(A/N- Wow! I had no idea that the first chapter was going to come off so well. I'm very pleased you all seem to like it! So far it's been somewhat of a challenge, because I'm really trying to make it better than the Secret of Hell Water… but we'll see!
I'd like to point out a little historical note that might come up after you read this chapter… Nassau was a real port that was said to be the "pirate's paradise." The difference with it and Tortuga is that Tortuga was a French colony with a governor that only sanctioned pirate ships that plundered Spanish vessels. Nassau didn't have any restrictions that I could find in my research. Anyways- that's a little bit of history for ye!
And a quick review response before we start:
WeBeTa- You asked if Jamie and Claire come from Diana Gabaldon's books? LOL- I was actually going to mention that in this chapter's notes anyways. The answer to that is yes and no, the NAMES are inspired from them. I'm a HUGE Gabaldon fan. Of course, the children are NOT Jamie or Claire Fraser, nor will they be written to resemble their personalities at all… I simply am using the names because I like them, and I'm a nut and I couldn't help myself.
Chapter 2- Tall Tales" Or…" Jack raised one hand in thought, then squinted down at him and cracked a roguish grin. " …Would you prefer that I call ye Bootstrap?"
Bootstrap Bill Turner paused, taking another long swig of rum before replying with a sense of fond remembrance. " Bootstrap… I haven't had anyone call me that for nearly twenty years… Aye… that'll do."
Jack took a seat across from him then set both hands on the tabletop, leaning over with a look of interest on his face. Emma pursed her lips, wondering if she should leave the two to catch up. She remembered well the stories that Jack had told her about Will's unfortunate father. Everyone had believed that he'd met his fate at the bottom of the ocean nearly twenty years ago, after he'd incurred the wrath of Barbossa. How could it be that he was sitting at that table in the Faithful Bride, a living, breathing human being? Why had he been waiting nearly ten years to make his presence known to Jack? Where had he been all this time? The curse had long been broken.
Questions like these and others swam about in her mind until she felt she might burst with anticipation and curiosity. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to know his story and was relieved when she noticed Jack motioning for her to join them. Bootstrap Bill had turned his shaggy head to regard her with interest.
Emma tried not to show her agitation as she walked over to them and took a third seat beside Jack. She folded her hands in her lap, doing her best to look poised. However, in truth her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. The barmaid came over to the table with two more tankards of rum for her and Jack, and a refill for Bootstrap. She eagerly took a long first sip, willing the rum to calm her frazzled nerves.
" This is Emma, mate." Jack said casually with a sideways glance. Emma swallowed her large gulp and nodded her head in greeting to him. Bootstrap gave her a very obvious look of appraisal. It was the kind that she would often get from Jack when he was thinking dirty thoughts. She knew it too well. She straightened her back in her seat and cocked an insulted eyebrow at him.
Bootstrap broke into a sly grin and looked back at Jack. " Well, of all things to change, I wasn't expecting this Jack! You've found yerself a right beauty ye have!"
At this, Emma's look softened. "Well… for being a bit forward, he is rather charming in his own way. " She thought.
Jack didn't look at her, but returned his friends smile with his own roguish grin, " Oh, well… If you'd been in my situation, you would understand, mate! I thought I'd give just one woman a go for a change. And it turned into a rather unexpected blessing."
By the look on his face, Emma knew Jack was thinking of Claire.
Bootstrap seemed to sense the direction Jack's thoughts were straying as well. " And don't tell me, the wee little poppet that told me her name was Smith is yours? I could see the resemblance as clear as day."
Jack leaned back with a satisfied grin. " Aye! That she is. So… she's Smith today, is she?"
" She'll be a sight when she grows up a bit." Bootstrap said with confidence. " Fit to break many a bloke's 'eart, I tell ye! And a sharp mind to boot!"
" I'll drink to that, mate." Jack said as he lifted his tankard and took a large swig. They all drank. But as Bootstrap put his tankard down on the table, his face was somber once again.
There was a long pause as Jack watched him lick his lips nervously. He glanced up, started to say something and then paused, struggling to find the right words. After a moment, he finally seemed to have come to a conclusion in his mind, and took turns regarding first Jack's face, and then Emma's. His eyes had a haunted, glassy look to them, " There was a boy with 'er… he said his name was Jamie Turner?"
Emma stiffened at this admonition and glanced at Jack, who had an unreadable expression on his countenance. Silence filled the room for the space of a few heartbeats, then Jack finally opened his mouth to speak, " There's more than just one Turner to be found on board my ship, nowadays, mate." But before he could elaborate, he was interrupted at the sound of the wooden door opening. They all turned their heads to see Will stride into the room with Elizabeth on his arm.
" Speak of the devil…" said Jack softly enough so that only Emma and Bootstrap could hear him. Bootstrap's head whirled back around to look at Jack in alarm and Jack gave him a little nod of confirmation to his unspoken question. His friend's mouth fell open and he turned again to gaze at the full-grown figure of his son strolling up towards them.
" Jack! Elizabeth told me I'd probably find you here." He broke free of Elizabeth when they got within a few feet and pulled up a stool from a nearby corner, sitting at the head of the table. His appearance had changed a good deal since Hell Water. He had exchanged the awkward, lankiness of youth for the ruggedness of full adulthood. He now sported the well-toned muscles of an experienced sailor and sword master. There were a few scars marking his tanned physique that could be seen peeking out from behind an off-white cotton shirt that was partially open in the front. His coat and vest were of a fine medium gray material that was a bit travel stained but in good condition otherwise, and a black leather baldric slung over each shoulder. One carried his usual sword and the other a cutlass. He had a flintlock pistol tucked securely in a worn black leather belt that fit snugly about his waist. His dark brown eyes sparkled as he walked up to them. He stopped what he was saying at his first sight of the newcomer and frowned. The intense stare the disheveled man was directing at him made him feel uncomfortable, he decided to look to Jack for introductions.
Jack cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat to regard Will with amusement. " It's nice to see ye back, mate. So, what have ye to report?"
Elizabeth sat down beside Bootstrap in the last remaining seat. Will kept his mouth shut, he could feel the man's eyes scrutinizing and studying every line and freckle that was on his face.
" Don't worry about him, man…" Jack waved at Bootstrap dismissively. " Just an ol' bloke who's been down on his luck. I thought I'd invite him to share a drink o' rum with us."
Bootstrap cleared his throat with an audible "Ah-hem…. Nice to meet ye, mate. " And then extended his thin, bony hand to Will. Will purses his lips as he regarded the stranger, there was something familiar about him, but he couldn't quite place it. He hesitated, but finally took the strangers hand and gave it a firm shake.
" I hope this doesn't seem too bold to ask… but you look familiar. Have we met before?" Will inquired. He squinted his eyes slightly, as if trying to dredge up some memory in the back of his mind that might put a light on the encounter.
At his question, the stranger snatched his hand back from Will as if burned. He frowned very hard and continued to regard the young man's face with wide, alert eyes. Emma noticed Jack was watching this exchange with interest.
" He's letting Bootstrap decide if he wants to tell Will he's his father or not." She thought.
There was another short pause. The ragged man cleared his throat again and wrenched his gaze away from Will, directing it down instead at his tankard of rum. " Nope, I don't think we have, mate. Not recently, at least… " He answered him in a gruff voice.
" What's your name?" Will asked. He had noticed the man's hesitation to answer his question.
" Henry." The man said quickly. " At yer service, mate."
Emma saw the side of Jack's mouth twitch slightly. She guessed that he probably knew the significance of Bootstrap's alias, and decided that she would have to ask him about it later when they were alone.
Will gave a short nod of his head, resigned to the answers that had been given him. He still was fairly certain he'd seen him before. But he decided that he would worry about it later, and introduced himself instead. " Will Turner, and this is Elizabeth, my wife." He nodded his head to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had picked up on the stranger's intense interest in Will from the moment she walked into the room and had been eyeing him in turn. But when his eyes finally swiveled over to gaze at her, she quickly realized that she'd been staring and tore them away. She looked down at her hands that were neatly folded in her lap, and inclined her head.
" Nice to meet you." She said, feeling embarrassed at her lack of manners.
'Henry' appraised her discreetly. It was quite a difference from how he'd ogled Emma just moments before. He gave Elizabeth a dashing smile. " Likewise, madam. It's always a pleasure ter find oneself in the company of a lady."
Emma bristled at this. A lady? What was she then? A horse?
Elizabeth looked flattered and privately altered her poor first impression of him. For looking like such a vagabond, the man had a gentlemanly way about him. " Thank you." She said.
There was a long, uncomfortable pause where no one spoke. Then Emma finally broke the silence, remembering the reason for Will's recent absence.
" Weren't you going to tell us about your trip? What news do you have?" She asked.
Will nodded and then shot another covert glance in the stranger's direction. But Jack seemed to be comfortable enough with him sitting at the table, and so he gave a little shrug and made his report.
" The Port of Nassau has been reestablished."
Jack threw his head back and his eyes alighted with interest. A small smile crept across his face at the news.
" Are you positive?" Asked Elizabeth in awe. " But, wasn't it overrun just last year?"
" The Spanish have been driven out. It's lawless again." Will clarified for her.
" That's quite fortunate!" She exclaimed.
Emma could tell that she was echoing Jack's thoughts. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Nassau was on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. Like Tortuga, it was a notorious haven to the buccaneers and pirates that preyed on the merchant ships that sailed along the trade routes from Central and South America. It would be an ideal new base of operations, particularly because that area of the Bahamas is out of reach from the Commodore's pirate hunters. They did not sail that far north, and preyed mainly on ships that made berth out of Tortuga. The Black Pearl had had quite a few close encounters with them in recent months. They were a constant detriment to Jack Sparrow's line of work. It was becoming apparent that the Commodore was getting desperate to capture Jack and although Emma had every confidence in Jack's exceptional ability to wage war upon the sea, their last brush with the pirate hunters had left the swarthy Captain with a nearly sinking ship and his newest scar that decorated his right cheek. Their days would be numbered if they continued sailing the waters near Jamaica. Yes… Nassau would be an ideal haven.
" Go inform Gibbs and the rest of the crew, that we set sail the day after tomorrow for New Providence." Jack said with a twinkle in his eye. " And ye might also want to mention, that we'll not be returning to Tortuga again in the foreseeable future. Collect the names of those willing to go, and report back to me on the ship tonight."
Will's face was also alight with anticipation and he nodded his head enthusiastically as he stood. " Aye Captain!"
" Oh- and Will…" Jack interjected as he turned to leave. Will stopped and glanced at him inquisitively. " If ye happen to run across the little treasure-snipes*, could ye send them our way?"
" I'll go with you." Said Elizabeth as she rose from her seat as well. " I have a few ideas where they might be found."
Emma lowered her head and let her hair obscure a little smile. She could tell Elizabeth had missed Will a great deal in the past three weeks. The woman who was usually as tough as nails had one very large soft spot… that for the tall, dashingly handsome pirate Will Turner. Elizabeth would not want him out of her site for more than a second for at least a week. She watched them exit The Faithful Bride, then turned her attention back to Jack and Bootstrap, the later of the two was staring longingly at the door that they'd just exited through.
" Imagine that…" He muttered to himself. " Married to such a fine lady, all grown up… and taken after his ol' dad? I wouldn'a believed it if I hadn't seen it with me own two eyes…"
" Why didn't you tell him who you were?" Emma asked him curiously. " He would have been so surprised!"
He shot her a frightened look, and then glanced at Jack. Jack surveyed him with the usual sly smile on his lips, as if to say, " … I can guess well enough."
Bootstrap licked his lips, then turned back to her and said, " Aye- that's exactly why I didn't say anything… it would have been a right shock to him."
" But he has a right to know!" She cried. " You're his father!"
" His father that's come back from the dead?" He said with a tone that made Emma swallow the next protest that was on her lips. He gave a weary chuckle and shook his head. " Naw—I shouldn't even have a right to call meself his father… In truth I was never a father to him. I walked right out on him and his mother as sure as I'm sittin' here now." He let out a long, regretful sigh. " I jest couldn't deny the call o' the sea."
Emma frowned as he shook his head and then glanced at the door Will and Elizabeth had exited from again. " For his sake, Bootstrap is better off dead to him. Jest let ol' Henry watch from afar. That is good enough for me." Then an idea seemed to hit him and he looked at Jack inquiringly. " Say, how is it that he came to be acquainted with you of all people anyways, Jack? And turned pirate no less?"
Jack winced, spared a glance at Emma, who had clamped her mouth shut almost immediately, then turned back to his old friend and brought one hand up with a finger sticking straight in the air. He started to talk with a tone of pleasurable conversation, as if he was relating a story detailing one of his miraculous adventures.
" Well, the deal with that is mate… I met him in Port Royal after I'd just escaped some redcoats who were under the strange impression that I was a corsair. Of course, I recognized him the moment I saw him! I said to myself, 'Jack… that there is the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner!' No doubts about it mate! He is just a spitting image of you, after all, eh? So I decided to take him under my wing to honor your fond memory. I taught him a thing or too about swords and the like… for his survival and all that, savvy? But then The Black Pearl attacked, and he was kidnapped by Barbossa, who needed his blood to lift the curse…"
Bootstrap looked horror stricken, but Jack was quick to cut him off before he could say anything. He continued his grossly revised story without pause, gesticulating wildly and swaying about in his seat enough to make one dizzy. " Naturally, I rushed to his rescue! Together, we overthrew the mutinous ne'er-do-well cad, and reclaimed The Black Pearl. He and Elizabeth joined my crew not long after, about the same time that I met M'dear Emma here, as a matter of fact."
Emma sat watching Jack with an incredulous eyebrow in the air and her mouth hanging slightly open. Bootstrap seemed to have recovered from his initial shock, and had a look on his face that was just as doubtful. He folded his hands on the table and shot Jack a level look.
" Come now Jack…" Bootstrap drawled out his name, " I know ye better than that… Ye wouldn't so much as bat an eyelash at the boy unless ye thought you could get something worthwhile out of him. And I find it hard to believe you'd risk yer neck for the lad for nothing more than my fond memory! And that bit about taking him under yer wing? Don't make me laugh! "
Jack had the grace to look slightly crestfallen. Finally, he gave a dramatic sigh and said very quickly, so that all his words ran together to be almost impossible to understand. " Fine, I confess... It-was-my-intention-to-trade-dear-William-in-exchange-for-my-ship-to-Barbossa, who-needed-him-to-lift-the-curse… savvy? But the boy must be thick in the head, because he decided to run off and become a pirate himself after the whole ordeal was over. Of course, he's a handy one to have around, I do admit… I've grown quite fond of him, actually."
Bootstrap shook his head and let out a sardonic chuckle. " Aye… that sounds like ye allrigh'. I know I should be furious… but it does sorta remind me of when I ran off to join you and your ship. Faith! I see now why he likes ye…" Then he paused and took a long sip of rum. He sat for a moment in silence, savoring the flavor of the fine beverage as Jack and Emma watched him in curiosity. Finally, he grinned and said, " I never thought I'd taste the stuff on me lips, ever again… how can I be mad at ye now with that? I'm glad that he came to follow in his old dad's footsteps, even if his mother is probably rolling in her grave right know with the knowledge of it."
People were starting to enter the tavern as the afternoon grew darker and the long days work was finally at an end. The effect of the alcohol was beginning to take effect on Bootstrap, and his tongue began to grow looser and looser with each cherished swig. He began to gesticulate with his hands as he talked, swaying back and forth slightly in a delightfully intoxicated haze.
" Yer probably wondering where I've been all this time? Why… the curse was lifted long ago, wasn't it?" He chuckled and answered his own question with barely a pause. " Bad luck, mate! After I managed to wrench myself loose from that canon, I sat on the bottom of that ocean and thought to meself… what can I possibly do? I thought of trying to find ye mate. I searched for the island, and finally found it… only to discover that ye weren't there. I'm afraid I feared the worst." His face fell as he remembered his chagrin at believing his friend and companion dead. " I thought that maybe I should look for me son? But then, he was all the way in England as far as I knew, and I didn't want to trouble him or his mother. Then, I thought of revenge on that mutinous traitor Barbossa!" He said the name scathingly, took a long swig, and then slammed his mug down on the table, making Emma jump. " But what good would I have done against that entire crew of miscreants, eh? I was only one." He seemed to settle after saying this, and paused with pursed lips. His eyes rose up to regard Emma with a hint of distrust, then he shifted his gaze to Jack. " I spent a good portion of me cursed years under the ocean mate. Ye wouldn't believe the amount of swag I found in its depths! Oh!" He threw his hands up in the air with the exclamation. " I would have cared far more if I hadn't been so parched for good drink and food."
" What happened after that?" Emma asked, unable to hide her immense interest in his story. She knew well enough of the gold hidden in many shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea. She believed him whole-heartedly on that account.
" Well…I—" And then he shot her another covert look of distrust that made Jack's eyes narrow slightly. But the Pirate Captain did not show a hint of what he was thinking on his face. Bootstrap continued his story, glazing over his cursed years with the vague excuse of it all running together. " I was lucky enough to be on dry land when the curse was lifted, I had a small treasure cache I was storing up, thinking that maybe I'd find a way to leave it to me son…But then suddenly I could taste the salt of the sea in my mouth, and under the light of the full moon, my own reflection in the water looked back at me as clear as ye see me now. There I was, alive again, only to find myself stranded on an island in the middle of the Caribbean with naught for survival… not even a pistol! Despair overwhelmed me in that moment. I knew I would surely starve to death in no time."
A great wave of sympathy overcame Emma as she listed to his story. Desperate of thirst and hunger, he'd lived off of several varieties of shellfish that were to be found amongst the reefs surrounding his small island. However, they did not always agree with his stomach, and he would suddenly find himself violently sick and unable to keep down anything that he tried to eat. But as luck would have it, almost a week into his forced solitude, there had been a great storm, and the next morning brought a ship on the horizon. It had a gash in its hull from the storm and was on its way to his island in need of a spot to make repairs. Filled with desperation and a blind trust in his saviors, he revealed himself almost immediately. But the ship was not quite what he was expecting. They were slavers, and before he knew it, he found himself chained in the hold amongst the crowded bodies of the many unfortunate men and woman who were being sold off to the plantations as punishment for crimes said or done.
" I spent the next six years of my life working the fields in Barbados." He said softly. "I had no knowledge of the world outside the plantation. But…" And then he broke into a grin and glanced up at Jack with sparkling eyes. " Two years ago, pirates ransacked the town. The Black Pearl came in the night, burning and pillaging! It was a sight for sore eyes… that ship." He leaned back in his chair, enthusiastically reliving that moment in his mind. " I took the opportunity to make a run for it in the confusion! I believed the entire time that it was Barbossa leading the raid… But no—it was you on that ship! Captain Jack Sparrow was the word that was on every mouth. I couldn't believe my ears!"
He had been knocked unconscious during the chaos and woke up in a ditch the next morning to find the Black Pearl gone. But he was not about to give up his hope of rejoining Jack on his ship. He risked stowing away on a ship that was bound to Martinico, and from there worked his way slowly to Tortuga where he knew he would find Jack Sparrow or at least news of his whereabouts.
" I had to find ye, Jack." He said sorrowfully. " I thought ye dead for so long… For me it was like, the instant I heard ye were the pirate ransacking the port, I had my old life hovering before my eyes again and knew I had to take the chance to get it back. And the rest… ye can pretty much guess." He brought his arms up in a grand gesture and let them fall.
There was a long pause, and then Jack finally said with a look of keen interest on his face. " Well… that does explain a lot, mate. I admit, I believed ye dead too. Or had little hope of ever finding ye again. I am glad to see yer back and alive… and as well as could be, under the circumstances." He gestured vaguely to Bootstraps tattered clothing with a slight grimace.
Bootstrap blinked back confused and looked down at his garments, then gave a wry chuckle. " Aye… they do seem to be in a poor state, don't they? It's been so long, I hardly notice anymore."
Emma had detected several large holes in his story, she could tell, as much as he was trying to hide it, that he'd been distracted by her presence and wasn't telling Jack all that he wished to tell. She felt a bit ashamed for being there. She was probably in the way of their reunion. Luckily, in that moment she spotted Claire and Jamie enter the tavern and quickly stood up with the excuse that the children were probably hungry, and that she would see to their meals and baths.
" I'll find ye on The Pearl, Love." Jack said with a wink. Emma gave him a genuine smile, then made a tiny curtsy to Bootstrap, who returned her look with a broad grin.
" It was mighty nice meeting ye, Miss Emma." He said.
~*~*~*~
As soon as she'd disappeared out of the door with the children in tow, Jack threw his head back and glanced at Bootstrap with a familiar, sly twist of mischief in his smile.
" So, mate…" Jack said after a short pause. "Do ye want to tell me what ye really did all those years? How much of that story was actually true?"
" The later half." Bootstrap said, his face breaking into a gleaming smile. " The part about the slavery was true. It was a nightmare…that part was!"
" So?" Jack urged him with a raised eyebrow.
" Ahh—well… It had to do ye see… with luck, as ye might call it."
" Aye?"
" Barbossa choose a right opportune spot to send me te Davey Jones…" Bootstrap grinned at him. " I sunk down deeper and deeper, the world became as black as pitch. But then, amazingly, there was a very fair and faint light in the far distance as I hit the bottom. Ye won't believe what I found mate… what it could mean for the both of us!"
And then he dug into his pocket; presumably looking for the smooth white disc he'd recovered from the children earlier that day. But his face fell as he rifled about, then he stood up abruptly and started checking all the various folds and pockets and every nook and cranny of his clothes. He shook out his shirt and took off his tattered, patched coat. And then with an oath threw it down at finding it empty of both the disc, and the remaining money he'd had in his pocket. He turned on Jack in a fury and pounded his fist on the table.
The gaunt looking man took a deep breath, and then said in a dangerously calm voice, " Where did ye say yer child was, now? Jack?"
Jack winced visibly and gave his friend an apologetic shrug. Yes, he'd taught his daughter well… too well.
* Treasure-snipes: Piratical term for Children