Dinah stared out of the window, her forehead pressed against the cool glass. Everywhere outside she could see small scenes of destruction that Stanton's crew had caused before. There were people cleaning up piles of broken glass in the streets, others giving reports to soldiers of what items had been taken from them. The Bonnie Lass was still anchored in the harbor. Its captain was food for so many fish, and its crew was in shackles, the Port Royal jail overflowing. Dinah's mission had come to her, and now she had to face the issue of what she was to do next.

Elizabeth knocked quietly on the door, and then pushed it open. Dinah turned and smiled wanly at her. "Thank you for the dress," she said. A maid had woken her that morning with one of Elizabeth's dresses and another blasted corset to squeeze her into.

"I won't be able to fit into it soon, anyway," Elizabeth replied. She paused a moment. "Commodore Norrington is downstairs. He asked to see you."

Dinah nodded. She followed Elizabeth towards the stairs, feeling naked despite the yards of fabric covering her. James was standing in near the door to the house with Will, and Dinah caught a snippet of their conversation.

"… we were rather shocked."

"As am I. I trust you to be discreet."

"Of course…." Will trailed off and looked up as the two women began descending the stairs. He smiled at his own wife, and then nodded at the Commodore, whose eyes didn't leave Dinah.

He kissed her on the cheek when she stopped before him, and they clasped each others' hands. "Would you come with me for a little while?" he asked her earnestly.

She nodded. "I'll… I'll be back soon," she told Elizabeth. "Thank you so much for everything."

Elizabeth smiled kindly as she and Will watched them leave. Norrington helped Dinah into the carriage, pausing for a moment before he climbed in after her.

They sat opposite each other as the carriage began to rock down the drive, their knees pressed together. James felt almost crazed by the contact, even though he'd been so much closer to her the night before, clasped her so tightly to him after they pulled themselves from the ocean. Dinah stared silently at her hands.

"That was the captain of your ship," James said simply.

"It was."

"Now he's dead."

"He is."

There was a pause. "Come on, Dinah," James snapped. "You know perfectly well what this means. The man you were leaving to kill is dead. What is there for you to go back to now?"

She looked up at him, swallowing thickly. "I don't know, James. But I don't know what life there is for me here, either."

He reached out and caressed her cheek. "I can tell you that. I love you. I want you to stay here, with me." He held out his hand, the ring glittering between his fingers. "I want you to be my wife."

She put her right hand over her mouth as she looked at the shimmering emerald, perfectly set into a gold band. James clasped her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. "It's a family heir loom. I've always known I would give it to the woman I was in love with, the woman I wanted to marry."

She reached down to drag it off of her knuckle. "Don't give it to me yet," she said, her voice cracking as she tried not to cry. "I don't know what my answer is going to be yet. I don't know if I can be the wife you want."

He laid his hands over hers. "You're already what I want; don't think you need to change and become something else. You're not the average straight-laced lady. No matter what, Dinah, keep the ring. No matter what you choose. I'll never love anyone else like I love you; it should be yours, forever."

The tears came now and she placed her hands over her face, sobbing quietly. James felt a burning at the back of his throat as well.

"I love you so much," she said, wiping at her cheeks with the backs of her hands. "But I never prepared for anything like this."

"Neither did I."

They had reached the fort, and he stared at her plaintively for a moment before leaning forward and kissing her. It was a lingering kiss, uncertain of being repeated.

"I'll return to Will and Elizabeth's house tonight. If you're gone… well, you know I won't chase you."

"Goodbye James," she said, letting his hand trail out of hers slowly as he descended from the carriage and ordered the driver to take her back to the Turner's.

He could barely pay attention to his work all day, which was very bad indeed as there was much to do after the previous night's events. He left as soon as possible, barely able to contain himself during the drive to the Turner's house.

He knocked a bit too persistently on the door, his heart pounding as he waited on the stoop. Elizabeth opened in a moment later. The look on her face was not a heartening one.

"Where is she?" he asked, dispensing with all the formalities and getting straight to the point.

"She left a short while ago," Elizabeth told him sadly.

"Did she say anything?" he asked, with his last shred of hope.

"She said she would return the dress." James' jaw jerked as he looked away from Elizabeth. "I'm so sorry," she said.

He nodded. "I'm going to go." Elizabeth nodded and slowly shut the door. He walked back to his carriage and paused, leaning against its side with his hands covering his face. She was gone. The only way he'd ever see her again was if they brought her into be hanged. He couldn't bear to think about it.

He heard footsteps on the drive and looked up.

She was walking towards him, and for a moment he thought he was hallucinating. Her glorious hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders, and the hem of Elizabeth's dress was slightly dirty. She was holding her pirate's hat in her hands.

"I thought I would beat you back," she said.

"Where did you go?" he asked after he found his tongue again.

"I had some things to take care of." She looked down at the item in her hands and smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't bear to part with the hat."

"You…"

"I threw it away. My men's clothes, the sword, everything except the hat. What is it about hats?"

There were no more words after that; his hands were in her hair and his lips were devouring hers as he dragged her into the carriage. He shut the door, never letting go of her, and pounded against the front to signal to the driver. They set off with a lurch, Dinah half in his lap as they kissed frantically.

"You're staying," he whispered, kissing her again before she had time to answer.

"You are all I have in the world," she told him after she managed to break away again. "You are the only thing I want."

They resumed their kissing, Dinah's hat getting considerably crushed and James' wig going askew, until the carriage stopped and James realized that they had arrived at his house. Unwilling to part with her but unsure of what they should do next, he pulled back, peering out the carriage window. Both of them were breathing heavily and looking very mussed.

"James," said Dinah after he had made no decision after a moment. He looked at her. She kissed him. It was time to get her revenge for his barging in on her in her shift. Her lips close to his ear, she whispered, "give your maid the night off."

AN: Finally complete! Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.