Guess what! I think I'm actually going to give Norri. a happy ending… eventually…

Elizabeth Norrington watched her husband politely shake Will Turner's hand and bow gracefully to Eleanor. She knew he understood how hard it was for her to be around them, and he tried to make it as easy as possible. James hated Will for hurting her, she knew that, and she was grateful for his politeness. She didn't want any more scandal.

James Norrington had become Elizabeth's best friend during the scandal. Everyone had known she was infatuated by Will Turner. For the governor's daughter to be rejected by a blacksmith's apprentice was enough to cause a lot of gossip by itself, but the fact that Eleanor Brinton was, according to all evidence, pregnant at the time of her wedding, added to the shock in the community. If Turner had gotten one girl pregnant out of wedlock, it stood to reason that Miss Swann had probably lost her virginity to him as well, just had not conceived. James Norrington was the only one who completely believed Elizabeth's claim of maidenhood. He also offered to marry her, which would clear her at least most of the way, as no respectable man would marry someone who was ruined. Nobody questioned that James Norrington was a respectable man.

Though James said he had wanted to marry her anyway, and that he loved her, Elizabeth believed he had married her to save her from the shameful gossip. She tried to hide her affection for him, believing he did not return it. She loved him, as a friend, and she knew she could come to love him as a man, but she tried not to.

She tried not to enjoy waking up knowing he was in the next room, waking up as well. She tried not to enjoy the nights when she crawled into his bed, tried not to enjoy what he no doubt saw as a duty. She tried not to enjoy the mealtimes sitting across from him, discussing village happenings and what the neighbors were doing. She tried not to let her face shine with joy as she stood on the dock watching his ship come in after patrols. Most of all, she tried not to enjoy the way her heart swelled when he said "I love you.", even though his face was somber and she knew he felt it his duty, or considered her a sister or friend.

She longed for the day when they would be able to really love each other. To hear him say "I love you." and mean it was her deepest desire. She firmly believed that one day, he would mean it, and on that day, she would return those words in joy, but until that day, she was content to wait, even if it were for years.