Heartbeats

Chapter One: Waking Up

After 10 years at sea, if Elizabeth remains faithful to Will and he continues ferrying souls to the next world, Calypso will release him of his duty to the Flying Dutchman. Set after AWE

A/N: References to Calypso freeing Will from the Flying Dutchman are all TRUE. If you don't believe me, search IMDb or Wikipedia. This idea was meant to be a deleted scene on the DVD.

The room was silent except for the sound of heartbeats. Elizabeth sighed as she sat up and looked around the room. The Port Royal Blacksmith hadn't changed much since her husband had worked there. Her husband. Every morning when she woke up in his old bed, she always thought the same thing: I am no longer Elizabeth Swann; I am Elizabeth Turner. And Will Turner, my husband, is the captain of the infamous Flying Dutchman. But ironically, the only thing missing each morning was, in fact, her husband.

The last time she'd seen him was nine years and ten months ago on the sandy beaches of Shipwreck Island. She layed back down and remembered that day that had become so clear in her mind over the last few years:

POTC

"Elizabeth…" his voice was low and hoarse, the tone he used when they were kissing in the hull of the Black Pearl or in his bed in the smithy before their other wedding.

"Yes, Will?" she met the look in his eyes with the same longing and desire. There was no more room for words the moment he drew her lips in his.

Her body seemed to melt into his, never wanting to be apart from him, "You have no idea how long I've waited to be able to call you my wife," Will murmured, his eyes still half closed.

She was surprised when he drew back, her face still seeking contact with his. Her eyes shot open and found him staring back at her, "Will, you are my husband now. I love you and I want to be with you. And I absolutely don't want to wake up every morning for the next ten years and not know what it is like to have my husband make love to me."

The second those words had left her mouth, he'd pulled her body to his again; no space left between their bodies, no room for any thought except that they were finally together. Even if it wasn't for very long, they were there, together, in that moment, and that was all that mattered.

He'd then lowered them to the soft sand, their lips never leaving each other's, even when he'd carefully undressed her layer by layer until her entire body was bathed in sunlight and visible only to his eyes.

Will moved his mouth across her lips, under her chin, down her neck and collarbone in a torturous exploration of his wife's perfect body. "Oh, Will…please don't tease me…" Elizabeth moaned softly and arched herself into his arms, desperate for contact.

Will chuckled softly into her neck, "If I want to dream about this for the next ten years, I'll need to remember every detail."

Elizabeth silenced him with another kiss, not hesitant when she felt Will's tongue make its way past her lips. She tugged at his shirt and tossed it on the sand beside them, then admiring his strong, sculpted chest from those years in the smithy and sword fighting. The only thing that broke her heart was to see that his was no longer there. In its place was a long red scar.

She placed a soft kiss on it, and then began moving her lips across his body in the same way he'd done to her.

"Elizabeth…" Will's breathing came in ragged spurts, "Enough, I can't wait any longer."

She nodded as he pulled off his trousers and threw them into the pile with the rest of their clothes.

The newlyweds spent their remaining hours together on the beach, never leaving each other's arms. Elizabeth spent what seemed like hours writhing and moaning under Will, never tiring of the feel of his body against hers.

Finally, she lay in his embrace, both of them breathing hard and exhausted from their recent activities. She snuggled closer into his arms and sighed, "Will, that was amazing."

He gave her a light kiss on the lips, "It was…" His gaze slowly left his beautiful wife and settled on the Flying Dutchman that had just appeared a few miles away from the beach. "I think it's time for us to get dressed, love."

His voice was weighed down with such sadness as he reluctantly stood up and began dressing. Elizabeth let out another sigh, this one not sounding satisfied as it had before, but instead sounding disappointed and mournful.

Will sat down on a rock, watching the sea foam and waves crash against the shore as he pulled on his boot. His lips curled into a smile, "You know, I'm going to need the other one."

The other one of his brown boots immediately appeared at his side. The smile was still plastered to his face. Dropping to his knees, he admired the perfection that was Elizabeth Turner. She was wearing nothing but her black Oriental under-dress instead of the Singaporean full-length dress she'd worn at their impromptu wedding. Although it wasn't considered 'proper', he thought she looked more radiant than ever.

He slowly slid off his boot and dropped it on the sand, then took her leg in his hands and began moving his lips over her smooth skin in the same way he had hours before while she'd been begging him to end his torture.

She closed her eyes in ecstasy and her head fell back. Her face was instantly lit up with a small smile. Good Lord, how was she going to survive the next decade without this man while knowing what he could to do to her, how he could make her feel?

"It's nearly sunset," Will said quietly, turning his head and saw the Flying Dutchman inching closer and closer to them. Elizabeth slowly forced her eyes open, the sea wind blowing her hair in her face. How did time pass so quickly? Will quickly pulled his other boot on and walked towards the iron chest sitting on a nearby rock.

She heard the steady pounding of his heart in the chest, "It's always belonged to you," Will said, gesturing to it. He picked it up and handed it to her "Will you keep it safe?"

Elizabeth nodded as she took the chest, "Yes," she paused. "Yes."

She drew in a sharp breath as she felt the heat radiating off his body because they were standing so close to each other. His forehead rested against hers and Elizabeth closed his eyes, then leaned in…for the kiss that never came. Will began walking towards the waves, leaving a heartbroken Elizabeth rooted to the spot with her eyes still closed and clutching the Dead Man's Chest.

As she saw him go, something inside her snapped: she wasn't going to let her husband sail away without kissing him one last time. She set the chest down, and then ran down the beach to the edge of the water where Will was standing, "Will!" she called, leaping into his arms and attacking his lips.

He nearly fell over as Elizabeth threw herself at him, but quickly regained his balance and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kissed her back with equal passion. Her lips were so soft against his and he lost himself in her silky hair and intoxicating scent.

As they parted ways, he'd whispered, "Keep a weather eye on the horizon." And everyday after that, she always did.

POTC

After that day, Elizabeth was forced to return to Port Royal. Jack had gone to Tortuga with Mr. Gibbs and Barbossa had taken the Black Pearl and crew to sail the seven seas.

She'd been the talk of the town when Beckett arrested her the day she and Will were to be married. Officially. She silently thanked God that no one else knew that she'd broken out of jail, held her captor at gunpoint, willingly went gallivanting off with pirates, and that her husband had stabbed the heart of Davy Jones, then being forced to take his place.

All the people she had once called her friends avoided her whenever they could. The town's population had also been greatly reduced after all pirates or people affiliated with pirates were sentenced to death.

Instead, she spent her days taking Will's place in the blacksmith. Since her 'boss' usually drank most hours of the day, Elizabeth was free to practice with the swords she made just as Will had done. After all, she was the 'Pirate King' of the Brethren Court, and she didn't want to lose her sword-fighting skills just because she wasn't on the Pearl looting merchant ships for a living.

She stared at the ceiling. He'll be back in two months, he'll be back in two months, she thought. Just thinking about it made her smile. They were supposed to meet each other again on Shipwreck Island, on the same beach that held so many romantic memories. And she couldn't wait.

POTC

The Flying Dutchman was two months away from his wife. Will could hardly believe it. Whenever he wasn't busy, his thoughts would always stray to Elizabeth and their memorable day on the beach. The fact he would see her in less than sixty days only gave him a better outlook on the rest of the things in his life. All of those in his crew could see that he was a better captain than Davy Jones ever was.

All this time, the sea goddess, Calypso, had been watching him. Once upon a time, she'd told Davy Jones when she first assigned him his obligation to his ship, that if he would fulfill his duty of taking care of those who died at sea and if she was able to remain faithful to him in the first ten years he was at sea, she would release him from his post as captain. Since Will had resumed the position of captain, Calypso had kept a close eye on him and his wife.

She saw that everyday Elizabeth could think of no one but Will, and him the same. If she could wait another two months and be at Shipwreck Island in time for the Green Flash, Will would be free.

Although it was hard for him to admit, Will loved his life at sea. Of course, he loved his wife more than anything else in the world, but the he was drawn to the sea, just as Jack had told him not too long ago. But unlike Jack, his first and only love was Elizabeth Turner.

Every single night, he'd dream that in another world, he and Elizabeth would be happily married and every morning, she'd be able to wake up to the sound of his voice whispering in her ear instead of the sound of his heartbeats.

To be Continued…

A/N: FEEDBACK APPRECIATED! If you have any suggestions, tell me!