Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Lost in Translation (Pirates of the Caribbean) ❯ Reminiscing (Jack’s past) ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight:
Reminiscing (Jack’s past)

"Crew's gettin' a bit anxious, Cap'n," Gibbs said, while standing up at the helm next to Jack. It was just before dawn and most of the crew was below deck getting some much needed rest. For the last week they'd been battling with harsh weather and everyone was growing exhausted and weary. You wouldn't know it by looking at the sky now, however. Shades of pinks and oranges were beginning to stain the horizon and there was barely a cloud to offend the early morning sky. The air was still cool and refreshing, though Jack wanted nothing more than to catch up on lost sleep. He wasn't one to turn the helm over to a crewmen during a storm unless he was needed somewhere else more, and probably hadn't slept for more than eight hours total in the last five days.

"Getting a bit anxious meself," he admitted.

"Seems our lucks improvin'," Gibbs offered making note of the clearing weather. There was an awkward silence before he continued. "Some of the men have been talkin' about this treasure, worried about a curse." Jack smirked a little and turned to his first mate.

"Worried about a something as insignificant as a curse, mate?" He asked confidently. Gibbs opened his mouth to reply then held back until he could come up with more tactful words to use.

"Crew's aware of your...track record...so to speak," he said. Jack furrowed his brow, not wanting problems with his crew but also not wanting to give up on this treasure.

"Any man that wants out is free to go," Jack replied, too tired to deal with the problem at the moment. Gibbs nodded a bit then looked over at his captain.
"Be trustin' your judgment, Jack," he said honestly.

"Good to know," Jack replied with a half hearted smirk, glad that at least Gibbs would stick by him. The two of them heard a creaking from the cabin and watched Kaitlyn slowly walk across the deck then just stand and stare down at the water from the starboard side of the ship.

"Seems like somethin's troublin' the lass," Gibbs said. Jack nodded; he hadn't really even seen her in the last several days. He watched her for a moment, feeling uncomfortable with the way she was staring down over the side of the ship, as though she might be contemplating jumping.

"Take the helm," he said to Gibbs then walked down onto the deck.

"You're up early,” he said then walked over to look over the side himself, since she didn't bother moving.

“It’s the water,” she said not taking her eyes off of it. Jack glanced at her then back down, not sure what she was talking about.

“The water?” He asked, thinking he should know what she was talking about. He really hadn’t talked to her much since the night she had rum with him. He then remembered what had spurred him to offer her the rum in the first place.

“Have another of your dreams, love?” He asked.

“It was the same one,” she said. “It’s the third time I’ve dreamt that.” She glanced over at him then realized it wasn’t exactly fair to be complaining about a dream to someone that hasn’t even had the chance to sleep. She watched him for a moment then reached out and touched the beads that were hanging down on the left side of his face.

“You didn’t have these in my dream,” she said. “The others were there, but not these.” He looked at her hand then back to her. He often invaded other people’s personal space; it was just the way he behaved. He wasn’t the least bit bothered by getting close to someone while talking. Often he would get in someone’s face simply to annoy them. But it wasn’t often that someone offered to touch or get within his own space unless he was paying them for pleasure or they were trying to kill him.

Kaitlyn felt her cheeks grow warm when he gave her an odd look, then pulled her hand away quickly. “I just notice those kinds of things. I’m observant.”

“I’ve noticed,” he said. She stood there awkwardly for a moment and then looked back down at the water.

“It’s not the only thing I’ve observed you know,” she said. Jack smirked a little and leaned his arm on the side of the ship.

“Really now? Well, since it seems neither of us has much to be doing, would you care to indulge me with your many observant insights and insightful observations, love?” He asked. She stayed silent for a moment then looked at him.

“Alright, you’re not like most pirates,” she stated plainly making Jack grin a little.

“Course not; I’m Captain Jack Sparrow, darling. Won’t find another pirate like me in the entire Spanish Main,” he said with a cocky grin while motioning his arms out at the sea.

“Yes, well, thank goodness for that,” she said playfully then looked back out at the water. “You’re educated. You speak proper English and can read,” she smirked at him. “I noticed you reading over my shoulder once when I was telling you about Isidro Saez.”

“Anything else?” he asked, wondering just how much she did pay attention to what went on around her.

“You seem more concerned about everyone believing you’re a good pirate than actually being one.”

“Are you saying I’m not a good pirate, lass?” He asked.

“That depends on how you define a pirate. If you mean a drunken miscreant that shows no real desire to do anything but plunder and bed with whores, then you don’t seem to be a very good one.” She said frankly.

“You figured all of that out just by being on me ship, eh? What makes you think I’m not just some filthy, drunken miscreant that only wants to pillage, plunder and bed with whores?” He asked, genuinely curious about her opinion of him.

“We stopped at Tortuga and you didn’t stay their long enough to have yourself a pleasurable time and when we stopped at Navassa Island you made no attempt to steal any treasure.” She pointed out and looked back out at the water again. “You’re smarter than most pirates, at least from what I can tell. Rather than actually doing these things, you let people think you do and then rather than killing them, you let them live to tell the tales of the infamous Jack Sparrow.”

He looked thoughtfully out into the horizon. For the most part she was right. So many times the stories of his daring escapes and grand adventures where far more exciting than what had actually happened. He relied on quick thinking and luck most of the time, not a pistol or brute force like many pirates did. He did plunder and cause trouble but it rarely led to deaths, especially deaths of innocent bystanders. It was just more fun his way.

“So? Did the amazing Jack Sparrow teach him self to read as well?” She asked. He didn’t reply immediately so she looked over at him questioningly.

“No, that was me mother, actually. She was a fine woman, died when I was just a lad,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon that was growling lighter with each passing moment.

“Oh,” she said feeling badly for the way she had brought up the subject. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He glanced over at her then smirked.

“Suppose you think me mum was just some whore in Tortuga, aye?”

“I...really...don’t know,” she said honestly. When it came to people like him and places like Tortuga she wasn’t exactly familiar, she’d lived a rather sheltered life.

“I don’t think my mother even laid eyes on a pirate before she met me father,” he said with a grin then motioned towards her. “She wasn’t a rich lass, like your self. Her father was a fisherman, lived an honest life, just didn’t have much to show for it. She started working as a seamstress when she was just a young lass.” Jack turned to face her and grinned a little, remembering the time his mother and father had told him the story of how they first met, both stories were completely different, of course.

“The tale me mum told me, was she was hard at work one day when some scallywag sauntered in and tried to talk her into giving him some clothes. Seems he had gotten in a spot of trouble with the navy,” he smirked. “Me father said he was just passing through and she couldn’t resist his charm. Course...me father also once told me he had tea with the King of England.”

Kaitlyn couldn’t help but laugh at that thought; picturing someone like Jack having tea with the King, himself.

“Did your father still live as a pirate after he met your mother?” She asked, curious about how someone like him would have grown up. Surely, his childhood must have been very different than her own.

“Aye, it was in his blood.” Jack said with a nod.

“Oh, then how...I mean did your mother come with him on the ship?” She asked, having absolutely no idea how such a relationship would have worked out. Jack stayed silent for a moment, not entirely sure why she wanted to know about his family. Most whores never asked any personal questions and certainly no pirates cared to know.

“She went with him a time or two, ‘for she found out she’d be havin’ me. After that she stayed at some measly hovel in Tortuga. Me father’s idea,” he said with a hint of resentment in his voice. “Most ‘respectable’ people would have run her out or hanged her for associating with miscreants.”

He glanced over at Kaitlyn and could see that she was visibly uncomfortable by what he was saying. He really couldn’t blame her. It was people like her own family that would have done that to his mother. Though, to be fair, he didn’t believe she would behave that way. He’d seen her on the ship talking happily with his crew, wearing rags, and trying to learn a thing or two about sailing, though not being extremely successful at it. He gave a smirk and turned back to her.

“I grew up in that deplorable shanty in Tortuga. Didn’t make no never mind to me mother though,” he smiled a little at the memory. “Bloody woman was always making me read or correcting me when I said something wrong,” Kaitlyn could tell that comment wasn’t the least bit bitter, merely sentimental.

“What about your father?” Jack pulled himself from his memories pointed at her.

“You know, for someone who avoids all discussion and conversation regarding her own life, you certainly ask a lot of questions,” he said giving her a suspicious look.

“Maybe you just haven’t asked the right ones,” she replied. He watched her for a moment then relented; there really wasn’t any reason not to answer her questions.

“Me father,” he began taking a short pause after the words, “came around now and then, made sure we had necessities.”

“What about after...?” she began not sure how to tactfully ask him.

“After me mum died?” He asked then started talking not waiting for an answer. “Set sail with my father, was just a lad no more than ten. Didn’t come back to the Caribbean for quite some time, love, ’bout twelve years ago...needed a fresh start where no body knew who Jack Sparrow was.”

“No one remembered you or your father?” She asked curiously.

“I’m sure some of the older scallywags remembered him, some may have even remembered he had himself a son. But no one knew the name Jack Sparrow, love.” She simply gave him a confused look so he grinned at her.

“I was named after my father, spent a good deal of me life goin’ by the name Jack Douglas. When I came back to the Spanish Main, I didn’t want to be burdened with his name and all the debt that came with it. Me mother’s name was Lillian Sparrow, not many would be rememberin’ her, she kept to herself mostly. Never did take to the life of a buccaneer,” he said then leaned forward and grinned. “Besides, Captain Jack Sparrow just has more of a ring to it, eh, love?”

“Well, it seems to me that Captain Jack Sparrow could use some sleep. Why don’t you take the cabin, I have no need to be in there today. If Mr. Gibbs needs help, I’m sure I could offer him some assistance. What’s the worst that could happen?” She asked with a playful smile.

“Not entirely sure I want to think about that,” Jack replied, having witnessed her lack of nautical skills on more than one occasion. He then glanced over at the cabin. The idea of sleeping in the bed without the crew around was very appealing.

“Just don’t...break anything,” he said only semi-seriously, speaking with his hands more so than words, causing her to cock an eyebrow.

“Good night, Captain,” she said and turned to head up to speak with Gibbs while Jack went to get some much needed sleep.

***

Once in the cabin he began removing his effects, hoping the weather held out and he could enjoy a nice rest. He was about to collapse onto the bed that he missed desperately, then stopped when he saw a pile of fur curled up in the center of it.

‘Bloody hell, she lets the monkey sleep in my bed,’ he thought as he stared down at the content thing. He wasn’t sure if he was more irritated that the monkey slept more comfortably than him, or the fact that the monkey got to sleep with a woman while he was stuck down with the crew. Neither was fair in his opinion.

“Come on, mate,” he said as he poked Pepe, not receiving a reaction. He tried a second time, only managing to make the small creature curl up tighter into himself, having no intentions of being roused from his peaceful state.

“Got fruit out on the deck, mate. Nice big, tasty fruit. Every color you can imagine. Just need to scurry out there to get it, aye?” He said while motioning his hands towards the door hoping it would convince the monkey to move.

He realized that he could pick Pepe up, but thought that would lead to a lot of unwanted noise. The monkey was temperamental, spent most of it’s time with Kaitlyn and didn’t seem to trust the rest of them nearly as much. He could always go get the lass, but knew that was just begging for her to torment him. Finally, he decided he would simply roll the thing to the other side of the bed. He was too tired to waste anymore time with a monkey.

He grabbed the blanket and tugged a little, not really even disturbing the thing then grinned and yanked the blanket, hoping to scare it awake and have it leave on its own. Only he hadn’t taken into account the creature’s slight weight, his eyes widened as Pepe rolled across the bed and onto the floor. The thud that followed made him cringe, imagining there would soon be one very unhappy and vocal monkey confronting him.

Instead, Pepe climbed back onto the bed looking around the room in confusion. Jack did his best to suppress laughter then pointed down at him.

“Hit some rough water, mate...you’ll be alright,” he said then sat down. “The lass is on the deck.” He watched the monkey looking at the door then to him and just shrugged, knowing it would find its way out if it wanted to. He had no sooner closed his eyes and gotten comfortable when he felt something on his chest. His eyes shot open and he looked down to find the bloody thing curling up to go back to sleep. He was about to get up and dump Pepe onto the floor again then sighed and closed his eyes instead. He only wanted sleep and besides, he was starting to like the little fur ball.