Barbossa finally made his way down the steps to his cabin when something caught his attention. The door was cracked open and Jack was leaning against the wall next to the door hinges with his arms crossed. "What are you doing here?"

Jack didn't look away from the floor. "How's Catherine?"

It took Barbossa a moment to remember, before he rolled his eyes. "Julia doesn't seem to be the forgiving type."

"Takes after Teague, unfortunately for you." Jack replied as Barbossa walked in. "What happened anyways? Not every day one's little sister accuses him of sleeping with her…" Jack paused, not wanting to use the word "lover" to describe Barbossa's relation to Julia but coming short on a better term, "…you know what I mean."

Barbossa closed the door and walked over to the desk. "Nothin'."

"Whole lotta "nothin'" I see here." Jack sarcastically replied, finally looking up at Barbossa. "The problem is she told Teague that we've slept together and uh…well..."

"Are you here to tell me you're afraid of Teague?"

"I'm not afraid of Teague." Jack replied quickly. "Perhaps a little."

Barbossa nodded, biting into an apple before grabbing another and tossing it to Jack. "Sit. You aren't looking so good."

Jack sighed as he sat down. "Truth be told, I'm not completely-"

Before Jack could finish, Barbossa nodded understandingly. "Men weren't made to go through what we have."

"And yet here we are."

Barbossa thought for a few moments, watching Jack. "Go ahead and tell me you don't have nightmares about the kraken."

"That beast is dead." Jack pointed out, touching the tooth on his bandana as emphasis. "Remember? We found it on the beach before the Whelp staged that mutiny."

"You still flinch at the word."

"What's it to you?"

Barbossa leaned back in the chair. "You'd be too well adjusted if it didn't leave a scar."

"And you want…?"

"Anyone see you board?"

Jack shook his head. "Came during the switch."

Barbossa nodded. "Keep your trap shut and you can stay in here for now." He said, gesturing toward the door to the Sleeping Quarters. "Go get some rest before Teague finds you."

Jack stood up, walked to the door, reached out to the doorknob, but paused just before his fingers made contact. "You ever think about those times?"

Barbossa looked away from Jack. "At times."

"You ever regret it?"

Barbossa turned back to Jack. He was surprised to see such a sad expression on Jack's face. The look was sad and lonely. "I thought you were known for not regretting anything."

Jack smirked. "Never said I did." He replied before shrugging. "Maybe how it ended."

They fell silent, neither moving from where they stood when the last word was spoken and looking anywhere but at the other. Neither knew exactly when their relationship ended. Did it really end with the mutiny? Did it end after that with Barbossa's death? Or sometime even before the mutiny? They weren't sure when the other might have lost his feelings nor were they willing to ask. They both hoped that the other might still have some sort of feeling toward him, even if it was reduced to barely glowing embers.

Finally, Barbossa stood up from his seat and took the few steps to Jack. He gently brushed a few stray hairs away from the younger man's face as he looked into his eyes. Then his hand fell away from Jack. "It wouldn't be the same now."

"It could be better."

"Nay. I doubt it'd be better than…"

Jack's smirk faltered for just a moment, but changed into a smile before Barbossa could notice. "I never thought you knew what loyalty was." He commented as he walked back to the main door.

Barbossa shrugged, before opening the door. Julia was lying on the bed, having fallen asleep reading a book. He smiled as he made his way to the bed. He sat on the side as he twisted his peg leg off. Then, he pushed Julia over to make space for himself.

"Hector?"

"Just sleep."

Julia shook her head and sat up. "No. No. I shouldn't have-"

"I'll accept your apology if you'll let me rest now."

Julia narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not apologizing. I'm trying to say that-"

Rolling his eyes, Barbossa wrapped his arms around her body and laid down. "Shut up."

Julia smirked, cuddling closer to Barbossa. She smelled as though she just bathed in rum. "You know, I was thinking. What do you think about kids?"

"They're loud, annoying, little rats that are useless until they're adults." Barbossa could feel Julia's cheeks drop against his chest as she frowned.

"Hector, I'm just saying…it'd be nice to have one." Julia then sat up. She pulled her knees up and hugged them. "If it's a boy, we could name him after you. A little girl and we could name her after one of our mothers. We could teach it how to fight. Eventually, he or she would follow in our footsteps." She turned back to Barbossa. "Imagine a little Hector running around."

"I'd be happier without you being moody for nine months and a child being in the way for eighteen years."

Julia turned away, taking a deep breath. "Hector, I think you'd make a good dad."

'Why can't she want a pet?' Hector rolled his eyes. "And what gives you that impression?"

Julia smirked. "I just know."

Barbossa watched her with a smile on his face as he sat up. He noticed something strange that caused his smile to fade. The scars on her back had darkened since he first saw them, and there were more. Carefully, he reached over and ran a finger down a particularly long scar. About half way down, she leaned forward. "What happened?"

"Your hand is cold." Julia said quickly, forcing a smile. The truth was the scars had become very sensitive recently. She didn't know what caused it or how to explain it to Barbossa. She hoped that he wouldn't notice. She kissed Barbossa. "I'm tired. Let's try to get some sleep before you're needed again."

Sorry about the late update. My laptop battery gave up on me after a year of wanting replacing.

This chapter was very interesting to write. Especially the Jack and Barbossa part...