Jack watched the kid and Elizabeth talking and smiled as he went to take over the steering of the ship. He needed a slight break from it all before once again facing the only woman he had ever truly loved and her son.

Elizabeth watched Jack steering his beloved ship and smiled. It was clear how much he loved the ship, and it was clear to see that his freedom was doing wonders for him. He looked as stunning as ever, and to her great relief he looked happy as well.

"Do you think he'll stay on the island with us for a while?" her son's excited voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I don't know Jack" she smiled. "He was never easy to predict, and it will depend on what his plans are once he's helped us get home safe and sound..."

"But I really want to get to know him!" her son complained. "You've told me so much about him… and he promised to tell me about your adventures"

"Well, it will take several days before we're home again, so there's plenty of time for him to tell you his stories" she assured her son.

"Do you think he'll tell me about the time he was killed by the Kraken?" the child asked with hope in his in his voice.

Elizabeth had a sudden flashback to that point in time. The fear as she realized that the Kraken was attacking and that Jack had left them behind; her trying to shoot the Kraken and Will being stuck in the net, thus making her mission impossible unless she wanted to kill him too; the feelings of relief, and the feeling of being safe and protected, as she realized that Jack had returned to help them fight the Kraken; and last but not least the kiss of a lifetime before sending Jack to his death.

"I'm sure he will" she told her son, praying that the good Captain would leave out the more specific details of that disastrous fight.

"And what is it you're sure I will do luv?" Jack asked as he joined her.

"She said that you probably wouldn't mind telling me about the time you were killed by the Kraken" her son explained.

"Ah" Jack nodded in understanding. "Well, I would gladly tell you all about that mate, but first I'm curios to know how much of it you've heard already"

"I know that mom was saved by someone from your crew when the Kraken grabbed her, I know that she lost the gun she was meant to shoot the Kraken with when that happened, and that when she went to get it back you came and shot the Kraken for her. And I know that you stayed behind to fight the Kraken when the rest of them fled in a tiny boat"

"I see" Jack stated. "Well, other than the fact that I didn't shoot the Kraken itself, but managed to hit some barrels with gunpowder and rum that hurt the Kraken when they blew up, it would seem that you have been very well informed"

"But how was the Kraken?" the boy wanted to know.

"Scary" Jack confided in him. "And I have to say it smelled very badly as well… I mean, I know your mom thinks my hygiene leaves something to be desired, but... I don't think she has anything to complain about all things considered"

Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head.

"You know I only said that to get back at you" she teased. "And I had no idea it affected you that much!"

"Well, words hurt luv" Jack teased her right back with a smile on his face.

"Men" Elizabeth sighed dramatically.

"Women" Jack sighed while winking at her son who snickered.

"Tell me about another time you saved my mother" the boy asked.

"Well…" Jack trailed off as he thought about which story to tel. "Did you know that we actually met because I saved her life?"

"The drowning-thing right?" he asked his mother who nodded with a smile.

"Exactly" Jack confirmed. "Now, she claims it was the corset, but I still say it was a desperate attempt to avoid saying yes to the good commodore"

"Who was that?" her son was curios to know.

"James Norrington" Jack answered. "He was asking you mother to marry him when she fainted and dropped into the water right before my eyes"

"What where you doing there?"

"Well, I was there to commandeer the Interceptor from Port Royals Royal Navy" he grinned. "The only ship with any hope of matching the Pearl for speed"

"And then you rescued her?" the boy wanted to know.

"Aye" Jack agreed. "I left my effects with the fine men who had captured me because I had been aboard the ship I was trying to commandeer, and jumped into the water to save the woman I had seen falling from drowning. But she wasn't breathing when I finally got her out of the waters, so I had to cut her corset loose to allow her to breathe again. She coughed up the water and as you can see she is safe and sound"

Jack cleared his throat before continuing with a smile on his face,

"Well, that's when I notice this necklace she's wearing. It's a pirate medallion, and I know it's the one Barbosa has been looking for, so naturally I ask where she got that necklace from"

"Where did you get it from?" her son wanted to know.

"Well, I got it from your father" Elizabeth told him. "When we rescued him as a child he was wearing the medallion, and to prevent my father and the rest of the crew from finding out that the boy was a pirate I took it. I had kept it safe ever since, and that was actually the first time in about eight years that I was wearing it"

"But I never got to find that out seeing as the commodore decided to arrest me. I guess he knew I was a pirate because he didn't seem surprised to find out. Anyway, to avoid getting hung I grabbed your mom and threatened to hurt her unless they gave my back my effects and my hat. Naturally they did, and once your mom had given them back to me I left her behind as I ran away from the soldiers as fast as I could"

"Then why did you meet again?"

"Well, that's when I met your dad" Jack continued his tale. "I got the idea that I would hide in the smithy, which was lucky seeing as it allowed me to break the chains connecting my handcuffs. But your father surprised me when he suddenly came back and I realized that his drunken master who was passed out in the corner wasn't the only one there. Will found my hat, after realizing that his hammer had been moved in his absence, and then I had no choice but to show myself. We fought, and he let me know he didn't appreciate me threatening your mom, but in the end I won because I wasn't afraid to fight a little dirty when needed. But I was knocked out by his master who had chosen that moment to wake from his drunken haze, and as such I was put in jail"

"What has that got to do with my mom?" the child wanted to know.

"Well" Jack explained. "While I was in prison Barbosa and his crew attacked Port Royal. They were looking for the pirate medallion your mother was wearing, and because it was in her possession they kidnapped her because they thought she was the daughter of Bootstrap Bill Turner, your grandfather. When your father realized that his bony lass had been taken by pirates he wanted to save her, and because he was smart enough to know that Norringotn and his men were completely useless to him he came looking for yours truly. I told him what I knew about Barbosa's ship; or my ship as it is, and when I found out who he was I agreed to help him save Elizabeth"

"Why?" the kid wanted to know.

"Well…" Jack trailed off. "Mostly I agreed to get out of jail and avoid getting hung, and of course in the hopes of getting my ship back"

"So, how did you save her from Barbosa?"

"Well, we didn't really" Jack confessed. "You see, your father had learned that I was the former Captain of the Black Pearl, and naturally it didn't take much to figure out what my plan was. Not really feeling up for being my 'leverage' he therefore decided to knock me out and leave me behind once he had rescued the fair lady and won her heart"

"So he just left you behind?" her son asked in disbelief.

"He sure did" Jack confirmed with a grin. "But it didn't matter. I managed to negotiate a temporary truce with Barbosa because he needed me to identify the real owner of the medallion that your mom and father had managed to steal before escaping out to the Interceptor and my crew to sail away"

"I remember being very shocked when I found out what he had done" Elizabeth smiled. "And I was outraged when he told me that you had planned to hand him over to Barbosa in exchange for your ship"

"Yeah, well your father didn't know me that well back then" Jack explained to the child. "So, naturally he didn't trust me. Of course his plan was bound to fail seeing as the Pearl is the fastest ship there is… So it wasn't long before Barbosa had caught up with them, and my attempts to convince him to spare the people aboard only got me behind bars yet again"

"So how did you escape yet again?"

"Well kid, a cannonball came bursting through the wall and destroyed the barns so I could easily escape and join my crew on the other ship. I got there just in time to save your mother from getting killed by a pirate that had just gotten a hold of her. Of course I ended up saving her from getting shot right after that, so…"

"Can't say that I was too appreciative of his actions at that time though" Elizabeth chuckled. "I almost ended up slapping you"

"Ah yes" Jack remembered with amusement. "Because I dared ask you where the medallion was I believe"

"Well, I thought that was the only reason you wanted me alive!" Elizabeth defended herself halfheartedly.

"Wasn't it?" her son wanted to know.

"Not exactly" Jack told him. "It was the most dominant reason to be sure, but I think my slight crush might have played tricks on my mind as well"

"You had a crush on my mom?!"

"Aye" Jack grinned. "It grew considerably stronger over time, so as Lizzie mentioned my desire to find the medallion and get my ship back was the main reason I risked my own life to save hers"

"But you didn't win did you?" little Jack wanted to know.

"No, we were taken captive, and your mother wasn't too popular after having convinced them she was the Turner they were after. I was just preparing to give one of my best performances yet when your father showed up and ruined it all… He never did have great timing that one"

"What happened?" Will's son wanted to know.

"Well, he revealed his identity, thus taking away my only hope of bargaining with Barbosa, which meant that your mother and myself were forced to spent about twenty-four hours on a deserted island with no hope of getting rescued anytime soon"

"That's where you taught him the pirate song!" Jack grinned at his mother.

"Yes it was" Elizabeth confirmed. "And Jack was very enthusiastic about it"

"It's a good song luv" Jack smirked. "Anyway. Once we got settled in a bit, and your mother had made it perfectly clear how useless and despicable she found me, we started drinking some rum. I asked her to teach me the pirate song she had quoted earlier, and we ended up singing it while dancing around the fire. Now, I though we were finally having some fun together, both being pretty drunk, but it turns out that she was just waiting for me to pass out so she could carry out her plan, which was burning all the food, shade and rum in the hopes that someone, namely the Royal Navy who was out looking for her, would see it and come to our rescue. Now, her plan worked, and thank God she thought of that, and I have since forgiven for her burning my rum"

"Yes, you weren't too fond of me then were you?" Elizabeth asked amused.

"Not like you were my biggest fan at that point in time either" Jack shot back.

"True enough" she relented. "

"Then how did you end up liking each other?" the boy wanted to know.

"Well…"Jack trailed of with a smile on his face. "When your mother was reunited with the good commodore and her father she begged them to save young William Turner from the pirates. Now, they didn't seem to be of the opinion that a blacksmith that had helped a notorious pirate escape was of any real importance in the great scheme of things, and as such refused your mother's desperate request. So, you mother being who she is, chose to accept the commodore's proposal at that moment and asked him to save your father for her sake, as a wedding gift I believe she said. The commodore agreed when he saw the chance to have the woman he loved as his wife"

"You were engaged before?" her son laughed in disbelief.

"Well, for a short while yes" Elizabeth replied.

"And you liked her because of that?" he asked the pirate.

"I guess you could say that" Jack nodded with a grin. "Now, your mother being who she is naturally stated feeling guilty for manipulating a man she genuinely liked that way, and she came to me for advice, maybe because she assumed I had extensive experience with betraying people. Now, that's when I started liking your mother for real, when she stood there looking so sad and I told her that I admired what she'd done and she seemed to find that comforting for some reason. I mean, I guess I liked her because I saw that she was a pirate same as me"

"Did you like him too then?" her son inquired.

"Yes" Elizabeth smiled. "I don't know why I would ever find the admiration of a pirate comforting, or how I could feel that it somehow made what I'd done easier to bear, but he really helped me that night. I think that's when we became friends"

"Well, as I've already revealed my feelings might be more accurately filed under the term 'crush', but still…." Jack grinned.

"Did my mom have a crush on you too?" the boy wondered.

"Of course I did" Elizabeth laughed. "I had read books about his adventured, heard fantastic stories of his miraculous escapes… how could I not develop feelings for my childhood hero?"

"Thanks for making me feel old darling" Jack stated in mock annoyance.

"Anytime Jack" she assured him teasingly.

"I will never doubt that luv" he shot back before returning his attention to her son. "Still, I have to say she did a fairly good job at keeping her feelings hidden. That's not to say that I never picked up on anything, but…. Generally speaking she did a very good job at convincing me that any feelings I might pick up on would not be strong enough to rival her contempt for me. Of course it didn't help that she found out that most of the stories she'd heard were not true…."

"You make it sound as if I hated you" Elizabeth interrupted.

"Well…. Didn't you?" Jack demanded.

"No! I didn't much care for your less than morally acceptable ways of going about getting what you wanted, but I never hated you. How could I? You've always done so much for us. And I never thought less of you despite finding out that the stories were untrue"

"As you can see we developed a close friendship later on, and that has been kept alive ever since. But we did have a rocky start" Jack told her son.

"But what about my dad?"

"Ah, dear William" Jack nodded in remembrance. "Well, I convinced the commodore to lock your mother in the cabin to prevent anything from happening to his precious fiancé, and then I went in to lure the pirates out of the cave. When they got out the plan was for Norrington and his men to bomb their tiny boats, thus keeping them from hurting anyone from the Royal Navy before I had a chance to lift the curse that made them immortal. But, Norrington couldn't find it in him to trust me, and so he changed the plan so that his men were put in danger. I went in and convinced the men to go fight the Royal Navy before lifting the curse and bringing their lives in danger, and as a reward for the warning I was to get the Pearl back while Barbosa got the Dauntless. The crew disappeared, your father and I started fighting the four remaining men, and it wasn't long until your mother decided to join us. She had decided that she didn't like my plan for her and had escaped, and now she was helping your father fight three crewmembers, while I took care of Barbosa seeing as I was now immortal same as him. Will and me managed to get in the position to lift the curse, and Barbosa tried to threaten your mother. I shot him before he had a chance to hurt her, and while he was mocking me for shooting an immortal man your father lifted the curse and he died. Naturally the crew surrendered once they figured out that that weren't immortal anymore, but it did cost some lives"

"That's how Jack got arrested yet again" Elizabeth told her son. "You remember how I told you your father helped save him from the noose?"

"Yes"

"Yes" Jack nodded. "He's a good man your father, you should know that. Lucky is something he is definitely not, but he's a good man. And your mother is quite the lady as well… I think both your father and I would have been dead had she not stepped in and convinced the commodore and the governor not to hurt us"

"So what happened?" the boy wanted to know. "Why did you meet again after she had helped you escape?"

Jack laughed and cleared his throat before beginning the next part of their adventure.

"Well…" he began. "Davy Jones, the man that was Captain of the Flying Dutchman before your father, was not quite the man your father is. Still, when I was younger I needed his help retrieving the Pearl from the depths of the sea, and was foolish enough to promise him 100 years of service aboard his ship for 13 years as Captain Jack Sparrow aboard the Black Pearl. Now, as you know Barbosa had that ship for 10 years, so when I got it back my time was almost up. And it wasn't long until your grandfather was sent to tell me that it was time to pay my debt to him. Now, I wasn't much for being a servant aboard any ship, but especially not one like that, so I tried everything I could to get out of it. That's why your father's sudden reappearance in my life was a very welcome surprise. I quickly enlisted him to help me retrieving the key that would unlock the chest of Davy Jones, and in return I promised him my compass so he could free your mother from Lord Cuttler Becket and save her life"

"Who is Becket?" the boy wanted to know.

"A former employer of mine" Jack informed him. "A cruel man with more ambition than heart. Anyway, he had arrested your mother and your father for helping me escape, but had allowed Will this one chance to save them both. Now, as I had feared your father was taken captive by Davy Jones, and as I had instructed he said that he had been sent to pay my debt. Davy Jones came to me and said that he wanted 100 souls for mine or there would be no deal, and I was given three days to find the 99 souls who would join your father. So, I left your father behind and was quick to go to Tortuga for the 100 people that could take my place. Naturally I didn't find enough, which I had never expected to begin with, and I was starting to get desperate when your mother suddenly made a reappearance in my life as well"

"Your grandfather had managed to get me out of jail, and I was lucky enough to escape before they found me and put me back in jail" Elizabeth explained. "And naturally I went in search of Jack in the hopes of finding your father with him"

"Only, your father was with Davy Jones, which turned out to be extraordinarily lucky for me. See, I convinced your mother that to save Will she had to find Davy Jones´ chest and then use the heart to free him. So, with her help I got the compass working again and we found the chest, only we didn't have the key who unlocks it"

"So what did you do?" the boy asked.

"That's when your dad came with the key" Jack continued. "He had managed to find the key and had escaped Davy Jones. Or to be more exact had escaped and then ensured that he got a ride to where me and your mother would be when Davy Jones´ realized that the chest was in danger; which meant that Davy Jones´ crew wasn't too far behind, and that we had to get away as quickly as possible"

"Oh no no no…." Elizabeth interrupted. "No need to make it sound like you, Will and James were that sensible when you chose that moment to fight amongst each other in stead of worrying about escaping Davy Jones"

"Okay, so there was a bit of a dispute amongst us three men because we didn't really have the same reason for finding the heart of Davy Jones, and we might have ended up fighting each other to see who would end up with the heart, and with that the ability to get what they wanted"

"What did you want?"

"Well, there were three possible outcomes" Elizabeth chuckled. "Either Jack would get his freedom once Davy Jones stopped sending the Kraken after him, or your father would have the ability to free your grandfather from being a servant on the Flying Dutchman, or James would be able to present Becket with the heart and regain his former status in society as opposed to being an outlaw"

"Unfortunately Norrington won" Jack took over. "Which was the beginning of a whole new set of difficulties when Becket got the heart, and with it more power than any man with that amount of selfish and greedy ambition should ever be allowed to have"

"But why were you eaten by the Kraken?"

"Oh" Jack nodded. "That was because I didn't have the heart when Davy Jones suddenly ambushed us, and because of that I was unable to stop him from sending the Kraken after me. Naturally Becket ordered Davy Jones to kill the beast later on, but I was already dead at that point so…"

"And that's when my mom and dad went to get you back…" he remembered.

"Yes we did" Elizabeth confirmed. "Can't say that it was a very pleasant trip, but it was definitely worth it in the end"

Jack smiled at her. It was good to know that she had never regretted her decision even though it had been based mostly on the desire to diminish her own guilt. Well, and maybe the fact that she had actually missed him it would seem.

"Can't say that I was enjoying my stay in the locker either luv" he countered. "But the feeling is very much mutual; it was worth everything I went through in the end"

"Then what happened with Becket and Jones once you got back from the locker?" the boy asked.

"You see, Becket and Jones were on a mission to rid the world of piracy" Jack told him. "And that meant that a lot of pirates were dead by the time I returned, along with a lot of people who may or may not have associated with pirates… I doubt that the East Indian Trading Company was that meticulous when determining whether or not a person was guilty. Anyway, I quickly came to understand that bringing me back had more to do with the people needing my help than any real concern for how my eternity was spent, and when that 'eternity' began".

"Well, mom wanted you back, right?" her son wondered,

"Of course she did" Jack acknowledged. "For several reasons I'd imagine, but at least a part of it was due to her missing me, no matter how loathe she may have been to admit that at the time"

"Oh, I don't think it was much of a secret that I missed you Jack" Elizabeth snorted. "Ask anyone who was with me at the time"

"I'm deeply flattered" Jack bowed in a teasing manner before continuing his story. "So, your father wanted my ship, Barbosa needed my one share of the nine pieces of eights, and a large part of your mother's reason was her feeling guilty about how we left things… so, all in all there were things to be dealt with all around"

"Did you have a fight before you died?" the boy inquired.

"In a manner of speaking…" Jack smirked as he met Elizabeth's eyes. "Naturally she hadn't needed to worry, and all was quickly forgotten. But we still had the two other issues to deal with; first off the freeing of your grandfather, and secondly destroying Becket's regime. So, the brethren court met to decide the fate of all pirates, and I can safely say that there were differences of opinions when it revolved around how to deal with this threat. Lucky for me your mother is pretty fearless when need be, and she had agreed to accompany the pirate Sao Feng in exchange for him releasing your father, Barbosa, the crew and myself. So, while we had made the journey to where the brethren court was to meet Sao Feng had been killed, and before his death he'd declared your mother the new Captain of his ship. Seeing as your mother is as fearless as she is she naturally agreed with my outlook on thing, which was that we had to fight Becket every step of the way. No one else seemed to think that was the best solution; Barbosa wanted to free Calypso, which was a crazy idea seeing as her hate for us actually made her destroying us all more likely than her agreeing to help us, and others simply wanted to hide in the vain hope that we could ride out the storm that way"

"So what did you do?"

"He demanded that we voted for who we thought best fit to be the pirate king" Elizabeth grinned. "You see, the pirate king would then be able to decide our course of action, and the rest of the pirate leaders would have no choice but to accept that decision. So, we started casting votes, and like tradition states everyone votes for them selves so there is no one selected king… until Jack votes for me. Everyone was stunned, but they had to accept my title as pirate king, and naturally my decision was to go to war, which is why Jack voted for me in the first place"

"So, we go to war" Jack took over. "And that is where your father asked your mother to marry him… for the second time no less seeing as their first wedding was interrupted by Becket arresting them. So, Barbosa performs the marriage right in the middle of a huge battle, but then disaster strikes. Davy Jones and your father comes face to face right after the wedding, and he ends up loosing the fight. I get a hold of Jones' heart just in time and threaten him by putting a knife to it, but he surprised everyone by stabbing your father through the heart when he realized that he and your mother are in love and that he had a chance to destroy their relationship. Your grandfather attacks Jones once he realizes that his son has been seriously wounded, and while Jones is preoccupied I make the decision to have your father stab the heart in stead of me"

"Which is why he's the Captain of the Flying Dutchman" the boy finishes the story.

"Aye mate" Jack agrees. "It made him immortal, but it also bound him to the Dutchman for ten years at a time. And it meant that I had to find immortality in my own way as well… which gave me the opportunity to share it with your mother and my father, and some day you once you're quite a bit older than you are now"

"Does that mean you can never die?" little Jack wanted to know.

"No mate, it just means that old age isn't going the be the cause of your death… the rest of it is up to you, so you have to be smart and protect yourself, savvy?"

"Savvy" the boy grinned.

"Good lad" Jack nodded. "Good lad"