WARNING: Scenes of a sexual nature. It's not mega graphic, it's not smutty, but it's there. If you aren't comfortable with this, don't read it!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Crossing Lines

The section of the Atlantic Ocean that Jack found himself staring out at was ghostly and quiet. It was the middle of the night and, though he usually had someone else take the helm for the night, he had relieved Cotton (a welcome return to his crew, if only temporarily) as he was unable to sleep anyway. A lot of things were running through his head, flashes of people and places: Tia Dalma, Oak Island, Will Turner, Katie, Bootstrap, Gibbs, Elizabeth, Davy Jones, Shipwreck Island, his father, his mother, Tortuga, Angelica…

Each one, as they passed him by, he gave a name to the feeling he had towards them: nervous, curious, annoyed, adoration, respect, friendship, admiration, unsettled, tired, sad, longing, regret, fear… fear?

Jack took a long drink from his faithful bottle of rum- he wasn't afraid of Angelica. At least, he was not afraid of what she might think she could do to him. He was afraid of what she might do to Katie, if she got the chance. Pretending to be married to her had seemed like the best way to counter Angelica's passions, a warning to her that he was unavailable for her to manipulate as she had done so many times before. He hadn't known, then, that by taking one weapon from her he was handing her another. Of course, now it was too late; they couldn't go back on the lie when so many people believed it. Friends believed it. Nobody who knew the truth was going to tell her- the one person who had was now dead. He felt himself swell a little with pride whenever he thought about Katie shooting Moss. But then he remembered seeing her laid out on the table, blood everywhere, weak and broken… if he hadn't been sure before, he'd known then that Katie had surpassed friendship for him. The thought of losing her had been unbearably painful. She had only been in his life for so short a time; it was far too early for her to depart.

He only wished he had not spent their initial days together with his mind on Angelica, the woman whom, yes, he had loved, had once told he would always love… but he didn't anymore. They always said there was a fine line between love and hate, and Angelica had crossed that line.

The night passed slowly, but finally the sun rose and with it, the crew. Jack handed the helm off to Gibbs and went into his cabin. Katie stirred sleepily as he entered.

"Jack?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse, "You were gone…"

"Couldn't sleep, love." He said, climbing into bed beside her. Katie sat up and shook her hair out of her face.

"I'd better go and start the food."

"No, stay here," He said, his hand on the small of her back, "They're big boys, they can get food fer themselves at least today."

"I can't stay in here all day." Katie responded, though she lay back down beside him.

"Why not, love?" Jack grinned. "It's captain's orders." She giggled at this and turned her head to look at him. Although he was clearly tired, he seemed cheerful and more relaxed than she'd seen him in a while. Perhaps the few days of sailing behind them had cleared his mind of the vexations Shipwreck Cove gave him.

"So, what's gotten you in such good spirits?" Katie teased.

"I realised somethin' very important and interesting during this past night." He replied.

"Oh, really? What's that?"

"That I've been wasting all me time with you lately havin' pleasant conversation an' reading boring books about dead people when I could've been doing this." And without warning, he pounced.

Katie had definitely not been expecting this turn of events. Jack may have said in the cave that the day he loved her might be coming; he hadn't even kissed her in the library and their latest days at sea had been nothing out of the ordinary. But now he was kissing her like he had never kissed her before: passionately, hungrily, desperately, lovingly. His mind was full of her. His hands were everywhere on her body, his lips at her neck and along her collarbone, evoking gasps. He yanked her shirt open without any notion of politeness, the buttons flying everywhere. Katie's world had become dark and all about feeling. No shyness hindered her as she clawed his back before he removed his own shirt. Her eyes vaguely registered the tattoos, the bullet wound scars on his chest, before she went blind again. He moved his thumb in circles along the indents of her pelvis, before hooking his fingers onto her breeches and dispensing with them, too.

Now he paused tantalisingly, looking down into her eyes.

"I thought… you wanted… to know the full story?" She asked breathily.

"I do, and I'll have it." Jack replied.

"When?"

"After." They stared each other down for another moment. Her pupils were dilated hugely, her chest rising and falling, and she was curling her legs around his hips without even noticing. Jack smirked a little at this; "Unless you want me to stop?" She laughed slightly and shook her head. "When you're ready to tell me, I'll have it." Katie's gaze flickered and changed, and Jack realised that she was looking at him with honest love as bare as her body. He had thought 'all of her' meant her past, too, but it was almost enough to have all of her now.

He kissed her again and her hand cupped his face for a moment before falling away weakly as he left a trail of kisses down her body, her chest, her ribs, her hips, her inner thighs… Katie was unable to stop the moan that escaped her, but was glad it didn't seem to put him off. Eventually her body seemed to explode beyond her control, she was writhing against the sheets, calling his name shamelessly. Jack returned to kiss her lips, muffling her sounds, until her climax subsided. When she was aware again of what was happening, she found that he had removed his own breeches.

She had never seen male genitals before, knew vaguely what intercourse meant, but sex had always been a subject considered embarrassing and awkward for young ladies to even think about, let alone discuss in depth, and her friends at home who were married had been giggly and uncomfortable whenever it arose. But Katie was not married, not really, and the horror stories she had heard of it being boring for a woman did not tally with what Jack had made her feel. Her hand reached out and touched him, wrapped around him. His eyes closed and he breathed out through his mouth. She did not know what she was doing, but she moved her hand and he groaned before lowering himself back over her, positioning himself at her entrance.

One last look in the eyes, one question in his that was answered in hers, and Katie was no longer ingénue.

Jack felt the pleasure he had missed for a long time now, the feeling of really being with a woman. But more than that, he felt happiness as he looked down at Katie, his precious Katie. She bit her lip at first, stifling the pain, but he waited. They found a rhythm; they danced the most beautiful dance of all. And a while later, both were lying side by side, breathing heavily, their hands entwined.

The silence that settled between them was peaceful and contented. The ship rocked benignly on the sea beneath them, and Katie felt the smile on her face.

"God, I think I love you, Katie O'Connor." Jack's voice was rough. Katie's smile widened even more. If she could choose a moment to spend eternity in, it might be this. She rolled over to rest her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her.

"You think?"

"Maybe more than think." Jack smiled.

"Maybe?"

"Mm, I might need to try that one more time just to be sure." His calloused hands moved up her bare arms, making her shiver. "Whatchoo think?" Before Katie could make any kind of response to this however, a loud boom tore through their bubble of happiness, making Katie jump and Jack curse: "Bugger! Typical!" He leapt up and pulled on his breeches as fast as he could, followed by his shirt. Katie seized a dress of hers from the clothes chest, as her shirt was ruined, though she was a little too raw from what had transpired to hurry.

"I've got this, love!" Jack called as he raced out the room as only Jack could; his pistol waving in one hand and his sword in the other. When he arrived out on deck, his shirt only half buttoned up, it was to find that they were in the midst of battering a defenceless merchant vessel within an inch of its life. The men on board were dropping like flies as The Black Pearl peppered the other ship with cannon fire; that was what was going on, though it took Jack's mind a full minute to realise that they weren't actually under attack.

"Mister Gibbs!" He barked, "I don't remember issuing the order to sink that vessel!"

"Well, ye were asleep, Captain! An' it's been a while since we done some good, honest pillaging!" Gibbs added, looking quite exhilarated. Katie emerged from the cabin behind them too, eyes wide.

"What's going on?" She blurted, her red hair wild.

"Ah, or were ye sleepin'?" Gibbs laughed, causing her to blush. It was not the first time people had made this insinuation but it was, of course, the first time it had actually been true. Jack had to fight the urge to wrap his arms around her. The merchant vessel was already sinking, nobody left aboard. The crew were swinging across to it to salvage what they could before she went down completely. "Sorry if we gave ye a shock." Gibbs added to the pair, now that it was quieter.

"It was quite loud and sudden enough to wake the dead!" Katie said faintly, and both Gibbs and Jack laughed, the latter having recovered from his own surprise now.

"Well, perhaps Jack needed the wake-up call." Elizabeth suggested, having come towards them.

"I'll have you know I was up all night at the helm." Jack informed her tartly.

"Yes, but that could just as easily have been the navy." She told him reasonably. Jack shrugged, looking back at Katie. He was regretting leaving their bed more than ever. In answer, she stretched widely and turned back to the cabin, almost daring him to follow her with a slight glance back at him over her shoulder. Jack watched her go, feeling as if he was seeing her for the first time. Elizabeth noticed the dumbstruck look on his face and laughed.

"I thought you might be nearing the end of the honeymoon period, but apparently not." She said.

"Every day with her is the start of a new honeymoon period." And he followed Katie back into the cabin without another word or glance. Gibbs and Elizabeth watched him go amusedly.

"Those two are like teenagers." Gibbs chuckled, "Reminds me of you an' Will, back in the day."

"I'd love to be able to spend all my days with Will like that." Elizabeth said wistfully.

"Aye." Gibbs nodded thoughtfully.

"How long until we reach Oak Island?" Elizabeth was back to business almost immediately, never being one to allow herself to dwell on her own unique relationship with her husband.

"If the weather be fair an' luck be our ally, I'd say but a week."

"Then I suggest we get this treasure hauled aboard without delay."

Gibbs' timing was correct and it was around a week later that amongst the ice and bleak cold of the north Atlantic, Oak Island loomed out. They approached out of sight of the mainland, but every crew member was shuddering with cold and desperate to get onto land, where they might find warmth. It was a miserable situation for them all, except for Jack and Katie. Their newfound happiness was impossible to puncture. Yet, when finally they let down the anchor on a day so bright that it might blind you, though it was no less cold, Jack turned to Katie on the deck:

"I don't think you should come to the pit, love."

"We've been through this," Katie said firmly, "I'm not staying behind just because of what chivalry dictates, or-"

"Katie, yer not well." He'd had ample time in the past week to get a closer look at her than she'd given him a chance to before, and he had noticed several things she would try to hide from him before; she was tired a lot, and she had a way of sitting down suddenly as if the world had taken her feet out from under her. Things between them had changed so completely in the physical sense, but she should know better than to try and fool him emotionally. They almost always knew what the other was thinking about, that was the way it'd always been. Jack knew Katie was aware that she had not regained all her strength and was trying to cover it on purpose. Of course, it didn't help that the temperatures were icier every day. Jack fixed her with such a stern look that at last she relented, knowing that he would lock her in the cabin if he had to.

"Don't be gone long." Katie pouted, crossing her arms. She had been hoping to see the fabled Money Pit herself.

"I won't." He leant down to kiss her on the cheek before leaving the ship with the rest of the crew. Katie sighed, watching as they disappeared into the snow-capped trees on the island. She began to make her way up the quarterdeck steps when she paused. Jack had left her only moments before, she had seen everyone leave, and yet she had the strange feeling somebody was watching her. Glancing around, Katie found nobody there. Deciding this was simple paranoia, she went into the cabin and closed the door, not wanting to remain in the cold. After a moment's hesitation, she barred the door too, just in case. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that you could never be too careful.

A/N: I'd just like to say, I am kind of sorry about the sex scene. I decided it just had to happen this way, suddenly, all at once, because this is after all Jack Sparrow. But I am not overly found of the way I wrote it. This is because it's hard to walk the line between totally cringe-worthy and cheesy and smutty and mega graphic. I'm sorry if it was disappointing to anybody! But, yes, it has happened. Don't think their problems are over though, because we're only about halfway into the story! Jack still doesn't know the truth about Katie's past, and they still need to bind Calypso! So, please tell me what you think! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, too!