Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean, its story and characters, is owned by Walt Disney Pictures.

Chapter 2

Jack flopped down on the bed in the captain's cabin with a grunt of exhaustion. The bed creaked slightly from the weight and he sighed deeply as let himself go nearly limp in the safe haven that was his quarters. "Don't feel like doin' this," he moaned to his cabin mate who was busing himself by packing his clothes in a large trunk at the foot of the bed. Jack lifted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at the former blacksmith, a disappointed look on his face as the younger man didn't react to him. "I don't wanna go on land," he continued, trying to get Will's attention more then vent his frustration. "Don't wanna have to meet the Norringtons, don't wanna dine with 'em, don't wanna-"

Will groaned in annoyance at Jack's droning. "Alright Jack!" Will grunted. "I get it. You don't want to do anything with the wedding. That's just fine, because Eliza... err uh Miss Swa... uh... Mr. and Mrs. Norrington will be taking care of everything for us."

Jack rolled over onto his back and frowned at Will's words. "Isn' the bride's side o' the family supposed to pay for the weddin'?" he asked lazily. He turned and frowned deeper at Will as a sudden thought entered his mind. "They tryin' ta say that we can't afford to give our daughter a proper weddin'? 'Cause I could giver a weddin' fit for a bloody princess!"

Will rolled his eyes at Jack as he folded one of his nicer shirts. "I'm sure that Norrington simply doesn't want the wedding to be paid for with stolen goods."

Jack snorted in response. "She deserves a princess' weddin'," he mumbled to himself as he turned on his side, facing the wall and curling into a slight ball. A lump began to form in his throat as he thought of the up coming wedding. His daughter, his baby girl, his little pirate princess, was getting married in a few days and no body was dreading the wedding more then him. He didn't want to see her go. Didn't want to admit that she was actually grown up.

She's not grown up! he thought angrily. She's only seventeen bloody years old! Will wasn't even that young when 'e had Gabe!

She was still young, but she was also determined to do whatever she wanted, and for some reason, she wanted Graham Norrington. What did she see in him? He wasn't overly handsome as far as Jack could tell, nor was he a pirate. He was a naval officer for goodness sake! How could a pirate princess fall for a junior officer (and utter stiff to boot)? What was it about him? Did he have something, or was she just marring him to get under Jack and Gabe's skin? He had always been mystified by his daughter, ever since the day she was born.

"A girl?" Jack repeated dumbly as Eugene held the surprisingly quite bundle in his arms. "How in the bloody hell could I 'ave a girl? None o' me kids 'ave been girls? 'Sides, Will and I are both men!"

"Apparently Captain, gender isn't quite as simple as that," Eugene said with a shrug. "She is yours captain, there's no doubt about that. We all know Will would never betray you like that."

Jack nodded at his words, but didn't take the baby in his arms. He merely looked over at her in the large doctor's arms. She was small, smaller then Gabe was if he remembered correctly. And she looked pink, very pink. Her hair was light brown and had dried into adorable curls. She gurgled and squirmed in the doctor's arms. Blindly, she reached up at him, as if she knew he was waiting for her to make the first move, to show some sign that he was really her father.

Jack felt the corner of his mouth twitch as his lips formed a slight smile. His eyes began to water as he took her in his arms. She was beautiful. Easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his whole life. "So yer me first lil girl, ay?" he choked out as he felt his tears run down his cheeks and land on the soft pink skin of the little one in his arms. "Lord! Ye look just as beautiful as yer mum!" She cuddled closer to him, as if knowing that she'd just been complemented. He kissed her soft skin and felt his heart melting. "My li'l pirate princess."

Jack grunted as a pair of his best dress pants hit him clear in the face, knocking him out of his day dream. He sat up with a start and turned to face an annoyed blacksmith. Will stared at him with narrowed eyes, his hands on his hips as he kneeled in front of the trunk of clothes. "If you think I'm packing your clothes for you Captain, you are sadly mistaken," he huffed.

Jack only grunted and flopped back down on the bed. "I told ye I don't wanna do any o' this! Why the bloody hell does she 'ave ta get married? That bloody lil whelp aint good 'nough to like the dirt off 'err boots, much less marry 'er!"

"Jack," Will said softly, his expression turning from annoyance to sympathy as he looked at his Captain and realized that he was really upset about this rather then just acting up. He walked over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed. Jack simply turned away and Will realized that he was crying. A smile formed on the blacksmith's lips as he looked down at Jack. "I know you're upset, but I also know that you've never really even met Graham, and you are judging him a bit unfairly."

"Don't need ta meet 'im ta know he's not good enough. No body's good enough! Ye said so yerself once."

Will blushed slightly at the memory. How many times had he said the same thing leading up to Gabe's wedding? "I know. But I at least know that Graham is a good person. He has a lot of his father in him-"

"That supposed to make me feel better?" Jack asked, sitting up to look Will in the eyes.

Will chuckled slightly. "Of course it is. James was, and still is, a very good man. He stayed loyal to Elizabeth for all these years and did a very good job of bringing up their son to be a proper gentlemen. Graham will take care of Mina, not only because he loves her, but also because it's his duty to do so."

Jack sighed and rested his head on Will's shoulder. "Still hard, luv," he groaned.

"Of course it is," Will said honestly. "It will always be hard. You just have to put your feelings aside and see with logic and reason."

"Like ye did?" Jack teased, a slight chuckle bubbling in his throat.

Will blushed again. "Alright. So I over reacted when Gabe said he was getting married, but I realized that it was his life and his choice. Besides, even though Gabe married Silvia because he got her pregnant, I could tell that he loved her and she made him happy."

"She can't love 'im," Jack mumbled, unwilling to let himself believe that his Mina could love a naval officer.

"She does," Will said firmly, "and he makes her happy. Isn't that what you want Jack? For Mina to be happy?"

Will sighed in frustration as he headed over to the helm and stared at the sight in front of him. There stood the dreaded Captain Jack Sparrow, the last real pirate threat to the Caribbean, gripping the wheel of the ship in one hand, knuckles white with the strength of his grasp, and in the crook of his other arm slept a small infant baby girl, wrapped in a soft pink cloth blanket, with blue ribbons decorating her curly brown hair. The baby slept peacefully, suckling on its little pink fingers as the pirate bounced her in his arm every few seconds, muttering words of love and affection.

Quite the intimidating image, Will thought to himself sarcastically as he continued to stalk over to the Captain. He cleared his throat, gaining the older man's attention. He smiled wearily at his captain. "If you don't mind Captain," he began with mock formality, "I'd like to have my baby back. It's time for her nap."

"Well as ye can clearly see, luv," he began with a smirk, "the babe's already asleep right now. So there'll be no need for ye ta be takin' her, now will there?"

Will sighed and rolled his eyes at Jack. "Jack," he began, clearly annoyed at the older pirate's childish behavior. "Let me take the baby back to her crib, she needs to rest there and you need to concentrate on steering the ship."

"But I've got a good grip on both the babe an' the wheel, an' I won't be lettin' go of either anytime soon."

"And what of when your arms grow tired and you can no longer hold on to them both? You're going to have to let go sometime."

Jack looked down at the pink little bundle sleeping in his arms and smiled wistfully. She was so beautiful. He couldn't believe he helped to create something so pretty and perfect. "Isn' she beautiful?" he said thoughtfully.

Will sighed in frustration, but couldn't help but smile at the pirate's words. "She's lovely," he said reaching out to touch a pink cheek with his work hardened fingers. "We'll have to fight off all her suitor's with a stick when she gets older," he joked, but Jack didn't seem to find any humor in his words.

Instead, the pirate stiffened and frowned at the blacksmith's words. "Won't let any o' 'em near her. Not a man alive that's good 'nough for me lil pirate princess."

Will chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Be that as it may," he said between laughs, "it'll happen sooner or later. Besides," he a carefully manage to pry to the infant from the pirate's grasp without waking her, "who are we to keep our baby from being happy?" Jack frowned and grasped the wheel with his free arm, suddenly missing the warmth of the little body beside him. Will raised an eyebrow at him after he didn't respond right away. "You do want her to be happy, don't you?"

"'Course I do," he admitted truthfully. "More then anything."

Jack grunted. It was all he wanted. He sighed deeply as he kissed the nape of Will's neck. "What would I do with out ye, luv?"

"Well, you certainly wouldn't take any baths," Will joked. "And you'd never get packed."

Jack chuckled, getting the message. He picked himself off the bed and bent over the trunk rummaging though his clothes. Happy. That's all he wanted for his pirate princess. To be truly happy, and who was he to get in the way of that?