CHAPTER FOURTEEN

FATHER AND SON

Jack forgot his ideas of drinking the night away, and decided to set sail that evening instead. Norrington, Elizabeth and Will demanded that they accompany him on the Black Pearl with his crew and as soon as the Pearl was loaded with supplies and all holes had been patched up, they weighed anchor, Nicholas at the helm, as always. Jack watched his son cautiously, but turned away whenever Nicholas looked in his direction. The tension between the two was heavy in the sea air, but Bootstrap Bill and Will were finally getting to know each other over a flask of rum each.

"Will, I never got to tell you how sorry I am that I left you and your mother. You have no idea how much you two meant to me. If I had known you were in Port Royal, I would have come. I love you, son. Just know that."

"I know that... I always have." Will said. "I've missed you though. It's so good to see you again. I've always wished that you could be around to see everything that has happened in my life, meet my family." Bootstrap laughed heartily.

"That Samantha of yours is certainly a pistol. That's for sure. She's just like your mother. Adventurous, hearty, a trouble-maker." Will laughed in agreement.

"That she definitely is...I just hope she's alright...If anything ever happened to her, I don't know what I'd do." Will said.

"If only every father were like you Will. I am so proud of you."

"I try to be like you, whenever I can." Will said.

"Why would you do that? I was never a father to you."

"You were...when you were there." silence filled the room and father and son just stared at each other, years of missing each other vanished and everything was just right between them. "I wonder where Sammy is..."

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Dawn broke and the Pearl sailed on, looking for any signs of the Navigator or the El Tigre Fiero, or any sign of Samantha. Jack and Nicholas hadn't said a word to each other or to anyone else on board. They kept to themselves and stayed away from each other.

"How long are you two going to keep this up?" Bootstrap asked them up on deck that afternoon. "Honestly! Just be men and shake hands." Jack and Nicholas glanced at each other, but didn't say a word. Will and Norrington who were both on deck as well, watched them uneasily.

"Alright then." said Jack. He extended his hand. Nicholas looked at it like it was a snake about to bite, but shook it anyway, pulling away quickly.

"There we go." Bootstrap said. "Much better." Will and Norrington exchanged glances and returned to the other end of the ship. Bootstrap followed, leaving Jack and Nicholas to themselves, but not before patting Nicholas on the back on his way by.

"I meant what I said...about leaving after this." Nicholas said once everyone else was out of earshot. Jack nodded and turned around to face his son.

"I know you did lad...I'm just sorry you don't have a father you can be proud of." Jack said. Nicholas shook his head. "I've always known you were meant for greater things, Nicholas. I was just waiting for you to discover that for yourself. But pirate is in your blood, and you'll have to square with that someday. Your mother and I both, we've always been pirates, and we always will be... You know, Will over there, he wasn't happy when I told him that his father was a pirate, but he came to terms with it in the end, and in a way, he became a pirate as well, even if he isn't now. If joining the Navy is what you want to do, then do it. Do what will make you happy. I'll be proud of you no matter what. And maybe someday, you'll be glad that I'm your father, and you'll accept that. But, if not, that's fine too..." Jack turned to walk away. Nicholas looked up from the wheel.

"I am glad that you're my father. Even if I don't show it." Nicholas said. "Your profession may not be one that I would choose for myself, but you've always been there for me when I needed you. I'm glad for that. And even if I don't want to be exactly like you in career terms, I'll always want to be just like you when I have children of my own." Jack nodded and walked towards him. Then they did something that they hadn't done since Nicholas was three years old; they hugged.

"Well, now that that's settled. We have to find your bonny lass." Jack said.

"She is not my lass!" Nicholas said. Jack saluted him and started climbing to the crow's nest.

"Keep a sharp eye!" He called.

"Aye, aye, Commodore." Nicholas said.