Gibbs was pacing. Where was the Captain? Dead or captured, most likely. Jack never should have set foot in Port Royal. Not while Lord Cutler Beckett was there. And where was that girl, Elle? She should have been back by now. How long did it take to say to Will that Jack was missing?

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!"

Gibbs spun around with a cry of surprise. One of the two new recruits stood there. Fin, he thought, though it was hard to be sure.

"Blast, you fool, nearly scared me to death!" Gibbs shouted.

Fin laughed. "If what you tell me about our Captain is true, there's nothing for you to be so uptight about. Unless you were embellishing his accomplishments in an attempt to deceive us into a false sense of security aboard this vessel."

In his state of shock, Gibbs could hardly follow Fin's sentences through the thick Irish accent. "I wasn't embellising anything. If the Captain's not back, that mean's he's in trouble, and if he's in trouble, that doesn't bode well for the rest of us."

"Ah."

"Your cousin Elle hasn't returned yet, either."

"Elle's tough. She'll take care of herself all right. She survived on this ship as a man, didn't she?"

"Aye, that she did," Gibbs admitted. "I still don't like it."

"Gibbs," Will's voice said.

Gibbs spun around again. "Will!" he cried, then threw his arms around Will and hugged him.

Elle's eyes widened, and Fin watched in amusement.

"Is that absolutely necessary?" Will asked.

Gibbs released Will. "Sorry, it's just that I thought you were dead."

Will raised an eyebrow at Fin, who responded with an eyeroll and an impression of a dainty swoon. Elle giggled, and Fin winked at her.

"What's this about Jack?" Will demanded.

"Well, er, he... he's missing," Gibbs said. "We haven't seen him since he left. I was hoping that maybe you knew something, being married to the governor's daughter and all."

Will shook his head. "I've heard nothing."

Fin motioned for Elle to join him, and she did, leaving Will and Gibbs to discuss the situation.

"He seems quite distraught over the Captain's disappearance," Fin commented.

"Who? Oh, Gibbs? Yes," Elle replied absently.

Fin frowned at her. "Something troubling you?"

"I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"Wes. He's alive."

"The one lost during the storm?"

Elle nodded. "It was him, I'm sure of it."

:::xXx:::

Wes sat in the deserted alley until he assumed it must be safe to leave, then he vetured out, carefully checking every corner before he stepped around it. Still panicked, he jumped at every slightest sound or movement. He tried to find his way back to Norrington's house, but since he was so nervous and jumpy, he soon found himself hopelessly lost, and began to panic even more.

Soon Wes found himself facing the docks, searching the water for the Black Pearl. If worst came to worst, he could hide there. But now, he looked for someone he could ask for directions. He found a man who looked promising. His back was turned, but he was wearing an officer's uniform, so Wes assumed he must know where the former Commodore lived.

Wes approached the man. "Excuse me, sir," he said.

The man turned around and looked down at Wes. "Yes?"

"I was wondering, sir, could you direct me to--"

Suddenly the man frowned down at Wes. "I know you. Wesley!"

Wes froze.

The man grinned, and suddenly Wes recognized him. His father's clerk, Gravenger. Without waiting for a formal reunion, Wes turned and ran.

Right into the one man he was trying to get away from. His father. Zachariah Silverthorn.

Wes stumbled backwards, landing hard on his backside, and stared up at his father. His father seemed just as surprised to see Wes, but then his surprise turned into a sneer. He reached down and grabbed Wes by the arm.

"What a pleasant surprise," Zachariah said with false sentiment, yanking Wes to his feet. "My lost son has finally been found."

Wes said nothing, too petrified to respond.

"How you managed to elude me for four years I'll never know. You're a weasel, you are. Always have been. But I never imagined you'd stoop to murder."

"I didn't murder him!" Wes cried.

"Liar!" Zachariah dragged Wes away from the docks towards the prison, despite Wes's adamant protests. When they reached the jail, the guards moved aside and allowed Zachariah to pass through with Wes in tow. No questions asked.

Zachariah ordered a cell to be opened, and again, the guards buckled under the influence of a Silverthorn, and opened a cell. Wes was shoved roughly inside, so that he fell, banging his head on the cement wall. Cringing, he looked up in time to see his father slam the cell door shut. Zachariah threw Wes a look that was half-scowl, half-sneer. "You'll pay for your brother's blood." With that, he disappeared.

Wes fell back against the wall of the cell, holding his head. It was a few minutes before he noticed the man in the cell next to him.

"Well," Captain Sparrow said. "That makes three of us."

Wes looked up. "Captain Sparrow!" he exclaimed. "And Mister Norrington!"

"What happened, Wes?" Norrington asked from two cells over.

"My father," Wes replied. "He's here. He caught me."

"Are you all right?"

"He'll have me hanged for murder."

Captain Sparrow gazed at Wes with an unreadable expression. "Murder, eh?" he finally said.

"I didn't do it!" Wes cried. "I swear it! Not on purpose! My brother Harry was hitting an innocent old man, and I pushed him away and he fell and hit his head. It wasn't my fault, but my father is sure I murdered Harry to get his inheritance. He'll have me hanged!"

"You and me both, Mr. West," Captain Sparrow said. "And Mr. Norrington here as well."

Wes stopped, looking back and forth from the Captain to Norrington, realizing that they were all in the same predicament.

"It would be beneficial, I believe, if the three of us were to pool our resources and come up with a way to save ourselves from that formidable fate which faces us all at the gallows."

It hit Wes then that the Captain had called him 'West', his false name. He also realized that if they were to work together, he owed the Captain the truth.

"Captain Sparrow," Wes said, looking at the ground. He felt his pulse accelerate, and the pain in his head got worse. Surely the Captain would be angry when he found out Wes had lied to him. "I must tell you, my name isn't really Sam West. I'm Wesley Silverthorn, son of Zachariah Silverthorn."

Wes braced himself for an explosion of anger, but it never came.

"Oh, I know that," Sparrow said. "I've known for quite some time, actually."

Agent047 enjoyed writing this chapter, that's why it's so long. Next chapter coming soon, and reviews are greatly appreciated!