"But, can you even do that James? I mean, don't you think Lord Beckett has some kind of grudge against Jack Sparrow?" Charlotte Norrington watched her husband pace about their sitting room, his wig in hand as he anticipated the departure that was set for two days later to go after the Black Pearl.
"Yes, I do Char, but even if Jack were innocent as the day he was born, which he is not, he is still branded a pirate and the penalty for that is death. And besides, if he took Eleanore, I will kill him myself. She could barely handle living with our father for all those years alone, much less a crew of pirates…"

"James…killing Jack Sparrow will not make the anger you feel towards your father go away." She said softly, setting her needlepoint aside. He spun to look at her.
"What did you say?" His voice was low with anger and surprise. She took a breath, reassuring herself.
"I said, you cannot kill someone just because you are angry with your dead father." She repeated and he was suddenly kneeling before her, his eyes blazing.
"How do you know about him?" He asked icily. She folded her hands into her lap, clenching her fists, wondering what he would do.

"Ella told me." She said shakily. Hurt filled his blue gray eyes as he backed away.
"How could she?" He whispered. "She knows I wanted to leave all that behind." Charlotte softened, standing up.
"What did he do to you?" She asked. He shook his head, turning away from her. His bottom lip was trembling and damned if he was going to show her.
"What does it matter? He's dead." James replied, biting his lip. He jumped when her hand touched his shoulder and when he turned to look down at her, something in his eyes broke and he fell to his knees, putting his arms around her waist and resting his head against her middle, sobbing into the front of her dress.

"James…I'm sorry…I didn't know…and Ella didn't betray you, I asked her…oh I am so sorry, forgive me love…please." She cradled his head, allowing herself to entwine her fingers with his thick brown hair. After a few minutes, he calmed and brought her to sit down beside him, putting his head in her lap as she soothingly stroked his hair.
"Do you really want to know Charlotte?" He asked, and she sighed.
"Only if you want to tell me James." He sat up to face her and nodded.
"When my mother was pregnant with me, she and my father had a fight and when she decided to leave, she was so distraught that she fell down the stairs and begin to bleed. They were sure she had miscarried, but sure enough, I was still alive and kicking…" He stopped a moment to sniffle.

"My father was convinced I would be born deformed or stupid because of her idiocy and when I was born normal, he remained sure that I had internal flaws. He was extremely hard on me and any time I acted out of line in his eyes, he brought out the switch." Stopping again, he took in his wife's expression which was one of horror.
"Oh my God…" She said, her hand to her cheek.
"Look Charlotte, Ella doesn't know this, but our mother didn't die of consumption. My father tired of her after she wasn't able to have children anymore and divorced her, sending her out of the country to God knows where. The morning she left, I came down the stairs before I was supposed to be up and saw her beginning to leave and began to cry. My father had to rip me from her arms and made me swear not to tell Ella anything…I had to watch my mother leave for good and I didn't even get to say goodbye to her. After that he had mistress after mistress…"

James sighed, looking at his wig.
"From day one, he trained me to be a General. I don't think he ever called me son and I don't think I ever called him Father. It was always 'sir' or General Norrington. Ella called him Father. They were not close, but he did not treat her like he treated me, so she never knew quite the extent of his cruelty." He began to cry again, putting his face into his hands. Charlotte brought her arm around him.
"Oh Jimmy, I am so sorry…" She said. He looked up at her in surprise.
"You called me Jimmy…" Panic filled her.

"Oh…well…I just thought, I mean Ella calls you Jimmy and I've heard a few other of your friends call you Jim…I…I'm sorry."
"No…I like it. Of course you can call me Jimmy…you are my wife after all." He said, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. She smiled sadly.
"But...what about Elizabeth Swann...er...Turner?" She asked with much trepidation. He frowned.
"What about her?" He asked in confusion. She sighed.
"Everyone knows you still love her..." She said. He raised an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"Charlotte...Elizabeth has made it quite clear who she wants in life and I have accepted that and moved on..." Charlotte bit her lip.
"I just thought..." Gently, he placed his hand on her arm.
"You thought wrong Char."


"This has got to stop..." Liz moaned as she leaned over the side of the boat heaving the contents of her stomach into the ocean for the second time that day. Jack, who had been standing aside give orders to Gibbs made a face as Will stood sympathetically by his wife.
"You almost 'ave to wonder if s'worth it...eh mate?" He quipped to Will. Liz glared at him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"You are a pig..." She said as the nausea came over her again and she was once again throwing up.

"You just take it up like this and then pull it through..." Ella's small voice caught all of their attention as they turned to see what she was talking about. Jack's jaw dropped as he realized she was showing a few of them needlepoint. Particularly Pintel and Rigetti were enthralled.
"I never thought I'd see the day..." Will mused, half a smile on his face. The look on Jack's face was one of less amusement.
"She's turning my men into bloody women...er, no offense Lizzie..." He added as she scowled.
"None taken..." She grumbled at him.

"Alright you lot...back to work." He said, clapping his hands and walking into the middle of their small sewing circle. He smirked at Pintel and Rigetti.
"Must I even ask?" He inquired and Ella stepped in shyly.
"They asked if I would show them how I do the needlepoint, so I did…though I do deeply apologize if it's disrupted your orders…" She said softly, the brazen behavior from the previous night forgotten. He almost wondered if she remembered anything that had happened by the way she acted.
"Nonsense love…just don't want me men turning into sissies…" He said, hiding a snicker as Pintel and Rigetti scattered back into the crew.

"Ella m'dear…I think we have to have a talk…" He said throwing an arm over her shoulder, which she retreated from. The blood had drained from her face.
"Captain…I believe I asked you to refer to me as Eleanore…and we have nothing to discuss…" She said and his mouth dropped open. He looked baffled, final able to spit out,
"Was it something I said?" He asked nonchalantly and before he could say another word, she fled into the quarters, slamming the door behind her.
"That went well…" Sea Sponge said, taking a swig of his rum as he came up behind his son.
"The bloody girl has moods like the sea…up one minute…down the other…"

"She's never been able to express her feelings Jack…" Elizabeth chimed in, feeling better. "She lived in fear of her father's wrath every day of her life, so she can't show when she's angry or upset…James told me a bit about it. It's why he left England so readily." Jack wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand before turning to Sea Sponge and Will.
"How do I look?" He asked, striking a sarcastic pose. The men just looked at him. He nodded. "Perfect." He added, before striding into the quarters. Elizabeth looked at her husband and Jack's father as all three of them shrugged.

"Eleanore!" Jack said throwing the door to his quarters open, and found her sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the wall.
"Go away Captain." She replied, hugging her arms around her body. He crossed his and leaned against the wall.
"I know you remember what went on last night, le's not tell lies shall we?" He said and she looked up at him helplessly.
"I…I don't know what you mean." She said, not even confident enough to convince herself.
"Yes you do and s'long as you keep denyin' it, I won't leave you alone, savvy?" He chuckled to himself. "Then again, maybe you don't really want me to leave, d'ya love?" He asked and she turned away crossing her legs in front of her.

"But then, maybe you do want me to leave, because that way you can hide your feelings from the world, and just go about life like a corked bottle o'rum…and what good is a corked bottle o'rum really?" He jabbered on and she gave him a look.
"I do not hide my feelings." She said, a hint of defiance in her voice. He grinned, inviting himself to sit on the bed beside her.
"Now…we're getting somewhere…" He said, offering her a swig of the rum. She winced and shook her head.
"No…er thank you?" She said, uncomfortably. He simply shrugged and drank for himself.

"If you are angry then you should say, 'Jack I am bloody pissed at you!'" He said, mimicking a woman's voice. She smiled to her dismay.
"It's not you I am angry at for last night Captain…" She said, getting up as did he.
"So you do remember then?" She looked at him.
"I remember the bar and the ale…and then…not much…" She admitted. He scratched his chin.
"So you do not remember begging me to kiss you in the rain?" She stood straighter and an idea formed in his mind.

"You certainly did…you were throwing yourself at me like a common hussy…why you shamed even Gisele and Scarlett last night!" He goaded her on as the anger in her eyes became more apparent, but what she did next was not what he expected. She threw her arms up and turned toward him again.
"Y-you're right…" She said in defeat. "My behavior was inexcusable…" She said quieting and moved back away. He looked at his rum.
"That's it then? I'm right, you're wrong?" He asked, baffled. She nodded.
"You win…"

"El'nore, I wasn't calling you a hussy, I was trying to get you angry…" He said, drinking from his beloved bottle. She looked confused now.
"You wanted me to yell at you?" She asked and he shrugged.
"Yell, scream, break a bottle over my head…I don't really give a twig, love…" He said and she stood again.
"Why do you even care, Jack?" She asked moving toward him.
"Because you'll feel a load better if you do." He explained and now her eyes were laced with anger.

"I am so fretfully tired of people telling me how I should and shouldn't feel…how I should live my life…what I should wear…what I should do!" She said advancing on him as he nearly tripped over a pair of shoes as he backed away from her.
"Yes…that's it, love!" He said as her hands balled into tiny fist.
"I am sick of having to stand aside as the world crumbles beneath my feet…being engaged to someone just so society won't think me a spinster!" She spat out and he grinned.
"Exactly! And?" He pressed on.

"And…I am sick of being quiet and nice all the time so no one ever fights…and saying, 'Yes Jimmy', or 'Of course, Jimmy'…" He nodded, with a grin.
"And…?"
"And…most of all…I am sick of being alone." She said in a quieter tone. He stopped grinning as her bottom lip began to quiver and she suddenly had her face buried in his shirt, he heard her whisper.
"I don't want to be alone anymore Jack."