Didn't like my grim-assed epilogue? Try this one.
Takes place one year after AWE. A happier and less creepy vision of what the future might hold for Mr. and Mrs. Turner…
On the one-year anniversary of her marriage, Elizabeth Turner sat alone in her room, in the dark. The curtains were closed and would stay that way, the servants had orders that she was not to be disturbed, and even the baby would not be let in to see her. This day would be dedicated to thoughts of Will, and Will alone.
A few hours into her vigil there was a knock at her door. She leaped up, the spell broken – she had just been reliving that one glorious day on the beach, the day she and Will had made man and woman of each other – and she was furious.
She yanked open the door all ready to bite a head off…
The screech died in her throat and she stared stupidly. "Bootstrap Bill?"
The man nodded and touched his cap to her. "Yes. Ha - I'm surprised you recognized me… you know, as a human."
"Well, I… I mean… What are you doing here?"
"Will can't come to shore." He voice grew suddenly very hoarse. "I'm sorry. My poor girl, there are no words for how sorry I am. For what I've done to you… it was me, after all, it was my plight that drove Will to-"
"Please," she interrupted earnestly, "It's not your fault at all. Will made you a promise and of course he kept it."
He gave a short laugh. "And you love him despite that stupidity."
"Stupidity is not the word I'd use, sir, nor despite. Will is a good man and I love him because of it." She swallowed. "I don't think you came here to apologize."
"True. I came to bring you out with us for a bit. Will wants to see you."
"Will wants…" She had always assumed there was some kind of rule against bringing your lover aboard the Dutchman. Else why had Will not done it at once? Why had he not brought her to be with him, to share his fate-
"It comes at a price, you know," Bootstrap answered the questions before she could even speak them. "His neglect of his duty, even for just a moment, will cost him."
She forced herself to ask. "Cost him how?"
Bootstrap pulled aside his collar so she could see the four or five little barnacles that had sprung up on his neck like pimples. "I shouldn't be here, either."
Will was waiting for her in his cabin, pacing. His step was longer and heavier than she remembered, but she knocked on the door without fear. It was Will for Heaven's sake, and ten thousand years on a ghost ship could not change that.
The pacing stopped. "Father?"
"No. Will? May I c-"
The door swung open and suddenly Elizabeth was gathered up in a bone-crushing embrace. She clung to him, tearing his shirt with the force of her grip, sobbed into his chest, gasped his name.
Finally he let go and held her at arms length so he could look at her. She looked back, dizzy with relief when she saw that he still looked normal. No tentacles, not just yet anyway. "Will," she breathed again. "Oh, God-" They lunged at each other and dove into a long, deep kiss. It was not at all graceful – their hands were tangled in each other's hair yanking hard enough to hurt, and their teeth clicked awkwardly together as they tried to cram twelve months of passion into one fierce minute.
Elizabeth suddenly tasted blood and Will pulled away. "I'm sorry," he whispered, touching her lip where it had gotten caught between them. " Elizabeth. You came."
She shoved him weakly. "Of course I came, you fool," she said over her tears. "I would always come the moment you send for me. Will…" She took a deep breath. She hated to bring up unpleasant subjects so quickly, but she couldn't relax while she knew there was bad news waiting. "Your father said something about a price… that when your attention turns to me instead of your ship, you'll suffer…"
He shook his head. "It's not bad so far, and I can take it. I had to be with you." He knew her better than to tell her to forget it sight unseen, so he slowly unbuttoned his shirt all the way and dropped his hands to his sides.
She slid it off for him and looked at the place where his heart had been cut out. The tough pink scar tissue had changed to an unhealthy greenish-brown color and was now soft and spongy to the touch. She swallowed. "That's it?"
"For now, yes. Can you bear the sight of it?"
Elizabeth bent and pressed a kiss to his nipple, a mere two inches from the deformity. "I don't care what you look like. I don't care what happens to you. I want to be with you, Will, and I don't care about anything else."
He couldn't keep his hands off her. Cradling her face while he talked, stroking over her cheekbones and her lips, he explained that even so, she could not stay. "I don't care about anything else either. All I want for myself is you beside me, and I know there will be times – like today – when I can no longer resist. The problem is, Elizabeth… for my each and every lapse, it's not just me, but also all my men who will suffer. I have a responsibility to them that I cannot take lightly."
She tried to smile. "As long as you still think like that, Will Turner, it means you're doing your job and I'll never have to worry about you sprouting tentacles."
"If I play by the rules…"
"Then you can return to shore for a bit in nine more years. I'll be counting the days. So will William, when he gets old enough to count." She smiled at Will's look of shock.
"William? You mean I… have a son?"
Elizabeth laughed and took his hands. "Your father said, You mean I have a grandson? in exactly the same way. Yes. And he's here, on deck." Her hands moved up to his bare chest. "And you can go see him – just as soon as we finish making him a sister."
He shivered hard at her touch and tried to say Elizabeth I love you, but before he could get the words out he was kissing her again. And it seemed to get the point across.
The End.
A much, much happier epilogue than my other one. Let me know what you think!