Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Disney.

A/N: "Apologies for the endless wait" seems to be my catchphrase for this story. It started off running so smoothly and now my muse seems to have grown disinterested and I have to threaten her with violence to get her moving with it. Fear not, though, we've got one more chapter to go and then the epilogue, which is almost complete. We're getting there! Thank god I gave myself a nice short decade to work with!

As always, many thanks to those who reviewed, and for your unending patience when I abandon everything on the side of the road =) .

Summary: As Jack ferries Elizabeth Turner between her island and her husband, their relationship grows into something no one could have ever foreseen. J/E.

Between Dark and Light: A Decade of Love
By: Sinnamon Spider

Year Nine

Elizabeth swore as she pricked her finger yet again. Setting William's trousers aside – they were impossibly short, but she hadn't yet been able to get him a new pair and was reduced to lengthening the old ones – she sucked the bead of blood that welled to the surface with a resigned expression. She had still not gotten any better at sewing, despite having plenty of practice with a young boy's constant need for mending.

"Mum?" Said young boy looked up from his place next to the fire, where he was dutifully stirring the stew they would have for supper. She removed the injured finger from her mouth. "Yes?"

"Will you tell me now?"

She frowned at him. "Tell you what?"

Her son dropped the wooden spoon onto the hearth with a clatter and bounded over to where she sat at the table. "Where you were all summer? You promised you'd tell me someday."

She laughed. "I meant someday a bit later, when you're older."

He looked pleadingly at her. "I'm old enough for anything, Mum. Jack told me he was already at sea at my age."

Glaring in the direction of the ocean, Elizabeth snorted. "Did he? Well, Jack is not your mother, thank heavens." She returned to her sewing, ignoring her son's heavy sigh. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Mum?"

"Yes, William?"

"Is Jack a pirate?"

Elizabeth's needle slipped again, piercing her flesh, but she hardly noticed the sting of pain. She dropped the trousers. "What would make you think that?"

William shrugged. "I heard Jeremiah's dad talking to Captain Willand. Mr Able said that he thought Jack was a pirate, and Willand said he'd heard things about the Pearl." He traced a finger along the carving Jack had done in the table a few years ago. "And he looks like a pirate."

Elizabeth sighed. She had hoped not to have this conversation for years to come, but her son was as inquisitive and curious as his father. "Well, what if Jack is a pirate?"

It was a typical boy's reaction. William's face lit up, his eyes sparking with excitement. "Is he, then? That's amazing! Wait till I tell everyone I know a real pirate! And I've been on his ship! Is that why he's such a good swordfighter?"

Elizabeth hadn't expected such interest and her tongue stilled, but only for a second before lashing out to protect Jack. "William Turner! You must never tell anyone that Jack is a pirate! Do you understand me?"

Her vehemence startled her bubbling son into silence, his brown eyes wide.

"Piracy is against the law. It is punished by death. It's a very serious crime and if there is even mere mention of it, a person can be punished." She stared at William, her expression fierce. "You must never let it slip that Jack is a pirate. The law doesn't take into consideration that he is a good man."

She retrieved her abandoned sewing and continued to let down the trousers of the young boy who was still watching her with anxious eyes. William waited until the frown lines had disappeared from around her mouth to speak again. "Mum?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Yes?"

"If Jack is a – " The boy dropped his voice to a bare whisper " – pirate – " then resumed his normal volume " – then is Dad a pirate too?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, then set aside the trousers once again. Clearly there would be no avoiding the subject. She gently clasped her son's hands in hers. "Yes. But he's not the same kind of pirate as Jack."

"There are different kinds of pirates?"

Elizabeth's eyes took on a distant look as she recalled the table at Shipwreck Cove, where the royalty of the pirate world gathered; the carefree quality of the various men that had served on the Pearl; the vicious cruelty of Jones' cursed crew. "Yes, quite different."

"What kind is Dad?"

She focused on her son and smiled, but sadly. "Courageous and loyal, but willing to take risks and sacrifice himself for his cause. There isn't another like him, and he performs his task with a selflessness and dedication that is a beautiful thing to witness."

William nodded proudly, although he couldn't truly understand the meaning of his mother's words. "What kind is Jack?"

Her smile lost all traces of sadness and a picture of Jack, peacock-proud at the helm of the Pearl, all cocksure intensity and devil-may-care abandon, came to her mind. "The very best kind. He is freedom embodied. He has his faults, but they're part of his charm. He lives for what he does and no one can do it like he does. Jack is the definition of a pirate, my love, and he knows it."

Her son – Jack's son, and every inch his father's boy – grinned his father's grin and her heart swelled.

"What kind are you, Mum?"

Startled, she stared at him. "What?"

He shrugged carelessly. "Well, if you're mixed in with pirates, Mum, you almost have to be one."

She shook her head. "We're not talking of me. Ask your father. Or Jack, but I wouldn't trust everything he says." She reached out and tapped her son on the nose. "Now, stir that stew before it's burned to the bottom of the pot, or you'll have nothing for supper and spend tomorrow scouring it clean."

William hurried to retrieve his abandoned spoon and Elizabeth returned to her sewing, her head swirling with thoughts of how two of her three men would label her.

Jack was late, but that was not an odd occurrence. He arrived two days after Elizabeth had expected him, breezing into the cottage with a flippant wave of his hand and a negligent excuse. Within the hour, the three of them had returned to the Pearl and they were sailing out onto the horizon.

Elizabeth relinquished her son's care to Gibbs and the crew. Having spent a significant amount of his life aboard ships, William was treated as one of the crew and Gibbs didn't give the boy any special treatment. As Elizabeth watched from her favourite perch, high in the crow's nest, William fumbled a knot. Gibbs snapped a command at him and he gritted his teeth and retied the knot, gaining a nod of praise from the First Mate. Although she had felt protective of her boy at first, Elizabeth realized that he was learning and growing stronger and more confident because of Gibbs' stern and steady teaching.

"Oi."

She jumped, startled. Jack's face peered up at her from the ladder below. "Move," he ordered, gesturing with both hands. She resisted the urge to tell him to hold on to the ladder; he wouldn't have heeded her, and it was a moot point, as he had perfect balance on the swaying ship. "It's a little crowded up here for two, isn't it?" she asked, moving out of his way.

He wrestled his way into the cramped space, his body tight against hers, his arms circling around to clasp her waist. "I prefer to think of it as cosy," he breathed against her neck.

She melted against him, as always, but her voice held a warning. "Jack, everyone can see us."

"They're not interested. My crew knows better than to gossip." His lips traced the highest knob of her spine, making her shiver. She laughed out loud. "Pirates are notorious gossips, Jack, and you're the worst of all."

"Human beings tend to have a natural curiosity for the doings of other human beings," he said absently, his concentration – and his mouth – on her left shoulder blade. "But then, you'll know all about curiosity, won't you, love?"

"Hi Mum!"

William's voice, dangerously close, made Elizabeth gasp. She drove a vicious elbow backwards at Jack, who, with a grunt, stumbled away from her and slipped down the hole where the ladder descended.

Elizabeth peered around the mast to see her son waving at her from his precarious perch in the rigging. "Oh, dear God," she moaned. "William, don't you dare let go of those ropes!"

Her son waved the same flippant hand as Jack had, back in the cottage. "I'm fine, Mum. I've been climbing rigging for years."

"Thankfully, I've also been doing the same." Jack's voice, tinged with irritation, issued from the hole. Elizabeth poked her face down the ladder. He was tangled in the rigging, strung up like a ham. The exasperated look on his face, paired with his trussed up limbs, sent Elizabeth into hysterics.

"It really isn't funny, Elizabeth," he said airily, fighting to extract himself from the ropes. As she continued to laugh, he freed himself from the rigging and began to descend the ladder with an injured air.

"Oh, really, Jack," Elizabeth sniggered, following him down onto the deck. "It was funny."

"It certainly wasn't necessary," he retorted, but his offended look had softened to one of wry humour. Elizabeth lifted her face to the rigging, where William swung with effortless ease. He looked at home, and she was reminded yet again that he was no longer a small child. "It was more necessary than you think," she said softly. Jack glanced back at her, perplexed.

She smiled sadly at him. "He's not a baby any more, Jack, and he's bound to start noticing the…attraction between us. He's already started asking questions about everything else." She turned her eyes back to her son.

Jack followed her gaze, pensive. "Perhaps you're right, love." He sighed, grabbing her hand and pulling her under the deck stairs. He dragged her close, plunging his hands into her hair and ravaging her mouth with a kiss that left her breathless and shaking. He slipped away with a wink. "That should tide us over until we're able to escape prying eyes."

He was gone in the blink of an eye, and she sagged to the deck, her knees turned to jelly. How did the man always manage to reduce her to a quivering mess?

The Dutchman made its usual noisy arrival the next morning and Jack ushered Elizabeth and William aboard before retreating to the Pearl. Will caught Elizabeth in a tight embrace. "I missed you last year," he murmured into her hair. She pulled away to stare at him, breathless. "I'm so sorry. I tried to - "

He placed a gentle finger against her lips. "Shh, Jack told me all about it."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "He...he did?"

Her husband nodded. "Yes, that he got caught up in Singapore and wasn't able to return in time to bring you." He grinned cheekily at her. "I had started to wonder if you'd given up on me altogether."

She laughed nervously, her hand straying to her throat, but he turned his attention to William, greeting the boy he called his son, and she was able to get herself under control.

Will watched his son fall in alongside the Dutchman's crew, as easy as he did on the Pearl. "God's bones, but he's getting to be big," he said wistfully. His words brought the delicious memories of the kiss she had shared with Jack under the stairs and Elizabeth suppressed a shiver. "Mmm," she hummed in agreement.

"What's to become of him, I wonder?" Will mused absently, and she darted a look at him. "What do you mean?"

Her husband shrugged. "Where will his life lead him? Even those of us with the simplest of beginnings have ended up in the strangest of places, and his early life has been somewhat complicated."

She stared at him, struck by the unusual twist in his thoughts. She often fell into Jack's trap of thinking that Will was simple and carefree, but he was a damn sight more contemplative and intelligent than anyone gave him credit for. His words echoed in her head and she turned to observe her bright-eyed baby boy. Where would William's life take him? As the son of pirate royalty, could he ever claim a place in normal society? Or was he forever sentenced to the life of a rogue; something she and Will and Jack had chosen, but to which he would be condemned?

"Dad?"

William glanced across the deck at his son, who had abandoned his duties and was now perched on the deck stairs. "Yes?"

"What kind of a pirate is Mum?"

Will looked askance at Elizabeth. She smiled back at him, nodding her assent and forgetting her son's future in her interest. "She's one of a kind, son. She went from a lovely, educated noblewoman to the scourge of the Caribbean Sea in a few short years. She fights with honour and dignity and while she is no longer the delicate flower I fell in love with all those years ago, she is even more beautiful and captivating now, and I'm always grateful that she accepted my heart and gave me her own."

As Will spoke, Elizabeth felt her heart drop. Her husband had always placed her on a pedestal and up on its dizzying heights, her unspoken betrayals threatened to make her fall.

Later that night, Will drew Elizabeth to the bed and the two of them fell on the mattress, losing themselves in a love that could only be celebrated a few times a year. But even as Will's lips caressed hers, Elizabeth found, to her horror, that her body was not responding. After several minutes, Will pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry, Elizabeth. We've got plenty of time." He pulled her against him, curving himself around her body, and as he fell asleep, Elizabeth could only stare at the ceiling with wide eyes.

Will was called away to ferry souls after a week, and he kissed his wife and son before they returned to the Pearl. Elizabeth and William watched the Dutchman disappear in the flash of green light before entering Jack's cabin.

Jack joined them in the cabin. "Had a nice visit?" he asked Elizabeth as he settled into a chair. She nodded silently, then turned away to pack up the things she had brought over from the Dutchman.

William tugged at Jack's sash. "Jack?"

He gazed gravely at the boy. "What, lad?"

"What kind of a pirate is Mum?"

Jack's eyes lifted from Elizabeth's son to her, noting the sudden busy movements of her hands and the curious tilt of her head. He looked back at William. "Your mother is unrivalled in the pirate world, William," he said seriously. "She has commanded the respect of every scallywag she's crossed."

His eyes never left the boy's, but he was speaking directly to Elizabeth now. "She is devious and unscrupulous and every inch a pirate. She has captured ships and hearts the world round. She is intelligent and beautiful, a deadly combination, and she's stung a fair few of us unsuspecting fellows with her pretty face and quick mind. She led the greatest gathering of pirates into battle against the greatest foe they had ever faced and she did so with grace and bravery and skill. She's the Pirate King, lad, and you should feel honoured to have her as your mother, as we feel honoured to have her as our leader."

William's eyes were round with astonishment as he looked over at his mother, who merely clucked absently as she folded a chemise. "Really, Jack, you do go on."

William was soon asleep and Elizabeth felt an eerie sense of déjà vu as Jack pulled her towards the bed, tumbling her onto the mattress and following her closely. "I see what you meant by asking questions," he noted, unlacing the ties of her bodice. She nodded. "I had to impress upon him what a serious crime piracy was, before he went around telling everyone about the fantastic pirates he has in his life."

"And what did you tell the boy about meself? Regaled him with tales of daring feats and breathless escapes, I imagine. I hope you didn't malign me; you've a habit of that sometimes, love."

She pressed her body against his. "I told him the truth," she murmured huskily, grazing his ear with her lips. She felt his smirk against her collarbone. "Which is better than the stories, in some cases," he purred, snaking his tongue out to glide along her skin.

"Ja-aaack," she hissed, her fingers digging into his shoulder blades. His hand lifted away from its rough caress of her breast, slipping beneath her skirts and she gasped and arched against his touch.

His fingers moved faster against her and her eyelids fluttered as she tilted her head back. He leaned in to attack her throat, his hand never ceasing its motion. Suddenly she snapped taut, like a well-strung bow, against his body, her breath catching in her throat.

"Oh God, Will!"

His eyes narrowed and his fingers halted, but she had reached the pinnacle and she shook beneath him for a moment longer, until her body finally slumped against the bed. She gazed at him from under heavy lids, her eyes hazy with passion. "Oh, Jack," she murmured, and it was with a mix of relief and distrust that he heard his own name. But his pride and ego had been severely wounded, and when he got up from the bed and left the cabin without a word, Elizabeth shivered without his warmth and wondered what had turned him away.

She slipped out onto the deck on the hunt for him. He was at the helm, hands running along the spokes of the wheel, turning to his ship; the only lady that had never betrayed him. She stepped up behind him and was relieved when he didn't pull away, letting her run her hands over his chest. "Jack, what happened?"

He sighed heavily and turned in her embrace. "Elizabeth, what's the worst thing that can happen to a man in that situation?"

Her eyes widened and her face flamed and he almost laughed. Under all her pirate brashness and spitfire, she was still a prim and proper English rose. "Oh dear," she said, dropping her eyes. "Well, um…"

He frowned; she seemed more embarrassed than distressed. Suddenly it clicked. "Not that, Elizabeth," he said dryly. "I've never found myself in that particular situation."

She snorted, derision winning over her well-heeled discomfiture. "I'm sure."

He stared at her. "I do, however, find it somewhat disheartening when my lover happens to cry someone else's name. Even if that someone else happens to be her husband."

Her hand flew to her mouth and her face flushed again, but with shame and dismay this time. For all Will had been unable to arouse her, back on the Dutchman, she had said his name when it was Jack's lips and hands that had brought her to ecstasy.

A heart divided, and while it was not evenly split, Will's hold on her had been there longer. He was familiar and reliable, and despite not being able to step on land, she had no doubt that he would move heaven and earth to get to her if she needed him. He had been her first crush, her first kiss, her first lover.

Would he be her last?

She had lately begun supplanting Jack in her visions of her married life; trading her cottage for the deck of the Pearl, her son able to name Jack as his father, the three of them sailing into the horizon for adventure and excitement. But Will was immortal and until she struck him so hard that his love for her finally shattered, he would always be in her life.

A heart divided, and it seemed that the traitorous organ would not make her choice an easy one.

"Jack," she whispered, hands reaching for him, twining into his thick dreadlocks. He sighed and reciprocated the embrace, encircling her waist. "I'm so sorry."

He sighed again. "I know, love, but it's a fearsome blow, even to someone as confident as meself."

They fell into a somewhat awkward silence, and Elizabeth stared over his shoulder out at the black water. "I always manage to make a devilish mess of things."

He chuckled, the laughter rumbling through her deliciously. "You've quite a talent for it, that's certain. Seems something you share in common with your husband." As ever, he recovered quickly from a shot to his ego.

She snorted. "I've outdone myself this time, though," she said darkly.

"Usually one is the cause of one's own sorrows," Jack said philosophically. "Excepting myself, of course."

His answer needled her for some reason, and she was reminded of a conversation she had had with Hector Barbossa, during her brief stay on the Lady's Emerald.

"Y'know, it's always weighed heavy on me mind," the grizzled captain said solemnly. Elizabeth turned to face him. "What has?"

"You 'nd the whelp. Married many a frightened couple, I have, before a fight, 'nd even a few during a fight, as with the likes of ye. But ne'er has a couplin' niggled me more th'n yourn."

She furrowed her brow. "I didn't even know you had a conscience to be bothered," she noted, only half teasing. He threw her a mock glare. "Aye, that I do, though it not be bothered by silly things like some people be."

She sighed heavily. "So what are you saying, Captain? That marrying Will was a mistake?"

He shrugged. "P'rhaps. I won' pretend to know the future, lass, but think on this: if ye hadn't been at risk of life and limb, would ye have e'er truly gone through with it?"

"I should never have married him," she said bluntly, despite the pang it sent through her body.

Jack offered no comfort. "Maybe not," he replied calmly. "Maybe you made a hasty decision in the face of death and did not stop to fully comprehend your true feelings."

His words echoed Barbossa's and she was struck by how similarly they thought, for all their apparent dislike of each other. But his pitiless appraisal of the situation hit harder than Barbossa's, and she buried her face in his chest with a moan. "Oh, Jack. What on earth am I going to do?"

She felt his shrug. "Take it one day at a time, love, that's all a pirate – or anyone, for that matter – can do. We haven't got more than that."

She removed her face from his vest and glared at him. "You're not making me feel better, Jack."

He shrugged again. "My wounded pride," he lamented, but one of his fathomless eyes closed in a saucy wink.

She rolled her eyes, but pulled him closer. "Well, let me see what I can do about making amends to your shattered feelings."

The rest of the night was lost in a haze of passion and Elizabeth did not falter again.

They returned to her island as night was falling and Jack escorted William and Elizabeth up to their cottage. Elizabeth paused on the doorstep as her son continued inside. "Same time next year?" she said, sounding far more brave than she felt. Jack nodded. "Give or take a few days."

"As usual." She caught his hand and pressed it to her heart.

"Jack?" William appeared at Elizabeth's elbow and she hurriedly dropped Jack's hand as he turned his attention to him. "What is it, boy?"

"What kind of a pirate do you think I'll be?"

Jack eyed Elizabeth, who had paled at her son's words, but did not change his reply. "One of the very best, I'll warrant," he said gravely. Satisfied, William grinned a goodbye at the pirate and disappeared into the cottage again.

Jack brushed Elizabeth's pallid cheek. "Be brave, my love," he said, ever so gently. As he disappeared below the sandy ridge, she was certain she could never be brave enough to face what was ahead.