Part Three

Sailing Home

Theo expected for the town centre of Port Royal to be entirely unchanged - to be spooked by just how unchanged it was, given all that had transpired since she was last here. And, to be fair, a lot of the bones were the same. The tailor was still across the way from the apothecary, the smell of the blacksmith's shop still permeated through the entire street on which it was located…although Will would not be found there anymore. It wasn't like how it was back home - you leave to spend a year wandering and return to find several places torn down with something completely new built in its stead. But something was different. There were more soldiers milling around, she noticed that right away - easily double the amount that she was used to, and she knew it wasn't just her time as a pirate-slash-witch making her paranoid about the presence of them. Not all of them were on high alert, plenty of them were milling about and chatting rather than patrolling or actually on duty, but there were more. Anywhere she turned, there was a man dressed in startlingly starched colours of the British flag, standing out in stark contrast to the grey gloom of the day.

Beckett was indeed preparing for something, it seemed. That, or he was taking small man syndrome to startling new heights. But while discomfort wasn't clouding what she really could see before her very own eyes, that didn't mean it wasn't there at all. Every time she brushed past man garbed in an officer's uniform, she half expected him to seize her by the arm and announce that he was taking her to the prison. Hopefully that knee-jerk reaction would wear off quickly, or else sharing a house with James would be very awkward once he had his uniform sorted out. Neither of them were really into some sort of weird 'proper English soldier versus the evil seductive Irish witch' roleplay scenario. Or at least she wasn't - and he didn't seem the sort. They hadn't discussed it.

The blacksmith was her first port of call - so much so that she was there for them opening, accosting the poor apprentice the moment he arrived and hearing no argument from him at all until he agreed to have her commission done and dusted by that very same evening. That did, somewhat unfortunately, give her almost twelve hours to kill in the town centre, but she tried to take that in her stride. Using James' newfound earnings to see to building their new life together didn't sit well with her - even though it was entirely expected, even though it would've made him unhappy had she refused, and even though she knew herself that she didn't grudge whatever she had to give him in Tortuga. Relationships weren't about tit for tat, neither of them were keeping a mental ledger to make sure everything was one hundred percent equal, and he'd even made it clear when she griped about it that he took it as a mark of pride to be able to provide for her…spending another's coin just didn't come naturally to her.

But she ordered enough food to last them for the next week - even making sure that it was all stuff she could prepare herself if they failed to find a cook anytime soon. Then she sat through a fitting at the tailor, because apparently being the wife of an admiral meant she now had to dress the part…and she could no longer rely on Elizabeth to send her dresses for any and every event. By the time she was done, she wanted nothing more than to go to the local tavern for a stiff drink, but that would only spur on the rumours. And there were rumours. Or at least, there were if the looks she was garnering were anything to go by.

Okay, given all of the shenanigans that she'd been involved in, she'd more or less expected to be about as welcome back in Port Royal as Maleficent was at Princess Aurora's christening. The fact was, though, that given all of the looks she was drawing in from those around her, it was as though she really had appeared in the middle of the town square cloaked in bright green flames and doing her best evil supervillain laugh.

With hours left to go and not a whole lot to actually do, she'd finished her third lap around the town and was contemplating whether it would be worth just going home and returning at the end of the day when a voice she hadn't heard in a long time sounded behind her.

"Theodora Byrne."

Twirling, it took her a few wide-eyed blinks to really comprehend who she was looking at, and then she grinned widely.

"Theodore Groves! There's hope for our double-act after all!" She greeted, resisting the urge to pull him into a hug - because propriety - and instead settled for shaking the hand he offered "And it's Norrington now. Theodora Norrington, not Norrington Byrne, that would just be weird."

He smiled, shaking his head "You haven't changed."

Neither had he. He looked well as ever, standing with the impeccable posture of a soldier in his full uniform. There were, however, tired lines at corners of his eyes, only emphasised by the cautious gazes he kept casting about their surroundings. Looking for potential eavesdroppers, perhaps?

"Thank you. Or how dare you, maybe."

"I shall resist the urge to say I told you so, and simply congratulate you instead."

"I…appreciate the self restraint," she snorted, shaking her head.

It somehow felt like lifetimes ago and also only yesterday at the same time when she'd been stuck aboard the Dauntless with everybody being so sure of her and James' feelings for one another bar, well, her and James themselves. Mostly, she remembered the hopeless feeling of the whole sorry affair. Not once back then did she ever imagine she'd find herself here - wandering around Port Royal as his wife. She probably wasn't making the best impression as such, really. He'd been able to help her into her fairly plain green dress, but her hair had been her own issue to deal with and the plain old bun she'd finally settled on was nothing compared to the proper fashions the ladies of the town were decked out in. It was okay - it made their resentment even funnier, knowing they hated that she'd made such a 'fine match' while looking like a scullery maid in the interim during which she had to sort out their wardrobes.

"I wager you've a story or two to tell regarding your time away," he said.

"One or two. Now isn't the time, though. Or the place, really."

"Things are certainly…changing around here," Groves nodded, he seemed to share her unease as he cast a glance about the town square "But I welcome your return - not only yours, but Admiral Norrington's. His is the sort of influence we need around here to see us through this tumultuous time. Somebody who knows Port Royal - understands it. Values it."

Rather than seeing it as a stepping stone to power, as Beckett did.

"It definitely doesn't feel like the place I left," she said carefully.

"Perhaps this is what is needed to see out the pirate threat once and for all," he didn't sound too convinced "You were out there in the lair of the enemy. You know what we face."

"I know what you face," she echoed - but left out the fact that the likes of Jack and Barbossa weren't the troubling part of it.

"I wasn't sure whether to believe it when I heard the rumours that you and Admiral Norrington were not only returned but married, too," he admitted.

"It's not often the rumours here have any truth to them."

"It's with that in mind that I must warn you as to the other rumours," he said grimly "With Miss Swann otherwise engaged and you elsewhere, plenty of the women here had rather hoped that it left an opening for them."

"I'm sure they did."

"And now that he is returned and more eligible than ever, they haven't taken your happy news…well, happily."

"I'm sure they haven't."

"Thus the insistence that you bewitched him in Tortuga arose. Well, not necessarily in Tortuga - there is some speculation as to the timing. Some believe only witchcraft could have enticed him to sail into that hurricane after you as he ordered."

His gaze was concerned when he finally dragged it back to her when he was done speaking. Theo snorted, and then she started all out laughing.

"Wow. That's impressive. Not least because there's not a person breathing who could ever bewitch James Norrington into doing something he did not absolutely want to do. Have they even met him?"

"I didn't say the rumours were founded in logic."

"He would've sailed into that hurricane whether I was on the Pearl or not," she grumbled.

"Perhaps," Groves allowed "Albeit likely not quite so determinedly."

Theo grimaced, her arms wrapping around herself. She still felt guilty about that bloody shoulder of his.

"How was your day?"

"I'm a witch, apparently."

James sat across the dinner table from her, clean shaven and in clothes that didn't bear months of wear and tear on them. Thankfully, the wig had yet to make a reappearance. Theo wondered if her biggest change to history couldn't be the petition to do away with the bloody things once and for all…it seemed rather a noble cause, in her mind at least. Still, despite their teasing about how she might bemoan the loss of his beard, the man was too bloody handsome for his own good. Or maybe for her good. Theo kept finding herself looking at him and blushing, delighting in the fact that she seemed to be prompting much of the same reaction from him, too - Ada's old insistence of this sort of thing vanishing the moment sex happened proving hopelessly false. Then again, she doubted Ada had ever known many men like James. There weren't many men like James.

It had to be said, though, that maybe a great deal of the blushing was thanks to their memories of the previous night, and the fact that - judging by the thick electric atmosphere that blanketed them whenever they were now alone in a room together - there would soon be a repeat. Or more. One of her great discoveries the previous night was that allusions to soldier's stamina in oldschool bodice rippers (that she absolutely most certainly had never wasted time reading - definitely not) back home weren't entirely unfounded.

"My, you have been busy. When did this new career path make itself known to you?"

"I think it's the sort of thing you're born into, but I'm not sure."

"You're not sure? You can't be a very good one, then."

"I wouldn't say that. Word is I bewitched you."

"Might you inform me of when? Just for curiosity's sake?"

Theo smirked, continuing to pick at her dinner "Last night, if memory serves."

He almost choked on his wine, and her smirk morphed into a smile, which ruined the very innocent look she tried to keep on her face as her eyes remained fixed on her food…despite how very aware she was of his eyes burning into her.

"How was your day?" She asked lightly.

"Governor Swann is in fine spirits - especially now that he knows his daughter is alive and well," he sighed "Beckett has a close eye on him. Guards. For his own safety, you understand."

"Kind of him."

"Indeed. He asked me to pass on his well wishes regarding our marriage."

"Did he?" She did look at him now, blinking in surprise.

"Does that surprise you?"

"It…wasn't me he wanted you to marry," she said diplomatically.

"Yet he sees that I am happy, and so is happy for us both all the same," he said and then hesitated "I know you do not like him, Theodora. But he is a dear friend to me - I would even go so far as to say the only family I have living now."

"I don't dislike him" she said - and spoke honestly, too "He's a decent man. We're just…very different people. But I don't dislike him, James."

"Good," he nodded "I'll tell him of your woes here, of the scorn you face from jealous women thanks to your swift rise in station this last year. No doubt he'll offer to throw some sort of celebration - of my promotion, of our marriage, of our return. It matters not."

Theo made a face.

"A grand display of friendship," he pushed on "To smooth your path. No doubt Beckett will be invited."

Theo made a disgusted noise to match the face.

"And if Beckett thinks we're too preoccupied with battling in a war concerning your social standing to be involved in other schemes, he'll pay less attention to our business," he pointed out "Although I happily admit I like it no more than you do."

"Some honeymoon, eh?"

"What is a honey-moon? Some sort of lunar phase? Are you trying to sound like a witch now?"

"Hilarious. I didn't realise they weren't a thing here. Back home, after a couple gets married they go off travelling alone together for a few weeks to, erm, have some privacy."

He mulled the matter over for a moment, a frown furrowing his brow "A strange custom. I shouldn't think the trials of travelling conducive to…marital bliss."

Theo snickered, she couldn't help it with how he threw her own phrasing back at her.

"It's much easier back there. You can be on the other side of the world in barely a day. Tedious, yeah, but not half as gruelling as it is now. It's an escape."

"An escape would be nice," he said quietly "Perhaps when this is all over, we'll observe your strange tradition, then."

"I'll hold you to that," she smiled softly.

"You should know by now that I don't give my word lightly," he returned "Was your business in town successful?"

"The food is in the kitchen, there's an advertisement up seeking a maid and a cook - although whether we'll get somebody not under Beckett's control who wants to work for the Wicked Witch of the West is questionable. And we'll have to wait 'til the end of the week for the clothes. Although it might be different in your case, given the uniforms and such."

"The frock coats and all of the accoutrements will take time, but not much. The rest, I'm afraid, lies in the hands of the tailor…which is rather a shame, for these are my last pair of clean breeches."

Now it was Theo's turn to choke - while her cheeks blazed. Damn him. Biting her lip, she toyed with a few responses. None of them were particularly clever, but they did afford her the chance to prod at him in return. To show that if he wanted to render her speechless, he'd need to try harder. A light 'remind me, what happened to the other pair?' or something like that. But judging by how his eyes burned brightly as they remained fixed on her own even as he ate, she had the feeling it was a game she wouldn't win…and she wasn't sure she'd be able to say it without stuttering. He'd said he liked to make her blush, so she'd let this be her own little wedding gift to him. Or that was what she told herself to remain gracious in defeat, at least.

"I…there is something I must tell you," he sighed "I was hoping that I was wrong, but I turned the house upside down while you were gone and it appears I am not."

"What's happened?"

Frowning guiltily, his gaze flickered down to the table and then he forced them back up to her immediately after.

"I cannot find the necklace. The one you gave me," he watched her for some trace of a reaction and when none came he continued on quickly "I had it in the dinghy, and then afterwards in the brig. I know that for a fact - so whether Mercer took it, or the maid, or…I don't know. I am so sorry-"

"No," she said quickly "I'm sorry. You didn't lose it, I - I didn't think you'd notice so quickly."

So much for the surprise. Reaching into her sleeve, she used two fingers to pry out the small cloth pouch she'd stashed up there. She'd been waiting for the right time to unveil this little surprise - planning to do so after dinner - but she couldn't exactly sit by while he apologised for something he hadn't done. Opening the pouch, she took up the necklace by the now much shorter chain and handed it to him across the table.

"I went to the blacksmith this morning because I had an idea - I didn't know if it would work, and I'm certain the lad there hates me now because I insisted it had to be done that same day which is why I was out so late. Spent some of the coin I had left from Tortuga bribing him to get it done because it didn't feel like much of a surprise if I opened a tab in your name to make it happen," she made a face, fiddling with the drawstrings of the pouch "And I don't know if you'll like it and if you don't that's fine, I don't know how time-appropriate it is, I just thought it'd be a nice gesture, but if you don't want to…"

Trailing off, she chanced a glance at him to find him leaning back in his chair, watching her with the slightest hints of an amused smile on his face.

"You could've stopped me about fifty disclaimers ago, you know," she huffed.

"I'm marvelling at the fact that I'm one of the few things on this earth that makes you nervous," he teased "Now what are you building up to?"

Fixing him with a rueful look, she replied "Hold out your hand."

He did so, leaning forward and holding a palm out. Theo emptied the contents of the pouch onto it - two rings, gleaming a very pale yellow sort of gold in the candlelight.

"I had him take some of the chain and melt it down…I asked him to combine it with a bit of gold to make the rings, or else he'd have had to use most of the chain - if not all of it - and I didn't want that. So they're electrum, technically, not gold or silver. But with this way, I just thought…oh, I don't know. You might never get to see my home, and you might never get to meet my family, but it's something. And I know it's a bit sentimental, and do men even wear wedding rings now?"

"I…no," he admitted "But-"

"Well then, see? I should've asked. You don't have to, maybe just have it as a keepsake or put it around the chain with the pendant or-"

"If you'd allow me to finish," he took her hand "I was going to say that I do not care whether others here do it or not. I love it. Thank you. I'll wear it with pride."

Theo stopped, and then she smiled in relief - prompting him to continue.

"I never thought I made you that nervous."

"It's not you," she snorted "I'm not good at the whole - the whole grand gesture thing, you know? I'm more of a pat on the back and an affectionate insult kind of girl."

"This is hardly my area of expertise, either," he pointed out.

"You wouldn't know it."

"I might return the compliment."

Theo watched quietly as he smoothed his thumb over the bigger, thicker of the two wedding bands. They were both fairly plain - no jewels, no engravings, no embellishments. Theo liked them all the same, though. They suited who they were as a couple, really. Well…as much as any ring could.

'If it doesn't fit, the lad can adjust the size up or down a bit. Would've measured your hand while you slept, but you're much more of a light sleeper than I am. Hopefully it's fine, though."

"There's only one way to find out."

But then, once he was done considering the bands, he reached out to her left one across the table "Ladies first, I think."

Smiling in a bashful way that felt absolutely ridiculous, she held her hand out towards him with her fingers splayed, and he slid it neatly onto her finger. Hers fit perfectly, but then again she'd been able to have her own sized properly. Accepting the bigger band from him, she took his left hand and began to slide the ring onto - all the while feeling completely absurd for how flustered she felt by this whole thing, considering they'd already been married. Then again, they'd gone through their little ceremony with Jack as an audience member - in this, at least, they were totally alone. Still, her bashful hint of a smile turned into a triumphant grin when it fit perfectly.

"How's that for a sign, then?" She squeezed his hand, and then laughed when he lifted hers in turn and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

"A sign indeed," he agreed "All will be well. Do make an effort to keep that in mind when we're next trapped in a room with the high society of Port Royal."

A/N: Working title for this chapter…and this story - absolute dorks in love. And Groves is back! The Return of the King!

Wedding rings on women can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, but men didn't start wearing them until around the 20th century - it became popular mainly around the time of World Wars, with men wearing them as a way of remembering their loved ones back home, but they didn't properly take on the full sentimental value that they have today until the Korean War. Or so Google tells me, anyway! I'm at the mercy of the search results as far as historical details here go.

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