Will was silent for a moment, just studying Jacob's face. Jacob was staring at him just as seriously.
"Elizabeth, will you do something for me?" Will asked.
"If I can. What?"
"Try to keep Jacob away from the sea as much as possible as he's growing up."
"Why's that, mate?" Jack asked. "Going to be a bit hard. Sea's in his blood."
"I know, but… I suspect he may have a better chance of actually growing up if he doesn't become a sailor."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"He mean because of me," announced Calypso as she coalesced in the shadows. "De danger come from me."
Will whirled to face her. "You did threaten his life only yesterday," he said in a hard voice. "If it hadn't been for Jack's sacrifice, you would have had me transporting my own infant son to World's End!" He held Jacob up and kissed the little head before handing his son back to Jack.
"I am de sea," Calypso said with a shrug. "De sea not picky 'bout who she takes. Like I tol' you las' night—it my nature, my William."
"Your heartless, goddess nature, perhaps. But what about your human nature?" Will asked. "Jack reminded you of it only yesterday."
"Me not human no more," she said smugly.
"Pity," Jack interjected. "I liked you better when you were."
The Pearl rolled suddenly, and Jack stumbled. He gave Calypso an exasperated look. "Was that really necessary?"
"You need remindin' dat you here at my sufferance," she said grandly. The wind picked up and the ship started pitching more violently as she spoke. "I am de sea. I can take any of you, any time I want. I can wipe out whole villages, cities, islands. I can erase what's lef' of de New Flimwell village. An' yes," she finished, with a look that swept from Elizabeth to Will and lingered there, "I can take your child if I wan'. An' dere is nuttin' you can do about it. I am de sea!"
A giant clap of thunder accompanied her final pronouncement, and the Black Pearl rolled starboard so hard the rest of them nearly fell over. Jack held Jacob firmly in one hand and gripped the table with the other, dodging the chairs as two of them crashed to the deck.
The ship righted itself and the seas calmed. Calypso folded her arms and stared down her nose at the others.
A silence fell.
It was broken by the sound of Elizabeth slowly walking forward until she was arms' length away from Calypso. She stepped in front of Jack and Jacob, so that she stood between the goddess and the baby. She gave the goddess a long look, and then opened her mouth and started to sing.
"The king and her men stole the queen from her bed
And bound her in her bones…"
That was all she sang, but the message was unmistakably clear.
Calypso went pale. Her usual cocoa-colored face went a mottled, greenish, spoiled-coffee color. "You wouldn't dare!" she gasped.
Elizabeth smiled a little, and went on singing.
"The seas be ours and by the powers
Where we will, we'll roam!"
Calypso raised a trembling hand, pointing at Elizabeth's chest.
"Me start yo' heart yesterday. Me can stop it again right now!"
"I name William Turner, Junior, as my heir to the pirate lordship of the South China Seas," Elizabeth announced, "And I name Jack Sparrow heir to the kingship."
She raised her eyebrows at Calypso. "There, now. If you kill me, Will and Jack will summon the rest of the pirate lords to bind you in human form again—this time, forever. So let's not do anything rash, shall we?"
Elizabeth reached out, very slowly, and wrapped her fingers gently around Calypso's hand with its pointing finger, slowly bringing it down between them. She spoke more quietly. "Please, Tia Dalma, you have helped us so much, and there was a time, not so long ago, when you and I were friends on a quest together. Can't we discuss things without flinging threats back and forth?"
"Yo—you will not bind me?" Calypso asked, suspicious.
"We've no reason to, yet," Will said softly, coming up behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and met Elizabeth's gaze with a little nod. Calypso's eyes closed, and a couple of tears squeezed out and wet her cheeks.
Calypso spun around to face Will, taking his hands in her own. "What you want of me, William?" She looked serious, her eyes looking into his intently.
"I want you to remember your humanity," he said. "I want you to remember compassion, mercy, love. I want my son and the rest of my family to be safe from you."
"Yo' faddah?" she asked, bewildered. "Him safe a'ready. He wit' you."
"No, not my father," Will said. "Elizabeth and Jack are my family too. Will they be safe from you, Calypso?"
He stepped closer, his expression softening as he gently stroked down one of the dreadlocks that framed her face. "You told me you wanted my heart, my... love. It's not out of the question, but you have to understand that I love other people as well. There's room in my heart for more than one kind of love. There is no need for you to be jealous of my family. I'll be yours, if you want me, but you have to be mine as well. I'm not the sort of man to love lightly."
"An' what about Elizabet'?"
"Elizabeth isn't my wife anymore; she's going to be Jack's. But she is still my son's mother, and she still has my loyalty."
"I am no threat to you, Calypso," Elizabeth said, "Unless you threaten us. All we're asking is that you remember your heart. After all, if this… thing… works out between you and Will, you'll actually be in the position of stepmother to this baby that you threatened to kill."
"Aye," Jack agreed. "Think on that, Tia. You helped us yesterday because you remembered compassion and mercy, from when you were human. The sea may be heartless and merciless, but you don't have to limit yourself like that anymore, now that you know what it's like to be human. You've transcended the usual powers of a goddess, really, by having been limited to human form for so long. It's ironic, if you think about it."
Calypso looked at him, her expression still one of hurt and wariness, but she was listening. "Transcended?" she said, cocking her head to the side.
Then Elizabeth's statement registered with her and Calypso's gaze shot to meet the other woman's. "Stepmother?" she exclaimed.
"Aye," Will said. His mouth curled up a little on one side when he continued, "It's not as if Death and the Sea could have any children together. Also, you told me that you were responsible for giving us Jacob in the first place, as a gift."
Calypso looked at him a moment, then let her gaze travel to meet Elizabeth's, then Jack's—and then she looked at Jacob. She went over to Jack and reached out to the baby. Elizabeth started forward, but Jack stopped her with an outstretched hand and she subsided, waiting to see what the goddess would do.
Jacob looked up at Calypso and said, "Geh!" as he reached out to touch her face. He felt the texture of the series of dots under her eyes, and then gripped one of her locks and announced, "Dah-mah!"
Calypso's face softened. "'Dalma,' him say," she whispered. "My human name. Him agree wit' you, Jack." She put her hand on top of Jacob's head. Water dripped down his head from where her hand touched him, and she said, "De blessing of de sea be 'pon you… Jacob Swann Turnah."
Jacob blinked the salt water out of his eyes and pulled his hand back from her tear-moistened face to stuff his fist into his mouth.
Calypso smiled tenderly. "Dis boy… him have a touch o' destiny about him, too," she said. "Coodeh, coodeh, him drinkin' de tears of de sea goddess!"*
"Please tell me he's not going to captain the Dutchman!" groaned Will.
Calypso shook her head. "Him destiny be among de living." She looked up, around at the others. "De boy be safe from me."
"And what about them?" Will asked, indicating Jack and Elizabeth.
"Dey be yo' family, my William. Dey be safe from me as well."
Will closed his eyes in relief.
"Why, thank you, Tia," Jack said jovially. "Jolly good of you."
Elizabeth said, "Yes." She went over to Calypso and took the woman's two hands in her own. "Thank you, Calypso. This means a lot. Thank you."
"Elizabet'," Calypso said. "Dese be two of my favorite men here, and you have bot' deir hearts. Treat dem well, yes?"
"I promise," Elizabeth said solemnly. "They happen to be my two favorite men as well."
The two women locked eyes for a moment, and then they both started to smile. Will and Jack exchanged bewildered looks. The women had been making death-threats only a moment ago, and now they were holding hands and smiling at each other?
"You take care of my Jack," Calypso told her.
Elizabeth smiled wider. "He's my Jack now, but I will. You take care of my Will!"
Calypso nodded. "He be my William now… but I will."
She turned and went back to Will. He put his arm around her and she smiled up into his eyes as the two of them dematerialized together.
Elizabeth inhaled and then let out a long, deep, shaky sigh.
Jack nodded. "Know exactly what you mean, love." He came over and put his free arm around her, pressing his lips to her forehead.
"Oh, Jack," Elizabeth said. "I thought she was going to kill us all."
"It was a real possibility," he admitted. "But we seem to have reached an accord now. Not even the sea goddess is proof 'gainst this laddie's big, shining eyes," he said, smiling at Jacob. "Brave lad you are, eh, Jake? Reachin' out to the sea goddess who's just threatened your life. Must get your balls from your mother, eh? Along with your looks."
Elizabeth chuckled at the thought, slipped her arms around him and Jacob both, and rested her head on Jack's shoulder. They held each other like that for a few minutes, and then Jacob got restless.
"Here, let me try and get him settled," Elizabeth said, taking the baby from Jack. She walked him around the cabin for a few minutes. She chuckled. "You know, I didn't have the heart to tell Tia that he's been saying 'dah-mah' for days now. I don't think it was referring to her!"
Jack chuckled. "All a matter of interpretation, apparently."
Jacob apparently only needed some snuggles from his mother before he fell asleep again, and Elizabeth put him back into the bottom dresser drawer and yawned.
"I'm exhausted," she announced.
"As am I," Jack agreed. "Good thing you told Auntie not to expect you, because I am not rowing you back tonight!"
Elizabeth gave a tired chuckle. Then her jaw dropped. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I forgot to give Will his heart back."
"Do it next time," Jack yawned. "You takin' the bed or the hammock?" he asked, starting to take off his belts and baldric.
"Are we still sharing the room?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.
Jack shrugged. "Why not? We've done before."
"Yes, but we weren't engaged then."
"True," Jack replied. He pretended to think it over, and then, blinking innocently, he said, "If you don't think you'll be able to keep out of my bed, you'd better take it yourself, then. The hammock'll be safer for protectin' my virtue, 'cause there's only room for one."
"Your virtue?"Elizabeth exclaimed hotly. She lifted her chin. "Fine, then, I will take the bed, and you'd jolly well better stay out of it!"
"No fear," he shot back, his smile fading. "Last time we shared it you tried to kill me again!"
Even though he had forgiven her, that incident obviously still rankled. His hurt look took the wind out of her sails.
She went around the table to where he stood and slipped her arms around his waist and pressed her lips against the side of his neck.
"That was before we were engaged," she said quietly. "Before we loved each other, or knew that we did, at any rate. I had been desperately ill and alone, and I didn't know what I was doing. You take the bed, Jack. I'll sleep in the hammock and I'll keep my hands completely to myself if you want me to."
"I don't want you to," Jack said, relenting, putting his arms around her and kissing her hair. "I love it when you touch me. I just—I've never been strong on self-control before. Always just took what I wanted. but I want to do this right with you, sweetheart. We'll be in Port Royale in just a few days when we can marry. You take the room and I'll take Gibbs' cabin. All right?"
"Are you sure? I don't mind sharing. Truly."
Jack shook his head. "Nay, I'd still have to answer to your auntie in the morning. Better this way. But come give us a kiss goodnight first, eh?"
Elizabeth was happy to oblige, but then Jack started laughing mid-kiss.
"Not the usual reaction," Elizabeth said, amused.
He shook his head in wonder, still laughing. "You realize you made a goddess cry?" he asked. "God, I love you!"
Note: In the films, Calypso's accent was intended to be Jamaican, and Naomie Harris, the actor who played her, says that her mother is Jamaican and did some unofficial accent coaching. However, I have lived in Jamaica and never heard that accent, so I have tried to write her accent as a mix between the accent she used and the Jamaican accent that I got used to hearing on the northwestern part of the island where I spent my summers. "Coodeh" is a Jamaican patois expression that means "look there," and is often doubled to "coodeh, coodeh."