Jack walked hesitantly down to the brig. His daughter was not happy with the situation, and the news he was about to give her would make everything worse. Even if she was working for Norrington, she was his daughter.

Robin was lying on the bench in her cell, her eyes closed. Jack could not tell whether or not she was asleep. "Robin?"

"Yes?"

Jack flinched at the sharpness of her answer.

"Robin, love, I have something to tell you."

"Oh?" Robin sat up and glared at him. "Perhaps you've come to explain why I'm in here?"

Jack shook his head slightly. "You know why you are in here." He sighed. "Robin…how close were you to Ragetti?"

Given what Jack had seen aboard the Ruthless in the Admiral's quarters, he had no idea what to expect as an answer. The question seemed to catch Robin off guard. "Quite close, you know that." There was a brief pause in which Jack nervously twirled his beard. "Why are you using the past tense?" Robin added, her eyes suddenly worried.

Jack took a deep breath. "Ragetti was shot in the battle, love. We didn't realize how bad the wound was in time."

Robin stared at him for a few moments before putting her head in her hands. "You mean he's dead," she said quietly.

"I'm afraid so, love."

Robin swallowed hard before looking up at him, her eyes hard and cold. "Why didn't you let me at least talk to him? Or try to help? For all you know, I could have saved him!" She stood, glaring at her father. "Oh, of course, because I'm locked away in this godforsaken cell for some nonexistent alliance with the man who did…" She motioned to some of the scars on Jack's body. "…that." Her eyes filled with tears.

Jack sighed. "Robin, you can't hide it forever, love," he said quietly.

"Hide what?" she snapped angrily.

Jack gulped, wondering how to word his answer. "Your…intimate relationship with the Admiral."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "And what, precisely, are you implying about the nature of my relationship with James?" Robin said, her tone of voice clearly indicating that she knew full well what Jack meant.

"And after what he did to me," Jack continued in disbelief. "My own daughter…you really have a way of seducing the cruelest of men, don't you?"

Robin smirked in apparent amusement. "Seducing?"

"I know you're quite good at it. I just never realized…I didn't realize what you would do…"

Robin quickly shook her head. "Jack, you've got it all wrong."

Jack eyed his daughter questioningly. "He seduced you?" Robin stared at Jack in horror.

"No, no, that's not what I—."

"Or worse," Jack breathed. "I will kill that man," Jack said through clenched teeth. "He'll never touch you again." Jack turned and made to leave the brig.

"No, Jack, it isn't—we never—get back here!"

And then Robin did something Jack had rarely seen her do. She suddenly began to cry. "Damn," she breathed as she slumped to the ground. Jack watched his daughter in surprise; Robin did not cry. But then again, if Norrington had indeed rape her, what else was she supposed to do?

"Jackie, love…" Jack knelt by the cell and was about to reach in when he realized how foolish a move that would be.

"What?" Robin snapped. "You come here, tell me that a close friend has died, and then you accuse me of seducing the man who tortured you…" She vigorously wiped away her tears. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Love, I jumped to conclusions. I couldn't imagine Norrington being capable…but then again…" Jack looked down at the scars that covered his body. "He won't touch you again, Robin."

"You don't understand," Robin said under her breath. She gazed at him silently for a few moments, and Jack could almost hear her mind working as she thought. "Quite frankly, I don't see why you care," she said suddenly.

"I'm your father," Jack exclaimed. "I can't help but care."

"Well, you should help it." Robin stood and got onto the bench. "I've lied to you, betrayed you, tried to get you killed, and I allegedly have sexual relations with one of your worst enemies." Jack stared at his daughter in horror, and Robin grinned rather nastily. "And I don't recall saying that I don't like James 'touching' me." Jack stood, continuing to stare at his daughter in dismay. "So stop caring, Jack. Caring only leads to hurt. Bonds of love only lead to pain." Jack felt tears coming to his eyes as his daughter continued her speech. "It's a hard lesson to learn, I know." Robin lay back onto the bench and fell silent.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Jack asked as he backed away from the cell. "What happened to you?"

"Life happened, Jack."

Jack retreated from the brig as quickly as he could, not believing what his own daughter had said to him.

If Jack had remained behind for a little while longer, he would have witnessed his daughter silently crying. Perhaps then he would have realized that she had lied to him as she stroked the gold ring on her right hand and whispered, "For you."

O O O

James Norrington opened his eyes. "Damn," he muttered in annoyance. He had only just drifted off for the first time in days. The nightmares he had been having were part of the reason for his lack of sleep. The other reason was that he found it difficult to sleep without his arms around Jacqueline.

He sat up, thinking on the dream he had just had. It had been about Jacqueline telling Jack about how much pain love and caring can cause. That was most certainly true, but Jacqueline had sounded as though she cared for no one. Norrington put his head into his hands as he tried to remember the rest of the dream.

"For you."

He looked up sharply. Norrington had sworn that he had heard Jacqueline speak. He shook his head. The voice must have been a remnant of the dream. He winced as he remembered the part of the dream where Jack had decided to kill Norrington, apparently believing that Norrington had raped Jacqueline. How dare he think that? Norrington was an honorable man, and he would never commit such an atrocity.

And then Jacqueline had behaved nothing like herself…

She had implied that she did indeed have a sexual relationship with Norrington, and that she enjoyed it; then she had said again that Jack should not care for her. If Jack believed everything Jacqueline had said, he would likely stop caring so much about her, perhaps even grow to despise his own daughter more than he hated Norrington. Jack would no longer be so adamant in his desire to kill Norrington.

But it was just a dream, wasn't it?

For you…

Or maybe it wasn't…

Norrington thought over the conversation with Lord Beckett about Jacqueline. Lord Beckett, I rarely understand what Miss Sparrow does…But I have come to learn that nearly all Miss Sparrow does is for a purpose. Even the most irrational act is often a step toward a larger goal—toward something she wants." If it was not a dream, Jacqueline had reason for pushing her father away. Was it possible that she was trying to protect Norrington? Was it at all possible that it was Norrington that Jacqueline wanted? Norrington's heart raced as he thought on that possibility. He reached to the table by the bed and picked up the compass. He could not see it in the darkness of the room as he opened it, but he knew precisely where it pointed.

"Jacqueline…"

His mind wandered back to his conversation with Lord Beckett before Jacqueline had been brought into the room in shackles. Beckett then sent her to jail, and from there, to the gallows. He was a powerful man—he had the ability to hide whom Jacqueline really was, whether or not Jacqueline agreed to marry him.

Lord Beckett had caused Jacqueline death.

Norrington blinked in surprise at this thought. No, Beckett did not cause her death, Jack had, Jack was the one who had brought Jacqueline with him when he became a pirate, he was the one who had taken Jacqueline from the Ruthless and onto the Black Pearl.

But if it had not been for Lord Beckett, she would likely have never died. And Jacqueline obviously hated the man…and if Beckett had never made Jack a pirate, then Jacqueline would not have, and she could have possibly lived the fairy tale she deserved.

"I'm such a fool," Norrington said quietly. Yes, Jack was most certainly to blame, but Lord Beckett had done just as much damage, if not more. And now Norrington was on the same vessel as that man, aiding him in his fight against pirates. Norrington reached to his bedside table again, this time wrapping his hand around the penknife. "For you."