Chapter 4
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: All right, I'm done being mean. You get an update now. There are just a few things I wanted to mention first.
Someone said that Maggie was shaping up to look a lot like a Mary Sue, and I'm afraid I have to agree. And, because I respect you all, I have to justify it as well. The fact is, this is how women acted back then. I feel like I've cheated enough in this story that I should have someone in it that's historically accurate. The truth is, women couldn't sail, pirates were ruthless, bloodthirsty rapists, and Jack has syphilis (if you listen to Johnny Depp's commentary he mentions it). It isn't fair, but it's the way things were. Which is what makes writing fiction so fun. You can make your own idealized world. Here's mine. Also, I thought Maggie was just the ideal wife for Norrington. Sort of sweet and innocent.
I also had to mention the fact that I've completely ignored Norrington's name being James in the movie and turned him into Edward. I knew it had to be some boring, stuffy old English name, and I've never been fond of James. It's a long story, but I've known a few, never liked any of them, and hate one with a burning passion that would probably equal Jack's love for his ship. Plus I've changed the character so much (developed him, really, which you'll notice the movie didn't have enough time to do) that I sort of think of him as mine. So there. I'll let you read the story now.
Just to review (as if you would forget):
A few hours after midnight the wet rattle was permeated by a sigh and sudden silence.
Everyone in the room was beside the bed in a flash. "Luv?" Jack asked of his daughter, lightly slapping her cheek. He got no response from her still form.
"No," Elizabeth whispered, turning to cling to her husband.
"Jack, I'm sorry," Will whispered.
"Don't be," Jack ordered, suddenly springing into the bed. "Not yet."
Jumping up beside his daughter he pressed his mouth to hers, plugging her nose and blowing hard into her mouth before pulling back the covers to press at her chest.
"What are you doing?" Elizabeth demanded.
"Sailors do it sometimes," Norrington told her for him. "If a sailor has swallowed too much water."
"Will that work?" Will asked.
"It can't hurt!" Jack snapped. "Come on, luv. This ain't your time."
Several tense moments later Pearl suddenly gave a small gasp, followed by the return of the gasping rattle of her breathing.
They all sat in silence as her breathing firmed minutely before breathing sighs of relief. Jack lay his head down next to his daughter, looping an arm around her to pull her still, fragile form close. "Thank you, luv," he whispered. "Just a little longer. Please, just a little longer."
They settled back to their spots, letting the minutes pass, counting each rasping breath and being thankful, tense silence ringing through the air if she waited milliseconds longer than normal to draw her next breath.
Later Norrington would wonder exactly when sleep had crept up on him. There was no doubt that it was exhausting, sitting around waiting for Pearl to live or die. When he awoke sunlight was streaming through the open window. The room was cooler. The fire had been allowed to die and the window was left open to catch the morning breeze.
His eyes swept the room as he tried to get his bearings. Will was asleep in the chair to his right. Jack was asleep in his chair leaning forward onto the bed, head resting next to Pearl's hand, which he still clutched. There was no sign of Elizabeth anywhere.
With a start everything came flooding back to him. His heart dropped when he realized he could hear no rasping gasps of breath coming from the bed.
"No," he whispered, carefully approaching the bed. She looked like an angel, even pale as she was. The sunlight gave her an ethereal look that the flaming red hair only heightened. Tears came to his eyes as he looked down at the still form.
Suddenly she shifted, a soft sigh falling from her lips. Not a moan of anguish or cry of fever nightmares, but a real and true sleeping sound. She shifted a bit, turning her closed eyes away from the light.
A choked laugh of joy escaped his lips.
A firm hand suddenly rested on his shoulder and he found Jack sitting up, looking at him with a knowing half-smile. Norrington realized it was the most serious look he'd ever seen on Jack's face while Pearl was safe. "Her fever broke just at dawn. Right when the sun peaked over the ocean. Her breathing firmed up less than an hour later."
"Has she woken?" he demanded.
"Nah. Still exhausted. We thought we'd better let her sleep."
"Thank God," Norrington whispered. "All glory in the highest."
Jack frowned at that. "You're fairly quick to praise someone that let her get to this point in the first place."
"It is not given to us to understand God's plan, merely to follow it," he answered easily.
Jack shook his head. "If she had died I would have punched you for saying that."
"But she didn't," Norrington pointed out.
Jack stood with a heavy sigh. "Save your higher reasoning for someone who buys it, priest. If there is a God he's no use for the likes of us. From what I've read He's already damned us to hell."
"Anyone can be forgiven anything," he pointed out.
Jack shrugged indifferently. "Some day I guess we'll find out. At the moment I'm just glad my daughter isn't learning that lesson right now."
"Good morning," Elizabeth greeted as she swept into the room. "I brought toast for you," she commented, setting down the tray. "And warm broth for Pearl."
"We should let her sleep," Jack argued.
Norrington read the worry in Jack's voice as easily as the pitying look in Elizabeth's eyes. If anything was wrong they would know it when she awoke. She had lived, but that was no guarantee that her body wasn't damaged in some unknown way. "It's time, Jack. She needs to eat," Elizabeth said gently.
"What's wrong?" Will asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"It's time to wake Pearl," Elizabeth said simply with a smile for her husband. Will nodded. Jack turned to watch with something close to a pout.
She turned and sat neatly on the edge of the bed, gently shaking the girl. "Pearl? It's time to wake up now."
Pearl moaned, eyes opening to cloud with confusion. "Elizabeth?" she asked, voice a rough combination of dry throat and scratchiness left over from screaming in fever dreams. She groaned as she shifted, muscles obviously sore form misuse and a baking fever. Norrington was relieved to see her feet shift beneath the covers. "Where am I? What happened? Holy hell, what's wrong with Jack?!" The last was yelled as she caught sight of her father's cleaned and slightly aged face. The green tinge of the black eye she had given him remained.
Elizabeth laughed. "You're in Port Royal. You've had a horrible fever. We had to sweat it out."
"How long was I out?"
"Five days," Jack said.
"Bloody hell," she muttered.
"You need to eat something," Elizabeth said. "You'll be horribly weak."
"My favorite state," she muttered.
"Better than dead, Fledgling" Jack said.
Pearl chuckled at that. "You haven't called me that in ten years."
Jack shrugged. "Here let me help you sit up."
Norrington, from his spot on the other side of the bed, moved to help as well. "Edward?" She sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"You nearly died last night," he told her. "Where else would I be?"
"At home with your wife, if you were smart."
"Fiancé," he corrected. "We aren't married yet."
"It's a good start," Pearl said. "Good God, I can barely move! How the bloody hell am I going to sail on a ship?"
"You aren't," Jack answered. "You aren't to go near the Pearl for at least a month. That's an order, from your captain since I know you won't obey your father."
"I'm not very good at obeying my captain, for that matter," she pointed out.
"That's why the crew has orders not to let you on board. And if any of them think of disobeying Anamaria and Gibbs will set them straight."
She sighed heavily, reaching for the bowl with a shaking hand. Elizabeth pulled it out of her grip quickly. "No you don't. You're not slopping this all over yourself."
"Elizabeth," Pearl ground out, "I would rather starve to death than sit here and let you feed me."
"Give it here," Jack ordered before Elizabeth could retort. "Why don't you and Will show the good Commodore out?"
Elizabeth started to argue but her husband took her firmly by the elbow and led her toward the door with a motion for Norrington to follow. In the hall he pecked his protesting wife on the forehead. "She'd never let Jack feed her in front of us," he told her gently. "She has her pride."
"She nearly died! She's no stronger than a babe now!" Elizabeth argued. "And we've been feeding her ourselves all week."
"Think about it," Will told her. "She's a female pirate. She's spent her life fighting for that, trying to prove she's as strong as any of the men, which she was. Imagine how hard it's going to be for her to admit that isn't the case any more."
"It's something she'll do in front of Jack," Norrington filled in. "But not us."
Will shrugged. "He is her father."
Norrington sighed. "I should stop at home to change before I go into the office. Take care of her?"
"Always," Elizabeth assured him. "You'll stop by later?"
"As soon as I have time," he assured her. "Tell her?"
"We will," Elizabeth assured him as he let himself out.
Norrington was just finishing the last of the paper work that had piled up when a knock sounded at his door. "Come in," he called around a yawn. Looking around he realized it had grown dark as he worked and that he should light a lamp. As he searched for one the door opened to admit an immaculately dressed Lady. He couldn't help but grin at the shy smile his future wife gave him.
"Maggie! I'm so glad you came. I meant to visit you this afternoon but things got busy." Finding his lamp he set to lighting it as he motioned to a chair. "Sit, please. I'll be headed toward home soon. Can I interest you in some supper?"
She looked at him oddly. "I ate already, thank you." Glancing up at the clock he realized that it really was rather late. No wonder he was so tired, he mused as he sat. At this rate he'd make himself sick.
"Is something wrong? It's unlike you to come out this late."
She looked down, toying with her gloves. Coming around the desk Norrington kneeled before her chair. Obviously something was upsetting her. "What's the matter, Maggie?"
"Well," she began, looking down at him, then suddenly away. "Well, it's only a matter of, I mean, I don't wish to be a bother."
"Maggie, we're going to be married. I would be exceedingly happy if you would worry less about bothering me. I want you to be happy, and I can't see to that if I don't know what's the matter."
"It's a small thing, to be certain. And I do trust you. I do, Edward. But it has been weighing on me."
"What has?" he asked. "Is it the work? I've told you that my first responsibility is to the crown and--"
"No, it isn't that," she assured him. "I understand that. It's Elizabeth's cousin. I understand you spent a good deal of time with her, and you still are. Madeline said you were quite in love with her. That you asked her to marry you. And now you spend all sorts of time at the Turners' home, watching over her. I am sorry but I can't help but worry."
Norrington sighed, trying to think how to best approach the subject. He'd known that sooner or later the subject would come up, he simply hadn't expected it so soon. He forgot sometimes how quick-witted Maggie was.
"First of all, Madeline is a gossip," he remarked. "Secondly, it is true that I spent a great deal of time with Bethany before. She said I was a great deal of comfort to her. Seeing as how she very nearly died last night, I thought perhaps I could be of some comfort to her now." He took Maggie's hand, drawing her eyes to his. "If it bothers you, dearest, then I won't go over there any longer. She survived the night, so the surgeon has said she will recover. But I want you to remember to whom I am promised. We will be married before winter comes."
"You wouldn't change your mind?" she asked. "You promise?"
"I promise. Again, I promise, as I did the day I asked you to marry me. We will be wed. Nothing on earth could change my mind. Not if Bethany Maltey threw herself at me and begged me to marry her. Which, incidentally, I assure you she will not. I am a man of my word."
She smiled down at him. "I didn't doubt you. I truly didn't. Circumstances being what they are I just, you know, it's nice to hear."
"Then I shall have to remind you more often," he told her, kissing her cheek before standing to pull her to her feet. "Come, I shall walk you home. If we stay any longer Madeline will start a rumor about the horrible things we are doing in here." Maggie giggled as he folded her hand around his arm and led her out.
He would visit Pearl tomorrow, he promised himself. Maggie obviously didn't object, she just needed a little reassurance. And he promised himself he would give it to her often as she needed it. He would marry Margaret, and Pearl would be a thing of the past soon enough. He was a man of his word, and there was nothing Pearl Sparrow could do about that. Not that he thought she would. She had encouraged him to this end.
"Do you ever wish I were someone else?" Maggie asked through a blush as they walked down the street. He groaned inwardly. Hadn't they just had this conversation? "I don't mean just Bethany Maltrey. I'm hardly the Governor's daughter. And I know I'm not as beautiful as Elizabeth Turner--"
He pulled her to a stop, turning her to look at him. She kept her eyes studiously down, until her took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "Margaret, you are incredibly beautiful. I asked Elizabeth Swann to marry me because I felt it was time I had a wife, and she seemed a good choice. Knowing what I know now, knowing how she loves William, I am exceedingly glad she did not allow me to make that mistake. And seeing the wife I'll have in you, I am doubly glad. I have no doubt that we shall make an infinitely better match. I do not now, nor have I ever, nor shall I ever, wish you were Elizabeth Swann."
She pressed forward into his arms, burying her head in his chest in a display that was just short of inappropriate. "Thank you, Edward. Thank you so much!"
He rubbed her back, laying a kiss on her head. "Any time, Maggie. Come, let's get you home. I fear you've exhausted yourself worrying needlessly."
She nodded, walking closer to him all the way home.
Author's Note":
There you go. And shame on anyone who thought I would really kill her off. Of course I wouldn't. I love her as much as you do. More, probably. But I don't think I fooled many of you, if any.
I must say, I think I spoil all of you. I finally break down and start offering my treasured elf to people and you want Jack again. Demanding! So whoever answers my next question gets their pick of whoever they want. Except Will, because I do love you all but it isn't worth braving Elizabeth's anger. And Edward because he obviously belongs to Pearl. And Maggie too, I guess. A little.
My question comes from my near-fanatical obsession with the DVD. In the extra scenes, when Jack is explaining to Elizabeth how he got off the island before she asks him if any of the stories are true. In response he shows her his various scars. The brand I get, obviously, and the gunshot wounds on his chest. But what the heck is wrong with his left arm? Someone suggested maybe he had slit his wrist and bled until they let him go, but the weird white scars seem to follow the veins too closely. Someone else said poison, but it seems to me that he would have to do this in an effort to escape, and poison doesn't seem like something he would have on hand. Besides, why would it center on his arm? They didn't exactly have hypodermic needles back then. So there it is. I must know. So tell me!