Jake awoke several hours later, retaining only a vague, foggy memory of what had happened. In fact, for a moment, he thought it was all no more than a dream.

"Glad t' see yer awake, lad."

Clearly, it was reality.

"Jack?" Jake asked groggily.

"Aye," the pirate said, smiling. "Glad t' see yer memory's all righ' after that much drink." Jack sat on the end of the sofa. "Is it true about yer lass?"

Jake's eyes glazed. "We ran into trouble in Tyrine. Didn' start a bloody thing, I swear it. I got knocked out tryin' t' get t' 'er. Part o' me crew stayed an' fought…a couple others got me out…they looked for almost two days – she's gone!" The pirate began to sob.

Jack rubbed the younger pirate's back, his eyes somber. "Sorry doesn' help any, I know tha', but I am sorry, lad."

Jake sniffled and nodded. "Is this yer…home?"

A faint smile crossed Jack's lips. "No. Me home's me ship, Jake. This 'appens t' be the home o' two very good friends o' mine. Lor an' I had t' stop t'…" Jack sighed. "S'not the time fer tha' story. Why don' ye go on upstairs an' clean up a bit. Lor an' Elizabeth are cookin' up a big meal fer ye."

Still in a slight daze, Jake replied, "Thanks, Jack." Jack showed Jake to the bathroom, then went into the kitchen.

Jack caught Loralei's eye as soon as he entered the room. "Did you tell him?"

The pirate shook his head. "No, love. It jus' wasn' the right time. Can' ye do tha' sittin' down?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Jack, it's not as though she can hurt herself preparing a salad. After all, she was on the ship for the first month."

"Well, we didn' know then, did we?" Jack asked. "Now we do an' I don' wan' 'er t' strain 'erself."

"You know she's standing right here and can tell what she can and can't do?" Loralei said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Point taken, love."

"Part of me wishes that we didn't have any news for him at all." Loralei's tone had changed. "It wouldn't be right to overshadow his…mourning."

"Ye said yerself tha' he needs a family right now. So, we jus' wait until he seems t' feel a bit better an' let 'im know tha' 'e 'as a dad, a mum, an' a little brother or sister on the way. Let's face it, love, explainin' all o' tha' is goin' t' 'ave t' make 'im feel better."

Will returned from the smithy in time for dinner, though he cleaned up before he joined everyone at the table. Jake was introduced to the Turners and found himself more than grateful for a hot meal. He was silent for the most part, and nobody forced him to talk. Though Jack and Loralei tried to avoid the subject, Will brought up the impending baby.

"Jack," Will said, cutting into his pork, "have you and Loralei decided how long you're staying ashore? You know you're more than welcome to stay until the baby's born if…"

Jack cut him off. "Eunuch, can we talk about this later?"

"Baby?" Jake asked. He looked at Loralei. "I knew ye looked different, but even a pirate knows not to questions a woman's figure." Everyone at the table noticed the slight smile on his face. Jack took this as his moment of opportunity.

"Jake, ye mentioned t' me, ye know, back on me ship, about how ye grew up on yer own fer the most part."

Jake nodded, carrots in his mouth. "Mm hm."

"I was wonderin'…ye ever give thought t' whether or not ye 'ave any family somewhere in the world?"

Jake swallowed. "I used to…but me crew an'…Nic…tha's me family."

"Righ', righ'…" Jack licked his lips and grasped his wife's hand beneath the table. "But wha' if I told ye tha' I knew ye 'ad more o' a family than tha'?"

A noise reminiscent of scoffing escaped Jake's mouth. "I'd ask ye where the hell they were me whole life."

Loralei jumped into the conversation. "The thing is, Jake, they were unaware of you. Well, I mean, your mother wasn't, of course, but she kept you a secret."

Jake put down his fork and stared at both Jack and Loralei. "How d' ye know any o' this?"

Jack cleared his throat and let go of Loralei's hand. Above the table, both hands began to dance in front of him, and his voice sped up. "It was due t' yer ship, lad. Ye see, The Mercenary…was mine. I built 'er; she was me first ship. After leavin' yer company an' learnin' ye were sailin' 'er, I started to fish around a bit t' find out 'ow ye got 'er. I could keep babblin' on an' make it take longer t' reach me point, but it's probably better tha' I spit this righ' out…Jake, yer me son."

"Wha'?" The boy's eyes were wide. "Are ye daft? Why would ye joke about somethin' like this when ye know wha' I've jus' lost!"

"I'm not, Jake. I wouldn'." Jack's voice was clam; he had expected this reaction. "Look, the truth is that I was younger than ye are now when I spent a night in a brothel with a woman named Giselle. She disappeared for a while an' I thought nothin' of it, 'specially since I only went around Tortuga every few months. She ne'er told me about ye, but once she found out I was buildin' a second ship, she begged me fer The Mercenary – said it was fer her brother. I may be a lot o' things, Jake, an' I may 'ave done a lot o' things tha' I'm not proud of, but I swear t' ye tha' I'd ne'er abandon a child if I knew I 'ad one. Me own family was terrible an' I didn' wan'…"

"I can' handle this!" Jake got up from the table and stormed out the back door. Jack made to get up, but Loralei put her arm across his chest.

"I'll go, Jack," she said softly. She made her way outside and found Jake standing in the back yard, in no hurry to go anywhere. She approached him cautiously and did her best not to startle him. "Jake?"

"Either 'e's lyin' or…" Jake didn't finish.

"He's not lying. He told me about your ship right away and we went to find Giselle – she was reluctant at first, but wound up telling us everything. Jack is your father, Jake, and as soon as he found out, he was desperate to find you again – and before you ask why we were here instead of looking for you if that were honestly the case – you know why we're here. We found out I was with child and made a stop to see a doctor."

Jake looked a bit sheepish. "I wasn' goin' t' ask…" He smiled a little. "'Owed ye know I'd…think tha'?"

"I think my motherly instincts are rearing themselves." She put a hand on Jake's back, rubbing lightly. "I'm so sorry about Nic, I adored her, but…you don't have to be alone."

"Loralei, wha' are ye gettin' at?"

"Jack has already said – even before we found you today – that if you ever wanted to sail with him, he wants to get to know you."

"Does e' wan' t' be…me dad?"

Loralei nodded, tears in her eyes. "He won't try to run your life or anything, but…"

"An' ye'd be…me mum?"

Loralei shrugged. "In a title sort of sense, I…I suppose."

"Yer barely older than I am," Jake laughed. He then refocused himself on something. "Technically then…yer baby's goin' t' be…"

"Yes."