Ha Ha! i have not died and i have not given up! you all thought i was done for good but NO! i won't delay you any longer so here it is. enjoy.

Disclaimer: i don't own anything.

Almost a year had passed since Gabriel had left without a word. The town found a new school teacher to replace him and Elizabeth had busied herself with Will and work to keep thoughts of him out. Her love for him grew smaller and smaller and the pain healed in the time apart from him, but part of her would always love him. She never forgot the kindness he had shown and she regretted how she had led him on.

Mostly she regretted turning her back on her husband. What would she say to him when he came back? How would she explain? The guilt had been so great that she felt crushed by it with each passing day. Eventually she had pulled out the chest and poured out her heart to it. Through her tears, she told the long tail of her and Gabriel and when she had finished a warm ocean breeze had washed over her and she felt her burden had been lifted. Yet she still couldn't help the feelings of regret for her choices.

Will missed Gabriel tremendously. The new school teacher, Mrs. Marten, was not to his liking at all. Elizabeth suspected he missed Gabriel because he had become the father figure in Will's life. She knew it was wrong for her to have let her son think that. She continually promised Will that his father would return, but how could Will love a man he had never met. She had ruined both their lives with her foolishness so she tried to make it up in whatever way she could.

Today was Will's eighth birthday so Elizabeth had baked a beautiful cake, invited all his friends, and spent months embroidering a blanket with different pictures from the stories she had shared with him of her adventures. She included the medallion, the Black Pearl, the dead man's chest (which she had told him about but never shown him), a piece of eight, a sword, Jack's pistol, and a pirate flag. Will had never lost is fascination with pirates or the sea. She had even arranged a huge surprise for her unsuspecting son. Jack was going to come for the party and take the kids out on his ship.

Elizabeth was glad she had kept Jack's arrival a surprise because just the knowledge of his party had transformed Will into a ball of pure energy. He couldn't stay still for more than two minutes. One moment he would be jumping on his bed, then he would run around swinging his sword at imaginary foes, and suddenly he would be running in circles in the yard. Elizabeth was glad to see him so happy and was almost as excited herself. She couldn't wait to give him his gift and see the look on his face when Jack showed up.

Soon guests started arriving. Will never made more than four or five friends because most mothers wouldn't allow their children playing with the son of the rumored, runaway prostitute, but the few friends he did have were true friends. The first to show up were Michael Barton and Charlotte Potter. Immediately Will was shaking the wrapped packages that his friends had offered and Elizabeth was forced to confiscate them and hide them with her gift. Next arrived Caleb Brown with a rather large package decorated in beautiful decorated paper and ribbons. This was enough to cause Will to start jumping up and down pleading to know what was inside. Finally Will's best friend, Thomas, came with his sister Isabella. They only had one small gift wrapped in brown paper, but Will could have cared less. He was too excited to see his best friends.

Thomas and Isabella's mother, Jane, stayed to help with the party. First the children played games outside until they were so famished they each ate half of a meat pie. While they ate, Elizabeth stepped outside to see if Jack had arrived. Sure enough, the Black Pearl was floating offshore and Jack was just walking up the path to her cottage. She walked down the path and greeted him with a quick hug.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Jack. Will will be so excited."

"Think nothing of it. The ship's all ready to go, all we're missing is the lot of bilge rats. Where are they?" Jack answered.

"They're inside. Could you stay outside until they finish with the gifts? Then I'll take them outside and we'll be off."

"Of course. I only just arrive and I'm already booted outside with nothing to show for my charitable offer." He sarcastically said.

"It shouldn't take long." Elizabeth called over her shoulder as she walked back to the cottage. During that time the children had already finished lunch with plenty of room left for desert. So the cake was served and devoured in no time. With full bellies, the children plopped down in a circle and began a chant for the birthday gifts. So without further a due, Elizabeth piled the presents right in front of Will and then took a seat by Jane on the sofa. She was almost glad none of the children had taken the time to write a card because Will would have forgotten to read it in his haste to open each gift.

Mesmerized by the size, he first opened the huge package from Caleb to find a large stuffed whale and a bag of hard candy. Before he even looked at another gift, he popped one of the candies into his mouth and offered one to each of his friends. Then he unwrapped a pair of pirate boots from Charlotte, whose father was the shoemaker, and book about Blackbeard from Michael. He then picked up the gift from Thomas and Isabella and gingerly removed the brown paper. He beamed at his two dearest friends and thanked them generously when he saw the little bottle with The Flying Dutchman inside. It was beautifully carved and very intricate.

All that was left was her gift and Elizabeth was so excited for him to see it. When he untied the string that held the blanket together, the fabric tumbled out into his lap and the look on his face made her want to cry. Carefully, he laid the blanket out so he could see the whole thing. With his small fingers, he traced each picture with a look of pure awe and amazement in eyes. Finally he looked up at her and broke the silence by asking,

"You made this?"

"Yes." She answered.

Throwing himself into her arms he whispered for her ears alone, "Thank you. It's the best gift I've ever had. I love you, Mommy."

"I love you more." She murmured.

Then she said, "I have another surprise for all of you. Come on. It's waiting outside."

With that, all the children were on their feet and scampering for the door. Elizabeth made it outside just in time to see Jack swinging Will around in a hug. When Will was on his feet again, Jack announced for all the children, "Alright, scalawags, who's ready for some sailing?" His question was answered with a torrent of shouts and giggles from the eager kids.

The sailing trip was great. Jack had assured her that the entire crew was trustworthy, and so she felt free to enjoy the sound of the waves and the warm, salty breeze. The children loved hoisting the sails, heaving at different ropes, and scampering around deck. Jack also gave each one a chance to steer the ship which they all loved. Luckily, only one child was seasick. Michael complained that his stomach did not feel good and then he lost his lunch over the side of the ship. Fortunately, soon after that he claimed that he felt much better and went back to join the other youngsters. When she had a moment alone with Jack she tried to offer him some money for his trouble.

Thrusting the coins back into her hand he firmly said, "No, I'm not doin' this for money."

"But you took the time to sail all the way out here. That must have been an inconvenience at the least." She retorted.

"Well, yes, it was. I was attacked by a ship owned by the East India Trading Company on the way. Lost a good amount of ammunition."

"There, you see. So the least I can do is pay you what I can afford." She stated while trying to place the money back in his hand.

"But you see, it was worth it. Because not only did I get to blow one of Lord Becket's ships to smithereens, I get to spend the day with Will." He said as he denied the coins again. Then after a pause he added, "I think it's good for the crew as well. Just look at the exercise they're getting chasing all these rascals."

With a sigh she glared at him until he shrugged with a triumphant look on his face and walked back to steer the ship. Grudgingly, she pocketed her money. She hated feeling so poor that even a pirate wouldn't accept her money.

The rest of the day was smooth and very enjoyable. The children said their goodbyes and thankyous to Jack before he sailed away in the Black Pearl. Everyone was sad when mothers came to pick up the children. Will thanked everyone again for the gifts and each child left with adventurous stories to tell their parents. Elizabeth worried at what Michael's parents would think of his seasick story, but decided that it would be alright. She had asked each parent's permission to take them sailing beforehand. The last thing she needed was one more thing to ruin her already poor reputation.

Once everyone was gone and the house was back in order, she settled down on the sofa to relax when Will walked into the room clutching the blanket she made for him. Smiling she patted the place beside her and he ran and jumped next to her on the couch and cuddled into her side. Wrapping her arms around him, she asked, "Did you have a good birthday?"

"I sure did. Thank you for the blanket, Mommy. It's real nice."

"Really nice" she corrected him, "I can't believe you're eight years old and still can't talk right!" she teased ruffling his hair. Will swatted her hands away and Elizabeth started tickling. before long, Will had her hands pinned and she was defeated. looking down at his strong hands she almost whispered, "You've grown up so much." A sudden wave of sorrow washed over her and she realized that her little Will was not so little anymore. William had missed eight years of his son's life.

As if he could read her mind, Will said, "Eight isn't so old. And besides, I'll never be so grown up that I won't need you."

Wiping away tears, she held her son in her arms and kissed the top of his head. No words could ever explain her love for this little person. Seeing her tears, Will said, "I know what will make you happy. Did you know Dad will be coming back in just a little over a year?"

"More like nine months over a year."

"Do you miss him?" he asked.

After a pause Elizabeth answered, "More than you know."

please review. it keeps my hopes up. and once again i appologize for the extreme lateness of this.