LeiaLeFey06

Title: The Secrets of The Sparrow

Genre: Drama/Romance/General

Rating: MA

Summary: A new pirate ship threatens The Pearl, a ship named The Sparrow, but the Captain of this ship is no ordinary pirate. The captain of The Sparrow is a woman fiercer than Jack Sparrow could ever dream of being and quite familiar with the witty, rum drinking Captain. She even threatens the happiness of his closest friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything created by Disney but Grace and Faith do belong to me. The general plot of this story in a sense is also mine but only in a sense because I cannot own anything that is a part of Pirates of the Caribbean or Disney. This is just a story I created that is called fanfiction.

Pairings: I'm not disclosing any at this time.

Author's Note: This is supposed to take place just a few months after At World's End. I know that will not immediately work into the plot and it cannot because of the new characters involved and how they have to work on the story first. Because no one knows will happen in At World's End I will assume all of that. The things from Dead Man's Chest will work their way in as the plot provides them too. I found a timeline and I'm not sure if it's official or not but I worked with it to shape my story.

Chapter 12: Bittersweet Toasts

Anamaria was wondering where Grace was. It was odd for her to skip a meal and even more odd that there was no sign of the Admiral either. She had also heard at the breakfast table from Will that Grace never made it to their bed last night. That automatically made her think that Grace and the Admiral might have spent the night together. Anamaria could only pondere to where. They last place either of them had been heard of going to was Grace's study and that was precisely the first place Anamaria was going to look.

Anamaria slowly approached Grace's office so that no one else would suspect the same thing she did. She turned the knob on the door to discover that it was unlocked and started inside. She looked around the room to see clothing everywhere belonging to Grace and James Norrington. Then she looked over to the sofa to find them tangled together and barely covered by one of Grace's quilts. Anamaria stepped inside and shut the door behind her approaching the sleeping couple.

"Grace, Admiral Norrington, it's morning. The two of you might want to make an appearance before everyone starts suspecting something," Anamaria said.

Grace started to stir and her eyes began to flutter open with the morning light flooding in the window. This was not a light she was used to waking up to in the house. Then she realized that she did not sleep in her bed. Groggily she could have swore that she heard Anamaria's voice in the room but that was impossible until it hit her exactly where she was sleeping and with whom she was sleeping.

"Anamaria! What are you doing in here?" Grace asked.

"Waking you up so no one else catches you and the Admiral in your frivolity," Anamaria answered, "I'm going to go now and attend to Faith but I'd make and appearance soon if I were you."

"Ok. Go!"

Grace turned her head over to look at the man she was sleeping next to on the sofa. It was a crowded sleeping condition but a well liked one for two lovers. Grace knew as much as she wanted the events that occurred the night before that they couldn't happen again until she ended her marriage.

James Norrington began to awake with the morning light. He thought he may have heard the voice of Grace and another female just before he awoke but he brushed it off as a dream. He looked over at Grace to see that she was already awake and sitting up on the sofa taking the quilt with her and wrapping it around her. Last night had been perfect. He just hoped it brought them closer and not farther apart.

"We should get dressed and make an appearance. We will have to leave separately one of us considerably before the other…" Grace said.

"Or we could just leave together and make up an explanation," James interrupted.

"Like what?"

"We had been in your study since dawn working."

"On what?"

"Manors concerning the island and Beckett."

"I knew it. I knew that's why you were here."

"I came here for you. I meant to wait three days to leave. Then I got word that Beckett was close to Port Royal and I left the following evening."

"And Elizabeth?"

"She wanted to come. I invited her for aid but I'm not entirely sure which one of the two men owns her heart."

"You mean in case you got desperate you invited a woman that Will loves to break up my marriage?"

"Yes."

"Thank you for at least being honest with me, James."

"I love you, Gracie. I honestly can't live without you."

"And I feel the same but I'm married to another man. What happened last night can't happen again until I end my marriage to Will."

"You never said that nearly two years ago and all the time we were together before that."

"Please don't go there, James."

"What are you going to do when Will finds the gravestone?"

"I don't know."

"What is the truth? I need to hear it."

"I love you and want to spend my life with you. But, I need to get out of this marriage first."

"Gracie, you don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say that since you sent me away when Robert died."

"I think I do. I've been dying inside without you, James."

"I know because I haven't been the same without you."

Will was sitting on the beach with Elizabeth and Jack. He had been meaning to speak with both of them since the night before and apologize for the night before. They were all drinking from their own bottles of rum from Grace's private stores. He did wonder where Grace and Norrington were. No one had really seen them since they went to talk last night and it was a little suspicious to Will.

"I'd like to apologize for my behavior last night," Will said.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was acting like a jerk. I mean I realized that my marriage isn't real and I was taking it out on you and Jack and I shouldn't have done that."

"What are you going to do about your marriage to Gracie then, Will?" Jack asked.

"Talk to her about it and if she sees it the same way I do then I see nothing more to do than get a divorce."

"And if she doesn't?" Elizabeth asked.

"Then I don't know what to do."

"You'll figure it out, Will. I can see that Grace is an intelligent woman. The two of you will figure your marriage out."

"Here's to solving your problem, William," Jack said raising his rum bottle.

"What are we toasting?" Grace asked approaching them with a rum bottle in her hand.

"I hope it's not my demise," James said from behind her, also carrying a rum bottle.

"We were toasting everyone and hoping that all their problems be solved easily and fairly," Elizabeth responded.

"Well said, Lizzie," Jack replied.

"I think we can all toast to that," Grace said sitting on the sand next to Jack.

"To solving all our problems without bloodshed," James added taking a seat next to Grace on the sand.

"I'll drink to that," Will replied.

"I think so will all of us," Grace put in.

"Then let's have some bloody rum then! Then toast is over," Jack exclaimed.

All five of them then drank their rum, some of them drinking more than others.

"So, Gracie, what happened to you last night?" Jack asked.

"Jack, I'm the one who should be asking her that not you," Will interjected.

"It's ok, Will. Jack does get ahead of himself sometimes. I fell asleep in my study. If Anamaria hadn't came and woken me up I would have slept have the day," Grace said.

"Have you not been sleeping?"

"Not really."

"Grace, can we speak in private?"

"Of course. Why don't we leave the rum here and go inside?"

"I was thinking we leave the rum here and take a walk around the island."

"It isn't very big," Jack put in.

"I think we can all see that, Jack," Elizabeth retorted.

"Ok. We'll leave the rum here with everyone else and I'll give you the grand tour of the outdoors," Grace said coming to her feet leaving her rum bottle next to Jack.

Will stood up leaving his rum bottle next Jack and replied, "Where to first?"

Will was seemingly enjoying his tour of the small island with Grace. She was his wife but he had no real feelings for her other than friendship. He just had to find a way to tell her that.

"Will, is something wrong?" Grace asked.

"Do you get the feeling that our marriage was over before it really began?" Will asked in response.

"Sometimes."

"I do all the time."

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"I want to know if you really want to stay in this marriage or if you are with me out of duty and obligation."

"The truth?"

"It's only a marriage of duty and obligation to me, Will. I only care for you as a friend not a lover or a husband. Faith is our daughter and we must make it a peaceful ending for her sake but yes if given the opportunity I would like out of this marriage."

"I feel exactly the same, Grace, but I have the feeling you already knew that."

"I did."

Will walked a little ahead of Grace and spotted something that looked like a gravestone. He approached it to see that it really was a gravestone. He read the stone to say: Robert James Norrington, beloved son of Grace and James, born and died 1724. Will could do nothing but turn around and look at Grace who had a look of horror on her face. Will was not supposed to find that. He wasn't supposed to know.

"We agree to end our marriage and I discover why I haven't seen you since you left for Ireland," Will said.

"Will, let me explain," Grace replied urgently.

"Now I know where you were last night. You were with him. He's here for you. You're in love with him I can see it."

"Will, please let me explain."

"I don't want to hear your explanations, Grace. You'll have your divorce so you can marry your lover but our daughter will be a matter to be settled later that is if I'm ever her father."

"You are Faith's father, can't you see that?"

"I need to go find Jack and get my bottle of rum back and then give the Admiral a nice punch in the face or a stab in the back. I haven't decided yet."

"Will, don't. Leave James out of this. My involvement with him happened completely by accident."

"At the moment I can't believe you but as soon as we get back to Port Royal I'll free you of this marriage so you can have the Admiral without the adulterous burden on your shoulders anymore."

Will walked off leaving Grace sitting on the ground just inches from the gravestone of her dead son. The son she produced with James. The son from an adulterous affair. So that didn't matter according to her heart. She loved James but being able to have him truly as hers with no more sin and to be free of her marriage was bittersweet. It didn't seem to happen the way she would have liked it to. Now she was free of being trapped between her head and her heart and trapped with her own demons.