A/N: This chapter has been a battle for me, but I'm really pleased with it. There's a lot of time spent on just Jack and Katie, but I would say there is a lot of important things to do with the plot too. I would have said this at the end as usual, but it's important for me to put a disclaimer on this chapter in particular, so here it is:

I don't own POTC. I wish I did, but I didn't. And I definitely do not have anything to do with Disney, who wrote the 'Drink Up Me Hearties, Yo Ho' song which features slightly in this chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Heart to Heart, Port to Port

"I almost don't wanna go to Tortuga yet." Jack sighed wistfully. Night had fallen and the pair were sat on the steps on deck of The Black Pearl. Jack had dropped the anchor for the night and the only light came from the moon. "It'd be nice to just… sail."

"It'd be too hard, with just two of us." Katie replied quietly. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and she was staring into the middle distance, unseeing.

"I think we'd manage. We've managed a lot, you an' me." Jack pointed out. Katie bit her lip, an action he didn't miss. "I'm glad to have you away from that Moss." She looked around at Jack in surprise then, her reverie broken.

"Why?"

"You tell me, love." They stared each other down for a moment, but Katie recognised defeat.

"Men like him are always the same… they don't know what it is they want, but they want it so badly all the same." She said.

"They're not men, they're boys. Overgrown boys." Jack stated, his eyes drifting from her as he spoke, "Don't know 'ow to handle a woman. Don't know 'ow to make her feel wanted, in a way she wants to be wanted."

"We're both talking in riddles now." Katie noted. Jack focused once more on her.

"You're right, love." He grinned slowly. "I just mean, a bloke like Moss… he wouldn't know what to do with you. Wouldn't have a clue how to seduce you."

"And you would?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Jack's smirk didn't leave his face as he surveyed her for a moment.

"I think so." He said finally, "If I wanted to…" Katie frowned; she had almost forgotten what she'd reminded herself of so many times: Jack didn't want her. "But I wouldn't, because you don't like to be touched." He didn't say it like it was a question. Katie glanced round at him, surprised. "Moss told me."

"Jack, I…" She began, but then stopped and shook her head, standing up. She began to walk away and Jack watched her go for a moment, before springing up and hurrying after her.

"Katie," He called. "Katie!" She whirled around to find herself almost nose-to-nose with him, but neither backed away.

"If I didn't like to be touched, I wouldn't have ever let you touch me! Let alone kiss me!" She screamed. Jack was so stunned he didn't respond, "Maybe it's the way I'm being touched!" She pushed him angrily in the chest, "Don't- ever-"

"Katie!" He seized her hands to stop her punching him on every syllable. He'd never seen her lose control like this; her red hair was falling back into her face and her green eyes were dark and flashing. She glared up at him.

"When you- when you touch me- I know what you intend! I know you won't do anything I don't want to do!" Furious tears were spilling down her cheeks now. "When someone else- you never know, Jack!" Katie's voice was dropping in volume now, until it was barely a whisper. "You never know…"

"Alright," He murmured, "Alright, darlin', I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" She mumbled, blushing now. All the fight had rapidly gone out of her and she felt unable to recall what'd made her so angry in the first place. Replacing the rage was a sense of befuddlement. Jack, strangely, chuckled lightly.

"I was sorry for gettin' you in a state. And, for assuming…"

"No… I don't know what came over me…" Katie shook her head, smiling as she wiped away the traces of tears on her face. Jack hesitated, about to ask her if she was speaking from personal experience, but then decided against it. He didn't like seeing her upset, and there would be plenty of time to find out. Instead, he turned and began to make his way towards his cabin.

"It's late. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He called over his shoulder. Katie tripped after him awkwardly. There was no question about the sleeping arrangements; as soon as they acquired a crew they would be forced to share a bed anyway. She followed him in and sat down on what proved to be a very comfortable bed. Jack kicked his boots off and got under the covers without further ado. Katie slid in beside him, remembering that night so long ago when she'd first shared a bed with Jack in France, how intimidated she'd been. She wasn't afraid of him anymore- their last conversation had proven that- but her skin still prickled at their close proximity. Jack leaned over to extinguish the lantern that'd been burning and there was silence, other than the sound of the ship gently rocking in the waves. The sails had been slackened at the same time the anchors had been dropped, and since then all motion had stopped.

"I don't blame Moss." Katie murmured after a few moments. "He means well. I just didn't realise his feelings until then…"

"How?" Jack asked, surprised. Moss' feelings had been plain for everyone else to see. The lad had even been teased for it by the rest of the crew behind Katie's back.

"I've never been good at spotting things like that."

"So you've 'ad men in love with you before?" Jack questioned playfully. Katie laughed quietly.

"I don't know if they were in love with me, per se." She said. "You know those society things, you dance with every Tom, Dick and Harry and then they squire you around and eventually propose." The last part had her voice turn slightly venomous. "I'm glad I left that behind." She added suddenly.

"You like to dance, though." Jack pointed out.

"Oh, I never minded the dancing," Katie agreed, "But the expectation that hung around it…" She yawned.

"I never had anything like that." Jack said, "I mean, I was brought up by pirates. For a long time I weren't even sure me Dad was me Dad."

"I don't actually know anything about your childhood." Katie mused thoughtfully.

"I don't know anything about yours." Jack returned. Katie conceded this. "I spent most of it on Shipwreck Island, but there were periods where I grew up in London, too, before it got too dangerous for us to go there. It was… a unique experience." He chuckled at the end of this. Katie giggled, and Jack couldn't help but look at her beside him. Although it was dark, he could just about make her out. "I didn't ever see much of my Mum. Dad loved her to pieces… but she was sort of mysterious." Teague had compared Katie to Jack's mother, she recalled.

"Nobody ever knew where she came from, really, but she ended up a pirate and she was a bloody good one." Katie opened her mouth as if to say something about her own family, but then closed it again and instead turned onto her side so that she was looking at Jack. The latter was gazing up at the ceiling, apparently lost in a world of his own.

"Hey…" He only spoke again after a long pause, and when he'd looked to his right to find Katie watching him. He rolled over onto his side, too, so that they were facing each other full-on. "Whatchoo staring at?" He asked, grinning.

"I was just thinking." Katie giggled again.

"Aye, we do too much of that between us."

"I can't help but agree with you." His warm hand was suddenly stroking her hair back off her face and onto the pillow behind her. His thumb grazed her cheekbone, which admittedly appeared more prominent than it had done when they'd first met in London. "What else is there to do but think?" Katie whispered, having a certain sense of foresight which was proven correct when he answered her question by kissing her.

Their first kiss had been lustful and heated, but this one was much slower and gentler. Jack's hand wandered to the back of her neck, drawing her towards him, increasing the intensity of the kiss. Katie in turn trailed one hand up his arm and to his shoulder, enjoying how his muscles felt beneath her grip. He sighed at the feeling and slipped his tongue into her mouth, his free hand pressing upon her waist, guiding her over to him so that she was leaning down to maintain the kiss, until he broke it to gaze up at her with darkened eyes, her hair grazing his cheek.

"Goodnight, love." He whispered gruffly.

"Goodnight." She murmured back.

Neither Katie nor Jack mentioned what'd happened that night for the rest of the voyage to Tortuga. Katie privately realised just how many things they never discussed, and that the list was getting longer and longer. But this time, Jack remained friendly towards her, perhaps only because it was impossible to avoid Katie when they shared a bed and there was only two of them on the ship. Katie was just as happy as he was, however, to put the incident behind them. If they had not stopped…

As they neared Tortuga, she knew Jack was thinking about Angelica again more and more. She could tell because he would go quiet and stare out to sea with a forlorn expression on his face. It was one she could not bear, because Jack was usually full of mirth, and she doubted he even knew what he looked like when he thought about that awful woman. The truth was, the days were now numbered before they were bound to encounter Angelica and neither Katie nor Jack was looking forward to it, though for very different reasons.

"We're here." Jack called to Katie as they moored at the dock of Tortuga. She had been facing back out to open sea and was reluctant to look around and lay eyes upon the island again. Jack handed her a dress, which she obliged to change into out of his sight, while he went to find someone to mind the ship. Around twenty minutes later, Katie stepped off The Black Pearl and onto dry, solid land for the first time in God knew how long.

Once again, her and Jack's farcical marriage was the subject of much interest among the people in Tortuga. Everywhere they looked they were getting sceptical and surprised looks; the latter because nobody had expected the two to remain together between this visit to Tortuga and the next. Jack kept Katie close by his side the whole time as he began recruiting sailors for a crew in the same inn they had visited before, The Faithful Bride. She didn't know, but he was watching her reaction to each man as he questioned them. At the introduction of a couple of them, she shifted uneasily as they leered at her and Jack soon found a reason to turn them away. It was important that Katie felt comfortable.

As the line to sign up for Jack's crew dwindled, a short, stubby figure approached them, his face partially concealed by the shadows. Jack swigged from his perpetual rum bottle before speaking:

"What's yer name man?" Jack asked the figure.

"As if ye don't know my name, Jack." Jack leaned forward to peer more closely at the man for a second before leaping up and seizing the man by the shoulders across the table.

"Mr Gibbs, I demand to know what ye mean by this!" He cried, though he was grinning. Katie took the chance to copy Jack and lean forward. The man had a kind, grubby face, with his grey hair tied back off his face and a portly figure.

"I mean to join yer crew. Heard it around that ye were headin' back here- I missed ye last time. But I've heard some funny things Jack. I heard ye got married." Gibbs said, slightly lowering his voice.

"That I did." Jack declared, and pulled Katie to her feet. Gibbs blinked at her as if she was an illusion for a second. "Gibbs, this be my wife, Katie. Katie this is my first mate, Joshamee Gibbs."

"Oh, so I am yer first mate, am I?" Gibbs rolled his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet ye, Mrs Sparrow."

"Katie." She corrected for the millionth time.

"The song has been sung, so I hear. What be the purpose o' the summoning of the fifth Brethren Court? Be the rumours o' that Spanish woman's revenge true?" Gibbs asked, looking horrified at the idea.

"Aye, the rumours are true." Jack admitted in an undertone. A look passed between the two men before Jack rapidly turned from Gibbs to Katie. "I'm gonna take my wife for a stroll. You, Gibbs, finish signing up these men. At dawn we set sail." Jack tugged Katie out of the inn and down the same street they had once strolled with Katie in a state of drunkenness. When they reached the beach, Katie spoke:

"I thought you'd want to catch up with Gibbs."

"I needed to be alone." Jack said, sounding troubled.

"I'm here." Katie pointed out, "I can return to the ship if you-"

"I can be alone with you." He responded, cutting her off, and she was so taken aback by his comment that she didn't have anything to say. Slowly, a smile crept across her face, a smile Jack caught sight of out the corner of his eye; it was perhaps the first happy, genuine smile he'd seen on her face in quite some time and it pleased him to see it. "Last time we were on this beach, you said I could do better than Angelica."

"Well…" Katie sighed, "I don't know, Jack. I was drunk." He could tell she didn't want to talk about Angelica right now, and he was relieved. He needed to drive that infernal woman from his mind. It disconcerted him slightly, having Gibbs around, because he alone had had an inkling of Jack's true feelings for Angelica in the time leading up to the disastrous happenings at the Fountain of Youth. "This is turning into sort of a tradition though, isn't it?" She gestured to their surroundings by way of a change of subject. Despite its proximity to scenes of debauchery and crime, the Tortugan beach was beautiful and untouched.

"I was never one for tradition," Jack said, "But if this were the sort of tradition people usually follow, I'd be alright with it." He pulled her around to face him and began to lead her in another dance. Images of their last dance, not to mention their more recent kiss, flashed through Katie's mind but she pushed them aside, letting Jack steer her. The weather was distinctly cooler now than last time they had spent time on this beach, but she soon warmed up from being in Jack's arms, not to mention spinning and whirling around.

"We've been having a lot of heart to heart's lately." Jack noted out loud after a while, slowing their dance to a waltz.

"I've enjoyed getting to know you better." Katie replied, slightly out of breath from dancing.

"I don't know if I know you any better than when we started this journey, love, but it's been nice to 'ave someone to listen to me."

"You're in a strange mood, Jack."

"Yeah…" He agreed, "Yeah I am. Can I just ask you one question, Katie?"

"Of course." They let go of each other.

"Are you afraid of what's to come?" Katie thought about this. She thought about the way the sea had pulled back at Calypso's command, the image of the Flying Dutchman bursting out of the sea, Teague handing her a pistol and back to the very beginning, the desperate alliance she had made with this very man all the way back in London. Then, the fear had seemed real to her, the panic threatening to envelope her at any moment, as imminent as the blood gushing out of Jack's leg. Again, Katie's mind flashed back to the pistol and the feeling of Jack standing behind her, holding her upright, telling her to breathe.

"Not anymore." She answered finally. "I don't know what the outcome will be, but I know we'll get through everything somehow." She was determined that it would be so. Jack saw the defiance in her eyes and took strength from it, taking her hand once more. As he led her back towards The Black Pearl, he sang under his breath:

"We're devils, we're black sheep, we're really bad eggs, drink up me hearties, yo ho..."

A/N: So, what do you think of this chapter? Let me know in a review! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed before, I'm ever so grateful!