Secrets are made to be found out with time.
C. Sanford
Elizabeth's eyes bored into Jack, burning with vehement malevolence and clearly seeking retribution.
"Bugger."
She inched dangerously closer to him, completely unmoved by whatever charms he would employ in an attempt to worm his way out of the situation. "There was always something wrong with your story, Jack. I never could understand why being captain of the Flying Dutchman would give the ability to heal. And Will is not immortal now. Whatever powers he once had he no longer possesses."
"Are you sure about that?" he asked vaguely.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking," he continued circling her, now no longer on the defensive, "about the fact that your dashing husband walks amongst us not looking a day older than when he left."
"Yes, and that makes perfect sense. He was immortal. Now he no longer is. But, for those ten years in which he was, he did not age. That is simple logic. It is not proof of any continued abilities."
"And what of you?" Jack contended. "In my experience, time is not often kind to your sex," he frowned, in apparent recollection of the event that cemented this belief. "Why is it that you still look exactly the same as the comely young lass - rather unfortunately disguised - I reencountered those eleven years ago on the docks of Tortuga?"
"I....I appear somewhat older," Elizabeth offered in her defense, fingering the faint line or two she imagined ran across her forehead.
Jack's look alone prompted her to continue.
"All right. I see your point, but Will says it is because of my....'connection' with him when he was immortal." Under her breath she whispered, "Because we.....because I - "
"Received his....essence," Jack smirked.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in defiance. "How does any of this involve my son? And be forewarned, this time I'll accept nothing less than the absolute truth."
Jack regarded her a silent moment in which he seemed to be weighing his options. "You admitted yourself when William was immortal, looking all debonair and vaguely mysterious - and, I might add, he learned it all from me - you benefited by merely receiving - "
Elizabeth cut him off with a castigating look.
"....the best he has to offer," Jack devilishly amended.
Elizabeth's brow furrowed, not knowing or liking where Jack was going with this. Was he suggesting that if her husband...... "But Will no longer is immortal. He can't - "
"Will isn't.....but William....," Jack continued. "Half of that boy was made with....." Searching for the proper word, he settled upon, "....immortal essence. He turned toward Gibbs who shrugged a nodding approval. Looking pointedly back at Elizabeth, Jack declared, "Immortality is in his blood. It will always be a part of his makeup, regardless of his father's current state."
From the ideal hiding place, nestled beneath the stairs, two little ears perked up. They'd understood little of the conversation thus far, but this part had captured their full attention.
"That is what they are after," Elizabeth finished.
"The rest that I told you was the truth, every word. They have tried voodoo, mystics - anything and everything. For whatever reason, they believe young William has the power to heal, and they're willing to pay handsomely for it."
"And you told us the interest was in Will," she shrewdly said, "knowing we would never agree to involve our son - "
"But you would bring him along on the journey."
"And then it was only a matter of arranging a way to have him in that meeting. But surely you must have known we wouldn't allow it." A sickening realization flooding her mind, she incredulously questioned, "Did you plan on taking him from us by force? How else could you have accomplished it?" she asked in disbelief.
"I hadn't thought it out that far," Jack admitted.
In unadulterated fury, Elizabeth lunged toward him, reaching to her hip where her sword would have usually been. Her fingers finding nothing but air and her wrist brushing the side of the swelling that was her unborn child, she closed her eyes, taking a step backward and attempting to calm herself.
"I don't care what you have and haven't thought out," she said at length. "My son will not have any part in this. He will go nowhere near those people."
"But I want to," a small, though determined, voice declared.
Elizabeth, Jack, and Gibbs turned about to find William bounding up the stairs towards them.
"I want to go, Mama."
"William - what - where were you?" his mother asked. "Were you listening this whole time?"
"Underneath the steps," he sheepishly admitted.
"William, you - "
"No, Mama. I heard everything. Captain Jack says I can heal this lady and, if I can, I...I want to help her," William said, squaring his shoulders and holding his head erect in what he thought to be a very grown, very masculine fashion.
"Darling," Elizabeth softly called, extending her arm and drawing her son gently to her side. "Jack didn't......It isn't.......None of it is real," she told him, to which William's face scrunched into confusion.
"What is going on?" a much deeper voice guardedly asked from behind them.
This time it was the eldest, most formidable Turner, who slowly climbed the stairs, regarding the scene before him in suspicious wariness.
"Elizabeth?" he asked, coming to stand beside her.
"Will," she said, her tone instantly disclosing her relief to his trained ears. It was late and she was tired. Emotions were running high and she was endlessly grateful for a strong trusted ally in this fight - and a warm, present husband to share in at times unpleasant parental duties.
"What is the matter?" he gently asked her, his hand resting upon the small of her back and his eyes never leaving hers. "What is happening?"
"I've finally discovered our plans upon reaching shore," Elizabeth sarcastically informed him, her gaze drifting to Jack before returning to the comfort of her husband's features. "It isn't you that they want. It never has been. It is William whose powers they seek. Jack has meant to exploit him all along."
At this revelation, Will's hand fell from about his wife's waist and he turned to squarely face their captain. "I should have expected something like this," he icily spat. "My son is not a bargaining chip. He's but a little boy," Will continued, his voice revealing the depth of emotion he felt for the child. "This is particularly low, even for you."
Jack held his gaze unremitting, seemingly unfazed by their harsh acquisitions. "My hands are clean in this, mate. I told a harmless little fib to get you here. That's the extent of my crime. You don't honestly believe I'd harm the boy after the pains I've gone to ensuring his wellbeing?"
There was truth in his statement and Will knew it quite well. It was no coincidence the many times in the years of his absence when Jack would show up at the Turner doorstep to lift the spirits of a lonely wife and son with trinkets and baubles, stories of life upon sea, and fond reminisces of a far away man they all missed. It was part of the agreement the two pirates had made those five odd years ago when Will gave Jack the key to the Fountain of Youth.
"No, I don't believe you would," Will allowed. "Purposefully. But this was a foolhardy plan, Jack. Any number of things might have gone wrong. We'll not put our son in danger for fortune and glory. No price tag exists that is high enough to warrant risking his life."
"But, Papa, I want to do this. I want to help them," William protested, running to stand before his father.
Will smiled proudly at his boy. "That is admirable, son, but I'm afraid there's nothing any of us can do to help them."
"That's not true. Jack says I can - "
"Don't you see, dearest?" Elizabeth interrupted, bending to his level. "Jack wasn't telling the truth. He means to trick these people, to make them believe you have magical powers so they'll give us this treasure. But it....it isn't real. It's all a lie."
"No. No, Jack said it," William unwaveringly argued. "Papa's immortality is in my blood. I've always known I can do special things. You - you told me....."
"Yes, I did, and it's true," his mother confirmed. "Papa's immortality is in you and that does make you a special boy. You're intelligent and insightful and vibrant and vigorous and healthy. All those things mean you will have a wonderful long life and, at the moment, that you stand out a bit from the other children your age, but.....but, darling, those aren't supernatural powers."
"You're only saying that because you think it's too dangerous," William charged.
"She's saying it because it's true, William," Will verified his wife's statement.
The child seemed to consider this, a look of disappointment clouding his features. "But, if there's even a chance - "
"There isn't, son," his father said, putting a hand on each of his shoulders and holding his gaze. "We can't help these people and it would be wrong to pretend otherwise." When William said no more, appearing to accept his answer, Will added, "I'm sorry, but that's the final word on the matter.....Now, it's late. You'd best get to bed."
"All the way this time," his mother seconded. "We'll be along shortly to make certain, but first.....I haven't finished dealing with Jack quite yet."
William begrudgingly obeyed, descending the stairs toward the open hatch leading below as his parents watched to ensure he was completely out of sight before continuing in their discussion.
"Do you see what you've done?" Elizabeth accused, turning her venom back upon Jack.
"And why, that is what I'd like to know?" Will astutely questioned. "Why go to all this trouble? You want the treasure, to be sure, but these people have never so much as laid eyes upon myself or Elizabeth. Why, then, even bother to produce the real William Turner? Any young boy of the proper age would do."
Elizabeth frowned, wondering why she hadn't thought of such a thing.
Jack smiled smugly at Will. "Pirate," he appreciatively declared.
"And so are you," Will replied, "which is why I know you must have tried exactly what I suggested before going to such great lengths to lure Elizabeth and I into coming. Private staterooms, plentiful rations, no service amongst the crew. These are heady, but costly enticements.....Why?"
"You're dearly beloved made the unfortunate error of showing your son about Shipwreck City," Jack explained. "The Pirate Lord of the Mediterranean Sea, who just happens to have struck a deal with Caldeira himself, saw William there - purports to have even spoken with him - and claims to be able to identify him upon sight."
"Capitaine Chevalle," Elizabeth whispered in confirmation.
"That put a decoy out of the question....and here we are."
"But not because of you," Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Because of my consideration for you. It's true enough that William ran away, but we are here by and large because I convinced Will to come. Even before any of that happened I was inclined to help you.....Why is every time I put my trust in you it comes back to haunt me?"
"Not every time. Thanks to me, you are both still here and you're able to receive his...essence yet again," Jack said, indicating her swollen belly.
"Yes," she granted, her tone considerably humbled, "but this is wrong, Jack. What you've done.....What might have happened.....How you've deceived us all.....It couldn't be any worse."
Jack spared a sideways glance toward Gibbs before cagily looking back to her. "You'd think, wouldn't you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Will cautiously asked.
"There's something else I may have omitted....."
"What happened to 'the rest was the truth, every word'?" Elizabeth asked.
"Time and tide," Jack shrugged. "Have you learned nothing?"
Elizabeth scowled at Jack, but Will had no inclination to be drawn into his games. "No more gambits. No more schemes. It's time to raise the cups and reveal the dice. What else haven't you told us?"
Jack looked him squarely in the eye. If Will wasn't blinking, neither was he. "Everything about the earthquake and the injury is true. But it wasn't Caldeira's wife who was crushed beneath the rubble......It was their daughter."
"Their daughter?" Elizabeth asked, stunned at this new bit of information.
"A little girl, can't be more than eight," Gibbs corroborated.
"But - but you said they've been searching for a cure for the past two years," Elizabeth recalled. "That means the child was barely six when....." She trailed off in horror at the image of a defenseless young girl - almost still a baby - caught beneath the fallen buildings, alive but never to walk again.
Will was noticeably silent, staring down at the floor planks in disgust. It was finally his wife who voiced his thoughts.
"Jack, how could you do such a thing?" Elizabeth stormed. "I hadn't thought even you capable of such a disgraceful act. To allow them to believe there is hope for their child to be healed....." Tears welled in her eyes as her mother's heart ached with empathy. "That is horribly cruel."
"Is it?" Jack opposed. "Perhaps she can be."
This brought both Will and Elizabeth's eyes to Jack.
"Are saying you actually believe William has this power?" Will asked incredulously.
"Don't know," Jack answered noncommittally. "But I've seen things a lot stranger happen.....So have you."
They silently pondered this for a moment before Will finally responded for them both. "Do what you will in your negations. I'll make no efforts to stop you, but my family will not be involved."
Lying in bed hours later, Elizabeth burrowed her face into Will's neck, her arm resting against the warmth of his bare chest.
"This is such a mess, Will. Our son is in danger. He's unhappy with us for not allowing him to go......We should have never come," she sighed. "It is all my fault."
"No," Will disagreed, tenderly stroking her back and placing a loving kiss into her hair. "This trip has been good for us, all of us. It will be all right, you shall see."
"How can you say that?" Elizabeth asked, sitting up on her elbow. "Everything has changed. It was already far too risky when it was you they sought. But William is a child. He can't defend himself."
Will placed his forefinger to the bridge of her nose, gently rubbing away the wrinkle of consternation. "It will all be as we said before, love, when I promised you not to go ahead with this meeting if you would not have it so. What can Jack do to us, really? We'll just have to make certain William doesn't get off the shipand, until this is over with and we're safely back out at sea, we won't let him out of our sight......And you as well," he said as she settled back down against him. "I don't want you anywhere near this."
"Then none of us will go ashore," Elizabeth determined. With a hint of a pout, she added, "I must confess, I was rather looking forward to reaching land....but the diversions of this cabin alone have kept me happy these three months."
"This cabin," Will whisperingly agreed, "....and the cargo hold....."
Elizabeth grinned. "And the crow's nest...."
"And the galley...."
"And Jack's cabin, that one time," she giggled.
They shared a conspiratorial look, both at the clandestine nature of the forbidden rendezvous and the still heated memory of the passion they shared there.
"He mustn't ever know about that one or he'd never use his navigational desk again," Will said with a wink, bending to kiss her.
Elizabeth stretched and yawned, instantly noticing Will's arms were no longer around her. Opening her eyes, she found her husband across the room, pulling his shirt on over his head.
"What is it?" she asked, sitting up in alarm.
"We've stopped," Will answered, tying on his bandana. "The Pearl's dropped anchor. We must have arrived."
He sat on the edge of the bed, tugging on his boots before making for the door.
"Wait," Elizabeth said, throwing the covers back. "I'll come with you."
Will shook his head, looking alarmingly concerned. "There's no time. I'm going to find William."
Elizabeth nodded her consent and he was out the door before she had time to even begin gathering the necessary articles of clothing.
It was the ship's lack of motion that had awoken Will, jarring the experienced captain from his sleep, but it was much more than just the new stillness that plagued him. He couldn't say how or why but the very instant he awoke he was filled with an anxious foreboding and an acute need to secure their son. He had always had a special connection with William from the very beginning. It wasn't important that he understood it, simply that he obey it.
As he burst into the boy's room, finding it unnaturally empty for such an early hour, he knew immediately that his suspicions had been correct. Hurrying through the corridors below and up the stairs to the main deck, after several distressing moments he located William near the starboard rail, taking one last sweeping glance around him, to determine if he'd been spotted, before beginning to climb into the longboat suspended on the other side.
"William," his father called, careful to keep his voice calm and even so as not to frighten the child and cause him to fall overboard.
"Papa," he said in startled surprise, jumping back down onto the deck.
"William, what are you doing?"
After a long pause, he finally confessed, "I was hiding in the longboat so I could sneak ashore with Jack." At Will's look of hurt disappointment, he added in his own defense, "I only want to help them. Why is that wrong? You helped people for years and years on the Dutchman, and I'm sure that was scary too."
"I had no choice but to help people when I captained the Dutchman," Will admitted. "You mustn't forget my service was never voluntary. I did what I had to do to get back to you and your mother. Don't make me too much of a hero, son. I am only a man, one who can be selfish at times like everyone else, and right now that includes seeing that you are safe here with me. That takes precedence over everything else. Do you realize, William, these people could harm you if they don't get what they want?" After a moment's pause, he decided to tell the child the entire truth. "And there is more to it that you don't know."
"What?" he asked with rapt attention. "But, whatever it is, I won't change my mind."
"It isn't a woman who is hurt. She's just a little girl, someone's little girl. Think on the lengths your mother and I would go to in order to see you were safe and well. That is what this girl is to her parents - and you are secondary to them."
All this seemed to dawn on William at once and he appeared visibly sobered at the grim knowledge.
"You cannot go ashore with Jack," Will said definitively.
"All right, Papa," he acquiesced, taking his father's hand and allowing him to lead them toward the stairs.
Before they could make it safely below, however, Jack emerged from the captain's cabin with Gibbs, Pintel, and Ragetti at his heels. Jack looked from William to Will as if pondering his next course of action.
Will's grip tightened on William's hand and he took up a protective stance, with the child slightly behind him. "He's not going with you, Jack."
Jack settled his hat atop his dreadlocks, looking to Gibbs as he declared, "Then we go ahead as discussed," he said, and the ragtag group followed after their captain, loading into the longboat and setting out for the distant shore.