Many thanks to the gracious readers and reviewers. This chapter is a bit long, and nods to the fact that travel at sea involved a lot of time… and storytelling is just part of getting from here to there.

The clock was struck noon as Governor Swann and Jack Sparrow shook hands in the library of the guest house.

"Then we have an agreement?"

Jack's expression was almost unreadable. "Aye… your honor. We'll take on this delivery in exchange for a full pardon for the Pearl and her crew – and of course, a fair price for the passage."

Swann looked a bit taken aback, but nodded. "I should have assumed that from the start, I suppose." His eyes swept the small gathering a bit nervously. "How soon can you leave?"

Captain William Turner cleared his throat. "As soon as I take on another pilot, Governor. Normally, I wouldn't worry, but it's been a handful of years since I navigated the north coast of Hispaniola."

A bright voice piped up. "I'll go."

"Elizabeth, really."

"And why not? Ana trained me herself."

"Aye, Lizzie, but you've no more experience on that stretch of sea than the good captain does." Jack looked thoughtful for a few moments, then nodded. "You should take Ana, then."

Turner smiled in surprise. "If she's willing, Jack. And if you'll part with her for this sail."

Jack gave a resigned sigh. "Oh, I'll part with her. And I think it bodes well for her to be sailing on a ship such as yours – in case there's any trouble." The two captains exchanged a look that suggested a much longer conversation.

"I'll be glad to have her."

"But Jack, I could –"

"Lizzie. I was expecting you to be backing up the helm. Unless the idea of sailing with this whelp doesn't appeal to you anymore?"

She beamed proudly. "It's perfect. Captain."

"This is ridiculous, Captain Sparrow. My daughter should not –"

"Listen, guv." Jack moved closer to Swann, his voice purring quietly. "You know they're coming, neither one of us can stop that. Better off that she's with a ship that's normal for the waters instead of the ship that's going to draw attention to itself, eh? I mean, really. Who's likely to take on the Black Pearl?"

The governor frowned nervously, looked at his daughter and son-in-law. "I can't say I approve, Elizabeth, but it's not my choice. I could keep you off a ship I own, but not his." He looked at Will with something near desperation. "Do you really think it's wise for her to do this?"

"We'll keep an eye on each other." Her eyes sparkled as she looked up, and Will brushed a kiss over her forehead.

"I see." Swann took a deep breath, and looked to Jack. "You will take care of her?"

"What could happen, guv?"

Swann rolled his eyes. "Well, all that remains is to take these, I suppose." The governor lifted two cases onto the table.

"Y'know, I'm curious, guv. These are pretty little things to be sure, but enough to pardon me and the Pearl? What makes them so valuable?"

Swann sighed. "I thought you knew, Captain Sparrow. Before Portugal had them, they were part of the French crown jewels. They've been trying to get them back for most of a century."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "Ah. That much I didn't know."

"This one has the gems. The other is strictly to confuse anyone who is trying to steal them." Looking to William, he shook his head. "I don't want to know how you arrange them. What I don't know I can't tell. But please…" his eyes strayed to his daughter again. "Be careful."

Elizabeth met Will in the gangway of the Pearl their second day out; he was coming off watch and she was just leaving their cabin. He smiled when he saw her, pinned her against the bulkhead and kissed her, his fingers tangling in her hair. When she pulled away to catch her breath, he looked into her eyes longingly. "You know, darling, there's something about you on a ship –"

"Will." He leaned toward her and she put a finger to his lips, stopping him with a slightly concerned smile. "Jack's in our cabin." He frowned, moved her finger and kissed her anyway. Afterwards he held her, her head resting into the cradle of his shoulder as he spoke.

"Is anything wrong?"

She sighed prettily. "I don't know. He just came in, and chatted a little, small talk… he seemed distracted. I think he needs someone to talk to." Elizabeth looked up into his eyes. "I don't think he's looking for a sister at present." Will's eyebrows lifted as he glanced toward the cabin door. "Maybe he'll talk to you. I promised Anamaria I would pack up some of her things and send them over to the Esperance,anyway… did you know this was going to be her last voyage on the Pearl?"

"Jack said as much, but didn't seem to want to talk about it."

Elizabeth glanced back at the cabin herself. "I think he might now." She kissed him once more, holding him for a long moment. "Good luck." Will watched as his wife moved down the gangway, thoroughly appreciating what the sway of the ship did for the movement of her hips. With a pleased little sigh, he moved toward their cabin, but stopped short. He looked thoughtfully toward the galley, nodded to himself, and went to get a couple bottles of rum before having a chat with his captain.

Jack was pouring, so Will had to open a second bottle after the first hour. Now it had been closer to two, and Will still had no idea what was going through the captain's mind. He had tried hinting, asking outright, and nearly pleading, but nothing seemed to get a straight answer. With a sigh, he resorted to guesses.

"Is this about Ana?"

The pirate's eyes wobbled toward him, mild outrage in their dark depths. "Ana?"

"I mean… her leaving… are you two…?"

Jack looked indignant. "Have a heart, lad." He took a drink and put his tankard down heavily before barking a laugh. "She'd be my death."

The blacksmith shrugged. "Well, I didn't think so, but the way you're looking tonight is enough to make anyone wonder."

Running a slender finger around the rim of the mug, Jack stared distractedly at the half full bottle on the table. "She's a fine pilot, mind. A real head on her shoulders in a fight."

"Jack…"

Sparrow's eyes lifted to Will's. "No, lad, it's not that she's leavin'. It's… well." He shook his head, rubbed a hand over his eyes tiredly, looked at the younger man for a decisive moment. "It's - the pardon."

Will frowned. "But that's a good thing, yes? I mean, you'll be free to come and go…"

"Aye. Free to be subject to the king."

Will shook his head firmly and immediately regretted the action, even though he was quite sure he'd been drinking far less than the captain. Resting his forehead heavily on his palm, he planted his elbow on the table. "But… we're all subjects to the king."

Jack pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Ah, but that's where we differ, mate. On this ship, I am the king." Will's eyes widened slightly as Jack slumped, went from sovereign to beggar before his eyes. The pirate's voice continued in a low rumble. "For one last voyage, I'm master of my world." He touched a few drops of rum on the table, drew them into rippling patterns. "I swore I'd never bow again, once I had the Pearl."

Will waited for him to go on, but after a few silent minutes spoke quietly. "Jack…?"

Sparrow looked up almost as if he had forgotten the boy was sitting across from him. "Say, lad. Did I ever tell you the story of when I first met Anamaria?"

Will blinked at the sudden change in his tone, but remembered that the captain, no matter how he looked, was only ever as drunk as he chose to be. "No, I don't think you have."

"Ah. This is a good one," he chuckled as he refilled their mugs. "It started some five years ago."

Her father was a fisherman, and her mother was from Rio Nuevo, so she was born on the northeastern coast of Jamaica. Her parents named her for the two harbors they lived between; St. Ann's Harbor to the west, and Port Maria to the east. It should have been no surprise to them that she loved the sea, wanting only to sail with her father on the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean. When she was old enough to realize that women weren't held in the same respect as men on ships, she was also old enough to lie to her advantage. Tight fitting doublets and chopped hair, breeches and floppy hats let her pass as a young man; long enough at least for her to get some experience. She was tough, wiry, quick to anger, and gave no quarter in a fight. She learned her way around the islands, straying further and further from home.

"By the saints, she was a hellion when I met her, that's fer sure."

Will looked up and noticed that Mr. Gibbs had come into the cabin, searching for Jack, he supposed. He sipped his rum slowly, wondered how he missed that. "You met her?"

"Aye. I was navy then. Walkin' back from shore leave –"

"Staggering, more to the point."

"-when this boy starts followin' me, askin' if I'm shipping out. 'E's got a look like a whipped pup. Tells me in a voice that hasn't changed yet that 'e wants to be a cabin boy for the ship, and would I take 'im onboard. Well, I'm three sheets to the wind, I figure it can't hurt to take on another hand.

The boy went by the name 'Cesario', although the crew that bothered to learn his name called him Cesar. Like a sponge, Cesar soaked up the ways of the ship –scouring the decks, running the rigging –right up to learning the helm. The crew was impressed with his dogged determination.

For the most part he learned from a young man who had just enlisted in the navy, one Seaman Ellis Groves. They became fast friends, sharing a love of the sea and ruminating on their low positions in the crew. It was clear sailing until the day the Captain decided to spend some quality time with the new cabin boy, who was undoubtedly attractive.

"He tried to – …with Ana?" Will's expression was horrified. "That's terrible."

"Aye, it was." Jack drank deeply from his tankard, but Gibbs shook his head.

"I don't care how horrible it was, Jack; she didn't have to put a knee in."

Will winced and unconsciously crossed his legs. "So what happened?"

"Well now, the captain was in a fury. He threw Cesar in the brig, and, demanded to know who brought the little bugger on board. Since the captain's favorite lieutenant –"

Jack leaned over to point at Will. "That would be Norrington."

"-wasn't thrilled about my drinking, he gave me out an' I was thrown in with 'er." He shook his head, drinking again. "At least that's when I found out she was a 'she'. What I didn't know was that Groves had found out summit sooner, and he was crushed at 'er leavin'. He comes down to the brig and tells her, bold as brass, that he has an uncle on Tortuga holdin' his inheritance. He said she should take 'im a letter, and if she was wearin' his ring, she could take the ship, meet 'im when he docked back at Port Royal."

"His ship?"

"Aye. He'd inherited a fine little schooner from his grandfather, and his uncle was keepin' it safe. They made plans, and promises, and swore their love as only the young can. The next day 'Cesar' and I were put off near Tortuga.

"And of course," Jack said with a glinting smile, "that's where all stories get interesting."

The older sailor and the cabin boy walked toward town on their way back from the Groves house. They were in high spirits, talking loudly about how they found the uncle and the boat, and wondering where they'd find a couple more men for the crew. Gibbs suddenly worried at their indiscretion when a strange figure stepped out from behind a tree, and blocked their path. His hair was long and wild, and appeared to have a few strange trinkets threaded into it. Over his shirt he wore an open vest, sashed at the waist and cinched with a leather belt. There was a haunted look in his dark eyes, and he was well armed with both pistol and sword. Gibbs stepped back, keeping himself between the girl and this wild looking pirate.

"Sounds like you two could use an extra hand."

"We're fine. Move along."

"But I'm volunteering, mate. "

Gibbs and Anamaria looked at each other. "It's your choice, lass."

Ana looked back at the man critically. "You're telling me you can sail?" The man looked affronted.

"Milady… I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

She looked less than impressed. "Sure ye are. And I suppose the Black Pearl is floatin' just offshore."

The dark eyes narrowed for a moment. "The Pearl was stolen from me five years ago." A fleeting flash of anger showed in the tightening of his jaw. "And I have every intention of getting her back." Gibbs squinted thoughtfully at him.

"I think he may be who he says, lass." He stuck out his hand. "Joshamee Gibbs."

"A pleasure, Mr. Gibbs."

Ana considered briefly. "Alright. But we can't pay. I can offer passage to Port Royal, no more." The pirate shrugged.

"As good a place as any, love."

The pirate seemed more than helpful as they worked on getting the schooner ready to sail in two days. The evening of the second day Sparrow and Gibbs were drinking in a reasonably quiet corner of a tavern when Gibbs fell asleep on the table in mid-sentence. Sparrow laughed, dropped a few coins for their drinks, and walked out into the evening. He smelled the sea breeze and could already feel the shifting of a ship beneath him.

Automatically slipping into the shadows as two men walked by, he overheard four words of their furtively whispered conversation. '…Barbossa…sail tonight… Isla.' He stood, eyes wide in the darkness. With a nervous glance he looked toward the tavern where Joshamee slept on a table and the girl Anamaria slept in a room upstairs. He looked down to the docks where the schooner Grove's Queen sat in her berth ready to sail, the rest of her small crew already on board.

"You didn't."

"Didn't what, lad?"

Will blinked a few times, trying to get Jack's face to focus properly. "You stole her ship? The ship that belonged to her fiancé?"

"Borrowed," Jack's voice growled from inside his tankard. "And while I was chasing the Pearl, a storm hit. We were scuttled, although I stayed with her as long as I could after the rest abandoned ship, ended up on a strange little island. Kraji."

Will shook his head. "What did she tell Ellis?"

Gibbs looked down into his drink. "She didn't, and that's the sorry tale. She was sure he'd never forgive 'er, so she stayed away."

"Oh, Mr. Gibbs. That's so sad."

Will jumped slightly, and slowly turned to see Elizabeth was sitting next to him.

"When did you…""

She patted his arm gently, making sure his mug didn't tip. "Let him finish, Will."

Wobbling back to Jack, Will frowned.

"But how did they ever…" he made vague connecting gestures with his hands, nearly spilling what rum was left.

Gibbs blue eyes brightened as he went on. "Aye, what she didn't count on was that Ellis Groves was a determined man. He was heartbroken, and spent all his shore leaves for the next year and a half piecin' together what had happened that week in Tortuga. After two years he was posted out of the Fort at Port Royal, and every chance he got he would ride up to Rio Nuevo, lookin' for signs of his true love.

Then, a little more'n half a year ago, Jack Sparrow shows up in Port Royal, and commandeered the Interceptor after takin' out the rudder chain of the Dauntless." Jack raised his mug in graceful acknowledgement at the implied praise in the older man's voice. "Ana told me later that Groves was standin' right next to that stick Norrington while he stood there fumin', and that Ellis couldn't resist saying, 'that's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen'. He was rememberin' Jack's name from the stories he heard about Ana's disappearing, and hope kindled in his heart that she might be nearby, lookin' for this pirate."

"But… we left Port Royal, to go to Muerta."

"Aye, and Ellis heard all the stories of the fight, and as it happened had leave comin'. When Ana took some time to see 'er family while the Pearl was refitted, Ellis came and found 'er. He convinced 'er to come back to Port Royal and be with 'im after we saved Jack, and she agreed to meet 'im there for a while, anyway." Gibbs looked over at Jack and grinned broadly. "An' the rest is history, as they say."

Will glanced over at Elizabeth, whose eyes were watering. "That's so romantic. True lovers kept apart for so long, and finally finding each other…" Will twined his fingers through hers and smiled. He looked over at Jack.

"You know, a lot of people don't approve of those couples, at least in public. I wonder who married them?"

Jack looked up over the rim of his mug and narrowed his eyes. "Can't imagine."

Bells rang on deck, and Gibbs stood up, draining his tankard. "I'm still on duty, Cap'n. I'll call you at the change."

"Thank you, Mr. Gibbs."

"Captain?"

"Lizzie?"

"The port shrouds have loosened up since we left. Mr. Cotton wanted to know if you wanted them done now."

"Aye, but I want you watching how it's done."

"Aye, Captain." She leaned over and kissed Will, who looked rather bleary. "Get some sleep." He nodded, slouching slightly in his chair. When he and Jack were alone again, he seemed to straighten up, looking at Jack carefully.

"So." Jack's eyes lifted to meet his. "That's why you're doing this? To pay back Ana?"

"No one can pay back the lost years, lad."

"But you'll do your best to try."

The pirate said nothing, but finished his mug and looked mournfully at the empty bottle. Will shook his head with a quiet grin.

"You're a good man, Jack."