Hey guys #looks sheepish and ashamed#

Sorry... I really am... I swear... :S Don't hate me. Hate the SQA, it's ALL THEIR FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you, even if the feeling is not so mutual given how long this has taken me. And as prof of my love I shall update twicely.

LV
XX

I noticed that Jack had become increasingly quiet as we neared the docks. I could almost see him withdrawing to some shielded place inside himself. His guard seemed to work overtime when he was around his father, and that was saying something. I knew that, despite his pretences and the way he came across, Jack was a very guarded person. He appeared to be open and care-free, but most of the time it was to cover up that he was vulnerable and everything he told people (some lies, others the unbelievable truth) was just a distraction to what he was not telling them. You had to be very good at reading between his lines to understand what he was really trying to tell you. Often you couldn't tell that there were lines to read between, but there were signals, if you knew him well enough; a look in his eye, an undertone to his voice or his laugh, a smile that didn't quite go the whole way to his eyes. It was these signs, more often than not, that alerted me to the fact that something was wrong.

I took his hand in mine, noticing that it was as tense as he was. I gave it a squeeze and moved closer to him. His eyes came into focus a tiny bit more as he glanced at me, but his smile did not fully reach his eyes. It was odd to see Jack nervous, if that was what you'd call it. Did he feel he had something to prove? Halfway along the jetty we walked right into the path of Captain Teague. As they each looked at the other they stopped abruptly. Teague's crew crashed into each other as some of the slightly slower ones realized that they had come to a stop. A long silence stretched on.

And on.

Teague's crew started to get bored. They coughed and shuffled their feet and scratched, but their Captain took no notice. I tried not to look at the ones picking at the dirt in their nails. Jack and Teague looked at each other as if they were daring them to be the first to speak. Still the silence went on and I could picture myself growing old in this spot, on this dock in exactly the same position and while I didn't want to think too much about dying, it was not the way I wanted to go. I shifted from foot to foot "accidently" tugging on Jack's hand but he didn't budge.

"It's nice to see you again Captain Teague," I said loudly, ignoring Jack's sigh and concentrating on returning Teague's smile and keeping up the lack of silence. Teague's crew looked relieved.

"Hello, lass," he looked back to Jack and paused for long enough for the hopelessness to build back up again and for me to groan inwardly. "Hello, Jacky."

"Dad," Jack nodded in the same short way Teague had just done. Another silence. This was almost unbearable. It was so painful trying to get either of them to talk.

"So..." I said, just for something to fill the silence, but when every pair of eyes bore into me (apart from one pirate who was too busy wiping something on the sleeve of his friend to have noticed) I realized I would have to finish that sentence. "What brings you to Tortuga?"

It was a stupid question. Nobody really knew why anyone turned up in Tortuga, but it gave me something to say. Teague shrugged and I prayed that wasn't the only answer. "Restocking," he said to my relief. "Before our next bit of pirating, which, by the way, I may need your help with."

"Oh," I said. What else was there to say really? Teague was looking around.

"Where's the Pearl? I thought you and Hector had it, Jacky?"

"Lost it," said Jack shortly.

"Actually," I cut in before another fatal silence could come crashing down on us. "Barbossa stole it from him."

"A mutiny?" I saw it strike a nerve with Teague. I nodded and a muscle in his wrinkled face tightened with anger. His voice was low, but somehow angrier than it he'd shouted. I subconsciously flinched. He was scarier than I remembered. "It's against the Code."

That was it. I knew we had his help now. He had such a rigid respect and loyalty to the Code and all it stood for that he had absolutely no patience for those who didn't respect it. Jack was looking a little brighter. I looked to Teague. "Will you help us get it back?"

He nodded, "Aye, but after that I'll be wanting your help." He looked to his son and stuck out his hand. "Do we have an agreement?"

Jack nodded even though he had no idea what he was shaking on; he took his father's hand. The crew, sensing the conversation was over started moving towards Tortuga to carry on with what they were doing before we had interrupted them, but Teague stayed where he was. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Jack sighed heavily, "How's mum?"

Teague wordlessly held up the shrunken head of a woman. It was too hard to resist. I tried, I honestly did, but it was the look on Jack's face that pushed me to say it, "She looks like you, Jack." Teague looked pleased. Jack didn't. He stood on my foot.

I'm pretty sure it was deliberate.

***

As Teague and Jack opened maps and planned the best way to get to Barbossa without damaging the Pearl I left it to them to talk, partly because I hoped it would help them be able to talk without the help of a third-party translator and also because they knew heaps more about it than I did, which wasn't hard...

I stayed nearby so I could give Jack a good kick if there was a lapse in conversation and because I didn't really know the crew. They were all too busy to pay me all that much attention anyway and I probably would have been more of a hindrance than a help. The crew seemed wary of us, kept their heads down and got on with what they were doing. They were quieter than the ones we had left behind on the Pearl, or maybe Teague just had them better trained. Every plan Jack came up with was ridiculously violent, but at least Teague was there to dilute it a little.

There wasn't a huge difference between the way Teague ran his ship and the way Jack ran his, just as there wasn't much difference between the way Jack was and the way Teague was. But there were differences. Teague, for one, was a lot more open with his crew than Jack had ever been when I'd seen him. He let them know everything he was planning and every detail of what would happen when everything fell into place. Jack had never done that with his crew, but he had known good reason not to trust them. Teague was also less... insane than Jack was and I got the feeling that he always knew what was going on and what he was doing, rather than Jack's usual 'something'll turn up soon if I pretend I know what I'm doing' technique. I could see Jack itching to do what came naturally to him and Captain the ship he was standing on. Just being 'one of the crew' frustrated him no end and trying to rein him in was hard on my part.

Jack was quieter around his father and there was always a tangible awkwardness. Whenever they had a conversation that was longer than four words someone fell out with someone else or Jack just sat and listened with hard eyes and a the expression of feeling trapped by his father. He probably did. Teague was very distant with him, but I do think he tried to speak to his son. They probably didn't see each other that much.

"What happens when you get the Pearl back then, Jacky?" he asked. I waited to see if Jack would mention the Fountain. He merely shrugged.

"Go pirating, I suppose," he said. Teague narrowed his eyes as if he didn't believe him, but said nothing about any doubts he had. I stared at Jack, but he was avoiding my eyes. Teague left and I waited until he had closed the door on the small room in the galley before I turned to him.

"Why don't you just tell him?" I asked. I didn't need to clarify what about.

"He wouldn't want to hear it," said Jack moodily.

"Which is precisely why you should tell him," I said. "There'd be a good reason he wouldn't want to hear it! And maybe it would be best if we knew that reason before we go and get killed over something we could have been saved from!"

While I didn't want Teague to overhear us of Jack's sake I was finding it increasingly hard to keep my voice level and so was he. "We're not going to die, Isabel," he sounded so sure, but how could he be? "I know what I'm doing."

I knew he was lying.

"If you don't tell Teague then I just might," I threatened. His face clouded over, but I didn't care.

"Don't."

"Give me one good reason not to..." I let it hang in the air and he let out an angry sigh.

"I need his help getting the Pearl back. We both do." It sounded reasonable enough, but I was still worried by it. "If he knew about our plan to after the Fountain he wouldn't help us."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't believe people should live forever and he'd try and stop us."

"Maybe he has good reason to try and stop us. He's bound to know more about it than we do!" I said. Jack shook his head. There was a silence. "How about after we've got the Pearl?" I suggested. "That way he can't stop us, he can just advise us."

"I don't need his advice!" Jack's face flushed. "I can do this on my own!"

I opened my mouth to scream at him, but the door opened and Teague's head appeared in the gap. His solemn eyes bore into us both. Jack looked moodily away from Teague and I. "Is everything alright?" Teague asked in his deep, gravelly voice. Jack nodded and I stayed silent. Teague was one of those people that you feel an urge to blurt out the truth to every time they look at you. It was something about his eyes. He noticed that I hadn't said anything and he looked at me. "Isabel...?" he prompted. My glance slid over to Jack. His eyes met mine and although he said nothing I knew he was asking me not to say anything. I focussed on Teague again and nodded.

"Everything's fine," I said quietly.

Something in his eyes made me think he knew I was lying, that he'd maybe heard the conversation but it was just a brief flicker of disappointment before he covered it up. "Good," he said, but he did not smile. "It's time, Jacky."

As he turned to leave I heard Jack mutter, "Don't call me Jacky," under his breath and I smiled in spite of myself.

It was time to give Barbossa a taste of his own medicine...