A/N: Wow... almost 30 reviews! It's going to KILL me while I'm gone now. As you probably know from previous posts, I'm going to head down to Florida tomorrow to see Disney World and do other things as well. I plan on taking a laptop and paper notebook so I can write things down that come to me while I'm away. If I get a connection to the internet in my hotel room, I'll be able to update the story on my little vacation! I also am going to write a little bit of "James Norrington goes to Disney World", which I plan getting into this story. That is many chapters away, I know, but what I write down as inspiration from my trip will be saved for later on. I've actually been planning that for over a week, so I'm very excitied. This chapter brings back the dear sweet fuzzy Tikki! You guys have been the best with all the reviews and support!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or Commodore James Norrington. Maybe I can convince them to let me borrow him when I go to Disney World...

James Norrington: And just how do you plan on bringing me back to New York if such a thing succeeds?

Why carry on of course, my dear Commodore. Natania does belong to me, so she gets to fly coach.

Natania: Coach?? Why do I fly coach when you get to fly first class??

Because you are the character and I am the author. I outrank you.

To say Natania was a shy person was an overstatement. However, unlike most shy people instead of retreating into a personal shell, she seemed to push herself outwards. When you force yourself to be the quiet one in the crowd for so many years, you eventually realize how unhappy you are there by yourself. While others laugh and joke together, you search for that perfect moment to put yourself there. But you can't, or maybe just won't. Either you are too scared or you just can't find that moment. At some point, the misery becomes too much and you change. At least, this was how Natania was. She would pull on a mask of courage to finally allow herself to operate in a social manner. Maybe she even felt a little bit of true courage was her own. But with any mask, while a bit of yourself peeks out, layers of your true self are hidden and obscure.

So instead of being a blushing recluse, Natania grabbed the reins and did her own thing. At this moment she had convinced James to wash up and change his attire. Her first order of business was to get him ready for the world today. It was certain that the search for a way to get him back to the 17th century would lead them outside of her home, so the sooner he was prepared for 21st century America the better. James couldn't walk around in his normal navy outfit, so shopping for clothes was a necessity. Natania hoped that some of her father's clothes would fit.

Of course, as soon as the two began their ascent of the staircase, the only other living creature in the house made herself known. Tikki, the small co-dependant sun conure, begged and squeaked for attention from Natania's room. This was very typical behavior for her, as Tikki would sit for hours on end cuddling against the residents of the house quite contently. Waking up and ignoring the small parrot was difficult, and Tikki made certain of that. James almost slipped on one of the steps at the first volley of cries, and couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at the whistling and chittering that followed.

"Sorry… my pet bird Tikki can get a bit loud. She's a bit… needy." Natania encouraged him to continue following her up the stairs.

'Actually the two of them are a bit alike. They both rely on me right now, and they both are trapped in a ways. Better not take Tikki out around James… she doesn't like competition.' She giggled a bit at this thought.

The upstairs was basically one hallway with the bathroom at one end, and Natania's rooms at the other. The walls had photographs her father had taken some time ago, as well as an entire section of Natania's lifetime of artistic achievements ranging from still life to an abstract finger painting. Her mother didn't want to take any of them down, and she had gotten over the embarrassment weeks ago. The master bedroom (where her parents normally slept and was now devoid of use) and guest bedroom connected across from one another halfway down the hall. Natania opened the door to the master bedroom, James examining a shiny and bumpy framed mass with various Judaic symbols before she pulled him inside by the wrist.

"I- I do not think it is proper for a stranger to enter the bedroom of the masters of the house." he commented while adjusting his collar uncomfortably.

"They aren't here to complain. You're much taller than my dad, so I think sweatpants will have to do. The rest will definitely fit… my dad isn't a small man."

'Thank God for elastic. If it didn't exist we would be in a lot of trouble.' she thought to herself.

She dug through the drawers of a dresser on the far end of the room. Most of the room was taken up by a large bed, and had a few dressers in the room. One side was clearly feminine with many portraits, jewelry boxes, and feminine odds and ends. The other side, where Natania searched through various drawers, had a few framed portraits with a large pipe rack; various detailed scrimshaw pipes hung in wait of use. The strangest thing in the room was a black box with a black glass front, very similar to a strange object he noticed downstairs where he had awoken.

Natania had just set down a blue striped shirt on the bed as he went to examine it. He moved his fingers over the box, feeling the cold smoothness of the glass. "What strange wonder is this?"

"That's the TV… um… television. You watch things on it, sort of like a window."

"How does it… how does it work?" His hands now explored the sides, finding the casing made of a substance he never felt before. It was thin, hollow, yet hard.

"Well… a moving image is taken by a camera, and travels through cables into this box." She pointed to the black cable box. "That box is connected to the television which produces the moving images and sound. You can watch all sorts of programs; entertainment, news, even informational programs."

"You said… I was a fictional character in this world. I was in a…" James' eyebrows furrowed for a moment trying to recall the word she used. "…a moving picture called a movie."

Natania nodded.

"Am I on here… on the moving images you see here?" his finger softly tapped the glass.

She took a while longer to answer. He had to find out at some point. "Yes… sometimes the movie is shown. In this world, there is an actor who played you in the movie. He looks just like you, and he- being an actor- performs in other movies or television shows."

James stared at his reflection in the black glass, letting out a slow breath.

"Do you know his name?"

"Uh huh. It's Jack Davenport."

James noticed his eyes flare a little at the name Jack. So his counterpart in this world shared the same first name with that damnable pirate captain. It was probably a coincidence, but it slightly bothered him all the same.

"Am I happy here?" He looked solemnly up to Natania. "I mean… is he happy here?"

She sat down with one foot tucked under the opposite leg, the bed sagging a bit under the new weight. "I can't really say since I don't know him personally. As far as I can tell he is, he enjoys his work and gets employed often enough to keep himself busy. Most of his work is done over in England so I don't get to see it really. I know he's married." Natania almost clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she said far too late.

James wasn't looking at her, his gaze having lingered to the floor. So he was happier in this world, or the closest version of himself at the very least. He spoke up at last, a soft and nearly distant voice. "I'm glad. I'm glad he could do right in this world. Whatever he did right, whatever choices he made that were the right ones, I am glad he got his happiness."

Natania bit down hard on her tongue. Her brain was working overtime trying to figure out the right way to comfort him, the right thing to say. The last thing she needed to do was blurt out something without thinking. Finally she found the words.

"Things work out for everyone. Sometimes it takes longer, and places we never thought. We have to go through a long journey to find what is right for us. What he did right here, doesn't mean it is right for you."

She gathered the clothes in a neat pile and walked over to him. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. I have to introduce you to the shower before you can properly form a relationship."

He joined Natania in a faint smirk and followed her to the bathroom. It was small and had two sinks, two mirrors, a bathing tub and what looked like hundreds of bottles on shelves and the sink counters. She set the clothes down on the lid of the hamper and spread out a towel on the floor near the tub. She pushed back a thin stiff curtain that hung around the bathing tub before turning back to James.

"Okay, the clothes are pretty easy. After you wash and dry up, put this on." Her face turned beet red as she pulled up a pair of boxer shorts of her dad's. "It's… ah… underwear for this day and age. There are different kinds but uh…"

James also felt his face redden, turning away to escape the embarrassment. Unfortunately he looked towards the mirror and had to face his blushing reflection. He focused on his feet for a bit until the blood in his face lessened a little.

"Socks," she held up those now, "go on your feet obviously. I don't think you'll fit in my dad's shoes. These are pretty thin so they should fit with the shoes you have on now. We'll get new ones when we go shopping. I don't think anyone should notice with these on." She pointed to the sweatpants next; they were black and made of heavy cotton.

He held up his hand. "I think I can fathom the rest. What is this shower you keep talking about?"

"Ah…" Natania put down the socks and turned to the bathing tub. "Okay, since we have indoor plumbing fresh water always gets pumped into the house and the waste is always carried away down the drains. When you turn on the shower water shoots out of here."

She pointed to the round showerhead that was set firmly high up on the wall over the tub. "It sprays water all over, and you wash normally with soap. This way the soap gets washed off fast and the dirt goes down the drain. To get hot and cold water you turn these nozzles. The faucet here will release water, and to get the shower to start you have to lift this part up while water is running."

Sitting down at the edge of the tub, she turned on the water and checked the temperature. Natania found hot showers preferable, but warm was a more appropriate temperature right now. "When you go in, close the curtain so you don't get the whole place wet." She stood and smiled to him. "Soap is in there, shampoo for your hair in the blue bottle. When you are done just turn the nozzles all the way to the right. It should shut it all off."

James wasn't sure what shampoo was but he nodded politely. It was all rather confusing, and he still felt a little empty after hearing of his doppelganger. Natania brushed past him towards the door.

"Oh yeah, if you ever need to… um… use the facilities you can use this." She pointed to the toilet in the corner by the door. "When you finish using it you press down on the handle and it will um... take care of the rest. Just remember to lift the lid."

She turned bright red at what she said. 'Aww shit I have to get out of here! I'm going to pop a blood vessel in my face!!!' That was all she could think as she slammed the door shut. "If you need anything just call!" Natania yelled while retreating to her room. "I- I-… I'll be in the room at the other end of the hall."

James felt they had both reached a new level of embarrassment right now. While they had spent these first few hours in getting to know one another and just plainly talking he had already lost the count of how many times they either became flushed or embarrassed. This was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable he had ever been in his life, and he hoped this shower would help release some of the tension. He started to undress and neatly fold his clothes, praying silently that things would become simpler.

Natania didn't handle her embarrassment well either. She dashed down the short hallway, into her room, into the second room of hers, past her squeaking parrot that begged for attention, leapt onto her bed and covered her face with a pillow. A few muffled screams later, she pulled the pillow off her face. She didn't particularly like acting this way. She was 21, not some giggling teeny bopper for crying out loud! Pushing up her glasses, her hands covered her face while she continued to groan to herself.

"I am such an idiot. He probably thinks I'm some horn-dog pervert by now. Why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut around attractive men?? I can't act this way, it's the last thing he needs right now." She rolled over on her stomach, propped herself up on her elbow and assaulted her pillow with a balled up fist. "Stop… acting… like… a… teenager!"

Natania collapsed completely on the bed now, face pressed into the pillow once more. "Agghhhhh… okay. That's better now."

Taking a long peek down the hall through two open doors, she eyed the bathroom door for a minute before sitting back up. With great dignity she adjusted her glasses back to their proper resting place and stood up. Tikki tiled her head at Natania with great interest.

"Don't you say anything" she threatened the little fuzzy animal. Tikki just puffed up in response and pushed her tummy against the cage, a quiet request for a belly rub.

After dumping the left over food and replacing it with fresh seeds (the water would have to wait since the bathroom was occupied), Natania settled down on her bed again. Her eyes scanned the small room briefly, searching for a way to occupy her time while James was… busy. Grabbing her iPod, she pulled on her headphones and stretched out on the bed. Most of the songs weren't going to help her situation, it some way had to deal with love or in some subtle way made her think of James or what was happening. Somehow even Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles as soon as the line about "all the lonely people" popped up and managed to seem inappropriate for Natania. She gritted her teeth and switched the Spiderman 2 soundtrack.

'Oh well. Not everything always works out perfectly, I guess.' She shrugged and closed her eyes, but not before making sure the music wasn't too loud incase James needed something. 'Things are just going to get more interesting.'

A/N: oooOOOoo... shower scene! Well not really. This is going to make things interesting... however, I'm not going let Natania's morals degrade so quickly! I think tension can be thrilling. It's like a horror movie, supsense makes it scarier then just gore (gore just makes you feel queasy, not true fear). Tikki is from chapter one, in case you forgot. Yes, I have a bird named Tikki. She really is very silly, and is that co-dependant. Tikki also loves reviews! She finds them most informative, inspiring, and fun to chew. Yes, Tikki... has a chewing compulsion. She's getting therapy for it.