A/N: Look who has their chapter up a day early! :D I could have waited and posted it tomorrow but I guess I was feeling generous to you all, and rightly so because you guys rock! Thank you for all your reviews, I hope I responded to them all.

Less than two weeks to go now everybody! I think I'm going to put on some Christmas music :)

Enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 11: The unexpected request

William Turner closed up shop. It was the end of another successful day for him; his blacksmith's business was booming and had been ever since Mr Brown had sold him the shop. As far as Will knew the man now spent even more of his time in the tavern than ever before, Will had not thought this possible. He smiled to himself as he slipped his key into his pocket and looked up at the sign that swung over his head. It was almost a year old now and was beginning to lose the shiny paint look it had once held but Will still found a rush of pride as he read the words 'Turner Blacksmiths,' in gold lettering. It was a reminder of how much had changed for Will, and a reminder that it had all started for him in the very same shop he now owned when he had met Jack Sparrow in far from friendly circumstances. With thoughts of that first meeting running through his head Will stepped out onto the cobbled street, and as he turned the corner he concluded that beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would have won, if Jack hadn't cheated.

As Will passed other people he bid them a friendly good evening with a touch of his hat. They did the same and the ladies smiled at him, a couple of the younger ones colouring slightly in the face although they tried their best not to hide it. Mr Turner was, after all, a married man. Will did not even notice their inappropriate flushes however as he continued to stride down the street his back held very straight. He was a gentleman now, not by birth but by marriage and he tried his best to convey his new stature. He might have been able to pull off a better job without his wide brimmed, feather adorned hat but there was no way anyone was going to make him give that up. It was his pride and joy, and he wore it every day to display to the world what ran through him, the pirate blood of his father. That was another thing that had changed; Will now knew the truth about his father. He had been a pirate, not a merchant sailor, but instead of shaming him this knowledge made Will feel stronger because he also knew his father had been a good man something he aspired to be in every action he took. It was this fact combined with his humble career that had made it difficult for him to be accepted into high society but now, a year on from his marriage, there was no one who hesitated at his name when it came to writing guest lists although Will suspected that this had more to do with Elizabeth, his beautiful wife, than his efforts to be a gentleman.

The mere thought of Elizabeth made his pace quicken but despite his eagerness to get home he could not help pausing to look at the ships in the dock. It was a rare evening indeed that Will passed up the chance to take in the ships. He knew the local ones by heart and had done for many years. There were a number of new vessels in port which made the dock look more full than usual. Will could make out people unloading crates at the dock; one of the large ships was probably a trading vessel. There would be new produce in the market the next day if his suspicion was correct. He could have watched until it got dark but he had a wife to get home too so he took one last deep breath of the salty air. He was about to turn when he realised someone was standing right behind him. The presence behind him was unnerving but Will did not let on that he had even noticed for a moment, not until his hand was firmly around the hilt of a dagger he had made himself.

"Lovely evening, isn't it?" Will said meaning to make whoever it was speak and reveal their identity.

"Tha' depends on who's eyes yer seeing it through," said a very familiar voice. Will span round not daring to believe his ears, but there could be no mistaking the identity of the man who stood before him in a pose which suggested he had been waiting for Will to realise he was there for some time.

"Jack!" Will couldn't help his outburst; he just had to release his surprise somehow.

"In the flesh, as it were," said Jack with what should have been a bright smile but there was a distinct lack of happiness in his eyes. Will, however, was too overwhelmed to notice this small detail.

"I can't believe you're here," he said and quite suddenly Jack found himself being embraced by the younger man. With a look of distaste Jack waited until Will had released him before saying, "Miss me then?" Will did not pick up on the slightly suggestive nature of this question and replied literally.

"Well, it's been so long Jack," said Will his eyes bright with excitement, "A year and a half, isn't it?"

"High time I paid you and the lovely Miss Elizabeth a little visit," said Jack. As he spoke he produced an apple from somewhere and began to eat it.

"How is said strumpet anyway?" he asked looking up from his apple with a wicked look. Ignoring the fact Jack had just called his wife a strumpet Will answered his question.

"She's fine," he said and then he added, "We got married you know." Jack watched Will positively swell with pride. His eyes travelled downwards to the fingers of Will's left hand and saw the plain gold band which seemed to prove it beyond much doubt. He expected that Will was waiting for some kind of congratulatory statement; Jack never was one to disappoint.

"I guess that be sealing it then lad," he said matter of factly, "Yer not a eunuch." Will's look of pride faded. Jack's eyes were twinkling with mischief so Will decided to change the subject.

"Where's the Black Pearl?" he asked looking out at the dock as if expecting to see it next to the fishing fleet.

"Ah," said Jack taking another bite of apple, "About the Pearl…"

"What?" asked Will quickly, "Did something happen?" His mind raced through the various possibilities; accident, shipwreck, mutiny. After all, Jack had only captained the Pearl for three days last time before his first mate had overthrown him. Jack watched Will's face grow steadily more worried until he couldn't help it, he just had to laugh.

"Relax whelp," he said, "There be nothing wrong with the Pearl and she's still mine. Did ye really think I'd let her go again?"

"So you're still..?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow, aye," said Jack, "I were hardly going to bring the Pearl into full view of Port Royal now, was I lad? I take it Commodore Norrington is still in charge around 'ere."

"Yeah," confirmed Will, "There was some talk when he let you escape but…"

"Let me escape?" said Jack in a haughty voice, "I don' believe that were the case." Will rolled his eyes but Jack didn't take any notice.

"We goin' t' stand out here all night or are ye goin' t' be a gentleman and invite me to stay?" he asked. He threw his apple core at Will who caught it without meaning to. Will wrinkled his nose and then dropped the offending article on the ground. Jack hadn't changed at all.

Will knocked on the great wooden door of his house. It had been Governor Swann's house before the marriage but he had given it to them as a wedding gift after pointing out, rather conceitedly, that they couldn't very well go to live above the Blacksmith's together. Elizabeth had announced that she would live anywhere that Will chose, although this was not tested as Will wisely chose the grand house straight away. Jack was taking everything in with Will watching out of the corner of his eye. He might have been seeing things but it did appear as if Jack was impressed with what he saw. Will was just about to ask if this was the case when the butler opened the door.

"Good evening Master Turner," he said stiffly. He had one of those faces that was permanently set to look like someone had died.

"Good evening Hilary," returned Will as he stepped inside. Hilary was about to shut the door when Jack cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, sorry Jack," said Will feeling a little embarrassed. He still wasn't used to having servants around.

"I have a guest this evening Hilary, this is Captain Sparrow." At the word 'Captain' Hilary looked at the man who was just coming through the doorway but any respect he might have had fell away immediately. Will did not notice the way the butler looked at Jack down his nose, but Jack did and he scowled in Hilary's direction when Will wasn't looking.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked. Hilary looked up from the trail of mud Jack was leaving in the pristine entrance to answer his master's question.

"She's in the drawing room, sir," he replied, "Should I inform her that she has a visitor."

"No need," said Will, "I am going to her directly."

"Very good, sir," said Hilary and he walked away to spread the news of the stranger amongst the staff, for although he may not have looked the type, Hilary liked to stir things up every now and then.

Jack followed Will without paying attention to where he was going; he was too busy mumbling curses to the butler under his breath.

"I hope you're not going to use that language in front of my wife," said Will with a smile that Jack could not see.

"That depends what yer wife does when she sees me," said Jack making Will wish he had not said a word. His comment had the effect of cheering Jack up however and he stopped his cursing and began to look around again. His eyes lingered on a picture of a bowl of fruit, the painting did not interest him in the slightest, it was the ornate gold frame that held his attention. He made a mental note of it.

Elizabeth looked up at the clock. Will was slightly late. She sighed. She looked forward to his return each evening immensely and even five minutes delay was painful and this was approaching fifteen minutes. She tried to distract herself with the letter she was supposed to be writing but the ink refused to form words that she liked so she screwed up the paper into a tiny ball. It was no use, she would have to go and meet Will if he took much longer. It had been the same from the moment Will had confessed that he loved her. It had taken that confession to make Elizabeth realise that she loved him too, and there could be no other for her. She was just getting up to see with a good mind to see where Will had got to when the door to the drawing room opened and in he came.

"Will!" she cried happily hurrying towards him, "Where on earth have you been? I…" Then she froze, her eyes had travelled past her husband to the second man who had entered the room.

"Jack?" she breathed in a shocked voice.

"Captain," said Jack with a playful smile. Elizabeth's face was lit by a glowing grin as she descended on both men. Instead of embracing Jack, like Will had done, she kissed him on the cheek much to Jack, and Will's, surprise.

"It's so good to see you," said Elizabeth, "I was beginning to give up hope that you'd ever come and visit us."

"Always a pleasure t' see you luv," said Jack with a wink. Will looked even more uncomfortable than ever. Elizabeth, on the other hand, took it all in her stride as if she had pirates complimenting her left, right and centre.

"You should have told us you were coming," said Elizabeth, "I would have tidied up." Jack looked over her shoulder. The room looked unnaturally tidy to him already.

"I'm sure a little dust won't kill me," he said.

"No, I don't expect it will," said Elizabeth her eyes taking in the pirates less than wholesome appearance.

"Are you going to stay long?" she asked next.

"A little while," said Jack who was no longer looking at her. He had stepped further into the room but he turned back to her to say, "If ye'll have me o' course."

"Of course we'll have you!" said Elizabeth, "What are friends for?"

Jack walked around the house which took a long time considering its size. It was a self-guided tour which allowed him to look at exactly what he wanted to. The whelp hadn't done badly for himself, Jack gave him that. He had been pleasantly surprised by the reaction he had received from both him and Elizabeth. They seemed genuinely pleased to see him which wasn't something Jack experienced a lot. It was even more surprising that they were letting him stay at their house, after all, if anyone in town heard of their less than respectable house guest they would be subject to all sorts of talk. Apparently neither of them were the least bit bothered by this. In fact, they seemed to be excited by the prospect of him staying. Jack had to admit it was a lot to take when he had been debating whether or not to come in the first place.

Jack stopped in front of a huge bay window that looked out across the sea. Quite suddenly a memory came back to him bringing with it several powerful emotions.

"I just love looking out at the sea, don't you?"

"Aye luv, I wouldn't be much of a pirate if I thought otherwise now, would I?" A small laugh.

"I suppose not. If ever I was to live somewhere on land it would have to be by the sea, I couldn't live away from it." Jack tried to push the memory of Sylvia's words away but they circled around him crashing like waves against his skull. Was this what Sylvia was doing now? Looking out at the world from a beautiful house full of beautiful things? Jack sighed and turned away.

Jack ate dinner with the Turners and they pressed him for details about what he had been doing with himself. Jack dutifully obliged embellishing tales where he saw fit and completely omitting others. While he talked Jack noticed the way Will's eyes lit up with excitement. Elizabeth looked interested but she did not envy him like Will did, she was completely content living here with the man she loved, Jack could see that as clear as day. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to be out at sea, but he could see it all the same.

"Mrs Turner, there's a man to see you miss," said a maid from the doorway. Elizabeth excused herself from the table and rose. Jack barely waited for her to leave the room before turning to Will.

"Ye should come with me one time Will," he said, "Ye could 'ave another adventure." Will shot a nervous look at the dining room door but Elizabeth was no where to be seen.

"Please don't say anything like that in front of Elizabeth," he pleaded, "She wouldn't like it."

"Don't ye worry lad," Jack assured for once choosing not to wind Will up, "I won' breathe a word." But he did not drop the subject; instead he leaned closer to Will.

"Ye do miss being out in a ship though, don't ye?" Will nodded slightly but then said, "I would never leave Elizabeth."

"Aye lad," said Jack leaning back in his chair, "An' tha's the way it should be." Will looked at him in surprise; he had expected the pirate captain to further press him to join him for some dangerous scheme.

"No need t' look so bloody shocked," said Jack, "I weren't about to kidnap ye and force ye to come with me." Will laughed.

"It's not that," he said, "I just didn't expect you to give up so easily." Jack's dark eyes narrowed slightly.

"Give up?" he asked quietly, "Did it occur t' ye that I were just making conversation?"

Will swallowed.

"No," he said looking so downcast that Jack felt a little bad. Apparently he did not want to leave Elizabeth for any length of time but he didn't want the choice taken away from him. Jack paused for a little while before answering. He had known Will would not accept his offer, that's why he had offered in the first place but he could see now that he had hurt Will's feelings.

"Ye know yer welcome on the Pearl any time ye like," he said, "Elizabeth too if the mood takes her." Will looked at Jack.

"Then why did you..?"

"Because yer a good man t' stay at home with yer lady," said Jack without waiting for the end of the question, "And I just wanted to tell ye that I thought ye were doin' the right thing without using the words, but now ye've gone ahead and made me say it, happy now?" He sounded irritated but Will could see he wasn't really angry.

"Yes," said Will, "Thanks Jack." He thought for a moment.

"Jack, what…?" But he was interrupted by Elizabeth who walked back through the door. She was carrying something that seemed to be quite heavy.

"Will dear, the toy chest finally arrived," she said. Will leapt to his feet.

"Elizabeth! You shouldn't be carrying that! Not in your condition."

"Nonsense Will," said Elizabeth but she allowed Will to take the box from her all the same. Jack's eyebrows were raised, Elizabeth's condition? Elizabeth saw him watching her and smiled.

"Didn't Will tell you, Jack?" she asked one hand resting on her stomach, "I'm pregnant." Will, having placed the box down on the floor, returned to his wife's side, his eyes shining with happiness. Elizabeth looked up at him and the same light shone in her eyes too.

"No, yer worthless lump of a husband neglected t' inform me of that little detail," said Jack a real smile on his face too, "Congratulations." Elizabeth looked at him and then back to her husband.

"Shall we ask him now?" she asked. Jack felt a horrible feeling of trepidation as Will cleared his throat. The kid looked quite as nervous as Jack did.

"Er…Jack, we were wondering if you would do us the honour of being the baby's godfather," he said slight patches of colour painting his cheeks. Jack's jaw actually dropped. He certainly had not expected that. Will and Elizabeth were both looking at him with expectant, hopeful looks on their faces.

"Me?" asked Jack stupidly.

"Yes, you," laughed Elizabeth, "How many other Jack's are in the room? Will you accept Jack? It would mean so much to us."

"Aye," said Jack, "I'll be the little whelp's godfather. It can't be that hard, can it?" He winked at the expression on Will's face, apparently Will didn't like his child being called whelp any more than he enjoyed the title himself.

"Thanks Jack," said Elizabeth and she crossed the room to kiss him on the cheek again. Jack was so surprised he forgot to say something frivolous.

"I know this is what my father would have wanted," said Will whose face had returned to the picture of delight. Jack snorted.

"Yer father would 'a shot me dead jus' fer being near his son," said Jack, "Imagine what he'd do t' me if he knew I was t' be his grandson's godfather." While Jack laughed Will looked decidedly uneasy but Elizabeth just smiled, for all Jack's foolish words and jokes she knew he was a good man.

"We did hope you would make it to the wedding," she said, "But we didn't know how to contact you." Jack leant back on his chair and put his boots up on the table.

"I'm sorry I missed it, I like weddings," he said mildly, "But I can't imagine my presence being very popular amongst the esteemed guests." His suggestive tone managed to make Will feel guilty but Elizabeth once again just continued to smile.

"We would have thought of something," she said and then, fighting a laugh, she added, "We could have dressed you up as a lord or something." Jack raised one eyebrow. The corner of his mouth lifted but he did not smile properly. Elizabeth felt her enjoyment fade, was it her eyes deceiving her or did Jack look a lot more tired than usual? As if to confirm her suspicions Jack yawned.

"Do you know where you're sleeping?" Elizabeth asked.

"No luv. The garden?" Jack asked with mock seriousness.

"If you're lucky," said Elizabeth with a teasing grin.

"I'm always lucky," supplied Jack, "I'm…"

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth and Will finished off in unison. They all laughed and Elizabeth couldn't help thinking that Will had been right, Jack had not changed a bit.

Jack was in a room that looked like it had never been slept in before, but he did not notice the ornate bed posts or any of the fancy ornaments or pictures. He had truly believed that being in a completely different environment would enable him to forget Sylvia for a while but it was like a ghost was following him and settling upon his heart every time he stopped moving. He had never felt this way before, and he didn't like it. Sylvia's absence was like a constant ache; it ate away at him every second of the day and drove him mad at night. It wasn't right for a pirate to be feeling this way, he was sure of that much. He wondered whether this was the way Will had felt about Elizabeth. Jack thought about asking him but knew he would not, not unless he had a lot of rum.

Elizabeth had retired to bed so Will felt it was safe to have a nightcap with Jack. He had thought that the pirate had disappeared for the night too but he was quite pleased to be proved wrong because he enjoyed the company. He could not help noticing that Jack seemed less animated than usual though, it was like watching Jack without his full spirit and it made Will feel uneasy. Perhaps he had been wrong about Jack being the same, or perhaps Jack was just tired.

"So, yer goin' t' become a dad," said Jack glass in hand jarring Will away from his thoughts, "How far is the missus along?"

"Three months," said Will happy to be distracted. Jack looked at the other man and saw that Will believed he had everything he had ever wanted. Jack buried the small amount of resentment that was creeping into his thoughts and raised his glass.

"To yer happiness lad," he said.

"To happiness," said Will clinking his glass with Jack's.

"Will?" Elizabeth's voice came calling from the floor above. Will choked on his mouthful of rum.

"Coming dear," he spluttered and he hurried upstairs after a rushed goodnight to Jack. Jack picked up Will's half finished drink and poured it into his own; there was no point in wasting good rum.

Jack spent a week with the Turners' enjoying their hospitality. He even accompanied Will to work one day but spent most of it scaring customers away by practising with the different swords. Will did not invite him to come again. Elizabeth, however, seemed to have more control over the pirate for Will would come home to find Jack had done some odd job or another such as assembling the babies cot.

"How did you get him to do it?" Will asked his wife in amazement as he admired Jack's handiwork.

"Oh, you know," teased Elizabeth, "Feminine charms." When Will looked concerned Elizabeth laughed.

"Jack's got a soft heart really," she said, "Despite all he says. I only have to put my hand on my stomach and he jumps up to help me." She smiled fondly.

"It's good to have him here," she said. Neither of them were prepared when Jack announced that evening that he was leaving.

"But Jack, you've only stayed for a week," protested Elizabeth.

"Can't get enough of me, eh?" said Jack cheekily. Elizabeth returned this comment with an unimpressed look.

"I need t' get back t' the Pearl," was Jack's only explanation and no matter how much Will and Elizabeth tried to persuade him, Jack's mind was made up. He was leaving and that was that.

"But you will promise not to stay away so long this time, won't you?" Elizabeth asked surprising even herself with the strength of her desire to have Jack around.

"I won' promise luv," said Jack, "But I daresay ye'll be sick o' me before too long. Can't be slacking in me godfather duties now, can I?" Elizabeth and Will stood in the doorway to their house and watched Jack leave; he had not gone far when he turned back.

"Do give my best regards to Norrington, won't ye? He's probably missed me." And with that he was lost to the rapidly gathering night.


A/N: So, was it completely obvious that I was going to bring Will and Elizabeth into this? I hope I did Will justice (some of you must be Orlando fans after all and Elizabeth fans come to that).

Next chapter should be up on Tuesday again...I hope. Have some freshly baked mince pies to keep you going :)