Author's note: Finally, mates, we reach the end of this long story, with a short epilogue. I thank each and every one of you who have followed Janie O'Madden as she went on a voyage of self discovery and love, often chasing dreams with her gypsy pirate captain. I was humbled by your reviews and kind words, for I am not worthy of such high praise. I merely do what I like to do, writing Jack Sparrow and his family as I see them... and many of you like what I do. It's very gratifying.

I dedicate this entire story to all of my faithful readers, but especially to a fellow author who has become a steadfast and good friend through the course of this story. She has helped me to edit, has suggested ideas, helped me make story decisions, and with her sims, has created such wonderful visuals of my characters... she was the inspiration for one of those characters, and she knows who she is... ta gra agram duit, my friend. Cat Mara Go Bragh!

And now, we set sail on the mighty Black Pearl, once more... Pirate Cat

۞

"Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen!" Elizabeth's voice could be heard above Janie's head on this bright spring morning ... the buffet table was ready to be set, as the pristine white tablecloths were fastened to the heavy tables out upon the main deck... the 2008 Spring Dinner Cruises were about to get under way, and Janie had been told very plainly that she was not to be attending to any of the cooking duties this spring, as they were all being handled by Meg, Annie, and Biddy, flown over especially to help as galley dogs .. Janie had protested at first, but she had another job assigned to her for the spring voyages...the introduction of wee baby Maggie to the grand matriarch of their pirate family... a matriarch who was also dark in colour, and who would rock her in her cradle with a seagoing lullaby...

Her thoughts wandered, as it did often these days... these days of such happiness that Janie felt as if her heart had grown gossamer wings to take her upon flights above the very clouds like those that dotted the bright blue skies this morning... as she looked around Jack's cabin, her mind quietly went back in time...

... so many things had happened in her life, she pondered... that she would be chosen to travel through time, both blessed and cursed by the magical Agua de Vida to live so long... to see the births of nations, to witness the exodus of the people of her own land toward other shores... to fear war and to fear the evil of those who would wish to lord power over other less fortunate or less powerful... Such lives they had lived, and such horrors and joys they had seen...

She peeked out the door of Jack's cabin, grinning at what her eyes beheld in the bright sunlight... the excited passengers were anticipating setting sail, and they were marveling at those of the crew that they had already had the pleasure of meeting... she could hear voices exclaiming, "Imagine! The real ancestors of the Pirates of the Caribbean!" One portly little lady, Janie observed, was quite taken with Mr. Pintel, and he was mincing with a grin, himself, with one hand holding his fishing hat upon his head and the other hand twiddling his fingers in greeting at her!

Mac Ragetti, on the other hand, was recruited as an additional Black Pearl Dinner Cruise galley dog, proudly wearing a chef's toque upon his head... he was helping Meg as an assistant, and sadly would be bidding adieu to sailing for a while... he had been accepted to the London Cordon Bleu School of Cooking, with Janie's recommendation as a best selling cook book author. Mac Ragetti was on his way to earning a degree as a master chef.

Janie glanced over at the cruise's special guests as they listened to Elizabeth greet those who were completely enthralled by her words... James and Kathleen Norrington, and Wills and Katie... they were all dressed in 18th century garments, in keeping with the lessons of history that they were about to teach... James, especially, was looking forward to greeting guests, and revealing to the world his "ancestor's" fine service to the Flying Dutchman... Janie's eyes opened wide, as James did cut a fine figure in the beautiful black and silver uniform that she had made for him, complete with a fine black tricorn trimmed in gray feathers, to duplicate the beautiful garments that he left behind upon the ship when he was released from service... he left it all to Calypso, when she granted him his mortal life back, and granted him Kathleen's hand in marriage.

Joshamee Gibbs was standing there with them, proudly watching chubby little Meg Gibbs as she supervised the dinner in Janie's stead, and admiring the tiny diamond ring that Katie was showing to all who would look. Wills was sheepishly grinning that the stone was so small, but he promised her a bigger one, some day... and Katie was having none of it. Each time he said this, she would shake her head so vehemently that her ponytail would bob... she liked her engagement ring just fine, thank you. Janie could not help but feel such affection for them all... for their loyalty, their love, their utter stubbornness to be true to themselves as time passed them all by...

Janie's eyes turned toward the quarterdeck above her head... Izzy... her best friend. A strong, brave young woman who had taken to Janie like a sister. It was odd, Janie thought, to realize just how much one needed another female to confide in, to laugh with, to dream with, to weep with. She and Elizabeth had come from similar backgrounds, and had been drawn to each other immediately and strongly during the Turners' first visit to Ireland with their reluctant captain... she would have never had it any other way but to have Elizabeth Swann Turner as her best friend... her lover's "cousin-in-law"...

It was then that she turned away from the doorway, and took in such a sight as to almost make her laugh, happily... William, with his hands in the pockets of his black Levi's, his sash tied elaborately at his waist in a jaunty fashion, his ivory handled dagger stuck in that sash, and his sword at his side... his blue bandanna tails were dangling over his shoulder, his long, curly brown hair sprinkled with some small beads and shells, like his slighter cousin... William, the strongest man that Janie knew, bar none, handsome and tall, muscular and lean. His tanned face was grinning as he watched what was taking place before him, and it was his voice that was saying, in a cajoling fashion, "Come on, cousin! It's perfect! It's about time for our grand entrance out there! Our public awaits, Jack..."

"Let 'em wait a moment longer, William," was the husky, slurred answer, "Absolute perfection is required, mate, fer this special day!"

And with that statement, Janie felt her heart skip a beat, as she took in a sight that was more beautiful to her than anything in the world.

Captain Jack Sparrow... her oldest friend and "almost" husband, who she loved more deeply than she ever thought possible, dressed in faded Levi's, but tucked into his sea boots... he wore his white t shirt, emblazoned with "Black Pearl Dinner Cruises 2008", but was wound about the waist, flamboyantly, with a white and red striped sash... his battered leather tricorn was perched with defiant crookedness upon his bandanna'ed head... he looked up at her, his beautiful, wide, warm brown eyes sparkling, and his golden smile lighting up her soul like a thousand fireworks... she found herself almost forgetting to breathe as he straightened up to his full swaying height, the beads that were braided into his own black hair, randomly, jingling like small chimes. " How'd I do, mo ghrá?"

Janie looked down at the bundle in his arms... dressed in a beautiful pink dress, festooned with lace, with a pink lacy bow in her shiny auburn curls, and a bright baby smile on her caramel face, wee Maggie's own warm brown eyes sparkled as she gurgled at her mother and kicked her bootied feet... oh, how she looked like her father... "Awww, Jackie... she's beautiful for her maiden voyage... you did just fine, ye scamp! Whist, ye're a better mama than ye are a papa, giving her a bath this morning, and fixing her curls in such a pretty fashion!"

Janie took her baby in her arms, wrapping her warm pink blanket about her, as William was saying to his tiny cousin, "Are you ready for your first taste of sailing, my little brown peanut? Only six weeks old, and you're ready to go!"

"In a moment, William," Jack was saying softly... Janie was looking at him, a mix of emotions in her eyes, as they looked him up and down... her Jackie. Her addled, bread dough brained, sweet, rough edged Jackie. He put his arms around her, and held her and his child close for a few moments, and she laid her head down upon his shoulder, among the thick ropes of hair that smelled of salt air and coconut hair oil... of rum and of limes... she could feel his strong arms and those slender brown hands as they ran slowly up and down her back, the end of her long braid wound around one hand, with the black velvet ribbon in his beautiful long fingers. They lingered... as they had in each other's arms for nearly three centuries...

It was as if time was finally standing still, as they stood in this way in the captain's cabin of the mighty Black Pearl, surrounded by all of those things that had been in this cabin for centuries... a desk with quill pen and inkwell, shelves with trinkets and jars of shells... a crock that had once held wild plum jam. An Irish harp in the corner, with a scarlet gypsy shawl draped over it, dripping in golden fringe. A bunk with a worn out coverlet, but a soft, fluffy feather mattress... a rough chunk of Connemara marble, used as a paper weight...

William's voice finally was saying, gently, "It's time... we need to go out and meet everyone..." His hand was on the handles of the double doors, and he was waiting patiently, but reminding his cousin that they had a time table to keep.

Janie finally raised her head, and said, "He's right, we need to go, and..." but she was cut off by her pirate, pulling her close and kissing her hard! She nearly lost her breath, as he finally leaned back and said, "I wanted t' say somethin' flowery an' sweet, here, but I'm just gonna say 'Happy Anniversary', lass!" And he stared at her as if she was supposed to know what that meant!

Janie huffed a curl out of her eyes, and frowned at him. "What did ye do, now, Jack?"

"Wot?"

"Our anniversary of the day that William married us is in November! What did ye do that ye are trying to butter me up?"

She frowned harder, as wee Maggie gurgled and smiled again, like she was anticipating an amusing exchange between her parents. Jack merely chuckled, and said, his hands sweeping out at his sides, "It is our anniversary, Janie... 'twas on this day, in April, from these very shores, tha' we set sail fer Marianna, Spain... 'twas then tha' we christened ye 'The Pirate Lass o' Connemara', an' ye've had th' sea in yer blood ever since!"

Janie's eyes widened... it was true... it was upon this very date all of those years ago, that Janie had gone to sea for the very first time... as her plain, freckled face melted into a happy smile, William cleared his throat rather loudly... "Shall we? We can toast your anniversary with Annie, Biddy and the rest once we return, but we must get going, you two!"

Jack slipped an arm around his 'almost wife', as she pecked his cheek, making him wiggle in pleasure and colour a bit upon his high cheekbones, just as he had since they were nearly as little as Maggie was... they both straightened up, and nodded to William, who opened the doors of the cabin onto the sunlit decks...and as Captain Jack Sparrow and his woman stepped out onto the main deck, Janie felt the years melting away... back to another time, in this same place...

And as the soft, warm Irish winds caressed them, she looked down into the eyes of little Magdalena Jane O'Madden-Sparrow, and she thought, for a moment, that those wide brown eyes could see something upon the winds, as she looked up into the dark canvas sails and reached her tiny hand toward them... sails that would carry them all into the future, Janie knew... and as she looked out over the bow of the ship, she could see the far off cliffs of the rocky coast of Eire... cliffs that had been there forever...

And if the Pirate Lass of Connemara had her way, she thought, as she happily put one arm around a slender, sashed waist, as the other arm held their beloved baibin, her most fervent desire would be that her entire family would go on for as long as there was an Ireland... as long as there was a Black Pearl and stories to be told... as long as there were peat fires in the stone fireplace, and a warm soft bed in the bedchamber... that her loved ones would all join those craggy cliffs in lasting for an eternity... as long as there was the waterfall back in their deep, soft forest, lit softly at night by tiny flames of Saint Elmo's fire...

For at this moment in time, with her beautiful gypsy boy at her side, and their wee little gypsy colleen in her arms, the Pirate Lass truly and lovingly wanted to step out onto that dark walnut deck, and step into a future...together...forever...

THE END