Ash woke slowly in the hazy morning light, content and warm with Jack beside her. When she opened her eyes, she found him awake and watching her. She frowned slightly.

"How long have you been watching me sleep?"

"Quite a while," Jack admitted, "I got up once to use the necessities and check the skies, then came back under the blankets to be beside you. You slept through the entire thing, by the way."

Ash hummed and stretched, yawning a bit.

"Jahir has a theory that a grenade could detonate right next to me while I slept and I'd sleep through the noise," she said dryly, "What were you checking the skies for?"

"When the sky is red early in the morning, it means there's a storm coming," he said, "That's why I'm always up so early."

"Oh," she said, surprised.

She had never heard such a thing. But that didn't mean it wasn't true. Jack had been sailing for years, so if he had seen red skies in the morning and there was a storm later, and it happened often enough for him to believe they were connected, perhaps there was some validity in the claim. Still, there was probably some scientific explanation behind it that she was curious about.

"But now that you're awake, we should go and visit our good friend the Rogue," Jack said briskly, giving her a little push.

Ash sighed. She did not want to leave the warm, soft bed. But if she always did only the things she wanted, she wouldn't be very successful in life. So she got up and pulled on her clothes, grumbling under her breath. Jack pulled on his boots and effects as she dressed, and once they were both ready, he slung an arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the door.

"Come on, you'll feel better once you've had some tea," he said cheerily.

Ash shook her head.

"I hate you morning people," she growled.

Jack did not reply, but towed her downstairs to a table. Ash was still half asleep and yawning when Rose brought over some food and a steaming mug of tea for Ash, a bottle of rum for Jack. Ash shook her head, bemused. Did he ever stop drinking? She didn't really want food, because her stomach wasn't growling yet, and wouldn't be for a few hours. But Jack would give her that look if she didn't eat something, so she forced down a few pieces of fruit.

"Scusatemi?" a voice said suddenly.

Ash froze and slowly looked up. A tall, lanky young man stood there, dressed in a purple shirt and gold pants, with grey leather boots rising just past his knees. He wore a thin, long sword with an ornate hilt at his side, a rapier. His hair was a mess of light red curls, his skin was lightly tanned, and his eyes were stone grey.

"Ahhh... Sì?" Ash replied awkwardly.

She only knew a few words of Italian. But the man smiled broadly now, the anxious expression on his face melting away.

"Capitana, it is you!" he said enthusiastically, taking a step forward.

Alarmed, Ash rose, caught between the impulse to stab him or run away.

"What?" she asked, bewildered.

"Mi dispiance," the young man replied, his face falling once again, "But you seemed so familiar... Wait! That's it! I knew your parents, sailed with them for years! You're the spitting image of your mother!"

Ash's mouth fell open during his speech, and by the end of it she was paler than normal, the look on her face as if someone hit her with a frying pan. Jack got to his feet, ready to catch her in case she passed out.

"What the – " she began, then shook her head and went on, "Who the fuck are you?"

"I am Renzo Luciano," he replied, a touch awkwardly, then gave a formal, graceful bow.

"I... you..." Ash stammered, then her scrambling brain stilled with one stark realization, "How do I know you knew them? You think I'd trust just anyone?"

Wordlessly, he pulled a thin silver chain over his head and passed it to her. Dangling from that was a silver oval pendant, with hinges on one side. Ash opened the locket and her eyes widened at what she saw. There were three people in the small portrait. One was her. But no, it couldn't be. There was a man too, and between them, held in their arms, a tiny baby with the same golden hair and aqua eyes as the woman. She was the baby, she realized. The woman was her mother, the man had to be her father. Tears suddenly came to Ash's eyes at the implications hit her, and she turned her back to the Italian so he wouldn't see.

"They wanted me?" she asked.

It was hard to see them having a little family portrait made of their tiny family if she wasn't wanted.

"Sì," Luciano replied.

Ash took a deep breath, focusing all her willpower on not letting the tears fall. She took a moment to ensure her voice was even and calm as ever before speaking again.

"They loved me?"

"More than life itself," Luciano said softly.

Ash squeezed her eyes shut, and the tears fell down her cheeks. She immediately wiped them away with her sleeve, struggling to get herself under control. This was embarrassing.

"How... Why..." she gasped, her brain spinning and coming up with questions too fast for her mouth to keep up with, "What happened to them?"

"Alas, I know not," Luciano replied, sounding sorrowful, "This locket was a token your parents gave me when I left their crew. I heard they died sometime afterwards, but I don't know how or when. To be honest, I thought you too were lost all these years... until now. Thank you for saving me from that God forsaken island."

Sniffing as discreetly as possible, Ash slowly recalled he was one of the many men she had saved from being one of Jolly Roger's zombies.

"Forgive me for not coming to you sooner," Luciano went on, "I wanted to have a proper bath, rest, and change of clothes before formally presenting myself to you."

Taking a deep breath and pulling herself together, assured all traces of her crying were done and gone, she turned and attempted to give the locket back to him. He shook his head, refusing to take it.

"Keep it," he insisted, "I have my memories of your parents. I'm not sure you do."

Ash slowly closed her hand around the locket, feeling her emotions swirling around inside her.

"Grazie di cuore," she said, hoping her tone and expression revealed how much she meant it.

Renzo shrugged.

"Prego," he said easily.

Ash put the silver locket around her neck, her fingers brushing over it when it settled. At that moment, Jahir came from his own room, stopping when he noticed the expression on his captain's face and the awkward stiffness in Jack's body. He looked from Ash, to Jack, to the Italian. Something significant had just happened between them, he realized.

"Who is butterfly?" Jahir asked finally.

Renzo stiffened, his body language clearly signaling he was offended.

"I shall ignore the jealous jibes of ugly men," he sniffed indignantly.

A wide grin split Jack's face.

"He's talking about you, Jahir," he said cheerfully.

Jahir eyed Jack, as taciturn as ever.

"Your mother talked about me," he responded.

Jack's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and his torso shifted as if readying to take a step forward. Ash put a hand to his chest before he could move much more and put herself between the two men.

"Enough," she told them sternly.

It's like managing children, she thought.

"We have the Rogue to talk to," she reminded them, "We've delayed long enough. Time to be about our business."

"Capitana?" Renzo spoke up as the three of them made to leave.

They stopped and turned to look at him.

"Per favore... Let me join your crew, capitana. It's the least I can do to repay you for saving me, and it would honor the memory of your parents."

Ash hesitated. Technically, it wasn't her crew, and she had no right to allow him to join them. She looked up at Jack, silently asking permission. He looked back at her.

Jack knew while it might not be her crew, she would probably stab him if he barred the young man from joining. So he merely shrugged, telling her with his eyes that the choice was hers to make.

Jahir looked at them, realizing they were having some silent mental conversation. It looked like the Italian butterfly was going to be part of their crew after all now. He shook his head slowly.

"Please... no." Jahir groaned.

Ash finally looked away from Jack and settled her attention on Renzo.

"Welcome to the crew," she said.

Renzo smiled gratefully, while Jahir smacked his forehead with one broad palm.

"And you will have to get along with him," Ash told Jahir in a low voice as they left the Faithful Bride.

"When pigs fly, captain my captain," Jahir grumbled back.

Ash smiled to herself, but made sure he didn't see it. They all trouped through the town and down the hill to the King's Arm tavern, where they found the Rogue. As soon as he saw them, he led them into a private room where they wouldn't be overheard.

"It seems reasonable to me," the Rogue began, "That the mapmaker could have given one piece to each of his crew, and kept one for himself. But... he's dead. So the most logical place to look next would be his tomb."

Bringing up a map, the Rogue marked the location and told them exactly where to find it.

"Do let me know what you find," the Rogue said, "And come back if you run into any more snags."

"When do we sail?" Ash asked Jack as they stepped out of the tavern.

He looked over to the docks at the Black Pearl, where the crew were still ferrying supplies onto the ship.

"That might take a bit," he mused.

"Jahir and Renzo will go help them," Ash said, "That should speed things along. But I've got... personal supplies to go get."

Jack nodded, "Come to think of it, so do I. Tomorrow morning, then. We sail after breakfast."

Jahir and Renzo went to assist the rest of the crew, while Ash and Jack split up to get their own things seen to. Once her personal shopping was done, which took a few hours, she returned to the Faithful Bride for a bit of lunch. She hadn't seen Jack, and went down to the docks after she'd eaten. He wasn't there, either. And the crew was finishing up loading. She returned to the Faithful Bride and played cards with them, and their gaming lasted well into the day and into dinner. Ash ate with them, looking around for Jack. Still, he was no where to be seen, and she was starting to get concerned.

The sun had gone down, and she thought perhaps he had retired early, so she went upstairs to check. The room wasn't in darkness, but filled with the soft golden glow of candlelight from candles that were placed strategically around the room. A steaming bath was in the center of the room, and in the middle of that was Jack. Ash blinked and stopped short at the sight. She'd thought she'd die before she saw this. When he saw her, Jack grinned and extended one hand to her.

"I thought we'd have a nice, romantic bath together," he said, and held up a bottle in his other hand, "I even got your favorite wine."

Ash smiled and began to shed her clothes.

"What about you?" she teased gently.

Jack dropped his other hand behind the tub and brought up a second bottle, this one filled with the dark amber liquid that was sure to be rum. Still smiling, Ash climbed carefully into the bath with him, finding it to be just big enough to accommodate the two of them. She sighed as she settled her back against him and leaned her head on his chest. The warmth of the water around her was so relaxing, and as she sipped at her wine, she felt the familiar pleasant floating feeling again. She only had a bit though, and soon set the bottle back down again. Jack likewise had a few sips before setting down his bottle. For a few minutes, they simply enjoyed the quiet and the warmth together.

"Mmmm," Ash sighed finally, "This is nice."

"That was the general idea," Jack murmured in her ear, and she could hear the smirk in it.

He picked up an empty cup from the floor beside the tub and dipped it into the warm water. Shielding her face with one hand, he poured the water onto her head with the other, wetting her hair. This he did a few times, before working the seaweed powder she used into her wet locks. Ash moaned in bliss at the feel of his strong fingers gently but firmly massaging her scalp. He used the cup to rinse her hair again, then grabbed the vanilla scented soap bar near the tub. Before he could do anything with it though, Ash turned and kissed him heatedly. Jack almost dropped the soap, but Ash took it from his fingers before it fell, kissing him still.

This, Jack realized, was wonderful. Her lips were smooth and firm. She fitted her lips to his, molding their mouths together, the kiss sensual but burning. Jack let his fingers trail over her skin, marveling at the softness of it. The kiss could have lasted seconds, or hours, he didn't know. Time seemed to have stopped. But all too soon she pulled away, trailing kisses down his chest. He shivered as the cool air touched the skin her hot mouth left behind, his hands clenching as he resisted the urge to grab her and pull her back to his lips. Then he felt her hands on his shoulders. Opening his eyes, Jack saw she'd lathered the soap in her hands and was now running her hands over his body, washing him. He smiled faintly and decided to let her. He had to kneel, half out of the water in order for her to wash the lower part of his body. A faint blush rose to her cheeks as she washed the more secret parts of him, but she didn't stop. As he sank back into the water, Jack put a hand to the back of her neck and brought her close for another searing kiss.

Ash jumped slightly as she felt faint, sharp pressure on her lower lip, realizing he had lightly nipped her there. She gasped, then stiffened in surprise as she felt a foreign presence in her mouth, but relaxed when she realized it was only his tongue. Curious, she matched him, and didn't even notice when he took the soap from her. Her skin felt hot and flushed when he pulled away and began to wash her, and she was glad to stand up out of the water so the air could cool her heated skin. Jack moved his hands slowly over her body, and Ash realized that while his hands were rough, it was not an unpleasant sensation. She was glad to let him wash her and enjoyed the feel of his rough hands on her soft skin. But soon he was finished, and she was cold again, so she slid back down into the hot water.

The kissing continued, since it seemed neither of them could stop for a long length of time. Ash sighed as she experimented with this new way to use her mouth, and let her hands explore his body, squeezing slightly when she encountered the bulges of his arms. Slowly, without parting from their kissing, they stood, water streaming down their curves and into the tub. They had to break so they could both maneuver safely out of the bath and to breathe, and Jack took this opportunity to step over to a pile of towels left on a nearby chair. Picking one up, he unfurled it with a flourish with both hands to one side.

"Olé," he said, grinning over at her.

Ash couldn't help it. She dissolved into helpless laughter, trying to simultaneously cover her mouth and stop the sounds from escaping, not entirely sure she was supposed to laugh during such a serious and intense moment. But he was so ridiculous, she couldn't stop herself no matter how hard she tried. She laughed so hard, tears came to her eyes and her sides hurt from lack of oxygen. When she finally settled, her eyes still danced, and she couldn't drop the smile from her lips.

"Give me that, baka," she said fondly, taking the towel from him, "I'm cold."

"There you go with that word again," Jack said.

Ash looked at him in a way that made blood rush straight between his legs, and he swallowed as his mouth turned paper dry and he felt heat pool in his stomach.

"I told you," she said huskily, in the most seductive voice he'd ever heard, "It is a term of great respect."

Then she was kissing him again, but since he was standing up straight and she couldn't reach his lips, she settled for trailing kisses all over his chest as her hands worked to dry him off with the towel. Suddenly all thoughts of foreign words were driven from his head, and all he could think of was her. Oh, the things he wanted to try, the parts of her he wanted to kiss... Suddenly taking the towel from her, he dried her off in return, then picked her up and deposited her on the bed, kneeling and gently parting her legs. Ash's eyes widened when she saw his head descending between her legs, and she propped herself up on her elbows, her mouth opening. But before she could get any words out, she gasped as she felt his tongue on her. The feeling was the most glorious thing she'd ever experienced, and she fell back onto her back, unable to stay upright anymore.

"Fuck, Jack," she swore, her hands clenching around the blankets.

She lost track of what exactly came out of her mouth at that point, but distantly realized it was a nonsense mix of prayers, swears, and praises. As long as he didn't stop... anything so that he wouldn't stop. The pleasure mounted higher and higher in her and soon she was squirming, wanting both to get away and to get more of this feeling. Then suddenly, her body went stiff as a line pulled taut, her back arching as a cry tore itself from her lips. She feeling was indescribable, but as it subsided, she felt gloriously relaxed, floating higher than any bottle of alcohol could ever take her.

Smiling to himself, Jack kissed his way up her body, reflecting that he would have to do more often. He doubted she realized she had started speaking in Japanese again, and he liked being able to elicit such a reaction from her. Very rarely did she lose control like that, and he felt proud that he could do that to her. He also liked to listen to her soft sighs and moans. It was like music to him, a song that was uniquely hers, that changed constantly and one that he wanted to hear forever. He took a detour to her breasts, but spend the majority of his time kissing and sucking at her neck, noting he got the biggest reaction when he paid attention to this area. Pulling away long enough to look into her eyes, he caressed her cheek fondly with the back of one hand.
"Not cold anymore, I trust?" he whispered.

Ash smiled lazily and shook her head.

"No," she whispered back, "I feel amazing."

"Good. I want that to continue..."

He lined himself up at her entrance and watched her face intently. She looked anxious now, but after a second nodded, solidifying her conviction.

"So do I..."

She lifted her hips slightly, and Jack took both that and her words as a signal to continue. Slowly, moving at the speed of a glacier, he slid into her. There was a point about halfway through where her face contorted in pain, and he stopped. Then, after a few deep breaths and agonizing long moments, she opened her eyed, nodded, and lifted her hips once more. He entered the rest of the way into her and stilled, aware they were both trembling. But Ash wrapped her legs around him and looked into his eyes with such tenderness, Jack took a breath and slowly withdrew, then pushed back in.

Feeling her heart race and the lightning thrumming through her veins, Ash sighed and pulled him closer to her, wanting to kiss him more. He obliged, never ceasing the languorous movements of his hips. She was slick, and hot, and tight around him, and the heady scent of vanilla filled his nostrils. Somehow, he knew that aroma would from now on always be associated with her. He took his sweet time loving her, and she wrapped herself around him so tightly it was almost like he had a second skin. She was back to whispering nonsense words in his ear again, but he didn't care, in fact he rather liked it, which urged him on. He even let a few swears of his own slip past his lips. Suddenly her body went rigid around him, her cries of passion swallowed by his mouth as he fell off the cliff after her.

Careful not to crush her, he eased himself down onto the bed beside her. To his surprise, she didn't turn her back to him, but cuddled closer to him and rested her head on his chest, smiling sleepily. Her eyes were already closing. Jack kept his open, drinking in the sight of her beauty, idly running his fingers through her still damp locks. He loved this woman so much. He couldn't believe he was such an idiot that he had almost lost her, several times now. He was determined, however, that he would not make such a mistake again. Whatever it took, he would do it in order to make her happy. Jack wanted to hear that clear, beautiful sound of her laughter for the rest of his life. He sighed and hugged her closer to him as he closed his eyes, his head still full of her. It was her Jack thought of as he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note: Well, I did warn you it was going to happen. I hope it wasn't too terrible. I don't want to put warnings in the middle of the chapter though, I feel that would disrupt the flow of the story and be too disorienting. Plus, we're all adults here, right? Or we should be... Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews, it really truly does brighten my day whenever I see a new one. And it makes it easier to continue with the story, knowing there are people out there that like my work and want to see more, who care enough to let me know how they feel. I do not speak Italian, by the way, and hope I did the language some small bit of justice. I love to see people around the world enjoying my story too, it's incredibly cool to me. Thank you so much for all of your love and support.