Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, but I sure have fun with them!
Author's note: This fiction is sort of a spinoff of my story "Thicker Than Water", in which Jack and Will are cousins... not necessary to read that one, really, but go ahead, if you'd like! Pirate Cat
The evening was a peaceful one aboard the Black Pearl... the sky was clear and the stars twinkled brightly above. The winds were light and the black canvas sails were dancing with the ocean breezes.
Elizabeth Turner was readying her young son for bed. Her husband, William Turner, the former captain of the legendary ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, was away for these two weeks, helping the Dutchman's captain, James Norrington, with his duties. William had been released from his curse, and was no longer bound to the ship, due to his and Elizabeth's true and lasting love, but he was bound by a promise to Calypso to help James whenever his aid and expertise of the ship was needed. There was war between France and Spain, and the toll upon the sea was heavy. William's help in ferrying souls was required, and even though he could no longer submerge with the ship, he could help with the keeping count and the rites of passage for each sailor. It was a condition of his early release from his cursed duty... he was able to recover his living heart, but he was honor bound to help when James felt the necessity. Elizabeth and William felt that it was a very, very small price to pay. She hoped someday, to see a green flash in the sky for James Norrington.
William and Elizabeth had joined William's cousin, Captain Jack Sparrow, as crew members aboard his ship, the Black Pearl, shortly after the terrible experiences At World's End. Jack had been rescued from Davy Jones' Locker after a horrible ordeal, and had literally been brought back from the dead. He had always been different from everyone else; some called him mad, but since returning from The Other Side, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the man was more than just a little bit unhinged. Not in a bad way. Actually, in a very endearing way.
It was upon the return trip that they were gifted by the sea goddess, Calypso, with the revelation that Jack and William were related... their fathers were half brothers, and never knew it. William had been bestowed with a gift of vision... he was able to see into Jack's heart during a time that Jack had fallen deathly ill, and through the gift, the Turners were able to understand Captain Jack Sparrow. The captain was not aware of any of this during his illness, and it was just as well. It as also just as well that Little Will was not made privy to many of the sordid things that had happened to his Cousin Jack; it was too much for a child his age to understand... it would have to wait until he was older, and able to understand the ways of the world better, especially Jack's world. After all was said and done, William and Elizabeth loved the captain for his oddness, and their five year old son, Little Will, absolutely adored the captain for his strange ways.
Elizabeth's responsibilities aboard the ship mainly were to assist Joshamee Gibbs as quartermaster. She had a good mind for sums, and was very much the asset to the Pearl as far as marketplace bartering was concerned. She was also not averse to looking the other way when some petty piracy took place while she bartered. It was all a part of the job.
On this day, the Black Pearl had anchored in a hidden island cove, needing to have minor repairs made while Gibbs and Elizabeth took the long boat to the town to see about replenishing a rather lengthy list of supplies. Since William was not there to watch Little Will, and since the other members of the pirate crew were occupied with the various duties of repair and swabbing of the deck, it was left up to Jack to look after the boy. An idea that was met with some trepidation by the captain.
"I don't know how t' look after wee whelps! Wot do ye do wif 'em? I don't know anythin' about children," was the plaintive response to Elizabeth's request. Jack's dark eyes were wide with alarm, and he held his hands up in front of her as if they were trying to build a stone wall between them. He swayed backward a bit, and tried to look appealing.
She looked at Jack with frustrated eyes and said, "... well, what am I supposed to do, Jack? I need to help Gibbs, and William is not here to help us look after Little Will. It would be fun for both of you... Little Will adores you, and would love to just have you tell him stories! Clean stories...none involving Scarlet and Gisele!"
"... I don't know any clean stories!" Jack pouted. He and Elizabeth stared at each other, and he could see a storm gathering. He rolled his eyes, heaved a heavy sigh, and finally said, "Alright. You win. But I expect a mighty fine load o' sumptuous victuals f' th' captain's table fer me efforts, savvy?" he grumbled... and then slightly smiled. It was true... he was extremely fond of William Turner the Third... and would have some fine fun with his wee cousin.
It was evening. Elizabeth was readying her small son for bed... he was struggling with putting his thin arms through the sleeves of his nightshirt. Life aboard a pirate ship agreed with him... he was small, but wiry, and was already a quick study in the art of sailing. His mother helped him with his sleeves, laughing as one arm appeared through the top of the nightshirt. "Here, silly..."
When his brown mop of curls finally appeared where it should, she rumpled his hair and asked, "So how was your afternoon with Cousin Jack?"
His golden brown eyes shone... he was the very image of his father, especially when he smiled. "Oh, Mama, Cousin Jack taught me so many important things for being a pirate!"
"... did he teach you about the Brethren of the Coast, and the Pirate's Code? Those are very important things to know about!"
"No, Mama, we sang sea chanties, I watched him make a braid in his hair, and he taught me how to spit, and how to slam a mug down onto a table when you finish your drink, and he taught me how to count to five in Irish Gaelic! Would you like to hear me?" was the excited reply.
"... Spit??? Cousin Jack taught you how to spit???"
"Aye, Mama! I did really well, too! Cousin Jack said that I did! I hit the middle of the main deck from the quarterdeck, each time, with the wind! And he let me wear his hat!"
Elizabeth frowned. "We shall have to talk to Cousin Jack about the spitting..."
The little one put his chin up as his mother buttoned the front of his nightshirt by candlelight. Elizabeth turned down the blanket in the boy's small bunk, then tucked him in once he had clambered into it. Little Will had become thoughtful for a moment, then he turned his face up to his mother's and asked, "Mama, why is Cousin Jack the way that he is?"
Elizabeth looked at her son, puzzled. "How do you mean, 'the way that he is', darling?"
"...well... he walks strangely... and talks strangely, also... he looks... different, and sometimes it seems like he is far away, when he is right next to me..."
Elizabeth sighed. "Well, littile love, Cousin Jack has problems, you see. He has had many head injuries, and heat stroke, and he also drinks too much rum, sometimes."
Little Will's clear brown eyes looked concerned, "... why does he drink too much rum, Mama?" he asked, quietly.
"Well, Will... no one really knows," was the reply, "...but he has not had a very happy life. His mama died when he was just a year older than you, and his papa did not look out for him like your papa does. Cousin Jack has had a very hard time. He and Papa did not even know that they were cousins until just after we came back from World's End. He thought that he didn't have any family, other than Captain Teague... who abandoned him."
"... didn't Cousin Jack have anyone to love him, Mama?"
"...no, Will, he really didn't. He was all alone for most of his life. Do you remember how Papa and I told you that if I were to have another baby... a little brother or sister for you... that you and I would have to be left on land to keep us safe for a while? It does not mean that Papa does not love you, and it does not mean that you are being abandoned. Well, Cousin Jack has been left alone and abandoned many, many times. Do you know how lonely that makes him feel? It's bound to make him seem strange to others at times."
Little Will's eyes grew wider and more unhappy, as his mother gently continued. "Do you remember the stories about the Kraken that Papa tells you? Cousin Jack has a Kraken tooth on his bandana, remember, darling? That is to remind him that the Kraken hurt him badly, but he survived it. He just has some...bad problems... because of it." Elizabeth did not feel that the true details of Jack's death at the teeth of the Kraken were necessary to illustrate her point to her son. "We simply have to understand and accept Cousin Jack just the way that he is...even if he talks to himself, sometimes."
Little Will was silent, letting the words sink in. He turned his eyes up to his mother's and said, "But Mama... just because we can't see who Cousin Jack is talking to doesn't mean that they aren't there... we just can't see them...and he can."
Elizabeth was stunned at her young son's infinite wisdom. She stared at him, humbly. Perhaps Little Will, in his child's way, understood the captain more than she or William ever thought. "That's very true, darling. I never thought of that."
"I don't understand why Cousin Jack's papa did not watch out for him. Did he not love Cousin Jack? I love him." The little boy's eyes were starting to brim with tears... he could not fathom a father not loving his little boy.
"We all love Jack, son. Have you ever told Cousin Jack that you love him?" The little one shook his head. "Well, Will, perhaps you should go tell Cousin Jack good night... and what you just told me. I think that he would like that..."
Little Will promptly hopped out of his bunk and scampered across the small cabin to the doorway, and out into the moonlight. Elizabeth watched from the doorway as the boy ran across the main deck and up onto the quarterdeck to the slender silhouetted figure at the wheel of the ship.
The captain looked down at the boy, as the wee one ran up to him, arms outreached. It was obvious that the captain was puzzled, by the way that he moved to pick up the boy. He tied off the wheel and listened to what the little one had to say. The two of them were motionless for a moment, as the captain stared into the boy's small face. Suddenly, he embraced the boy to him, emotionally, and he did something that Elizabeth had never in her life see him do. He kissed the child on the cheek. The little one threw his arms around the captain's neck in a hug that only a child can give. Elizabeth bit her lip and swallowed the lump in her throat.
The captain put the child down, and patted his little rear as he scampered back down the steps and back to his family's snug cabin. Elizabeth looked up at the silhouette against the moon. She smiled as she watched the same silhouette wipe his coat sleeves against his eyes... and then took back the wheel of the Black Pearl, once again.
"Mama?" came the sleepy voice in the dark.
"...yes, darling?"
Little Will, in his small child's voice, tried to imitate the captain's fractured English, "Cousin Jack said tha' he likes havin' cousins t' be cousins wif. It makes things much more better."
Elizabeth smiled. She wished that William could have heard that.