I sat with Sparrow down in the helm, playing with my wedding ring on the table. Sparrow only watched me, wondering why I wasn't upstairs with my husband…doing married things women were supposed to do. But that was just it. I didn't want to be near him. I wanted to be as far as I could get from him without actually jumping over the side of the ship.

I reflected on the things which had corrupted my life. I reflected upon Lord Beckett and all he had tried to do to make me love him. A sudden feeling of guilt etched my face into sadness. I had denied the only man that loved me and could purely provide for me…but then again, somewhere in James's heart he loved me…even if I was just some ploy to make Miss. Swann look bad.

I then thought of the pirates that murdered my parents. There had to be some reason other than pure lust for blood to make them kill my parents. They were pirates with a mission, not just attacking anything they wanted. As I had looked at the man with wretched teeth, Captain Barbosa as I later found out had almost a horrified gleam in his eye, as if I would figure something out.

"You look like you could use some rum." A deep and husky voice intruded on my deepening thoughts.

"No, what I need is a way back in time." I mumbled, glaring at my ring.

Sparrow stood from his sitting position to wrap his fingers over the bars that held him in capture. "What is it that you want, Brennie?"

I snapped my head up to him, shaking my head in a dumbfounded behavior. My long tresses of hair spilled over my shoulders, falling upon the table and into my lap. My hair was getting to long for comfort now, but I knew James loved it long. At that moment I wanted to chop it all off and throw it in his face.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not really wanting to know.

He held out his compass to me then, ordering me to take it. I stood and closed the gap between us, grasping onto the black compass. "This thing doesn't work."

He laughed at me before answering my comment. "Open it and see for yourself."

I did as he suggested and opened it, watching the compass dial swirl around until it stopped to my right.

I glared at the red arrow which moved slightly as if following something. "What is it pointing to?"

Sparrow leaned in close to me, his eyes fixed on mine. "It points to the one thing you want most, love."

He turned his head suddenly, to my right and smiled.

I swiveled my head to look in his direction, only to be stunned at who was before us. My arrow had pointed right, and exactly to where it pointed stood James, his hands behind his back. I peeked at the compass once more and every time James made a sudden movement, it moved as well. I shut the lid with a snap and was about to hand the compass back to Sparrow when an idea struck me. I smiled at Sparrow before moving towards my stern looking husband. I placed the compass in his fingers, opened the lid and watched the arrow twirl. My heart swirled as it twirled to me, but then it swung to Sparrow, making my heart droop. The compass continued to move to his left, around to the south and kept going. It didn't stop…he didn't know what he wanted.

I yanked the compass from him and pushed it back into Sparrow's hands, a depressed feeling showing through my eyes. As I moved towards the table, James caught my left hand and pulled it into the light. There was no wedding ring on my finger. I had forgotten to put it back on. I felt for it in the pockets of my trousers, feeling it just beneath the cloth.

A sudden wave of anger rumbled into his features and without thinking, he tightened his grip on my wrist and hauled me towards the office.

"James, stop it! You're hurting me!" I yelped as we lunged up the steps.

He ignored me, dragging me off to the dimly lit office. For the first time in our marriage, he thrust me up against the wall and blocked me from moving, his left arm on the wall, his other resting on his hip.

"Alright…I get it. But are you so mad at me that you won't even wear our wedding ring…let alone touch you?" His whispered voice was like a giant explosion in my ears.

"Touch me? I-" I was about to deny his accusation when he touched me, making me flinch.

I didn't know why I did it, I just did. He nodded, bringing his right arm to touch my face, but I pushed his hand aside, feeling horrible for my behavior. But his touches and caresses didn't belong to me, they belonged to Miss. Swann.

He exploded suddenly as he grasped for my waist. "Don't ever deny me the joy of touching you again, Brenna. It's the only joy I have left in our crumbling marriage."

I gasped as he encircled my waist. "Don't touch me! Touch your precious Miss. Swann, not me! The only reason our marriage is crumbling is because of you!"

"I could have you hanged for this!" He yelled, crushing me into his chest, his heart beating just below my ear.

I gasped at his mention of hanging me. "You wouldn't dare think about it! Or better yet, you would! Just so you could marry your precious Elizabeth!"

His voice grew strained and his teeth clenched. "If I weren't a loving husband, I would sit you across my lap and beat you. But since, for the moment being, I'm not a respectable husband, I shall do just that."

"Are you daft?" I yelped as he lifted me over to a chair.

He thrust me over his lap. I could slightly feel his manhood beneath him, my breasts flattened upon his muscular legs. I could see his hand's shadow lifting up to strike down wards…and…nothing. He stopped in midair. I fell onto the floor but found my balance. Helplessly glaring into his eyes, I saw his face wrung with resentment for what he almost did. He leaned over, putting his face in his hands and sighed.

"Oh my darling…the things you make me do…" He said into his hands.

"Excuse me?" I said, moving away from him into a different chair.

He leaned back into his chair and painfully looked into my eyes. "You worried me so much that six bottles of rum couldn't calm my nerves."

I forced my smiled down my throat, remaining placid.

"Miss. Swann couldn't do that to me if she tried."

Liar.

The next moment he was at my side, grasping my small hand in his and pleading with me. First he wanted to beat me, now he wanted to plead to me.

"You don't know how much I've worried over you. I fear I might have died because of how much I worried. Every time I saw a ship I thought that you could be on it and I searched every room of those ships…just looking for you. Brenna, my love…my darling, please forgive me." His eyes remained sad as I contemplated my forgiveness.

I leaned in close to his face, searching for some evidence of sentient activity in his mind. "Do you love Miss. Swann?"

A harsh knock came to the door suddenly, our conversation dropped immediately. "Commodore! We need you, sir, for the questioning of Mr. Sparrow!"

James sighed and turned back to me, but I had already left the chair I was sitting in to go fall onto the cleanly made bed.

"I shall be back in a few moments." He said before closing the door.

But even before a few moments were up, I had fallen fast asleep…