Usual disclaimers – oh and I want reviews please!!!

Many, many thanks to Linnie for this chapter, it wouldn't have worked without her help {{hugs and kisses}}

Chapter 56

Will stood there completely dumfounded, staring at the man before him.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew Jack was speaking to him, but words weren't even penetrating his thoughts.  The only thought that was in his head at that moment was the fact that his father, who he'd believed to be dead, was now standing in front of him.  As the shock of the situation started to wear off, and the numbness of his body started to thaw, Will's mind assaulted him with questions.  'Why….?  How….?'  The first questions were the simplest, but as he recovered, his anger took hold and the questions came thick and fast, fighting to be heard inside his head.  'Just where the hell has he been all these years?!  Didn't he think that I might want to know that he was still alive?' 

His brow furrowed and he shook his head slightly.  'I'm sure he had your best interests at heart.'  The voices in his head were all but screaming, each trying to get Will's attention.  'How could he possibly have your best interests at heart when he didn't even care enough to seek you out?  He left you!'  'No he didn't, he loves you, Will!'  'Who would do something like this to their own son?!' 

Jack and Bill were now watching Will very closely.  Jack had given up trying to get his friend's attention long ago and was now watching his inner turmoil with great anxiety, wishing he could look into Will's tightly shut eyes.  Without a warning, Will's eyes snapped opened making Jack step back with shock.  He was livid, the anger that had been welling up inside was now coursing through his veins and was emanating off his body.

'You bastard!  You let me believe you were dead and you didn't even bother to try and find me.  Why?  WHY?!'  Will's roar echoed around the cabin.

'William, please let me explain…'  Bill flinched as his son moved towards him, a hand balled into a fist.

'Explain?  Oh yes, you've got a lot of explaining to do.  Perhaps we'll start with why you left my mother and me to fend for ourselves, why you didn't try and find me when the curse was lifted, or why you even sent me the damned medallion in the first place!'  With each allegation, Will's voice gained volume and resentment.  'I could have been killed… Elizabeth could have been killed!'

'I thought you'd be safe, I never once imagined you'd come looking for me in the Caribbean.  Please Will, I'm sorry for everything.'  Bill held out his hand in a conciliatory gesture, which Will looked at in disgust.

'You're sorry…?  Ha!  You think saying sorry makes up for everything?  My mother was heartbroken after you sent me the medallion, thinking you were coming back home.  Only you didn't, did you?  Then after she died I was all alone in the world with no one to look out for me, so I used what little money she'd left me to make my way to Portsmouth and found work aboard a ship heading for the Caribbean, hoping to find you there.  But it seems you didn't really want to find me, otherwise you'd have sought me out after the curse was lifted, but still you didn't.  Why?'  Will stepped forward, his fists clenching and unclenching by his side, his face twisted into an ugly snarl.

'Will, come wi'me an' calm down, savvy?'  Jack pulled at Will's arm, then pulled a little harder when the young man refused to budge.  'William….'  Jack placed himself between the two men and pushed his face into Will's, until Will had no choice but to focus on Jack.

'All right, but if you think a few pacifying words will calm me down Jack, you've another bloody thing coming.'  Will spun on his heels and shot out of the cabin, up the stairs and onto the deck, leaning over the side of the ship.

Jack shrugged at Bill apologetically, 'I'll see what I can do mate.'

'I knew he'd be angry, but never realised he'd be this angry.'  Bill sat down dejectedly and picked a bottle of rum off the table, uncorking it with his teeth and taking a large draught from of it.

Jack stood and stared at Bill for a moment, then went to search out Will, wishing Maddy was with him, knowing she might be able to calm him down better.  'Will…'  Jack stood next to his young friend.  'I know it's a shock fer ya, an' maybe I should've told ya before springing t'meeting on ya, I'm sorry.'

'Why Jack?  Even if he'd gone back to England to find me, someone would've told him I'd moved over here, surely?'  Will clasped his hands together to stop them from shaking, and stared into the water, lapping gently against the hull.

'He has his reasons mate, why don't ya let him tell ya them, eh?  I was un-dead but for a short time, he was un-dead fer years mate, that messes wi'yer head.  Now will ya please go an' talk ter him, calmly?  Please?'  Jack's eyes bored into Will's, silently urging him to do as he wanted.

'I'd like a little time to think first Jack, in fact, I might go back home and talk to Elizabeth.'  Will nodded to himself, pleased with his decision, then turned and looked at the pirate, his friend.  'I know you meant well, and I'm sorry for the scene in there.  I'll come back later, maybe.'  Will took a practised swing over the side of The Pearl and climbed down to the boat and rowed himself back to shore.

**********

'Will, what on earth's the matter?'  Elizabeth left her daughter's party to Maddy's care and ran after her husband, a worried look on her face, before finally catching up with him in their bedroom.  'Will?'

'You are just not going to believe this Elizabeth… I can barely believe it myself.'  Will paced the room, running his hands through his hair agitatedly.  'Just where the hell did Jack find him?'

'Found who? What is it Will?'    Elizabeth wound a comforting arm around Will's waist and hugged him to her.

'My father….'

'Your what?  But… but he's dead….'

'Apparently not.'  Will held his wife tightly, burying his face in her hair.  'Oh Lizzie, what am I going to do?'

'Where has he been all this time?'

'I don't know.  I was too angry to ask him anything.  The only thing I could think of doing was yelling at him for what he's done to me until I finally lost it and stormed off, to be honest my love.'

'Is he still on The Pearl?'  Elizabeth pulled away and looked into Will's eyes, seeing the pain and confusion in them.

'Yes…' came the barely audible reply.

'So let's both go over and see him, it won't be such a shock to you this time.'  Elizabeth stroked back a strand of hair that was flopping over Will's eyes, but a tender smile froze on her face as Will's face darkened and he pushed her away.

'NO!  No, I can't face him just yet love.'  He turned away from his wife and began pacing again.  'Why didn't he seek me out?  Does he think so little of me, that it doesn't matter that he abandoned me when I was small and didn't even bother to at least try and find me when he had the chance to?'  Will sighed in despair, and turned to gaze at his wife and to search her eyes for answers but found none to comfort him.

'Will,' Elizabeth spoke gently, trying to pacify her husband.  'There's only one person who can answer your questions, and he's on The Pearl.'

'Why should I go running back to him, give me one good reason why I should?   Oh God Lizzie, why did he have to come back?'

'Because he loves you?'  She ran a comforting arm around his shoulders and gently squeezed them.  'He must have had a good reason Will, he must have plenty of good reasons, but the only way you'll find out what they are is by talking to him.  I must go back to the party, think about what I said love.'  Elizabeth reached up and kissed Will on the lips, before departing downstairs and back to her daughter's birthday party.

Will watched his wife leave, and once the door had shut, he began to pace the room for the third time that afternoon.  'Does he love me?'  Will asked of the empty room.  When he received no answer, the voices in his head took up their argument once more.  'Of course he does Will.  If he didn't love you he wouldn't have come back with Jack.'  'But he took his bloody time getting here.'  Will grumbled in agreement as he struggled to make any sense of the situation.  'But he did come.....'  Will sighed deeply, clasping his head in his hands, trying to rid it of the argument that was now raging inside.  'Did he?  Or was it just Jack he wanted to find?'  Will hadn't thought of this, and his head snapped up as his anger surged again at the thought his father only wanting to see Jack and not him.  'Now you know that's not true!  If that was the case, then why did they bother coming to Freetown at all?'  That statement struck a nerve and Will felt a pang of guilt for losing his temper and giving his father a rollicking.  'Oh stop being so noble!  The man took his time finding you!'  Will pondered this thought, but his anger was starting to subside and the voice of reason began to take control of Will's thoughts.  'They could have just sailed on, and not bothered coming to see me.  No, he did want to meet me, and I didn't give him a chance to explain....'  Will said the words aloud and as soon as the thought registered, he promptly began mentally kicking himself, wishing he hadn't been so rash. 

**********

'That went well, didn't it?'  Bill passed a bottle of rum over to Jack, taking another swig from his own bottle.

'Sorry mate, I thought he'd be pleased ter see ya.  Can't work t'whelp out sometimes,' Jack shook his head sadly, frowning at the bottle before taking a large gulp of it, savouring the liquid as it burned a course down his throat.

'The whelp?'  Bill couldn't resist a grin, 'That's what I used ter call you, innit?'

Jack laughed out loud, 'Aye mate, it was, when I was young and green.'

'Ah, t'good old days, eh Jack?'

'There weren't much good 'bout 'em, but I'll drink to 'em anyway.'  The two men knocked the bottles together, then drank down the rum.

'Looks like you've got yerself another crewman then Jack.'  Jack shot a confused glance at Bill.  'Yer first mate told me there'd be a position for me if things didn't work out here,' Bill explained as recognition came across Jack's face.

'Ah, yes that.  Course there's a position for ya, but ya won't be needin' it… he'll come round.'

'I doubt it Jack, he was very angry.  Livid, if I'm not mistaken.'

'Aye, just as you were very angry wi'me, but ya came round, an' I came round ter you.  You an' Will get over yer anger easily enough, ya always work through it in t'end.'  Jack smiled to himself at how similar the two men were, the fact being brought into sharp relief by Will's outburst earlier.

'I hope so, I really do.  More rum?'  Bill stood and made his way to Jack's personal store, knowing his friend wouldn't mind.

'Nah Bill, I might go over ter William's, see if I can knock some sense into him.'  Jack finished off his bottle and made his way to the door.  'Wanna come?'

'No, it might be best if I don't, I wouldn't want to spoil his daughter's… my grand-daughter's day any more.'  Bill's chest constricted at the thought of a whole family who were related to him that were within touching distance, but so very far away in terms of getting to know them.

'All right mate, I'll see what I can do, an' I'll enlist Madalene and Esme's help as well.'  Jack opened the door and walked out, leaving Bill alone with his bottle and thoughts.

**********

'Esme, darlin' ya look ravishin.'  Jack scooped the old woman up into a tight bear hug, then after releasing her, did the same to Elizabeth.  'How's t'whelp?'

'Angry, confused, hurt.  Take your pick Jack.'  Elizabeth chewed her lip worriedly as she looked in to her old friend's eyes.

'Aye, so I saw, I never thought he'd react like that.  Where is he?'

'In our room, go on up.'  Elizabeth watched as Jack made his way up the stairs, then smiled weakly at the feeling of Maddy's comforting arm around her shoulder.  'Is Bill really nice?'

'Yes Elizabeth, he's lovely, like an older version of his son.  Once Will gets over the shock, they'll get on, I know they will.'

Jack knocked on the bedroom door and let himself in without waiting for permission.  'Will?'

Will sighed, smiling ruefully to himself.  'I should have known Jack wouldn't leave it at that,' he thought.

'William, I know yer angry but ya gotta give Bill a chance to explain at least.  I was as shocked as you were mate.  He'd got Maddy held hostage.'  Jack mentally screamed and swore at himself as he saw Will's face harden again.

'He did what?!  What in God's name is he doing on your ship if he did that?'  Will stood in front of Jack, his anger returning and making him seem twice as large as normal.

'Whoa, calm down Will.  He was angry with me, fer much the same reasons you are angry wi'him.  He thought I'd abandoned him, even though I didn't know he was alive, or even where he was.  He's been through hell Will, having suffered worse than Barbossa or any o'them.  C'mon mate, let's go back to t'Pearl an' hear him out, savvy?'

'You know Jack's right, Will.'  Both men looked at Elizabeth, standing in the door, with Maddy just behind her.  'We'll all go together and we can sit down to talk.'

'Will, I forgave your father for taking me hostage because I understood his reason for doing so.  Just hear him out and if you're still angry and don't want anything to do with him, then fine,' Maddy smiled encouragingly at Will.

Will sighed again and leaned against the window frame, knowing he was outnumbered.  He glanced out at the darkening garden, then out to the lane beyond, and noticed a lone figure walking up it, towards his house.  'I don't think we need to go anywhere, he's here.'

Elizabeth gave a little squeak and shot down the stairs, eager to meet her new guest.  She was followed closely by Maddy, who thought it best to give Bill some support, should he need it.

'Will?  Ya comin' down mate?'  Jack placed a hand on Will's shoulder and squeezed gently.

'Aye Jack, I'll be down in a minute.'

**********

'Thought ya weren't comin' William,' Jack grinned at the nervous figure standing in the hallway.

'So did I, but my legs seemed to develop a mind of their own.'  Bill looked from Jack to the beautiful young woman standing before him, his chest swelling with pride that his son had married well.  'I don't want to cause any trouble my dear, if you want me to leave, than I shall.'

'Nonsense, you're more than welcome Bill.'  Elizabeth took Bill's arm and led him into the sitting room, ordering the maid to fetch refreshments.  'I'm sure Will will be along in a moment.'

'Maybe… I hope so,' Bill smiled sadly at Elizabeth, then froze as little Jack and Caroline came bursting into the room.

'Mama, Mama, why aren't you putting me to bed?'  Caro flung herself into her mother's arms, giggling as she was swung round in the air.  Little Jack just stood and stared at the strange man, his brow furrowing into a frown.

'Who are you?'

'Jack, don't be rude,' his mother admonished, flashing an apologetic smile at Bill.  'This is your grandfather, Bill Turner.'

'But my grandfather is dead.'  Jack wasn't sure about this interloper and went and stood between him and his mother and sister.

'No I'm not, I'm very much alive, Jack.'  Bill grinned at the elder Jack, who was looking fondly at his adopted nephew.

'So let's hear your story then,' came Will's voice from the doorway.

Bill turned his head to see Will standing in the doorway, arms folded.  He then turned back to little Jack, 'It's not a story for young ears, so why don't you take your sister upstairs, Jack?'  Bill tried to shoo his grandson away, holding back a chuckle as the boy continued to stand his ground.

'Go on little Jack, do as you're told.'  Elizabeth put Caroline back down, and ushered the two children out of the room, then took the tray off the maid as she was about to enter the room.  Elizabeth wanted the story to go smoothly with no interruptions now that it seemed they were finally going to hear it.

**********

'Oh Bill, that's awful!'  Apart from Elizabeth's words, a silence hung over the sitting room, as she and Will digested Bill's story, the silence eventually being broken by Will.

'If you don't mind, I'm going for a little walk, I need to clear my head and think about things,' he made for the door, held back by his wife's restraining arm.

'Will, please stay.'

'No dear, let him go,' Bill stood and faced his son.  'I know how this must be for you, take all the time you need.  I've been offered a position on The Pearl and will be popping back and forth with Jack and Maddy, so perhaps we can get to know each other slowly.'

Will nodded and left the room, striding to the front door and out of the house, savouring the cool air on his face.  He walked slowly down the lane towards the town, cussing under his breath as he realised it was closing time in the taverns and the streets were full of drunks, either singing loudly or fighting one another. 

Will dodged down a passageway, trying to avoid a crowd of them, but to no avail.  His heart lurched as he heard them bawl out after him and start to follow, cat calling and jeering as they came.  Will's hand instinctively reached for his sword, then he swore because his belt empty of any weapons, so he looked round at the men, calculating how many there were and whether he could take them on single handed.  He smiled to himself as he saw two more figures appear at the end of the passage behind the men and with a bloodcurling yell, Will launched himself at the group of assailants as the other two launched from behind the group.  The three men soon outfought the drunkards and stood there laughing as they scattered, crashing into not only each other but also into the walls as they ran.

Bill looked at Jack wiping blood from a split lip and rolled his eyes.  'You all right whelp?'

'Yes,' came the twin replies from both Jack and Will.

'Eh?'  Will looked from Jack to his father and back again.  'Whelp?'

'Aye lad, it's what I used to call Jack when he were naught but a cabin boy.'  Bill couldn't help but laugh at Will's incredulous look.

'He called you whelp?'  To Will's delight, Jack actually looked embarrassed and shuffled on his feet, avoiding Will's gaze.  'Whelp?  Oh God, that is wonderful!'  Will leaned against the wall and held his sides as laughter rocked his body, making him ache.

'All right, all right, it ain't that funny, whelp!'  Jack bobbed his tongue out, but soon joined his friends laughing, more from relief than anything else.

When they had recovered enough breath, the trio made their way back up the lane, towards Will's house.

'How did you know I was in trouble?'  Will looked at his companions in puzzlement, grateful for their showing, all the same.

'Elizabeth suddenly realised it were closin' time, an' asked us ter go after ya, make sure you were all right.  Bloody good job an' all whelp!'  Jack flashed a golden grin at Will, who returned it.  'Listen, I might just take some air, you two carry on.'  Jack fell back, until the two men were a distance away, then crept up close enough to listen in on their conversation.

'Jack tells me you were a blacksmith, and a bloody good one at that.'  Bill tried to keep his voice calmer than the turmoil raging inside him.

'Yes, when I arrived in Port Royal, I was apprenticed to a smith and developed a talent for it.  I might see about opening a smithy here in Freetown once the merchant business has picked up enough.'

'Good, good.  It's better to have more than one iron in the fire, if you'll pardon the pun.'  Bill felt enormous relief as Will laughed at his joke and his breath caught in his throat as Will gave him the first genuine smile since they met.

'I'm sorry for losing my temper with you.  I should have given you a chance to explain things.'  Will shrugged apologetically.

'No son, I expected you to be angry, you had every right to be angry.  It's me who owes the apologies.'  Bill followed his son into the house and back into the now empty sitting room, where they sat talking and drinking well into the early hours of the morning.