Thank you lasses (and perhaps lads as well) for your patience, support, and reviews. This has been a fun story to write and while it took me some time to get it all out I hope you enjoyed it as well. A forewarning: I have a tendency to write out stories, leave them be for months or years at a time, then go back and add more stuff in. So this may be the "end" but it is nay the end. With that in mind, if there was anything you felt lacking, scenes between characters, more fleshing out of OC's or more "screen time" of canon characters then please put that in your review or send me a message and I'll keep that in mind when I edit/revamp in the coming months. Without wasting your precious time I'll cease and desist this author's note and move on with the story.

James' hand shook as he reached for the third time to tie the bloody cravat correctly. A chuckle from off to his left had him pausing as he glanced over. Parlan stood in front of the mirror of a similar dressing table, finished with his own cravat, which looked damn near perfect, and was buttoning up his waist coat.

"You can't truly be nervous." The man was smiling, obviously amused at James' sudden inability to tie a silly piece of cloth. "It isn't as if you could have wedding night fears, since you two apparently couldn't help yourselves once you were without proper supervision." James frowned against the sudden urge to blush and kept his mouth shut against Parlan's teasing.

Thinking back to that night, he was thankful that Devlin and Hope had returned to the cottage AFTER Ashlynne and he had finished but it still grated on his sensibilities knowing that he'd taken the woman he loved so quickly and unceremoniously, and in the kitchen of her home. Yes they'd shared each other completely, finding satisfaction with one another, and he had no doubt of her matching pleasure—the scratches on his back were only now fully healed three weeks later. But he was not an inexperienced filly who couldn't control himself; there had been no reason for cheating her out of a proper coupling after years of denying themselves.

"James." Parlan's voice brought him out of his self-loathing. "I was only jesting with you." He stepped closer and without preamble reached forward and began to tie James' cravat for him. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised the two of you hadn't done that months, if not years, ago. I know quite well how passionate Ashlynne can be." James' eyes shot up to meet Parlan's and his fists clenched by his side. "Not in the way you're thinking James, so do not take a swing at me yet. I merely mean to say that when she truly cares for someone she rarely holds back. From the way you two wandered around like stubborn, mindless love-sick children, I had no doubt in my mind that it would inevitably happen."

"If you had no doubts," James reached up and touched at the now finished cravat and turned to face his reflection, "then why were you such an ass to me?"

"Oh come off it James. You were an ass too. At the time you were covered in pig shite and smelling of whores. Do you really think I'd want you within a fathom of my dearest friend or her family?"

James chuckled and shook his head, "No I suppose not." He pulled his own waist coat on and worked at getting it buttoned, his fingers still shaking a little.

Parlan noticed but moved away to pull on his coat before he spoke again, "Why are you nervous?"

"It is not exactly nerves that's making me shake Parlan." James finished the waist coat and reached for his own coat. "You know this morning I will not be able to marry Ashlynne with my own legal name."

"And that bothers you?"

James sighed, "It reminds me of all that we've both gone through and also of the uncertainty of our future. I know she is not the typical woman," Parlan interrupted him with a snort and he shared a smile as well before continuing, "but that does not stop me from wondering what it could have been like if I had been able to offer her a more traditional marriage and future."

However, even as he said these words, images of what that future might of have looked like would not come before his mind's eye. For the life of him he could not picture Ashlynne as a traditional wife, nor he as a traditional husband. Even if he had been able to remain within the navy he still could not picture Ashlynne as waiting for him back in harbor, but instead kept picturing her by his side, clad in breeches, brandishing a cutlass if need be. He smiled at the thought.

"James, if you do not realize by now that Ashlynne would want that sort of marriage least of all then perhaps we should stay the marriage until you do." Parlan smoothed his hands over his coat then stepped away from the mirror to regard James more fully as he did the same. "You know as well as I that she was chafing under the strain of being a respectable citizen of Tortuga. Marrying you and joining you on your missions is perhaps the best future you could have offered her, ever." James frowned, still not quite liking the idea of having her accompany him on his various missions with Parlan but it had been one of her conditions for marrying him and he'd given in eventually, preferring the thought of her by his side than away from it. "Yes I agree it is unfortunate that by law she will be marrying a Jameson Norris, and a horrid name that is too, but I know she will not regret it."

James nodded, "I know you're right." He waited a moment, took a deep breath, and then pushed it out in a rush. "I sound like a woman don't I?"

"A bit." Parlan laughed as he clapped his hand on James' back. "Now I do believe your bride is waiting for you at the church. Aside from that, Hope will murder us both if we're late."

Hope glanced over at Ashlynne for perhaps the tenth time in the last five minutes and took note, yet again, of how tightly her sister was clutching the bouquet of flowers. At this rate, by the time the men arrived the flowers would be mere stalks of ratted green corpses. She reached over and laid her hand on top of Ashlynne's. Her sister looked at her as if she'd forgotten she was there but after a moment she smiled.

"What is going on inside that head of yours?" Hope scooted closer and kept hold of Ashlynne's hand.

Ashlynne sighed, "Am I doin' the right thing?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Hope's voice rose slightly but when Ashlynne winced she lowered it again. "The right thing by marrying the man you love or the right thing by marrying the man who could have left you with child?" Ashlynne frowned and Hope shrugged. "I am nay a virgin in thought when it comes to such matters Ashlynne, I know full well what the two of you did that night."

Ashlynne continued to frown, "Just what else have you seen or heard down at the mission?" Her frown deepened then, "Or was it Sparrow? Did he-"

"Are you interesting in talking about my understanding of bedroom matters or would you prefer to discuss your sudden case of nerves?"

Ashlynne smirked, "Where on earth did you get your fire from?"

"I learned from the best."

Ashlynne leaned over and kissed Hope's cheek. When she pulled back she spoke again, "I mean to say, is it possible that two people who have hurt each other so much could come together in the end and be as one without further hurtin' one another?"

Hope frowned and tilted her head to the side for a moment. She thought over all the marriages and relationships she'd seen in her lifetime, both the good and the bad, and it was after this montage of images ceased that she replied. "Perhaps not."

"What do you mean?" Ashlynne's whole body tensed and Hope knew that was not at all what she'd expected to hear.

"It would be impossible for the two of you to not hurt each other in the coming years. Look at us, we love each other and are loyal to each other but we've hurt each other over the years. I ken it is different between a husband and wife than between sisters but I think the concept stays the same." A sudden idea came to mind and she shifted her body to face her sister more fully, "When you look at James you feel a tug towards him right?"

Ashlynne's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, "It is more than a tug, Hope. It is as if, were it possible, I would want to crawl inside his body or have him inside mine and we stay like that, as one flesh, forever."

"Well," Hope blushed, "that is quite the image." Ashlynne looked ready to apologize for her bluntness but Hope continued. "When he isn't around do you merely think of his body or do you think of his soul?"

"Both, though perhaps more of his soul than his body, though I miss his touch too." It was Ashlynne's turn to blush, and Hope joined her but neither sister seemed ready to stop talking. "Where are you goin' with this?"

"When you were angry at him, or when you are angry at him, do you still feel that desire to be one flesh, do you still miss his soul when he isn't there?"

"Aye."

Hope smiled, "Well then, there you have it."

"There I have what?" Ashlynne was frowning, obviously confused.

"You just have to choose to focus on your desire to be with him, on your knowledge of his soul, whenever he hurts you. You're both stubborn, prideful, and human. It is inevitable that both of you will make a mistake and say or do something idiotic." Ashlynne pinched Hope's arm and she yelped but smiled as well. "If you feel more peace with him than without him, then I believe you're doing the very thing you should do."

Ashlynne stilled by her side and fell quiet, though her grasp on the flowers was not as tight as it was before. Hope was unabashedly delighted that James was finally marrying Ashlynne and she and Devlin were both excited to have Ashlynne out of their hair once again—she was a much better sister when she wasn't cooped up in a cottage for too much time—and this time with the man she loved. Perhaps she would only understand the sudden uncharacteristic nervousness her sister now displayed when it was her own wedding day.

In Hope's mind, there was no need for nervousness. Everyone could plainly see how much the two of them loved each other and how loyal they would continue to be to each other. Only an idiot would try to keep them apart, and hopefully neither one of them would be that idiot.

The clock on the table nearest them, where they sat in the side room of the church, alerted them of the hour and both women jerked from the sound. Laughing at their combined nerves they stood and Hope took a last look at Ashlynne, ensuring that everything was as it should be.

"You look beautiful." Hope kissed Ashlynne's cheek. "Everything is as it should be."

Ashlynne nodded back and together they left the room and headed towards the sanctuary.

It was a damn nuisance, her heart. Ashlynne tried to keep from crushing the flowers in her hands as she turned to face down the center aisle, Devlin drawing up to stand by her side as Hope slipped away to find her place in the pews. There was absolutely no reason for her to feel nervous or shaky and yet…

"Breathe, lassie." Devlin whispered into her ear as he pulled her arm into the crook of his. "The man ye love is waitin' for ye down yonder so it'd do no good to pass out now."

Ashlynne looked from Devlin's cheeky smile towards the front of the sanctuary. James stood straight as the center mast of a ship, his hands clasped together in front of him. His face, when she first saw it, was tense, though his eyes hungrily swept up and down her body. When his eyes focused on her own she saw the tension leave his face and in response she felt equally the tension leave her own.

That man was hers, and she was his. Devlin moved down the aisle and only had to barely tug at her to get her to move alongside him. Ashlynne kept her gaze centered on James, each step closer hammering all the more soundly in her heart the understanding that this was indeed the man she was meant to be with. No matter the pain they'd caused one another, that had been forgiven. No matter the pain they may cause each other in the future, that would also be forgiven. So long as they were free to love one another, fully and completely, then surely everything was as Hope said: as it should be.

James held out his hand to her and without hesitation she took it and moved from Devlin's side to his, barely noticing when Devlin stepped away to join the rest of the witnesses in the pews. Together James and Ashlynne faced the rector, their hands still clasped.

"Dearly beloved friends, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony," Ashlynne felt James squeeze her hand and for a moment she was transported back to when they'd first met on the Dauntless.

"And this, Lieutenant Norrington, is our ship's clerk a Mister Ashlin Fitzpatrick." His eyes seemed uninterested as they passed over her and she was grateful for that, since out of all the officers and sailors she was to work with he'd proved to be the most handsome. And in a dangerous, if she wasn't careful she'd fall for him, way.

"Aren't you a little young to be ship's clerk?" a quality in his voice grated on her nerves instantly and she clenched her teeth together. "You look barely old enough to be away from your mother lad."

Ashlynne tipped her head up and replied, "Beggin' yer pardon, Lieutenant, but would it nay be dangerous to look at the outward appearance alone for an understandin' of one's capabilities?" She felt more than heard Groves smile by her side and immediately added. "A mere observational opinion, sir."

"An Irish ship's clerk?" Was all he said in response, his eyes wide as he looked to the first lieutenant for confirmation. "How is that possible?"

"Sir," Ashlynne spoke up before the other officer could, and knew she probably shouldn't have but couldn't help it, "my native land does nay detract from my ability to perform professionally. I can assure ye, sir, I read, write, and can communicate equally if not better than the rest of these sailors."

Lieutenant Norrington stepped closer then and Ashlynne fought the urge to lean back out of his way. His eyes no longer held a disinterested look and instead something in them had changed to quite the opposite. She knew she should've kept her mouth shut. Now she was going to have him breathing down her neck no doubt.

"What we shall see, Mister Fitzpatrick, is whether or not you have any inkling of the meaning of insubordination." His eyes were heated as they swept over her form again and she fought the urge to shiver once he stepped back and moved on down the line of sailors.

Ashlynne came back from her memory with another squeeze from James' hand and offered him a squeeze of her own. "Thirdly, for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity, into the which holy state these two persons present, come now to be joined." The rector continued. "Therefore if any man can show any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace."

Devlin and Parlan had both informed her earlier that they'd be wearing daggers in their boots for this specific moment in the ceremony. They'd both waved aside Hope's protestations about having weapons in church and had in the end won her over to their side, though they'd forbidden her to wear a dagger of her own, when they'd explained that too much had already tried to keep Ashlynne and James apart already. It'd be a nuisance and plain ridiculous if someone tried to stop them now, hence the daggers.

When the church remained silent for the customary pause it seemed the witnesses, as well as James and Ashlynne, heaved a collective sigh before the rector continued.

"Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to love together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony?" Ashlynne felt a surge of joy mixed with nerves well up inside her as the rector continued his question. James kept his gaze steady on hers, his breathing equally steady, and she took comfort and strength in that. "Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness, and in health? And forsaking al; other, keep the only to her, so long as you both shall live?"

James' voice was loud, strong, and near echoed in the church when he replied, "I will."

Ashlynne felt the surge burst inside her breast and the tendrils of thrumming energy lick out into her limbs. She squeezed James' hands and couldn't keep the smile from her face as the rector turned her.

"I will." She said then.

James' lips turned upwards in a smile and somewhere to her side she heard Devlin snort.

"Miss, you must wait until I say the words." The rector's voice was a bit patronizing but she couldn't blame him, she'd completely forgotten to wait.

"Yes, sorry." She smiled at him before turning her gaze back to James, who still smirked at her.

"Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health? And forsaking all other, keep the only to him so long as ye both shall live?"

Ashlynne nodded, "I will."

The rector reached out and suddenly she saw two rings in his hands. He motioned for James to let go of Ashlynne's hands and once he did the rector gave one of the rings to him. James reached out with his right hand and took hold of her left. He held the ring at the end of her index finger as he spoke.

"I, Jameson Norris," they both winced slightly at the name but James continued on seconds later, "take thee Ashlynne Lenora Fitzpatrick to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us depart; according to the Father," he slid the ring slightly down her index finger then back up and placed it over the end of her middle finger, "the Son," he slid it down her middle then back up and hovered at the end of her ring finger, "and the Holy Ghost." He slid the ring fully onto her finger then leaned down and kissed her fingers before standing and added, "and thereto I plight thee my trouth."

After a moment, Ashlynne pulled her hand back so she could receive the ring from the rector then with her right hand she reached out and took hold of James' left.

"I, Ashlynne Lenora Fitzpatrick take thee Jameson Norris to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us depart; according to the Father," she too slid the ring slightly down his index finger the back up and placed it over the end of his middle finger, "the Son," she slid it down his middle then back up and moved on to the ring finger, "and the Holy Ghost." She slid the ring fully onto his finger. "And thereto I plight thee my trouth."

The rector placed his hands over theirs and added, "Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." He removed his hands and his smile, Ashlynne noted, turned mischievous. "You may now kiss your spouse."

James nor Ashlynne needed any further encouragement. They leaned together and the kiss they shared tasted of the sweetness of hope and the joy of a future together. Behind them cheers rang out in the church, despite the rector's tutting. Neither James nor Ashlynne really cared though. When they pulled back they saw only the other, husband and wife, and they both knew that the greatest adventure they were to face was what was yet to come.