Summary: When Jack and his crew find a young princess's tomb, they do not realize the danger they are in until Jack suddenly begins to think he is a child again… As the crew panics and searches for a way to return the gold and break the curse, Will Turner becomes the official caretaker of "Child Jack". As Will keeps Jack out of harms way and teaches the "young" Jack about piracy, he learns new things about Jack... and about himself.

Takes place between CoTBP and DMC

Chapter Five: I am sorry that I am this way…

William woke up to the peaceful sound of birds chirping far off in the distance… He smiled, feeling very refreshed to actually wake up to something other than Jack's voice. Speak of the devil…

Jack was still clinging to William as he slept soundly. The absence of beard made it so much easier for Will to sleep with Jack and avoid being scratched or tickled. The slight smile that stuck to Jack's sleeping form indicated that he was not having any more nightmares and that made Will feel good. He slowly wiggled from Jack's hold and he slid out of the bed.

He made his way downstairs and to the kitchen to start cooking Jack's breakfast. He looked out the window and noticed that there was a lot more people walking the streets than usual. He rubbed his eyes, still tired, but trying to rub away the words that Jack spoke to him earlier… "Why can't we go outside?" Will remembered that awful lie he told Jack. He felt his conscious gnawing at him…

He was pulled from his thoughts all of a sudden when he heard Jack crying from upstairs. He sighed and dropped everything to run back up the stairs into his room where Jack was sitting up straight now, his hands covering his eyes as he sobbed.

"Jack!" Will called… Jack's crying quieted quite a bit, and Jack turned to look at the blacksmith…

"Will Turn Er!" Jack's somber expression immediately changed to a toothy smile and he jumped out of the bed and ran to embrace Will. "Oh! Will Turn Er!" Will was taken back, and he was not sure what to say.

"Yeah." Will smiled nervously and petted the pirate's hair.

"I-I… I t-thought ye'd not come b-back." Jack spoke between his sharp sobs. Will's face contorted in confusion for a minute, but before he decided on going into detail with Jack, he simply tugged on the pirate's shirt and led him down the stairs to the table, where he had laid the food out.

Jack ate, sloppily, but silently. He picked up large pieces of random foods with his grubby hands and shoved it into his mouth as though he had not eaten for days. Never mind chewing! Jack just shoved it in and swallowed. Will stared… a mix between disgust and utter awe was in his expression. What was making the pirate so excited that he felt he needed to eat fast to get it done?

"Jack." Will called out softly. Jack's eyes shot up at Will and he immediately froze in position. Will smirked, "Slow down. Chew." He gestured to Jack what 'chewing' was and he nodded, waiting for Jack to copy. Jack nodded and he slowed down by a hair.

It was honestly only about five minutes until Jack had completely cleaned his plate and he was sitting at the table with a blank expression his face. Will hadn't seen this behavior in Jack before… and it was starting to bother him slightly.

"Jack?" Jack's eyes wandered over to Will, giving him his undivided attention. "Are you okay…?"

"May I ask ye somethin', Will Turn Er?" Will's eyebrow arched, but he slowly nodded anyway. "Would ye leave me ever…?"

"Leave you?"

"Would ye just take yer stuff and begone one day?" Jack's head was now lifted and he looked at Will again with those large, chocolately eyes…

"Why would I just pack up and go?" Will laughed, "This is my house!" Jack smiled and he began to laugh nervously too, almost as if he were trying to cover up something deeper.

"Oh!" He laughed, "Yer right, Will! Never mind!" Jack continued to use his obviously fake laugh… and Will was starting to feel a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Still, he decided against asking Jack any questions just yet…

After breakfast, they had playtime again, and this time instead of being pirates, Will was the pretty damsel in distress and Jack was the knight in shining armor. Will had gone from being Snow White, to Cinderella, to Belle, and even to being Sleeping Beauty. Jack delighted in being the heroic knight in shining armor… but he, like any 'child' his age, hated the kissing part and instead he just tapped Will on the leg whenever he wanted Will to come out of a long, entrancing spell.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!" Jack called to Will who was standing on the stairs.

"Jack…" Will called as he began to examine the locks of his medium length, brown hair. "I think you'd be better for this one."

Jack's lips pressed into a thin lip and he grabbed a few of his long dreadlocks and looked. Will was right… his hair was by far longer than Will's.

"But I don't want to be the girl!"

"Too bad! We're taking turns!" And so… Jack ended up being Rapunzel after all… a lousy Rapunzel he was, but he was Rapunzel nonetheless.

The day turned to afternoon, and they paused to eat their lunch before continuing on to fighting dragons and meeting mystic fairies and other fantasy creatures. However, just as Jack was about to free Will from a dragon-guarded castle… there was a knock at the door and both the blacksmith and the pirate went entirely still.

"Jack… go to your room." Jack nodded and he left to go back to the bedroom and he cracked the door to listen in on the conversations below. Will straightened himself up and he stood tall and walked to open the door…

He was shocked to see who it was. A lady... a fair lady with long, golden hair and the brightest blue eyes that put even the bluest ocean to shame.

"Elizabeth…" He spoke just above a whisper.

"Did you miss me?" She asked, smiling. Will's mind wanted him to nod, but his body did not perform the action and instead Elizabeth figured he was so overcome with relief that he was speechless. She pushed him aside and walked into his house… Will did not say anything to protest. She noticed the random toys that were spread across the floors… she also noticed the two wooden swords that were standing against the staircase. "Hm… not as clean as I remember it."

"Actually, Elizabeth… I'm busy for now." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to lead her to the door. She was shocked and looked at him as though he had gone mad. "But, don't worry… I'll be waiting for you when the sun goes down." He gave her a devious smirk and in return, Elizabeth blushed.

"See you then, dear." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and turned to go back into the busy streets of Port Royale.

Will closed the door behind him and he let out a long breath. Jack had already climbed down the stairs and came to stand in front of Will.

"Who was that?" Jack asked, curiously. Will blushed a little and he stood up and turned around in an attempt to hide it from Jack.

"No one, Jack…" When his face was no longer warm, he turned to Jack and spoke again, "So, where were we then…?" Jack smiled and he ran to pick up his wooden sword and he lifted it high into the air in triumph.

"I was rescuing ye from the dragon-guarded castle!"

They continued to play until the sun began to set and Will quickly gave Jack his supper before sending him upstairs to early bed. After he was certain that Jack was asleep, he went back downstairs and waited on the couch for Elizabeth. As expected, she came only a few minutes after the sun was completely gone from the sky.

"Missed me?" She asked after she opened the door and allowed herself in.

"Oh yes…" Will purred. They held each other and kissed passionately. In that one kiss alone, there were both already sweating and flushed. When the broke to take a breather Will smirked and spoke to Elizabeth in a soft whisper… "How about.." He took in a long breath again, "We take this to my room?"

They found themselves crawling up the steps quietly, as the last thing Will wanted was for Jack to wake up and Elizabeth recognizing him. They quietly walked to Will's bedroom, but once they hit the sheets… it was all they could do but to keep quiet.

. . .

Jack's eyelids fluttered and he found himself being pulled from his slumber by the sound of heavy thumping coming from Will's room…

He wasn't exactly sure what it was… but as they say, curiosity killed the cat… Jack slid out of his bed and slowly made his way across the hall to Will's room. The thumping grew even louder, but this time, there were voices accompanied by the thumping sounds. Jack could only recognize one of the voices as Will's… the other he suspected, was a girl.

A boiling rage began to build up inside Jack… He wasn't stupid and he knew exactly what was going on. But, Jack didn't want to make assumptions, he slowly turned the knob to Will's room and peeked inside… what he saw, he wished he'd never had to see again. He closed the door immediately and ran back to his room, dove under the sheets of his bed and curled into a ball.

The thumping sounds died down after Jack had heard a long, ecstasy filled cry from both the stranger and Will. The house went dead silent after that… all except for Jack's sniffing. He felt weak again… as if he was loosing his best friend.

––––

"Jack!" Will called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Ah'm not hungry!" Jack called back.

"Jack! Get down here and eat!"

"No!"

"Jack Sparrow!"

"No!"

Will groaned in frustration. Up until this point, he had not realized that Jack was actually pretty manageable up until he was upset. Will stormed up the steps, creating loud, threatening footsteps that could be heard all the way from where Jack sat on the bed in his room. When Will threw open the door, Jack jumped a little and he scooted further away from Will.

"Jack! Get down there and eat before I kick you down there myself!"

"No…" Jack's voice cracked a little and it dropped greatly in volume. Jack could not hold back another sniff and he scooted further away from Will. William noticed this change in Jack's behavior… and so, he changed his as well. He bent over and looked at Jack curiously; he was not going to yell anymore.

"Jack…?" He asked softly. "Are you okay…?" Jack did not respond for a long time. He just sat there and stared at a spot on the wall in front of him. "Jack?" Will repeated.

"Ye're going to replace me…" Jack cried softly. He spoke it as a statement… a statement that he knew was to be true. His lips dropped to create a heartbreaking frown and he sniffed again.

"No!" Will shook his head and he moved to sit on the bed next to Jack. "No, I could never replace you…" He reached out to grab Jack and pull him into another hug. Jack did not protest. "You're like… a brother to me. Almost a son even."

"Any bugger who had even half of a mind would rather have a woman than a son…" Jack mumbled below his breath. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to catch the tears before they fell. Will's eyes widened and he suddenly realized what Jack was talking about.

"What woman…?"

"That girl that came over here…" Jack was loosing the battle to hide back his tears, and after a while, he just let them fall and he let his voice crack miserably. "Ye like her… and ye're going to leave with her." Jack's bottom lip quivered and he inhaled a sharp, shaky breath. "… ye don't want me around anymore."

"No!" Will shook his head... Almost not believing what Jack was saying. "No, no, no! I could never do that to you…" I love you too much… Will's mind spoke, but the words never left his thoughts, and so remained physically unspoken. He hugged Jack even tighter and allowed the pirate to sob into his shoulder. He even allowed Jack to rub his runny nose across his shoulder… as children often do.

"Ye're going to replace me…" Jack continued to cry. "Just like... Dad did!" At this point, Jack was wailing completely and he cried into William's chest… his nose running and his eyes bright red from the tears. Will patted the pirate's back in a weak attempt to comfort him. He whispered into the pirate's ear softly and continued to rock the sobbing man back and forth.

"I'm not going to replace you, Jack." Will whispered. "I promise you, I won't ever replace you…"

William continued to rock Jack, and Jack's crying continued to wail on for hours more…

Author's Notes:

This chapter was actually not finished...

But oh well. I figured this was the best place to stop for now.

R & R.

Thanks!