A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :)

Disclaimer: PotC belong to Disney.

Chapter 10

A rum bottle appeared in front of Teague, shaking him out of his reverie. He slowly drew back from the rail, a weak smile tugging on the corners of his lips. "He doesn't have this after me, you know," he said in a low voice, taking the bottle and turning around.

"You don't like the rum?" Elizabeth asked, half-surprised, half-amused.

Teague shook his head. "Makes you vulnerable," he said pensively, looking away.

Elizabeth risked a cautious smile. "Like love?"

He did not answer. "She tried to shoot me many times," he started after a pause, as if recalling an old, pleasant story. "She was always serious. She just didn't have a very good aim."

"Because she didn't kill you? This can't count as evidence," Elizabeth countered, beginning to smile but her smile faded at the sight of a solemn expression on Teague's face.

"I killed her," he said in a hollow voice. "What I was doing and what I wasn't doing. Who I was and whom I could never be. It all killed her."

"You should talk to her," Elizabeth insisted, hoping to take advantage of the unexpected series of miracles and turn everyone's troubled, complicated pasts into happy futures.

There was so much sunlight in the world, now more than ever because it seemed that all the pain she had buried inside her heart was now gone. Her parents were no longer her thorn memories; they were a part of her life and it made her heart flutter every time she thought about it, and even though Jack would never say so himself, she believed he would feel the same way if he could see his parents find their happiness.

"She won't talk to me, dove," Teague said with with a faint smile that did not reach his eyes.

"I think I'll just talk to her first and find out," Elizabeth said with a small smile, quickly walking off before Teague could manage to stop her.

"And then they made Dad their chief!" Blaxton said enthusiastically, immensely enjoying his Grandma's sincere interest in all the stories he was telling.

Christelle laughed, looking at Governor Swann who returned her smile with a hint of resignation in his eyes. He was certain that before the week was over he would know all the tales about Jack Sparrow by heart.

"It is one of the most fascinating stories I've ever heard," Christelle said, to Blaxton's visible delight. "But perhaps," she continued before her grandson had the time to start another story, "we could take a little break from storytelling," she glanced at her husband, laughing inwardly at the smile of relief that appeared on his face. "You could show me where the galley is and we could prepare a surprise supper for everyone."

"I'll show you and Grandpa around the ship!" Blaxton offered, suddenly remembering that he still did not get a chance to show Grandpa Weatherby the Black Pearl as he had planned.

"That's a wonderful idea," Christelle said with a smile.

"It is indeed," Governor Swann agreed, helping his wife to her feet, his breath catching every time he could feel her hand in his, the sensation still so new... so well-remembered...

She must have noticed the expression on his face because she lightly squeezed his hand and smiled at him again.

"We'll start at the helm," Blaxton informed them, quickly outlining the plan of their walk around the ship in his head. "But first I have to go to my cabin to get my hat," he added, and promising to be back soon ran out of the cabin.

Elizabeth walked into the captain's quarters hoping to find Jack there so she could ask him where his mother was. Checking every cabin made little sense, not to mention she wanted to make sure that Jack had nothing against her talking to his mother – and mentioning Teague in this conversation.

"Jack," she smiled at the sight of him. He was sitting at his table, leaning over the map in front of him. "How is your mother?" she asked, a bit perplexed by the fact that he had not even looked up when she had called his name.

He seemed to hesitate before answering the question in a strangely blank tone. "She's asleep."

"Is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked with a frown, coming up to him.

He ran his finger across the map, his face unreadable.

"Jack?" Elizabeth stopped next to the desk, looking at him questioningly.

She noticed that he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but did not say anything.

"Are you going to answer me?" She blinked, confused. "Is it because I said you're old?" she asked stifling a chuckle, suddenly struck by the idea.

She waited for the confirmation of her suspicion but he did not smile, his eyes fixed on the map. She had rarely seen such a serious look on his face and she searched her mind for a possible explanation.

"Are you upset because I gave James your clothes?" she tried again, and this time a shadow of emotion flitted across his face, his hands stilling their movements over the map. She looked at him expectantly and when she thought he would remain silent, he finally spoke:

"Is there something you would like to tell me?" he asked in a hoarse voice that reminded her of storms at the helm when he was shouting orders in the torrents of rain.

She widened her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

He held her gaze for a moment but then turned his attention back to the map, his nose twitching in annoyance.

Elizabeth stared at him in stupefaction. She thought that maybe he would say something more but he, apparently, decided to ignore her, behaving as if she was not even there.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Elizabeth thrust up her chin, sit on the edge of the table and then unceremoniously slid across its surface, sending all the maps and quills to the ground. Jack blinked.

"Would you be as kind as to explain to me what's gotten into you?" she asked, dropping her boots to the ground, placing her feet on his legs and propping her head on her elbows, looking him straight in the eye.

Jack squinted, a glimpse of frustration flickering in his eyes at the inner urge to just cradle her face in his hands and kiss her.

"I'm not the one kissing other people as soon as I get a chance to be alone with them for a few moments," he said through his teeth, trying to keep his voice calm. He looked at Elizabeth challengingly but she looked so sincerely puzzled that he decided to add: "Unless you think it doesn't count because he kindly apologized afterwards?"

Elizabeth blinked, the words rendering her speechless. She looked at Jack in complete astonishment until something snapped in her mind and she burst out laughing.

Jack watched her in silence, sitting very still even when she finally slid off the desk straight onto his lap, and rested her hands on his shoulders.

"I suggest that when you'll be eavesdropping next time, you do it more thoroughly," she said with an amused smile pressing a kiss to his lips.

His eyes fluttered shut for a split second but then he looked at her again, anger fading into bafflement.

"Maybe if you were eavesdropping more thoroughly this time, you'd know that he was apologizing for kissing me right before he died," she paused, and then leaned forward, pronouncing each word very distinctly, "Seven years ago."

"Seven years ago?" Jack echoed in a slightly faltering voice.

"Aye," Elizabeth said through her teeth, her eyes laughing.

Jack glanced right and left. "But he did kiss you," he said with a pout.

"Jack," Elizabeth said warningly, chuckling. "Do you want us to make lists of all the people we kissed?" she asked, grabbing two pieces of paper and handing one of them to Jack.

Jack tore a very small piece of paper from his sheet and gave it to Elizabeth, taking the large piece of paper she had in her hand away from her.

"You can make yours," Jack said, an impish smile flickering across his lips. Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. "I can't make mine because we don't have enough ink aboard," he added, narrowing his eyes at her and pulling her into a kiss before she had the time to express her irritation.

She broke the kiss and looked at him with a frown. "How can you be jealous of him? Had I wanted to, I could've married him long before you dived into my life," she said, squinting.

"Firstly, the fact that you didn't want to do something in the past doesn't mean you wouldn't want to do it now," he said with a twitch of his nose. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Secondly, it's you who dived into my life, love," he added, sifting her hair through his fingers and smiling at finding a tooth weaved into her hair with a colorful thread, one of the three teeth Blaxton had lost during his stay at Gibbs' niece's house a couple of months before.

Elizabeth glanced at the tooth and smiled at the memory as well. "It's still awful of you to be so suspicious," she said sternly, pursing her lips. "It's actually insulting!"

Jack widened his eyes at her and she frowned at the total lack of seriousness on his face. "Is it?" he muttered absently, wrapping his arms around her and placing one of his hands on the back of her head, pushing her lips onto his.

"It is," Elizabeth retorted, kissing him back.

"How is it so?" he asked, running his hand down her back, his fingers tripping over the buttons.

"You're supposed to trust me," she whispered into his ear, sliding her open palm under his shirt.

He leaned his forehead against the side of her face. "It's not about trust, Lizzie," he said in a low voice, his lips brushing her cheek as he spoke. "I trust you with many things. I trust you with my life... as odd as it is," he added with a twitch of his nose. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "I trust you with the Black Pearl. I just don't take you for granted."

She tilted her head to the side, meeting his gaze. "Maybe you should," she said quietly with a small smile.

"You wouldn't want that to happen," he argued, smirking.

She seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I think I would. I take you for granted, you know," she added, biting back a smile.

"You do?" he asked, and she could not decide how sincere his astonishment was.

She shrugged. "Of course," she said planting a few kisses along his lips. "I know from reliable sources that you think I'm the wisest and most beautiful girl in the world," she said, laughing at the dismayed expression on his face.

"I can't wait until he'll be old enough to understand that he doesn't need to- that he shouldn't repeat my every word to you," Jack muttered with a pout.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't say that," she said with a grimace and sighed. "I'll miss it."

Jack watched her face for a moment before motioning for her for lift her feet and helping her to move off his lap and sit on the desk against. She gave him a questioning look.

"You know, Lizzie... there is an easy way of preventing that from happening... in a way," he said enigmatically, rising to his feet, and sliding off the table the objects that remained there after Elizabeth had cast his maps to the floor.

"What do you mean?" she asked, amused, beginning to suspect what the solution was.

"Well," he cleared his throat, climbing onto the desk. "We could always make sure that there was somebody aboard... somebody young enough to speak the sheer truth when Blaxton will already be past that stage..." Jack brushed Elizabeth's hair off her shoulder and trailed soft kisses along her neck, carefully helping her to lay down on the desk-

"And here are the captain's quarters!" Blaxton informed his grandparents expertly, pushing the door open.

Elizabeth's laughter turned into a horrified shriek when at the sound of the voice Jack lost his balance and tumbled off the desk hitting the floor with a mute thud and a stifled groan.

Elizabeth quickly sat upright on the desk meeting her parents and Blaxton's bewildered gazes.

"We've just... started plotting the course," she said in a slightly strained voice, pointing uncertainly to the maps scattered on the floor.

Jack pulled himself to the sitting position, shaking his head to get rid of the unpleasant feeling caused by the fall. "Aye. I just dropped..." he blindly reached out with one hand, his other hand pressed to his temple, "the divider," he said, grabbing the first object that he found. "Got it!" he lifted it, and waved it over his head.

"Great!" Elizabeth nodded, smiling brightly at her parents.

Christelle looked rather amused and perhaps a little embarrassed, but the amusement soon replaced all other emotions when she noticed the expression on Weatherby's face.

"I'm showing Grandma and Grandpa around the ship," Blaxton said, running toward the table to help Jack pick up the maps and everything else from the ground.

Elizabeth slid off the desk as gracefully as possible and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ears. "Isn't it too strenuous for you to walk just yet, Mum?" she asked with a smile, approaching Christelle and taking her hands in hers.

"No, it's alright, Elizabeth," Christelle said with a smile. "I don't want to just sit in one place. It's such a beautiful ship. We're enjoying exploring it very much," she added, shifting her eyes to her husband, who returned her smile.

"Yes, and perhaps we should continue..." Governor Swann started, promising himself not to walk into this particular cabin ever ever again.

"Dad, where are we going?" Blaxton asked, holding the edges of the map while Jack placed paperweights on either side of it.

"We haven't decided yet," Jack said, glancing at Elizabeth who looked at him over her shoulder.

"Why don't you come up with some destination ideas?" Elizabeth proposed, looking between everyone, and walking away from her parents. "And I'll go see if your Mother is still asleep," she said, leaning toward Jack. "In which cabin is she? I wanted to introduce myself," she added, seeing a questioning look on Jack's face. He narrowed his eyes at her in a barely perceptible smile, "and discuss something," she added with a small smile, "or... someone."

"I can assure you that he is the last person my Mother would want to talk about after being brought back to life after so many years," Jack said, rubbing his head where it still hurt from his fall from the table.

Elizabeth took his hand away and placed hers there instead. "I just think they should talk," she said with a shrug. "Maybe they could start anew? You wouldn't want them to?"

"No," Jack answered immediately, causing Elizabeth to roll her eyes. "Lizzie, they have no happy past to revive," he added in a serious tone. "They weren't exactly... happy... before."

Elizabeth sighed but then allowed a small smile flicker across her face. She leaned toward him and said in a low voice. "They could always try the 'there is no before' technique."

They both chuckled at the memory. Elizabeth pressed a quick kiss to Jack's lips, hugged Blaxton, and left the cabin promising her parents to be back in a little while.

"Dad, I can't find my hat," Blaxton said worriedly, when all the objects from the floor had been picked up.

"When were you wearing it last, sailor?"

Blaxton pondered this for a moment. "Maybe I dropped it when-" he broke off, a shadow of a sheepish smile passing over his face. "I was climbing the rigging," he said in a low voice, even though Elizabeth was no longer in the cabin. Jack narrowed his eyes at him, biting back a smile. "I'll go check," Blaxton said matter-of-factly, and ran out of the captain's quarters leaving Jack alone with his parents-in-law.

"Why are we always the ones doin' all the work?" Pintel grumbled, a deep frown appearing on his face as he stared at the water blinking repeatedly. "My eyes hurt."

"Don't look at the sun," Ragetti observed expertly, leaning over the rail.

"I'm not lookin' at the sun. I'm lookin' at the sea!" Pintel huffed in irritation, rolling his eyes at Ragetti.

Ragetti flinched, and took a small step away from Pintel. "Maybe nobody else will come," he said uncertainly.

"They said there would be one more," Pintel said impatiently.

"What if he drowned?" Ragetti offered after a moment of consideration. "If he drowned, he wouldn't come."

Pintel looked at him as if he had just said something embarrassingly stupid. "A ghost can't drown."

"If ghosts couldn't drown they wouldn't have boats," Ragetti said, his eyes fixed on the sea.

Pintel shook his head and blinked in bewilderment.

"In the Locker," Ragetti clarified. "Dead people in the boats. If they couldn't drown they wouldn't be in the boats."

Pintel stared at him, his face expressionless. "But they were dead! Ghosts are undead," he argued.

"If ghosts were undead they wouldn't be ghosts," Ragetti countered, causing Pintel to sigh in frustration.

He was about to retort when something caught his attention. He exchanged a look with Ragetti who had just noticed the same thing.

After a moment of hesitation they proceeded to trying to get a small, floating object out of the water.