Upon entering Shipwreck Cove, Jack went directly to the quarters of the Keeper of the Code. It was just after ten in the morning, and there were very few about.

The door was, unsurprisingly, locked when he tried it. "Had to make it awkward, didn't you? Where the hell did that key go?" he muttered, searching for the door key.

Ordinarily, in a city of pirates, a locked door wouldn't really be overly effective at keeping anyone out. But in this case, nobody save a select few ever dared to enter these rooms uninvited, as the inhabitants temper and dislike of being woken or disturbed were widely-known.

Eventually, Jack located the key and unlocked the door, slipping silently into the rooms beyond.

The kitchen table was in disarray, half-empty mugs of forgotten, cold tea sitting among papers and books. A neat pile of broken eggshells sat on a slightly chipped plate, an open book beside it.

The fire was dead, and the first thing Jack did was clean out the grate and relight it. Once it was warm enough, he put the kettle over it to boil water.

After clearing up a little, and making a pot of tea, he carefully let himself into the bedroom. A low growl greeted him from the Irish terrier who lay amidst the rumpled sheets.

"Oh shush," Jack muttered. Recognising his voice the dog left the bed, jumping up and wagging her tail, though didn't bark.

Once he'd fussed over Rua for a few minutes, he turned his attention to the matter of waking the sleeper, who he knew had a loaded pistol under his pillow.

Sitting on the empty side of the bed, he swiftly and gently put his hands over those of the sleeping man. Then spoke gently, urging him to wake.

The slumbering body shifted, then struggled. "Easy, easy. C'mon, wake up. It's me." Jack muttered, still restraining his wrists.

Gradually the struggling stopped and the man's eyes opened slowly, a frown forming as they focused on Jack, who let his hands fall to his sides again.

"For someone who's supposed to be dead, ye look very alive to me, Astóirín."

During the months spent on the expanse of bare sand of Davy Jones's Locker, this was the voice Jack had hallucinated more than any other. Low and slightly gravelly, with a distinct Irish accent, he'd heard this voice in his imagination a million times in that godforsaken, timeless place.

Now, hearing it, and knowing it was real, knowing that the owner of it was real, and close enough to touch, was enough to make Jack start crying. Sinking to the floor at the side of the bed, he buried his head in his hands and wept.

"Astóirín...Jackie...come here, it's alright."

Jack felt himself being pulled up onto the bed and immediately embraced almost painfully tightly. His sobs only increased at the familiar scent of whiskey and gunpowder, and the first real, meaningful human contact since being brought out of the Locker.

"Oh Dad..." he whispered into his father's hair, frame shaking. He held onto his father like a frightened child, half afraid he was imagining the whole thing.

Edward's calloused hands ran up and down the length of Jack's back before one cupped the back of his head in a tender, protective gesture.

He rubbed his back gently, murmuring softly in a fluid mix of Gaelic and English, reassuring Jack that he was safe and loved and free from the Locker.
"Sssh, Astóirín, tá sé ceart go leor... This is all real, I'm here, you're here, no Locker, no hallucinations. Tá tú ar ais. You're back. I love you."

"It was awful..." Jack croaked shakily.
"Me an' the Pearl stuck on an endless expanse of sand, with no sea, no wind, nothing. I ended up hallucinating all kinds of things, mostly people. Mum and you. Soracha. Sahara. Some of my crew, usually Gibbs, sometimes Turner."

He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself, his trembling subsiding as Teague continued to hold him.

Sitting back just enough to meet the older captain's eyes, he laced their fingers together, relying on the touch to anchor himself. "I haven't slept since coming back. Every time I close my eyes I hear the hallucinations, or I dream of the Kraken. And now I have to go into a Brethren Court meeting an' act like nothings happened. I was dead..." he trailed off, closing his eyes briefly.

"You don't have to go to the meeting. I'll make an excuse. You can stay here and reacquaint yourself with my library and play with Rua. Or go to bed and sleep, I'll get Soracha to drug you to take the dreams away."
Teague's dark eyes were full of deep concern.

Jack paused, finding the offer incredibly tempting. Then he sighed and shook his head. "Hector will know something's wrong if I don't show up."

Teague scoffed quietly. "Fuck Hector. You've been through hell and back, my poor Astóirín. And I would much rather you take the time to recover than feel the need to show your face to that nest of snakes."

For a moment, Jack was quiet. His gaze flickered briefly, longingly, to the bed. The whole idea, drugging the dreams away and hiding from everything under the bedcovers, was so very inviting.

Then he shook his head. "Have to show up. I'll be fine. You'll be in the same room anyway."

Teague paused before replying. "I can leave Rua under the table at your feet if you'd like her there. And I'll be sitting in such a way that you'll be able to catch my attention from your place without anyone really noticing, so if you want me to dramatically end the meeting, I will."

Rua pushed her head into Jack's hand, looking at him with the tip of her tail wagging. He scratched her wiry coat gently. "You want to stay with me, huh?" he murmured to her.

Her tail wagged slightly faster, and she licked his fingers. With a sigh, he looked up at his father. "Can we breakfast together? I made tea when I came in."

"Then it'll be piss by now." Teague chuckled as he swung himself out of bed. He snagged a shirt off the floor and slipped it on along with his breeches. "So we'll make more tea, and yes, we can breakfast together."

Returning to the kitchen, Jack set about tidying the table while his father made a fresh pot of tea and sorted out breakfast.

Once they were both sitting eating, a companionable silence settled over the room until Jack spoke.
"Where have you been anyway?"

"Most recently, Madagascar. Though I've been here for the last three weeks."

"Are you alone?"

Teague nodded. "Just me an' Rua. Though Sahara and Soracha are here somewhere and a few of my crew are knocking around nearby too. But yes, I'm alone."

Jack nodded a little, finishing off his breakfast. He washed up the breakfast dishes while his father went to dress himself.

"The Pearl came back with you?" Edward asked, voice floating from the open bedroom door.

"Aye." Jack snagged a drying cloth, getting to work on drying the now-washed dishes. He found the repetitive motion of drying soothing, a welcome distraction from the thoughts swirling in his mind.

Putting the dishes away, he paused after closing the cutlery drawer. "You said you're alone. Where is she?"

A knock diverted his father's attention from replying as he went to open the door.

"What the fuck are you doin' up?"

"Mornin' to ye too, ye posh cunt." A note of friendly humour had slipped into Teague's voice as he spoke. "A little Sparrow woke me up. Better question, why were ye about to wake me?"

Cormac looked over his captain's shoulder to see Jack grinning at him.
With a grin in return, he sidestepped Teague to accept the hug Jack was already offering him. "Welcome back. Guess you really can't kill a bad thing," he said lightly.

"You would know," Jack quipped back immediately as he released the hug, swiftly dodging the playful nudge the older man aimed at his ribs.

Sensing Cormac was about to ask questions, Teague intervened. "Why were ye comin' to wake me?" he asked again.

"Court is assembling."

"Fuck off," Teague said incredulously. "It's not even midday yet."

"Well, the Lords are gathering and they want the two of ye, plus that feckin' Codex, in the hall."

Muttering in Gaelic, Teague retrieved his pistols and guitar from the bedroom. A sword, coat and feathered hat completed the image as he drew himself up, the silver Keeper's Ring glimmering on his hand.

He raised a brow at Jack, who nodded firmly, falling into step with him as they walked out towards the Pirate Hall and the meeting within.