The Black Pearl rocked gently as the tide pulled her toward the sea, not so roughly as to disturb her anchorage, but enough to have her calmly nodding agreement as her captain spoke quietly at her bow.

"'m sorry, love. Didn't mean for you to get hurt." The ship rose and fell once more on the swell. "William'll do right by you. I know that."

The captain took a swig from the bottle he held, swallowed hard, and looked out toward the island. "Hell of an adventure, though."

A noise behind him made him spin, overshooting his mark by some degrees. Frowning, he compensated back to see Will standing in the moonlight. "Well, you're off the beaten path for this hour, aren't you, lad?" He grinned suggestively but grew more serious as he saw the boy's face. "Something wrong?"

Will turned to face the open sea, but his eyes were still downcast. "I've made a decision, Jack."

The pirate peaked an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to make a flippant remark but stopped, wavering slightly as he lifted a hand to point at the younger man. For a moment he frowned, pointing, then dropped his hand smoothly. "Well, I'm going to assume it's not to turn me in for the reward money."

Will glanced up quickly, his expression seeming to question Jack's sanity. It was purely an automatic response when his hand moved to the hilt of his sword. "Have I ever given you reason to think I would?"

The pirate held up his hands in front of him, shielding himself from the younger man's reaction. "No." He swayed backwards, then put a thoughtful finger to his lips. "Although there was that time –"

"Jack."

The pirate stopped, grinned. "What is it, lad?" His eyes widened as Will drew his sword.

"I've talked to father about this. He agreed with me." Will glanced back amidships and nodded.

Bill stepped across the deck to stand next to his son, a quiet smile on his face. "That I did. Although I believe he's learned a bit about negotiating from you." He leaned easily against the rail and waited. "I guess some things don't change, Jack."

With a quick movement Will twisted the hilt on the sword, letting a small silk roll slide out before he replaced it just as deftly. He unrolled the fabric that shimmered softly in the night. "I think you should have this."

The sphere of the black pearl glimmered with dark iridescence. Captain Jack Sparrow blinked at it, then up at the boy's eyes.

"Are you sure it's yours to give, Will?"

"They would have killed you. They would have killed us all, if it was convenient to their plan." He shook his head with some anger. "Yes, I'm sure." He grinned, finally. "The black pearl is yours, Captain."

Jack stared at it until Bill finally picked it up off his son's hand and held it out. "Take it, Jack. You've earned it. The Pearl has earned it." The pirate held out his hand and Bill placed it carefully in his palm.

Sparrow blinked several times in disbelief before smoothly pocketing the pearl. He brought his palms together and nodded over them. "Gentlemen. I thank you." He turned to walk away but spun back toward them. "You know, I can't help wondering -"

Bill laughed. "He wanted me to keep the sun, Jack. But I told him to hang on to it."

Jack glanced over at Will, who met his eyes with a completely innocent, conspiratorial expression. "I see."

"Well, Elizabeth will be wondering where I've gone. Goodnight, Jack. Goodnight, father." Will nodded to them as he turned smartly and walked back to his cabin, the two captains watching after him.

"He's a good man, William."

"Aye." Captain Turner watched his son fondly before he chuckled a yawn. "I'm off to bed, Jack. Work to do in the morning." Tipping his fingers from his forehead in salute, Bill headed back to the crew quarters where he slept while aboard Jack's ship.

The Pearl bobbed more lightly as the tide leveled off, and her captain stood for a long while watching the island in the night breeze. After a time he turned with a sigh and walked with a familiar, loose gait back to his cabin.

During the night the wind picked up, dark clouds gathered and scattered once more. By morning, one of the firs had fallen.

"I don't understand it, Jack." Bill stood next to the huge bulk of the fallen tree and shook his head. "It's the one I would have picked. The wood's sound. There's no reason it should have -" he glanced over to his friend, and saw a fond, sad cast in the dark eyes. He stepped closer; speaking so only the pirate could hear. "This have to do with the lady?"

Jack lifted his head as if coming out of a dream. "I expect it does, mate." He looked William in the eye and his gaze hardened. "Don't waste anything. And make sure they don't hurt any other trees while they're working."

Bill returned his intense gaze easily. "We'll do our best, Jack."

Repairs were under way in hours. Cutting a tree down to a mast was still a huge job, even with two crews working in shifts. Jack walked over to where Bill was stripping bark and waited until he paused in his work.

"How long, William?"

Bootstrap sighed and stretched his broad shoulders in the sun. "The men are doing all they can, Jack. Neither of us has extra crew."

Jack looked down at the tree, but grinned lightly when he lifted his head again. "I know you're doing all you can. I don't want you to think me ungrateful." Bill looked at him and laughed.

"We all want her whole again. I'm trying to keep the men paced, so they don't wear out before we're done, and that's not easy when they're trying to impress Captain Jack Sparrow."

As if in response, a lithe figure pushed through the branches from where the top of the tree rested, pointing toward the beach. "Captain Turner? Is it alright if we – oh, hello, Jack. How are you feeling?"

"Better when the Pearl is whole, Lizzie." He could see Will striding purposefully toward where she stood, and frowned in curiosity. "Trouble, love?"

She glanced around and both captains were surprised to see her expression tighten. "I'm fine, Will. Just –"

"No, Elizabeth. I've got nothing against you doing your share, but this is ridiculous. I don't want –"

"Will Turner, if you think that I'm going to stop working on the Pearl after all this just because -"

Sparks flew between the chestnut and chocolate brown eyes, until Bootstrap cleared his throat. The couple turned abruptly to see Jack's smile flashing gold in the sun.

"A bit of marital disharmony?"

"It's not that at all, Jack. It's just that she's –"

"Will!"

Captain Sparrow looked at Captain Turner. The smirk they shared was undeniable. Jack shook his head and put a hand on Will's shoulder. "Listen, mate. You're not going to get your way."

"But she's-"

"I know."

"What?" Elizabeth's mouth dropped open as she stared at Jack, flushing slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, love, that you have a glow about you. Clearly you're working on a nephew for me."

"And here I thought it was a grandchild for me."

"Aye, but since I'm the one they'll want to name it after –"

"Jack!"

"Exactly."

"Now wait." Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to look unfazed by this casual conversation of her condition. "You said I have a glow about me. That's a load of rubbish. I have a bit of sun, that's all."

Jack flashed a smile again. "Say what you like, but clearly the whelp is worrying for two now." Without missing a beat he turned and spoke quietly to the younger man. "By the way, lad, you should know by now that women aren't half as fragile as they'd sometime like us to believe. Don't insult her, and she won't have to prove she's stronger than you think."

Will's eyebrows raised, and he glanced at Elizabeth. "Good point," he murmured.

"Now, of course, if it's a girl –"

Elizabeth interrupted. "No." They looked at her curiously. "It's a boy."

Gold flashed again. "And you just know, do you, Lizzie?"

She smiled fondly into the trees, and they all saw her brush her abdomen gently for the first time, although certainly not the last. "The lady told me."

This time Jack looked surprised, but only for a moment. "Well, lass, she would know." For a few minutes they were lost in congratulating each other, with promises of a real celebration when they had time. Then Elizabeth seemed to remember what brought her down to her father in law.

"Captain Turner." Bootstrap smiled at her formality and bowed his head.

"What can I do for you, Miss Elizabeth?"

"The men are wondering if we can burn the branches that we cut, or if we should do something else…" She trailed off, looking between Jack and Bill. Bootstrap looked at Jack and shrugged.

"What do you think?"

Jack stared into the trees for a few seconds before answering. "Set them out to sea. I don't want a fire on her land, and I don't want to leave her a mess." A thought seemed to occur to him. "Lizzie. I'll be wanting you to organize the men for it. See that this is done with some efficiency, yes?"

She grinned, knowing he was giving her a physically less demanding job, but one that she could do better than most. "Aye, Captain." She turned to walk away, then turned back to Will. "Sorry, Will. I didn't mean to sound so angry –"

"I didn't either." They looked at each other for a moment before she smiled broadly and pulled him into a passionate kiss. When they parted, she flashed another smile at the captains and strode off to where she would organize the men, leaving Will looking somewhat stunned.

His father chuckled. "Ah, that'll happen sometimes."

"Oh?" Will glanced after her with an expression of fearful yearning.

"Aye. When they're not crying or throwing things." He laughed as Will looked to see if he was serious. "Making a baby isn't exactly an easy thing, son. Well… not entirely easy."