HUNT FOR THE GOLDEN MERMAID

FAMILY DISCUSSIONS

Hollow knocks rattled across the Captain's door. Crouch's hands shook as he waited for his invitation inside. He hoped the Captain had calmed down.

"Enter" Baron called through the wood.

Crouch sighed. He didn't sound angry. Slowly Crouch opened the door, he searched the room with his eyes for his Captain, spotting him staring at the window.

"Cap'n, sir" Crouch mumbled.

Baron turned.

"Ah Crouch" he nodded. "What is it?"

Crouch walked into the room further and sighed mentality.

"When ye came to yur quarters Cap'n the crew voted that we search for Jack Sparrow" Crouch explained slowly.

"Oh they did, did they?"

"Aye, Cap'n" Crouch nodded as he took off his hat, "Believes it's for the best, I do" he continued as he wrung his hat in his hands.

"Why?" growled Baron.

"Well the little rat is Sparrows little one" he nodded, "He'd know where she be"

"Jack doesn't know 'e 'as a little one, Crouch!" Baron yelled.

"He… he doesn't?" Crouch mumbled.

Baron shook his head annoyed.

"Well…well…well then the little Sparrow will come to us, we take over the Pearl and she'll come right to us Cap'n, mark my words she will, to save her poor daddy, she will" Crouch nodded furiously.

Baron raised his brow slowly. He looked interested.

"For once Crouch, I think ye be right" Baron smirked evilly.

---

"…yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate's life for me" Captain Jack sang as he walked up and down his deck, he constantly sipped at a bottle of rum as he did so.

Jack continued to hum quietly. He just walked up and down his deck, taking in the smell of the sea at night as the sight of the moon and stars reflected in the gentle waves.

"Not interruptin' anthin' am I Cap'n?" a voice asked.

Jack turned quickly on his heels to see whom the voice belonged to.

"Ah, Anamaria" he smiled and took another swig of his rum. "No, my darlin' ye are not interrupin' anythin'" he smiled toothily.

"Good, good" she nodded and breathed the sea air in heavily. "Ye talked to yur daughter, I hear" she couldn't help but smile, "and yur singin' again Cap'n, ye haven't done that for a while"

"Ah, don't say it like that" Jack scrunched his face.

"Like what Jack?" Anamaria asked.

"Don't call 'er me daughter" he shook his head and took another swig

"Why not, she is, isn't she?"

"No…yes…I dunno" he shrugged and continued to walk down his deck, Anamaria followed.

"Well Cap'n I believe she is" Anamaria confessed, "she is daring, witty…" Jack smiled in approval so far "…daft, bizarre"

"'ey, 'ey, 'ey, missy" Jack pointed an accusing finger, "I ain't daft nor bizarre" Jack professed and noticed the look she was giving him. "…much"

"Cap'n have ye seen the girl, she's got yur eyes, yur sharp tongue, she is Jack Sparrow…only sober" Anamaria professed.

"Only sober?" Jack asked offended, "I'll have ye know, I know when I've had too much" he pointed a finger and stumbled.

"Oh really" Anamaria nodded sarcastically with her hands on her hips.

"Look, this girl may be my daughter but what am I s'posed to do 'bout it?" Jack asked, "She's already grown up, she's fine without me"

"She needed yur help Jack, ye didn't refuse did ya?" Anamaria asked worried.

"How did ye know that?" Jack asked outraged.

"She told me" Anamaria shrugged, "Did ye refuse her?"

"No, no" Jack shook his head.

He collapsed on a barrel and took a big gulp of rum. Anamaria walked over to the barrel he was sitting on.

"Just this one favour and then that's it" Jack sighed.

"What d'yur mean, 'then that's it'?" Anamaria asked timidly.

"I mean that's it, she'll go and I wont have to see her again" Jack stated obviously.

"Have to see her?" Anamaria asked disgusted "Ye think ya have to see her?"

"Ana, I didn't mean it like that, I just meant-" Jack tried to explain but was starting to confuse himself.

"I never thought that ye would think that Jack" Anamaria said disappointed with him, "And don't call me that," she said shaking her head and walked away from him.

Jack sighed heavily.

"I meant that she wouldn't have to see me again" Jack whispered to himself and gulped down his rum.

Jack felt the rum hit him hard, he scrunched his eyes and put the bottle down as he tried to regain his balance.

Spreading his arms wide to help him gain a little composure, Jack began to walk to the sleeping quarters of his crew. Walking across the deck proved difficult with him unable to stand firmly on two feet and the sway of the sea didn't help the situation. As Jack stumbled his way he grabbed onto things to keep him on his feet, he finally made it to a staircase and he stumbled down it, tripping a few times.

He tried to walk quietly as he passed his crew, he passed Anamaria who was sitting up against a support beam but had already fallen asleep, then Will who was sleeping soundly on a hammock. Then Kate, she was also in a hammock, but her left arm was hanging off the side, and her blanket was on the floor.

Jack watched her sleep, she breathed in and out slowly, she looked so peaceful and as Jack watched he found himself smiling. He reached for Kate's arm and gently placed it across her stomach. Then slowly bent down and picked up the forgotten blanket and placed it over her. She breathed in heavily and pulled the blanket up a little. Jack smiled again and pushed the dark curls out of her face.

"And I thought ye couldn't surprise me anymore" a voice whispered from behind.

Jack quickly turned but relaxed when he saw Anamaria.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Jack I don't know what to think of ye sometimes" she sighed and stood up from her post. "One minute ignorin' yur child and tuckin' 'er int'er bed the next"

"Well I didn't want her to be cold, I mean…then she could get ill…and then be complainin' about it and her complainin' about it would annoy me fiercely and would cause me to complain to ye. And my complainin' to ye would cause ye to complain to me. And then that would make me to go insane." Jack confusingly excused.

"Right Jack, ye can't even admit why ye put a blanket on the girl" Anamaria nodded knowingly.

"Anamaria, ye don't know what yur talking about, yur not a mother" Jack shook his head and made a start to leaving.

"Ah so now ye are admittin she is yer blood" she laughed.

"So what if I am" Jack glared.

Anamaria smiled and Jack looked back confused.

"I'm proud of ya Jack" she smiled again and sat back down against the post. "Good night" she added.

"G'night" Jack nodded.

He turned to leave the sleeping quarters but tripped on a stool and fell into a hammock, an occupied hammock.

"What the? I'll shoot ye!" Kate growled violently with a pistol aimed.

Kate stared into the dark and realised it was Jack,

"What do ye want?" she asked dropping her aim.

"Purely accident me'dear, won't happen again" Jack mumbled as he awkwardly tried to get off of the hammock.

"Oh all right then" Kate nodded. She yawned and stretched. "While yur here, ye could stay, we could talk" she suggested.

"Talk 'bout what?" Jack asked confused.

"We could learn a bit about each other" Kate shrugged. "I mean only if ye wanted to"

Jack nodded and sat next to her in her hammock.

"So…"

"Aye" Kate nodded.

Jack looked around in the uncomfortable silence, he noticed she still had a pistol in her hand.

"That's a nice lookin' pistol ye got there" he motioned to it.

"It's Will…well mine, I nicked it" she smiled, "Same as the sword, had to give up me old ones"

"Give 'em up? Why?" Jack asked curious.

"They were payment for passage to Tortuga, can't remember the ship but the Cap'n was Hue, William Hue," she explained.

"Aye Hue, he's a strange one" Jack motioned twirling a finger next to his temple. Kate smiled and nodded.

"I tried to nick somethin' from him too but he caught me, threw me overboard" she laughed.

Jack laughed slightly too and was still curious.

"How long have ye done the pirate thing?" he asked seriously, he surprised himself.

"When me ma died" she said her face knotted in thought, "'bout six or so years"

Jack nodded. He sighed lightly then looked over at his daughter. He noticed a scar on her throat.

"How'd ye get that one?" he asked pointing to the accused scar.

Kate looked over at him and brushed the scar with her dirty fingers.

"Few years back, two or three at most I stole a piece a gold from a pirate in Tortuga" she explained, "I didn't know it was "cursed" gold, the Cap'n, Barbossa-"

"Barbossa?" Jack asked surprised.

"Aye, I believe ye knew him"

"I did" Jack nodded, "Ye stole a piece of Cortez's gold didn't ye?" Jack almost laughed.

Kate nodded.

"And my blood was the debt to be payed, I made it out alive though" she smiled.

Jack started to smile when a huge thud was heard on the port side of the ship. Kate looked to Jack worried and Jack mirrored her expression.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Anamaria asked, awoken by the thud.

"Who's on bloody watch?" Jack growled, he looked at Kate, "Stay here!" he pointed at her, "Ana" he called and he and Anamaria we up the stairs as she complained about what he had called her.

Shocking was not the word of the sight, another crew was on Jack's deck and another ship was less then twenty feet from his ship.

"What is goin' on?" Anamaria voiced her and Jack's confusion.

"'ello, 'ello, 'ello, Jack Sparrow" A growling voice asked Jack.

"Captain…Captain Jack Sparrow" Jack answered as the figure stood before him.

"Oh I apologise" the other said sarcastically.

Slowly a figure came forward. His long warn coat and tricorn hat seemed to camouflage in the moonlight and his dark eyes, almost black, shone like ones of a cat. To anyone, anyone but Jack of course, he was frightening.

"And who are ye?" Jack growled to this unwanted visitor.

"I, Captain Jack Sparrow, am Captain Richard Baron." Captain Baron lifted his hat, imitating a gentleman.

"Baron?" Jack asked shocked.

"Aye" Baron nodded and decreased the distance between the two even more.

"What's yur business here?" Jack asked trying to sound convincing, he knew why he was here he wanted Kate.

"Oh Jack, I've heard that ye were smarter than that" Baron shook his head.

His crew watched the conversation quietly but they were grinning widely. That unnerved Jack and Anamaria more than anything.

"I'm here for the little Sparrow" Baron laughed and the rest of his crew joined in.

"There's only one Sparrow here, Baron" Jack lied.

"Don't lie to me Jack, it's a dangerous thing!" Baron yelled across the deck. "Hand over the little wench, she's useless to ye, I know it"

Jack laughed and scratched his forehead, amused.

"Can ye describe her?" Jack asked buying time.

Baron growled but nodded nonetheless.

"She's about this height" he motioned with his hand to under is shoulder, "dark hair and eyes, like ye" he pointed, "dirty little thing, tattoos, marks and scars all over her"

Jack made it look as if he was thinking, he rubbed his chin then made a 'hmph' sound.

"I just told ye there ain't no other Sparrow here, I'm an honest man, believe me," he finally answered.

Baron glared at Jack, he knew well that Jack was lying through his teeth. Quickly Baron pulled his pistol from his belt and aimed for Jack's heart.

"Where is the little runt?" He sneered.

"Aimin' a pistol to me ain't gonna change me answer" Jack shrugged.

Baron growled then changed his aim to Anamaria's head and pulled the safety. Jack paled.

"Where is she?"

Anamaria looked to her Captain and he did to her. She told him with his eyes not to tell Baron where Kate was.

"Richard, my dear friend." Jack smiled hesitantly, "the only female I have on this here ship is Anamaria and ye are about to blow her head off"

Jack walked slowly over to Baron trying to act calm.

"I wouldn't lie to ye"

Baron glared furiously to Jack he needed to find the little wench.

"Cap'n!" A voice yelled from behind, "We found the girl!"

Jack paled further. No.

"Le'mme go ye overgrown pig" Kate's familiar voice yelled.

Jack turned to see his daughter and Will being manhandled by a group of pirates. What could he do?

"Wouldn't lie to me, huh?" Baron grunted.

"Guess that was a lie too" Jack whispered.

Kate was pulled across the deck, yelling, by the two pirates. They dragged her to Baron who smiled nastily to her then aimed the pistol to her head instead of Anamaria's.

"Can't we come to some sort of agreement?" Jack suggested, "A percent of me plunder perhaps?" he almost begged.

"Jack, I ain't in a barginin' mood, I'm just gonna kill yur daughter" he smiled and pushed the pistol to Kate's temple.

Kate inhaled quickly.

"'Ello Baron, long time no see" she nodded.

"Shut up" he spat.

"No worries" Kate nodded again.

Baron lifted his free hand and grasped Kate firmly around the neck. The breath was immediately pulled out of her and Jack knew he had to do something, fast. He walked closer to Baron and Kate and eyed Kate's carry pouch.

"May I just show ye one thing?" Jack asked pointing his fingers in Baron's face.

Baron looked confused but gave no answer.

Slowly Jack reached for Kate's carry pouch and pulled it from her belt, he tipped the contents into his hand and showed Baron who was instantly memorised by the small trinket.

"Richard, is there need to kill the girl, I mean what's the use?" Jack asked, still holding the mermaid, "I give ye this beautiful piece of craftsmanship, ye hop on yur ship and sail away to a happily ever after of plunder and pillage"

Baron almost thought about it. He dropped Kate but still aimed the pistol to her head. After a second he quickly swiped for the mermaid but Jack moved his hand just in time.

"Uh, uh, uh!" Jack shook his head and pointed a finger into Baron's face. "Kate for the mermaid"

Baron growled madly and glared again at Jack.

"Don't ye see, I will shoot her!" Baron yelled and picked Kate up again.

He stared into her eyes and watched her struggle for breath, her legs kicking and hands scratching away at his hand.

"Wait!" Jack yelled watching the life slowly slip away from his only child. "Me for her"

First off thanks to Phoenix Plames for the reference that Kate is like a sober Jack, I love how you described her like that, right on!

Ok so took me a long time again, sorry guys. I've been sick, had a terrible cold so I've been sleeping a lot, squeezing writing in between. So I'm pretty sure that the next chapter will be the last…sniff so sad…yea I know suck it up haha )

So THANK YOU SO MUCH to my reviewers! YAY! I never say enough how cool you guys are! So thanks to Lumiere (again), angelwingz21, shattered-demon and Orochimaru's Ojou-san. Yay, thank you!

That's it for now, have a good night/day wherever in the world you may be.