What Happened That Day by Inwe Elanesse

Title: What Happened That Day
Author: Inwe Elanesse
Email: jack_sparrow_luver@yahoo.ca
Pairing: Jack Sparrow/ James Norrington
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Character death, sorry, but without it the plot would not work.
Summary: Something terrible happens and James finds himself on vacation. When Jack learns this he cannot help but do what he does best, interfere. (I SUPERSUCK at summaries, ask my Technical Writing Professor)

What Happened That Day
by Inwe Elanesse

* * *

James took a deep breath and ran his tongue lightly over his lips, savouring the salty flavour of the sea air on his skin. He let the air escape his lungs slowly and opened his eyes to look out on the sea.

'This is it,' he thought to himself, 'this is the first time you get to sail on a ship not under the capacity of a commodore, or a captain, or even a common sailor. This is the first time, and likely the last time, or second last time given the need for a return trip, that you will be aboard a ship as nothing more than a man.'

A look into the deep blue swells of the water and the sun glinting off the surface, James knew that he was ready for this, this was what he had needed for the past weeks, well, who was he kidding, months. Even before—

Now, now, it was not the proper time to be reminiscing on past behaviour. It was about time he relaxed and started enjoying this voyage with no responsibilities and no worries. It was about time he let the stress of the navy flow out of his mind. It was time he started living like a man and not as a commanding officer.

'Yes,' he thought, 'this is exactly what I have needed.'

"Good morning sir—" Lieutenant Gillette did not catch himself in time and thus endured the pointed glance as a reminder, "Mr. Norrington. Beautiful day, is it not?"

Norrington smiled and nodded. "Yes, I think it is a wonderful day."

"A good start to your vacation, si— Mr. Norrington."

"If you must address me," Norrington said with a wry smile that brought a grin to the face of the younger man, "please call me James."

Gillette nodded, "Of course... James."

"And it is a brilliant beginning to a much needed vacation." He smiled and looked back out to the vast ocean. "I'm so glad the Governor suggested it."

* * *

"What do you mean the ship has been intercepted?"

Elizabeth heard a rather loud voice, clearly belonging to her father, from his office and patiently stood outside the door, waiting that she may ask him what colour card paper he preferred for the wedding invitations. No, not so she might listen to the rather loud conversation being held behind that door, not at all. She smirked and pressed her ear more closely to the wood.

"I'm sorry sir," the voice was shaky, belonging to someone who had clearly been through a great deal of... well... something lately. Exhaustion, stress, and maybe a little fear was evident in the tremor of his voice. "We saw a ship approaching, we did not know what ship it was, sir, else we would have moved faster, or—"

"Enough about that, what happened?"

The young man gasped at the harsh words and careless demeanour of the Governor. "The-the Black Pearl, sir. It-it did not run up the Jolly Roger until we were too near it to escape. They held us at gunpoint and when... when Murtogg drew sword—"

"Murtogg was harmed?"

"N-no sir! They killed off one of the merchants. Said if another of us tried anything, they would kill another, sir."

"Oh no." There was a brief silence before the Governor asked, "Well what else, what did they take?"

"They took everything—" The young man was about to go into detail but the Governor interrupted again. Elizabeth shook her head wondering if all men forgot their manners so easily.

"What about the captain? Did they take anything from him?"

The man swallowed. "Y-yes. He sent me to tell you that the letters were taken."

"Good God!" The Governor was horrified.

"Sir?" The sailor asked after a moment of silence from both parties.

"This is terrible news. How soon will you likely be able to set sail?"

The young man cleared his throat, "That was something else the captain asked me to relay... before the pirates left they made certain that we would have a hard time travelling very far." He paused, "The ship should not be able to sail again for weeks sir."

The Governor sighed and Elizabeth wondered what this all meant. "Thank you very much, sailor. When you return to the captain, tell him I want an inventory of all that was lost on the ships and a full report on my desk by morning."

"Yes sir."

Elizabeth scurried a little ways down the hall and waited to see the door open before walking. She approached the sailor, "Is my father in there? Is he available?"

His mouth flopped open a few times and he simply nodded. She thanked him and he bid her good day before entering her father's office.

* * *

His mouth slid into a wicked grin as he opened all the mail he had collected. As his sources said, this was the ship they were looking for. Tons of swag, lots of food and drink, enough to keep them for a good amount of time, anyway, and mail from the Governor and the Commodore to various people in England about the state of affairs, the locations of ships, requests for military supplies and, oh! This was interesting, yes, very interesting.

A gold tooth appeared as lips parted into a devilish smile. Oh, this was too good. The captain took his hat off his head and set it on the chair before moving to the wall where was placed, very conveniently, a nice big map.

'A nice set o' coordinates, date o' departure, list o' officers aboard, an' strangely enough, a list o' passengers.' One passenger to be specific. Well, one that was of any interest.

A quick look at the currents and a vague memory of the weather in days past and the pirate captain drew a course for someplace vaguely... in the middle of the ocean. Somewhere between Port Royal, and what seemed a very secluded area with nothing but ocean, sun, beaches and a few scattered people around for miles. It seemed as though someone was going on a holiday.

* * *

Will looked up from his work as Elizabeth shouted his name from the door of the smithy. He smiled at her and set down the hammer before approaching her to carefully bend, without touching her so as not to mar her perfect skin or clothes with his filthy hands, and place a chaste kiss on her lips. She blushed and he offered her a seat. She politely declined.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be looking after wedding arrangements. Not that I am not appreciative of you coming to see me, I just...." She smiled and waited for his rambling to stop.

"I just came to inform you that your good friend and notable pirate captain happens to have disrupted the peace." Will furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side. He did not understand. "Jack raided a merchant ship today bound for England."

Will's mouth dropped and his furrow deepened. "Was anyone injured?"

Elizabeth looked to the floor. "When one of the lieutenants tried to stop the pirates, one of them slew a merchant."

"Jack would never have ordered that—"

"I did not say Jack did, but someone from the Black Pearl killed an innocent merchant and that puts the Black Pearl and her crew back on the list of wanted felons despite the clemency granted to Jack that day."

Ah yes, that day. That day when Will was foolish enough to both save a notable and scandalous pirate captain and steal the love of his life directly out of the arms of the very man who had saved him from his death in the angry sea so many years past, that day was burned into his memory like a brand on cattle.

"So Jack is a wanted man again." Elizabeth nodded. "That is too bad for him, but I suppose we could not have just assumed a pirate would change his ways after one good deed, or a few good deeds, however good a man he is."

He looked back up to his fiancé and she looked as though she was waiting to say something else. He waited for her to speak for a moment before she deigned it proper to do so, after an acceptable amount of dramatic pause, Will assumed.

"There was something on that ship that Jack took that father was very concerned with."

"Oh?" Will acted concerned again, though he really was not, not unless this had to do with him or Elizabeth in some way.

She nodded. "Father sent a package of letters from himself and the commodore. They were reports and details of merchant ships, where they would be and when, they were private information about the state of affairs and—"

She paused again but Will was not in the mood for games. "What?" He asked.

She paused a little longer. "Father sent notice, in those letters that Jack retrieved, about the whereabouts of the Dauntless." Will was not getting it. "He sent information about what officers were on it and where it was going for what reason." Will was very slow, Elizabeth thought, that she had to spell this out for him so completely. "Will, in that packet it stated that Commodore Norrington was taking a vacation leave, going to a secluded port for an indeterminate amount of time and leaving his bells and whistles behind, so to speak. It basically told Jack that James has no naval authority over him."

Will got it now. "Jack is going to go right for Norrington." She nodded. "What is he going to do?"

"Taunt him, tease him...."

* * *

"....rob 'im, capture 'im, blow holes in 'is ship, raid, pillage, plunder, send the rest of 'em back with a note, and thoroughly corrupt the dear Commodore of the British Royal Navy." Jack sat back and looked at the two people in front of him expectantly.

There was a moment of silence after which Jack's crooked smile fell and considered their expressions before they actually started to speak.

"Jack, it's a fools errand. It's bad luck to take hostage a Commodore, 'specially one whose supposed to be vacationin'."

"'I 'spect' it's 'cause o' the whole run in wit' Barbossa's crew, tha' 'n' losin' his strumpet to a bleedin' blacksmith, 'at's got t' be rain on 'is parade, eh?" He looked at them, smile up with full force. "'There ain't nothin' 'e can do t' us when 'e's not got 'is station. Far as anyone else's concerned, 'e's nothin' more'n a civilian if 'e's on vacation, aye?"

They both looked wary before the beautiful dark skinned woman squinted at him suspiciously and asked, "What's the benefit for us?"

He smiled at her. "Me charmin' lass, me wonderful first mate... after all 'ese long years of piracy and fear o' getting' caught at it, ye cannot tell me that ye'd not be interested in showin' a man from th' other side the way it's like in the life o' a pirate."

It did not take more than a few seconds before those lovely brown lips spread in the semblance of a smile, and Gibbs, seeing this, found the expression contagious.

"Do we 'ave an accord?" Jack held out his hand to them.

"Aye," Gibbs said taking the offered hand, "that'll about do it."

* * *

"I thought I'd find you in here, si— James." Gillette smiled as he walked through the open door to the captain's quarters. Norrington looked up from the table on which a map lay.

"Hmm, yes, well, I thought I would go over the course once more."

"James, you are on vacation, the captain has all of that under control." James sighed and looked up at him, tearing his eyes from the chart on the table below.

He laughed a little, "You know, Lieutenant, this relaxing thing is harder than I thought." Gillette laughed and nodded his agreement. "I feel like there is something I should be doing, but I'm not doing it."

"Well, James, what you should be doing is relaxing, waiting for the ship to drop you off at port, and spend a month or a few doing whatever it is commodores do in their spare time." James laughed.

"Yes, and watch you sail away in my ship." He sat back in his chair. "You realize that in practice commodores have no free time. This feels akin to piracy, not having a duty to perform or someone to yell orders at. It feels wrong."

Gillette clapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, this is exactly what you need, what with what hap—"

Norrington held up his hand to silence his friend. "As I remember, part of a vacation is not thinking of the things that you are getting away from."

"Of course, forgive me." James stood and Gillette met his eyes, and strangely Norrington detected something, sympathy perhaps, and genuine concern.

"My friend, there is nothing to forgive." It was forgotten.

A moment passed before the lieutenant spoke again. "Sir if you required, I am certain an officer would not be adverse to remaining with you for at least some of your stay... that is, to make you feel more at home, or...."

James smiled, wondering briefly if the man was fishing for a vacation here, but then he decided not. Remy Gillette was not one to fish like that. "That is quite all right, lieutenant, I am sure I will get along just fine without someone to do my bidding." The man smiled and nodded. "And, it is James, you recall."

Gillette blushed at his mistake but nodded. "Come now, James, lets find you something to eat." He held open the door and Norrington looked back in on the cabin once before following.

* * *

Jack stood on the deck of the ship with the cat in his hands. He glared at the bare back of the man on his crew that had done what he had ordered the crew not to do, the only thing he had ordered the crew not to do. He was going to enjoy this.

"When we board this ship there will be naval officers aboard, there will also be innocents. We are no' after them. Unless they put up a fight and are engaging in direct combat with ye, I do no' wan' anyone t' 'arm a single person on this ship, is 'at understood?" There had been frowns, but Jack was not going to have more blood on his hands than he needed. There was plenty of freedom to be had without bloodshed to get it for him. "We are here for th' loot, mainly th' mail. Do no' forget it."

They boarded the other ship with grapples and planks and Jack was the last over, watching carefully to see that no one disobeyed orders.

"Take me t' your captain." The cabin boy nodded and scurried off with Jack in tow. The pirate captain entered the cabin sword and pistol both drawn anticipating a man lunging at him as he walked through the door, however, no such thing happened, clearly the man wanted this to end as peacefully as Jack did. However, this was also not a military man, it could have simply been that he was not accustomed to combat.

"Captain." Jack smiled and gestured to the seat, aiming the pistol, making it clear the man was to sit. "I 'ave come for something very specific." He smiled, "I don't suppose ye'd care t' wager a guess."

The captain cleared his throat. "We are just merchants, take what you want and leave us." His voice was firm but his eyes betrayed his fear and Jack played upon that. He bent and brought his face near to the captain's and put a feral grin on his lips.

"Now cap'n, I shan't be doin' tha' until ye've given me 'zactly wha' I've asked for, savvy?"

The man gave the mail up easily enough but while Jack was in the cabin he heard something very distinct that could only be one thing. It caused the captain to jump and Jack to turn and look at him as though he might be drawing a weapon, which he most assuredly was not, and grab the papers from his hand, stuffing them into a sack and then carrying them outside to where the shot had been fired.

"What the 'ell is goin' on?" He dropped the sack and looked over at the dead body of the merchant sailor, the lieutenant dropping his sword to the deck, and the guilty member of his crew with his gun still in his hand and the smirk or mirth still on his face, which gradually dropped as he saw Jack's scowl.

"I asked you a question, sailor, wha' the 'ell is goin' on?" The man put his gun away and tried to look unafraid.

"'E was drawin' a sword." The man said, gesturing to the lieutenant.

"An' t' protect yerself against him ye shot an innocent merchant? Wha' the blazes did that'un do t' ye?" He gestured to the corpse on the ground.

The sailor shifted uncomfortably. "Er... nothin' captain, I jus'—"

"Anamaria!" He yelled and the woman answered.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Do ye remember wha' I said to th' crew 'afore we boarded?"

She cleared her throat and threw a look at the man still standing proudly by the dead body, blood creeping slowly toward his boots, he was forced to take a step back. Her voice was a little shaky, "You said we were not t' 'arm a single person 'board this ship, sir."

He glared at the guilty man. "'At's right, I did." He stared the man down until the pirate looked away and then Jack yelled at the rest of them. "Collect all th' swag ye can an' return t' th' ship." He watched as everyone stood there. "Now, ye scabrous dogs!" They jumped to action and when he turned his head that man was moving about too. "No' you." He pointed at him. "You come wit' me."

Jack had brought him back over to the Pearl and locked him in the brig. When the swag was stored in the holds and the crew had returned they blew a few holes in that ship hoping it would cause them to take a little longer to return home and report on the incident, then the Pearl sailed away with Anamaria at the helm.

Now that they were far enough away Jack had let his mind drift him back to the man below and he called for him to be brought to the deck and for Gibbs to break out the cat o' nine tails.

* * *

"No! No don't! Get away! Ah!" He sat up in bed covered in a sheen of sweat and brought his hand to his pillow where he would have normally grasped a hidden knife, but he was not in his home, and thus came up empty-handed. He realized where he was and let out a long sigh.

There came a knock at the door. "James?" A voice called in to him, "Are you all right?" After a moment the voice repeated his name, enlightening him to the fact that he had not responded.

"Lieutenant... yes, I am all right, thank you."

"May I enter, si— James."

Norrington paused. "Yes, yes come in."

Gillette stood in the open door for a moment before coming into the room and closing it. He set the lamp on the bedside table and stood beside James.

"What happened? I heard yelling."

James rubbed his face with his hands and removed the sleep from his eyes. "Just a dream. It's all right now."

"Another dream, sir?"

James chose to ignore the formal title. "Yes, another dream."

"But it has been better since—"

"Yes, yes, since we left Port Royal this is the first, but I cannot assume that a simple change of atmosphere would be sufficient...."

"Well, then again, James, I would hardly call this a change of environment. It is the Dauntless, sir, hardly unfamiliar."

Gradually Norrington had stopped shivering. Now he nodded, "Yes, I know. This was even the ship that—"

"Sir, perhaps—"

"Forgive me, lieutenant." He paused, "When I get to Nassau Port, surely it will be better."

Gillette smiled, "That's the spirit, James, no doubt. And when we are alone... you may call me Remy, it only seems fair, sir." He emphasised the last word and Norrington smiled and relaxed a little.

"Thank you, Remy." To tell the truth, it had irked Norrington to address the man as lieutenant when he was not here in the capacity of commodore. It seemed almost a slap in the face.

"Will you be quite all right James?"

Norrington gave a weary smile. "Yes, I think I will be fine, thank you."

"Of course. If you need anything," Gillette moved to the door, "do not hesitate to call me."

"Thank you, Remy, that is... appreciated."

When the lieutenant had left, James thought he would return to sleep, but the darkness made him shiver and the dream returned to the front of his mind. It was hours before he could drift off.

* * *

The following day, James was up early, with the sun, as he was used to, despite Gillette's claims that he was supposed to relax, no need to be up at first light. Norrington ignored him. He spent most of his day on deck, staring at the waves. It was because he did this that he was the first to spot that black spot on the horizon. He used the captain's spyglass and recognized its shape as a ship.

"Lieutenant Gillette," he called over his shoulder.

"James?"

He handed the spyglass to Remy and pointed out the speck. "Do you see that?"

Remy looked through and frowned. "I'll inform the captain, thank you, James."

Surely there was a ship there, though it was too far to identify. However, James felt he recognised the ship, distant as it was. Was it a military ship? Perhaps a merchant ship that was common around Port Royal. He was at a loss, but he could not help being curious. Surely the captain would have remembered if a ship was to cross their path on course and it was disturbingly clear that he did not seem to recall such a thing.

* * *

The man Jack had caught disobeying orders was now bleeding in the brig, manacles keeping him attached to the wall. They would drop him off at the next stop. Jack had no use for a crewmember that would not follow orders.

Meanwhile, the captain was at the helm, smooth wood beneath his fingers, feeling the ocean as it guided him. Oh, he kept course, of course, he may have been a little mad, but he was a sailor nonetheless and he knew better than to let the currents and wind take him too far from his direction.

When a ship appeared on the horizon, the captain smirked. Without a spyglass or any notification, he knew they were in for a bit of fun.

* * *

"Run out the guns! Draw swords! Anything!" James was yelling at the captain, angered by his insolence. Gillette came and took his arm, dragging him away before James realized how undignified it must look trying to pull away from his friend and former co-worker trying to lead him out of humiliation's ragged path.

"James, what is wrong? You are acting... unsound."

"Gillette, it's the Pearl, the Black Pearl." Gillette's eyes betrayed his fear but he kept his voice steady and firm, taking the man's arm and leading him to his cabin.

"James, you are frightening the crew. Why are you acting like this? You know as well as I that we are more than a match for the Pearl." Gillette did not believe that they would get through the match without a lot of damage and loss, but he stood his ground.

"Do not treat me as a child, and do not lie to me, nor yourself, lieutenant! Jack Sparrow, as much as I hate to say it, is the best pirate I have ever seen. He is not above murder. He will kill us all." He paused for not more than a second. "We must run out the guns, prepare to defend ourselves, if not attack! We must—"

"You are not captain of this ship!" Gillette exploded. "Nor are you commodore." His voice softened, "The Governor sent you on this vacation—"

"Leave... it is not a vacation, it is a mandatory leave of bloody absence, and you know it, they know it, every single person on this ship knows it! I did not choose to leave my duties! I was stripped of my colours, Gillette, if you must know." Remy's mouth dropped open. "Mandatory leave, however temporary it may be, was still forced on me."

"Stripped... oh James... I am sorry." Gillette knew better than to ask what happened. He knew what happened. He knew why.

"Don't sugar coat it anymore for me Remy. Not a person on this vessel is a friend or ally; all of them see me as a liability. Without rank or weapons, without reasonable judgement or whatever they might call it. They see me as just another person, but they look down on me now, and so do you." He glared at Gillette. "If no one will take my advice then I hope we all die and I will go down with my ship regardless of my station or status." Gillette did not speak. "I won't leave the bloody room if that is what you are worried about. Go back out there and organize your truce or what have you." Gillette did not move until James looked up again and pointed to the door. "Get out, Remy." His voice was monotonous but the rage and pain and sadness that layered in his eyes was more than enough to drive the officer away.

* * *

Jack ordered them to run out the guns and prepare to board as soon as they drew close enough. They were not to kill the captain or officers unless necessary. "And remember, Norrington is mine!"

The Dauntless did not surrender without a fight. As soon as the first shot fired from the Pearl, return fire issued without cease until Jack was satisfied that all were preoccupied enough to not notice a pirate swinging onboard and capturing precious cargo.

Jack slid past the officers and pirates on board, watching his men briefly to ensure they were not in it for the kill, but rather the capture, as he had ordered, and then he disappeared from all view.

* * *

James heard gunshots and yelling, growling and swords clashing. He tried the handle to his door and found it locked. A bloody lot of good it would have done him, without a weapon and all. He sat on the bed and decided it would be best to just wait out the fighting. If his men lost the ship would sink. If they won, they would later be on their merry way. He was fine where he was.

He did not hear many cries of pain; this made him curious. If the pirates were not killing the officers or vice versa then what in heaven's name was going on? He tried the door again, unable to slake his curiosity, and to his surprise, the door handle twisted under his fingers and flew open in at him. He jumped back in surprise.

He looked toward the door to see simply a silhouette of a figure standing with a sword and gun drawn against the bright sun backdrop. It was not until said figure moved that James saw the baubles and treasures in his hair and knew, without a doubt, that this was the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow.

He put on a face that did not say he was caught off guard, though that was, by now, blatantly obvious. He stared at the man, teeth clenched making that muscle in his jaw pop out and his eyes to narrow.

"Sparrow."

"Commodore." James did not flinch or make a move to correct the pirate, it would be better if he didn't know.

"Why have you raided my ship?"

"Why'd yer ship 'ave ye locked in yer quarters?" Jack threw back at him. "Why're ye not out there 'ead t' 'ead wit' me crew? Ye've taken the fun out of raidin' a ship of the Royal navy. Half of it is gettin' t' see the pretty face of the commodore finally admitting defeat, aye?" He winked and closed the door behind him as he walked into the room.

"If you are going to kill me, be done with it."

Jack smiled evilly. "Now 'at would be so easy, wouldn' it, mate?" He lifted the tip of his blade to Norrington's neck and deftly took the button off the top of his shirt before letting the sharp steel caress the man's neck dangerously. "Jus' lean forward a little," Jack did as he speculated he would do, but relented on the pressure, "an' yer neck starts spurtin' a lovely red." He smiled and let the blade linger before drawing it away. "Almost too easy, 'f ye ask me."

"I didn't."

"Point taken, but commodore, ye've still yet t' explain to meself wha' yer doin' in this fine cabin," he looked around at the barren room with distaste, "instead o' bein' out there choppin' me mates t' bits." The former commodore was silent. "Cat got yer tongue, mate?" Norrington clenched his teeth together so hard he feared he may break a tooth, or many. "Very well, then, I shall 'ave t' persuade ye t' let me in on yer little secret, aye?" He reached out took Norrington's arm in barely the blink of an eye and pulled out a set of manacles from seemingly nowhere and clapping them on his wrists before James even got it into his mind that he would resist.

James struggled a little and then his eyes opened wide in surprise. "What are you doing?"

Jack grinned his lopsided cocky grin. "Gettin' meself more formally acquainted with the fine commodore." He held the gun to Norrington's head and pushed against it brutally. "March, commodore."

Jack led the man out onto the deck of the ship and toward the front lines when he heard a shout, "Jamie!" from one of the men aboard. Jack grinned to himself both at the name and at the attention it got him from the men on board. All fell silent and the naval officers all took a step away from their foes to focus on the pirate captain and the former commodore in a very precarious situation.

"Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that I shall be taking this fine man with me as I leave. If ye wish yer mate to remain in one piece, I would ceasefire, remain in yer place on the water and see I not get word of yer coming after 'im at all, savvy? Now please, gentlemen, step aside so I might escort young Mister Norrington to my ship. Now, sirs!" The captain and the officers each took a step back, eyes focused on James thick with apology, regret, and sympathy.

Jack pressed the gun harder to James' temple and urged the man onto the boat. He stood on deck like this, gun to head, as the remainder of his crew returned and the ship set sail, until the members of the Dauntless' crew watched it sail past the horizon and out of sight.

* * *

Jack lowered his arm and shook it as though he had injured it, but he was standing there, aiming that gun for a very long time, so James could understand how it might have been a little tired. He did not say anything, but straightened his posture and glared at the pirate captain as he made his rounds.

"So mates, what swag did we pick up, eh?" Apparently, there was not much to filch. They scored some ammunition and foodstuffs for supplies, but a passenger ship does not carry so much cargo, and for this trip that was all the Dauntless seemed to be. It would not be until they returned to Port Royal that they would be carrying cargo. Jack seemed a little disappointed but not as much as James would have figured. If he had to wager a guess he would say that the pirates had come for one thing and one thing alone, and he was standing, dumb, on the deck.

Jack moseyed back over to the former commodore and slung his arm around the stiff shoulders. "Aw commodore, no warm welcomes here? I thought ye would 'ave been ecstatic to see me lovely face again, aye?"

"Hardly." James shrugged the arm off and stood as though at attention, face straight ahead.

"Now, now, Jamie," this title irked him, as it revealed something that Jack had not known about him previously, his name, "we're all friends 'ere. No need for harsh words and the like." James suppressed a sigh. "Come now, lets get you acquainted with yer new quarters, aye?" Fittingly, Jack led the man to the brig.

* * *

James sat in the dark dank pit of a belly of the Black Pearl and stared at the opposite wall, into a cell, at the man who dangled from a set of manacles, bloodied and beaten. Norrington wondered what he had done to deserve such a thrashing.

He had been down there a day and a night and had nothing but brackish water and stale bread for the previous day's meal. However, he was not expecting lobster or steak in the brig of a pirate ship. He knew better than that. Hell, he knew better than to hope he would get out of this with his life.

'I wonder if anyone is even going to come after me, after all, it is not as though they cannot do without an unstable commodore, and they can certainly do without putting holes in the only decent ship the port has left to its name. My ship.' He sighed and heard a noise. Just the man in the next cell moving a little, into a more comfortable position, though how it could be comfortable to sit or lean against the wall with lashings across his back like that, the former officer could not fathom.

Another noise sounded and both men looked up to see the pirate captain, followed by the black pearl of the Black Pearl and a former navy man, who Norrington recognized. Both men moved to stand in the narrow space between cells and they looked back and forth between the two captives while Anamaria stood back.

"Are ye gettin' t' know each other better?" Jack smirked at this and the words were followed by silence, not that the captain had anticipated anything more. "Wonderful! However, Norrington, I am afraid our man here will not be graced by your presence any longer." The woman tossed Gibbs the keys and he unlocked the cell in which Norrington sat and pulled James to his feet.

The former commodore was led by the hands up the stairs to face the rather grey day and then pulled none too gently in a different direction. He had half expected them to make him walk the plank or something. He found himself outside the captain's cabin, standing next to the fearsome pirate himself. He put on a stern face that said he would not tolerate Sparrow's meaningless banter with him today, not when he had to endure life on his ship.

Jack just smiled and waved his hand at the door to his cabin, allowing the man to enter. James did. He gasped.

What awaited him was not a room full of luscious velvet and a canopy bed, chests of treasure or even mahogany furniture as Norrington would have expected from a greedy pirate, but it was, instead, a humble room, small and neat, with a chest on the floor by the bed, which was bolted down and covered not in velvet, or even fine silks, but cotton cloths and feather pillows. The furniture was sparse and certainly not mahogany, no, it did not express the riches of this man who stood next to him, it was a most modest collection of tables and chairs, though there were two bookcases, surprisingly filled with books, maps, and other things, and a cupboard, no doubt full of treasure or jewels or something, James thought.

"Are ye goin' t' walk in th' room or stand out 'ere, starin' at it?"

James cleared his throat and stepped in, which was when he noticed the last detail, there was a dinner set out on the table and two places set. He looked at the pirate captain who paid him no mind, but led him to the table and took the manacles off him. He rubbed his wrists and stared at Jack as he moved to sit down at the meagre table.

Jack looked up at him again, "Commodore, ye may as well sit, ye've nowhere else t' go."

James paused for a moment and sat down at the other setting. Jack pulled the cover off the meal and let out a billow of steam which, when it drifted away, left behind a tantalizing scent of—

"Is that lobster?" Jack nodded. "And steak?" Another nod. James felt about to pass out. His mouth was watering and he felt utterly foolish after wondering briefly if he had gone totally mad, or if Sparrow had learned to read minds.

"Nay, mate, I don't read yer mind, I jus' know that this is somethin' officers don't tend to enjoy on a regular basis, thought I'd treat ye this once, aye?" James swallowed and nodded. Thinking he probably just said the last thing aloud. Jack picked up utensils— utensils being used by a pirate— and started to dish James out a helping of meat, lobster, and various other items until James held up his hand to stop him.

"What... what are you doing?" Jack looked blankly at him.

"'M feedin' you, of course." James swallowed.

"But why?" He blurted out.

Jack sat back in his chair and gave the former commodore a once over quickly, "It'd be inhumane t' starve ye, would it not?"

James was speechless as the man started to dig into his own food and suddenly felt verifiably weak all over. His stomach made the final decision with a loud rumble that caused the pirate captain to look up from his meal. James dug in.

* * *

Jack watched, eating patiently as the man started eating the food set before him with a stunned look on his face. He watched James stare wide-eyed at it even as he swallowed it, looking as though he thought it would vanish the moment he blinked.

"Are ye all right, mate?" Jack asked. James looked up and sipped the wine Jack had poured.

He paused and pondered for a moment. "I am considering whether this is my inevitable madness or reality."

Jack smirked, "Does it matter."

That took James off guard. "I suppose not, no." He continued eating with as much dignity and grace as he could muster with the excitement of being fed a full meal of such quality by the same pirate captain he feared would kill him given a moment's chance.

The supper passed quickly enough and Jack sat picking his teeth while Norrington finished his wine, still looking rather startled. Jack watched him as he fiddled with his hands, seeming not to know what to do with himself. "Never been on a pirate vessel before, mate?" James looked at the captain and shook his head. "Ah, ye thought we'd treat all our prisoners with malice and disdain?"

James shrugged. "Pirates are, by nature, malicious. It surprised me, to say the least, that you would offer me to eat with you in your cabin, let alone feed me such... a feast." Jack smiled proudly.

"Yes well, no' all us pirates are all tha' bad." He nodded and slammed back the last of the wine before standing. James sat still, not knowing the protocol for this. Should he stand and thank his host? Would it be appropriate considering his host was the captain of the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean? Should he accuse Jack of trying to confuse him or harm him somehow? Ask questions? Consider himself mad? It was quite a coincidence that Jack fed him the same meal he had been thinking of less than an hour prior to this surprise invitation. Maybe he had finally lost his mind.

"Are ye thinkin' ye've lost yer mind, mate?" James looked up, thoroughly wondering whether Jack Sparrow was even real or just in his head. How else could he be picking the thoughts out of his mind and firing questions at him concerning them?

James swallowed tentatively. "I am considering that, yes."

"Don't. Jus' the principle of wondering if ye're mad ensures that ye cannot possibly be so. Any man who is mad thinks he is not, and any mad who is not mad inevitably thinks he is." James nodded at this, still not meeting Jack's eyes. A long silence passed and James knew it was his turn to speak and Jack would wait until he said something before taking his turn again. So James thought of something, one thing he could say, that could convey the confusion he felt and perhaps get the most straightforward answer out of it.

"What...?" He got only that far and Jack answered.

"... Are you doing here?" He smiled, "I kidnapped ye, of course, right off yer own vessel. What do I want with ye? I've not figured 't out for meself jus' yet. What did I feed ye for? Why the 'ell no', I'm no' as cruel a bastard as Barbossa, you'll notice. And what am I goin' t' do wit' ye? Oh, I'm sure some exciting and excruciatingly nasty project will flitter 'cross me frazzled brain for ye, 'n' I'm sure as the sun rises each day, that ye're not goin' t' want t' do it, but neither are ye goin' t' be given a choice."

"You came for me?"

Jack nodded. "Of course I came for ye, commodore." James could not hide the flinch at the use of his title, but he hid it behind moving to replace his glass. He was unsure whether Jack noticed. "Couldn't let such a fine man be on a vacation wit'out a taste of Jack Sparrow's lifestyle. Every day 's a vacation t' me, mate."

James nodded. "Of course, what is a vacation without a little piracy and debauchery?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Are you going to kill me?"

Jack smiled evilly and James could not read those eyes. "Guess ye'll jus' 'ave t' find tha' one out yerself, love." Jack stood and walked from the cabin onto the deck without so much as a glance back or a word more to the former officer. James sighed and slouched down.

* * *

Jack stood on deck watching as the sun set and thinking to himself. He had been watching the man in his cabin, watching as he ate, what he looked like when he was thinking, how he reacted to certain things he said, and Jack Sparrow was not one to miss anything.

The man was so shocked at Jack's generosity he had not moved until Jack had urged him thoroughly and convinced him that his madness either did not exist or did not matter. He ate as though he were seated in front of a table of kings and gentlemen and not a pirate captain. He found it hard to take in some of Jack's responses to the many questions James would have asked Jack if the pirate had not stolen the privilege from the navy man. Also, speaking of the navy, Jack did not miss the very obvious flinch from James when he addressed him formally.

The pirate captain walked to the helm and Anamaria moved as though to let him take it, but he shook his head and simply stood looking out to the waves while fishing around inside his clothes for that tell tale scrap of paper that would help him determine the mystery of James L. Norrington.

* * *

James stayed in Jack's room not knowing what was expected of him, and he perused the bookshelf. He pulled out many maps and looked thoughtfully at them before tucking them back where they were. He continued to look at various books and objects lying around. He found journals, those obviously kept by the pirate, books, whether stolen or legitimately owned, they were worn thin, pages falling out and the whole bit. James was impressed with the collection.

He approached the bed, it seemed to be fully made. He was in awe at that; who knew a pirate captain would be such a neat freak? However, there was only so much with which James could keep himself occupied. After a while, he sat down on the bed only to find it much more comfortable than it looked at first glance. He watched the door for a few moment, as if simply looking at it would heed some information as to whether Jack was going to come through it any time soon.

Finally, he decided he did not care; the pirate had left him alone in the room and he had no idea as to whether he was prisoner or guest on this ridiculous voyage, the only common sense thing to do was make himself feel at home.

* * *

When Jack walked into his cabin later that day he found Norrington laying on his bed with a book open on his chest, his head tilted to one side breathing deeply in the satisfaction of sleep. Jack found himself wondering if the man had slept at all the previous night, what with being in the brig and all. He shook his head and moved to the officer's side.

With one more glance down on the peaceful sleeping figure Jack sighed and then scowled and snatched the book off his chest. He scowled at the pages of his journal and looked around as if for some explanation, one he was unable to find.

He glanced in the book to find that the man had only gotten a few pages in before falling asleep. Jack put the book back on the shelf and sat down on the chair, kicking his booted feet up on the table and pulling out that sheet of paper that had grown wrinkled and worn in his grasp.

Jack looked over the paper one last time, trying to find some solution to the puzzle that lay before him, he kept his eyes on the commodore for a good while longer. Actually, it was a long time, he noticed when suddenly the only light playing on the man's face came from the candle on the table. He stared until the man's eyes started to flutter open and the thought crossed the pirate's mind that this man was very handsome, as a matter of fact. He wiped the idea from his thoughts and plastered a predatory smile to his lips to meet James as he awoke.

"Jack," was the first word from his mouth. Then, "What time is it?"

"Well into th' night, love."

James sat up in the bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes, straightening himself to look a little less like he just woke up.

"Ye don't need t' be lookin' all pretty and proper for me, mate, I'm a pirate, after all." James stopped at these words and caught the pirate's eye before giving a last tug on his shirt in finality. "D'ye get any sleep at all last night?"

James sat up straight, feet on the floor, staring at the pirate. "Not much, no." He paused, eyeing Jack. "How long have you been sitting there?"

Jack shrugged. "Since before the sun set."

"You have been watching me?"

Another predatory smirk. "Not much else t' do when yer hoggin' the sheets, aye?" James stood straight up at this but Jack held out his hand and stood to convince the man back down into a sitting position. "Don' worry, love, if I wanted t' sleep I've no inhibitions about climbin' under the sheets wit' ye." James' eyes widened and Jack laughed. "If ye wanted t' sleep, ye coulda jus' put th' 'ammock up, eh."

James wondered why everything that came out of Jack's mouth sounded like a question. He ignored it and stared at the pirate. After a few moments James found a question to ask.

"Where are you taking me?" Jack shrugged. "You don't know?"

"A pirate never knows where they are going until they end up somewhere." James sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Indeed, well, regardless of that, I still don't know what you want with me, why you abducted me, or what will happen to me henceforth."

With a laugh Jack replied, "Neither do I."

James stood. "So am I prisoner on this vessel? Am I guest?" Jack looked confused by the question. "Well you hold me at gunpoint and then lock me in the brig, only to, afterwards, invite me to your cabin, feed me a delicious meal and allow me to sleep in your bed. Where does this leave me, captain?"

Jack had to admit, it gave him a thrill to see the man so wholly confused and out of sorts. He somewhat enjoyed having this power over Norrington. "Where do ye want t' be left, Norrington?"

"What in heaven's name does that mean?"

Jack stood and approached the man tossing an apple into the air and catching it a few times as he grew closer to James. "Do ye want t' be prisoner, shackled and tied to the bed? Do ye want t' be guest, maybe then we'll use silk? Or shall we pretend ye're the one in charge 'ere? Ye can even work the helm if ye see fit."

James looked utterly disgusted by the insinuations Captain Sparrow was making and Jack seemed to revel in it. "Do not play games with me Sparrow."

"'M not playin' games, love."

"Will you cease that—"

"Wha'?"

James threw up his hands in frustration and sat on the bed, resting his head in his hands. He had endured about enough. "Captain Sparrow, will you please tell me anything and everything that I want to know without fooling around."

"Gettin' tired o' hearin' me voice, then?"

"I am getting tired of everything, please... just...."

Jack sat down next to James on the bed and placed his arm around the former officer in a friendly manner, but James tensed. Jack did not move his arm forcing Norrington to relax or react; he chose the former. "I ran into a ship a few days back, merchant ship, carrying some very interesting cargo. Letters, notices, information. I found lots o' very interesting notes containing notices as to th' whereabouts of various ships an' wha' they were carrying, thought it would yield a great profit, know where an' when t' find a vessel an' rob them blind. 'Owever, found somethin' else of interest."

James sighed, yes, he knew when the story began where this was going. How fortunate, he was meant to be humiliated in front of one who he swore as his worst enemy.

"Governor Swann left a letter lyin' about on said ship with a little personal message to meself, ye see. 'Commodore Norrington taking a much needed vacation.' Well you should 'ave seen me eyes when I read that page, knew some fun was t' be 'ad. Glad ye could participate."

He patted James on the back and barked a laugh. "Like I said before, there is no such thing as a vacation without piracy, is there?" Jack nodded at the words.

"Though' I'd save ye from a dull an' borin' time relaxin' and show ye a little of a pirate life."

"Thank you, Sparrow, however, that was not necessary, I am sure I would have had a fine time without being taken hostage by an infamous pirate on a ship that once held his cursed crew. So if you would be so kind as to drop me off at the next port...."

"'M afraid tha' can't happen, Jamie." James cringed at the endearing use of his name. "Ye should know better than that. When I get an idea int' me fried little brain I follow through until it proves a success."

"And if it does not?"

"Then ye'll be here a hell of a long time, mate."

* * *

James was at the helm of the ship. He grasped the rough wood beneath his fingers and did as Jack bid, let the ship pull him where it would. There was no course to follow, no where that they needed to go, so James could have his time with the ship, Jack figured it was a good a way as any to figure whether he liked her, and whether she returned the sentiment.

James closed his eyes and let the ship drive herself. He breathed the salt air and listened to the waves. It had been a long time, it seemed, since he was at the helm of any ship. It was probably not any longer than since he had been sent on his leave. He sighed when that thought crossed his mind and forced it away.

After a while he smelled something different, faintly earthy and sweet, like too much rum. He opened his eyes on Jack's face. The pirates smiled at him. "She likes ye, mate." James raised an eyebrow and Jack tilted his head in a direction James' eyes were meant to follow. He looked over and low and behold there was a ship.

"What do you mean— Oh no, no Sparrow, we are not going to...."

The pirate captain smirked and leaned close to the former commodore. "Ye bet we are, James."

Jack started to yell orders to the crew and they started to bustle with activity. James just stood at the helm and watched as they got ready to board the other ship. It was a merchant vessel, one Norrington had not seen before, or did not remember, at least. Jack finally ordered Anamaria to take the helm and he pulled Norrington to his side.

James turned to him, eyes fiery and lips drawn back in a snarl. "You cannot do this! Who do you think you are?"

Jack laughed, "A pirate, mate."

"You cannot simply steal things from others, it is not right!"

"Right or not, mate, it's 'ow we make a livin'."

"I will not just stand here and let this happen." He moved to turn the helm in a different direction but Jack was ready for him. He grabbed the man's arm and spun him toward himself just so and before James knew it his arm was shackled to the railing.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Keeping you from gettin' killed in the battle, if there is t' be a battle, an' keepin' ye from tryin' t' do anythin' about our little mission, aye?"

Jack draped his arm over James' shoulders and leaned close enough for James to feel the heat of his breath on his cheek. He could almost taste the sweetness of the rum on his lips. He opened his eyes realizing they had drifted shut, curious.

"Ye don't have t' do anythin' mate, jus' enjoy the show." He held James firmly, but James did not move as his desire to be shot or run through by bloodthirsty pirates was nonexistent. His teeth were gritted and his lips drawn tight.

"Of all the ships and pirates in the Caribbean, I had to get captured and brought on this one," Jack was about to throw back a witty remark when his attention was captured by proceedings.

James watched as the pirates boarded the other ship and held the crew at gun and sword point while various pirates raided the holds and transferred a good amount of swag to their own precious ship. No one on the other ship tried to resist, so to James' surprise no one was harmed or killed in this endeavour.

He watched as Jack waved his other arm at his men and ordered them about while keeping a firm hold on Norrington with the first arm. It did not take long before the crew was back over on their ship and they were watching as the merchant ship disappeared over the horizon.

"How'd ye like that, James, me lad?"

Norrington was rather speechless. After a moment of stuttering he spurted out, "You didn't kill anyone."

Jack laughed. "Of course not, what's th' use in killin' when ye can get what ye want jus' as well without?"

James shook his head. "I thought—"

"Ye though' all pirates were bloodthirsty murdering thieves that would do anythin' for a hal'penny." He eyed the former commodore as though trying to convey through his eyes alone that the man should reconsider his previous misconceptions. "We may be thieves, we may be dangerous, and occasionally we may be murderers, but 'we' is a general word, mate. Jus' remember that."

* * *

That night they dined in the captain's cabin again, after James had had time to think on what Jack said. He was rather quiet through the whole meal, but his mind was at work still with so many things.... Jack finally had enough and forced the man to speak.

"Wha's on yer mind, Jamie?"

Norrington was silent as he chewed a moment longer before responding. "A lot, I suppose." He caught the captain's eye. "And you, Sparrow?"

"Captain Sparrow to you, James." He smiled as James frowned in distaste, "But I s'ppose ye can call me Jack in me cabin, aye?" James nodded but did not smile, though his appreciation for the sentiment was clear through his clear green eyes. 'Very nice green eyes, if I say so me self,' Jack thought. "'Owever, ye'll not be getting off that easily, Jamie. Ye look like yer so lost in yer head ye'd eat that fork without noticin'. What're ye thinking about?"

James sighed and put the fork down on the empty plate and sipped his drink. "Pirates, the navy, Port Royal, Elizabeth."

"Let's pick one, aye? Ye can tell me what ye've been thinkin' 'bout." Jack seemed to be thinking a while but looked back at James raising his finger in the air in decision, "Tell me what's on yer mind 'bout fair 'Lizabeth."

James actually cracked a smile, as though he had known Jack would pick the most painful subject for him. He swallowed and set the drink back on the table. "I... suppose." Jack nodded and plastered an interested look on his face as he waited for Norrington to begin. James smiled a little, "She was the only person I really loved, you know. She was beautiful and brilliant, she could fight if you asked her to, I taught her when she was young, but don't tell the Governor, he'd..." James would have just said that Swann would have his job, but it was a little late for that, "... he would not be happy." He swallowed again and continued.

"She and I courted a little, her father usually talked her into it, I'm sure, and she was too polite to decline. I don't know if she was ever really interested in me, or if she just played along to appease him. It was clear at first how she felt about William, she adored the boy, thought he was brave and handsome, he had survived an attack by pirates in the middle of the ocean, it was in her mind that we had rescued him for a reason that day, he was to do something spectacular, save a country or something, and I suppose he is a hero of sorts, as are you and Miss Swann... to be Mrs. Turner. I should have known she would pick him over me." He sighed and finished his drink only to have Jack pour him another.

It was silent for a while but Jack did not speak, if he gave Norrington enough time he might say something interesting, and Jack did love to prey on the vulnerable emotions of people who had interesting things to say about painful subjects.

"It has been a rough year," a year since the trouble with the undead pirates. "I suppose they did not want me at the wedding anyway." He smiled at Jack then and drank some more down, clearly trying to burn the hurt away with the rum.

"Ye left on vacation before their wedding?" Norrington shrugged.

"Governor Swann... asked... me to leave then, when I left, and I was not about to decline."

"He asked you to leave."

"He planned the trip himself." Jack nodded and locked this information away for future use and James laughed a little, a dry humourless laugh. "I wish them well, however." He nodded. "Yes, good luck to them." He lifted his glass and Jack did as well, watching James carefully.

After a long silence Jack said, "Shall we speak of something else, then?"

James nodded, "Please, lets." He thought a moment, "What endeavours has the Black Pearl and her crew been on in the last year?"

Jack laughed and shrugged, "We've gone here and there, collected the treasure from the Isla de Muerta, as I am sure you have guessed, and pillaged, plundered, et cetera, as you would expect from regular pirates."

"Ah, but you are not regular pirates. You are Captain Jack Sparrow. Not the murdering type, as I recall. How much have I misjudged you in other areas, Jack?"

With another swig of his rum Jack leaned back in his chair, "Well I am no' the kind who hesitates t' kill when need be, but I will no' do so unnecessarily. I am sure ye remember the fellow in the brig— oh, I forgot about him, perhaps I should have some food sent down there—" he made a face and then shook it off, "anyhow, tha' man was th' only man aboard this ship that dared disobey me orders when I said no one was t' be killed on a raid."

"He killed someone... and you—"

"I introduced him t' the cat." James did not need to ask what the cat was; he saw the injuries littered all over the man's body. "Me crew needs t' be loyal. I'll no' be takin' no back talk, nor will I put up with direct disobeying of orders. 'E killed an innocent man, 'e's lucky I didn't ask for full retribution." James raised an eyebrow. "Eye for an eye, mate. If I weren't so nice, ye'd not 'ave 'ad 'is company at all, down there." James swallowed and nodded. "But!" He raised a finger with purpose, "I am not so terrible a pirate as many others who would have done that."

James thought on that for the moment that followed in silence. Then Jack remembered what they were talking about.

"Ah! So 'ow else are we different from other pirates? Well, I'd say that there was the main one, other things... We've a woman aboard, tha's rare, we've the courage and fortitude t' kidnap a commodore of the royal navy, t' bring 'im t' me cabin, feed 'im good things, and trust 'e's not about t' slit me throat in me sleep." James smiled and looked down at the drink on the table.

"You put a lot of faith in me, captain."

"I also trust ye're not stupid. Ye're aboard a pirate ship, probably not the best idea to kill their captain, aye?" He grinned and leaned closer dangerously, "It'd be the signature on yer death certificate tha', an' don' forget it, love." He winked and James tried to ignore the threat, however light-hearted.

"Aye." James laughed. "That, understandably, has not crossed my mind."

"Good!" Jack cheered and raised his drink. "I'll drink to that!" With another chuckle Norrington met the toast.

By this time the sun was setting and the candles were being lit about the cabin and Jack was getting slightly freer with his speech. James kept a tight rein on himself all this time so far. He was enjoying himself, however strange that might seem, since he was in the company of a dreaded pirate captain. James was laughing and forgetting, exactly what he had intended to do on his time away. It helped. It helped to think of it as a vacation and not what it really was.

"What did the letter say?" Norrington asked suddenly. "May I see it?"

Jack gave the man a strange look. Obviously, James realized, he had not included Jack in on the conversation in his head. "From Governor Swann, the one about my vacation." Jack made an "O" shape with his mouth and drew the page from his pocket to hand to him. It was time to figure out just how much Jack knew.

It was full of a lot of large words and blubbering about, as the Governor was known for, it was long and drawn out, when it would have been easier for him to just bloody say it. It said something to the effect of, "James L. Norrington will be taking a leave of absence from his duties as Commodore of the Royal Navy. He will be taking a holiday at Nassau Port to be delivered by the Dauntless at such and such a date which will be leaving Port Royal at such and such a date." James looked and nodded, letting the words sober him a little.

"Anythin' interestin' there, mate?" Jack tilted his head as though to hear better and James set the paper on the table.

"About what I expected." He took a long draught of his rum and placed the empty cup back down.

"Ah, well tha' is good then. Nothin' t' worry about." James shrugged. Clearly he was less agreeable than he had been ten minutes prior. "Somethin' else on yer mind, commodore?" Jack batted his lashes but James did not notice.

"Could you please refrain from calling me that here, Captain Sparrow?" James only sounded a little testy, but Jack knew that was a far stride from his normally restrained anger and irritation. A little anger showing meant the man was about ready to burst. Jack smiled, and how long would it take before that happened, he wondered?

"But commodore, it is no' polite t' not address a gentlemen by 'is formal title at the dinner table." Jack gave his crooked smile and kicked his feet up on the table as though to reinforce the idea that this was not a fancy dinner table, and it was instead a pirates' living quarters.

James sighed. "Jack...." He sighed, he did not know what to say without telling the pirate captain all about his misfortunes and that would be a mistake as James had yet to even admit them to himself.

He looked up again only to find the pirate captain's face mere inches from his own and he sat back abruptly in his chair. "James...." Jack sighed back.

Norrington cleared his throat and made as if to stand but Jack would not let him move. "Jack, if you please, I... I am on vacation and I would prefer to leave behind my career for the time being." Jack smiled.

"Oh good, because I would 'ate t' think it was a commodore of th' Navy I've done such wicked things to." His voice was low and husky and his smile ludicrously suggestive. James ignored it.

"Yes, it is rather a terrible offence to kidnap an officer of the Royal Navy isn't it?" His face was darkened and he frowned, irritated. He stood up with more force, knocking Jack more off balance than before. "If you'll excuse me, I need some air."

* * *

James stood out on the deck of the Pearl in the brilliant light of the moon and moved to the rail to look out on the black waves. He sighed and shook his head a little, he had imbibed too much tonight. He just wanted to forget, forget everything that happened in the past two weeks, everything that happened in the past year, for that matter, he wanted to forget that he was a commodore, he wanted to forget he was James L. Norrington. He sighed. He wished he could just forget.

'But that is no reason to set to a drinking game with a pirate. The only thing that will do is put you in a worse place than you were before,' he thought to himself. 'Just now you were having a hard time getting up and away from that filthy pirate when he looked very much like he would have gone... well... down on you.'

James shook his head again. These were not proper thoughts for an English gentleman. However much he wanted to forget it all, however much he needed to relax, while he was here he could not forget who he was and the responsibilities he carried, or did carry, before.

'If you do nothing else, James, do not give Jack the upper hand. Do not let him find out... what happened.' James sighed and nodded to the voice in his head. No, it would be a disaster to think that he could trust the pirate with any of this knowledge, hell, someone gave him a little legroom and he took the whole floor, went out and kidnapped an officer right off his ship. No, Jack must not find out. If anything, the pirate could not find out he was... no longer commodore.

* * *

When James emerged from a cabin the next morning, Jack was at the helm and surprisingly enough there was land in sight. James did not recognize this particular place, which was unsurprising to say the least; he only ever dealt with other ports.

He approached Jack and was surprised to find the short little sailor, Mart, shoving a tin cup into his hand, full of what appeared to be tea. He sniffed at it and with a surprised raise of his eyebrows, thanked the little man before returning on his way.

"James." Jack nodded though did not take his eyes off the land before him.

"Jack," James said, returning the greeting. After a moment, Norrington sighed, realising Jack was not going to answer the obvious question laid before him, he was more literal than most, did not infer anything and only responded if asked directly. "Would it be too much to ask where we are going?"

"Nay, commodore, it would no' be too much at all." Jack smiled, the gold in his mouth glinting as the sun caught it, but his eyes returned to the way before them and he did not say anything more.

James actually laughed. "Sparrow, have I ever told you how infuriating and irritating you are?"

Jack pulled James closer with his hand and draped his arm around the former officer's shoulders. "Ye don' 'ave t' say it, mate, the sentiment is pasted right on yer face for all t' see, 'owever, they, the all of course, very likely, feel the same way." He winked and took the cup from Norrington, taking a sip and making a face. "'Orrid stuff, that."

"Better than kill devil." Jack flashed him a grin but said nothing. "Well, man, are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"Ye 'aven't asked, Jamie."

With a final sigh of defeat he spelled it out in a monotonous and plain voice, not masking his irritation. "Where are we going, Jack Sparrow?"

"Captain, t' you, mate." He paused until James was about ready to tear out his own hair, or Jack's if he thought it would do any good, when finally the pirate answered. "We are simply going to stash what lovely sparklies we've got in our hold and spend a few days on land restocking and celebrating."

"Celebrating?"

"Aye!"

With a sigh. "Celebrating what?" he asked.

"Why whatever we like! To friendship, to excitement, to the royal navy, if ye like!" Jack took the cup again and sniffed it before smiling and downing the rest of the hot tea. "That was t' you, Commodore Jamie, for bein' such a good sport!" He laughed and leaned forward, pulling Norrington closer and planting his lips on James' cheek for a big wet kiss, which he followed with a slow swipe of his tongue from cheek to ear.

Surprised and startled at the strange actions, James jumped back and stared at Jack, not in contempt, not in anger, not in glee, just stared. Finally he turned away and walked back to the captain's cabin and locked himself inside.

* * *

Jack smiled and laughed in amusement at tossed the cup at Mart who caught it and tossed it down the line until it returned to the galley. Anamaria stood with Gibbs close to the captain with silly grins on their faces.

"Captain Sparrow, what was that?" The lady asked.

"Jus' a bit o' fun." He laughed and Gibbs laughed with him. "It's no' good for a man to remain on me ship and have 'is head about 'im. Need t' keep 'em off balance, ye see."

Anamaria's smile pulled at the side of her mouth and with her arms crossed it looked quite like she knew something that Jack did not know himself. Jack did not like those smiles, they usually meant he was the butt of some joke. He shrugged it off and started humming that song, and oh, what a lovely song it was.

* * *

James paced the cabin for a while until he felt it necessary to sit down. However, when he was seated he tapped his boot so much that he found it was ridiculous to remain immobile, so he stood and began to pace again.

James never paced. Well, rather, he did pace, but only when he was very confused, irritated, or disoriented. He was all three at the moment. He could not remember all of the previous night with a great degree of certainty, but he could remember Jack crouched in front of him, not letting him up, staring at him as hungrily as he had stared at the supper before them earlier that evening. He remembered needing to leave the room because... well because it was not proper to give a pirate the opportunity to ogle at a commodore... former commodore... of the royal navy in such a way.

Then, just now, without the assistance of rum, Jack had invaded James' personal space more to go so far as to lay a kiss on his cheek. Clearly that part was meant to be jest, and he could understand, if the pirate thought them to be comrades, that he would be comfortable joking in such a way. But the feeling of that tongue sliding up to his ear, it made James lift his hand to his face to check again to see if there was still a wet trail of saliva still on his skin. It made him shiver and swallow and wonder.

'But what is there to wonder? The pirate is being who he is, a debauching, leering, crude, irritating, nuisance. He would go so far to throw me off balance. He wants to keep me confused, confuse me farther. That is his plan, if he throws me for a loop there is less chance that... that what? Oh, I don't know. What is the use trying to understand a filthy pirate anyway?' He sighed and crossed the room to the bed where he sat down again.

Speaking of filthy pirate, he felt pretty filthy now. It had been a while since he had seen a proper bath and soap. He was sure he smelled terrible, and he probably looked as bad. He sighed and walked over to a bookcase, picked up a book, looked inside and set it back down. He opened a few of the maps and peered at them to see many unfamiliar coastlines. It seemed the pirate was a worldly sort. He sighed and was about to find something to occupy him when the door opened.

"Sparrow!"

"Captain," The man reminded him.

"The door was locked."

"And what sort of pirate captain would I be t' no' 'ave th' key to 'is own door on 'im at all times?" James sighed as Jack walked into the room and shut the door. "An' what's got yer knickers in a twist, aye?"

James sighed and stood straighter. "Nothing, I would just rather be alone for a while."

"Well, be 'lone all ye want, but I'm no' lettin' ye out of me sight."

James narrowed his eyes in incredulity and struggled for the words. "You... you truly are mad, aren't you?"

"Loopy as they come, mate." He smiled and picked an apple out of the dish and started chewing on a rather large bite of it. James sat down on the bed. "Look, I can't leave ye alone on me ship, last time I did ye'd gone through me things." He gestured to the bookshelf.

"I was just trying to find something to occupy myself."

"Yes, and ye could 'ave picked somethin' by Shakespeare or looked at the maps as ye were jus' doin', but no, ye 'ad t' pick—"

"You are upset because I read your journal?"

Jack puffed up angrily. "O' course! Ye don' jus' go 'round and start readin' others' personal thoughts! I though' I was th' pirate 'ere!"

"Perhaps you should have placed it in a box with a lock or something, as opposed to leaving it out in the open where anyone could see it and fancy to pick it up."

Jack stood and his eyebrows drew together in frustrated anger, "Well ye don' see me comin' 'long and fingerin' through yer undergarments, do ye? Just flick open a drawer and there they are, but no, Cap'n Jack wouldn' do tha'!"

"You do far worse, captain." James was getting irritated, it was just a bloody journal for goodness sake.

Jack's voice was gaining in pitch and his gestures were becoming wilder. How was it that this mattered so much to the pirate that he was getting so worked up? "Oh? I never touch anythin' more personal than yer silver and gold. If a bit o' shine matters 'at much to ye, then ye've got a bigger problem than I!"

James stood up and straightened his shoulders, tried to look more intimidating, tried to look like a naval officer. "Wrong, Sparrow! I seem to recall you commandeering a ship of the fleet, sailing off with it and getting it blown to bits in the middle of the ocean. I seem to remember you getting us into the problem with the undead pirates."

"That was Barbossa, mate, don't shoulder blame ont' me."

"Oh? And who was it that started the search for the treasure? Who was it that lured them to the gold so they could become... whatever they were... in the first place? I believe that blame can solely be laid on you!"

Jack's face fell a little and he held up a finger as though to rebut that comment but James was not finished.

"It was you who started the mess. Because of you, Miss Swann was taken, the interceptor destroyed, and the Dauntless raided by those filthy creatures killing my men!" James' face was getting red and he approached Jack until his back was against the wall. "Do you have any idea what that does to a man? Do you have any idea how much I suffered the knowledge that I led my men into a battle you started only to be slain without even the slightest chance of survival? Do you know what blame was placed on my shoulders because of your lust for treasure?"

Jack waited out James' accusations, each moment seeing the pain grow on his face. The man was about to lose it. Jack held up his hand again only to have it slapped away by the commodore.

"Do you even care what happened to those people? Do you care how it affected Elizabeth or William or me? Do you care that I have had nightmares every night since the night we faced them, those only on the nights I slept, which were few and far between?" James shook his head and Jack felt his heart sink. James took a step back and sat back down on the bed. He rested his head in his hands and started to shake. Jack watched for a moment before it became evident that the man, the strong commodore of the royal navy, the one Jack had taken captive, was weeping.

Jack took a few tentative steps toward James and finally sat on the bed next to him. He looked around as though asking the room what he should do. He rested his arm on James' shoulders but Norrington did not seem to notice. The tears he cried were silent ones and after a moment he relaxed into the comfort of Jack's arm.

Jack swallowed and watched as James shook and felt himself melt. He was right. This was his fault. Well, not from the beginning, in that sense it was Cortez's fault, but it was his fault that Barbossa and his crew took the gold, became cursed, and all the events that happened thereafter were his fault too. Did James blame him for what happened?

"So you blame me, then?" He asked after James stopped shaking a little.

James sighed and wiped his face, pulling back from Jack's embrace. His voice shook. "I... don't know. I feel like I should. It logically says that it is your fault... but I... can't help but blame myself."

"Blame yourself? But why would you do that?"

James shook his head. "I led them into battle. I lured them to their deaths."

"You didn't know, mate!"

After a moment he gave a nod. "But it doesn't make me any less to blame. It didn't help that in the nightmares it was I with a sword clutched in a hand of only bone. It still does not help." Tears glistened again in his eyes and Jack wanted to reach out to him. He felt a pull that he had not felt... in a long time.

"Jamie... you are not to blame." James shook his head and lowered his eyes to the ground. "James, it is not your fault."

"Not that, I suppose. No, not that...." Jack felt him want to say more, he knew there was something missing.

In a moment of weakness James almost told him, almost revealed what he had told himself never to reveal. He closed his mouth firmly and would say no more. Then he felt something... very strange.

Jack was pulling him closer, he crossed his legs on the bed and pulled James into himself. He swallowed, and relaxed into holding the man, who also seemed tense, but after a moment, James realized that all the man wanted to do was comfort him, and he sighed and relaxed, and let himself just be.

The strangest notions passed through Norrington's head, about pirates and kindness and Jack. Jack never showed him anything but kindness, while Norrington wanted him dead. Norrington had something against all pirates, something about thinking the rules did not apply to them, something about wanting so much for themselves and giving nothing. Jack never seemed this way to him. Jack gave plenty, he only took what he needed, he threatened and stole like the rest of them, but all he ever seemed to want was what should have already been his: freedom.

James found that his tears had subsided. His eyes were closed and he concentrated on the feeling of Jack making little circles on his back, on the feel of his face against the pirate's chest. Now that he was there, he was not bothered by the scent of the man. It was a little earthy, he must admit, but it smelled sweet, spicy, maybe a mixture of the two.

And he was hot. James could feel the heat of the pirate radiating off his body. He could feel the hand on his back now as though it was burning through his shirt and searing the skin. It felt very nice, James did not want to move, he could stay there all day.

Alas he had to sit up, he was quite obviously not crying anymore, very much more calm than he was, and he did not want to invite Jack to make some presumptuous move on him. No, no that would be disastrous. Indeed. He swallowed and ignored the doubt in his convictions.

He sat up and smiled a little at Jack, still avoiding his eyes. "I'm... sorry, Jack."

Jack smiled a little, his eyes concerned. "Don' worry 'bout it, mate." His arm remained on Norrington's shoulder and James looked up into his eyes finally, finally seeing the concern and question there. Jack swallowed, seeming to realize his eyes lay his feelings bare. "Are ye all right?"

James nodded emphatically. "Y-yes, quite all right, thank you." He was blushing, and staring on top of that. The arm was still burning through his shirt and it was distracting him to positively ridiculous extremes. He swallowed.

Jack lifted his hand and then realized he didn't know what he was going to do with it. It seemed to know of its own accord, though, as it brushed James' hair back. His other hand reached up from James' back, which caused James to make a face that Jack could not identify, and he took the man's hair out of its tie and watched it fall into Jamie's face. His arm fell back into place.

"You should wear it down more often mate...." Jack sighed the words. "It suits you." James swallowed and nodded. If only Jack would lean a little closer. If only he would say something....

'If tha' man could look any more alluring...' Jack did not finish the thought. He just cleared his throat and swallowed, looking down and around the room and anywhere but those green eyes. What was it with Jack and eyes; he could not get enough? They told everything he might want to know, which often made Jack wonder if he was picking up on things that were not there, because often what he wanted to know was exactly what he wanted to hear. Right now in that commodore's eyes what Jack wanted to see was a longing, a pleading look, something that was begging him to just lean over there.... That something was what he was seeing.

"Jack?"

"James?"

Norrington did not know why he had said the captain's name just then. He thought quickly and responded, "I... I'm feeling a mite peckish, do you mind—"

"Nay mate, course not. In fact, I'll have Gibbs bring us up lunch. No, I'll go get it meself, ye can jus'..." he stood and removed his hand from James' shoulder, backing to the door and tripping over a chair in the process, "jus' read or... sit there, yes. I'll be right back." With that Jack scurried out the door and closed it behind him, leaning against it and letting out a long breath.

Inside the cabin James fell back on the bed and rolled over, feeling the remnants of the captain's heat still on the sheets. He took a deep breath, hoping to catch one more lungful of that scent. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling with a furrowed brow, confused and somewhat cold. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, yes, just a moment.

* * *

Jack was standing in the galley looking for some bread and maybe something that could be whipped into a stew. If only he had paid attention those few times his mother intended to give him a cooking lesson.

"Cap'n?" Jack jumped and then slammed his fists on the table in frustration before turning around.

"Yes, Gibbs?"

"Er, do ye need some help there, Cap'n?"

"If you would." The man ran over to Jack and started to put something together that looked more than edible, it looked good. Jack smiled as he watched the man work.

"Everything all right Cap'n?"

"Aye? Why d'ye ask?"

Gibbs shrugged, "Well, I said, it's bad luck—"

"Yes, yes, bad luck, but why would something be the matter?"

Gibbs' eyes grew a little wide in consideration. "Well, the walls may be thick, 'round here, Jack, but tha' man was yellin' loud 'nough for us t' hear on deck, well me at least. 'E didn't seem happy leastwise. Then all goes quiet for a while and ye come out here all flushed and storm down here."

Jack laughed, "Well I s'ppose that be a reason."

"Aye." There was a long pause, before, "So then?"

Jack raised his eyebrows and started, "Oh yes, everythin's fine. That man is jus' a little—"

"Stubborn?"

Jack shrugged, "I s'ppose that's a good word for 'im."

"Confusing?"

"Tha' too."

"Loud."

"Yes, yes, we've rather got th' idea, aye?" Gibbs nodded. "Everything is fine, I jus'... when 'e calmed down 'e was... hungry. I had to leave and all... jus' decided t' come do it meself."

Gibbs nodded and finished making whatever it was. Jack thanked him and brought the meal for two back to his cabin. He put the tray on the table, leaving the door open. He turned to say something to Norrington but closed his mouth in mid word when he saw the man fast asleep on the bed.

Jack smiled and walked over to the bed, sitting next to the sleeping man he tentatively brushed back a few strands of hair. He touched the side of the man's face carefully and almost jumped when he heard a voice.

"Jack, I wouldn't have thought you to be the caring type." Jack did not respond and his brow furrowed and he put his hand on the man's forehead.

"He's hot." He said and Anamaria raised her eyebrows in amusement until Jack appended that with, "He's got a fever." She almost laughed at herself but leisurely walked across the room to the bed. She put her hand on his forehead and then frowned and moved her hand to touch his cheek.

"Aye, he's quite warm." She stood and turned to Jack. "Pick him up."

"What?"

"Pick him up, we need to put him under the sheets." Jack tentatively slid his arms under Norrington's back and knees and picked him up. The man made a strange noise and curled his face into Jack's neck as Anamaria arranged the bed. "Set him down." Jack was almost reluctant, but he put the man's body back onto the bed. "We have to get him out of these clothes, he is already starting to sweat." Jack swallowed and cleared his throat. "Jack, we do not have all day, help me with him."

She undid the buttons on the man's shirt and Jack moved, swallowing hard, and started to undo his breeches. He tried not to linger, but when he started to pull the man's leggings down and James moaned just so, Jack stopped for a moment and cleared his throat and took a breath before taking them off all in one pull. They covered him with the blanket and got another for him. Anamaria went to the galley to fetch some of the cooler water and some rum. Jack sat on the bed next to the man.

* * *

The dream came again. Not like there was a specific one. The dreams were all different and all the same. They haunted him and hurt him and brought his guilt to the surface, not to mention, they scared him. No, they didn't scare him, they terrified him, at times he wished his heart would just stop beating in his chest so he would not have to see those faces again, the skeletal faces, his own face, his hand holding the sword as it plunged into the chests of so many of his comrades.

Usually he woke up screaming and lunging for whatever blade he kept by his bed or under his pillow. Usually there was not anyone there. Usually....

Tonight the dream was as terrifying as usual. Norrington looked at his hand, bony with skin rotting off, flesh trying to cling on desperately. He wanted to pick it off, watch in horror as he peeled of the last of the flesh that stuck to his bones, but no, no he had a job to do.

He climbed the side of the ship, quietly, though the soft knock of bone against the wood of the ship could be heard to his own ears, which had no doubt rotted off. He touched the side of his head. He felt his hair and wondered to what skin it was attached, he touched his hat, the nice hat he received with his promotion. Undead Commodore James L. Norrington, he was. "The great," he would like to say, but "the terrible" would be more fitting.

He slinked onto the deck and looked around, seeing no one else at first, then he saw them, other bones coming up over the rail of the ship, all with nice hats and fine Turner blades, yes he knew it was the boy's craft, not that drunken Brown. He watched as the other ghouls stepped lightly, though the sound of their bones was muffled by the lap of the waves and he looked upon another set of green eyes and long dark hair covered by a rotting wig and the same nice cap. He watched in glee and horror, horror at the glee, as the bony hand clutched the sword and drew it soundlessly across the throat of another man in a red coat.

Norrington smiled, but he didn't want to smile, he didn't feel like smiling, this was terrible, this was awful, but he had done it. Should he not take pride or at least responsibility for his actions? Of course, that is what all reputable men did.

He followed the others up the stairs and found another man in a red coat, pacing the deck. He sneaked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, when he turned around, James quickly took the blade and drew it across his throat, silencing the shout he was about to unleash. He felt the blood spatter on his bones, felt the life creeping out of the man and he wanted to scream and cry and stab that blade into himself for what he had done, but he could not, he could not force himself to do it, he felt his jaw open a little in a skeletal smile and his legs carried him on.

* * *

Jack sat next to the man and Norrington began to talk a little in the fevered sleep. He frowned down at him and pressed the damp cloth to his forehead. Anamaria was talking to someone in the doorway and Jack was only halfway paying attention. She was telling someone that the officer was no good to them dead. How would they get ransom? Plus, the penalty for kidnapping a British officer was a lot less serious than kidnapping and killing him. Jack knew that Anamaria was lying through her teeth, but the numbskulls on his ship did not know anything of the sort.

James kept muttering and he started to move a little. Jack wanted to soothe him, say something to him, but to his crew it would make him appear like he actually cared what happened to this man, and of course Anamaria. That woman saw way too much and assumed too much more.

She closed the door and came back to his side. "Wha's 'e doin' now?"

"Mutterin', ramblin', tossin' a bit."

"Can ye tell wha' 'e's sayin'?" Jack shook his head. "Well keep an eye on 'im." She moved to leave them alone.

Jack listened to the words and came up with very little. It seemed everything was slurring together, but he knew that James was in a panic. Now that the crew was gone he was not too proud to talk to the man. He felt his cheek and noted that the heat was going down. That much was good. But what was going on now? Norrington was thrashing around, his breath getting quicker, and he looked panicked. Did Jack want to wake him? Yes, before he hurt himself.

"James! James, wake up! Yer dreamin', mate!" He reached out and grabbed the man's arm when James suddenly sat up with a cry and Jack leaned back. James turned around and fished under the pillow, Jack stood up and James spun back around and thrust something—

"Ah!" Jack clutched his leg and fell down onto the floor. "Bloody 'ell!" James was not on the bed, where was he? Jack didn't care. He removed his hands and felt blood spurt out at him. "Fuck!" He grasped the end of the dagger or knife or whatever it was and pulled out with a cry.

Someone was there, someone was putting a towel on it and he was trying to get up, trying to stand, someone was putting pressure on his leg, but he needed to get up.

"Get th' 'ell off me!" He pushed back and the hands disappeared. He stood and moved to the bed where he sat down and waved his hands at Anamaria and a few more of the crew. He looked back and saw James on the floor across the room in the corner.

"Cap'n yer bleeding badly!" Gibbs exclaimed. He turned his attention back to the mob in his room.

"I'll be fine!"

"But Cap'n—" Anamaria tried.

"I said I'll be fine! All of ye out! Out now!" When they didn't move he stood and started waving around at them until he had ushered them all out of the door, at which point he locked it and finally dropped the towel from his leg. He hobbled to the other side of the room and got down on one knee in front of James.

Norrington was sitting there, eyes closed, hands limp on the floor, one knee up and one knee somewhat bent just relaxed there. He was barely covered by the sheet he carried with him, and since Jack and Anamaria had stripped him earlier, he was not wearing anything more than that. "James?" Jack called his name. "Jamie, love, are ye there?" Norrington blinked and his eyes focused on Jack, which was when they started to fill with tears.

"Jack... Jack I'm so sorry. Please, please forgive me."

Jack swallowed, trying to gauge the situation unsuccessfully. "I knew ye didn' much like me, mate, but, stabbin' me... I though' we talked about that." He was joking but James did not laugh or seem amused in the least.

"I... I'm sorry... I didn't know... I didn't know who you were." Jack nodded.

"Ye were 'avin' a nightmare. I saw ye tossin' 'round." He touched James' arm and then apologized, wiping his blood on his pants before replacing his hand.

"Oh God! Jack! I didn't realize! I... I thought I missed!"

Jack struggled to find laughter, "Ye should trust yer aim better 'n tha'."

James struggled to get up, but Jack just pressed more firmly down on his arm. "Don't want t' be revealin' yerself, aye?" James blushed a little but tied the sheet around his waist and stood. He took Jack's arm and sat him down on the bed. Jack hissed with pain but Norrington kept up with what he was doing.

"You..." James swallowed nervously, "you have to take those pants off, I... I need to look at your leg." Jack leered at the man as best as he was able but then barked a laugh and started to take down his pants. James grabbed the cloth and bowl of water that had been for him and turned around to see Jack Sparrow naked in all his glory. He swallowed and averted his eyes as it was not proper to stare. Plus, Jack was in pain; he must hurry.

James sat next to him on the bed and dabbed the cloth at the wound. Jack gasped so Norrington began to speak. "For one so concerned about my modesty you seem to have none of your own."

Jack laughed again, "I've nothin' the world would not profit from seein'." James smiled and cleaned the blood away before pressing down on the thigh with the cloth.

"Hold this here." Jack did and James went to get the cloth discarded on the floor. He replaced it and tore the wet cloth into strands to tie around the leg.

"Ye've done this before, mate?"

"I did not go from a mere babe to a commodore, I have seen my fair share of battles." Jack nodded and sat up a little straighter.

James noted the trousers on the floor and started to reach across Jack for them, but stopped, realizing the promiscuous position he was putting himself in. James grabbed the trousers and started to sit up but Jack stopped him halfway, leaving him close enough to smell the rum on Jack's breath, and he turned his green eyes to meet those deep chocolate brown ones.

"I'm sorry, Jack—" his voice was weak.

"Stop sayin' tha', James." He breathed, "It's forgotten." James nodded and tilted his head down, trying to sit up again, but Jack stopped him again. This time Norrington said nothing and the pirate was as silent. With a little hesitation, Jack closed the distance between them and abruptly his lips were on James'. James sat stunned for a moment before feeling shocked and appalled, but finally, after a few active seconds, realized this was not so bad.

Jack's lips were hot and hard and they tasted like the rum he had smelled and apples and spices.... James wanted more of the taste. Boldly and tentatively he opened his mouth and slid his tongue out to meet Jack's.

The pirate was surprised, almost to the point of inactivity, thinking that James L. Norrington was not going to respond quite so... interestedly, quickly, invitingly, deliciously, temptingly.... Jack tasted heat in James too. It was coconut and oranges and something utterly surprising and unexpected but not at all unwelcome.

His tongue battled James' for a while, neither really taking the lead nor falling back. They moved as though in a vigorous dance and teased, licking, caressing, moving slowly and then faster and then slow again, tentative and hesitating, but not so much as to mask the hunger and desire underlying, growing.

James smelled the rum again and the heat and he relished the distinct flavour that was Jack Sparrow, and oh, he wanted more. He felt the pirate's hand slide from his shoulder to his back in slow jerky movements, as though he was distracted, then to his hip and finally his thigh in the same manner, but with more purpose. James lost track of his own hands and was almost shocked to find them slinking down across Jack's firm stomach, long fingers wrapping around to his back, kneading, pulling, caressing, stroking, plying Jack beneath them.

He was all too aware of that hand, that hand on his thigh, and the other, the other creeping up from his knee, which was bent because James was on his knees, and James wanted it to slither farther, but it stopped where the sheet began. It stopped just there, oh, and he wanted it not to stop. He felt the heat in his groin and the familiar stiffening seeming unfamiliar based on circumstances and that strange throb inside him. Not the throb of desire or need, the throb of excitement and longing and understanding. This was something they shared, this mutual throb, this mutual want, and it made it less alien, more reasonable. James wanted more than he could fathom for that hand to move just a little more.

James inched his hand lower, to Jack's naked hip, the one that connected lusciously to his firm thigh. James dropped his hand lower again.

"Ah!" James jumped back in surprise at the unexpected cease of a kiss and the explosion of such a loud exclamation. Jack shook his head and held up his hand. "It's all right, just... little tender." He tried to smile convincingly. James reached over to the table, then handed the retrieved bottle of rum to Jack who opened it and chugged back the fluid so quickly that when he took the bottle from his lips, the room seemed to sway. "Ah... tha' does the trick."

"I'm very sorry, Jack." James stood a few feet from the bed.

Jack shook his head. "Nay, it is not your fault. It was a dream."

"Yes, it's too bad you too keep weapons near your bed." Jack wondered at this, but he did not voice his questions.

"A man likes to be prepared for anything."

"You were probably not prepared for getting stabbed with your own knife."

Jack shook his head and smiled. "I didn't think that a fine upstanding gentlemen as yourself would awaken suddenly and attack me with the bloody thing." James frowned and looked away. "Look, mate, clearly, I am not tha' angry. Mos' people who stab me don' get a kiss afterwards, not even for goodbye." Jack beamed at this. "It is sayin' a lot that ye stab Cap'n Jack Sparrow, an' yer greeted with 'is lips, aye?"

James was a little disoriented. "Yes... I suppose." He felt rather ashamed now that he would have so easily disregarded every rule he was taught and every lesson he learned as soon as that pirate had his lovely hands on his thigh, those lovely hot, hard, hands on his thigh. Lovely, lovely hands."

"Come 'ere." Jack held out his arm as though inviting James to sit with him, but the proud commodore only straightened his shoulders and took a few cautious steps closer to the bed. Jack sighed dropping his arm to his side to help him move down to a laying position on the bed, which was clearly more comfortable, "Look, mate, yer on bloody vacation. Ye don' need t' play by th' rules. 'Ell, when ye get back 'ome, ye can tell 'em tha' yer time on me ship was a terrible, frightful, horrid time, and go back on yer merry way." James smiled and took another tentative step when the ship swayed in such a way that he was pitched forward onto the bed and very nearly into the lap of the very captivating pirate sitting there in the buff.

Jack laughed, "I tol' ye she likes you." James, for a moment, had no idea what he was talking about, when he realized the half-mad man was referring to the ship.

He moved up beside Jack, whose arm was outstretched and welcoming again, and sat a fair distance from Jack when the boat lurched again and tossed him into the waiting arm, which immediately closed about his shoulders. After a moment of tension, James relaxed. It was his vacation, after all. "I'm glad she does," he admitted.

* * *

They were on land and Jack was limping a bit, but only when no one was looking. James caught him doing it more than once and each time insisted on seeing the wound, treating it, and wrapping it again. Not that Jack didn't appreciate the care he was taking, but it was getting to be a little tedious. He tried to walk normally, or at least when James was looking at him, and he refused to sit down and take a break. He had to watch as the crew unloaded the ship, did he not?

James was planted in the sand by the water and Jack was running around shouting orders as to where specifics were to be taken. This was just a temporary hold until they could hit those other ships and then they would be taking a long overdue shore leave.

"Jack, why don't you sit down, I am sure Anamaria can handle this." Jack shouted something else and then looked down at James.

"Eh?"

"I said, sit down, you're not doing yourself any good moving about like that."

"Be careful with that, you scabrous dogs! No! Take it over there!" He looked down again. "I'm fine." James reached up and tugged on Jack's arm but the man was just not paying attention. Irritated James positioned his finger just so and poked—

"Ah!" Jack fell to his knees and clutched his thigh. "What did ye do tha' for? That bloody hurts!" James grabbed his arm and pulled him back so his backside landed in the soft sand and when Jack tried to get up again, James pulled him back down.

"You need to relax, Ana can take care of it from here." Jack looked about to argue but James faced him sternly, cheeks a lovely shade of pink and eyes trying to hide the sentimentality in his words. "Look, man, it takes a lot out of me to watch you prancing about like a fairy and it takes a lot more for me to admit I want you to sit with me, so stop arguing and just stay put!" Jack's mouth snapped shut and he saluted James very seriously so the former commodore had to chuckle. "Finally."

Jack yelled for Ana to take over and she smirked over at the pair of them on the ground before returning to her yelling and pointing.

Jack turned his head a little and looked out of the corner of his eye at James, as though trying to discreetly see the man without him noticing. "You really wanted me t' sit with ye?"

James's cheeks grew a little rosier, and he nodded. "Yes, all right. I wanted you to sit with me."

James fell silent and Jack followed suit until James seemed to relax, thinking the pirate would cease his incessant rambling. "Wha' for?"

James sighed and threw the handful of sand back down. "Because I like sitting with you."

"You like sitting with me?" Jack wiggled a little closer. "Why?"

James laughed in exasperation, "Because you are a handsome devil and I like you. Will that keep you quiet?"

"No' if its no' the truth."

"Is it?"

"I don't know," Jack faced James head on now with a crooked smile, "you tell me." His hand rested on James' knee and then he took a particular interest in his index finger as it played patterns down James' trousers and fingered a little tear on his thigh. "Do ye like me? Am I a handsome devil?"

Watching that finger too until the whole hand splayed out on his thigh and James exhaled the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as the flesh between his legs began to heat up and grow, James swallowed. "As difficult as it is to admit, what with my upbringing and career choice, I must admit I... I rather do like you, Jack. And you are very fine. His eyes moved from that hand to the face of the one to whom it belonged, and his mouth got very suddenly dry, such that he could think of nothing else to say. So he closed it.

"Thank ye, James," James could feel Jack's breath on his face, smell faint and newly familiar traces of rum on the pirate, and apples, as before. "I rather like you too." The hand squeezed gently, but not enough for James to remove his eyes from Jack's searing chocolate ones, those eyes that seemed to be looking everywhere, leering at him, while remaining fixed on his own. He was too lost in those eyes to find his way out.

The thought of being in such a public place in front of so many people did not even cross the stiff-upper-lipped man; he did not remember he was there. All that his mind said to him was that his heart was thudding in his chest and his blood was rushing to all kinds of embarrassing places, and he wanted those lips on his again. Thankfully, his reminiscence of said lips did not need to last overly long before he became reacquainted.

Jack's moustache scraped his cheek and upper lip and the beads in his braided beard swung at James' neck with the momentum of the pirate's move forward. His lips opened and James felt the press of a hot wet tongue against his own, which he eagerly opened.

Jack's flavour overwhelmed him again, rum and spice and apples and heat, so much heat, he wanted to devour all of the man, but Jack was forceful this time, his hands were on James' shoulders and he was both pulling James closer and pushing him back.

Norrington's eyes flew open as his back touched the sand and he almost pushed Jack away, but the pirate was pressed full on top of him and he felt very nice and hard and hot and James forgot all those rules about right and wrong, forgot that he was going to push Jack back and gripped Jack's hips and pulled him down closer and just felt. There was a vibration and a sound like a moan and James concluded that it must have come from Jack, but that was before Jack undulated his hips and James' half erect cock throbbed and jumped at the friction and the contact and James arched his hips back up at Jack.

After a moment Jack pulled back and stared into Norrington's green orbs, breathing heavily. "What?" James muttered, a little disoriented.

Jack smiled and twirled a strand of James' hair around his finger, "Beach is not likely th' best place to be conducting this engagement, aye?" James' face, though previously flushed, glowed a brighter red. He nodded and started to move to sit up. Jack smiled as a puzzled look crossed James' face and then pressed his lips to his jawbone, sliding down to his neck. James tried to protest but Jack moved back up and slid his tongue out to touch James' ear and draw it into his mouth and all James could do was make a wanton noise in his throat, swallow, and arch his hips in that alluring and beautiful and thoroughly shaggable way.

'Shaggable,' Jack thought, 'I like that.'

Unfortunately for James, Jack pulled off him and sat up. "Tease," he muttered with a disappointed furrow of his brow. Jack said nothing but turned to look at the progress only to find Anamaria and Joshamee Gibbs staring at them, arms crossed and little smiles tugging at the corners of their lips.

Jack tried to look positively innocent and failed miserably. "What?"

* * *

James stood in a room in one of the buildings on the island to see it was, in fact, a house. It appeared people actually lived here, though he doubted they were any of the pirates themselves. He moved through the house and noticed that none of the gold and jewels and items brought in were here. It was not until he noticed a strange lump under a carpet that he realized that the floors of this house had storage space beneath them and that was where the gold must have been stashed.

James walked through the house and came to what was obviously the bedroom. He wondered if the people who lived here were simply away and would return without realizing their house had been used as a storage spot for pirates, but James thought that seemed ridiculous because as far as Jack knew, those same people would need some extra flour that day and go into the cellar to find a stash of gold and jewels beyond their wildest dreams, thus ensuring their happy existence for all eternity and the next time the pirates returned here they would find the houses had been replaced with huge plantations or mansions and those petty folk had turned themselves into wealthy land owners overnight. James thought Jack probably paid them off or made some kind of deal with them. Perhaps he had threatened them. James really didn't know.

He approached the mirror from across the room and forced himself to take a long look at his appearance. It was shaggy and dirty and somewhat dishevelled and in no way did it resemble the uptight commodore of the British Royal Navy that Jack had met initially. The posture was wrong, all wrong. He straightened his shoulders and looked in the mirror to judge his correction. The face looked a little too relaxed, not nearly as though he had more duties to attend to than he could count on both hands and less time to do them all than it would take to do half. He creased his forehead and stared into the mirror, pressing his lips together a little more firmly. Ah yes, this way he looked like he was a little miffed at someone at the very least, and knowing how commodores thought, James knew the one person they were always angry at was themselves. He clasped his hands behind his back and tried to imagine a white wig perched on his head with those ridiculous curls and a fancy hat to match his stiff uniform. Yes, he could still look like that same commodore. However, looking the same and being the same... they were not at all related.

"Ye were formidable, mate, back then. Not many can strike the fear of fires of 'ell into ol' Jack, but ye did, mate." James jumped when the voice sounded, but forced his face to meld back into position again and turned to face his captor.

"Yes, Sparrow, as is the job of an upholder of the law." He even rolled his eyes as though exasperated with the man.

Jack's lips twitched to the side and he gave James a cockeyed smile. "Ah, but not all commodores are the same, I reckon. Same as all pirates are not scoundrels and murderers. Ye're one of a kind, Commodore."

James gave a tight-lipped grin, one of the ones he reserved for mocking and humouring others. "No doubt, Sparrow. But there are paths laid out for commodores and pirates alike, stray but a little and you've crossed out of the boundary of what you are into what you should not be, something else entirely."

"I'm still a pirate." Jack lifted his hands and shrugged as though proving him wrong. James fought very hard to keep inside the partnering comment he should have made though it tempted him to just tell Jack, 'I am no longer a commodore.'

"Indeed," he said instead.

Jack smirked and took a little step toward James who unconsciously stepped backward to find himself against the wall. "Pirates are pirates regardless of redeeming actions or even th' company they keep." He licked his lips and James unclasped his hands from behind him, the picture of his uniform and hat and wig fading from his mind's eye, the frown disappearing, and the tight lips loosening. "Even if they keep company with commodores." He whispered a chuckle as he pressed his chest against James', "'Specially if they keep company with commodores."

Jack's lips pressed softly against James', achingly softly, so soft that James pushed his own closer, needing to feel them harder against his own. Jack put more contact between their bodies and pressed his lips to James' harder, more forcefully but seemingly totally passive, letting James take the lead here. James did.

Norrington pressed his tongue to Jack's lips and Jack opened his mouth to let him enter. He pressed his tongue inside tasting teeth and Jack's tongue, which was not battling his, but wrapping around it, caressing it, playing with it gently. Jack's lips were not hard this time, they were pliant, malleable, Jack was effectively kissing like a girl. James groaned, wondering how many more facets he might see of Jack Sparrow. He could be his equal, meeting him shot for shot, he could be his superior, forcing James into submission, or he could let James be the dominant one, playing the woman, accepting, waiting, yielding. James felt heat rush to his face and to his groin. Oh, what would Jack let him do to him?

He reached out and pulled Jack's hips closer, Jack's arms encircled his neck loosely and his weight shifted so his hips moved just so, like a woman's, the only difference was the clear pulse and throb of a certain appendage pushing into his thigh. The contrast was alluring, James pushed his hips closer to Jack and moaned at the delicious friction.

Jack pulled James' shoulders and stepped back, approaching the bed, fancy the luck they had, being in the bedroom like that. Jack sat on the bed and pulled James down with him, holding him close, rubbing just so. James released another moan and a heavy sigh as the harsh fabric rubbed across his now thoroughly hard cock and he pinned Jack beneath him. Despite his fervour James had no idea how to continue. He'd been with a few lasses in his time, of course, but never a man, no. He was vaguely aware of what occurred, it was not unheard of, but he had never undertaken the act himself.

"Jack," he said, pulling his lips back and breathing into Jack's cheek, eyes staring into Jack's own as best as he was able, what with being so close and all.

"Shhh," Jack muttered and gently pushed James over onto the bed before crawling to his body not unlike a hungry cat eyeing its prey. His eyes seemed a little glazed, his lips swollen and the bulge in his pants very prominent and alluring. James edged his way up to the pillows and relaxed back when Jack kissed him again.

The kiss was short lived but when Jack pulled back he only paused a second before playing little kisses along James' jaw to his ear, like before. This made James feel very gelatinous and supple under the other man. Jack tugged on James' ear with his teeth and James groaned loudly, his hand moving to Jack's hip, which was about as bold a move as Norrington was likely to make. Jack's hands, conversely, were willing and eager to explore. James' hips bucked up as he felt something touch the bulge in his own trousers and Jack's hand closed around the thick member as his tongue wiggled its way into James' ear. His other hand was busy undoing the buttons on James' shirt.

The shirt was removed after a struggle, James didn't want Jack to remove his occupied hand, but was very little help himself in removing the offending article, which caused the pirate to have to eventually let go. James groaned and his hands shakily went to his own trousers after that. Jack, admiring his fervour, hurriedly removed his own clothes and rejoined James on the bed in mere moments.

James swallowed again, eyeing Jack in his naked glory with unabashed awe. Jack grinned, "Yer not so bad yerself." His voice was husky and thick with need, so much so that James felt more desperate having just heard it.

Jack was not in a mood to rush anything, though. He replaced his hand and knelt between James' thighs. He watched James' head fall back as he started to slowly stroke the hard length in his hand, his eyes fluttering closed and pleasing sounds coming from his throat and out his open mouth.

Jack swallowed and sighed at the sight before him, before he realized the words were on his tongue, they were no longer. "Beautiful, James. Beautiful," he gasped. James thrust his hips up into Jack's hand and Jack slid his thumb over the head and across the slit, weeping silver tears, which soon smeared over the skin.

"Unh," James managed, "Jack." It was a plea without proper words.

Breathily the pirate replied, "James?"

James opened his eyes and tilted his head up to look at Jack, who raised his eyebrows in silent question, "More, Jack."

Jack's cock jumped at this and he nodded, as his voice suddenly stopped working properly. He lowered his face to James' chest, trying desperately to ignore his own throbbing length as he sped his hand up just a little. He pressed his open mouth to James' chest and pressed his lips lazily to the skin in a kiss before sliding out his tongue to sample James' flavour. He was saltier now, but his skin tasted as sweet as his mouth and Jack found he wanted more.

He slid his tongue to a dusky brown nipple and circled it with the tip. James moaned and writhed, his hands drawing into fists and pulling the sheets below them into their grasp. Jack locked his lips around that nipple and flicked his tongue across the tip a few times, then his teeth, which made James hiss, until he drew his tongue, long and flat, across the peak to soothe it.

He flitted across the chest to give the other the same treatment but was cut short when he felt James' hands on his chest. He moved up abruptly to see open eyes curious and excited. James wanted to play now, did he?

Jack smirked and slid up his body so his hand had to drop the hard organ and support his weight elsewhere. James sat up and captured Jack's lips with his own, using his arm as leverage, pushing him closer, and his other hand to pull Jack in. Jack's knees started to buckle and he verily collapsed onto James, who chuckled and gently rolled them over so he was on top.

James pushed his own hardness into Jack's stomach and felt the pirate's jabbing him too. He ground his hips and caught Jack's lips with his simultaneously so to muffle the moan the pirate ground out. He leaned back and Jack's eyes fluttered back open. James smiled and descended to place his lips on Jack's chest. His hand moved to Jack's left nipple and brushed across it, sending a shiver up Jack's body. James smiled into the kisses he placed down Jack's chest in line with his sternum. He reached the pirate's stomach and found the belly button there utterly fascinating, what with the beautiful tattoo curling around it.

His tongue traced the dragon tattoo until it ended in Jack's indent of a bellybutton. Jack started to mutter things, some unrecognizable, some familiar as his name. James was not yet finished, however, he had enough curiosity to drive him lower.

James wondered whether all of Jack tasted the same, if the skin of his chest was different than, say, the skin of his hand, or perhaps his neck. He smiled into the kiss he placed at the beginning of the trail of course dark hair below Jack's naval.

Jack was muttering still, his head tossing across the pillow. James caught his name a few times and recognized some of the less crude curses he heard and wondered whether Jack would mutter more, or fall silent if....

He lay his tongue flat and dragged it up Jack's length and watched as Jack shuddered and his mouth fell open with a wordless moan. He slid his tongue around the head of Jack's cock and closed his eyes, savouring the taste of the salty beads of fluid he found there. Jack fell into silence but for moans and gasps. He was writhing on the bed and James held his hips down. He pulled the head of Jack's considerable appendage into his mouth and swiped his tongue around it enough so he could get a good idea of the flavour before determining that he very much enjoyed it. He opened his eyes and pulled up, licking his lips under Jack's glazed gaze.

James smiled and locked his eyes onto Jack. He imagined what it might feel like to have the wet heat of Jack's mouth on him, taking him as far into that mouth as he could. Oh, just the thought made James shiver in anticipation and he reckoned he would like it, yes he would love it, very much. And so would Jack.

His eyes did not waver as he relished seeing Jack's roll back like they did and flutter so prettily, almost looking like a woman with the kohl and the long dark lashes, yes, a woman with a delicious, long, hard cock that James had just taken into his mouth. A woman named Jack Sparrow. He pulled him in deeper and Jack tried to thrust up into the heat, and surprised as James was, he almost let him, but he held down those strong and very masculine hips as he started to suck on the thick cock impeding his breathing.

"Jaysus fuck!" Jack called out and clenched the sheets in his hands opening his legs wider. "Enough, Jamie! I'm going to— ah!" James sucked harder and swirled his tongue around his considerable size until he felt and tasted something splashing against the roof of his mouth. He held it there and waited until Jack stopped before letting go of his softening cock and savouring the flavour before he swallowed.

Jack was boneless on the bed for a moment before he muttered, "You've never done this before?" James shook his head and crawled up Jack's body. He hesitated, not kissing him because he was not certain if Jack would find that unseemly, as he had just had the man's cock in his mouth. Jack lifted his head and captured his lips. "How'd ye know t' do that?"

James blushed, "I thought it would feel good." Jack nodded and abruptly rolled James over onto his back before following the roll ending on top. James swallowed.

Jack captured those lips again and pulled James' tongue into his mouth, sucking on it enough to make James moan. "It does."

Jack was back to where he was before, but now sated and able to think a little better. He shimmied down James' body as before and started kissing his skin randomly, "It felt like ye were suckin' me soul out. It felt," he licked James stomach and the man wiggled under him, "like ye were enjoyin' yerself." He brought his face directly in line with James' cock and breathed on it as he spoke so it leapt up at attention, "it felt like ye wanted someone t' do the same." James groaned and watched, unable to tear his eyes away, as Jack pulled the head of his hard length into his mouth and then kept pulling, and James wanted to gasp or cry out or anything, but he was frozen, watching, and Jack pulled it all in until his nose brushed those curls at the base of his cock and still James could not make a sound. In fact, James did not say anything or move or make any sound at all until he felt that wet heat and warm tongue that was languidly moving on the underside of his penis and the whole mouth and throat in which he was embedded contract around him and squeeze him.

It was only when Jack did this that James cried out and could not contain himself anymore. Without warning he exploded letting loose his seed so it flowed down Jack's throat. Jack's hands held him down firmly so his writhing would not choke the pirate and he watched James' face contract in a vision of surprise and pleasure and relief.

As his organ spurted its last Jack pulled back and swallowed to clear his throat, then he frowned, "I didn't even get t' taste ye." James paid no attention. He reached out for Jack who crept up his body again and pulled him in for a kiss. Jack pulled away, "Later?"

James laughed and nodded surprisingly, feeling no guilt or confusion or anything but relaxed. "Later," he agreed.

* * *

"Wha's goin' on 'ere, Jack?" Jack turned around at the voice and raised an eyebrow at Gibbs and Anamaria.

"Eh?" He asked.

"Ye're treatin' th' commodore as a strumpet ye plan on keepin', why?" The man asked again.

Jack furrowed his brow and stared at them. "I don' know what yer talkin' 'bout."

"C'mon Jack, of all th' men under yer command," he turned to Anamaria, "and woman," he looked back at Jack, "we're th' two ye need t' be straight wit', aye?"

Jack nodded, "Aye. So?"

"So why're ye actin' so dopey?" Anamaria asked shrilly. Jack seemed taken aback. "Ye're sneakin' off t' 'ave escapades wit' 'im, ye're not takin' control at all times. Startin' t' look a little suspicious t' the crew."

Jack sighed, "Look, Ana, do I complain when ye want t' stop in Tortuga t' see yer strumpet?" She shook her head, "And when you," he pointed his finger at Gibbs, "are shaggin' Cotton when yer s'pposed t' be keepin' watch, do I let ye go on wit' it?" Gibbs blushed and nodded. "When 'ave I not let someone or another off wit' shirkin' on their duties? At least once?" The two shrugged, "Never!" They nodded. "So what's it t' ye if I wan' a little leeway wit' a prisoner, eh?" They nodded in acquiescence.

"But Jack," Gibbs said, "'e's commodore!"

"'E's on vacation. Plans 'ave no' changed. 'E'll jus' be comin' wit' us on th' raids." They seemed to accept this as an answer and Gibbs trudged off back to his usual attitude. Jack moved to leave too but Ana stopped him.

"Jack, somethin' odd is goin' on, wit' 'im, wit' you, ye better keep yer eye out. Keep yer eye on 'im." He turned and looked at her. "All I'm sayin' is t' watch yerself. I'll keep th' crew occupied." He beamed at her and pulled her under his arm leading her back to the crew.

"Tha's what I like about ye, Ana, ye've got loyalty."

She shoved him away with a grin, "Yea, well ye watch yerself, Sparrow, I'm not so easily swayed as our fine commodore, aye?"

Jack laughed, "Aye."

* * *

James finished getting dressed and fixed the bed, all the while thinking, always thinking. How had he gotten himself into such a predicament? He was a respectable man, loyal to the crown. How did he manage to get himself out here, captured by pirates, sharing a bed with one for goodness sakes, and not even considering the repercussions on his reputation, or his soul, even?

He sighed and smoothed out the sheets for the umpteenth time. How did he get himself here? Did he want to be here? If not how was he going to get out? He didn't know the answer to any of these things. There was not much he actually did know anymore, however. He was certain of only two things anymore, the first being that he was no longer the same reputable man he once was regardless of his actions with Sparrow prior that day. The second was that he was rather enjoying his time with Jack, strange as that may sound. He actually liked the man, and not only liked... there were plenty of people he liked, but he did not go to bed with all of them.

He sighed. How strange his life was.

"What 're ye doing still in here? Party's outside, mate." James looked up and smiled at Jack. The pirate captain saw his expression and moved to sit by him. "What's got yer knickers in a twist, commodore." James flinched noticeably this time and Jack saw it. James sighed.

"Just thinking."

"Oh?"

He nodded, "Yes, some people do that from time to time." He tried to smile but Jack knew this was not a big joke. The pirate waited patiently for James to speak, if he was going to speak. "I just don't know where I am anymore."

"Yer still in the Caribbean, mate, with Jack and 'is mates."

James nodded and waved his hand, "Yes, yes, and all that is well and good, but my life. Where is my life?"

"James, it's just a vacation, no' th' end of th' world." James shook his head.

"No...." He stopped and Jack didn't know why immediately until he saw the droplet of water fall from James' eye.

Jack swallowed uncertainly and he slid his arm out and around James' shoulder. James didn't seem to acknowledge this movement so Jack spoke. "James, do you trust me?"

James looked up and Jack's heart broke at that tear stained face. Jack's eyes were completely and thoroughly baring his soul currently, James felt like he could see deep into the core of the man himself, and yes, he trusted that core. He didn't know why, but he did. "Yes."

"Then tell me, James, talk to me."

James swallowed and nodded. He just nodded, no he couldn't have, but yes, he did, he just agreed to bare his soul to a pirate. He swallowed and opened his mouth and Jack waited.

* * *

The sun was bright that day, it was light and beautiful that day, but James L. Norrington could not see it. It had been a year to the day since that dreadful encounter with those pirates, a year since James lost so many of his men to the brutality of the undead. James still mourned for those men. Those men had had wives and children and friends and family. Those men had given their lives because James chased after a stupid boy and some ruddy pirates.

But they were not just any pirates, no, they were cursed men, they could not feel and they could not eat, they suffered daily, but they did not age and they could not die. James hadn't known, no, he had not known but it did not make the sting any less, it did not help because James still ordered those men into battle, still forced them to fight, and for what? For a stupid boy and a mad pirate captain without a ship. And for a girl.

It had been months since the commodore had had a proper night's sleep. Only his greatest of friends knew he was not getting sleep, only they knew he was suffering from nightmares. But even they were not privy to the consequences these things wrought.

During the day James had a dreadful time concentrating and when Theodore Groves attempted to speak to him about it he simply dismissed the man. His friend. Of all the people on this blasted island, Groves was the only one he could really relate to. He was the only one he really trusted. He did not know if Groves thought of him as such a good friend, but more often than not, James would invite the man to stay in his office with him after hours and they would share a tale over a glass of brandy. However, of late these meetings had not occurred. Not by any fault of Theodore, no, nor was it James' fault. James was convinced that this was Sparrow's doing.

All the commodore could think of was that blasted day a year ago when the curse was ended and they captured the pirates of the Black Pearl. It was in his dreams, when he had them, and now, it blocked his mind in his waking hours too. It consumed his thoughts, gave him unnatural paranoia

Today Groves had approached him and suggested that he might be ill, he was clearly not looking very well.

"Sir," James had not responded right away, his mouth seemed full of cotton, he was so tired. "Sir?"

James looked up and blinked his eyes a few times until Theodore came into view. "Yes Lieutenant?"

"May I speak freely sir?" James made a gesture of permission. "You have not been looking at all well lately. I know you've not been sleeping well lately, perhaps... perhaps take today and rest."

James took a little longer than perhaps necessary to consider this. Finally when Groves spoke his name again he nodded. "Perhaps you are right, Groves. Would you... please wake me before supper, Lieutenant?" Groves nodded with a smile of accomplishment and offered to walk him home.

"Have the nightmares subsided yet, sir?" James shook his head.

"Er, no, that is actually the cause of this insomnia, I think." He smiled a little.

"Have you spoken to a doctor, perhaps they have some sleeping herbs to offer." James shook his head.

"No, those things make everything worse I think. I would rather just let nature take its course." Theodore nodded and stopped at James' door. "Remember, Lieutenant, to wake me before—"

"Before supper, sir, I will." James smiled and turned to go up to his bedroom where he hoped to find a little more sleep.

Hours later Groves came by his house and let himself in. He set his hat on the table and straightened his uniform. He did not know why, but he always felt like he was about to take a woman out courting when he came by his commanding officer's house. He walked slowly up the stairs to James' bedroom wondering if it would feel much the same if he was walking up here with James, in a different capacity than simply an officer and a commodore. Perhaps it would feel different if he was courting the man.

Where had such a thought come from? Groves stopped where he was and furrowed his brow. Surely, no. Surely he was not having improper thoughts about this man. No that could not be it at all. Though he had written about it in detail in his journal and dreamed about it at night... no, he still tried to convince himself, at least in the presence of the commodore that he was not interested in James in more than a professional way. He was a commodore and Groves was just... just a Lieutenant. Surely, even if it were something regular men thought about, even if it was accepted and allowed and not something that could get him thrown out of the navy, James was still his commanding officer and he would surely not see anything even remotely attractive about Theodore.

This made it a little easier for the man to ascend the next few steps. He stopped outside the door and breathed out heavily hoping with that cleansing breath to remove all thoughts of James lying in bed unclothed, or bringing him to his bed, or taking him in his bed. He shook his head and reached his hand out for the door but was brought back to attention when he heard disturbing sounds behind the solid wood. He knocked.

"James?"

There was no answer but still the sounds. Groves opened the door and walked into the room slowly and quietly, looking for something out of the ordinary. His eyes fell on the bed and he moved closer. James was thrashing about in the bed. He looked terribly concerned or frightened or something. Then a smile, cold and chilling, slid onto his face and Theodore shivered.

James was muttering something that the officer could not hear and carefully Groves moved closer. "Theodore...." What? Did the man just call his name? It was a lilting sound, as though enticing him with curiosity. What could make James say his name like that? He stepped nearer the bed and saw that dreadful smile again. Then the smile faded and it seemed that James was confused and frightened again. Groves reached out to awaken the man.

"James, wake up, it's almost time for supper." He placed his hand on James' shoulder and shook a little. "James?"

* * *

Norrington felt something tugging at his shoulder and was immediately startled. What if it was one of those skeletons? What if it was another one of those duplicates of him? Another undead commodore running around and killing his fellow shipmates? James swallowed in fear and shot straight up in bed. He did not see anything initially but a blur. He could not tell where he was and he was very frightened. He realized finally he was in his room, there was someone there, someone he could not see. James panicked.

Immediately he turned and reached for his sword, always on a chair by the bed and drew it, spinning around and thrusting the blade into the chest of who or whatever stood be his bed so menacingly.

He jumped back and slid out of the other side of his bed clutching his head and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he left the blade in the body.

When he moved his hands from his eyes the figure was no longer standing by the bed and James moved around the piece of furniture to see—

Oh God! No!

He fell to his knees and shook the shoulders of the body sprawled on the floor. He pulled the sword out of the chest and tried to hold his hand over the wound where blood was just idly leaking out now. It was not spurting with any force and James focused on the face of the dead man of the floor and wept.

"No! Theodore!"

* * *

Did he remember him? Yes, Jack remembered the man. He was the one that seemed to admire him; he talked about him being the best pirate he had ever seen and all that blather. Yes, Jack remembered. James was sobbing next to him and Jack's arm was around his shoulder but he could not speak words of comfort to James. He could not tell him it was okay. Not when Jack felt like he was so much to blame.

He had lured the Navy there for his own intents and purposes. Usually he was of the impression that if he didn't hold the gun and pull the trigger, it was not his fault if a man died. But was it his fault if he sent malicious murderous villains after innocent and unknowing men? Yes, that was probably his fault. And was it Jack's fault that James was so tortured he'd had nightmares for a year afterwards? Yes. That was his fault too. Thus, directly or no, it was his own fault that James had plunged a sword through the breastbone of his best friend into his beating heart and stilled it... forever.

He pulled James close to him, let the man rest his forehead on Jack's shoulder. He cooed into James' ear and rubbed his back but he could not soothe the man, he could not console him. James muttered again and again as though he was still trying to comprehend it, "I killed him. I killed him."

It was a long time before James spoke again after his tears stopped and even then Jack held him, but Jack didn't say a word. He didn't speak and he didn't think. Even when James sat up, Jack was still staring into the distance, though he couldn't see anything past the wall.

James said his name and he turned his head to regard the man. James looked concerned, what could cause Jack to go so silent? Was he disgusted, was he sad?

"Jack?" He said again.

Jack smiled a little and let his arm fall from James' shoulders. "I'm so sorry Jamie, love. So terribly sorry."

James cleared his throat. "It's... it's all right, Jack. It has been, well, a month at least."

Jack shook his head. "Tha' is no' enough time to mourn, James. Is this why you left? Is this why you went on vacation?" His voice was soft and surprisingly clear, not filled with his half mangled words as usual, not really comprehending still.

James swallowed and looked away, then back up at Sparrow. He cleared his throat, "Yes." Jack saw something there.

"What?"

James furrowed his brow, "I said, yes, this is why I went on vacation."

Jack shook his head, "That's what you said, that's not what you meant."

James looked away again and Jack placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention again. James' sad eyes met his own again. "Ye've told me this much, why don't ye tell me the rest, aye?"

James' eyes filled with tears again, but he blinked them back as he looked away. It took a moment before he spoke. "Governor Swann." He said, as though it explained everything. "It was the Governor...."

* * *

James down the stairs and opened the door to the outside where he found an officer standing, waiting.

"Come, come quickly," the man came to attention immediately and followed Norrington inside and up to his chambers.

James stepped to the side and let the officer past. He watch as the man ran to Groves' side, he waited while the man checked his pulse and then took a moment to swallow his grief before standing and looking at Norrington, half clothed, standing by the door.

"Sir, you must stay here, do you understand?" Norrington had to sit down. He slid down the wall. He faintly remembered nodding to the man who took his keys and closed and locked the door to the bedroom, but James was not going anywhere. No. He couldn't move because those eyes were locked on him, but didn't see him. They were staring from across the room in a puddle of blood, but they were not aware, they were dead. He was caught in the stare of dead eyes and he could not get up and leave if the apocalypse were occurring ten feet from where he sat.

It seemed hours, or days, or maybe only seconds, but James had no concept of time, until a group of men arrived and he heard the door unlock. He finally closed his own eyes and swallowed, still sitting on the floor, still clutching the ground as though it would be his salvation, when the men came through the door.

He heard someone yelling orders and then felt a hand on his arm. He looked up and saw a face, a familiar face, but one he didn't recognize. It told him to come along with them and then he felt something strange, something he had never felt before and did not care to feel again. He felt cold metal shackles closed around his wrists and heard the click, or the boom it seemed, of the lock as they shut.

They led him somewhere and were very gentle, very careful, they spoke nicely to him and they took him to a place he had been many times, he'd even been inside, but never in such a capacity. He did not seem to realize what was happening until he saw a familiar face and familiar eyes on the other side of the iron bars.

"James?" It was a beautiful soft voice, distinctly feminine, and it made his heart cry out with pain. Finally he moved, but only to close his eyes and bring his hands to his face to shield his tears from the cruel world that brought them forth.

"Father, we cannot leave him here." He heard another voice in concurrence with that notion and then choked agreement.

When his hands moved from his eyes, it was because there was an arm around his shoulders and a voice telling him to stand. It was with this arm in place and this lilting, feminine voice speaking softly words of comfort to him he was guided back to the residence of the Governor, his daughter, and her new fiancé.

* * *

The next thought James had did not come until the morning. His night was free of the terrifying dreams, but the morning was much worse. He stood and dressed the same as any day, but he dressed in plainclothes and he did not have a wig or a sword or anything at all that was familiar to him. In fact, he did not even wear his own clothes, but those belonging to the blacksmith, who was taller and of broader build than him, so the clothes did not sit just right.

James waited in his room, sitting, staring, until a maid came in to invite him down for breakfast. He nodded and let her lead the way, a safe distance ahead of him. She did not pull out his chair, but instead scurried to the other room before he even entered the dining room.

He stepped in and saw Elizabeth in all her finery and William in his newer dress, clothes more fit for the suitor of the Governor's daughter. And of course, there was Swann himself, at the head of the table. He stood and welcomed James, invited him to sit down. He saw the look passed to William and Elizabeth just before they stood to take their leave and he was alone with his mentor and guide in utter silence.

"James?" He raised his head from his hands and removed his elbows from the table to look at the man. "James, how are you?"

James swallowed and shook his head, silently confiding that he did not know how he was.

"You look as though you've gotten very little sleep of late." He nodded. "Its those dreams I reckon." His head shot back up to look at the Governor who nodded unsurprised. "Yes, Theodore..." he swallowed and cleared his throat, "I've been told all about it." James felt tears come to his eyes again but he tried to blink them away. Oh God, what had he done? "James?" He paused but James did not respond, "James... you must understand... I know what happened. I am fairly sure it was not... not your fault. However, something... still needs to be done." James nodded. He knew something would have to be done, but could it not wait until after he had figured out what was going on, or at least until after he'd eaten breakfast?

Governor Swann seemed to be waiting for some sort of verbal acknowledgement, so he said, "What is going to happen to me?"

Swann paused for a while before deciding to simply say what had to be said, "James, please forgive me—"

"Please, just... what?"

Another lengthy pause before the moment of truth. "You are a worthy sailor and a commendable naval officer. You are one of the finest the British Royal Navy could have asked for. However, I will be forced to... temporarily... ask you to leave the service."

James felt like he couldn't breathe. Leave the service? Was he being fired? What was going on? He should know this, he read the documents, he knew what happened in these situations. Never had there been a situation quite like this, in the nature of what happened, and that it had been himself who committed the offence.

"I'm... I'm afraid I don't understand," he confessed at length, his voice shaky and his eyes still on the table.

"I am stripping you of your rank of commodore. I am relieving you of your duties, James. You must meet with a judge and a jury. Do you understand?" His voice was soft and compliant, he wanted to break it easy to James. He had always liked him, hoped he would be a son in law one day, before that dreadful occurrence with the Black Pearl. It seemed no good came from that.

"I am not a commodore."

"Correct."

"I do not belong to the navy."

A pause, "No."

"What will happen to me then?"

Governor Swann cleared his throat. "I... believe I can pull some strings to get you back your old job, as Captain, at least, I may be able to do more. If I can convince them to keep it to a Special court-martial and you can appeal for only a judge, no jury of peers, with luck you will return to your station as commodore. You might only need to face confinement, or hard labour, and of course for that you would have to remain in England. However... for now you will take a mandatory holiday, see physicians in Nassau Port that will help with your dreams. Hopefully, I can delay court martial until such a time as he sees fit that you return."

"You are sending me there?"

"The Dauntless is scheduled to go by there in a couple week's time. It is leaving in two weeks."

"I knew that." He did. He had issued the orders himself.

"You will sail with the ship, James. You must pack your things, plainclothes and books, papers, whatever you like. Be ready to sail in two weeks' time."

James nodded but did not look up from the table. He rested his hands flat on the wood and just stared down, calmly, trying to understand, trying to wrap his mind around it. He heard the Governor's footsteps move from the head of the table to the door opposite him.

"James?" He paused and finally looked up to meet Swann's eyes. "I'm... sorry." He turned and left.

James swallowed and blinked once. Then again as his eyes filled with unshed tears. The third time he blinked his stone-like façade broke and he choked on the air he breathed. The last time he blinked he did not open his eyes again until his tears were all shed for now. By that time it was late in the day.

* * *

James went back to the ship after that. He needed some time alone, understandably. Jack needed time too. Probably not as much as the good former commodore, however, he needed a little space.

Jack swiped a bottle of rum from Ana and took off into the trees on the island, not afraid of wild creatures or anything else on his trip. He knew that if something was coming for Jack Sparrow and he could not defend himself, then it was just his time to go. Jack could deal with that.

He found a nice place to sit down by a stream of water and a comfortable pile of leaves to make into a bed for when he would drunkenly roll over and sleep would find him. Then he sat to be alone with his thoughts.

He stared into the water and took a pull of the rum, now what was he here to think about? Ah yes, hell, damnation, and ruining others' lives. Jack was well acquainted with all of these things. He was certain that there could not have been a step closer to living hell than when he'd been not only without his ship, but an undead monster to boot. Damnation came with that whole undead deal, and ruining others lives seemed to tie in to the same situation.

How many lives had he destroyed with this? So far the count was Norrington, Teddy Groves, and the countless hundreds of people slain in raids by those devils he'd once called his crew. Now how did he feel about that?

Despite being a pirate and all of the indifference that meant, Jack was not feeling very good about himself. No. He'd not really thought about it before. Hell, he'd never really have cared enough before even if he had thought about it. So what was different now? Why did he care that because of him and his lust for treasure and his curious nature and all that garbage so many people were dead or deserted or just hurt by this whole affair?

Because he knew one of them.

No, that wasn't it. Well, it wasn't all of it. No... he knew one of them, and he cared about that one.

Jack needed more to drink. He brought the bottle to his lips again and drained the last of the liquid and hissed as it burned his throat on the way down. Funny, rum never burned anymore. Oh, that was not rum, that there, that was guilt that burned.

Yes, Jack knew the feeling. He felt it occasionally. He felt it the day he left his mum for a sailor's life. He felt it again when he wrote to her to tell her he was sick of merchants getting picked on by those pirates. He was sick of getting picked on. He, instead, wanted to do the picking. No, no, that wasn't quite it. He felt most guilty when he received letter back from his mum telling him not to come back until he'd regained his wits and realized that the life of a pirate was no life at all. He felt even worse when a few years later he received word that his mother was not among the living and he had not gone back to see her because she told him not to come back a pirate.

Yes, Jack knew all about guilt, but he also learned how to live without it all these years, which was why it was such a pain to have it back in full force just now. But why?

Right, he figured that out, this time it was someone he cared about, that was why.

But he'd cared about other people before and hadn't hesitated to double cross them or hurt them to get what he really wanted. Why, just think of that Turner boy. He'd have sold the kid out for his ship if he had to, and he wouldn't have thought twice about it. And that dear girl, Elizabeth, same goes. So why now? What was different?

'Don' be daft, ye ol' fool,' he heard one facet of his mind say, 'ye know 'xactly what's different now. William and 'Lizabeth were not yer dear mum. No, ye didn't care 'bout them as much as ye might've her. Though neither,' he thought to himself, 'neither were they James L. Norrington, former commodore of th' British Royal Navy.'

He sat up. 'Wha' was 'at?'

'Ye know bloody well wha' tha' was! It was sense, ye daft bugger!'

'But I couldn't possibly... nay, the man tried t' hang me... twice!'

'But those eyes, and that hair, 'specially wit'out the wig, it's so soft and smells so good, and 'is hands and arms, yes 'e was a sailor once, usin' those arms to pull ropes and the lot, an' 'is shoulders and neck...' Jack shook his head and wiped the goofy grin off his face.

'But tha' doesn' mean—'

'Wha' about 'is laugh, ye like tha' too, an 'is smile, tha' sarcastic smile's so sweet, but the real one's warm 'nough t' melt gold, 't is, which may be a problem, considerin' 'is mouth is so often on yers.'

'Yes, but still,' his other half argued.

'Still nothin', ye even like th' way 'e folds everythin' so neatly, very British, stiff upper lip like, there. Ye like th' way 'e frowns when ye say somethin' improper, th' way 'e blushes when ye reinforce it wit' a grope.'

'Mmm, groping, indeed. An' don' forget 'is legs, pale, strong legs, tha' lead t' a nice lean arse, perfect for ravishin', and 'is beautiful cock, so nice 'n' thick 'n' hard 'n' hot 'n' delicious.'

'See, ye do care for th' man!"

'Wha'? Wait, ye tricked me!'

'I am ye.'

A pause, 'Oh... right.'

Jack lay back down and stared through the leaves above him to the dark sky and the hundreds of stars he could see. He swallowed and wondered to himself what the hell happened to him.

'Do ye really think this is sudden? 'Ell, jus' think of all the journals ye 'ave wit' 'is name in 'em...' Jack blushed in spite of himself and sat straight up again.

"Oh shit, 'e's on me ship!"

'Oh relax, 'e knows ye like 'im well 'nough now, anyway.' Jack was hesitant, ''E's probably too los' in 'is own mind t' be wonderin' wha's in Jack Sparrow's currently, anyhow.'

Jack nodded to himself and laid back down. 'Yes,' he thought to himself, 'everythin' would be fine.'

* * *

James picked up where he left off in the journal. He opened to a page and started reading. The he frowned and sat up again on the bed. This was not right. He sighed and tossed the book on the bed. He couldn't just invade the man's privacy like that after Jack made such a show of it being so important to him.

He ran his hands through his long hair and stood up to find something else to do, it was not as though he was interested in reading anyway. All that was on the shelf were books by Shakespeare, who despite his respect for the man, James found rather long winded and dramatic, Chaucer, and other books of the like, followed by journals that Jack kept. There were many so James wondered how long the man had been able to read and write; it was not common among pirates.

'Of course,' he thought, 'Jack is not what one would call an ordinary pirate.' He paced a little. 'Jack is not an ordinary pirate, nor is he an ordinary man, nor is he an ordinary lover—'

James paused in his contemplation and let himself consider the thought. Now if Jack was a pirate and he was a commodore, that in itself was something unspeakable, not to mention the factor of sodomy, but James was not a commodore so where did that put him?

'I am still a man, though.' True, he was. 'A man of honour.' Yes, true again, but what did that mean— 'That means I am not supposed to consort with pirates nor am I supposed to sleep with them, ugh!' He sat down in a huff. 'But I am doing just that.'

'You were captured, surely that counts for something against your consorting with pirates,' he thought to himself.

'Yes, but what does it say that I have not tried very hard to avoid them, nor have I attempted to sway Jack's evident interest in me.'

'No one else knows that.'

'I know that, that is bad enough. If I know then God knows and—'

'Oh lay off that! Do you even believe anymore in God or Heaven or Hell? How could those creatures have walked the earth? Those undead fiends were able to walk the earth for ten years, plus or minus, doing unspeakable things; not even the kind of things a regular pirate could be accused of doing! They should have been in Satan's quarters, should never have been let to walk with man, but god allowed it, so what does that say about God? What does that say about his existence?'

'It says that if he is there, then he doesn't really care, otherwise, it is hard to say whether he exists at all.'

'What do you think?'

He sighed to himself. 'I don't know anymore.'

'He was the one who let those creatures walk around, He was the one who could have stopped those nightmares, He took Teddy from you, how does that make God a friend?' Norrington sighed and decided it was enough with theology and he wanted to get onto something more important.

'So why Jack Sparrow, then?' He wondered. 'There are plenty of other filthy disgusting pirates, and there are plenty of gentlemen, Remy, Teddy would have been a good choice.'

'Yes, but how am I supposed to sleep with those men when I control the manner in which they conduct their lives? They know the law, would they want to even consider that?'

'You read Teddy's journals, some of those things sounded less like one who always thinks lawfully and more like a sodomite.'

He stood up and flashed angrily at himself, 'Stop that, now! That is no way to think of your best friend! No way to think of a dead man.' He felt tears well in his eyes and struggled to ignore the burning of them and push them back.

He let himself grow calm again and sat down on the bed. 'However, the question still remains, what on earth is so seductive about Jack Sparrow? He is filthy and grimy, he wears whatever that grease around his eyes is, makes him look like a woman. He is uncouth, unshaven, knotty-haired, drunken, looting, pilfering, plundering, man with nothing to offer.'

'He is also hot, and intelligent, and funny, and interesting, he has depth and flare, he is flamboyant and colourful and altogether fascinating, and he is handsome, and pretty, and strong, and hard, and he tastes good and he feels good....' James lost himself for a moment, he swallowed and tried to get his mind back on track. For heavens sakes it had only been an hour or two since they'd left the room....

He sighed. Hadn't that been interesting? He wondered to himself how he might have reacted a year ago, or if he had not been sent away on this leave of absence. Would he have still succumbed to Jack's powers of seduction? It was quite possible. James couldn't know how long this fascination of his own had been going on. He had before been infatuated with Elizabeth and then trying to rid himself of these terrible dreams. Had it just come up since he had been on the Pearl? It had been so short a time, though! He shook his head, not knowing what he was thinking or why.

'All I know, is that I am falling for Jack Sparrow, yes, I said it, falling for him, and I cannot stop, and I do not want to.' With finality he thought, 'And that is fine with me.'

* * *

"Father, we must do something!" Elizabeth gestured to the letter in his hand. "I have faith in Jack Sparrow, but not with James in this state, who knows what could happen?"

Governor Swann shook his head and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "I understand, Elizabeth, but what will you have me do?"

"Send out a ship! Send the Dauntless, have them attack the Pearl, we must get him back!"

"If we risk another ship at his expense there will be no way for him to get his position back. He is already charged with the destruction of the Interceptor and... the murder. I've sent another notice to England, with more information of course, since time has already been wasted because of that pirate. Very likely, they will simply send a judge down here, now, because of the urgency. If another ship is destroyed to get him back before then, there will be nothing left here for him. They will be ruthless already, but after that—"

"There will be nothing left of him if we don't find him immediately. Father, Jack likes to play games, there is no doubt in my mind that he would try his damnedest to break James, and at this time he is not far from that point. We must get him back!" She sighed at his reluctance, "Father, if he was to be my husband you would not hesitate to return him to my side, however, he is my friend, and I do love him dearly. I am not going to sit here while you risk his life and his sanity!" She paused for effect, she was good at convincing her father. "Would you rather him here, sane and well but with nothing left, or him dead or mad on the ocean with pirates for heavens knows how long?" She raised her eyebrows and finally the Governor nodded.

"I will send the Dauntless back out on seas tomorrow then."

"I will go with them."

"No! Elizabeth—"

"Father, nothing will happen to me, I assure you. I will go as a diplomat to discuss the conditions of James' release." Before he could answer she smiled brightly and kissed his cheek before bounding out the door.

* * *

James awakened with a start and sat up in bed, turning to fish under the pillow for something sharp before something grasped his hands. He almost panicked. "Whoa, there, love," a voice said. "It's jus' me, jus' Jack." James tried to struggle a second more before realizing whom it was and what was happening. "Ye were dreamin' again."

James nodded and swallowed. Jack handed him a bottle and he tilted his head back and poured the fluid in, drinking it hungrily, wanting to burn the fear out with the rum. After a moment he gave the bottle back and found his breath slowing to a reasonable rate, though he was still shaking.

Jack sat down on the bed, "Are ye all right?" He asked.

James nodded and fell back against the pillows, shaking a little. "I think so." Jack shook his head and kicked his boots off on the floor, he started to remove various items of clothing, such as his scarf around his waist, jacket, vest, and effects, then finally his shirt, and he lifted the blanket to the bed and lay down next to the man.

"What are you doing?"

Jack laughed as he moved closer and raised an arm to slide around James' shoulders. "Jus' tryin' t' 'elp ye relax, mate."

"I'm relaxed," he insisted, but Jack pulled his shoulders until he willingly moved to rest against the pirate. He was still shaking.

"Yer shakin' like a leaf in the wind, mate." He slouched down and rested his head back.

"Yes... I... I suppose I am." He laughed a little nervously. James just pondered what Jack was doing and why. "Why are you sitting here with me?"

"I'm 'elpin' ye relax, I told ye tha'."

"I know, but why?"

He felt Jack shrug and then an explanation came. "When I were young an' got nightmares, me mum would climb int' bed wit' me and hold me. I tended t' fall asleep easier tha' way. Knew someone would protect me."

"I hardly need your protection."

"Will ye shut up and let me 'old ye?"

James smiled and laughed a little, relaxing, surprisingly, into the embrace. This was a little awkward. "This is a little awkward."

"Aye, a little."

"Do you usually behave so to prisoners or captives?"

Jack barked another laugh, "Nay mate, but yer special."

After a moment he responded, "Why?"

Jack sighed, "'M I a bloody dictionary? 'Ow am I t' know?"

"Well I am fairly certain that the only person in this room that knows what is going on in your head here is you, if, indeed, you know that much."

Jack looked affronted when he pulled away and glanced down at James who was just starting to get comfortable. "Ye implyin' tha' I'm daft?"

James chuckled, "Well there was no doubt of that, I was simply enquiring as to whether you were also stupid."

"Oi, what?" Jack sneered. "See 'ere!"

James laughed, "Relax! Mayhap you do not recognize sarcasm. Nor dry wit." Jack paused to examine his face before half laying and half sitting again. After a moment's pause, James spoke again, "However, I am still curious as to why you are here...."

Jack sighed, "Do I have to spell everythin' out for ye?" James nodded and Jack growled in irritation. "I care for ye, all right? It unnerves me t' see ye shakin' so."

"You care... for me?" He sounded a little incredulous.

"Yes, man, make me say it again, I care 'bout ye, it's not so 'ard t' believe. Yer a good man, 'andsome and all, I find I've rather taken to ye."

James sat up now that the topic had been breached. "I am afraid I still don't understand what that means. Am I dear to you as a whore is dear to a pirate whose found a silver coin in the gutter and it buys him a drink and a ride? Or am I as dear to you as William Turner might be, as a friend?"

Jack sat up too. "Look, I did a little thinkin' las' night and I realized that yer not so bad. I... I like you. I would rather no' be enemies."

"Jack. I think it is safe to say that we have not been enemies since yesterday and probably a while before that also." James blushed as he said that. 'How cute,' Jack thought.

"Well then," he exclaimed, "I suppose ye could say yer dear t' me like a man is dear to 'nother man after both 'ave shagged and rather liked it an' didn't wan' it t' stop." James was about to say something but Jack was not finished. "Yer dear t' me, also, as a man is dear to 'nother man, who considers 'im a friend. And, yer dear t' me as much as me dear ol' mum, God rest 'er soul."

"You care for me... like your mother. Excuse me if that doesn't sound terribly endearing."

Jack laughed, "Aye, well then. I never cared for a person b'fore I met 'er," he winked because that was rather obvious, "and I've not cared for 'nother since she died."

That gave James pause. "I suppose," he said after a bit, "that is a good way to be cared about, then."

"Aye," Jack said, seeming to be waiting for something else, but James did not know what. After silence for a moment or two Jack said, "Well?"

"Well what?"

Jack through his arms in the air and made a loud noise of incredulity, "Well what? Well are ye goin' t' sit there and let me bear me 'eart to ye wit'out commentin'? It's clear ye think me daft, and possibly stupid, but d' ye think me insincere?"

"Of course not!"

"Well?"

James laughed, "Well I think that is very... sweet... if not alarming, that a pirate captain fancies me as he does his dear mother, and I find I rather like the idea of you liking me."

"And?"

Another laugh, "And I am not opposed to your liking of me in any way?"

"... And?"

"And... you're a well and truly confusing man and I've no idea what you're expecting me to say."

"And," here there was a strange change that James thought he could get used to. Jack spoke with a less heavy and more gentlemanly accent, much more suited to a man courting a commodore of the British Royal Navy, if such a thing was couth at all, "yes Jack, you are brilliant and handsome and clearly I care for you too, as I am cuddled so snugly against you. And yes Jack, I too think that I am rather fond of you and find you not daft or stupid, but brilliant and wise. And no Jack, I do not intend to make fun of you, or stab you in any strange places again unless specified to do so in a moment of unruly passion which, yes Jack, I am rather anxious to engage in again, as soon as possible."

James sat up and looked at Jack until the pirate leaned back and narrowed his eyes at the man, "What?"

"Aside from the fact that you could beat any whore walking on the streets of Tortuga in the way of makeup, jewels, bobbles and fancy objects dangling about your person, yes, you are devilishly handsome, but it is clear you know that, and if I did not care the least bit about you I am fairly certain I would have tried to kill you," Jack raised an eyebrow clearly thinking about the wound in his leg, "with serious and non-dream-induced intent."

He did not pause, "It is clear from the literary works on the wall that you are more learned than any pirate I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and are, in fact, very wise. I am afraid, however, that there is no escaping the fun I will poke at you, as it is clear you are far more dashing than any whore I could have picked up, and I cannot say I will not stab you, because it is up to you to avoid the pointed end of objects when I lack the state of mind to know what I am doing."

Finally James smiled and leaned closer, "However, that much more gentlemanly accent intrigues a man and makes him wonder, if only in the slightest, about that unruly passion bit." He raised his eyebrows and Jack smiled brightly before closing the distance between their lips.

* * *

When James opened his eyes the next morning, it was to see another set of eyes looking straight back at him. He almost started, but he remembered as he recognized those dark orbs staring back at him. He smiled.

"'Morning."

"Good morning."

"Thought ye'd never wake," James smiled back at Jack and the pirate grinned.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Only 'couple hours, now."

James pulled back to see his face a little more clearly. "A couple hours? What have you been doing all this time?"

"A great deal of no' a whole lot." James took a confused expression. "Well I didn' wan' t' wake ye, but ye've got me rather, entangled at th' moment."

James smiled and then chuckled softly. "Sorry to be such an inconvenience."

With a crooked grin Jack said, "No inconvenience a' all, mate. I prefer t' wake up shaped like a pretzel, 'elps me remember 'f I enjoyed the previous night."

James blushed a little, "And did you?"

Jack pressed his nakedness closer to James' own body and brought his lips close enough that when they moved to speak, they brushed James'. "I'm still enjoyin'...."

A brief knock sounded on the door and it flew open abruptly before Jack had the time to disentangle himself from James. Someone called Jack's name and Jack tried to roll over and away from James and out of the bed and away from the covers all at once and unsurprisingly landed on the floor, sheets wrapped around him and stripped from James suddenly, who had the foresight to roll the other way and tumble off the opposite side of the bed.

Meanwhile, Anamaria did not move from her position at the door, staring amusedly at the two startled men, arms crossed, leaning leisurely back against the doorway.

"Christ on th' cross, woman! D'ye never knock?"

"Actually, Jack, she did knock," James muttered from the other side of the bed.

Jack was momentarily at a loss for words, "Yes, well d'ye ever wait for 'n answer, then?"

Anamaria just smiled smugly for a moment before saying cheerily in a semi-sing-song voice, "Th' crew's 'board 'n' we're waitin' for yer presence b'fore we set off, captain. If ye'd be so kind as t' present yerself shortly."

Jack huffed, "I'll be presentin' somethin' to ye," he got to his feet and let the cloth drop to the floor, "if ye don' get out me room this instan'!" She started to turn around, though obviously staring at Jack's nether regions with delight, as she moved not quickly enough for Jack. "Ge' out woman, out!" He started moving toward the door and she smiled as she scurried the rest of the way out and Jack slammed the door behind her. "Good God!" He threw his hands in the air and turned back around to face James who was buttoning up the last of his shirt. "Aw, now what'd ye do tha' for?" He gestured to the man and dropped his arms to his side in defeat.

James laughed. "Unless you intend to sail this ship without clothes, I suggest you put some on and get out there, Captain." He moved toward Jack as he finished, walked past him, and out the door.

Moments later James turned around from facing the ocean to watch Jack as he emerged from his room and walked straight to the helm with a determined smile on his face naked as the day he was born.

* * *

Will stood next to Elizabeth's side as she stared out at the ocean. He wondered if she minded it, got sick on the sea, or if she enjoyed the soothing, rocking waves as much as he did. She looked focused, as though she was thinking hard, and she probably was. He asked her what was on her mind.

She smiled at him and sighed, "Well it is just that the ocean is so vast and Jack might have taken James anywhere. I just hope that he is doing well."

"You know that Jack would not hurt him."

Elizabeth sighed, "We are not entirely sure of that. We met the man only that once and that was a year ago. We didn't know him for longer than a couple weeks."

"We know he is a good man."

"Yes, yes, he saved me and you and he helped us, but he is still a pirate, as James once said. I don't know that he wasn't just using us before, he wanted the ship back and we were a means to an end." Will pondered this. "I suppose I am just worried that he has it out for James because of the whole hanging incident."

"I would like to trust Jack, Elizabeth."

"So would I, Will, but it is hard to do so... I mean, clearly he does kill, that man on the merchant ship—"

"That was not necessarily him, it could have been an accident!"

"But Will, we don't know. As much as you would like to believe that pirates can be good men, and as much as I want to believe that Jack is, he is still a pirate, and we have not known him long, and I still worry."

Will decided to let it drop here. "I understand. Lets not think about it until later. We have the whole ocean to search before we have to worry about James and Jack."

* * *

In the morning after waking up in the arms of a pirate for perhaps the third or fourth time, James noticed that Jack had already left to man the ship. James stood and dressed, taking his time, and checking the sky out the window for the time of day, early afternoon at least. James went to the galley to get something to eat. He started when he found someone in there and apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here."

The man looked up and shrugged, "Don' worry, no one notices 'm gone an' I'll be back in a minute."

"Ah, good, well, I will just be outside until you are finished then."

"Ye can stay, mate, 'm jus fixin' a sandwich. Ye wan' one?"

James shook his head, "Just something to drink this morning, I can get it."

The room was silent but for the sound of James boiling water for tea. The man spoke up again. "They say ye aren't commodore no more," he said. "They say ye were fired."

James looked up at him trying not to let the truth show on his face. "Who says?"

"Th' crew."

"And what would give them that idea?"

"Well, sir, 'f ye don' mind me sayin'," he sneered at James and showed his missing teeth, "commodores don' jus' go on vacation. They're either mad or they're relieved from duty, and bein' insane, one would be relieved from duty, so tha's th' only 'splanation they've come up wit'. Ye've been de-commodorified." He chuckled.

"On the contrary, many commodores and admirals and captains take vacation."

The man nodded, "Aye, o' course, but captains take vacation because th' commodores 'ave everythin' under control, and the admirals take vacation because they're pompous bastards and prefer t' sit on their arses for a great deal more time than they should. Commodores... now they's folk as don't go on vacation. So 'm wonderin' commodore if ye deserve the title we've been treatin' ye wit' for these past days." James did not respond but stuck his index finger into the tea to test its temperature. "Ah," the man said, "so then, what'd ye do, mister commodore sir?" He approached James from behind, without the man realizing it and spoke again, "I'll bet ye' killed a man."

James jumped at the voice and turned on the man immediately. "Now see here, man!"

The pirate jumped back a little. "Ah, touched a nerve, did I, commodore?" He laughed, "Was probably someone e'eryone loved too, init? Now was it purposeful or no commodore?"

James felt his anger leap up inside him. "Stop that this instant!"

"No' purposeful then, accident. Then by yer silence I'd 'ave t' assume 'twas a mate then." James' face grew redder but he purposefully turned and stirred his tea quickly, hoping to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Ah, so they were right."

Despite James' adamant intent to remain silent, he turned and asked, "Who was right?"

The man laughed, "'Ts wha' e'eryone thought. 'Ts wha' they told me." James was speechless and his mouth hung open stupidly. "I'll jus' be leavin' then, g'day commodore."

* * *

When James came onto the deck, he did not look happy. He shot a glance Jack's way such that Jack felt either burned to ashes or frozen solid but he didn't know which it was. He looked about and saw that no one seemed to be paying a great deal of attention so he left Anamaria with the helm and approached his cabin, where James had gone.

He knocked first, "'Ello?"

"Yes?"

"Can I come in, mate?"

"Do as you wish, they are your quarters."

Jack did. He closed the door behind him and found James sitting at the desk sipping tea out of a tin mug. "Er... 'ows it goin'?" James looked up over his drink and did not seem amused nor phased by Jack's fumbling. Jack scratched the back of his neck and sat down. "Wha' is it?"

James raised his eyebrows innocently though somehow still looking right pissed off. "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Now don't play th' 'if you don't know I'm not going to tell you' game wit' me, James. 'At's wha' the broads are for." He paused and leaned forward, "Now ye gave me th' look of death out there, 'n' I would love t' know why."

James put down his drink and looked Jack in the face. "As though you don't know, mate."

Jack sat back and felt a little sting as though James just struck him. He started to get defensive. "'Fraid I don't, love. Ye fancy tellin' me wha's got yer knickers in a twist?"

"Mayhap, if you mind telling me how your whole crew knows about me."

Jack blinked and felt like laughing. "About you, well ye've been here for a few bloody days mate, they're all bound to 'ave seen ye by now."

James stood up abruptly, "You know what I am talking about! They know what has happened! They know about Theodore and heavens knows what else!"

Jack stood up and looked toward the door for a moment, "What them?" He pointed at the door with his thumb.

"Yes them, Jack! Them, the crew, everyone! One of the bloody pirates told me he knew all about it and the rest of the crew did also!"

"Hold on a minute, mate—"

"You hold on!" He pointed his finger in Jack's face. "Now I don't know what you planned here, Sparrow, but I do know that this crew knows everything, and I sure as hell did not tell them." Jack took a step back from the accusing finger pointed at him just then, "and the only other person on this boat that knew anything about it was you, Captain!"

Jack's face grew angry, "Now hold up there, I don't know what ye think ye're doin'—"

"I am asking you, Sparrow, to please stop toying with me, I do not enjoy it. I will gladly return to your brig if you are finished having your fun, but I will not endure this mockery any longer... savvy?"

Jack's lips drew into a straight line and he heard something akin to a growl build in his throat. "That's 'ow it is, is it?"

"Yes, Jack, that is how it is."

"I don't suppose ye'd listen t' me, anyway, if I rebutted your argument?"

"Jack, there is nothing left to say." He frowned and sat down. "Kill me, lock me up, do what you like, but no more of this," he said with distaste gesturing around the cabin.

Jack swallowed the anger in his throat and ground out, "As you wish, Norrington."

* * *

"Cotton, man the helm, Gibbs and Anamaria, I would like to see you, now!" Ana looked worriedly at mister Gibbs and handed over the wheel to the mute before scurrying to Jack's side.

"Gibbs, please take the fine commodore to the brig." He rubbed at his temples and when Joshamee Gibbs hesitated he looked up and barked, "That was not a request, sailor, that was an order!" Gibbs stepped back and nodded, entering the room to put the former officer in manacles and drag him down the brig. Jack pulled Ana into his room and locked the door.

He gestured to the chair and she hesitated, causing him to give her a pointed look, turn the chair around, and slam it back on the ground for emphasis that this, also, was not a request. "My dear Anamaria. I know ye've little tolerance for them navy types and I know ye're a bit o' a sneak so I want ye t' tell me in th' simplest terms what you know." The last three words were drawn out and emphasized.

She swallowed, not having seen Jack in such a mood before. She shook her head, "Cap'n, I don't know what ye're referrin' to."

He smiled at her, tilting his head, but this was not a friendly gesture, this was a threat and a warning that he was quickly growing thin of patience. "Ye know very well, what, Ana. The commodore, wha' d'ye know 'bout the commodore? Plain 'n' simple."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Only what ye've told me, cap'n."

"Aye, and wha' is 'at?"

"That 'e was headed to Nassau Port for vacation and somethin' 'bout nightmares 'e's been 'avin'. Nothin' more 'n 'at."

"Ye swear 'at's all ye know 'bout 'im?"

She nodded quickly, "Aye, Jack. 'At's all ye tol' me."

He contemplated this for a moment and paced while she looked at him slightly frightened about his mental stability and a little concerned also. An angry captain was not something to face sober.

He spun to face her again. "Ye're a good sailor, Ana, I respect ye and I know ye be tellin' th' truth when I ask, so I believe ye know nothin' else. 'Owever, this 'as put ye in th' position of knowin' there's somethin' more t' know, and therefore I'm goin' t' tell ye and ye're goin' t' 'elp me, aye?"

She nodded, "Aye cap'n."

He nodded, "First, I'll tell ye a story, then I want ye t' find out who from th' crew knows said story and 'ow th' 'ell they found out, aye?"

"Aye."

* * *

James sat in the brig, back against the wall, musing to himself about his profound stupidity and gullibility. How could he have ever thought that a notorious pirate captain would want anything from him aside from amusement? To Jack he was nothing more than a toy with which he could pass time.

He sighed and felt like hitting his head against the side of the ship, but he refrained with the reasoning that if he was to get out of here and have any possibility of regaining his job he needed to keep his head about him. He wondered what he would be doing right now if the ridiculous pirate and his crew of savages had not captured him so many days past. He would probably be in Nassau port with whatever doctor was there, awaiting a judge to come down to attend his court-martial. He was not certain which circumstance was worse.

He wondered, also, how long it had taken the Dauntless to return to port and inform the governor of his capture. It was probably back by now, it might have even set back out for its voyage again, after restocking. He wondered if the man even cared that he had been taken hostage. He wondered if there was anything they were going to do about it or if they would just leave him here to rot. He sincerely hoped that he was not wrong in assuming Elizabeth still considered him friend enough to risk rescuing. She was very likely the only person who would be interested in saving him now.

What would be better, though, being rescued, facing court-martial, which meant potential discharge from the navy, or, depending on the judge or jury of peers, and how much they had it out for him, even worse than that? Or facing the rest of his life with these dreaded pirates, unless they decided to abandon him on some bloody island.

Norrington shook his head and tried to relax. He lay down as much as he was able and put his head down, hoping he could find some peace in sleep, though he doubted it.

* * *

Jack did not leave his room until Ana came back simply to tell him she had not been able to find out which of the crew had told Norrington that they knew he had killed his best mate. From this Jack could only infer that James was simply mad, or refused to trust Jack, which, to put it bluntly, pissed the pirate off even more.

'How bloody 'ard is it t' jus' trust for one minute tha' Cap'n Jack Sparrow isn't tha' bad, eh? 'E couldn't jus' trust tha' I cared for 'im. 'E couldn't jus' trust tha' I could keep tha' bloody secret, tha' I would no' go runnin' t' me mates and blurtin' th' whole story out o'er a bottle an' a bite. 'Ow bloody hard would it 'ave been, eh?'

Jack tipped the bottle back and poured more rum down his throat, drinking greedily, hoping that it might burn out some of his anger, or some of his sadness, come to think of it. He wouldn't let himself think of it, as a matter of fact. Thinking just led to concluding, and concluding things usually came after jumping to said conclusions, and it is always said how jumping to conclusions was one thing that should not be done.

'Bloody commodore and 'is bloody propriety. Never trusts anyone, an' why should he, no' like a pirate could ever be a good mate.' He shook his head again and sighed.

He halfway wanted to go out and check on the helmsman, but he knew that they were fine. He wanted to go down and talk to the crew, but they were all abed. He wanted to go to the brig and talk to James, but he knew that he was too drunk for that, and nothing good would come of it, plus, chances were that Norrington was sleeping too.

Jack sat up, 'Well, wha' 'arm is there if 'e's fast asleep, eh?'

He set the empty bottle on his table and stood, though shakily and wobbly to move to the door. He tried to regain his balance a few times, but made it to the door without any real mishaps. Jack found his way to the stairs and unfortunately fell down the first set of steps, but there weren't many and he wasn't hurt, so he stood up and wondered briefly if anyone had heard that. He listened for a second, in case of hearing things signifying he had roused someone, but concluded, without jumping, that no one had awakened due to his fall.

Nodding with satisfaction, he descended the next set of stairs a little more carefully and appeared in the brig.

Jack walked to the cell in which he saw his commodore. The other cell was empty because the man who had been there was released on the island they stopped at to relieve themselves of the treasure. At that time, he had unlocked the manacles and tied a simple rope around his hands in a wonderful tight knot that no one would be able to untie, or so he hoped. Then he sent the fine owners of the houses under which they stashed their loot to bring the man to the nearest authorities and explain that he had been trying to steal from them, reveal the brand that named him pirate, and release him into their custody.

Anyway, Jack walked to the cell and noticed that James' head was resting against the bars and his legs cramped up, but he was lying down somewhat, seemingly asleep. He watched for a few minutes and recognized the deep patterned breathing of a sleeping man.

He reclined against the locked door to the other cell and watched James' chest rise and fall, his eyes closed and unmoving beneath those pretty eyelids. His mouth pursed just so, made the captain wish he could touch those red lips, perhaps with his own. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he breathed and Jack wanted to touch his pretty neck, kiss his neck, taste his neck. He watched as James' hair fell over his face on the far side, covering his cheek and draping across his upper lip, which, since he had not shaved in a good amount of time, was beginning to show a fine growth of a beard and moustache. Jack wanted to feel that moustache scraping against his face as he kissed him, slid his tongue into James' mouth and tasted those oranges. Did he mention that the man tasted like oranges? He sighed involuntarily and let his eyes drop lower.

They glazed over James' chest, the top few buttons open, revealing his pale skin and hard marble flesh. He wished he could push that top down just a little, move it just so, and then he could see the dusky colour of a peaked nipple. It would be peaked, of course, because Jack's lips would have just moved away from it, after sucking it into full erectness. Jack's eyes moved lower.

James' hand rested on his abdomen, just above his pants, but low enough that his fingers lay flat against the fabric of his trousers. As Jack's eyes swallowed the view on the way down, they widened in hunger as the appendage in his own breeches started to stir when he saw the unmistakeable bulge in James' pants. His legs were fabulously spread because of the lack of room, one foot resting on the ground and the other propped up against the side of the ship, toe of his boot resting in a square of the bars of the cell. He looked very attractive, wanton lying with his legs open and his cock hard. Jack could almost taste it in his mouth and he felt himself stiffen farther.

With a sniff Jack lowered his eyes and turned his head away. This was not a good thing to do, stare at the prisoner in his brig, even if they had been quite a bit more friendly last night, the man clearly made his decision. He would rather be his prisoner than his lover, and Jack would respect that, however much it angered and hurt him.

'So much for likin' 'im as much as me dear ol' mother.'

However, the other nagging voice in his head retorted, 'Who's t' say ye don't?'

* * *

As Jack retreated, James let his eyes open and he tilted his head to watch the pirate go back up the steps, a great deal less noisily than he had been when he came down. He'd felt Jack's eyes on him the whole time, and it was all he could do not to turn over and face the wall out of embarrassment at his situation, but it turned him on knowing Jack was down here so late, expecting him to be asleep, so he could see him, watch him, look at him. That Jack still took an interest... well to be blatant, it aroused James. No matter how much the former navy man wished it did not, it turned James on to be wanted, and not just to be wanted, but to be wanted by that man.

When he was sure Jack was gone, he let out a sigh and with it, a groan of relief. Then he swallowed, as he could not help remembering the feeling of those eyes on his body.

He could feel Jack staring at his face, at the hair draped across it, he could feel that gaze linger on his lips, and those lips burned with desire, just to kiss the pirate again. He could feel the same eyes on his neck and his chest, and he wished that he could have Jack's lips on his nipple and that dark, course moustache tickling the skin around it, the beads in his beard falling against the skin of his chest. James missed the feeling of those hands on him too.

When Jack's gaze fell, he knew it, he felt the gaze rest on his stomach, possibly his hand, which was across his pelvis, but then he felt the burn of those eyes on his nether regions, on the bulge in his trousers. He felt like he was being stripped for Jack, and he wished he meant that in the literal sense. He felt like Jack was staring at him naked, in fact, it seemed more obscene than if he'd been naked, because Jack obviously wanted to see it so much that his eyes were burning through James' clothes and seeing what they wished.

He remembered another kind of hot burning feeling down there, when Jack's lips surrounded his hard member. When Jack's tongue did dreadful things to the slit at the tip and James moaned and cried out at the same time, yes, he remembered that too. Finally, he remembered Jack's throat, the way it expanded to engulf his hard cock when Jack took him all the way in. Oh, that was hot, and wet, and it was pressure and friction and he couldn't stand it. He always just wanted Jack to move, but every time... every time Jack would wait, until he said something, begged, said the pirate's name, anything, before he contracted those muscles and engulfed James fully and the former commodore could not handle it anymore.

Just thinking about this, and remembering Jack's eyes on him, only those things drove him to move his hand from where it lay draped on his abdomen. He moved it up a little and then slipped it slowly into his trousers, a little too big, but all the better to accommodate his hand. When he wrapped his fingers around his rigid length and parted his lips to let out a sigh, he imagined it was Jack's fingers doing this to him. He imagined Jack holding him in his hand and waiting until James asked him for it.

"Please," he would say, and Jack would smile, and with a glint of gold teeth in the moonlight, his hand would start to move. James' hips would move a little, begging him to touch him more, harder, with more pressure, anything, he just wanted more. He wanted more of more.

He would say again, "Jack," and Jack would ask what he wanted, but James didn't have to answer. Jack would grip more and stroke faster and James would whimper a little with need, which he did now. Jack would kiss his neck and whisper in his ear, telling him naughty things that should not please men of the British Royal Navy so much as it pleased James to hear, but thankfully, for the time being, he was not of said navy, and the thought passed from his mind as soon as it entered.

Jack's thumb would move up and smear the liquid seeping out of the slit in James' cock around the head and he would whisper some more, enough to make James say something, anything, to get more of that feeling. And Jack would move faster.

James hand sped up on his cock and he felt his hips rising from their resting place, as though he were thrusting into someone else's hand, Jack's hand, but it didn't matter right now that it wasn't Jack's hand, or that it didn't feel the same as the pirate's hand. What mattered was that he was close now, close enough that he needed to rid himself of the restriction of these pants.

This he did with his other hand, while still moving his fist on his cock, evenly, if not a little more slowly so he wouldn't have anything messy to clean out of his pants. This was when his imagination turned even more interesting.

What if it was his hand on Jack's cock, and Jack's hand on his? Oh, how he wished he could touch it, or taste it. It had been only since yesterday, but it seemed so long ago that he felt Jack's cock. He wanted to feel it again.

Jack's hand sped up on his cock and his sped up too, to match the speed. He felt himself growing close, but thankfully, he had been able to move his pants down far enough that he was confident he would not make a mess with them.

He felt the tip of that thumb on the head of his organ again and he groaned and his hips bucked a little bit. "Jack," he whispered. He saw those lips flicker into a smile briefly before parting a little bit, and that wonderful moan and groan and cry of release that sounded from Jack whenever he found orgasm was brought forth from him and he spilled over his lover's hand at the same time Jack spilled in his.

James held onto his flaccid member even still when it was soft for a moment before he raised his hand to his lips, eyes still closed, and touched the tip of his tongue to his hand to taste Jack. He cleaned off his fingers and moaned with finality before opening his eyes.

He was still in the brig, and it was still the middle of the night, but now his pants were down and he was exposed and breathing heavily with release. But Jack was nowhere around, and James felt sadness course through him at this. He quickly pulled the trousers back into place and tucked himself away before resting his head down and actually trying to get some sleep.

* * *

Elizabeth was called onto deck early in the morning on the fifth day of sailing because they saw a ship in the distance. She approached the captain, took the looking glass and gazed out to sea.

The sails were no longer black but back to regular white, but she recognized the ship anyway. She nodded to the captain, "That's her." She wondered if the Pearl would stay where it was or if it would try to leave. She hoped for James' sake, that Jack would leave the ship where it was and let the Dauntless approach.

Will joined her on deck and she smiled at him as he put his arm around her waist while they looked out. "It is Jack?" She nodded. "He is not going anywhere." She shook her head. "I suppose he is waiting for us then?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Perhaps they have not seen us yet, perhaps they are going to attack."

William shook his head. "He would not attack us, would he?"

With a sigh she responded, "I don't know."

* * *

"Cap'n, there's a ship on the horizon!" Jack looked up from where he was sitting at his desk when Gibbs came in the room and he stood immediately and followed the old sailor onto deck.

Sure enough, Jack recognised the boat as the Dauntless. He swallowed hard and wondered what he was going to do. "Don't move," he finally ordered. "Don't fire unless fired upon, and I will be back in a moment."

He descended the steps noisily, not like that night a few days back and came upon James sitting in the cell, staring at the wall. Whatever he had been doing a moment before, if anything at all, Jack did not know. James barely looked up and kept his face carefully masked. After a moment of silence he asked, "The Dauntless?" Jack nodded. "Well, then, what are you going to do?"

Jack shrugged, "Figured I'd leave that up t' ye. Ye've three choices. Firstly, I put up th' white flag 'o truce, they sit along side us long 'nough for us t' transport ye back aboard and ye get t' meet yer maker. Secondly, we tell 'em we dropped ye off on an island somewhere and refuse t' give 'em coordinates and either ye stay wit' us or we drop ye off on some island somewhere. Finally, ye gimme th' word and I tell 'em we killed ye 'n' they'll never look for ye again."

James raised an eyebrow at the captain and asked, "What would be the reason of the last two options?"

Jack sighed and pulled up a crate to sit down. "James, I'm sorry for whatever misunderstandin' we've 'ad, all right, but I know th' navy and I know this: if ye go back, ye'll either be cleanin' gutters all yer life, or ye'll be hanged. Court-martial is a heavy thing mate, a special court-martial, like the one ye'll be 'avin' is requested instead of a general, by someone wantin' t' keep ye alive, but I'm tellin' ye, after your numerous transgressions, ye're no' gettin' out o' this one, mate."

James' face grew red and he sat up straighter. "Jack, you know nothing about me, you know nothing of my life or my job, or the people I have that care about me. I do not need your help or your sympathy. Run up the flag, if you please captain."

Jack ground his teeth and stared the former commodore down for a moment before standing up and knocking over the crate, and storming up the stairs.

"Run up the flag, men."

* * *

"Is that a flag of truce?" Elizabeth asked. Will looked out at sea and nodded.

"Yes, it appears to be. Our commodore must have irritated captain Sparrow more than he could endure."

The Dauntless pulled up beside the Pearl and Sparrow smiled over. "Well if it isn't dear William, and fair 'Lizabeth, congratulations to ye both on th' upcomin' nuptials."

"Thank you, Captain Sparrow," Elizabeth called over with a smile. "That is very kind. However, I'm afraid we've no time for small talk, we're here for our commodore." She smiled at him and he nodded, waving a hand at someone who brought James up from the brig, bound and gagged.

"'Fraid 'e's given us a bit o' trouble, Miss Swann, unfortunately, we 'ad t' restrain th' boy." He looked at James and Will noticed something akin to fire passing between them through their gazes. He was certain both hated each other by now.

James was transferred safely to the Dauntless at which point all of the members of the Pearl drew weapons. Will and Elizabeth took a step back. "Terrible sorry, milady, but we've t' be going now, and it wouldn't be right for ye t' ask we come in wit' ye t' visit yer fair port city. We'll be leavin' now and I suggest ye do th' same. Make sure ye treat the good commodore well. He smiled and his eyes locked with James' and Elizabeth was certain she saw something small and meaningful bleed from Jack's heart when he said his next words. "May we meet again under more pleasant circumstances, Jamie. I'll miss ye." A few cheers were raised from the crew of the Black Pearl and they continued to aim their weapons even as they sailed away.

Will cut the bonds on James' hands and removed the gag from his mouth. Elizabeth looked at him but his eyes were ice and fire and he turned away. She said his name but he pushed past her and went below.

* * *

Jack sat in his cabin, feet on the table and he stared at the map before him. It was the same map on which he plotted the course they would take to intercept the Dauntless, to bring James on this little adventure. He stared at it until his eyes lost focus and drifted to the wall. He stared at the wall then until his eyes glazed over and started to drift shut.

However, when there was a knock on his door and the fine woman pirate entered the room, he woke up a little and turned to address her.

"Anamaria?"

"Captain, may I speak with ye?"

"Course," he said. She nodded and sat in the other chair.

"Jack, I don' know 'ow bright an idea 'twas t' let James go like that." His eyebrow raised in questioning. "Well, sir, its clear 'ow ye felt for 'im, it 'as been for some time now. Ye 'aven't smiled for a week, and ye've not come out yer cabin since ye saw 'im board tha' ship th' other day." She paused, wanting some response but none came. "Ye know what they're goin' t' do t' 'im. He'll be hanged, cap'n. Ye canno' let 'im go like that."

Jack still didn't answer, so Ana stood and left and Jack sat there, looking at the wall.

* * *

"So there I was, in th' galley wit' th' bastard, an' 'e was bein' a right prick, too, eh? So I says t' 'im 'th' crew says ye were fired', an' 'e gets a little testy, so I decides I's goin' t' pick at 'im a bit, eh? I says t' 'im 'ye must' 'ave killed a man' an' I asked 'im if was intentional...."

Gibbs stood in the doorway of listening to the conversation and he waited until the words were spoken before he came in. He whistled and muttered something about bad luck before grabbing what he had come for and leaving just as quickly.

* * *

"Jack!" The door flew open. "Jack! There's somethin' I need t' tell ye!"

The captain sat on his chair silently, elbow rested on the armrest and two fingers propping his face up, rested against his hand, and his thumb stretched along his jaw line, looking without amusement at Gibbs as he closed the door. Gibbs took a chair and leaned in close as though telling a secret and Jack, still, looked bored.

"Jack, I o'erheard some th' boys talkin' below and ye know Crimp?" Jack raised both eyebrows to signify that he did, "Well 'e was sayin' 'ow 'e gave th' commodore a 'ard time th' other day. 'E said somethin' bout th' crew knowin' 'e was fired, tha' 'e killed 'is mate." Jack sat up.

"He what?"

Joshamee Gibbs nodded slowly. Jack stood up with a surprised and enlightened look on his face, "Then commodore wasn't playin' me on. 'E actually thought I told someone." Gibbs nodded. Jack's face turned into a sneer and he faced the door. "I'm goin' t' kill 'im!"

* * *

"Did ye think I wouldn't care? Best ye could 'ave hoped for was that I wouldn't find out. What d'ye know?"

The man shook under his captain's intense and angry gaze. "Not nothin' sir."

"Bull shite, man, what did ye say to 'im and how'd ye find out?"

The man was blank for a moment before he blinked and started speaking. "I jus' guessed was all, jus' givin' 'im a hard time."

"Givin' 'im a hard time...." The man nodded and Jack smiled and stood straighter, directing his gaze to the whole crew. "'Ey, listen up, all of ye!" Every eye looked at Jack and every hand dropped what they were doing. "I'm sure y'all remember the good commodore who 'as stayed wit' us for th' pas' few days," there were nods, "let it be known tha' 'e was no' t' be hazed. 'E was not t' be teased, and 'e was not t' be threatened." The crew nodded but looked confused. "It's been four days since 'e left and s' far as I know, this leech 'ere was th' only one t' say anythin' untoward t' our fine guest. There'll be no penance t' pay if anyone else 'as done the same, but nevertheless I want t' know 'bout it." He paused, hoping someone would talk, when no one did, he spoke again. "Now, mates, I don' 'ave all day."

A voice from the back called out something and the crowd parted for Mart to have his say. "Cap'n, I think I speak for th' crew in sayin' it's not easy t' walk up t' a man whose spent all 'is life tryin' t' throw yer neck in th' noose and make idle chatter."

"Aye," said Ana, "I think no one's said much more 'n two words t' th' good commodore."

"Let me ask one more thin', mates. How'd y'all like th' company of th' fine man o'er the past days?"

A few smiles appeared in the crowd and one voice yelled loud enough for all to hear, "'Twas nice t' see th' cap'n smilin' so brightly for once."

Jack laughed at that, and the crew followed suit. It seemed no one but Crimp here had a problem with the dear commodore. "Ye'll be 'appy t' know then, tha' we're no' goin' t' let 'im go."

There were some puzzled faces and Jack figured now was as good a time as any to tell the men what was going on.

* * *

James had reached Port Royal within a few days, however, it seemed a judge from England had arrived also. As soon as he stepped off the Dauntless he was clapped in irons and led to the gaol, much to the dismay of Will and Elizabeth, and himself of course. He heard Ms. Swann demanding to know what was the meaning of this, but no one seemed to answer her.

As the doors to the cell slammed shut, he spun to face someone unfamiliar who looked very cruel.

"Well, well, here he is in the flesh. Commodore James L. Norrington. I'm afraid I cannot say it is a pleasure, but I am sure you understand that a man is never eager to meet a murderer." James said nothing. He was only trying to make him react, and that would not do when faced with the man who would decide the fate of your career and possibly your life. "I suppose you're rather anxious to get this over with then, eh? That's why I volunteered to come and tell you myself that your trial will be held tomorrow." James wanted to swallow his fear but he did not. He held it in his mouth and savoured the taste, confronting it, not letting the man see that it got the best of him. The judge backed away from the bars and smiled at him in such a way that made James want to shiver. "I will see you tomorrow, James."

When he heard the door slam shut up the stairs of the prison, he sat down heavily, and tried to calm his quickly beating heart and sighed. This was not going to end well.

* * *

Elizabeth stood outside the room in which they conducted the proceedings. It was not proper for a woman to behold the trial. The door was locked, but she had convinced Estrella to bring her a cup, which she placed against the door, struggling to hear what was going on.

After a while she sighed and gave up, slouching her shoulders for a moment and turning her back to the door. She could not hear through the heavy wood what was happening, but she knew when she saw the judge that nothing good would come from this.

She tried to plead with her father but there was nothing he could do in the matter either. The man was sent from England for this purpose only. So far as Swann had heard, this man was specifically meant to deal with higher officers, captains and commodores, even admirals who had stepped out of line. He was the kind of person who thought everyone guilty before proven innocent, which was reinforced in Elizabeth's mind when the man sneered at her and looked her up and down as though she were a common whore offering him her body. She shivered as she recollected it.

She feared now, for James, because the judge had apparently spoken to any officer available when he arrived in Port Royal and ignored the Governor completely. It was clear that James' proposal to her and her father's excitement over it was known elsewhere, and that alone was enough to make the judge believe that Governor Swann was biased. This was true, but Elizabeth still thought that their opinions should matter. Not many people knew the situation with James and his nightmares, only Teddy and her father, and herself, of course, because no one kept anything from Elizabeth when she was curious.

The judge would hear none of it. He spoke briefly to Will, assuming that the blacksmith would have something against the man who had almost ended up with his own fiancé but clearly Will had not given him the information he sought. According to her father, Elizabeth knew that Remy Gillette, Murtogg and Mullroy had all been questioned briefly, but only before the man went to speak to Norrington's house staff, and various locals downtown. It seemed he rather had it out for James. However, according to what she had heard, he rather had it out for every higher officer for whom he had ever conducted a trial.

She clasped her hands together and hoped upon hopes that something good would come of this.

* * *

James stood as the judge re-entered the room and sat when bid to do so. He wore his finest suit, but not his uniform, as that would have been unseemly. He tried to keep a straight face but was worried, very worried. The way the judge had been scowling at him all this time... he did not think that this was going in his favour at all.

All of those who testified were officers under him, his house staff, and even mister Turner, who delivered possibly the only redeeming speech about him only to be bombarded with questions and accusations until he begrudgingly agreed that Norrington was not always the nicest person. He tried to rebut his own words only to be yelled at, at which point he fell silent.

All of the testimony was heard, even his own, during which he had struggled not to weep like a woman. The judge would likely take that as simply acting to get out of his punishment anyway. James made it through with only a shaky voice and a few long pauses before he was asked to reclaim his seat and finally the judge left to consider his decision.

James was anxious now for this to simply be over with. He would face his punishment head on for surely it would not be too bad, would it?

The judge cleared his throat and asked that he rise from his seat again. James stood. With a scowl on his face, the man peered down at James as though from on high and started to speak.

"The most grievous of sins was committed only a month past. A man's life was taken by your hand, James L. Norrington. This is what has been decided.

"Because of the nature of this crime and that there was no one to bear witness but the dead man himself, and because of the testimony of your peers, I find you guilty of murder." James' eyes grew wide and he looked down at the ground. No, no this was not right. It... it was manslaughter, it was unintentional! He felt his eyes well with tears.

"For this there is one punishment and one punishment alone that I can bestow upon you with good conscience, and you will take it as the honourable soldier you once were."

Silence stretched on for what seemed years before the judge spoke his final words on the matter. "Former commodore James L. Norrington, I sentence you to hang by the neck on the morrow until dead." He slammed the hammer down and James collapsed into his seat, shaking.

No, no this was not right. That... it couldn't be. There was yelling and crying and people were leaping at him, Will was there, he was standing at his side. He took his hand and squeezed it but James barely felt that. James was hauled to his feet gently by the guards, they were his friends after all, his friends who had testified against him. His friends that had killed him.

He stood and put his hands behind his back, feeling the cold steel lock against his wrists. He followed the men out the door and to the gaol.

* * *

Elizabeth watched in horror as they came out the door, Will rushed to her side. "Death, Elizabeth, he is sentenced to hang at dawn."

She wished she could scream or cry or do anything at all, but the only thing she did was watch as her vision went black and Will caught her before she hit the floor.

* * *

Jack stepped on the dock and smiled at the harbourmaster. "Ah, Mr. Smith." Jack smiled fondly.

"'Ello, good man." He shook his hand and slipped a few coins into it. "Could ye tell me where I might find the good commodore."

The man's face fell. "I'm afraid you're a little late for the ceremony, Mr. Smith."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Ceremony?"

"Yes, the procession started a half hour ago, nearly the whole town is there."

"Oh? What procession? I'm afraid I've heard nothing of it."

The man swallowed and looked away. "Well, the good commodore, he's been sentenced to hang today, sir." He looked up to the fort. "I imagine they're escorting him to the gallows now."

Jack's eyes widened and he felt his heart drop out of his chest. "Good God, man! That's terrible news." Jack staggered a bit and then took off running, waving behind him at the harbourmaster, leaving the man in a state of confusion.

* * *

Will held the weeping Elizabeth but watched with his hand on his blade as the noose was placed around James neck. He knew that he could not save James as he had saved Jack; that would simply mean two executions instead of one. The man's eyes were leaking tears and he stared straight ahead at Elizabeth and William. The crowd was not cheering at this execution. Not today. Today was a terrible day, but Will forced himself to watch with eyes wide, if not leaking, just the same.

James looked like he wanted to plead with them, ask them to please let him go, but he was too proud. No, he would die for Teddy, for what he had done to him. He would die and whether he went to heaven or the other place, Teddy would know, he was sure, Teddy would know he died to pay for what he had done to him.

'But he wouldn't want it this way,' he could not help but thinking to himself as he felt the rough rope slide over his head. 'He would not want me to die too, not for this. No.'

He blinked once as tears fell down his cheeks and he looked at the friends he had before him. He looked at the glad face of the judge, smiling with a sick sense of victory. He did not want to see the gladness in the man's face as the platform dropped and either his neck snapped, or he was strangled without air until lack of oxygen to the brain killed him. He did not want to see the satisfaction in those eyes as he died.

He heard the man reading off a sheet of paper naming his single crime, he watched as William stared at him, his mentor, and focused on the pain in his eyes. He finally could not bear to see anymore and closed his eyes as the wood plank dropped from under him and he fell.

* * *

Jack arrived at the fort just in time to see them loop the noose over his neck and he clenched the metal handle in his hand, and his gun in the other. He cocked the pistol and located the bastard judge with that silly wig on his head in the audience, smiling as though he were God watching a sinner perish by his own hand. He pointed the barrel of the gun at the man briefly, to get an idea of where his arm should be, and then he looked back at the stage where James suddenly started to fall.

His heart stopped as he watched him drop but before Jack realized what he was doing, he had released the sword in an accurate parody of what Will had done at his own execution and watched as it cut through the rope and he heard a thud as James hit the ground. He refocused his gaze and repositioned his gun at the head of the judge and smiled.

"Jack!" Will cried out, but he was not going to let himself be distracted.

"Greetings, I assume ye're th' bastard what put the fine commodore in this 'ere position, aye?"

The man stood straight and his eyes very obviously went to the men approaching Jack from behind. Jack rolled his eyes and walked straight up to the man and pressed the gun to his temple. "If ye value yer life ye'll send yer dogs elsewhere, savvy?"

The man swallowed and nodded, all anger and resentment melting from his eyes to be replaced by fear, something unbecoming of him. "At ease sailors." The men stopped moving and Jack smiled at them.

"Very good. Now, ye're goin' t' take th' binds off th' fine commodore's 'ands, and remove tha' rope from 'is neck." James was hauled to his feet. His face was streaked with tears but his eyes were widened with surprise and confusion. Jack remembered feeling the same when he realized that he wasn't dead thanks to the boy's blade.

"Wonderful, gents, ye're rather 'elpful t'day, wonder if it's somethin' ye ate." He laughed and then let his face grow into a snarl again. He tightened his grip around the judge's neck and started to back up towards James. He kept an eye on Will and Elizabeth, who would give him any notice they could of someone about to foil his plan.

He was beside James now and he turned his head to smile at the man. "I 'ope, Jamie, tha' ye didn't really want t' die, because, ye're comin' wit' me instead." He let his gold teeth show, and it seemed rather menacing to James, but he swallowed, thought for a split second of his options, and nodded at Jack with a brief, weak smile. "Good man."

He turned his attention back to the man at whom his pistol was pointed. "As for ye, good sir, ye'll be accompanyin' me and the fine commodore to me boat. Then, ye'll get on the bloody thing and come with us to me ship so as I can keep me pistol pointed at yer 'ead, for safety reasons you understand. Then, when we've boarded, we'll throw ye off the side and ye can swim back and we'll get out yer way ne'er t' be seen again."

The man tried to protest, but Jack continued to walk him backward and pressed his gun to the man's head with more force than previously. The man shut up immediately.

Surely, as promised, Jack continued to hold the man at gunpoint and James rowed the boat out to the Pearl, which could be seen in the distance. They forced the judge to board the ship and hauled the boat back up only to laugh as he walked the plank and they sailed away.

Elizabeth watched from shore, will at her side, with a smile. "What do you suppose Jack wants with him? You don't just save a man from death who's tried to see you hanged before on an everyday basis."

Will smiled, "Jack is a man of many tastes and I believe he enjoyed James' flavour."

Elizabeth did not understand initially, but when she did she turned and faced Will, swatting him gently, "Surely you don't mean...."

He laughed and watched as the Pearl sailed away.

* * *

"Why did you come back for me, Jack?"

The captain closed the door to the cabin and sat James down on the chair, while he took the bed. "I found th' man who said those things t' ye. He never knew anythin', James. 'E was jus' tryin' t' get to ye." James nodded, but clearly still did not understand. "I was angry ye wouldn't trust me. Thought ye 'ad no reason not t', and only after ye were gone did I understand."

"I see."

Jack swallowed. "I did tell th' crew, now though. 'Owever," his lips curled into a smiled, "me men, and fine woman, 'ave seemed to take a likin' t' ye. When they 'eard, they insisted we make chase and get ye back. They were rather worried ye'd end up in such a precarious position as ye were in, an' then they'd never again see their cap'n with a jolly smile on 'is face first thin' in th' mornin'." James smiled and nodded.

He was silent for a moment, but he didn't seem angry, anymore, that Jack told his crew. "I was embarrassed. I didn't like the idea of being made fun of by pirates for losing the only thing that could make me fearsome to them. It made me... vulnerable. That was why I didn't say anything to you until after we...." He blushed. "Now that you've been my rescuer, saved my life because I was too dumb to see that was what might happen. I owe you thanks, Jack, that and my life." He met Jack's eyes finally, and Jack saw the pain in them, but something else, something that could grow. Jack smiled.

"I don't suppose ye'd much enjoy th' life of a pirate, though, would ye?"

James shrugged uncomfortably. "I think I could get used to it. There is nothing left for me anymore, is there? I've no particular skill that could be of use to make an honest living."

Jack leaned back and smirked, "Ye coul' always sell that beautiful mouth o' yers. Make more cash than a gentlewoman whore in Tortuga with 'at."

James blushed and swallowed, leaning closer to Jack. "Well I've a secret for you..." he brought his lips to the captain's ear close enough that they brushed his skin and Jack shivered. "This mouth... it's only for you."

* * *

References:

I needed information on courts martial and so I looked at the following sites, which provided me with the information I needed.

James can be relieved from his duties temporarily while the court-martial is being set up and discussed by a disciplinary review board. However, he is supposed to be in confinement or kept an eye on, which would make sense since he is being sent to Nassau Port. [1]

The court-martial would be a Special court-martial, as it would have to be the more lenient of the two more severe cases given the Governor's fervour to help James in any way possible. In this case James could choose a jury of peers or civilians, or he could choose men enlisted. He could also make a written request to have simply a judge. In any case his sentence would have the same level of severity. However, I believe that he would first attempt to send in a written request for only a judge, no jury, though since it is a case of manslaughter, of a particularly confusing case, the request would be denied and he would resort to choosing a jury of peers and enlisted men [2].

However, since he seemed sort of a hard ass to the people under him in rank, other than Teddy of course, and since he just killed one of them, a friend no doubt, in strange circumstances, I expect the peers would have a difficult time believing his innocence anyway, especially considering his instability since the whole "undead pirate" escapade. Eventually he would be convicted and the sentence would be a Bad Conduct Discharge because Dishonourable Discharge is reserved for General court-maritals, which I have explained previously that this would not be [3].

Inevitably, James would be faced with leaving the navy entirely, as that is what a Discharge is [3]. The Governor would have wanted James to fair better than that out of the court-martial and he would have received confinement for six months, loss of two-thirds pay for six months, or hard labour without confinement for three months [3]. Since the Governor is the only person here with a station higher than the commodore, he would have had to choose the court-martial, and there is no way he could have only gotten a summary court-martial for manslaughter [4].

In closing, there is no way James could have gotten out of this one with his life, reputation, job, or a combination of these things, in tact.

[1] http://www.tpub.com/content/advancement/14148/css/14148_39.htm
[2] http://www.tpub.com/content/advancement/12018/css/12018_86.htm
[3] http://www.tpub.com/content/advancement/12018/css/12018_569.htm
[4] http://www.tpub.com/content/advancement/12018/css/12018_79.htm

I do, of course, realize that this is a site for the US Navy, and therefore, there are little things that would likely be different. I am relying on the fact that navy and military punishments would be the same for any country to a degree and since this is not going into any particular detail, I figured it would be sufficient to use as an explanation for what is going on.

However, this is not to say this is historically accurate. A lot of things can change in a few centuries and I am certain that the rules and regulations for such things were probably very different, but I am going to use this method all the same. Anyone who wants to give me more information on this please feel free to submit it to me in the future.

And finally, I must apologize for my terrible, terrible IEEE format for referencing my sources, however, I did not want to spend the time filling out author/date crap and so the website link will have to be good enough for you as well. I will say that it was accessed on today's date, which is March 7, 2004 by myself and if anything changes, it is not my responsibility to keep track of those things. But I don't expect anyone to try particularly hard to rebut me on this, so I hope it will suffice.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation... or some such nonsense.

* * *