A/N: Thank You to all my wonderful reviwers!

Spoiler for Chapter: please don't hate me! lol

Disclaimer: I went to Disneyland and threw myself at Mickey's feet and begged him to take my $10 dollars and let me be at least a co-co-co-co-co-co-owner of POTC, but the mouse called security:( so sadly no I still dont own POTC or Jack or Lizzie or anything!

Chapter 12

Elizabeth sat soundly in her darkened room. The tears had long been gone, her bed had already been made, her hair was tied, her white shirt was clean, her vest was buttoned, her skirts were ruffled, her boots were shined, and the marriage license had been signed. It was a new day and she was all set to resume her position as King of the Pirates, a triumph it was, a happy day it should be, yet she sat there in her dark room studying the door that separated her from the outside world. Briefly she thought about kicking her boots off and climbing back into her bed. Further delaying the start of her day sounded like a great idea, but she immediately stood up from her bed quickly dismissing it before she really considered the tempting notion. No, hiding from the truth was no longer an option. She had been a coward for too long.

Feeling positive about what she was going to do, she opened the door and stepped out before she lost her nerve. Squinting against the bright rays of sunlight she stumbled upon something at her feet. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light a deep red material met her eyes. Elizabeth instantly recognized the red velvet bag and she bent to pick it up. A strange feeling overwhelmed her and before she knew it, she had already rushed down the stairs and was pounding on Jack's door. "Jack, open the door!" but Jack didn't respond. "Jack open the door or I will show you no less courtesy than what you showed me last night!" but her threat was carried out before she even finished her sentence. Upon entering the room darkness met her eyes, "Jack?" she called out but there was silence. Elizabeth walked into the center of the room and looked around, the room was empty, the bed had either already been made or it hadn't even been touched. Finally feeling satisfied that Jack was in fact not in his room she stepped outside. "Where could he be?"

A door slammed somewhere below. Elizabeth leaned over the rail and looked down the whine of stairs. An older man stood below looking at some papers.

"Mr. Phillips!" she shouted and the older man looked up. She ran down the stairs to meet with him.

A smile greeted her, "Captain Swan! So good to see you up, are you feeling better?"

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, Captain Sparrow said you weren't feelin' very well this mornin' and that you shouldn't be bothered."

Elizabeth knitted her eyebrows, "He said that?" sounding momentarily surprised but she waved her hand in the air never minding the question, "Can you please tell me where he is?"

"Where he is?" Mr. Phillips chuckled, "Well he's probably half way to the Caribbean by now."

Elizabeth blinked, "What?"

"Tis a shame you weren't feelin' well Captain. I tell ya the Crimson Dahlia was a beautiful sight as she sailed away. Captain Sparrow will be very pleased indeed."

Elizabeth startled the older man when she suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders. "Mr. Phillips, are you telling me that Captain Sparrow has…has left Shipwreck Island?" she asked urgently.

The older man looked at her with confusion, "W-Why yes Captain, he sailed out at the first break of light. He said you knew already and since he is your husband now, I did not question him."

Elizabeth found it difficult to breathe. She could not believe what she was hearing Jack is gone?...No! she refused to believe it. "No," she let go of Mr. Phillips's shirt and began to run. He can't be gone!

The anxiety that pulsed through her body gave Elizabeth the adrenaline to run faster. She needed to see for herself that Jack was not gone, he couldn't be gone! He wouldn't do that to her, would he? She ran right up to the docks and stopped when her worst fear was confirmed, the Crimson Dahlia was gone along with her new captain. Elizabeth panted as she struggled for air. He's…Gone, she couldn't believe it. Jack had really left her without so much as a word of goodbye. Tears began to fill her eyes again and before she broke down into tears in front of everyone she quickly walked away.

Elizabeth looked down at her feet, dazed, watching the earth beneath her come and go as she walked. She walked, unknowing of her destination, until she ended up in the one place that brought her peace, her beloved cliff that overlooked the ocean. It was where she could calm herself, it was where she could rationalize situations, it was where she could be alone, it was also where she had reunited with Jack a little less than a week ago.

Coming closer to the edge, she finally looked up only to be startled by a tall man with long, dark, mangled hair standing at the edge of the cliff. Elizabeth froze and her heart rate increased, "Jack?" she whispered to herself.

He didn't move or say anything and Elizabeth wasn't sure if he was even aware that she was there. She took a careful step forward and got her answer when suddenly she heard him speak, "Don't take it personal."

Elizabeth froze again when she heard the deep voice acknowledge her and realized it wasn't Jack but Captain Teague. Her tense shoulders dropped in disappointment. Elizabeth did not reply, instead she walked up and stood next to him.

"He just doesn't know how to deal with…everything."

She really didn't know what to say but she caught on that Teague was talking about Jack, "Where do you suppose he went?" It seemed a valid question. But when he didn't answer right away she chastised herself for asking such a stupid question.

"It doesn't really matter," Teague said finally, "because one day he'll realize that no distance could ever help him forget."

Teague's words rang truer to Elizabeth than he could ever know. She and Jack had grown close over the course of retrieving the heart of Davy Jones. With Will being off elsewhere, Elizabeth was left alone with a dangerously attractive pirate, with dark brown eyes that devoured her with every look, with an intoxicating aroma of rum and spice and with a deep voice that would make her go weak at the knees. She felt herself slipping under his spell and she knew if she didn't do something to get out, her honor would be lost. So when the opportunity presented itself she had used a form of decoy she knew he couldn't resist and frankly neither could she. It was perfect really, she was saving the crew, she was saving Will, she was ensuring her honor and she was slaking her lust. Only she wasn't ready for the feelings that overwhelmed her afterwards. After she had left him for dead she realized that no matter how far away she had sent Jack by killing him she was never going to forget what she felt when she had kissed him. A truth she tried to desperately deny until today. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore, "It's too late. He was there in front of me…I could have…I wanted…I couldn't find the courage to tell him how I felt…feel!" She was sobbing now and she didn't care if it was in front of Teague, "And now he's gone, and he's sure to hate me!"

Teague cast her a look, but then looked back out to view, "He could never hate you."

Elizabeth sniffed, "all evidence to the contrary."

Elizabeth heard Teague grunt, but when she better thought of it she realized it wasn't a grunt, it was a deep chuckle. She blushed a little when she realized she had quoted Jack and found herself wondering if back then Jack might have been quoting someone else.

"The evidence, my dear, is in your hand."

Elizabeth looked down at her hand and saw that she was still clenching onto the red velvet bag, "The dress?" she asked sounding somewhat confused.

Teague nodded, "It was his mother's you know," Elizabeth gasped silently, "She wore it on the day of our wedding."

Elizabeth was shocked to hear that the dress was Jack's mothers but she was even more shocked to hear that Teague had been married, "You…were married?"

Teague looked at her, "Does it surprise you that Jack doesn't come from a broken home?"

Elizabeth's mouth fell open, "No-No that's not what I meant…"

A small smirk appeared on Teague's lips, "The broken home didn't occur until after his mother died."

It was a curious feeling to hear Captain Teague say more than a word to her when he wasn't, of course, setting demands or marrying her or ruining her life so to speak, but why was he confiding in her? "Why are you telling me this?" she asked trying to sound as un-rude as possible.

The smirk faded and he turned back to look out over the ocean, "because once, a long time ago, I was a father to a little boy who loved me very much and had just lost his mother but I didn't know how to deal with my emotions so I pushed everything away, including my son. Now, he's doing the same thing because he doesn't know any better."

At that moment Elizabeth realized just how similar Jack was to his father. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?" she asked brushing away some of her tears.

Teague turned towards her, "Give him time, he'll come around." He turned and began walking away from her. Elizabeth was amazed that despite the lack of relationship between Jack and Teague, he seemed to know Jack very well.

Elizabeth called after him, "Captain Teague?"

Teague stopped and turned to look at her.

She took a hesitant step toward him, "Did…you ever come around?"

The smirk reappeared, "By the time I came around, my boy was all grown up and getting' himself married."

Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh, "That's a long time." She lowered her gaze to the floor sadly, feeling tears swelling up in her eyes once again at thinking how long it would take Jack to forgive her.

Teague noticed the hopeless look on her face, "The difference between Jack and I…" Elizabeth looked up, "is that he has his mother's good heart. Though the boy is stubborn, like his father, he can't stay mad for too long."

Elizabeth smiled weakly at him feeling a small bit of hope restoring her. Teague nodded once and walked away.

Now standing alone on the cliff, her eyes fell upon the bag clenched at her side and her smile grew a bit wider. She untied the rope that sealed the mouth of the bag closed and slowly opened it. Inside the ivory silk dress shimmered against the sunlight. Jack's one last gift to her was a gift with much sentimental value, a remarkable dress, previously worn by a surely remarkable woman, for any woman who gave birth to the man that is Captain Jack Sparrow was a magnificent woman indeed. A gift Elizabeth would keep close, a gift she would keep safe, a gift she would treasure forever. She was about to close the bag when a rolled up piece of paper fell out from within the wraps of the bag. Elizabeth reached in and grabbed the roll. She untied a band that kept it rolled together and slowly spread the paper apart. Tears once again filled her eyes when she saw two familiar signatures at the bottom of the document that now bonded her to Jack forever. She stared at the marriage paper lovingly, I do she remembered herself saying I do another soft voice echoed, Jack's voice. Holding onto the bittersweet memory she gently pressed a kiss against Jack's mark, then lowered the sacred document to her chest and held it there tightly. Her eyes slowly traveled up to meet with the rippling water of the horizon that sparkled under the high noon sun, a perfect picture of all that was Jack Sparrow. "I love you," she whispered, for once allowing herself to feel how she truly felt. A sole tear made its way down her cheek as she solemnly closed her eyes, wondering if she'll ever have another chance to tell her husband how much she loves him.

To Be Continued...

A/N #2: WAIT WAIT!!! HOLD THE TOMATO THROWING!!! Before you all start cursing me out and hating me like we do T&T for separating Sparrabeth, you all have to remember what I've said before...THIS STORY IS FAR FROM OVER! See Signatures of a Union is only the begining of whats to come! And if it's any consolation the first Chapters of the sequeal shall be posted later today! The sequeal is going to commence some years after Jack left Lizzie in Shipwreck Island (the amount of time that passes between the 2 stories is what made me decide the seperating of stories), bringing back some of the original POTC characters that we all know and love, an evil traitorous Captain that we can't get enough of, a few new characters (including one that will trigger a whole new set of emotions and definately spice things up) and of course more fun, more drama, more romance, more drama, more adventure and did I mention more drama?? lol. Good thing is that I've already written half of it so updates will be coming quickly! So I hope you enjoyed Signatures of a Union and hope that you, my beloved readers, stick with me through my next romance adventure story Entangled Hearts. :) Please Review, let me know what you think:)