The next day…

"Mom, why do I have to stay and work? Everyone else is going to Eric's beach house. It's gonna be the party of the summer." A dark haired girl of fifteen approached her mother in the back store room of the dive shop.

Elizabeth was focused on filling up oxygen tanks while every few moments shifting her gaze to the front of the store where her younger son James sat organizing flippers into baskets by size. "I'm sorry, Rey. I just need your help. We have sixteen reservations today, and someone needs to watch the store and James while Tai and I lead the dive."

"Isn't there anyone else to watch the store?" Rey whined.

"Please don't be difficult. We knew this was gong to be an adjustment, you're just going to have to go to the next party."

"There isn't going to be a next party. Eric is leaving for school." Rey argued.

"Well then I guess you are S.O.L." Elizabeth said, setting the tank she was holding into the rack with the others.

"This is so unfair."

"Sometimes life isn't fair." Elizabeth snapped at her.

"God, ever since Dad died you've been the absolute worst!" The young girl yelled.

Elizabeth slammed her hands down on the counter. "Enough!" She yelled back. "You want to go? Fine. Go. Hell, stay the whole weekend." Her tone had turned rigid, as her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides.

"Whatever." Rey huffed and stormed out through the front of the store.

Elizabeth stayed hunched over the counter, attempting to hold back her sobs with little luck. "Oh god, Will, I can't do this alone." She whispered between barely stifled sobs.

"Mom?" A small voice piped in between the curtains separating the front of the store from the back. "Are you okay?" James asked. A scrappy boy of seven with sandy brown hair, he smiled concernedly at his mother's disheveled state. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I'm fine, honey. I just miss daddy is all." She said hugging him close to her.

"I miss him too. Don't let Rey get you mad, she's just going through a phase. She's the worst." He said looking up at her.

"Don't say that" She chuckled lightly. "Rey's sad too, she just doesn't want anyone to know it." Elizabeth wiped her eyes as the sound of the bell out front got her attention. "Go see to the customers. I'll be out in a moment."

"Okay." James turned to go through the curtain, but stopped short and turned back around. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetie." She answered back with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

—

James entered the main part of the store and was greeted by a man with mid length dark brown hair, goatee, loosely fitted button up shirt, dark jeans and glasses. He was looking at the pictures on the wall with a strange look on his face. It was a mixture of sadness and fondness. It reminded him of the looks that so often crossed his mother's face as of late.

"Can I help you, sir?" James asked.

Jack turned, caught off guard by the youth in the voice that was questioning him. "Sir?" He questioned when he turned to face the boy. "Am I to understand that you're the proprietor of this establishment?" He asked teasing.

"No." The boy chuckled. "I'm James. My mom is in the back. She'll be out in a moment." He said matter of factly.

Lizzie's son. He looked just like her, precocious too, but polite just like Will. His musings were interrupted by further questioning. "Are you diving today?"

"No."

"Did you want to buy something? A souvenir maybe? We've got some post cards and fanny packs over there." The boy said, pointing to a glass case front with a metal rack sitting on top. "Also my mom makes necklaces out of stuff she finds out on dives."

"Show me those."

The boy led him to a jewelry rack that had all manner of rope and hemp adorned with different beads and seashells. He smiled to himself, remembering a time when she use to weave such things into his hair. "Tell me James, if you aren't the owner of this store, what is it that you do?"

"What do I do? I'm only seven." He seemed very amused that Jack was treating him more like an adult than a kid.

"You don't dive?"

"Mom says I have to wait until I'm ten. I can swim though. Sometimes I go snorkeling while everyone else dives."

"She teach you to sail yet?"

"No, well…My dad started to, but…" James got eerily quiet.

Jack attempted to divert the subject slightly. "You know a lot about sailboats?"

"I know tons." He exclaimed proudly.

"Do you have a favorite ship?"

The young boy twisted his mouth to the side in thought. "Favorite ship ever? I have more than one: The Freedom 40, The Swann 44, The Comanche, and The Pearl."

"You've heard of The Pearl?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be the fastest monohull boat in the world. It's racing in the America's cup next year."

"You wanna know a secret?" Jack bent down to James' level.

"Sure." The boy exclaimed greedily.

"I designed that boat."

"Wow! Really?! No way, you're lying"

"Cross my heart."

"That's unbelievable! Mom! MOM! This guy…" James turned to look at the guy as if to ask for his name.

"Jack." Jack offered back

"This guy Jack, says he designed the Pearl. You gotta come out here."

Elizabeth had an armful of scuba gear piled all the way up to her head and was unable to see when she walked through the curtain. "What are you saying, James?"

"Mom this guy designs sailboats." James led Jack toward her.

She turned her head toward the man who had so captivated her son and dropped nearly everything in her arms at the sight of him.

"Hi Liz." He said, incapable of saying anything else. She'd taken his breath away just as before. Elizabeth was every bit the messy girl he remembered. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun, she wore shorts and a tank top, covered by a faded flannel shirt, and her eyes, still the same haunting eyes only now they held sadness and pain. Loss.

Her heart was in her mouth in an instant and she fumbled with the rest of the things in her arms sending them clattering to the floor. She brought a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. "You're here?" She whispered in disbelief.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner." He said sadly, starting to approach her. She backed herself up against the wall like she was trying to escape or to tell him not to come any closer.

"Mom, you know him?" James interrupted.

Elizabeth attempted to compose herself, unsure of how to deal with her conflicting emotions. She furiously rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the tears that just couldn't help from falling. She cleared her throat. "Yes. Daddy and I used to be great friends of his."

Jack couldn't pretend not to be hurt by that assessment, but it was nonetheless true. His presence had faded completely into nonexistence, but not without reason.

"This is that Jack? You built our ship, the one that's named after my sis-"

"Mahalo, Lizzie!" Came Tai, rushing in. He was a wiry man in his thirties, had moved to Maine from Hawaii when he was twelve. He and Will had opened the shop together when they turned eighteen. "It's prefect diving weather. Conditions are perfect and we've got quite the haul awaiting us. You ready?" Tai was an energetic sort and had been more so since Will passed. He did everything he could to keep Elizabeth busy and her spirits lifted.

Elizabeth pushed her emotions down to the pit of her stomach and pushed herself away from the wall. "Morning Tai. I'm almost ready. Just need to finish packing up the truck."

Tai was scrutinizing her face, sensing that something was wrong "Getting a slow start this morning?" He teased, hoping to get a rise out of her. "Oh, I didn't realize you had a customer." He said just barely noticing Jack. "My apologies. Good Morning, Sir. I'm dive master Tai at your service. You coming aboard today?" He said toward Jack who had yet to break his gaze from Elizabeth.

Jack turned to face Tai. "Nice to meet you Tai and no, not today." He said sticking out his hand with a dopey smirk.

"Holy Shit. I must be imagining things or there's something wrong with my eyes. There's no way Jack Sparrow is standing here in this shop."

"I can hardly believe it myself." Jack added.

"Did you sail here in one of your fancy yachts?" Tai teased

"No, I came on a fancy plane." He joked back.

"Well, don't just stand there, man. Bring it in." Tai said pulling Jack into a huge embrace. "How long are you here for?"

"Probably not long." Elizabeth said unevenly before going into the back room.

"Jimmy, why don't you go help your mom." Tai suggested to the boy who nodded fiercely and followed after his mother. "How long are you here for?" Tai asked again.

"I don't really have a plan. I'm in between projects, so I'm here for the foreseeable future." Jack answered giving a long look in the direction Elizabeth had gone.

"Well, I wish you luck with that." Tai said following his gaze. "It's been a rough couple of months."

"So I've heard."

Elizabeth came back through the curtain, James close on her heels. "The truck is packed, we better get going. Shit." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Rey is off doing god knows what and I don't have anyone to watch James. Honey, you're going to have to stay at the gift shop with Maggie, so I can lock up here."

"Ugh, not Maggie, Mom she smells funny." He complained.

"James, what a terrible thing to say." Elizabeth scolded him.

Jack and Tai had to stifle a chuckle.

"It's true." James reiterated. "Why can't I come on the boat?"

"We're already over capacity. Can you just do as I say, please?"

"I can hang here with the kid." Jack chimed in.

"I don't know."

"Please mom." James pleaded.

"Time and tide, Liz. We gotta get going." Tai urged her.

"Alright." She answered unconvincingly. "Just don't burn the place down."

"I think we remember that evening happening very differently, Lizzie." Jack said jokingly.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him before bending down to her son. "Please behave yourself and keep an eye on him. You remember how to use the register and take down reservations."

"Yeah, mom. I can handle it."

"Alright. We'll be back before sunset. I love you." She squeezed him into a hug.

"Okay, okay. I love you too" He said embarrassed.

"Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge in the back, and please be on your best behavior." She turned to Jack, muttering the last bit only loud enough for him to here.

"We can hold down the fort. Don't worry. Have a good dive."

Elizabeth looked glued to the spot, unable to leave and unable to stay she shuffled back and forth on her feet.

"Mom!"

"Lizzie!"

"Liz!"

They all said at once.

"Alright, I'm going. I'm going." Tai exited the store and she followed behind him, but turned back at the last second. "When I come back…" She trailed off "We should talk. We need to talk." She added the last part with a tone that imparted a small sense of dread into Jack's stomach.

Recognizing that particular tone, James piped in "I think you might be in trouble," staring after his mom.

"I think you might be right." Jack answered back eyes focused on the same place. "Why don't we get this place cleaned up a bit?" He said walking over to the dropped supplies behind the counter.

—

"Keys." Tai said to Elizabeth who was walking to the truck as if it was a death sentence.

She tossed him the keys and the two got into the car. Elizabeth threw her head back against the head rest and shut her eyes.

"So Jack's back?" He observed and Elizabeth snapped her head toward him. He gave her a cheeky grin and chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah" She exhaled, rubbing her hand over her face.

"Are you sure you want to dive today?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes. I badly need to be out on the water today." She answered seriously.

Tai laughed at her. "Alright! Let's sink some outta staters!"

Elizabeth chuckled, allowing herself to relax just a little bit.

—

"Is it always this boring around here?" Jack said staring out the window at the empty main street.

"We've had a slow couple of weeks. Mom said it would start picking up soon. They have a big trip today. sixteen divers."

"That's a lot."

"Yeah." He answered checking that the wetsuits were organized by the right sizes. James paused for a moment unsure if he wanted to ask Jack a million questions or just one. "So you knew my parents when they were kids?"

"I did. We grew up together. We were best friends. Never a moment when the three of us weren't together getting into some trouble or another."

"How come you left?" James asked innocently.

"That's a pretty long and complicated story."

"We've got time."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, I suppose we do. Care to make it interesting?"

"Interesting how?"

"You've got playing cards in here?" He asked James who nodded. "Why don't we play for stories? Winner gets to ask whatever they want, the loser has to answer. Sound like fun?"

James nodded again and ran to the back room to get the cards.

"What games do you know?" Jack asked ushering James to sit on top of the counter across from him.

"I know gin rummy."

"Perfect! Me too. You deal." Jack instructed him.

James shuffled the cards and dealt them out. He scrunched his nose up in concentration and Jack's heart fluttered recognizing the same look Elizabeth would get when she was hyper focused. They played a few turns when all of sudden James called out "Gin!"

"Already?"

"Read 'em and weep." He said proudly.

"Clearly I'm playing with an expert. Okay, ask your question?"

"When did you first meet my mom?" James asked, collecting the cards. He began to shuffle them as he listened to Jack's answer.

"Your dad, and I were 11 when the Governor and his daughter moved here. He decided to move here after his wife died. He wanted to bring his only daughter to someplace new, someplace quiet. She walked into our class on the first day of school and I said to your dad that she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen."

"What did my dad say?"

"Something along the lines of 'Dude, gross'."

James giggled. "Really?"

"Your dad wasn't into girls yet. He obviously changed his opinion after a while."

"Were you friends right away?"

"Instantly. Ok. Ok. One question and answer per hand." Jack said indignantly.

"Fine." James pouted dealing out the cards again.

They played a few more turns than the last game and James cried out again. "Gin!"

"Again? Seriously?"

James giggled wildly. "Why did you leave?"

Jack narrowed his eyes at the child. "Cutting right to the chase, huh?"

"I win, I ask, you answer. That was the deal."

Jack sighed. "To answer this question, I'm gonna have to go back a bit."

"That's okay." The boy eagerly scooted closer to Jack, his face propped on his elbows.

"My dad was a fisherman. I worked with him every summer from ten on. I wanted to buy my own sailboat. It took me four years to save up enough money to buy some run down old thing. My dad didn't want me to buy it. Said it wasn't water worthy. I promised him I would fix it up, do all of the work myself, pay for everything. He finally agreed. I spent two years learning everything I could about sailboats. I already knew a fair amount, but nowhere near enough. I finished her just in time for your mom's sixteenth birthday. The three of us sailed to Cape Elizabeth for the day." Jack paused in his story, remembering that day very vividly.

"Alright, Will, bring her about!" A young Jack yelled from the wheel. Will jumped up and swung the boom around, slowing the speed of the boat so they could anchor themselves in the cove. Jack skipped down to the bow to drop the anchor, walking passed Elizabeth who was laying across the hatch, sunning herself. "No, no. Don't get up. I got this." Jack said sarcastically

"It's my birthday! I get to do what I want." She said matter of factly. "And I want you two to do all the work."

Jack and Will exchanged a look. Will nodded. Jack scooped Elizabeth up in his arms and carried her to the side of the ship.

"Jack!" She screeched. "Don't you dare!"

"What's the matter, Lizzie? Afraid to get wet?"

"Put me down!"

"You asked for it." Jack was about to toss her in the water when he stumbled and fell into the ocean with her. They both surfaced, laughing. Jack grabbed onto the side of the boat, Elizabeth did the same.

"Idiot." She said, splashing water at him.

"Idiot?!" He said in mock astonishment. "You're gonna pay for that." He dove under the water and pulled her by her ankle beneath the water. They wrestled about in the water and she kicked herself free and broke the surface again, looking around for his shape beneath the waves. She was in the shadow of the sailboat, so the waters were dark. "Will, can you see him?" She called up to the boat.

"No." He yelled back after scanning the waters.

"Where did he go?" She asked him. Will merely shrugged.

Elizabeth dove beneath the surface and looked all around her. She couldn't see anything. She swam a little further and her foot grazed something solid. Startled, she shirked away slightly, surfacing again. Suddenly she was dragged beneath the surface again and pulled through the water. She tried to kick free again, but his grip was too tight. She was starting to lose her breath and began to panic, kicking her legs violently, making contact with Jack's abdomen. He swallowed a whole heap of ocean water as he gasped for breath, and surfaced near the stern, coughing fiercely.

Elizabeth surfaced next to him, trying to catch her breath. "Are you crazy?" She said hitting him in the chest. Jack had finally started to catch his breath "Were you trying to drown me?"

"No." He let out another cough. "I just wanted to get you alone for a minute." He said seriously.

"What for?" She asked angrily.

"So I could give you this." He said before pulling her face to his and covered her mouth with his own. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself and allowed him to deepen the kiss. Needing to catch their breath, they broke the kiss. "Happy Birthday." He bent his head to kiss her again. "Still think I'm an idiot?" He smiled slyly.

"Shut up." She said and kissed him again.

"Are you guys okay?" Will yelled from the deck, unable to see the two coiled in each other's arms.

They broke apart and Elizabeth buried her forehead into Jack's shoulder. " Yeah, we're fine. Jack is just a moron."

He gave her a hurt look and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Drop the ladder, would you?" She asked Will.

They climbed back on the boat, Will none the wiser of what had transpired. Elizabeth went back to her spot at the bow and dried off with her towel while Jack rummaged below and brought up a cooler and some fishing poles.

"We have ice cold beers, sandwiches and chum." Jack said setting down the cooler.

"You put the chum in the same cooler as the sandwiches?" Will asked

"Don't worry the chum is in a separate bag."

"That has split open and gotten all over everything." Elizabeth chimed in from under the lid of the cooler.

"Haha, very funny" Jack muttered.

"Does it look like I'm laughing?"

Jack and Will peered inside and sure enough, little bits of fish guts were covering everything.

"Well, it looks like we're eating our catch today guys." Jack clapped his hands together and started baiting the poles. "Will, be a dear and rinse off the beer."

Will rolled his eyes and carried an armful of beers to the side of the ship and dropped them in the water. Jack handed Elizabeth a fishing pole and let his fingers caress hers as they made the exchange. She looked at him hungrily under half lidded eyes, filling him with an insatiable desire to kiss her again. He reluctantly refrained, at least for the sake of Will. It was no secret that Will liked Elizabeth too, but he was too shy to ever act on anything, and Jack wasn't about to let an opportune moment pass him by just because they each liked the same girl, but he wasn't going to rub his face in it either. Besides that, Jack more than liked her, she filled his every thought.

Though, Will knew more than he let on, or Jack and Elizabeth were not as discreet as they thought. He caught them exchanging strange glances and awkward touches that sparked with so much more than something innocently playful throughout the rest of the day. He'd accused Jack that very night, asking him if something was going on between the two of them. Jack vehemently denied it, saying it was all in his head, but Will's suspicions were confirmed when a few weeks later Jack and Elizabeth officially started dating.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by a small voice. "Ahem, Jack. You sailed to Cape Elizabeth, then what?"

"Oh right, well we came across a local shipbuilder on our little trek who greatly admired my work and offered me a job. I apprenticed under him for three years and then he offered me a job with his company over seas."

"You left for a job?" James asked unimpressed.

"That job made the Pearl possible." Jack fired back.

"But why didn't you ever come back?" James asked not understanding.

"I always told myself once I got out of here, I'd never look back."

"But what about your friends and your family? Didn't you miss them?"

"Everyday."

"Why stay away, then?" James asked, believing the solution to be simpler than it was.

"Because I'm a coward who is no good with his feelings."

"You're here now, so are you not scared anymore?"

"Terrified."

"Mom says when you're scared you should close your eyes and imagine you're in the best place on earth with your favorite person and to let that feeling make you brave. It doesn't always work, but it sounds nice and makes me feel better when I try. You should try it sometime."

"I'm afraid that won't work for me." Jack focused on his hands.

"Why not?"

"The two are one and the same. The thing that scares me is also the thing that makes me brave."

"Sounds complicated."

"I believe I told you that it was."

"You did. Wanna play again?"

"Why? So you can shiest me again?" Jack asked with a narrowed gaze.

James giggled, "I'll let you win."

"Gee thanks." Jack watched the boy put his hands together, ready to beg him to play. "Sure, let's play again." James started to shuffle and Jack noticed him pulling cards from his sleeve and putting them to the bottom of the deck each time. Jack reached out and grabbed his shirt sleeve, lifting it up so the cards fell out onto the counter. "Cheat."

James laughed uproariously.

"Sneaky little…"

"James, where's mom?" Rey burst in interrupting the two. Jack was stunned by the fierceness in the girl's entrance. She was all Elizabeth head to toe, only with dark brown hair. There was no trace of Will anywhere in her face. It was the strangest thing. The lad had the doe eyed look Will always had, but the girl…there was something familiar that he couldn't quite place.

"She's out on a dive. You know that. Aren't you supposed to be at Eric's?" James asked, saying Eric's name with disgust.

"They're going out on his boat. Who are you?" She asked, turning to Jack, finally feeling his stare upon her.

"This is Jack. Mom told you you're not allowed on his boat without her knowing." James answered for Jack while being the authority on what was and wasn't allowed.

"No shit, I came to ask her permission. Jack who?" She looked back at him.

"Jack Teague. And you are?" Jack asked extending his hand. Rey eyed it suspiciously.

"Rey. I've never seen you around here before." She said reluctantly taking his hand.

"That's because he doesn't live here, dummy." James chimed in.

"So why is he watching the store, butt head?" She mocked back at her brother.

"I'm a friend of your mom's" Jack said at last, enjoying the sparring siblings.

"You're that Jack?" She looked surprised.

"I guess so." Jack shrugged.

"She talks about you a lot." Rey said, sizing him up.

"Good things? I was trying to get to the bottom of said stories, but I was swindled." He said looking at James who just hunched over in a stifled laughter.

"I'd say 50/50."

"That's fair. So you want to go sailing, huh?" He asked her.

"Yeah." Rey answered back with attitude.

"And knowing your mom wasn't here, you thought you'd come by, so that when she finds out later you went without her permission you can say you tried, but she was too busy to tell you yes or no. Sound about right?" Jack asked, a vague suspicion beginning to form in his mind.

"That's pretty much the gist of it." She sighed defeated.

"He's good." James said to no one in particular, shuffling the cards.

"The gentleman whose boat you want to go on, does he have a last name, or is it just Eric?"

"Eric Beckett."

"Beckett? Chris's kid?" He asked and James answered.

"Yeah, he's a real butt munch."

"James." Rey scolded.

"I can see why your mom doesn't want you hanging around him. He comes from a shit family. You can do way better than a Beckett." Jack said, suddenly protective.

"He's the most popular guy at school." She scoffed.

"Doesn't mean he's a good guy."

"What do you know, you don't even live here anymore?" She was starting to get irate at the stranger who seemed to know her so well without knowing her at all.

"I know more than you, missy. Let's get that right. Why don't you stick around, play cards with us?"

"Nothing could possibly sound more boring than that." She muttered, looking supremely disinterested.

"I'll make you a deal. You hangout with us, I'll let you have a beer." Jack wriggled his eyebrows at her.

"Seriously? You're bribing me with booze? I had three beers before I came back here." She bragged.

"Ok, hot shot. You hangout with us and I won't tell your mother you've been drinking." Jack said with a knowing smirk. Check and Mate.

"Touché, old man. I'll stay." Rey was impressed.

"He's really good" James chuckled to himself.

"Can I still have that beer?" Rey asked with hopeful eyes.

"No." Jack said flatly.