Once again, The Empress waited in the harbor by the island to pick up it's captain and first mate. Elizabeth and Ana hurriedly scattered around the house, getting things ready to go. William tottled around, making as much of a mess as a three year old could and causing his mother to sit him on a chair to keep him quiet. Elizabeth was looking forward to another year at sea with her son. She had missed the ocean air and the rocking of the ship. It would be another year of adventure that she could share with her ever-growing son. She couldn't wait to take him on a visit to Port Royal to see Andrew and Lily. That was to be one of their many stops this journey as well as Tortuga, France, Singapore, and other various ports.

Two men from the crew arrived at the house to carry their things back to the ship. Elizabeth, Ana, and William followed behind to the long boat. They rowed out to the ship and climbed aboard. Elizabeth gave the orders to have the sails raised and to set sail. She then went into her cabin to settle herself and her son. William was so exhausted from his general excitement that he went down without a fight for his nap. His mother laid him on her bed and kissed his cheek. She opened her trunk at the end of her bed and unlatched the bottom compartment to check on Will's chest. It was still there and she could still hear her husband's heart steadily beating. Softly, she fingered the carvings on the side and sighed. Quietly, she relatched the compartment and covered it. Strewn across the bottom of the trunk were many letters she had written over the last year, the journal, and various articles of clothing. She sat on the edge of the bed. Today was four years to the day that she and Will were married. Four years since she watched Davy Jones stab her beloved in the chest. Only six more years remained until she would be held in Will's arms once more. As she sat there, she thought of the last year on land.

William had made the adjustment from sea to land without much difficulty. Learning how to walk at sea made his balance impeccable on land. Elizabeth and Ana settled into their routine again of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of William. Now that he was older, Elizabeth would take him to the shore and allow him to wade in the very shallowest of waters. Occasionally, she would take him out into the deeper waters with her and kick his legs to get the feel for swimming. She decided that when he was older, she would teach him how to properly swim. For now, he was content to giggle and splash about in the water. When they would return to the house, William's hair would begin to dry in ringlet curls at the base of his neck. The same distinctive curls that his father possessed. Elizabeth beamed at how big her son was growing. He was her pride and joy.

A few months into their stay on land, the trio were visited by none other than Barbossa and Jack Sparrow himself. They found their house without much difficulty. Elizabeth was surprised to see both of them, but glad nonetheless to have friends come visit their humble abode. She invited them to stay for dinner and they accepted. At dinner, William sat on his Uncle Jack's knee and listened to his stories once again. He laughed and clapped his hands when Jack started talking like the Pelegostos. Elizabeth smiled for she too thought the voice had a humorous sound to it. After dinner, Elizabeth put the baby down for the night and came back out of her room. Jack, Barbossa, and Ana were all sitting in front of the fire sharing pirate stories about the past and their first adventures. As soon as she came over, Jack pulled her aside to speak with her.

"Elizabeth," he began. "You know as much as I that there is a reason for our unannounced arrival."

"What would that reason be?" she asked, her curiousity peaked.

"I have something for you, from Will," he said. "Since you're not allowed to see one another or talk, he sent this through me. He got permission from Calypso herself."

Jack handed her a parchment and box. Her name was written on the parchment in Will's handwritting.

"How could he get this to you?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. "I thought he was only allowed to cross over if someone passed on."

"Another of our crew was taken by illness," Jack said. "One of our newer members. A downright cowardly git if you ask me. Never picked up a sword in his life."

"Oh," she said, holding the package close to her chest. "Thank you Jack."

Later that night, after Jack and Barbossa had gone back to The Black Pearl, Elizabeth opened the parchment. It was another letter from Will. Tears formed in her eyes as she read the words on the page in his handwriting.

Elizabeth,

My dearest Elizabeth. There hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't thought of you. Every sunset and sunrise makes me think of you. The golden rays of the sun make me think of your hair and the amber in your eyes. I miss you more than anything. I cannot wait to come home to you and our son. I'm sure he grows bigger everyday and is by now gallavanting in every direction. When I married you, I never intended for any of this to happen, for me to be away from you for ten years and for you to have our child to raise alone. In all honesty, I never expected for our one union to produce a child, but I'm thankful for that everyday. I cannot wait to teach him all the things a father should teach his son. When I come home, I shall make him his first sword to train with when he grows older. He is a Turner after all and pirate is in our blood. Oh, Elizabeth I long to see your beautiful smile and hold you in my arms once again. I promise to make up for all of our lost time. Perhaps even one day we could have a daughter that would be like you. That is, if you want to. After raising William alone for nine years, I wouldn't blame you. Know that I love you both and miss you. I'm sending William something as a symbol of the promise that I will come home. Give it to him when he is old enough to understand. Elizabeth, I love you.

Love always and forever,

Will

Elizabeth folded the letter and looked down at the package, neatly wrapped in a box. She untied the strings surrounding it and pulled open the box. Inside was a dagger that she immediately recognized. It had belonged to Will's father. Tears formed in her eyes when she realized the sentimental value of it. William would be proud to carry something that belonged to his father and grandfather when he was old enough. The tears brimming in her eyes slid down her cheeks as she closed the box and kneeled next to her trunk and put it inside. Silently, she planned to give William the dagger on his eighth birthday and tell him the truth of why his father couldn't be with them. Until then, she would tell him every story about Will that spanned from the day that she met him until the battle in the maelstrom. After shutting the trunk and sitting back on the end of the bed, she thought of the letter. Will had mentioned a daughter. He wanted more children. The thought had never really occurred to Elizabeth before, but now that she thought about it, she wanted more children with Will. A daughter would be wonderful to raise. She laid back on her bed, clutching the letter to her chest and drifted to sleep.

Their last few months on land were spent celebrating William's third birthday and preparing to leave again. Elizabeth had just begun to tell the long stories about Will to William as bedtime stories. He loved the sound of his mother's voice and hearing the word "Papa" over and over again. Often times he would look at his mother and repeat "Papa" to her, which made her so proud to hear him say it. Their last night on the island, Elizabeth again left William in Ana's care for a few hours and walked down to the shore. The moon was rising as she reached the shore where she had said goodbye to Will. She remembered their swords being stuck in the sand, crossed. She remembered their bittersweet goodbye to one another, how she didn't want to let him go. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. It even paled in comparison to childbirth, which was painful in a whole other respect. Elizabeth sat in the sand and stared out at the ocean in the moonlight. A few moments later, she closed her eyes and poured her heart out on the wind and prayed that it would be taken to Will. She knew that he was thining of her always as she was him.

Aboard The Flying Dutchman

Another day dawned on the sea. Will welcomed the day at the helm of his ship. As the sun rose over the horizon, his thoughts were on Elizabeth. Today was four years that they had been married and four years into his curse. He wondered how she was doing and how their son was. Around his neck was still the ring he intended to give her when he came home. He couldn't wait to tell her what each stone meant and hold her in his arms. In his mind he could still perfectly picture her face, her smile, her golden hair, and eyes that shined like amber in the sunlight. He could remember her touch, how soft and gentle it was. He could remember everything about his precious Elizabeth. Then there was his son, William. He could remember holding him for the briefest moment on the day of his birth because of the generosity of the goddess Calypso that allowed him to be with Elizabeth as she gave birth. William would be three years old now and he wondered how much he had grown. More than anything, he wanted to be with Elizabeth to raise their son together.

About mid-morning, Bootstrap came to relieve his son of the helm for a while so that he could spend some privacy in his cabin. Will thanked his father and went to his cabin. He sat on the end of his bed and bowed his head into his hands. The last year of ferrying souls had taken its toll on him. His crew had taken on two new members who weren't ready to pass on yet. Most, however, were. A newly married couple expecting a baby were in a terrible fire aboard a ship and died. Their child was a little girl. Will ferried their souls to the next with great sadness. It made him think of his own family. Another soul he ferried two years previous was that of Mr. Gibbs. Gibbs had chosen to move on. Will sadly obliged for his friend. Although his job was that of ferrying the dead, all on the seas agreed that dying at sea wasn't a terror that they feared anymore. Will made the transition to the next world easier than Davy Jones did for sailors and the unfortunate in accidents. Calypso was pleased with him. For his dedication to his work, she granted him small favors like allowing a letter and package to be sent through Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth. Will took these favors with great gratitude and always thanked her.

Will sat on the end of his bed and thought of the first moment he told Elizabeth he loved her. It was the day that Jack Sparrow was to be hung for piracy and other crimes. Will intended to set him free because he was a good man. But, before he would do that, he had to do something else. Elizabeth was beautiful in her regal gown. He stood before her and honestly laid his heart before her.

"Elizabeth," he said, using her first name as she had always asked him to, "I should have told you everyday from the moment I met you...I love you."

Upon his confession, Elizabeth confessed her hidden feelings for him as well. It had been the most wonderful day in his entire life up until that point, aside from the day he met Elizabeth. Their relationship had been unconventional for the standards of the day, being that she was the Governor's daughter and he, a lowly blacksmith. However, that never mattered to them. Will thought of everything they had come through. Loving Elizabeth was easy, but leaving her was never an easy choice to make. The other alternative was death and neither of them wanted that.

As Will thought about Elizabeth, a knock came at the door. He beckened the person enter. The door opened to reveal his father. Bootstrap came in and shut the door. He sat next to his son and put his hand on his back. More than anyone else, he knew what it meant to be separated from the ones you love most.

"Thinking about her?" Bootstrap asked.

"Always," Will answered. "Today Elizabeth and I have been married for four years."

"I bet she's thinking of you right now," Bootstrap said.

Will nodded.

"Just think, in six more years you can go home to your wife and son," Bootstrap said.

"What will you do?" Will asked. "You have a grandson to spoil now and perhaps more in the future."

"The Dutchman always has to have a captain. I've been part of this crew for as long as I can remember," Bootstrap said. "I will come ashore for one day to see my grandson and daughter-in-law though."

"Do you remember the dagger you gave me?" Will asked.

"Yes," Bootstrap answered.

"I sent it to Elizabeth to give to William when he was old enough as a symbol of my promise to come home to them," Will said. "When the time comes, I'll teach him how to use it properly."

"He'll be a good boy and grow to be a good man like his father," Bootstrap said.

"And his grandfather," Will interjected.

Father and son looked each other in the eye. Will knew that the past four years would have been far worse without his father there and that the next six would be easier to deal with. Bootstrap excused himself from the cabin and left Will to his thoughts. Will spent the rest of the day thinking about Elizabeth and William. Deciding that he needed rest, he stretched out on his bed and fell asleep. His dream was of his dear ones waiting for him at home.