Secret Moments

Chapter 1

AN...Disclaimer...do I really have to? I own nothing but the plot and the bad jokes...

"Hey honey!" Will said, bursting through the living-room door.

Elizabeth put the book she had been reading into her lap and turned to face him. She studied him...there was something about him, some child-like excited twinkle in his eye.

"What are you so happy about?" She smiled as he came up to her and kissed her lightly.

"Oh nothing!" He smiled and sat down beside her.

She sighed and turned back to her book. That was one of Will's traits. Being childlike. It was endearing, if sometimes annoying.

"Want to go for a walk? It's a lovely day." he asked, glancing out of the window.

"Umm...alright." She answered cautiously, and put a small piece of paper in her book to mark her place.

Not too long later, they were strolling, arm-in-arm through the sunny town towards the beach. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and the streets were almost bare, except for a few children playing. Elizabeth glanced at Will and they shared a grin. She couldn't imagine loving anyone else, Will was....well...Will. He had proved his love in a way no other man could have, he saved her life. She shook her head as she remembered the day they met, when her ship rescued him from the water, and they became life-long friends. She remembered when they were 14, and Commodore Norrington lecturing her about how she shouldn't be friends with Will. Then she remembered when he had proposed to her...and her mind automatically compared it to when Will proposed...and her heart fluttered and her breath quickened. Admittedly, she did feel the same when Norrington proposed...but that was due to her too-tight corset. She let out a small laugh at this.

"What?" Will asked, looking at her confusedly.

"Oh nothi....woah! Sorry!" She had been too lost in thought that she had collided with a small boy. He looked up at her with big eyes and she thought for a moment that he was about to cry...but he just laughed and ran off to re-join his friends.

Will smiled as they approached the beach and found their favourite spot on the sand. He put his arm round her. Elizabeth leant her head on his shoulder.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He smiled and put his hand on her stomach.

Elizabeth sighed and put her own hand on top of his. "Someday, hopefully." She said, looking up at him. They had been married just over a year, and both were desperate for a child. They were snapped out of their reverie by movement at the dock. A ship was in and people were coming out of it and approaching them. Will moved protectively in front of Elizabeth and squinted against the sun to try and make out their faces.

"Will! Elizabeth!" A familiar voice called out.

"Gibbs!" Will grinned and leapt up, giving him a quick hug. He looked at the rest of the group...it was some of Jack's crew, Cotton and Anamaria among them.

"Cotton!"

"Storm in the dock, storm in the dock!" the parrot said cheerily.

Elizabeth stood too and smiled in greeting at their old friends.

"Where's Jack? Where's the Pearl?" She asked, looking at the ship they had arrived in.

"Aaah...there's a story." Gibbs said, sitting down. Everyone joined him. "Jack got himself in a spot of bother..." He laughed. "Lets just say it involved Jack the monkey...." he added, doubled up in laughter. Cotton and Anamaria chuckled behind him, while Will and Elizabeth were both confused and a little scared.

Anamaria leant forward, the grin lingering on her lips. "Put it this way...we reacted like that. Jack went into a stormy mood and left Tortouga with the rest of the crew...without us. We're giving him time to cool off."

"Oh!" Elizabeth smiled back at her. "Well...do you need a place to stay? There's room at our's..." She smiled to herself as she imagined Norrington's face if he heard she had invited five pirates to stay with her. (Overlooking the fact that Will was, technically, a pirate too...)

"We're pirates! We can surv..." Anamaria started, but Gibbs interrupted.

"That would be good of you, Elizabeth."

"It's settled." Will grinned, putting his arm around Elizabeth.

----

That night, Will and the rest of the pirates went out to the tavern for a drink or two, leaving Elizabeth and Anamaria on their own.

"You'll be fine!" Will had assured her before he left.

Elizabeth wasn't so sure. She had barely ever spoken to Anamaria, and they were really different as people. She was a pirate! They were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, thinking desperately for something to say. Elizabeth hated awkward silences.

"So..." Elizabeth started. "Do you want a cup of tea? Something to eat?"

"No, I'm ok." Anamaria smiled back.

"Ok."

They sat in silence for a bit longer, when Elizabeth made a nervous joke about Jack...which somehow kicked off conversation. They were giggling about Jack, and men in general. Elizabeth brought through a bottle of wine, making everything even merrier.

"So then he said....hic...umm...I forget...but it was something about women being of lower class than men!" Anamaria squealed a few hours later.

Elizabeth smiled as she watched Anamaria giggling and taking another drink, spilling a little on her hands as she went. She hadn't thought she'd be able to have such a relaxed, girly conversation with her. She'd always felt slightly intimidated by Anamaria, in the few times she had been in her presence before, she'd always seemed so independent, so confident and strong...and she always imagined their conversational topics being way out of league.

"So tell me Elizabeth..." Anamaria started. "How good is Will...in bed?"

"Anamaria!" Elizabeth gasped.

"Go on!"

"Oh um...he's ok..."

"Just ok?"

"Well...more than ok...really...amazing really." She said quietly, blushing.

"Lucky." Anamaria mused, staring into space. "I mean, you two...so in love. And then there's me. Not had a proper relationship in years, and all the men I'm surrounded with nowadays are filthy pigs!"

Elizabeth was slightly shocked at this confession. This was the first time she'd seen a weaker side to her.

"I...umm...yeah. That must be difficult?" Elizabeth managed.

"Yeah. But you get used to it. Work is work."

Elizabeth didn't really understand that philosophy, but nodded anyway. Much to her surprise, Anamaria lay back slightly, resting her head on Elizabeth's shoulder, and closed her eyes. Elizabeth studied her face. She hadn't noticed its beauty before...her wonderful chocolate-coloured skin, and long black eyelashes (without the aid of mascara), and there was her long, thick, black hair. Absent-mindedly, Elizabeth found her hand reach up and touch her hair. Anamaria's eyes moved slightly, as if fighting the urge to open, and settled down again quickly. Using this as a positive sign, she continued stroking her hair. It had been a truly strange night, firstly that she was even talking to Anamaria...but now that they were both slightly alcohol-intoxicated, and she was stroking her hair. A small knot formed in her stomach, she didn't know what, as Anamaria let out a deep sigh.

Her head turned sharply as the door opened, and the men entered the room. Elizabeth quickly moved Anamaria from her shoulder, pangs of unnecessary guilt spreading through her.

"Hey! How did you girls get on?" Will smiled as he dropped on the couch on the other side of Elizabeth.

"Fine." Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm tired. Coming up to bed?" Will asked, stretching his arms in front of him. She agreed and said her goodnights to everyone, following Will upstairs.

"See! I told you it would be okay!" Will said, beginning to undress.

"Yeah." Elizabeth muttered, quickly changing into her nightdress and climbing into bed.

Will smiled and joined her, putting his arm around her waist under the covers, kissing her deeply. Elizabeth loved Will's kisses, of course she did, but...for the first time ever, she didn't actually want to be sharing one with him right now. She broke the kiss and smiled at him, so not to cause any suspicion. Will took the smile the wrong way and his hand began to rub her back and reached for the straps. She grabbed his hand almost a little to sharply.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing...I'm just too tired." She added, kissing him briefly on the lips and turning over.

Will stared at her for a second, before shrugging and closing his eyes.