A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to remind you that I am in the process of cross posting this story over on Archive of Our Own. It is identical, but I mention it because I'm using this transfer as an opportunity to go back and rewrite the chapters up to this one, and I'm updating the chapters that are rewritten with the new ones on this site as well.

Don't worry, nothing has been deleted, though I am likely going to take out the moment Elizabeth slaps Jack while Philip and Syrena have their first kiss as I don't think it fits tonally. Otherwise I'm only going in to fix typos, rework sentences that I regret the original published phrasing, adjusting some formatting, and adding in a little bit of new material.

There's no completely new scenes, but there are some fun new jokes (for example, Philip musing about how his mother thought herself a grand adventurer when she really only hung out in one part of Africa and then Philip has to remind himself to focus because hey, Elizabeth's about to get stabbed right in front of you, so maybe we think about Mum a little later?), a lot more additional references to Rebecca, Nathaniel, Katherine, and Sarah (including the revelation that Will's mother is the direct descendant of the people who wrote the very first Pirate Code and yes I will explain that timeline later,) and fixing some plot holes like explaining how in the world it takes a month to sail from one place in the Caribbean to another (literally the answer is magic) and having Syrena ask a clarifying question about which Bible reference Philip was making rather than a full on I don't know who that extremely famous Bible character is despite later being established as extremely well-versed on the subject.

Because I'm a giant nerd, I've also gone back to add a bit more historical accuracy like finally getting straight Philip's whole process on getting ordained and what stage he is in that and what rules he'll have to live by (I literally spent about 8 hours reading a manifesto on the subject half of it being written in Latin, why God why, written by the actual person who was Bishop of London in 1739 when this takes place.) As well as in the Jack, Barbossa, and Bootstrap flashback, I changed the Spaniards to actually speaking Spanish and instead of saying they were in Mexico, I picked an actual Mexican city on the coastline that was part of the Aztec Empire and Cortes actually interacted with.

But the biggest thing to know is that I went back and fixed up some of the foreshadowing and emotional plot threads that came out of nowhere or did not make sense. For example, I changed it from Philip apparently learning Will was on the Dauntless before it blew up, immediately forgetting, getting confused why Elizabeth is freaking out, and then learning again that Will was on the ship. I just changed that to Philip learning it once and giving both Philip and Elizabeth a proper moment to mourn Will.

The reason I bring this up is one of the biggest rewrites I did was the scene where Elizabeth betrays Syrena and turns on her. I've put in a lot of foreshadowing in earlier scenes that Syrena is totally convinced they are best friends, but that Elizabeth is stringing her along and still resentful about that prisoner thing. This culminates in new dialogue that is important you know about. During the betrayal, Elizabeth – fully knowing Syrena was likely listening in – calls her a "stupid monster."

It makes sense in context, but you can bet this is something Syrena will bring up going forward multiple times. The hurt Syrena carries from that is one that never fully heals and the reason they never will fully transition from frienemy to full on friend. They could be the absolute best of friends going forward, but on her deathbed Syrena would totally be like "hey, remember that time you called me a stupid monster?"

So please, take a chance to go back and reread the chapters. I'm sure you'll like the new and improved versions. Remember, there's no deletions, only fixes and additions.

…You know, it occurs to me through this rewrite I totally could have had Rebecca Swift be alive and awesome throughout this. Why did I kill her off again? Oh yeah, creepy Beckett obsession storyline stuff in DMC and AWE.

Maybe I should do a third rewrite…

Birds of a Feather

The Curse of the Black Pearl

Chapter Thirty-Three

King of Ridiculousness

"Alright, I'm very happy the two of you have decided to give your relationship a shot, but genuinely, how do we make this whole mermaid coming home with us thing work?" Will asked after a while.

He had given Philip and Syrena more than enough time to makeout or whatever romantic sounding label they wanted to put on the act of awkwardly sucking face in front of Philip's best friend, other best friend/cousin/sister/mortal enemy and yet at the same time best friend of Syrena, and… well, who even knew what to call Jack? Weird pseudo avuncular mentor who was ready, willing, and already had plotted out the exact plan on how to screw them over at the drop of a hat?

"Well, I think step one is quite obvious," Elizabeth folded her arms. "Philip, I know there's probably some dramatic and romantic backstory to what happened and now it's become a touching, sentimental thing… but for the love of all that's holy, you have got to get your shirt back on before you come face to face with Father."

"Oh, right," Philip smiled sheepishly as he disentangled himself for Syrena. "Sorry Syrena, I'm going to need that back."

"No problem. Here you go," Syrena reached down to pull off the shirt.

"Ah! No!" Philip yanked the shirt right back down, but not before it got a bit too high above the knee.

Thankfully Will had had the decency to turn away, but Jack in an unsurprising fashion had tried his best to get a good look. Will noticed and gave him a good smack for it.

"Stop it," Philip commanded, making sure his beau stayed adequately covered. Just because he had accidentally seen her naked didn't mean he wanted anyone else to see her as well. "First thing to know about human culture is that unless you are bathing or fornicating, clothing stays on at all times."

Syrena scowled, "That sounds absurdly restrictive. Are you sure this is a rule I have to follow?"

"Yes, Syrena," Elizabeth put her head in her hands. "We literally just had this conversation an hour ago."

"What?" Philip looked between the pair. "Why did you- You know what? I don't want to know."

Syrena patted his shoulder but kept her attention on Elizabeth, "But Elizabeth, you said not to undress unless you're with your spouse or someone you dearly love. I'm with three I dearly love."

"Three?" Will questioned, a little bit surprised at the declaration.

"Yes. Philip, Elizabeth – though that's quite complicated – and Jack the Monkey."

Will and Elizabeth looked at each other in shock, but for quite opposite reasons. At this point Elizabeth was going to have arrange some sort of colored flag system to keep track of whether Syrena liked her, loved her, or hated her at the given moment.

As for Will...

"…Oh," Will looked away. "Right. The monkey."

Syrena smiled in amusement and cocked her head to the side, "Wait, did you think I meant you?"

"I mean, a little bit." Will shrugged, "What with the whole grouping of Elizabeth and Philip, I just assumed I would be included in that count. I've very rarely heard those two names without the inclusion of mine as well."

"Which is almost always not a good thing to be included in," Philip admitted.

"Why would I love you?" Syrena gave something like a giggle as she held Philip's shoulder and leaned against his body. "I do not know you. This is literally the longest conversation we've had. The only other time you and I have interacted was when we were abandoning Elizabeth on a deserted island and when I saved your life at twelve-years-old."

"Wait, what?" Elizabeth cut in.

"Oh yeah, you don't know about that," Philip realized no one had brought that up to Elizabeth. Now that he thought about it, he didn't think Will and Syrena even discussed it between each other. "Or that I met Syrena the same day we met Will."

"You what?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I can't believe you wouldn't-"

And the four of them descended into inane overlapping argument that didn't go anywhere. The problem was the four of them were stubborn as Hell so they could literally argue until Judgement Day and continue the argument in Hell where they would be sent for such a massive waste of time and energy. The raised voices rang off the walls and the arguers quickly lost track of who was arguing with whom about what and why.

A migraine throbbing in his temples, Jack Sparrow traded a look with his monkey namesake. Jack had been in the middle of numerous Black Pearl crew arguments, and if Sarah Smith had taught him anything, there was only one way to "get a lot of purposeless crowing gits to shut the hell up."

An extremely loud whistle screeched out, cutting all fighting right off. Silence fell on group as they turned and looked to Jack in amazement for managing a whistle that loud.

"OK, everybody enough!" Jack took charge of the situation. "You're literally arguing over nothing. Shut it and listen!"

That only brought more objections from Elizabeth, Syrena, and Philip. Not Will, however. Some subconscious part of his brain recognized the whistle as the same as his mother's, and long ago Will had been trained that when he heard that whistle followed by the command to be quiet, then quiet he would be.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Jack shouted. "That's enough! Seriously! You lot are so ungrateful. Not one of you would still be alive if it weren't for me."

"That's ridiculous," Syrena dismissed.

"Is it?" Jack challenged. "Lizzie would be dead if I hadn't agreed to bring Will here. Phil would be dead if I hadn't confirmed to Barbossa he wasn't a Turner. William was about to get his throat slit before I talked Hector out of it. Heck even the Little Mermaid would be dead in that pool if I hadn't gotten Barbossa to leave Philip in the cabin with you, which led to you two falling for each other, which led to Pintel and Ragetti trusting him, which led to them freeing Philip, which led to him rescuing you."

"Well, that seems a bit of stretch," Syrena crossed her arms.

"Also, how on earth do you know that sequence of events?" Philip gawked at him.

"The point is you people are being ridiculous," Jack said. "And that's coming from me, Captain Jack Sparrow, King of Ridiculousness!"

Will scowled, "Why do I feel like that's an actual title you have?"

"Given to him by your mother no less," Syrena confirmed. "Hector told me she even once gave Jack a set of navigation tools with that engraved on the lid. I think it's still in the Captain's cabin."

"Yeah it is," Jack chuckled, remembering seeing it on the desk when he had negotiated with Barbossa while Philip was unconscious. "My point is that none of you are taking my title from me, so knock it off. My God, you people don't even know what you're fighting about. Who cares if Phil didn't tell Lizzie about one aspect this story? You've had five minutes together through this whole thing. Relax. You'll get to it later, and I guarantee there's a few moments you haven't told Phil yet."

Elizabeth darted her eyes away.

"Next point. Syrena, dear." Jack chuckled, "You wear as much or as little clothing as you wish, and don't let some man make that choice for you. But if you want my opinion-"

"I don't," she cut him off coldly.

"Alright then, next point of order." Jack slapped Will upside the head, "Where do you get off trying to make a girl feel guilty over saving your life? You're lucky it's me here and not your mother. She would have you keelhauled if she heard you speaking like that."

"You don't get it," Will sighed, secretly thinking to himself that he didn't know what he'd do if Jack decided to take on the role of his pseudo-mother.

"No, I do. You're mad that she's agreed to marry someone to save your life despite having started something with you. And now she won't break off the engagement because – shock and horror – she has the completely reasonable desire not to break her word and label herself selfish and untrustworthy. Here's a bright idea: don't get mad at her, instead figure out a different way to end the engagement."

"What?" Will eyed Elizabeth. He was mildly pleased when she didn't object to the idea, "How would I even do that?"

"You could get the minister drunk so he couldn't perform the ceremony." Jack definitely noticed how hard Philip rolled his eyes at that. "Or you could get her father drunk and convince him to withdraw his consent to the marriage. She's only twenty. Under property and religious law, until she turns twenty-one, her father can veto the marriage if he so chooses."

"That's a disturbing amount of control your father has over you," Syrena said to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth replied, "I find it more disturbing that Sparrow knows those details off hand."

"Jack," Will cut in. "I'm not looking to get anyone drunk."

"Huh." Jack eyed Elizabeth. "Maybe you shouldn't marry her then."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Will looked between Elizabeth and Jack but chose to let the comment go, "Do you have any ideas that don't involve getting someone drunk?"

Jack shrugged, "You could kill Norrington."

Philip paled.

"Let's not do that one," Elizabeth said quickly.

"Agreed," Will nodded.

"Let me know if you change your mind. I could help," Syrena offered. She noticed Philip's horrified stare, "What? I'm just trying to be friendly."

"You and I need to have a long discussion about the definition of friendly." Philip rubbed his face, feeling a headache coming on, "But Sparrow's right. There might be another way to get out of this without pulling a full-on Beckett Incident. We can try to brainstorm ideas later, but for now we really have to figure out a way to explain Syrena to Port Royal."

"Could we say she's a reformed pirate who ultimately betrayed Barbossa and helped us kill him?" Will suggested.

"Let me make this very clear to you all," Syrena warned, "I am willing to withhold telling people about my true relationship with my father, but I will not go about pretending I helped murder him or that I even wanted him dead."

It struck her in the gut again: Barbossa was dead. Gone. Done. Life over. He was killed. No longer able to be there for her, hold her, hug her, smile at her, laugh with her, teach her, comfort her, oh what she would give to even fight with him one more time.

Her father was dead.

When Syrena began to sob again, Philip pulled her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head as she wept into his chest, starkly remembering the rolling waves of grief he struggled with the first month after his family members died.

Will looked down, also remembering such ebb and flow of grief with his mother, "Well, since we already set a precedent with the curse as magic being real, maybe we could say Syrena was part of some sort of spell? Although, that might result in questions to will lead to a mermaid revelation. But if we could word it just right…"

Elizabeth debated whether or not to try to give Syrena a hug or something, but decided to leave the physical comforting to Philip.

"Look," Elizabeth said kindly, "we're all overthinking this. There's an extremely simple way to explain Syrena. They kidnapped me… Why don't we just say they kidnapped more than one girl?"

The group all stared at her, dumbfounded by how simple an answer it was.

"Yeah, that might work," Will admitted.

"I don't know," Philip eyed Syrena, who had managed to compose herself. He supposed years of intense training to learn how to prevent oneself from crying must mean that it would be pretty easy to shut down grief for a more private moment later. "Considering how much lying has gone on, I'm quite uneasy at adding more deception on top of that."

Jack snorted, "Philip, Lad, you are never going to make it as a pirate with that attitude."

"I don't want to make it as a pirate!"

"We wouldn't lie to Father," Elizabeth said. "At least… as little as possible. I have a feeling the story I told them already is going to be second guessed, but we should tell them as much of the truth as possible. Just not the stuff that will get us in trouble that doesn't need to happen. For example: we don't tell them Syrena is a mermaid. We don't tell them Will's parents were pirates, just maybe something about possessing the medallion. We don't tell them about Will and Philip going prostitute shopping in Tortuga."

"We didn't buy time with a prostitute!" Philip exclaimed.

Jack smirked, "Even he couldn't afford Eveline's rates. I only go to her for information."

"Well, if you were going to pick someone, Eveline is a good choice," Syrena said. "She's always been most kind to me whenever we've interacted."

"How did you-" Philip sighed, "Oh forget it."

Elizabeth continued, "See, it's easy. We leave out a few details like the cutlery cannons, Jack dangling Will over the ocean on a boom-"

Syrena suggested, "Barbossa almost making you dine naked with the crew."

"What?"

"What?"

"WHAT?"

Elizabeth glared at her, "Thanks."

"What?" Syrena scowled, "I was trying to contribute."

"Ok, that's it," Philip put his foot down, "first chance we get, the five of us are going over every single detail of this adventure nonsense, starting from the moment Jack got mutinied."

"Oh, I don't like that story start," Jack moaned. "Can we start somewhere else."

Philip ignored him, "So, item number one: we'll find a time to talk about all of this later because BOY do I have questions. Second, Will, if we ever go on another crazy adventure like this again – God forbid that ever happen, but I'm starting to get a realistic assessment of this nonsense that has become our lives – we'll make sure you and Syrena have some proper bonding time to develop a strong platonic relationship. And finally, Syrena just keep your clothing on unless you're about to bathe, fornicate, or do mermaid stuff. Sound good?"

Syrena nodded, "Good."

"Good!"

"Oh, don't listen to him about that clothing matter, Love," Jack encouraged. "Don't you let any man hold your free spirit down. It's your body, and you flaunt it any way you want to."

Four deathly glares fixed on him, but he had no intention whatsoever to retract his statement.

"Ok, if Jack Sparrow wants me to go around unclothed, then I know I should do the opposite," Syrena agreed. "Bathing, fornicating, mermaiding. Got it. Anyone see where there's some clothing among the treasure? I know Barbossa set aside a few dresses for me should my legs ever be revealed."

"Oh yeah, Ragetti and Pintel put together a bag of things for you for us to take with us," Philip remembered. "Now where did I put it?"

A few mutterings of agreement to look – and Nathaniel Swift's bible delivering another solid thwack to the skull, this time to Jack – the group fanned out to look for the bag and brainstorm explanations for Syrena.

As Will and Elizabeth dug through a pile of treasure, Elizabeth sent a glare to Jack. Syrena had bent over to retrieve some naval charts that Norrington was sure to want, and thus Syrena wanted to use them as a partial bribe to convince him to grant her passage on their ship. Unfortunately, due to Syrena's bottomless situation, Philip had to awkwardly stand in front of her, facing away to protect her modesty from the others.

"You know," Elizabeth leaned over to Will. "If we ever wanted to murder Sparrow and get away with it, this would be our best chance."

"Not until we're completely sure we won't have anymore uses for him," Will joked. "Then I'll make him pay for calling you a strumpet."

"He called me a strumpet?"

"Inadvertently. It was when we were sword fighting in my shop and he first called me a eunuch."

"Oh right, I've been meaning to ask you about that sudden nickname." Elizabeth paused digging through the treasure, and side-eyed Will. "You're… not. Right?"

"WHAT? No! God no!"

A golden wine goblet flew across the cave and smacked Will in the back of the head.

"I heard that!" Philip warned Will.

"Really, Swift?" Will rubbed the back of his head where a bump was starting to form. It was clear from his tone that Will had really hit his limit, "Is you throwing things at my head going to be the new norm? Because you know I can throw things with enough force that I can wedge a sword through a wooden door. This won't end well for you, Swift."

Syrena gave him a small warning hiss, but Philip waved her off.

A hearty laughter came from Will's side, and he smiled as he saw Elizabeth take delight in the bickering and the teasing. It was almost like for a moment they were teenagers again playing around the old lighthouse in Port Royal, and not in the ending of grand pirate adventure most people would never believe.

Will sighed. Maybe he had acted a little too rashly. Was he really going to demonize Elizabeth for trying to save his life? He knew what he had to do.

"Listen, Elizabeth-"

"Oi! Preacher!" Jack called. "These supplies we're looking for; would it be this longboat already stocked with food, clothing, treasure, and provisions?"

They all turned to see a fully stocked longboat neatly docked on the shore, absolutely not hidden from view in any way.

Philip reddened as four sets of annoyed eyes set on him, "Yeah, that'd be the one."

He ducked a multitude of coins, books, and other less damaging close at hand objects that were chucked at his head. Syrena didn't throw anything at him, just snatched that plum coloured dress from the longboat and absconded into the cave where no one could see her change.

"Would now be a bad time to quote that whole let he who is without sin cast the first stone thing?" Philip rubbed a bump on his head.

"Considering some of the stunts we've pulled on this adventure, I'd say yes," Elizabeth chuckled. "I don't think there's one person who denies we're all sinners here."

"Truly the only right way to live," Jack nodded solemnly. "Shouldn't be surprised when you keep that company when it comes back to bite you. And it's only a fool who doesn't know what that path leads to. What all paths lead to… I'd just hoped I had another daring escape in me."

The trio of Will, Philip, and Elizabeth exchanged silent, sorrowful looks. By no means had Jack Sparrow become their friend, and when they first met him, they were more than happy to let him dangle from the gallows for the crimes he had committed. But now as they were about to lead him to those gallows – practically putting the noose around his neck for him – their hearts felt heavy. Yes, they had all been tricked and betrayed by him and in turn did their own devious deeds, but it had become clear to the trio that Jack perhaps didn't deserve this. They owed him a debt, but here and now, it was impossible to see a way out.

If only the Black Pearl hadn't left without him.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Elizabeth said.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that." Jack sighed. Then he gathered himself and looked to Philip, "Clergyman?"

Philip rolled his eyes, but decided it was not worth another Protestant vs Catholicism lecture, "Yes, Jack?"

"On the off chance that this does not go well for me, I would like it noted that here now that I am fully prepared to believe in whatever I must, so that I may be welcomed into that place where the goody-goodies get to go once they pop their clogs, savvy?"

"Oh, you just made his day," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Nothing got Philip more excited than someone approaching him to ask to become a Christian, which surprisingly didn't happen that often. Then again, Philip had spent most – if not all but the last month – of his life living in British, and ergo Christian territory. Elizabeth suspected that half the reason he wanted to be a missionary was that he had exhausted the pool of people he could talk God to and he thirsted for more recruits.

The words from anyone else indeed would have been music to Philip's ears, but he had spent enough time with Jack to manage his expectations. So, Philip knew fully well not to think anything would actually come from his reply.

"We have a word for that, Jack," Philip said. "You can convert."

Jack hesitated, "I was thinking more of an as-needed basis."

Philip shot Will and Elizabeth a look that said Called it.

"Alright," Philip forced a smile. "In that case why don't we revisit this when we return to Port Royal?"

Genuine panic flashed in Jack's eyes, "Preacher, I don't think you understand-"

He rounded on Jack, "Oh, I understand perfectly. You want a get out of Hell free card. But that's not how this works, Sparrow. You either come to God honestly, actually ask Him forgiveness for your sins and acknowledge the wrongness of them, or don't do it at all. There is no worse sinner than a man who pretends they are holy."

"I dunno. I could think of a few worse sins-"

"ENOUGH!" Philip bellowed. "I won't have you stand here and act so flippantly about my religion and the true stakes of life and death, Heaven and Hell like it's a game of pretend! My parents literally died to spread the word of God and I won't have you stand there and devalue that!"

Will and Elizabeth took a step back. They had only seen Philip get this mad, this quickly a few times. And a mad Philip Swift was truly terrifying. He took after his father in that way. It was popular Swann family lore that Nathaniel Swift had only ever gotten truly, dangerously furious one time and Elizabeth refused to speak of it because it had terrified her that much.

Strangest part? Had nothing to do with Cutler Beckett or Bartholomew Swann. It had been Elizabeth's grandparents, Charles and Agnes Skylark who had pushed her missionary uncle a bit too far.

"You want to stand here and pretend you don't deserve to face the consequences of your actions? Don't drag me into it!" Philip seethed. "Yes, if you truly mean it, I will help you turn to the light and forgiveness of God, but don't use me as a tool to trick the Almighty. Don't ask me to diminish the sacrifices made by my parents, good honest people who would never even consider turning to the life of sin you revel in!"

Elizabeth snorted. Thankfully it wasn't loud enough for Philip to hear – because that would set off a tirade no one wanted to deal with – but Will did eye her curiously.

"I have a story to tell you later about my aunt," she leaned in to whisper.

Will smiled but couldn't help but say, "That assumes there's a later to talk in."

She blinked, "Will, this whole Norrington thing doesn't mean we can't see each other ever again."

"…I think you and I know how this is going to play out. This likely is the last time we'll ever talk alone. I don't know if it will be appropriate to carry on the way we were before all of this."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but no words came.

That was the moment Syrena return.

"Was is it every time I leave the four of you alone, I return to an awkward tension in the air?" Syrena looked around the group puzzled.

Philip turned to her, and immediately felt the anger fizzle out of him.

She stood before them in the plum gown. It was a simple dress, something a middle-class person would wear on a daily basis, but small touches of grey and blue embroidery made it look more sophisticated than normal work clothing. She had found dark grey flat shoes that with the way she kept shifting her feet suggested she wasn't familiar on how to wear shoes. And hanging from her neck was a small sparkly pendant of a butterfly, not made of diamond but likely crystal. Her hair was a little frizzy like she had inexpertly tried to run a brush through it, and she had at least splashed some water on her face if not washed it.

"You look so beautiful," he whispered, crossing through the cave toward her. Philip loved the radiant smile she gave at the compliment, and took her hands in his. "How in the world am I going to explain this to my uncle?"

"Don't look at me. I barely know how human society works," she said.

"I think Elizabeth's idea about just saying Syrena was another girl the pirates kidnapped is the best idea," Will cut in. "We just tell them that her family was killed and… I dunno, home burned down during the raid so there's nothing left for her to go back for. So we decided to bring her back with us out of charity and because Philip 100% fell hard for her."

Philip's face reddened, but he didn't deny the accusation, "I mean, look how beautiful she is. How could any man not fall for such an amazing woman?"

Will looked over to Elizabeth, taking in the sight of the woman he loved so much, and said nothing.

Elizabeth met his eyes. The corner of her lips lifted for a moment, but then the reality slid over her eyes and that smile fell from her face.

"It's time, isn't it?" Syrena asked as the silence filled the cave. Her heart felt so heavy as she thought of all they had been through. Two days, had it been only two settings of the sun since Philip stabbed her in the fin and everything changed.

It felt like a lifetime again.

Will stared at Elizabeth, and accepted his fate, "Let's go."

Jack and Will started to push the boat into the water, and Syrena beckoned for Jack the Monkey to climb upon her shoulder. Philip was about to join them when he felt the hand on his back. Frowning, Philip turned to face his cousin; her face was unreadable as she stared up at him. Philip cocked his head to the side and opened his mouth to ask what was going on.

She launched herself at him. Her arms locked around his neck and she pulled him down into the strongest, tightest hug they had ever shared. As she cried into his shoulder, his arms automatically encircled her waist and pulled her in tight enough to crush bone to powder. Fat, wet tears stained Elizabeth's jacket as he shared in the literal display of crying in relief.

"Thank you," Elizabeth whispered over and over. "Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much for coming after me. You didn't have to do it, you know? You could have stayed home and just prayed for my safety and waited for Will or Norrington to bring me home. You didn't have to come save me."

"Of course I had to do it," he absentmindedly stroked her hair, their faces a mutual collage of redness, puffy skin, and tears. "You're my sister. My precious little sister who is an absolute pain in the arse, but I would move mountains to make sure you were safe. I would die for you if it meant you got to live. Elizabeth, I've loved you since you breathed your first, and I will be there for you until you breathe your last."

"But Philip, you might have just given up everything you've ever worked for, all to just come save me. You gave up your future to rescue me."

"Yeah, I did." He pulled back, lifted her chin to make her watery blue eyes met his equally shining hazel ones, and he smiled, "And, Elizabeth Dinah Swann, in a heartbeat I would do it all over again."

She laughed and pulled him in for another hug. Together they laughed, cried, embraced, and just relaxed at the knowledge it was all over. It had all worked out and here they were together again.

And Philip Nathaniel Swift smiled.

He had saved Elizabeth.