The next morning Jack was at the wheel and as usual he was there every morning when Bex would come and say good morning to him then run off and do her own thing. But today was different; there was no good morning from Bex. He wanted her to be happy there was no doubt about it but for the first time in three years she failed to say hello to him, and as Jack was so used to it, it came as a bit of a shock to him and he got quite upset about it.
Jack watched his daughter down on deck with Ben. He couldn't say anything to either of them as he promised Bex he wouldn't. "Cotton take the wheel please" said Jack as went down to the main deck and looked out over the beautiful blue Caribbean sea.
"Jack" said a voice behind him.
Jack turned around and saw Elizabeth looking at him. "Aye."
Elizabeth noticed that his eyes looked slightly red and looked as if he was going to cry, he obviously upset about something. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes" he lied. "Why?"
"Oh, um no reason" she said quickly. "But I think you should take a look at this" she said handing him something.
Bex and Ben were standing at the back of the ship talking about where they grew up.
"So how did you end up in Tortuga?" asked Bex.
"Well I grew up in England with my parents in London" said Ben.
"London!" gasped Bex. "I've always wanted to go there!"
"It's a wonderful place, you will definitely have to go there some day" said Ben smiling.
"So anyway, what happened with your parents?"
"Well when I was eighteen my father died at sea."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's not your fault, he was a pirate and was killed by the navy."
"So what happened to your mother?"
"My mother and father were very much in love, when she learned he had died she was distraught for months and she ended up committing suicide."
"Oh God!" gasped Bex.
"No no it's fine" said Ben. "They may be dead but at least they are together in a better place" he said. "Then after that I came to Tortuga looking for work or to sail the seas on a ship and here I am sailing the seas with a beautiful girl" he said smiling making Bex blush slightly. "So where did you grow up?"
"I grew up in Tortuga most of my life" she began. "My mother was a pick pocket and she treated me like dirt, and then when I was fifteen she was caught by the navy and hung and since then I've been in my father's care."
"I'm sorry about your mother" said Ben.
"Don't be, she deserved it" Bex said coldly. "I'm happier where I am now, I finally found people who care about me."
After a moment's pause Ben spoke. "Do you have boyfriend?"
Bex shook her head. "I never have, my dad used to be very touchy on the idea that I would ever have a boyfriend. You have a girlfriend?"
"No, I did have back in London, but she only used me to get back at someone else."
"Why would you use anyone, I'd consider myself lucky to find anyone who truly loved me."
"Same here" Ben replied.
"Did you sleep alright in the hammocks last night? I can't imagine that they would be very comfortable" said Bex smiling.
"My back is killing me" moaned Ben. Bex giggled slightly. "It's not funny!" Ben cried trying not to laugh as he lightly slapped Bex's arm.
"Yeah it is!" said Bex giggling even more and slapping his arm back.
They eventually got into a play fight and with Ben being a lot stronger than Bex, she soon found herself locked in his embrace with his arms wrapped round her from behind.
"Jack, the letters, give them back!" said Elizabeth as Jack put the Letters of Marque inside his jacket.
"No, persuade me" he replied slyly and then out of the corner of his eye he saw that Ben had his arms around Bex.
"You do know Will taught me how to handle a sword" said Elizabeth.
"Like I said persuade me" said Jack turning around to face Elizabeth.
Elizabeth noticed that same saddened look in his eyes. Giving up on getting the letters back she changed the subject. "Jack you seem upset about something."
"Do I?" he said sadly completely forgetting about the letters.
"What's wrong?" she asked. When Jack didn't answer she asked another question. "Is it about Bex and her new friend?" Jack nodded.
"Every morning for the past three years she always came up to me while I was at the wheel and said 'Morning dad love you lots' then she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and this morning she didn't do that!" said Jack in an upset tone. "I know it sounds silly, but she's my daughter and I don't want her to forget about me" he said sadly.
Elizabeth had to admit, she did feel slightly sorry for him. "Jack you're her father, she's not going to forget about you, she would never do that" said Elizabeth but Jack didn't reply. "Do you want me to talk to her about it?"
Jack shook his head. "No, don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll sort itself out.
