Thanks for all the positive feedback about Ch4.

CHAPTER 5

Jack was singing in his sleep. "da da da da da da da da da da....And really bad eggs." He remembered the rum, that glorious drink, and then he remembered red violet hair, the feel of his hands running through it, touching the pale face that all that vibrant hair belonged to. She tasted of rum and, and, and that other thing, it was sweet yet he had never tasted anything like it before. Was he dreaming? He thought he heard a voice say something that had never been said to him before, "I love you Captain Jack Sparrow. And I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

Jack opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it. The harsh sunlight cut through the widows and sliced into his brain. Hangovers were annoying. He sat up, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head and looked around. "Why am I on the floor?" Jack thought to himself frowning. The cabin was empty; the bunk on the far wall was messed as though someone had slept there. "Kat." He said the single word with more emotion than he had ever put in any name except maybe the Black Pearl. "The Pearl." He had almost forgotten all about his ship in the deep dark blue of Kat's eyes. He needed to find out what had been happening to his ship.

He stood up, stretching his soar body and smashed his hat back on his head. He walked out onto the sunlit deck only to see Kat standing, outlined by the water singing to herself, "Drink up me hearties yo ho."

Jack couldn't repress a smirk as he listened to her singing. "You've got it bad Jack." Anna said, coming up next to him.

"What's that?" Jack said, turning to look at Anna.

"I've never seen ya stare at a girl like ya do at 'er before." Anna looked at Kat. "She's pretty I guess but I think she's too skinny."

"Be careful, sounds like you're jealous Anna." Jack said smirking at her.

"Don't flatter yer self Jack."

"Captain Jack." He corrected her good naturedly.

"Well then Captain Jack." Anna Maria said sarcastically, "I will kindly remind you dis is my boat. So I am de Captain. And keepin' dat in mind I want to know what you are plannin' on doing with that girl."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I mean, you told me that her wealthy uncle is waiting for her safe return and willin' to pay of it. So why are we still puttering around here for?"

"It's just not time yet, that's all." Jack said, "It's important to wait for the opportune moment."

"Look Jack." Anna said angrily, "I know that you like 'er but yer a pirate first. Don't let a pair of pretty eyes cloud yer vision. If you do anyt'in stupid she won't be worth as much to barter wit'."

Jack glared at her, "Fine, I just want to go back to the city and check up on some rumors. Then we can take 'er back."

"Good." Anna said turning away from Jack shaking her head.

Jack glowered darkly to himself as he made his way over to Kat. His boots clunked on the wooden deck and Kat turned to face the noise. She beamed at Jack and closing the distance Jack braced himself for a slap. So, he was taken by surprise to find Kat's arms flung over his neck molding her body against him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Kat for a moment before pulling her back and asking, "You're not mad?"

Kat knitted her brow and said, "Why would I be mad?"

"The whole me falling asleep thing." Jack replied.

Kat laughed, bright and happy and said, "It was you that missed out." She smiled secretively. "I just want to know one thing." She looked up at Jack.

"What is that?"

"Does you're head hurt as much as mine does?"

Jack roared with laughter, "Aye love." Looking at her made him remember something from the night before. "I'm I right in thinking that last night you said you were engaged?"

Kat froze, her hands falling to her sides, "Did I tell you that?"

"Aye love. Ya did." Jack said stepping back from her. "Well, are ya?"

"I am." she said weakly.

"Then it's probably good I fell asleep when I did." He laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry Jack."

Jack ignored her apology and asked, "Does he 'ave a name?"

"Donovan Lawerence." she answered back.

"Sounds like a pansy." Jack gumbled.

"Well!" yelled Kat suddenly angery, "What if he is? He's a good man."

"Oh, I see." he slitted his kohl lined eyes and said, "I'm not a 'good man' then?"

Kat flinched as if Jack had struck her, "That's not what I meant."

"That's what ya said." Jack was back in his zone.

The cold, calculating pirate was starring at Kat through those eyes. And she couldn't take it. She held her hands out to Jack imploringly, "Jack I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it didn't seem to matter when I was with you."

Jack laughed harshly at her and said, "That doesn't seem very lady like. Not telling the man who's trying to seduce you that your off the market."

" You don't understand." Tears were welling up in those deep sea blue eyes.

"No. I don't. Maybe you can enlighten me?" Jack spat out. He watched that first tear sit at the edge of her eye and then spill marring her beautiful face with pain. He felt like crap for making her cry but just because he wasn't crying didn't mean that he didn't feel the same pain ripping at his heart.

Kat looked at him and said, "Jack you feel asleep before I could tell you but I love you Captain Jack Sparrow. And I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

That was real? He had been so sure that that had been apart of his dream. What else had been real? He took a deep breath and said, "You don't know what you're saying love."

"Yes I do." she replied. And taking her heart in her hands she closed the distance between them and standing on her tip-toes pressed her lips to his. For a horrifingly long second Jack didn't respond. But it was only a second before he grabbed her to him and kissed back holding nothing back like he had last night. They devouered each other through their mouths.

When they finally broke apart Jack said, "I need to do somethings but it won't take long. Then we can go anywhere together."

"So tell me Captain." She said smilingly. "What are we doing today?"

"We?" Jack asked arching an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Aye." Kat said mocking Jacks pirate accent. "We."





"So let me get this straight," Kat said to Jack "You were on your way to this Island de what's-it and your first mate Barbossa mutinied and left you on a deserted island to die?"

"It's called the Island de Morte. But aye. That's about what happened?" Jack said gritting his teeth with the bitter memory.

"How did you get off that island?" Kat asked squinting her eyes at Jack as if she could read the answer on his face.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill ya love." Jack grinned at her.

"Fine, fine." Kat said. "Remind me why we are here again. It smells awfell in here."

Jack took a deep breath of the foul smoke filled air of the dive they were sitting in and smiled, "That's not offal love that's pirate."

"Pirate needs to clean itself." She said wrinkling her nose.

Jack chuckled and was about to say something when an old wizened man with a peg leg hobbled over to their table. "Cap' in Jack Sparrow?" the man croaked out.

"Who wants ta know?" Jack asked.

"The names Shark bait Stu." The man wheezed, "I was told you were interested in the happenings of the Black Pearl."

"I am indeed." Jack said as Shark bait rattled into the seat across from Jack and Kat.

He folded his thin knotted hands and said, "I'll tell ye what I knows. But me throat is so dry I can barely speak." Jack smiled at him and ordered him a drink. When the drink arrived Shark bait spoke up. "Da Black Pearl found the treasure 'hey was lookin' fur." Jack gritted his teeth in anger. "But dar was the curse to be thought of." Shark bait continued. "The crew is cursed, made into demons or somet'in' unnatural."

Jacks lips curled into a rueful smile, "Serves the mutinous blighters right." He was quite for a moment then asked, "What of Bootstrap Bill? Do ya know what became of him?"

"I di'na know anything besides what I've told ya. But if he was apart of that poor crew t'en 'e shares in t'eir curse. I've heard whispers t'at one man escaped t'e curse by being t'rown overboard by t'e crew. But I don't know if t'at's true or not."

Jack winked at Kat and Kat asked, "Why do they call you Shark bait?"

The man smiled, giving them both a glimpse of rotted gums and missing teeth, "Because," he patted his wooden leg, "t'e sharks like de taste of me." His smile gave way to a wheezing laugh followed by a very wet cough.

Jack slid some coins out to the man and said, "Thanks mate. Go get another."

Shark bait nodded at Jack and smiling at Kat got up with great effort and lumbered away.

Kat watched him go and the said, "Who's Bootstrap Bill?"

"William 'bootstrap bill' Turner was a good friend of mine. He was about my age, and good pirate and man. He was on the Pearl with me. I wanta know what happened to him after I was marooned." He added in a whisper, "He had a little boy, left 'im in England with his wife. I tried to find out who they were but it was no use. I don't know what I would have told them anyway. 'Oops, sorry your fathers a scallywag and probably cursed too?' I don't think that would have gone over too good."

Kat found Jacks clenched hands and said softly, "It's not your fault."

"But this is!" Bellowed a loud, sinister voice from behind them. Jack turned pulling out his sword but it was too late. Something blunt and heavy smashed into Jack's head. He fell to the ground; the world was swimming in bright flashes of light as he watched a tall man with black hair and eyes pulling Kat's frantically flailing body away from him

"No! Jack" he heard her voice scream but it was faint, as if through a tunnel of water. Then everything went black.

"Easy now." A female voice was saying to Jack. Jack groaned. He opened one eye and looked up into a face blacked out by the sun shining behind it. "Kat?" he asked.

"No. It's me Jack, it's Anna Maria."

"Anna?" Jack asked confused. The memory of the dive and Kat's screams crashed back into his mind. He struggled to sit up and said, "Where is she?"

"Who?" asked Anna "You mean da Kat girl?" Jack nodded feeling the pain in his pain better with every movement. This had been a bad day for his head. Anna's gaze slid away for a moment before she said, "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Jack asked very carefully. If he wasn't careful he might loose his temper, and he never lost his careful control.

"Da men was nearly knocked yer block off took her on 'is boat and sailed off."

"How long have I been out?" Jack asked horrified.

"Only five hours or so." Anna replied.

"Five hours!" Jack exclaimed he stood up and holding his head in one hand said, "We have to go after them! We have to get her back!"

"Why?" Anna asked crossly, "She's not our problem anymore and if ya dink dat I'm going to risk my neck for a girl you 'ave a crush on you are sadly mistaken."

Jack lowered his head and said, "You're right Anna. Best to give her up."

"Now you be talkin' sense." She smiled at him. She turned her back on him and said, "Let's go back to the b... Her sentence was cut off as Jack hit her in the head with the butt of his sword.

"I'm sorry Anna." He said to her unconscious face as he put her down in a nearby chair just outside the dive. "You just don't understand. Then again neither do I." he thought to himself.

About an hour later Jack was steering the Intrepid northwest heading for Port Royal following the tiny sails on the distant horizon. The sun was setting and the sky was a furious red, reminding Jack of the hair of the girl he was going after. "Red sky in morning, sailors warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight." He crooned.







More to come I swear! I know these last few chapters have been really short but I promise longer ones in the future.