Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney does. I only own the characters I made up. I also do not own Ambassador Alexander Swann, Isabella Swann, or Count Philip Rochester, who belong to Vilofied.

"A word, Admiral Norrington, if you please!"

I closed my eyes as a growl formed at the back of my throat. Sparrow? Sparrow was the pirate threat that was keeping me from my wife, daughter, and son?

"Sir?" Theodore whispered beside me. "Orders, Sir?"

"I want all hands to stations." I grumbled. "If he wants to talk, he's coming over here."

Theodore's booming voice became a low hum in my mind as I opened my eyes and brought them to meet Sparrow's gaze. Sparrow grinned that silly, gold-toothed grin at me as he slowly brought his ship to a halt beside mine. Another low growl formed low in my throat as I prepared myself for whatever it was Sparrow wanted to discuss.

"There's something we need to be discussin', Admiral. If you would please come over here..." Sparrow started.

"I'll be doing no such thing, Sparrow." I snapped. "Anything to be discussed will be done so in my cabin."

Sparrow seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to a man with grayish hair, and very long sideburns. Gibbs, I think his name was.

"Today, Sparrow!" I growled after a few minutes.

Sparrow seemed to jump in a startled manner at the sound of my voice, and finally began making his way over the board that was placed between our ships. "Admiral." he said in a small voice.

"In my cabin." I grumbled.

Sparrow closed the door quietly behind him when we reached my quarters, and seemed to linger near it as I took a seat behind my desk.

"You wanted to discuss something, Sparrow?" I said impatiently.

"Aye, mate." he smiled as he swaggered about the room. "A proposition, actually."

I followed him with tired eyes as he walked about the room, picked up random objects, studied them for a few moments, and then set them back down.

"Ya see, mate, there's been word goin' around about you." he said as he picked a book from my book shelf.

"That doesn't surprise me." I mumbled.

He flailed his arms a few feet from his face, having trouble sticking his index fingers up due to the book still clutched in his hand. "Ye didn't allow me to finish, mate...Oh." he said, setting the book down. "Now then. There's been word about you tryin' to find the latest pirate threat raiding many of the merchant ships tryin' to sail their courses."

I sat up a bit straighter. "How do you—"

"Pirate." he grinned. "I can tell you now, mate, you won't find them in these waters—"

"Oh? You mean you're not a threat?" I snorted sarcastically.

Sparrow seemed to pout. "Ya keep int...inter...nnn...aaa..."

"Interrupting?" I growled.

His eyes lit up, and he swaggered to the front of my desk as he waved his index finger in front of my face. "Yep! That's the one! Interrupting! If you would just allow me to finish what it is that I have to say—"

"With all due respect...If you even know what respect means, I'm a very busy man, therefore, I urge you to get on with whatever it is you have to say."

I felt as though I'd been struck in the chest when my gaze flitted quickly to the small painting of my wife that I had on my desk. Four weeks. Four weeks since I'd seen or heard anything from my wife. This whole ordeal was making me very restless, and irritable.

Sparrow, unfortunately, caught this momentary action, and picked up the picture. "Ah. So that's what your wifey looks like. She's more a beauty than they've been sayin'."

I hastily snatched the painting from Sparrow's hands and tossed it in the top drawer to my right, and couldn't help but gaze at the painting for a few moments before tucking it away.

"Ah, I see." Sparrow grinned. "Ye miss yer bonny lass. You know if you would allow me to explain what it is that I've been wantin' to explain, meaning several moments of no int...int...interrrrrrupting, Admiral, you could get back to yer little wifey a whole lot quicker. Ya see, the proposition I have to offer is certainly one you wouldn't be wantin' to pass if you would like to catch this deadly pirate threat." Sparrow looked about the room with furrowed brows, walked to one of the corners and grabbed a chair, and then promptly flopped down in it before propping his boots up on my desk. "I'm quite proud of meself, really. It is a good proposition, and I'll be bettin' you'd like it a lot, bein' if yer willin' to listen to it...As a matter of fact—"

"It would be nice if you would just tell me what the proposition is, Sparrow." I snapped. "And get your filthy boots off of my desk!"

"Right then." he grinned, removing said boots from my clean desk. "I can lead you to said pirate threat. If we work together, we can destroy their ship much more better than just the one of us trying to destroy said ship. This way we both get rid of the pirate threat, you get a big shiny medal, and we can both go about our ways un...unsc...unnun..."

"Unscathed." I snorted as I rolled my eyes. "And you've forgotten two things." I paused for a moment to wrinkle my nose and brush the dirt left from Sparrow's boots on my desk.

Sparrow again furrowed his brows as he sat up. "Aye?"

"Indeed." I stated arrogantly as I folded my hands atop my desk. "One: You're a pirate, so I wouldn't completely be ridding those waters of a pirate threat. Two: What is in this for you?"

Sparrow pouted. "Well..."

"That's what I thought." I smirked, not giving him a chance to finish. "Unless I know why you want to help me find this pirate threat, I'll have no part in your proposition."

"Wait, Admiral!" he said quickly as he got to his feet.

I stared up at him with boredom written plainly across my features.

"I...he..." Sparrow faltered. "He's the devil himself."

I snorted. "I'm sure you think that of a lot of people."

"He just needs to be taken care of." he said lamely.

I narrowed my eyes at the pirate before me, before realization struck me. I smiled wickedly at him. "Could it be that the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow is frightened of another pirate?"

"Frightened isn't a way I would think of it." he said defensively.

I leaned forward a bit in my chair, the smirk still caressing my lips. "Let me get this straight, Sparrow. You want me to willingly follow your crew to the 'location' of a dangerous pirate threat, so we can help you defeat someone you're afraid of?"

"It doesn't sound like you want to go through with this, then?" he asked in a small voice.

"Not exactly." I laughed.

I shook my head while I turned my attention to the third drawer to my left, and produced a flask of brandy and a glass from it. Really, he expected me to destroy someone he was afraid of?

"How badly do you want to get back home to your bonny lass?" he asked smugly.

I tried to shake it off before it took effect, but it was too late. Her deep blue eyes came to the forefront of my mind and cast a spell over me like they always did, causing me to become immobile.

"Ah. I see how to catch your attention now." Sparrow grinned. In a few moments he was behind my desk and at my side with his hand on my shoulder, and his lips next to my ear. "Think about her, mate. Think about her sittin' there, all alone, vulnerable to the world as she stares out your window, awaiting your return. Heartbreaking, isn't it? Just think about it. She's crying, whisperin' your name as she holds your baby close to her."

Though I tried not to picture it, the image Sparrow had described somehow managed to work its way into my head. It was a heartbreaking thought, and it was really making me want to agree with to Sparrow's proposition, and...Wait. How did he...

In a heartbeat I was out of my chair with my right hand clutched around Sparrow's neck. I shoved him against the wall without mercy. "How do you know of my baby?" I snarled.

"Easy, mate!" he choked. "I can't breathe!"

I let go of his throat and grabbed his vest with both hands, causing him to draw his arms very close to his body. "Well?" I hissed. "How do you know?"

"I heard some of the crew talkin' about it as we were walkin' to yer cabin, mate! Why is it such a bad thing that I know about yer baby?" he asked in a panicked tone. "What would yer wifey think about you're handlin' an innocent man like this?"

I started to say something, only to clamp my mouth shut and release Sparrow rather abruptly, causing him to fall to the floor with a thud. What would Chrissy say if she saw my behavior? I turned away from him with a sigh, and clasped my hands behind my back as I came to a stop in front of one of the windows at the back of my cabin.

"Believe me, mate, agreein' to my proposition will be one of the best things you've ever done." Sparrow said smugly as he came to a stop beside me.

I looked over at him only to be surprised that he was holding out a filled-to-the-rim glass of brandy to me. I took it from him with furrowed brows as he took a gulp from the actual flask of brandy.

"Well, mate?" he pressed.

I took a deep breath, and downed the glass in two gulps. "Name your terms, Mr. Sparrow."

"Now yer talkin', mate!" he said excitedly as he filled my glass. "First of all, I want no harm to me crew. Second, a share in the reward money, and third, you mustn't put me in the brig for the entire voyage."

I stared at him sternly as I finished the remains of my brandy, only to have him fill my glass once again. I downed half of it as I glanced back out the window. "Alright. But I'll not give you money or freedom from the brig until the mission is over, and you've lived up to my terms."

"Name them." he nodded, taking another hefty swig from the brandy flask.

"One: You'll do whatever I tell you when I tell you, mainly for safety reasons. Two: You'll not steal any from me, or rip off any of my men, and that goes for your crew, too. My men work hard for their money, and can't afford to have it stolen from them. Lastly, if you value your life, you'll not speak a word of how you persuaded me to agree to your proposition."

Sparrow held his hand out with a chuckle. "Agreed."

Apologies, my dear readers, for taking so long to post, and post a short chapter at that! Hopefully the next chapter will be longer out quicker. By the way, did I write Jack in character? Please let me know! Please review! Thank you!