Chapter Ten

Katherine was going out of her mind. She was pacing around the cabin, even though it made her stomach ache. In a way, she liked the ache, because it took her mind partially away from her nagging worry that Jack Sparrow had hurt her Sebastian. She longed to go out on deck and see what had happened, but she was only in her nightdress, and the idea of pirates seeing her in so little terrified her.

Jack's seen it, a tiny voice in her head said. Katherine told herself that she had no choice where Sparrow was concerned. But a sadness rose in her chest; she had been convinced that Jack Sparrow was kind and good and gentle, but the memory of his blazing, angry face, his fist pulled back, made her tremble.

The door burst open loudly and Katherine froze. Sparrow was framed in the doorway, the grey light of the afternoon making his dark hair oddly shiny. Katherine looked at the red bandana he had wrapped around his forehead, the beads and trinkets entangled in his hair, and realised that she would never understand this man. He looked back at her, his brown eyes dark and irritated. She glanced down and saw that his feet were bare.

"Where's Sebastian?" she asked, in a voice which trembled.

"How the hell should I know?" Sparrow retorted, stepping into the cabin and slamming the door shut behind him. Katherine took an automatic step back.

She was scared, but determined. "So you haven't... hurt him?"

Sparrow raised a dark eyebrow but said nothing, going to a chest in the corner and pulling out a bottle of dark liquid, which he took a long drink from. He paused, then offered her the bottle. "Rum?"

"Please!" she said, and her voice came out strangled and hysterical. "Where is my brother?"

"For his own sake, he wants to be scrubbin' the deck," Sparrow said, replacing the bottle into the chest. He went to stride past her, towards the washroom door, which was behind the bed. But he froze as she grabbed his arm.

"Have you hurt him?" she demanded, and he looked at her, his eyes ablaze. She looked away.

"I am no monster, Katherine." He looked at her hand on his arm at the same moment that she did. She stared at it in surprise. "I understand him being protective," Sparrow said quietly, and spontaneously their eyes met, and she saw something lurking behind his. Then he looked away and shook her hand off his arm, going into the washroom.

She sat down on the bed, her heart racing for a reason she couldn't explain. She watched Jack Sparrow take off his shirt, revealing his golden torso. Then he reached for rag and dipped it into a basin of water, before cleaning his lip with it. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

"If you were any sort of woman, yer'd be doing this, not me," he said suddenly. "I helped with your wounds."

She wanted to go to him, but was too scared to move. What if he was, as she suspected, deceptive? After all, what sort of woman would trust a pirate? She glanced at her hands, clasped together on her knees, then back up at Sparrow. His back was facing her. "I hope Sebastian didn't hurt you too badly," she said honestly.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, darlin'," he said cynically, "I've had worse."

"So have I," she said softly, and he turned around then, his expression soft. She shook her head, and rose from the bed, going over to the window, watching the sea.

She heard Jack rinsing and splashing, and tried to ignore it. She wrapped her arms around herself, imagining only for a moment that they were the strong arms of Sparrow, and that he was kind and good and gentle. She had been foolish enough to be tricked by Dalton; the memory of that moment in the kitchen made her stomach drop, and she vowed never to trust any man, apart from Victor and Sebastian.

A tear dribbled down her cheek. She wiped it away hastily.

"I'm sorry, luv," Jack called, softly.

She couldn't bring herself to look around at him; she couldn't risk it. "Whatever for, Captain Sparrow?" she replied dutifully.

"Being... bein' aggressive." There was a long, tense pause. "You didn't deserve it," he said quietly.

She ignored him. She had to ignore him. She focused on the sea but was overcome with the realisation that she had no idea what exactly there was to fear from giving in to Jack Sparrow's words. It frustrated Katherine; she knew the answer was just out of her grasp, taunting her but never allowing her to fully understand.

"Katherine?" Jack prompted, and she heard splashing again. She could almost hear the grin spread across his handsome features. "Are yer ignorin' me, Kathy Kath? Miss Kitty Kat?"

A smile broke across Katherine's face before she could stop it. "Jackie Jack," she laughed, staring at the sea. Then she forced the smile away. "May I have some clothes?"

A pause, again, but this time it was utterly lovely in a way Katherine didn't even understand; then, right at her ear, Jack Sparrow murmured, "Do you have to have clothes, darlin'?"

Katherine shrieked and turned around, staring into Jack's blazing face. He was grinning and it terrified her; she let out a tiny squeak of fear.

He sighed, stepping back, disappointed. She swallowed, captivated by his lovely eyes, terrified and awestruck. He reached out slowly and placed his hand on her cheek. It was warm and Katherine's stomach twisted pleasantly. "Mouse," he said, with a tiny smile. "Help yourself to clothes, darlin'." He went to put his boots on, before leaving.

Katherine stared at the door for a long time after he had gone.

Author's Note
Another chapter! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'm on my lunch-break from school now so everybody, please pity me, for I have to go back for my Ethics lesson. Lol.
Cole