Epilogue

Disclaimer:

So once again… same as always

A/N:

I don't know if this is what you expected of an Epilogue, but I hope I'll get one last review nonetheless ;-)

Sam stepped on the deck and looked around. She and Will would leave the Pearl within the next hour now that Captain Sparrow had finally found a new crewmember. Actually, the man had found him.

James Norrington had barely managed to escape being killed by Beckett whose men had finally found that small island… Afterwards, the Commodore had boarded a ship that sailed to England. There, he had found the Pearl. Although he had told Elizabeth that a pirate's life wasn't one for him, he had asked Jack if he could join his crew.

Sam smiled as Elizabeth appeared on deck. She hadn't seen her best friend very often the past few weeks, Elizabeth had spent almost every free minute in the Captain's cabin. Even on night watch, the governor's daughter hadn't accompanied Sam. What she had been doing was a mystery to Sam, but if she was honest with herself, she really didn't want to know.

"You're sure that you want to leave, Sam?" Elizabeth asked once again, although she already knew her friend's answer.

"Of course I am. I can't stay on this ship. One of my greatest wishes is a house somewhere with a nice and caring husband and maybe a few children. Will and I decided we could have that together… But maybe you could visit us sometime in the future. The near future. I suppose that won't be too hard… after all you have a fast ship," Sam suggested with a small smile.

When Elizabeth didn't answer, Sam began to look for Will so they could leave.

"I will miss you, Sam," the governor's daughter whispered sadly. "It's not easy to find a friend who's at least half as good as you…"

Sam's expression turned sad, too.

"I will also miss you… But I hope that we will see each other again… We will, won't we?"

"Of course we will," Elizabeth replied. By now, she was almost crying. Quickly, she wiped away the tear that had escaped her eye so Sam wouldn't see it. Then she saw Will appearing on deck.

"I suppose you have to go, Sam. Will's waiting for you."

"Goodbye, Elizabeth. Take care and visit us sometime soon," Sam replied. "Maybe you want some time with Will before we leave… saying goodbye and so on… Tell him I'm waiting at the dock. Bye, Elizabeth."

"Bye," Elizabeth whispered and hugged her friend fiercely. Then she let her leave the ship. Seconds later, Will spotted her and came over to the rail.

"Where's Sam?" he asked.

"She's waiting for you at the dock… She wanted the two of us to say goodbye to each other," Elizabeth answered with a miserable smile.

"You are sure that you want to stay here… with Jack?" Will wanted to know, worried that a pirate ship would be too dangerous for his best friend.

"Of course I am. I can't leave this ship. It's just that… freedom is one of my greatest wishes. And with Jack I can have it. We get along with each other… are in love. But I promise to visit you and Sam. Wherever you move, we will find you," Elizabeth replied, smiling as she noticed how similar her explanation was to Sam's.

"So I can't change your mind, then?" Will tried it once again.

"No, you can't. I've made my decision and I'm sure that it's the right one," she said harsher than intended. But she had to make sure that Will accepted her decision once and forever.

"I understand," he whispered. "As long as it makes you happy… Goodbye, Liz."

"Bye, Will."

Will turned around and left, not looking back because he didn't know if he could look at her just now.

"Hey… whelp!" Jack called from the door to his quarters. "Ye weren't goin' ta leave withou' tellin' yer Captain 'bout it, were ye? If Lizzie gets ta say goodbye, I also want ta do that."

By now, Jack was standing in front of Will, looking at him.

"Bye, William," the pirate said surprisingly honest and serious. "Take care… ye don't want ta disappoin' all those lasses that seem ta fall fer ye, do ye?"

There it was again. The usual 'Jack humor' was back. Will grinned slightly.

"Goodbye, Jack. Take care and don't do anything… bad… to Elizabeth. I don't want to have to come back to kill you…"

For an instant, Jack just looked at Will, then he laughed.

"Nice joke, Will… But I s'ppose it'd be the other way 'round – Lizzie will do somethin' bad ta me…"

They both continued to look at each other for a few long seconds, then Will turned around. And with a last, whispered "Bye", he was gone.

Slowly, Jack turned around and walked towards Elizabeth. He could see that she had been crying, but she seemed to be calm again.

He knew she was one of the greatest 'treasures' he had ever plundered, but still… With a small smile, Jack put his arm around Elizabeth and took out his compass.

"Ye know, Lizzie… That thing ye gave back ta me. S'ppose we'll find somethin' interestin' if we sail in the right direction… savvy?"

The End

Well… suppose it's time for a few "Thank You"'s…

First, thanks to my indeed wonderful Beta Marie who corrected all those terrible mistakes I made… (She says they weren't that bad, but, in my opinion, some were quite stupid grin).

Alright, who else?

Oh, I remember ;-). I wanted to thank everyone who send me a review – or many of them… It was nice to see that at least a few people liked what I wrote… Anyway, I hope this story wasn't all that bad. I wish all of you a happy new year – maybe you could send me a few final reviews… ;-)