(A/N: Sorry it took so long to do this. I had midterms, including that Math A exame that 75 of NY state failed two years ago, and all kinds of stuff. But here's the chapter! Oh, since the lyrics to 'Run' are all basically on here, I'm moving on to a different song by the band Skillet. I don't even know the name, but I think it's fitting.)

Love is all around you now

So take a hold

Hidden in the words

Sometimes ain't enough

Don't suffocate day after day

It's building up

Cuz when you're feeling weak

You know I'm strong enough...

The next week was a lot easier for both of them. Jack found that this life was more satisfying than being captain of the Black Pearl, which was something he never thought he'd admit to. He didn't need treasure, he didn't need a bloody ship. He had more treasure at the moment than he knew what to do with, and it all came from one person.

Em's back was healing beautifully, and the infection was fading away, much to his relief. But the scars would never go, and he knew they would always haunt him until the day he died. He wanted to do everything he could to keep from hurting her, and it was partially for this reason he chose not to sleep with her. Yes, he wanted to at times, he was an uncivilized pirate after all, but he knew it was wrong, and for once, he cared. When they were teenagers she had often boasted about how she'd keep her virtue until she was married, and, with the exception of the pirates who had captured her before and hurt her in every which way, she'd held true to it. He didn't want to take that away from her, and in secret he wished she'd had been his first.

When he found himself thinking that, he was shocked. Captain Jack Sparrow was no longer as much of a scalawag he had prided himself to be. Perhaps that was too big of a change, too fast. "I may not be sleeping with her," he thought to himself. "But there's nothing stopping me from getting my rum." And speaking of which, he was holding a bottle of it in his hands, half of it already gone.

"You and your rum," said Em, when she had seen him with it. "They make some of the best rum here."

"So I've noticed," he said softly, taking another swig.

"I was talking to Gena. She says you'll be walking again in a matter of weeks."

"That's good to know, luv," he said with a grin. Em sat down next to him, lowering herself very slowly and carefully. Her back was a giant scab, and if she moved it too fast, or twisted it, it'd break and bleed. Jack knew that, and he tried not to notice.

"There's something, I've been meaning to ask you about," she said after a moment. "The crew, how do you know they won't try an find you?" He looked at her, slightly perplexed.

"What?" he asked.

"I mean think about it, some of them knew you as a friend, and they probably aren't handling the fact that you chose me over them too well. Do you think they'll try to find you?" He nodded.

"They might. But how could they find us here, mate? I don't even remember the way." She smirked.

"You weren't awake long enough," she said softly. "But there are ways. How do you think I found it first? It was only a myth then and I still found it. What makes you think they won't?"

"What about the wall? You're the only one with the necklace to open it."

"What... oh the caves. That's to get to the idle. But this village is in a different dirrection. You really don't need anything to find it."

"Well what do you want me to do?" he said, suddenly thinking he knew the answer. "Leave you here?"

"Yes... no! No, I'd come with you. It's just, we can't stay here."

"If we leave, what's going to stop them from looking here first, missy?"

"We could find a way, Jack. You always find a way."

"I wasn't on crutches half those times, luv," he said in a bit of a snappy tone.

"I meant after your leg heals."

"Then why didn't you wait till then to bring it up?"

"Because we need to start preparing for it, because it's coming a lot quicker than you think! And they might find this place before your leg heals. We don't know."

"That's right, we don't know. And if it happens it happens. The idle is still in place and they will be protected. It's not over yet." He placed a hand on her cheek. "You, of all people, should no by now that it's usless to fret about tomorrow until it comes. Just focuse on the moment." He kissed her cheek gently and she couldn't help but smile.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" she said after a minute. He grinned.

"Only a little," he said and kissed her cheek again. Then his lips moved to her neck and he nipped at her while she pushed him away, laughing.

-

Later that day, determined not to sit all day, Jack wandered around on his crutches, exploring the land around him. It was as beautiful as could be expected of the Carribbean. It was also very hot, so he found himself, before long, looking for the waterfall so he could cool down. When he did find it, someone was already there, bathing. It was Em, and he was about to turn around before she caught him, but before he could, his eyes caught glimpse of her back. The burns were still too ugly, even if they were healing. He could still see signs of infection, and he shuddered. Turning away from her, he went back into the forest to wait till she was done. He could not stop thinking about how he'd done that to her, and it made him feel even worse.

It took almost an hour, but he soon hear her splashing as she moved to the shore, and then leave about five minutes later. Once she was gone, he moved to the shore and stripped down, wading into the cool water and relaxing for a moment, forgetting about Em, and the idle, and every other problem he had on his mind at the moment. Using his arms only, he swam up to the waterfall and climbed onto the rocks near it. The water splashing onto him felt like a sort of massage, and after a few minutes of pain, he felt his muscles relaxing and the pain dying down till he could barely feel it.

"Jack!" he heard a voice call him. It was Em, and he quickly slid off the rock and into the water, clutching onto the rock. "Jack- oh! There you are!" She was gaining a bad case of the giggles once she saw his clothes on the shore, and she turned her back to him. "Sorry," she laughed.

"Can't a man get a little privacy around here?" he said, but she knew he was just as amused as she was.

"They told me you'd wandered off so I was just trying to find you. I'll talk with you later." He chuckled after she left, and made it back to the shore, getting dressed quickly and headed back to the village.

-

That night, Jack and Em stayed up later than usual, until they were the only ones sitting by what was left of the bonfire. Em was silent, and Jack was thinking about something he needed to ask her.

"I saw you dancing earlier with the others," he said, looking at her. The tribe sometimes had nights where they'd dance for just plain fun, or play games, or tell stories, etc. That night there had been dancing and Em had joined in. "You were pretty good, mate," he added. She smiled.

"I don't usually dance at all, but tonight, I don't know," her voice drifted off an she smiled. "I guess I needed to have some fun for a change."

"Let me ask you a... hypothetical question, savvy?" She nodded, but looked at him slightly suspicious. "What if you were, say, celebrating something, would you dance?"

"I suppose," she said. "Depends on what it is, of course, but I might. If I had someone to dance with." He rubbed his hands together, and nodded.

"Alright then," he said softly. "What if I were to ask you to teach me how to dance, could you?" She looked at him, surprised and laughed.

"You dancing? What, have you gone batty?" He shrugged.

"Some might say so," he admitted. "I mean it though. Could you teach me?" She still thought it was completely unnormal for him to ask for something like that, but still nodded anyway.

"I'm pretty sure I could. If that's really what you want." She stared at him, expecting him to at any moment laugh and say he was kidding, but he didn't. "Why do you want to learn?"

"Because," he said, not really sure how to word it right. "Because I want to dance with you on our wedding day." Em's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Wh- what?" she asked, shaking.

"I want to dance with you on our wedding day," he repeated softly, taking one of her hands in his. "Will you?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes," she said, still trembling. "Yes, I will."

He smiled and looked around. "Normally there'd be a ring for this, wouldn't there?" he seemed to ask himself.

"Usually," she chuckled. He looked down at one of his hands and slid off a ring and placed it on her finger.

"Just until I can buy you one, savvy?" he said softly. She nodded and he moved in, kissing her gently. "Now," he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "About that dance?" She chuckled and stood up, taking him by the hands and pulling him up. They moved away from the log she'd been sitting on, and she placed one of his hands on her back, and held the other, while putting her other hand on his shoulder. She slowly showed him all the steps to a normal waltz, and he picked it upp quickly, but still managed to step on her bare feet every so often on accident.

About a half hour past, and he found himself spinning her around with a smile on his face. She stopped after a while and they took a breather, sitting in front of the slowly dying fire, and he held her in his arms while she rested her head on his shoulder. "I can't believe I'm getting married," she muttered after a while. "I just never really saw myself with another half."

"Me neither, luv," said Jack, chuckling a little. "Pirates almost never get married. They usually don't allow themselves to fall in love either."

"Do you regret it?" she asked, looking up at him.

"No," he said softly. "Who would regret spending the rest of their life with the person they love, mate? True love never dies. People just think it has. The truth is, if you fall out of love, you were never really in love to begin with, were you now? Love isn't just a feeling, luv. Love is an action." He looked out at the small flames, dancing around before they died away. "Just like the Black Pearl isn't just a ship. It's freedom."

She looked at him and started giggling. "You just compared love to a ship, Jack." He smiled and shook his head.

"I'm tired, luv. Leave me alone," he chuckled. He slowly got up on his crutches, and she stood up with him.

From the shadows, an unseen face watched them with curiousity. His eyes narrowed a little to clear his vision, and he saw Jack kiss Em gently before they went to their separate huts to sleep for the night. Sighing and looking down, Will Turner began to think of how he was going to explain this to the crew.

Just one more day/ You can find me/ One more day/ You can find me anyway/ Oh, let the world crash/ Love can take it/ Oh, let the world come crashing down/ Oh, let the world crash/ Love can take it/ Love can take a little/ Love can give a little more...

-

(A/N: I had a floppy disc malfunction, and this was supposed to be posted last week. Sorry! Janet Jackson has wardrobe malfunctions, I have floppy disk malfunctions. Also, next monday, check out my profile for the weekly funny and tell me what you think. Cheers!)