Chapter 4:

Tortuga had been a favourite destination of Neveah's since she was very small. Her mother, as Jack had mentioned once, had not been a huge fan of the loud atmosphere and the high population of whores and drunks, but Neveah had taken after her father in this respect. However, whenever they set foot on the docks, Jack had given Neveah the same 'talking to' that he always did.

"Right, listen to me you rascal. I can't tell you to behave, because I know you're not going to listen to me. I want you to stay by me, Will or Elizabeth. If you're with Will and Elizabeth, tell me. Or Gibbs. Just tell me whoever you're going to be with. Never talk to a drunk-"

"But, Dad, you're going to be drunk."

"Never talk to a drunk." He'd repeated. "Don't let the girls dress you up again, and don't let me find you being dressed up by the girls again. If I catch them trying to get you to learn their trade, I've got every mind to make you stay on the ship every time we come back to Tortuga."

She'd smile, and politely assure him: "Don't worry Dad, I'm not going to become a whore."

Of course, her wording, despite it being exactly what his worst fear was when it came to this port, always made him cringe. Nothing had made him cringe more than the first time she had said it, when she was six years old, but still, even when he knew she'd say it every time, the word coming from his daughter's mouth was still shocking, and, as far as he was concerned, it was a word she shouldn't know the meaning of.

They went to the same bar they always did, The Faithful Bride, and, whilst the rum was being counted for their order, the found themselves sitting around a wooden table on stools.

Across the other side of the bar, Neveah had caught glimpses of a man with cold eyes watching them. Yet, despite the coldness of his eyes, she saw that there was much anger in them, and unfortunately, she found it appeared to be directed at them.

"Who is that man?" She'd asked her father, Will and Elizabeth, who were sitting closely to her. Elizabeth wasn't happy about coming to Tortuga at all, let alone needing to bring Michael into port and into the bar with them.

"Man? What man?" Jack asked her, looking over his shoulder to see where his daughter was looking.

"That man." She said, nodding her head in the stranger's direction. "In the muddy jacket." She added, realising that, save her, Elizabeth, and the whores, everyone in the bar was a man.

Jack caught sight of him first, recognising him instantly. "Well, stick a dress on me and call me a woman..." He muttered under his breath.

"Is that Norrington?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"Who's Norrington?" Neveah asked.

"James Norrington, former Commadore." Will explained to her.

"Former?" She frowned at him.

Elizabeth let out a gentle smirk. "He never did get his title back, did he?"

"With good reason." Jack said bitterly.

"Jack, don't be so harsh!" Elizabeth scolded him the same way she did her son.

"He double crossed us." Jack reminded them.

"He double crossed you." Will corrected.

"And I had a whirlwind adventure inside of Davy Jones's beastie because of it." He pointed out.

The arguement between them was about to develop further, but Neveah broke it up. "He's heading this way." She told them.

"Oh, bloody hell." Jack complained, turning his back on the approaching man. "Next he'll be wanting to come with us. The smily, backstabbing, smelly runt of a--Norrington! How wonderful to see you!" He said, changing his tune dramatically when Norrington reached their table and stepped up beside Jack. He wasn't amused. Clearly, he had heard them.

"Turner. Sparrow." He said coldly, not even acknowledging Neveah, Elizabeth or young Michael.

"Captain Sparrow, former Commadore." Jack corrected, whilst also pointing out that he was still more authorative on the seas than he was.

Norrington frowned at Jack. "I don't like the way you address me, Captain." He said, though his show of respect for authority was clearly mocking.

"Oh...well, then...I won't." Jack said, turning away from Norrinton and back to his drink.

"What brings your crew to Tortuga?" He asked, purposefully attracting Jack's attention, much to his annoyance.

"What else, but it's fine supply of...supplies?" Jack said, gesturing to the many glasses of rum on the table. All of them were empty; untouched by the females at the table, a few to Will, but the majority were Jack's.

"Rum, then." Norrington nodded.

"Aye, the rum."

Norrington caught sight of Neveah, and she instantly felt unease under his intense stare. He had a scheming look in his eyes, like he knew something about her, and that his knowledge gave him an advantage over her; an understanding that lead to something in his favour.

"You appear to have reached a new low, Sparrow" Norrinton commented, abandoning his recognition of Jack's title, and never once taking his eyes off the young girl. "Allowing runaway children onto your ship, and a girl, at that."

"This is no runaway, ex-Commadore." Jack corrected. "This bonnie lass is me daughter."

Norrington laughed hysterically at this.

Jack cast a confused look at Neveah, who shrugged back at him, and then frowned at Norrington. "Something about your reaction tells me that you don't quite think me up to the task, once-been-Commadore, and that, I find a tad insulting."

"Your daughter?" Norrington repeated, still laughing under his breath. "You lack the responsibilities to keep yourself to hygenic acceptance, let alone a child."

Neveah spoke up, her voice bitter towards Norrington. "I wouldn't want anyone else for a father, not that you could begin to understand his abilities as a parent."

Jack, at any other time, would have smiled proudly at his daughter, knowing that she took the family name with honour on the seas, but the nagging feeling that Norrington was up to something prevented this.

"Is that so?" Norrington asked.

"You shouldn't speak ill of something you know nothing about." She almost spat at him, trying hard to control her temper towards the man who insulted her fathers parenting.

Norrington smiled at Neveah, and then turned back to Jack. "And just like you, Sparrow, she doesn't know her place."

Jack leaned back on his stool, folding his arms over his chest and grinning at Norrington. "Oh, she knows her place well, Norrington..." He assured him. "...and it's above you."

Norrington simply nodded in reply, and turned his head back to Neveah, drinking in every detail of her appearance. "Neveah Sparrow." He said to himself. "So, this is who they are looking for. Your daughter." He said to Jack.

"How do you know her name?" Jack said, knowing that he hadn't mentioned her name whilst in Norrington's undelightful company.

"Two nights ago, a ship pulled into harbour. A skeleton ship I've had the misfortune of seeing only once, sixteen years ago."

"The Flying Dutchman." Elizabeth said quietly, and Neveah looked at her, frowning.

Norrington nodded, never taking his eyes off Jack as he leaned across the table so they were at eye level with each other. "It would have been the first time in ten years that it made port. The harbour was deserted as soon as it came into sight, but instead of an attack, only one man stepped from the ship. He came to this place, and started asking questions about you, and young Neveah; about you and your whereabouts. His name was Henry Alderman."

"Alderman?" Jack asked, just the name striking back a memory of visiting Tia Dalma with his infant daughter in his arms.

"He wasn't around long." Norrington said. "Just gathering information about where he might find her. He found what he was after, and then left again. The Flying Dutchman vanished, along with its crew."

Jack stood up, baring his weight on his forearms as he looked at Norrington square on. "What was he told?"

"Dad, what's going on?" Neveah asked.

"What did you tell him, Norrington?" Jack asked again, slightly worried yet not wanting to let it show in his voice.

"What makes you think it had anything to do with me?" Norrington asked, the look of happy guilt in his eyes giving it away instantly.

"Dad?"

"I know this had everything to do with you." Jack told him, grabbing the scruff of his collar and pulling him close. "Now, what did you tell him about my daughter?"

Norrington did everything short of laughing in his face. "I just told him that anyone under the name of Sparrow can be found on The Black Pearl."

Jack let go of Norrington, instantly saying: "We need to go."

"Why?" Neveah asked.

"Now." He continued.

"Why are they looking for us?" Neveah asked him.

"We'll talk later, but now we need to get back to the Pearl, and as far away from here as possible." Jack insisted, his unease delighting Norrington.

"But...the rum's not ready-"

"Nevermind the rum!" Jack barked at them.

There was silence, all shocked that Jack was willing to leave behind the rum to get away from the port. What was going on?

"What are you all sitting on your backsides for?" He said, waving his arms and urging them up. "Up! Move! Captain says go!"

They scrambled, getting to their feet, and moving towards the door. Neveah grabbed Jack's arm. "Dad, you're scaring me." She admitted.

Jack, however, guided her towards the door, and grabbed Norrington's collar once more, causing Neaveah to look back at him curiously. She'd never seen such a look of anger on her father's face.

"If anything, anything, happens to my daughter because of what you've told the man who took her mother from her, I'll kill you with my bare hands."