Author's Note: *sigh* I really hope you all don't come after me with pitch forks or boycott my story after this chapter…I've done it.  I've killed Captain Jack Sparrow.  Not literally because he's one of the main characters but…I have.  And you'll understand by the second paragraph and the least sentence of this chapter…I am shamefaced but I had to…*sigh*  Just trust me- please.

::Author's note in next chapter::

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Will, Elizabeth and Gwyneth stared at the person in the door.  The butler waited, holding on to the handle and Brenda sighed, "Speaking of the bloody devil."

        "Jack?" Will said, not necessarily believing his eyes.  Jack stood in the door with the same old smile on his face yet he was…not himself, and it didn't take a second look to figure that out.  Starting with his hair, they noticed that there was no bandana, showing off his oddly enough- not tan forehead, at least not as tan as the rest of his face.  His hairline was receding slightly and his little pony tail on the side that used to have a bone through it- gone.  The braid in the back had too, seemed to disappear, along with the two braids from his beard.  His hair was drastically shorter.  Most of the dreads were still there and some little trinkets were still there, but the hair was about an inch shorter which looked strange.

        Next were his clothes- he had abandoned the coat, hat, boots, vest, sash deal and now wore black shined shoes, black pants, what looked like a gray evening jacket and a cravat.  It looked as though he hadn't gained or lost weight, shrunk or anything of that sort.  Will shook his head, wondering if the real Jack was under there somewhere.

        "Who is that?" Gwyneth asked quietly. 

        Brenda sighed, crossing her arms, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

        He frowned, "What's with the welcoming committee?"

        Elizabeth closed her mouth and collected herself, "Jack, of course, come in.  May I ask who your friend is?"

        "Rick Potter…Richard if you like."  They stepped in and the butler stood in front of them with his arms out.  Jack stared at him for a minute and then a light went on in his head, "of course!" And unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a white vest with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath it. 

        He gave him the vest and then looked at Rick.  Rick shrugged.  Jack looked at the butler and said, "He's rather attached to it…"  The man nodded and walked off.  Jack and Rick followed the recovering Elizabeth into one of the many rooms while Will, Gwyneth and Brenda slowly followed, still not believing their eyes. 

        Rick was a man in his late forties, around the same height as Jack, broad-shouldered, gray, short hair and blue eyes.  He had boots on, a sword at his side, a coat on his shoulder and the familiar swagger that many sea-men usually have. 

        They all sat down and Gwyneth tried to keep her eyes somewhere else other than Jack, but felt his eyes on her.  But before the situation became uncomfortable, Brenda spoke up.  "Blast dad!  I've been lookin' for you for six months, riskin' my neck to find you and then you come here?"

        Jack looked at her, a calm look on his face, "I was in Nassau- With Rick.  Where else would I be?"

        "Tortuga…Dad!  That's like asking me how many islands there are in the Caribbean!  If I had searched everyone I was thinking of going to bloody Singapore!"

        He made a face, "Why were you looking for me?"

        "Oh…I dunno- maybe because you vanished without a trace during the night."

        "It wasn't during the night…"

        "Dad- you've gone insane!"

        Jack ignored the statement, "Why are you here?"

        "Hey- I'm not the one who broke the promise, dad.  You came here voluntarily.  I didn't."

        "What promise?" Gwyneth interrupted.  All heads turned to her.

        "Why, ain't she a pretty one?" Rick commented. 

        Jack's eyes seemed to smile at her, as his lips turned up.  "Gwen."

        She paused; it had been so long since she had heard someone call her that.  A slight shiver went down her back as he practically breathed it.  Their eyes were locked in contact until Brenda said, "The promise he made with me- never to come to Port Royal…never even to come to Jamaica."  She gave her father a disgusted look and sighed again.

        Jack pulled his eyes away from Gwyneth and looked at his daughter, "Now, answer me."

        "Commodore Norrington caught me."  She pulled up her sleeve, showing the brand on her wrist, "Like I said, I went out looking for you."

        Jack paused, he seemed to be trying to control his anger.  He stood up and grabbed his daughter's wrist and examined it in more detail.  Then his eyes slowly moved to Will.  "Jack, he didn't approve that.  His men just assumed it.  But he probably would've done it sooner or later…after all- it is her first offense to the crown."

        "I don't care about the bloody crown!  That's my daughter!"

        "Jack, you didn't think they would uphold a brand just because she was your daughter, did you?" he asked.

        He paused and then headed to the door.  "Dad!  Where are you going!" Brenda called after him, all of them following him.  He didn't say a word nor look back.

        Commodore James Norrington sighed.  She needs to talk to me…wonderful.  He was sitting at his dining room table, not paying attention to the conversation going on around him.  The conversation included his youngest daughter and her mother.  He glanced up from his plate and looked at his wife of thirteen years.  Everyday seemed to be a new adventure with her.

        Emily was four yeas old now.  His family had been such a wonderful thing in his life.  After the rejection from Elizabeth and then Gwyneth, he thought he would be an old bachelor his whole life- but as it turned out, fate played a part in his life. 

        "Dad, what's the matter?" a little child's voice broke through his thoughts. 

        He smiled, "Nothing pumpkin."

        "Eat your salad, sweetheart." Her mother told her.  She nodded and kept eating.  James made contact with his wife and was about to say something, but there was a rather loud knock on the door and then someone was heard yelling his name.  The mother stood up and grabbed the child from the table and came to stand next to her husband.

        Finally the person who was yelling found them and the Commodore's mouth almost dropped.  Next followed Brenda, Will, Elizabeth, Gwyneth and someone he didn't recognize.  "I'm sorry sir, they just barged in…" the servant said.  James nodded, "It's fine Ian…Mr. Sparrow, I presume?  Through your ranting and raving I did manage to recognize your voice, but if it wasn't for that I'm afraid that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise."

        "What's with branding my daughter, Norrington?"

        "So she is your daughter, I wasn't sure. Though when Captain Briscoe told me of Gwyneth and the Turner's visit…I had suspected."

        "Answer me!"

        The Commodore stood there, with his hands behind his back, his wife holding on to his arm, very calm.  "Sparrow, I do realize you haven't been here or anywhere near as civilized as Port Royal, but there are laws about running into a Commodore's house uninvited."

        "I don't bloody care about the rules!"

        "Then you must not know them either, Sparrow.  Your daughter's first offense was coming here- and from the way I see it, you should be thanking me.  When the Captain found her name was Sparrow, believe me, he was tying the noose himself."

        Jack paused, noticing the angry in the Commodore's voice and then realized he was right.  "Then who branded her?"

        "My men, under the command of Captain Regan Briscoe."

        Jack nodded, "Fine."  He paused and looked at his surroundings, noticing first of all, who the woman latched on to the Commodore was.  "Beverly?" He said in barely a whisper.

        The room grew quiet.  Gwyneth took this opportunity to get everyone out of the house.  "Commodore, do excuse the intrusion, Mr. Sparrow is not in the best of health.  Good day Beverly.  Emily."

        "Hi Gweny!" she said, waving her small hand wildly.  Gwyneth smiled at the young girl and tried to usher the group out, succeeding in doing so with Will, Elizabeth, Brenda and Rick but Jack stood still.  "Jack, c'mon."  He slowly moved, never moving his eyes from Beverly.  Finally they were gone.

        Gwyneth sighed and looked over at Brenda.  She was looking out the small window of the carriage as the sights of Port Royal past by.  The ride was taking awhile since Gwyneth lived a little out of town.  The house was huge, the grounds were huge and the whole thing needed an even bigger place to be. 

        Brenda hadn't seemed too disappointed to find out that Jack and Rick wouldn't be staying at the same place she was.  Jack, however, seemed chagrined that he wouldn't be close to Gwyneth.  She was a little relieved herself.  She hadn't seen the man in over fourteen years…who knows what would be said or how he would act.

        Because it's not like he's acting himself...he looks so different!  She sighed and thought about asking Brenda about it, but decided to wait.  She figured the young woman had been through enough all ready.

        By the time Brenda and Gwyneth got to Gwyneth's house- most of the children were home from school.  Trevor and Jonathan were at their jobs.  Faith was in one of the many rooms when they arrived. 

        "Faith, this is Brenda Sparrow.  Brenda, this is Faith Johnson, my sister-in-law."  Faith smiled politely and stuck out her hand.  Brenda shook it and said, "Nice place you have 'ere."

        "Thank you.  Are you hungry at all?  I'm sure Jacque will get you something…"

        "No…I ate a lot at Will and Elizabeth's."

        Faith looked at Gwyneth, "You went to the Turners?"

        "Only for a while."

        "Ahh…  Well nice to meet you, Brenda.  If you need anything, please ask me or Gwyneth."  Yea, give me a ship. Brenda thought, but nodded and followed Gwyneth out of room.  When she did, she was met with three people, all looking quite different but the same.  

        Gwyneth smiled weakly at Brenda as if apologizing.  Why would she feel bad?  It's not like I'm shy…I'm a pirate for pete's sake.  "Who are you?" she asked anyone who would respond.  The littlest one had her mouth wide open, and was just staring at Brenda.  The middle one looked somewhat unemotional.  And then the boy who was a few inches taller than Brenda, almost looked excited.

        "Mark Johnson, pleased to meet you…" he said grabbing her hand and shaking it.  Then letting it go he said, "You're Brenda Sparrow, aren't you?  Daughter of Captain Jack Sparrow…"

        She narrowed her eyes, "Yer an unusual one."

        "Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.

        She made a face saying, 'are you serious' and didn't respond.  The middle one said, "You're kinda short."  Brenda's eyes immediately made eye contact with the little girl, "How old are you, missy?"

        "Eleven."

        She smiled sarcastically, "Then I wouldn't be insultin' a pirate if I were you, lass."

        "You don't scare me.  Not when my daddy can throw you out at anytime!"

        "Caitlin!" Gwyneth said, scolding the young girl.  She looked at her aunt and lowered her head, "Sorry Aunt Gwyneth."

        Brenda shrugged and looked down at the littlest one, who was still staring with her mouth wide open. "Is she okay?" she said, to anyone who would answer.  

        "She's just taking you in…don't worry about it." Mark answered.  "The next time she sees you she won't stop asking you questions.  So where'd you get that tooth?"

        Brenda paused and looked at the three, this is going to be a wonderful stay.  Maybe I should've stayed in the Jail… "There ain't more of you, are there?"

        "There are two more boys…" Gwyneth said.  "Trevor is seventeen and Jonathan who's sixteen.  But at the moment both of them are apprentice's…Trevor for a winery and Jonathan for a bakery."

        "Wine and baked goods huh?  I think I might like this house after all and then two strapping young boys…" Brenda said with a devilish grin.  Gwyneth panicked and grabbed her arm and led her down the hall, up the stairs, down another hall and into a room.  The room was medium-sized but much larger than anything Brenda had ever stayed in.  It had a large bed, which she was sure she would enjoy, large bay windows and window seats.  There was a bookshelf, a dresser and vanity.

        She paused, remembering something.  "Gwyneth, I don't have any clothes."

        Gwyneth frowned, "They're on the Pearl?"  Brenda nodded.  Gwyneth sighed, "Okay, we'll go shopping tomorrow.  I'm sure some men's places could tailor their clothes down to fit you.  In the meantime, did you know I have a horse?"

        Brenda spun around, completely facing her, "You have a horse?"

        Jack was sulking.  Will and Elizabeth were still trying to get used to his 'new look' which hadn't been questioned since he got here.  Rick had gone to 'take a walk' which put the couple at more ease considering he was a gruff looking person, but also gave them a chance to talk to Jack before the children came home. 

        Will approached him as Elizabeth followed, determined to just listen.  They didn't have to wait long until Jack said something.  "She didn't want to be with me…"

        "Brenda?" Will offered.  Jack nodded.  "She did seem a little mad at you for yelling at the Commodore."

        "Yes, but I'm supposed to do things like that!  I'm her father!"

        "Did you leave the Pearl?" Will asked.

        Jack paused, "Only temporarily."

        Will nodded, not wanting to go into something right now.  "So, who's this Rick?"

        "He lives in Nassau…I met with during my search for Barbossa and we've kept in touch since then."

        "Is he a pirate…he looks like a seaman."

        "Ay-…Yes he was a pirate, but stopped.  I haven't ever asked him why."

        Will nodded, paused and then asked, "Jack…I don't want to pry…but why are you here?  You are seemingly going through a rough time…and the last time we saw you, you said you'd never come to Port Royal again."

        "I know, Will, but I had no where else to go."

        "What about your ship?"

        Jack paused, looking at him for the first time during the conversation.  "I'm not going back to my ship…Piracy is no longer my desire."