"Like Father, Like Son"
Synopsis: A thirteen years after the movie, Jack discovers the real reason
why Scarlett hates him so much: He got her pregnant. When she abandons
their son, can Jack gain the trust of a fifteen-year-old boy who has
learned the hard way that almost no one can be trusted and self-reliance is
the only way to survive? Can he keep his son out of harms way?
* * * Chapter 1: the Tortugan Street-Rat Captian Jack Sparrow sighed nostogilisticly as The Black Pearl sailed into port at Tortuga. Home sweet home, he thought with a grin.
"Jack Sparrow!" an angry female voice came from the dock.
"It's CAPTIAN Jack Sparrow. CAPTIAN!" Jack muttered iritably. He looked towards the dock, the source of the cry being a pretty, dark-haired young woman in a red dress. 'Scarlett...' Jack groaned,'Wha' does she want now?'
"Captian, then, get your bloody rear down here right now!" Scarlett shouted. Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes skyward, as if expecting divine intervention.
"Coming, love..." he leapt from the ship to the rotting planks of the dock and tied off one of the bow lines,"Now then, Scarlett, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, you bloody idiot! I've had enough. First the whole birth affair, now it's been fifteen years that i've delt with the whelp, it's your turn!"
"Um, love, wha're you talkin' about?" Jack tried to sound patient and understanding, but they'd run out of rum this morning.
"Your SON, you drunkard! He's your reponsiblity now, even though I doubt he needs it!" she turned and walked back towards the row of ramshackle buildings.
"Son? Wait, Scarlett, I have a son?" Jack decided he needed a drink before he could do anything about this new development, so he headed for his favorite Tortugan pub. After a few glasses of rum, and grabbing a bottle to go, he went in search of Scarlett for more information. 'Coulda told me a name, at least. Or brought the kid. Damn, what am I doin'? I can't take a kid on the Pearl,' Jack thought,'But how is the streets of Tortuga any better?' He argued with himself. Finally, Jack found Scarlett trying to attract customers outside another pub.
"What do you want, CAPTAIN?" she asked, her voice dripping poison.
"If you want me to take care of the kid, i'll need to know where he is, love," Jack had concidered baiting her, but was, quite frankly, fed up with her,"And perhaps a name, if you'll be so kind."
"Everyone calls him Hawk. I don't know where he is. YOU find him. But watch out, he's got an amazing case of Lookout's Syndrome."
"You just LOVE making things difficult, don't you?" Jack asked sweetly. Then he turned and went back to the wharf to find Anamaria. His cynical first mate was grumbling over torn sails, and while Jack really didn't want to approch her when she was in one of these moods, he sauntered up to her anyway.
"'Ello, love," he grinned at her charasmaticly,"I could use your help, if you don't mind. Gibbs!" the older crew member hurried over,"Find someone to mend these sails, we should be back in a couple hours at most." Jack dragged Anamaria away from the ship.
"And what, exactly, will we be doing in these 'couple hours'?" she asked. "You're NOT going to tell me to babysit your kid, are you?" Anamaria glared at him.
"No, I want you to help me find him," Jack said honestly,"THEN I may tell you to babysit 'em, but at the moment I need someone who knows the streets, knows how to find 'em. All I know about him is his name's Hawk, he's fifteen, and he's got Lookout's Syndrome, apparently."
"As good as yours?"
"From what Scarlett said, better," Lookout's Syndrome was being born with characterisitics important in lookouts, such as enhanced sight and a penchant for climbing things. Jack had a different form, known as Pirate's Sight. He posessed the sight, but prefured to have his feet firmly on the deckboards,"Oh, here we go, look out, love!" Jack dragged Anamaria out of the way just as a boy threw himself from the roof of a two-story building. He landed easily, with a cat-like grace that instantly reminded Anamaria of Jack. Jack released his first mate, and looked up at the roof top where the boy had come from.
"I can see where you got your name," he told the boy with an apreticiative grin.
"How do you know who I am?" Hawk glared up at Jack, crouching defensivly. Jack glanced at Anamaria, then looked back at the boy.
"'Cause, i'm your father. Captian Jack Sparrow," the man held out a hand,"And you are...?" The boy straitened, tossing his head to get stray strands of dark brown hair out of his face. His dark eyes boored into Jack's and the man felt like he was looking into a mirror that turned back time. Finally, the boy seemed to decide that the man wasn't going to hurt him.
"My name's Ben, but everyone calls me Hawk."
"Well, then, Hawk, I have a propasition for you. As you probably know, I travel on a ship called The Black Pearl. For reasons I don't quite know myself, i'd like to take you with me."
"What would I do on this ship of yours?" Hawk asked suspiciously.
"I hear you have Lookout's Syndrome."
"Yeah, so?" Jack glanced at Anamaria, who shrugged.
"Lawrence has never been very fond of that post. He'd be happier towing lines," she pointed out,"We teach the kid a few things, he should be fine."
"Alright, then, how does this sound?" Jack turned back to Hawk,"Lookout on The Black Pearl?"
"I'm assuming my mother's decided she dosen't want to be bothered with me anymore," Hawk said bitterly.
"Sorry, kid, but you may be better off for it," Jack grimaced sympatheticly. How many times had he vowed NEVER to do to his kids, assuming he had any, what his parents did to him? And what had he done? Ignored the possiblility of having kids, decided that it didn't matter. 'I'm changing that right now,' he decided. Hawk saw the conflict on his father's face and grinned as he stuck out a hand to shake on the deal.
"Hey, this works just as well. I've been saving up since I was three to buy a ship I didn't know how to use. Now I can figure it out before I buy it." Jack laughed. Anamarie cleared her throat. She liked the kid, but they needed to be going.
"Oh, that's me first mate, Anamaria. She's a sweetheart, really. You'll meet the rest of the crew later." The three hurried back to the wharf.
* * * Chapter 2: Return to Port Royale Jack was releived to see that Hawk had no trouble fitting in with the rest of the crew. He made an excelent lookout, and everyone seemed to like and respect him for his ablilities, not the fact his father was the captian. Now, they were headed for Port Royale. Jack had received a letter several years before from his old friends the Turners informing him that he was one of their daughter's godparents. The girl, Cassandra, would be thirteen now, and he hadn't seen her since she was seven. He knew her birthday was coming up, and figured he should visit at least on that all-important day. He also wanted to take the opprtunity to introduce Hawk, just so the boy had somewhere to go if something should happen to him.
"Allright, then Anamaria, we'll take one of the boats on shore," Jack turned back to the gathered crew,"If you put ONE scratch on my ship, i'll see to it you ALL die the most horrible deaths I can think up!" They all nodded somberly, knowing that that ship was his world, and he'd make good on any threats regarding his Pearl. Jack and Hawk rowed into port, meeting the dockmaster. The man was dressed primly in his red uniform, glasses perched on his long nose. He surveyed the scraggily newcomers with distaste.
"That'll be one shilling and your names, gentlemen..." he asked. Hawk glanced up from where he was securing the boat, watching Jack shell out a coin.
"And your name's, sir?"
"Uh... Smith. Jack Smith. And that's my son Ben."
"Thank you sir." Hawk grinned at his father as they hurried up the main pathway,"Smith?"
"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Jack glared down at the boy. A few minutes later, they were walking in the Brown Blacksmith shop where Will Turner worked. A fat man with a bottle in hand who had long since passed out sat near the bellows. Will himself was bent over the forge, intent on something inside it, and mumbling to himself. Jack cleared his throat, causing the young blacksmith to jerk upwright and hit his head hard on the planking above the forge. He cursed loudly and turned around to see who had inturupted him.
Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise
"Jack?" Will stared in pure shock that quickly disolved into suspicion,"Don't tell me: Barbossa is back from the dead, AGIAN, you've lost the Pearl, and you need my help getting it back."
"Awe, come on, Will! Isn' your kid's birthday comin' up? I'm supposed to be her godfather, am I not?"
"You just came for her birthday? That's all?" Will persisted.
"Well, there is one other little matter..." Jack glanced back at Hawk, who was studying some of the swords a little too intently for comfort, and shook his head warningly. The boy gave a grin that was a mirror image of Jack at his most charming and mischevious.
"Him?" Will asked. Jack started to respond when a blonde girl with pretty blue eyes came into the shop.
"Dad, Mum wanted me to..." she trailed off when she recongnized Jack,"JACK!!!" The girl, Cassandra Turner, ran up to the pirate and hugged him feircely. He grinned as she pulled back to study him curiously.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah, well, I AM your godfather, I should be here for your birthay, shouldn't I? Oh, I suppose I should introduce you," he turned back to Hawk, who looked a little out of place,"This is Hawk. My son." Hawk nodded to Will and smiled shyly at Cassie. Will looked mildly suprised, but grinned after a moment.
"Shoulda known," Will grinned,"Welcome to Port Royale."
The four of them hurried back to the Turner Estate, Hawk and Cassie running ahead of their fathers. Elizabeth meet her daughter at the door, looking extremly confuzed when the girl cheerfull pulled Hawk through the door. He looked at her apoligeticly before Cassie dragged him up the stairs to her room. Will kissed his wife, handing a wrapped package he'd brought from the shop to a servant. Jack cleared his throat, causing Elizabeth to stare once more.
"Well, Elizabeth, love, how are you then?" Jack grinned. She finally recoverd from the sheer shock of seeing him, and gave him a feirce hug,"Well, mabye what I said about us not workin' was a little off afterall." Elizabeth promptly threw a punch at him, which he easily blocked.
* * * Chapter 1: the Tortugan Street-Rat Captian Jack Sparrow sighed nostogilisticly as The Black Pearl sailed into port at Tortuga. Home sweet home, he thought with a grin.
"Jack Sparrow!" an angry female voice came from the dock.
"It's CAPTIAN Jack Sparrow. CAPTIAN!" Jack muttered iritably. He looked towards the dock, the source of the cry being a pretty, dark-haired young woman in a red dress. 'Scarlett...' Jack groaned,'Wha' does she want now?'
"Captian, then, get your bloody rear down here right now!" Scarlett shouted. Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes skyward, as if expecting divine intervention.
"Coming, love..." he leapt from the ship to the rotting planks of the dock and tied off one of the bow lines,"Now then, Scarlett, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, you bloody idiot! I've had enough. First the whole birth affair, now it's been fifteen years that i've delt with the whelp, it's your turn!"
"Um, love, wha're you talkin' about?" Jack tried to sound patient and understanding, but they'd run out of rum this morning.
"Your SON, you drunkard! He's your reponsiblity now, even though I doubt he needs it!" she turned and walked back towards the row of ramshackle buildings.
"Son? Wait, Scarlett, I have a son?" Jack decided he needed a drink before he could do anything about this new development, so he headed for his favorite Tortugan pub. After a few glasses of rum, and grabbing a bottle to go, he went in search of Scarlett for more information. 'Coulda told me a name, at least. Or brought the kid. Damn, what am I doin'? I can't take a kid on the Pearl,' Jack thought,'But how is the streets of Tortuga any better?' He argued with himself. Finally, Jack found Scarlett trying to attract customers outside another pub.
"What do you want, CAPTAIN?" she asked, her voice dripping poison.
"If you want me to take care of the kid, i'll need to know where he is, love," Jack had concidered baiting her, but was, quite frankly, fed up with her,"And perhaps a name, if you'll be so kind."
"Everyone calls him Hawk. I don't know where he is. YOU find him. But watch out, he's got an amazing case of Lookout's Syndrome."
"You just LOVE making things difficult, don't you?" Jack asked sweetly. Then he turned and went back to the wharf to find Anamaria. His cynical first mate was grumbling over torn sails, and while Jack really didn't want to approch her when she was in one of these moods, he sauntered up to her anyway.
"'Ello, love," he grinned at her charasmaticly,"I could use your help, if you don't mind. Gibbs!" the older crew member hurried over,"Find someone to mend these sails, we should be back in a couple hours at most." Jack dragged Anamaria away from the ship.
"And what, exactly, will we be doing in these 'couple hours'?" she asked. "You're NOT going to tell me to babysit your kid, are you?" Anamaria glared at him.
"No, I want you to help me find him," Jack said honestly,"THEN I may tell you to babysit 'em, but at the moment I need someone who knows the streets, knows how to find 'em. All I know about him is his name's Hawk, he's fifteen, and he's got Lookout's Syndrome, apparently."
"As good as yours?"
"From what Scarlett said, better," Lookout's Syndrome was being born with characterisitics important in lookouts, such as enhanced sight and a penchant for climbing things. Jack had a different form, known as Pirate's Sight. He posessed the sight, but prefured to have his feet firmly on the deckboards,"Oh, here we go, look out, love!" Jack dragged Anamaria out of the way just as a boy threw himself from the roof of a two-story building. He landed easily, with a cat-like grace that instantly reminded Anamaria of Jack. Jack released his first mate, and looked up at the roof top where the boy had come from.
"I can see where you got your name," he told the boy with an apreticiative grin.
"How do you know who I am?" Hawk glared up at Jack, crouching defensivly. Jack glanced at Anamaria, then looked back at the boy.
"'Cause, i'm your father. Captian Jack Sparrow," the man held out a hand,"And you are...?" The boy straitened, tossing his head to get stray strands of dark brown hair out of his face. His dark eyes boored into Jack's and the man felt like he was looking into a mirror that turned back time. Finally, the boy seemed to decide that the man wasn't going to hurt him.
"My name's Ben, but everyone calls me Hawk."
"Well, then, Hawk, I have a propasition for you. As you probably know, I travel on a ship called The Black Pearl. For reasons I don't quite know myself, i'd like to take you with me."
"What would I do on this ship of yours?" Hawk asked suspiciously.
"I hear you have Lookout's Syndrome."
"Yeah, so?" Jack glanced at Anamaria, who shrugged.
"Lawrence has never been very fond of that post. He'd be happier towing lines," she pointed out,"We teach the kid a few things, he should be fine."
"Alright, then, how does this sound?" Jack turned back to Hawk,"Lookout on The Black Pearl?"
"I'm assuming my mother's decided she dosen't want to be bothered with me anymore," Hawk said bitterly.
"Sorry, kid, but you may be better off for it," Jack grimaced sympatheticly. How many times had he vowed NEVER to do to his kids, assuming he had any, what his parents did to him? And what had he done? Ignored the possiblility of having kids, decided that it didn't matter. 'I'm changing that right now,' he decided. Hawk saw the conflict on his father's face and grinned as he stuck out a hand to shake on the deal.
"Hey, this works just as well. I've been saving up since I was three to buy a ship I didn't know how to use. Now I can figure it out before I buy it." Jack laughed. Anamarie cleared her throat. She liked the kid, but they needed to be going.
"Oh, that's me first mate, Anamaria. She's a sweetheart, really. You'll meet the rest of the crew later." The three hurried back to the wharf.
* * * Chapter 2: Return to Port Royale Jack was releived to see that Hawk had no trouble fitting in with the rest of the crew. He made an excelent lookout, and everyone seemed to like and respect him for his ablilities, not the fact his father was the captian. Now, they were headed for Port Royale. Jack had received a letter several years before from his old friends the Turners informing him that he was one of their daughter's godparents. The girl, Cassandra, would be thirteen now, and he hadn't seen her since she was seven. He knew her birthday was coming up, and figured he should visit at least on that all-important day. He also wanted to take the opprtunity to introduce Hawk, just so the boy had somewhere to go if something should happen to him.
"Allright, then Anamaria, we'll take one of the boats on shore," Jack turned back to the gathered crew,"If you put ONE scratch on my ship, i'll see to it you ALL die the most horrible deaths I can think up!" They all nodded somberly, knowing that that ship was his world, and he'd make good on any threats regarding his Pearl. Jack and Hawk rowed into port, meeting the dockmaster. The man was dressed primly in his red uniform, glasses perched on his long nose. He surveyed the scraggily newcomers with distaste.
"That'll be one shilling and your names, gentlemen..." he asked. Hawk glanced up from where he was securing the boat, watching Jack shell out a coin.
"And your name's, sir?"
"Uh... Smith. Jack Smith. And that's my son Ben."
"Thank you sir." Hawk grinned at his father as they hurried up the main pathway,"Smith?"
"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Jack glared down at the boy. A few minutes later, they were walking in the Brown Blacksmith shop where Will Turner worked. A fat man with a bottle in hand who had long since passed out sat near the bellows. Will himself was bent over the forge, intent on something inside it, and mumbling to himself. Jack cleared his throat, causing the young blacksmith to jerk upwright and hit his head hard on the planking above the forge. He cursed loudly and turned around to see who had inturupted him.
Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise
"Jack?" Will stared in pure shock that quickly disolved into suspicion,"Don't tell me: Barbossa is back from the dead, AGIAN, you've lost the Pearl, and you need my help getting it back."
"Awe, come on, Will! Isn' your kid's birthday comin' up? I'm supposed to be her godfather, am I not?"
"You just came for her birthday? That's all?" Will persisted.
"Well, there is one other little matter..." Jack glanced back at Hawk, who was studying some of the swords a little too intently for comfort, and shook his head warningly. The boy gave a grin that was a mirror image of Jack at his most charming and mischevious.
"Him?" Will asked. Jack started to respond when a blonde girl with pretty blue eyes came into the shop.
"Dad, Mum wanted me to..." she trailed off when she recongnized Jack,"JACK!!!" The girl, Cassandra Turner, ran up to the pirate and hugged him feircely. He grinned as she pulled back to study him curiously.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah, well, I AM your godfather, I should be here for your birthay, shouldn't I? Oh, I suppose I should introduce you," he turned back to Hawk, who looked a little out of place,"This is Hawk. My son." Hawk nodded to Will and smiled shyly at Cassie. Will looked mildly suprised, but grinned after a moment.
"Shoulda known," Will grinned,"Welcome to Port Royale."
The four of them hurried back to the Turner Estate, Hawk and Cassie running ahead of their fathers. Elizabeth meet her daughter at the door, looking extremly confuzed when the girl cheerfull pulled Hawk through the door. He looked at her apoligeticly before Cassie dragged him up the stairs to her room. Will kissed his wife, handing a wrapped package he'd brought from the shop to a servant. Jack cleared his throat, causing Elizabeth to stare once more.
"Well, Elizabeth, love, how are you then?" Jack grinned. She finally recoverd from the sheer shock of seeing him, and gave him a feirce hug,"Well, mabye what I said about us not workin' was a little off afterall." Elizabeth promptly threw a punch at him, which he easily blocked.