"Because I - I killed my mother, I killed my mother because of him"....

"An' she needs to be avenged for everything she had to deal with an' put up for"..

Soracha looked up at her in slight shock and surprise. Then shook her head. "Who ever gave you that notion? Ye didn't kill her, yes, she died in childbirth with ye. But kill her, no . That wasn't yer fault Tirina." She gave a sigh, sitting down in a chair. "Why don't you talk to Jack? Or yer grandparents. I think it'd be good for ye. As for the revenge, I'd think about that a good long while. It'll save yer skin."

"They won't want to talk to me, especially Jack. It hurts him to much to even look at me." Rina murmured in reply. Fiddling with the hem of her sleeve.

"Nonsense, you should be able to get up in a couple of days. You can talk to them then. It'll give ye time to prepare." Soracha advised.

"I'll, I'll try".... Tirina answered in response. "Though I can't promise anything."

Soracha only nodded in response, lighting a pipe she pulled from her dress pocket. "I'm going out fer a smoke , I'll leave ye to rest and to yer thoughts."
****

Two days passed before Tirina worked up the courage to approach either Jack or her grandparents. She quietly found him on the deck, drinking a flask of rum. He glanced over in response, but said nothing. Waiting for her to speak.

"What happened to mum?" Rina murmured, sitting down on a crate a few feet next to him. "Is it true that she died in childbirth with me? And that , that Beckett is my , father?"....

Jack gave a sigh, knowing this question would have came sooner or later. "First off, I answer yer questions an' you answer mine, savvy?" Tirina nodded in response and he continued. "Yes, she died, havin' you an' no... I ain't yer father, Beckett is. He, he kidnapped Cora, and a few of the others, things happened that shouldn't. An' you were a product of one of those things. I might explain when yer older. But fer now, you're not getting an explanation." Sparrow added, seeing the look of slight curiosity on her face. "Yer young and don't need to hear of such things."

"So I was the cause of mum's death then, I'm, I'm sorry"... Rina hung her head, her words mumbled, and barely hearable by anyone else but Jack. Who shook his head. "You weren't the cause Rina, complications happen during pregnancy sometimes. An' this happened to be one of those sometimes. It couldn't be helped"...

"It's still part of the reason you don't like me much though, isn't it?"...

"Oi, you may not be my blood, but I don't hate ye." Jack retorted in response. "We can't help who we are, we can only choose how we deal with it. An' my dealing with it isn't hating ye, I ain't like Beckett or any of the men like him. I don't dislike a person because he isn't like me. Or don't fit in me crew. "

"You mean that?" Rina replied, trying to hold back the mist threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Aye, now come an' sit down next to me." He murmured, patting the crate next to him. She quietly did so, playing with a loose thread on her sleeve. "Look- I'm sorry I haven't been the best father, parent, whatever ye want to call me. I admit , it hasn't been easy yes. I just didn't realize what it did to you. I should have been there more often than sulking about my grief an' the past. "

"You couldn't help it, you loved mum a lot "...

"Aye, maybe so, but I shouldn't have neglected ye or the others because of it. It's been almost ten years since she passed.... I've missed a lot, something she wouldn't want me to do." Jack took a drink of his rum, staying silent for a great moment.

"Ye know what she'd do if she were here right now?"

"What?"

"Give me a hug an' try to cheer us up. She was always good at that. Very quiet woman, but it made her gentler and kinder for it . You an' Di are most like her I think. Though you have the Sparrow attitude if ye don't have the blood." Jack gave a slight, small smile, glancing over at Tirina as he did so. "Go an' fetch yer sisters, we'll have a group hug an' a drink.  I'll forget about the scolding I was going to give ye." He added with a grin.

Rina nodded with a smile in return, running off to go do so. It was nice to see him like this, he may not be happy, but this was the closest he'd ever been. At least in her lifetime anyways.
She did as she was asked and soon all four of them were huddled on crates near Jack.

"Look, I know I haven't been the best lately an' I apologize fer that." He began, quiet enough so just the four of them could hear. "I wanna start back on the right foot with ye girls. An' this will be the beginning of that, promise. But first, let's drink."

Glasses were passed and Sparrow raised his. "To a new start, an', to this odd flock of Sparrows we call family. An' yes, that included ye Rina. " He added, nodding his head in her direction. "Now let's drink before someone finds out."

Glasses were emptied and Jack let out a relived sigh. He motioned them into his arms and gave them all a hug before letting them go.

"I love ye all, don't ever forget."

Those words stuck with Tirina through the day and into the night. As she thought about a great deal of things. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, and maybe she truly did fit in. Or would. Even if she wasn't a Sparrow, they still loved her as if she was one of their own. She was lucky, very lucky. To have what she did and a place to call home.

LucyBoal How's this for an ending? Or should I have added some more evil tea? Lol. 😁