A/N-- I'd like to add that I don't own Shakespeare, whom I quote in this chapter.

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Chapter Three
The HMS Deliverance
in which the course is plotted

They were woken early by Cora's knock at the door.

"We're going to the dock in five minutes."

Jack, in his normal sailor's way, was up immediately and didn't take long to dress. Stephen was a step or two behind him, his body never having conformed completely to nautical schedules.

They came out into the main room and found a loaf of bread on the table along with some sliced ham. Dominic was already feasting on his own loaf of bread. A miniature sea chest was beside him on the ground, and he was surveying its contents carefully to ensure that nothing had been forgotten.

"I wish Momma would let me bring my wolf," He sighed. "I have a wolf, you know. Uncle Matthew gave him to me when he was just a pup. My wolf Mercutio was the pup, not Uncle Matthew. Uncle Matthew is older than Momma. He got him from Normandy, where he used to live before his wife died. Momma says I can't bring him with me because he'll eat all the stores. Maybe Uncle Matthew gave him to me because he at all the stores on his ship and he didn't like him anymore. He did have a prodigious great belly when he came, just like you, Captain. I feed him every day. Would you like to go feed him with me?"

Stephen blinked at Dominic, attempted to decide whether or not it was entirely healthy to speak so fast at length, found it beyond his mental faculties, and said the one thing that came to mind: "Coffee?"

"I'm not allowed to drink coffee. But maybe Momma will let me take the helm today- I hope she will. She made a box for me so I can reach it. But Mr. Gibbs always says it takes a year off his life so maybe I ought not, he being so very old already."

"Mr. Turner, I meant to ask whether or not there was coffee for myself, not to prompt an entirely irrelevant dissertation on navigation and age."

Dominic took Stephen's glowering in stride, although Jack gave him a reproachful look, and slid off his chair towards the kitchen. He returned lugging a battered silver pot with a trail of steam and pungent smell. Sensing disaster after years of working amongst midshipmen, Jack managed to steal the pot from him.

"There's a good lad, run back and get cups for the doctor and I."

"Would you let me try the coffee, Captain?" He asked slyly when he returned and Jack was pouring his mug and Stephen's.

"I'm afraid I couldn't go over your mother's head like that." He smiled, settling down and beginning to collect food for himself.

"Who is going over my head?" asked a voice from behind them.

Stephen's belly was already warm with coffee, and turning to look her in the eye that warmth begin to squirm in a sensation that was neither pleasure nor pain but something uncomfortably in-between. He still wasn't used to the sight of her, no more than he was used to looking at Dominic and searching for some resemblance. Her dress was gone and she wore a brown coat with shining buttons very similar to the coat Jack wore, only plainer. Her customary breeches and boots were below the coat, and on her head was an archaic brown tricorne hat.

"Your son was trying to pull one over J. Aubrey, Miss Turner. He had wicked designs on this very coffee."

Cora sent her son a withering stare, which he cowered under until it lightened into a smile.

"Are you all packed, Dom? Finish your breakfast quickly, we must be off soon."

"Please God, no rushing about like today is Judgment Day. This isn't the Navy." Stephen groaned into his mug.

"Haste isn't peculiar to His Majesty's fleet, Doctor. It is the ocean herself who waits for no one." Cora replied. She'd scarcely finished speaking when Dominic leapt off his chair once more and went to her side, his fists buried in her coat.

"Momma, I must go feed Mercutio. Please let me go and say good-bye, I'll eat on the ship."

She hesitated for a moment, made the mistake of looking into his eyes, then sighed and gave in.

"Very well. That gives the doctor time to wake up in any case. They can't leave without us."

"I thought you said the ocean waited for no one." Stephen said mildly as Dominic went into the kitchen to search out his meat.

"No one but captains," He said as he rushed by with said food. "And my Momma is the captain of our ship."

Jack's eyes left his food for the first time to meet Cora's; of course it had been implied at dinner the night before- how else could she be making money off the ship her family had captured? But Stephen guessed that Jack had assumed someone else captained the Deliverance in her stead.

"You are the captain?" He asked in confirmation.

"Aye," She said. "I am the captain." The words didn't hold the joy they should've.

The two men finished eating (Cora said she'd already done so) and Dominic still hadn't returned. They followed his mother down the stairs and out the back door and saw him sitting on a barrel, and the head of an enormous black wolf in his lap. Its tail wagged idly as he stroked its head and spoke soft words of parting, but once the breeze shifted and it caught their sent its ears were at stiff attention. It eyed them then turned back to the sound of its owners voice. Dominic hefted the piece of meat in his hand then threw it away from him, leaving the wolf to chase it. The wolf ate in the dust as Dominic walked away.

"Good-bye, Mercutio." He whispered.

"Dom, go and make sure you have everything you want. Say good-bye to our house too."

The little boy left. The wolf raised its head at the sound of a door closing, its pale eyes gleaming in the predawn light, then went back to its food.

"He is much different than the she-wolf we saw in Spain, is he not, Stephen?" Jack remarked. "Is he of a different class? What is the word you use- a different species?"

"Yes, but he is never indigenous to these parts."

"The Wolfe clan brought them over from England years ago," Cora answered his unstated question. "His pack runs wild on the island of Normandy. We shall stop there before heading on to Alameade. Perhaps I can find a new pup for Dom then."

"And as for this one?" Stephen asked.

"Help me into some house, Benvolio
Or I shall faint. A plague a both your houses!
They have made worm's meat of me," Was her reply.

As Stephen found memories of Isla Cruces and waking to soft kisses and the words of Juliet rising in his mind, Cora unbuttoned her coat, drew her pistol, and fired a single shot into Mercutio's head.

"I couldn't have let him go free," She said when the smoke cleared and the body was still. "He would've started killing to stay alive. But God, I would've given a great deal to have avoided that. There has been a plague on both our houses for long enough in any case."

"Momma? What happened?"

Cora looked to Jack and he went back inside to calm the frightened voice. She turned to Stephen next.

"Help me move the body."

The wolf weighed more than they had expected and they were both grunting with effort by the time they got his body to the nearest pile of trash in the alleyway. Flies were already beginning to gather on the noble creature's face.

"A strange first pet for a child," Stephen remarked.

"He needed someone, anyone. It was hard in the early days. I didn't want to live on my grandparents' charity and I was barely at home. It was the last thing I wanted for him, but..."

"I could've supported you," He said quietly. "I'm not a man of little means."

"I know." She said, her eyes downcast.

They walked back to the house in a silence that was more or less comfortable, and met Jack and Dominic on the first floor. Matthew Turner stood near them.

"Did you think to sneak away without a proper good-bye, niece?" He gave her a tiny smile.

"Never in life, uncle," She smiled back, giving him a warm embrace. "Though I do hate good-byes. Alameade will always be open to you, remember that. You must come and visit whenever you're able, and bring those parents of yours with you. The house will be too quiet with just Dom and I there."

"You need more children to fill it up, I suppose," Matthew said. For the fleetest instant, his eyes went to Stephen. Then he released his niece and held her at arm's length. "Godspeed. Reach for that horizon."

"And you." Cora whispered. She stood back as Matthew bent to embrace Dominic.

"Uncle Matthew, watch Mercutio for me. You must feed him every morning." He said.

"I will do my best, although I don't know when I'll be home." Matthew's eyes went to Cora now, seeking confirmation. She gave him the tiniest of nods.

"Perhaps I should go give him some more food then, so he doesn't go hungry. He does love to eat." Dominic's brow creased in though.

"Wolves of his kind have remarkable constitutions, as I've read." Stephen said quickly. "Should you like to hear about them on our way to the harbor, Mr. Turner?"

"Very much so, if you'll tell me," Dominic's eyes brightened as he left his uncle to stand by the doctor. They walked out the door together, and Cora and Jack behind. Their things had been sent ahead of them, and there was no reason to look back at the dead house behind them, except perhaps to see the sadness of the man left alone within.

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A short walk later they were surrounded by the sights and smells of the sea. There were many ships in the harbor, and many more idling in the cove beyond, but it didn't take long for Jack and Stephen to catch sight of the one they were heading for in the longboat.

She was easily the largest ship there, with two gun-decks and a powerful, broad bow. Jack counted the gun ports quickly and realized that she was a 74- rather large, if she used to be a ship of the fleet. His heart burned for a moment, realizing how valuable she might've been during the war. There was no use now, with Napoleon's fleet broken at Trafalgar (at the price of Nelson's life, almost too high a cost for so sweet a victory) and no one else left to challenge them.

Her creamy new sails were already spread and she groaned at the burden of her anchor, yearning to be on her way. He could hear a woman's voice calling aboard her, and as Cora came over the side with Dominic close behind, Stephen ahead and himself last, he was met with the sound of men coming to attention. There were no bosun's pipes and no marines, but he had to distract himself from the urge to respond to the salute.

His heart burned once more when he saw the men on deck- how many of these faces had been held captive aboard the Surprise? They paid dearly to capture them, and the better part of them had escaped the gallows.

It may be that this was not the best of ideas, he thought. I've been aboard less than a minute and already I find myself in a trial. Where in God's name did you go, Tom?

"Captain, all hands are present and sober." The woman whose voice he'd heard said, standing stiffly before Cora. Her stance grew even stiffer when she noticed the two men behind Cora. "Captain Aubrey, I believe."

"You are correct." It took a moment, and then the memory slid into place; she was the woman who came aboard the Surprise when Cora was injured and surrendered the Lone Star Running to them in exchange for her safe conduct and Stephen's care.

Cora caught the glares between them and stood straighter, addressing the crew at large.

"Gentlemen, I met some old friends of mine in a bind yesterday when I was ashore, and I couldn't leave them in their present circumstances. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin will travel with us to Alameade to stay for two weeks, and then we will be retuning them to Port Royal. I expect you to treat them with more courtesy than you treat each other and even myself. Aye?"

"Aye." The cry was generally unanimous, and the silence that followed seemed to be waiting for orders. Jack looked to Cora, wondering why she didn't act, and saw a peculiar look of uncertainty on her face.

"Shall we cast off, captain?" The woman prompted.

"Aye. Raise anchor and set our courses. Send Gibbs to the helm to put us on course for Normandy. Anamaria, the deck is yours while I show our guests the ship." The words tumbled out and Cora's was blushing slightly by the end.

"You know them from before, Momma?" Dom asked in the hurricane of activity that followed.

"Now isn't the time, sweetheart. Go and get settled in." Once he was gone she turned to Jack. "I'm sure you don't really need to be shown around- make yourself at home, go wherever you please. The Deliverance should feel very much like home to you. Our crew has been trained along the lines of the Navy, with some of our own particulars added in. My mother believed we required your discipline to be your match. You may take the entire larboard mids berth for yourself, Captain Aubrey. I believe your things are already there?"

"Thank you kindly, Miss Turner. Captain Turner, I should say."

She smiled a little weakly. "It's never sounded right, to tell the truth."

"Shall I take the starboard berth, then?" Stephen asked as Jack moved off to explore.

"Actually, I took the liberty of having all your things sent to the sick-bay. I told you before that we've never had a surgeon aboard, and it would set me at ease if you could fill the post during our journey. You'd be paid, of course."

"Payment isn't necessary."

"Very well. Shall I show the orlop to you? I believe ours is somewhat more aft than most other ships."

Stephen assented and she led him down in relative silence. They stood together in the empty space, trying not to look to each other but compelled by the memories of the Surprise's orlop and Stephen's cabin that were thick in the air between them. Their eyes met for scarcely a moment before Cora murmured something about taking the air on deck and left. Stephen found the darkness of the hold suited the feeling gnawing at his gut more than the ocean air, and sat alone on his swinging cot without lighting a candle.

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The morning watch ended with Port Royal far astern and the captain of the Deliverance in her cabin, her head pillowed on her hand and charts before her. It was soothing to plot the course, not necessary- her first voyages were between Port Royal, Normandy and Alameade. As her compass traced the map, she was reassured by the sense that everything was on course, everything was right.

Dominic was on the floor behind her, his voice a pleasing layer to the symphony of noises a living, moving ship makes. He'd unpacked his favorite picture books and she'd given him an old chart of hers, and he was amusing himself by finding his favorite animals in the books and plotting an imaginary course to find them.

"Where are the Galapagos Isles, Momma?" He asked as her eyes were searching for Isla Cruces on her own map.

"Why don't you go and ask Captain Aubrey, Dominic? I hear he has traveled far." The voice was not his mother's, but Anamaria's. "He's taking the air on deck."

"Would he really help me with my chart?" He asked, gathering his map and his books unceremoniously in his arms. "I thought captains were always busy."

"Not when they're sailing freely on other people's ships." Young as he was, he didn't detect the faint acid in the dark woman's voice. "I'm sure he'd love to help."

Dominic was almost out the door when Cora finally turned to him.

"Dom, why don't you go and speak with Doctor Maturin first? Your books are quite old, and I'm sure he knows much more about where you can find your favorite animals than they do."

Dominic paused, deep in thought, then reached a conclusion.

"I shall see Doctor Maturin first, and then I'll go and see Captain Aubrey. Then I'll come back to you, Momma, so you can give the orders to set off on our new course."

Cora couldn't help but smile as he left, overshadowed by his treasures. Once the door to the great cabin closed she turned back to her charts, wishing Anamaria would leave with him. There was no room to ignore her, however; she damned James Norrington just once more in her head for making his cabin so small in order to perfect the Deliverance's slaughtering capabilities.

"Are you certain it was wise to bring them?" Her lieutenant asked.

"He has a right to know his son. Dominic has a right to know his father." She said without turning.

"Does Dominic know?"

"...no."

"Then how can he even begin to know him right?"
Her compass's sharp point dug into the chart, piercing it through into the wood beyond.

"He will know him. Soon."

"As soon as you know him again." Anamaria sighed; Cora could hear her come closer and still didn't turn. "Cora, I only saw the two of you when you began to fall apart. I don't know what it was like when you first fell in love-"

"He never said he loved me."

"Just because it wasn't said doesn't mean the two of you weren't in love."

"You just said you didn't know us when it was going well, if it ever did go well. How could you know?"

"I know because I see the way you look at that little boy sometimes when he isn't watching."

Cora sighed, a little in defeat.

"The truth is we barely knew each other. I don't even know the day he was born or if he has any siblings or who his favorite composer is. But I have thought of no one else in these seven years. Not once." She fell silent, feeling fear beating faster in her ribcage. "My God, Ana, I haven't made a mistake bringing him, have I? We could still be forced into- and it would be worse now. He could've stopped loving me, if he ever did. We won't even have what we could've had seven years ago- whatever it was. Have I-?"

"I can't answer that question for you. You need to sail your own ship now. That's the decision you made when your mother died. And I still don't believe the decision you said you made two days ago. Does this change anything?"

"This is my last voyage, Anamaria. I'm going to stay on Alameade and raise my son. I'll name you captain of this ship- God knows it's past time. Jack Sparrow never did give you your ship. And God knows it's past time for me to stop running about the ocean like I'm someone I'm not."

"Like you're your mother?" She asked softly.

Cora said nothing.

"Turning your back on the past doesn't make it go away."

It took Cora some time of searching her maps to find a suitable answer to what Anamaria had said, but by the time she turned to deliver it, she was already gone.

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Stephen sensed Cora's presence on deck long before Dominic left his side. He could hear the salutes, but he knew that was an external reason for his knowledge. His innate sense of where she was hadn't dulled.

Stephen looked met her eyes across the deck and felt the weight of seven years settle between them. It had been a long time since they were lovers. Cora had been young then, himself less so, but the fact remained that much had changed. Stephen didn't doubt his own feelings; he knew he still loved Coraline Jacqueline Turner the moment he saw her again in Port Royal. The feelings he doubted were hers.

It took Dominic a little longer to notice his mother's presence, but once he did he abandoned the books spread before him and Stephen's lecture on phasmids to run to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes and asked if they could sail for the Galapagos now. She just laughed and ran her fingers through his hair, and said 'someday.' He buried his face in her stomach and she held him there, heedless of the crew around her that looked to her as a captain and not a mother.

The image sent a bolt of heat straight to Stephen's loins and brought another, more visceral memory into his mind. It was just after he and Cora made love on Isla Cruces in a secluded pool. She'd stood up, a trickle of blood between her legs. He kissed her belly and asked for her forgiveness. She ran her fingers through his hair in just the same way, and told him not to be sorry. He wondered if that was the joining that Dominic took his life from, if that was why he shouldn't have been sorry for causing her pain. They would never know. But it had never quite struck him that Dominic was his, and that he desperately wanted Cora to be his again.

As if sensing his thoughts, Cora looked to him and smiled. But then she turned and walked away, taking their son with her.

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A/N-- Ahh, so much angst. They make me laugh. But then again, that could be my sugar high. Reviews, as always, merit M&M's and a double ration of grog! Many thanks to FuchsiaII, silverwolf of the night, and Oriana for their reviews.