Hello. I'm so sorry, it feels like I have been gone for at least six thousand years. I've actually spent a month in Thailand teaching English to some lovely kids out there and my plan was to update the moment I returned. Unfortunately, my granddad died a few hours before I landed. We were very close and things have been very hectic since then. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I hope you all understand my reasons why.
Thank you so much for reading
LV xx

We smiled at each other in the half light. For a few moments we let the cosy silence engulf us. Jack seemed so much more relaxed. All the stress and anxiety I had seen on his face previously had lifted and his eyes had their sparkle back. I felt a lot lighter myself. "Hello," I said and his smile widened.

"Hey," he replied, his voice still thick with sleep. He reached out a hand towards my face. The heat made me flinch as he drew nearer, so he stopped and dropped his hand. I saw his smile falter.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He sighed.

"Sometimes," he said slowly. "When I've just woke up... I forget that you're..." he stopped himself, still unable to say the word 'dead' when talking about me. "And then I look around and you're not here and I remember." The silence ceased being cosy and I felt it press down on me.

"I'll be here soon," I reminded him gently and he smiled.

"Yes,' he nodded."Yes you will." We both smiled at each other again, but it was different than it was before. It wasn't as light, or as happy, or as pure. They weren't smiles of happiness; they were smiles of desperate reassurance. Both of us wanted to assure the other one of our faith in my return, while at the same time hiding our fear over what would happen if I never made it back. I sensed that it was time for a change of subject, before one of us cried.

"I didn't mean to wake you," I said, by way of an apology.

"I'm bloody glad you did," he frowned. "How long have you been here for?"

"Not long," I said quickly, sensing that Jack wasn't pleased that I hadn't woken him up immediately.

"Good," he nodded. "I'm glad. If I thought you'd let me sleep and I'd missed one of your visits, I'd…"

"What?" I grinned, trying to lift him out the bad mood he was spiralling into. "Kill me? Bit late for that, I'm already dead." I thought that Jack, of all people, might have found it funny. He was forever making inappropriate situations funny, but he said nothing and rolled over to look at the ceiling. I sat up and studied his face; he looked like he was trying not to cry. I felt instantly guilty. I should have known that Jack wasn't going to be in the right frame of mind to joke about my death. In a strange way, it was much easier for me to deal with being dead than it was for him to deal with it. I thought back to when the situation had been reversed. When Jack had been dead and I was the one who had been left behind. I'd been completely lost, broken. My whole world had also become a little bit broken too. There had been something huge missing from my life. Losing Jack hadn't just taken him away from me, but it had taken something from everything around me too. It had taken something beautiful out of all the colours in the world, all the smells around me and I hadn't heard a single sound I'd enjoyed. If it wasn't the sound of his voice then I didn't want to hear it. It had taken something from the people around me too. I'd felt distanced from them by my grief and the only person I could think of was him. Even knowing that he was in the Locker had brought me little comfort. Even knowing that we could get him back, I hadn't felt like a whole person. I hadn't felt like myself until the moment that I'd felt him back in my arms. There was no way I could have dealt with jokes at a time like that. Even from the man himself. I think what we often forget is that, although dying is difficult, once we're dead it's the living who have it harder. "Sorry," I said softly, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. Don't apologise," Jack replied, his voice flat. "You shouldn't apologise when you are right."

That threw me a little, "What do you mean?"

"You're right," he said again and then his voice cracked. "I did kill you."

"What?" I stared at him in disbelief. That was not what I had meant at all.

He started to cry then and I instantly moved to be as close to him as I possibly could. "Don't make me say it again, Belle," he whispered. "Please."

"Jack," I said, wishing that I could hug him, kiss him, or even just hold his hand.

"Don't look at me like that," he pleaded.

"Like what?"

"Like it's not my fault. Like you don't blame me."

I knew exactly where this idea had come from. I had watched George put it there. I just hadn't realized how well it had stuck itself there.

"No!" I said immediately. "No, you didn't. That's not what I meant. That's not what I meant at all." He said nothing. "Jack… It was Blackbeard who pulled the trigger not you."

"But it was my fault that you-"

"No." I said so sharply that I actually managed to shut him up. He stared at me with his mouth still slightly open. I softened my tone. "Jack, I know what George said to you. I was there. I heard it. None of it was true, darling." He shook his head and looked back up at the ceiling. I let the silence grow for a moment, hoping that it would give my words a chance to sink in and for him to start letting go of all the guilt that he was harbouring. For a moment I thought it was working, but then I saw his expression crumble again. "Jack," I said quietly. "Look at me." He hesitated. "Look at me." He turned his head to the side to look at me. I looked him deep in the eyes. "Jack, you did not kill me," I said slowly.

"Belle…" he whispered.

"You were right with what you said to him, Jack. I was happy with you. I am happy with you."

"You weren't safe. I should have left you where you were safe," he echoed George's arguments. I shook my head.

"I'd much rather be happy than safe," I told him. "Besides, do you really think I'd have let you just leave me anywhere?" The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, threatening a smile that didn't quite follow through. "If you remember, I chose to come with you. I chose happiness over safety. It was my choice. Mine. Not yours. I love you, Jack and I came here because I wanted to. You're not to blame for anything." He looked at me for a long time. "Please, Jack. Stop blaming yourself."

He gulped and then, slowly, he started to nod. "I love you," he said, reaching out a hand to get as close to me as possible. I raised my own hand to meet his until our palms nearly touched and stared at where our fingers almost entwined, but couldn't just yet.

"I love you, Jack," I said, feeling the searing heat from his hand, but watching the little hairs on his arm rise. I must feel so cold to him. "I can't wait to come home."

I felt the warmth of excitement spread through me, making me tingle. I looked up at him and that warmth grew. I had finally got him to smile again. Properly smile. I lowered my hand and so did he. He let his rest in the space between us and I put mine on top of his. "Can't wait to have you back, Belle," Jack replied. We lay and looked at each other in silence for a while. I was happy to just lie there and say nothing. I was happy just to be with him again. So far, I hadn't come up against anyone who meant me any harm, or anyone trying to trap me there, but I was certain that would change. It had to change soon, surely. I had seen all of my close family. I couldn't think who else there was left for me to see. Who else could I possibly have to meet? I had met three out of seven, which left me with four. I had convinced myself that two of the remaining four would be Barbossa and George, but who else did that leave? I felt myself start to panic, fear rising from my stomach to rest in my throat. It was similar to a feeling of falling. "You okay?" Jack asked me.

I found his eyes again and the falling stopped. They kept me grounded. The fear that had been lodged in my throat slipped away and disappeared completely. In that instant, my panic was over because at that moment I realized that right here and now it didn't matter who was next. It didn't matter who was after that either. What mattered was that right now Jack and I were together. If, for some reason I fell at the final hurdle and was trapped by George or Barbossa, or my external body fully died, I did not want my last ever conversation with Jack to be one of worry and doubt. I just wanted to be with him. I saw him frown over my hesitation. I smiled at him. "Yeah. You?"

He relaxed. "Course I am," he replied. He smiled and I smiled back. There was another moment of beautifully happy silence, and then Jack gave a start. "Isaacio," he said, sitting up. "I should go and get him, there's so much that you need to know. He needs to tell you-"

"No," I said and he stopped moving. He looked back at me and frowned.

"What?"

"No," I repeated. I sat up too, feeling suddenly drained. Despite the fact that he looked a lot happier than he had done, when I looked closely I could still see the bags under his eyes. Especially now that he was starting to think about Isaccio and all of the anxiety that his information- his time limits, his anxiety over who was and was not out to get me- caused both of us. Jack was beginning to look strained again and I couldn't bear it. "Don't get Isaacio. Please. Not yet."

His frown deepened. "Why not, Belle? He needs to-"

"Whatever he needs to do, Jack. He can do it next time I come."

"But-"

"Jack, please," I whispered, not realising how close to crying I was until I saw the concern on his face. He automatically moved to kiss me, but had to stop about an inch from my face. It was as close as he could physically get. I could see the pain and frustration I felt over this reflected in his eyes. Then, when I looked past that I could see myself reflected in his eyes. For the first time, I noticed that I looked tired too.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked and I flinched as the heat of his breath seared across my ghostly face. The living are just so warm compared to the dead. I wished I could feel that warmth again. I wished that this was all over.

"Jack," I said quietly and he looked at me intently. "I'm just… so tired." I admitted, tears burning in my eyes and quietly spilling over. "I've been awake for as long as I have been gone. I've watched my family, people I love, go through hell and back. And then when I close my eyes to sleep I come here and all I can see is your stress and your worry and the pain you're in… I love seeing you, Jack. It's what keeps me going. The thought of our family. The thought of us. But I don't want… I don't want to come here and be bombarded by endless questions. I don't want to come back and be constantly reminded that my physical body is lying cold and lifeless on the floor in a room a few feet away from me. I don't want to think about what's coming when I have just come directly from my last meeting with someone from my past. I don't want to speak to Nyssa. I don't want you to go and get Isaccio. I… I…"

I stopped, realising that frustrations I hadn't even known I had been holding back had just risen up inside me and come pouring out of my mouth. Jack was nodding, a look of concern still on his face. "What do you want, Isabelle?"

I looked at him. "I… I just want to be with you," I whispered.

Jack gulped, his big, sad brown eyes locked on mine. "Okay," he said quietly. "Okay. Let's leave Isaacio for today. You're right; he can speak to you next time." He lay back down again. I looked down at him, still reeling from my own outburst. He stretched out an arm beside him. "Come on, then, Belle," he said gently. The pull of the love in his eyes and the warmth in his voice led me to lie down beside him. I curled up in the space between him and his outstretched arm. We couldn't actually hold each other, but this was the closest thing to it. I could feel his warmth, breathe in his smell.

"Thank you," I said.

"No worries, love. It sounds like we both need a rest," he murmured.

"Yeah," I smiled. "Jack…"

"Yes, love?"

"Do you remember when your father saved my brother's life?" I asked.

He paused. "Yes," he whispered. "But how… how did you know about that?"

"Because I just saw it happen," I told him. "James showed it to me. It was part of my journey, part of his story." I paused. "You were an adorable child."

"Don't," Jack groaned. "Just… don't."

My smile was so big that it was almost painful. The memory of the young Jack I had seen lifted my heart to dizzying heights. "I wonder if our James will look like you when he grows up," I mused. Jack chuckled. "How is he?" I asked.

"He's brilliant," Jack said. "He's absolutely brilliant. I love him, Belle. I didn't think you could really love something that can't talk yet, but you can, love. He's amazing. And he'll be even more amazing when we teach him how to talk. And walk. And use a sword."

"Use a sword?" I repeated, shifting so that I could look up at Jack's face. I did not miss the silent gleam. "How did our child go from learning to walk to learning to use a sword?!"

"It's the next logical step," he grinned at me. I grinned back.

"Is it now?" I raised an eyebrow and he nodded.

"Yup. Don't worry, I'll teach Rebecca too."

"You will?"

"I don't want my little girl defenceless," he said fiercely. "Speaking of Rebecca, why doesn't she come with you when you make these trips?"

"I'm not sure," I frowned. "She's been here, but only when I've carried her here. I don't think she can make the trip alone. I don't know where she goes when she sleeps. Maybe it's because she's too young… I don't know."

"Maybe," Jack mused. "Maybe it's because she's never really been here before. I mean… not properly, love."

"That's true," I nodded. "How strange that the first world our little girl knows is that of the Dead." We lay in silence for a moment, thinking this over. I wondered if this would affect Rebecca in any way, or if she'd even remember it when she grew up. If she grew up.

"Does she look like you?" Jack asked. I shook my head and smiled.

"She has your eyes," I told him and his smiled matched mine.

"And James has yours," he replied quietly. We shared a happy smile and silence. I lay back down beside my husband and for the first time in what had been a very long time, we did what I had wanted to do and just enjoyed being with one another. We lay, curled up as close as we could and just talked in a way that we hadn't been able to for a long time. I told Jack what I'd found out about my family and we'd laughed over the young version of Jack that I had seen- tall and gangly in an overly large shirt.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Jack mused. "That our families have been so interlinked and yet so…"

"Mental?"

Jack laughed. "Well, I was going to say different, but I suppose 'mental' will about do it."

Conversation then moved to Jack's past and some of the many misadventures that he'd had. I'd heard some of them before, but they were always entertaining. He kept his stories light, although I knew there was a lot of dark in Jack's past, now wasn't the time to talk about it. Then we both became lost in our recollections of our joint past and everything that had happened since we'd met. A dangerous and turbulent time for both of us, but a time, we both agreed, that had been the best in our lives. We talked until long after the sun had risen and the first rays had filled the room. The City of Atlantis had begun to clatter into life as its people got up, but Jack and I stayed wrapped in our own little world. A world that contained just the two of us. That was, until I felt that familiar pull that told me that it was time for me to leave him.

"Jack," I sat up suddenly. He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me. "I have to go."

His face fell. "I hate this part," he said. "I hate watching you fade."

"It's not goodbye," I reminded him. "I'll see you again soon." I moved myself as close to him as possible. "I love you," I told him.

"I love you too," he smiled.

"Close your eyes," I told him and leaned in until our lips almost touched. He smiled, closed his eyes and then I was gone.

Review Replies

Guest: Thank you! Sorry it took a while.

GoTeamSkipper: It's cool, I love James too. I also love Teague, but I'm a little bit afraid of his harsher side. Thanks for the review.

Captain Sparrow: Don't worry, it's fine! I'm sorry for the feels, I hope you recovered quickly.

Grim Reaper's Daughter: Thank you. I'm sorry for any emotions caused, I'm just a sucker for that kind of thing :P