Chapter Six: Truths revealed
A/N: ::listening to "Extraordinary" by Liz Phair:: Anyone heard this? That's great! "Average everyday sane psycho" Wohoo! That line is the story of my life there, just leave the "average" part out. :)
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Jack stretched as he woke slowly the next morning. His head hurt. Everything hurt. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear the foggy feeling in his head. Suddenly it hit him. The grave! That was what he was going to ask William about. Who had died? Did he bury him?
"G'mornin', Jack."
Jack turned. "G'mornin', William."
"I guess whoever was shooting at us earlier decided we weren't worth the effort. The cannon fire's long since stopped."
"No complaints 'ere," the pirate captain assured him. "William, I thought of what I was going to ask yesterday. There was a grave that I saw as we were trying to get away yesterday. Whose is it? Ye know?"
William shifted uncomfortably. "Some poor bloke tha' died 'ere. Think I've seen 'is ghost wanderin' 'round 'ere from time to time."
"Hmm... Wonder what keeps 'im...."
"Unfinished happenings in this world, I suppose."
"Who was 'e, William?" Jack asked as he looked at his friend.
William smiled. "No one of importance."
"Ah."
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"Stay."
"'m not lettin' ye go off to tha' island all on yer onesies, lass," Gibbs argued.
"Fine. This is an order, Mr. Gibbs: stay."
Gibbs nodded after a moment then mumbled something about women being bad luck AND a hassle.
Ana Maria smirked as she stepped made her way to the longboat and into the water. She had to find Jack – providing the cannon fire that she had found was a young captain trying out his new toys on a supposed disserted island hadn't killed him – and let him know what she'd found out. Something was terribly amiss about all of this.
She steered the boat into through the jagged rocks and to the shore. Best start in the middle of the island.
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"So you're coming with us, aren't you?" Will asked hopefully as he watched his father carefully.
"I'm not sure, Will," the elder Turner responded. "I've got things here I need to tend to."
"But you have to come meet Elizabeth and Bill. My family would love to meet you."
Jack watched the conversation between the two men with a keen interest. The William Turner he knew would have jumped at a chance to see his family, even if it were for a short while. Something was wrong with this picture.
"An' I could use ye back on the Pearl," Jack interjected.
William looked down at this. "I don' think I'd ever be able to return, Jack... Too many memories. Jus' like you never really wanted to come back to my 'ouse. It wasn' Rebecca that really kept ye out, was it lad?"
Jack gave his old friend a small smile. "Aye. Ye know me too well. Frightening thing that."
"Jack!"
Jack turned to see Ana Maria jogging towards him. "'allo, luv, aren't you back a bit early?"
"You daft idiot!" she growled at him as she flung her arms around him. "I thought you'd gone and gotten yourself in trouble again." She pulled back, eyeing his head for the first time. Jack had managed to clean most of the blood from it, but some of it still stuck in his hair. "'ow bad?"
"Not at all," Jack responded as he cupped her face. "Luv, this is me ol' friend William Turner. Ye've 'eard of Bootstrap Bill Turner before, I know."
"I 'ave," she whispered in astonishment.
"An' this is me first mate, Ana Maria," Jack introduced.
"A woman first mate?" William questioned with a grin. "Only you would do tha', Jack."
"Wha's tha' face for?" Jack asked Ana as she still stood gaping.
"You're not real, are you?" she mumbled. "An old friend of mine in Tortuga said that ye 'ad't been seen in a good six months. I ran into someone else on the way out tha' said 'e'd seen yer boat wash up on shore. Tell me 'ow a man could live on an island like this without a boat to get off."
William stared at her for several long moments. "You've got a bit of intuition on ye, lass," he said at last.
"Tha' grave..." Jack mumbled.
"My own."
"Then why are you still 'ere?" the captain asked.
"You and Will. I know you, Jack. I knew you were alive, lad, and I'm sorry to 'ave deceived ye. I wanted to see the two of ye before I let go. Needed to know Will was 'appy and to know ye were well and I'd been forgiven."
"You lied to us," Will managed.
"I never lied," William corrected. "Deceived, yes, but never would I out and out lie to you and Jack. I've done too much wrong to deserve forgiveness from the two of ye, but I'll ask it because I must."
Will nodded. "You're my father. Of course." He gave a sad smile. "And you'll be highly missed."
Jack gave his old friend a forced smile. "There was never anythin' to forgive, William. Ye always did what was best. 'm just sorry I 'ave to let ye go again, but Rebecca never did like to share ye with anyone, much less the crew on the Pearl. Doubt she's any different in whatever lies beyond, eh?"
William chuckled and pulled Jack into an unexpected hug. "You were always like a son to me, Jack."
"I know, and ye were always a better father than I could 'ave 'oped for. I don' remember much of me real dad, but I'm sure 'e was just like you."
William faded slowly from sight, leaving the two younger men and Ana Maria in silence, and that's how they returned to the Pearl: utter silence.
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"I need to go to London to make him a proper grave," Will said quietly as he leaned forward on the railing of the ship. "Do you think....?"
"We'll swing by and pick up your bonnie lass and treasure snipe, 'ow's tha' sound?"
Will gave him a small smile. "Just what I was thinking."
Jack took a shaky breath, pushing back the emotions that were still running through him. "I thought we'd find 'im alive, I really did," he said at last. "Never saw it comin'."
"No one would have."
"Ana Maria, obviously."
"Well she had some information that we didn't. Don't worry, Jack, I didn't know either."
Jack sighed and took a long drink from the rum bottle in his hands. "I'll miss 'im. 'e was a good man."
Will nodded. "Yes he was."
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"I'd forgotten how much I loved London," Elizabeth breathed. "Should we drop by and see Marie?"
"I'm not sure Jack would be up for that," her husband responded as he sat next to her. "Where did he go, anyway?"
"He said he'd be back a while ago. Walked up that hill and that's the last I saw of him."
Will nodded. "Wait here for me?"
Elizabeth nodded as she watched Will stand and start off towards the hill she'd spoke of.
It was a large cemetery, but one could see all of it from the hill. Will looked down to where his pirate friend kneeling beside a grave. He made his way quietly to him.
Jack did not look up. "'e was a good man, so me mum said when I was little. She stopped talkin' 'bout 'im after a while. Richard never liked it much."
Will knelt next to him. "Your mother seems to think you are just like him."
"Tha's why Richard 'ates me." Jack flashed the other man a grin. "If 'm gonna be 'ated, tha's as good a reason as I can think of, eh? Actin' like me father."
Will laughed. "A very good reason."
"No one can change their heritage," Jack said slowly, eyes trained on the headstone. "Certain things can't be changed. When I was young an' I lived 'ere, I used to want to be like Richard wanted me to be. I was young and stupid. Yer father was a better father to me than 'e'd 'ave ever been."
"I suppose we've both received some sort of closure on this, hmm?" Will mused aloud.
"Aye, in some way."
"What about you, Jack? Will you ever be a father, you think?"
The pirate captain looked his friend in the eye. "Is it worth it?"
Will grinned as he glanced at the top of the hill where Elizabeth – with Bill in her arms – waved at the two men. "Most certainly."
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A/N: That's the end of that story. That was a quick one... Sorry! I have at least one more idea that I'm going to work on soon. I was going to co write it with a friend, but she has dropped off the face of the internet.... So, hmm, guess I'll be writing it alone. All my stories ::points at authors page:: have been a result of me waiting on her to show up sometime and hoping maybe she'd still write with me, but oh well, guess she got busy.
JackFan2: I have succeeded in my goal in making Richard absolutely loathable (is that a word?) ! Yay! Well, he didn't hit poor Jack with the WHOLE chair, just the chair leg.... Not that that makes it any better. I'm running through my mind writing a couple of side stories. 1). Richard and Marie are back in England in this story, and I'm thinking maybe Jack could have given them a ride back... The interesting things that might happen and 2). A side story that follows up directly after this one since they're all in England. Just an idea.... Was my ending okay?
Savvy-Rum-Drinker: Ah yes... We're twisted but we're many! Jack torture fans! My (sort of almost not officially) boyfriend thinks I'm absolutely off my rocker for getting liking to write Jack-torture. Oh well! Thanks for reading!
A/N: ::listening to "Extraordinary" by Liz Phair:: Anyone heard this? That's great! "Average everyday sane psycho" Wohoo! That line is the story of my life there, just leave the "average" part out. :)
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Jack stretched as he woke slowly the next morning. His head hurt. Everything hurt. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear the foggy feeling in his head. Suddenly it hit him. The grave! That was what he was going to ask William about. Who had died? Did he bury him?
"G'mornin', Jack."
Jack turned. "G'mornin', William."
"I guess whoever was shooting at us earlier decided we weren't worth the effort. The cannon fire's long since stopped."
"No complaints 'ere," the pirate captain assured him. "William, I thought of what I was going to ask yesterday. There was a grave that I saw as we were trying to get away yesterday. Whose is it? Ye know?"
William shifted uncomfortably. "Some poor bloke tha' died 'ere. Think I've seen 'is ghost wanderin' 'round 'ere from time to time."
"Hmm... Wonder what keeps 'im...."
"Unfinished happenings in this world, I suppose."
"Who was 'e, William?" Jack asked as he looked at his friend.
William smiled. "No one of importance."
"Ah."
-------------------------------------
"Stay."
"'m not lettin' ye go off to tha' island all on yer onesies, lass," Gibbs argued.
"Fine. This is an order, Mr. Gibbs: stay."
Gibbs nodded after a moment then mumbled something about women being bad luck AND a hassle.
Ana Maria smirked as she stepped made her way to the longboat and into the water. She had to find Jack – providing the cannon fire that she had found was a young captain trying out his new toys on a supposed disserted island hadn't killed him – and let him know what she'd found out. Something was terribly amiss about all of this.
She steered the boat into through the jagged rocks and to the shore. Best start in the middle of the island.
----------------------------
"So you're coming with us, aren't you?" Will asked hopefully as he watched his father carefully.
"I'm not sure, Will," the elder Turner responded. "I've got things here I need to tend to."
"But you have to come meet Elizabeth and Bill. My family would love to meet you."
Jack watched the conversation between the two men with a keen interest. The William Turner he knew would have jumped at a chance to see his family, even if it were for a short while. Something was wrong with this picture.
"An' I could use ye back on the Pearl," Jack interjected.
William looked down at this. "I don' think I'd ever be able to return, Jack... Too many memories. Jus' like you never really wanted to come back to my 'ouse. It wasn' Rebecca that really kept ye out, was it lad?"
Jack gave his old friend a small smile. "Aye. Ye know me too well. Frightening thing that."
"Jack!"
Jack turned to see Ana Maria jogging towards him. "'allo, luv, aren't you back a bit early?"
"You daft idiot!" she growled at him as she flung her arms around him. "I thought you'd gone and gotten yourself in trouble again." She pulled back, eyeing his head for the first time. Jack had managed to clean most of the blood from it, but some of it still stuck in his hair. "'ow bad?"
"Not at all," Jack responded as he cupped her face. "Luv, this is me ol' friend William Turner. Ye've 'eard of Bootstrap Bill Turner before, I know."
"I 'ave," she whispered in astonishment.
"An' this is me first mate, Ana Maria," Jack introduced.
"A woman first mate?" William questioned with a grin. "Only you would do tha', Jack."
"Wha's tha' face for?" Jack asked Ana as she still stood gaping.
"You're not real, are you?" she mumbled. "An old friend of mine in Tortuga said that ye 'ad't been seen in a good six months. I ran into someone else on the way out tha' said 'e'd seen yer boat wash up on shore. Tell me 'ow a man could live on an island like this without a boat to get off."
William stared at her for several long moments. "You've got a bit of intuition on ye, lass," he said at last.
"Tha' grave..." Jack mumbled.
"My own."
"Then why are you still 'ere?" the captain asked.
"You and Will. I know you, Jack. I knew you were alive, lad, and I'm sorry to 'ave deceived ye. I wanted to see the two of ye before I let go. Needed to know Will was 'appy and to know ye were well and I'd been forgiven."
"You lied to us," Will managed.
"I never lied," William corrected. "Deceived, yes, but never would I out and out lie to you and Jack. I've done too much wrong to deserve forgiveness from the two of ye, but I'll ask it because I must."
Will nodded. "You're my father. Of course." He gave a sad smile. "And you'll be highly missed."
Jack gave his old friend a forced smile. "There was never anythin' to forgive, William. Ye always did what was best. 'm just sorry I 'ave to let ye go again, but Rebecca never did like to share ye with anyone, much less the crew on the Pearl. Doubt she's any different in whatever lies beyond, eh?"
William chuckled and pulled Jack into an unexpected hug. "You were always like a son to me, Jack."
"I know, and ye were always a better father than I could 'ave 'oped for. I don' remember much of me real dad, but I'm sure 'e was just like you."
William faded slowly from sight, leaving the two younger men and Ana Maria in silence, and that's how they returned to the Pearl: utter silence.
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"I need to go to London to make him a proper grave," Will said quietly as he leaned forward on the railing of the ship. "Do you think....?"
"We'll swing by and pick up your bonnie lass and treasure snipe, 'ow's tha' sound?"
Will gave him a small smile. "Just what I was thinking."
Jack took a shaky breath, pushing back the emotions that were still running through him. "I thought we'd find 'im alive, I really did," he said at last. "Never saw it comin'."
"No one would have."
"Ana Maria, obviously."
"Well she had some information that we didn't. Don't worry, Jack, I didn't know either."
Jack sighed and took a long drink from the rum bottle in his hands. "I'll miss 'im. 'e was a good man."
Will nodded. "Yes he was."
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"I'd forgotten how much I loved London," Elizabeth breathed. "Should we drop by and see Marie?"
"I'm not sure Jack would be up for that," her husband responded as he sat next to her. "Where did he go, anyway?"
"He said he'd be back a while ago. Walked up that hill and that's the last I saw of him."
Will nodded. "Wait here for me?"
Elizabeth nodded as she watched Will stand and start off towards the hill she'd spoke of.
It was a large cemetery, but one could see all of it from the hill. Will looked down to where his pirate friend kneeling beside a grave. He made his way quietly to him.
Jack did not look up. "'e was a good man, so me mum said when I was little. She stopped talkin' 'bout 'im after a while. Richard never liked it much."
Will knelt next to him. "Your mother seems to think you are just like him."
"Tha's why Richard 'ates me." Jack flashed the other man a grin. "If 'm gonna be 'ated, tha's as good a reason as I can think of, eh? Actin' like me father."
Will laughed. "A very good reason."
"No one can change their heritage," Jack said slowly, eyes trained on the headstone. "Certain things can't be changed. When I was young an' I lived 'ere, I used to want to be like Richard wanted me to be. I was young and stupid. Yer father was a better father to me than 'e'd 'ave ever been."
"I suppose we've both received some sort of closure on this, hmm?" Will mused aloud.
"Aye, in some way."
"What about you, Jack? Will you ever be a father, you think?"
The pirate captain looked his friend in the eye. "Is it worth it?"
Will grinned as he glanced at the top of the hill where Elizabeth – with Bill in her arms – waved at the two men. "Most certainly."
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A/N: That's the end of that story. That was a quick one... Sorry! I have at least one more idea that I'm going to work on soon. I was going to co write it with a friend, but she has dropped off the face of the internet.... So, hmm, guess I'll be writing it alone. All my stories ::points at authors page:: have been a result of me waiting on her to show up sometime and hoping maybe she'd still write with me, but oh well, guess she got busy.
JackFan2: I have succeeded in my goal in making Richard absolutely loathable (is that a word?) ! Yay! Well, he didn't hit poor Jack with the WHOLE chair, just the chair leg.... Not that that makes it any better. I'm running through my mind writing a couple of side stories. 1). Richard and Marie are back in England in this story, and I'm thinking maybe Jack could have given them a ride back... The interesting things that might happen and 2). A side story that follows up directly after this one since they're all in England. Just an idea.... Was my ending okay?
Savvy-Rum-Drinker: Ah yes... We're twisted but we're many! Jack torture fans! My (sort of almost not officially) boyfriend thinks I'm absolutely off my rocker for getting liking to write Jack-torture. Oh well! Thanks for reading!