Disclaimers: POTC isn't mine nor is Norrington, unfortunately.

Once again, thanks everyone, you are amazing!

'James, what are you thinking about? You seem worried…' Lawrence asked him when she saw is vacant look on his face.

He shook his head to gather his thoughts.

'I was thinking that it would be more prudent if we stayed for the night in this tavern; considering our uniforms and the frequentation of the streets of Tortuga, I wouldn't take the risk of you getting harmed on the way back to the Dauntless.'

'Is it that risky?' she said, rising up to look at the people around them, alcohol starting to play on her mind. 'It's nothing we can't handle, James; you and I both know how to use a sword, that's all that matters.' She went to the entrance door, followed closely by James who took her arm.

'Yes, it is too risky, let's go back to our table before anyone takes it from us.' He led her back inside and started towards their table when a group of drunkards burst in through the door at the same time. His hand let go of her hand in the commotion; turned round but realized with dread that the new comers where too numerous; he had lost sight of Lawrence.

'Lawrence!' he shouted, eyes anxiously looking everywhere. 'No, no, no, this can't be happening. She was just there, she can't have disappeared. Where is she? Oh James, what have you done!' His mind was racing, his blood pumping through his veins, fear arising.

'Lawrence!' he called again. Then he finally saw her elbowing her way through the small crowd.

'I'm here James! I'm here.'

He put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her.

'Never do that again! I thought I had lost you!' 'God, how I want to hug her right now. I would have been devastated had anything happened to her.'

She frowned.

'It's alright James, I'm here now. I was barely out of sight for a minute.'

'A minute can be fatal in such a place!' He took her by the hand and led her to their table.

Emboldened by her consumption of alcohol, she stared at him and pointed her finger at him.

'I'm going to be frank with you. I've promised Andrew and Theodore to treat you as I treat them, and that's what I'm going to do now. You, James Norrington, need to stop worrying too much and relax for a bit. You're always so tensed wherever we go; your hair will be as white as your wig is you continue!'

James startled at her words; he wasn't expecting her to be so franc with him; not that he disapproved, on the contrary. He lowered her accusing hand to the table with his and kept it here, over hers. He sighed and looked at the people around, to avoid looking at her.

'Maybe I have my reasons…' His voice was lower, as though he was more talking to himself than to her.

'Are you sulking?'

James did not answer as he didn't hear her question, too lost in his thoughts that he was.

Lawrence waited for a short moment and sighed.

'At least, Captain Krupke always found something to talk about… Maybe I should have stayed and married him after all…' she said as a joke to herself.

'Captain Krupke… stayed… married him…' 'What was that?' James turned round, eyes wide, lips slightly parted.

'What?'

'What you just said…'

'Ah that!' she said, happy to know that he wasn't sulking anymore.

'So…?' He raised an eyebrow. 'Are you engaged, Lawrence?' His stomach tightened at the thought; he took his hand off hers.

'No! God no, I'm not engaged.'

'Did that Captain Krupke propose to you, and you refused him?' 'Whoever this Krupke is, I swear, I'll-'

'He didn't, but he would have had I stayed in Port-Royal. His intentions were obvious to many, including myself in the end.'

'Why did you go away before he proposed then?' he asked with difficulty; he simply couldn't imagine her being courted by any other man, and even less being married to the said man.

'Because I didn't want to marry him, however nice he was. My cousin thought I was a fool, but I would never marry someone you can't give me the kind of life I want, someone I don't love.'

James swallowed with difficulty. 'And what kind of life do you want?'

Lawrence didn't answer at first; she thought that if James really was the observant man she loved and found to be right for her, he would know.

'You tell me, James. What do you think it is that I want?' She asked him, giving him an inebriated smile, her head resting on in her palm.

'Why does she have to look so lovely even when she's drunk?' 'Well,' he started, 'I would say… a life of danger, a life at sea, away from the dullness of country life and parties. A life where you can freely be yourself. A life with someone who challenges you intellectually and who agrees with this wildness you have within yourself. Someone who would look after you but that you could look after in an equal way too…'

Lawrence sobered instantly, her face becoming suddenly serious; she looked at his eyes and noticed they were greener than ever, burning with a kind of warmth she had rarely seen in them so far.

'Oh dear… I guess you really know me then… Then again, I should have known, being the great observer that you are, I guess you can tell whatever anybody wants. It's the first thing I've noticed when I first met you, by the way, your sharp eye.'

'Did you?' he asked her, surprised by both her sudden sobriety and her observation.

'Yes; you had barely seen the crew of the Daisy of the sea that you already spotted that something was wrong with me. That takes an acute vision to notice this in so short a time.'

'Ah, yes, I remember. I am still amazed by how Fate has brought us together so many times.'

'It may be that we are destined to do great things together then, Commodore Norrington' she smiled, enjoying this thought.

Just when they had finished the last drop of their ales, two women loosely clothes approached them; one of them could have been really pretty if not for the extravagant make-up she wore. Lawrence felt sorry for her, she realized she must have been around her own age and was sorry that she was already practicing such a profession. The other one had distinctive red curly hair and looked older; she was also more voluptuous, her breasts were barely hidden by her bodice.

'Well, hello gentlemen!' the red-haired woman said in a suave voice.

'Can we be of any service?' the younger one said, batting her lashes. She put her arms around James' neck and sat on his lap while her friend hovered over Lawrence, imposing her large breasts to her sight.

James froze at the sudden attention given to him; all of the moments of the evening, these two women had to choose now! He shifted in his seat, trying to push away as politely as possible the young woman.

'What is it, are you shy?'

'Madam, I am afraid you must be mistaken; my friend and I aren't seeking any of your… favours. I think you should-'

'Tut tut, pretty one! No need to hide yourself behind a false excuse!'

'And look at you!' the older woman said to Lawrence. 'You look so young! Have you ever been with a woman before, boy? I can take care of you very well you know, and you will never forget that night, I promise!'

Lawrence had not said a word since the arrival of the two women, she had frozen into place and was staring at James and that young woman.

'I'm afraid I must insist, I am no interested in-'

'You don't find me pretty enough perhaps?' she asked him with an air of shock.

'It's not that, you are very charming, however I-'

'It's all right, in the dark it's all the same you know, you can pretend that it's her; I can even let you call me by her name if you want!' she coaxed him, caressing his cheek.

James suddenly rose from his seat, almost making the young girl fall, but effectively breaking all contact.

'I said, we are not interested!' he said with more authority, his face serious.

'No need to be angry, sir. We won't trouble you anymore. Come Betsy!' she said to her friend who had let go of Lawrence.

'You're right, they're not worth our time. That one is either mute or simple.'

'And I've never been refused before' added her younger friend. 'Perhaps he's more into boys after all. Sick people!' she spat before leaving with the red-hair woman.

James and Lawrence looked at each other, wide-eyed, then roared with laughter.

'That was quite something!'

'I agree, and every awkward too…'

'You know, you could have followed her… I wouldn't have minded' she lied, not meaning any word she said. 'After all, she is pretty and much younger than the other one…'

James looked at her in shock.

'I would never have followed, as flattering as it is. After all, she said it herself, I'm more into boys!' He gave her a wink and smiled.

Lawrence felt her cheeks turning red. 'How am I supposed to interpret that?! James, you should do this to me…'

'Well, I think this episode was our queue to go to sleep. Come on, we'll take the first two vacant bedrooms they have.'

He waited for her to join him, went to the counter and asked for two rooms.

'I've got plenty, but only one "clean", the others are ridden with flea and bed-bugs, so don't say I didn't warn you! Also there's the common chamber if you want…'

'There's no way I'm sleeping in a bed with vermin in it…' Lawrence thought, disgusted by the idea. 'And sleeping in the same room as the other customers might be too dangerous.'

'We'll take your clean one. I do hope the bed is double!' she said before James could say anything. She wouldn't let him sleep in an insalubrious room.

'Yes it is, a very big one!'

'Good, we'll take it now, if you please.'

'But of course, follow me.' The man wasn't surprised in the least by the outcome; he had seen many times men take a same room just to share a bed; and if those men were more than friends, then he didn't mind in the least as long as they didn't cause any trouble.

James was very surprised by Lawrence initiative; he would never have dared make such a proposition; but apparently he didn't have his word to say in the situation, maybe because she already knew she would refuse his idea.

They paid the man and entered the room; Lawrence had expected the room to be spacious, as the man had promised a large bed, but in reality, the only thing large was the said bed and nothing else; it took almost all the space, except for a corner where a screen was drawn.

'Lawrence, maybe we should have-'

'No James, I know what you're thinking, and I insist. It was either this, or bringing disease on board of the ship, or being robbed or killed.'

'You do realise that it isn't proper for a man and a woman not married to sleep together in the same bed…'

Lawrence rolled her eyes. 'Oh James, your manners can be so endearing sometimes!'

'Of course I know! But you know as well as I do that there isn't anything proper or conventional about our present situation. I am a woman pretending to be her dead brother and you are knowingly covering for me so that I may sail the sea. I can hardly become any stranger. And besides, we're friends, I trust you with my life; I know everything is fine' she smiled, reassuringly.

'You will never cease to surprise me, Lawrence, I'll grant you that!'

She laughed, happy to see he agreed with her idea, even though she'd kind of forced it on him.

'Well, it isn't all, but I'm tired and we'll need to start early tomorrow…'

She went behind the screen to wash her hands and her face and unbind her scarves; she had come to realise after one year that binding her chest day and night was very unpleasant and might cause serious damage. She also untied her hair and untangled them as best as possible with her fingers.

Once she came from behind the screen, James noticed the scarves she was holding in her hand; for a moment he had almost asked her what it was before he realised their real purpose and turned his head, embarrassed. Luckily for him, Lawrence didn't notice his shift of emotion, only that he had taken his jacket and boots off.

When she passed him, James cleared his throat, gesturing awkwardly to the screen.

'I, hum, I'm going to wash my face too…'

Lawrence eyed him suspiciously, wondering what was wrong this him.

'Alright!' she nodded before taking off her boots and jumping in the left side of the bed. She used her scarves as a pillow and laid down her head, lying on one side and watching absentmindedly the screen until she closed her heavy eyes.

She didn't hear James bare feet on the wood, but felt a heavy weigh on the other side of the bed; she felt too sleepy to open her eyes or even think about the fact that she was about to share a bed with the man she loved.

James lied down on his side and realised that of course she had given him the only pillow, without his saying so. He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and smiled at the sight of her being so relaxed, with her luscious blond hair framing her delicate face, her shirt seeming fuller than before, and her bare feet curled around the other. In that moment, he desperately wanted to kiss her lips, or even a chaste kiss on her brow, but thought better of it. He looked at her face another time, turned round to blow the candle and mirrored her position, his face facing hers.

'Sleep well Sweet Lawrence' he said, thinking her asleep.

' 'night James' she said drowsily.

After a few hours, Lawrence awoke and opened her eyes. The faint light coming through the shades was enough for her to see; she smiled fondly at the sight of James sleeping soundly, his brow untroubled, his eyelids neatly closed, his lips slightly parted, his chest rising and falling. Maybe it was the state of being half-asleep or her foolishness, but she leaned her head and delicately kissed his forehead.

'Sleep well, Dear James' she whispered before falling back into sleep.

In the morning, Lawrence awoke suddenly; something was moving beneath her head! She froze, and closed her eyes fearing that it was a serpent. James had just awoken and was stirring but he felt a heavy weigh on his shoulder; he realized that Lawrence was asleep, her head over him. He tried to remain as still as possible, fearing to wake her up too quickly, oblivious to the fact that she was already awake and also secretly enjoying this intimate contact with her; he didn't know why but again it didn't feel out of place or strange.

The two of them lied awake for a couple of minutes, both in a completely different state of mind.

Lawrence finally gathered her strength and prepared herself to affront a snake; she quickly startled and rolled out of bed, falling on the floor.

'Lawrence!' James exclaimed, instantly rising up and coming over to help her to her feet.

'Are you alright?' he asked, worried. 'Are you hurt?'

'I'm fine,' she said, out of breath, 'but where's the snake?'

James furrowed his brow. 'A snake?'

'Yes, I felt it under my head when I woke up, it was moving…' she looked everywhere, eyes wide with fear.

Only then did James realise what she was talking about and laughed.

'It wasn't a snake Lawrence, it-it was me. You fell asleep on my shoulder and…'

'Oh no, I didn't!' She looked at him, eyes wide with shock and her cheeks turning bright red. 'I'm so sorry James, I didn't know… I would never… I…'

James shook his head in disbelief, smiling.

'It's alright, you did nothing wrong.' He grabbed his boots and started putting them on.

'Breakfast?' she asked him to hide her embarrassment.

'Great, I'm starving!'

NB: And yaaayyy to me, I've reached by objective of writing 50,000 words in less than a month.