Disclaimers: Potc and its characters aren't mine, the rest is.

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'What do you mean we're not part of the mission?' Lieutenant Groves said to the admiral of Port-Royal's division, his anger showing.

'Lieutenant' the admiral sighed, 'You do realize the crew, officers or not, isn't married to any ship or any captain. Which is why, you and Lieutenant Gillette won't participate in the capture of Jack Sparrow and his fellow pirates. The Navy needs you elsewhere, we all have to take turns, I do hope you understand, Lieutenant Groves?'

'Yes, Admiral; of course… I shall tell Lieutenant Gillette the news then.'

'Please do. Oh and Lieutenant, if you see the Commodore, tell him to come see me.'

'Yes, sir.'

Theodore left, grumbling; in all his years on sea, he had never been assigned to a ship with anyone else but James at the commands. Something was very wrong about all this; the Navy was being completely rearranged little by little, and he didn't like the sound of it.

He told Andrew the news, and of course, his friend was as furious as he was; sailing without James would be a whole new experience, and certainly not a pleasant one.

Norrington was signing up papers when he saw his two former Lieutenants approach.

'I take it by the look on your faces that you've heard the news then…' he said with disapproval in his voice.

'Why do they do that now, James? What do any of us gain from this sudden change?' asked Gillette.

'I don't know… It's something to do with our new alliance with the East India Trading Company apparently; some high-placed officials being too zealous, who knows…'

'And you're leaving us today then, to chase after the Pearl?'

'So it would seem. But there is something I must ask our admiral.' He rose up and walked towards the admiral's office. 'I'll see later, Lieutenants.'

When he entered the office, Norrington wasn't very confident about his request, but after all, he had nothing to lose if it were not granted.

'May I do something for you, Commodore Norrington? You know as well as I do that I can't change anything about the Lieutenants Groves' and Gillette's assignments. '

'I do indeed, sir, and I understand this decision, though I don't fully agree with it. I came to ask you a favour, if I may put it that way.'

The admiral looked at him intently, curious.

'I am all ears, Commodore.'

'May I request the presence of Ensign Reynolds on this mission? He is a very competent young man, and I know his skills would be required if anything wrong came to happen.' Norrington kept his face emotionless as he said those words, ignoring the tingle he felt in his stomach.

'Ensign Reynolds, you say? I don't see why not. Alright, I will assign him on board of the Dauntless then; it is good that you decide to take the boy under your wing and form him. He is a very promising young man indeed.'

'My thoughts exactly. Thank you Admiral, shall I tell him the news myself?'

'Yes you can. In case I don't see you before you leave, good luck with Sparrow, Commodore.'

James bowed and saluted his superior.

'Thank you sir.'

As all the members of the crew returning from a mission, Lawrence had her day off. Norrington found her sat on a bench, watching the sea spreading to the horizon.

When she heard footsteps, she turned round and smiled at the sight of her friend.

'Good morning, James' she greeted him.

'Good morning again, Lawrence. Can I seat?' he asked hesitantly.

'Of course!' she moved aside to leave him room. 'Must we have the discussion now? Please James, don't be angry at me…' she thought with dread, fearing her friend would lecture her on her being back in the Navy.

'I know it's your day off and that you've just returned from your mission, but…' he sighed. 'As you may or may not know, the Dauntless will start his chase after the pirate Sparrow today, and for some obscure reasons, Lieutenant Gillette and Lieutenant Groves aren't of the party.'

'Wh-why? They've always been with you on any mission!'

'I know, and unfortunately I can't do anything about it. However, I… Would you like to come anyway? You can refuse, of course, and I would understand completely, but I thought you m-'

'Really? You want me to go with you?' she rose from her seat and stood in front of him, ready to go. 'Of course I want to! I mean, hum, I would very appreciate it, Capt- Commodore!' she smiled, bowing.

The sun and her joy made her eyes look brighter and even more beautiful than as usual, noticed Norrington. 'Now, I shouldn't think like that, especially as we are to spend weeks, maybe a month at sea together' he scolded himself.

He gave her a smile and also rose.

'Thank you for accepting, Lawrence. I am sorry you won't be with Andrew and Theodore in some time…'

'Thank you for proposing, James. I am sorry too, but it's alright, I won't be alone as I'll be with you.' 'Oh God, did I really say that out loud?' he realized with concern. 'I hope he won't interpret it any other way…'

'Well then' she said after an awkward pause, 'I must pack quickly then. When are we leaving?'

'At noon. I hope you won't mind being at sea again with so little time to recover from your previous journey.'

Lawrence shook her head. 'I've always felt more comfortable there than on land; the sea is like my home.' 'And home is wherever I'm with you' she thought, biting her cheek to stop herself from thinking that way.

James' smile grew wider. 'Birds of a feather…'

Lawrence saluted him and hurried to her quarters to pack her things and say good-bye to her young friends before joining Andrew and Theodore on top of the fort.

'Why are you wearing your uniform, Lawrence? Aren't you supposed to rest today?' inquired Theodore.

'Well, I was, but not anymore. I, err, James asked me to join him on his mission as neither of you could go with him…'

'Ah, I told you he would!' exclaimed Andrew, punching his male friend in the arm. 'So obviously you've accepted.'

'Why would I ever refuse such an offer, really!'

They all laughed, Theodore and Andrew shaking their heads.

'Any advice on how to handle the now Commodore Norrington? I mean, you've known him for so much longer than I, and he might have changed since the last time I sailed with him…'

'Oh he has changed, but for the better I would say; maybe you won't notice anything though.' 'Of course she wouldn't, as his change happened ever since he became friend with her' Andrew thought.

Lawrence frowned. 'How is he taking the whole thing with Elizabeth? I don't want a brooding Commodore with me' she tried to joke, although she was really worried about this subject.

'There are things you'll have to figure out by yourself, Lawrence; we can't tell you everything!' Theodore poked her arm with his finger.

The three friends walked towards the harbour as noon was getting closer.

'There is one advice we can give you, though' Theodore started. 'Talk to him as you talk to us, especially now that there will be only the two of you; don't shut him off. He may not show it but he does like you as much as we do, Lawrence. Don't hesitate to break the ice and tell him when he's being a complete clotpole!' he laughed.

'Alright, alright, I'll keep my eye on him then' she said.

When the Dauntless was ready to set sails, James and Lawrence individually said their goodbyes to their mutual friends.

'I wished I could have stayed with you a while longer… Promise, when we return, we'll catch up with all the time we've lost!'

'I'm counting on that' said Theodore. 'Take care, you're in good hands with James.'

'I know' she smiled. 'Take care too, and make sure Andrew doesn't propose to the first lady he encounters, alright?'

'Alright!' Theodore laughed.

She hugged him and said goodbye to Andrew.

'Go live this adventure without us, you'll have so many things to tell us upon your return!'

'Yes, I do believe so. Take care Andrew, don't do anything stupid!'

'You don't do anything stupid. I know you'll look well after James, I'm relieved to know he'll be with you.'

Lawrence waved at them and reported to duty on board of the Dauntless.

James was already on the top deck with two other officers.

'And here is our young Ensign' he announced to the men. 'Gentlemen, Ensign Reynolds; Mr Reynolds, this is Commander Johnson and Lieutenant Pardy.'

They all greeted one another; Lawrence didn't know what to think of them yet, she tried to remain as objective as possible.

The ship weighed anchor and set course to Tortuga; for if Sparrow was to go anywhere, he would start with Tortuga.

'Ensign Reynolds, may I have a word with you?'

'Of course, Commodore.' She followed him to his quarters and closed the door behind them.

'Here, I thought you might like to have it back; I kept it safe with my belongings…'

He gave her former sword, neatly wrapped in a linen cloth. She delicately seized the package and griped the sword's handle before slashing through the air and attaching it to her uniform.

'Thank you, James. I really appreciate your gesture; I was indeed very distressed when I realized I had parted with one of the last things that once belonged to my brother.'

'I thought as much' he nodded. His stomach felt fuzzy again at the sight of the warmth in her eyes; he never thought she would be that was grateful; and he was pleased to be the source of such gratitude.

After an awkward pause where they looked at each other, both smiling faintly, he cleared his throat.

'Well, err, we should join the others; after you, Lawrence.'

They went to the top deck where James was already solicited by his commander and lieutenant about their plan of action; Lawrence listened to them with great attention, hands behind her back.

After a while, she climbed down the stairs to see whether she knew some crew members; she recognized three of them and was greeted happily when they recognized her. Fortunately for her, they didn't know what had caused her sudden departure the previous time, so their meeting wasn't as awkward as she feared. Old habits dying hard, she talked with them for a little while; after all, she had once been a regular sailor like them.

They were humbled to see her take some of her time to be with them, despite her higher rank; after all those months spent with her, they had come to like and respect her, for she had always helped them when all hands were required, never looked down upon them, and they all remembered Saint Paddy's night when she laughed and danced with them.

They had never fully understood why she had left so quickly a couple of months ago, but whatever the reason had been, her departure hadn't gone unnoticed, as their Captain's mood had changed drastically since then.

Maybe it was her young age, her pleasant face, or her kind heart, but they always felt they could trust her with any problems they encountered and needed to be fixed. Of course, seeing a familiar face among a new set of faces was also very welcomed; for indeed, the even the members of the crew had been dispatched by the same order that caused Lieutenant Groves and Lieutenant Gillette to be assigned to another ship.

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed strange to Lawrence that suddenly everyone should be separated; she wanted to talk about to someone, and that someone was none other than James Norrington.

Tonight, all the officers were invited to dine in his quarters, as is customary the first night on board; Norrington also decided to continue to hold the weekly dinner in his quarters.

Lawrence was happy to see that Doctor Davis was no longer on board but replaced by someone who looked more professional, Doctor Hunter.

The dinner unfolded in a very formal way, each man talking about his most recent mission, except for James who preferred to listen rather than speak about what he did; the atmosphere in the Commodore's quarters was the complete opposite of what it used to be.

Lawrence didn't talk much either; she listened to what was said, and waited for an occasion to talk more privately to James; but it never came. Having nothing else to do, she was the first to retire for the night, much to her friend's disappointment.

When she entered her former quarters, Lawrence felt suddenly very emotional. She never thought she would ever set foot again in this room, her room.

'Yes, this is where I belong' she said to herself, smiling. She washed herself quickly and stepped right into bed; the fabric was coarser than the fine drapes she slept into back at Isabella's house, but it felt more real, more right, more like herself.