Paige was caught off guard and barely had time to parry the blow and retaliate with one of her own. The continued running around the deck, clashing sword against sword, blow against blow, each waiting for the other to make a mistake. They were both growing tired, having fought for quite some time, and were beginning to show it. Their breaths became more and more labored and their blows less passionate as they circled one another.

Paige paused for a moment, hoping to catch a quick breath, when Jack moved without warning. She cried out as Jack grabbed her and threw her against the mast, his sword pressing up against her neck right beneath her chin. She cursed in frustration and sighed as she realized he had beaten her once again.

Jack smiled in amusement, "No worries love…you fight beautifully. I'm just more experienced than you at these sort of things."

Paige sighed again, clearly not feeling much relief at Jack's words. Jack couldn't help but laugh a little as he noted the annoyance that flashed in her brilliant green eyes.

"Love…you're perfect," he whispered quietly into her ear, just so she could hear him, "Absolutely, unbelievably perfect."

Her eyes, her eyes
make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair
falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday

Paige felt herself tremble as his breath warmed her skin. Jack pulled back a little so he could look her in the eyes. She felt herself drowning in their dark depths as he leaned in close and brushed his lips against hers, hesitantly, testing to see what her reaction would be. Paige took in a short, shaky breath before she leaned up a little, granting him full access to her mouth. Jack moaned a little as he kissed her, slowly and sweetly at first, but then with a passion and hunger Paige had never experienced before. After several moments, Jack pulled away slowly and looked back into her eyes.

"As I said love…absolutely perfect…just the way you are."

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

The crew had begun to talk amongst themselves about the kiss between Jack and Paige earlier that day. Gibbs tried to get them to shut up and mind their own business but the crew couldn't help it. They had nothing else to do but discuss the matter and the possible implications it may have.

"I just don't like it," said Pintel, "What if he loses his focus?"

"Jack doesn't ever lose his focus," argued Gibbs with an annoyed sigh, "Don't you know yer own captain, man?"

"I's just sayin,'" said Pintel with a shrug, "It's been days now since we've plundered anything and all we did last time was go after that small little ship that had nothing but a little food and rum!"

"That's cause the Captain's been busy healing from his wound," said Gibbs, giving Pintel a hard glare, "And he's training Miss Hawthorne so she can become a proper pirate. She's got talent me boy…real talent. It's in her blood."

Pintel grunted, "Aye, but she's just one pirate…there's a whole crew of them on board this vessel and they're all ready to get on with the plunderin'!"

"How's about you gentlemen allow me to run my ship as I see fit?"

Pintel jumped, startled by Jack's sudden appearance. Paige was standing just behind him, glowering at Pintel over Jack's shoulder. Pintel seemed to be the ring leader of the gossip on the ship and he was the one who seemed to be giving her the hardest time out of all of them.

"Sorry, Captain," muttered Pintel, "Just voicing my concerns is all."

"Those aren't your concerns to be voiced, discussed, considered or even thought of," retorted Jack, his voice hard and firm, "You'll do your assigned duties and follow my orders…the rest is for meself, Mister Gibbs and Miss Hawthorne to worry about."

Pintel looked surprised to hear Paige included in the upper ranks of the Black Pearl. He gave her a disdainful glance before he replied to Jack.

"Aye, aye Captain," he said with a sigh, "My apologies. I'll see to it that things in the galley are taken care of."

Jack nodded curtly as Pintel made a quick retreat back into the depths of the ship.

"Sorry bout that Jack," said Gibbs with a frustrated sigh.

"No need for apologies from you," said Jack as he reached out for Paige's hand and drew her closer to him, "It's not you who should be apologizing."

"They just don't trust me yet," said Paige, her eyes glittering with determination, "I'll prove it to them…I'll show them I can do this and that I'm worth keeping around."

"Love, of course you're worth keeping around," said Jack as he gave her a meaningful look.

Paige flushed, "Yes…but I need to prove to the rest of the crew that that is the case."

"Perhaps a plundering is in order then?" suggested Gibbs with an excited gleam in his eyes, "If her first plunderin' is a success the crew may be more…open to her presence on board."

Jack grunted, "Shouldn't matter but, aye…yes a plundering should do it. I'll chart a course in the morning and we'll set sail."

"Aye, aye Captain," said Gibbs, "Sleep well."

Jack and Paige bid Gibbs farewell and retreated to Jack's stateroom. Jack took off his gear and climbed into bed. Paige slid in next to him and was pleasantly surprised when Jack scooted over closer to her, wrapping his arms around her as he gently kissed her forehead. He moved down slowly until he kissed her lips, slowly and gently and then gradually deepened the kiss. His hands roamed her slender frame as he explored her body. Paige trembled and moaned a little under his touch as she too ran her hands over his toned body. Jack moved deftly and climbed on top of Paige, his lips never leaving hers as he pressed himself gently down on her body. He pulled away after a moment and looked into her eyes, his dark gaze full of passion and desire.

"You are truly beautiful, Paige," he said, his voice low and gravely with desire, "You are the most unbelievable woman I have ever met."

Paige smiled as she traced the curve of his jaw line with her finger, "And you, Jack are the most amazing man I have ever met. You embody the very essence of what I've wanted for so long."

"Aye? And what's that love?" asked Jack in-between kissing her forehead and cheeks.

"Freedom," breathed Paige, in pure ecstasy under Jack's gentle touch.

Jack smiled as he kissed her, moving lower as he began to make his way down her body. It wasn't long before they were making love, slowly at first, looking into each other's eyes, and then fiercely with a passion that was untamable. It was late into the night before they finally fell asleep, tangled in each other's arms.

"Blast it!" shouted James Norrington as he slammed his fist down on the chart table on board the Interceptor, "Where the hell is he?"

"No idea sir," reported the soldier, "No one at port has seen Jack Sparrow or his ship in many days. No ships have been reported missing or attacked either. The closest thing to an attack was on a small vessel but no one was injured. Whoever attacked them just pilfered their rum and food supplies."

Commodore Norrington stood up and paced anxiously back and forth as he tried to contemplate what this might mean. It wasn't like Jack Sparrow to go so long without pillaging at least one large vessel. And no one had even seen the Black Pearl in weeks. Something was wrong…something had changed. He just prayed that his precious fiancé was still alive and well.

"Should we turn back?" suggested the soldier after a moment.

Norrington whirled around on the man, his eyes flashing with fury at the mere suggestion of giving up and going home.

"Do you see my Paige on this vessel, soldier?" he asked through his clenched teeth.

"N…no sir," stammered the very nervous looking young man.

"Then we are not going home!" roared Norrington as he commenced his pacing, "We won't be going back until Paige is onboard this ship, the Black Pearl is at the bottom of the sea and Jack Sparrow is in Davy Jones' locker!"

The soldier swallowed nervously before he replied, "Y…yes sir. We'll…we'll keep searching."

"Good," muttered Norrington as he studied his chart again, trying to figure out where Jack Sparrow and his bloody Black Pearl had disappeared to, "Where are you Sparrow? Where the hell are you?"

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