The little cottage was incredibly warm, a fire crackling in the hearth as Gibbs entered the kitchen, trying to remain quiet. It was empty apart from three dogs, all of whom growled softly when they heard his footsteps, the scruffy grey one in the middle letting out a sharp bark when he tried to put his hand down to pat them.

A door swung open, a lean figure crossing the stone floor with long strides. "The smallest one'll nip, keep your hands off m-"

The low voice cut off as the man it belonged to got a proper look at Gibbs. "What the blazes are you doin' here?"

"You really need to get better at greeting people," said Gibbs with a slight frown as he moved away from the dogs, looking up at the taller man, who scoffed softly at his words.

"Walkin' in here unannounced usually gets a pistol aimed at your head, Joshamee. That was fairly gracious by my standards. D'you want a cup of tea?"

"Aye, if you're making." Gibbs moved a stack of papers off one of the chairs at the table so he could sit down, letting his attention drift around the room. He had been coming to this house for over thirty years, and very little had changed. The stone floor was worn smooth, covered in a light scattering of dust and dog hair, with a small but finely-made rug in front of the open fire.

A faded, comfortable-looking armchair sat adjacent to the fireplace, its cushions sagged and upholstery so worn it was difficult to guess the original colour. The dogs had sprawled upon it now, a tangle of limbs and gently wagging tails.

Edward Teague was taking his time brewing a pot of tea, keeping his back mostly to Gibbs. He turned eventually and placed the pot onto the table between them, then retrieved two mugs, gave one to him and filled the other. "Back in a minute," he said, before disappearing into the adjoining room with the mug.

When he came back, he sat down facing Gibbs and poured himself tea. He stirred sugar into it, took a sip and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doin' here?"

Gibbs hesitated, taking a drink of his tea as he thought about how to reply to that question.

"The Pearl's gone," he replied eventually. "I-"

"Hector again?" Teague asked with a scowl. "Maybe I'll find the bastard, put a bullet-"

"It wasn't Hector." Gibbs sighed, rubbing his beard, his eyes averted from the Code Keeper's. "It was the captain's doing this time. That damned honest streak in him, same as is in you, bloody fool."

Sitting back in the chair, Teague gestured for him to continue, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that had settled in his gut at those words.

"That debt he owed Davy Jones, well, it had to be paid. He tried to dodge it, tried to talk himself out of it, tried running. So Jones marked him with the black spot. Then sent the Kraken after him."
Gibbs took a long sip of tea. "The Kraken found the Pearl, attacked the ship. Jack fled initially, then came back as we were getting the crew off, used powder to scare the beast away briefly, long enough for us to get off. Elizabeth was the last of the crew off, she had worked out that the Kraken wasn't after the ship. It was just Jack that it wanted."

Teague closed his eyes, trying not to picture the scene Gibbs was describing. "What happened?" His voice was low and rough. "What'd she do?"

Gibbs set his mug down. "She said that he elected to stay behind to give us a chance to get away, but I'm not sure I believe that entirely. It just doesn't seem like something he'd do of his own accord."

"He would, he'd go down with the ship, that ship especially." Teague cleared his throat, keeping his voice controlled. "You saw the Pearl going down?"

"Aye. I saw her going down. I'm sorry Edward."

For a minute, Teague was silent, his eyes still closed. "I warned him about owing a debt to Jones. I-" He slipped from English to his native Gaelic, meaning Gibbs didn't understand anything he said, and simply looked at him in bewildered silence when the pitch of his voice indicated a question.

"In English?"

"Fuck, sorry." He ran a hand over his face. "I asked how you got here."

"Tia Dalma. She resurrected Barbossa, has some sort of plan, but said I had to tell you the news first, then rejoin her in Cuba to sail to Singapore, no idea why the hell she wants to go there."

"She did what?" Teague asked, his eyes darkening slightly.

"Brought Barbossa back from the dead somehow. She is a voodoo practitioner, it is part of her job description-"

"I know that." Teague said impatiently. "And I don't agree with it, but I've never known her to actually resurrect someone before. In all the time I've known her, she's only communicated with the dead. I didn't know she could resurrect people. What's her excuse for not resurrecting Jack?"

Gibbs took a sip of tea. "She said something about the Locker, said she'd tell me more when I joined the crew again after I'd been here."

The older captain's eyes were still slightly darker than usual, a frown creasing his brow. "She reckons the Kraken took Jackie to Jones' Locker, along with the Pearl?"

"Jones did resurrect them in the first place, Tia seems to presume he just took them back again, and because Jack still has his Piece of Eight on him, Barbossa says we have to get him back."

"That's none of Hector's concern, but if it means he'll go to World's End to get Jackie, I'll let him keep thinkin' that." Teague's lips twisted into a wry smile. "Hell, if he manages to get Jackie back, I'll even let the whole fact that resurrecting people is forbidden in the Codex slide when I see him in Court again."

"That's very gracious of you." Gibbs commented with a chuckle. He looked around briefly, an eyebrow slightly raised. "Are you alone?"

"Roxanne's in bed. I left her in a cup of tea."

"I was thinking she must be here, both your ships are in the harbour."

Teague hummed in response, then sighed. "I warned Jack that Jones would settle the debt. Though I don't think I'd imagined this was how he'd do it. Sending the fuckin' Kraken..." He rubbed his temples briefly, attempting to banish images of tentacles and teeth from his mind.

"Tia Dalma is not a pirate, and outside of my authority, so theoretically if she does some voodoo magic that results in my son being no longer in Davy Jones's Locker, it's nothin' to do with me, and I can't do anything about it."

"Understood Cap'n," responded Gibbs with a smirk.

"And, on the chance it doesn't work, I'd appreciate being told."

"Yeah, of course. I guess I should be off. Thanks for the tea."

Teague stood again as Gibbs did. "Thank you for coming to tell me, and for being willing to go and try to bring him back."

Gibbs rested a hand briefly on his shoulder. "I wouldn't have had you finding out any other way. Hopefully the next time I see you, it'll be under happier circumstances."

His gaze flickered briefly towards the bedroom door. "I hope so. Safe sailing, and good luck. Let me know how it works out, letters with my name and title always seem to find me eventually."
He walked Gibbs to the door, watching it close behind him before retrieving a bottle of port.

Silently, he raised the bottle in a toast, the gesture full of both mourning and hope before taking a long swig.

He replaced the cork, put the bottle away again and let himself into the bedroom.

"Thank you for the tea." Roxanne's voice was soft and laced with pain.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, crossing to the bed to sit next to her. "Are you warm enough?"

"I am. I'm tired but okay. Took painkillers a while ago and was just waiting for you to come keep me company. Who was there?"

He stretched out, letting her snuggle against his side. "Joshamee. Hold on." He adjusted himself so she could lay her head on his chest, wrapping an arm around her. "He had some news."

Roxanne hummed softly once she'd settled. "What kind of news?"

His fingers ran through her hair, pulling it back off her too-warm forehead. "The Kraken got the Pearl. The crew got off. Jack didn't. Joshamee is going with the crew and Tia Dalma to try and bring him back from Davy Jones's Locker."

She buried her head against him, a low sob escaping her lips. "You authorised getting Tia Dalma involved?" she asked eventually, voice choked with tears.

"I agreed to ignore it if they did." Teague replied, kissing her temple comfortingly.
"Gibbs wants him back, he'll figure out how to do it. Try not to worry too much Asthore, things will work out." He gently wiped her tears away, keeping her close.

"From the Locker though, has that ever been done?"

"Not that I know of, but Gibbs seems to think it's possible, reckons Tia Dalma can do it. We'll just have to wait and see." Teague murmured, pressing another kiss to her head.

Roxanne was silent for a long moment. "I hope you're right." She shifted slightly, pulling the covers up, tucked closely alongside him as he held her.

"Me too. Rest, Asthore, I'm stayin' here for a while."

He hummed softly, watching Roxanne as she drifted off, very grateful to still have one of his Sparrows safe in his arms.