As the Black Pearl was settled for the night, the crew disappeared down below decks and finally the only sounds were the waves lapping gently against the sides of the ship. Jack sat at the table in his cabin where he'd been since he had dragged Trynity in after the little skirmish with that bloody monkey earlier that evening. About an hour ago, though, the teenager had given up entertaining herself and had moved to her hammock, trying to crawl into it and failing miserably since she was nearly half asleep. Jack watched her and when she whimpered softly and started to just curl up on the foot of his bed, he stood and stretched and walked over to her.

"Oh no you don't, little captain," he said quietly as he gathered her up into his arms and settled her into the hammock. She yawned and curled up; Jack tucked the blanket up around her and gave the girl a kiss to her forehead.

"'Night, captain," she mumbled.

Jack grinned and headed back to the table again. With a sigh, he sat down once more and picked up the calipers and once more tried to map out their next move. Gauging the distance...and he looked at the compass once more and as it started to spin wildly once more, he tapped on the case a bit but that only caused the compass to spaz out even more and he snorted, tossed the calipers down and gave up. At least for now.

There was a mumble from the blonde in the hammock and he reached over for the bottle of rum, lifting it to his lips only to be rewarded with the sweet taste of --

Nothing.

He pulled the bottle back from his lips and a grumble. "Why is the rum...always gone?"

He stood up and staggered to the side, grabbing his tricorn, and a smirk. "Oh! That's why." Walking past Trynity, a hand brushing over her hair, he reached out for his coat off the hook as he headed out of the cabin.

Heading down the stairs to the hold and watching the men as they snored, grunted and grumbled in their sleep, he muttered, "As you were gents," going over to the stores where a goat bleated at him plaintively as he rattled the keys to search for the one that would unlock the door and allow him in. He walked in and closed the door behind him, making his way along the close space and gave a look at some little filter feeding anemones that had attached themselves to a beam.

Jack frowned and shook his head as he went on, a grin taking over, "Ah!" as he saw the bottles in the rack and pilled one out, uncorking it and turning it upside down, letting the sand pour out onto the floor.

"Time's run out, Jack." came a deep voice, echoing in the gold.

Jack dropped the bottle and blinked, brown eyes squinting as he tried to make out what - or who - had said that. But then the curious look became one of near horror. "Bootstrap. Bill Turner."

Bootstrap looked over at his captain and a smile forced itself on his lips. Even though the starfish attached to the right half of his face would put the smile into an almost grimace. "You look good, Jack," Bootstrap said amicably.

"Is this a dream?" Jack said, praying for the right --

"No."

--answer. That wasn't it. And a dejected sigh from the captain. "I thought not. If it were, there'd be rum." Suddenly there was an arm lifted and a bottle of rum handed up to Jack from Bootstrap. Jack looked at the bottle for a moment with a taste of disgust and then realizing that this was all that there was, he reluctantly took hold of the bottle and twisted it to break the grip that the other pirate had on it, with a sickening crackling noise. Well...c'est le vie.

"You got the Pearl back, I see." Bootstrap said, looking around the hold.

Jack picked a...whatever it was that was crawling...off of the mouth of the bottle and blew on and brushed off the rim with a thumb. "I had some help retrieving the Pearl, by the way," He took a drink and nodded at Bootstrap. "Your son."

Bootstrap looked downright depressed now. "William. He ended up a pirate after all."

Jack could tell the emotion change and so he decided to change the subject. A smile, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your carbuncle?" And (also reluctantly) handed the bottle back to the other.

"He sent me." He said, turning to look at Jack again. "Davy Jones."

Jack lost the grin and he studied his "friend" closely. "Ah...so it's you, then. He shanghaied you into service ay?"

"I chose it." And he looked away for a moment but then back at Jack once more. "I'm sorry for the part I played in the mutiny against you, Jack." As he spoke, a small hermit crab scuttled across the top of the crate Bootstrap had been sitting next to and with one hand, he slammed it over the small creature, not squishing it, but merely catching it. "I stood up for you. Everything went wrong after that." Bootstrap lifted the crab and stared at it as he held it looking at it eye to...er...eye. Then in one quick move, he popped the crab into his mouth and ate it. "They strapped me to a cannon. I ended up on the bottom of the ocean. The weight of the water crushing down on me. Unable to move. Unable to die, Jack. And I thought of even the tiniest hope of escaping this fate I would take it. I would trade anything for it."

Jack twitched and as Bootstrap crunched merrily on the little snack, the captain's mouth moved in that sort of "ew" way that Jack had. That was just... "It's funny what a man will do to forestall his final judgemen--" he started to say as he stood and turned to walk off. He'd had enough of this nightmare. Time to at least get out of this cold damp hold and if he was going to have these weird scenes, he'd do it in his own warm bed.

But he wouldn't get far. Maybe a couple of steps. Since in the space of a heartbeat, Bootstrap was on his feet and blocking Jack's way. "You made a deal with him too, Jack! He raised the Peal from the depths for you! Thirteen years you've been a captain."

Jack jumped when all of a sudden Bootstrap was in his way and he threw on that congenial smile. "Well, technica--"

"Jack," Bootstrap said with a malevolent grin. "You won't be able to talk yourself out of this one. The terms what apply to me apply to you as well. One soul. Bound to crew a hundred years on a ship--"

"Yes, but the Flying Dutchman already has a captain, so there's rea--"

"Then it's the Locker for you!!" Bootstrap bellowed at the hapless captain. But then he quieted and went on. "Jones' terrible leviathan will find you. He'll drag the Pearl back to the depths and you along with it. "

Jack cringed. This couldn't be good. "Any idea when Jones might release said terrible beastie?"

Bootstrap's hand flashed out and grabbed Jack's left wrist. Jack jumped with a gasp and as he spoke, Bootstrap ran his hand across Jack's. "I already told you. The time is up. He comes now. Drawn with ravenous hunger to the man what bears the black spot."

Jack looked down at his hand, a disgusted look crossing his face at the hand swipe, and when he saw the black spot appear after Bootstrap had let him go, he looked once more at it, then with a whine, he ran out of the stores and scrambled to the stairs to the main deck, shouting as he went, " On deck all hands! Make fast the bunt gasket! On deck! Scurry! Scurry-on, Marty... I want movement!!!!"

The men what were in hammocks all exploded in a flurry of action, most falling onto the floor before getting to their feet and clambering up the steps to the upper deck. Jack strode in great steps across the deck, making sure that no one was standing around. Then a hand tapped on his shoulder from behind and Jack nearly went skyward. He yelped and whirled only to come face to face with his daughter who - when Jack yelped - had let out a scream.

'You sca--" but she wouldn't finish as he grabbed her in his arms in a tight, close hug. "I want movement!!"

Gibbs was still blinking the sleep out of his eyes, but he took over with the men. "Lift that skin up!!" he shouted at Leech and another crewman.

"Dad!" Trynity muffled as Jack had her in still the tight hug and her face was buried in his chest.

Jack was oblivious to the fact his daughter needed oxygen and kept howling orders. "All on deck!! And keep running!! Run as if the devil himself --and Itself -- is upon us!!"

Finally Trynity broke free and was about to say something but Gibbs came up beside them, "Do we have a heading?"

Jack jumped and yelped again. "Ah!! Oh! Run!" And as an afterthought. "Land!" And he ducked down behind the main mast.

Tryn and Gibbs looked at each other and Gibbs moved when he saw Jack start to stand up again. There was another gasp from the captain and Gibbs asked, "Which port?"

Jack frowned and reached over, grabbing the girl and hauling her closer again. "Didn't say port. I said land. Any land." And he headed for the cabin aga--

Suddenly there was a monkey that sailed by on one of the loose riggings, grabbing Jack's hat. Jack screamed, Trynity screamed and the monkey screamed. He jumped onto some of the rigging on the side, snarled at Jack and threw the hat over into the water.

Gibbs ran over to the side. "Jack's hat!! Bring 'er about!"

"NO!" came the shout. And the deck was so quiet a pin would be heard dropping. Everyone was frozen. Jack grabbed Trynity again and waved his free hand at the crew to 'go ahead'. "Leave it!! Run!"

Both Gibbs and Tryn were shocked into silence, but then Gibbs snapped out of it and began with the orders again. "Back to your stations!! The lot o'ya!"

Jack had disappeared behind the dark stairs to the quarterdeck, just off to the side of the door to his cabin. Still one arm tight around his daughter.

"Jack?" she asked softly, as she looked up at him in the darkness.

"Sshhhh..." he said softly back to her, pulling her close to his chest, both arms wrapping around her and burying his face in her hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, his heart starting to calm, but then,

"For the love of mother and child, Jack...what's comin' after us?" Gibbs said gently, trying not to startle the already edgy captain.

Jack's eyes flew open as he looked over at his friend over Trynity's head. Usually a blatant lie would work in a time like this. So what the hell.

"Nothing."