It was Sarah stirring in his arms that woke Jack Sparrow from his slumber.

"Elizabeth?" he murmured, struggling to make sense of the world through his sleep-filled eyes.

"Elizabeth is dead, as is Will," Sarah replied, focusing her mind upon their situation. "He is downstairs, left where you…" Amazingly, her eyes softened. "Where he died."

Jack nodded, remembering. "Yes," he agreed. "Where he died."

Sarah Sparrow stood, stumbling awkwardly after a long night on an unfamiliar bed; the floor of the bathroom, wrapped in a strong man's arms. Her father's arms.

"You must leave," she instructed, towering over him at her full 5'6" as he remained on the ground, blinking up at her in the early morning sun.

"Excuse me?" he asked. "Surely I'm not hearing correctly. I've just found you. Just reclaimed you, in a sense. And now I'm expected to prance off happily, without you?" He laughed heartily. "Not gonna happen, love. Sorry."

"Firstly," Sarah announced in Elizabeth's voice, "I am no ones property to be reclaimed." Jack nodded; fair enough. "Secondly, in case you don't remember, you've recently killed the son-in-law of the Governor. Pardon or not, that isn't a crime the government would be interested in letting their least favorite pirate slide on, savvy?"

In spite of himself, Captain Jack smirked. She was his daughter.

Helping her father off the floor, Sarah gave him a long look and, to Jack's surprise, grabbed his hand and led him through the house, avoiding the dining room. When they reached the main hall, she dropped his hand and whispered, "You must leave, for your safety."

"I can't do that," Jack replied, standing his ground.

"Then you must leave," Sarah begged, "for my happiness." To his look of confusion she could only reply, "I could never be happy if I knew all three of my parents were dead. If I knew my father was dead."

"As tears began to fill her eyes once again, Sparrow grabbed both her hands in his own and made her an offer. "Come with me."

"Wha-what?"

"Come with me! Together, we'd be amazing! I'll make a pirate out of you yet, girl..." He stopped speaking with the shaking of her head.

"My life," she explained, spreading her arms out as a visual, "my responsabilities are here. My life is this. I'm not made like you are, Jack."

"No, I suppose you're not," Jack replied, smiling sadly. The smile, however, was for her mother, who had so wrongly believed the same thing. "Well, then I'll stay here with you then, won't I?"

"You'll be killed!" Sarah objected. "I may not be made that way, Father, but you are."

"Sarah, I can't just-" He stopped, stunned. "What did you say?"

A tear slipped down her cheek, lonely but hopeful. "I will see you again. But please...please, leave."

He opened his mouth to protest, but found taht he could not deny the tears of his daughter, despite what his own will might consist of. Instead, he took hs daughter's hand, pressed his lips to it and promised, "Until later, than, Ms. Sparrow."

"Please," she whispered, near a breakdown, "call me Sarah."

"Until later, than, Sarah. Oh, and other thing..."

She looked at him, wondering what more he could possibly have to reveal to her.

"Happy birthday, daughter."

Sarah Elizabeth Sparrow smiled through her tears as her father tipped his hat, wiped away a forbidden tear of his own, and gently closed the door behind him to her whisper; "Run, Jack, run."

Still smiling, she unconsiously rubbed her nose. His nose. They would meet again.


AN-Tada! That's all of it, kiddies...I really had fun writing it, I hope you guys had as much fun reading it. I did end up using some lyics from "Half Jack," by the Dresden Dolls, so I think I'm gonna post the lyrics as a next chapter, but this is it for the story. Thank you for reading!