Disclaimers: I don't own POTC nor Norrington, Gillette, and Groves.

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The morning after, a good part of the crew woke with a more or less strong hangover depending on their quantity of rum they had drunk the previous night, but all did they work nonetheless, with mild complaints from some of them. Lawrence, not because her consumption of alcohol had been too high but because she was unaccustomed to it, was among the unfortunate ones who only wished for one thing, drink plenty of water and sleep.

She dragged herself out of bed, cleaned herself as best she could, put on her officer clothes, and headed to the back of the top deck to get some fresh air. Of course, her friends were already awaiting her there.

'Soooo Lawrence, how's the head?' started Groves, laughing.

Lawrence grunted as an answer and leaned on the taffrail, closing her eyes.

'You know, that was quite a show you put on yesterday, very entertaining' said Gillette, nudging her. 'We didn't know you were such a dancer.'

'And a singer!' added Groves. 'James was deeply impressed, really, he didn't say a word after that.'

At those words, Lawrence opened her eyes so quickly that her head started to pound again. 'What did you say, Theodore? You were… and the Captain was… Oh Lord, I'm in trouble, aren't I?' Her face had considerably paled, and she started chewing her lip with worry.

'Trouble? You're in no trouble at all! Where do you find such an idea? I don't understand why you are so scared of him, he won't throw you off the ship anytime soon you know.' Gillette laughed.

Then they heard the footsteps of Captain Norrington approaching, making Lawrence catch her breath.

'I've got to go…' she hurriedly said, almost running to the main deck. 'Captain' she quickly saluted when she passed him.

Puzzled, the said Captain went to his friends to enquire the reason of her leaving in such a hurry.

'Ah, it's nothing, the lad's just feeling unwell after yesterday's evening, that's all' answered Groves.

'For a moment, I thought my presence had made him run away…'

'Well, there's a bit of that too' laughed Gillette.

Norrington raised an eyebrow but did not ask for an explanation, although his Lieutenants had started to make untrue theories as to why Lawrence left so quickly at her Captain's arrival.

'I do believe you both have work to attend to, Lieutenant Gillette, Lieutenant Groves' said Norrington, ending here his friends' discussion.

'Yes, hum, sorry Captain' Groves said before leaving soon followed by Gillette.

This night, Lawrence didn't show up at the officers' quarters, too scared to face Captain Norrington after what her friends had told her. She shook her head. Really, it wasn't like her to fear anything, let alone a man, after all she had done so far, but this man was Captain Norrington, and deep down, she knew something wasn't right. The more she was in his presence, the more she realized how much of a girl she was still. True, if she had been Charlotte Reynolds of Charleston still, she would have fancied such a man, not only because he was undeniably handsome, with his straight nose, his bright green eyes, his thin lips, but also and mostly because of his character itself, the authority and yet understanding he showed, his incredibly vast knowledge, his dignified manners… In fact, everything made him look perfect to her. But she was Lawrence, and so she had to forget her foolish ideas, and anyway, even if she had been a proper lady, she had heard he was always about to propose someone, someone that would suit him much better.

While she was daydreaming of a life she would have had had she stayed home, in the officers' quarters, Lawrence happened to be one of the subjects of discussion between Gillette and Groves, who took the opportunity of James' late arrival to talk about him as well.

'But it's clear in Lawrence's eyes that he really admires James…'

'I know that, and yet he dares not speak to him directly, which is a pity, because although we don't follow all that they say, the both of them make a really entertaining company to listen to.'

'I agree. And as for James...'

'Ah, you noticed that too then? I can't really put a word on it, but he seems really fond of our young friend.'

'And yet, he is still very formal around him. I've never heard him say his name.'

'Ah, it's just James being too proper that's all.'

'Maybe out of respect too, don't you think?'

Groves stopped to think about it. There clearly was respect but also that something he couldn't find word for.

As he was searching for that word, or feeling, Norrington entered.

'Well, gentlemen, I find you very silent tonight… Isn't Mr Reynolds with you?'

Groves and Gillette glanced at each other then back at their Captain. Groves answered by the negative and then they changed the subject, talking about the halt they'll be making soon to fill up their barrels of clean water.

The day later, a foggy weather unsettled the whole crew of the Dauntless. Nothing could be seen by the watchman, and so it happened.

The roar of a canon reverberated in the deadly silence. At the Captain's orders, all men prepared for the upcoming fight, some loading the canons, others testing their swords.

Lawrence's mind was buzzing. 'What if I they come on board and kill everyone? What if I get caught? What if I can't find the strength to kill a man?' Her thoughts were then quickly put to an end when the harsh laughter of unknown voices sounded, closer than what she had wished.

She went next to her friend, her sword in hand. 'What now, Andrew?'

He patted her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. 'Now we wait, and before you know it, it will soon be over.'

'By over you mean… us dead?' Dying now wasn't in her plans at all.

'Of course not, you silly, them dead. Do you seriously think our Captain doesn't know what he's doing?'

She looked at Norrington who was standing tall and proud, his face as still as a stone statue. Watching him, she heaved a sigh at such a vision of grandeur, making her friend smile beside her.

And then the first pirates jumped on board. Lawrence had always imagined battles to be more organized, that she could get an overview and prepare for the upcoming action, but reality wasn't like that at all. Reality was noisy, messy, sweaty, and bloody.

As her Captain shouted orders, the boat became quickly overrun by the crew of the other ship, and each men of the Dauntless found himself fighting with someone else.

Lawrence thanked her dead brother for their private fencing sessions, as she would never have been able to face one man, let alone a pirate almost twice her size. Her height and feminine agility became one of her main strength during one-to-one combat. All she wanted was to push the assailant over the board, that way she wouldn't have to kill him, but reality doesn't give you the chance to make such kind plans, and so she put down a man for the first time in her life, but not the last.

From where she was, she saw Simon and Tim fighting too many men for only the two of men, and so she headed in their direction to help them. What usually looked like a spitting distance from one point of the ship to another seemed like miles during a fight when every second counted. On her way, she helped Lieutenant Groves drag a wounded crewmember of the Dauntless under cover, and then rushed to her first aim, but with all the commotion, she couldn't find them and caught some scratches from the surrounding sword fights. She had just killed her second man when a strong arm pulled her back. As she struggled, she realized the arm that had entrapped her was wearing a Navy uniform. She was turning to face the man in question when too many things for her brain to proceed happened at the same time.

'JAMES, MOVE!' she shouted, but her words were too late, a blade had already pierced her Captain left side of the chest. As he crumbled to the ground, blood pouring red over his white shirt, she plunged on the coward who had dared to attack her Captain to the back. Norrington's hand caught Lawrence's leg in an attempt to stop her, but she shook it off and engaged herself in a vicious fight with the pirate. The ebony-skinned man laughed at her missed attempts, clearly enjoying the sight of a sparrow fighting against a raven. And then he laughed no more for she had taken him unaware with the dagger she hadn't used yet. She merely wounded him in the face, but the man's wrathful cry was enough to make her, and the men around, shiver.

At the sound of such a scream, Norrington, who wasn't unconscious yet, tried to rise from the ground. 'Lawrence, NO!'

Gillette, from his place, heard the combination of those two screams and looked up to see in one sight his Captain's livid face and bleeding profusely, and Lawrence sword-fight with one of the scariest pirates he had ever seen. Unfortunately, he was too far away to attempt to help either of them and turned away with dread his eyes filled with fear and concern to fight off his own assailants.

'You think you can kill me, pretty girl? You really think a girl can kill me when no man has? Aren't you scared of dying?' the pirate sneered, slashing through the air.

Lawrence knew he was trying to destabilize her, and so she ignored his comment, focusing on any opening to his weak points.

She knew she would die any moment now, this man was way too strong for someone like her.

'I've made my peace with Death a long time ago, the only thing that keeps me fighting is avenging my Captain!' Her arms ached badly, it seemed her knees would give way anytime, but adrenaline gave her the strength she needed to carry on.

A voice she didn't recognize called back on board the remaining pirates. Victory was on her side, but her fight wasn't over yet. Still the man slashed and slashed, trying to mortally wound her, a blow to her thigh weakened her balance and she fell on her back. The pirate smiled a devilish grin and lowered himself to watch life fade from her eyes as he would kill her. This opportunity seemed Heaven-sent and so she stabbed the man to the heart, ending at last their dreadful fight. The man fell right on her, but the weight being too heavy and her level of exhaustion having reached its paroxysm, she fainted, hearing her name uttered by the voice she longed to hear the most.