AN: here it is! The wedding, hopefully including much squeeness. Well, to me it does anyway. But I'm a romantic sap in general. Hope you enjoy, dd xx

40

They arrived at last at the church, to be greeted upon descending by an excited crowd of townspeople all craning for a look at the groom. If Norrington could possibly have leapt back into the carriage and sped back to his house, he would have done so, but Groves, seeming to anticipate his distress at the large number of people present, clutched fast to his forearm and anchored him. He pushed him inside unceremoniously, and stationed himself by the door to wait for his sister.

Inside was hardly better; every pew was filled with curious citizens, dressed in their finest and craning to look at the Commodore as he made his way up the aisle to the seat at the front.

'What the hell are all these people doing here?' he hissed angrily at Gillette, who had taken his seat beside him and was making a great show of polishing the ring.

'They've come to see the show, sir,' the Captain replied innocently.

'Oh, I see,' replied the other scathingly. 'I suppose this was Miss Swann's bright idea, as ever. Roll up, roll up for the circus! Come and see the Commodore mess up his vows, and drop the ring, and trip on the train of the bride's dress! She knew I only wanted a few people here, damn her.'

'Don't swear in church, sir,' Gillette said sweetly. Norrington shot him a frosty glare, folded his arms grumpily and stared crossly ahead. Gillette smirked.

Meanwhile, outside, the bride was arriving. The gawking crowds murmured in awed approval as Elinor and Elizabeth fussed around her dress, straightening ribbons and tweaking lace hems. Alicia stood as though oblivious to the commotion, clutching her tidy bouquet of peonies in shaking hands. She was immensely grateful for the cover of the late Mrs Swann's veil, hiding her puffy, tired eyes from the public.

She had been unable to sleep, the shadows of packing-boxes and trunks haunting her in her bed. The sight of the maids carefully packing her childhood dolls and toys away had reduced her fairly to tears, though she could not say why. It had been inexplicably difficult to bid farewell to a house she had occupied for only eight short months, but she supposed it was due to the implicit farewell to a way of life, an easy existence with Theodore and Elinor and the girls that hurt her most.

Elinor had asked her last night whether she was afraid, and she had laughed dismissively. But in truth, she thought, watching Emma and Lucinda run around merrily in their little blue dresses, she had never been more terrified in her life. The thought of her and the Commodore, the only two inhabitants of a large house. There would be noone else to run to in moments of distress, only James. It would be so easy to get on his nerves. She was quite convinced she would aggravate him out of his mind within a week of moving in, or would find to her detriment that she was in fact a dull, uninspiring person unsuited to the role of a lifelong companion.

The bells of the small church, and the panicked whispers between Elinor and Elizabeth confirmed that the priest was ready to begin. Alicia took her brother's arm slowly and made her way to the back of the central aisle, concentrating hard on the long, delicate hem of her dress.

'Would you please stand for the entrance of the bride?' the priest addressed the congregation.

Norrington turned around to frown at the gathered masses, who were slowly shuffling to their feet, whispering noisily. But he was unable to arrange his features into a stern rebuke, despite years of commanding and admonishing men and boys aboard ships. For Alicia stood at the other end of the church, the daylight flooding around her figure, shining through the delicate veil and bathing her in a dazzling glow. A halo for my angel, he thought, and smiled awkwardly at the white seraph walking slowly towards him on her brother's arm.

The Commodore swallowed nervously, and turned to face the priest again, quite sure he would be unable to speak the vows when it came to his turn. A fine to-do this is, he reflected, when I cannot look at my wife without becoming a gibbering idiot. And then there was no more time for reflection, for she was at his elbow, and somehow, mechanically, he helped her to kneel, and knelt himself, and heard the priest's voice as if from very far away, 'dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of almighty God…'

Norrington, later, found he could remember very little of the ceremony itself. As an automaton, he repeated lines, and listened as Alicia pledged herself to him. He could not even remember signing the register, or sliding the cool band of gold onto her finger.

But he remembered her amazing, amazed smile as he lifted her veil and cautiously rearranged the lace at the back of her head, and regarded his wife clearly for the first time. His mouth twitched anxiously, and she looked down briefly at his hand loosely clasping hers, and then held his intense gaze once more. In that look he seemed to see the whole world, every feeling he had ever experienced with her, from the confusion of their early acquaintance, to the heart-stopping fear when he saw her silhouette drop from the side of the Dauntless, the rushing grief at her harsh words after the duel, and the soaring jubilance when he took her in his arms that evening at Groves' house.

He must have been lost in the moment, as the phrase in Alicia's inane romantic novel so many months ago had said, for he became aware of Gillette hissing 'Kiss her!' frantically from his seat in the front pew. And for once, Commodore James Edward Norrington forgot his dignity, forgot his haughty public image, forgot his stupid, stifling reputation, and kissed his wife with hungry passion and ardour, her arms snaking automatically behind his neck and her knees buckling as he embraced her.

Alicia looked staggered as he pulled away, and stumbled a little, light-headed. Desperately, she tried to look scandalized at the rather shocking display of public affection from a very private man, but could not. Instead, she smiled mischievously and kissed him lightly once more, and hand in hand they ran down the aisle into the waiting sunshine.

Fin

AN: so…that's it. C'est tout. I feel like I've lost a limb or something, I've been working on this for so long. As my sister said t'other day, 'when I watch POTC I'm always confused as to why Alicia isn't in it…' I really hope you've enjoyed it, and thank you all so much for your reviews and support along the way. I still have so many ideas whirling in my disturbed mind, so if enough people clamour, may see my way to writing a sequel. Who knows? For now, at least, let me thank you for your company and wish you all the best for the future. No doubt I'll be hovering around at some point. Much love, dorian dark xxx