Chapter 4: Sharing Stories and England
One morning, Elizabeth woke up to find Will gone. She got dressed and went to find him.
She got up on deck and saw Will talking to his father. "Tell me, Bootstrap, how did you get on this ship?" Elizabeth asked.
"Here is the bigger question, how did you escape the cannon that Captain Barbossa tied to your feet?" Will asked.
"Sit down and I'll tell ye the whole story, son," Bootstrap said.
Will and Elizabeth sat down and began to listen to Bootstrap's story. "Well, as ye know, I was part of Jack's crew and I became Jack's best friend. After Jack was thrown off the ship, and when we got to the caves and stole the treasure, I knew that I didn't want to live a life as a murderer. So, I sent off a piece of the treasure to me boy when Will 'ere was ten. Barbossa had the crew throw me into the brig and they started to beat me. On the third day, Barbossa had me dragged up onto the deck and he tied the cannon to my feet. Once I hit the water, I knew I couldn't die because I was cursed. I was able to get my knife out of me pocket and I cut me ropes free. I swam to the surface and went to find shore. I found myself in Tortuga, and I stayed there for ten years. I had no way of getting back home. Then I knew that the curse was broken because I was able to eat and drink again. Jack found me in a pub and asked me to become part of his crew. I accepted and I have always been on this ship since you have come. Jack didn't let me on deck, because he wanted to keep me a surprise for you. So, I have been below deck for the past couple of weeks," Bootstrap said. Will's eyes widened at his father's words. He has been in Tortuga the entire time and he must have missed him when he was there trying to find a crew so he could save Elizabeth. "I can see the me son has grown to be a fine young man, getting married to a beautiful young lady," Bootstrap said. Elizabeth leaned against Will with a smile. "We have been on this ship for almost a month," Elizabeth groaned.
"Don't worry, luv, this is The Black Pearl, we'll be in England in no time," Jack said.
"I hope it's soon," Elizabeth sighed.
Will smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "How long have you known me son, Elizabeth?" Bootstrap asked. Elizabeth held onto Will's hand and thought about it. "I have known Will for eight years. I saved his life," she said. Bootstrap looked at Will with a smile. "You met Elizabeth when you were twelve, how did she save your life?" He asked.
"I was going to Port Royal to find you; Barbossa and his crew attacked the ship I was on. They blew the ship up, but yet I was able to get onto a piece of the ship before falling into unconsciousness. When I woke up, I grabbed the first thing I could get only it happened to be Elizabeth's arm. We told each other our names and then I passed out again," Will explained.
"Well, I can see you two have gone a long way," Bootstrap said.
"We have, in return, we fell in love with each other. Even though we're in trouble because we're in love," Elizabeth said.
"Don't worry about Commodore Norrington, I won't let him get anywhere near you or the child," Bootstrap said.
"We trust you," Will said.
Elizabeth placed a hand on her stomach and sighed. Will placed a hand over hers and held her even closer. "To think that we're going to be parents in eight months," he said.
"I will be a grandfather by that time," Bootstrap said.
Will nodded and then looked at Elizabeth. She has been so tired that she hasn't been able to stay up at all each day. The ship seemed to put Elizabeth to sleep everyday and night. She fell asleep against Will again with a gentle smile on her face. "She reminds me of your mum when she was pregnant with you. All she ever did was sleep," Bootstrap said. Will smiled at the memory of his beloved mother. He missed her, but he knew she would have been proud of him. He looked at Elizabeth's sleeping form and looked at her stomach again. He was proud to know he was going to be a father. He was going to stay by Elizabeth's side no matter what. He wasn't going to let Commodore Norrington to take her away from him again. Bootstrap saw the scar on his son's hand and grabbed his wrist. "Where did you get this?" He asked. Will pulled his wrist away. "Um, I got it when I broke the curse," Will said. Bootstrap looked at his son. "What do you mean you broke the curse?" Bootstrap asked. Will sighed as he began to tell his father the story of his adventure. When he got the part of Elizabeth having her hand cut when Barbossa thought she was Bootstrap's child, he lifted Elizabeth's hand up to reveal the scar on her hand too. He explained that they were going to kill Will to break the curse only to have Jack get the rest of the crew out of the caves and Barbossa distracted while he broke the curse when he cut his hand. "I almost lost my life and I almost lost Elizabeth. When I was cutting my hand and holding the medallions, Barbossa had held a pistol at Elizabeth. He was close to killing her when Jack shot him. "Ten years you carried that pistol and now you waste your shot," Barbossa said to Jack. I had said that Jack didn't waste his shot and I dropped the medallions into the stone chest. Barbossa was dead, but I didn't know that Governor Swann had talked Elizabeth into marrying Commodore Norrington. I was devastated at the news when we got back to Port Royal. I began to ignore Elizabeth since then. Now, here we are," Will explained. Bootstrap then understood Will's danger of loving Elizabeth and the dream of marrying her. "You're going to marry Elizabeth, Will, I promise that you will marry her. I won't let Norrington take her away from you again. Two soul mates shouldn't be separated," he said. Will nodded and then he picked Elizabeth up. He carried her out of the warm sun and walked into their private cabin.
Will placed Elizabeth on the bed and kissed her forehead. He placed the blankets around her and watched her sleep a little while longer. He loved Elizabeth more than his life. He would rather die than have Norrington marry her. He knew that Norrington wasn't going to stop hunting them down until he was dead and Elizabeth was his wife. Will wasn't going to let Norrington win, he was going to win this fight. He was going to marry Elizabeth and raise his child with her. "Norrington has no right to raise my own flesh and blood as his own. The child Elizabeth carries is mine and she also holds my heart. I won't let Norrington have her, I won't," he whispered to himself. He walked out of the room and closed the door.
Jack saw Will walking around deck with a weird look on his face. "What troubles you, Will?" Jack asked. Will looked up and walked over to his friend. "Nothing, Jack, I have been thinking about what I'm going to do when the times comes that Norrington comes to take Elizabeth away from me," Will said.
"You fight for her, mate, you don't let Norrington take her. You fight Norrington for Elizabeth," Jack said.
Will looked at Jack. "You seem to know everything," Will said. Jack smiled and kept steering his ship. "Ah, that's because I had to go through the same thing you're having," he said. Will watched as Jack started at Anamaria. "I had to fight for me wife. We were in Tortuga an apparently her abusive boyfriend had came back to get her back. I was already planning to marry Anamaria so I fought the man for her. As you can see, I had won the duel," Jack said.
"Of course you did, since you're married to Anamaria," Will said.
Jack nodded and looked at Will. "Norrington fears you, Will, he knows you're a great swordsmen, so he fears that if you fight him, you'll win," Jack said. Will nodded at the thought of beating Norrington in a duel. "LAND HO!" Mr. Gibbs called. Will saw that they were at England and smiled. "I better go get Elizabeth," he said. Jack nodded and watched as his friend ran off to get Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, we're at England," He said. Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Will. "Did you say we're at England?" She asked. Will nodded and helped her up. "Our new home, a place where we can raise our baby together," he said. Elizabeth smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Will Turner," she said.
"I love you too, Elizabeth Swann," he said.
He gave her a quick kiss and escorted her out of the cabin.
As they walked around England, Elizabeth saw her old home. "This would be perfect to raise the baby," she said. Will smiled at his fiancè and agreed. "It's perfect, we have plenty of room and a nice yard," he said. Elizabeth looked at Will with a smile. "Will, I grew up here," she said.
"Then I can see why it's so perfect," he said.
He kissed her forehead and they went into their new home. Everything was perfect for them. There was a nursery for the baby once it was born and it was right next to their room. "To think that we'll be raising a child here," she said. Will chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "It great to know we'll be parents to a little boy or girl. He or she will grow up here and he or she will be taught the way we were," he said. Elizabeth nodded and then she walked over to the cradle that was still there. "My father left everything behind when we left for Port Royal, he didn't want us to drag all of these extra things along. I guess that's a good thing," she said.
"A very good thing," he said.
Elizabeth stood next to Will and sighed happily. "Are you ready to become Mrs. William Jonathon Turner II?" He asked. Elizabeth looked at him with a smile. "I more than ready," she said. Will smiled and kissed her passionately on the lips.
AN: Phew! All finished, I had a hard time thinking of how Bootstrap Bill lived, so that's why I took so long, but it's done and ready for you readers to enjoy. Don't worry, there will be some more action/adventure in here if you want that. All you have to do is ask. Well, I have to get to work on Chapter 5, that'll be up soon too. Until then, goodbye.