Jack waited behind the stairs until Elizabeth had hugged Will and said goodbye to him, thanked Calypso, and climbed down into Teague's boat with him and they had cast off. Then Jack came out to face Calypso and Will. He had been crying openly and didn't bother wiping his eyes. He felt rather entitled to a little self-pity at the moment, truth to tell. What good would it do him now, to keep up his usual aplomb?

"Well, William?" he asked. "Going to let me stay on? Before the mast, if nothing else?"

Will nodded, but said nothing, his expression one of sympathetic sorrow.

Jack turned to Calypso and spread out his arms. "All right, then, dearie. I'm ready. Let's get it over with."

Calypso came close to him and reached out to his face. She smiled warmly as she reached up with both hands and touched his wet cheeks with her fingertips. "I accept your sacrifice," she told him.

Jack waited.

And waited.

"I still feel alive," he said after a while.

Calypso nodded. "You sacrifice your tears. I accept."

Jack's eyebrows drew together. "What was all that folderol about my choosing a sacrifice and losing someone I loved?"

"You proved you willin' to sacrifice your whole life even though it break your heart to leave her. When a sailah like you shed tears, Jack, it is him heart bleedin' salt watah."

She looked away, flushing a little. "Also, you remind me about mercy and compassion. You are right. I had forgot."

"Aye, well… Hope there're no hard feelings over that, Tia Dalma."

"No."

"But what about payment? You said something about a sacrifice and payment. And I know you never work without payment."

She smiled at him, stroking his cheek again. "Me wan' Captain Jack Sparrow, I t'ink."

Will cleared his throat. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Will frowning and shifting his weight uneasily on the deck.

"Uh, I'm not offering the same sort of payment your little dolly over there did," Jack said, tilting his head in Will's direction. "Just want to make that clear. Anything else I have that you want?"

She nodded, smiling up into his eyes. "Aye, me wan' a part o' you, Jack."

"Isn't that what you just got? All that salt water and all?"

"I accept de tears 'cause dey come from yo' heart. Fe de payment I want part o' what mek you Captain Jack Sparrow. Part of de legend is what I want."

"Which part?" Jack asked nervously, clasping his hands in front of his groin.

"Me wan' your hair."

"Oh, my hair!" he said in relief, unclasping his hands.

Calypso went over to Will and took his father's knife off his belt, with a short pause to run her fingers over his cheek in a quick caress. "No need fe you be jealous, my William."

Will started to protest, but she had already turned back to Jack with the knife in her hand.

"You willin' ta give up yo' hair fe me payment?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes and dropped his head in dejected assent. "Aye, go ahead." His short front locks, usually held back by the bandana, flopped over his forehead. Calypso cut them off with short, sharp flicks of the knife. She went around behind him and drew the blade of the knife up underneath his hair, shearing it all off close to his head. She tossed the cut hair over her shoulder like a cloak as she moved around to first one side, then the other, to get it all.

Then she moved around front and grinned at him with blackened teeth as she made two flicks of her knife and removed the beaded plaits from his beard.

"But you're the one who gave me those, Tia!" Jack protested.

"An' you used dem as we agreed, an' den you wove dem into your legend like you wove dem into your beard, an' now me takin' dem back again." Calypso lifted her chin, giving him a determined look. "You can keep dem if you want, Jack. Jus' be prepared to pay me some oddah way!"

"No, no," Jack said quickly, waving his hands dismissal. "Take 'em. Ye're welcome to 'em, Tia. Truly."

Calypso grinned. "Me know dat a'ready!"

When she was finished, Jack had short hair in the back and on the sides, and some longer bits on top, that flopped into his face. He brushed them aside irritably, scowling, and rubbed his plaitless, scraggly beard.

"Now that you've made me look a right fool, is there anything else you need?" he demanded.

Calypso held up two huge fistfuls of his hair. "You t'ink anyone else in de world has de tears an' hair o' Jack Sparrow? De tears, dey part of yo' heart, de hair, dat part o' yo' legend. Dat payment enough."

Jack sighed in relief. "Oh, good. But, er… d'ye mind if I get something out of there before you take it?" He gestured to his bunch of hair.

Calypso snatched the locks away as he reached for them. "Dey help make you legend. All yo' memories an' trinkets in here—dey mine, Jack."

"I'm not askin' for 'em back, Tia. Just one little thing that I promise has nothing to do with my being 'Captain Jack Sparrow.' All right?"

She stood still while he rummaged through the shorn locks.

"Aha!" he said, pulling out a dainty silver trinket. "Here it is. This one's not mine, you see; I was just looking after it for a friend. You can keep the rest. Just—er, with the voodoo and all—just don't do anything nasty with 'em, savvy?"

Calypso chuckled, but made no promises.

"So… does this mean I can go back?" Jack asked.

She nodded.

"No catch? No qualifiers? No stipulations? No—"

Will laughed. "Jack," he said, walking up with his hand outstretched. "I never thought I'd ever get to tell you this, but get the hell off my ship."

Jack shook his hand. "With the greatest of pleasure, I promise you!" He grabbed Calypso and gave her a loud, smacking buss on the cheek, and then sprinted for the side. He dove over and was swimming back toward the Black Pearl in an instant. He was laughing as he swam.