۞

The sounds and lights of Tortuga City were just at the end of the Black Pearl's lowered gangplank, and the members of the crew were busily completing their duties prior to their much deserved shore leave. It was the first time that they had visited Tortuga since Hector Barbossa had taken the ship, and so much had happened to all of them. The ship was back in her rightful captain's hands, with William Turner as her first mate, and to find out that the captain and the first mate were family was an even bigger relief for everyone involved. For pirates, they had become a very tightly knit crew... Jack was a firm but benevolent captain, sometimes to his detriment as far as maintaining the possession of his ship was concerned in the past, but he would never change in that respect. The crewmen that served under Jack, now, considered the Pearl their home, and even though the captain was given to some mental flights of fancy now and then, they respected him and genuinely liked him.

They had received reports from Captain James Norrington and his first mate, Bootstrap Bill Turner, that Captain Barbossa, and his ship, the Calypso's Hand, were in the seas off of the coast of South America...still considered in the vicinity, but not immediately in the waters of the Caribbean, much to Jack's relief. James Norrington, along with his other duties upon the Flying Dutchman, kept watch over Hector and his crew. Things had been going very well for James, and William had been called to help him only once since gladly relenquishing his position to James, and that was only to help James learn more the record keeping of the Flying Dutchman... a task that William had worked upon day and night to update after the negligence of Davy Jones.

James took on the duty of keeping tabs upon Barbossa with great relish, as it was an amusing pastime apart from administering to the souls of the departed. He had enjoyed watching Hector; it was a great deal like his duties in life had been, except that he had many, many more interesting weapons in his arsenel... as powerful as the Royal Navy was, it did not have a ship like the Dutchman, nor could just anyone sail her. James had decided, once all was said and done, that the afterlife, at this point, anyway, was more rewarding than his mortal life had ever been.

As the crew of the Pearl were making their plans, Jack was a bit worried about leaving the ship, himself.

"William, I would love t' have you and Izzy and little Will accompany me t' find a good plate o' grub... but..." Jack's eyes scanned his ship, then landed back upon William and Elizabeth's sympathetic faces. Jack's husky voiced continued, more quietly, "... we worked so hard t' get her back last time... we worked so hard t' accomplish so many things, did we not..." his voice trailed off as he looked at William plaintively, his eloquent hands waving ever so lightly as he spoke.

His young first mate knew exactly what the captain was thinking...they had worked so hard to make things right with all of them... not only had they regained the Black Pearl, symbolically it was the start of their new lives, together. They had worked hard. William's arm was around Elizabeth, and she was lovingly, but absently, running her hand over William's strong... and scarred... chest as she listened to Jack. The captain held symbols and things that could be remembered by holding a token or two in one's hand in utmost importance. Now that his mind was not always reliable, these tokens that could be touched with a graceful hand helped him to keep one booted foot planted firmly in the reality that sometimes escaped him. His Pearl was more than just a symbol for all of them, she was their reality... as well as the wooden fortress that guarded the baby boy that they all loved, who was safely sleeping in his cradle.

"Jack", William said, "You deserve shore leave more than anyone. You are the captain of the ship... you have more responsibilities than anyone..."

"Not when I can delegate 'em t' you, cousin," Jack grinned, dark eyes sparkling.

"...well... that's true..." William admitted, "... but let us digress..." His handsome face took on an expression much like Jack's might, with his eyes rolling upwards and a finger tapping his chin. Elizabeth chuckled.

"... since Elizabeth and I are perfectly capable of guarding the ship while you are in town, generally raising hell, it would seem that you are wasting valuable time that could be spent working upon reasons for good, firm slaps from your girls, Scarlett and Gisele..."

Jack rubbed his jaw and frowned, then his countenance slyly and wickedly broke into a very naughty grin. The Turners could not help but start laughing, as the captain said, brightly, "You're right. If I know two o' you, th' little laddie who is slumberin' in 'is beautiful hand carved cradle probably already has a teeny, tiny little sword an' 'is mother's pistol under that laced trimmed pillow."

Jack stood up straight, put his hat on... crookedly, yet rakishly... and turned toward the gangplank. Suddenly, he stopped, and gracefully turned back to the amused young couple who were watching him, their arms about each other. "... I know tha' neither one o' ye enjoys wot Tortuga has t' offer as much as th' rest o' us...an' there's nothin' wrong wif that. But it would be good for th' two o' ye t' get off th' ship whilst we're here... there are nice places t' dine here, an' it would be safe for wee Willie...I'll make sure tha' Mr. Cotton an' Marty will take on some guard duty..." he nodded, hopefully, "... you, especially, William, need some time upon land... ye both have earned it."

Jack started back for the gangplank, then swooped about again, his dark face serious for a moment. "...whilst ye're on guard this evenin', I will send out some good victuals fer ye from th' Rooster's Tail... they have good food..." then his dark eyes narrowed and a golden smile spread across his face, "... ..thank you fer watchin' me girl fer me... now I thinks tha' I will saunter into town an' drink, sing, gamble, an' watch some girls, meself...might not jus' watch 'em, either..." With that, he winked and happily made his way down the gangplank and into the street, whistling "Two Hornpipes", beads and trinkets merrily jingling in his hair, dreads swinging from side to side like vines.

William and Elizabeth both smiled as they watched the captain wander up the dock... it was a wonder that his natural walk didn't send him right off the side and into the water. William looked down at Elizabeth, and said, softly, "I have no fear that you are completely capable of guarding the Pearl, my love. Our plan will go into motion soon... but let's let him have a bit of fun for a while without me following him around to make sure he's safe..."

Elizabeth squeezed William in a tight embrace. "We can't let him sail off in another dinghy. But Gibbs and the rest are in town, so he should be alright for a while... or as alright as they can be in Tortuga," she smiled. "... but we shouldn't let Jack be out on his 'onesies' for too long. In the battles at sea, he is unbeatable, but in a battle in a tavern... welllll..." she shook her head. She looked up at her husband, and they looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. They could not be off guard for any length of time while docked, but it was broad daylight, and anyone could see that they had swords strapped at their sides.

They leaned against the Pearl's ornate railing, and sank into a deep, soft, happy kiss...

۞

Several hours passed, and Jack was as good as his word... before he settled into some very happy drinking, he sent a boy out to the docks, with a basket of good food for his cousins. The Turners were delighted to see fresh bread, cheese, roasted chicken, mangoes and a small bottle of table wine for their enjoyment. There was no note in the basket, but the young man who delivered it said, proudly, that it was from Captain Sparrow. It seemed to make the young man rather full of himself that he had taken the order from the captain, personally. William chuckled to himself, as he and Elizabeth enjoyed their meal, that Jack must have never been involved in brawl at The Rooster's Tail.

As darkness fell, Elizabeth armed herself, and contentedly perched herself upon some crates at the gangplank. Little William had been fed and attended to, and was once again, in his cradle in the cabin, the door propped open so that he could be heard if he fussed. She had a book and a lantern, and was nestled into her little arsenal of guns. Even surrounded with weapons, she looked strong and confident, and was looked every inch a pirate woman. She had removed her treasured Kraken tooth comb from her hair for safekeeping, and had her own battered tricorn pulled down low across her face... she did not need the trappings of a governor's daughter, nor the silks of the captain of the Empress to impress... she was gorgeous and yet intimidating in her naturalness, and William loved her for it.

William leaned down to kiss her, and said, "I don't know just when I might be back... I will check upon you from the dock, now and then, my love..."

As she raised her hand to pat his cheek, Elizabeth smiled and said, "It is not the Pearl that we need to worry about, my darling... she is being looked after by the Pirate King..."

"... and the Pirate Prince!" William exclaimed, nodding toward their cabin. It was true. Elizabeth would be just fine... it was Jack that they worried about.

With one final squeeze of their hands, William turned and headed down the gangplank, himself. The last time that he was here, he was standing in a longboat at the docks. He was with Jack, and they were here to get Gibbs in order to regain the Pearl... and he, himself, could not set foot upon land... he was still the captain of the Flying Dutchman...

William shook his head as he thought about this. How he and Jack had changed things! He was walking along the cobblestones, taking in the not always pleasant ambience of Tortuga, glad that he could set foot on land, even if his land legs were a bit wobbly. It felt good. And as his mind wandered back to the very first time that he, a naive blacksmith, had wandered these streets with a madman that he had broken out of the Port Royal Jail, he grinned... who would have thought...

Just then, above the general din, he heard a loud ruckus from the general direction of the Faithful Bride, and he heard shouting and the name of "SPARROW!" being shouted, as the unmistakable sounds of tables being overturned met his ears...

... William sighed, and bolted toward the tavern, unsheathing his sword as he ran...

To be continued...