AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Sorry it took so long. I've had a bit of a problem enrolling in my classes and things have been just chaotic. I should warn you that it will take longer to upload chapters for me now, as I start my college classes in a little over 2 weeks. So I'll be writing papers rather than fanfics. But I promise I won't forget about you! I had intentions to upload at least one chapter of all my stories today, but we'll see if that happens.

This chapter's a little weird. I think it might offend some of you. I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Chapter 4

Creeeaak. Creeeeeeaaak. Kate awoke at the sound of the door to the cabin opening. She flickered her eyes open and blinked until they were adjusted to the darkness. "Jack, is that y--" Kate started, but her question was answered when she felt Jack roll around next to her, snoring lightly. Sitting up to get a better look at the intruder, Kate squinted into the darkness. Nothing was there.

Sighing with relief, she chalked it up to being her imagination and sunk back into her pillow. If anything, it was a rat that wandered up to see if there was any food this high up on deck. Kate decided this was more likely, and closed her eyes. She was almost asleep again when a thought approached her.

Can rats make the floorboards creak?

Kate gulped and quietly crawled over Jack. He grunted softly at being disturbed, then shifted his position and resumed his snore. Kate lit the candle by the bedside table and held it up against the dark. The tiny candle only brought light to a small part of the cabin, but all of what Kate could see was clear. She hesitated, then carefully stepped forward, peering into every corner and crevice. Nothing still. Her lips puckered to blow out the candle when she felt something brush past her. Kate whipped around and brandished the flame at the shadows. "W-who's there?" she squeaked.

Silence.

"Show yourself!" Kate continued meekly, "Come forth or I shall...or I shall wake the Captain!"

She whimpered as her eyes darted around. "Alright," she said, "This is obviously a very tired mind playing cruel tricks on me." Jack made a noise and Kate heard him shifting around again. "It's bedtime."

Kate turned back to the bed and felt something sweep past her again. The flame of the candle extinguished and the room was covered in darkness, save the faint light coming from the windows. Kate blinked to adjust her eyes and set the candle on the desk. "Jack?"

Creeeeakk. Creeeeeeeeeeak. Creeaaak.

Before she knew it, Kate was pinned to the floor, the weight of her attacker pressed against her stomach. She could detect a hint of saltiness, musk, and rotting flesh. Despite her panic, Kate focused on the assailant's face. Her eyes widened, for she recognized him. His lips were curled in a sinister smile and his villainous eyes shined in the moonlight. A horrified gasp escaped Kate's lips. "James!"

The figure now identified as Kate's deceased husband chuckled malevolently. "I'm disappointed, Katherine." He restrained both of her hands above her head with his strong fingers. "I know you didn't love me, but couldn't you at least act a little bit sorry?"

Kate tried to wriggle free. "Jack! Ja--"

James clamped his free hand over her mouth. "Sorry. Can't let you do that. Even if I could, he wouldn't come. That drunkard is far too inebriated to hear your cries of fear." He snarled. "It's been a whole year, Kate. A year and you're still running. You're hundreds of miles away from your home. And, as I understand, you're no longer calling yourself 'Carrington'? Tsk, tsk." He slid his hand farther up her face to cover her nostrils, cutting her off from oxygen. "Are you that afraid of your sins, Katherine? Are you afraid of the hangman's noose?"

She tried to break free, and she began to feel the touch of asphyxiation.

"No matter, Kate. I'll be doing the world a favor this night, by ridding it of one it's most ruthless criminals." He grunted as he moved his hand from her face to her neck, gripping it tightly before she could make any noise of distress. "Expect no mercy, Kate, for you showed me none. I am avenged, and so is civilization."

Kate felt a breathy scream emit from her lips before everything went black.

"Kate! Katie!! C'mon, love, wake up!"

Jack was patting her face when she opened her eyes. She blurrily saw him smile and look up at somebody off to her right. "Go fetch her some water!" The person nodded and left, and Jack looked down at Kate. "Are you alright? You were shrieking something fierce..."

Kate's vision cleared, and she rubbed her eyes until she saw spots on the inside of her eyelids. "Jack? What's happened, where am I?" She groaned and sat up. Her head swirled at the sudden movement mixed with the bright light of the lamp beside the bed. She shouldn't be alive, from what she could remember. She was almost certain she'd stopped breathing...was she really dead?

Jack embraced her gently. "You were having a nightmare, Katie. A rather unpleasant one at that. Thrashing about, you were, and screaming...woke up me and nearly half the crew." He smiled and squeezed her comfortingly. "What was it that frightened you so?"

She flinched. So it was just a dream, but now she'd stepped into a situation even more unwelcome. How could she explain to Jack that her husband, her dead husband, had tried to kill her? And then how would she cope with explaining to Jack that she has a dead husband?

"Nothing. It was just so realistic...nothing..."

A shuffling of feet told Kate that the rest of the crew had left, disinterested in hearing the dream was over 'nothing'. Cotton had returned with Kate's goblet of water and gingerly placed it on the bedside table before quickly leaving Jack and Kate by themselves. Jack released Kate, and handed her the water, which she gulped hastily. When the last dregs were gone, Jack took it from her and grinned. "You could have made yourself sick, darling. I suggest you take it a bit slower next time."

Kate sighed and held her head. "I'm sorry that I woke you up, Jack. I didn't mean to startle you."

He hid a slightly lecherous grin from her and took her in his arms again. "It's alright, Katie dear. Perhaps if you need a shoulder to cry on," he allowed one of his arms to slide around her waist, the other strongly holding her to his chest, "Old Jack'll be there to listen to your troubles...and then some."

Kate gaped at him. "Captain, this is highly inappropriate." She tried to free herself, but his grasp remained firm.

"But, Katie...I had a bloodcurdling nightmare as well," Jack said. His eyes softened dramatically into a sad expression. He gazed off into space pathetically, pretending to reflect over the horrifying events that took place in his dream. "I wonder if you even care about my mental stability. I don't know that I'll ever be able to recover."

Kate rolled her eyes, entirely not convinced. "Did you, really?"

Jack nodded and clung to her. "Oh yes. I dreamt that...er...my father and...the Queen! Yes, my father and the Queen were chasing after me Pearl with murder and hatred in their eyes, and...um..." Jack stuttered over that 'um' for several seconds before Kate put up a hand.

"Jack, stop it," Kate said. "It's bad enough that you're trying to take advantage of me, and that you're trying to take advantage of me after such a scarring incident, but that you're mocking me..."

She broke his grip and grabbed her pillow. Jack sighed and clicked his tongue, trying desperately to think of a way to remedy the situation. "You know, love, one should never try to go to bed angry."

Kate plopped down on the mattress and turned her back to look at the wall. "And just what makes you say that? I'm not angry."

Jack resumed his position next to her, sliding an arm around her waist and moving her hair from her face. He rested his chin on her shoulder, so his lips were right by her ear. "Then why," Jack whispered, his voice adopting a innocent silkiness, "are you pouting at me? I tried to comfort you. Can I not expect the same, Katie? Why not just rip out my already tormented heart and feed it to sea? I thought I could count on you, darling. Did you not offer me your comfort only hours ago?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Alright, Jack, I've got the message. No need to blow this out of proportion. You certainly know how to weave the right words together, don't you?" she said.

Jack grinned, gently stroking her hair. "I won't deny it, love."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Kate inched away and took refuge from Jack's advances under the blankets. She huddled the blankets around her and turned to face Jack. "Do you do this to every girl you meet?"

Jack looked thoroughly puzzled. "I don't know what you mean."

"Do you try to..." Kate made a gesture with her hands that brought a bright blush to her cheeks, "...have relations with every girl you meet?"

She watched him stare at her blankly for a few moments before snickering into his pillow. "Of course not, Katie. To be completely honest, I never..." He made the gesture that Kate had shown, forcing her blush to deepen to a bright scarlet, "...with anyone unless they've taken residence over my heart. Contrary to what you and the rest of the crew...rest of the world...thinks, I've only ever," he motioned again and Kate covered her cheeks with her hands, "Oh, stop it Katie, you're an adult, for Old Nick's sake--with less women than I have fingers."

Kate laughed in disbelief. It was common knowledge that sailors were very promiscuous, taking as many partners as possible whenever they docked. And Jack--who has been sailing the seas since before she was even born--says that he is purer of body than the majority of the pirate community. "I don't know that I believe you, Jack."

Jack chuckled. "Don't expect you to. But it's the truth, I'll swear on that."

"Then why on earth are you always getting beaten and slapped about by those women in Tortuga?" Kate asked, still skeptical.

"Because, Katie, I would either lead them on or flat refuse to give them what they wanted. Those women are diseased, Kate, and they're so used to giving it out for a living that they become unfeeling. You see, love, I grew up with 'unfeeling'. And try as I might to alter their cold dispositions, I'm never successful. It's one of the reasons I love sailing. The sea can be cruel, but she can also be kind and warm. She gives me what I was deprived of when I was young and what I long for each day."

Kate couldn't help but be moved. Jack was so much more than she perceived, so much more than she could ever have imagined. He was a real person, unlike all those pirates in Tortuga who were stones, empty of emotion and hard. "Oh. I see..."

Jack yawned. "I've never told anyone about myself as much as I've told you today, Katie. Are you sure you're not a witch? A sorceress sent to extract a simple man's innermost thoughts and feelings?" Kate laughed and shook her head. "Good. Don't you dare tell a soul. I mean it. Are you feeling better?"

Kate furrowed her brows together. "What are you talking about?"

"Your nightmare. Do you think you can sleep?"

Kate froze. She'd forgotten all about her nightmare and the terror it caused her. And Jack had accused her of being a witch. He'd taken her into his arms and enchanted her mind until she'd forgotten all about it. He'd sacrificed his protective outer shell for her sake, to take her attention away from the horrifying events of the dream. For the first time in the last few hours, Kate felt grateful to Jack, and ashamed of herself that she hadn't felt it before. Within a night, Jack had saved her in more ways than one. She was glad that he was there now, glad that he'd been in the tavern tonight, and glad that he was willing to forfeit his comfort zone to make her feel better.

Kate smiled and leaned over to give Jack a chaste peck on the cheek. "Yes, Captain. I'm quite sure I can sleep now, thanks to your help. You've been an angel to me tonight, Jack, and I'm grateful to you."

Jack smiled and sat up, extinguishing the lamp. "You're quite welcome, Katie. I do aim to please, as always."

He sidled up next to her once the room was dark again, snuggling close to her. Kate felt safe in reciprocating the action, for this moment was the first time she felt truly safe in the last year. She dared the ghosts of her past to visit her again, confident that they could alarm her no longer. And for a second time, Kate drifted off to sleep in Jack's arms, positive that nothing could harm her, because Jack would always come to her rescue.