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

Chapter 6

"What about this fabric Father?" Mina said as she headed over to an expensive looking silk fabric with soft white flowers sewn in. The fabric shimmered in the sunlight and he knew that it would look just beautiful on his daughter, but he was certain that it was going to be very expensive.

Will bit down on his lower lip. "It's beautiful darling," he said, "but I think it might be a bit too expensive."

Mina looked up at him, her eyes wide with confusion as she quirked her head to the side. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently. How one could live most of their life on a pirate ship and still manage to be the very picture of innocence was still a wonder to him. "It isn't as though we're goin' ta be payin' for it, Graham's mum and dad will."

"I know sweet heart," he said softly, "but I don't want them to think that we're taking advantage of them." He moved over to a slightly plainer and more reasonably priced cloth. "What about this one? It could be made into a lovely dress I'm sure."

Mina pouted, fingering the pattern that she had chosen. "I want this one," she whined softly. "It's my wedding dress, Father. I'll only get to wear it once! Doesn't that give me the right to get the best fabric I can find?"

Will sighed, rolling his eyes at her. "I suppose," he groaned. "Why did you even drag me here? I'm no good at this sort of thing. I'm not a woman and I know nothing of dresses and the like."

She had gotten him up early this morning to go look at dress patterns and fabrics, and later they were to look at dishes that would be set up at the reception. He didn't feel right doing this sort of thing with her, it wasn't something he was used to. Will had never been a part of high society and had never been married before. When he had been engaged to Elizabeth, he had left all the wedding preparations to her, which seemed to be what Graham was doing.

Mina sighed, looking down sadly at the pattern. "I just ... I don't know."

"You could have had Mrs. Norrington help you with this," he suggested. "She knows a lot more about this sort of thing then I do. She even did a wonderful job of helping to dress you. At least, she did that night we all had dinner together." Today Mina was dressed in her usual attire, a pair of slightly worn brown pants, a long white shirt and a brownish sash around her waist to act as a belt. On Will's insistence she had agreed to wear shoes.

Even dressed in male clothes she looked lovely, but to Will, Mina would look beautiful even if she wore a potato sack. Still, that dress she had worn a few nights ago made her look even prettier. It was the first time in many years that Mina had worn a dress. The last time being when she was only but eight years old and had decided that she wanted to wear pants like everyone else and he let her. Who was he to deny his daughter anything? Besides, it made things a bit easier for him.

Will sighed as he pulled out the light blue dress that he had bought for Mina. He didn't want to have to deal with dressing her, but she was only four years old and didn't know how to do it herself. He was already twenty-five years old and he didn't even know how to do this himself yet!

Such is the magic of having little a girl and no mother, he thought bitterly.

Such is the magic of having little a girl and no mother,

Grabbing his daughter, he made her stand up for him as he lifted the dress over her head. "Put your arms up for me, darling," he said sweetly, hiding the tired annoyance in his voice with gentle love. It wasn't Mina's fault that she was a girl, so there was no need to take out his incompetence on her. He wished then that he had taken more of an interest in women. Had he ever had the chance to undress a girl, it would have probably helped him in dressing his daughter.

"Okay momma," she said quietly as she did as she was told.

Will had to stifle his sigh at the word "momma". He hated that term. He wasn't a mother! Even if he did carry his children inside of him for nine months, that still didn't make him a woman!

He struggled to get Mina's head threw the right hole, wondering if she was even past the ruffles underneath the dress. He managed to get her arms threw the sleeves and was struggling to find neck whole. He stopped mid way, remembering that he forgot to put on her little slip. Groaning, he ripped the dress back off of her, throwing it to the ground carelessly.

"Idiot!" He scolded himself and was surprised to hear soft sniffs coming from the side of him. He turned to see Mina's brown eyes welling up with tears. "No," he said gently, pulling her little body towards him into a comforting embrace. "No baby, it's alright. Momma wasn't talking to you." He wanted to kick himself. Not only had he made his baby girl cry, but he called himself "momma".

Just then, Jack came in threw the door and raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. "What's all this then?" he asked, indicating at the crying toddler in Will's arms.

"I'm trying to put Mina's cloths on," Will grumbled.

Jack smirked, shaking his head at the two. "Well, yer not doin' a very good job at it," he joked referring to the fact that the little girl was still half naked.

Will's brow furrowed at him in annoyance and frustration. "I know!" he groaned and was rewarded with Mina's sobs getting louder.

Jack sighed, taking the little girl in his arms. "'S alright, luv," he cooed, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Let yer ol' Papa help ye get yer pretty lil dress on, eh." Will watched dumb struck as Jack managed to dress the girl without any trouble at all. When he was done, the pirate merely kissed the little girl's cheek and told her to go play with her brother on the deck.

"Thank you papa," she said happily as she hurried out the room.

Will felt tears of frustration well up in his eyes. He bowed his head down as he began to sob.

Jack rushed over to his side and wrapped a comforting arm around the young man's shoulder. "There there, luv," he soothed. "There's no need for this."

"I'm a horrible parent!" Will moaned as he burst into tears. "I can't even put my daughter's dress on!"

"Well, ye haven't had as much experience as me, lad," Jack offered.

Will groaned and leaned into Jack's embrace. There was no real excuse for his incompetence. His daughter was four years old, four, and yet he couldn't even put her dress on, let alone braid her hair and he was barely able to tie the ribbons on the ends. It was simply ridiculous.

"I don't want Mrs. Norrington's help," Mina said, startling Will back to the present. "She's ... she's a nice lady, but she's not my mother."

It dawned on Will then what she meant. This was the type of thing that girls did with their mother. His heart clenched and he felt a lump form in his throat. He looked down at his shoes sadly. He had always felt guilty about the fact that Gabe and Mina would never have a real mother. He may have been the closet thing they had, but he simply wasn't good enough, especially for Mina. A girl needed another woman to look up to, to turn to for guidance and assistance with things that a man simply couldn't understand.

Will swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Mina," he began quietly, "do ... do you ever regret not having a mother?"

Mina looked up at him started. "No!" she exclaimed in surprise. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. "No, of course not Father! That's not what I meant at all! I love you!"

Will sighed, wrapping his arms around her slim waist and resting his cheek on top of her soft brown hair. "What did you mean then?"

"I ... I don't know," she began, trying her best to find the right words. "I just ... your the closet thing I have to a mother, weather you want to admit it or not, and I just ... wanted to do this with you. It wouldn't be the same with Mrs. Norrington."

Will chuckled slightly at her words. For years he had hated being referred to as a "mother" or "momma", and yet, right now he couldn't be happier to hear those words from his daughter. He kissed the top of her head and pulled back slightly so that he could look her in the eyes. He smiled down at her, cupping her chin in his hand and tilting her face upward. "I understand darling," he said softly. "I'm sorry. Let's just get back to picking out your dress. You can use whatever pattern you want, I'll not say a word."

She smiled up at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Father."

AN: Corny I know, but Jack and Gabe got a "father-son" moment, so I thought it'd only be right for Mina and Will to get a little "mother-daughter" type thing.