James leant heavily against the doorframe, staring out across the sand of his island home. Behind him, he could hear Laura, Vanessa and Heather chattering to one another as they baked incessantly, smiling as his eldest daughter let out the familiar chirp that meant she had burnt herself. He would never have dreamed, before all the pirates, that any of this was within his reach, and yet here he was, a husband, a father, anxiously awaiting the return of his family from the sea.

It had been four years since Marin, Jack, and their flock of little Sparrows had set sail from this very shore, to explore the parts of the world they had heard about but never seen. Beth would be fully matured by now, no doubt a little beauty for her father's delight. The twins could quite easily be fully fledged sailors. James chuckled to himself. Nothing could stop those two if they set their minds to something. And the younger ones . . . Lucy and Emma would be approaching womanhood, he guessed, little sister trailing behind them, and their little brother even further behind her, only six years old and the youngest of the lot.

His smile softened as the black sails came into view, closer than he would have thought in the time that had elapsed. He had no complaints though. He longed to see his cousin once more, and her irascible husband. Turning back into the house as the Black Pearl dropped anchor, he called out to his women.

'They're here!'

Laura's eyes went wide with excitement. She hastily gathered together her things, the girls doing far more of the actual work than their mother, and almost dragged both husband and daughters down to the shore. James laughingly loosed her grip on him, wincing slightly as he settled to a more sedate pace, joined by the blacksmith and his son. Will had aged with grace, as yet showing no signs of the grey hairs that peppered James' head. He shared a grin with the former commodore, both knowing how long the other had waited for their friends to return. Beside him, Matthew walked confidently, probably a little apprehensive of his acceptance by certain of the Sparrows.

Will squinted towards the familiar ship, seeing all the signs of a happy crew, and the grins that were exchanged as something small ran the length of the deck to leap up into a red-haired woman's arms. James snorted, telling him without words that the older man had seen it also. Longboats were pushed out and lowered carefully to the water, rowing slowly towards the crowd gathered on the shore to greet them.

As the first of them thumped ashore, Jack's hat came charging across the sand to where James had knelt to receive his family. He lifted the brim of the battered hat to find a cheeky grin levelled at him from under a mop of red hair.

'Captain Ardell Sparrow, I presume?' he asked, one eyebrow raised.

The little girl giggled, throwing herself forward to hug him as her brothers and sisters piled onto the sand behind her, their parents on the next boat. James rose to greet Beth, but she suddenly glanced past, her eyes lighting up in a manner all too familiar to him, and he only just managed to step out of the way as she threw herself into Harry's arms, kissing him soundly. The young man's surprise lasted only a few seconds before he enthusiastically responded, proving that despite the distance and the time they'd spent apart, there was no way these two were going to be done out of a wedding.

'Put him down, Beth, you don't know where he's been,' a cheery voice declared, laughing at her sister as she moved to hug James.

Another voice joined hers, as full of mirth as her sister's.

'Same goes for him,' she laughed, reaching up to embrace Will.

James and Will exchanged a shrewd glance, trying to work out which of the adolescent girls was which. The dark-haired Kit was easy to recognise, she looked too much like her twin brother for her to be anyone else. But these two red-haired beauties had always been difficult to tell apart. Will made a wild guess.

'Emma?' he hazarded, and was rewarded with another hug.

She shared a shaggy mane of copper curls with Lucy, and their eyes were the same shade of hazel. If anything, you would think that they were the twins. Lucy was the quieter of the two, nodding companionably to her parents' friends as she stood to one side. Johnny was shaking hands warmly with Matthew, the two obviously pleased to see one another. Will saw his son pause for a moment, flushing guiltily, and followed his gaze to where the last two of the Sparrow flock stood, patiently waiting for a space to approach. Elias, still the baby of the bunch, was in his sister's arms as Kit exchanged greetings with some of the faces she remembered from before they left. Matthew was staring straight at her, no doubt remembering his parting words to her some four years before. Will grinned to himself. That was that sorted, then.

He leant forward to murmur in his son's ear.

'Still think she's the cat's mother?' he teased, rewarded with a loud gulp as Matthew swallowed nervously.

'She's beautiful,' he whispered, for a moment unaware that said young woman's twin brother was standing right next to him.

Johnny shrugged, looking her over with a critical eye.

'She'll never make captain looking like that,' he observed, taking in the long dark hair and full skirt. A proud smile curved his lips as he turned back to Matthew. 'But you're right, she is beautiful. What do you expect, though? She's a Sparrow.'

Then the second longboat thumped ashore, and the children instinctively stepped to one side as Jack and his wife walked the sands to where their closest companions and greatest friends waited for them. As he passed his youngest daughter, Jack's hand snaked out to retrieve his hat, throwing a grin down at Ardell as she made an indignant sound. James smiled to see this by-play, pleased that the Sparrows were as happy as they seemed.

That was all the thought he had time for, as Marin ran the few remaining steps to hold her cousin close. Jack found himself on the receiving end of Laura's retaliation, startled by the sheer joy to see them safe that he found in the eyes of his friends and family. Marin drew back to look up at her cousin, tracing the worry lines on his face with a gentle finger.

'It's good to see you again, James,' she murmured.

He smiled down at her, taking in the memories behind her eyes, the air of an old head on young shoulders that she had never shaken off. There were streaks of grey in her lustrous copper locks, and her skin was weathered with wind and sun and sea, and she was still Marin.

'You haven't changed a bit,' he told her.

She threw her head back and laughed herself silly.

'Neither have you,' she said. 'You're still a terrible liar.'

As she stepped away, caught up in Laura's arms as her friend held her close, James found himself face to face with Jack. The pirate grinned roguishly, shaking his cousin's hand with warmth.

'You're looking old, Jim,' he chuckled, ignoring the gasps that issued from those of his children who had heard him. Only the twins chuckled with him, carefully hiding their smiles behind hands that shook from mirth.

James gave him a flat look that swiftly disappeared in his amusement.

'At least I don't look like a pirate past his time, Jack,' he retorted, and Jack slapped his back companionably.

'Nah, that you don't, mate,' he agreed, still grinning as he turned to embrace Will.

James stepped back, looking over his friends and family with a contented sigh. A smile touched his lips as he noticed Matthew Turner making tentative conversation with young Kit Sparrow, and the look on Will's face as he, too, watched the beginning of what could be the rest of his life. The children wandered in and out of the crowd, introducing themselves to those they hadn't met or couldn't remember, with the exception of Beth, who was too engrossed in Harry to even glance up at her father.

And there were Jack and Marin, standing together as they had almost every day for nearly twenty years, looking as much a part of one another as they had always been. There would be much celebration and story-telling over the days to come, but he knew he would always remember this moment. Because this was the moment that Jack Sparrow finally came home.

Okay then, chaps, that's it! THoughts are flying around my head for a third installment, but I do need encouragement, you know . . . Hopefully, I'll see y'all soon!