Recursed By the Black Pearl

"What do you think about having kids, Will?"

The question came out of the blue, startling the blacksmith into nearly smashing his fingers off. He raised his gaze from the red-hot metal resting on the anvil to meet his wife's eyes. She was framed in the doorway of his shop, wearing a simple dress that managed to accent every womanly feature of her body.

Will smiled uncertainly, grabbing a rag hanging from a nearby hook and wiping his hands and brow on it. "Kids?" He repeated slowly, stepping towards her as she did the same. Elizabeth nodded, grinning at the bewildered look on her husband's face, streaked with sweat and grime. Disregarding the dirt, she pressed a kiss to his lips and placed a hand on his toned forearm.

"Yes, kids. We've been married a year Will and we've never really talked about it."

"You came all the way here just to talk to me about having children."

"Well, no, I was out with Katherine. And she's going to have a child!"

"Ah, I see," Will murmured, glancing sideways at Elizabeth. She had a longing in her eyes as she stared around his work area. It was well organized, like most things in Will's life. His finished swords hung on one wall, nearly crafted ones on another and scraps of metal he would shape into masterpieces piled on the floor. The shop hadn't changed much since Will moved from apprentice to master, except the business. Though Elizabeth silently put the blame on her father for Will's additional customers.

There were benefits to marrying the governor's daughter, she supposed.

She returned her eyes to her husband's face, saw the look of uncertainty, a certain wariness at the idea. She took his hands, callused and warm, in her delicate ones and led him to a bench away from the heat of the forge. "It's only logical for us to start a family, Will," she began slowly, choosing each word. How could she make him understand? If only he had seen Katherine and the way her face glowed when she moved her hand over her swollen belly. Elizabeth's own hands traced lightly over her own stomach, full of her lunch, but no baby.

Will was silently watching her, she could see it in his eyes, he thought it was just a phase she was going through. "Don't you want a son to teach, or a daughter to love? You'd make such a wonderful father, Will! You could teach our boy to be a blacksmith, like you! Oh, just imagine, Will. If we have a daughter, I could teach her to sew—"

"And she'll have an uncanny fondness for adventure and all things pertaining to pirates," the blacksmith interrupted with a wry smile. A rose blush rose to Elizabeth's cheeks, "Well, I'm sure she would enjoy the stories, Will. I certainly did, even living one." She paused as she noted the serious look that had just entered her husbands gaze. "I was only joking," she said quickly, almost apologetically.

"What if our child does yearn for adventure? What if she runs off to join the league with those scoundrals? What if he isn't pleased with the simple life we provide?" Will's eyes were filled with apprehension, his lips pressed into a thin line. His gaze drifted to stare into the flames licking and dancing within the forge, seeming to mezmerize the blacksmith. The soft flesh of Elizabeth's cool hand pressed against his grimy cheek was enough for Will to return his gaze to hers.

Tears had begun to brim in her large honey eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks should she only blink. He was taken aback by the intense stare she bore into him, by the sudden apperance of water flooding her eyes. He opened his mouth to utter an apology, having not meant to upset her so, when her lips pressed gently against his own. When the kiss ended and they slowl drew apart, Elizabeth was the first so speak.

"Oh, Will," she mumured, her breath warm against his face, "our children will love the life we give them. They will love you, Will, as much as I do."

"I don't have the money to provide for them the things they would deserve. I can't give them the luxury that you knew as a child."

She pecked another kiss on his cheek, smiling softly. "Don't you understand, Will? Your love is enough. For me and for our children, someday. It isn't about what you have materially, but what you have here." Her hand was placed over the left side of his chest where it could feel the steady beat of his heart just below the surface. Now it was the blacksmith's turn to have his eyes become moistoned with emotion.

"Elizabeth," he whispered as he took her face into his hands, "lets start a family. Lets do this right." He pulled her close, bestowing another kiss upon her mouth as the tears finally began to steam joyfully down her cheeks.

A.N.: I have no idea why I wrote this. It really has little to nothing to do with the story, but I enjoyed writing about Will and Elizabeth. I don't write many romance stories, so maybe I was just feeling romantic. Plus the fact that I haven't updated this since…2003! -.-; I'm so sorry. Please feel free to throw smelly socks at me.