Title: The Afterglow
Rating: This Chapter: PG-13 Overall NC-17
Pairing: Jack Sparrow / James Norrington, Jack Sparrow / Will Turner, side pairings (FPS)
Warnings: violence, character death
Summary: Let there be insane soap opera plot twists from hell. And buggery. Lots of it. This story resumes after the ending of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Disclaimer: At no point do I claim any form of ownership of any of the characters depicted in this piece. My representations of them are not necessarily indicative of the intentions of their original creators. The plot in which I place these characters holds no relationship to their original context. I make no profit from borrowed characters. Don't sue me.
Word Count: 1,237

V. A New Plan

A few mornings after the Commodore had brought home his prize, Elizabeth knocked at his front door and was admitted by a maid servant. They were used to Elizabeth's unannounced presence and did not bother to ask her to wait in the foyer. She greeted the servant cheerfully and lead herself down the hall. She was determined to win the Commodore's favor, no matter what it took – even forgiving him for running out on her. After all, she hadn't even given him time to cool off and return home to talk. She went to the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea from the ready pot. Tea and an apology would surely soften the Commodore's mood. She arrived quietly at the bedroom door and turned the knob gently.

Rising sleepy, sated and sore from the bed, Jack rubbed his eyes, trying not to wake the Commodore. If he were quick and silent, he could be gone before the man woke, but before Jack had time to finish his thoughts, the door swung open.

Elizabeth opened the door and paused rather dumbly. There, right in the Commodore's bedroom, stood Jack Sparrow, naked as the day he was born save a few rings and baubles. She held her breath. Jack turned from the window to reach for his clothes and saw her. For a few long moments, they stared at one another before the shock set in. Then, the cup in Elizabeth's hand slid from her grip and shattered on the floor. The noise shook everyone into action.

The Commodore woke with a start and turned about, blinking wildly with the effort of rising after the previous night's efforts. Jack stumbled and pulled his breeches up, grabbed the rest of his effects and fled, shoving Elizabeth cruelly from the doorway. A flood of curses fell from her lips and she recovered from Jack's shove to slap Norrington across the face. He watched her back as she stomped away and time seemed to slow down. He'd lost everything… How could he win her back? He sat with head in hands when he heard the cook shout that he'd caught a pirate.

With a bit of luck, the cook had intercepted Jack's panicked search for the back door and detained him, Jack's sword having been tangled up in his shirt, which he had been too hurried to put on. Elizabeth had fled for the front door and slipped out without notice. She ran toward home to settle herself. Her plans were foiled! If the Commodore wanted Sparrow, then she didn't pull enough weight to drag him away with her. It dawned on her that she could blackmail Norrington. She was a well-respected member of the community and Norrington's frequent absence from work had often raised suspicions since their affair began. To those who believed her faithful to Will (and to those too frightened to speak up about thinking otherwise), she would have no obvious motive to inform on the Commodore, other than truth. What better frame, then to tell the town that their beloved Commodore had been bedding the notorious captain? Elizabeth gathered her wits and turned round again, heading back for Norrington's home. She had a new plan.

When she got there, she silenced Norrington's excuses.

"Stop!" She demanded harshly, "I know what you've done and I don't care! I'd come to apologize, but now I've come with demands." She paused briefly, "if you come away with me, we can forget all of this repugnant ordeal. If you refuse me, I shall tell the whole town of your excursions and you'll be ruined."

Norrington stared at her, mouth slightly agape. "Ah… Very well," he replied before attempting to regain his composure. "I've detained Captain Sparrow and will be admitting him to the jail for the attempted burglary of my home. The cook has him bound to a chair in the kitchen. As soon as this business is done, I will begin to make preparations, but it must be done. Anything else will arouse suspicions too soon for us to escape without great difficulty."

Elizabeth nodded and the two shook hands on their agreement.

The pair went downstairs and Elizabeth apologized to the servants, saying she'd been so startled by Jack that she'd fled. The Commodore kissed her hand and went to tend to Jack. Elizabeth left, but was not yet through. She was furious with Norrington, as well as Jack, and needed to exact some revenge on them both, even if it was trivial and private. She turned down the road toward the smithy.

Will was bent in concentration, hard at work polishing a long and glistening sword. She admire the sight for a moment recalling the days when she would have more relished to stand and watch. Now was not the time for old flames. This was business. She coughed to announce her arrival.

"Oh, Elizabeth!" Will exclaimed. "It's so nice of you to visit. It's about time I had a break." He put down his work, but before he could embrace her, thinking perhaps things would look up after all, she began to speak.

"You'll never guess what's happened!" She began, but didn't give Will the time to guess, "Norrington's arrested Sparrow!"

"Bloody pirate," Will grumbled. "I should've known he's come back and get himself into trouble. How'd he get caught?"

"Well, you see, I went to Norrington's this morning to fetch a bangle I'd forgotten at the party and when I got there, I saw Jack. I was so frightened when he shoved me that I ran right out of the house!"

"Jack shoved you!" Will looked cross. "Jack was in the Commodore's house?"

"Wait, wait, there's more," Elizabeth cut his protests short. "I went back to see if everyone was alright and James said Jack had been caught by the cook and was arrested for trying to burglarize his house!"

"Preposterous. What would Jack want with anything of Norrington's?"

"Precisely!" Elizabeth's tone rose in excitement. "I don't think Jack stole anything at all… apart from the Commodore's dignity."

"You mean-"

"I think they're lovers. When I arrived the first time, Jack was standing utterly nude in the Commodore's chamber and the Commodore was sleeping in the bed! He's only arrested Jack because I walked in and discovered them!"

Elizabeth beamed triumphantly; Will had bought the story. Surely, this would ruin their friendship forever. She hated Sparrow, wanted to ruin him any way she could. Will sighed. The details of the story were fuzzy, but it wasn't too far fetched to believe. Jack was prone to stupid and outrageous stunts. Will thought he was done saving the pirate from himself, but he couldn't stand to see his friend hang for piracy when the real crime was being caught satisfying another lonely seaman. Will wasn't pleased by contemplating whatever it was that two men could do together, alone, but he hardly thought the privacy of any man's bedroom was the place for the nose of the law, especially when callously disguised for reputation's sake. This whole business certainly complicated his ideas about slipping away, leaving Elizabeth blissfully in Norrington's arms. But, perhaps, it was the perfect opportunity. He could spring Jack from jail and they'd make their break together. To Hell with whatever Elizabeth was doing in the Commodore's chambers in the early morning and to Hell with whatever the Commodore wanted from Jack.