Elizabeth, Ana, and William joined the crew on The Empress once again for another year of sailing. Ana immediately went to her own quarters to rest, so Elizabeth took the helm for a little while. It was another beautiful morning on the sea. Elizabeth kept her eyes on the horizon.

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon."

Will said that to her while she was in prison before he went after Jack for his compass. That was on the day they were supposed to be married in Port Royal. The wedding that was interrupted by the man who ruined more lives than anyone could count, Lord Cutler Beckett. The man who ordered the murder of her father, Governor Weatherby Swann. It was because of this man that Will was sent to search for Jack Sparrow and that they were tangled in a web of problems with Davy Jones that ultimately lead to Will becoming cursed and bound to The Dutchman for ten years. Will had also said that the day he left for his ten year duty. That was eight years ago today. Since then, Elizabeth had always kept her eyes on the horizon.

"Mum." A voice interrupted her thoughts. Elizabeth turned to see her son standing two feet from her.

"Yes William."

With all the courage a seven-year-old could muster, he spoke again. "Could I control the wheel for a while? Please."

"Of course. Come over here." Elizabeth beckoned her son over and allowed him to take the wheel for the first time on his own.

Elizabeth watched proudly as her son controlled the ship for the first time. She could see so much of his father in him. William not only had a natural comfort at the helm of a ship, but he had a keen talent for finding favorable winds. After nearly an hour, Elizabeth and William retired from the helm to their own cabin and Ana took over. William took out his wooden sword and immediately went out to the deck to practice handling it like Elizabeth taught him. Elizabeth took the rare opportunity to be alone and opened her trunk. Inside were letters addressed to Will, the journal, and the letters she had received from him. She reached in and pulled out one. Reading it, seeing his handwriting on the page made her feel closer to him. Only two more years until she could feel him hold her once again. Closing the letter, she placed it back in the trunk and unlatched the compartment that held the chest. Lifting it out, she listened for the strong, steady heartbeat of Will. Upon hearing it, she felt even closer to him.

Only two more years Will. Two more years and we'll be together again.

She put the chest back in its secure place and began thinking of her year on land. Much of it was spent continuing William's lessons, adding sword-play to reading and writing. William soaked up as much information and moves from his mother. Though he had never held a real sword in his life, he wanted to be ready for when his father would come home. Elizabeth noted that he picked up as quickly as she and Will did. Often times he would ask her about her sword, a Jian that she had owned since she became Captain of The Empress and during the battle in the maelstrom. She told him the story of how she came to own it. He was fascinated by its history and asked if he could one day try it. Elizabeth told him to wait until he was older. William progressed in his reading and writing to where he was reading books on his own and writing his own letters to his father in the journal. Elizabeth was proud of his progress. She rewarded him by letting him come down to the ocean to swim and collect shells. His collection had grown quite a bit from all the ports they had been to in previous years.

One night, about six months into their stay, William approached his mother before he was to go to bed. He had his hand clasped around something and intended to give it to her as a gift. Gently, he tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. Elizabeth turned around to face her son.

"Mum."

"Yes."

"I made this for you." He opened his hand to reveal a necklace made of shells, arranged in color patterns of blue and white.

"Oh, William," she gasped. "This is beautiful. Who taught you to tie the knots and string the shells?"

"Some of the crew when we last sailed, just before Daisy died. I've been practicing for months to get it right." He smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you William. This is very thoughtful of you." Elizabeth hugged her son.

"Goodnight mum," William said, hugging her back and climbing into his own bed.

"Goodnight son."

Elizabeth put the necklace on and walked outside the house. It was truly beautiful as the moonlight danced off the pearl coating of some of the shells. Now she knew why William had collected all those shells for so long. She was amazed by how many talents her son had. It seemed like everyday he was doing something new. Sword fighting, necklace making, reading, writing, and swimming without a single lesson. Elizabeth wondered silently to herself what would be next to astound her.

He definately takes after his father. She mused to herself. It's a wonder I can keep up all the time.

Nine months into their stay on land, William celebrated his seventh birthday. For his birthday, Elizabeth presented him with a heavier wooden sword, shaped after her Jian, to practice with and Ana gave him a new hat that would properly fit his growing head. William thanked his mother and Ana, then immediately went to try out his new sword. Elizabeth smiled at how happy her son was. She couldn't wait to share all of this with Will.

The rest of their year finished out well without much of a disturbance. William practiced everyday with both of his swords to improve enough to impress his father. Elizabeth would add a new move whenever he felt the need for a challenge. Picking up her sword for the first time in years was an experience and a memory trip for Elizabeth. It was Will who had first taught her how to use a sword, so that she could defend herself. Plus, she never liked the idea of being a damsel in distress anyway. It worked once and brought Will to her, but she didn't need it anymore. Holding her Jian, she taught Willam how to properly defend against an enemy, one of the very first moves Will ever taught her. She decided that she would teach William exactly how Will had taught her, defense first, then the offensive moves. Her son enjoyed learning from her. The last month William practiced nonstop until he grew tired everyday. Every night, when Elizabeth would put him to bed, she always looked down at him while he was sleeping.

My little pirate. She thought to herself.

The last night Elizabeth again journeyed from the house to the spot where she said goodbye to Will. When she arrived, the moon was already high in the sky. Her thoughts drifted to the night she spent with Will. She had rowed from The Black Pearl alone to the island in a longboat. When she arrived, Will was already waiting for her. As soon as the boat reached the beach, she jumped out into his arms, relieved that he was alright. Tears were running down her face.

"I thought you were dead. I watched Jones stab you and then you...you stopped breathing..." Her sobs were muffled into his chest.

"Shhh...it's alright Elizabeth, I'm here. I'm always going to be here. I could never leave you because I love you so much." He held her tight against him.

"Oh, Will."

Recalling the memory of that night brought back the feelings she felt then. Elizabeth sat on the sand of the beach, silently letting tears escape her eyes. She had watched Jones drive his sword into Will's chest. She had watched his struggle to stay alive and breathing. She had watched the life leave his eyes. Now he was alive, because of the curse that would separate them for ten years. Tomorrow would be eight years. Eight long years of suffering without Will in her life. Will was her everything in this life. Everything good that had happened to her happened because of Will. Because of Will, she was not only a wife, but a mother to a wonderful little boy. Because of Will, she felt more alive than she ever had. When he came into her life all those years ago, she felt like there was more to life than just society like her father had insisted for the first eleven years of her life. Will became her reason for living. He showed her more kindness and love than ever imaginable. Will would always be the one she would run to.

Aboard The Flying Dutchman

Will was lying on his bed when the sun began to rise over the ocean. He was holding Elizabeth's ring in his fingers. The five stones glistened in the bright sunlight that shone through the porthole in his cabin. All five were oval shaped and beautifully cut. There were five colors: blue, white, golden, black, and red. Each one was special as it represented a part of his relationship with Elizabeth. His thoughts dwelled on her as he sat up and put the ring back on the cord around his neck. Today was eight years since he had been cursed. He had been married to Elizabeth for eight years. Eight precious years of their marriage lost because of the curse that bound him to this ship to ferry the dead. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think of her. Only two more years remained until he could hold her again.

The last year was extremely busy for Will. Two ship accidents produced a lot of deaths and as a result, new charges for Will to ferry. Most were older sailors who were ready to pass on because they had lived full lives. However, there were a few who weren't quite ready to go, so Will took them on as crew members. Some of his original crew, however, were ready to pass and he ferried them with great respect to the men that they once were. One such man was Charles, a man Will had come to know as a friend over the last few years. When Will became captain, Charles was one of the ones to show him how to ferry the souls lost at sea. Eventually Will began to talk with Charles and learned about his past. Charles was once a respectable sea merchant with a family at home. Unfortunately, he passed at sea before he could come home to meet his first grandchild. That was the one thing he regretted about his life and that is why he couldn't pass on. Will spent many years talking with Charles, trying to make him see that it wasn't his fault that he passed on at sea before he could meet his grandchild. Finally, after many years of talking through his guilt, he was ready to move on. Will ferried his soul to its final resting place in the land of the dead. Charles thanked him and said his last goodbye.

After ferrying Charles, things slowed down a bit to where Will could rest in his cabin for more than an hour at a time. One night, he was sitting on the edge of his bed, thinking of his family back home when Bootstrap came in and sat next to him. Without hesitation, Will began to talk to his father.

"I remember the moment I first met Elizabeth. It was on the crossing to England when I was eleven, just after Mom died. I was looking for you, but our ship was attacked and I was the only survivor. Elizabeth saw me in the water and they pulled me out. When I woke, panicked, she told me that she was watching over me. I thought she was an angel sent from Heaven."

"I felt the same way when I met your mother. I was helping one of my friend's father move some stuff around in his shop when she came in. She was wearing a beautiful silk dress and had her hair pulled up. We were both sixteen at the time."

"I never knew that. Mom never told me how she met you."

"I ran into her by accident and almost knocked her over I was so nervous." Bootstrap laughed.

"Everytime I was around Elizabeth as we got older, I felt like a bumbling idiot. She never acted any different than she ever did around me. Sense of propriety didn't matter to her. She always wanted me to call her Elizabeth, no matter what her father would say. I always admired her boldness."

"Women are always more bold than men. Trust me, they are. They suffer much more than we do, emotionally and physically. What your mother suffered to bring you into this world and Elizabeth to give you a child is a pain like nothing we've ever experienced before. No matter what, always appreciate the fact that your wife is willing to give you children."

"Oh, I do. Believe me, I do."

Will thought back on that conversation and smiled. He always enjoyed his conversations with his father. They always made him feel better about his life and he learned more about his mother. Often it would make him think of his earlier days with Elizabeth, before pirates and Captain Jack Sparrow came into the picture. There were times when he wondered if he would've ever had the nerve to tell Elizabeth his feelings had Jack Sparrow not helped him realize how brave he really was. He was thankful that Jack did make him realize that he could be bold. Without his confession, Elizabeth might've married Norrington. Will shuddered at that thought. Nobody loved Elizabeth more than he did, not Norrington or anyone in the world for that matter.

Today was eight years. Looking back, Elizabeth was worth every fight he had endured. She was worth more to him than he could ever fully express in words. Now only two years separated him from the woman he loved and his son. The son Elizabeth had given him. Will couldn't begin to imagine how much she suffered through her pregnancy and he only saw a few minutes of her labor. He intended to thank her in every way he knew how for the miracle of their child when he came home. Even when he thanked her, he knew it would never be comparable to the gifts she had given him.

The rest of the day crept on. Will took the helm for a while in the afternoon and retired in the evening. He walked over to the side of the ship and peered over the edge into the crystal blue waters below. Will loved everything about the sea. The soft spray in his face, the smell of salt, the creatures below he water's surface, but most of all, it reminded him of Elizabeth as well. He knew Elizabeth loved the sea. After all, they had met and fell in love at sea. Now, they were both pirates, free to sail the seas to wherever they desired. Even though Will had a job to do, he could sail wherever he liked. In the last eight years, he had sailed to the far edges of the map, guiding souls to the other side as he went. He thought of taking a trip with Elizabeth and William when he got home to all the places he had seen to show them all the wonders in the world. It would be a grand adventure for them to take as a family after he had been home for more than a year. As he continued to stare at the sea, he planned the trip and how to accomodate his family. He couldn't wait to come home and sail with his family, a family of pirates.

A/N: Another chapter written...only two more years remain until the reunion!!!! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed!