Chapter 2

When they reached the Black Pearl they headed to Jack's cabin. The Pearl looked better kept with Jack as captain. The decks were clean and there weren't any holes in the sails or wood.

Jack's cabin surprised Will the most. There was a full four poster bed with pillows and burgundy bedding. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a lantern and a box full of books. Will didn't see Jack as a reader. The next thing he noticed was the desk which, like the rest of the room, was very clean. It had a lantern with a pen, a few notebooks, and a chair. There was a box next to the desk that looked like it held rolled up maps. On the other side of the room was a dresser, a full size mirror with a closet to the right. The last thing will noticed was the window with a window seat. There were more books scattered around there as well. The curtains that covered were an emerald green just like the cushion.

Jack noticed Will's surprised face. "Nice isn't it? You seem surprised."

"Sorry. I just never saw you as so neat or as a reader." Will admitted

"Well after what Barbossa did to this place I had to clean it up. I've always read when I get the chance. But enough about that, what do you want to know about your father?" Jack asked as he moved to a cabinet under the next and pulled out a bottle of rum and two glasses. He sat down at the large rectangle table in the middle of the room and pointed to a chair for Will to sit down in. Will sat in the chair across from Jack. He uncorked the bottle of rum and poured it in the glasses and pushed one over to Will.

After a moment of looking at it Will picked it up and drank. "Elizabeth would kill me if she saw me drinking this. She abhors this stuff."

"No she doesn't. She just doesn't like the effects it has." Jack smiled. "She drank quite a bit on that quaint little island we shared."

"She hasn't touched any since then, which I'm sure of."

There was a silence for a few minutes until Jack broke it. "You said you had questions… now ask. But I must warn you, I may not answer them all."

"Why not"

"Some things are personal. Your father's life and mine overlapped sometimes and you don't need to know about me." Jack answered taking a drink.

Jack saying Will didn't need to know about him made him want to know. He let it go though because he wanted to know his father more. "Why did they call him Bootstrap?"

"All of his boots had straps." Jack answered simply

"Who gave it to him?"

"Me."

"I thought you called him William?"

"I did. But I called him other things as well. Bill, Billy, and many others; I stopped calling him Bootstrap after everyone else started calling him it."

"Why"

Jack hesitated a second. "Because they weren't his friends"

"So you were friends. You two were close." Will leaned back.

"I would like to think."

"I guess I did come to the right place." Will said. His mind was reeling every bit of information he could get. He didn't want to miss anything. "For how long?" he asked

"We met long before I was captain of the Pearl."

There was a pause. "Did he love my mother and me?" Will asked quietly.

That surprised Jack. He was never expecting a question like that. He assumed that Will knew his father loved him. It was a fair assumption. "Don't ever doubt that he loved you William Turner. You and your mother were his world. He was only trying to keep you safe. He did what he thought was best." Jack finished off.

"Did what he thought was best?! He left me and my mother alone to be a pirate. How is that best?!" Will was yelling now.

"He couldn't take a normal job Will." Jack said calmly. Some things he was probably going to say would get to Will. "Believe me, he tried. He tried three times." He said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked annoyed.

"Your father was a furniture repairman. One day he was repairing a chair and his apprentice saw the "P" on his arm when his sleeve went up. The boy ran out of the shop then and got authorities. But by the time they got there he had gotten your mother and you and got to a ship. That happened two more times. You moved three times by the time you were eighteen months." Jack was now rubbing his wrist where the mark on him was. "The last one was when he joined me and became a pirate again. That was one of the happiest days of my life. One of the days I regret more than anything." Jack finished with a small, sad smile on his lips.

"How long was he a pirate?"

"Most of his life"

"Was he a pirate before you met him?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "I want to know where you come in and why you know him so well. Knowing when you met might help." Will explained his reasoning.

Jack bought the reason "Aye"

"Was there a reason?"

Jack was quiet for a moment but then answered. "His mother died during child birth and his father died when he was 7. He got on a ship and made his way to Tortuga. That's where he ran into the captain that took him in. He taught your father how to read and write and everything else you would learn from parents and teachers." Jack tried to keep it as vague as possible.

"So how did he get the mark?"

"He was a pirate." Jack stated simply. "I believe he was smuggling something…Port Royal. I'm pretty sure he was in Port Royal when he got it."

"How do you know all this?"

"He told me."

"Why?"

"Because"

"Were you there?"

"No"

"Did you know him?"

"For a short amount of time"

"Can you tell me everything you know?" Will asked almost desperately

"I'll tell you what you ask." Jack said. He knew Will wouldn't like that answer, but it was the best he could do.

""Why do you get to know all of this and I don't. Tell me everything you know." Will demanded

"I'll tell you what you ask. I don't have to tell you anything. To be honest I already told you more than I would have liked. So if you'll excuse me." Jack quickly stood up and left the room. Before Will knew what was happening Jack was already lost in the crowd of people.

That confused Will. As Jack walked out he looked different. He walked out looking depressed. Will didn't even see that in his eyes when he shot Barbossa. He figured that there was more to Jack Sparrow than a daft pirate captain.

TBC

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