Part 2, Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay. Real life got in the way, and I needed to work out exactly what I wanted to do with this chapter. I made an outline once, but I've deviated from that so much it's useless now. So I had to do some (gasp) thinking. And I was being lazy, too. But I think I've gotten back into the swing of things now.

And if anybody's into Phantom of the Opera, I put up an Erik/Nadir one-shot a little while ago that sniff nobody's reviewed yet. So if you're so inclined, head on over and read it!

Double, triple props if anybody catches the Dr. Who reference.

-

I arrived in Tortuga a few days later. To my dismay, the Black Pearlwas not in the harbor.

The Faithful Bride was no longer in business, but there was another tavern in its place, called the Bad Wolf. I walked right in and requested a room.

The barkeep looked me over. "You got the coin for it?" It was clear from his tone that he assumed the answer would be to the negative.

I actually didn't have very much money, but I'd thought of how to deal with this. "Does Jack Sparrow have a tab here?"

He raised a brow. "Sparrow? Aye."

I gave him a grim smile. "He'll be paying for all my expenses when he next makes port."

-

I waited for two long, agonizing weeks for the Pearl to make an appearance. Every night I lay awake, terrified that something had happened to Jody. I felt reasonably confident that Jack would protect her- but since he'd dragged her off in the first place, I couldn't be sure. Besides, he couldn't watch her every second, and I knew better than most how drawn she was to trouble.

In the daylight hours, my fears fled, and I spent my time stewing over my anger at Jack for taking my daughter away from me, as well as at Gibbs for telling him of her existence in the first place.

I'd asked around about the Pearl and how often she made port. The general consensus was that she appeared sporadically. She hadn't been seen in Tortuga since she'd departed for Singapore, and that had been months ago.

Surely Jack would need to restock the ship soon. Although it was feasible to obtain necessary supplies by raiding other vessels, there was no assurance that whatever was needed would be available. Coming into a safe port for new supplies was the smartest thing to do.

And then one day, halfway through the third week, I got lucky. I had come down from my room for breakfast. The bartender saw me come in and called, "Guess we'll find out if you can pay your bill now, eh?"

"Why d'you say that?" I asked, not realizing what he meant.

He jerked his head in the direction of the harbor. "That ship you've been askin' round for, the one what belongs to Cap'n Sparrow? The Black Pearl, was it? She sailed into the harbor not 'alf an hour ago."

I was instantly alert. "She did? Did anybody come off yet?"

The bartender shrugged. "Dunno. Were Jacob there who saw it," he said, gesturing to an aging black man in the corner.

I turned to him, and he shook his head. "Crew's still on board, so far's I can tell. I know Cap'n Sparrow meself, an' this'll be the first place 'e comes when he gets off the Pearl."

I nodded my thanks. "I'm not content to wait that long." I muttered, striding out the door.

I lurked out on the docks, taking in the sight of the Pearl. She was as beautiful as ever. Much like her captain, she seemed to have scarcely aged in the past ten years.

I waited, breathless, as a boat was lowered from the side of the ship. Presumably it carried all the members of the crew who'd been given shore leave, but I cared only for the safety of one figure in the little boat.

As the longboat drew closer, I was able to make out my daughter, sitting in the stern with Jack and Gibbs. I saw that she was dressed in men's clothing. Her hair had been put into dreadlocks and was held back by a green bandanna, and she had woven some sparkly trinkets into her hair, in what I was sure was a conscious imitation of Jack.

A surprisingly strong wave of relief swept over me. She was okay. For that one instant, it was all that mattered.

I waited there as the boat was rowed up to the dock. The crew climbed out without paying me any mind, simply glad to be back on land again. I knew the feeling.

Jody too appeared not to see me at first, though I knew she must have. She exited the boat and made to follow the rest of the crew, but Jack put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"No avoidin' it, lass," he said.

She sighed and turned to me. "'Ello, Mum. Guess I shoulda figured you'd interfere like always, huh?"

I didn't reply. I couldn't, because all the anger and the secrets and the lies seemed utterly insignificant next to the fact that she was safe.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had stepped forward and engulfed my daughter in a heartfelt embrace.

"Mum?" her voice was different now, the voice of a child.

I pulled away, placing my hands on her shoulders. "You're okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding somewhat bewildered. "I'm fine. Dad and Gibbs, they made sure nobody so much as touched me. Wouldn't let me in the raids, even. Kept me locked up in Dad's cabin whenever we engaged another ship."

I turned to Jack. "Well, I'm glad you had that much sense, at any rate."

"Course I did," he said. "You didn't really think I'd let her get hurt?"

"Couldn't be sure what you'd do." I retorted. "After you dragged her off in the first place without so much as asking my permission."

"I wanted to go, Mum." Jody interjected. "Don't go blamin' Dad."

"I'll put the blame where it belongs." I said, still looking still looking at Jack.

"Ana, look… I did what I thought was best, alright?"

"Oh, so you thought it best to just invite her off to sail with you, just like that?" I asked, getting angry now. "With no regards to her safety?"

Jack frowned. "What the bloody hell are you on about?"

It was my turn to be confused. "Jody's note said that you asked…"

Jack turned to her. "What'd you tell her?"

"That isn't how it happened?" I asked, bewildered.

Jack and Jody seemed to be having something of a silent battle of wills. It was Gibbs who answered me.

"Nah, that ain't," he said.

I had scarcely noticed Gibbs' presence throughout the whole conversation, but I turned on him now.

"Don't you get involved no more." I said crossly. "You've done enough."

He raised his eyebrows. "Me?"

"Yes, you! You told Jack in the first place, didn't you?"

"Well- aye, that I did, but… I was tryin' to look out for you, Ana."

"And how exactly does breaking your promise and betraying my trust qualify?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Ana… but I hadda."

I sighed. "I s'pose it figures you'd have an excuse too." I said. "Very well, let's have it, then."

"I- but- Ana, you know why I told!"

"I most certainly don't." I said.

"Ah- confused, that one." Jack broke in. "Now I- I did tell 'er, see, I just-"

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh, for the love of- will somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Jack, Gibbs, and Jody exchanged a look.

"Why don't you two go on," Gibbs said. "We'll meet up with you later, aye?"

"Now wait just a minute!" I said. "I don't want to let Jody out of my sight again."

"She's not a child, Ana." Jack said firmly. "She's old enough to look after 'erself, and she certainly doesn't need you lookin' over 'er shoulder every second of the day."

"You know as well as I do what this town is like, Jack!" I argued.

"Better. I ain't daft, Ana. I'll look out for 'er."

I sighed, knowing that the protection of Jack Sparrow wasn't something to be taken lightly. "It's your choice, Jody." I said.

"Yeah, I'll go with Dad," she said.

I nodded. "Very well."

"We'll meet up at the tavern- for dinner, how 'bout?" Gibbs suggested.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." I said.

"I think it's a very good idea." Jack countered. "Have a meal as a family."

I bit my lip. Clearly Jack was doing this just to vex me, but I wouldn't rise to the bait, "If you'd like."

"Okay, we'll see you later, mum." Jody said.

"Hang on!" I said. "You still haven't told me exactly what happened with you going off with Jack."

Jody hesitated. "I asked if I could go with him," she said, not looking at me. "I convinced him to let me go."

The knowledge hurt more than I thought it would. "I see." I said softly.

"It's not- I mean, it wasn't you, Mum, I just- I couldn't stay there. I hated it there," she said, voice breaking. "I mean, we had nothing, and… I just wanted to get out."

"I didn't know you felt that way." I said, startled.

She shook her head. "I know. I'm sorry, but I was angry at you, an' then Dad was saying about how I could sail with him one day, when I was older, and I convinced him. He said no at first."

I looked at Jack, who simply stared evenly back at me. I realized that I'd lost the skill to read his mood simply by looking into his eyes- or else he was making damn sure I couldn't. I felt a moment of sadness- there had been a time when I could read him better than anyone else.

"Well, then." I said. "I guess- I guess that's that."

"We'll be going." Jack said, turning to go.

"Alright, I'll see the two of you later!" I called after them.

They walked off quickly. I watched them go with a feeling of sadness. The fact that my own daughter had gone willingly into the life I had forsaken was troubling, to say the least. Jody didn't know what she was getting into.

"Why don't we go somewhere, Ana?" Gibbs suggested. "Looks as though we need to 'ave a talk."

I turned to him, suddenly needy. For almost twenty years of my life Gibbs had stood by me. I had thought that he had betrayed me. But now…

"It's not true, is it?" I asked. "You had a reason. You didn't tell Jack about Jody just to spite me."

He frowned. "Is that what Jack made it out as?"

I nodded.

"No, Ana. It weren't like that."

Relief swept over me. I should've known better than to doubt him in the first place. Whatever his reasons, I knew they must be good ones. He was still loyal to me.

It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. If I had Gibbs, then I could do this. Everything would be okay now.

-

As neither of us had eaten breakfast, we went back to the Bad Wolf and got some. Over a meal of hot oatmeal, eggs, and bacon, Gibbs told me everything.

"It were right after we'd got back into familiar waters after Singapore, see," he said, easily slipping into the mode of storyteller. "We'd been running low on supplies already, and no friendly port within days. So as soon as we spotted the little merchant vessel, we figured to take 'er.

"We caught up to 'er fine, got along side her, ran up the Jolly Roger, you know the drill. But soon's we'd run 'er up, the other ship lowers her flag, an' runs up the Roger 'erself- an' not just the Roger, but the- the whatsit… it's somethin' French I can't pronounce anyhow, but you know what I'm talkin' about- plain red flag."

My eyes widened. I didn't know the name of it either, but I knew well enough what it meant- no quarter given.

"Now, soon as Jack saw that, 'e tries to get us out of it, but it weren't so easy. An' the cap'n of the other ship, he calls across, 'You can't get out o' this one Sparrow, you've fired on one o' your own, an' now you've got to pay the consequences.' An' then they start firin' on us, an' so Jack, he ain't got no choice but to tell us to man the guns an' defend ourselves." Gibbs broke off, taking a sip of rum.

"It were a long, hard battle, lass," he said. "Bloody an' nasty, too. An' I got hurt pretty bad- stabbed, right between the ribs. Well, we won in the end, o' course- Jack fought the cap'n o' the other ship, knocked 'is sword clean out of 'is hand- and when he wouldn't surrender, Jack had no choice but to kill 'im, see. Truth be told I can't imagine he was too sorry to do it- we were getting' pretty well slaughtered at that point. At least, so everybody said later. I'd already been wounded by then, an' I was out cold.

"I didn't wake up for a while- an' when I did, I was sorta swimmin' in an' out o' things- sleep one minute, wake the next. Had a lot o' pretty funny dreams, too. But anyway, the pain was pretty bad. An' I thought- I thought, what's gonna 'appen to Ana, if I go? Thought I was dyin', see. So I told the doctor to get Jack down to see me, an'… I told 'im where you were, an' about Jody. I'm sorry, lass… but I thought I was dyin'; see? I knew he'd look after the two o' you, if I went."

I absorbed the story in silence. "You're okay now though, right?" I asked.

Gibbs nodded.

"Well then, that's all that matters." I said, smiling.

-

That evening, Jack and Jody joined us at the tavern for dinner. Jack had gotten a room, and had the meal brought up. It was pretty good, but the atmosphere at the table left something to be desired.

We sat eating silently for a few minutes, nobody quite knowing what to say. Finally I spoke up.

"We're going to have to decide what to do." I said.

"About what?" Jack asked.

"Well, about this whole situation. I guess we're pretty much a family now, whether we like it or not, and we'll need to make some decisions as a family."

"I'm not going back to Port Royal and that's final." Jody said firmly.

I turned to her. "Sweetheart, I know you don't like it, but-"

"No, I hate it. We had nothing, Mum, an' I hated having to live like that!"

"It won't be like that anymore." Jack said. "I'll make sure the two o' you are looked after."

"You said I didn't have to go back!" Jody protested.

"You did what?" I fumed.

"I didn't say that, Jody, and you know it." Jack said wearily.

"But Dad, you already took me with you. You can't just leave me now!"

Jack shook his head. "I can't take you away from your mother, either."

Jody looked pained. "Uncle Gibbs-"

Gibbs shook his head. "Jack's right, lass."

She stood. "Fine. You guys just decide without me, then, since me bein' here doesn't seem to make much difference." And with that, she stormed out.

Both Jack and I stood to go after her. We stared at each other for a moment.

"Well, we can't both go." I said.

"I'll go." Gibbs said.

We turned to him.

"She needs somebody who ain't on either side. An' besides, you two got things to discuss."

I nodded, and Gibbs left.

I sat back down. "Guess we better talk, then."

"Guess so," Jack said. "Look… I'm sorry about how I acted back in Port Royal. I shouldn't 'ave just taken Jody off like that, an' I shoulda told you the truth about Gibbs, too."

"Yeah, you should've." I said bitterly.

Jack sighed, frustrated. "Okay. We ain't gettin' along. We both made mistakes, an' I guess we ain't ready to forgive that yet. But we gotta put the past behind us now. For Jody's sake."

"Okay. I guess you're right."

Jack held out his hand. "Truce?"

I nodded, grasping his hand in mine. "Truce."

"I guess we out to talk about what we're gonna do then, eh?"

"Yeah. I want Jody back with me. It don't have to be in Port Royal, but- Jack, she's too young for this!"

Jack shook his head. "I were her age when I went off to sea, Ana. An' she's… she's born to it. You should see 'er out there. It's in her blood, that you can't deny."

I sighed. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."

Jack frowned. "See Ana, that what I don't get. You loved life on the account; I know you did. What's got you so opposed to it now?"

"She's a child, Jack!"

"She's old enough! Would you be sayin' this if she were a boy?"

"Damn right I'd be sayin' it! I love her, Jack! I want to protect her!"

Jack sighed. "I made sure she was safe."

"An' how log will she be content to stay in your cabin during raids? What then? And when she gets older? Are you gonna let her fight? One bullet, Jack. That's all it would take."

"I know." Jack said. His voice shook, and I realized that he was as terrified of loosing Jody as I was. "I love her too, Ana."

In that moment I felt closer to Jack than I had since we'd been reunited. We weren't rivals, or shipmates, or lovers- we weren't even friends. We were parents. And we both cared about Jody with all of our hearts.

"We'll figure this out, Ana." Jack assured me.

I nodded. "I know we will."

It wasn't much, not really. But for the first time in fifteen years, I'd made an agreement with Jack Sparrow that I could live with.

-

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