A/N: I'm sorry the chapter's have been so short, but as I handwrote them, it looked a lot longer on paper than it actually is on screen! Anyway, as I've already said, I've written up to chapter 34, so once I've gotten them typed and posted, I'll go back to posting the longer chapters, though how much there is left of this story is still to be determined! I've got a few surprises up my sleeve, which I hope don't turn out to be to clichéd, and I've done a bit of rearranging to change the ending a bit. I've got another shorter note at the end, so I don't give away the end of this chapter before you know what I was talking about. I'm rambling - on with the story!

Chapter 31: The crow's nest

The days seemed to merge into one. Louisa was able to rid herself fof the corset, and she and Isabelle altered the dress so she could wear it loosely. Jamie thought she looked a lot better than she had directly after they'd brought her back to the ship, but after seeing her rubbing the tattoo when she thought no one was watching, he knew there were still some underlying demons she had to face.

Louisa wasn't the only one with demons, though; Jack stood at the stern of the ship, looking down at the water. In his left hand, he held a rum bottle. In his right, the ink-stained gold sphere that was the map. Glancing behind him, he double checked that the documents he'd just printed hadn't blown away.

It had been fairly easy to obtain a paper copy of the sphere - he'd covered it lightly with ink and rolled it over a large piece of oilskin mapping paper. The sphere was as much a temptation as the treasure itself it glinted in the dark, as though it were studded with diamonds, sending a multi-coloured pattern dancing around the wall behind him. "Damn ye, Grey," he said to himself, taking another swig from the bottle. "If I weren't such a pull in fer adventure, I'd throw the damn thing back to the sea where it belongs."

Footsteps sounded on the deck behind him, but Jack didn't turn around. He already knew who it was; Isabelle leaned on the railing next to her father, the bandage still around her hand. "Ye'll hurt yeself if ye think too much," she said, earning a laugh from Jack. "Aye, but ye'd feel it too, an' know t' come an' save me," he joked, straightening, and placing the sphere on top of the papers.

Isabelle didn't say anything for a while; she stood looking out over the ocean, where the full moon seemed to be creating the small waves that lapped the side of the ship. "In the Triangle, I always wondered what the ocean looked like out here," she whispered, "You, an' Ma'ma used to tell us about it ev'ry night - ye made it sound so wonderful, so free. I know why ye missed it so much."

Jack leaned on the railing again, handing the bottle to his daughter as he answered, "Aye, we missed it, though I don't think your mother missed the ocean so much as she missed the people here," he paused, and Isabelle handed his bottle back. "I know you're still connected to it, Bella, but ye can break it if ye stay here long enough." Isabelle looked at her hands, but couldn't focus on anything. When she looked up, she saw Jack had moved and was lowering a rope ladder. "What..." she begand, but Jack put a finger to his lips to silence her.

"Ye know, Bella, a night like this shouldn't be wasted on the Triangle," he said quietly, walking towards her until he had her backed up against the very edge of the railing. "What do ye mean?" she asked cautiously. Jack merely grinned. Isabelle knew better than to trust her father when he seemed too happy, and her suspicions paid true when she found herself falling through the air to land with a splash in the water. Jack jumped in soon after; before long, their conversation was all but forgotten.

In the crow's nest, Louisa and Jamie watched the exchange, and couldn't stop laughing when Jack pushed Isabelle into the water. Had the father-daughter team been more aware, they'd have heard the laughter, but they were too busy having fun.

"You're up here more then ye are on the deck, Cannonfire," Jamie stated when they stopped watching the fun below. Louisa looked away, "I can't help it; I feel safer up here, than what I do on the deck. I can see if a ship comes close," she admitted. Jamie merely smiled, and pulled Louisa into a hug. "Ye won't come to any harm when I'm around, I promise ye that," he said quietly. Louisa tensed slightly, "I don't need looking after, Jamie. I can take care of myself," she argued.

Jamie sighed, "I don't mean I'll take care of ye in the literal sense," he explained, "But I won't let Da gi'e ye away as a hostage again. Am I allowed to do *that*?" Louisa relaxed again, "Aye, Jamie, ye can do that."

When they pulled apart from their hug, they didn't step apart. They were so close, barely an inch apart, and even that small distance seemed to grow smaller. "Jamie, I..." started Louisa, her voice shaking silently. Jamie silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. It did more than take her breath away - it send bolts of lightning to her fingertips, turned her legs to water. Jamie said nothing; he let his left arm drop so it circled her back, and moved his right arm to cup the side of her face.

The space between them was barely existent, and all it would take was for the ship to move slightly for that space to disappear. As though guided by some unseen force, Jamie bent his head and brushed his lips across Louisa's. It was slow, teasing, taunting, tempting, and it lasted only moments. They barely broke contact, didn't take their eyes off one another, before they were pulled (so it seemed) together again. There was nothing soft about their second kiss. All the electricity and attraction that had been between them since the fist day on the beach at Port Royal found an outlet, leaving both feeling exhausted when they pulled apart.

Louisa felt her heart skip a beat, and continue to race as though she'd run a marathon. She let her head rest against Jamie's chest, as he pulled her as close as physically possible, and found his heart the same. She didn't have the energy to talk, to think, to move; at that moment, there was noting wrong in the world, nor could anything go wrong. It wasn't until the sky started to lighten with the oncoming dawn that a thought forced it's way into her mind - what was going to happen now?

*****

A/N: Ok, I can tell you all now. I was originally intending for Jamie and Louisa to get together in the second last chapter (which is actually split into three parts now because it's so long. I've been advised to post them one day apart!), but as a few of you have indicated, you didn't want to wait that long. Don't worry - I'm just as impatient! So, I complied to reader requests, changed the ending slightly, and have now got to figure out something - how long do I keep their relationship a secret from Isabelle and Will? I've already figured how Jack (and possibly Will Sr) find out, but what about their friends?? I'm stuck here, so I'd really appreciate any advice, or help, or whatever you want to call it, from you guys! Thanks in advance!