Disclaimer: Wow, if I owned POTC…I would've drowned it with Norribeth…or even Sparrowbeth…heck, even Beckabeth.
Story: Elizabeth finds What if's too much to bear and wishes that if she could, she would want things to be different from the first time around.
Set after AWE.
Spoilers: For all three movies.
Pairings: Norribeth Norrington/Elizabeth
Warnings: Not sure…
A/n: Eh, these chapters are getting hard to do because I don't have a copy of any of the movies…I can't keep renting them all the time, don't have the money. And if I don't have the money to rent them, I definitely can't buy 'em. Which means I have to keep to transcripts of the movies. That really sucks. At least, when I do get started on the chapters, I seem to finish them fast.
There was humor and then I started listening to sad songs…
Blame my myspace music.

"That it's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

"I'd take another chance, take a fall, take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
(But it's nothing new)
Yeah, yeah…" –One Republic, Apologize

My Almost Lover
Chapter Nine: James Norrington's Divine Comedy

"I can't believe you managed to steal those!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

James shrugged, "I learned a thing or two from Jack."

"Ah, a bloody prodigy!" Jack praised exaggeratedly, swiping the Letters of Marque to skim over them.

"And I manage to forge the signature and quickly seal it with his ring," James continued nonchalantly.

"Bloody Hell, James! How in the world did you find time to do that?!" Theodore yelled while Andrew muttered to himself about sneaky best friends.

"Don't tell me you're turning pirate on us," Andrew snarked.

James huffed while at the same time both Gibbs and Jack scowled and said in unison, "We resent that, we do."

"How are we on finding crew?" James sidestepped.

"Oh, good actually!" Elizabeth grinned. It didn't seem right though. "We have ninety-nine souls left."

"Right. No one new yet," James sighed. "By the way, darling, you sound like the Grim Reaper."

Elizabeth's grin turned eerie and she flung a long, tattered dark cloak over herself and pulled the hood over her head, which hid the entirety of her face in darkness.

"Nice, huh? Found it on sale in a used shop. Thought it would be great as a disguise. You know, as a poor, homeless person. Or just scare people."

All the men gathered near stared at her.

"Elizabeth, love," Jack said gently. "Don't wear that around when we're trying to get crew. It'll scare off the poor souls."

"I'm not sure about disguise, but it'll definitely scare people off," Andrew whispered to Theodore.

James winced, "Um, Elizabeth…"

She giggled quietly and took it off, hiding it away. "I think I like the Grim Reaper look. It's great having people scared of you. I'm getting great ideas."

"Your fiancé's a bit quacked in the head, isn't she?" Jack muttered to James.

James tried again, "Um, Elizabeth…"

She was smiling at him, but he wasn't sure if he was imagining the dangerous glint in her eye. He swallowed harshly.

"I think it's an absolutely great idea," he finished lamely.

"Whipped, he is," Gibbs and Jack snickered to each other, though James was certain there was snickering coming from the direction of his two best mates.

Seeing the dangerous glint in Elizabeth's eye again, James sighed again.

"And damned proud of it," he said to all congregated.

Elizabeth smiled happily.

"You know, we should hide the rum," Jack grumbled to Gibbs, eyeing the three in front of them.

"Relax, we're not going to raze the rum. Last time was an emergency," James rolled his eyes.

"And what if there's going to be another emergency?! What then?!" Jack said hysterically.

"We raze the rum," Andrew said with an evil grin.

Jack moaned about evil Navy men and their witchy fiancés.

"Well, at least we have our crew," Elizabeth commented calmly.

"And our heading," Jack said as James held the compass, all of them hovering over it to see where it pointed.

"How come I'm not holding it?" Elizabeth asked, as she remembered she had last time.

"Because it's just going to point to old Norrie here," Jack nodded certain.

Elizabeth was almost about to argue when she realized the truth of that statement. Last time, she had been driven in love with Will and wanted to rescue him. She had even felt herself drawn to Jack a little. Even yet, there had always been a part of her that had tried to ignore the lingering feelings she had for James, that she couldn't quite accept at the time. Now, she was content with her life, feeling happy at James' side. The arrow would not point to anywhere except to him. For him, the arrow would point to the chest because he wanted her to be safe and for everything to be over at all costs. She didn't care about anything else except him. She could live in Hell if she had him with her.

"James, I want to talk to you once we set sail," Elizabeth said quietly, and everyone looked apprehensive at how serious she suddenly was.

"Okay, love," James smiled softly at her.

She returned the tender smile and he relaxed just a bit.

The Black Pearl began sailing the blue sea, a gentle breeze helping it along. In their shared cabin, James and Elizabeth settled down to talk. James was more nervous than Elizabeth, considering all the scenarios running through his head. The most likely he thought was that she was going to leave him. Don't ask why he kept thinking it, but after all, his insecurities about Will Turner hadn't just been instantly removed. They simmered under the surface, ebbing away but still there.

"I am sorry, James," she started off and he stiffened. She broke down crying and James didn't know how to confront that so he just hesitantly hugged her.

"I'm sorry for rejecting you before, I'm sorry I ever chose Will over you, I'm sorry I never considered your feelings, I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, I'm sorry I never apologize for everything I did to you, and I'm sorry that it was too late to apologize before," she ranted wildly, still saying sorry afterwards.

He blinked in confusion, holding onto her. "I'm…uh, sorry too, Elizabeth. I don't quite understand. If you could explain…?"

Elizabeth nodded and extracted herself from his arms. She had been too late to apologize to him before, and was glad to have had a chance to do so now, even if it was a different James. Reluctantly, she began her tale from her original timeline and she ended with his death and how it had almost completely shattered her.

James was quiet when she finished and she watched him worriedly.

"I-I died? And we never got together?" he seemed to be struggling with his words.

Elizabeth's eyes were leaking tears again and she shook as she leaned forward and brushed her lips softly against his.

"But you're not. I won't let that come to pass. And we are together. Here and now, and that's all that matters," she whispered against his neck as rubbed her nose gently against it, planting soft kisses every once and awhile. His arms slowly came up to embrace her, and then he was holding her tightly.

"I love you, Elizabeth," James breathed out desperately.

It reminded her too much of the James she had known. The James that she never truly got to know, who had never been able to tell her how much he really loved her. So desperate and resigned. The only difference was that this James had so openly said he'd loved her, in a way that the James she had known had struggled until the very end to confess.

Wanting to erase the conjured image of a James that had given his life for her, Elizabeth grabbed a hold of James' hand and placed it with shaking but sure hands on top of the first button on her shirt. His eyes widened, but he didn't take his hand away.

"Elizabeth, we're not married yet…" but she could hear the wavering in his voice.

"But we're going to be. James, I love you," she said breathlessly.

She'd always said it genuinely before, but this time there was something more in it. It grabbed at James' heart and he nodded.

He kissed her tenderly, slowly moving her onto her back. The bed they were on was small, but it was fine for them. When she let her tongue tentatively touch his lips, making the first move, he obliged. His hands moved efficiently to unbutton her shirt, knowing he was a step closer to her in the most intimate of ways.

She gasped aloud when his calloused hands touched bare skin, and he skimmed his hand over her soft belly to curve around her modest breasts. Elizabeth nuzzled his neck, kissing it. Her hands were splayed across his chest, sliding down until they reached his breeches. He let them lead, unbuckling his belt and letting her slowly take the belt off. He helped her take the rest of his clothes off, but not letting her help him when he turned his attention back to her.

Like a sacred altar, he worshiped her body. She laid back as he planted soft kisses between her breasts, moving downwards. Tasting cloth briefly, James leaned back a little, firmly taking her pants and moving them languidly off her slender legs. Caressing her skin briefly, he tangled his hands into her hair to kiss her forwardly.

Unhurriedly, they took time to explore each other's body. She giggled softly every so often when he'd accidently touched upon a sensitive spot, moaning more appropriately at others.

When they were ready, he slid into her easily. The brief look of pain in her eyes was replaced with trust and love. Blissfully beginning to move, he went into a rhythm she matched. Nearing climax, they grasped onto each other and said nothing. Words weren't needed, because what they did have was enough.

At the end, they held each other lovingly, as James slipped the thin sheet over their bare bodies.

Andrew came back to them, red-faced and speechless.

"What is it, lad? You look like you've seen a ghost," Gibbs commented.

"Nah, more like something embarrassing. Seeing a ghost makes you pale," Theodore added in his two cents.

"James…Lizzie…bed…" Andrew managed to get out before collapsing in a dead faint.

Jack guffawed loudly, having deciphered what Andrew had been saying.

"He means the good old Commodore and our princess went and did the dirty deed, and he either caught them at it or saw the aftermath," Jack choked out.

Theodore's face drained of color, "Oh my."

Gibbs stared at him, "That's all you have to say? 'Oh my'? Damn, you Navy folks sure are well-bred."

"Bloody Hell, this is just too good!" Jack was still laughing.

"A toast then! To the Wolf of the Seas and the Pirate Lady Love!" Gibbs swung a mug of rum into the air, some of it splashing outside of it.

Jack got into the spirit, grabbing three more mugs and filling them with rum. Shoving one into Theodore's face, who blankly accepted it, and carelessly leaving one by Andrew's downed figure, Jack grabbed the last one for himself and clunked it to Gibbs'. The both of them proceeded to guzzle the hard liquor down their throats, laughing raucously after.

Theodore was still processing the news, having not touched his mug at all except when it was handed to him. Andrew was still down for the count.

Deciding that the rum was being wasted, the two pirates scrunched up their noses in exasperation at the Navy men and grabbed their mugs to chug down the rum themselves. Not satisfied with just that, Jack skipped out and began spreading the good news. Gibbs was still tottering on his two feet, struggling not to see double images, but he joined Jack in telling people. More people, more rum. More rum means a rum party in celebration.

Soon enough, the entire crew knew about it by the night.

Started 8/13/08 –Completed 8/13/08

What if Jack was rubbing off on James?
What if James got the Letters of Marque?
What if James held the compass instead of Elizabeth?
What if Elizabeth finally apologized to James?
What if Elizabeth time traveled (which is really the whole point of this story)?
What if she told James?
What if they had been intimate with each other before their marriage?

Again, it was supposed to be humorous, but I guess the title turned out more to be ironic. Ah, if anyone wants to know what evil songs ruined my comedy chapter, just say so and I'll post it in the next chapter. Geez, I don't even know how in the hell I wrote the, uh, scene that took up the majority of the chapter...

Is it just me or are there more fanvids of Norribeth than there are of fanfiction?