Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies here; no own, no profit made! All PoTC stuffs belong to Disney. Miss Juno Alex is the exception, as she hails from the deepest parts of the space in my head.

Chapter 14: I'm Sorry

"We'll see you all later! On the high seas!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!" Yelled Maccus as he and his drunken friends stumbled out of the tavern. It was nearing 4am, and the tavern master had long wanted to close, but the rowdy fish-men wouldn't have any of it.

"I gun have me snooze on th'ship," slurred Jimmylegs. "Nee one comin?"

"Aye," came the replies from most of the crew.

It was a funny sight, seeing the crew of the Flying Dutchman stumble their way across the beach and into the water. Maccus opted to stay behind and watch the sunrise. He took his liquor a little better than most, and since he had stopped drinking a couple hours ago, it was only a slight buzz that still hung around his head. It was a crisp morning, and daylight could be seen on the eastern horizon. It was days like this Maccus loved. Sure, he was a cursed sailor on the Devil's ship, but after so many years, he was used to it. In fact, he and a few others were talking of opting to stay in service even when their time was up. As Maccus ambled along the beach, he was surprised to see a small girl huddled against a log in the sand. The nearer he got, he began to hear small sobbing noises from the girl. She was curled up in a ball, and her pretty dress was all ruined with wet sand. Completely forgetting for a moment that he was still a Shark-man, Maccus drew closer to the crying girl.

"Are you alright, miss?"

There was a slight inhalation from Maccus as the girl who turned around to face him was none other than Juno Alex. She was a horrible sight to see. Her face was dirty and tear-stained. Her eyes were red, and the skin around them was puffy from crying so much. It was strange to see her looking so small and frail.

"Juno? Are you alright? What happened? Who did this to you?" interrogated Maccus gently as he bent down to comfort her.

Juno was hyperventilating again and it was hard for her to speak. "Th-the Ca…aptain…" And that was all Juno had to say. Maccus took her in an embrace and rocked her gently on the sand.

"I'm sorry, Juno. I'm so sorry…" whispered Maccus. He wasn't sure of what else to say, and Juno kept blubbering about how she had been pushed away, and how she kept trying, but nothing would get through…Maccus didn't have to listen to it all to understand the poor girl. It was so ironic. The girl was so broken hearted, and the man who had broken her heart didn't even have one of his own. Juno quieted down and as the sun rose, she was fast asleep, having cried herself there. How many times is she going to shed tears because of him? Maccus asked himself. He knew his Captain was cold and cruel, but even Davy Jones should know better. In fact, he of all people should know what it feels like to have a broken heart.

…..

Even in his cabin, Jones could hear some of his crew return from land. He was hoping none of them would knock. He couldn't believe it. He, Davy Jones had just spilled tears over a woman. So even without a heart…I can still….love. Juno had been right. Every word she had said rung true to him. He did put up walls, and he did punish himself. And of course, even with it being so obvious that she cared about him, he had pushed her away. He needed to make things right. He should've made things right long ago. Suddenly, Jones got up from his table where he had been sitting and threw the chair against the wall, where it smashed to pieces.

"That's it; you're going to tell her. You're going to apologize," he told himself. He grabbed the box of sweets and melted into the wall. A few moments later, in the full morning light, Davy Jones appeared on the beach.

Jones marched along the coastline, hoping that Juno would be there somewhere. A little ways along, he saw that Maccus was on the beach. He was holding something. It was Juno.

Maccus didn't say anything as Jones came nearer. Instead, he gently moved Juno onto the sand. His eyes met his Captain's, and he didn't need words to understand that Jones had come to surrender. Silently, he nodded, and then he walked in the direction of the water.

Davy Jones sat on the log and watched Juno sleep. He noticed the same things Maccus did; her dirty face, her dirty dress. Leaving the box behind, Jones walked to the sea and wet a small piece of cloth he had had in his pocket. When he got back to Juno, he gently wiped her face. Then, he sat back on the log, and waited for her to awaken. As the sun rose high in the sky and the line from east to west was drawn, Jones didn't move. Time slipped by and he just watched. It was almost sunset when Juno began to stir. She got up slowly, and rubbed her eyes. At first, Juno didn't see Jones. She was looking around and looked as if she was about to cry again when she noticed that her Captain was there. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she didn't. Juno stood up, and wiped her dress a little, and then she sat down on the log, beside Jones.

There was silence between them for a while. It was Jones who broke the silence. "Juno," he said softly. He looked at her, and there was expectation in her eyes. She knew why he had come, and she was waiting to hear it. Jones touched her cheek with his right hand. It was so hard for him…Just say it! He was telling himself… Taking a deep breath, and without breaking away from her gaze, finally, Davy Jones said, "Juno, I'm so sorry."

Then she smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "For bringing these back," Juno motioned to her box of sweets. "And…thank you, for apologizing."

Jones turned towards the sea again, uncertain about what to do next. Juno touched his arm.

"You're not done yet, you know," she said, half-smiling.

"Wha-"

"Don't," Juno put a finger to Jones' lips. "Don't make me say it. And don't make me ask for it."

It took a moment for Davy to realize what Juno wanted. When he finally did, he looked once out towards the ocean and then, after what seemed like an eternity, Davy Jones bent his head down and kissed Juno.

It was one of those moments in life when everything stops. Nothing moves. When it feels like you're on fire, and with every breath you want more. It was one of those moments when you know…when you just know that everything is so…right. It was a moment like this that was shared between a girl and her Captain, between Juno and Davy Jones.

When he finally pulled away, Juno was smiling, and she was twirling one of Jones' tentacles around her finger. "See? It's not so hard, is it?"

"You know, if you like those so much, I should introduce you to my pet," Jones teased as he looked down, watching Juno play with his beard again.

"You have a pet?" asked Juno. "And you never told me!?"

"I'll introduce you to her." Jones looked out to the sea again, and noticed the sun was low on the horizon. "We'd better get back. Sun's going down."

Juno jumped up, grabbed her bag with her extra clothes in it that she had hidden behind the log, and mock-curtseyed to Jones. He raised his eyebrow, but she silenced him with a finger. "Watch, and listen," she said. "To get back to the ship, I have to swim. But I can't very well swim in this dress." Juno smiled a vixen smile and winked. "So…..that means I have to change. Right here," she paused. "Right now."

"You, Miss Alex, are a saucy tart," commented Jones. He crossed his legs and smirked, "But I like tarts. Especially jam tarts." It was a odd thing, to see Davy Jones smile. One never saw him smile very often. But then, who could resist smiling in this situation? Juno slowly undid the laces at the back of her dress. Then, gracefully, she pulled her arms out of the sleeves, and let the dress fall to her hips as she turned around. Bending over slightly, while looking over her shoulder, she let the dress fall to her feet. She let the sun glint off of her olive skin, and turned around. Juno put her arms in the air and shouted, "Ta-da!" She giggled a little as she watched Jones' face get red. He got up and walked over to her. He didn't say a word, but he cupped her face with his hand and ran it down the length of her body. Then, he picked up her dress and smelled it.

"Hmph," was all he said as he walked into the ocean.

Juno couldn't stop herself from smiling either as she put on her clothes.

…..

Link was pacing up and down a hallway. There had been no sign of the Dutchman over the past few days. His friend was getting restless. Link hadn't bothered to go to any more meetings with Beckett and Fairfield. He already knew what they wanted to do. He had overheard a plan of some sort…a plan that involved a large armada of ships against the lone Dutchman. Beckett had seemingly decided that it would in fact be better if Jones was dead. Robert wasn't too far behind. His lunacy had grown during the Dutchman's absence. Link knew now that Robert planned to kill Juno here, and return to the future and create a better Weapon. Link stopped at the far end of the hallway and began to bang his head against the wall.

"Fuck!" he yelled to no one in particular. Quickly, Link ran inside his room and grabbed his coat. He had finally come to a conclusion. He had been wrestling with himself, but there was no turning back. He was going to warn Juno and Davy Jones about what was coming their way.

…..

"You want to what??" asked a local sailor.

Link was in the Port Royal tavern, asking if anyone would help him look for the Flying Dutchman. "Come on! All you gotta do is sail! I'll be the one going over there!"

"Yeah, going overboard ya mean!" shouted another man.

"No one's gonna willingly set sail for the Dutchman! Davy Jones is a collector of souls, and personally, I'd like to keep mine out of his collection for as long as I can!" yelled a tall man.

Dejected, Link was turned towards the door, but someone stopped him. "Wait. You said you're looking for who?" It was an older man who spoke.

"Davy Jones. I need to talk to him," said Link as he eyed the stranger. "Can you take me to him?"

"Aye, that I can. But I won't get close, you see. You can row yourself over on a rowboat!" the strange man was wagging his finger in Link's face.

"Fine. I'll pay you-"

"No! I don't need payment. I sail my ship out to the depths, and I get paid for strapping cannonballs to men's feet. You just make sure you keep your mouth shut about what I do."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Link dryly. "You're a bounty hunter?" Link laughed to himself as the strange old man gave him instructions on where and when to meet.

…..

When Juno got back to the ship, she could hear organ music filling the night air. This time though, it was different. It wasn't the violent, or sombre, or sad, melancholy music the crew were used to. This was the music of a changed man. Even the crew was murmuring to themselves as they readied the ship for sail again.

"I'm glad you're alright," came a voice from behind Juno. She turned and saw Maccus standing there, holding a coil of rope.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Maccus."

Maccus looked towards the Captain's cabin, where the music was coming from. "You going to interrupt him now?"

Juno shook her head. "Not tonight. I'm really tired. Besides, it's good to make him wait a little!" She giggled as she turned around and headed for her room.

…..

The next morning, Juno awoke to laughter. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and dressed. Distantly, she wondered what Jones had done with her pretty red dress. When she made her way up onto deck, she was greeted by the extraordinary sight of three colossal tentacles high in the air. One of them had Koleniko and was swinging him around wildly. He was screaming "Let me down!!!" while the crew laughed all around.

"Good morning, Miss Alex," purred a voice in her ear. Surprised, she turned around.

"Captain! Good morning, sir," she replied. Grinning, Juno pointed up to the sky. "Is that your pet?"

"Yes. It seems she's having some fun with the crew. Come. I'll introduce you to her," Jones held out his arm for her to take.

Juno seemed a bit taken aback with this, and looked at him as if to say, really??

"Well are you going to take it or not?" Jones asked, raising his voice. When Juno finally did, he nodded his head, "Now that's more like it."

Stifling a giggle, Juno walked with Jones towards the railing, the crew parting as they came closer. Juno broke away from Jones and ran to the railing the rest of the way, she was so eager to see what kind of creature this was. And what a creature this was!! There, on the starboard side of the Dutchman was the largest squid she had ever seen. It had raised itself high and a large, saucer shaped eye was staring at her.

"Wow…" was all Juno could say.

"The Kraken, Miss Alex." Jones gestured grandly towards the creature. Raising his voice, and shouting to the Kraken, he continued, "And this! This is Miss Juno Alex!"

There was a loud moaning sound that followed. Jones smiled. "I think she likes you."

"She?" asked Juno incredulously. Jones didn't have time to reply as a large tentacle descended upon Juno. She laughed as she touched it. The Kraken raised her tentacle again, and Juno jumped at it, hanging on to one of the suckers. She relished the speed of the wind on her face as she rocketed towards the sky. Jones had to shield his eyes from the sun as he watched her climb higher and higher. He could hear the sound of her laughter as the Kraken brought Juno close that great eye of hers.

"Her name is Calli!" he shouted across the waves.

Up close, Juno was smiling at the great squid. "Calli…that's a funny name for you, isn't it? It would be much better to call you Gigantor!" She giggled as the Kraken emitted a high pitched sound. "No then? Alright. Calli it is." Juno felt the smooth, wet surface of the Kraken's skin. Gently, she was lifted onto what she considered was the creature's head.

"She's almost like a child out there," commented Maccus as they watched the Kraken swim in circles around the ship with Juno riding on top.

"Yes…almost. Except if you give her a sword, she'll most likely cut your head off," replied Jones.

…..

Juno had rigged some rope to form a hammock and had been sunning herself on the sails, tired from having played with Calli. The sun was low now on the horizon, and as it set, she fell asleep.

…..

"Sail ho! On the larboard side!" Hadras was on nightwatch and he motioned for the Captain to be called.

The organ music stopped and a clunking could be heard as Jones came up on deck.

"Glass," he said, with his hand outstretched. As soon as he was handed his scope, he trained it on the sail that Hadras was talking about. "They're sending over a small rowboat…" Jones growled as he recognized the man coming across towards them. "Run out the cannons! I want to see that boat turned into matchsticks!"

"Sir! He's yelling something!" said Hadras.

"I don't care if he's singing the Scottish anthem! I want-" Jones stopped shouting when he heard the word 'key'.

"He's shouting about the key, sir."

"I heard that!" Jones snapped at Hadras. Snorting, he turned his glass onto the small boat again. The man had resumed rowing towards them. "Fine! We shall wait and see what this scoundrel wants. Perchance he has some useful information."

…..

Link was shaking as he tied his boat to the Dutchman. He remembered only too well what happened the last time he was here. But he had no choice. Juno had to be warned. Link slipped a few times climbing up towards the deck, and his fear only worsened Davy Jones came into view. He looked….unhappy.

"Speak, or die." Jones spoke low and menacingly.

"It's about Juno! Robert wants to kill her. I overheard him talking with Beckett and-"

"And why should I believe you? You were the one who came with that man, making threats on my ship!" Jones paced back and forth in front of Link, clunking with each step.

"Look, Robert was my friend. But working on the Weapons project…something happened to him. He became obsessed. He's not the same man. And I'm telling you the truth. Juno's life is in danger. And so is yours," explained Link.

"Don't bring me into this!" Jones was interrupted by a soft thump behind him. His yelling had woken Juno, who had been asleep above them.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Link ran towards her. "Juno! You're in trouble. Fairfield wants to kill you and your Captain-"

"I said don't bring me into this!" bellowed Jones.

"Wait!" Juno brought up her hand to stop Jones. "He wants to hurt the Captain?"

"Yeah, something about a key, and what's in the chest, and I'm pretty sure I heard something about sending an armada after you guys." Link's eyes were full of worry as he looked to Juno and Davy Jones.

"I won't let them! I'll kill him myself! I'll kill everyone!"

"Calm down, Miss Alex. Why don't we go down and have a more formal…chat with our friend here?" suggested Jones.

Juno nodded and Link agreed as well. And so, the three of them descended into the mess hall.

…..

"…you were never meant to be a real person, Juno. You were supposed to be just a tool. Like a gun, or like a sword," Link was talking, explaining things. "Robert used a device called a Restrainer that could inflict pain. He used it whenever he saw fit. He locked you up in a one room cell. He taught you to hide all your emotions, and that human connection was something to be avoided. I myself didn't even see you much. Just when you walked by on your way to a mission," Link stopped as he saw tears welling up in Juno's eyes. It was hard for her to hear all of this.

"I don't want to go back there," she whispered.

"Captain Fairfield will taste my wrath before he lays hands on you," said Jones.

"He just wants you dead now, Juno. He's going to create another one of you when he gets back. Or at least, that's what he wants. Look, there's one more thing I have to tell you," and here, Link reached forward and took Juno's hands. "You were a creation, you're human, yes, but you were created artificially. There was never a mother, or a father for you. You had no infancy. You were 12 years of age when you were created….and….you weren't designed to live forever."

"What does that mean?" shouted Jones as he slammed his fist on the table.

"It means, Juno, that you are about 24 years of age now. And that you have approximately only 10 years more to live before your body shuts down. It's part of your design, you see."

Instantly, Jones had Link by the throat. Link groaned as Jones shoved him into a wall and leaned his face in close. "You're lying!" he hissed.

Link could only shake his head, but from behind Jones, came a small voice, "Captain, please…stop."

Jones let go, and Link fell to the ground, gasping for air. Juno walked over to him and crouched low to his level. She cupped his face in her hands. "Is it true? Is it true what you've just said?"

"Y-yes," Link managed to choke out. "Juno…I'm…I'm so, so sorry."

…..

Author's note: Wow! I got lots of reviews for that last chapter! Thanks soooo much, guys! I don't even know what to say to you guys! Anyway, I was also glad that Juno stood up for herself. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Jones finally got it through that thick head of his that he needed to apologize. And did you notice that the title refers not just to one 'I'm sorry', but to three? (I think…) Juno's going to hate those two words now.

I really enjoyed writing the Kraken bit, as I looooove sea animals! I have many plush toys of them and I have a season's pass to the Vancouver Aquarium!

Also, someone mentioned that I update quickly….that is mostly because I already have the story planned out till the end in my head. I didn't start writing it out until I did. The other reason for me trying to update so quickly is because I'm leaving for holidays next week, and I don't want to leave this fic unfinished for two months!!

Well, that's all for now, I'll try to get the next chapter pumped out asap! Thanks again so so so so so much for reviewing! I'll make sure to let my Davy Jones out of the closet and send him to each of your houses with flowers!

L.Javert