AN: I should have probably stated this in the first chapter. I watched AWE on Friday night, and couldn't get this story idea out of my head. Needless to say, it's my first PotC fiction, and my first fanfic in a few years since Buffy went off the air.
Liz looked out the window of the cab, her eyes finding the small dirt path between the trees lining the road. A wooden sign stating "Private property: No Trespassing" guarded the path. David looked out the window beside her, giving her a strange look as she nodded to him and began to gather her belongings. She ignored the cab driver's strange looks to them, stepping out into the humid Florida air.
The cab driver popped the trunk, helping them unload the various bags and cases that she'd put on her list of "must-brings."
"You two sure this is the place? Nothing around here for miles."
"We're good. Thanks." Liz bounced a bit in place. Despite the nerves of how David was going to react to her family, she couldn't help but be excited by the approaching days. It'd been a year since she'd been home, and even though she was nearly 27, she missed it.
"Need any help carrying this stuff to where you're going?"
David was quiet. He hadn't understood why they needed all this stuff, but after she'd insisted he'd just nodded and acquiesced to her. "It's not that far. How much do we owe you?"
"Fifty even." She moved to dig money from her purse, but stopped as David bumped her lightly with a smile as he reached into his wallet.
Liz waited until the yellow cab was but a blip on the horizon before moving. "We should get this stuff done to the beach." She slung her huge duffel over her head, settling it against her back before picking up her oversized back pack and a case of the rum they'd picked up last night.
David did the same, his arms a little more loaded down than hers, and followed her down the pathway. They moved in silence for a few minutes, before he broke the silence.
"I know I promised I wouldn't ask, but where exactly are we going, Liz?"
"My uncle Jack is going to be meeting us on the beach. He'll be giving us a lift home."
"The Jack that you thought was going to scare me off?"
Liz quirked a smile. "I guess I should tell you a little more about things before we meet up with him. Jack's not really my uncle; he's just been a part of our family for as long as we can remember. He'll strike you as a little odd, but he's harmless really. My Gran always says that he's a good man. No one better to watch your back in a fight."
"A fight huh?"
"Yup. Believe me, you'll see a few while we're home, but it's all in fun, and no one has ever been seriously hurt."
They broke through the trees then, and she stopped to place her things right at the tree line, looking out onto the beach. David followed her example, and she knew the moment he realized what he was seeing out on the water. She tried to take a step back, and see it from his view.
The strip of beach was only a few feet wide before hitting the high tide line, where the blue water of the Atlantic Ocean crashed softly against the sand. The blue turned gradually darker in the small cove, where at the entrance was a huge black ship with black sails that looked like it would have fit perfectly on a historical movie set. She shaded her eyes, smiling at the sight of a small dinghy being hoisted over starboard, two figures sitting prominently in the boat.
"Uh, Liz?"
"Yes, David?" She couldn't help the slight tone of amusement tingeing her words.
"That's a big boat."
She giggled a bit. "Word of advice, babe, never refer to the Pearl as a boat, okay? It's a ship. And yes, it's really there." She sighed, turning her back on the dinghy coming closer to grab David's hands. "You need to understand something, David. My family? We can trace our lines back to the 18th century when pirates ruled the seas. In some ways, we still stick to the code. The sea is in our blood. Didn't you wonder why I refused all those apartments that we first looked at?"
"You said you wanted to be able to see the ocean."
"Exactly."
"Love!"
Liz turned with a laugh, running down the beach and throwing herself into her uncle's arms. "Uncle Jack!"
"Sara told me you'd be bringing your man with you. That him?" Jack nodded back up the beach, his beaded dreadlocks tinkling with the movement.
"That's him. Be nice, please?"
"Can't promise that lass. I'm the captain, savvy?"
"Leave the boy alone, Jack. He's in for a strange week."
"Gibbs!"
"Hullo, Lizzie-girl. Looks like you have some things to bring aboard."
"I do, but you're not getting any until you promise to me nice to David."
"Still Captain lass."
"It's rum, Uncle Jack."
"In that caseā¦" She watched as Jack swaggered up the beach, his arms flung open in welcome, and she chased after him, reaching him and David seconds after Jack had thumped David on the back in welcome before moving to embrace one of the cases of rum.
"David, this is my Captain Jack Sparrow. Uncle Jack, this is David Freeman."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Sparrow."
"Captain, boy, Captain." Jack didn't move from the case of rum, in fact, he was currently trying to pry off the wooden lid using only his fingers.
Liz rolled her eyes and stuck her foot out, pushing Jack over into the sand. "You either play nice, Uncle Jack or I'm going to tell Mom to keep you away from the rum this week."
"Fine, fine, lass. You have more than your namesake's spirit, Lizzie-girl."
"Gran will be proud, don't you think?"
Jack rolled his eyes and hoisted two cases of the rum, moving in a rolling manner back down to the dinghy. "Regret voting for the wench, I do."
Liz turned to David, who looked a little shell-shocked. "Remember, Jack's a good man."
"I think he's a pirate."
"Still a good man. Come on, you need to meet Gibbs and the rest of crew."
