True Love: Forever Reunited

Chapter 3: A Decision

Elizabeth woke the following morning to the scrumptious aroma of breakfast cooking. She sat up slowly and stretched when it hit her; Will was here. She would be able to walk into the kitchen and see his handsome face smiling at her and that thought made her so excited that she quickly threw on her house coat and slippers and almost ran into the kitchen. Finally, after so many mornings when she had so desperately wished for him to be there, now he was. She padded quickly down the small hallway and through the living room, but stopped short when she reached the kitchen, where a heartwarming sight met her eyes; Will stood next to the woodstove stirring something, and Willy sat on top of his shoulders, pointing at things.

"Be careful Papa!" he piped up as some grease from the bacon bubbled up. "Don't let it burn you!"

"Don't worry son," answered Will, his eyes holding a twinkle that Elizabeth hadn't seen there before; that of a proud father. "I won't let it burn me."

Elizabeth stepped forward a bit and the floor creaked, alerting her husband and son to her presence.

"Good morning mama," said Willy exuberantly, waving at her from Will's shoulders. "Papa is cooking breakfast!"

"I can see that," said Elizabeth with a smile, noticing that her son now donned Will's bandanna. "You two both got up before I did, it seems."

"I woke up as soon as the sun came through the windows," responded Will as he carefully put Willy back down on the ground. "But you looked so peaceful that I couldn't bear to wake you."

"That was awfully sweet of you," said Elizabeth as she leaned in to kiss him good morning. "I never sleep this late; I'm normally up with the sunrise these days."

"Everybody needs to sleep in sometimes," he said as he eagerly returned her kiss. "And besides, I'm not used to sleeping in a bed anymore. I'm so used to hammocks. It'll probably take me a while to sleep through the night. So I thought I might as well do something useful."

"Well I thank you highly," said Elizabeth as she walked over to the stove to observe. "I have to say this smells excellent. I hardly knew you could cook so well Mr. Turner."

"Well Mrs. Turner," he said, returning her playful comment, "From what Willy tells me you have become quite the cook yourself. It seems you've come a long way from that afternoon you burned that whole batch of cookies at my house in Port Royal."

"Mama burnt a whole batch of cookies!!" said Willy, his eyes wide. "But her cookies are so good!!"

"I've had a good deal of practice since that day," chuckled Elizabeth. "Come to think of it, after breakfast we need to go to the market; we are nearly out of a few things. Oh and Willy?" she said as she opened the cabinet to reach for some plates.

"Yes mama?" he asked, still hovering around Will's feet.

"Nice bandanna."

This got a ripple of laughter from both Willy and his father, and once the food was finished cooking the family sat down to their first breakfast together, with each of them thanking God that they were finally together.

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A few hours later the family was dressed and on their way to the market. Will donned some of the new clothes that Elizabeth had bought for him, his hair tied back. He complained good naturedly that he felt naked without his bandanna, which Willy had refused to take off. Before they had gone Elizabeth had insisted that he clean his boots, and he had laughed, saying that he hadn't had to look so presentable in ten years.

"You look presentable any way you put it," Elizabeth had said with grin. "I just said you needed to clean your boots, pirate or not."

The three now walked with an easy pace on the pathway to the small village with Will in middle, one hand holding Willy's and the other holding his wife's. He quickly glanced over at Elizabeth, admiring the way the Caribbean sunlight hit her blonde hair. His eyes drifted to the light dress she wore, and it occurred to him that she probably hadn't worn a corset in ten years. Though Elizabeth was still and always would be a lady, she was a pirate at heart. But she was his pirate.

"What?" asked Elizabeth when she caught him looking at her. "Do I look odd or something?"

"No," said Will, winking at her. "You look just lovely."

Elizabeth laughed and playfully bumped him with her hip. As the village came into sight, her heart began to hammer. Though the people in the village had been kind to her, and she had made a few friends, she knew there had been talk about her. Finally though, she could prove that she was telling the truth; her husband had come back and he was here for good. She only hoped that people didn't look at Will the wrong way, because it had in no way been his fault that he had to be gone for those ten years. Not that anyone knew why exactly he had been gone, if she had tried to tell them that her husband was captain of the Flying Dutchman, they would have thought her more odd than they already did.

The market was flooded with people by the time they got there, and when the fruit stand came into view, Willy let go of Will's hand and ran towards it. Mrs. Connell, the lady who ran the stand, was a friend of Elizabeth's and Willy's and she always gave Willy a free apple when he came to the stand.

Will watched his son run happily up to the fruit stand and receive a warm greeting. He however, stopped dead in his tracks a few feet from the stand, startling Elizabeth.

"What's wrong Will?" she questioned. "Don't you want to meet Mrs. Connell?"

"But Elizabeth, what will she think of me?" he said in a whisper. "I've been gone for ten years!!!"

"And as we have discussed William," said Elizabeth in firm but kind voice, "That was not your fault; you had to do that job! Mrs. Connell is a nice lady and I've told her what a wonderful man you are, and she'll like you. And besides, I want to show you off," she said jokingly as she kissed his cheek.

Will narrowed his eyes playfully. "Well when you put it that way," he said sarcastically, "I suppose it's only fair. I know it's been hard for you trying to explain my absence."

Elizabeth smiled, her face lighting up. "I thought you might see it that way. Come on."

"Well hello there Elizabeth," said Mrs. Connell. "It's good to see you again. And who might this dashing young man be?" she said, gesturing to Will.

"This is my husband and Willy's father, Captain William Turner," she said, taking Will's hand and pulling him forward.

"Oh!!" exclaimed Mrs. Connell as she rushed over. "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Turner. And captain of a ship too, how nice."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," responded Will politely, trying his best to hide his nerves as he lightly kissed her hand.

"Oh my, what a gentleman!" said Mrs. Connell. "And may I say Mr. Turner…"

"Call me Will," he chimed in.

"All right then, Will. As I was saying, Willy looks remarkably like you. It's such a striking resemblance," continued Mrs. Connell with a smile. "Are you excited to have your father home Willy?" she asked, looking down at the bright eyed little boy who was chomping down on his apple.

"Yes!!!" said Willy, nodding his head fervently. "It's so good to have papa here."

"He got home just yesterday," said Elizabeth as she moved closer to him, and Will put his arm loosely around her shoulders. "It's been wonderful having him home."

"And you are home for good now I presume?" asked Mrs. Connell curiously.

"Yes I'm home for good now," said Will, still loving that he got to say those words.

After a few more minutes conversation with the good hearted lady, the Turner family made the rest of their purchases and headed back home to put the groceries away. A few others had stopped to talk to Elizabeth and Willy, and had been introduced to Will. Some had given him strange looks, but most had been friendly enough. After they finished putting to groceries away the threesome decided to go to the shore for a little while, just to relax and be together. In the meantime Willy had shed his shoes and went to play in the surf, giving Will and Elizabeth some time to talk. Will sat, leaning against a rock and Elizabeth up against him, leaning upon his chest.

"I've been thinking Will," she said, her fingers tracing a nondescript pattern in the sand. "That it's time to go back to Port Royal."

"Are you ready for that Elizabeth?" he asked. "If you are, I'll be glad to go as well."

"I'm ready," answered Elizabeth, trying to reassure herself as much as Will. "There are things that need to be settled there, and Andrew and Amelia are longing to see us."

"I would imagine," said Will in a faraway sort of voice, as though he were reminiscing. "I thought of them while I was at sea, but I had almost lost hope that they still thought us alive."

"I wanted to go and visit them," said Elizabeth, closing her eyes and breathing in the salty air. "But there were so many barriers in the way; for one thing I didn't want to face Port Royal without you, and for another, I know for a fact that the East India Company has almost completely taken over Port Royal over the past decade, and since we openly fought against them, it could be dangerous there."

"Indeed it could," responded Will in a worried voice. "But what of your father's affairs?" he asked delicately, not wanting to upset her too much. "What has happened with that?"

It Elizabeth a moment to answer this question; though she had come to terms with her dear father's death over the past years, she still missed him greatly, and wished so very much that he could have seen his grandchild. "That was a complicated matter," said Elizabeth sadly. "Beckett made my father look like a traitor to the crown because of his actions in trying to get the heart of Davy Jones, but because the citizens of Port Royal were still so loyal to him they insisted on giving him a proper funeral. Andrew and Amelia helped to pack up the house, and are storing what's left of both his belongings and mine in their house."

Will's blood boiled at the sound of Beckett's name. Even now, ten years after everything had happened, he still had trouble forgiving the man. He had gotten what he had deserved; Will would never forget the look on the wretched man's face when he had been surrounded by the both the Pearl and the Dutchman. "I'm glad to know that your father got the honor he deserved my love," said Will sincerely. "I only wish that he had survived all this turmoil. You had to go through so much in such a short period of time, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth turned around to face him, her eyes landing on the faint scar upon his chest. She traced it with her finger and planted a kiss on the center of it, a solitary tear falling from her eye. She leaned in closer, just wanting to hear his heartbeat. "You've been through a lot too Will," she said softly. "We both have. We've had to grow up and face so many things ever since that day Beckett invaded our wedding, but we've made it through because we were meant to be."

"That it so very true," said Will, leaning in to give her a kiss.

"What's so true?" questioned Willy, who had just come up.

"That you are the silliest little boy alive!" said Elizabeth, getting up from her perch next to Will and chasing after Willy.

Willy laughed merrily as his mother chased after him, finally catching him in her arms and falling into the water.

"Come on papa!!" shouted Willy, still unable to stop his laughter. "Come and play!"

Will chuckled and got up, quickly shedding his boots. He ran towards the water, tackling his wife and son back down into the water.

"That was a good one papa!!" said Willy as he shook the wet hair out of his face. "Mama said that when you were little, you used to play this game. In a place called Port Royal."

"Indeed we did son," said Will. "And as soon as your mother finishes up schooling you and the other children, we will be traveling there."

"Really?!!" asked Willy, clearly thrilled by the idea. "I've always wanted to go to Port Royal; I've heard so many stories about it. When are we going?"

"It'll take about a week to finish up things here, and then we shall set sail!!" answered Elizabeth, adventure in her tone.

"Wait a minute," said Will as he sneakily and unsuccessfully tried to get his bandanna back from his son. "If you are captain, does that make me first mate?" he asked, bemused.

"Well we can't be demoting you, now can we Captain Turner?" she said mischievously. "You've grown far to used to being captain of a ship, so I will be kind enough to say that we shall be co captains of the Empress."

"Fair enough," said Will with a smirk as he splashed water in her direction.

"Can I be first mate?" piped up Willy with pleading brown eyes.

"Aye matey!!" responded Will in his best Barbossa voice, which caused Willy to erupt into laughter once again.

The reunited Turner family spent the rest of the evening in the same fashion, running about in the water until the sun went down, and then retiring to bed, ready to begin preparing for their voyage to Port Royal in a week's time.

A/N: Hey everyone!! So I hope you liked this chapter. Things are getting started now, and the next chapter should be up soon! Thanks for all of your reviews!!