Ok, I know I am in the middle of writing another story, I haven't updated it in a while, but I promise I will soon. So, I have been reading some Pirates of the Caribbean fan fictions and came up with this idea for a one-shot, so thought I'd write it down while I still remember. I don't usually like one-shots but what the hell, I'll write one. Ok, this is a bit of an AU story, Norrington is still alive and Jack has been locked up in Port Royal. Hope you all enjoy it

Confusion's Masterpiece

Jack sat in his cell and looked up slightly at the sound of a commotion down the hall. He had been imprisoned in Port Royal gaol by his good friend, Commodore James Norrington. The slimy git had never liked him and had taken the first opportunity to throw him back in this prison as soon as Jack and the Black Pearl had sailed into Port Royal harbour. Jack had only planned a friendly visit to see how Elizabeth was holding up on her own; and with a son now! Another William; what a surprise. However, the Commodore had other ideas about Jack's friendly visit and now Jack was sitting in the gaol. Jack wasn't worried, he wouldn't be hung, Norrington would let him out eventually once he had vented his anger slightly, Norrington had never forgiven Jack after the whole incident with the cursed gold, he still blamed Jack for losing Elizabeth to the whelp, Turner. The only thing that occupied Jack's mind was his beloved Pearl, Gibbs would keep her safe and hidden until Jack could escape from Port Royal and return, he trusted Gibbs more than anyone. A man who had a good head on his shoulders and it didn't hurt that Gibbs had no aspiration to become Captain. He most certainly would not know what to do with so much power.

Whoever it was that was slowly being dragged down the corridor between cells was certainly putting up a good fight against the guards, judging by the sounds of things being knocked over and grunts coming from the guards as they are hit but unable to defend themselves as they are dragging a prisoner. Jack looked up in surprise as a shrill shriek came from the prisoner indicating that it was a woman.

'Let me go, I have done nothing wrong! Don't you dare put me down here with all these criminals, I've done nothing wrong!' the young woman was shouting. The guards did not reply but Jack was impressed by the strength with which this young woman was fighting against the guards. One of the guards managed to restrain her hands behind her back whilst the other one hurriedly opened the cell next to him and the next thing you knew the woman was pushed into the cell and the door was slammed and locked behind her.

The woman crawled into the corner and curled up her legs to her body and glanced around nervously. She was obviously not used to being treated this was and judging by her clothes she was obviously not wanting for money.

Her dark, almost black hair fell in ringlets covering her face from his view. There were cuts and muck peppering her bare arms and so he guessed that she had put up a struggle when being arrested as well, he admired her spirit. He had an urge to talk to her but judged that it was not a good idea judging by the state she seemed to be in, she sat still in the corner of the cell, seemingly in shock from what had happened. He wondered what had happened to her, despite her spirit he could already tell that she was not a criminal; a criminal would have accepted that they were in gaol and would already be planning a way to escape.

Suddenly another figure came rushing down the corridor. This time it was Elizabeth. Jack was about to make a comment along the lines of, 'It's about time you visited; I've only been in here for about 12 hours'. However he never got the chance as Elizabeth stopped directly in front of the woman's cell and was seemingly oblivious to Jack's presence. Norrington the git probably hadn't even told her that he was in here. Damn him!

'Lena!' called Elizabeth to the young woman, clinging to the bars as if she would be able to force them open with will power alone. Jack almost laughed at this thought, if anyone was able to accomplish something just on will power, then it would definitely be Elizabeth Swann, sorry Turner… he still couldn't get used to that.

'Lizzie!' the woman, Lena apparently, shouted sounding highly relieved and came rushing from her corner to stand in front of Lizzie both clinging to the bars now. With the sound of her voice Jack knew who it was. He discretely glanced at her face and it was confirmed. She still looked exactly the same, the same tanned skin and deep brown eyes. She could get any man to do anything with those brown eyes, they could make the hardest of men tremble with fear with a glare, they could seduce the happiest of married men or they could evoke sympathy even in the most cold-hearted of men. Madeline knew exactly what she could do and used it to her full advantage; it also helped that many men considered her highly beautiful and again she used it to her advantage, much to Jack's annoyance. She looked more dishevelled than last time he had seen her, which was saying something. Jack himself had never been able to deny her anything. It had hurt deeply to do what he had done last time he had seen her, he guessed that she would not be impressed to see him. He still loved her and that was why he had done what he had done, and he sincerely hoped that she would understand that. For the meantime he decided to lay low and see why she was in here at all.

'We are trying desperately to get you out Lena. It's just that most people believe his story. I mean, Thomas Barnaby has lived here since he was born, most people think they know him and so trust in him. Especially against you because you have only lived here for a few years now. They think you are guilty of sexual assault and prostitution.' Elizabeth looked sympathetically at her friend at this point as silent tears began to run down her face. Jack's blood began to boil, whatever had happened was not Maddy's fault and someone had made her cry and they were going to pay. He noted that she was now going by the nickname Lena and not Maddy as she always had, he supposed he had himself to blame for that.

'Don't worry, James and I are going to sort this out, we will not leave you down here' Elizabeth tried to reassure Maddy with a pat on the shoulder. James? Who the hell was James? It suddenly dawned on him… Norrington. So 'James' had looked after her, after all. He supposed that he was lucky that she was safe in Port Royal, well relatively safe despite the fact that she was in a cell at the moment. He guessed that he owed Norrington for that at least. 'Speak of the devil' thought Jack as Norrington came racing down the corridor.

He raced towards Maddy's cell and came to a halt. Elizabeth moved out of the way and Norrington grabbed the cell, much to Jack's annoyance exactly where Maddy had her hands so that his fingers were curled around hers. In a reassuring and caring manner he was stroking her fingers and Maddy smiled at him weakly. Jack had to use all of his strength to stop himself shouting at Norrington, he had always been protective of Maddy, no matter what.

'Maddy, I will get you out of here. You are innocent, I know that, I'm searching for witnesses; anyone who might have seen what happened and could back up your story. He will be made to pay for trying to rape you. It breaks my heart to see you down here. I…' James broke off and stopped what he was about to say as he knew that it was not the proper way to go about things. 'I care about you… a lot' he finished still feeling that he possibly should not have said so much. He had loved Madeline Turner ever since he had met her, only he had not told her for fear that she would reject him. She was a strong willed woman and yet he would not love her any other way, she was her own person and he loved that fire in her spirit, he would not respect a woman that was not his equal. He had not known when he had met her that she was Will Turner's sister. He glanced at her wondering if he would be able to guess what she was thinking just by looking in her eyes, he did not want her mad at him for what he had said, he always tried very much to mask his feelings for her. He was surprised to find that she was practically grinning at him and so he felt courageous enough to reach out and stroke her cheek, and still she grinned. It was a special moment, despite the fact that they had bars between them, but the moment was short lived.

Jack couldn't control his temper any longer once he saw Norrington touch her face. So he stepped forward into the light and the first to notice him was Elizabeth, who had stepped back to try and give the two some privacy despite the setting.

'Jack what are you doing here?' she gasped, surprised as she had received a letter from him telling her that he would visit soon to visit her son.

'Why don't you ask your Commodore? He was the one who found it fitting to shove me in the gaol as soon as look at me. I didn't even do anything particularly wrong this time.' Jack drawled.

'It is my duty to arrest all pirates who enter Port Royal' argued Norrington.

'Well I've visited Port Royal before and you did nothing so what makes this time any different? At least you've finally noticed me, not too busy with my Maddy now are you?' Jack smirked at the look of confusion on the Commodore's face. So he didn't know.

Maddy had backed up until her back was pressed against the bars as far away from Jack as she possibly could be.

'Let me out of here, James. Don't make me be in a cell next to him… Please!' shouted an obviously distressed Maddy.

'What's the matter love, not pleased to see your old Jack?' he smirked.

Maddy turned around and snarled at him with gritted teeth 'You lost all right to call me that when you abandoned me on that God forsaken spit of land. You are nothing to me now Sparrow.'

'Your name begs to differ love' he goaded her.

'Her name?' asked James.

'Ah, she never told you? How interesting' he smirked as James shot a questioning look at Maddy but she was too occupied sending glares at Jack. 'Aye mate she's Madeline Sparrow. And Maddy, did you ever think that I did what I did cause I love you?'.

James head whipped around to glare at Maddy; a glare that matched one of Maddy's finest. He was obviously hoping that Maddy would deny that any of it was true and when he only saw an apologetic look on her face he turned on his heel and began to march away down the corridor in a rage.

'James… please' Maddy begged, tears once again rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't bear to loose him after she had only just found out that he cared.

'Miss Sparrow is it? I will ask you not to address me so informally, it is Commodore Norrington' and with that he stormed away and soon after when there was no indication that Maddy was stop sobbing anytime soon, Elizabeth silently followed after the Commodore.

After a while Jack approached her gently and reached through the bars to place an arm around her shoulders. She edged away from him and glared yet again.

'I'm sorry Maddy. I always seem to make everything worse for ye and end up looking like the bad guy. Honestly, I'm not Maddy I have your best interests at heart. I just sometimes get a little overprotective, but can you blame me with all the trouble you seem to manage to get yerself into.' This was probably one of the only times that Jack had ever attempted an apology and so far it wasn't going too well.

'So you claim to have my best interests at heart when you marooned me on a desert island and left me there to die' Maddy spat back at him.

'Well you look mighty well for a dead person, believe me I've seen alive dead people and you look nothing like one love. And I'm betting you were probably rescued on the same day that I left you there' said Jack smugly, knowing that the answer was going to be yes.

'No! 6 days later I was rescued by James' ship, I was nearly dead with dehydration and I only just managed to survive. James looked after me and thanks to him I am alive, he brought me back here and I have been perfectly happy until you decided to show up' she shouted and moved away from him to the other side of the cell and slid down the wall and curled up. Jack was deeply surprised that she hadn't been rescued sooner, that hadn't been a part of his plan, something had gone wrong.

'I am going to bloody kill Norrington' murmured Jack under his breath. 'Did you ever think for one moment love that there was a reason why I left you on that island? No, you didn't, because you are always so eager to see me as the bad guy as always, someone to blame your problems on. It was your own bloody fault for stowing away on me ship. For your information there was a reason I left you there, there had to be a reason to justify to myself why I would leave you there all on your onesies.' Jack needed to make her understand otherwise she would never forgive him. He sighed and sat on the mucky floor and prepared himself for the tale he needed to tell.


The next day Maddy was awoken by two guards unlocking her cell. The previous day had been very strange and was one she did not particularly care to think about. All in one day someone had attempted to rape her, she had been arrested and accused of sexual assault and prostitution, Jack had turned up, James had admitted he cared about her, James found out about Jack and now hated her and finally she reconciled with Jack and realised that he loved her despite what he had done.

The guards grabbed one of her arms each and pulled her to her feet. This time she didn't have the energy to fight back. Jack noticed what was going on and was immediately on his feet demanding that the guards unhand her.

'The Commodore wishes to speak with her although it is really none of your business. We would gladly unhand her if we did not suspect that she would attempt to escape much like she tried to do yesterday' announced one of the snootier guards.

'Maddy, if Norrington lays a hand on ye, I swear to God I will make him pay' exclaimed Jack who was rather worried about what Norrington would do to her. He seemed to be one to take out his anger on people.

'Don't worry Jack. I'll be back, you won't get rid of me that easily' she smiled at him which he didn't return as the guards escorted her out of the prison only lightly holding an arm each as she made no attempt to struggle. They escorted her directly to Norrington's office.

'Ah, Miss Sparrow. I have good news for you. You may leave us now' he added to the guards, however, the tone in which he spoke suggested that he would rather be telling her bad news. 'Elizabeth has found you a witness who has testified for you, Mr Barnaby is to be imprisoned and you are now free to go. However, the slightest hint of any trouble and you will be back in irons. After all how can we trust someone who chooses to fraternise with pirates and lies.'

Maddy looked at James in shock. He thought she wanted this! Jack had been right last night when he had called Norrington a slimy git, at the time she had looked at him disapprovingly but right now she whole-heartedly agreed with him. This was not the James she knew, this James was cold-hearted and was insulting her in the worse was possible to vent his anger at her for lying.

'For your information, Commodore Norrington, I never meant to lie to you. At the time I first met you I didn't trust you, if I had told you that my name was Madeline Sparrow you would have clapped me in irons and I would have rotted in that prison cell. It's been the same wherever I go, people hear my name and I am hated and arrested. So I chose another name to tell you to avoid the same situation. I'm only surprised that I never thought of that solution before, lying about my name is much easier than anything else. I even stowed away on Jack's ship to escape prosecution, I thought I would be safe there at least, someone who would accept me for who I was but no he goes and maroons me for being a stow away! Well… that was his excuse to the crew. Really his first mate Barbossa took a liking to me and planned on raping me and then using me as leverage to become Captain. Jack thought that if he got rid of me then we would both be safe. I'm sorry for not having told you but I was just so comfortable here in Port Royal and I didn't want you to not trust me. I love you!' Maddy confessed hoping that this would be enough for him to forgive her.

'You loved me and yet you lied to me all this time, how can I trust anything you ever safe, or anything you've ever said!' he retorted.

'Do not give me that James Norrington! You lied as well; Jack told me that he wanted me to be safe so he told you that there was a 'damsel in distress' on an island needing rescuing. But you didn't believe him and so you left me there to die! Only five days later did you actually think to check that he hadn't been lying. I nearly died because of you!' Maddy shouted, she couldn't believe that he was being so hypocritical.

'I only lied because I couldn't believe that I had put your life in danger! I nearly lost you because of my own damned fault. I came to care for you and tried my best to forget that I came so close to loosing you! At least I only lied once, you have lied every day since we met!' he shouted back. This was easily becoming a shouting match across the office that could possibly have been heard on the streets outside.

'I only lied to you once!' Madeline exclaimed.

'I suppose you are glad to be Jack Sparrows whore!' he spat.

Madeline stopped in her tracks, stunned. 'What?'

'I guess you are proud to be his whore. His wife to be there at his beck and call only is my assumption as he decided to leave you on an island. He claims to love you and yet he was willing to leave you there, some way of showing love, that is.'

Madeline raised her hands over her mouth and almost doubled up, shaking in what appeared to be laughter. James gazed at her rather surprised at her strange reaction, he had just insulted her and here she was laughing at him. This wasn't helping his anger at her.

'What is so funny?' he demanded.

'You… think… I'm… married to Jack' she gasped, clutching her sides to try and allow her to speak long enough between laughs.

'What is so funny about that, it is the truth isn't it?' James was clearly confused by the turn of events now.

Maddy quickly sobered up and stood looking at the floor. 'You think I love him. You think I lied every time I was with you by making you think I care about you. You think I don't care about you. He's my brother…' she trailed off quietly, unsure of where this left them both.

'Your brother?' he asked quietly attempting to get eye contact with her but failed as she was still looking at the floor. He moved silently towards her and lifted up her chin with his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what I said', with this he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, a gentle sweet first kiss.

'You know, I have a simple solution to the problem of your name, you would no longer have to lie. Become Madeline Norrington, please, Lena, I love you' he whispered to her.

Maddy looked up at him and smiled, 'Of course… Commodore'

'It's James to you' he growled as he pulled her body flush against his. They shared a passionate kiss, both fuelling the kiss with the passion and love that had accumulated in the time they had lost. This was a sure sign of their relationship to come.