Summary: Will and Elizabeth hear stories about Jack.

Disclaimer: I don't own Will, Elizabeth or Jack. Marie and Laura are both named after my friends, so I suppose I don't own them either!

Rating: PG

Warning: Phonetic spelling. May get confusing.

The Memoirs of Captain Jack Sparrow, part 5

"We're here," Will announced, while Elizabeth was still waiting for an answer. "Come on, get ready."

It took a moment for Elizabeth to understand what he was saying. When she saw the land approaching rapidly, she immediately forgot her question, anticipation building inside her. Their quest had really begun.

"Careful," he warned her, as they prepared to step off the boat. "You'll get a bit of… attention. But don't worry, I'm here with you."

"Thank you," replied Elizabeth, shyly. She was used to admiration, and it didn't worry her. I'll be fine, she thought to herself.

The moment they stepped out of the harbour and into the town, all eyes were upon them. Travelling strangers loaded with belongings were a familiar sight in Tortuga, but not well dressed, fair skinned ladies who carried themselves regally and stepped daintily through the filth on the streets. Elizabeth had never had so many people staring openly at her before. Ducking her head to avoid seeing them, she caught sight of a man out of the corner of her eye. He was dressed in clothes that were almost presentable, and he was openly leering at her. He was filthy, and she sniffed to show her disgust.

"We have… let's see… four people to look for," Will told her, consulting the list. "We'll need to stay overnight. Preferably on the boat, er, we'd probably be more comfortable there." He didn't add that he'd be worried about uninvited night-time visitors for Elizabeth if they stayed in an inn.

"Very well. Where are we going first?"

"The Flaming Boar. First name on the list, Marie Addyman."

As the town was a general soup of taverns, it took them some while to find the one they were looking for. It was on a corner dividing a main street and an alleyway, and was marked by a heavy, wooden sign which was covered in chipped green paint. The sign swung gently in the wind, squeaking faintly. Despite it still being daylight hours, two or three heavily made up women were standing outside, smiling and thrusting their cleavage at the men going into the pub. Will ignored them as he entered with Elizabeth. Once inside, they had to squint to see clearly. Smoke darkened the sparse windows, and only one lantern gave light around the room. Will and Elizabeth picked their way to the bar, behind which stood a thin, bearded landlord.

"Excuse me- ahem," Will coughed, trying to breathe the thick air as he got the barman's attention.

"Aye, what'll it be?"

"I'm looking for somebody. Can you help me?"

"Well, that all depends on who you're looking for," he shrugged.

"Do you know a Marie Addyman?" His inquiry was met with no response.

"Can I get you a drink first?" He finally said. Will stared at him for a second.

"Ale," he agreed. The man cast a glance at Elizabeth, before taking out a tankard and starting to pour the dark liquid.

"Marie Addyman, you say? Aye, I do, and I don't. What're you wanting with her, then?"

"I just need to talk to her. About an old friend. Nothing important." Will tried to sound unthreatening and non-committal, but he so wanted Jack's life to be recorded properly.

"If that's so, I'll fetch her down for you. What are your names?" The barman was still regarding them suspiciously, but he saw no cause for concern.

"Will Turner and Elizabeth Stanford," Will supplied.

The man disappeared through a door behind the bar, and reappeared some time later. Following him closely was a demurely dressed blonde with big eyes, whom he led to the bar.

"These are the ones," he told her, then addressed Will and Elizabeth; "this is Marie."

"Hello," she greeted them shyly. "Peter says you want to talk to me about a friend?" She looked bemused, and Will cleared his throat, smiling at her.

"Could we go somewhere more private, perhaps?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Come upstairs, I have a room to meself. We can talk there."

She led them through the door behind the bar and up a cramped set of creaking steps. Once at the top, they turned the narrow corner into Marie's room. It was as dark as the tavern below, with a simple bed against the opposite wall. There was barely enough space for the three of them to stand, and Marie beckoned for them to sit upon the bed.

"What's this abou'," she asked, once they were seated.

"Do you remember Jack Sparrow?" Will asked, cutting straight to the point. Her hand flew to her neck, and began to play with her necklace.

"Jack Sparrow? Yes… yes, I remember 'im… yes…"

"How long has it been since you've seen him?"

It took Marie a few moments to answer. Clearing her throat, she said, "I think… erm… not for two years. At least. Erm… why? Has somethin' 'appened to 'im?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this," Will said gently, "but he passed away recently."

"Oh God," Marie exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. She was silent for a few seconds. "'Ow?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"'Eavens. Well, thank you for tellin' me, anyway. Who exactly are you two?"

"Some friends of Jack," Elizabeth replied. "He asked us to help him with something, and that's what we're here to do."

"What?"

"To write his life story," Will explained. "He started it himself, but he wanted it to be finished. By us. He left a list of names for us… you were the first. Could you tell us a little about Jack?"

"Well…" Marie exhaled, surprised. "I suppose I should star' at the beginning. I first met 'im… would've been… twelve, thirteen years ago, so I must have been sixteen or seventeen at the time. I was workin' as a… you know… and Jack was… one of my… a few times. He was in and out o' Tortuga all the time. I knew 'im by name. We even managed to talk a few times! Don't get me wrong, though. We didn't have any kind of relationship. Besides, 'e was in love with another girl.

"Then I met this man, a sailor, Harold. We 'ad… well, I suppose you could call it love. I stopped doin' the job and stayed in an inn for a while. Harold paid. He'd come and visit me, we'd have a good time. But then he had to go away. Ages, 'e was gone. I think it was abou' a year an' a half. Then one day, maybe a year after 'e'd left, I saw Jack, back from one of 'is voyages, and we went to a couple o' taverns together. I got drunk, an' I swear I wouldn' o' done it if I 'adn't been! But we did. In some alleyway, an' all. Afterwards 'e gave me sixpence an' walked off. I felt dirty. That was ten years and nine months ago."

"How can you be sure?" Elizabeth asked, trying to cut through the tension.

"'Cause me son's ten years old now."

"Your son… yours and Jack's son?" Will asked, surprised.

"Yes. Not that Jack's been much of a father to 'im over the years."

"Did Jack know he was a father?"

"Oh, yes. He knew my son was 'is. David, that's his name. Works at the docks, 'e's a right little sea lover. Probably grow up to be a captain in the Navy or some'ing. 'E's not gonna turn out like 'is father, though. You be sure of that."

"Erm… thank you," Will said to Marie. "You've been very helpful."

Elizabeth also thanked Marie as they stood up to leave. She smiled grimly and nodded. They went back the same way they came, also thanking the landlord. He gave them a quick set of directions to the Horse's Head, and they were off again.

It didn't take so long to find the second tavern, which was reasonably close by. This one had windows, and was not surrounded by prostitutes, which made a pleasant change. Inside was also cleaner and lighter, and upon entering, the pair found themselves relaxing. Again, they approached the bar, behind which stood a woman, in about her late twenties. She had long, dark, curly hair, and she was serving two men.

"Good day," she greeted them, after she had served beer to the previous customers. "What can I get you, sir? And, erm, madam?"

"Good day," replied Will. "I'm looking for a Laura Saia."

"A Laura Saia, or the Laura Saia?" She teased, grinning at him.

"Well… the Laura Saia, I suppose…"

"Well then you're in luck," she beamed. "You're talking to her."

"Oh! Pleased to meet you, I'm William Turner, and this is Elizabeth Stanford."

"Goodness," Laura replied. "You must be foreigners… nobody from around here speaks like that."

"Actually, we are," Elizabeth told her. "We're here to ask you some questions."

"It wasn't me!" Laura blurted out. "I haven't never committed a crime in my life. It was somebody else, I swear."

"No, no," Will soothed, finding that he was starting to like this girl. "We're here to ask you about Jack Sparrow."

"Jack…" she mused casually, although he could see alarm cross her face. "Jack Sparrow? Never heard of him."

"We know you must have known him."

"Sorry sir, but I do not know anyone by that name. I've never even heard that name before in my life."

"Miss Saia," Elizabeth interrupted gently, guessing what Laura was thinking. "We're not… law enforcers or anything. We were just friends of Jack. We're trying to find out more about him so we can write about his life."

"What do you mean, 'write about his life'? Why d'you want to do that?"

"Laura," Will explained softly, "Jack passed away a little while ago."

"He…" Laura gasped, turning white. "You mean he died?"

"I'm sorry. Yes."

"No! How could he..? I mean… oh, God!"

She leant on the bar, letting her hair form a curtain around her face. There she stayed for several minutes. Will and Elizabeth shot a glance at each other. They both felt sympathetic; they liked this girl, and they could see that Jack had as well.

"Alright, I'm ready to talk," she said some time later. "If you're writing about him, I want to be a part of that."

"Thank you," said Will gratefully. "So, when did you and Jack meet?"

"Years ago. The day he first arrived in Tortuga. He was called something else back then, though. Staggering Jack, that's it. On account of his limp. He hurt his leg, you see, back when he was working in London. Anyway, he was the underdog for this captain fellow… he was a right piece of work. I was working in my dad's tavern at the time. "The Broken Dog". It was the first place Jack came to. He looked a bit intimidated, I mean, you've seen you places 'round here, full of whores. They were all shoving themselves under his nose, so he stayed by the bar with me and we got talking. Nice fellow, I thought. Coupla days later, though, he was abandoned by the rest of the crew. They just sailed off, left him alone on the island. Don't really know why, they might have just forgotten about him.

"He didn't know what to do, so he came to me for help. I was living with my parents and we had a bit of room, so they put him up. He stayed about a week, left as soon as he could find another captain who'd take him on. He came back many times though. He always came to find me… we were friends, good friends. I liked him a lot."

"Were the pair of you… I mean, did you have a relationship that was more than friendship, at all?" Elizabeth asked tentatively. Laura shook her head.

"Nah. After a while he succumbed to the delights of Tortuga. I don't think you could find a prostitute on this island that he hasn't had. I couldn't be with a man like that. Besides, he was away too much. You know? I suppose I could have made an honest man of him if I'd tried."

"Did Jack love you?" Will asked. Laura turned red and shrugged.

"Dunno. Who's to know what goes on in Jack's mind? Went on, I mean. Christ, I still can't believe he's gone. You know how long ago it is since I've seen him? Nearly a year. He stayed away too long this time. You know he has a son?"

"Yes, we… we spoke with his mother earlier. Marie Addyman. I think she may have mentioned you," replied Elizabeth.

"Yeah, I know Marie. Not too keen on our man is she? Nah, it's 'cause he didn't spend enough time with the boy. He couldn't leave his ship, and he didn't want the kid to get too attached to him when he had to be away so often. He did love him, though. Believe me."

"Urm… thank you," said Will. "You've been very helpful. I'm sorry about your loss."

"No, thank you. I mean, with all his enemies… I'm glad somebody's celebrating his life."

As the pair left the tavern, their hearts felt a little heavier. They were beginning to understand Jack's character and appreciate his history. They walked in silence, each recalling their own memories of him.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Back to the ship. I want to write some of this down so we don't forget it later."

"Good idea," she agreed, and the silence resumed.

Finito. Hope you all enjoyed reading it, and I'm sure you'll enjoy reviewing just as much (ha ha)!

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Remember to check out my other Pirates of the Caribbean fic, The Water is Wide!