Forever and Always (Will Turner)

31

Their feet touched the bottom of the stairs, Evelyn and Will both arm-in-arm. Instantly, they were greeted by their family: their children, parents, and friends. Everyone was dressed so beautifully, anyone who would have walked by would have thought it was for a glamorous party.

But it wasn't a party, not really. If anything, it was a special, welcoming dinner for Will's father, a dinner honoring him.

In that moment as Will slipped from her side to his father, Evelyn recalled the small conversation she had with Will just a few nights ago.

"You think we should have a dinner party?" Will asked, changing out of his day clothes to his evening clothes.

Evelyn slipped into her white nightgown, smoothing out the cotton fabric. "Why not? It's not necessarily a party but a dinner honoring him." She looked over to her husband, now moving to sit on their bed. By the look on his face and no other comment, she could tell he was in thought. It always brought a smile to her face from the time they were once little, the look he makes when he is thinking. His brows dipped in the center, eyes focused down, and a small pout on his lips.

Evelyn slowly swayed over to him, watching him closely. "What are you thinking?" She asked, walking around the bed.

Will let out a sigh, moving his gaze up to her. "Just thinking how nice it will be." A small smile toyed on his lips.

A small part of her was relieved it wasn't another fret about what if he didn't come. It made her happy that he was focusing on the positives.

Walking up to his leg that dangled over the side, she smiled too, her thigh touching his. "Good. What about it are you thinking about, my love?" She asked softly, lazily draping an arm around his shoulders.

"Well," his hand snaked around her hips, "about him with our children, our parents finally meeting, just...finally having him back in my life after all these years." He squeezed her hip, she knew in an effort to comfort him. It always comforted her if he could hold her in some form.

"That sounds lovely, Will." She said, smiling down at him, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm happy for him to be back in your life, I am. And for him to be with the children. And to have another father in my life." Will smiled lovingly up to her, looking at her like she was his whole world. She let out a small sigh. "We've got quite a family now. It seems it's always growing in one way or another."

"It used to be just us as family." Will spoke, thinking the same way she was. "I'm glad we were fortunate enough to have more."

"As am I." She agreed. "But I will never forget, you and Amelia were really my first bit."

"Neither will I." Will spoke.

Evelyn and Will looked at each other, leaning towards each other to connect their lips.

Blinking rapidly, Evelyn was brought back to the present with her family before her. The noise had seemed to grow with the conversations and greetings happened around her.

Her mother, Amelia, walked up to her, catching Evelyn off guard. Her brows furrowed at her daughter's little jump. "Are you alright, dear?" She asked, studying her face for any answers.

"Hmm? Oh! Yes I'm fine, I was just thinking." Evelyn smiled reassuringly, clasping Amelia's hands in hers.

Nodding, the older Amelia moved to stand closer to Evelyn. "He's quite dashing, that Bootstrap is."

"You met him?" Evelyn asked, surprised by how quickly her parents had become acquainted with her father-in-law. A small part of her was question either how long she and Will had been upstairs or how long she was thinking for.