Elizabeth looked up suddenly, startled, at a sound that only she could hear, and hurried into Jack's cabin. Will gave Jack a puzzled look. Jack smiled. "Think she's arrangin' your payment even as we speak," he said.

"My… my payment?" Will asked. Then he remembered. "Oh! Seeing my son!" His face lit up. "Is he—can we—you mean here? Now? On board the Pearl?"

Jack grinned. "Here. Now. On board the Pearl."

He led Will into his cabin, but both men stopped short at the sight of Elizabeth sitting on the bed, nursing her baby.

"Oh!" Jack exclaimed. "Sorry, love. Didn't know you were—" He waved his hands in her general direction. "—Occupied."

Will was transfixed. He stared, open-mouthed, at them.

"Oh, er," Elizabeth said, face blazing. "He just woke up a little fractious and I thought it might calm him."

"That," Will said, pausing to swallow, "has to be the most beautiful sight I've ever seen in my life."

"Aye," Jack agreed. "Much prettier now that neither of 'em is dying, I can tell you!"

Elizabeth grabbed up Jack's coat, which he had slung across the bed earlier, and used it to cover herself up. "Yes, we were neither of us at our best then, were we?"

"Well, ye both lived through it, which is the most important part."

"Yes, thanks to you."

Will blinked, finally, and turned away.

"Meant to thank you, Will, for what you said down there," Jack said, "'bout me and 'Lizabeth being engaged now. Really showed ol' what's-her-face we're all on the same team, eh?"

"Yes, well, I figured it was best to show solidarity before enemies," Will said, prowling around the cabin. "She didn't need to know all the ways I'll kill you if you hurt Elizabeth."

"Excuse me!" Elizabeth said, stung. "If anyone hurts me, I should think I'd have first dibs at killing him!"

"Aye, and she's had practice with me," Jack pointed out. "Quite good at it. Succeeded on her first try."

"Yes, I did!" she rejoined. "But Will—seriously, thank you for supporting us in this matter. It means a lot."

"Well, you mean a lot to me, too," Will replied with a smile. Grudgingly, he gestured toward Jack. "Both of you, really, even though I can't stand Jack half the time."

"Thank you!" was Jack's hearty reply. He looked genuinely pleased. "Feeling's entirely mutual!"

He looked in Elizabeth's direction and started to laugh. Will looked and grinned. Elizabeth, puzzled, looked down at her baby.

Jacob, apparently unsatisfied with being covered up by Jack's coat when there were things to see, had stealthily inched it down until he could see again. He was still suckling, but his two dark eyes were open and looking about the room with great interest. Meanwhile, he had uncovered Elizabeth's entire breast.

Elizabeth started to laugh as well. "I did think it felt a bit drafty!" She pulled the coat over herself again, but Jacob grabbed it and pulled it back down. "Wicked child," she said fondly, trying fruitlessly to cover herself up again.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Jack said. "Seems like quite a thoughtful and generous little lad. Eh, Will?"

"Mmm," Will agreed. "Seems more than willing to share his good fortune!"

"All right, you two, that's enough," Elizabeth said. Then she looked down at her son. She gently disengaged the baby's mouth. "If you're going to be looking about instead of eating, you don't need to still be attached, young man. I'm not made of rubber, you know!"

She moved the baby aside and buttoned up her shirt again. She looked up with a smile. "Will? Would you like to hold him?"

"Me?" Will asked nervously.

"Aye, it's easy. Like this," Jack directed, scooping the baby up off the bed. "He likes to be held upright," he explained, holding the baby against his chest so Jacob could see over his shoulder.

"Don't be afraid," he went on, handing Jacob to Will. "They're a lot more durable than you think, babies. Rubber bones, ye know."

Will took the child gingerly, and then held him with increasing confidence. He went over and turned up the lantern so he could see him better.

Jack and Elizabeth exchanged nostalgic smiles. "You did that too, every time you visited me!" she reminded him.

"Well, he kept on changing!" Jack said. "Never looked the same from one full moon to the next."

Will looked up, eyes shining. "I hadn't thought it would be possible to meet him before my ten years are up, but I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"We'll still be there to meet you at your next landfall, if you want," Elizabeth offered.

"Aye, but it won't be like your last one," Jack warned sternly. "She'll be my wife next time, not yours!"

Will grinned and turned the lantern up even higher, so he could see the baby's face more clearly.

"Elizabeth, he's beautiful!" he exclaimed. "Jack was right. He does look just like you!"

"Oh, there's a little of you in there as well," Elizabeth said. "More in the expressions than the features. He'll be a very handsome man when he grows up, I think."

"Oh, no question," Will agreed. "Were his eyes blue at first?" he asked. "My mother once told me that mine were, and then darkened later."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Brown since birth," she said. "Just like mine."

"Lucky child," Jack said. "You two for parents and he's fortunate enough to take after the good-looking one!"

"Jack!" Elizabeth protested as Will chuckled.

"At least this way he has a fighting chance of being as handsome as our children will be," Jack continued. "No fear of his going all tentacle-y like his pop probably will."

Elizabeth and Will exchanged amused, eye-rolling glances, but neither one bothered to respond. It was obvious that they both agreed: sometimes it was best to simply let Jack be Jack.