After Jack and Elizabeth figured out the exact whereabouts of "their" island, the Black Pearl dropped them off there and Jack rowed them ashore. He arranged with Gibbs to return and pick them up in a week. Elizabeth helped Jack bring the supplies up from the boat and the two of them spread out a sail over the trees to act as a tent in case it rained, and a sun-shade if it didn't.
They spread out some blankets on the sand under the shade, and arranged some pillows. Elizabeth dusted the sand off her hands. "There, now," she said. "If only we could have been this comfortable our first time here!"
"Next thing we have to do," Jack said in his most authoritative captain's voice, "is to get you into this." He reached into a parcel and pulled out a long white shift that buttoned up over the bodice.
Elizabeth laughed. "Jack! You brought that?"
He nodded. "I've never forgotten the way you looked before, sweetheart. So now we're here, we're married, and you're going to help me live out a few fantasies about that night. Savvy?"
Elizabeth gave him a catlike smile. "Only if you do the same for me."
His eyebrows shot up. "You had fantasies? About me?"
She just smiled and started getting undressed to put on the shift. Jack gathered firewood and got out the rum.
It turned out that seductions on the bare sand were nice, but seductions on a blanket were far tidier and more comfortable. They had a good enough sampling of each to make an informed comparison.
Jack and Elizabeth enjoyed their week alone on the island very much, learning new things about each other daily, but were still glad to see the Black Pearl return. There was something about sleeping in a bed that no sandy island beach could match. Jack sailed the Pearl from there to Tortuga, where he only lost one crew member: Charlie, the cabin boy he had bartered from Barbossa. When Gibbs reported it, Jack merely shrugged. He didn't really blame the lad. Simon, younger and more attached to Jack and the rest of the crew, stayed on.
Everyone else was happy to stay with the Pearl, especially when Jack returned to Port Royale by way of Isla Muerta, and picked up almost all of the treasure that Calypso had disclaimed as a favor to Will. Unfortunately, this led to losing another crew member. After Jack and Gibbs had divided out everyone's share of the treasure, Cotton decided he had enough to retire on. He continued sailing with them for a few more months, but finally decided he'd had enough of the roving life. He elected to disembark the next time they went to Port Royale to start his retirement.
The Black Pearl sailed into the harbor in the evening, and they threw a going-away party for Cotton. Rum flowed like water, and Cotton couldn't stop grinning at all the well-wishes from his shipmates. Finally the party wound down and at least half of the crew made it to their hammocks before passing out. The other half slept wherever they fell.
Elizabeth and Jack fell into their bed in the captain's cabin, too tired and tipsy to do anything but fall asleep. In the morning, Gibbs and Derrick rowed Cotton and his parrot to shore… and returned to the Pearl with an additional two passengers and a couple of big smiles.
Jack was awake by then, and greeted the guests quite happily. Then he listened to their request and laughed out loud and agreed.
Ten minutes later he swaggered into his cabin, calling out, "Oh, Lizzie, darling!" in a sing-song voice. "Get dressed and come out on deck. There's a surprise waiting for you there."
Elizabeth groaned and rolled over in bed, arching her back and stretching her arms over her head.
Jack stared, completely distracted. "Oh, God, I do love it when you stretch."
"You do realize I do it only for you?" was her sleepy but playful reply. "My own waking has nothing to do with it."
"I appreciate the sacrifices you make for me, love," Jack said, coming over to kiss her. His kisses traveled across her cheek to her ear, which he nipped, before sliding his mouth down to her shoulder and kissing her there as well.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and smiled, holding him close. "Jack, what's the surprise?"
"Hmmm?" he asked, slipping his arms around her and tugging her closer.
"The surprise? The one you woke me for, and told me was on the deck?"
"It'll wait." Jack took several minutes and kissed his young wife thoroughly, rucking up her nightgown and tousling her hair in the process.
Finally he sat back and looked at her with approval. "There, now. You look thoroughly ravished."
"Though sadly without much in the way of actual ravishment," Elizabeth complained.
"No time, love. I told you—your surprise is out there waiting for you! Now, hurry up and get dressed, and don't distract me again, you naughty little baggage."
Elizabeth knew better than to get into such a ridiculous argument with him, and sighed as she stood up and started to run a brush through her hair. "So what's the surprise? Don't tell me—it's an undead monkey." She ran a brush through her hair, quickly plaited her it into a queue down the back, and tied it with a wide bit of ribbon.
He looked wounded. "Our guests won't appreciate you calling them that, love. Come on, shake a leg!"
"Aye, sir," Elizabeth replied, sarcasm dripping from her tone as she pulled on her trousers and shirt.
"Go on out; I just have to get something in here," Jack told her, rummaging through the drawers of his desk.
Elizabeth smiled and rubbed the last of the sleep from her eyes, and left the cabin. Out on the deck, she saw the guests and smiled. "Aunt Agatha!" she cried, running to hug her aunt. "Captain Teague, how nice to see you again!" she greeted her aunt's companion with an affectionate kiss on his weathered cheek. He smiled and kissed her back, sniffing at her appreciatively. It had become a standing joke between then that "daughters always smell better than sons."
Jack followed her out of the cabin, holding a leather-bound book under his arm. He was smirking. "All hands on deck," he ordered.
Mr Gibbs took up the cry. "All hands on deck!"
"What brings you to the Pearl instead of waiting for us to come ashore?" Elizabeth asked the guests. Agatha only gave her an enigmatic smile and waited while the crew gathered.
When they were all there, Jack flipped open the book to where he had marked it with a ribbon. "Dearly beloved," he began. "We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Captain Edward Robert Teague and Agatha Ainsley-Swann—"
Elizabeth gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth. "Aunt Agatha!" she squeaked.
Agatha smiled, with a teasing glint in her eye as she took Captain Teague's hand. "What, dear? Did you think you were the only Swann with a preference for pirates?"
FIN
Note: This marks the final chapter of the actual story. Thank you all so much for reading, especially those who reviewed regularly; some of you have even become my 'net-friends through this story, so a special thanks goes out to you lot-you know who you are.
There is a lot more that I have written, but decided to delete because it wasn't really part of this story, and didn't move the action forward at all. One of my reviewers warned me about letting the denouement run on too long, and she was right; she also had no way of knowing that this was destined to be the last chapter even without her warning (which I do appreciate anyway, because I do often suffer from "don't-know-when-to-end-it-itis:). My thanks go to Anonymous Marie for reinforcing my decision to end it here. :)
I am marking this story as complete; however, I am planning to add the extra stuff I have written as a series of deleted scenes and unrelated oneshots after this final chapter. If you're happy with this ending, feel free to stop reading now; if not, keep me on your story alerts and you'll still get to see the extra stuff, like the cut scenes on a DVD. I already have a chapter about the island honeymoon, a little bit about Jack's siblings, and a few other things already written. If there's anything about their future lives that you'd like to see, let me know and if I get inspired to, I'll write a little extra something for you. If not, be not offended; the muse strikes where she will.
Cheers, everyone, for coming along with me on this ride.
Best,
Clev