A/N- Wow it has been forever since I last updated! Apologies to those of you reading this for the long wait. Alright so this chapter has a bit of fluff so be warned! I am hoping that I have finally set this up enough to start going somewhere with this!

Chapter 7

It had been several weeks since Elizabeth had last seen James Norrington. She had not heard from him at all and worried about his safety frequently. On the other hand her relationship with Lord Beckett was growing, especially with James' absence. She truly was becoming quite fond of him and was always thinking about him. He really was a very charming man, he made it quite difficult for her not to like him. To this day Elizabeth did not understand why James disliked him so much. She never once observed a bad trait in him. He treated her like a princess and she loved every moment of it.

Today Elizabeth was walking through town, slowly making her way to the beach. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and she had just been released from a rather boring service at church. The priest had such a monotone voice and she found it difficult not to fall asleep as he droned on. It was such a relief to finally get out of there and get some fresh air.

As she strolled through the quiet streets she found herself wondering where Beckett was this morning. He had not shown up at the church service which was a bit unusual. Since his stay here in Port Royal she always recalled him showing up for every service. She wondered what must have been so important that he missed church.

Elizabeth found herself staring out to sea when got closer to the beach. She wondered if James would be home soon and if he was okay. He truly was a dear friend to her and it would break her heart if something happened to him. She knew from his stories of the sea that even a seemingly harmless trip could turn dangerous in a blink of the eye. Pirates were a real problem in the sea and were always a ruthless bunch. Strangely enough Elizabeth still found pirates fascinating despite their horrid reputation. They were free to do whatever they wished and that kind of freedom interested Elizabeth. She always had felt like a caged bird in Port Royal, always expected to do this and that. How wonderful it must be to simply just be. No expectations, no disappointments, no pressure from society. What a dream that must be.

Finally she was at the sandy shore and closed her eyes when a warm Caribbean breeze swept by. Elizabeth kicked off her shoes and buried her feet in the still cool sand. The afternoon sun had not warmed it up just yet. The air smelt salty and sand was in between her toes and she was simply in heaven. She found herself reminiscing times of when James would take her to the beach when she was young.

"James keep up!" giggled a thirteen year old Elizabeth who was running along the beach.

"Slow down Elizabeth, I'm not as young as you!" James had called out to her.

Elizabeth stopped suddenly and turned around to look at him. She put her hands on her hips and waited for him to catch up.

"Lord James you act as if you're an old man! You're really not that much older than me," she said to him.

"Ha well when you run like that I feel as if I'm a hundred years old!" James laughed. "Anyway don't get to far from me, your father would kill me if something happened to under my watch."

"Its nice to know I have an 'old man' as my protector!" Elizabeth teased.

"Alright now you asked for it!" James grabbed her and arms and swung her in circles. Elizabeth laughed in delight.

James was really sweet to her back then. Elizabeth found herself wondering what had happened to that James. That James was playful and even funny when he he had been in the right mood. When did he turn into the stuffy James that she knew today?

"Mind if I join you?" came a smooth and familiar voice. Elizabeth looked to see who the intruder was and was pleasantly surprised when she saw Cutler Beckett standing there. He stood beside her smiling charmingly at her.

"Of course, I always enjoy your company," Elizabeth said. "You weren't at church this morning," she added.

"Yes, I had some business to attend to elsewhere. Unfortunately my job calls for quite a bit of my attention," Beckett explained.

"I am starting to realize that, it's been a couple weeks since I last heard from you," Elizabeth said. She hoped that she was not coming across to him as annoyed. As soon as she said that she wished she had worded it differently.

"I apologize," Beckett said. There was a moment of silence between them when he spoke again."Elizabeth, I have missed you these last couple of weeks..."

"I've...missed you too," Elizabeth admitted shyly and looked down at her sand covered feet. Suddenly he moved in front of her and cupped her cheek with his hand. She slowly looked up at him, her eyes connected with his. He had a gentleness in his eyes then.

"Elizabeth..." he said her name softly. "I know this may seem a little rushed but I must confess something to you." Elizabeth continued to gaze into his blue eyes, waiting for him to continue. "Since that night, when I met you at your party I have thought of you incessantly. I am not one to usually believe these kinds of things but..." he paused hesitantly. "But I fell in love with you that night."

Elizabeth was floored. Did Cutler Beckett just confess that he was in love with her? Was this really happening or was she just dreaming? This was too good to be true, there was no way that this wonderful man had just said that. She just knew that she was going to wake up any moment now.

"Elizabeth? I'm sorry that was too much, I'll leave you now," Beckett seemed a little flustered as he backed away and started to retreat from her. Elizabeth felt panicked then. He must have taken her silence as rejection. She quickly turned around and ran after him.

"Cutler! I'm sorry come back," she finally reached him. As soon as he turned around to face her she made a very bold move. The kind of move that young ladies were never supposed to do but she felt it was necessary to let him know that she cared for him. She kissed him then. Her lips connected with his and he clearly was shocked by this. However he did not waste time, he eagerly returned her affections and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Their kiss would have been considered very inappropriate if anyone had been around to see it. A man and woman never kiss in public and they especially did not embrace in public. Elizabeth returned his embrace and there was absolutely no space between the two of them. Finally they seemed to remember where they were and pulled apart slowly. He rested his forehead against hers.

"Will you marry me, Elizabeth?" Beckett whispered to her. Again this man has floored her. He was just full of surprises today! Quickly she made a decision.

"Yes, but we have to speak with my father first before anything is set in stone," Elizabeth replied.

"Not a problem, I'll speak to him today," Beckett said. "In fact why not now?"

"I don't see why not," Elizabeth said happily. She could not believe this was happening. It all happened in just a few moments. Had she really just agreed to be married? She felt like she could not be with a better man, except maybe one. Beckett certainly gave her plenty of butterflies in her stomach. Was she in love with him though? She was beginning to think so. She did find herself wondering what James would think of all this. She knew he would be furious about this arrangement. He clearly could not stand Beckett for whatever reason he may have. She also was beginning to think that perhaps he was starting to develop feeling for her finally. Well all she knew was that she could not wait around for him forever and now she found this nearly perfect man that wanted to marry her. Perhaps James was just a little too late and Elizabeth had certainly lost her patience with him.