۞

The warm fires crackled in both fireplaces of the Inn, as Janie looked out into the great room with happiness in her heart, and a huge smile on her plain, fair face... blowing auburn curls out of her eyes, she had just put another pot of strong coffee on to brew upon one of the heavy wrought iron hooks over the cookfire, and had gone to the cellar to bring up a small variety of liquors... good, strong Irish whiskey, spiced rum from the Caribbean, a nice bottle of wine to water down slightly for Izzy's enjoyment, since she was nursing a new baby...Janie had been getting ready for this holiday for quite some time. Before she prepared a platter of hot scones and butter to serve as a sort of luncheon dessert, she observed the scene before her, her thoughts went back to just a few hours ago...

Jack had nearly frozen in place when he realized that his father, Captain Teague, was with Bill Turner. Bill's presence surprised him, indeed, but his father... He had turned to Janie, who was pulling upon his sleeve to go down to the dock to receive the new guests, and she stopped when she saw the look in his eyes... a mix of some very raw emotions that very few saw from him, save for Janie, herself, and the Turners, who were standing on the end of the dock, shouting joyful greetings and encouraging faster rowing...

Once he found his voice, the captain looked deeply into Janie's eyes, and croaked, "... he's here... in Eire!"

"Yes, darlin'..."

"... from Madagascar..."

"No, Jack... he came all the way from Shipwreck Island..."

Silence, then, as Jack's shocked eyes looked back down at the cove, and his eyes beheld a man that, up until just a year ago, he had feared and loved at the same time. Captain Teague had loved his son from afar for decades, and it was because his own broken heart badly needed his son, and needed healing, the Keeper of the Code had reached out to his son for forgiveness... it was after Jack had learned of all that his father had done for him and Janie O'Madden that he had felt all bitterness completely melt away like snow, and they were beginning to build a relationship that Jack had craved all of his life... it did not mean that his father still did not make him nervous, at first.

Looking back at Janie, Jack's eyes softened, and he hugged his love to him under her cloak, saying in awe, "... my father, Captain Teague, came all th' way from Shipwreck Island!"

"... to spend the Winter Solstice with his son!" Janie finished, squeezing him back, her eyes sparkling at Jack's sudden bright smile. It was like seeing a little boy being cautiously reborn before her, as he began to light up with excitement. Suddenly, though, his face clouded, and he said, softly, "... we're so different, Janie... I know that he loves me, but wot if he doesn't like me..."

Wisely, Janie stroked the captain's mustache and kissed him lightly, "... that could go both ways, Jack... your father could be worried about the same thing... just remember, he is a fine man... give him a chance, my love. He's been hurting for all of this time, also... and covering it with the same mask that his son has..."

As they started hurrying down the mossy bank and into the biting cold off of the water, Janie whispered encouragement, "Remember, Jack... he sees right through your bravado... and he has his own brand of bravado, as well! Ye're more alike than ye think... even if, unlike you, Captain Teague smiles on the inside!"

No more encouragement was needed, as the sound of their bootsteps on the wooden dock echoed through the glen... William was now reaching out for the rope that his father was handing to him... Bill's pale face was laughing, as he beheld his son and daughter-in-law, who was joking with him about being impervious to the weather and how she might be envious of that.

The other figure was silent, as he gathered up another rope and began to hand it up as the longboat bumped up against the small dock... he was stocky of build, with a heavily embroidered brocade coat in a rich shade of scarlett that was the sign of the importance of his station in the Brethren Court... lace dripped from his sleeves and he wore a lace cravat... Irish lace of his homeland. His fine broadbrimmed wool felt hat was embellished with long feathers... long, black hair trinketed with silver flowed down from a dark green bandana... Jack had never noticed that the pattern was a typical gypsy pattern, and his heart turned a little, and he smiled... perhaps it was to remember another...

Jack suddenly felt a bit dowdy and worn, as he looked down at the frayed cuffs of his own coat and tails of his bandana, but a reassuring squeeze around his waist from Janie made him draw himself up... after all, he was wearing his new wool vest and breeches, and the soft creamy flannel shirt that she had made for him...

Reaching down for the rope, his own eyes met a pair of inky black eyes... eyes that always burned like hot embers in that creased, weathered sallow face... but on this day, those eyes were not burning hotly, but were glowing... Jack could see what Janie meant... this man smiled more on the inside. A small tug began at the corners of Teague's black mustache.

"Ahoy, lad... "

"... ahoy... Papa."

And Teague's face creased into a deep smile, as he had not heard that from his son's lips in many, many years...

۞

"Captain Norrington has granted me three days shore leave!" Bill said, as he lit his pipe and sat back one of the overstuffed, mismatched chairs by the fire. They had shared a fine luncheon of a thick, savory lamb stew that was Jack's favourite, and Bill had even partaken of a small bowl with bread, that he was delighted to hear that Elizabeth had made. In his state of existence, food was not necessary, but could be enjoyed, and Bill had every intention of doing so, as well as drink. "Cap'n Norrington is a fine man, he is... he has great purpose helming th' Dutchman, now, an' extended his greeting of th' holiday to all, even including Jack!"

This brought a soft laugh from everyone. Jack smiled as he broke up chunks of peat, "... I'm sure that Norrie said it wif a look o' distaste, no doubt... maybe he has good reason t' be merry himself!"

William cleared his throat loudly to hush his cousin, as he and Jack shared a secret about Captain Norrington in that a certain young mermaid was making the afterlife a very pleasant place for James to be... it was not to be spoken of until James managed to work up the courage to ask for her hand in marriage, someday... William longed to relieve Elizabeth of her feelings of guilt over James' love for her that was not returned, but he had been sworn to secrecy by Captain Norrington, and Jack had only found out by talking to the mermaid!

They were all sitting around the fire in the great room... Janie came out of the kitchen with a tray of assorted mugs of coffee, with liquor to take the chill off, as Jack busied himself with stoking the fire with peat chunks until it roared with warmth... he could feel a pair of eyes watching him as he rubbed his icy hands before it... his father noticed this, and wished that Jackie was a child, again, so that he could warm his hands with his own, and guard him from the cold by wrapping him in his scarlet coat... but those days were gone.

"So..." Teague spoke in his deep, gravelly voice, as he nodded toward Janie to finally sit down with them... Jack was obviously nervous, and it was thought that he would sit down if she did... Teague continued, "Imagine the Pirate King as a wife an' mother of a fine baby boy... my own great half nephew... an' bakin' bread with my own daughter-in-law..."

Jack jumped a little at these words, as Janie blushed so red that her freckles seemed to disappear... Elizabeth looked up from handing Little Will over to his doting grandpapa Bill, and said, "Captain Teague, I am a very proud wife and mother, now... and cousin-in-law..." she snickered as Jack shot a look her way.

Peeking over his shoulder the other way, Jack finally bobbed his head one way, then the other, and then quietly sat down next to Janie on the old leather couch, immediately taking her hand tightly in his own. Teague saw the bright silver ring of love and commitment on his son's left ring finger, and said nothing. William was enjoying watching his own father talk in low tones to the smiling baby in his arms... the goodnatured infant was gurgling back, and attempting to reach for Bill's nose...

At the reference to her elected position, Elizabeth respectfully nodded back to Teague, and continued, "I don't know what else being the Pirate King entails, Captain Teague, but I feel that I was useful to the Brethren Court only to declare war... it was the decision at hand, and your son knew that I would do so... "

Teague looked at both Jack and Elizabeth, approvingly, as she said, "I did my best to help lead our allies, but I consider myself retired from captaincy and from the position that I held in the Brethren Court, unless another court is convened..."

"... which it won't be..." Teague answered, briefly. "... what of your ship, Captain Swann? And your pirate lordship?"

Elizabeth sipped her wine, and answered, "... I passed the captaincy of The Empress to Tai Huang. He had been with Sao Feng for twenty years, and deserved it... it had been granted to me only for the fact that Sao Feng thought I was Calypso. I also passed along my title as the Pirate Lord of Singapore to him, as I have no desire to be associated with it any longer..." her eyes looked over at Jack, then at a loving William, and she said, softly, "... I am now proud to be leading a free pirate life as the quartermaster second mate of the mighty Black Pearl, under Captain Jack Sparrow and First Mate William Turner the Second... I am now Elizabeth Swann Turner... some call me 'Izzy'... "

Once again, Teague nodded, approvingly. Turning to his son, he said, "Jackie. You have yourself a fine crew, an' a beautiful ship, if you can keep your skinny hands on her... I have never seen th' Black Pearl, close up, except when we were parlaying with Barbossa with th' 'Calypso's Hand' as leverage..." Teague raised an eyebrow, expectantly.

Jack looked at Teague with startled eyes... "Well..." he cleared his throat, as the others grinned at his discomfort, "... ummm... we could row out an' I could give ye th' grand tour o' me Pearl..."

Suddenly, his eyebrows drew together in a frown, and he looked squarely at Teague, and said, bluntly, "How did you get here? All we saw was th' longboat!"

Teague sipped his whiskey, and said nothing... Jack blinked at him, then turned his eyes toward the handmade guitar that was leaned against the stone fireplace, and everyone laughed out loud as Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation at the family joke... the guitar was made from the shell of a sea turtle...

۞

Evening fell, and the drinks kept flowing, as well as the stories. Jack felt his nerves begin to calm as he held Janie's hand. His stories of sailing with Bill and the adventures with William and Elizabeth were being met with interest by his father... Janie told tales of her own, of some of the misadventures that she and Jack had in their youth, of rowing all around Kilkearan Bay and up and down the craggy coast of Connemara... it was met with loud laughter from all, and an uncustomary blushing from Jack when Janie told one particular story...

"... I distinctly remember one small incident that happened when Jack was only four, and I was six..." Janie began, as Jack searched his memory for what might have been noteworthy... but his memory was not what it used to be, he frowned.

Janie continued, "... we had been running all day, all through the forest and the glens, jumping into the ponds and climbing trees, and were filthy dirty! I knew that I would be in for a spanking from my governess when I made my way home, but I didn't care... " she sniffed with disgust.

Looking at Jack mischieviously, she leaned in and said, "My Jackie, here was especially dirty! Mud from head to toe! Looked like a wee, dirty little elf, he did!" She reached over and pinched his cheek, as he twitched his mustache and wondered where this was going..."... mud caked in his hair, in his ears... everywhere, and I mean everywhere!"

"... well, we got back to the cottage, and Maggie pitched a fit... started stripping poor little Jackie's clothes off, right then and there! Before I knew it, he was sitting in a tub of water, crying, being scrubbed from head to toe by his mama, scolding him in Gaelic, English, and probably gypsy Romani!" Jack blushed furiously, as he then knew what was coming...

Janie nudged him with love, as she said, "... it was then that I learned just how dirty two little scamps like ourselves could get, as I ended up getting some scrubbing, too, but mostly I remember that I learned the physical difference between girls and boys!"

The entire room broke out in loud laughter, as Jack finally looked down his nose at his grinning Irish colleen, and got his own laugh from his family, as he growled with a sparkle in his eye, "... an' we haven't kept our hands off o' those 'differences', ever since!" He winked at everyone, and leaned in for a giggling kiss from his lassie...

As other stories came forth from everyone, Teague's mind wandered for a short time... Maggie... and tales of his beloved son's childhood that he had not been there to see. He found himself being very thankful that he was here, in this room, by the fire with those that he had only recently found that he was related to.

His younger half brother, Bill... a man who was serving on the Flying Dutchman and who'd had the opportunity to bond with the son that he'd abandoned... a fine man, a good man, Bill, who he was looking forward to knowing better...

William, who had accepted his own pirate blood and had overcome so much to be with the woman that he loved ... a good man who had seen through Jack's mask and saw that Jack was more vulnerable and a better man than he ever wanted anyone to know... William was wise way beyond his years, and had survived what no other man had survived, as the scarred chest that he would run his hand across would attest... he was, himself, one of a kind... and Teague found himself to be very fond of this young man for the way that he had embraced pirate life, his odd new family and his respected status among all pirates... William's name was mentioned in Shipwreck City right next to Jack's...

Elizabeth, a brave, beautiful woman who had done the unspeakable to his own son, Jack, yet had immediately taken drastic steps to try to reverse that rash action... she had a good heart, and Teague observed that she did well to step away from captaincy as a woman... she might not be as experienced as his son, or ruthless enough as a woman to survive that life for long... not like Mistress Ching, he pondered. Elizabeth had found a station in life as a pirate woman that she was comfortable with, and she was going to fight for it to the death, if need be, for her husband, her son, her ship the Black Pearl, and her now trusted and true friend, its captain.

Janie, whom Teague loved like a daughter... the strong and untamed woman who took the love that she had forged with Jack, a bastard child who was half "coloured" by gypsy blood, and had made it work... she had helped to pull him back from the dark depths of his own mind more times than anyone would ever know... Janie was so much like his lost love, Maggie, because Maggie had loved Janie as a daughter, also... Janie should have been a gypsy, he chuckled inwardly, and he knew that the small token of the holiday and his thanks that he had brought with him for Janie would have a great deal of meaning for her...

And Jackie... his beloved son. As he listened to him telling stories with William and Bill, waving his hands excitedly, his brown eyes wide and shining, taking deep swallows from a tankard of fine rum, Teague saw not only Maggie, but himself. The boy had his thick, black dreadlocks - not only Maggie's soft ringlet curls, but some Teague's own black hair, that coiled tightly upon itself, naturally winding into Celtic ropes. Odd, he thought, that he and Jack had seen each other so seldom in the past, yet his son chose to braid his hair down the back exactly as Teague did. Jackie had the same slur to his voice, the same sway to his walk... he was the beautiful embodiment of the love that he and Maggie had shared, and would have shared again, if fate had not intervened...

And Little Will... the angelic newborn combination of them all... this child truly was a rebirth for all in the room, Teague knew... if he could only find the courage to hold the child... and not be reminded way too much of holding his own son that he had held in his arms only for a short time. Looking at Jack, Teague's eyes saw a grown man... but his mind saw a tiny, dark, angelic baby boy of his own... his little bird...

Teague looked up, as Jack and William were now standing in front of the fireplace, telling of the times that they were at odds, and then of the times in which they came back together as best friends and cousins. It warmed Teague's carefully guarded heart when the two of them paused, and looked at each other in silence... putting an arm around each other in a brotherly fashion... Jack, who did not naturally touch anyone with comfort, could throw his arm around William so easily.

Deeply inhaling the fragrance of evergreen and peat, the aromas from Janie's abundant kitchen, and the sounds of happy laughter, the only thing that Teague could wish for upon this winter evening was that his Maggie was here to share this... she would have loved this, he thought... but she wasn't here, and he resolved that he would enjoy that part of Maggie that lived on so very strongly in their son... her love of life...

"Maggie... I love you..." Teague thought, "... and no matter what Jack and Janie think, in my eyes, they are married, and I couldn't be more glad... not only do they love each other, but they are in love... if only I'd come back in time to save you, we would have shared that, also... but I didn't come back in time... forgive me, Maggie..."

As the evening deepened and Janie got up to go light the lanterns and candles and prepare dinner, Captain Teague could finally feel his hardened heart opening up, little by little, and he could see his son look at him with a face that was sometimes filled with trepidation, but mostly filled with something that was missing in Jack's life for a very long time... happiness in the presence of his father...

To be continued...

۞