Disclaimer: (Looks around) Shh! I'm hunting for Jack Sparrow! This means he's not mine…yet.

AN: Yes, Gerry/Gerard is scum. Sorry to all Gerard Butler fans out there, but please remember that this is a fictional character based (physically) on Mr. Butler, so please don't hate me for making him a womanizing pirate in this fic. Thanks! Anyways, please review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 4: Confessions Are Good for the Soul:

There wasn't much that Jack could remember about last night…well, besides there being a party and lots of rum. Therefore, anyone could imagine how he felt when he woke up the next morning in his cabin, and with no idea of how he'd gotten there in the first place. In the back of his aching head, and despite the nausea that was looming in his stomach, Jack did his best to try and figure out what had happened the night before.

'Party…lots of rum…drinking…games…gambling…g-g-g-,' Jack's thoughts stalled on the letter 'G' for some reason.

"Gerard!" he blurted out loud, his body bolting upright on the bed and startling something beside him.

A surprised yelp reached his ears, and when he turned his head (which was a bad thing, as it made the room spin slightly), Jack spotted Rose jerking into a half-sitting, half-lying down position. Seeing who had woken her, she turned a hostile glare on him. Wincing from both his hangover and his fiancée's anger, Jack held up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, luv," he apologized. "Just let me get rid of this headache and such, and I promise to make it up to you later!"

Beside him, Rose sighed. "It's alright, Jack," she said, getting up from the bed and going over to his desk. "Let me at least help you with the hung-over part."

She opened the lower right-hand drawer and, out of the dozen or so bottles sitting there, selected one with a cork that had a green stopper in it. Moving as slowly and as silently as she could, Rose approached the bed and opened the bottle, handing it to him without another word. Taking a gulp of the liquid, Jack hurriedly swallowed it down before his stomach had a chance to revolt.

'Glad I showed her all I knew about this stuff,' he thought to himself as he took another drink.

The bottle contained the same elixir that he'd given Rose after her first drinking excursion with the Pearl's crew. She rarely drank alcohol anymore (thanks to that little 'event'), but after they'd gotten engaged, Rose had decided that if Jack was going to be the drinker in their relationship, it would probably be best for her to know where the potion was kept and how to make it. Therefore, Jack had shown her the correct amount of herbs to use in order to get the best results. Now, once every two weeks, Rose mixed up a batch of the foul-tasting concoction and stored two or three bottles for Jack's personal use, also putting a great deal of it aside in the galley for the crewmen's usage after a huge party, such as the one last night.

'Bless this woman,' Jack praised to whoever was listening in the skies. 'I've managed to hook the greatest, most thoughtful woman in the Caribbean!'

After his stomach had finally settled and he was able to see past the fading pain in his head, Jack slowly began to move towards the edge of his bed. Suddenly, the room began to spin again, so instead of doing anything further, he lay back down, letting his head hit the pillow as a groan escaped his lips. On the spot next to him, Jack could feel Rose getting back onto the bed and crawling over to lay closer to him, one hand gently patting him on the arm.

"Jack, are you alright?" she asked in a soft voice. "Do you need anything?"

'At least she isn't talking very loudly,' he thought as he cracked his right eye open. 'Of that, I am truly thankful for!' Sighing, he closed his eyes again.

The touch of gentle fingers pushing the bandana from his forehead surprised him, causing him to crack his right eye open once more. Rose giggled softly as she briefly paused in her actions before resuming them an instant later. Releasing a content sigh, Jack closed his eyes and relished the feel of her warm fingers through the cloth and on his skin. A moment later, gentle, velvety lips pressed against his cheek, though the caresses on his head didn't stop.

"I'm going to get a cool, damp cloth for your headache," Rose whispered by his ear.

Grunting in reply, Jack kept his eyes closed and listened while she slowly got back up off the bed. He could hear her padding her way across the room in her stocking feet, probably so that she didn't aggravate his headache further by making unnecessary noise. Evidently she remembered quite well what it was like to be hung-over, and was doing her best to make him as comfortable as she could.

'At least she's not the sort of woman to relish in a poor pirate's misery,' Jack thought with a smirk as he heard her pour water into the china basin.

A moment later, he could hear Rose humming to herself as she dipped a rag into the water, the liquid creating a gentle swishing sound as she moved it back and forth. The sound of her wringing out the rag soon followed, and the trickle of the water flowing out of it made Jack realize something: he was thirsty.

"Luv?" he whispered, not wanting to summon more pain into his head, though the ache there was slowly fading.

"Yes, Jack?" she softly replied, her movements stilling.

"Water?" he pleaded, his throat suddenly feeling parched.

"Of course, Jack."

More water was being poured, and the sound of approaching softly-padded footsteps informed him that she was there. Reaching for the cup, Jack felt his hands being playfully slapped away by a wet rag. His hands retreated, letting Rose set the cool, damp cloth onto his forehead as he slowly pushed himself into an angled seating position. Soon, his head, shoulders, and upper back were propped up on the pillows behind him, and he was free to drink. After Rose was sure he was fully settled and comfortable, she pressed the cup to his lips. Obediently puckering his lips, Jack began to eagerly sip from the cup. Surprisingly, the water was cool and had the slight taste of lemon, probably to flavor it. He drank it down quickly, and once satisfied, he sighed and relaxed into his pillows, the rag on his head doing wonders.

"My thanks, luv," Jack whispered before drifting back off to sleep.

I sighed and tried hard not to laugh at my poor fiancée lying prone on the bed. Instead, I took the empty wooden mug back to its hook on the wall above the water basin and, after rinsing it out briefly, I hung it back up. Behind me, I could hear Jack's snoring-gurgling-snorting, and this time, I did giggle, though I did my best to keep it quiet. True, living with someone who snores can be annoying as anything, but Jack's was so unique and unusually soothing that I let it pass. Besides, it was amusing to listen to when I was wide awake to hear it.

Turning back around to look at him, I felt my heart grow heavy. I had yet to tell Jack about what had happened the night before with Captain Hastings. I decided to not call the other man by his first name at all, as we were not friends; also, considering the fact that the man was obviously trying to separate me from Jack, I wanted nothing to do with him, friendly or otherwise. I was most certainly a woman who would be loyal to the man I loved, and nothing was going to take me away from the pirate currently lying on the bed before me. I was Jack's, and Jack's alone.

'But I still have to tell him,' I thought to myself. 'Jack didn't know that Captain Hastings took me over to the Storm Chaser, nor about the dinner we had. Besides, it would be better for him to hear it from me than from a crewman…or worse, if Captain Hastings said something about it first!'

Sighing, I headed out to the deck, fully prepared to help in the cleaning-up.

It had taken me a while to clean the deck, especially when there were numerous unconscious crewmembers still lying on it! Knowing it would be impossible to wake them, I decided to take the only route I could, the only one which would leave the deck somewhat cleared up, though not completely.

The plan was this: clean up what I could and leave the rest for the crew to deal with!

It was a cruel plan, but since they were the ones who'd made the mess, it was theirs to clear up…or at least, whatever was left was theirs to clear up. I picked up some of the empty bottles and mopped up quite a bit of spilled liquor, but it was still a mess. I'd also managed to use the mop to push overboard all of the food lying trampled all over the deck. Now the deck was relatively clean, but I decided to let the crew deal with it as punishment for their overindulgence. Furthermore, some of the men lying drunk on the deck weren't even part of the Pearl's crew; some of the men that Captain Hastings had sent over were currently sleeping off last night's rum, though how the rest of them got back to the Storm Chaser was beyond me! In the end, all I could do was let everyone sleep off their amusements while I did the best I could with cleaning up.

Thankfully, just as I was ready to stop, the crew began stirring. Eventually, I poked the rest of them awake and gave them the hangover elixir that Jack had taught me to prepare. When everyone (including our "guests" from the Chaser) was up and about, I immediately set them to work clearing up the deck. Those who were visiting from the other ship, however, were sent back to their captain, as I wanted nothing to do with them, nor did I want them on the Pearl a moment longer.

Once the visitors were gone, Gibbs took charge of the cleaning effort, claiming that I shouldn't be cleaning up the mess that the men had made. Also, he explained that I should go back to tending the Captain, as Jack had had more drinks than anyone else at the party. Sighing, I did as he bid, though I personally felt that none of the crewmen wanted to risk upsetting Jack by accidentally waking him up or disturbing him in any way.

This, in turn, left me to deal with another complication: telling Jack about the previous evening.

When next he woke, it was with a rather fog-filled head and a dry mouth. Thankfully, the potion had done its work and Jack felt good enough to get up and hopefully get something productive done before dark. Rolling over, he reached out for a warm body, but found nothing. Alarmed, Jack's eyes few open, and a panic filled him, the likes of which he hadn't felt since the day Rose had been shot. Desperate to locate his beloved, Jack hurriedly sat up in bed and scanned the room. She wasn't there, though from the sounds coming from outside, it was likely she helping with the cleaning efforts.

Still, that did nothing to calm his beating heart, because, for some reason he couldn't really explain, Jack Sparrow felt that he couldn't breathe unless his Rose was safely tucking in his arms. However, just as he was getting ready to get up and go find her, the door to the cabin opened, and the object of his desires and worries walked inside. Relieved, Jack collapsed onto the bed and onto his right shoulder, burying his face into the pillows that bore her comforting scent.

"Jack, are you alright?" He could hear the worry in her voice as she approached the bed and put her weight on it, gently laying a hand on his left shoulder as she crept closer. "Jack?"

Gathering his strength, he sprung.

I couldn't hold back the yelp of surprise that escaped when Jack pounced on me, pinning me to the bed with his body while his hands drifted around my waist. Staring up at him, I saw a huge grin on his face, and the sparkle in his eyes made me smile despite the fact that I also wanted to slap him for scaring me. Before I could say anything, Jack leaned closer, his lips hovering over my own.

"Pirate," he whispered before giving me a loving kiss, his beard and mustache tickling me so that I couldn't hold back a giggle. Jack pulled back and looked at me with an amused grin. "Ah, the lady is sensitive to my kiss after all."

"No, only that facial hair of yours," I teased with a grin. "So, feeling better, are we? No more headache and nausea?"

"Hmm," he muttered as he leaned closer, tucking his head under my right ear to press a kiss there. "I could use those lovely arms around me, though…I missed them last night."

The tension that filled me upon hearing those words was obvious, as Jack pulled himself back and gave me a concerned look. I could feel his arms wrap themselves tighter around my body, and knew that I had to tell him about what had happened last night. I could not let him find out what happened some other way, as it would destroy everything that we had worked so hard to create between us. Jack had already been betrayed once before, namely by Barbossa, and I couldn't let that happen when it came to us being engaged to one another!

Sighing, I looked him in the eye. "Jack…"

He hugged me tighter, brown eyes staring into mine. "Tell me, what's wrong, luv," he softly pleaded. "If there's something I can do, you know I'll do it. Even if it's walking through Hell and back, it'll be done if you need it to be."

I could feel my heart swell with even more love for this man as I prepared to tell him what had happened the night before on the Storm Chaser.

"Jack, something…happened last night, after you went to have fun with the crew." He waited. "Well, Captain Hastings said he wanted me to see his ship, and since you were busy, and he wanted me to not be alone and bored last night. He took me to the Chaser, showed me everything in an attempt to try and impress me, and then…" I could see a shadow was growing in Jack's eyes as I paused. "Well, he served me dinner in his cabin…there was wine..."

Kohl-lined eyes narrowed, and I could see his gold-capped teeth gritting together. "Did he touch you?" he growled. "Did he do anything to you, Rose?"

"No! No," I hastily assured him, my hands coming up to touch is hair and face in an attempt to sooth him. "No, nothing happened."

"But?" Jack pressed, his eyes turning intensely black as he spoke. "What happened?"

I looked down towards his neck, where his shirt lay loosely open, showing a bit of golden-tanned skin. "He…touched my hand. I got uncomfortable when he began touching my engagement ring when it looked like he wanted to do much more than that, but when I pulled away and told him that I loved you and would never want another man, he let me come back to the Pearl without much of a fuss."

Jack let out a breath of relief, his body sagging against mine. However, I could tell that he was still angry about the whole thing. After all, trying to woo an already engaged woman was incredibly stupid, but trying to steal away a pirate's woman was practically suicidal. Beneath my hands, I could feel the tension in Jack's body through his white shirt, the muscles in his back firming up as though he wanted to tear something apart with his bare hands. I was hesitant to speak, but I had to know what was going on in his head.

"Jack?" I whispered, my hands wrapping themselves around his shoulders. "Jack?"

Outside, his body was ready to jump up and rip Gerry Hastings apart at the seams for what he'd tried to do with Rose. Jack could feel his muscles tense up as he leaned over Rose's prone body, one hand drifting up to tangle in her hair as she softly called to him, begging him to talk to her. However, he didn't want to talk just then; all he wanted to do was hold her close and try not to kill anything that interrupted this moment.

Inside, Jack's mind, soul, and heart were all a boiling mess over what had happened. He knew what sort of man Gerry was, knew the kind of womanizer that the Scotsman could be if he put his mind to it. Now, Jack knew that he, the great Captain Jack Sparrow, was no saint; he had once been as bad of a wooer as Gerry, but all that had changed since he had met Rose. In fact, other than that incident in Tortuga, Jack had never laid a hand on another woman since the night he'd first met Rose!

'Besides, what happened with Gerry on the Storm Chaser isn't her fault,' Jack told himself, knowing it was true. 'It's mine for letting him see her and for getting drunk last night, leaving poor Rose alone with the man! I shouldn't have done that, putting her in that position of being alone in Gerry's presence when I knew the sort of person he was!'

Sighing, Jack let Rose's comforting hands move up and down his tense back, her touch soothing away some of his anger, though not all of it. God, he loved this woman! Unlike the other 'ladies' he'd met in his life, Rose was not the sort to lead a man on and play with him; she was a good woman who was smart, gentle, and loving, and he knew that he didn't deserve her. Of course, if he didn't deserve her, then Gerry was even less worthy of a girl like her!

And right now, he had something he to take care of…

I was shocked when Jack got up off of me and immediately began putting on his boots. Soon, his coat, hat, and effects were on, and he was checking to see if his sword and pistol were securely on him before stalking out of the cabin. Fearful of what he was about to do, I followed him on deck. The crew was watching him as he approached Captain Hastings, who had apparently come aboard unannounced. For a moment, the other man looked happy to see Jack, but after seeing the expression on my fiancée's face, the joy turned to apprehension. Before he could say anything, Jack was pointing a loaded pistol straight between Captain Hastings' green eyes.

"Now Jack," he said, holding up his hands. "What's all this?"

"You've got a lot of nerve coming onto my ship after what you've tried to do," Jack snapped. "I want you to swing over there and sail away, right now."

Behind him, the crew of the Pearl was drawing their weapons, knowing that if Jack was unhappy with his "friend," then it was with good reason. Meanwhile, I was growing more scared by the second, fearing that a battle may break out at any moment and that I wouldn't be able to stop Jack from shooting the other man. Captain Hastings may be a scoundrel, but he (probably) didn't deserve a shot between the eyes!

"Alright, Jack, I'm leaving," the Scotsman declared, though his eyes swung away from Jack and settled on me. "No need to get nasty." I could clearly see the lust he had in his eyes, and quickly stepped closer to Jack, halting a few feet behind him.

Jack proceeded to step up in Hastings' line of sight, blocking the other man's view of me. "No need to get nasty?" he snarled. "You try to steal away my girl, my fiancée, and you say that there's no need to get nasty?" He cocked his pistol.

I watched in surprise as the crew stepped closer, their weapons in their hands as they prepared to defend their captain and, evidently, me. They would fight, especially since they now knew that this man, this supposed 'friend' of their captain, was trying to take me away from Jack's side and the Pearl. These men were my friends, after all, and they both liked and respected me, especially now that I was going to marry their captain, who they also liked and respected. However, I couldn't let Jack shoot this man in such a brutal manner; it wasn't like him, and I didn't want such tainted blood on his hands, pirate or no pirate.

"Jack, no!" I said, rushing up behind him and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Just let him go, Jack, please!" I leaned closer to whisper into his ear. "Besides, we don't need to get the deck of the Pearl all bloody, now, do we?"

He hesitated for a moment, taking the time to glare at his hostage one last time before pulling the pistol back, though he kept it pointed at Hastings' chest. "Get off my ship, Hastings," Jack ordered. "After what you've done, our friendship and business dealings are over. If I see you in my sights, I won't hesitate to blow you out of the water."

Green eyes narrowed in anger. "Don't think that you can get out of our deal, Sparrow," Hastings said, his voice cold. "You still owe me greatly for what happened long ago, and you still need to pay up."

Jack glared at the other captain and kept his pistol on him while he walked over the gangplank and onto the Chaser. I immediately heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing him go, though I still stepped up beside Jack, the two of us watching the Chaser pull away the gangplank before sailing off. The last thing I saw was Captain Hastings' tall form at the stern of his ship, watching us as he drifted away towards the eastern horizon.

AN: Wow, tense stuff in this chapter, huh? I hope that people enjoyed the confrontation, and that you'll all review for me! Thanks!