Ch. 5

"Those two were amazing," Juan commented as he and Marie scrubbed the deck that afternoon.

Marie nodded in agreement. "I had no idea Will could fight like that."

"And just what did you think earned go him his reputation?" he asked in surprise. "I mean, he's your own father. You'd never seen him fight?"

"I guess I just never really thought about it," Marie admitted with a shrug. "You know how it is with fathers."

"Not really," Juan said quietly. "See, I never really knew my birth father; he ran away before I was born. Antonio Palacios was the man who married my mother, and I share his last name, so I guess you'd call him my father, but it's not really the same."

"Do you even know who your birth father was?" she asked. Juan hesitated, then leaned over and whispered a name in her ear. Marie's eyes grew wide in surprise. "And you never said anything? That's not something most people would choose to keep secret. Think of the reputation you could have!"

"I don't want that reputation," Juan argued. "If I ever said anything about it for any reason, it would be because he deserves to know, not because I want anything out of it. I'm twenty-one years old, and I can take care of myself. I don't really need him for anything." He ran his hands through his dark hair in frustration. "It's not like I haven't given great thought to this, Marie. I want to tell him, but…it's obvious he didn't want anything to do with me…Maybe it's best that he didn't find out. Maybe this should stay our little secret."

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to, Juan, but I think he at least deserves to know," Marie said seriously, standing up. "I'll see you later. I think I'm going to go get something to drink."

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Taking a deep breath, Juan knocked hesitantly on the cabin door. After a few seconds, a gruff voice said, "Come in."

He slowly opened the door and stepped inside the dark cabin. The old captain was sitting half-dressed on the edge of his bed. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't know you were sleeping," Juan said, hastily turning to leave. "It was nothing. I'll leave you to sleep."

"Nonsense," Jack said, pulling on his shirt and opening the window to let some light in. "If it was nothing, you wouldn't be here right now. Sit."

Obediently, Juan sank into the chair indicated by Jack. He already regretted knocking on the door. What had he been thinking? "It's really nothing," he lied again. "I shouldn't have bothered you."

"Well, you've gone and bothered me now, so let's have it." When the boy still didn't say anything, Jack sighed and stood up. "Take your time," he said sarcastically, strolling around and picking up random items to examine.

"I…I wasn't entirely honest with you," Juan said hesitantly. "When you asked me about my parents, I kind of left out that Antonio Palacios was not my biological father. He married my mother when she was already pregnant to prevent her from shame."

Jack simply nodded and continued to walk around. "That's all?" he asked. "Hardly something worth concealing, in my opinion."

"No," Juan said, shaking his head. "That's not all. My mother told me about my real father shortly before she died. She intended for me to find him so he could look after me, but I never even tried. As I saw it, he didn't want me, so why bother?"

"That's not always the case," Jack interrupted, raising a finger to accentuate his point. "Sometimes we…panic…do things we later regret…Why are you telling me all this, lad? When I said I was interested in your background, I didn't mean every little detail."

"I'll feel better if you know, sir," Juan said evenly. "I don't think I'm communicating my point clearly…Did you know a woman named Anamaria de Valero?"

Jack suddenly stopped pacing and set down the compass he'd been studying. "I knew her," he said in a guarded tone, his hands tensing and then relaxing.

"…She was my mother," Juan said after a hesitant pause. "She…she gave me your name…shortly before she died…"

"Well, well, look at the time," Jack interrupted. "Must you be leaving so soon? Yes? Well, I had a lovely visit. Goodbye now. Don't come again."

"Sir, with all due respect, this is serious."

"Oh, I agree, lad," Jack said. "This is of utmost seriousness. And if you could produce any shred of evidence concerning this, I might listen. Good day, Mr. Palacios."

He started to walk out of the cabin, but Juan stepped in front of him. "I'm twenty-one years old, Mr. Sparrow. I'm not after your money, your protection, or even your attention. If I had wanted any of that, I would have sought you out years ago. All I wanted is for you to know."

"Good day, Mr. Palacios," Jack repeated, this time more forcefully.

"You want evidence? The reason you two never got married was you were afraid that it would complicate things with the crew. You didn't plan on having children for the same reason. You always told her that one day you would both settle down and start a family, but never followed through on it. She told me these things, Jack, because she loved you."

Jack turned around and leaned heavily on his desk. "Get out," he said quietly, his hands trembling.

"Every day of that marriage she suffered, wishing that Jack Sparrow would come looking for her and take her away with their son-"

"Get out!" Jack shouted, covering his ears like a child. "I don't have to listen to this! Get out!"

Juan started to leave, but turned around in the doorway. "I did not ask to be born, sir. My mother tried to hide it from me, but I grew up knowing what I was: the unwanted child," he said evenly. "Maybe you didn't plan on me being born, but I was…whether you wanted me or not."

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"Are you alright?" Marie asked as Juan pulled himself up next to her on the platform.

He sighed and rested his head in his hands. "I'd rather not discuss it…" he muttered.

After several minutes of silence, Marie commented, "Look at the sunset; it's beautiful."

"Yes, it is," Juan agreed quietly. Marie became uncomfortable as she felt his dark eyes on her. She wanted to look away, but found that she couldn't. Suddenly, Juan leaned over and kissed her. After a moment, she pulled away. "I understand…Your father would kill us," Juan said, looking away.

Marie grinned shyly. "Maybe my father doesn't have to know everything," she whispered, kissing him again. This time, neither one of them pulled away.

A/N: Okay...got this one up in record time to make up for the long waits that we've been experiencing lately. Major plot twist, I'm so evil, etc. Hopefully it's beginning to make sense now? Anyway, please review.