A/N: I'm sorry this one has taken so long to get to you! But hopefully the wait will have been worth it :)

On the Dutchman

Will's senses were slowly returning to him. He was unsure of how long he had been unconscious. He opened his eyes just a crack and saw that it was still dim below decks, as it had been before. He guessed it was still the middle of the night. Across the way he saw four men sitting on upturned barrels around a low lying table. A small lantern sat beside one of them, casting an eerie glow on their figures. He quickly shut his eyes. All it took was one man turning to see him watching for Will to be in serious trouble again. Instead of watching, he listened carefully. He heard a muffled rattling coming from their direction. Something slammed on the table. The men were not speaking initially. The first words he heard come from them were, "Two threes"

Liar's dice, of course, Will thought to himself. His tense muscles relaxed slightly. Part of him had secretly worried that the men had been plotting their next method of torture. But despite his relative ease, he still concentrated on the crew's conversation. It was impossible to hear anything else.

"Four threes. Y'reckon Jones is gonna kill the whelp?"

"Five fours. Nah, Jones is after Sparrow, not the git. He's probably just bait."

"Five fours? Liar!" The conversation was interrupted by some groans and the sound of gold pieces being exchanged reluctantly. The rattling of the die in their cups sounded again. They thudded down synchronously and the conversation resumed. "Why ye think he's after Sparrow anyway? Oh, two twos."

"Well, way I heard it, he's going at him for revenge. Three fours."

"Revenge for what, turning him into a squid?" All of them busted out laughing. Between the laughter the crewman added, "Four twos."

"No, I heard he looks like that 'cause of some sea witch."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that too."

"And y'know how he used to use this ship to bring dead folk to the other side?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Apparently Sparrow saved 100 slaves from being claimed by Jones. That's what he's after him for, or at least that's what I s'pect."

"Regardless of what y'spect, it's your bleeding turn." One of them said bitterly.

"Fer yer information," A new, deeper voice resonated as something clattered to the ground. "That is not the whole story." Jones declared to the suddenly quiet crewman. Without opening his eyes, Will had to assume that the men's game had been thrown to the floor and Jones had appeared from nowhere as he often did. "My duty was to ferry souls, as bid to me by the sea goddess herself. A good many of these souls had been slaves dying en route to their destinations. Cutler Beckett's ships usually had several casualties, in fact. But when Jack Sparrow was tasked with bringing slaves to the Caribbean by Beckett, he betrayed him. Freed all one hundred of them to a little island called Kerma. Beckett had Sparrow's beloved ship set on fire and Sparrow nearly drowned trying to save his ship. That's when he called for me. He feared his death, but he feared the death of his ship more. He pleaded for me to raise that damned ship up from the depths for him and spare him for thirteen years. After thirteen years he would be mine and serve on my ship for a century. Well, as you doubtlessly know, he betrayed this oath and evaded answering to it by getting himself rescued from the Locker by his loyal crew." From the shift of his voice, Will could tell Jones was watching him. Why he was bothering to reveal the truth with Will in ear shot was beyond him.

"But fret not gents, I will not be having him joining our crew any time soon. No. Jack Sparrow has been a thorn in my side for too long. I came back to this world, and I will not leave it again until Jack Sparrow is dead, mark my words." There was a moment of silence before he grumbled, "I don't pay you fools to play games. Get to work." A soft whisper of noise indicated he had vanished into the ship again and the crew scrambled to task.

Will shut the world out to reflect on what he had overheard. It seemed all too likely he was going to be used as leverage for capturing Jack. He doubted it would work at all. It had been twenty years since he had seen Jack Sparrow, and he doubted if he would even recognize him anymore, let alone be willing to give himself up for Will. It reassured him that Jones' plans would likely fall through, but he wondered what the consequence of a failed plan would mean for him. Probably an untimely death. He sighed and desperately wished to be back with his wife.

On the Black Pearl

The sun was rising over the horizon, Elizabeth watching from stern of the ship. Only Cotton and a few others were awake at this point. Elizabeth had not been able to sleep at all, so she had spent most of the night watching the horizon. She was wishing for Will throughout the night, and praying for his safe return to her. Her mouth was dry. It had been some twelve hours since she had opened her mouth to speak. The crew had left her alone while she stood at the stern all night. Henry had noticed, but knew better than to bother her and had warned Carina to leave her be as well. It should not have come as a surprise to her that the first person to interrupt her trance was Jack.

She had her back to the rest of the ship and had been immensely startled when someone had touched her. She had jumped in her skin and her hand had automatically gone toward the hilt of her sword at her side. "Oh, relax." Jack remarked as she turned to face him. She immediately rolled her eyes and turned back to the sea, letting go of her sword. "What do you want?" Her voice cracked halfway through, weak from lack of use.

"Directions, if you please." Jack said, holding his compass out in the palm of his hand.

She looked back over at him, glancing down at the closed compass. She smiled and turned back to the sea, "Since when does Jack Sparrow say 'please'?"

Jack smirked and his tone shifted, "Would you rather I just demand? Or simply beg?"

Elizabeth turned around quickly and snatched the compass from his hand, "Twenty years and you still feel the need to be persistently obscene." She flipped the compass open and concentrated her thoughts toward Will. The compass rose spun around once before slowing itself and showing the way. Jack peered over at the compass, muttering, "As if you don't find the behavior charming." She went to give him a nasty look but he had turned to assure Cotton they were on course. She closed the compass again and shoved it at Jack's chest before storming off. The captain followed her without missing a beat. "You know what they say, love: opposites attract."

"I would stop now if I were you." She suggested, not looking back at him.

"Why? Don't tell me you've suddenly grown immune to my charm."

"Alright, keep pushing it. See what happens."

"Oh I'd gladly keep pushing it in—"

Elizabeth unsheathed her sword and spun to face him in the blink of an eye. She extended the sword to meet his chest. Jack grabbed his gun from his side and pointed it to her. He was grinning, a look of laughter in his eyes. She was frowning, a look of loathing in her eyes. "You should know I only deigned to be here to save Will. I didn't have to warn you of Jones, but this is the only ship that can outrun him."

"And what use would it be if you killed me?"

"Pretty sure I can captain this ship as well as you can."

"Ah, but you forget, Miss Swann —"

"Mrs. Turner —"

"My crew are loyal to me, not to you. So you might want to reconsider killing their most beloved, Captain Jack Sparrow. Take a look around you." He said, his own eyes flicking over to the crowd that had amassed. Teague was watching curiously while nearly everyone else, Henry and Carina included, were watching on in horror. "You think it's a good idea to kill me?"

"Perhaps not." She admitted. Her arm slacked, and eventually fell to her side. But Jack still held his gun. "But what good would shooting me do? Will would find you and tear you apart."

Jack laughed as he put his gun away, "Not likely. That poor boy has never been able to best me in a fight his whole life, and twenty years won't change that." The majority of the crowd dispersed as they saw that there was no longer a threat of imminent danger to their captain.

"He certainly could if I hold you down." Henry remarked bitterly as he walked toward Jack. "If you ever lay a hand on my mother, I will see to it that you have no hands left."

"That's awful dark coming from you, mate." Jack remarked with a laugh. "I don't think you have the guts."

Henry got close to Jack, his rage evident on his face, "Do you want to test that?"

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, "Eh, not today. Your breath stinks, by the way." He said calmly, stepping to the side and walking around Henry back toward Elizabeth. She looked up at him expectantly and he looked her over once before commenting, "You're not really worth the effort any more, are you?"

This brought a rare smile to her face, "No, no I'm not. I've literally killed you and you still do not get the hint. You have no claim over me, and you never will."

The captain sighed and rolled his eyes slightly, "Oh, alright. But only because I don't want to end up a eunuch like your dearly beloved." And with that final comment, Jack Sparrow left them, heading toward the helm.

"What was that all about?" Henry accused, his tone of anger still present.

"That man has been trying to claim me like a prize for too long." Elizabeth half explained, "When we find your father, you aren't to tell him a word about it. It'll only make him angry."

"Why? You told him off." Carina interjected.

Elizabeth shook her head, "That's not the point. It would just bring up … very unpleasant memories for him. He'll have been through enough by the time we find him."

"Do you know how close we are to finding him?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth shook her head, "I'm sure Jack has some idea of where we are, but none of us know where the Dutchman is. We'll know we're there when we see it on the horizon, I suppose."

"So, it could be awhile?"

"I'm sorry Henry," Elizabeth sympathized, "It may be longer still, but we will find him. You know I won't rest until we do." She meant it quite literally.

"I know. But, at least try to get some rest. I'll wake you if we see the Dutchman." Henry assured her. He was worried for his mother's health, especially given the deep bags under her eyes. Her shoulders relaxed, "I suppose you're right. If you catch me above deck, just shoot me."

Henry laughed and nudged her towards the steps leading below deck, "I'll just send you back to bed. Now go."

"Fine, I'm going." Elizabeth relented, finally heading below decks to catch up on sleep.

Henry sighed as he walked back toward Carina, "Think she'll actually sleep?" Carina just shrugged, not looking at him. She put her hands in her pockets and glanced at the horizon. Nothing was coming, they were surrounded by nothing but the open sea. "What's wrong?"

"It's been two nights since we left that ship. It could have gotten anywhere. We were in Tortuga for hours on end. The Dutchman could logistically be anywhere. I doubt if we're going to find Will. And even if we do, he might already be dead." Carina said frankly.

Henry stared at her, unsure of how to respond. When several moments passed without a reply, she turned to look at him. When she looked at him, he started to laugh. "What's the matter?" She asked, not understanding his amusement at all.

"It's not that great of a joke, but I figured I should humor you."

"I wasn't joking."

His expression soured, "No. No. You have to be. You cannot possibly think that my father is dead. After all we did, there is just no way."

"Henry, wanting something to be true and the actual truth are two different things. Logically, it's entirely possible that he has been killed. In the very least, I don't think we are going to find him."

"But we're using Jack's compass. We're going to find him."

"That compass defies all logic. It must have a bad magnetic pull and move around too easily. It just doesn't add up." Carina said as she folded her arms and her tone darkened.

Henry began to sour, "Logic does not have a place in this conversation."

"Logic belongs in all arguments."

"Not when most of our lives have been affected by magic and powers that defy all of your logic and science." Henry spat back. "I don't understand how you can be so dire and pessimistic about this. How dare you assume my father is dead! How would you feel if —"

"If someone told me that my father was dead? Well, don't worry about that, Henry. I already got to watch him die."

"I didn't mean —" But before Henry could finish his thought Carina had stormed off, saying simply, "Just leave me alone."

Henry watched her go. He had no idea how that had escalated so quickly. He had not meant to make such a mistake as to bring up the death of her father. But he was still outraged at her for assuming the absolute worst — his father's death. He watched as she headed up the ratlines toward the crow's nest. He knew he had made her really upset if she was willing to sit up there despite her dislike of the height. He watched her, desperately hoping she would look down at him, but she didn't. She simply climbed up into the nest and disappeared from view.

"Troubled?"

Henry jumped slightly in surprise and looked over to see Jack standing by him with a bottle of rum in his hand. "I suppose I am." Henry admitted.

Jack handed him the bottle of booze, "Here, try this."

Henry wondered how bad he had to feel to accept alcohol from the alcoholic pirate. He reflected on just how terrible he felt for what he had said before holding the bottle to his lips and taking a long swallow. It tasted foul. He was pretty sure it was more than just rum, but he was not going to complain. He tried to hand the bottle back to Jack, but he waved it away, "You need it more than me."

"Concerning, but probably true." Henry admitted, taking another swig of the alcohol.

"Still having female troubles I see?"

"I never had troubles with her before, Jack."

"Really? Could've fooled me with the bickering and arguing."

"That wasn't a problem, that was just how we … talked, I guess." Henry had a hard time explaining how their banter was usually playful in nature. Instead of trying to put it into words that Jack might be able to understand, he took another swig of the alcohol. He had never actually had alcohol prior to this. He had avoided it when he had been in the Navy, despite the ease of access. He had seen too many drunken men kill or nearly kill themselves. But he figured that, in the very least, it might ease the nerves rattling in his mind.

"Care for some advice from dear old Jackie?"

Henry glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow, "I have watched you make some of the worst decisions of your life, and you want me to take advice from you?"

Jack smiled, "Oh you thought that was bad? Son, you don't know much about me yet, but making mistakes is pretty much what I do for a living."

"None of that is encouraging me to seek your advice." Henry pointed out.

"Ah, but who else is going to give you advice about it?"

"My mother?" Henry said, implying how blatantly obvious the answer was.

"Oh, tosh. What does she know? She lost her husband not once, but twice. Not to mention all of her other admirers ended up dead. Do you want to end up dead lad?"

"What? No! What are you talking about? What do you mean other admirers?" Henry was completely confused by what Jack was implying.

"Well, good, lemme give you a tip." Jack started, throwing an arm around Henry and walking him across the deck. He completely ignored Henry's attempts to direct the conversation back to what Jack had said about his mother. "When a girl disagrees with you, you're supposed to immediately change your mind and agree with them."

"But that would be lying."

"Lying is a man's bread and butter, son. How do you think I get by?"

"Rum?" Henry suggested before taking another drink of it for himself.

"Rum and lies, precisely." Jack smiled wickedly. "Can you prove me wrong? She disagreed with you, didn't she?"

"Yes, she said my father was probably dead or lost forever."

"And you argued back?"

"Yes."

"And where are you right now?"

Henry sighed, "Walking around with a bottle of rum next to you. Which probably isn't a good thing, now that I think of it."

Rather than being insulted, Jack seemed delighted. "See? Had you just agreed with her, nothing would have happened, and you'd still be on your merry way."

"But I can't lie, Jack. I don't agree that my father is dead or missing. I refuse to ever believe such a thing. You don't believe her do you?" Henry said as he sat on the stair up to the helm, nursing his bottle further still.

"Of course not, but that's besides the point. The point is that you have to side with whatever a woman says or she won't lay an eye on you for ages."

"Well, as wondrous as you claim your advice to be, it's not going to help me now that she's angry with me. What am I supposed to do to get her to talk to me again?"

Jack shrugged, "I usually just beg forgiveness."

"I've nothing to apologize for though." Henry pointed out, handing the bottle of rum back to Jack. He had drank a quarter of it and felt looser in his limbs, but felt his mental capacities were in good functioning order.

"That's where you're wrong, mate. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be." Jack said dismissively before taking a long drink of his rum again. Henry shook his head and walked away from the drunk captain. He walked to the other end of the ship, hoping to clear his head. He did not notice his mother had reappeared on deck.

She had been unsuccessful in trying to rest, as she had expected. She immediately walked toward the port side of the ship and looked over the rail at the horizon. Still no sight of the Dutchman. Her disappointment was evident on her face. She felt a nudge on her arm and looked over to her right. Jack was holding out his bottle of rum for her, his face expressionless. She took the bottle and took a small nip of it. It was disgusting, but then again, it always was. Jack leaned his back against the rail beside her.

"Come to bother me again?" She asked matter-of-factly.

"No, just thought you should know the lovebirds are quarreling."

Elizabeth looked at Jack in surprise and glanced around for her son. He was brooding on the other end of the ship. "Where's Carina?" Jack pointed up and Elizabeth's gaze followed to see a telescope poking out of the crow's nest. "Oh, wonderful."

"Could be worse. She could have killed him."

"When are you going to let it go? You know it was the only option."

Jack smiled, "Oh, I let it go long ago. It's just fun to annoy you."

Elizabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes, "It's only fun for you."

"Your point?"

"Let me guess, you tried to either woo Carina like the perverted old man you really are or you gave Henry some terrible counsel?"

Jack appeared to be miffed by the comment, "I am not perverted." She gave him a knowing look. "I'm a man that knows what he wants, that's all." He sniffed loudly and crossed his arms, "And as a matter of fact, it was the latter. I tried to help him out and tell him to apologize to her and to be more agreeable."

"What exactly happened between them?" Elizabeth asked, sipping the rum once more before passing it back to the captain.

"Not sure. Something about Will. That man manages to cause trouble even when he isn't around."

"Yeah, so do you." She smiled, "Don't we all?"

"Fair enough." He acknowledged before taking another healthy drink. He took out his compass and handed it to her again. "For old time's sake, what's it saying?"

She held the compass in her hands, unsure of what he was expecting. She had opened it only an hour before, it probably would not have dramatically changed directions. She looked over at Jack. His expressions on any given day usually ranged from cocky to drunk to smug. But this was a look she was not familiar with. He looked sincere. It was almost impossible for her to recognize on him. She tried to digest his words and had a bad feeling she knew what he wanted her to open the compass for. "Jack, it's not going to—"

"Just open it." He said patiently.

Elizabeth sighed and slowly opened the lid to the compass and watched as the arrow quickly navigated away toward the bow of the ship, right at the horizon. "It's still him. It will always point to him. He has always been what I want most." She said truthfully, her voice just above a whisper. She shut the compass. He held out his hand. She placed it there. The compass rested between their hands, but her fingertips brushed his palm. She looked up at him, "I'm sorry, Jack. But you know it's a bad idea."

"Aye." Was all he said.

She sighed and turned away, her hand falling back to her side. Jack watched her go for a moment before pocketing his compass and walking away with his bottle held to his lips again.

Elizabeth walked to her son, coming up behind him. He was staring at the figures of the mermaids with their tridents on the back of the ship. "I heard something happened with Carina. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Weren't you supposed to be resting?" He countered.

"I'm not very good at relaxing. Now, out with it. What happened?" She prodded, not letting him get away with trying to change the subject. He eventually let loose the details of his spat with Carina. He was working himself into a right fuss talking about it. Elizabeth could easily see how distressed the whole thing was making her son. When he had finally finished detailing his heartache and misery, Elizabeth took a moment to process it before she added her two pieces, "Why does it upset you so much?"

He seemed completely befuddled by this, "Because she doubts us."

"But why does what she thinks of it matter to you?"

"Because …" He paused and seemed to reflect on this for a few moments. He sighed deeply, "Because she matters to me."

"Carina is strong headed. She has her convictions and she sticks to them, you know this. You have to give her a reason to have faith in you, to have faith in what you believe in and care about." Elizabeth reminded him gently.

He looked over at his mother and a slow smile spread across his face. He turned and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around her young son, trying not to recognize the fact that he was taller than her.

"Ship off the port bow!" Carina's voice came screeching from above them, interrupting their relative peace.

Parent and child split apart in surprise and rushed over to said port bow, leaning over the rail and looking out. Sure enough, they were approaching an island. The King was anchored at its shore and the Dutchman was heading away from the island straight toward the Pearl.