AN: I apologize for the delay, but I wanted to get this chapter right. I'ts been revised and reworked several times, and I love it now. I hope you do as well.

This concludes the story. I had an epilogue planned, but I need to move on to other projects. Perhaps next year I'll add that last little bit.

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Celebration

One year later

Fog engulfed Shipwreck Cove. The light from the lanterns filtered through the haze, casting an eerie yellowish glow on the dock. Not a soul lingered there, and Jack couldn't blame them. Who'd want to be out on a night like this? He shivered in the damp air.

"All right, ye filthy bilge rats; be gone with ya." The Pearl's crew took off for town and left their captain behind.

Jack glanced at the door to his cabin. "Might just celebrate Twelfth Night by me onesies." The bloody compass may have brought him here, but it couldn't make him leave the ship.

He had his hand on the door when the pesky voices started again. She might be here.

He snorted."Aye, and that's more'n enough reason to avoid the town at all costs."

Teague's voice chimed in. What are you afraid of, Jacky?

"M'not afraid of anything! Just… don't particularly care to see Mrs. Turner is all."

The conversation went back to the alter-Jack… or it might have been a different Jack. He could never really tell. You can't tell us you don't want to see her. We know you've missed her—remember, we've seen your dreams.

"Nothin' out of the ordinary about dreaming of a beautiful woman."

Ah, I'm not talkin' about those dreams, mate. I mean the ones…

"All right! I'll go, just shut it, the lot of ya!" Ridiculous as it might be to feel like his own mind had invaded his privacy, Jack didn't want to discuss those dreams with himself—or anyone else, for that matter. "Yammerin' on about impossibilities never does a lick of good."

He headed for the fortress, not sure of what he would find, or what he wanted to find. He missed her, the voices had that right enough. But is the pleasure of seein' her worth the difficulty that comes of leavin' her? It was the closest he'd come to admitting, even to himself, how much their last conversation had hurt.

He reached his destination and his bleak thoughts were forgotten. The front hall glowed from the light of hundreds of candles. It was a Twelfth Night party the likes of which he'd never seen. A table with an enormous Twelfth Cake dominated the room, and laughter and sounds of revelry floated out of the main room. Delicious scents tickled his nose, and he followed them away from the crowds.

Halfway down the hall, a maid walked by carrying a tray laden with bite-sized delicacies. Jack popped one into his mouth before she realized it. The sugary delight dissolved on his tongue, and he reached for a second, but this time she caught him. "What do you think you're… Jack Sparrow! Is that you?"

"The one and only, luv." He dropped an exaggerated bow.

She shook her head and laughed. "You've no need to be snitching treats from the serving tray, Jack."

He held his hands out. "Just a bit of pilfering." The maid giggled again. "Perhaps you could be answerin' a question for me, lass. Is Her Nibs in residence?"

"The Pirate King?" Jack nodded. "Aye. Actually, if you wanted to see her, she's playin' the hero in the Twelfth Night panto right now."

Jack stroked his beard. Despite his teasing, he did love the sight of her in pants… they showed her female assets off far better than skirts. "In that case, I believe I will join you in walking in that direction."

He left the serving wench in entryway and slipped into the great hall. The room was so crowded it was almost impossible to see the stage at all, but he finally found a spot where he could stand and see Lizzie perfectly. She was onstage with a pirate he could not place, and he guessed from the props that they were supposed to be on board a ship.

"Captain, I'm very worried about our coordinates."

Elizabeth's face was a study in exaggerated confusion. Even Jack laughed when she said, "Our…?"

The man sighed loudly and made great show of rolling his eyes. "Our coordinates."

She nodded sagely. "Ah. Are they broken?"

The crowd howled with laughter, but Jack grimaced. "Hitting a bit too close to home, dearie," he murmured. His compass was "unique," but it had the annoying habit of breaking whenever a certain pirate king was in the vicinity.

A drumroll pulled him from his thoughts. Twelve young men stood on stage, their presence announcing the success of the "captain" and her "crew." Missed the whole thing—bugger. One by one the players came back out for a final bow. Last of all came Elizabeth, greeted by the loudest cheers. She took the adulation in with a grin and a wave, and then bowed once more.

By some misfortune, she looked straight at Jack when she straightened. She jumped from the stage and he heard his name over the applause. "Oh no your highness," he mumbled as he worked his way toward the door. "I've heard all I need of your speeches, thank you kindly." The admiring pirates swarmed around her, and he took advantage of the moment to escape.

Jack strode through Shipwreck, his face dark as a storm cloud. Bloody Elizabeth for being so bloody beautiful he couldn't look away, and bloody compass for leading him here in the first place! "There's nothing here I want," he muttered and slammed the cabin door shut behind him.

His tossed his coat on the floor and grabbed three bottles of rum. He quaffed the first in one long gulp. The liquor burned his throat going down, but it didn't erase Elizabeth's bewitching eyes. "Bugger," he muttered. He sat down, put his feet on the table, and reached for the second bottle. "To you, Mrs. Turner," he said and took another drink.

He was halfway through the second bottle when the door burst open. "Well, look who decided to just barge in." He took another swig and looked her up and down. She's a mite on the thin side, he noted, and then hated his concern. "Not pregnant this time I see," he said insolently.

Her jaw dropped. A moment later, she slapped him so hard his ears rang. Jack put his bottle down and rubbed his sore cheek. "What was that for, lass?"

Her hands rested on her hips. "That was low Jack, even for you."

He shrugged, a sardonic grin on his lips. "Pirate, luv." He leaned back in his chair and pressed his hands together. "You have to admit, your dearly beloved didn't waste any time gettin' ya in the family way on your first day together."

"On our first day together we actually… that is…" She let loose a frustrated sound, a cross between a growl and a shriek.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Are you tryin' to tell me that yer husband did not partake of yer marital felicity?"

Lizzie flushed, though whether from embarrassment or anger, he couldn't tell. "That is exactly what I'm trying to say, Captain Sparrow—though I'm not sure you deserve to hear it."

"Perhaps you'll humor me a bit longer and tell me why he forwent such… pleasures." Jack looked her up and down, and though he meant the motion to be derisive, he could not hide the hunger in his eyes.

In his wildest imaginings, he could not have anticipated her answer. "I believe he felt it was not his place, as by the end of that day he had dissolved our union."

His heart stopped, but unfortunately his mouth didn't. "Tossed you aside, did he?"

She slapped him again. "He let me go, you blaggard."

He cleared his throat. "And why… why would he do that?"

"Perhaps because one day out of ten years does not make a marriage. Perhaps because it did not take either of us long to realize we no longer knew each other. And perhaps because he wished to give me the opportunity to find love elsewhere."

Jack swung his legs off the table and stood up. "What do you mean by that?"

She held her ground against his approach. "I mean, Captain Sparrow, that I no longer have a husband who holds my loyalty."

He took a step toward her, then stopped, his hand clenched tightly at his side. "If you're not sayin' what I hear you sayin', best tell me now Mrs. Turner."

She crossed her arms. "It's Miss Swann, Jack."

The words were hardly out of her mouth before Jack had her pressed against the wall, his lips hot against hers. "You're mine, ye hear?" It was a desperate plea rather than a demand, and he held his breath until she nodded.

He groaned when her fingers tangled in his dreadlocks. "As much as you are mine," she boldly declared.

He leaned in to kiss her again, but a thought stopped him. Her eyes opened when he let her go, and tenderness twisted in his gut when he read the confusion and passion there.

"Jack?"

"Give me a minute, luv." He held his hands behind his back for a moment. When he brought them back into view, the right was clenched in a fist. "I believe I have something that belongs to you, Miss Swann." The name was delicious, and he licked his lips, a gesture she followed with rapt attention.

"Does it matter now?" She reached for him, but he evaded her. "Jack!"

He nearly gave in to the desperation in her voice, but there was a little matter that remained unresolved between them. "Humor me Lizabeth." He opened his hand so she could see a small gold ring. "I promised to give this back to you, remember?"

She laughed. "Aye, and then you kept it, pirate."

"Well, I'm givin' it back now."

She held out her right hand, and he hesitated a bare instant. "Other hand, Lizzie."

Her eyes widened, and he knew the implication was not lost on her. "Jack?"

He stepped back into her embrace and put his lips against her ear. "You know Lizzie, I am the captain of a ship."

She laughed breathlessly. "This ship, in fact."

"That's right luv. And being a captain of a ship, I could in fact perform a marriage right here, right on this deck, right…" He nibbled on her ear and she gasped. "Now."

She turned her head slightly and her mouth slid down his jawline. She stopped just short of his lips and whispered, "Persuade me."

His fingers flexed on her hips. "Though you haven't actually said it, you've given me reason to believe you might actually return that tender regard I offered you once—or was I wrong?"

She giggled. "Is Captain Jack Sparrow ever wrong?"

"For once, m'not sure that's an answer, luv."

She kissed the corner of his mouth. "You weren't wrong, Jack."

Giddy relief swept over him, and he turned his head to plant a searing kiss on her lips. This time it was Lizzie who pulled back, a saucy grin on her face. "I believe you were in the middle of… persuading me."

He rocked back on his heels and stroked his chin. "Seems to me that if two people love each other, there's no reason not to get married." He gulped. "Assuming of course that they are both the marrying kind, that is, faithfulness not bein' a trait often found amongst pirates…"

"Jack!" She put a hand over his mouth. "I do."

She squealed when he licked her hand. "Now Lizzie, I hadn't even gotten to that part yet!"

"Well then Captain Sparrow, you'd best hurry up." She placed a hand on his bare chest and toyed with the ties of his shirt. "I don't plan to wait all night to ravish you."

His knees went weak. "In that case… Sickness and health, richer or poorer, forsaking all others..." She planted on open-mouthed kiss at the base of his neck, and his mind blanked. "Blimey, what's next?"

"Until we are parted by death."

He frowned. "You know, we really need to find the Fountain of Youth, luv."

"Jack Sparrow…"

"Sorry." He pulled her closer. "I now pronounce us husband and wife. You may kiss—" Her lips stopped his words in the most pleasant of manners, and it was several long moments before he said, "And now, Mrs. Sparrow—"

"Captain Sparrow, Jack—and don't you forget it."

"Right you are luv. And now, Captain Sparrow, am I right in thinkin' yer wantin to join me in a bit of… marital felicity?" The fire in her eyes was the only answer he needed.

Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean is the property of Walt Disney Studios. I am making no money off this story, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Additionally, the lines from the pantomime are actually from Dick Whittington, a panto filmed by ITV several years back.