Chapter Twenty-Eight
Things to Come

Giles had enough forged legal documents to go around, and the Tout de Suite and Black Pearl sailed into Kingston under false colors and false names two days after Jack's death. The pardons that had been written up for the pirates of the Black Pearl did not apply to the sailors of the Tout de Suite, and some might argue that the pardons were invalid since the bearers of them were still actively engaging in piracy. Docking fees were paid and Gibbs sent Marty and Cotton into the port to find someone to repair the mizzen-mast for good. Once they had set off, Chris, Loki, Gibbs, Anamaria, Athos, Pintel, Giles, and Marak disembarked from the Black Pearl and inquired as to whether or not Admiral Chesed had been seen in port, or whether any news had come about his whereabouts. The answer was always negative.

"I'm going to go see the Turners." Chris said as the last dockhand they interrogated departed. "They need to know."

"Shouldn't we speak to Norrington first?" Gibbs queried. "He'd know more about what Chesed might be doing."

Chris pressed her lips together in a line. "I – I just need them to know, Gibbs. They're our friends, I need…" Chris fell silent and fought back tears.

"Alright there, Chris. Alright." Gibbs said, patting her on the shoulder. "Who do you want to come with ye?"

"I want to go alone, mate. I think it will make things worse if half a dozen people come tramping in with me."

"We'll make sure that the mizzen-mast repair is going along smoothly so we can get back to Tortuga as soon as possible." Gibbs said. "You go tell them, and we'll see you back at the Pearl."

"See you then, mates." Chris said, managing a weak smile. Loki cooed morosely, and Chris broke away from the pirates, heading to the home of the Turners. In the previous days, Chris had felt like she had become numb to the world. She hadn't eaten. She drank only a little. Her hair was more of a snarled mess than usual, and her skin had become pallid. Dark circles had formed under her eyes from the lack of sleep she had at night for sometimes Jack came to her in her dreams, and she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand to find no reprieve in her dreams from the absence of her husband. Even though seeing Jack again was wonderful, it only further reminded Chris of what she lost.

Chris walked up to the front door and could hear the sound of the boys playing inside and Ali telling them to be careful. She inhaled deeply before rapping on the door three times. Bootstrap answered, Liam carried in one arm like a sack of potatoes. Upon seeing the quartermaster, the grandfather set his grandson down and gave him a swat on the rump to go play. "Oh Chris girl!" The older man reached forward to give Chris a hug in greeting. When he realized she wasn't enthusiastic in returning it, he pulled away and looked at Chris hard. It was then that he noticed that Chris and Loki were present, but that someone else was not. "Where's your other half?" He questioned cautiously.

"I need to talk to you and Will and Elizabeth." Chris stated, inhaling deeply. "It's... It's bad."

Bootstrap's eyes clouded, for he knew something was indeed wrong. "It is." He stated. "Come in." Chris entered and found that Tobias and Liam (having escaped his grandfather's grasp) seemed to be engaging in a wrestling match, with Noah watching. Ali was holding a broom and trying to pry her brothers apart with the handle. "Boys, if you do not stop right now, so help me God –!" Bootstrap warned, but at his brass tones, the boys stopped and immediately peeled themselves from the other. They stood at attention and Ali leaned on her broom. "All of you go to your rooms. Alice, sweet, will you send your mother and father down?"

Ali looked from her grandfather to the woman, seeing the woman's pallid complexion and dull face. "Where's Uncle Jack?" She asked, a slight tremor of fear in her voice.

Bootstrap swallowed and put a hand on her shoulder, urging her to obey his words. "Go get your parents. There's a good girl." The boys and their sister filed up the stairs and Loki watched them go with a chirp. Bootstrap turned back to his friend. "They'll be down shortly."

Chris nodded and turned to look out the window, seeing the disguised Black Pearl and Tout de Suite bobbing in the harbor. As she looked upon the ships, it felt like something had snapped in her chest. She remembered standing at this very window so many times when she was pregnant with Jack-Jack and Victoria, wishing that the Black Pearl was indeed in the harbor. Chris sighed. How was she going to tell the Turners like this? The bigger task of telling the children loomed ahead. How could she explain? And, furthermore, how could she tell them the man that took their father away was still out there, unpunished?

"Chris?" The quartermaster was pulled from her reverie by Elizabeth's voice. She turned to find Elizabeth and Will at the foot of the stairs, and Bootstrap watching with folded arms.

Chris looked at her friends, and she knew she just had to say it. She knew she couldn't sugar-coat anything. Nothing would make what she was about to say easy. "Jack's dead." Her voice broke as soon as she said her husband's name. Damn it. "Chesed killed him."

Elizabeth raised a hand to her mouth, Bootstrap's arms fell to his side in shock, and Will just stared at the floor. A short silence existed, but was broken when Will crossed the room and braced himself against a table with books upon it. He then let out a roar as he swiped all of the books from the table and overturned it. The crash seemed a deafening way to break the silence, and Loki's back arched at the noise. Will's eyes met Chris'. "This isn't fair. This is NOT FAIR. I'm going to kill Chesed. I am going to rip him apart with my bare hands –!"

"Will!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her voice thick with grief. She went to cross the room to her husband, but Bootstrap held her back.

"No, no, no! That man, if you could call Chesed a man – He is despicable! He is the lowliest form of life on the planet! He killed a good man, a great man – A man who was our friend, Elizabeth! Our friend! Captain Jack Sparrow may have been a pirate, but he was a damn good man!"

"He was one of the best, Will." Bootstrap spoke up, releasing his hold on his daughter-in-law. "Now is a time to mourn, there will be time for action later –"

Will cut his father off, turning to the female pirate. "Chris, if you go after Chesed, I am coming with you. He left you a widow, your children fatherless –"

"Will." Chris stopped him with his name. She hadn't planned anything yet as to avenging Jack's death, or to punish Chesed, but as she spoke now, she meant to follow through with her words. "If anyone's punishing Chesed, it will be me. And I'll go alone." She looked at Will's wife and his father. "You have a family that depends on you, Will. I can't risk you or anyone else dying."

Will walked to Chris and stood before her, his arms open in supplication. "If nothing else, Jack was my friend. Our friend. I can't just let this go without doing something to help you."

Chris was silent for a moment before saying, "If I think of anything, I'll let you know."

After a few more words, Chris excused herself to return to the Pearl, despite protestations from each of the Turners. She promised that before the crew of the Black Pearl returned to Tortuga, she would come see the Turners. With that, she left their home, feeling more weighted down than when she arrived. Chris wondered how Ali would react to the news of Jack's death. A sad smile slipped onto her lips as she thought back to the time when she and Jack snuck into Port Royale for Liam's christening and Ali tackled the pirate captain. A lump formed in her throat, and she tried hard to swallow it as she made her way back to the docks.

"Chris." Davy called when the quartermaster boarded the Black Pearl. He had been rather scarce since Jack's death, partly because he used to be a Royal Navy doctor and he didn't want any hatred for Chesed and the Navy reflected onto him. "Someone is waiting in the captain's cabin for you."

A vague question of who could be waiting fluttered through her mind, but she didn't much care. She was so tired, she felt so numb. She just wanted to get back to her children and try to put her life back together at the moment. Chris looked to the mizzen-mast. The one that had been rigged up temporarily was gone and the new, permanent one was just being lowered into place. "Do you know how long until we're supposed to be sailing?" She asked the doctor.

Davy shrugged. "I think I heard Gibbs say something about midday tomorrow, I'm not sure."

Chris patted the doctor on the shoulder once. "You're a good man, Davy. Good man." With that, she and Loki entered the captain's cabin.

Norrington was waiting inside, his hands behind his back in parade rest. When his sister entered, however, all posture was dropped and he crossed to her, immediately enveloping her in a hug that took her by surprise. "What's happened?" Norrington asked, pulling away from Chris. "When Gillette told me a ship fitting the description of the Black Pearl, but under a different name and with white sails had docked, I knew it was you, and I knew there'd be trouble for you to dock here. I tried to find Jack but… What's wrong?" Loki leaped from Chris' shoulders and into the bed, burrowing into the sheets.

Chris had paled at Norrington's overwhelming show of affection from her brother. It was shocking while she was so physically and emotionally weak. "You don't know… Why would you think something was wrong?" She asked.

"Jack's father showed up three days ago with the children and Jack's sister, and her children, and the pirate with the wooden eye and his family." Norrington explained. "Teague – I think that's his name – Found your father's house and said something had happened. Your father called for me because he wasn't quite certain what the man was going to do, but all he said was that something had happened and the Black Pearl would be here shortly." At Chris' bemused look, Norrington said, "I didn't know what to make of it either. I asked him what had happened, and he didn't reply. I asked him how he knew and –"

"Let me guess." Chris broke in. "He said 'sea turtles,' didn't he?"

"Precisely." Norrington replied, flabbergasted. "So what's happened?"

Chris swallowed and looked up at her brother's face. "Jack's dead." She whispered.

Norrington's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Chesed killed him two days ago after we sank the Titan. Chesed got away; we came here to see if you had heard any news about him and where he had gone to."

Norrington's face was still a mask of astound. "Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"Yes, James, my husband is dead, alright?" Chris snapped, her voice breaking for the second time that hour and tears rushing forward. "Now you can either tell me if you know where Chesed is, or you can just go away!"

"Christiana…" He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her and perhaps prevent her from leaving. "I am… I am so very sorry." His lips pursed with sadness and his brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, I…"

Chris buried her face into Norrington's shoulder. "I miss him, James, I miss him and I don't know what I'm going to say to the children. How am I going to tell them?" She pulled away and sniffed, wiping snot and tears from her face with her sleeve. "How can I? How will they understand?"

Norrington took his little sister by the chin and looked into her eyes with his own that matched their color. "I don't know, Christiana. And I wish I could tell you where Chesed was, but… I've resigned from my post in the Navy."

That astonished Chris enough so that her tears stopped. "What? Why?"

Norrington smiled softly. "I let your father talk me into going back to England. And with men like Chesed rising and rising fast in the Navy, I didn't want to see what they would do to it. I resigned and Gillette, my former lieutenant, has taken up my post." Chris looked to the cabin floor. She didn't know how she was going to find Chesed now. "Look at me." Norrington raised her face back up to look at him. "If I can help you, I will. I'll take care of you, Christiana."

Chris did not say anything. Instead, she simply put her arms around her brother and hugged him to her tightly. He rubbed her back and then patted it comfortingly.

Pulling away, he said, "Come on. Let's go see your father and the children." Norrington took her hand, and the pair left the Black Pearl and ventured into Kingston to her father's house.

Upon arrival, the house was sheer pandemonium. Jocelyn's children ran amok with Thomas trailing, and it was a moment or so before anyone noticed that Norrington and Chris had arrived, and only then they were acknowledged with cursory glances from the children. It was several minutes before Jocelyn emerged from the kitchen, Jack-Jack on one hip and Victoria on the other. "Chris! When did you get – Oh, never mind! We've been waiting for – What's happened?"

Chris looked at her twins and back to her sister-in-law. The prospect of having to spread the news of Jack's death once more, and then try to explain to Pearl, was daunting. The quartermaster felt weak, as weak as she had ever before felt.

"Pop, Pop!" Jocelyn turned to lean back into the kitchen's doorway. "Chris is here, Pop." She turned back to Chris and said, "I'm sure you don't want to see me as much as you want to see the little ones. Here," Jocelyn handed Jack-Jack to Chris first, followed by Victoria. "Pearl's upstairs with your father and Shang… Ragetti and Sarah are somewhere, too…"

Something inside of Chris' chest cracked when she took her twins into her arms. How could she go one? How could she raise them, or raise Pearl, without their father? She sank to her knees in despair before Norrington could catch her, and she rocked back onto her rump, her children still in her arms. "Pop, Pop, get in here!" She heard Jocelyn shout. Tears poured from her eyes once more as she heard commotion and Chris sniffled.

"Jack's dead. Chesed killed him, and I can't – I can't – I can't…" Chris couldn't say what she couldn't do. She squeezed her children to her and sobbed. Teague entered from the kitchen with Rachel, Geoff, and Adanya, and Lord Thomas came to the top landing of the stairs with Pearl in one arm and his other guiding Shang. Ragetti and Sarah entered from the study hand in hand. They watched as Norrington fell to his knees beside his sister and put an arm around her shoulders.

Jocelyn's eyes became wet, and Teague's became dark. Pearl tugged on her grandfather's jacket and whispered into his ear. Lord Thomas carried his granddaughter and led her cousin down the stairs to where Chris kneeled. He looked at everyone else before saying, "Help her up, James."

Norrington helped his sister stand and took Victoria from her. Shang released Lord Thomas' hand and went to his mother, who seemed devastated at the news of her brother's death. Teague took Jack-Jack from her arms, and Norrington helped her to one of the sofas in the parlor. Chris saw now that most of the furniture had been packed up – Only the most necessary pieces remained. She sniffled as Lord Thomas came forward, Pearl still in his arms.

"Is it true, what you said?" Lord Thomas asked quietly. Chris nodded miserably, wiping the tears and snot from her face with her sleeve. Lord Thomas set Pearl onto the ground, and she scurried to the sofa and clambered onto her mother's lap, throwing her arms around her neck. "Then we're sailing out for England in a week, you can come with us –" Lord Thomas began, his voice soothing but also having an air of excitement into it.

"Just hold on a minute there." Teague growled, stepping forward and handing Jack-Jack to Jocelyn. "My son is dead, and your daughter is now a Sparrow. Her children are all Sparrows, and I'll be damned if I let you take them an ocean away so I can never see my daughter-in-law and my grandbabies ever again."

"Now is not the time." Norrington said, his tone firm. "Howard, honestly…" The former commodore's eyes were sad. "Would you have liked Harry, Allen, and Peter suggesting taking us away right after Mother died?"

"I'm not leaving until Chesed's paid for what he did." Chris said quietly. She looked at her daughter, who peered into her face with curiosity. "Could you please go? I need to speak to Pearl."

"Yes." Norrington bounced Victoria in his arms and looked at everyone else. "Let's adjourn to the kitchen for now. Jocelyn, here, lean on my arm…"

"Is Uncle Jack really gone?" Rachel whispered to one of her brothers as they filtered out.

"I don't know…" In minutes, it was only Chris and Pearl in the parlor.

"Mummy, what's happened to Daddy?" Pearl asked, her hand grasping Chris' collar.

Chris inhaled deeply, doing her best to keep everything together. "A bad man, the man who hurt Mummy here," Chris touched the scar the rope left around her throat when Pearl was but a little lass, "The bad man hurt Daddy, and Daddy won't be coming back to see us Pearl."

"Yes he will." Pearl said, releasing her hold on Chris' collar. "He said he would when you went away. He promised."

"Pearly, I know that Daddy wanted to keep that promise, but he can't. He isn't able to." Chris said, feeling her fragile emotions beginning to come apart once more.

"I don't believe you." Pearl said. "Daddy wouldn't lie to me. He's coming back."

"He didn't lie, sweetheart, he just can't –" Chris said, but Pearl would have none of it. Pearl slipped to the floor, her face screwed up in anger.

"Poppa!" She yelled for Teague, and she trundled into the kitchen without another look at her mother. Chris sighed and sank back onto the sofa. Her head sank back onto the sofa and her eyes closed. She was tired, so tired of crying, so tired of feeling this way… Within moments, she slept.

She was awoken some time later by pounding upon the door. She snorted and jerked awake just as Norrington went to answer the door. She turned to see Gillette, Norrington's former lieutenant and now the new commodore, enter the house.

"James, thank God –" Gillette began, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I don't know what to do; I simply do not know what to do!"

Norrington grabbed his old friend likewise by the shoulders. "Gillette, calm down. What is the matter?"

"Pirates, so many pirates!" Gillette pointed in the direction of the harbor. "They just started docking and-and-and they're not creating any trouble, they're just here! I don't know what to do; I don't know what to do!"

Chris stood from the sofa and looked at the two men as Norrington shook the other to bring him back to his senses. Norrington asked, "Are they attacking Kingston?" The other man stuttered. "Gillette, I will hit you to bring your sense back. Understand?"

"No!" Gillette squeaked. "They're here peaceably, but they're wanted men, but I – I don't think we have the men to take them."

Norrington released his friend and looked to his sister. "Do you know why they would be here?" Chris shook her head. Norrington sighed and looked about. "I'll come with you and see what's happening Gillette. Chris, fancy coming along?" Norrington looked to his sister as Gillette realized who she was. The new commodore blanched even more, if that was possible. Chris nodded wearily, suddenly feeling the need to be out in the fresh air. "Come along then, Commodore…" Norrington said, and the three exited the home.

The sun was setting as the trio headed down to the docks. A cool breeze blew, making Chris' skin feel refreshed. Her eyes slit closed against the sun's setting rays until they dipped down into the harbor and the ships that floated there provided some reprieve from the light. "There!" Gillette cried, pointing to an influx of ships that had all anchored around the Black Pearl. Chris' lips parted in surprise as she recognized the Death Rattle in the harbor among the ships, but with her arrival, a seething mass of pirates surged forward. She saw Marak, Giles, and Gibbs leading them. Harry, Peter, and Allen were among the persons, as well as Robins and his gang of outlaws. Bastian from Madagascar waved from the crowd with his men. And – could it be? – Yes! There was Hector Barbossa himself! He smiled grimly as the pirates swarmed Gillette, Norrington, and Chris.

"You're – You're all under arrest!" Gillette stuttered, his face as white as his wig.

"Chris, they've heard." Gibbs said, surging forward and ignoring the new commodore, who looked as though he was going to have a fit.

"And they all came here?" Chris asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Aye." Barbossa stepped forward, and Norrington paled, realizing the man who stood before him was the pirate who, so many years ago, had pillaged Port Royale and kidnapped Elizabeth Swann. "We came to pay our respects to Captain Jack Sparrow, and you." He pulled the hat from his head and bow. "Mrs. Sparrow."

"James, help me –!" Gillette said, lurching towards Anamaria. Norrington stopped him by clapping a stern hand on his shoulder.

"Gillette, let it go."

Chris surveyed all of the pirates, all of the men and the few women who had come in respect of Jack, in respect of her husband. She felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation and gratitude for these men, these men who loved her husband. "How did you all find out?" Chris asked.

"Sea turtles." A voice said in her ear. Chris turned to find Teague and the rest of her family trailing along with him, as well as the Turners, Ragettis, and Governor Swann lagging behind them. Pearl ran forward from Jocelyn's side and grabbed her mother's hand.

Chris picked Pearl up and hugged her tightly. She turned back to the other pirates and looked to the Black Pearl. "Anyone fancy a rum?" Chris asked.

She was met with a resounding, "Aye!"

That night, all of the pirates, the Sparrows, Lord Thomas, Norrington, Governor Swann, and the Turners gathered together on the deck of the Black Pearl. The stores of rum in the belly of the Black Pearl were depleted and cider was purchased from a local tavern for the children as those on board spoke of their fondest and best memories of Captain Jack Sparrow. Chris had a few laughs and made a few memories of Jack's adventures that she knew she would always treasure. Gillette had at first been adamant about going to the fort and getting more soldiers to take care of the 'pirates,' but after Jocelyn and Davy slipped something into his rum that caused him to fall asleep, there were no more worries about any form of law interrupting.

The next morning, Chris awoke nestled underneath the stairs leading up to the bridge with Pearl in her arms. Several other crewmembers were littered on the deck as well, and Chris was sure she saw Teague using the rigging in the top as a hammock. Someone had covered Chris and Pearl with a blanket, and as Chris placed the still sleeping Pearl to the side, she wrapped the blanket snugly around her daughter before climbing out from under the stairs.

"Good morning." She looked up to the wheel and found her father leaning against it, with Bootstrap at his side. Both of them were holding mugs of steaming drink and leaning over the railing looking forward.

"How long have you been up?" Chris asked, climbing up the stairs to join them.

"Long enough to watch Gillette wake up and Norrington convince him that he ate something odd and had hallucinations about all those pirates." Bootstrap said, taking a sip from his mug.

"I'm guessing Gillette didn't take a look around?" Chris asked, looking at the Death Rattle, the Tout de Suite, and Bastian's ship named the Sea Lion.

"You're right, he didn't." Lord Thomas replied. Slowly, the occupants of the Black Pearl and the mourners from the night before woke and convened on the deck when Cotton brought out a large pot of burgoo and plenty of wooden bowls to feed all. Just as Chris finished feeding the twins with Jocelyn (they and the rest of the children had slept in the captain's cabin) and was about to wake Pearl, Norrington came scrambling up the gangplank, his jacket unbuttoned and his hat askew.

"What's going on James –?" Allen asked, but he was cut off as Norrington screeched to a halt.

"Gillette just got word – He just got word –" Norrington gasped, his chest heaving, "Gillette just got word that Chesed has announced his slaying of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, and the East India Trading Company is holding a celebratory gala for him in Nassau." Norrington sucked a lungful of air in. "Chesed's inviting members of the Royal Navy so he can gloat about doing what they couldn't – So he can be rewarded for killing Captain Jack Sparrow."

All eyes turned to Chris. Hearing the words, hearing that Chesed was to be congratulated with a party, and use what he had done to her husband for his advancement made her tremble with fury. With the Black Pearl, Chris could reach Nassau in time for the ball – In time to be in the same place at the same time as Chesed, and in doing so, she could kill the man. Her lips curled back in a snarl and her fists clenched. "I guess that means that I'll have to go congratulate him myself. Where's my rapier?"

Marty was the first of the crew of the Black Pearl to let out an assenting roar, followed shortly by the rest of the crew. Pearl jerked awake underneath the stairs. Bastian stepped forward, lacking a shirt. "And I shall join you." Bastian said. "It has been quite some time since we last ran together, Chris."

"But—" Chris objected.

"We are coming too." Peter said, referring to his brothers and himself.

"And don't zink you'll be able to leave us behind!" Giles said, clapping a hand on Marak's shoulder.

"I'm signing back onto the Pearl!" Ragetti declared, holding his wife and son's hands tightly. Sarah had blanched, but Thomas looked excited, maybe even defiant.

"I had no great love for Captain Jack Sparrow, but seeing that you and he rescued me from death, I suppose I can tag along." Barbossa said, flourishing his fingers in the air as he rolled his eyes.

"If you need anyone to do some reconnaissance or just create a diversion," Robins said, pounding his chest, "We have you covered."

"You can't tell me," Will said, climbing down from the rigging, Elizabeth trailing him, "That you expect me to stay behind after all these others are going, can you Chris?"

Teague thumped down next to his daughter-in-law. "Looks like you have an army here, girl."

Chris looked at all those assembled who had either pledged themselves to the service of avenging her husband or had been pledged by their commanding officers. She felt a great feeling of warmth around her heart as she looked at them. She placed a hand upon her breast and then yelled, "Let's get ready to make way then, mates!"

Immediately, pirates began departing to their ships of origin to make ready to set sail. Norrington turned to Chris just as she was about to join and talk to Gibbs, but the brother stopped his sister. "Chris, I want to help, but – We're supposed to sail out in a few days, and – If I'm seen there and my ship hasn't set sail – They'll find me, Chris. They'll find me whether or not anything happens to Chesed." Norrington's eyes were earnest as he spoke his intent, and his lips were pursed with worry.

Chris pursed her lips in thought and then an idea came to her. "Then we'll just have to make sure you set sail on the ship, won't we?" She smiled at her brother and he gave her a questioning look. Chris was about to explain when she felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down to see Pearl staring up at her. "I'll explain later, just hang tight, Jamie."

As Pearl was hoisted into her mother's arms, she asked, "Are you going to leave again?"

Chris smiled sadly. "Yes, darling, but it's… I need to make sure the bad man… A bad man needs to be punished so he can't hurt anyone else, understand?"

"And then you'll bring Daddy back?" Pearl asked.

Chris sighed. She didn't think Pearl would understand until she was older, and until then… "Come on, sweetheart, let's get you some burgoo."

Plans were laid that night for the voyage to Nassau. The Black Pearl, despite the white sails and the fake name would be too recognizable to sail upon, and she also had all of the plundered gold still aboard. It would be too much work to unload all of the gold and find somewhere safe to store it, so it was decided that Teague, Jocelyn, Davy (who was no warrior, he was the first to admit – but Chris personally thought it was because he fancied Jocelyn), Loki, and the children would stay in Kingston aboard the Black Pearl until the return of the crew. Also, while Chris didn't say it out loud to Pearl, there was the chance that she and all those with her would not return. With the solders of the East India Trading Company and the Royal Navy personnel that could be present, they could experience heavy casualties. Chris, Teague, and Jocelyn sat down and agreed that if they didn't return within a week, they were to sail to the Devil's Throat and Shipwreck City where Pearl, Jack-Jack, and Victoria would be safe from the wrath of Chesed and the Royal Navy. The gold would be saved if there were any survivors. The survivors would get a share and the rest would be kept for the children until they were older.

So it was decided that all those who sought to avenge Captain Jack Sparrow's death would sail aboard the Death Rattle and the Sea Lion, two ships of no great import in the Caribbean. It was also decided that Lord Thomas and Norrington would set sail upon the ship heading for England. They would enter their cabin and shout not to be disturbed until they were a week or so out at sea. In the dead of the first night, Norrington would leave the cabin during the changing of the watch and throw himself overboard along with a floating barrel only to be picked up by the Death Rattle, which would follow the ship closely and retrieve the former commodore once the ship bound for England was out of sight. It was risky, but Norrington wanted to help. As long as everything went smoothly, the Sea Lion would pretend to be a damaged ship in the England-bound ship's path and, while there would be communication between the two ships, Norrington would sneak back aboard and into his cabin. This way, if anyone did recognize the former commodore, he had an air-tight alibi to prevent him from getting into trouble.

Chris said her farewells to her children, her in-laws, and her father the morning the two ships were bound to leave Kingston. She did not dwell on the possibility of it being the last time she saw her family. No, they would see each other again. She had entrusted Jack's hat, coat, and ring to Jocelyn though, just in case, with letters to each of her children if the worst happened. Jack-Jack and Victoria were too small to understand what was happening, and they were too small to remember Chris or Jack, but their mother said goodbye to them with soothing words and kisses.

"When you bring Daddy back, you should bring a friend back for Loki too." Pearl said as her mother kneeled before her. Loki was sitting besides Pearl, being too big to ride upon her shoulders.

Chris smiled sadly and thumbed her daughter's cheek. "Pearly, can you make me a promise?"

"'Course, Mummy." Pearl replied.

"Until I get back, look over your brother and sister? Can ye do that for me?" Chris asked.

"Isn't that what a big sister does?" Pearl asked earnestly.

Her mother laughed. "I suppose it is." She hugged her daughter. "I love you, Pearly."

Pearl kissed her mother on the cheek. "I love you too, Mummy."

Chris straightened up and whistled. Loki ran up her trouser leg and perched on her shoulder. Chris stroked his fur and said, "Ye've been great to me, mate. I've never regretted findin' you." She plucked the small ape from her shoulder and held him so that they could see eye to eye. "But now might be the time we part ways." The monkey chattered questioningly. "Make sure ye don't raise too much Hell with the kids if I don't come back, alright?" She whispered. Loki cooed and reached forward. Chris held the monkey to her chest and he nuzzled her chin. "That's a good boy."

Chris said her goodbyes to Jocelyn, Teague, and Davy and boarded the Death Rattle. She and the Sea Lion departed Kingston's harbor together and only parted momentarily so that the Death Rattle could tail the frigate bound for England. Besides the crewmembers of the Black Pearl, the Death Rattle held its three joint captains, Will and Bootstrap, and Robins and his band. When Norrington was retrieved that night, they also found that Elizabeth had stowed away without Will's knowledge. After a very sharp and heated discussion between the husband and wife, Elizabeth declared that Will would have done the same thing, and he relented that he would have.

Later that night, Jack was dancing around in circles with a huge bear. Chris looked onward from the audience as they turned round and round... And then there was a hand offered to her. She looked up and saw that it was Jack. "Jack..." She spoke his name as he pulled her onto the stage and danced round and round with her. "Jack, what is this?" She asked, but Jack either hadn't heard her or he ignored her. Loki dropped from nowhere and took up dancing with the huge bear as Jack spun Chris round and round, faster and faster. Chris saw flashes of the couples who were suddenly dancing around her: Will and Elizabeth, Isabella and Ziph, Beckett and Chesed, Adam and the mermaid Narissa, Caprice and Robert, faster and faster as a sinister music boomed in her ears. Jack spun her one final time and then leaned her back. Chris looked up into Jack's face as the flesh fell from it, revealing a rotting corpse beneath.

"JACK!" Chris screamed as she opened her eyes, finding herself in her hammock in the hold of the Death Rattle. Her skin was covered in an icy sweat and her chest was heaving for want of breath. She realized that it had been a dream, only a dream.

"Chris? Chris, you alright?" Will sat up from his hammock, which hung nearby, and leaned over to peek into hers. Elizabeth's hammock was right beside Will's, and she joined her husband in looking to Chris. Several others stirred, and Bootstrap hopped from his hammock and crossed to Chris'.

"I had a dream… And Jack…" Chris swallowed and resolved into tears. She felt totally helpless, just as she did when Jack was slain. Even though they were on a voyage to avenge his death, Chris had been wondering what happened when they succeeded? Would she simply return to Kingston and raise her children alone, always pining for the love of her life? The dream was the first in days that had featured Jack, and his presence made Chris' heart ache anew. "I want him back, I want him so much." She covered her face and tried to quell the tears that came anyway.

"Come Chris, you need some of the sea air." Bootstrap half-pulled half-drug Chris from her hammock and helped her to unsteady feet. As the two passed through the columns of hammocks, all the occupants regarded them with reverence. Bootstrap put a fatherly arm around the widow as they ascended the stairs and exited onto the main deck. It was very late or very early, and the only people about were those attending watches or navigation. Harry was at the helm, but with a look from Bootstrap and a confirmation from Chris that it was alright, he stayed at his place. "I'm sorry, Bootstrap, it's just – It's like my chest has been ripped open, and I'm sorry to waken everyone like some damn woman—"

She was cut off. "It's hard Chris, I know it is." Bootstrap confided in Chris as he led her to one of the highly polished rails warding out the sea. "When I was on the bottom of the ocean, I knew, or at least though, that I'd never see me Will or his mother ever again, and it was like I ate broken glass. I don't know how much time I spent down there being wracked by torment and hopelessness." He looked out at the sea with a wistful look. "Then the leather that held me to the cannon eventually weakened enough that, with a bit of broken shell, I was able to get free. I'll not say that it made me think that I'd see them once I surfaced, but it was an improvement. When I reached that island, I still didn't hope to see them again. Then came you Chris." He nodded to her. "And everything was right again. Now I'm the fat and sassy granddad of four of the most beautiful children I've ever seen. I never dreamed of such things down there on the ocean floor, I couldn't have."

"What are you getting at, Bootstrap?" Chris asked, sniffing.

"Even when it appears that everything is lost, it isn't Chris. You'll see Jack again, at least in the afterlife, just as I know I'll see Will's mum once more." Bootstrap smiled. "I just want you to know, that even in the darkest times, the most miserable places, there is always hope. You should get some."

Chris smiled meekly at the older man. "Thank you, Bootstrap. You're a good friend, and a good man."

Bootstrap smiled. "Not as good as Jack."

Within days, the Death Rattle and the Sea Lion arrived at Nassau. The three uncles still had their purchased legality with the British crown, and the Sea Lion was wanted mostly in Dutch and French ports, not British. The two ships docked without a fuss after their fees were paid. Norrington went into port and learned that the gala (which would be a masked gala, it turned out) would be held the following night after the sun went down. He also learned that the gala would be held in the home of one of the East India Trading Company's loyal subjects, and so Robins and some of his men went to scout out the place.

The home was surrounded by a garden wall, creating a courtyard. The courtyard was the place where the gala would be held proper, but the main house would also serve as a place Chesed could retreat to. The lower level of the house had a large veranda encircling it, but two staircases led up from the courtyard to the second level, around which was a terrace that led to several doorways. The veranda, staircase, and terrace presented many opportunities to enter the house, if need be.

And since it was to be a masquerade gala, Giles and Marak headed into port and bought trunks full of disguises, including wigs, fake mustaches, and hats. The disguises for the following day were picked out, and alterations were made to the skirts of the gowns that Elizabeth, Anamaria, and Chris would wear. They figured that if they all traipsed in with a copious amount of weapons, suspicions would arise, so the skirts were altered so that they could hang weapons from the hoops and smuggle them inside the gala.

The next evening, a good deal of people disembarked from the two ships, all richly dressed, costumed, and masked. Chris wore a red wig and a high-collared dress to hide the scar the rope left upon her throat and the upside-down pirate brand gracing the back of her neck. The women moved rather slowly due to the weapons hidden up their skirts. A liberal amount of padding had also been added so that the weapons wouldn't clank together. The rest of the pirates were waiting aboard the ships with the cannons primed and ready to fire upon the port should the worst happen. Barbossa and Bastian were in charge of the attack upon the port.

The group entered the courtyard in three separate chunks. Both East India Trading Company soldiers and Royal Navy sailors were waiting outside the gates to take names, but Norrington had the man who led each group (Giles, Gibbs, and himself) assume the identity of a Royal Navy official who would be unable to make the event, and the three groups were able to enter the courtyard and integrate. The decorations were lavish. Lanterns were strung through the air, casting light on the wooden dance floor that had been laid in the center. Tables bordered the dance floor, and a long table groaning with food and drink sat close to the courtyard wall. Chris' eyes glittered behind her mask as she noted that veranda on the first level and the two staircases leading to the second.

The women slyly retrieved the weapons in their skirts by sitting at a table and passing weapons off to their comrades as they walked by. Once the weapons had been doled out and hidden in jackets, tall boots, or trouser legs, Norrington looked to Gibbs and Giles. "You know what to do." With that, the three groups separated. Giles, Robins, and Marak's group went to the left of the courtyard. Gibbs, Elizabeth, and the crew of the Black Pearl went to the right, and Norrington, the three uncles, Chris, Bootstrap, and Will cut through the center. The left group's purpose was to eliminate security threats. The right group was responsible for clearing the exit. Chris' group was to find Chesed and kill him.

Chris' group fanned out so not to draw attention. "Excuse me..." Chris tapped on the back of a man in servant's livery. He turned to her, and she began to purr in her best Melody-and-Isabella impression. "Might you know where the Admiral is? I would like nothing more than to give him a very special gift for his accomplishment." She said the words as amorously as possible to give the servant a false idea of the 'gift' she meant to give. He stuttered a bit and pointed up into the estate's building. Chris chucked him on the chin. "Thank you."

Chris jerked her head towards to her group and then to the building and went to cut across the dance floor. She was suddenly grabbed by one of the dancers and incorporated into the current dance. She was spun and twirled rather clumsily, and saw that her assailant wore the mask of a type of bird. This drunkard was wasting time, and Chris could not afford that. "Sir, I do not wish—" She began rather sharply, but the man put one arm around her waist as he spun her and pulled up his mask with his free hand. She saw a familiar mischievous smile and she felt as though the dream with the dancing bear was coming true. She panicked.

"Jack! No –" Her partner released her, and Chris fell back into the surrounding crowd, blanching. Allen rushed to her alone, so as not to draw any more attention.

"What's wrong, Chris?" Allen asked, pulling her to her feet. "She's alright!" He proclaimed to the crowd. "Had a bit too much wine, I think…" That caused disdainful looks and many in the crowd to turn away. Allen began pulling her towards the house, and Harry joined his brother.

"Jack! I saw him, he's right there—" Chris pointed to the dance floor, searching for the bird-masked man. She couldn't find him. "I swear, he was there, he grabbed me!"

Harry joined his brother and niece in time to hear her proclamations. "Chris, belle, I zink you're just under too much strezz. Maybe you should return to ze ship –" Harry offered, looking to see who might escort her from the gala.

"No, no I'm fine." Chris said, collecting herself. She had a job to do – She was either going to kill Chesed or die trying. "Let's go into the second level." She whispered. "If we don't find him there, we can filter down from inside, draw less attention that way." By now, the rest of their group had joined them, and her intentions were made known.

"We need to go up in pairs or one at a time." Norrington whispered. "They'll notice if seven people stomp up the stairs all at once."

"Aye." Chris said. She looked to her comrades. "Bootstrap, you come with Norrington and I. Make it look like you're supporting me because I've had too much to drink. Uncle Harry, Will, you follow once we're out of vision, and then you, uncles." The men nodded and Chris went slack, causing her brother and Bootstrap to grab a hold of her and begin taking her up the stairs. As soon as her feet hit the floor of the terrace she straightened up, and she and her friends hurriedly walked along the terrace towards the posterior of the house. They were out of sight of the gala below, but the music and sounds of revelry followed them. Minutes later, Will and Harry joined them, followed shortly by Peter and Allen.

"Arm yourselves." Bootstrap said. The men pulled their concealed weapons from their boots and jackets. Chris plucked the red wig off of her head and removed a pistol from inside the hairpiece. She set the wig next to the terrace railing before pulling her skirt up and removing her rapier and belt from the hoops.

"You couldn't wear shoes for this?" Norrington asked, looking at her bare feet.

"James, I am holding a rapier and I will stab you in the face." There were some low chuckles at that, and Chris' eyes scanned the length of the terrace. All doors were closed but one. "Let's start there." Chris lowered her voice, strapped her rapier around her waist, and led the way.

They entered the room and found themselves in a study. The floor was highly polished wood, and there were shelves upon shelves of books inside, as well as potted plants and a rich desk. No one was present, but the low rumble of voices in the closed door leading to the next room caught everyone's attention. Chris tiptoed to the door to the room and nudged it open a fraction of an inch. The voices poured out distinct and loud.

"And when will I receive my reward from the East India Trading company? After this delightful gala, I presume?" Chesed's smug voice asked.

"Not to worry, friend, you'll get it soon enough. You've rid me of a great thorn in my side, Admiral, and I remember my friends." A familiar voice replied. Chris wracked her memory and realized it was Lord Cutler Beckett, the man who had left the scar upon the back of her neck. She swallowed hard and threw the door open as what sounded like cannon and gun fire echoed through the air outside. Apparently, Barbossa and Bastian were tired of waiting.

Chris leaped into the room and quickly cased the place. The room had a desk, two armchairs, several large potted plants, and bookcases lining the room. Chesed and Beckett sat in the armchairs dressed to the nines and looked up in astound as the six men poured in behind Chris. Chris noticed Beckett had a good deal of powder on his forehead to hide what had happened when he tried to remove the tar-sealed canvas from his forehead. Her pistol was trained on Chesed's head and his ice blue eyes. Peter took the hilt of his sword and banged it against Beckett's head to make him see stars before the lord could move.

"Your security isn't worth manure, Chesed!" Beckett raged, putting a hand up to the back of his skull.

"My security?" Chesed shrieked incredulously.

"Oh, shut up girls!" Allen commanded, brandishing his sword.

Chesed's eyes trained upon Chris. "Hello, Mrs. Sparrow." He growled.

"I assumed you know what I'm here to do, then." Chris replied. "You've hurt my family for the last time, and I promise, you live to regret the day you killed –"

"Captain Jack Sparrow?" A figure stepped from behind a large potted plant right next to an open window at the end of the room. Chris' heart leapt up into her throat as the person stepped into the light and pulled off the bird mask that covered his face to reveal the face of none other than her husband, Captain Jack Sparrow. Chris' arm went slack and Chesed saw that to his advantage. Faster than lightning, he bent, rushed forward, and placed his arms around her waist. He tipped her to the floor and wrestled the gun from her hand. He grabbed onto her hair and shoved her head down, pointing the gun at the back of her head.

"Indeed." He said wickedly. The admiral turned to Jack, who almost looked surreal. "Call these people off or her brains will be coming out of her forehead." He warned.

Jack looked unperturbed, but he said, "Settle down mates." The pirates in the room shifted anxiously from foot to foot. Beckett lay prostrate on the floor, looking unsure whether he should help Chesed or stay still, and now with the development of Jack being present, he just looked bewildered.

"How the Hell are you alive?" Chesed demanded to know. Chris' hand slowly made her way down her skirt, unnoticed by Chesed. Her hand disappeared underneath the hem and she pulled it up just a bit.

"Well, it's quite a long story." Jack smirked. "One I don't wish to tell right now, particularly to the man who stuck his sword in my gut and wrenched it." He tutted. "Honestly, admiral…"

"It would have bought you time, Sparrow." Chesed cocked the pistol and aimed it at Jack's head. Chris pulled the dagger strapped to her leg from its scabbard and with one smooth motion, swooped upwards and planted it in Chesed's throat. He let out a gurgle and his aim went to the side of Jack as he let off the shot and fell backwards. Beckett panicked and began sliding on the floor towards the door, but Bootstrap grabbed him by the collar, picked him up, and slammed him to the floor once more. The lord let out a pained groan.

Chesed let out another gurgle as blood continued blooming from his throat, but his ice blue eyes soon grew still. "Jack..." Chris stood, leaving Chesed's still twitching and bleeding corpse on the ground behind her. Her hand and dress were splotched with his blood, but she didn't care. She took a few cautious steps towards her husband and held out her clean hand to touch him. "Is it... are you really...?" This couldn't be a dream. If it was a dream, Chris wouldn't be able to take it.

Jack took her hand and kissed the fingertips. "Aye, love." He pulled her to him and held her against him as if she was the only thing in this world. He kissed her lips again and again as she cried into his shirt. She couldn't be dreaming, he felt so real... And now she was acting like a damn woman. Again.

"H-how?" Chris whispered into his ear, her face imploring him for an answer.

"That is too long a story to disclose now, Chris." Several explosions echoed in the air. "And by the sound of it, we have to leave in a hurry." He nodded to the men that had accompanied Chris. "My thanks gentlemen! If you'd be so kind as to secure Mr. Beckett and bring him along…" Bootstrap grinned and hog tied the lord using his own belt before swinging him onto his shoulders. Jack took Chris' arm and the whole group retraced their steps down to the courtyard, which was mass hysteria. Guests were screaming, tables were overturned, and there was fighting raging all around. Chris saw Athos run a man wearing Navy blues through, and Ragetti leaped upon the back of a man who had driven Cotton and his parrot into a corner. His leap was enough diversion so that Marty could run forward and plant a bullet in the sailor's chest.

Giles was in the corner of the courtyard, and as he saw his friend who he thought deceased, his face became shocked. "Jacques!" He parried a blow and stuck his sword into his adversary. Once he fell, Giles turned to his friend. "Can it be?"

"Aye, and I suggest we leave this party as it appears we have overstayed our welcome!" Jack replied. Giles left his defeated enemy and he was one of many who surged forth to merge with the group Jack now led. From the back of the courtyard, Robins and Marak's group emerged bloody and wounded with Robins carrying a wounded Marak on his back. Everyone voiced disbelief seeing Captain Jack Sparrow alive and well, but there was little time for exclamations and talking. Jack led the pirates from the estate with a mighty war cry. The Death Rattle and Sea Lion had both opened fire on Nassau, and with the sane people staying inside or searching for cover, no one attempted to stop them.

"I wish we had more time…" Jack mused. "I once sacked this port without firing a single shot, did ye know that?" Jack asked Norrington, his chest puffing out in pride.

"Jack, you can gloat later." Chris said, hanging onto his arm and fully intending to never let go.

"I would like to hear the story from your point of view –" Norrington replied.

"Men, I swear!" Anamaria exclaimed from somewhere nearby. Without any more trouble or discussion, the pirates made it to the docks, loaded onto their ships, and sailed away from Nassau, victorious in their defeat of a tyrant of the seas, and jubilant at the return of one of their own, whom they thought dead.

"Where's Beckett?" Jack demanded as the ships sailed. "Where is he?"

There was a yell from the man as Bootstrap chucked the hog-tied lord forward. He landed on the deck hard and skidded a few inches. "Someone bring me a lantern!" Jack yelled.

"What are you going to do?" Beckett asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Patience is a virtue, Cutty." Jack said as Pintel brought forward a lantern. He plucked the Spanish flower ring from his finger and held it by the facing as he stuck the ring into the flame. "Now Cutty, hiring a scallywag like Chesed to take care of me is just a cowardly action." He pulled the ring from the fire as it glowed red. "I think the whole world should know just what you are. Hold him tight!"

Will, Ragetti, and Anamaria held Beckett still as Jack kneeled next to the man and applied the red-hot metal to his cheek. The heated part of the ring branded a "C" for 'Coward' into his flesh. Beckett shrieked in pain and writhed in his bonds. There was a cracking noise as the leather that held him broke, and he jerked away from the ring, though the damage was already done to his cheek. Quicker than a flash, Becket wriggled away from those holding him and, seeing pirates surrounding him on either side, he promptly ran to the bulkhead and pitched over into the darkness. A resounding splash echoed up from below.

"Do ye want us to send out the jolly boats for him, Captain?" Gibbs asked, turning to Jack.

"Nah, let him sink or swim." Jack laughed. "We'd best get as far away from Nassau as we can before any of the East India Trading Company or Royal Navy decide to give pursuit."

"We have to get James back over to the Sea Lion, though, so he doesn't miss his ship." Chris said, looking at the ship sailing abreast with them.

"Not before I tell him the story of how I sacked Nassau!" Jack declared.

The Death Rattle and the Sea Lion pulled up broadside of each other shortly, but they did not anchor or grapple to each other in case there was pursuit. Bastian swung over and said, "It's a pity you showed up, Jack. I was going to make a move on your girl after we succeeded, and I'm fairly sure she would have gone for it."

"Bastian, why on earth would she make up for the loss of a frigate with a dinghy?" Jack replied. The crew of the Black Pearl roared with laughter.

Marak had recovered enough from his wounds for the moment (which included several cuts to his arms and a bullet in his leg) to ask, "Just how are you alive, Jack?"

Jack looked sideways at his wife who looked at him expectantly. "Well…" He began, "We had plundered a ship several days before that had a belly full of gold. With that gold, I also found a stone chest full of golden medallions I had seen before."

"No!" Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa chimed in astonishment at the same time.

Jack laughed. "Aye! It was the same chest as had been at the cursed Isla de Muerta, filled with the cursed Aztec gold. 'Well, that's interesting,' I thought to meself, and figured I'd find out what to do with it later, so I put it out of my mind.

"And then Chesed attacked. With all that cursed gold aboard our ship, I decided to pluck a medallion from it. This medallion, in fact." Jack extracted a golden coin from inside his sleeve and rolled it along his fingers. "I figured if worse came to worst, I could at least make sure Chesed was dead and make sure my crew could get out alive. That backfired on me." His expression softened and he took his wife's hand, squeezing it. "So I played dead, long enough so that I could find Chesed and kill him, making sure that he wouldn't bother any honest pirate ever again."

"But how did I get your effects?" Chris asked.

"Ah." Jack grinned. "I stowed away on the Black Pearl after I sank into the sea. I knew how upset you were, love, I wanted to try and comfort you. I'm glad to see you believe I was a dream even though I was leaking water all over the place." He chuckled. "I stowed away on the Sea Lion instead of the Death Rattle, which is how I knew that whole 'dinghy' thing about Bastian –" The other man blushed as Jack continued, "And I simply followed you all to the gala before stealing a mask and making myself known."

"Jack, you slippery eel!" Gibbs exclaimed, laughing.

"Now, I think we'd best head back to Kingston, cash in our gold, and let me pay my blood debt so I can stop being so damned numb all the time. What do ye say, mates?" The crew roared in assent, and Bastian made ready to return to his ship, Norrington with him.

"James." Chris called. She squeezed her husband's hand and crossed to her brother as he grabbed a line. "James, thank you. Thank you so much for coming, for helping."

Norrington smiled as he coiled the line around his hands a few time. "I had to make sure my little sister was taken care of, didn't I?" He asked. "And now, I'm sure you're quite taken care of, even if I am an ocean away." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "If you're ever in England…"

"Oh, that'll be the day." Chris laughed. "Tell my father I said goodbye. Or tell him whatever you wish, as long as there's a farewell in there somewhere."

James laughed. "Goodbye, Thimble."

"Goodbye Jamie." With that, Bastian and Norrington swung over to the Sea Lion, and Chris returned to her husband.

"I've been thinkin', love." Jack said, putting an arm around her. "I think we need a change of scenery, what do ye say?"

"We've been in the Caribbean since we met, Jack." Chris said. "I'm not so sure –"

Jack laughed. "Did ye ever think all that has happened would happen back at the beginning? We've been through quite a ride, Chris."

"I suppose we have." Chris smiled.

"Well, I simply think we're at the end of our chapter here in the Caribbean and we'd best start a new one somewhere else." Jack grinned. "There's a whole load of adventures awaiting not just us, but the kiddies as well. What do you say?"

"Let's talk about it." Chris smiled, and she and Jack went to join the others in making sail for Kingston.

The Black Pearl rolled gently in the harbor of Kingston as Pearl woke up one morning. She looked in the bed beside her at all of her cousins still slumbering, and over to the table of the captain's cabin where her Poppa Teague was sprawled out, snoring. Auntie Joccy was nowhere to be seen, nor was Doc Davy, but neither were the twins, so they must have been tending them somewhere else. Pearl's stomach rumbled and she decided to head for the galley and get a banana from the ceiling. She, Geoff, and Adanya had discovered that if they used the poker for the fire and stood on the table, they could knock anything they wanted to from the ceiling. Pearl slipped from the bed and padded over to the door, her hair a black tangle of curls, and her nightshirt baggy and reaching well beneath her knees.

As she padded onto the deck, she heard the gangplank creak and footsteps coming up the wood. She wondered if Auntie Joccy and Doc Davy had gone into port, but when she saw the faces of her mother and father emerge from the gangplank with their crew and friends following, Pearl's face brightened and a large grin slipped onto her lips.

"I told you you'd bring back Daddy, Mummy!" Pearl said, running up to her father. He hooked his hands under her arms and hoisted her into the airs, kissing her face.

"Silly me for doubting you." Chris said as Loki dropped from the rigging and onto her shoulder. Loki chattered happily and rubbed against her ear "Happy to see you too, mate." Chris said.

"Yes, Mummy is so silly." Jack said, putting Pearl on his hip as Jocelyn and Davy, carrying the twins, emerged from the forecastle.

"Jack!" Jocelyn's jaw dropped as she looked upon her brother, who she thought was dead, standing before her.

"And just what were you doin' in the forecastle with my sister, Davy?" Jack demanded.

Davy blanched and began trembling. "N-nothing. J-just feeding the twins."

Jack laughed and looked at his eldest daughter. Davy looked relieved to no longer be under his scrutiny. "Pearl darling, yer mum and I were thinking about putting up residence somewhere else. How do you feel about that, honey?"

"Where are we going?" Pearl asked.

"How do you feel about Singapore?" Chris asked, accepting Victoria and Jack-Jack from Jocelyn and Davy.

"Sounds good to me!" Pearl responded. Teague then emerged from the captain's cabin, his grandchildren in tow, and he took Jack's reappearance in stride. The family was finally united once more, and in the light of a Caribbean morning, the Sparrows and their family and friends rejoiced for the life given back to them, and the joyous lives of all that were sure to follow.

oOo

We were strangers starting out on our journey
Never dreaming what we'd have to go through
Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected what you did to my heart
When I lost hope you were there to remind me
This is the start

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
I know that my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you...