Disclaimer: Not mine, dang the luck.
He sighed as Pearl shifted in his arms, tugging sheets up over their sweety and steadily cooling bodies. "That was--" He paused, trying to find the words and failing utterly.
Pearl chuckled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "My thoughts exactly."
Rolling away she wrapped a sheet around her bust and grabbed a mug which sat beside the bed, drinking deeply. In the flickering candlelight Norrington caught sight of an odd shadow falling across the back of her exposed shoulder. Reaching up he caressed the spot, then leaned up quickly as he realized he was feeling scars. "Don't," she objected, trying to pull away from his touch, but it was too late. Sea-roughened hands turned her shoulders so he could see her back in the meager candlelight. Scars crisscrossed her back in an ugly tangle of welts that seemed almost to make a bizarre maze. His fingers grazed them tenderly, as if they might still pain her.
"Pearl, who whipped you?"
She shrugged with a deep sigh. "I told you Bootleg took his own revenge." She reached back to scratch at a scar that ran up to her shoulder as if she could remove it.
Norrington shook his head, tracing the scars with his fingers, letting what he knew from his history with such things fill in the gaps. The scars were fairly thick. Assuming she'd been well cared for, doubtful as that was, she would have been bed-ridden for several days. It would have taken a great deal of luck for her to avoid a serious fever. The scars themselves were well-healed so this had to have been at least a year ago. She couldn't be more than eighteen now. "When did this happen? How old were you?"
"Two years ago," she answered, voice flat. "I was sixteen."
He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "I wish I could protect you from this."
"Well I don't," she told him resolutely. "I won't be caged, Edward. I'll take whatever scars I'm given in return for my freedom and wear them with pride." She fingered a deep cut across her left arm, probably an old sword wound. There was scar on her shoulder that suggested a bullet. These were the least of the scars that decorated her body. She must have endured a great deal of pain in her relatively young life. Pride was it?
"You know, pride is a sin."
She snorted at him. "And piracy isn't? I think I've done enough in my life to see myself good and well damned by the Almighty. I'm not going to worry over a little pride."
He turned her head so he could gaze deep into her amber eyes. "You're the oddest woman I've ever met."
"Thank you. Now, Commodore, if you feel you're up to it, the night isn't over and there are still a few more sins I'd like to commit."
"Loving isn't a sin," he began to argue.
"Ah, but we aren't married, darling, and that makes this a sin. Don't worry. You can 'Hail Mary' your way out of it later. I want to dirty you up some more first."
He started to argue but she silenced him with a kiss.
Suddenly he turned away, coughing heavily. "What the bloody hell did you drink? It tastes awful!"
She laughed. "Mead. Acquired taste I guess. Come here, let me get your mind to other things," she ordered.
Norrington sighed as he awoke the next day. The slim, warm form in his arms echoed him, shifting against him. "Morning," she muttered.
"Already?" he asked.
"Well, we were up late," Pearl reminded him, propping herself up on an elbow to gaze down at him, fingers running lazily over the dusting of hair on his chest.
He grinned at the memory. "You know, I'd well believe you're a siren."
She chuckled, leaning off the bed to scoop up his Navy hat and place it on her head. It tilted, covering one sparkling eye as she gazed down at him. "Well, you must have some magic of your own because I'll tell you, it's against me personal code to sleep with members of the British Navy. Especially Commodores."
"I should count myself lucky then," he remarked, trying to pull the hat from her head. She dodged easily, chuckling. "That's a capital offence, you know, stealing an officer's hat."
"Yes, whereas opposed to piracy, which is nothing," she laughed. Leaning forward she placed the hat firmly on his head. "Come on and get up. We need to make sure Cane is there and doing it all properly."
Norrington moaned. "I'd rather stay in bed."
"Not my call. Come on, the ship needs you," she ordered, standing to stretch.
Before she could move Norrington grabbed her and pulled her back down onto the bed with him as she shrieked. "I need you more," he whispered into her ear, nibbling at the soft flesh.
"Well, I am sorry then, because we have to go," she told him, passion only tinging her words a bit.
"You're really going to push this?" he asked in disbelief.
"There's one thing more important than loot and pleasure to a pirate," she answered.
"Their ship?" Norrington guessed.
"Got it in one," she remarked, tapping his nose. "I knew you had the makings of pirate in you. Aye, their ship. See, we ain't the British Navy. Your ship goes down you can't just go out and commission another. And you gotta treat her with respect or she'll stop taking care of you."
"So, let me get this straight. Rather than staying here comfy and warm in this bed with me you want to go stand on the ship and yell at some dirty old smith."
"No. Rather than stay here with you I NEED to go see to the ship. As do you." She left the bed yet again to get dressed. "Are you certain you're a Commodore?"
He laughed. "After last night with you I'm not sure what I am." With a groan he pulled himself out of bed to get dressed. "Where did my bloody shirt go?"
Grinning sheepishly Pearl grabbed it from off of a sconce on the wall. Norrington shook his head as Pearl shrugged. "I was anxious to get it off."
He looked at her askance. "Do all of your arguments end in bed? That's how all of ours seem to end."
"Can you think of a better way?" she asked with a saucy grin and a flick of her hip.
"Not really. I should count myself lucky I still have pants. After the swim you sent my Navy uniforms on I would think you would have caused enough damage to satisfy even a rascally pirate like yourself."
Grinning like the devil herself she drew close. "We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot." Laughing melodically she spun around the room arms wide. "We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot!"
Laughing Norrington moved forward to capture her in his arms before she could make herself too dizzy to stand. As it was she stumbled in his arms. "So have I been pillaged, plundered, or ravaged?"
She giggled, pressing close. "Oh, Edward, why only one? Why not all three?"
He laughed, just enjoying her proximity. "Oh, Pearl."
"Ask me to marry you again and you'll never be ravaged by the likes of me again," she warned.
"As long as I still have the pillaging and plundering," he chuckled before growing serious again. "Can you blame me? How can you not want this for the rest of your life?" he asked, resting his forehead against hers.
"Because it wouldn't be like this for the rest of our lives," she answered. "I'd be wearing skirts and after a while I'd smell like powder rather than salt and fresh air. We'd be surrounded by marble and cotton, not cheep wood and silk scarves nailed to the walls."
"It wouldn't matter," he told her.
"It would," she argued, pulling out of his arms. "Time to be off."
Pearl led him down the stairs where a fair number of revelers were still up. "It's bed time now," she told the wide-eyed Commodore as she led him over to a table containing her mother and sister.
"I'm going to the ship now," she told them. "I'll be back in a day or so, so don't worry."
"Oh, you know tellin' me that don't do any good. You take care of her, Edward," Diamond ordered as she hugged her daughter.
"As much as she'll let me," he answered.
"Bye Ruby!" Pearl cried, throwing her arms around her sister. Ruby grunted grumpily. "I'll miss you dearly!"
"Good riddance," Ruby grumbled out as she pealed her sister's arms away from her.
"Love you too," Pearl said as she led Norrington to the door. "Thanks Cork," she added as she passed a graying man who stood at the bar wiping off the counter.
"Thank me by payin' me back," he answered.
"Two days," she promised with a laugh. "Well, congratulations Edward. You've nearly made it out of Tortuga alive."
"A miracle, isn't it? I survived a whole night," he said.
"Indeed. How many Commodores can say that?"
"Not many, I'd wager. Not that any would brag about it."
"I would," Pearl put in.
"Yet another good reason you aren't a Commodore."
"That and the pirate thing," she said cheerfully. "And the fact that I'm a woman. And--"
"All right, I think we've safely established that you're not a Commodore," he interrupted. "Isn't that one of my men?"
She followed his look and nodded. "Oi! Match!"
The man turned as if he had been bit. Spying them he waved and stumbled over to them. "Not so loudly, please."
"Have an enjoyable evening?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, indicating his ragged, dirty clothing.
"Aye, it is," she answered.
"What about you?"
"Oh, we had a HEAVENLY time," she gushed, hanging on Norrington's arm.
Match raised an eyebrow as the Commodore turned a lovely shade of red. "Is that a fact?"
"Aye. You really should have come. Ruby would have loved to see you," she said, poking at his side suggestively.
"I don't doubt it," he answered. "I had ideas for other entertainment last night."
"Indeed. Plan to sleep it off until we cast off?" she asked him.
"Aye. I'll be up and ready when we cast off, Commodore," he assured Norrington.
"See to it that you are," he answered as they stepped up onto the ship.
Gillette approached them, still in his ordinary garb. The way his face twisted it was as if wearing anything but his uniform were physically painful. Pearl giggled as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You look lovely this morning. White is really much more your color."
Gillette sighed, pealing her arm from around his shoulder and turning to Norrington. "All is well, Sir. We had an uneventful night."
"Good," Norrington said. "You haven't seen the smith yet?"
"Not yet, Sir, although half the crew are below deck sleeping."
"I told you," Pearl chirped. "The rest will turn up before we take off."
Norrington nodded. "I'm starting to believe you. Do you want to go drag Cane out here?"
"Nah," Pearl answered with a wave of her hand. "I wasn't specific about when he should be here. I'll give him another hour or so. Why don't you go check out the ship? I'm going to commune with my brother," she said with a nod toward the sails.
Norrington looked around the deck. "Tass is here?"
"No, not my real brother. I'm going to check on the weather," she told him with a laugh.
"Oh, right," he agreed, watching her climb into the billows.
"We should get into Port Royale about sunset if the wind holds with us," Gillette reported. "Then we can be rid of the scamp and put this whole thing behind us."
Norrington nodded, his throat closing in on itself as he watched her climb into the billows, trot to the edge of the sail, close her eyes, and lean her head back to catch the full force of the warming sun. It would be easy to believe her an Aztec Goddess. Or perhaps an angel.
"I beg your pardon, Sir?" Gillette asked.
Norrington realized suddenly that he'd said the last part aloud. "I said we must have had an angel watching over us."
"Indeed," Gillette agreed. "Surviving a night in Tortuga is something worth giving the Lord praise over."
"Come, I need to make a circuit of the ship," Norrington ordered.
He returned above deck to find Pearl and Cane arguing heatedly. Before he could go find out what was the matter, however, Cane stomped over to the chain he had brought along and got to work.
"What was that about?" Norrington asked as Pearl's sharp eyes followed the smith.
"Wanted more money, surprise surprise. I've talked some sense into him. Everything in working order?"
"So it would seem. Can we expect fine weather?"
"All the way to Port Royale," she promised.
"Three quarters of the crew is asleep below already. We may leave with a full crew yet," Norrington remarked.
"You will. After we get underway I need to talk to you in your quarters. We have to come up with a story for when we land in Port Royale. Oi! Cane, this ain't a chit-chat session. Get to work!"
With Pearl on his tail Cane finished early. After another argument with Pearl–no doubt about money yet again–he went on his merry way. The whole of the crew was slumbering below by that time despite the fact that they were nearly an hour early. When Norrington commented that he wouldn't mind setting out early Pearl disappeared below deck and returned with a bleary-eyed crew. He wasn't sure how she got them above, and was fairly certain that he was happier that way. A few grumbled complaints but harsh looks from Pearl silenced them immediately.
Gillette stood beside him as he supervised the preparation of the ship from the helm. Pearl was among them, working as hard as any of the muscled crew, joking with them. "I hate to say this, but she would make a fair captain," Gillette said.
"Indeed. What is the world coming to? A girl of eighteen a good captain?"
"Wonders never cease," Gillette said with a shrug. "I'd never believe I'd be spending a night in Tortuga, or that anyone could tell the weather by feeling the wind on their face."
"She's fair miraculous, to be sure," Norrington agreed.
"I will say this, things will be less exciting when we're rid of her."
"That it will."
"Commodore!" the source of their conversation called. "The ship's ready to go anytime you want to take us off."
"All right men. Let's head home," he ordered.
Surprisingly enough Pearl let him take the ship out of port, helping the men work the rigging rather than making attempts at usurping the helm.
Once they were out to sea Gillette left to change into 'proper clothing.' Pearl snorted as he left. "When he gets back we can go have that discussion," she told Norrington, settling down on the stairs near the helm, the picture of relaxation as she closed her eyes and leaned back against the wooden railing, one leg propped up next to her as the other hung lazily down.
She remained that way as Gillette stomped back up, still in his regular clothing, with the rest of his officers behind him. "YOU!" he roared at her.
"Since I'm too lazy to open my eyes I'm just going to assume you're talking to me," Pearl remarked with a yawn.
"What did she do?" Norrington sighed.
"All of our Navy uniforms seemed to have mysteriously disappeared," Gillette ground out.
"Oh yeah. I meant to tell you about that. I was carrying them across the room when I tripped and they flew out of the window."
"There aren't any windows in any of our rooms," Gillette told her.
She nodded. "Well, that is a mystery then."
"Pearl!" Norrington scolded. "What exactly are we supposed to tell our superiors in Port Royale?"
"I'd blame it on Jack, but that's just me," Pearl answered easily. "Can we go have that chat now?"
"I suppose. Take the wheel, Gillette. Let's go," he ordered, leading her down to the cabin.
She snagged one of the extra chairs in his cabin and settled into it with her legs over one arm and her back leaning against the other, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. Her coat had been abandoned at some point and the shirt fell back against her, outlining her curves as clearly as the breeches did her legs. He swallowed convulsively. It was worse than before, somehow, now that he knew those curves by heart. He didn't think he'd ever forget the feel of her skin under his fingers.
"Do you have a plan then?" Norrington asked as he settled carefully at his desk.
"Naturally. Okay, I was thinking that you could say that you found the Black Pearl and Jack invited you on board. You immediately saw the Turners and they both told you that they were fine, assured you that Jack was doing nothing piratitcal, that they were just going sailing with him for a while, and they had no intention of returning home. Bethany Maltrey, on the other hand," she said, waving her arms in a rather Jack-like fashion, "was completely unharmed but terrified, as any Lady of breeding who had been kidnaped by pirates would be.
"Now then, you did intend to do all that you had to to return the stolen Turners but Jack did threaten to open fire on you, Elizabeth and Will were both refusing to go back with you, Elizabeth and Bethany were both begging you to take Bethany home, and you didn't want to involve the Ladies in a fight. So you agreed to take Bethany home, threatened to hunt Jack down and kill him if anything happened to the Turners, and set out. Will the Navy buy that?"
Norrington nodded thoughtfully. "I'm certain they would. After all, seeing to the safety of the Ladies and obeying their wishes would be my foremost duty. The only problem is that you would have to pretend to be the terrified Lady."
"You've seen my acting skills," Pearl said. "It won't be a problem."
"Good," he said. "I'm glad to have that settled. I'll let the rest of the crew know the plan."
He stood to head toward the door when Pearl nodded, but stopped when she asked, "Where are you going?"
He paused to turn to look at her. Her eyes were open, half-lidded with sleepiness as she gazed up at him. "To tell the crew," he answered. "Feel free to sleep if you want," he added, waving toward the bed.
"I have a better idea," she remarked, standing to approach him.
"What's that?" he asked.
"What's that?" she parroted with a chuckle, twisting her arms around his neck and pressing her body close. "Why don't you join me? Pillaging aplenty, I promise."
He understood suddenly that it hadn't been sleep clouding her eyes, but lust. "Pearl, I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"I think it's an excellent idea," she purred, kissing and nipping at his neck as her leg began creeping up...
He had to close his eyes, fighting a groan and rallying his strength. "Pearl, we aren't in Tortuga anymore."
A warning flashed through his mind as her eyes narrowed. "So?"
"So things are complicated now."
"They don't have to be," she argued.
"It isn't as simple as that."
"What you mean is now that you're on the ship you're ashamed of me. I understand." She turned away from him suddenly.
"Nothing could be further from the truth." He strode after her, catching her by her shoulders. "Pearl, you're the strongest, most capable woman I've ever met. I didn't know there were women like you out there. You're everything I ever wanted without knowing it existed."
"It's easy to say," she replied. "Your actions would suggest otherwise."
"That's easy enough to fix," he said. Catching her chin in his hands he claimed her lips, kissing her deeply and passionately. Desperately he poured out all of his want and need into her, all of his worshiping and loving her. And she responded, taking his arm and tugging him toward the bed.
He sighed, following grudgingly. "You're going to be the death of me," he informed her.
"Ah, death is only tragic if life hasn't been lived to the fullest," she informed him, tugging off his shirt. "Any regrets, Commodore?"
"Only one," he answered, stilling her hands. "The most beautiful, magnificent, wonderful woman in the world refuses to marry me."
"Well, if I ever meet her I will tell her she's a silly git. In the mean time you have a very talented pirate lass to fill your bed."
He opened his mouth to argue, only to find her demanding lips cutting off his objections as she pushed him roughly back onto the bed and divested herself of her shirt. After that Edward Norrington had very few thoughts in his head, and none of them had anything to do with marriage.
Author's note: Mwa ha ha. Everyone happy? Any complaints? Didn't think so. So be nice little reviewers and review. As an added note: Whoo hoo! Over 100 reviews! I love you guys. If you're very good I'll even let you take Jack home for a while–just a while! I'm get a bit annoyed with him anyway. If he suggests my elf is an enoch one more time I will be forced to smack him on the head. No worries, he's hard headed. Not that head you sick, sick reviewers! I can hear your dirty thoughts from here. What's that? I put them there? And I must be sick too if I know what you're thinking? Hmm, you may have a point. But I don't recall saying it was a bad thing.
Here's a question for anyone who's still reading this. Why on earth is Norrington always the bad guys in these fics? I mean, he lets Jack go at the end of the movie. Granted he needs to loosen up a little but he's obviously a good guy at heart.