AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Ahh!! CHAOS! Well, here it is. This is where it starts to break away from the canon, but I'm pleased with it. And I'd like to add that it's not bad writing that I haven't revealed what Kate looks like, I was just struggling over what I wanted her to look like. But there's part of it. Enjoy!

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Chapter 5

The moon was glazing over as the sky began to lighten. The Pearl's crew was obviously still slumbering, for she veered about uncontrollably, tossing about this way and that...Jack wouldn't be pleased with that, thought the young woman who was watching from only a handful of kilometers away. She signaled to her first mate raise canvas; it wasn't necessary anymore. The captain of The Pearl would be roused soon, and she was smart enough to know that if he saw her, he'd open fire. No. Now was not the time. Jack Sparrow could sleep soundly for now, because she was going to bide her time. But until then, she willed him to have every reason to be worried.

The dawn broke the next day with astonishing beams of sunlight. Rays poured into the deep blue waters and they glistened brilliantly. The radiance crept into the captain's cabin, waking it's occupant. Kate's eyes flickered and opened slowly. She winced at the sudden brightness of the room and, once her eyes were adjusted, shifted over to look at Jack.

Only, he wasn't there.

Momentary panic swept over Kate. She sat up quickly, making her head spin, to look for the captain. He was nowhere to be found. Standing, Kate rushed to the door and peered through the glass parts. Sure enough, there was Jack, making fluid hand movements to a rather confused Mr. Cotton. Cotton's parrot squawked a hurried, "Shiver me timbers!" and he and his master were off to do their chores.

Her small quest now over, Kate threw off Jack's shirt and grabbed her own clothes. She wrapped her corset around her waist, and failing miserable to lace it up. Kate even attempted to tie the stays to Jack's bedpost and run in the other direction, which was a better idea in theory than practicality. While she was busy pulling the knots out, Jack entered the cabin, a wide grin on his face.

"Good morning, Katie! I--" His eyes went wide as they laid themselves across Kate's scantily clad body. Jack made every attempt to hide the lecherous smirk on his face. "The offer you make is indeed a tempting one, lass, but I'm afraid I've got duties to attend to at the moment." He flashed his golden teeth and crossed his arms stiffly.

Kate flung her arms over her body and screeched, "Get out, get out, GET OUT!" She yanked the stays from the bedpost, ripping and fraying them at the ends. Jack was chuckling as she advanced on him, and he took the stays from her hands. He whipped her around so she was no longer facing him, and before she could protest he was pulling the stays of her corset with epic strength. Kate cried out at the sudden loss of air and doubled over, and Jack yanked the stays to pull her back to an upright position.

"That's no good, love. I don't understand why you don't leave it off in the first place," he said, grunting as he pulled.

Kate grabbed onto the bedpost and winced. "All of my clothes are too small without it. I'd have go day to day in my skivvies." Kate gasped when she felt Jack's boot on her waist, pushing her away from him with it.

Jack snickered. "I don't fancy you'd receive much complaint, darling. Not on my end, anyhow." Another yank. "We'll pilfer you some new ones, how's that?" Yank.

"At least you're honest."

"Honest is one thing I am not, Katie," Jack chimed, "I thought that was evident by my way of living."

Kate cried out in pain, sure that Jack had just cracked one of her ribs. When the pain subsided, she spoke again. "So you're saying all those things you told me last night were just lies?"

Jack clicked his tongue. "I was very inebriated, love, I can't be sure of what I said."

"Nevermind."

Just when Kate felt like her lungs were collapsing, Jack tied the stays in a secure knot, pulling Kate to him. There was a silence as Kate breathed in Jack's scent, which was surprisingly pleasant. The night before, if she noticed anything, it was nothing more than poor body odor. But now, that was different. Kate could detect a hint of the ocean, mixed with rain and spice.

Jack furrowed his brow and leaned his head away from her. "You alright? Perhaps I should readjust those..." He pointed to her corset.

Kate came hurling back to reality. "No. No." She smiled and shook her head. "Thank you, by the way." He bowed his head and stepped away. Kate opened her worn leather bag and pulled out a lush navy blue dress. "Had much practice at helping with corsets, have you, Jack?" She threw him a playful smirk.

"Heh heh...no." Jack helped lace the strings on the back of her dress. "Sort of."

Kate tied her hair back with a ribbon. "I see. Well, until I am able to legitimately," Jack stuck out his tongue offensively, "commission some new dresses, I shall be in need of your services in the mornings. Please?"

Jack gave her a gentle pat on her rump before leading her to the cabin doors. "I'm all yours, love. Now, get moving. That galley's not going to clean itself."

Kate had no sooner stepped out of the cabin when she was being pulled back in by Jack. He said nothing, only examined her top to bottom. Kate raised an eyebrow and made a move to go back out, but Jack had a firm grip on her wrist. "You're a redhead."

"So I am, just like I have been my whole life."

"I didn't see that last night."

"May I please go to my station?"

"Redheads are bad luck!"

"It's more blonde than red, Jack."

"We'll have to shave it all off, you know."

"Jack!"

"Alright," he grinned, "I suppose we can just pray to the gods that they have mercy on us, then. Go on, now."

And away she went.

Galley work had been some of the most exhausting work Kate had ever had the displeasure of doing. Everything was covered in a thick layer of filth, and she scrubbed until her hands were near bleeding. She'd torn her dress a handful of times, causing her to swear loudly. And the icing on the cake was that she had no one to talk to. Everyone had made good so far on leaving her alone, on account of Jack's threat. Even though most of them seemed like the conventional cutthroat type, she wouldn't have minded a bit of company.

Her wish was granted around noon, when Jack thudded down the steps and sat down on a crate. "Being one of the greatest minds of our time, I was able to gather in the first five seconds of my observation of you that you are not enjoying yourself. Now, why is that?"

Kate threw her cloth into the bucket and stood. "It's nothing big. I was just getting kind of lonely, actually. You solved that, but only for a little while," she smiled and sat on a crate next to his.

Jack flashed a rather dashing smile. "What brought you to that particular thought?"

"Well, you're captain. You've got your own responsibilities," Kate said.

"Are you throwing me out of my own galley, Miss Porter?"

"No, Jack." Kate laughed and yawned. She was truly exhausted. "I just assumed you had other things to do besides talk to me."

Jack handed her a bottle of rum from the stack, and took one for himself. "I do, as a matter of fact. That's the beauty of being captain, dove. No one tells me to do it."

Kate laughed and took a deep swig from her bottle. Jack sighed and drank from his own. "Really, I came to let you know that we'll be making port in a few days. I thought we could gather a few yards of fabric for you." He pinched her cheek sweetly. "I can't have me best girl slaving away uncomfortably."

Kate smiled sincerely. "That's nice of you to say, Jack. But until then, I really must get this galley cleaned. I can't be expected to prepare any food in this state of things, we'd all die of food poisoning."

Jack seemed to agree. "I'll leave you to it, then." He retreated up the stairs and that was the end of it.

The next few days were no different than the first, consisting of perpetual scrubbings, midnight talks with Jack, and the daily corset exercise. Kate was very vocal about how glad she was to be docking this present evening, and that she was going to start work on dresses straightaway.

In the meantime, Kate occupied herself with her chores and her thoughts. Thoughts about Jack, thoughts about her dream, thoughts about her old position in Tortuga...and then, she hated to admit, more thoughts about Jack. Even now, as she peeled potatoes, she couldn't help but think that her captain was, without a doubt, the most enigmatic being she'd ever met. Kate couldn't help but focus on his mannerisms from time to time, simply because he was so charismatically unusual. This trait drew her to him, and she was beginning to feel a weak attraction to him. This was not good.

Kate nicked herself with a knife as this notion crossed her mind. "Damn!" she shouted, and ripped a piece of cloth from her already torn navy dress to bandage herself with. The navy material budded a blackened dot where Kate's blood had seeped through, and she stared at it intently. If this is what became of her attraction to Jack, it was best she nipped it in the bud now, before any real damage came to her.

It's not going to be that easy, girl, her conscience told her. "Sod off," Kate said out loud in response.

"You don't even know what I have to say yet," a voice slurred from above.

Kate looked up from her potatoes to see Jack standing on the top stair into the galley. He was making his way down with a broad grin gracing his features. When Kate noticed this, she giggled goofily in spite of herself. Jack snorted and took a step back, picking up the half-empty bottle of rum by her seat. "Right, no more of this for you."

"Can I be of any assistance to you, Captain?" Kate asked.

He nodded once and held a hand out to her. "I thought you wished to come ashore when we docked."

Kate beamed with delight. "Of course! But aren't we early?"

Jack shook his head. "Not at all. Now, come! We've got much to do!" He took her hand and led her up to the deck. Gibbs was frantically shouting orders to the crew, and they bustled about to complete their tasks so they could go aground immediately.

When the anchor was cast, they positioned the gangplank and all were off in a matter of minutes, save the few who were assigned to stay with the ship. Jack personally led Kate into town, an almost cocky look on his face. The town was awfully busy for the evening times, which was helpful in keeping a low profile. Kate was quick to observe that this was not a pirate port, and any one of them could be captured and bound to hang in a heartbeat.

In the centre square there was a man with a kiosk selling all sorts of hats. He waved to Jack and Kate and smiled at them toothlessly. "Fancy a hat, young miss? Them's the finest hats in all of the Caribbean, them is!"

Before Kate could smile politely back and refuse, Jack was leading her over and perusing the old man's wares. His fingers glided over every bonnet and cap he could find, clicking his tongue in what Kate found to be a rather annoying manner. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, when suddenly he gasped with delight. In his hands he held a hat, identical to his, only this was a worn grayish black. "I want this one, good sir," he said to the merchant, and pulled a beaded satin purse from his pocket. Kate stared at it, confused, as Jack put two coins into the merchants hand. The old man smiled and pocketed the coins, waving to the pair as Jack led them off, the hat in his hand.

"Jack, what an odd purse you carry. Where did you get it, and why on earth do you use it?" Kate asked.

Jack clicked his tongue and placed the hat on her head. "It's not mine, love. I nicked off some old codger back there. Do you like it?" he asked, pointing to the hat.

Kate didn't know whether to be appalled or amused. "Yes I do, very much, thanks. But why did you buy it, and with someone else's money?"

"Because," he said, taking her hand in his own, "Every proper pirate needs a decent hat. Otherwise, that pirate doesn't take him or herself seriously and doesn't deserve to be on my ship. And, I'm a proper pirate. So, I did what proper pirates do and I pirated some gold so we can procure some fabric for you. Here we are."

"That's terrible logic," she scolded. Kate's hand was surely making him uncomfortable, due to the sudden clamminess of her palm. She was steered into a shop with dozens of rows of fabric. Jack let go of her hand and turned her loose, telling her that she could have whatever her heart desired. The finest silk or the scratchiest burlap, money was no object to him. Kate was glad that it was a rich old codger he'd taking the purse from.

About thirty minutes later, Kate had her arms full of different textiles, though simple and durable. Jack had helped with a few selections, which Kate was honestly thankful for. He picked out the best fabrics for scullery work, and even purchased a few delicate ones to make Kate feel good about herself. To her embarrassment, the shopkeeper had commented on what a lovely couple they made, causing Jack to chuckle shamefully and Kate to blush. Once they were done, Jack remarked he still had a few coins left in his purse, and the two of them popped into a local pub for a drink.

The two sat a secluded table in the corner with their tankards of rum and ale, conversing pleasantly. Kate vowed not to let herself get too tipsy, for in her current state she might end up making confessions to a certain someone about a certain feeling she'd discovered, and now was just not the time for that.

Jack was in the middle of telling Kate about the time the Nordic people made him a constable, which she obviously wasn't buying, when an unholy sound emerged from the gentleman at the table next to them. It was the strangest hiccup Kate had ever heard, and she chalked it up to the fact that the man next to them was also in the process of having a good blubber about something. She peered into his exceptionally handsome face, which was pale and worn, and saw that he wasn't actually crying, just sighing drunkenly and sniffling.

Kate was so busy studying this man that she hadn't even known that Jack had stopped talking. This man broke her heart, and she could tell that whatever was troubling him was beyond grief. He was feeling an emotion that there was no words for, and he couldn't express them without his heart disintegrating. Jack was soon waving a hand in her eyes and whistling. "'Ello?"

When she gave no answer, he turned his gaze to the object which held hers. His jaw dropped momentarily and was replaced with a sympathetic smile. Kate watched as Jack stood and quietly strode over to the man and patted him gently on the shoulder. "William. Long time no see."

The man Jack had identified as William peered up emptily up at Jack. He opened his mouth to speak and uttered a small squeak before the words came. "She's gone, Jack," he muttered, "Elizabeth's left me."

Jack sighed and helped the man to his feet. He dragged the man over to the vacant seat at their table and plopped him down, whispering, "Rotten witch, I always knew she was no good..."

Jack winked at Kate and indicated the gentleman. "Kate, this is Will Turner. Will, I present to you Katherine Porter."

Will blinked in response, and Kate smiled politely at him. "It's nice to meet you, Will."

Jack chimed in again. "What's the story with old Lizzie, then?"

Will sunk into a stoic disposition as he rattled off the tale of his ex-fiancée, Elizabeth, and how she'd decided instead to marry someone with more to offer than Will. She told him that this arrangement was for the best, and she had to better her situation to maintain the standard of living she'd become accustomed to over the years. After he saw her riding in the carriage from her wedding, he'd left for good. And here he was.

Jack and Kate sat quietly during his story, and when he was finished, Jack offered him Kate's ale, which she raised an eyebrow to. "Well, Master William, I am truly sorry to hear that. I'd like to first offer my condolences, and secondly, a post on my ship. Katie here is having a fine time in the galley and could use some assistance. What say you?"

Will sighed and smiled at Jack, then Kate. "I'd love to."

A/NI'd like to remind you all that I did say this fic would not follow DMC or AWE canon. So I can have Will here. There. REVIEW!