A/N: It's been awhile since I traversed the PotC universe, but I've had this idea lying around for awhile, and I just re-watched the third movie. So...hopefully, this is enough of a cheesy oneshot to satisfy someone. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary

The flash of green shimmered into their line of sight, and even before she could see his silhouette among the masts of the ship, Elizabeth smiled broadly in hopeful anticipation. She gripped Billy's shoulder so hard that he began to mutter complaints, but she was simply too enthralled with the prospect of seeing her Will again. Eagerly, she grabbed her son's hand and hauled him down to the beach, where Will would soon land. Her heart was racing with nervous anxiety. Would things be different between them, now that ten years separated their love lives? She hoped beyond hope that nothing would have changed, and she tried to keep her mind on seeing her greatest love again.

Finally, they made it to the beach, panting from having sprinted so hastily. The ship was now enormously close, and small rowboat was steadily making its way toward land. Elizabeth bit her lower lip anxiously, watching with so much desire as her husband drew nearer and nearer to her position.

Oh, but it was taking so long! Why didn't he simply jump out of the boat and swim to her? She didn't mind if he was dripping wet as he ran into her arms again. So long as he was there…that was all that mattered.

But, as he got closer, she determined that there was something else in the boat with him, and that must have been why he wasn't swimming over. Oh, how she wished he would hurry up so she could share her joy with him!

Jittery, she whispered to Billy, "Sweetie, get behind Mum's skirt. I want your father to be surprised when you come out to greet him."

"But, Mum…" Billy began to plead.

"No buts, Billy. Now go," she whispered harshly. "Oh, he is going to adore you. This is the best day of our lives," she crooned, more to herself than to Billy.

At last, the dinghy hit shore, and Will stumbled out of the boat as hurriedly as possible. When he regained his balance, he looked up at Elizabeth. She couldn't help but sigh in adoration. He was still her Will. That same sad glint remained in his warm brown eyes, though he seemed to carry more experience with him now than before. It was a tragedy that they had spent most of their better years apart from each other, but that was all about to end here and now.

He smiled wider than he had in years, and he rushed forward to his beautiful wife, who was still as gorgeous as ever. Finally, he was home.

"Elizabeth," he called to her softly as they stood mere inches apart. "I…Happy Anniversary," was all he could think to say.

She tilted her head for a moment, then a light went off. "Oh! I suppose it is our anniversary, isn't it?" She smiled. "So, is this our first or our tenth, all things considered?"

Will laughed heartily. "I certainly hope it's our tenth," he remarked, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward his rowboat, "because I've got a load of anniversary gifts to unload."

Elizabeth followed him slowly, making sure little Billy stayed behind her. She would introduce father and son at exactly the right moment, but Will seemed positively too excited to be talked to now.

"Will, what on earth…?" she said as they approached his boat. "You didn't have to get me anything. We barely…"

"I know," he said hastily. "But…but I just wanted to prove to you that I've loved you every day I've been gone," he murmured so sweetly.

"So, then," he started excitedly, "I did some research on the ship to find out what kind of gift I was supposed to get you for each anniversary. Trust me, I got it right. I had a very long time to think this over," he sighed almost regrettably.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, unsure of what to expect, but Will quickly reached into the boat and lifted out a scroll.

"Parchment," he noted. "The first anniversary is traditionally the 'paper' anniversary."

He unrolled the scroll and gave it to her. She was both shocked and touched by its contents. All over the long piece of paper was written, "I love Elizabeth" in Will's distinctive handwriting.

"Oh, Will…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Now, that's 3,650 times I wrote that. One for every day we were apart," he explained, reaching into the boat for his second gift.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed, pulling out a parrot dangling off his finger by his beak. "Feisty little fellow. Anyway, the second anniversary is 'cotton.' I think you get the reference."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the memory of Mr. Cotton, one of Jack Sparrow's infamous crewmembers whose tongue had been cut out, leaving his parrot companion to speak for him.

"Yes, I get it. Now, Will, please, I must tell you something," she begged, but he obliviously continued.

"And the third anniversary is the leather anniversary," he explained, holding out a boot to her. "Remember this little fellow? You almost didn't give it back to me before I left last time, remember? Since you like it so much, I figured I'd let you have it."

She took the boot, smiling at the memory of their last day together. But, as she again attempted to stop him, Will pulled out yet another gift.

"Oh…eh. This is not my best one. The fourth anniversary is silk. Unfortunately…the quantity of silk on the Flying Dutchman runs thin. So…I got you this silk spider," he commented, holding out the sickly bug. "At least…I think it's a silk spider."

He shrugged and allowed that particular present to fall to the ground, eager to move on after such a disappointing fourth anniversary gift.

"So, anyway, the wood anniversary!" he exclaimed. "Oh, yes. Wonderful. I got you this!"

He held out a large plank. Most likely, the plank from the Dutchman.

"Will…no offense or anything, but, what will I do with a plank?" Elizabeth asked, deciding at last that she would just let Will finish with his gift giving before she brought up her own surprise.

"Well, I'm not sure. Perhaps you could use it as a cutting board. A very dirty cutting board, but still…" he attempted. "So, moving on to our sixth anniversary…iron!

"Now," he continued, "there was certainly no shortage of iron on my ship, but it was all so big and attached to the haul and whatnot. So, I settled with bringing you this," he gestured, hauling out an anchor from aboard his lifeboat.

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide, "Will, don't they need that?"

"For what?" he inquired. "We've got tons of heavy things on that ship. Who needs an anchor to weigh us down, huh?"

"Well…what do I need an anchor for?" she asked.

He thought for a moment, then he simply ducked his head and began to sniffle slightly, rejected.

Elizabeth chuckled a little at his adorable attempt at sadness, but eventually, she caved in. "I was just kidding, honey. I love it. We can use it as," she thought for a moment, "a toilet paper holder!"

Will stopped sniffling and looked up, puzzled. "What's toilet paper?"

She sighed. "Oh my, you have been gone a long time…" she mumbled to herself.

He shrugged, still unsure of what she was talking about, then he pulled out a chain. "Well, the next one was easy. Since the seventh year is the copper anniversary, I got you the chain that the anchor was hooked to."

"But if you have the chain," she rationalized, "what are they going to chain the heavy things that replace the anchor to?"

Will looked up thoughtfully, then beamed back at her brilliantly. "Seaweed. We've got plenty of that. Trust me.

"But, anyway, the next one was hard," he went on. "I needed something bronze. So I brought you back the bell that signals danger…you know…"

She just stared at him.

"Oh, come on, Elizabeth! When is anyone going to give the Dutchman any trouble?"

"When Jack Sparrow is at the helm of the Black Pearl," she countered easily.

Will sighed solemnly. He had tried so hard, and yet she had not yet enjoyed many of his thoughtful presents.

"Will, please, I…" she tried once more.

"No, no, no! I promise, these last two are tremendous!" he assured her. "We've got pottery and tin left…well, okay. The pottery one is not the greatest, but it was all I could think up. We don't have pottery on board the ship, so I brought you this genuine plate. I think Davy Jones used to eat off of it."

"Why would I want anything that that vile creature ate off of?" Elizabeth questioned, disgusted. "He killed you, remember?"

"Yes, well…but I had to get you a ninth anniversary present, lest you think I forgot our anniversary ten years in a row…"

She sighed, deciding to allow one last gift of lunacy before revealing her own.

"And, finally, I brought you this," he said, holding out a small bottle cap. ""This is the cap of the last bottle of rum I drank on that blasted ship. I think it's made of tin…I'm not really sure…of course, if it's not I could go back right now and--"

"WILL!" Elizabeth cried, exasperated and unable to contain her secret any longer.

"Hmm?"

"Honey, I've been trying to tell you for the past 10 minutes…actually for the past 10 years, and you won't even let me get a word out."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sweetie. You wanted to tell me something and I was just standing around showing off my presents to you," he stated apologetically, giving her a look that would make even the wickedest of hearts melt. "What is it?"

At last, Billy emerged from behind his mother's skirt, sensing it was time for his grand debut. He peaked his head out, still clutching onto his mum, and waved hello to the man he assumed was his daddy.

Will stared for just a moment, completely awestruck and taken aback. "Is…is he…?"

Elizabeth nodded happily, content with Will's reaction. The one of pure joy, love, and wonder that she had expected.

Will simply kept staring, thinking. Then, he picked up his gifts and threw them back into the rowboat.

"Will, what are you doing?" she asked curiously.

He smiled, tears in his eyes. "You've just given me the best anniversary present possible; we've got a family. Everything else pales in comparison."

He paused, then added, "Plus, I think you made some pretty good points about the ship needing these things. I'd better go return them to them before they sail off again…"

I was obviously going on the assumption that he would now be able to stay with her and their son after this 10 years thing. Normally, I go for the other option, which is more tragic, but a little bit of happiness suited this story better. So, please let me know what you think. I'll take it like a man. :) Any questions, comments, concerns, errors, or anything else you'd like to point out are welcome. Thanks for reading, and please review.