"Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold"

Chapter 34

Dani and Elizabeth's sun-worn skin changed dramatically. Gone were the worry lines and the tanned, rough bits.

They were definitely still themselves, but much younger and happier looking.

When they arrived back at the ship, the whole crew was awake and waiting for them.

"So, Captain," Gibbs started. "Are ye going to be sharing what ye found with yer crew as well?"

Jack looked around at his crew. They were all staring back with expectant looks, hoping he was going to give them the answer they wanted. But with Jack, one could never predict a response.

Jack then laughed as he continued to look around. Then he spoke, "I wouldn't be much of a captain if I didn't share with my faithful crew, now would I?"

The crew of The Adventurer all hooted and hollered. They were all going to be young once more.

Pintel and Ragetti looked the happiest, though. They'd been there and then the curse was lifted. Now they could live forever and not be referred to as "undead".

They were led by Jack, who actually volunteered to lead the way once more into the jungle. Dani, Liz and Will stayed behind to look after the children and the ship.

"What do you suppose will happen now?" Will asked.

"I think we'll go back to Port Royal. From there, we wait for Jack to make a decision," Dani answered him.

"We just wait?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes…we wait," she said, looking out to the island and the men dancing on the shore.

The men returned to the ship some time later with a much renewed vigor. They all looked years younger and were in much better moods.

It felt like only days had passed when they all reached Port Royal once more. Elizabeth was so happy to be home that she was practically kissing the dock as she exited the ship.

She was upset that it had taken so long to get home, but it was great that they were home. She left all of her belongings on the ship, picked up the children, and immediately walked back to the governor's mansion.

Will hurried after her, scrambling to catch up. How did she get so far ahead of him?

Dani and Rosemary were the next to depart from the ship. Jack opted to stay behind on his ship, to help the crew, so Dani took her daughter home. After all, she was going to have a lot to clean up. She grimaced at the thought of the mess that she had left in their home. She then wondered if someone had removed the dead men from her kitchen.

Jack sat alone in his cabin, smiling. He looked like he was a crazy person (and most wouldn't dispute that.) He couldn't have imagined this happening any better or any different. He and his wife, along with all of his friends, were going to live forever.

But he didn't know what to do next. Should he just settle down and raise his daughter or look for another adventure? So instead of thinking about it, he shrugged his shoulders and stood from his desk. He figured everything happened for a reason, so when the time was right, he would know the answer.

He walked out the door and started the short trip home. And for once, he was happy about being at home on land. Maybe he'd think about doing some…honest…work for a while. Or not.

The End

A/N: Okay, that was the end. (duh).I was going to take a break from Pirates, but I started to think that maybe writing a story set 15 years in the future would be kind of cool. The kids would have a story line. Let me know what you think...

Manda