Author's Note: I'm back and I bring another chapter! I want to thank everyone who sent reviews, and of course I'm going to ask you to do it again for this chapter! Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Five
Two weeks later Jack was getting fidgety. He didn't generally spend this long on land, the thing was he had nothing he could do that he would be able to complete and still make it to Port Royal in time for the wedding, and so he waited. As Jack stood at the helm of his ship thinking his restless thoughts, he heard a hacking cough behind him. "It's getting worse," he commented without turning around.
"Aye, it is at that," Bill agreed hoarsely.
Jack turned then and studied his old friend, his eyes unreadable. "Two and a half more weeks," he said and Bill didn't need to ask what he meant.
"Yes, I can make it," he answered, trying to suppress another cough, and leaning heavily against the edge of the ship. "Lets go into Tortuga," he said, giving his friend a grin.
"Ye sure ye're up for it?" Jack asked.
"Oh aye, it can't hurt, besides, I know ye would be there more often if it weren't for me."
"Dunno what ye're talkin' about William," Jack said, feigning indifference.
"Right," Bill said sarcastically, not letting Jack fool him. "Ye haven't been staying here and keepin' me comp'ny on the days I couldn't go."
"Ye're blathering nonsense," Jack said as they headed off the ship.
"Oh all right then," Bill said. "I am grateful though," he added, glancing quickly at Jack, who without a word nodded. The two headed directly to the Treasure Hut and when they entered Bootstrap sat heavily in a chair, tired from the walk, as Jack signaled to the bartender and ordered them both some rum.
Jack covertly watched Bootstrap from his position at the bar. He was panting slightly but trying to hide it, the walk from the ship had indeed winded him but he didn't want Jack to notice. As Jack leaned against the bar his thoughts strayed to the night he had first seen Bootstrap after all these years.
He had been sitting in this very pub, at the same bar he was now leaning against. He had been drinking his rum and casually observing the other patrons, when he had noticed the dark haired man leaning against the wall in the corner and holding his own mug. Jack had recognized him instantly, despite all the years between the last time they had met. Bootstrap had been watching him as well and had raised his mug in a quiet salute and grinned slightly when he had noticed that Jack had seen him.
Jack had raised his mug in response and got up and weaved his way through the crowd until he was standing beside his old friend. "Long time, no see," he had murmured.
"Aye," Bootstrap had answered, "I had wondered if I'd see ye here. I've heard the strangest rumors about ye."
"Really?" Jack had asked mildly.
"Aye, not that, that is so unusual in and of itself, but I heard ye were helping a naval officer of all things," Bootstrap had remarked.
"It had its benefits," Jack said, "Care to tell me what ye are doing here William?"
Bootstrap had nodded and after a slight hesitation, gathering his thoughts, he had said, "I'm dying Jack."
"Ye don't believe in beating around the bush do ye mate?" Jack had said lightly, though he had been a little taken aback.
"Why should I?" Bill had asked, somewhat bitterly.
"How do ye figure ye're dying?" Jack had asked reasonably.
"I can just feel it," Bill answered. "I've been sick for some time now, but it's been getting worse lately. I saw a doctor but he didn't tell me much, other than that he didn't think I had a lot of time."
"He couldn't do anything for ye?" Jack asked.
"Well he could keep me there on bed rest and feed me some medications, but in the long run he said he I'd most likely die anyway, and I decided I'd just as soon not die with the doctor," Bill explained calmly.
"So ye decided for one more outing to Tortuga?" Jack had asked, knowing full well there was more to it then that. "Not that I blame ye mate, but if truth be told it does seem a little odd."
"No," Bill had grinned, "I was hoping I'd hear some word of where you were actually."
"Well, you found me," Jack commented.
"Aye, I wanted to ask ye for yer help," Bill had said, a little uneasily, leading Jack to a more secluded part of the bar.
Jack had followed after him, looking slightly puzzled. "And what do ye need me help for?" he had asked, having a shrewd suspicion of what it was.
"Jack, there are a lot of things I regret in me life, and most of them I can't do anything about," Bill had started heavily. "What I did to ye with Barbossa and his crew of miscretins is one of those regrets."
"I thought we had already agree that we were even on that one back when we met in Jamison Port," Jack reminded him. "Aside from that, I never blamed ye anyway."
"Ye'd have gotten out of the trouble in Jamison Port all by yerself, I just helped to speed the process," Bill told him. "Besides, some things, ye just feel like ye can't make up, even if the person or persons ye feel ye've wronged say that it's okay. Anyway, I didn't come here to get ye to tell me everything is all right. I already know that ye say ye never blamed me," Bill had explained quietly.
"Alright," Jack said with a nod of his head, "Go on then."
"Well, one o' me regrets is that I haven't been in me son's life since he was seven years old. I had me reasons o' course," Bill explained nervously. "Reasons that have always seemed like good reasons. If I had come out of hiding there was more than one way that Barbossa could have figured out where I was, and if that was anywhere near Will and the medallion he would have been in danger."
"Aye, I already know yer reasons and I know they were sound," Jack had said, quietly urging him to say what he felt he needed to say.
Bill had nodded nervously again, "Yes," he said, "But then you and Will teamed up and now Barbossa is dead. So why didn't I come out of hiding then, and if not then, why not afterward?" Jack had not said anything and Bill had taken a deep breath and continued. "I thought about it, but the truth is it was much easier to stay in me self imposed hermitry where I wouldn't have to face the possibility o' me son not excepting me. Besides, I always figured there was time," he said heavily. "It turns out I'm not as good on the time as I thought though, and since ye know my son I was hoping ye would help me to meet him."
Jack had agreed and had told Bill of his son's impending marriage and of how that would be as good a time as any to meet him. Then they had decided Bootstrap would stay on the Black Pearl while they waited for the wedding, had been there ever since, his health getting steadily worse.
"Here's your rum Captain," the bartender said, jolting Jack out of his thoughts. Jack placed a few shillings on the table and took the rum to the table where Bill waited.
"Here ye go mate. Just the one," he warned, to which Bill grinned.
"Yep, ye haven't changed," Bill commented with another wry grin.
"Neither have ye old friend, neither have ye," Jack told him.
The two drank the night way and reminisced about old times, before they had met Barbossa of course. "Captain, Bootstrap, I didn't know ye would be here," came Annamaria's voice, as she appeared right in the middle of a loud fit of laughing, as the two were reliving a particularly hilarious time of years ago.
"What can we say? We love the rum!" Bill said, winking at Jack.
"You said it!" Jack agreed, taking a deep swig.
"I never would have thought I'd find another person like ye Captain, but I've been proven wrong," Annamaria remarked, watching Bill chug rum as well. All three of them chuckled but then Annamaria said, "If I ever manage to get me another boat ye both better leave it be!"
"For the last time, I just borrowed that boat!" Jack said quickly. "I had every intention of bringing it back to ye!"
"But you didn't!" Annamaria said loudly.
"We've had this conversation afore luv," Jack stated.
"What happened to the boat?" Bill asked with a grin of amusement.
"I dunno, he never fully explained it," Annamaria said with a glare at Jack.
"Well…" Jack shifted his position slightly and with an uneasy glance at Annamaria said, "I sank it."
Bill laughed uproariously as Annamaria continued to glare at Jack and then slapped him viciously. At this point Bill's laughter turned into another burst of coughing, and he doubled over, holding onto his side. Jack patted him roughly on the back and when his coughing fit finally subsided Annamaria looked at Jack and said, "We'll talk about me boat again later, but maybe right now ye should get Bootstrap back to the Pearl."
"Aye, perhaps yer right," Jack agreed as Bootstrap clutched at his throat.
"Just let me get a drink first," Bill said hoarsely as he lifted his mug and took a deep swig. "I'm okay," he panted, putting the mug down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"He's not okay, he needs rest Captain," Annamaria said, bending down to look into Bootstrap's bloodshot eyes.
"I suppose she's right," Bill said with a sigh.
"She often is," Jack agreed, standing up. "See ye back at the ship," he said to Annamaria as he and Bill headed out.
As they went back to the ship Jack could tell Bill was feeling very weak. "Ye should eat something mate," he suggested.
"Nah, not hungry," Bill said, "I think I'll just lie down some."
They managed to get up on deck with Bill only coughing a little bit. "I'm going to make it to me son's wedding Jack," Bill said suddenly, as though Jack had said something to the contrary.
"I know ye will William," Jack said calmly. Bill nodded and started coughing again, his whole body shaking with the force of the coughs racking his body. "Easy mate," Jack murmured, patting Bill on the back as a spurt of blood shot out of his mouth with the force of his coughing fit and splattered on the deck. Jack stared briefly at the bright red blood. "That can't be good," he muttered as he guided Bill toward the bed he had for him in his cabin.
A/N: Please don't forget to review and tell me what you think!
