'Jack!' A joyful feminine voice greeted him as he stepped onto the stones of the dock. It was a nice change from being slapped or clapped in irons and Captain Jack Sparrow turned to see who it was.

'Hello luv, you're a sight for sore eyes all respectable an' that!'

'Miss Swann is the reason I am not clapping you in irons at this juncture, so keep a civil tongue in your head, Sparrow!' The young lady's tall escort chided him.

'Oh James, it's Jack. I'm used to his ways by now. Even Will doesn't defend my honour that zealously.' Elizabeth gently rebuked her companion, who merely frowned at her. 'Anyway Jack, you're due to stay with myself and my father at his official residence.'

Jack caught the Commodore's expression and obediently fell in beside the two. The man still blatantly held a torch for Lizzy, that much was clear and his views on pirates didn't seem to have changed much either. Jack decided the man needed some male company to ease his mind (and possibly a whore, but he wasn't sure he could be that persuasive and he didn't fancy getting belted by the bigger fellow).

Commodore Norrington leaned back in his chair, tipping his head backwards to rest on the top edge of the chair back. But for a brief break to escort Sparrow Governor Swann's residence he hadn't had any leisure since he'd left his house that morning. Experimentally he tilted his head back downwards and cracked an eye open. There was still a large pile of paperwork sitting on his desk.

The smell of cooking drifting in through his open window reminded James that he hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning. He didn't feel hungry, but his appetite had dropped off dramatically even from the lukewarm hungers he'd had in previous months. If Mrs Dower had to alter his dress uniform again before the wedding to accommodate his further loss of physical condition then she was entirely capable of making his home life unpleasant. He would have to come back after dinner to carry on with the work.

Once home the wig was plonked on its stand for his manservant Thomason to powder and groom. The powder made James sneeze, but he was proud that he'd made something of himself and the wig was a symbol of that. His jacket came off as well and he washed his face and hands before heading into the dining room, where he stopped dead in the doorway. 'Sparrow!'

'That's Captain Sparrow to you, oh esteemed Commodore!' He corrected the naval officer (who looked rather angry for some reason) with an expansive gesture.

'What is it that you want, Sparrow? The Governor's dining room is far grander than mine and I daresay you're more welcome there than here. I suggest you use it.' The man's voice was tight with anger and cracked painfully on the last word.

Jack grinned. 'An' miss the pleasure of yer scintillatin' conversation, Commodore?' He paused and shook his head pityingly, sending a grin at the man. 'You've not even threatened ter clap me in irons, are you sickening for something?'

'Only for you to trouble someone else.' Norrington lied, stepping over to the sideboard to pour himself a measure of brandy, sipping at it before he turned around to get the first painful sip over with before the alcohol numbed his painful throat.

'If I were to heed yer most esteemed advice an' tootle off back to Weatherby's house?' He didn't give his unwilling host time to answer. 'You'd just eat up an' go trotting straight back to yer papers wouldn't you? Y'see women are fey folk an' they're not enamoured when they meet a fellah who seems to like paperwork more'n he likes them.'

'It is fortunate then that I am not engaged in an affair.' Norrington's tone became heavily repressive at that.

Their useless argument was interrupted by the door opening. 'Evenin' Sir. It's yer favourite tonight so get started on this beef broth and I'll make ready yer roast.' The plump, middle-aged housekeeper nearly dropped the soup tureen in shock. 'I didn't know you had a gust, sir! I'll ready a second table setting for you sir.' she dipped her head at Jack, who grinned back like the cat that had got the cream.

'Ta love!'

Norrington wanted to bury his face in his hands at the turn his previously mundane evening had taken. Now Mrs Dower had unwittingly forced the issue he would have to play the host as graciously as he could.

Jack watched the other man's stiff movements as he poured Jack a drink and refilled his own glass. Norrington hadn't been any fun thus far, although he did appreciate the fact that he was still breathing and not in gaol. It had been a gamble as to whether the unpredictable naval officer would be able to contain himself.

The man was sprawled in the chair at the other end of his short dining-table. Swilling fairly good brandy and slouching there as if he belonged there, it made James' blood boil, inasmuch as he had the energy for high emotion left. As it was he managed a wave of vague irritation at the man's impudence. He decided to try some polite conversation. 'So, how are you finding the Governor's hospitality, Sparrow?'

Once the food had been served and the Commodore had gotten a few brandies inside him the evening turned out almost pleasant. They'd talked about safe topics like currents and storms, each pleasantly surprised by the other's knowledge. Jack had always taken Norrington as one of them decorative bridge officers who'd been lucky with his crews and Norrington had never seen much beyond the loquacious drunken popinjay façade Jack perpetrated.

Pleasantly surprised by the quietly enjoyable evening and Mrs Dower's excellent cooking (Norrington clearly didn't appreciate her cooking from the way he'd picked at his meal), Jack decided to invite himself back.

Norrington paused in his dining-room door, once again minus his jacket and wig, then headed over to the sideboard as his slightly hoarse voice took on a conversational note. 'This is reminiscent of the time in my childhood when I snuck some scraps of meat from my luncheon out to a feral little scrap of a kitten that lurked about the front of my father's front door.'

Jack accepted a top-up of his brandy, despite having already helped himself. 'What happened? Everyone knows ships' cats're lucky. Sounds like you were honoured there, mate.'

Norrington frowned slightly in distaste at being called Sparrow's 'mate' but sighed and answered anyway. 'My father noticed me wasting perfectly good food on something he deemed a verminous beast, he was especially cross when he saw me playing with the half-grown shabby little thing. He made me drown it and watched to ensure I obeyed his order.'

Jack flinched slightly at his companion's blunt re-telling of the story, even if the ending wasn't a shock the man's matter-of-fact rendition made it seem harsher. 'I hope yer not retellin' this story to me in the manner of an Aesopian fable, Commodore!'

A grim smile twitched at Norrington's mouth. His expression had nothing to do with humour in it. 'You are hardly a defenceless infant creature, Sparrow. I would have been content to draw the parallel betwixt you and the scruffy stray.'

Jack was thrown off-balance by that, not entirely sure as to whether or not the man was making sly insinuating mockery of him. Fortunately Mrs Dower bustling in saved him from having to make reply.

'Oh you've a guest again sir! Pleasure to have you back, sir. I'll be back shortly with another plate.' The woman's normal cockney accent lessened slightly into her cultivated 'talking to guests' voice.

Anyone who could suddenly throw Jack off-balance as suddenly as that was interesting and suddenly Jack had to reconsider much of their previous discussion, looking for more hidden depths. A few ambiguous statements and Jack was hooked. The insatiably curious pirate was delighted, perhaps this wouldn't be as dull as he'd feared!

Sparrow could actually be quite witty when he wanted to be, James was rapidly coming to realise. Was he so starved for the company of one he might deem a peer that he would even stoop to consorting with a pirate? Criminal though the caddish fellow was he was also quite the engaging conversationalist.

'This is quite a nice Cabernet you've matched to the beef here.' Sparrow commented idly, even waiting to swallow his mouthful before speaking out of deference to the man's tiresome manners.

'Rank does have its privileges after all, even if I am not terribly interested in faffing about coordinating dishes and wines like that. Fortunately Mrs Dower is fairly good at it.'

Both were surprised by the other's displays of knowledge and preference. The cultured pirate was starting to suspect that the Commodore wasn't quite as posh as his accent, he'd have teased the man about it, especially since that sort of nonsense was his main objection to the law-abiding naval life. Then again, a man did what he had to survive, Jack'd done plenty to survive he wouldn't like to talk about. He almost regretted that they'd been placed on opposite sides of fate's board.

At last Jack swaggered to his feet even more unsteadily than was his norm. 'It's been a pleasure, Jamie. I offer me sincerest condolences fer tomorrow an' I 'ope fer your sake as well as theirs that Lizzie an' Will are happy together.'

After Jack left James sat still for a very long time staring at the empty seat opposite.