A/n: Ten years after 'AWE', Elizabeth wants more than the once-a-decade visits from her husband. And Jack is confused.

Disclaimer: i own nothing here, except for the odd OC here and there.

Of Pirates and Destiny

Chapter 1

Elizabeth frowned sadly as she watched the man she loved sail away in the long-boat, being rowed by her father-in-law, Bill "Bootstrap" Turner, heading out for the proud white ship floating on the horizon. Her son Billy, named to follow the family tradition, stood close to her, a firm hold on her skirts in one hand, and waving good-bye to his father in the other. His eyes glistened with tears. It had been the first time he had met his father, and now he had to go away.

William Turner faced his small family as they slowly grow smaller and smaller, watching as he was taken away. It was the price he had to pay for cheating death; ferrying souls into the afterlife for all eternity, and coming to shore once every ten years. He'd only been doing it for ten years and already he found it unbearable.

It wasn't the job itself; in fact he quite enjoyed meeting all the new people, as he carried them safely to the afterlife. It was leaving his wife and son that he couldn't stand. He wanted nothing more than to be with them, to have been there at the birth of his son, hear his first words, teach him to fight with his first sword (made of wood, of course), to see young Billy grow up, and grow old with his true love. But it could never be. He was immortal now, forever young. It was a curse.

Bill Turner looked with sympathy upon his son. He understood the predicament he was going through. He himself would have loved to have stayed longer, with his lovely daughter-in-law and grandchild, but he had long grown accustomed to life on the Dutchman. At least it was a much more enjoyable experience with Will as the captain; He didn't implement flogging for every single breach of protocol.

"I know you're sad now, son, but once we're back on the Dutchman and away from your heart, you'll feel better." Bootstrap consoled.

Will looked away. "I wish it were that simple, but with every aching moment on the ship, I can't help but miss her. It never goes away." he replied sadly.

Bootstrap nodded. There was nothing more he could say to his son. If there were only a way his son could fulfil his duty as Captain of the Dutchman and still have his family. But as far as he knew, there was so way that could happen. For if there was, would not Davy Jones have been with Calypso all those years?

Captain Jack Sparrow stood proudly at the wheel of his true love, the Black Pearl. Many times had he fought for the ship, mostly against his nemesis, Barbossa, but now he didn't have to worry about the mutinous captain; he had died a few years before in a freak tropical storm.

It seemed that Calypso had decided to take back what she had given Barbossa, life, after he dared to try and kill her pet Leviathan.

The Leviathan had tried to take down the Pearl, which Barbossa had been captaining at the time, on his mistress, Calypso's orders.

Wanting his ship back, Jack had reasoned with Calypso, meeting her on a remote island just out of the Caribbean Sea and had convinced her that he should be the sole captain of the Pearl, as it was raised from the depths especially for him; even it was by Davy Jones and in exchange for his soul. She begrudgingly agreed and had sent her Leviathan to go claim it for him, but met opposition from Barbossa, who understandably did not want to give the ship back. He'd tried to fight the monster, which angered Calypso, who then killed him.

And now Jack was free; free to sail wherever he wanted, free from worry of mutiny, and most importantly, free from fear Davy Jones, Barbossa and even the East India Trading Company. He finally had his freedom.

And yet something was bothering him. He looked at his compass and frowned. The needle kept spinning in circles. Ever since he had gotten the Pearl back, things had been going his way. He and the crew had amounted a significant hoard after several honest pirating ventures. He finally had everything he had wanted. Yet, he still felt as if something was missing.

"What's our heading, Captain?" asked Gibbs, Jack's loyal first mate.

"Ahhh, that…general direction…" he replied, pointing nowhere in particular.

Gibbs remained where he was. "Jack."

"Yes, do you have any questions?"

"We can't sail in five directions at once. Where are we going?"

"You do have a point there, Gibbs. I…I don't know."

"Blimey, Jack, you don't know where to next? Impossible. You always have a heading."

Jack paused. "Well, this time, I…I don't. I don't know where I want to sail to next." he admitted.

"Hmm…perhaps it be time for a break from all this pirating." Gibbs suggested.

"What are you suggesting Gibbs?" Jack eyed him suspiciously.

"I be suggesting that maybe we should head for land for a while, you know, take a break from all this pirating and relax in a tavern or something. We be sailing near non-stop for many years now. The Fountain of Youth may keep us young, but it doesn't stop me growing weary of the sea."

"But – but we love the sea!" Jack protested.

"Aye, we do, but haven't ye ever considered staying on land a few months, just until ye hear of somewhere else to sail to next. Eh? There'll be plenty of rum."

Jack thought for a moment. "You do make a good point. Perhaps we should port for a little while. We're getting low on our rum supplies anyway."

"Aye aye captain, where to?" Gibbs asked

"Tortuga, where the rum is cheap and so are the girls." he winked.

Gibbs smiled and began yelling to the crew. They finally had a heading.

Elizabeth sat in her wooden chair, overlooking her large garden, with the glistening sea in the distance. She watched as young Billy played with Patches, their dog. She remembered how they had found Patches, a young, scruffy and lean dog, wandering the streets in Port Royal a few years ago, when they had come down for a day trip. Billy had fallen in love with him instantly, and she had no choice but to let him take Patches home with them. Afterall, he was a good companion to her son, since Billy had no siblings, no friends and no-one else to play with. It made Elizabeth happy to watch her son so bright and full of life, acting like a normal boy, after years of being all alone. It almost made up for his absent father, but not quite. Elizabeth felt the tears being to well in her eyes again. She quickly tried to compose herself. After all these years, she still longed for Will. Yesterday had been bliss, the first time she had seen him in ten years. But then he had to leave early this morning, before dawn. And the agony she had first felt ten years ago had come rushing back.

"Anything more to drink, Mistress?" asked a voice.

Elizabeth turned to her maid Josephine, "No thank you, Josie."

"Very good. I'll go check on tea then." Josie replied, heading back inside.

Elizabeth was lucky, living in her country manor with the money her father had left her. She even had her own serving staff. But it meant nothing if she couldn't share it with her true love. She knew that she'd trade it all in an instant for a small dirty cabin on the Dutchman to be with Will.

"Lonely, isn't it?" replied a soothing voice.

Surprised, Elizabeth turned to see Tia Dalma, the Goddess Calypso, sitting in a wooden chair next to her, looking out at the garden and Billy.

"I remember well the years I spent longing for my Davy Jones," she continued, "But in the end, I guess I didn't last." She turned to face Elizabeth. "But that is the way of a Goddess. Our loves don't often last, especially with mortal men. But you, Elizabeth, you are mortal. And I've seen many a mortal die from longing."

"But what can I do? He's the captain of the Flying Dutchman now. I can't see him for another ten years." Elizabeth cried.

"And by then you'll be another ten years older, yet he'll still be the same. I can sense your anguish. I've been sensing it from the heavens. And it's unacceptable for the Pirate King to be moping around the rest of her life."

Elizabeth was stunned, firstly that the Goddess of the Seas was sitting next to her in her country manor, and secondly, that she was sympathising with her situation. "Well what do you expect me do to? I can't just move on, I can't. I love Will, and I know he's expecting me to wait for him, and why wouldn't I? I can't even begin to imagine being with anyone else."

"And you shouldn't have to. Look, dear, you're young, you're in love, and you're the Pirate King. You don't deserve to live like this, especially not after what you've lost, what you've sacrificed."

Elizabeth looked at the Goddess questiongly.

"I know I have a reputation for being a fierce and wild Goddess, one who shows little mercy and whose moods are as changing as the wind, but I am a woman, and I do sympathise with you. Thanks to Jack, Will is alive, but he's doomed to ferry the dead for eternity. None of you chose your fates. And I don't believe that you deserve to be here, pinning away until you fade into dust."

For a second time that day, Elizabeth was stunned. "Why do you care about me? I'm only a mortal, remember?"

Calypso smiled. "Because, just like your ill-fated husband, you too have a touch of destiny."

Elizabeth froze. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. But I cannot tell you more than that, as I do not see it all. I didn't see that William would replace Davy Jones until he did, and I do not see what will happen to you, but I know that it will be great, and as significant as your husbands. You should feel lucky, or cursed, depending on how you view this situation."

Elizabeth paused. "So, what do I do?"

Calypso laughed. "M' dear, I can't tell you that, it's up to you. But I will leave you with one word."

"And what's that?"

"Tortuga."

And just as quickly as she had come, Calypso was gone. Elizabeth stared at the place where she had been. "Tortuga."

Suddenly, she felt something tugging on her skirt, "Mother?"

Elizabeth turned to her son and the wagging dog standing beside him. "Yes Billy?"

"Who was that lady you were talking to?" he asked with all the eloquence that came with his class.

"Just an old friend. Why don't you go upstairs and pack."

"Why, are we going somewhere?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes, we're going on an adventure."

This is my first POTC fic, but def not my first fic overal. This is really for me to tie all the loose ends (for my benefit) up after the movies (not that they really need it, but, yeah, i kinda need closure. lol). i hope you all enjoy it. And i hope this seems original, cos i havn't read any other fics in this category so i don't know what's out here already.

please Review! :D

have a nice day ;D