Disclaimer: Will, Jack, Elizabeth, Ana, and the other PotC characters don't belong to me. They are the property of Disney, Gore, Jerry, Ted, and Terry. However I do own Sammi and Teague Sparrow! Sammi is by far my favorite OC that I've created, I just love her and her wacky personality.

A/N: I'm writing this in response to something that happened in frenchhornfreak's Christmas story. Thanks for inspiring me, girl! This goes along with my fic Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder. I will refer to some things that have happened in AMTHGF, but if you haven't read it you can still enjoy this oneshot. And for those who do read AMTHGF, then you'll be given little clues as to what life for the Sparrows and Turners will be like once they return to St. Maarten. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my readers! The next chapter to AMTHGF should be up fairly soon.

Home For The Holidays

William Turner the Third stared longingly at the heaping pile of presents under the Turner family's Christmas tree. How he longed to open his! But he knew that he'd have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if he received his own sword. William had been asking for a sword for Christmas for as long as he could remember, but that request had always been denied by his mother. This year, however, things might be different. William's father had returned from his ten year stint as Captain of the Flying Dutchman; perhaps his father would be able to convince his mother that William was old enough to have his own sword.

But even if William didn't get that coveted sword tomorrow, he would still have a wonderful Christmas. It was the first time that his father would be able to share the special holiday with him, and to William, that was much more important than owning a sword.

"William!" His mother's pleasant voice jolted her son out of his reverie. "Dinner's ready!"

"I'm coming," he called with a grin. The nine year-old boy stood up, took one last glance at the glittering tree, and trotted into the dining room.

He found his favorite people in the entire world sitting down at the candlelit table. Some were family, and others were as good as family. There were his parents, Will and Elizabeth Turner, sitting side by side. William observed his mother's healthy glow was more pronounced tonight, as a result of her pregnancy and the excitement of the holidays. Next to his parents sat Captain Teague and the newfound love of his life, Faith Maladie. William was very fond of the older couple and of Faith in particular. His selflessness had released the silver-haired woman from a terrible curse earlier that year, and in return kindhearted Faith had promised to search for a cure for his immortality. Across from Captain Teague sat his grandfather Bootstrap Bill. William enjoyed the afternoons spent with his grandfather and the drawing lessons that he gave him. On Bootstrap's right sat his Uncle Jack and Aunt AnaMaria Sparrow. These two loved William like he was their own son and William knew it. He was extremely grateful to the Sparrows for extending their friendship to his mother while his father had been away. Ana had a similar glow to that of William's mother as she was also with child. At the head of the table sat little Teague Sparrow, who at times liked to pretend that William was his older brother. William couldn't imagine his life without any of them.

And then there was Sammi. Jack and Ana Sparrow's daughter had been his best friend since birth. William often found that he was most content when he was in the company of Sammi. She was always dreaming up some new adventure, which more often than not led to them getting in trouble. But William wouldn't have it any other way. He knew he'd never have nearly as much fun if it weren't for Sammi.

Just the other day, she had the inkling that it would be a good idea to sneak some rum from her father's personal stash and drink it. This was after William had volunteered the information that he'd never had rum in his life. Sammi, of course, thought this was an abominable offense. So that night she snuck a bottle of her father's finest rum into her room and hid it well. The following day when William came over to play, they'd holed up in Sammi's room and drank the rum. Or, rather, Sammi drank the rum. William took one sip and it was soon apparent that he shared his mother's distaste for the beverage.

Sammi caught William's eye and smirked at her friend. The immortal boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes – he recognized that gleam in her eye. It meant that Sammi was scheming a new way for them to possibly get in trouble. As much as William loved to get into mischief with his partner in crime, he wasn't interested in doing so tonight. There was no way that Santa Claus would come if he misbehaved on Christmas Eve! Sammi stopped believing in Santa last Christmas, but she didn't tease William for still believing in him. In fact, she encouraged her friend to continue to believe in Santa, even though she herself didn't.

Luckily for William, Sammi didn't do anything out of the ordinary during dinner. The Sparrows and Turners all ate ample helpings of turkey with gravy, boiled potatoes, biscuits, greens, and plum pudding in relative peace. The only interruption happened when little Teague tore his biscuits into sections, rolled them into little balls, and launched them at his grandfather across the table. While Ana and Jack were dealing with their son's antics, Sammi saw this as an opportunity to slip away. Out of habit, William followed her.

Sammi's long black hair, curled for the occasion, bounced against her neck as she darted into the living room. She was smirking again, William noticed. From experience, he knew this couldn't be a good sign. William thought that she looked very pretty in her crimson Christmas dress, although he would never tell her so. Sammi was a tomboy, and wouldn't appreciate any comments about her being forced wear a dress.

"Why are you just standing there?" William asked, confused as to why his friend seemed content to wait by the tree.

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" She challenged. William approached her warily, stepping between Sammi and the tree.

"Alright, I'm here," he said unnecessarily. "What's going on?" He asked her, ever suspicious. Sammi grinned at him.

"Look up above us," she said. William did, and found that they were strategically placed underneath the mistletoe. His eyes grew wide and he looked back at Sammi in trepidation.

"Now you have to kiss me," she said casually.

"No way!" William protested. "Gross, Sammi." She frowned at him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Thanks a lot!" He winced.

"It's not you, Sammi. It's just kissing in general that I don't like."

"Aw, come on, Will," she pleaded. "It's tradition. You can't break tradition."

"She's right, William; you can't break tradition," Elizabeth chimed in. "It wouldn't be polite." William groaned – he hadn't heard his mother enter the room. He turned around to see the rest of the Sparrow-Turner family file into the living room behind his mum. This was too much for William, and a slow blush manifested itself on his already rosy cheeks.

"Father," William begged. "Don't make me do it!"

"William," his father warned, his expression stern. But William had the distinct impression that Will was rather amused with the situation, as were all the adults in the room. The boy sighed heavily – it looked like there was no way out of this. He was going to have to kiss his best friend in front of everyone! William glanced around the room, his gaze finally resting on Sammi's father. Would his Uncle Jack hold this against him?

"What are you waiting for?" Jack urged him on. It seemed that his uncle wasn't averse to the idea of him kissing his only daughter.

William gulped, and unconsciously shifted closer to Sammi. His best friend's eyes were closed, and her lips were puckered. William chose to keep his eyes open as he leaned forward. He'd never been this close to Sammi in his life! Heart pounding, William moved in to capture her lips. He inched closer, and closer, until his lips were practically grazing hers. But then his courage deserted him at the most inopportune moment and William kissed Sammi's cheek instead. Sammi's eyes flew open in surprise at the exact moment his lips touched her soft cheek, and William jumped back, almost falling into the tree in the process.

"Hey," she complained. "You cheated!" William smiled charmingly at her.

"Pirate," he said with a smirk of his own. It was not often that William could beat Sammi at her own game, but from her look of frustration it seemed that he'd succeeded in doing just that. However, William was confused why Sammi seemed so disappointed that he'd only kissed her on the cheek. He'd been sure she'd only dragged him under the mistletoe to embarrass him, but now he wasn't so sure. William moved away from the dreaded mistletoe to stand by his parents, who hugged him on both sides.

"William, you missed," Jack said with a shake of his head. "Let an old pro show you how it's done." Jack kissed his life-partner with so much passion that it left Ana breathless afterwards. She laughed and fell into his arms, being careful of her overlarge stomach. William wrinkled his nose at their display of affection.

Not to be outdone, Will's lips captured Elizabeth's and William knew they were instantly transported into a world all their own. While he wasn't fond of kissing by any means, William could tolerate watching his parents kiss. Seeing them express their love warmed him to the core. It wasn't often that two people could remain in love after a decade of separation, but his parents had done it.

To William's surprise, Captain Teague briefly kissed his lady love. Faith blushed and pulled away from the gentle kiss after a few seconds, but William had seen enough. Old people kissing was too much for him to stomach, even those as nice as Teague and Faith.

"Can we do something else?" He complained. The adults laughed at William's squeamish attitude.

"You and Sammi can open one present each," said Will after a few brief words with his wife, Jack, and Ana. However, the parents provided the children with their present, so they didn't get to choose which one to open. Still, it was better than nothing, William supposed.

Sammi tore open her package first, finding an adventure book that she'd been wanting to read for ages. While she jumped on her parents shrieking her thanks, William slowly and carefully unwrapped his present. He opened the small box to find a tarnished, dull knife inside.

"It's from both your grandfather and me," Will explained at his son's questioning gaze. "This knife has been in the Turner family for quite a long time. It's saved my life on more than one occasion, and now I'm giving it to you."

"Thank you, Father," William said respectfully. "I'll take good care of it." As much as he liked that his father trusted him enough to be responsible for the family heirloom, he couldn't help but wonder if this was what he would receive instead of a sword. While he went to hug his grandfather, William missed the wink that his father gave his mother over his head.

For the rest of the night, William played games and laughed with his extended family. He knew how lucky he was to have everyone that he loved here with him, especially when he remembered the previous Christmas. Now he didn't have to wonder what his father would be like, as he was sitting right next to him. Will had been everything he wished for in a father, and more. Thanks to his warm and calming presence, this was looking like it would be William's best Christmas ever!

All too soon, the Sparrows, Faith, and Bootstrap had to leave. The children protested, but the parents stood firm – William, Sammi, and Teague had to go to bed now or Santa would not come. Sammi rolled her eyes at this, but when she saw William's frown she just winked at her friend.

"Happy Christmas, William," Sammi said with a bright smile.

"Happy Christmas, Sammi," grinned William as he hugged her goodnight. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I can't wait," she said in complete honesty for once.

333

The next day

William did receive a sword for Christmas, much to his amazement. But when William learned that his father had hand-crafted the sword during his time spent at the smithy, the gift's significance increased tenfold. His father had even engraved his son's initials, William Swann Turner into the hilt.

"Thank you so much, Father," William said, regarding the sword with awe.

"You're welcome," said Will with a grin. "I was happy to do it. I've never worked harder on a sword in my life as I did with yours, but it was worth it."

"It's a beautiful sword, Will," Elizabeth complimented her husband as she snuggled up to him. "He put in extra hours at the smithy working on it," she informed her son as Will put his arm around her. William thanked his father again, knowing that words wouldn't be able to express the gratitude he was feeling.

"So, is your sword your favorite present?" Will teased his son, secretly hoping that it was.

"No," William said thoughtfully.

"No?" Will asked, taken back. He'd been so certain that no other gift could top this sword which he'd spent so much time and effort making. "Then what is, William?" The boy smiled reverently at his father, his hero and teacher.

"You are," he said simply. "Having you home for the holidays is the best present I could ever ask for."

Elizabeth sniffed at the sentiment, and was unable to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. Will was moved close to tears himself. He saw much of himself in his son at that moment. The former captain remembered how he'd longed to have his own father home for the holidays when he was William's age. But now he'd made his peace with Bootstrap, and Will was finally back with his family where he belonged. Will carefully gathered his son, and then his wife in his arms. As he held his family close, Will made sure that one hand rested on Elizabeth's swollen stomach. The gesture was not lost on Elizabeth as she leaned in to kiss her husband.

Nestled in between his two loving parents, William decided that this was indeed the best Christmas ever.

The End

A/N: Thanks for reading this fluffy little thing! I'm sorry I didn't have the next chapter of AMTHGF up as planned, but this little plot bunny popped into my head and well, I couldn't ignore it! Hope you enjoyed it.