„Angelica? What are you doing there" ,she hears Jack asking. He has just woken up from his long sleep and seeing his wife sitting in the wet sand, he comes over to her. Slowly she stands up again, facing her husband. „What happenend in Tortuga?"

He shakes his head „Nothing for you to worry about."

Now it's her who shakes her head in disbelief. „I have seen how you look between your thighs. – What happened?"

Jack looks away „I don't want to talk about it…"

Staying stubborn, she says „It will help you, my dear. Talk to me." To enhance her words, Angelica takes her husband into her arms.

As if a dam has broke because of it, he starts to speak softly „I couldn't do anything…" ,Jack mumbles into her shoulder. „I had something with two women – or better put – they had something with me. I was totally drunk and couldn't defend myself...I can understand it, if you'd hate me now as I was unfaithful to you…and I have an uncertain feeling that this wasn't all of it.""

She answers equally soft „I could never hate you. You just told me that you couldn't defend yourself." Jack pulls Angelica tighter to his body and buries his head in her hair, leaning on her shoulder. „I don't deserve such a wonderful woman like you."

Angelica just pulls her arms tighter around Jack and says with meaning „Yes, you do Jack. You are a wonderful, intelligent, courageous and handsome man with a pure soul and a heart of gold. Attributes that are seldomly found, especially among pirates. – You deserve all the love of the world and I'm trying my best to give it to you, gorrion. – Especially now in this trying time for you."

„Oh, Angelica, my love." Saying those words, Jack buries his head in her hair that hangs over her shoulder and lets all his pent up emotions out. Silent tears are rolling down his cheeks and only the occasional sniff can be heard, as evidence of his emotional turmoil. Angelica holds onto him tightly, rubbing her hand soothingly up and down his strong back, while her other hand is lying on the back of his dreadlocked head. She quietly hums an old Spanish lullaby, hoping to calm him down, as she can feel him trembling all over.

Their quiet moment is interrupted as Gibbs comes running over, not aware of the situation at hand. „Morning, Captain! – Miss Angelica! – We be ready to pull the Pearl over onto her starboard side to clean it too. Just waiting for you, Captain."

Not getting a direct answer, Gibbs moves closer and now can hear the sobs. Confused he looks to Angelica. She speaks softly, as not to distrub Jack „I know what happened to him in Tortuga and I got him to talk about it. And now he is starting to deal with it. – When he is ready to face you all, he'll come over to help. But now, please leave us alone and let the others know not to disturb us." Nodding in understanding and patting Angelica a bit awkwardly on her free shoulder, Gibbs walks back to the rest of the crew. „Captain will join us once he is ready. Now back to work you lazy dogs!"

After seemingly endless minutes, the trembling subsides and the sobs die down, but still Jack doesn't move from his position on her shoulder, keeping his arms around her middle, while their are still standing in the surf. The incoming waves slosh around their booted feet, making them wet. But the pair of them are so engrossed in their own world now that they don't pay attention to their immediate surroundings. Which is moments later their literal downfall as a bigger wave crashes onto shore and pulls them off of their feet. This seems to pull Jack out of his trance like state. Before they make contact with the hard wet sand, Jack turns them around fast while falling and cushions the impact for Angelica. She thanks him with a tender kiss to his cheek „Thank you, Jack."

Now smiling again, he answers „You're welcome, love." Becoming more serious, he goes on „It's me who has to thank you, Angelica. Thank you for being there for me and for not hating me after what I've done on Tortuga. - To me this is inexcuseable. – Drunk or not. I should have never allowed another woman to touch me, especially not like that. Only one woman alive is now granted that privilage and that would be you my dearest Angelica, my darlin' wife." To add prove to his words, Jack encircles her in his arms and kisses her long and deeply, letting all his love and passion flow into the kiss. Then he shows her his charming golden grin, even his eyes have their sparkle back in them. Angelica couldn't be more happy. She will have her Jack back to his old self in no time, if he continues like that.

Minutes later, Angelica is sitting again with Jacob under the palm trees while Jack helps his crew. They manage to turn the ship onto it's other side and start the cleaning of the hull. This time it is already after sun down when the last of the barnacles is scraped off of the black wood. Again Jack inspects the work of his crew and satisfied with the result, thanks them and allows them to get out some rum. But he orders a few of them to stay sober to help him in getting the Pearl afloat again when the tide comes in during the early hours of the following morning.

And as the crew celebrates with the rum around a small campfire, Jack and Angelica lie down on their blanket with Jacob in their middle and after kissing each other good night, close their eyes and fall asleep, the arms still around one another.

Gibbs trots over to check on his captain. Seeing the small family asleep, he gets out another blanket and covers his captain, wife and child with it. „Sleep tight, Captain." With a last look to his friend, Gibbs walks back to the crew and keeps an eye on them all, making sure that they don't get too inebriated, so they'll be able to sail the next day.

Then in the wee hours of the following day, Jack wakes up. He gets up and softly kisses his still sleeping wife and child, before going over to his crew. Taking Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty, Tiny and Murtogg and Mullroy with him, he orders Scrum to stay with the rest and to keep an eye on his family. Scrum nods „Aye, Captain." The ship is nearly completely in the water, only the mooring lines keeping her in place. Ordering four of the men to get a hold of the lines, Jack sends Gibbs, Marty and Tiny on board. They use one of the lines to reach the deck of the Pearl. About ten minutes later the Pearl is ready to sail again. Jack shouts over to the rest of the crew „On deck you scabarous dogs! Movement! I want movement!"

The crew all awake at the same time due to their captain's loud wake-up call. Hurriedly they pack their few things, estinguish the campfire and join their captain. Angelica comes over too, holding Jacob in one arm and the blankets in the other. Kissing Jack good morning, she asks „Where to now Jack?" Turning to his wife, he replies „Wherever the wind takes us, love. – But first we have to wait for them to ready the longboats, as I'm sure you don't fancy a swim." Nodding to her husband, Angelica watches as Gibbs and a few other crewmen lower two longsboats into the water. Then Pintel and Ragetti climb into the first and take the oars, Murtogg and Mullroy get into the second one. As soon as the longboats reach the surf, they are nearly toppled over, but they stay upright. Jack helps Angelica into the first and allows some of his crew to join her.

Now Jack is the only one left. He takes a last look around the beach, making sure they haven't left any evidence of their stay here. Assured that everything is alright, he orders the four crewmen to get the boats back to the ship. Confused they look at him. Ragetti asks „But Captain, won't you come with us?" Shaking his head, Jack answers „The boats are full. Adding my weight to any of the two of them, would make it overcrowded and it will sink. – So grab the oars and hurry back to the Pearl. I will follow." Still a bit unsure, the four crewmen follow their captain's order and row away from the shore and to the awaiting black vessel.

When the two boats are half way over, Jack plunges into the waves and swims after them. Diving down to get faster through the surf, the captain enjoys the colorful sealife around him. But soon he has to emerge to get some air into his lungs. Breathing deeply and orienting himself, Jack submerges once more and propelles himself forward with fast strokes from his muscular arms and legs. When he reaches the Pearl's hull, he uses the chance to inspect it again. Thankful that he is able to hold his breath for so long, Jack feels along the dark wood from stern to bow. Happy to find nothing that would slow them down anymore, the captain pushes himself upwards, keeping very close to the ship.

On his way up he comes into contact with very sharp corals, who have made the Pearl's upper hull their new home. Angry for the oversight from his crew, Jack reaches the surface. Swimming around the ship till he gets to the steps that lead to the deck, he starts climbing them. Once he gets over the railing, he starts shouting angrily „Who of you lazy dogs has cleaned the front of me ship?" One crewmember steps forward, lifting his hand „That would have been me, Captain. Why?" Walking up to the man, Jack shows him his cut open arm „That is why, you bloody idiot! I've cut meself on my way up! You left corals on the hull! – You call that cleaning? For the next two weeks you'll be scrubbing the decks till they shine and no rum for you! Is that understood, you mangy dog?"

Cowering in front of his now furios captain, the crewman called Larry, only says „Aye, aye Captain." Then he shuffles away, with hunched shoulders. Some of the crew pity him, but most are siding with their captain. He could have been hurt far worse or even killed and that only because one idiot didn't do his cleaning job properly. Gibbs walks up to Jack and pointing to his still bleeding arm, means „That should be treated immediately, Captain, before it gets infected." Nodding, Jack goes into his cabin where Angelica is already waiting. Gibbs follows, after ordering Cotton to take the wheel. Entering the cabin, Jack moves over to his desk and takes a seat in his big throne like chair. Putting his booted feet on the desk, crossed at the ankles, he pulls out a bottle of rum from a drawer and drinks long and deep, sighing in relief.

Only now Angelica sees his bloody arm. „What happened, Jack?" Looking up to her, he answers „Nothing to worry about my dear. Just an encounter with some corals on me Pearl's hull. The crewmember responsible for this" ,here he holds up his injured arm „has already been punished. And now Gibbs will clean and bandage this and everything will be alright, savvy?" As Angelica wants to reply, Jacob comes over and tries to climb onto his father's lap. „Daddy up!" Smiling brightly, Jack leans down and picks Jacob up of the floor with his good arm. „Now what, little pirate?" Seemingly thinking this over, the boy says while looking at the bottle on the desk „Dink, daddy. Wanna dink."

Jack holds out a small mug filled with water to Jacob, while Gibbs is treating his injury, cleaning it with rum and warm water and then putting a tight bandage on his captain's lower right arm. During the procedure of cleaning the wound, Jack's eyelids close and to the surprise of Gibbs and Angelica, he falls asleep, sitting in his chair with his son still secure in his lap. With a nod and smile Gibbs exits the cabin and not wanting to disturb her husband, Angelica goes over to the bunk to rest a bit more too.

now everything is alright again. but new problems arise soon