Disclaimer: The show was cancelled because of the fire extinguisher.

'How much farther to Tortuga?'

'Why the rush whelp?'

Jack didn't look at him as they spoke; he was too preoccupied with a tangled mass of ropes at his feet.

'I don't think Tara's doing too well,' Will confessed after coming up the stairs from their little visit.

Jack didn't seem too worried as he watched Liz and Anna pulling at the same rope thinking it were two, with an amused smile on his face. 'Seasickness, she'll get over it.'

Will shook his head as Anna pulled Liz off balance and they both burst into laughter upon realising their mistake. 'I don't think that's the problem.'

Jack laughed obliviously. 'What?'

Will nudged him impatiently, trying to get his attention. 'Did you hear me?'

'No,' Jack replied, now looking Will in the eye, still smiling in his amused way, 'what'd you say?'

'Ta – ra,' Will repeated, 'she's not well, and it's not seasickness, it's something else.'

The smile didn't completely leave Jack's face, but a worried shadow crossed his eyes. 'Somethin' like what?'

'She's been having dreams, nightmares, I think,' said Will, 'I heard her last night, muttering.'

'Mutterin' what?'

'I'm not sure, I only heard her say "I know", the rest was inaudible.'

'Hmm,' murmured Jack, thoughtfully playing with his beard, 'where's she now?'

'The Galley.'

Jack nodded, knowing that if he didn't go, there'd be several more slaps awaiting him. He turned and started down the stairs.

xXx

Tara sat in her seat at the table in the corner, her head in her arms, tired from too few hours of sleep. She was numbly aware of someone entering the room as she slipped into a doze.

Jack stepped forward uncertainly. She seemed to be asleep. He sat in the seat across from hers but she didn't move.

After a while, she said, 'Hello Jack.' She looked up at him, resting her chin on her folded arms. 'Shouldn't you be Captaining?'

'Will says you're not well?' said Jack, getting straight to the point. He noticed now, that her face was pale and her eyes were very bloodshot. ' 'Ave you … been cryin'?'

Her eyes narrowed very slightly. 'Will says too much,' she said harshly.

' 'Ave you been sleepin'?' Jack asked, ignoring her comment.

'Sleep is overrated,' Tara muttered suppressing a yawn.

Jack frowned slightly. 'Holly told me 'bout you,' he muttered in realisation, Tara looked up sharply so he added, 'not by name, she never mentioned you were my daughter either.'

Tara buried her head in her arms again. She couldn't really care less; her mother couldn't seem further away.

Jack studied her slender frame. This wasn't the person Holly had described to him; not the kind, happy, carefree child she had conceived. Tara seemed different from when he had first met her aboard the Wisdom Cross too. She seemed happier then, even though she had just lost her mother.

'What 'appened t' you?' Jack thought aloud. It took him several seconds to realise he'd actually said it and he regretted it instantly. But Tara didn't seem altogether bothered. She shifted her head slightly, so that she was looking to the side. It took him by surprise when she answered.

'I don't know,' were her words. Jack was reminded of the innocence he'd heard aboard the Cross. "Why are you letting us go?" They were such soft words, like those of an angel. Those words were flooded with confusion and purity; these were flooded with bitterness and sorrow.

'I've seen too much … done too much,' she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

'What've you seen? What's in your nightmares?' Jack asked, keeping his voice level.

'I knew about you, long before mother …' she trailed off, unable to speak of her mother's death.

'That wouldn't be enough t' give you nightmares … would it?' He noticed she trembled slightly at the mention of the nightmares.

'People were dying,' she said, her face still averted, 'there was a fire, that's how Bell died. I was there. At the plantation. I wasn't meant to be …'

Jack stared at her in confusion. 'I thought Bell died in an accident …'

'I told myself that … the memories, weren't something I wanted to hold on to. And mother – mother was injured, and the doctors gave her a year … two at the most …'

Jack shook his head; she had to be wrong. 'Your mother died of cancer, not an injury.'

'No, in the fire, something fell, her head was bleeding …' Tara trailed off, raising her head a little but staring at the table. The memories returned in flashes.

'Tara, you're probably in shock,' Jack muttered, trying to make her see sense, 'it takes a while sometimes, it'll wear off, jus' keep-,'

'I knocked over the oil lamp,' Tara whispered, horror spreading through her, 'I did it. Bell was crushed … by the beam. Mother, tried to get me out but something fell … the chandelier … I did it.'

Jack stared at her, how could she blame herself for such a thing? 'Luv, you couldn't 'ave done anythin' like that intentionally, it was probably an accident -,'

She shook her head violently. 'We were arguing. They knew I knew …'

'Knew what?' asked Jack, now slightly unnerved.

'The Black Pearl is coming, Jack will reprieve …' she murmured, more to herself than to him, 'the dreams … I knew what they meant, I knew who you were, who Bell wasn't …' She trailed off again, her eyes glassy.

'You knew who I was?' Jack asked, completely taken aback by the news. 'Before Holly died?'

At the mention of her mother's name Tara seemed to snap back to reality. She stared at him in horror. 'That means … that means … oh god … I killed them …'

'No, you didn', don' say that!'

'Yes, I did, they took me to that house to convince me they were my parents, but I wouldn't listen. I argued. I caused that fire. I killed -,' her voice broke. She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably into her arms.

'No, luv,' Jack stared at her grimly, 'you couldn' kill anyone, it was an accident.'

She wouldn't listen. The ship reminded her of the dreams. The dreams awoke the memories. Memories, not fantasies. Jack realised there was nothing he could do but let her weep. He patted her awkwardly on the arm, still completely confused and shocked.

'It wasn' your fault,' was all he could say, 'you weren' responsible … you were twelve for pities sake!' He suddenly found that he couldn't bear to see her so upset. 'No, c'mon, please don' cry!'

He was shocked to hear a cold laugh from between the sobs; she looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. 'Why Jack?' she asked, a sad smile crossing her face. ' I thought you'd be happy to see me like this.'

Disclaimers thanks to my older sister, she goes to Uni.