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Night fell upon the western Atlantic waters. The sky was still overcast, and the sea was still choppy, but Jack's presence at the helm was no longer required... he had spent the better part of the day at the wheel of the Pearl, trying his best to smooth out the ride for all aboard... it was enough that he had kept the ship from foundering, and everyone was glad that the lack of the sun's heat made the winds calm down to a gentler mood. Giles Mulroy took over at the wheel... since joining the crew of the Black Pearl, he and Angus Murtogg had taken to active sailing duty very well, and they were surprisingly good helmsmen. Mr. Mulroy, especially, had finally found his true calling, and Captain Sparrow was glad to have another man besides himself, Mr. Cotton and William to take over the wheel... Elizabeth was very good at it, also, but her advancing pregnancy had prevented her from much active duty.

William was not upon watch for this night... his watch was taken over by Marty... and he had retired to bed with an exhausted Elizabeth in his arms. Little Baby Will was tucked into his cradle... a handmade gift from Jack and Mr. Gibbs when it was discovered that the Turners were expecting. William turned his head to look at his sleeping newborn son, nestled into the lace trimmed pillow, softly illuminated in the moonlight that as streaming through the small window of the cabin.

The cradle was a work of art... Jack had designed it with a frame that attached directly to the floorboards of the cabin, and the bed was suspended from that frame, made to swing naturally with the motion of a sailing ship. Gibbs had used his carpentry skills to put the design into fruition. The cradle was dark, polished walnut... just like the Pearl... and Jack's own hands had carved a curly fleeced lamb upon the headboard. Jack was, strangely, talented with carving and drawing, as William had been with his crafting of swords, in a time that seemed to be long, long ago. Jack had spent a time as a youth as a tattoo artist, and he was a very good one. He had been cartographer's apprentice, also, and artistic ability was a requirement for that practice.

A fourteen year old Jack Sparrow had even carved a gift for William when he, himself, was born, for Bill to present to him upon visiting his wife and new son... a gift that William had treasured as a boy, since it was brought to him by his father, from someone simply known as "a friend". This treasure that was lost to William when the ship that he had bartered passage upon was sunk by the very ship upon which he and his family now lived... the Black Pearl. When he was picked up off of a piece of drifting debris and rescued by the Dauntless, William met the love of his life, but had lost the few material possessions that he owned. Including the little teakwood whale that was his last link to his past... his last link to his dead mother and his then missing father... and unbeknownst to him at the time, a link to a pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow.

In a conversation during Jack's convelescence from his illness, William had poured out his heart to the captain about the horrors that he had witnessed upon "The Glasgow Girl"... a slave shipper for the East India Trading Company... during the crossing to the New World, and had emotionally admitted that he had wished that he had not lost his few possessions, along with his innocent view of the world. It grieved William to lose the little whale the most, as it was one of the few things that had brought him pleasure since his mother's death. Jack had promised to carve him a new treasure. He could not restore William's childhood with his mother back in England for him, any more than William could erase the captain's terrible childhood from Jack's damaged mind... but they found yet more common ground in their sad memories. Things were so much different, now.

William had almost drifted off, with Elizabeth nestled against his scarred chest, and his thoughts drifted over the incredible things that had happened to them all in time passed since World's End. It was almost too much to believe... so many miracles... so many things learned... so much trust and faith restored... so much happiness that he never thought would be theirs... slumber finally found him as Elizabeth's soft breath warmed his chest.

Several hours after the Turners had retired, the door to the cabin opened slightly, and a lone figure peeked into the cabin... then, encouraged that all were asleep, he padded in silently, and carefully sat down, crosslegged, next to the tiny cradle. William and Elizabeth both woke up, but neither of them moved... they instinctively knew who it was... and they both smiled in the darkness.

The thin figure curled himself almost into a bundle as he regarded the sleeping infant. He leaned over as far as he could without moving his thin arms and lanky legs, now without boots. Indeed, his appearance was startlingly different than usual in it's near normalcy.

Jack had finally dried off, and was in dry clothing. It was always necessary to try to rinse salt water off as quickly as possible, as the salt would bloom as the water dried and was an annoying irritant to the skin. With the heavy rain, the ship's rain barrel was full and fresh water was at hand, and it was at these times that any crewmember that wished to bathe, somewhat, was welcome to do so... Jack apparently had filled his wash basin and had taken advantage. He was wearing only a pair of his breeches and one of his cotton shirts... the rest of his clothes were probably hanging up to dry.

Even his red bandana was missing... his hair was pulled back over his shoulders, and tied loosely, and it had been rebraided... the scent of hair oil with essence of coconut wafted through the air... oil that was essential for twisting dreadlocks such as Jack's. He almost looked oddly normal... Elizabeth watched him in the moonlight as William squeezed her hand... she could tell that he was grinning in the darkness.

For once, Jack's entire face was showing, even his ears, with their sparkling silver earrings. Anyone would else would have been scared to death, seeing this beaded, trinketed, tattooed wild one sitting next to their newborn's cradle, but all that the Turner's could see was a young looking, curious, beautiful dark man, studying something that was relatively unknown to him until this day. His warm brown eyes sparkled in the soft light, and he slowly, tentatively reached out his slender hand ... his sleeve was rolled up and the branded "P" that was burned into his wrist shone starkly... and he picked up the soft hand of the sleeping baby Will. Even in his slumber, the wee one's fingers curled, once again, around the captain's. Surprisingly, the baby's eyes opened, and he tried to see who it was that was touching him. He cooed, slightly.

Jack grinned, and whispered, almost inaudibly, "'Ello, mate." He crept a bit closer, and leaned over to get a better look at the little one's pink face... the captain shook his head and marveled. "Ye look jus' like yer papa... never thought even I would be able t' see tha' one... I don't know anythin' about babies 'cept where they come from," he chuckled.

"Oi! I almost forgot!" He withdrew his hand and reached into his shirt, to withdraw a roughly wrapped parcel and a piece of folded parchment. "I jus' came by t' leave this wif ye, mate. I thought I might have a wee man-t'-man talk wif ye, but I'm afraid t' wake your mama and papa... they've had a tirin' day." The tiny baby yawned. "Aye, lad... you have, too. We all have."

The captain leaned back a bit and looked at the parcel in his hands. "I made this for ye... in honor o' yer birth." He paused, then smiled at the curly haired child who was considering going back to sleep. Jack continued, "Your mother got me a birthday gift last fall... it was th' first one I'd ever gotten... a bead... see?" He dangled a braid for the lovely African trading bead to catch the moonlight...

"It meant a lot t' me, mate... no one cared tha' I was born, except me mother, an' she died a long time ago... your mother cared, though... it meant something t' me..." Jack's voice had trailed off, and his eyes wandered for a moment... but he then shook his head and looked back down at Little Will. "I won't keep ye, mate... ye needs yer sleep in order t' meet th' rest o' th' crew tomorrow... we're all yer family, ye know... but you are th' tie that binds th' three o' us, right here in this cabin... you're unique... I should know... because I'm unique..." he pouted a little and added, "... no, I'm addled... you're unique..."

He reached down once more, and touched the tiny, perfect hand... then touched the soft brown curls upon the baby's head, and he shook his own head, almost sadly, "I hope ye likes wha' I made for ye, wee lil' cousin o' mine... there's something there for your mother an' father, too. I don't think tha' I ever thanked them for... helpin' me when I need it...I hope that they realize tha' I will do whatever I can t' make sure tha' you stay as innocent as long as ye can, lad... tha' ye don't go through what yer father an' I both went through... tha' ye get t' be a child for much longer than we did..." He tucked the tiny blanket around the babe just a little bit, then growled at himself for being so un-piratelike.

With that, the captain silently got to his bare feet, and silently padded to the door. Just then, the tiny baby hiccuped. Jack turned to him and grinned. "Ah!", he whispered, one slender forefinger waving about in the air, "That must run in th' family, too! I'm tired, mate... I plan t' partake of a bottle of rum... maybe I'll join ye wif hiccups, savvy?"

And with that, he slipped through the door, only turning to look one more time... and then rejoining the shadows of the Black Pearl, from whence he had come...William and Elizabeth looked at each other in the dark, and wondered what the captain had left in the cradle with Little Will, and what on earth was written upon the folded parchment that was laid next to it..

To be continued....