Some Gratitude

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean.

Captain Jack Sparrow, because – his own ship or not – titles weren't something that anyone smart would willingly part with, chanced a glance over at his 'prisoner.' She had managed to work herself free, of course, but if she wanted to pretend that she hadn't then all the better for him because he really wasn't looking forward to fighting over the oars.

"You are aware that I saved your life, right?" Jack asked rhetorically.

Angelica's glare deepened. "You murdered my father."

"That's really not how I remember it," Jack disagreed.

"Well it's the truth," Angelica spat.

"Angelica, it's not like I stabbed him through the heart or anything like that," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "He drank from that chalice of his own free will and it's not like it was even poisoned."

"It might as well have been!" Angelica said angrily. "You knew that that chalice would kill him and you let him drink from it anyway! No, more than that; you planned it."

"I take it that you don't believe that I merely mixed up the chalices, then?" Jack asked idly.

Angelica snorted. "Please, Jack. While I do acknowledge that you look just that stupid, I know that you really aren't."

"I suppose I should be touched by your faith in me," Jack mused. "I'm not because you're currently accusing me of killing your father but perhaps at a later date."

"You knew which cup would kill him and you let him drink from it anyway," Angelia said accusingly.

"If that's how you choose to remember it," Jack said indifferently.

"It is not how choose to remember it; it is how it happened," Angelica insisted.

"Is it now?" Jack asked innocently. "Because I could have sworn that I begged him to drink from the chalice that actually would have saved him and instead he grabbed the chalice that killed him and gulped it down before I could correct him."

"What are you saying?" Angelica demanded. "That you were actually trying to save his life?"

"And why not?" Jack countered. "I thought for sure that any parent even vaguely worthy of being called that and in a situation where it's them or their child would choose to save their child. Had he acted like he was your father then he would have done the right thing. He would have tried to save you and in doing that he would have been saved."

"Oh, please," Angelica scoffed. "You've met my father. You didn't think that for a second."

"But Angelica," Jack protested, his eyes wide. "Your father said that you were the only good thing in his life back before I knew that you were really his daughter. And he promised that he wouldn't hurt you and made a point to mention how important you were to him. How was I supposed to know that he would turn out to be willing to kill the 'only good thing in his life' in order to live just a little longer?"

"You've met him," Angelica said again.

"So basically what you're saying is that it's my fault that your father would rather kill you than die?" Jack demanded. "Is that it? Because that really doesn't seem fair."

"My father wouldn't rather kill me," Angelica argued. "I told him to take my life and he listened. I was fully aware of the situation and it was what I wanted. You didn't have a right to take that from me."

Jack shook his head. "That's hardly better."

"I think it is, actually," Angelica disagreed. "Because, you see, if I had told him that I wanted to live and begged him to save me and he had ignored me and tried to save himself then I would admit that he cared more for his own life than for mine. But if I were willingly offering it up, like I did, then what good would refusing the second chalice and dying as well have done?"

"Okay, so maybe it's a little better," Jack conceded. "But it's still a horrible thing to do."

"Conventional morality isn't something people like us can be expected to adhere to," Angelica said, shrugging.

"What would you have done if your father had thought of you first and drank from the chalice I told him would kill him?" Jack asked her. "Well, obviously you'd be dead but would you blame me for your death then?"

Angelica thought for a moment. "No," she admitted. "I would consider my father on the path to redemption in trying to sacrifice his life to save mine and glad that he would continue to live."

"But if he was redeemed by dying to save you then why did he need to keep living?" Jack inquired. "I thought it was so that he could finally find redemption."

"How can he possibly be redeemed if his dying to save me was completely accidental?" Angelica countered. "You may have damned my father's soul!"

"I think he did a pretty good job of that all on his own, sweetheart," Jack told her bluntly. "Setting that mermaid up to die, enslaving that preacher, playing games with your life, setting the cook on fire – twice…"

"That's why he needed his redemption so badly," Angelica ground out. "And thanks to you, he'll never have that chance."

"Thanks to him, really," Jack disagreed. "I tried to get him to do the right thing but he would have none of it! I was only trying to help you achieve your goal, Angelica dear."

Angelica laughed harshly. "Right. And you're stranding me here for my own good."

"Actually, it's for my own good," Jack corrected her. "I can't have you and your misguided sense of revenge getting in my way when I still have to find a way to fix my ship. But you'll be fine. Consider it a nice little vacation."

"If I do decide to seek vengeance, you're giving me ample reason to," Angelica growled at him.

"Oh, that's good," Jack said cheerfully. "I would hate to think of leaving your life empty and meaningless. Well, any more empty and meaningless than it already will be without me, of course."

Review Please!