Epilogue – Six Years Later

The young boy was sitting in the sand and playing with blocks not far from where his father worked on his ship when something caught his eye. "Papa, big boat in the water! And a smaller one!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down and pointing.

Barbossa grabbed his spyglass to look, instantly recognizing the ship and grinning. "By the powers, yer right. Run in and tell yer mum."

The five year old boy ran inside while Barbossa climbed down to the dock from his ship. It was a third the size of the Imperial, but it was perfect for hauling wine to the many different ports in Italy that he had business in. He'd named it the Bella Divino.

A couple minutes later, Elizabeth exited the house being pulled by two children.

"Andrew, run slower," she told her son. "Grace can't run that fast yet."

Andrew Weatherby, almost six, had been born not long after Barbossa and Elizabeth had built their house on the beach in Palermo. After Nathaniel had married them, they'd proceeded to have their honeymoon during the voyage to Italy, happily making up for lost time. Fittingly, Andrew had been conceived on the ship. With sandy colored hair and dark chestnut eyes, he was his father's shadow and loved being near the water.

Donning dark hair and blue eyes, Grace Catherine was four and a very precocious child. She learned new things quickly and was happiest on the Bella Divino it seemed, which was interesting considering that that's where she was conceived one warm August night off the shores of Marsala. Her first word had been 'boat' which had made her parents quite proud. She was also rather sneaky which kept Barbossa and Elizabeth on their toes.

"Isn't that the Imperial?" Elizabeth asked as she stood by her husband and picked up Grace.

"Aye, and that be Nathaniel, Isaac and Gibbs comin' to shore. I wonder what they're doin' out this way." He knew the island where they lived was well out of the way of any pirate routes.

A few minutes later, Andrew helped Barbossa tie up the pinnace while the three men climbed out.

"It's so good to see all of you," Elizabeth greeted, shifting Grace to her hip to hug each one.

"To what do we owe the honor of your company, gentlemen?" Barbossa asked, hugging his son and then shaking the others' hands.

"We left the North Sea and were headed for the south of Africa when we thought we'd come see you since we were close," Nathaniel answered. "We heard that there's good piratin' down that way and couldn't miss the opportunity."

"That's my boy," Barbossa said proudly.

Andrew tugged on his father's coat. "I'm your boy, Papa," he reminded him.

Barbossa beamed at his young son and tousled his hair affectionately. "You be my very special boy, Andrew, but so is he," he said, pointing to his older son. "This be your brother. His name is Nathaniel. He's a pirate."

Nathaniel knelt down and held out his hand for the small boy to shake. "It's an honor to meet you, Andrew."

"You really a pirate?"

"I am. These are two of my crewmen, Isaac and Gibbs."

Andrew waved at them.

"And who is the lovely little lady?" Gibbs asked, grinning at the young girl.

"This is Grace," Elizabeth answered, looking at her daughter. "Can you say hello?"

Grace laughed and then said a quiet 'hi'.

"Let's go in," Barbossa said, heading for the house as everyone followed. "There be a new batch of wine all ready."

Later that night after a big dinner, Barbossa and Nathaniel took some time to themselves and sat on the dock looking out over the ocean, the surface glittering like diamonds from the glow of the full moon.

"I be proud of you, Nathaniel," Barbossa told him. "Sounds like the crew are happy with yeh."

"I hope so, Father. I try to be a fair captain. Samuel was a big help."

"He be a good man."

"He is. Did you know that he and Rachel have a little girl now?"

"Really? No, I didn't know. Good for them."

"Yep. Named her Elizabeth Anne. Apparently, she's quite the handful."

Barbossa laughed heartily, remembering stories that Elizabeth had told him of her childhood. She'd been quite the handful, and now his daughter was well on her way, too. "If you see him, tell him good luck from me. He'll be needin' it."

Nathaniel smiled, glancing back towards the house. "My siblings are adorable, by the way."

Barbossa nodded proudly. "They are. Sometimes I look at them and can't believe they be mine. I didn't think life could be like this."

"You and Elizabeth look happy, as well."

"We are, Son. We miss piratin', of course, but it be nice to carry on the family tradition, too."

"The wine is delicious."

"Thank yeh." He paused and a moment and asked, "How's Isaac?"

"He's fine," Nathaniel said, nodding. "You know that he – um – that we're – "

"Yes, I know. He makes you happy. That be all that matters."

Nathaniel smiled in relief. He and his father had never really had a chance to talk about him. "Yeah. He does."

They each took a drink from the bottle of wine that Barbossa brought out with them and sat quietly for a couple minutes listening to the waves as they crashed against the shore.

"Turner will be here tomorrow evenin'."

"He will?" Nathaniel asked surprised. "Here?"

"Aye. It's been ten years, so he can come ashore again. Should have his selkie with him."

"Won't that be a little awkward?"

"Not at all," Barbossa told him with a shake of his head. "Elizabeth and Turner love each other; that be no great secret. She's anxious for him to see Andrew and Grace." Truth be known, years ago it would have bothered him immensely, but not anymore. He was not as insecure as he'd once been.

Nathaniel took another drink of wine. "As long as you're happy. I'm just thankful to have a second chance with you."

"I be the happiest that I've ever been," Barbossa confirmed, putting his arm around his son's shoulder and giving him a side hug. "And I be more than grateful for a second chance with you, as well. Come on – let's go back in. Elizabeth made my favorite dessert tonight – apple pie."

As the men approached the house, they could hear Elizabeth, two pirates and two children singing.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," rang out into the night.

I do love happy endings, don't you? And I have to say that Barbossa is very pleased with this ending. He approves. ;)

A big thanks to Bloodsired and Krushie for your reviews last chapter! (And Krushie, I appreciate your compliments so much. When I came across the selkie lore, I thought it would be perfect for William!)

I have thoroughly enjoyed the adventure that I took these two on. Now that this one is finished, I'm trying out a different fandom - Night Court. (I know...quite a swing from pirates, eh?) I've been a NC fan for a long time, and I finally decided to play around with them a bit. Currently, I'm posting chapters for A Month With Dan. (Find the link in my profile.) Check it out!

Thanks again for reading!