Elizabeth's world had all but stopped. Life as she knew it was over. She'd lost too much – too much for one young woman to have to endure – her mother, her father, two homes, her belongings, what couple friends she'd had, James, William and now the very last man that she would ever love. And then it hit her like a cannonball to the chest – she'd never told Barbossa that she loved him. She'd been too much of a coward to voice it. It was too late, but he deserved for her to speak the words out loud. She'd never say them again to anyone.

After Nathaniel gently laid Barbossa onto the deck, she leaned down towards his ear. "I'm so sorry," she cried, her face soaked with her tears and her heart broken into pieces. "I should have told you when you could hear me. I love you, Hector. I love you so much."

Overcome with grief, Elizabeth – oblivious to the fact that she was surrounded by crewmen – curled up by Barbossa's side, wrapping her arm and leg over his body and clinging to him as she sobbed. She felt as if she was being torn apart from the inside and wanted to die right there with him.

A commotion beyond the Imperial's deck drew everyone's attention away from Elizabeth, and Nathaniel stood to see what was happening. He was shocked to see a ship coming up out of the water.

"How the – "

"By devil, it's the Flying Dutchman!" someone called out.

"That ship is real?" Nathaniel asked in disbelief, looking around at the crew.

"Very much so," Gibbs confirmed. "Get the plank for Captain Turner!"

Elizabeth heard nothing but the shattering of her soul. But suddenly – like a dream – she heard a familiar voice say her name. For the briefest moment, she hoped that it meant she'd followed Barbossa away from the cruel world that seemed to find pleasure in tormenting her.

Quickly lifting her tear stained face from Barbossa's shoulder, Elizabeth saw her husband standing beside of her. She was stunned to see him and unable to answer. She wasn't completely certain that he was real.

Jack, Samuel and Isaac boarded the ship and rushed over to Elizabeth and William.

"What's going on?" Samuel asked. "What happened? Is he - "

"He's gone," Nathaniel confirmed, wiping tears for someone that he didn't think he would ever shed them over. "He was…he was very sick apparently."

William watched his wife disentangle herself from Barbossa's lifeless body and immediately noticed the ring on her left hand. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

While others talked quietly about what to do, William tried again.

"Elizabeth, please talk to me." He wanted to embrace her so badly, but she seemed to keep her distance when she stood with her arms wrapped around her body as if they were the only things keeping her together.

Sad eyes finally lifted to meet his. "He had a disease and hadn't been able to treat it for months," she explained, wiping her face and not sounding like herself at all.

William's heart ached seeing Elizabeth in such a state. "Why are you here?" he asked curiously. "When I left, you were on Shipwreck Island."

"They came by to get me on the way to the Colonies," she explained, her voice empty and eyes red. "We've been taking British ships with Jack and Samuel."

William bit back many other questions that he wanted to ask. Something was off, but it was not the time to address that. He walked over to the railing to call to his crew that was awaiting his command.

"Summon Calypso!"

"What?" Elizabeth asked, a shocked expression on her face. "Why?"

He glanced at Barbossa's body and then looked at her. "You'll see."

Fifteen minutes later, Calypso climbed up the rope from the ocean looking as everyone had remembered her before they'd set her free.

She looked around at everyone standing on the deck – her eyes finally stopping on William – and asked, "Why have I been summoned?"

"Barbossa's dead," William told her, pointing to the body. "And I know you had an agreement with him."

Calypso scanned the crew again looking for one in particular. When she spotted Elizabeth, she slowly walked over to her, glancing down at Barbossa near where she stood. She looked back at William and then back to Elizabeth.

"I 'tink you know 'dat you need ta make 'dis right before I can do anythin'."

Elizabeth didn't understand at first. "Wait – you can – can you bring him back?"

"Of course," Calypso answered with a shrug. "I told 'im 'da last time I brought 'im back 'dat if I had to do it again 'dat it would be 'da last."

"Why?"

"Because he can neva' sail again."

Elizabeth frowned, glancing down at Barbossa and then at her. "But he's…he's a pirate. He has to sail."

"Not if I bring 'im back."

Elizabeth pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows in determination. "Then leave him be. I already chose one man's fate – " She shot a guilty look at her husband. "I'll not ruin another's life. I'll ruin mine first." With that, she ran to the cabin and slammed the door behind her.

Everyone exchanged worried looks. No one knew what to do.

"Perhaps someone should talk to her," Gibbs finally said.

When most looked towards William, he shifted where he stood looking very uncomfortable. "I don't think that I'm exactly the right person given the…situation."

"I'll talk to her," Nathaniel announced as he headed for the cabin.

When the door closed behind him, William asked quietly, "Who is that?"

"That is Barbossa's son, Nathaniel," Jack answered.

"He had a son?"

"Aye. I picked him up in Cuba for me crew not knowin' who he was. They hadn't seen each other since Nathaniel was little."

"I'm…surprised."

"We all were, mate," Jack said, sharing a knowing look with Samuel who nodded in agreement.

"Elizabeth," Nathaniel began as he approached where she lay curled up in bed. "Please consider – "

"No! I won't do it again!" she yelled, sitting up.

"But if this Calypso can – "

"Do you know why Will is the captain of the Flying Dutchman?"

"No, I – "

"Because I decided his fate when he was stabbed with a sword and dying!" Elizabeth exclaimed, hastily standing up. "I was selfish and made a decision for him that ruined our lives!"

"Your lives?"

"Didn't you know? Will is my husband," she snapped. "And he is chained to the sea and can only come ashore once every ten years. Aren't I such a great wife?"

Nathaniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So the tale is true then. About the heart and the Flying Dutchman and - ."

"It is."

Nathaniel looked around the cabin and then studied the woman in front of him. He knew that she was much younger than his father, yet her tired eyes held the sorrow of at least three lifetimes. "My father would want to live," he finally said.

Elizabeth scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Your father would want to sail."

Nathaniel grabbed Elizabeth's left hand and held it up. "He would want to live! He loved you!" Perhaps he didn't know his father well, but the connection between him and Elizabeth was obvious to anyone who watched them.

"No!" Elizabeth cried, ripping her hand from his grasp and stepping away from him. "No! He couldn't – he – "

"The way he always looked at you – "

"Stop!"

"You must have reached him in a way that – "

"Nathaniel, stop please! Did you miss the part about me being married?"

"I don't bloody care. He obviously didn't!"

Elizabeth crossed her arms again and wiped tears. "I can't," she whispered, shaking her head. "Why can't you understand?"

"You can," Nathaniel insisted, reaching for her hands to hold. "Elizabeth, he's old. It's amazing he's lived this long being a pirate. Give him a chance to be happy again. Give him a chance to live again." He squeezed her hands. "Give yourself a chance to be happy."

She shook her head again. "I don't deserve it."

"You do deserve it," a voice said from the door that neither Elizabeth nor Nathaniel had heard open.

Both looked to see William standing there.

"If you'll excuse us, Nathaniel," he said, eyes fixed on his wife who was looking at the floor.

With no further word, Nathaniel left and closed the door behind him.

There was an awkward silence until William took a few steps towards Elizabeth.

"Anything you want to tell me?"

Elizabeth took a few deep breaths and played with her ring, still not looking at him. "I think you know."

"Perhaps you could confirm."

Elizabeth sighed and finally looked at her husband. "Will, I don't think that – "

"Because maybe you aren't the only one."

" – I – wait. What?"

It was William's turn to sigh as he gazed at the woman that he'd once envisioned a very different life with. "We need to talk."

"Um…all right."

William glanced around the room. It was easy to tell that it had been shared by both Barbossa and Elizabeth.

"How long?' he asked simply.

Elizabeth bit her lip. "A year or so, maybe a little less," she answered with a shrug.

He nodded. "You love him?"

"Well…I never told him…we never talked about it…but…yes."

"Do you still love me?"

"Will, I – "

"Please just answer."

Her guilty gaze met his. "Yes, I love you."

William smiled in relief. "And I love you, but I think we should admit that perhaps our marriage was not the best idea."

Tears fell from Elizabeth's eyes again. "I ruined it," she cried, fresh tears falling. "I doomed us. That's what I was trying to tell Nathaniel."

William stepped closer and wrapped him arms around her as she cried on his shoulder.

"Shh," he soothed, rubbing her back. "You didn't doom us, Elizabeth. And you need to stop blaming yourself for my fate."

"But I – "

William cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "You gave me life, Elizabeth," he said with a smile. "You and Jack gave me back what Jones stole from me. I will always be so grateful for that. I love what I do, and I'd rather be doing it than to not be here at all."

She shook her head. "You can't mean that."

"I do mean it," William insisted, reaching for her hands to squeeze. "Truly, Elizabeth. I mean it."

Elizabeth sniffed as she gazed into his eyes and then remembered something he'd said a minute ago. "What did you mean that I wasn't the only one?"

William let go of her hands and took a step back. "I – uh – I have someone, as well."

Elizabeth was not at all surprised by his admission; she'd assumed. "One of the women on the ship."

William looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced around nervously. "Actually, she's a selkie."

"A what?"

"A selkie. She can change her shape. In the ocean, she becomes a seal, and she can swim alongside us. She sheds her skin to become human and then she can climb up onto the ship. I keep it for her."

Elizabeth blinked a couple times as she tried to process what he was saying. "I didn't think they were real."

"We didn't think the Kraken was real, either," he reminded her. "Selkies' skins are often stolen to force them to stay human. Since she stays with me on the ship most of the time now and trusts me with hers, I thought that maybe I could give her – "

"Your heart."

William smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

A tiny smile formed on her face as she shook her head. "We're a pair, aren't we?"

"Seems like it."

"But at least she can be with you," Elizabeth said. "And that makes me happy."

"And Barbossa can be with you. That would make me happy."

"But – "

"No, Elizabeth. If he loves you as much as you do him, and I'm guessing he does if he gave you that ring, then it would be a shame to let that go. Love like we have with each other – and with them – is awfully hard to come by. Trust me; he'd choose you over death in a heartbeat."

Facing William was something that Elizabeth had tormented herself over for months. She'd had one hundred different conversations in her head of how their meeting would go, but none of the versions were like the real thing. It was as if one the ship's anchors had been lifted off of her shoulders, and she felt an enormous relief from the burden that she'd been harboring since she joined Barbossa's crew. For the first time in years, she dared to think that she could be happy. "I love you, Will. I always will," she said, hugging him tight.

William kissed her. "I've always loved you, since we were little, and I'll never stop. I'd still like to come see you when I can."

Elizabeth nodded and stepped away from him. "I'd like that."

William smiled, thankful to see the light returning to Elizabeth's eyes. "Okay, now hurry and tell Calypso to do whatever she needs to do."

"Wait," she said, kneeling down to reach under the bed for the chest. "Your heart. It was an honor to keep it."

William took it from her and touched her cheek gently as he bit back emotion. "It was an honor for you to keep it, Elizabeth."

When they walked out of the cabin, all those waiting on deck looked at them expectantly.

"All is right?" Calypso asked.

William and Elizabeth looked at each other and smiled.

"Yes," she answered. "Calypso, please bring the captain back. I'll agree to your terms."

Nathaniel smiled in relief. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

The group started to gather around, but Calypso pushed them away. "Step back. Someone fetch me a candle, some sand and 'da leg bone of a wild boar."

"I'll go!" Ragetti said, running to the stairs and disappearing below.

"Give me 'da ring," she said to Elizabeth, holding out her hand palm up.

"Will I get it back?"

"O'course."

Ragetti returned a couple minutes later with everything Calypso had asked for. She lit the candle first then placed the ring in Barbossa's left palm and the wild boar bone in his right palm. While chanting, she poured some of the melted wax across his chest and then sprinkled the sand over him.

When Calypso stopped chanting, she stood at his feet and said, "Rise Hecta' Barbossa! Rise from your sleep once more!"

As everyone held their breath in anticipation, Barbossa's boots began to twitch and then his legs followed by his fingers.

Elizabeth wouldn't have believed it if she wasn't watching. His color was returning, his hair was growing in – and darker than it had been – and the weathered skin on his face was smoothing out.

"Is he…younger?" she whispered.

"Shh," Calypso said. "Rise, Barbossa. Open your eyes!"

When he did, everyone gasped.

Barbossa took a couple deep breaths and looked around as Nathaniel and Elizabeth rushed to his side.

"Welcome back, Father," he said, helping him sit up slowly.

Tears were falling from Elizabeth's eyes again as she quickly put her ring back on. "It worked! You're back!" She looked to the crew. "Someone get him something to drink quick!"

Jack was the first to offer a small flask of rum.

"Thanks, Jack." She helped Barbossa take a few sips.

"It's Gibbs', anyway," Jack said, offering an apologetic smirk to Gibbs' questioning stare.

After swallowing a couple times, Barbossa licked his lips and asked, "Was I dead?"

"You were, Father."

Barbossa looked at him a little confused. "Yeh called me 'father'."

Nathaniel smiled. "Well, you are my father, are you not?"

Barbossa smiled then, reaching out a hand to squeeze his son's shoulder. "That I be, Nathaniel. That I be." He turned to Elizabeth next, looking past her briefly. "Turner's here, I see." He suddenly looked worried.

Elizabeth glanced back at William and then held Barbossa's hand. "It's okay. He knows. And he has his heart back."

Hopeful eyes lifted to hers. "He does?"

She nodded. "He's giving it to the selkie that he's with now."

Barbossa looked relieved. "So that means we can – "

"It means 'dat you honor our agreement, Hecta'," Calypso interrupted, still standing at his feet with her hands on her hips. "You do remember, yes?"

Barbossa nodded, looking up at her. "I do, and I will honor it." He touched Elizabeth's cheek. "As long as you promise to stay with me."

"Yes, Hector," she answered, nodding furiously. "I will. Wherever you want to go."

He looked at Calypso again. "Do I still have – "

"No. You be healed completely."

"Yeh hear that, Elizabeth?" he said excitedly. "Healed completely!"

"So you're not mad then?" she asked, still afraid that he might be angry with her for choosing his fate. "You can't be a pirate anymore."

"We'll have enough coins from this voyage to last us a long while," he assured her, squeezing her hand. "I have you and a second chance with me son. What could I possibly be mad at?"

Not caring that they had a crowd around them, Elizabeth leaned forward to kiss Barbossa. They started laughing when they heard applause.

Tucking the chest under one arm, William stepped forward and said, "Well, it's time for me to go. Congratulations, Barbossa. Take good care of her."

Barbossa nodded. "Aye, Captain Turner. I will do just that."

"And Elizabeth, I'll see you in a few years. I'll bring Eira so that you can meet her."

"Yes, please do. I'd love to see her." She stood and hugged him once more before he left.

"Can we do anything?" Samuel asked.

"I don't think so," Elizabeth answered. "Besides you've got your own ship to tend to and to repair. I know we were all hit pretty hard."

"You did the right thing, love," Jack said with a wink.

"Thank you, Jack."

Slowly, everyone dispersed to start getting the ship in working order again while Nathaniel and Gibbs helped Barbossa back to the cabin.

"Calypso, how can I repay you for this?" Elizabeth asked as she stood in front of her.

"Love 'im," the goddess answered with a small smile. "You devote yourself to 'im and only 'im. You raise a family and grow old together. 'Dat's how you repay me. If he eva' pirates again, 'dat will be it."

Elizabeth nodded. "I understand. Thank you again, Calypso."

Once she returned to the sea, Elizabeth rushed to the cabin to Barbossa's side where Doc was checking on him.

"Everything all right?"

"I've never seen him so healthy. I think she even gave him a few years back. Damnedest thing I've ever seen."

"I be starvin'," Barbossa said from where he lay in bed.

"I sent Gibbs for some food," Doc told him.

"If yeh don't mind, I'd like a moment with these two."

"Of course, Captain," Doc replied. "Glad to have you back. I'll check on you later."

Nathaniel and Elizabeth sat on the bed on either side of Barbossa.

"This ship be yours, Son."

"Mine? No, I'm not worthy of – "

"Sparrow says otherwise, and I wouldn't trust anyone else with me ship and crew."

Nathaniel smiled proudly. "All right then. There is one other that will need to come over, as well. His name is Isaac."

Barbossa didn't ask why, but he thought he knew what his son wasn't saying, not that it mattered. "By all means, bring him, as well. It be yer ship."

"Thank you, Father."

"I like hearin' that."

Nathaniel smiled. "I like saying it."

Barbossa turned towards Elizabeth. "And you and Turner be…square?"

"That's one way of putting it, but yes," she answered, finally at peace with her decisions the past number of months. "He has his heart back and is giving it to his selkie."

"I've heard of 'em for years but have never seen one," he said before his expression turned more serious. "But what about you? There'll be no more piratin' for us."

"That's true. But we can still sail. Maybe even take up the family business if you're so inclined."

It took a few seconds for Barbossa to catch her meaning, but then he grinned. "Aye, let's make apple wine," he said with a wink as she leaned forward to kiss him.

Barbossa turned towards his son again. "Nathaniel, now that yer captain, I be needin' one more thing from yeh before we leave."

For those curious, yes there will be an epilogue following soon. I have thoroughly enjoying torturing - er...I mean - playing with these two. lol Any time I watch the pirate movies, I always feel like William was 'puppy love', that Jack was the 'one night stand' but that Barbossa was the man for her physically, emotionally and intellectually for the long term.

Thank you Lady vampire of vampires and Krushie for leaving some luv last chapter. (And, Krushie, I'm so glad you came back to do some binge reading! lol I've done that, too, with stories I was following.)

And selkies are from nautical folklore - look them up. When I was researching for the story, I thought it was the perfect situation for William. Very interesting stuff.