Author's note: This is actually part of a larger story; a little plot puma that grabbed hold of me and hurt me until I wrote it, as it were. ("Bunnies" are just too cute to associate with plot ideas that hit you and don't let go. Pumas are much more appropriate, in my opinion…) The rest of the story will come as I get more of it finished.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination. Everything familiar belongs to the almighty mouse, the writers: Ted and Terry, the director: Gore Verbinski, and the producer: Jerry Bruckheimer, a motion picture genius himself, and all their little buddies. And perhaps to the actors, too, but I won't get into that mess. So please, don't sue me. I promise I will return them unscathed, unharmed, and without a scratch. :p

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Chapter 1

The boarding plank crashed to the dock as Commodore James Norrington approached the newly arrived ship. He glanced upward slightly to find a little girl with sloppy blonde curls flying all around and large blue eyes that gazed around uncertainly. She was holding the hand of the man whom Norrington saw to be the ship's captain, Samuel Henderson. He and the Sea Gull had been to Port Royal many times over the last few years and James had formed a small friendship with the man.

"Captain Henderson, I am happy to see you made the voyage without incident," he said as the pair descended carefully.

"Commodore Norrington, it's good to see you again. I trust you've been well?"

"Well enough. Is there a Silas Cooper aboard?" James found his gaze kept turning to the little girl clinging to Henderson's hand. Why is a small child such as this present on a merchant ship?

"I presume you were the one to pay for Cooper's passage, then?"

"I am. Is he onboard still?"

"No—well, yes she is and no he's not. There's been a bit of confusion for us about that, especially now that you've said that. Y'see, he dropped this little one off and said she was the one that was to make the voyage. He said she was to be delivered to Port Royal and he had told us that payment would be given on our arrival; that she was expected.

"We had assumed she was to be delivered to some family or something, but she had no caretaker with her. Against our better judgment, we agreed to bring her anyway. It wasn't until halfway through the journey that we could even get her to say anything—she hasn't really even spoken since then either. We only found out she had no family here and didn't know why her papa was sending her away. We don't even know her proper name."

"You're serious, aren't you."

"I am. If you don't mind my asking, Commodore, what was the true situation?"

"Mister Cooper had agreed to come here to work as an indentured servant. I certainly hope he isn't the type of man who would send a small child to do work he had agreed to do!"

"It's starting to look that way from where I'm standing. What do you wish to do?"

"Well, obviously, I cannot send her back. I doubt her father would still be there, and with no word sent, he wouldn't know to look for a ship, anyway. Chances are, in debt as he was, he bartered his way onto another ship and has long since disappeared." James shook his head. "How much do I owe you for her passage?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

James looked at the man, disbelief no doubt written clearly across his face. "I will not. Come now, how much? You must have to pay for supplies before you ship out again and I will not take 'no' for an answer. I agreed to pay passage, and I shall."

"I'll tell you what. You find her a good home and someone to take care of her and I'll call us even." He leaned closer and spoke quietly. "I have a feeling he may have even mistreated her some, James. I can see it in the way she acts. Even with all the weeks she was with us, she's still very timid and doesn't speak much. I don't know about what you will think later, but I know I'm not even capable of thinking of sending her back to him."

After those words sunk in, James nodded grimly. "Very well, Captain, I shall do as you request."

"Thank you. It eases my old heart to know you'll get her into a good home here. I best be getting back to my crew, though. We still need to unload this and get our shipment back to England."

"Have a safe passage and if all goes well, I shall see you when you return."

Henderson nodded, then knelt down before the little girl. "You take care of yourself, Little Bit. Be good for Commodore Norrington. He'll take good care of you," he said and handed the child her small bag of belongings. He stood, the girl's eyes watching him, and gave her a gentle push toward James.

James extended his hand, his gaze softening when she visibly flinched at that action. He knelt where he stood and kept his hand extended, allowing her to come to him in her own time. "I'll not hurt you, child. I promise."

Her head tilted slightly, as if she contemplated what he had just said. She watched him carefully for a few moments with an expression that was far too solemn for any child her age. She approached him slowly then stopped again, still keeping her eyes on him. He didn't move and held her gaze. Finally, she apparently found something she was looking for and took his hand. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and wrapped his hand around her smaller one, taking her bag with his other.

He stood slowly, pulling her gently to the side and back to shore. "Let us get out of their way and I'll introduce myself properly. How does that sound?" he said, watching her for a reaction.

She only nodded and he couldn't help the slight pang in his heart. As they walked, he felt a slight, continuous tug on his hand and, glancing over, found her trying to look down over the side of the dock, probably trying to see any fish that might be swimming there.

James smiled and walked over, allowing her to pull him somewhat to where she wanted to go. When she got close to the edge of the dock, he pulled on her hand a bit to stop her and knelt beside her, not really caring about or noticing the dirt transferring to his white trousers from the weathered planks.

Awkwardly, he circled his arms around her to help ensure himself that she wouldn't fall in. She looked at him curiously for a moment, then gave him a small smile and turned her gaze back to the water. He also looked down, and saw a fair-sized fish swim out from under the dock. "Look there," he said, pointing it out to her. He turned his head in time to see her awe-struck expression.

"May I ask your name?" he asked, hoping the small gesture with the fish would allow her to trust him enough to at least give him that. "Mine is James. James Norrington."

She gave him that curious look again, before finally answering him, this time verbally, though what she ended up saying brought him no more comfort than before. "Papa always called me 'Rat'."

This time, James felt the backs of his eyes sting slightly. He blinked several times to dispel the feeling and forced a calm tone, or at least what he hoped was a calm tone. "Surely that is not your name. You have another name, don't you?"

An expression of concentration settled over her face, as if she were trying to dig up fading memories. "Momma used to call me Lily."

"And where is your mother now, if I may ask?"

"They put her in a box."

She was dead then. He nodded to her, then forced a more cheerful expression. "Very well, Lily it is." He stood again, extending his hand to her only to have her flinch again and backpedal a step. He could see her trembling a bit and silently berated himself for moving too quickly that time.

He knelt again, "I am sorry, Lily. It was not my intent to frighten you. Here, take my hand and we'll go get you a little something to eat. Are you hungry?" She nodded. "I thought as much," he said standing and holding out his hand again. "Shall we go and get you an apple or something to tide you over until dinnertime?" She nodded and took his hand again.

He led her into the market, careful to walk at a slower pace that she could manage so he wouldn't lose her. He carefully threaded his way through the crowd in search of a certain fruit stand maintained by Anne Merriweather. She was a kind, elderly woman, and James always made sure that what fruit was purchased for his house or office at the fort was from her cart.

The grip on his hand tightened suddenly and he looked down to find a terrified child. He stopped momentarily, only to have her latch onto his uniform coat with her free hand. "Are there too many people, Lily? Are they jostling you any?"

She turned her frantic gaze to him, and he saw that she calmed somewhat by that simple action, and apparently the sound of his voice. She nodded vigorously, so he scooped her up to carry her, careful to leave his sword fairly accessible. He passed her bag back to her to hold for the time being. Once she was settled, now clinging tightly to him, he began moving again at a more efficient speed.

"Commodore, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Mistress Merriweather asked as they stepped up to her little booth.

"I come for apples, unless this little lady would prefer something else."

"And 'oo would this precious bundle be?" James felt Lily burrow her head toward his neck, but she immediately drew back and sneezed.

"This is young Miss Lily Cooper, who apparently finds the powder on my wig to be disagreeable." He drew his gaze away from Lily and back to the vendor. "She'll be in my care for the next little while, I believe."

"Well then, does Miss Lily Cooper 'ave a preference for what she'd like to 'ave?"

"What would you like, Lily?" He watched as she eyed the various fruits, though she seemed reluctant to tell them what she wanted, or even settle her gaze on any more than the rest. "It's all right, Lily. You can choose whatever you would like, no matter what it is." She finally reached out and pointed at the apples. "Are you certain that's all you want? You can pick more than one, if you like." She pointed at the bananas. "Anything else?" She shook her head. "Are you sure?" A nod. "Very well. Mistress Merriweather, we'd like some of your finest apples and bananas. And please throw in a few oranges as well."

"That's a fine selection, Miss Lily, if I do say so myself," the woman answered with a warm smile. Lily grinned a little. "What's this? So she can smile! And such a pretty smile it is, too!"

James chuckled as the little girl turned away bashfully and tried to burrow her head into his shoulder. He had seen her smile grow, though, before she did. He mouthed a quick "Thank you" to the older woman, then spoke. "How much do I owe you?"

"Oh, a shilling ought to cover it."

James nodded and, after balancing Lily a little so he could use both hands, fished out the proper coins. "Thank you again, Mistress Merriweather."

"You've no need to thank me, Lad. Can I get you anything?" she asked her next customer.

James started off again, walking back towards the fort to finish up a few things. He glanced over at Lily and found her glancing around wherever her neck would allow. "Would you like to see the fort, Lily? I need to finish a few things there before I take you to my home for the night. Is that all right with you?"

Once again, she only nodded. He hoped that he would be able to coax her into speaking more soon enough. It saddened him that she was so quiet when most children he knew of were always active and nearly always had their mouths going.

Once he was clear of the market, he set her back down and took an apple out of the small sack he had been given, tucked the sack carefully under an arm, and pulled out his small dagger. Lily latched onto the lip of his pocket and watched as he sliced the apple and cut the core away. He gave her the first slice, which she accepted eagerly and with the brightest smile he had seen thus far.

He glanced around to figure out exactly where he was and bit into his own slice. Seeing—and smelling—that he was near the bakery, he slowly walked toward the door. He hadn't fully realized until now that he had missed lunch earlier and that he was considerably more hungry than he'd thought.

As they entered the small building, he felt a small tug on his coat. He looked down, expecting her to be shy again and trying to keep from going further, but found instead that she was reaching for another slice of apple. He passed another to her and was given another smile, though not quite as large as her previous one. "Can I get you your usual, Commodore?" asked Michael Parsons, the proprietor.

James glanced up at the proprietor. "Yes, thank you."

"Miss lunch again?"

"I'm afraid I did." He passed another slice and took another for himself.

"Ah well, that usually just brings you here at some point, so we both benefit."

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?"

"Aye." The baker passed across a small cloth sack. "Here's your sweet bread."

James set the apple slices on the counter and dug out the few coins needed. "Thank you, Michael." He retrieved the slices and guided Lily back out the door. The fort was only a short distance from there, and wouldn't take long for them to reach it.

He pushed the sweet bread into his pocket and reached down to hold Lily's hand. There were only four slices of apple left now, so he passed them to her as they walked. She was still munching on the last one as he acknowledged the guards at the gate and hid his amusement at their curious expressions.

Upon reaching his office door, he set the fruit and bread on his desk. He caught a passing marine on kitchen duty and requested a pitcher of juice and two cups. It was then that he turned to his small guest and tried to think of something she could do to occupy herself while he finished up a few of the reports and dispatches.

To try and help himself think of something, he decided to cut up a few of the apples and peel and divide some of the bananas and oranges into halves and slices respectively. "Lily, what do you usually do to amuse yourself?" he asked after coming up blank.

"Whatever Papa told me to." He hoped that didn't mean housework. Not yet. To his mind, she seemed to still be just a bit too young for anything like that.

"What about when you were on the ship? What did you do then?"

"Mister Coger tried to teach me knots."

"What would you like to do while I finish these few things here?" he asked as he worked on peeling the first orange. He watched her creep closer to where he had set the fruit he had already cut, then sneak one of the banana halves away.

He smiled when she took her first bite, jolted a bit at what must have been an entirely new flavor for her, and ate the rest with much delight. She then snitched another, ignoring his question and moved tentatively to explore the room. "Go ahead and explore, Child. Just don't leave this room, all right?"

She nodded brightly and moved first toward his various sea charts. She peered—or tried to, rather—over the top of the small table then climbed up on a chair that sat nearby. He watched her, but made no move to stop her, curious as to what she would do. She made no attempt to touch anything, and satisfied that she wouldn't disturb anything drastically, finished the orange he was separating.

He was just getting ready to pull the bread from the sack and slice it when she returned to the desk, eyeing that very thing in curiosity. He grinned slightly and pulled it out to slice it. He gave her a little slice and delighted in her obvious enjoyment of it. "Take what you want, Lily. I can always purchase more." She was reaching for the first slice when a knock on the door startled her. She ran around his desk and hid behind it. "Enter," he called.

"Your juice, Sir." James glanced up to see the man set the tray down on a smaller table. He also noticed Lieutenants Gillette and Evans had followed the man in as well.

"Thank you, Miles."  He then smacked the backs of the officers' hands with the flat of his knife. "Take one crumb of that bread, Gentlemen, and you'll man the bilges on the next patrol."

"Well, isn't that just real nice of him," Gillette pouted, rubbing his hand.

"Well we should have known better than to try and take his sweet bread, Nathan. You know as well as I how selfish he can be when it comes to that. Hmm. Miss lunch again, did we?" Evans said.

James sighed and moved the fruit and bread slices to the other edge of his desk near his chair before leaning back on the desk. "Why is everyone asking me that?"

"Because every time you miss lunch, you go down to Parsons' Bake Shoppe and get half a loaf of sweet bread, though you must have been quite hungry this time to have gotten so much fruit," Evans answered.

"Hey, wait a minute! There were four slices of bread just a second ago, and now there are only three! And I know neither of you had a chance to take it," Gillette interrupted before James could respond.

"Nathan, you are imagining things," James said instead. "And yes, Thomas, I found myself to be quite hungry."

"I know what I saw, James. I am not imagining anything."

James crossed his arms. "Don't you two have work that needs done?"

"No. We are finished for the day. Unlike certain commodores who are not because they went traipsing through town to get sweet bread and fruit instead of keeping track of the time and walking down to the officers' dining room when lunch was served," Gillette answered.

James raised an eyebrow. "No, actually, you are not quite finished. I believe the Dauntless is due for a few minor maintenance repairs. I want you two to see to the inventory of what exactly needs done. Hop to it."

"James, surely you wouldn't be so cruel? It was just a little jest!"

"Nathan, I am not being cruel. I am never cruel. I simply see that you two need something constructive to do so that I can work on the outgoing dispatches in peace, and Thomas, I did not say you could use my cups to drink that juice. Go get your own," he said, then turned to grab a piece of bread and a couple orange slices.

It was that moment that Lily had chosen to grab another piece of bread and fruit. He lingered long enough for her to choose and gave her a slight wink before she gave him a slight smile and disappeared back behind the desk and he turned back to his friends.

"My, someone is in a bit of a snit, aren't they," Gillette commented to Evans, who looked at James intensely.

"Didn't you have an indentured servant arriving on Henderson's ship?"

"He was supposed to, yes, but he did not. He was not on the boat as he had said he would be."

"What will you do about it, then?" Thomas asked.

"There is nothing I can really do. Since he did not show up as part of our bargain, it is out of my hands. Nathan, what are you doing?"

"I know what I saw, James, and I intend to find out what happened to that other slice of bread."

"Don't tell me you are still eyeing that bread. Really, Nathan, you can be so childish at times."

"I'll have you know it's driving me quite mad," Gillette said defensively. "I don't think you quite understand."

James raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about him, James. You know we only need to focus his attention on something else and he'll stop obsessing."

"Yes, speaking of which, aren't the two of you supposed to be looking a certain ship over for things that need repaired or replaced?"

"Oh, but you were just joking!" Gillette said. "Weren't you?"

"Do I appear to be joking? Go on, now. Shoo!"

"Do you see that, Thomas? We're being shooed out! We never get shooed out! James doesn't shoo anyone! He's not that type of person!"

Behind James, Lily reached up over the edge of the desk and wrapped her hand around the last piece of sweet bread. Nathan and Thomas glanced at each other with nearly identical confused expressions. "Hello, what's this?" Nathan asked softly.

"That is precisely what I would like to know," Thomas answered.

"What are you two going on about now?" James asked.

"Oh, nothing, James. You're just imagining things." Gillette mocked teasingly.

James gave him a stern look, then glanced over his shoulder to see the last slice of bread was gone. He managed to contain his smirk and turned back to his friends. Thomas was giving him an odd, yet curious look and Nathan was stalking around his desk. He shot Evans an innocent look, though he was greatly amused, and twisted around slightly to watch Gillette's reactions.

When Nathan leaned down and peered under the desk, James heard a small squeak of a yelp and seconds later felt two small hands tug at his coat. He looked down and found an anxious Lily raise her arms toward him. He lifted her up and gave Gillette another stern look. "It really isn't very nice to frighten a small child, Nathan," he scolded.

"Where did she come from?" Nathan asked rather loudly.

Lily pressed closer to him with a nearly inaudible whimper. "Nathan, if you are going to insist on continuing to frighten her, you will be the officer of the watch tonight."

"Who is she, James?" Thomas asked softly.

"Her name is Lily Cooper. Her father was the one who was supposed to arrive with Captain Henderson today. Lily, these are Lieutenants Nathaniel Gillette and Thomas Evans."

Gillette took on a puzzled look. "If she's his daughter, then why is he not here as well?"

"We don't know." James twisted to grab one of the few remaining apple slices and offered it to her. She turned her face away, shaking her head before trying to burrow into his shoulder. Sadly, he placed it back on the desk and gave Gillette yet another pointed look. This time, the younger man appeared chastised. "All Henderson had been told was that she was expected here and that her passage would be paid on arrival. Apparently, I was the one expecting her, though I had no notice of it."

"What will you do with her, James?" Thomas asked. "You're hardly in a position to take her in, what with all your duties and schedules. She'll need several things, including a mother figure. Can you give her those things?"

"Actually, Thomas, I hadn't thought beyond tonight. I will simply wait and see, I suppose, and try and come up with a suitable arrangement tonight."

Thomas nodded. "Well, since Nathan, here, is scaring her as he is, we will get out of your hair and do as you asked us. Come along, Nathan. Let us leave the good commodore to his dispatches. No doubt Miss Cooper is in need of a full meal, and James needs to finish so she can have one."

James unconsciously tightened his grip around the small girl as he watched them pass through the door, then looked down at her. She looked up momentarily, tear tracks on her cheeks, enabling him to give her what he hoped was a reassuring smile before she snuggled back into his arms.

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Like it? Hate it? Let me know ;)

~Seaweed