Chapter Two: Beginnings
A/N: the italicized words are flashbacks
Jack stirred early the next morning in the chair he'd fallen asleep in. He had a habit of falling asleep in that particular chair. It was big, stuffed, and he claimed it was better than any bed that he had ever slept in before. His only complaint was it wasn't big enough for two, unless.... Well Elizabeth always stopped him there, looking over at her small son her watched the pirate with keen interests.
Captain Jack Sparrow stirred awake this particular morning with a small boy tugging on his jacket from the floor. He cracked one chocolate coloured eye open very slowly and faked a glare at the lad. "Bill.... Lad, you weren't getting' 'round that well last time I was 'ere."
"You haven't been here in a few months," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Would you like to join us for breakfast, Captain? Will says there's something to discuss."
"I take it I'm pickin' up the treasure snipe?" Jack mumbled.
"My son, yes," Elizabeth responded with a small laugh.
Jack grinned and hauled the boy up. "'Allo, lad," he greeted the boy.
"Uncle Jack!"
Jack grinned. "Tha's fine when yer a boy, but I won' be 'avin' tha' when yer old enough to come on board the Pearl, ya 'ear me?"
The boy just laughed as Jack handed him over to his mother.
"Just wait until Ana Maria starts wanting kids," Will said with a grin.
"I don' think tha'll be 'appenin' any time soon, lad," Jack answered confidently.
"It will," Elizabeth answered. "Just you wait. You two should get married, Jack. You're a perfect match."
Will laughed. "Let them make up their own minds, Elizabeth!"
"Jus' because we don' 'ave a piece 'o paper doesn' mean tha' we're not as good as married," Jack said.
"That piece of paper means a lot!" Elizabeth answered.
"Does it? Don' see 'ow. We're not legal citizens anyway. Why do we need to do tha' legally?" Jack waved his hand, dismissing it. "Anyway, luv, it doesn' matter to us, savvy?" Jack leaned back in his seat. The crew had, within the last few months, started to refer to Ana Maria as "the captain's wife" in an almost joking manner, but it had become more serious by the day, taking on a very real meaning. In the eyes of those they cared about, they were married. It wasn't like they could just walk into a port and say, "Hey, we're pirates but we'd like to be married, savvy?" Jack almost smiled at the thought. That would be priceless, but if it were anywhere else but Port Royal, he knew it'd be their necks.
"Elizabeth, I mentioned there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Will said as he leaned forward on the table. "What would you say if I said I was going to go away with Jack for a few days?"
His wife stopped what she was doing immediately and turned to him. "To do what?"
"Nothin' illegal!" Jack interjected. "I don' think....."
"That's not encouraging, Jack."
"Something's happened, 'Lizabeth, that I need to see to."
"And what could that be?"
Will stood and led his wife out of the room, leaving Jack with little Bill. The pirate sighed. He felt like he was sitting back at William Turner's house in London, Rebecca throwing a fit and threatening to throw him out.
"You said you'd stay longer this time, William!" Rebecca's tear filled voice echoed through the hallway.
Jack shifted where he was leaning against the outside of the house. He'd only been in the house two or three times, and only once since he had become captain of the Black Pearl. Rebecca had long since stopped wanting him around. Once she had said "Oh poor lad," but now it was more "Jack Sparrow, what do you think you're doing here?!" He sighed again and pulled his hat over his face.
"Rebecca, I'm sorry, but we've got jobs to do," William answered. Jack heard his voice hush, obviously to keep it from being overheard by a certain young lad that looked like a smaller version of his father. "Do you think this house pays for itself? Do you think Will's education pays for itself? I don't want him to live my life out like I am now. I want you and he to be happy, Rebecca."
"I want you!"
"I have to help Jack...."
Jack made a face under his hat. What did William take him for, the lad he had picked up six years earlier? He should think not. It was time to play the villain once more and step in. He knocked on the door and opened it a bit. "William, we can't wait forever, mate!" he hollered.
"Jack Sparrow don't you set foot in this house!" Rebecca yelled. She appeared in the front room, shaking her finger at the young captain. "I don't want you in this house until you're here for a proper visit and not to steal my William away!"
"'m not in the 'ouse, Rebecca," he answered with a grin. "'m sorry, but I gotta take 'im. I'll bring 'im back soon, savvy?"
"No, not savvy!" she yelled in his face. "I want my husband to stay here with me, like he should! Not gallivanting around! I would think you'd have repaid him in a proper way, not taking him onto your ship, Jack!"
"'m sorry, Rebecca."
"Just get out! Get out!"
Jack had left that day, but with William at his side. He'd not seen Rebecca again. Will had said something about her dying a couple years after that. It made him sick to think that Elizabeth might start treating him the same way. Not sick enough not to take Will with him though.
Bill started wailing at the top of his lungs as his parents' voices grew louder. Elizabeth stormed into the room, pulling him up and trying to hush him. Jack simply sat and watched. He made brief eye contact with Will, silently asking if he'd still be a passenger aboard the ship when they left out.
"It's something I have to do," Will repeated gently. "It won't be long, will it, Jack?"
"'Course not." Déjà vu all over again.
Elizabeth sniffed. "Couldn't you at least tell me where you'll be?"
"I don't know," Will confessed.
"What you'll be doing?"
"Looking for someone."
"Who?"
"No one," Jack said as he stood. "We should be on our way, Will. I'll bring 'im back to ya in one piece, luv, don' worry 'bout tha'. 'ave some trust in 'ol Jack, wouldja?"
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head sadly. "You better bring him back in one piece."
Jack grinned. "O' course, luv."
---------------------------
Will had forgotten how much he missed the spray of the sea on his face and the feel of the wind in his hair. His pirate's blood was brought forth with a vengeance while on the Black Pearl. He heard Jack approach. He'd disappeared for a while down below deck with Ana Maria after they started off. He looked as if he were deep in thought when he reached the railing Will was standing at.
"So how long will it take to get there?" the blacksmith asked.
"A couple of days, give or take."
Silence reigned for a moment as Will leaned forward and breathed in the ocean's air. "How'd you meet him?"
"Who?"
"My father."
"Yer suddenly full 'o questions 'bout 'im, aren't ya?"
Will nodded. "If we find him.... I'd like to know who he is. Just some things. You're the person that knows the most about him, right? So...."
"So," Jack answered with a wink. "An' 'ow are ye sure I won' embellish the stories?"
"Because I trust you."
Jack looked started for a glimpse of a moment and then grinned. "Thanks, Will."
"The story, then?"
"I left London when I was fourteen because Richard took a club to me head," Jack stated bluntly. "I didn' wanna deal with tha' again so I took off. I 'ated 'im, but we're not talkin' 'bout Richard are we?" He gave a long sigh and leaned over the rail, his eyes focused on something unseen. "I got as far as Tortuga, which turned out to be right. Yer father found me there."
William Turner stepped off the longboat that had taken him from the Black Pearl to the shores of Tortuga. He never indulged in the "pleasurable company" as so many of the men did. He had a boy at home. He was proud of his four-year-old lad and he'd do nothing to ruin the relationship he had with his wife and child. Rum, though, was certainly not out of the question.
William stepped into one of the many bars. The smoke made his head spin a bit and he made his way to the bar where the owner had a hold of a young boy. "I don' owe ye a thing!" the boy yelled.
"Worthless brat! You stole that and you know it!" the owner answered him, pulling his massive hand back to strike the boy.
William took hold of the hand. "That's not very nice," he said with a smile. "Now what did the lad steal?"
The owner recognized William and frowned. "Loaf of bread from me kitchen ,Bootstrap. Wha'? You gonna pay for it?"
William nodded and reached into his pocket, fishing out a couple of coins. There went his rum money, but the lad didn't need to know that. He watched the owner leave, grumbling the whole way. "What's your name, lad?"
"Jack."
"What are you doin' in a place like Tortuga? You don' look like you belong here."
"I ran off from London," Jack said slowly. A bright grin spread across his face. "I'm gonna join the crew of the Black Pearl!"
"Really are ye?"
"I plan to."
William grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "Come with me, lad, and I've got a bit of a surprise for ye."
"I pulled my wait and then some," Jack said as he turned to put his back against the railing, leaning back again. "The Pearl became my freedom, and yer father the one who gave tha' to me."
Will nodded, letting the story sink in.
"William told me one evenin' before the mutiny – we were standin' right 'round 'ere – tha' 'e was sorry I'd probably never meet you." Jack paused, straitening up from where he was leaning and looking Will square in the eye. "I'm glad 'e was wrong."
---------------------------------
JackFan2: ::hands you the next chapter:: Good thing I got this done tonight, because I'm headin' out tomorrow for the day and I don't know if I'll be able to write the next chapter until Saturday. Hope it met expectation! I really am kinda going into this one more/less blind and just letting it fall out the way it does, hope it's not too terrible :)
A/N: the italicized words are flashbacks
Jack stirred early the next morning in the chair he'd fallen asleep in. He had a habit of falling asleep in that particular chair. It was big, stuffed, and he claimed it was better than any bed that he had ever slept in before. His only complaint was it wasn't big enough for two, unless.... Well Elizabeth always stopped him there, looking over at her small son her watched the pirate with keen interests.
Captain Jack Sparrow stirred awake this particular morning with a small boy tugging on his jacket from the floor. He cracked one chocolate coloured eye open very slowly and faked a glare at the lad. "Bill.... Lad, you weren't getting' 'round that well last time I was 'ere."
"You haven't been here in a few months," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Would you like to join us for breakfast, Captain? Will says there's something to discuss."
"I take it I'm pickin' up the treasure snipe?" Jack mumbled.
"My son, yes," Elizabeth responded with a small laugh.
Jack grinned and hauled the boy up. "'Allo, lad," he greeted the boy.
"Uncle Jack!"
Jack grinned. "Tha's fine when yer a boy, but I won' be 'avin' tha' when yer old enough to come on board the Pearl, ya 'ear me?"
The boy just laughed as Jack handed him over to his mother.
"Just wait until Ana Maria starts wanting kids," Will said with a grin.
"I don' think tha'll be 'appenin' any time soon, lad," Jack answered confidently.
"It will," Elizabeth answered. "Just you wait. You two should get married, Jack. You're a perfect match."
Will laughed. "Let them make up their own minds, Elizabeth!"
"Jus' because we don' 'ave a piece 'o paper doesn' mean tha' we're not as good as married," Jack said.
"That piece of paper means a lot!" Elizabeth answered.
"Does it? Don' see 'ow. We're not legal citizens anyway. Why do we need to do tha' legally?" Jack waved his hand, dismissing it. "Anyway, luv, it doesn' matter to us, savvy?" Jack leaned back in his seat. The crew had, within the last few months, started to refer to Ana Maria as "the captain's wife" in an almost joking manner, but it had become more serious by the day, taking on a very real meaning. In the eyes of those they cared about, they were married. It wasn't like they could just walk into a port and say, "Hey, we're pirates but we'd like to be married, savvy?" Jack almost smiled at the thought. That would be priceless, but if it were anywhere else but Port Royal, he knew it'd be their necks.
"Elizabeth, I mentioned there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Will said as he leaned forward on the table. "What would you say if I said I was going to go away with Jack for a few days?"
His wife stopped what she was doing immediately and turned to him. "To do what?"
"Nothin' illegal!" Jack interjected. "I don' think....."
"That's not encouraging, Jack."
"Something's happened, 'Lizabeth, that I need to see to."
"And what could that be?"
Will stood and led his wife out of the room, leaving Jack with little Bill. The pirate sighed. He felt like he was sitting back at William Turner's house in London, Rebecca throwing a fit and threatening to throw him out.
"You said you'd stay longer this time, William!" Rebecca's tear filled voice echoed through the hallway.
Jack shifted where he was leaning against the outside of the house. He'd only been in the house two or three times, and only once since he had become captain of the Black Pearl. Rebecca had long since stopped wanting him around. Once she had said "Oh poor lad," but now it was more "Jack Sparrow, what do you think you're doing here?!" He sighed again and pulled his hat over his face.
"Rebecca, I'm sorry, but we've got jobs to do," William answered. Jack heard his voice hush, obviously to keep it from being overheard by a certain young lad that looked like a smaller version of his father. "Do you think this house pays for itself? Do you think Will's education pays for itself? I don't want him to live my life out like I am now. I want you and he to be happy, Rebecca."
"I want you!"
"I have to help Jack...."
Jack made a face under his hat. What did William take him for, the lad he had picked up six years earlier? He should think not. It was time to play the villain once more and step in. He knocked on the door and opened it a bit. "William, we can't wait forever, mate!" he hollered.
"Jack Sparrow don't you set foot in this house!" Rebecca yelled. She appeared in the front room, shaking her finger at the young captain. "I don't want you in this house until you're here for a proper visit and not to steal my William away!"
"'m not in the 'ouse, Rebecca," he answered with a grin. "'m sorry, but I gotta take 'im. I'll bring 'im back soon, savvy?"
"No, not savvy!" she yelled in his face. "I want my husband to stay here with me, like he should! Not gallivanting around! I would think you'd have repaid him in a proper way, not taking him onto your ship, Jack!"
"'m sorry, Rebecca."
"Just get out! Get out!"
Jack had left that day, but with William at his side. He'd not seen Rebecca again. Will had said something about her dying a couple years after that. It made him sick to think that Elizabeth might start treating him the same way. Not sick enough not to take Will with him though.
Bill started wailing at the top of his lungs as his parents' voices grew louder. Elizabeth stormed into the room, pulling him up and trying to hush him. Jack simply sat and watched. He made brief eye contact with Will, silently asking if he'd still be a passenger aboard the ship when they left out.
"It's something I have to do," Will repeated gently. "It won't be long, will it, Jack?"
"'Course not." Déjà vu all over again.
Elizabeth sniffed. "Couldn't you at least tell me where you'll be?"
"I don't know," Will confessed.
"What you'll be doing?"
"Looking for someone."
"Who?"
"No one," Jack said as he stood. "We should be on our way, Will. I'll bring 'im back to ya in one piece, luv, don' worry 'bout tha'. 'ave some trust in 'ol Jack, wouldja?"
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head sadly. "You better bring him back in one piece."
Jack grinned. "O' course, luv."
---------------------------
Will had forgotten how much he missed the spray of the sea on his face and the feel of the wind in his hair. His pirate's blood was brought forth with a vengeance while on the Black Pearl. He heard Jack approach. He'd disappeared for a while down below deck with Ana Maria after they started off. He looked as if he were deep in thought when he reached the railing Will was standing at.
"So how long will it take to get there?" the blacksmith asked.
"A couple of days, give or take."
Silence reigned for a moment as Will leaned forward and breathed in the ocean's air. "How'd you meet him?"
"Who?"
"My father."
"Yer suddenly full 'o questions 'bout 'im, aren't ya?"
Will nodded. "If we find him.... I'd like to know who he is. Just some things. You're the person that knows the most about him, right? So...."
"So," Jack answered with a wink. "An' 'ow are ye sure I won' embellish the stories?"
"Because I trust you."
Jack looked started for a glimpse of a moment and then grinned. "Thanks, Will."
"The story, then?"
"I left London when I was fourteen because Richard took a club to me head," Jack stated bluntly. "I didn' wanna deal with tha' again so I took off. I 'ated 'im, but we're not talkin' 'bout Richard are we?" He gave a long sigh and leaned over the rail, his eyes focused on something unseen. "I got as far as Tortuga, which turned out to be right. Yer father found me there."
William Turner stepped off the longboat that had taken him from the Black Pearl to the shores of Tortuga. He never indulged in the "pleasurable company" as so many of the men did. He had a boy at home. He was proud of his four-year-old lad and he'd do nothing to ruin the relationship he had with his wife and child. Rum, though, was certainly not out of the question.
William stepped into one of the many bars. The smoke made his head spin a bit and he made his way to the bar where the owner had a hold of a young boy. "I don' owe ye a thing!" the boy yelled.
"Worthless brat! You stole that and you know it!" the owner answered him, pulling his massive hand back to strike the boy.
William took hold of the hand. "That's not very nice," he said with a smile. "Now what did the lad steal?"
The owner recognized William and frowned. "Loaf of bread from me kitchen ,Bootstrap. Wha'? You gonna pay for it?"
William nodded and reached into his pocket, fishing out a couple of coins. There went his rum money, but the lad didn't need to know that. He watched the owner leave, grumbling the whole way. "What's your name, lad?"
"Jack."
"What are you doin' in a place like Tortuga? You don' look like you belong here."
"I ran off from London," Jack said slowly. A bright grin spread across his face. "I'm gonna join the crew of the Black Pearl!"
"Really are ye?"
"I plan to."
William grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "Come with me, lad, and I've got a bit of a surprise for ye."
"I pulled my wait and then some," Jack said as he turned to put his back against the railing, leaning back again. "The Pearl became my freedom, and yer father the one who gave tha' to me."
Will nodded, letting the story sink in.
"William told me one evenin' before the mutiny – we were standin' right 'round 'ere – tha' 'e was sorry I'd probably never meet you." Jack paused, straitening up from where he was leaning and looking Will square in the eye. "I'm glad 'e was wrong."
---------------------------------
JackFan2: ::hands you the next chapter:: Good thing I got this done tonight, because I'm headin' out tomorrow for the day and I don't know if I'll be able to write the next chapter until Saturday. Hope it met expectation! I really am kinda going into this one more/less blind and just letting it fall out the way it does, hope it's not too terrible :)