A/N: Sorry about the long wait, I've been swamped with AP work and Physics is killing me. My friends have also asked me to start a Recess fic, and wrote down the first chapter and now they want me to write the hole thing… so that is another project that will be going along with this one; so expect more delays. Anyway here is Chapter Ten, I hope it is worthy of your reviews and that you will not kill me. Thanks for hanging in there for me! ^-^
Chapter 10: Talking Always Helps
Every since that day she came back on the Pearl Kat has changed her mind over many things. Pirates came after her, to save her. It was strange for a ragged crew such as this would actually come after her, but in another train of thought Kat could not think of any other outcome. Then there was the captain . . . Jack. What about him?
'What can I say about a handsome, strong, mildly-intelligent man like he?' Kat sighed then blinked a couple of times. She sat up in her bed and held her head unbelievingly, 'What am I saying!'
"Aye, Kat, luv?" her door opened to reveal Jack with some boots in his hands.
"Why hello, captain," Kat smiled and had a huge urge to bat her eyes or something, but shook herself out of it.
"Ye all righ', luv?" Jack asked a little confused.
"Just fine," Kat said and shifted her eyes to the boots, "What are those for, may I ask?"
"These," he held them up, "Are for ye actually. The other boots are too old and I bet yer feet be cold."
"Well, that was thoughtful of you, Captain," she grabbed the boots from him and put them on, "They fit more secure than the other ones did."
"I though' they migh'," he smiled, "They are women's boots. I found them in our booty from the last raid."
She stood up and began to model them for herself and made sure that they fit right, "Time to put them to use," she began to walk out the door until she was stopped by Jack's arm.
"Ye jus' got off the Harbinger and now ye want to work?"
"And there's a problem with that?"
"One: I ain't givin' ye a task yet, an' two: I though' ye may need to rest."
"I don't, I've rested enough," she pushed his arm back to his side and out of her way, "Tell me my duties."
"Yer way too . . . too . . ." Jack struggled with the words.
"Annoying, determined . . . dedicated, difficult," Kat began counting off her fingers as she went.
"Aye, but ye forgot beautiful," Kat began to blush and looked at the ground, "But I agree with the ones ye gave. They fit ye to a tea."
"Oh really?" Kat looked back up disappointed with her hand on her hips.
"Aye," Jack turned and walked though the doorway, "Now for yer . . . activities."
He played with his goatee and looked at the ceiling apparently in thought. Suddenly Kat saw the light go on in his head. He waved his arm for her to follow him and she did obediently. After making sure the door to her cabin was locked she ran to catch up to the captain.
"So . . . when did you finally figure it out?" Kat asked finally catching up to Jack and placing her hands behind her back.
"Figure wha' out?" he looked down at her.
"The flaw in the accord, of course," Kat said all-knowingly.
"About a day before we got ye back," he stopped in front of his cabin and opened the door, "This be yer new assignment."
"And this be 'yer' cabin," she said sarcastically.
"Exactly," he started to walk away, "I wan' it clean as ever as soon as I get back."
"Oh joy beyond joys," Kat said rolling her eyes. She turned around and yelled over the other pirates at Jack, "I hope you know I'm not your housemaid!"
She saw his hand wave at her from over his head at her, telling her he heard her and took mental note of it. She gave him a smug look and turned to the curtain on the side windows to let some light in the room. Soon after making the bed she began to mutter to herself, "Stupid Jack, put me down to cleaning duty again."
She picked up some papers that were coving every inch of the floor near the desk. As she picked up the pieces and placed them on the desk she noticed her bandana neatly folded on the corner of the desk. She wondered how she never saw it before and picked it up. She tied it back around her head and smiled, getting her pleasant demeanor back.
"Although, I should be thankful," she began with the stacks of papers again, "He did save my life . . . again. I mean, how many time will he risk his life for me?"
"More time than I'm willin' to count," Anamaria watched her work from the doorway.
"Anamaria! I didn't know you were there," Ka placed the rest of the paper on the desk neatly next to the first stack she had made.
"I never knew ye were that fond of the Cap'n," she pushed off the door frame and walked toward Kat.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Kat crossed her arms.
"Admit it, Kat. Ye are in love with the Cap'n," Anamaria shook her head and stopped in the middle of the room.
"Excuse me!" Kat took a deep intake of breathe and back up slightly.
"Don' ye worry. I can keep a secret, luv . . ."
"Who ever said that I loved Jack- er, the Captain?"
"Many women, if not all of them, that the cap'n has met usually do," she looked out the only open window and sighed, "I remember when I did."
"You . . . you love . . ."
"'Loved' and 'did' are the key words, Kat," Anamaria looked back at her and gave a small smile, "But once I found out about all his 'ladies' I decided it's not worth the effort."
"Ladies?" Kat was now hooked, was there something she was missing?
"His mistresses in Tortuga and the other ports. There be no way he'd be givin' them up."
"I would think he would if he found true happiness and love."
"Aye, but how can you be sure, Kat?" she looked her in the eyes, "Ye just can't be completely sure. Ye jus' can't."
"Of course I can," Kat picked up other objects off the floor and set them on some shelves near by.
"How?"
"Why would you care, Anamaria?" Kat was very close to spitting in her face, "I would think that you were glad to be rid of me when the Harbinger took me. I don't even understand why you would give me the light of day."
"Ye know, I though' so too," she sat down on the edge of one of the long tables, "But when ye left I found tha' this ship and crew need ye Kat. Especially the cap'n. Ye've grown on all o' us."
Kat looked the other way, "And yet . . . I can never be like any of you."
"A pirate, righ'?"
"A pirate . . . yes," she hugged herself and looked away, "No matter how hard I try I can never be a pirate like you or Jack. Catterine was right . . . I do belong with my own people," Kat threw some of the clothes to one side and let herself fall onto the bed.
"Ye belong 'ere, Kat," Anamaria knelt down next to her, "Yer people, our people . . . there be no such thin'. Cap'n once told me, 'there only be one kind of human.' And now I see tha'."
"But you are right, Anamaria," Kat looked at her, "I do love him."
"Tha's the first step in findin' yerself; findin' the thin's ye love."
"I can deny it a dozen times over, but . . . then again, you can never deny what is in yer heart."
"Aye, but the wenches will help ye down tha' road," Anamaria rolled her eyes.
"Wenches?"
"Jack sometimes brings 'em onboard, but . . ." Anamaria went into a perplexed state for a few moments then started again, "Ever since ye came aboard, Cap'n has not brought one aboard or stayed out all nigh'."
"But he . . . he pays for their 'services'?" Kat asked timidly.
"Used to," Anamaria got up, dusted herself off and talked over her shoulder as she left, "Ye may be right . . . ye may jus' be the one to turn 'em around. Now, I got to get back to the ropes, before the cap'n finds I'm missin'."
After Anamaria closed the door to the cabin Kat thought for a few moments, rearranging the clothes near the foot of the bed.
"Wenches . . ." she couldn't get her mind off of it, "How can Jack . . . he couldn't have . . ."
As thought began to fill her mind she got up and began to throw the room together. It grew piece by piece into a tidy room, which totally contradicted the way she was feeling. The anger and depression pressed Kat to continue cleaning the room. Whenever she felt tired she was motivated by the hate radiating from the fact of why Jack was really in Tortuga the night he had rescued her from the gang of pirates. And she made another realization. . . he didn't know her. Through all the rescues and all the trouble that he put into save her . . . he knew nothing about her.
After what had to be hours, Jack finally returned to his cabin from out on deck. Kat sat on the edge of one of the tables holding her bandana in her hands. She looked up at him when he entered, rolled her eyes and got up. As she tied her bandana back around her head, Jack looked around the room.
"I hope it is to your liking, Jack," she said after tying the bandana securely with the knot.
"It is- wait, did ye jus' call me Jack?"
"I did, what is my next task?" she stood with her hands behind her back, looking through the window of the cabin instead of at Jack.
"I though' I told ye to call me capt-" he tried to correct her.
"Now I have lost respect toward you. So, until you have another chores for me, Jack, I'll be in my cabin," she walked out of the room, busting the heavy doors open and to her own cabin at the other end of the hall.
"Now, wha's all tha' about?" he scratched his head and looked over the room again, "It does look pretty good."
***
Kat began to work on the ropes again the day after cleaning the Captain's quarters. As soon as her work was planned out she didn't have or want anything to do with Jack. Whenever he came around to see how she was doing she would either shout 'fine' or completely ignore him. He would even take off his heavy jacket and climb up the ropes to help her in her activities, but she would simply move to the other side of the roping and do her work there.
He was starting to get tired- and frankly very annoyed- by her new behavior and tried his best to get a word to her. He would get her into a corner and try to do work with her their, although all she would do was keep her mouth shut and do her work, while he talked the whole time. Possibly, and more than likely, none of the words or talk penetrated her tough exterior. At night Jack would pace his now clean room and try to think of new ways to get her to talk, but every single time she would find an excuse to be somewhere else, or totally ignore him until he actually touched her arm. At times he didn't know how to feel. He wouldn't have these types of problems with other girls from Tortuga, or Port Royal. Why did Kat have to be so difficult?
The fifth morning when he got up, he couldn't stand to be cooked up in his room any longer and took his jacket and went outside. The water and sky were still dark, the sun hadn't made its appearance yet and a cool breeze ran over the smooth, clean deck of the ship. Jack went over to the railing and stared out into the calm waves. Heck, he could understand the waves and the ocean better than he could understand Katerina. He lowered his head and gently began to tap it on the dark railing he was leaning on.
"You know, you can possibly bring further damage to your brain that way," Jack heard a voice speak up behind him. He turned his head to the side to see Kat looking at him with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I though' ye weren't speakin' to me," Jack said turning his attention back to the ocean.
"I wasn't," Kat said walking up next to him, "But I had to say something to get your attention. You are in my favorite spot to watch the sunrise from. And plus, I am always up to give someone some good advice."
"Why are ye trying to avoid me?" he asked calmly, still watching the waves toward the horizon start to form as color began to creep from the dark sky. He heard Kat take a deep sigh and it was silence for a few seconds.
"I don't think you'd understand," she said finally taking her eyes toward the sea.
"Probably not. Ye are the hardest woman to understand, and I've been around a lot of women," Jack said turning to her.
"So I've heard," Kat said a bit harshly, "But you have to understand something very critical, Jack."
Jack waited for her explanation and turned to her, "Kat . . ."
"I'm not like the other women. Until you realize that I'm totally different, and who I really am . . . I doubt that you will ever truly understand me."
"Ok then," Jack took a deep breath and turned directly to face her. She turned away from the sunset to face him, with confusion already written on her face.
"What?"
"Tell me about yerself. Everythin', I wan' to hear everythin'," Jack heard himself say, although never really understood its meaning. He had never said it before to any woman, not even Anamaria. Sure, she worked on his ship, but he never really had any need to know her life or who she was before. But Katerina was different. He wanted to know what she did before she was taken away to Tortuga, he wanted to hear about her childhood, he wanted to know about her family and how she got her name. And strange of all he wanted to know why her father could be so blind to ever let her out of his sight and not want her back.
"Why?" Kat asked squinting her eyes with suspicion.
"Because I wan' to know ye. I really wan' to know ye," he said watching the colors from the sunrise splash over her face and reflect in her eyes.
Her face began to soften and she gave a small smile, "All right, where should I start, then?"
"Anywhere," Jack said watching her think to herself and her eyes move from place to place thinking far back into her memories.
"You already know that my father is one of the wealthiest men in Port Royal, and I am an heiress to the fortune, although I would like to forget that. I am mostly English, although some could argue that I might have some French blood in my veins-"
Jack stopped her and shook his head with a chuckle, "No . . . I meant, tell me about ye. Not yer fortunes or wha's in yer blood. I wan' to know about yer childhood and yer family."
"Since I am at a lack of both, there isn't much to tell," Kat looked out at sea with a sad expression on her face.
"Wha' are ye talking about?"
"To tell you the truth, Jack . . . You and this crew are the closet thing I had to a family. The only people I had on land that cared for me was my cousin and my housemaid. My father never loved me- well, maybe at one time he did. But he would much rather see me hang."
"How can't he love ye?"
"How can he?" Katerina looked at Jack in the face to show him the tears that were forming in her eyes, "I was the cause for all his pain. For all my pain. It was my fault that I had no childhood that I was punished for everything else that went wrong following that night. It was my fault I didn't have my mother or my two brothers growing up. I had no one, but my house maid. I didn't even have my cousin until I was ten. I was at fault for everything . . . absolutely everything. Now that I look back on it, how did I ever bring myself to ask of his forgiveness?"
"Kat . . . ye can't be the cause of all that," Jack said trying the reassure her.
"No? Then how come it was my hand that started a fire that burnt down my home and burned my family alive and then I am the only one to survive? Then my father comes home to find his wife and two sons dead . . . and his only daughter and offspring the murderer," she dropped her head in shame.
"Yer not a murderer."
"Then why are my loved ones dead?"
"It was an accident, Kat. Ye never meant for it to happen, did you?"
"No."
"Then it isn't yer fault. And yer papa is a scoundrel to blame ye all these years. Ye do need forgiveness, because ye also lost something' tha' nigh'. Ye lost yer whole family, and no one should lose tha'," he picked up her chin to look into her eyes which were over flowing with tears.
"Oh Jack, sometimes I wish with all my heart that I had gone with my mother and brothers that night," she cried into her hands.
"Never say tha'!" Jack took her face in his hands and stared at her straight in the eyes, "If ye had died in tha' fire . . . I would 'ave never though' to clean up after myself. I would never 'ave known wha' lavender smelt like . . . and I would 'ave never realized wha' it was like to actually be glad to 'ave a woman around me. To jus' spen some time with."
"You have Anamaria, and the other ladies at the ports," Kat struggled to get the words out through the tears.
"It ain't the same, luv," Jack said softly, "It jus' ain't the same without ye 'ere. Ye 'ave taught me so much, and there is no way in hell tha' I'll let ye die, or be disrespected by any man. Even if he be yer papa."
Kat gave a small smile and fell into Jack. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, so would never have to let go of him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her small figure in turn. He didn't understand what was happening within himself, but he did understand one thing. He now understood how Will felt for Elizabeth when he said he would die for her. He, Jack Sparrow, would go to the end of the world for her, because Jack realized he would do the same for Kat in a blink of an eye. He didn't yet connect it to any feelings rushing inside of him, but he knew that this talk really did bring a lot of things to light for him.
He and Kat spent the rest of the morning up on the deck, in each others arms, trying to smooth out the new understanding and new feelings that now bonded them in a new way neither thought was possible before. Talking really does help.