It had been awhile…though Angelica knew at one stage she never thought she'd see him again. She was beginning to think the same now. After six months apart, the urge in her to move on from Tortuga to somewhere new was very strong. But she had to wait for him. If she moved on he'd never find her. And he would come, he was a man of his word.
At first she had woken up every day expecting him to be there in the morning. When he wasn't, she prepared her tiny house like he was coming that afternoon…and then in the evening. Late into the night she sat in complete darkness except for a single candle, only going to bed when it burnt out. But after weeks she no longer greeted the day with such enthusiasm. She spent a lot of her time at the abandoned dock behind her house, looking out to the bleak sea and listening to the faint chaos from further in on the island. They'd spent a lot of time there together…before he left. In fact a lot of the things Angelica did were because they reminded her of him. She slept upstairs where he used to, went to the docks like they used to….she almost missed having to throw out bottles of rum every day.
He would come back, she kept reminding herself, and then everything would be as it should be. Whatever…that was.
But weeks turned into months and the tall, quiet spoken Commodore didn't come. And despite having all faith in him, Angelica started to pack things away. She didn't realize what she was doing, that she was sinking into a deep cavern, and if she had she no doubt would have stopped. But unfortunately there was no way to make her see it. She'd been here before and there had been no cure. Except…from an unlikely source.
But he wasn't here anymore.
There were a lot of 'but's' in Angelica's life now.
For the first time in six months, she didn't wait for the candle to burn out before going to bed.
Something woke her up, however…and as she sat up and opened the pocket watch she kept near the bed—James at left it—she saw it was twelve at night. The taverns were still in full swing, she could distantly make them out, but that wasn't what startled her from her sleep.
And that's when she heard it again, someone was trying to open the door.
Angelica softly got out of bed, opening the chest of drawers for her pistol before creeping down the stairs. She knew better then to think that whoever it was would scurry off because the door was locked. Pirates knew how to pick locks and were very good at it. So far she'd only been bothered once or twice out here—which was one reason why she chose this house instead of some of the others further near the taverns.
When she got to the front door the handle had stopped being tried and she could hear a faint scrapping of someone fiddling with the lock. She was just wondering if she should try and shoot through the door, or go and fetch her sword when the door swung open.
"I'd rather you didn't shoot me if you would be so kind."
"James…!" She uncocked the pistol and threw it aside, wrapping her arms tightly around his tall figure and burying her face in him. She forgot that she'd showed him how to pick locks.
He lightly pressed his noble nose to the top of her head, and she felt the tension leave his body in a shudder. He had missed her…Angelica sensed it without him having to tell her. That was the thing, sometimes they didn't need to speak. Sometimes they just knew.
"Sorry about the gun." She murmured after a moment, after they'd savoured each other and felt the relief of being back together.
"I came at a bad time." He insisted dryly, nosing her head a little before letting go. "I didn't want to be noticed."
It was then that Angelica finally noticed that he wasn't wearing a uniform—or even fancy clothes. He hadn't shaved in a couple days either and a stubble graced his defined jaw. "What are you doing here?"
"It's… a long story." James answered with a lopsided grin. "Perhaps if you-"
"Tea." She knew already, going to find the kettle.
Neither of them slept that night. They settled down on the carpeted floor in front of the fire with cups of tea and James told her everything. How he had quit his job with Beckett and found a much better one—that even meant he could keep his house in Port Royal. He was to go into heavily pirated areas and sent groups of them back to be dealt with. Undercover work. And it was exactly what he was looking for. "It means I can be with you." He gazed into the flames, and Angelica didn't think she'd ever seen him so content. "No one can question it because I can say you're my prisoner no matter where we are."
"You have to leave Tortuga?" Angelica felt a stab of disappointment.
James nodded, turning back to her. "But that's just the point—you can join me. Just the two of us and whatever pirates were manage to round up. It's only for a few months and then we can come back here—or go to Port Royal till I need to set sail again."
Angelica went quiet, staring down into her half-sipped tea and James' happy expression fell. "What's the matter?" He suddenly realised that she might not like that idea. While it meant she had freedom it meant she was stuck with him. And that wasn't really freedom. Perhaps she was never the type to commit to anything.
"I just…I can't believe you're back." The voice that came from her lips sounded nothing like her. It was small, and feeble and vulnerable. "It seems like I always lose you. To Elizabeth or your father…that someone is always in the way."
"I told you I'd come back, didn't I?" James lightly touched her cheek, bringing her face back toward him. "We can be together now. And you don't have to share me with anyone. As long as I don't have to share you. No more Jack alright?"
Angelica smiled faintly. "Still jealous?" she murmured teasingly, nudging her head into his warm chest where his heart beat.
"Always." He whispered in her ear.
