(A/n: A HUGE Thank you to those who have been reviewing, it really is apreciated)

Chapter Ten: Contaminate to Alleviate Loneliness

A night of restless sleep ensued for both of them that night but each for different reasons. The morning sun crept its fingers over the horizon to paint the dark ship with a fiery glow. The ship was silent except for the creaking planks of wood expanding in the morning heat. Jack awoke first this time and stared at the serene form next to him; the top buttons of her shirt were undone and from he realized if he moved up a bit he could see down her shirt. The pervert pirate carefully moved up to take a peek. Her breathing was soft and gentle as he inched up the bed.

"Don't even think about it," Aurora's voice calmly warned stopping him from his attempt. Jack withdrew from his position and returned to his side with a disappointed expression.

"Sorry love," Jack smirked "Curiosity." She opened her eyes and locked them with his. Taking in a deep breath she stretched her legs beneath the covers so that they brushed against his.

"What did we learn about curiosity last night?" Her voice reminds him of a mother chastising her child. She smirked and arched her back to awaken her sore back muscles. He scrunched his nose at her and turned over to get up, he throws his legs over the side of the bed and takes a few steps over to his desk.

"I like you better when you're asleep," Jack mumbles purposefully so he knows she will hear. A pillow sails across the room and straight into the back of his head. The pirate whips around to set eyes on the mischievous redhead sitting in his bed wearing an innocent smile and looking the other direction. Her messy waves of hair would have made her seem angelic in the morning light had it not been for the devious gleam in her pale eyes.

"You're going to pay for that love," Jack threatens playfully grinning wickedly. Aurora cocks an eyebrow at him and smiles, clearly challenging him. Rolling her eyes she lies back down and shuts her eyes in mock sleep. Once again the morning light casts a glow upon her skin making her seem more ghostly than usual.

Let's play your game…He swaggers over to the opposite side of the bed and climbs back in carefully he positions himself to where he is hovering above her. She opens her eyes and glowing blue yellow orbs lock with his. Catching on she starts to move herself away.

Too late… Jack quickly gathers her wrists and hoists them above her head holding them with one hand. Aurora struggles to free herself, briefly thrashing against his hands before finally realizing that she cannot physically overpower him.

"Yes Jack this is some great pay back," She bites out sarcastically, rolling her eyes for good measure. In reality she is angry at the fact she could not escape his grasp. Jack throws one of his legs on the other side of her body to where he is now straddling her hips and holding her wrists above her head. His thighs tighten around her hips holding her in place. Her eyes remain locked on his unafraid and unimpressed.

"Who says this is it?" He whispers lowering his head to her ear. Aurora could feel her body tense at his words but her face remains a stoic mask.

Don't let him win… She decided to play into his game and allowed her body to go limp, giving the appearance of submission. Jack lowered his head, slowly bringing his lips closer and closer to hers to where they where separated only by a few centimeters. His hands loosened in anticipation and she caught her opportunity; heaving her body upward she rolled him over to where she straddled him before getting up completely.

"You can't win," She says amused with herself and once again walking away from him knowing that she lied just now. Aurora mentally tried to calm the warmth coming from between her thighs as she went to her room feeling the need to wear something physically restricting today. Thankfully, Will was asleep and Elizabeth did not mind if she dressed, which she did. Leaving the room the mysterious redhead avoided Jack all day instead going out on deck to watch the water. Despite the fact she just woke up she could feel the fatigue in her body.

Probably from healing Will… She concluded in her mind. The water now seemed to occupy Aurora's attention as she stared fixedly into the deep blue watching a point no one else could see. So deeply gone in though, that the small fight between two crew members behind her went unnoticed. That was until a misaimed punch missed its intended target and landed just below the nape of her neck knocking her unconscious and even worse; knocking her overboard. The brawling men stopped immediately and rushed to the side of the ship to see Aurora's unconscious form start to sink in the water.

"Man overboard!" One of the men called as the other jumped in another threw down a rope to haul both of them back up. Jack noticed the commotion and ran over to see what his crew was up to. He arrived just as Aurora's limp form was laid on deck. Rushing to her side he pushed back his crew and checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn't. Jack's instincts kicked in and he began to perform chest compressions but his efforts were inhibited by something hard under her shirt. Pulling away he saw the outline of something black showing through the wet white shirt. He quickly ripped the shirt away from her body to see she wore a black corset underneath tied tight to suppress her feminine form. Jack ripped the corset from her body and left her in a low cut black undershirt that revealed that Aurora was very much a woman from the front as from the back. What caught Jack's eye the most though was not the new found curves of his companion but the this silver chain supporting two crescent moons overlapping and facing away from each other with a ruby set in the middle hanging from her neck. Sputtering coughs jerked him back to reality as Aurora turned on her side expelling water with each cough.

"Oh that-, "she moaned before letting out another watery cough "-sucked"

She sat up and looked to Jack who knelt beside her still staring at her in wonder.

"What?" Aurora cocked her eyebrow as Jack just got up and whispered something to Gibbs. She could care less what he said; her head hurt, she was wet, and now more tired than she noticed before. Despite the circumstances; no one noticed her head back to Jack's cabin for some much needed rest.

The water's gift is a curse to fire.