Harboring a Pirate

By Serena-chan

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, save my imagination, of course. This applies to all chapters that may appear under this story's heading.

Summary: Will and Jack meet thirteen years before their adventures in Port Royal, back when Jack was the new captain of his father's ship. (Cute little scene where Jack gets his precious hat.) Now, during a chance meeting in the blacksmith's shop, Will begins to remember his father's eccentric captain. (Curse of the Black Pearl)

Prologue

England—Thirteen years before the movie

The brown, tri-corner hat was made of stiff, new leather, and it seemed exceptionally large in Will's small, seven year-old hands. He carried it carefully, walking beside his father through the crowded streets. His father's strides were long and sure, and Will had to take two steps for each of his father's to keep up.

"Father, who is this a present for?" he asked.

"The new captain of me ship," his father replied in his deep, rumbling voice. He noticed young William puffing to keep up and swooped him up safely in his strong arms.

Will enjoyed being up so high and seeing their small town from a grown-up's view, before his father's words began to sink in. "'New captain'? What happened to Captain Richards?"

Captain Richards had been his father's captain for as long as Will could remember. He'd been a cheerful, kind man with a rather large belly, a pleasant laugh and a deep, booming voice. He'd reminded Will of a great lion with his mane of fiery red hair.

Each time their ship made port in Will's town, his father would take him aboard the ship, letting him run and play along the smooth expanse of the deck while his father repaired netting and joked with fellow sailors. Captain Richards would always hoist him up on his powerful shoulders, his scraggly beard tickling Will's face.

He'd place his huge captain's hat on Will's head, chuckling each time at how big it was on him. He would hold Will up to touch the struts of the wheel, letting him pretend to be steering the ship.

"Captain Richards…he went the way of many a fine sailor," his father answered vaguely, avoiding Will's gaze.

To keep Will from questioning him further, he quickly took the hat from his hands and placed it on his son's head, laughing as the brim came down well past his eyes. Will tilted the hat back so he could see, grinning at his father and momentarily forgetting about Captain Richards.

"Here we are."

He was being carried onto the ship now and set down. He watched as his father scanned the semi-crowded decks for someone in particular.

"There he is, Will. Why don't ye go take Captain Jack his hat?"

Will stared at the man his father was pointing to. He wasn't at all what he'd been expecting; the man's long, dark hair was pulled back from his forehead by a bandana, and his face had only a small stubble of a beard and mustache. His eyes were dark as sin and flashed with a sharp sort of intelligence.

What surprised Will the most, however, was that the captain seemed so…-young-. Perhaps no more than twenty, he seemed far too young to be in charge of this magnificent ship.

"I know what yer thinking," his father said, seeing the look on his son's face, "but there's reasons. He may be young, but he certainly isn't as green as he looks. You'd be surprised, my boy, but I tell you that he's done some incredible things; definitely earned the right to be called 'Captain.'"

There was great respect in his father's voice, and Will knew that there were very few people his father looked up to. He turned his gaze back to the man with a new sense of admiration.

"Go on." His father nudged him forward.

Will approached the captain cautiously, feeling slightly intimidated. Captain Jack was perched on a couple of barrels, staring out to sea. He seemed to have this commanding aura about him that almost frightened Will.

As he got closer, however, he could see the expression on the man's face; it was almost child-like with ill-concealed impatience and excitement as he stared off at the horizon. Will suddenly wasn't afraid any more.

Rushing over, Will climbed onto the man's lap. He took the hat (which was still perched at an angle on his own head) off and placed it with proper care onto the head of his father's new captain.

Obsidian eyes turned to him in surprise, and Will smiled shyly, pointing over to where his father was leaning against the mast, laughing. Jack smiled when he saw him.

"I figured every new captain deserves a new hat," he said, approaching them.

Jack grinned his thanks before turning his attention to the boy still in his lap. "And who might this be?"

"This is me son, William."

Later that day, Will was playing below deck when he rounded a bend and saw a door open at the end of a long hall. Inside, leaning over some maps, was Captain Jack. Will watched him for a long while, curious. He kept pulling a compass out of his pocket and checking it. This confused Will, and at last he could no longer hold back his curiosity.

"Don't compasses always point north?" he asked, stepping into the room.

The young man jumped apprehensively, noticing for the first time that he wasn't alone. When he saw that it was just Bill Turner's boy, however, he seemed to relax.

"Most do," he said carefully.

"Then why do you keep checking the one in your pocket if it'll always point you the same way?"

Jack chuckled. "Yer a curious one, aren't ye?"

Will didn't get a chance to reply. There was a sudden commotion above deck. Someone was shouting, and Will heard his father's voice saying that this was just a merchant vessel passing through.

An official sounding voice replied, "Look, sir, I'm just obeying orders, and my orders are to search every ship in the dock. We've reason to believe that a wanted man is onboard a ship in this area."

"What man?" Will heard another sailor ask.

"A Mr. Jack S—"

Will didn't hear the last name for Captain Jack had suddenly jumped out of his chair so fast that it had gone crashing to the floor. They could hear the sounds of footsteps from above moving toward the stairs.

"Quick, lad, in here." Jack grabbed Will roughly by the arm and led him into a storage room. They crouched in the darkness behind large coils of rope, listening as the city officials searched the rooms around them.

Will's brain was racing. He was sure that the man next to them was the one they were searching for, but why? Why would the captain of his father's ship be wanted by the law?

He briefly wondered if he should feel afraid of Captain Jack, but then he remembered the respect in his father's voice. Jack couldn't truly be a bad person.

The voices and footsteps in the room next-door told Will that it would only be a matter of time before someone thought to check the supply room. Jack was sure to be found.

Without thinking, he sprang into action. Quickly, before Jack could stop him, he darted up to the door and opened it just as a heavily armed guard was about to enter.

"You, boy," the man snapped. "What were you doing in that storage closet?"

"Just playing, sir," Will replied. He did his best to look small and scared—which didn't require much acting, really, because he -was- small and scared.

"Were you alone?"

"Yes, sir."

The guard crouched down next to Will. "Now listen carefully, boy. The man we're after is a vicious, blood-thirsty pirate. Is there anyone suspicious onboard?"

"I'd hardly be harboring a pirate," Will replied with truthful conviction.

"Good lad." The guard nodded and moved across the hall to continue searching the rooms, leaving the storage closet forgotten.

Will sat down, leaning against the door as he watched the guards finish their search. His mind was teeming with questions.

The guards were looking for Captain Jack, of that he was certain, but hadn't the man said that the person they were looking for was a pirate? Surely…surely Jack wasn't a pirate, was he? After all, if the ship were captained by a pirate then that would make this a pirate ship, and Will felt certain that his father would never sail under the command of a pirate…no, surely the guards had got it wrong.

As the last of the uniformed men admitted defeat and left, the door to the storage closet quietly cracked open. Jack carefully eyed the passageway—empty save for Will—before lunging out, grabbing the boy roughly by the shoulders.

"Do ye realize how stupid that was?" Jack hissed, his eyes flashing. "If they'd caught ye lying, ye'd be marching to the gallows with me. Why in God's name would ye do something like that?"

Will simply stared at the man before him, unsure of what to say. He didn't know himself why he had done it.

The captain's gaze softened. "Still, ye saved me life. I can hardly be mad at ye for that."

Will saw the gratitude and admiration in the older man's eyes, and his heart swelled with pride. He knew Jack wasn't really mad at him.

Suddenly, Will's father pounded down the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw them. "They've gone, but we're definitely not sticking around. We're casting off as soon as I get Will off the ship."

He grabbed Will's hand and pulled him quickly up the stairs, speaking softly and quickly. "It's not safe for us to stay here. Will, can ye get back home from the docks by yerself?"

"Yes," Will said, bursting with curiosity, "but, Father, why—?"

"No time," his father replied, leading him safely off the ship. "I'll explain it all to ye the next time I'm home." He knelt down beside his son, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Give yer mum a kiss for me. Tell her I'm sorry to be leavin' early and that I'll return before winter."

Will a rough pat on the cheek, he was gone. Will watched his retreating form, not knowing that it would be the last time he'd see his father.