Elizabeth stormed out of the room with a barely restrained screech and a slam of the door. Wincing, James made as if to follow her but decided against it – she was liable to kill him in one of her infamous rages. Turning back to the small table and picking up the knocked over chair on his way, he sat back down again, refusing to look Theodore in the eye for he knows that his first mate will see only hilarity in this situation. Reaching for the bottle of whisky he motioned for Groves to carry on talking.

"How dare he!" Elizabeth seethed under her breath. Now that she was alone on the deck she felt a trifle foolish – something she would never concede to the men in the Captain's quarters. The three had been trying to work out between them what should be done, no easy task for James when Groves and Elizabeth were involved. She had stuck fast to her resolution that they must go to Shipwreck Cove and convene with Jack and the other pirate brethren – an idea the other two (unsurprisingly) had not taken to. Groves had wanted to return to Port Royal and incite rebellion in the ranks of the Navy men still there: he was convinced that once they saw their much loved commander restored in all his glory; they would be willing to overthrow Beckett. James' view lay somewhere in the middle, and Elizabeth had been sure that she was winning him over when he asked her to leave the two men alone for a bit – damn him, she thought.

There was no one on deck apart from a few men on the dogwatch shift, up on poopdeck. She was still dressed in her new dress but it failed to deter her from what she was going to do next. Throwing one last glance back towards the doors of James' quarters, through which she could see the uneven candlelight flickering against the window, she moved towards the mainmast.

Almost an hour had passed and the two men were no closer to resolving the discussion. James could see the merit and the attraction in what Theo was proposing, but that could be done after Shipwreck Cove though, couldn't it? He couldn't help but feel they should attempt to carry out both plans, only do Elizabeth's first – but he was afraid of telling Theo this, for fear of emasculating him.

He had started to worry about Elizabeth but didn't want to say anything, for fear of annoying his second in command. Absently, James tapped his foot on the deck as the other man once again argued for returning to Port Royal. Elizabeth wouldn't do anything rash, he thought, would she? She was known amongst the society elite for being well tempered and well spoken, but amongst her closer friends and family she was a known hellcat whom it would be wise to avoid if you got on the wrong side of her. He was pulled from his thoughts by Groves slamming his tumbler down on the table.

"For love of God James, just go and check on her," Theo said, tersely, "You're clearly not listening to me and suspect you won't 'til you manage to get her to forgive you for whatever it is that she thinks you have done wrong this time."

James stalled, dumbfounded, "Of course I'm listening to you, what made you think I wasn't?"

Groves bit down a laugh and retorted, "Because you have been tapping your foot increasingly louder for the last ten minutes and you didn't hear me tell you that I was about to throw myself to the sharks."

The older man's eyebrows knitted in confusion: "Oh."

The two men stepped out into the cool night air, brandishing their lanterns and inhaling the salt air deeply, before they split up to find the missing woman. None of the men on the poopdeck had seen her, and it was only when they met back where they had started, with no sign of her, that they began to worry. James began to panic quickly whilst Theo managed to reign his concern in, and it was thanks to his rational thinking that it occurred to him to call up to the crow's nest.

"Ahoy up there! Would there be any sign of a Swann in the crow's nest?" He hollered up, hoping to ease his friend's mood with his humour. A moment passed before the call came back down.

"There may be." A feminine voice shouted back, greeted by gruff, relieved laughter from the two men. After all, neither had really been concerned - not really.

Theo quickly volunteered to scale the rigging to bring her back down, or at the least check that she could make it back down safely – this was met with derision from James:

"As much as I trust you, Theo, do you honestly expect me to believe that you won't take the first opportunity to shove her into the ocean?" The captain drawled.

Theo reacted, mock aghast: "Me?" They had a conspiratorial snigger – knowing full well that Elizabeth would hear their laughter, wondering what they were up to.

"What are you two gentlemen up to down there?" The voice came tentatively through the dark, just as they had known it would.

Before James could dissuade him, or in fact tackle him (which would be the more likely scenario), Theo had shrugged off his jacket and was climbing the rigging. Theo knew that, as passionately James' felt for Elizabeth, he would not risk bringing down the crow's nest by squeezing in with the two of them. His progress up the rigging was slow and laborious, it having been longer than he'd care to admit since he had done this. The higher he climbed the colder it got and he regretted leaving his jacket behind. At last he reached the top and found small hands helping to pull him into the nest, before they collapsed to the floor, their legs hanging through the bars. There they sat for what seemed like several minutes, but must have only been seconds (as no worried call came from below), in silence. Theo's eyes strained to take in the shape of Miss Swann: a dark object on a darker horizon.

"Why did you come up here?" She spoke so quietly that he nearly lost the words in the sea wind.

"To check you were alright."

"Why do I highly doubt that, Mr Groves?" These words were sharper and he heard them more clearly. He thought carefully about his answer.

"Honestly Miss Swann, I have no intention of being one of the men who fall head over heels for you, neither do I want to be your protector," he bit back, before softening, "but, as hard as it may be for you to believe, I don't particularly wish any harm, at least physical harm," he added wryly, "to come to you. Particularly since James holds you so dear – even after the hurtful hand you dealt him." The truth came out.

Elizabeth turned to face him, and he could just about make out her surprised expression, illuminated by the faint light of the lanterns on the deck below.

Elizabeth couldn't help but find Groves' honesty refreshing. He was the first person to have spoken about her betrayal of James. Her father had skirted nervously around the topic, Will didn't seem to care in the slightest and Gillette – the annoying Frenchman – had merely snarked at her every time he saw her. As for James' himself, he was the least likely to talk of it. The only person who had come close was the unlikely candidate of Mr Jack Sparrow.

"I didn't mean to hurt him," she spoke softly, leaning closer to the man, pouring out her secret, "I just didn't feel anything for him, more than friendship, in that particular moment in time."

Groves could see her bite her lower lip and saw the way her eyelashes fluttered against the tops of her cheekbones, holding back tears. Theo, despite himself couldn't help but grudgingly admit that sadness became her.

Reluctantly he prodded her on, "And now? In this particular moment in time?"

She let out what seemed to be a choked laugh, "Therein lies the irony. I cannot be sure, but I cannot now deny my heart was glad when I saw him again – particularly after chose his side. And I can confide, in you, that my heart," here she hesitated "may no longer be so attached to William Turner."

Elizabeth shivered from the cold and Theo again lamented leaving his coat below.

"I beg of you, tell him this, let him know where he stands – that he may, after all, have a chance - otherwise you may be the death of him," he paused, not wanting to overstep his line, "He does love you, you know that don't you? He loves you like he loves the sea – and that is high praise indeed." Elizabeth cocked her head thoughtfully as she turned her gaze back to the ocean. He felt he had fulfilled his duty as James' friend and stood, holding a hand out, asking her to follow, "Come, it is time to return below."

"Thank you Theodore."

She seized his hand gratefully and they began the long descent together.

AN: Thanks for reading, and I apologise if it seems too much like a filler chapter, but it was really hard to write. Please comment, since thats the only way I can tell what I'm doing right and, likewise, what I'm doing that you'd rather I didn't! Another big thanks to everyone for persevering with me! I'd also like to ask if you would like to see (snarky) Gilette at somepoint?

For those of you who like my writing, could I point you in the direction of my other fics? They are mainly norribeth pieces but you may find something you like!