(A/N: Hi y'all. If you want to see a good Johnny Depp film, I recommend 'Finding Neverland'. It was so good, and he was absolutely gorgeous! That's my Johnny Depp report for the week! On to the story! BTW, do you guys know if there's a way I can get in touch with the site administrator or whatever you call him? There's a little situation involving a friend and some reveiwers thinking it's okay to cuss her out with reveiws for the world to see. Is there anything I can do about that, or is that actually permitted here? They're dirrect insults, not jests. Tell me in your reveiws please!)

That night, Jack and Em were able to join in on a bondfire celebrating their goddes for helping both of them survive the boar attack, especially Em. If there was anyone they looked highly upon, possibly more than their goddes, it was her. They knew she was one of the explorers who had brought the idle to them and had helped keep it hidden.

There were large logs set out in a sort of circle around the fire, and they all sat there while the elderly woman, who seemed to be the tribe matriarch, spoke in their native language, a smile on her face, and excitement in her voice.

"What is she saying?" asked Jack to Em. Em listened for a minute.

"It's a prayer," she said. "They're thank their goddess for sparing our lives, and they're asking for her protection on their people." The woman then began to speak with wild gestures and sound effects. "Now she's telling everyone the story of how we got here."

"This ought to be interesting," said Jack with a smile. They watched, being able to guess well enough what she was talking about. It wasn't till the end when Jack became confused. He watched Em's expression, and saw that her eyes were watering. "What is she saying now?" Em smiled and looked at him.

"She says, "Jack lay on bed, shouting at me, 'Take me to Em,' like impatient child. He wanted her so badly because he thought she now dead. When I tell him she alive, his eyes brightened like star in heavens. All he wanted was her. He love Em so much and only wanted her. Nothing else mattered to him."" She blinked away a tear and smiled again. ""Only her,"" she finished. Jack smiled and put an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his chin on her head.

Em was crying because in her mind, she knew that not everything the woman had said was true. Jack had lost so much now because of her, and she had made him do so many things he hadn't wanted to. Just looking at him she knew he longed for something. The Black Pearl. She knew he wanted it back so much because it meant everything to him. 'He doesn't love me,' she thought to herself. 'Only the Pearl.'

Em stood up and walked away, leaving Jack to only stare. Something inside told him to follow her, but what would he say to her? Just burst out, "Em, I love you," like a love struck fool? That would've been so easy to do when they were in the caves, before the boar because they didn't have much time, but now he had to think of how to say it in the right way without scaring her.

Em walked over to the waterfall and stood by the edge of the lake, thinking to herself. Behind her, she soon heard the sound of Jack's crutches, and him huffing as he neared her. He didn't say anything to her, but watched her back as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You can go whenever you want, you know," she said, not facing him. "I'm safe here with these people. You can go back to the Black Pearl."

"Is that what this is about, mate?" he asked. "You think I'm just going to leave you here for a ship?"

"Aren't you?" she asked, turning to face him. "You promised you'd take me somewhere where I was safe. You never said what would happen after."

"Because I don't know what will happen after, Em."

"You should go back to your ship," she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't, Em," he answered softly.

"Why not?"

"Because I love you," he blurted out before he could stop himself. She stared at him wide eyed, not sure how to respond. He knew he had caught her completely off guard. Thinking he'd made a mistake, he turned and started to leave, but she had the advantage of being able to run, and was in front of him, blocking his way out. He stared at her and lowered his eyes. "I was going to tell you later, but..."

"You love me?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes, Em. I love you." He flinched in pain and lowered himself to the ground so he was sitting. "My leg hurts again," he muttered. Em sat down next to him and stared out at the waterfall. Jack waited impatiently, and then spoke. "Please say something."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Just don't be so bloody silent, Em."

He moved over to her, and gently placed an arm around her. He rubbed his face along her neck, nuzzling her, and then pressed his lips to the skin. Em sat still and drained in the the feeling or his lips slowly climbing up her neck and towards her jaw bone. After a minute, he pulled his face away, and reached over with his hand and turned her face towards his. His eyes lingered at her lips, and she prepared herself as he started to lean closer.

Jack's lips were barely brushing hers when his mind's eye went back to one of those cursed days on the Pearl. He could hear Em screaming in his head while he removed her fingernails. He could see the blood on his hands, and the tears falling down her face as she wept in pain.

His face jerked away from her and he realized that everytime he had touched her, he had hurt her. He didn't want to remember hurting her, and more importantly, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Jack?" she asked softly. "Kiss me?" He stared at her helplessly and shook his head.

"I can't," he answered, and got to his feet, hobbling away on his crutches and leaving her there.

Jack dreamt that night that he was sitting in his quarters on the Black Pearl, arguing with himself about Em. He was standing in front of a mirror, facing himself, and shouting at his reflection.

"I love her!" he argued.

"Really?" asked his reflection, raising his eyebrows and staring at him doubtfully. "Then why'd you hurt her?"

"I didn't want to hurt her!" he declaired in a frustrated tone.

"But you did it, mate. Look at her hand sometime. Or, you could take a gander at the infection on her back. Not so lovely, and very painful. And she has you to thank, savvy?"

"They made me do it," growled Jack.

"They made you do it? Funny, I don't recall any of them pointing a gun to your face and ordering you to. It was all your idea."

"It wasn't just mine," said Jack. "And I didn't know who she was before I decided to torture her, savvy?"

"So that makes it alright then? Torturing strange people to get what you want doesn't bother you then, but when it's someone you know, then it's wrong?"

"I never said that."

"I think you did."

"And why would I care what you think?"

"Or what anyone else thinks for that matter, savvy? Captain Jack Sparrow never cared about anyone."

"Not true. I had friends I cared about."

"As long as they could bring you the treasure you wanted."

"Be quiet!" he roared.

"So you admit it's true then!" said the reflection, with a smile as though he'd just won the arguement. "That's interesting."

"It's not true. If I didn't love her then why did I spare her life?"

"If you loved her then why di you torture her?"

"Go away!"

"Think about it, mate. You had two choices. Either to torture her, or to be marooned and lose the ship, but she would live."

"And be tortured by whoever would take over the Pearl."

"You could've shot her then. Put her out of her misery instead of make it worse."

"I couldn't kill her," said Jack, drawing his sword, ready to attack his reflection.

"But yo could torture her. Stand there an move that red hot pocker up and down, again and again while she lay there screaming in agony, savvy?"

"GO!" shouted Jack, smashing his sword into the mirror. It shattered and he woke up, sitting strait up, and then falling backwards as the pain in his leg was re-awoken.

"Gena said you were having a bad dream last night," said Em, the next morning when Jack finally came out of his hut on his crutches.

"Who?" he asked.

"Gena," she answered. "The old woman who gave you a bath?" She snickered, and Jack grinned.

"Oh, her," he muttered.

"She said you were crying out in your sleep."

"Did she now?" he said, trying not to seem phazed by it. He hobbled over to get some food from a man who had been cooking over a fire (he seemed to be the unofficial chef of the tribe), and Em followed him.

"Jack," she said softly. Jack got a plate of food and hopped over to one of the logs and sat on it. Em stood nearby, watching him. "Jack, what is going on? Why won't you talk to me?"

"Does it sound like I'm not talking to you, mate?" he asked, looking up at her between bites.

"Last night," she started to say.

"Last night, I almost made a mistake." Em took a step back and looked at him.

"A mistake? You loving me is a mistake?"

"I didn't say that-"

"Yes you did! Jack I don't understand you. If you don't love me then just say it! Stop making this so frustrating for both of us."

"I do love you, Em. Very much."

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because it's too hard right now!" he snapped, making her jump and the villagers turn and stare. He go himself up on his crutches and looked at her. "Savvy?" he asked, then hopped away.

Em watched as he left, wanting to chase after him, but she didn't. She decided to give him the time he needed to square with himself. Then, she'd go talk to him.

"Jack?"

Jack closed his eyes and waited until he heard Em sit down next to him in the sand. He opened his eyes again and looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't realize how hard this is for you. You're going through a lot right now and I just didn't see it. I'm sorry."

He looked out at the trees and sighed. "There's nothing to apologize for, Em," he said. "There's things that I need to sort through before I do anything, savvy." He looked at her. "I don't want to hurt you again, Em."

"You aren't Jack," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "Don't even think about that."

"How can I not, luv? I can't just forget everything I did to you."

"You can learn to move on, Jack," she said softly. "You told me once that to you, the only rules that matter are what a man can do and what a man can do." He looked up at her, intrigued by this remark. "You can either go through life, avoiding us, avoiding what we could have for fear of me getting hurt, or you could find a way to forgive yourself, and accept the fact that I love you, and I want to be with you, despite what happened on the Pearl."

He stared at her and saw the tears falling down her face, and reached up, brushing them away softly. She stared at him, and he felt his heart open up to her and the barrier break down. Reaching slowly, he cupped her face in his hands, and slowly drew closer until at last, their lips met. She did not move to deepen the kiss, but let him do that as he gradually grew more comfortable with her. She pulled away a little, eyes still closed and whispered, her breath touching his face, "It's alright, Jack."

He closed in on her again and kissed her, tears forming behind his eyelids. She fit so perfectly in his arms, and he coaxed her lips apart, exploring inside of her mouth with his tongue. She moaned a little, but he did not let go. He had been bottling this up for too long. She drew him closer and he kissed her with much passion and fury, until at last he was forced to come back for air.

She stared at him for a minute, then rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled to himself. The barrier was broken, and she was his now. Nothing now, not even death, would ever be able to take her away from him.

Have heart my dear

We're bound to be afraid

Even if it's just for a few days

Making up for all this mess