Hello my lovelies! How are we today? :) Before we begin are there any Batman fans in the house? Just wondering because I have a new Dark Night fic up if any of you are interested. It's about the Joker in the early days. Anyhoodles if you want to have a look then do if you don't then... don't.

LV

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Teague was as good as his word. He came to see Jack and I as dawn broke over Tortuga. The sun seemed to rise more slowly than usual, hung-over from the night before. The crew were stumbling back. I found many asleep on the deck and rather worryingly both Pintel and Ragetti were found in the same bunk. They woke up terrified and both promptly fell out, swearing never to talk to each other ever again and then just swearing in general. I stayed close to Jack so that he didn't try and make a run for it before all the crew were back. I closed in on his left shoulder as his father appeared on the gangplank.

"No," said Jack curtly before Teague could even open his mouth.

"You don't know what I'm here to say, lad." Teague followed Jack and I on to the deck. Jack turned his back on him.

"I can guess and it's still a 'no'."

Teague stopped; his shoulders slumped forward in defeat. I glanced back at him and sighed at the wistful look on his face as Teague stared at the back of his son's head. Jack carried on, not looking as if he really cared if his dad was still there or not. "She's dead."

Jack stopped. I stopped. Who was dead? I looked from Teague to Jack and back again. Jack didn't turn. I took his hand and he gave a little jolt back into reality. "The old bat?" he asked. Teague nodded and then realised that Jack couldn't see him.

"Yes," he whispered. Teague's eyes were a little bright.

"Good," said Jack sourly. Teague looked to the heavens and then back at his son. Jack wasn't finished. "Took her long enough. She must have been near a thousand."

He sounded so bitter and cruel. I half wanted to remind him that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but then I reminded myself that some members of the dead deserved it. Like Jones and Beckett. "It happened a while back actually," Teague tried to keep his tone light. "But you weren't around to know. I didn't see you 'till the Court meeting and it was all a bit hectic then."

"Oh."

It was all Jack said. There was a silence that could easily have marked the end of the conversation, but neither of them moved. It didn't feel like the end because there was still a massive weight pushing down on everyone. "There's some ashes needing scattered," Teague said eventually. Jack sighed.

"Just tip 'em overboard."

"She wanted her family to do it," Teague pressed on. Silence. "That's you an' me Jack-y."

There was a pause before Jack turned. "And why should I care what she wanted?"

"She was your grandmother, Jack," Teague's tone was a heavy one. "She was family."

Jack snorted. "No she wasn't! Have you forgotten what she did?" He narrowed his eyes. "Or does her passing make it somehow acceptable?"

Teague shook his head. "Of course I remember what she did, lad, but these were the last wishes of a dying woman, my mother. She was alright towards the end. She wanted to make things right."

Jack's grip tightened on mine. "And she thinks that me scattering her ashes will do that?" he snarled. "I just want rid of the cow."

"You will be rid of her, for good, if you help get rid of her remains. You can't run from her forever, but you can put it all at rest."

"Closure," I mutter without realising I'm saying it. They both look at me, but I can't really see them. James's gravestone floats in my mind's eye and I remember the feeling of peace I got after seeing it. Knowing he was truly gone had helped me move on, seeing it for myself made it real, painful, but better than any doubt and uncertainty would have been. When you see that someone has gone for good it makes it easier to come to terms with. Otherwise you can spend your whole life thinking you can see them, that they'll come back.

I blink away the image and look at Teague. "She's right, Jack-y. Closure's what you need. You've been runnin' from this for too long. Do this one thing and it's all over, for good."

Jack glared at some non-existent place in front of him. He wasn't glaring at Teague, or me, or anything in particular. Then he blinked and looked at his father. "Fine," he snapped through a clenched jaw. "But I'm not doing it for her."

"Thank you, son," Teague nodded and looked genuinely grateful. Jack turned on his heels and left without another word. Teague watched him go and then turned to me. "Sorry, lass, he'll be in a foul mood for the next few weeks."

I tried not to sigh, I really did. "That's alright. I'm sure I can handle another sulk."

Teague smiled. "I never could. You should go speak to him, lass. He'll need you."

I nodded. "I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other."

"That we will."

"You did a good thing Jack," I said quietly as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He rested his head on my shoulder and sighed.

"Yeah? Well why does it make me feel so bloody awful." I gave him a squeeze. "She wasn't nice you know. My grandmother, far from it. She was a bloody tyrant. Nothing was good enough, nothing."

I smiled. "My grandmother was a bit like that."

"No," he pulled back. "She couldn't have been. I was scared of her, love. Scared of when she got violent."

A gasp escaped my lips. "Oh... Jack..."

"I've been a pirate all my life and I carry more scars from her than I do from any of my other misfortunes."

I pulled him closer, unable to find the words to describe how I was feeling. I thought that most of Jack's scars were from accidents not cause by a member of his own family... deliberately... repeatedly. "Jack," I whispered, trying to find something, anything to say to give him a slight bit of comfort. I wanted to go back to Jack's childhood and pull him out of there, so it never had to have happened. My heart felt heavy and my eyes stung a little round the edges.

"It's okay, love," he rubbed my back in a soothing manner and I almost laughed. Why was it that I was the one being comforted about his problems? "Maybe it is best that I do this. Put it behind me, eh?"

"Yeah," I murmured. I hugged him tight one more time and then pulled back to look him in the eyes. "I love you, you know."

"I know it," he smiled and kissed me gently, pulling my hips to his, but before we could really get into it the door was flung open. We sprang apart in alarm and there stood Teague, red faced and angry, holding the Charts to the Fountain of Youth in one hand.

"JACK SPARROW!" he bellowed.

"Oh. Bugger."

Ta for reading and review pleeeeeeeeease!

LV
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