Evelyn's footsteps silently pushed up against the steps that led out to the the deck. She carefully crept away from her sleeping family, getting one last good look of the clear, starry night sky before returning to Port Royal.
Barefoot, like Evelyn had always like to be since she was a child, she touched the cool wood, inching higher and higher.
The best part of being on a ship, in her opinion, was to see the stars. Such views one doesn't see often when living on land. The stars didn't even have to shine so bright to be seen out here. The glittering diamonds would even reflect upon the ocean surface, confusing those to wonder if they were sailing through the ocean or the sky.
Evelyn's naked foot hit the top of the step, allowing her to fully look around the deck. Her roaming, emerald eyes came to a halt on a figure leaning over the railing. A corner curled up on her mouth.
Jack was awake, much to her surprise. Even with his back turned to her, it looked as though he was there reminiscing in the moment, not bottle of rum in his grip.
Biting on her lip, she quietly crept over to him, locking her hands together behind her back.
"I expected you to be asleep by now." Evelyn spoke softly but loud enough for her friend to hear.
There was a slight jump in the pirate's shoulders. Jack whipped his head around, looking completely alerted. His dark eyes settled on the woman, instantly relaxing at the mere sight of her. "I expected you to be awake earlier." He responded playfully, a grin toying on his lips.
A giggle came from Evelyn as she swayed around the pirate, coming to his side. The pair of life long friends turned to face the open, starry water. Evelyn placed her hands on top of the railing, looking down at the mystical pool before her.
Jack's shoulder brushed up against Evelyn's, allowing his scent to fill her nose. It changed slightly. The pirate seemed to smell more of salt water mixed with rum.
Evelyn found herself letting out a content sigh. "So, what comes next?" She found herself asking allowed. There was uncertainty in herself, for she wondered if she was talking to Jack or a loud to herself.
The captain tilted his head to look to Evelyn and she found herself meeting his dark eyes. Evelyn could always see the adoration in Jack's eyes when he looked at her. She knew of the small bits of romantic feelings he felt towards her; however, Evelyn knew Jack loved her more as family in the end.
And Evelyn always welcomed more family.
"Well let's see," Jack turned his head forward again. "We drop you lot off to Port Royal, I have another heartbreaking goodbye with you and now Amelia, then I sail where ever the stars may lead me."
Evelyn let an amused breath slip through her nose while nodding. "Sounds like a plan."
"What about you?" Jack questioned, leaning forward on his forearms.
"Hmm?" Evelyn hummed her question.
"What comes next for you?" He asked, looking deep into her eyes.
"Ah." Evelyn nodded, bending over to lean against her forearms besides him. Her gaze held the starry illusion. "Well, my family and I return home, after a heart breaking goodbye of course." She teased looking at Jack, until he nodded while making a noise of agreement. Returning her starry gaze, she continued to speak. "We wait for Bootstrap to show up and then I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I guess I'm just going to be at home with my children until they leave, then I guess it'll just be me and Will."
It didn't occur to Evelyn just now how much sadness the future held.
But as long as she had Will, she could tackle whatever life my throw at her.
Jack let out a chuckle. "Maybe one day, I'll settle down with a wife too. Maybe some of those things call children as well."
Evelyn scoffed amusingly. "You? Settle down with a wife and children?"
Jack looked at her, offended, with a hand to his chest. "What? I'd make a great father." He protested as Evelyn turned to face him.
"Oh I know. You have quite the way with them. My children loved you even after meeting you only once. For weeks all they talked about was their uncle Jack." She found herself laughing at the memory. The three tiny Turner children in love with the idea of such a person.
Jack gave a toothy grin. "I adore them too. I see you in Charlie and Amelia the most. Henry is just like his father."
Evelyn nodded. "He is."
"Amelia, my god, it's like seeing the ghost of yourself when I first met you all those years ago." He held such bewilderment in his eyes, causing Evelyn to giggle.
"I hear it all the time." She hummed, still smiling. "I wouldn't be surprised if she ran away and became a pirate."
"Well she'll have a spot on my ship if she does." Jack nudged Evelyn with his shoulder. "You always will have a spot on my ship too. Whenever you like. Even if it's for a short trip. Any chance to see your beautiful face, I'll take it."
Evelyn blushed, smiling shyly at the man. "Thank you, Jack. And as always, you will always have a place in our home, whenever you like."
Jack grinned, leaning over to kiss the top of Evelyn's head. "Thank you, darling. It's good to know I have a place to hide if I'm ever in any trouble again." Evelyn gave him a glare, making hims jump slightly. "Of course, though, I would mostly love to come and visit you." He spoke rather quickly.
Nodding, Evelyn gave a hint of an amused laugh, playing along. "Uh huh, that's better."
The two stood in silence for a moment.
"Are you going to miss the Pearl?" Jack asked softly.
Evelyn nodded, running her hand over the smooth, wooden railing. "I always do. Maybe I can convince Will to get a ship for us. Nothing too big or small but a good one to have. Travel the world or even just spend a few days on the water, away from the town and the people."
"Sounds peaceful." Jack nodded.
"It does, doesn't it? Maybe that's what can come next after all of this. I hope so at least. I think he'd like for us to have our own little boat." Evelyn shortly rambled.
"What would you call the ship?" The pirate asked, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"I don't know." Evelyn giggled, shaking her head.
Jack lifted his hands, smirking. "You should call it 'The Sparrow.' Has a nice ring, doesn't it?" He wiggled a lifted brow.
Evelyn looked at Jack, laughing. "It does, actually. I shall speak to my husband about names after we get one."
"Although," Jack turned around to look at the Black Pearl. "No ship will ever be a glorious as my beloved Pearl." He spoke, admiring his greatest treasure.
Turning around as well, Evelyn found herself admiring the ship too, looking over the last bit of memories she could see happening right before her eyes.
Memories of a younger version of herself and Will sitting around, talking.
Memories of her and Will falling deeper and deeper in love.
Memories of her fighting along side the crew.
Memories of her and Will getting married by Barbossa.
Memories of her and Jack sitting along the steps, talking during many nights.
Memories of her and Leo sharing bits of laughter.
And finally, more recent memories of her and her family, sitting around the deck.
As the visions faded away, Evelyn found herself beginning to tear up as she stared at an empty deck. Yet a warm sensation swirled around in her chest. In her mind, it was the memories returning back into her heart. Sniffling, Evelyn lifted a hand and placed it over her heart, smiling to herself.
"Evelyn? Darling, what's wrong?" Jack's voice filled her ears again, pulling her from her thoughts.
Turning her head, she looked up at Jack. She shook her head, sniffling through her smile. "Nothing, nothing, I'm just taking one last good look at the Pearl." Was all she said.
Jack smiled softly at Evelyn, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I think it's time you get some sleep. It's been a long day."
Evelyn nodded in agreement. "You're right and you need some sleep too." She pointed out.
"Yes, dear." Jack chuckled.
The two friends slowly came in to embrace each other, holding on to one another as tight as possible. "Goodnight, Jack." Evelyn mumbled against his shoulder.
"Goodnight, love." Jack replied easily.
Separating, they slid their hands into each other's, giving them a good squeeze. They mumbled another goodnight before slipping their hands out, walking away.
Evelyn let out a small yawn as she walked towards the stairs that led under deck.
As she approached them, she saw Will sitting right in the middle, high enough to be able to look on the deck. She squinted her eyes to make sure it was truly him before smiling. "What are you doing awake?" She whispered to him, reaching the top step.
Will smiled, rising to his feet. "When I realized my wife was gone, I came to see where she was. I didn't want to ruin the moment so I waited for you." He extended his hand up to her.
Evelyn placed her hand in his, allowing him to guide her down the steps. "You could have gone to sleep, my love." She replied, looking at him lovingly.
"Well it seems after almost twenty years of sleeping beside you, I can't seem to fall or stay asleep without by my side." Will replied.
His words made her heart soar in her chest.
God, she loved her husband.
Evelyn's feet his the bottom of the stairs and she came chest to chest with Will. She found herself grinning, reaching up to tilt his chin down. Staring at his lips, she whispered, "I love you."
On her toes, she pressed a kiss to Will's lips, implying that she too, can't sleep without him at her side.
Happy Monday, lovely readers! I hope everyone is well and staying safe. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. For the most part the rest of the book is going to be good-feelings. I hope each week until the end it brings you some form of comfort during these hard times.
I really wanna say thank you to you all, I have been receiving the kindest, supportive messages lately and it's brought so much warmth and love to my heart. My life hasn't been easy the past month and I've been having an incredibly hard time writing. So your messages have just been giving me the biggest smiles and a few have made me tear up a bit. Comments and messages to every fanfic author truly means the world them. I can't explain it enough how encouraging it is for us to do what we do when we receive such love and support. So thank again from the bottom of my heart💕
Also Hamilton is coming to Disney+ and I'm so excited. Funny enough I saw the show a few months ago before the pandemic and I can't wait to watch it again!
So thank you, as always, for voting, commenting, and reading. I hope everyone has an amazing week! 💕