The house was exactly as they had left it a year ago, untouched by anything but rain. Elizabeth, William, and Ana were home again. Little William walked ahead on his unsteady legs to the door of the house. He touched the wood of the door and squealed with delight. Elizabeth smiled at her son, walked over, and scooped him into her arms.

"Mama..."he said. "Mama...home?"

"Yes William, we're home," she replied.

William was just over two years old. Now that he was walking, Elizabeth had an even harder time keeping up with him. At times when he drove her insane, she wished Will could be there to help her chase him down. For all the times William would drive her crazy, there were at least two times that she would hold him close and thank God that she had a child. He was her world.

The three quickly settled into their home again. William played noisily on the floor with his toys that he had aquired over the last year at sea while Ana and Elizabeth prepared dinner. All were happy to be on land again for a while. The last year at sea was rather difficult, especially for Elizabeth.

When they had set sail, they made their way for Tortuga first to visit some old friends. Just as they arrived, they saw The Black Pearl docked. Elizabeth was happy to run into Jack, Barbossa, and Mr. Gibbs. Jack was happy to meet little William for the first time. Elizabeth officially named him Uncle Jack, which he accepted with great pride. Both crews dined in Tortuga that evening and shared stories. Jack told lavish stories to little William, who squealed with glee at his uncle's outlandish movements and the sound of his many voices. It was a great evening. After, both crews returned to their respective ships and set sail in the morning. As was her job as Pirate King, Elizabeth sailed to all the ports where the other Pirate Lords were located to check on things. All was well and the pirates were even flourishing in most of the ports. In France, Elizabeth picked out a wooden toy train for William, who pushed it around the floor of her cabin with joy. She sat on her bed with the journal out, documenting her son's reactions for Will. She felt a pang in her heart as he looked up at her with his big, brown eyes. They were exactly like Will's. Quietly she pulled out the letter he had left her and read it once more. Upon finishing it, she felt better.

Nine months into their journey they ran into The Black Pearl again, just after William's second birthday. Elizabeth, little William, and Ana went over to The Pearl to say hello to their friends. Jack warmly greeted his favorite nephew. Everyone was happy to see one another again so soon. Elizabeth looked around at the crew to see many new faces, but also the familiar, save one.

"Where is Mr. Gibbs?" she asked, shifting her son from one hip to the other.

"Gibbs passed 'bout two months ago," Jack solemnly answered.

"Oh," she said. "How did he die?"

"We're not sure. A month before, he got very ill and just couldn't seem to recover," Jack answered. "Died before we could get to shore to see a doctor."

Elizabeth nodded and knew what that meant. "Did Will come?" she asked.

"Yes, Will came," Jack replied. "Gibbs chose to pass on though. He inquired about you and your son. I told him the last time I saw ye, that both were well and that your son was growing."

"Will was on this deck..." she mumbled, fighting back her tears.

Ana stepped forward and tried to take little William into her arms to relieve Elizabeth for a moment to grieve. He cried in protest for his mother. Elizabeth told Ana that it was alright and she held her son close. The entire crew looked on with sympathy, knowing well how much it hurt Elizabeth to be separated from Will. Jack offered his cabin to Elizabeth so she could have a few moments alone with her son to recompose herself. She accepted and went into the cabin. For a few minutes, she walked around the room, calming her son while fighting her own urge to cry. She sat on the bed and rocked William in her arms. He curled up against her chest and fell asleep. Softly, she kissed his forehead. She got up and walked out of the cabin with her sleeping son in her arms. Jack made sure that she was alright. Then Elizabeth, Ana, and William went back over to their ship. When they returned, Elizabeth put William in his bed and kissed him goodnight. She sat on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. Cried for Mr. Gibbs, cried for Will, cried that there were still so many years left, and cried that William would not know his father until he was older. Ana gave her some privacy and slept below deck that night with the other crew. Later that night, Elizabeth lit a lantern in her cabin and sat at her desk. She got out a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment. In a stroke of brilliancy, she decided to write letters to Will whenever she missed him most. This would be her first, but certainly not her last. She put the quill to the parchment and began to write.

Will,

I cried again today. Cried for the first time in a few months. I had busied myself with my duties as Pirate Lord and King and being a mother to our son that I had forgotten how much I truly missed you. When I found out that Mr. Gibbs had passed and that you had been on the Pearl less than three months after I was, my strength deteriorated and I allowed myself to cry. Little William was at a lost to why his mother was crying, but he's still too young to understand these things. He looks so much like you. I see so much of you in him, especially his curiousity and his eyes. Everytime he looks at me, I see those same eyes. Everyday I thank God for him. He truly is our miracle because he has helped me through the lonliness and gives you something to look forward to when you come home. I wasn't expecting to conceive a child after one night with you, but I'm glad that I did. Will, I miss you so much. I miss the sound of your voice, the feel of your touch, and your kisses. When you come home, we have so much to catch up on. Ten years is a long time to be separated from the one you love. My love for you is changing. It's not diminishing, but growing with every moment we're apart. I love you Will. I always have and always will. I look forward to the day when you can come home.

Your loving wife,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth finished her letter and folded it. She placed it safely in her trunk, next to the journal with William's progress. The lantern was just about to die when she blew it out and climbed into her bed. Quietly, she leaned over the side to check on William. He was still fast asleep in his bed. Elizabeth lovingly watched her son's chest rise and fall with his breathing. She whispered her love to him before falling asleep herself.

The last three months of the journey were easier. William enjoyed the sea as much as his mother and loved to be outside the cabin. Elizabeth glowed with pride each time she brought William outside and he clapped his hands everytime the ocean would spray him. There was no doubt that he was a Turner. It made sense because his parents met, fell in love, and were married at sea. He even learned to walk with his sea legs first. The entire crew had a time chasing him across the deck, dealing with his two year old antics, and keeping him out of trouble. Elizabeth enjoyed every minute of it and documented it in the journal. She smiled when she thought of the journeys that they would share as a family when Will would come home. The last stop they made on the journey was the island. Ana, Elizabeth, and William were home for another year.

Aboard the Flying Dutchman

Will was below deck in his cabin. The sun had just risen to another day. It wasn't just any day though. To Will, it was the three year anniversary of his marriage and separation from Elizabeth. It had been three full years since they were married, three years since his heart had been cut out, and three years since he had begun his duty of ferrying souls to the next world. Not a single day would go by without thinking of her and their son. He thought of all the things he wanted to do as a father when he got home. A father. He really was a father. Elizabeth had given him a beautiful son, the most precious gift he could ever receive. Will thought of his own father. Over the last three years, he had come to know the man he never knew as a child. They often exchanged stories and talked about Will's mother.

"I loved Laura with all of my heart," Bootstrap said. "But we were poor, so I became a pirate to provide something for her."

"Was that before or after I was born?" Will asked.

"Before," Bootstrap answered. "She sent word to me a month after I left that she was with child. I came home just before you were born and watched you enter this world. It was then that I realized that I wanted you to have everything I never had in this life, but what I didn't realize was the cost it would require."

"She always talked about you," Will said. "Until the day she died, she told me stories about you, but never that you were a pirate."

"She thought I was a merchant," Bootstrap said. "That's what I told her because I didn't want to break her heart with the knowledge that I was a pirate. Days before I was going to come home, Jack was mutinied upon and I ended up strapped to a cannon on the bottom of the ocean. I never got to say goodbye to your mother."

"She knew you loved her and were only doing what was right by you," Will said.

"I never got to give her the one thing I always promised her," Bootstrap said. "But I want you to have it now to give to Elizabeth."

"What is it?" Will asked.

"This," Bootstrap said, pulling a ring out of his pocket. "During on of our trips to Singapore, I found a jeweler and had him make this ring for your mother. Each stone represented something about our relationship. I want you to pick what each represents for you and Elizabeth."

Will looked down at the ring on a cord around his neck. It was over a year ago when his father had given it to him and he couldn't wait to give it to Elizabeth. Underneath the necklace was his scar where his heart used to be. It was an adjustment to not having a heartbeat, but he knew that it was still beating. For as long as he could remember, it had only beat for one person and that was Elizabeth. He loved her unconditionally. Now, she had his heart and was keeping it safe for him, but it had always belonged to her. He told her that when he left it with her. Somehow, he felt that she always had known that. Through everything they had come through to be together, she had known. The last three years were torture for him, but he knew that while it was torture for him, it had to be worse for Elizabeth. She had gone through pregnancy alone and was now raising their son, who he knew would be a handful if he was anything like his father. He couldn't wait to come home and repay her for all that she had done alone.