Really nice story!

I really liked it. :D

Lovely again! Such a warm feeling of family, and the sweetest sort of hurt/comfort ... Love the exchange of presents. They're all very apt. Well done - as always!

I just want to *pet* poor poorly Jack in this chapter. ;-)

You're so good at weaving the events of the movie with what-happened-next - the join is seamless. Lovely - smoothly written, and nicely humorous.

Norrington accepted with alacrity

*he is also a lonely boy

it seems to’ve worked out for the best, eh?”

*and they say there is no grand plan to the univere

able to don his full piratical regalia,

*I and Hathaway float off the planet

Jack commented, looking in the mirror, and striking an attitude.

*pirate in all his glory

Miss Elizabeth made him a pair for Christmas two years ago,

*too too funny, truely

Christmas Eve dinner was everything Jack had imagined it would be:

*aww, got me crying again here

—the Governor, seemed astonished at Jack’s polite manners,

*he he, surprise surprise

and that he knew which fork to use,

*the one you got stuffed in yer shirt, silly

But perhaps…just perhaps…this would be the first of many.

*for poignancy—move over, Tiny Tim

the others made ready to go to the midnight service at the church.

*oh, now don’t tell me he doesn’t get to go

“Perhaps if you come to us next year,

*yeah, yeah, next year

except when disguised as a parson, of course.”

*good job. Great tie in

You must give yourself a little more time to fully regain your health and spirits.”

gifts!

*guess jack is just like a kid at Christmas, eh?

I like presents.”

*this is such a sweet, satisfying story, thank you for writing it

“But that’s half the fun!” Jack objected.

*he is right, it is

“The Governor did! He and Mrs. Hathaway are…er…communing in the library.”

*good for wetherby and hathaway

Jack wiggled said appendages against them, under the covers,

*I love the visual touches you toss in everywhere

But it’s not as though we are doing something wicked!”

*Darn!

Elizabeth burst into delighted laughter, and Will returned Jack’s sudden grin.

*again with the visuals

“God’s teeth, lad! It’s a work of art!” My initials?”

*wow, a turner original

we’d hoped you’d come to us for Christmas.

*this is the best gift of all for jack

“Seems a poor gift, really, next to what you’ve given me this year.

*got me crying again, I hope you are happy

the unfortunate soldiers and of Barbossa’s men,

*wow, great mood change, well done

Norrington, his men, what they did, and what they didn’t. And God’s mercy on ‘all.”

But Mrs. Hathaway said, “Oh, nonsense, Weatherby!

*great banter and exchange between character. Wonderful arguement

Elizabeth flicked the little box open, one-handed, as Jack had shown her.

*this is delightful

“Would you care for some, ma’am?”“Thank you, my dear. I believe I would.”

*Hathaway is so cool

But this picture on it: precisely what are those satyrs and nymphs getting up to?”

“They’re frolicking,” Is that what they’re calling it, these days?”

*SNORK!

Jack inclined his head, basking once more in the sunshine of his host’s approval.

*kvelling here. This is almost too much delight.

“And love. You’re a fortunate man,” Jack said, serious for once.

*weeping copiously

“She don’t want worshipping,” said Jack.

*wow, getting philosophical here

But of the three of us, you knew it, didn’t you?”

*whup. Here it comes,

if anything happened to me, would you help her?”

*gonna really make a crying fool of myself

Jack considered, thinking of his own life, and then of what hers had been.

*getting sodium poisoning from tears here

“And how could I not know that, after the last few days, eh?”

*lying on floor in a salt crusted lump

“Do you think he knew? That he would… die, untimely?”

*twitching on the floor now

Tears threatened,

*join the club liz

and Jack pulled her close.

*now im really crying cause I got no pirate here

a great sacrifice that was, fulfilling a promise that essentially makes you mine!”

*laughing and crying at the same time. I hate you. No I don’t. I love this story

He rolled her onto her back, pressing her into the bed,

*when did you start reading my mind

But then his kiss held her silent, and he spent a great deal of the next hour endeavoring to influence her reply.

*the only reply possible is that I am going to go back to the beginning and read this over, and over and over and over…its beyond great. Thanks for writing it. I always have liked the J/E stories.

Chapter 3: Close Calls

I’m ill—worse than last night.”

*I feel terrible that I am loving this

a frisson of panic running through him at the thought of being this helpless

*No worries jack, we will take care of you in shifts

close in proximity to Norrington and the scaffold at Fort Charles.

*oh dear, this is not good, but he is a guest of the governor

I am glad you are here for me to coddle.

*YAY!

and the lovely view afforded by the décolletage of her elegant dressing gown.

*bet she did that on purpose to perk him up

I am quite enjoying having you at such a disadvantage.

*me too, if the truth be told

His very hair seemed to hurt!

*perfectly described. I hate being this sick.

The three bullied him into drinking a medicinal tisane

*I love the way you stick the comic relief in here

by sweetened tea with rum, and some crisp lightly buttered toast, and an egg.

*it is so good to see an author willing to give jack rum when he is sick

“It is devilish!” Jack said, groused. “Bloody, managing women.

*oh pooh, you love it an you know it

Mrs. Hathaway’s remedy appears to be working.”“I was afraid of that.

*hee hee

“You’ve all gone to a great deal of trouble for me.

*good to see actually

Not sure what to say to that, or how to thank you.”

*by letting us do it, naturally

You know quite well you are worth any amount of trouble!

*he hoped, but he didn’t know it, not really

we all bask in the glow of your presence,

*exactly

Mrs. Hathaway is quite smitten,

*and the Gov wants to show off for her

Father [is] thinking he has such an interesting guest in his house

*see there? I knew it

. “And here I didn’t bring him a gift.”

*you did, he get to show off for the Hathaway chick

“Thank God he don’t know I’m here!

*just wait, just wait

his comfort, the Governor’s visit and a light flirtation with Mrs. Hathaway

*aww, this is just too sweet, he has Hathaway in his pocket with the rest of us

he must have at least once done something spectacularly good to deserve this,

*saved Liz twice, etc

decided instead to simply devote himself to appreciating the result.

*not only a good man, but a wise one as well

fell deeply asleep, listening to the patter of the rain against the windows.

*healing sleep that is

the ‘second-best dressing gown’ (a pleasingly gaudy affair)

It was bloody Norrington!

*oops just doesn’t cover it. Im dismayed and laughing at same time

she’d been denying there was even so much as a whiff of pirate

*ROTFL

“Sparrow!” said Norrington, sounding amused. “How good of you to join us.”

*good old norry, he is gonna be a good sport about it. Great writing.

Norrington’s lip twitched. he suggested, gesturing to Jack’s attire.

*sort of a ‘gift’ for norry as well, isn’t it

I’ll send tea in, directly.”

*and eavesdrop behind the door too

glanced about for escape routes. It would be difficult, as ill and dressed as he was,

*I can see him running through the town in those slippers

the latch making an ominous click.

*just in awe of your subtle use of detail like this

“You do look different without your…er…accoutrements, Captain.”

*you do norry so very well, perfect voice

I believe it’s the same one I gave the Governor on his birthday a year ago.”

*ROTFL, goodness, you don’t miss a trick do you

Norrington had come to find his sworn enemy parading about in the gift.

*jack is horrified by it, and im delighted by the scene

sudden for the Governor’s exacting tastes, but it seems to suit you quite admirably.”

*too too cute of you

“You’d look a bit peaked yourself, in similar circumstances, mate.”

*an understatement if I ever heard one

in as honest a tone as he could conjure up.

*been a while, has it?

I’d be that upset if they were to find any trouble by it, if you get me meanin’.”

*but this is so sweet of him to think of them

“Have you not noticed I’ve not been ‘after’ you, either, of late, Captain?”

*things are looking up

you and your crew rescued a number of unfortunates off the Queen Anne,

*yay! heroes

And it would make it so much easier for me to turn a blind eye

*the absolute only argument that will work, good for norry

Lord! To think of being able to come right up to the docks here,

*don’t just think about it, take the letter

. I have you to thank for my enlightenment, I think.”

*good norry, good

my trust in your good behavior was justified.

*oh, jack loves him now

You were a model of gentlemanly decorum.”

*oops, the insult direct

You’ll just have to come on a little voyage with us on the Pearl some time, eh?

*oh hold me down, now are your going to write this?

“I shall very much look forward to it, Captain. Very much, indeed!”

*not as much as I wil

Another great chapter. This thing just flows

He wasn’t getting old, he was getting ill.

*ah, a little h/c for christmas

Turner’s Smithy lay. financed by his wedding gift

*too darn sweet of him

Norrington and his little marines,

*very very funny, nice phrase

had the man been hoping his prisoner would escape?

*flat out yes, I believe so

Now, however, the road seemed endless.

*good, he is going to be very pathetic when he gets there

for a long second was frozen, staring at the scene.

*talk about the urchin staring in the window of a toy store

. A sudden longing to be a part of that gripped him,

*achingly heartbreaking. I want in there myself

overwhelming feeling that he’d made a horrible mistake.

*NO, go for it!

He wasn’t of that world, not any longer, not that he’d ever been, really…

*you can be, just do it

some careless gardener -random voyeurs to make clean exits.

*laughing merrily now

fell on his arse with far less than his usual grace.

*one must be graceful at such times

Are you all right?”Apparently he didn’t look all right.

*sick puppy in the rain

and Jack winced: another thing he hated was being genuinely pathetic,

*o, too bad jack, it’s the way I love ya

Mrs. Hathaway said with brisk glee,

*a pirate lover, I can tell

“Gifts! Oh, Jack! You’ve come for Christmas?”

*Christmas and sympathy-a dream come true

the lace-edged wipe in the nick of time,

*not your average low class pirate

standing here in those wet clothes!”

*right, get em off, immediately

“Good God, Sparrow! You do look a wretched specimen! Poor fellow.

*and he is in-goody

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed militantly.

*hee hee, she is instantly ‘in arms’

Jack was both dismayed and delighted at all this fuss,

*love it, I just love this scene

Almost before he knew it, he’d been stripped

*sigh, well a girl can dream cant she

from water that had been slightly scented with roses,

*beats eau d’pirate

tankard of mulled wine in his hand and a thankful prayer on his lips

*too delightful for words

they’d entered the Rose Suite,

*hee hee, he is gonna love it in there

contrast of pale femininity and swarthy pirate,

*OH, yeah.

letting the quilt slide off one shoulder, just a little.

*what a roue’. Perfect characterization, truely

the water baked the ache and chill from his bones.

*good to see him in comfort at last

agreed Peters, blandly, though his eyes smiled.

*wonderful characterization of the butler

“You’ve certainly evidence of an adventurous life

*the scars I suppose

“Gentleman!” Jack protested, but then encountered a pointed look from the valet.

*now what does the valet know that I don’t

Swann’s high-toned valet had no objection to waiting on Jack would tell the tale.

*HA! That explains the lace hanky then

“You are very warm.”

*oh oh, the ubiquitous fever

Oh, well done, great story.

This is such a sweet story, it ends happy of course?

completing her contentment, he made no move to go. *aww, nice touch here

The fey, Sparrovian animation *wow, great phrase

“What? Have I something on my face?” *my tongue, I wish

Elizabeth smiled, thinking yes, he could, and did, and he certainly was. *amen to that, silly pirate

How glad I am that Father asked you to come to me.” *now, there is a great dad

“ ‘Twas that first Christmas. Remember?” *no, tell me, tell me.

should have been filled with the joy of the season, The trouble was, he wasn’t. * oh, dear, what can we do to fix this unhappy puppy

his attendance (in disguise and without mishap) at the wedding * well, I should hope so, he loves weddings

two weeks of carousing in Tortuga best thingto celebrating on the Pearl. *not even close, bub

Maybe he was getting old, *not with that picture Johnny has in his attic

the raw and raucous life of the place wasn’t making him happy like it usually did. *getting jaded is he?

His usual haunts, seemed seedierl, the women coarser, the liquor execrable. *face it Jack, your tastes have morphed

P’rhaps if he’d had company… *lonely is he?

Will would like that. *why don’t you buy it for him

imagined surprise, decorations, hot rum punch, a fire, roast goose? *wow, he is very very lonely

church at midnight—if he stood at the back he wouldn’t be too noticeable, *got me crying now-just get him there, will you

, just like they’d done in England when he was a lad. *oh my. *weeps*

seeing the reality of the muddy street, rain, palm trees scraggly and dripping. *kind of what Will saw, eh?

with a jangle of bells. *oops, whenever a bell rings, an angel gets its wings

You know, for all that you were touting this story as a J/E romance, it really wasn't. Which isn't a bad thing. What I mostly me is that the focus isn't on the romantic storyline, obviously. In any case, I enjoyed it. It was light and sweet and fluffy and lots of fun to read. Very nicely done.

*giggle* Jack was wearing the dressing gown Norrington gave to the governor for his birthday. I find that so cute.

Congratulations on managing to make the implausible scenario of Governor Swann inviting Jack to stay (okay, allowing Elizabeth to invite him to stay) believable.

Wonderful story! Altogether wonderful. Although, I would prefer Will not die, I love that he asked Jack to take care of Elizabeth. Great story, wonderful job! Now, on to Harry and the Pirate, eh?

Another great chapter. I love that Jack pops in at exactly the wrong moment. But it had good results, right? Okay, I'm off to read the last chapter!

I believe I've said before that you're one of the only people that actually make me like the Jack/Elizabeth shipping. But I'll say it again, because it's true. I'm also a fan of the fact that a) Jack made no move to go and b) it completing Elizabeth's contentment, because it's understated but very sweet. I also liked the line, "The fey, Sparrovian animation was absent, replaced by a quiescent beauty that made him look both more mature and more youthful at once," mostly because there are few people who can pull off a line like that, but you managed to do it.

I read this chapter with a smile on my face, as usual, with your stories. Poor Jack! But then it was okay, because he recieved such a warm welcome. What luxury! Makes me want to go a-visiting in Port Royal!

Lovely story! With a little bit of sadness and a bit of sexiness along with the holiday cheer. I like the comgbination. Thank you!