summerschool. sucks. four. freakin. hours. of. stupid. us. history.
-----

"I can't believe he wants to become a pirate."

"Well, he said it himself."

"I'm guessing yer rather smug about that now, huh?"

"What can I say? The kid adores me."

"::sigh:: sadly, yes."

The two were walking down the street, which was fairly empty since it was almost noon. Silence settled between the two, and Carla didn't really mind; she had nothing to say to the man who almost stole her son away. In fact, she was too busy trying to figure out all the events that happened in the last two days and trying to make sense of it all. Jack, unaccustomed to walking with a woman with no exchange of words or physical contact for that matter, tried to strike up a conversation.

"Man, I'm starved."

No response

"How about we go and eat? Could tell me a bit more bout Johnny."

No response

"::rolls eyes:: CARLA!"

"Hmm?"

"Hungry?"

"Quite."

"Wonderful."

They reach La Lumière, and Jack tries to be chivalrous and opens the door for her to enter, but instead of getting a gracious smile, Carla responded, "Oh, I wasn't planning on eating with you." She looked around as if she had no idea how she got there, realized her way home and started walking off.

"Carla, stop."

She obeyed, "What?"

"My treat?"

Taking advantage of the situation, she responded, "Fine." Just because she and Johnny were faring okay with their expenses didn't mean that she wouldn't grab any opportunity to get a free meal. Especially because Johnny would be getting older and more demanding, and the fact that in less than five years he'd be growing out of his clothes so fast that she'd have to buy clothes every week. She could spare every shilling she could, even if it meant spending time with Jack.

"M'lady ::gesturing towards the entrance::"

Time to order the most expensive thing on the menu and teach that man if he's gonna buy his time with me, I'm gonna be as expensive as they get. Oooh, fancy tablecloth. I'm guessing prices here won't be cheap. This isn't going to be so bad after all.

A waiter approached their table, eyeing their questionable attire, and handed them the menus and said, "Aimeriez-vous qu'ait bu?"

"Rum"

"Et pour la dame?"

"Er, same."

The waiter forced a brief smile and walked off.

Carla started to flip through the menu and to her dismay; it was all in French, not even an English translation, "Jack, I can't understand French, much less read it."

"Very well, neither can I."

"But you understood what the waiter said, right?"

"So?"

"::sigh:: why don't you just ask the waiter what the special is, and I'll just get that, ok?"

"As you wish"

They order soon enough, and once again silence lurked between them as they waited for the food to arrive.

"So, uh, tell me about Johnny."

"Like what?"

"Anything, everything."

"He's great, smart."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else?"

"Why do you care?"

"I figured I could get to know him better, I mean, he is my son and he does want to turn pirate."

"Is that what this is all about?"

"What? ::feigning innocence::"

"I won't allow it."

"Well, he's not coming thanks to you, ruining all his fun."

"Is it fun to sail around terrorizing everyone you meet, ruining people's lives, killing ruthlessly?"

"Well, not everything is fun and games."

"You're right, which is precisely why I don't approve."

"You can pretend to be so high and mighty. We're not so different, the two of us, you know."

Meanwhile, Johnny, the poor kid, was thinking so hard he was about to go crazy. My friends are right. I have to seize this opportunity. Right? Ma was pretty upset over everything. You can't make everyone happy. It's not fair. Why? Why can't things be fair?

-----

"So I'll see you two the next time I drop by?"

"Sure."

"Au revoir, darling," Jack said as he bowed, taking off his hat.

This had earned him a smile from Carla.

Six years old and he wants to be a pirate. A pirate! He certainly has Jack's blood in him, that's for sure. He can be a pirate, sure, if it'll make him happy, but now? I won't get to witness his childhood, his realization about girls, all that good stuff. I won't see him grow up at all if he becomes a pirate now, why now? Why not when he was older, say fifteen, sixteen? That would at least give me more years with him. And I know I could be stopping his dream. He asked me to go with him on the Pearl. He was so excited. His face just lit up, just like that. Jack didn't protest. He didn't need to. He'd know I'd refuse. Johnny thought I would want to go. I'd spend time with him and he'd still be able to live out that dream. I want him to pursue what he wants. Just not now.

"Johnny, I didn't know you would be here, I thought you'd be playing outside."

"I was just thinking ma."

"You wanna talk?"

"Why don't you want to go on the Pearl?"

"I, I just don't think I'm up for that kind of lifestyle, hon."

"But it'd be fun, I know you can handle it, you're tough enough."

"Well, I suppose, if you had your own ship and you were captain, I'd certainly feel safe and I'd definitely go."

"::beaming:: I will someday."

"Of course."

"But right now, why don't you like Captain Sparrow?"

"It's not that I don't like him, Johnny. I just have a very complicated relationship with him."

"You mean you actually know him?"

"Well, a little bit, but he's not as trustworthy as he seems. Nobody is."

"Oh...but can't we try, a little, please? If it's not ok, we can just come back."

"It's not that simple, I'm sure Jack has very intricate, complicated plans."

"You make it seem like everything about adults and even them are very complicated, ma."

"Well, life's been tough for many."

"So can we go, please?"

"I don't think I can stand living in the same area, much less a ship with no escape whatsoever, with Jack."

"But you've never tried."

"I don't need to, I know him well enough; I know myself well enough. I'm sorry John."

She won't even consider it. But I have to go! Jack won't remember me. My friends won't talk to me. If I don't do this, what is left for me here, besides ma? It certainly isn't MY fault if she doesn't want to go. It's not my fault. I have to do it. It's my chance. Should I? But ma...

-----

Carla spent many hours in the night drinking away her problems. Normally she'd just have a drink or two, maybe three if she were feeling up to it, but tonight, she drank one after the other, for every issue she could think up. One for Johnny, one for Jack, one for the Black Pearl, one for letting herself screw up with Jack, one for letting Jack know that he was the father, one for almost letting go of her emotions with Jack, one for her mother, and finally two for herself, because the way she handled things, the list was so long it took up two. And therefore she reached a grand total of nine. Nine drinks. She struggled to keep her eyes open and when she figured she'd better get home, her legs wouldn't function. She slid off of her chair, figuring they'd work if she depended on them, but collapsed on the floor. Trying to push herself up with her arms, she pushed and pushed but her body wouldn't budge. Too tired from trying to get up, she fell asleep right there on the floor.

Surprisingly, the owner just left her alone, instead of kicking her out, and figured she was just a bit down, that was all. Carla woke up on her own, when it was well past lunchtime. Despite her throbbing headache, she forced herself to think of what happened. Where was she? Her back hurt plenty from the wooden floor as she realized she wasn't in the comforts of her own home, humble as it was. Then she thought of Johnny; she had to find him, check up on him. Grabbing the chair for support, she gradually brought herself to her feet and took a minute for the dizziness to subside and for her vision to clear up a bit. Stumbling out the door, she glanced up at the sign, Jane's. Briefly thinking where she was located, Carla started walking off. Dismayed from the lack of familiarity of the surrounding buildings, Carla swirled around and walked in the opposite direction. Soon enough she reached her house, but naturally Johnny was nowhere to be found; he'd usually be off with his friends by now, with or without breakfast, the latter occurring much more often this past week. She then made her way to his normal playing area, where she would somewhat supervise while reading a book.

Johnny was nowhere in sight, although his friends were there. Gathering enough courage to interrupt their little game and trying to connect words together in her mind, she asked Mike if he'd seen Johnny.

"Johnny? He left."

"Left? For where? Home?"

"No, with Captain Sparrow."

"WHAT?"

"Er...he said he left a note at home for you?"

"You're kidding right?"

"I would never ma'am"

"Sparrow...ugh, thank you, say hi to your mother for me."

"Yes, ma'am."

He LEFT?! What the hell? He said that he'd stay here. Jack, I swear, if you just took him, ooh, I'll kill you. I can't believe this. He CAN'T be gone. Can't. This cannot be happening. Why? Why???

Johnny had left a note on her bed.

Ma, I'm sorry I had to leave, but I love you very much. –John
Carla, it's Jack. The boy insisted. Found him stowing away before we left, figured we'd leave a note. I didn't force him, I swear on pain of death. We'll be back soon enough. I promise. Take care. –Jack

Johnny knows how to write? I didn't teach him...Jack did this. I can't believe him. The nerve of that man, to do this after he knew how I felt about it.

Carla ran to the docks, but sure enough, the Pearl was gone. Collapsing to her knees, she began to cry...

Oh, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have drunk so much. I shouldn't have told Jack. I should have had more control. I should have been a better mother. I should have just gone with him on the Pearl. It was better than not having him at all. What am I to do? Johnny isn't here, what's the point of me being here? We'll be back soon enough, he wrote, that's not going to be soon enough. Take care, Johnny, stay safe.

Carla wandered aimlessly around and then just didn't have enough energy to walk anymore. She collapsed on her bed and just lie there thinking, all the possibilities that could have happened but didn't. Instead, this did. Johnny was off to who knows where with that dreadful pirate. She had no control of him, or Jack for that matter. I wonder if Jack told him that he was his father. Well, good luck with that, even I hadn't built up the courage to reveal that fact. But then again, he'd be the one who'd spend a lot of time with him out there. Was he even READY to have such a responsibility? I'm sure he had no prior experience. At least I helped babysit before. Man, he'd better keep him safe...

The only thing she could do was wait...

-----

"It's time for your first lesson in the art of sailing."

"Really? ::wide eyed::"

"Course, son. Now, let's start with the real basics: names. The body is called the hull, and you see this that runs down the ship? It's the keel. If anyone talks about the stem, bow or head of this ship, it's the front right here. The starboard side refers to the right side, larboard or port means the left side. And the stern is the back, got it so far?"

"Yes, sir"

"Ok, so this long pole with all the sails is the mast, and oh, yeah, the most important thing, the wheel, which allows me to go wherever I want to go, which is by the way, off limits for you, boy."

"Yes, sir"

"I'd much rather hear 'aye captain' instead."

"Yes, s—I mean, aye Captain!"

"Now, that's a good boy."

So that's basically what happened the first day, Jack walked around explaining things and such, and Johnny absorbed everything like a sponge. He had explained his duties, which were to fetch things for the crew, being cabin boy and all, and Johnny gladly accepted his duties to serve.

-----

It's been too long...three months? That's crazy...he couldn't stop by and say hi, I'm doing well or something? No letter, nothing?!

She was overwhelmed. Every morning she would take a walk around the town, checking the docks as she made her way to buy some fruit and bread. Afterwards she'd sit on the beach, staring into the horizon until late at night and she'd retire. She did this, day after day after day, and each with less hope than the last.

Alas, her long period of waiting ended. The Black Pearl was parked? Is that the right word? Well, it was there all right, confirmed with a few rubs of the eyes and blinks. Realizing that she was wasting time staring at it, she broke into a run.

"Jack, where is he? Where's Johnny? Where?"

Jack held her firmly despite her struggle and said, "He's, he's not here."

"Not here? What do you mean?"

"We should talk about it somewhere else."

"What happened, what do you mean not here? Tell me now!"

"Well, you see, everything started out well, and he was learning so much, but the crew was giving me such hard time because I was so soft on the boy and all, being his pop, you know, and then so I told him that I was his dad."

"And I suppose he was thrilled."

"Well, it was all great until the accident."

"Accident?"

"I'm sorry, but he's gone."

Gone.

It took several seconds for that to process, and there was no expression on her face, completely blank.

"...you, you mean that he's...he's..d-dead?"

"We tried everything to save him."

"He's gone."

"I'm sorry"

"I can't believe it."

"I know, I—"

"He's gone because of you! Because of you I'll never see him again! You killed him! It's your fault!" Carla screamed and went hysterical, pounding her fists into Jack.

"It was an acci—"

"NO! YOU did this. YOU! ::sobbing::"

"Do you want to know how it happened?"

"No! He's gone...he's..."

"It's all right, everything's gonna be okay."

"NO! He's gone...you'd SAID you'd take c-care of him, but you didn't and now he's dead. HE'S DEAD. Its just not fair, why? Why Johnny???"

"I know, I'm sorry"

"YOU BEING SORRY DOESN'T MATTER. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't even spend his last seconds with him. I'm sorry I wasn't there with him. I'm sorry I screwed up. I'm sorry he didn't get to live longer. Everyone's sorry. Does that make a difference? No."

Carla cried and pounded and cried some more, and when she lost energy she just whimpered and then broke into a hysterical fit again. Jack didn't know how to stop her continuous cycle. Nothing he could say would console her, but he couldn't just leave. Carla was crying into Jack's chest and then she grabbed his pistol and turned away before he could take it back.

"Now, Carla, you don't have to take your anger out on me."

How she managed to hold the gun and cock it was surprising, considering how much her hand was shaking.

"Stay where you are," she screamed and then pointed the pistol at her temple.

"Just put the gun down..." Jack approached her slowly.

"At least he got to know his pa...goodbye Jack ::BANG::"

Carla collapsed and Jack rushed to catch her.

"Why did you do it? I'm sorry I didn't keep a closer eye on him."

Blood flowed and stained.

"He was a great kid, Carla. You didn't screw up. He saved me, you know? He gave up his life for mine. We were just doing this little, harmless raid. We brought stuff back onto our ship, and those crazy lunatics jumped onto the Pearl and started fighting. Gibbs told me this bloke was making his way towards me while I was fighting this other man. Sword in hand, he was gonna slit my throat from behind when Johnny cried out 'Pa' and rushed over in front of him and took a huge gash across his chest and was pushed to the rail and hit his head. He tried to protect me. He bled so much and I'm sure it hurt, and he didn't even cry. Not a single tear. I was so proud. The doc checked him up, and there was nothing we could do. He just lost too much blood. He died in combat, honorably, bravely. I rushed here right afterwards. I just regret that he died so young. He had so much ahead of him."

Jack gave her a kiss on the forehead and debated whether or not to just leave her there. Where would he bring her? He settled on paying someone to bury her body and left her there. Too unsettled to go to any tavern, he stayed on the Pearl.

A street sweeper passed by her body, "bloody drunks."

The man who was paid to bury her just dragged her body to the beach and let the tide wash her body away.

THE END.

-----

Ok, so if the French was all wrong, blame free translations dot com. yeah. i take spanish at school, but i dont know what possessed me to do that. Hmm...so the story's over and if its kinda forced, i apologize. : D hehe, but i kind of planned this kind of ending from before, and i suck at adventure writing. very VERY MUCH. i write about emotional pain, although, it is a bit depressing. it just goes to show how one little event can change your life forever...ah, so profound. er, right.

to my two critique-ers:

ah, awkward and weird? leave it to me to screw something up incredibly so. so i suck at writing, at least you didn't say, YOURE SO FREAKIN RETARDED FOR WRITING SO HORRIBLY and I HATE YOU and YOU SUCK SO EXTREMELY MUCH etc, which i appreciate. hehe, yeah, so tell me if this chapter was worse. i actually wrote one half, and then forgot about it, and then just finished. hehe, go me.

thanks to darkangelpearl who reviewed twice. :P and actually liked it, haha, it's ok, you can't please everyone.