To be a Father

Title: To be a Father
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own PotC
Summary: Takes place after first movie. After pursuing Sparrow for a few months, Norrington captures a pirate ship and finds a sick toddler hiding on board.
A/N: Here is chapter 6. I’m sorry it took so long to get out. I do hope I can get some reviews, I could use some cheering up….

Chapter 6

After breakfast and a nap, (Penny remained in her own bed that she now shared with Alice, much to Norrington’s disappointment) the Commodore took Alice and Penny to visit the midwife.

“I-I know this place,” Alice said breathlessly as Norrington helped her out of the carriage.

Her green eyes were wide as she took in the small building.

Norrington held out his arms for Penny, who squealed in delight and jumped into them, as she usually did when exiting the carriage.

Alice took his arm and they made their way to the door.

The servant who answered laughed in delight when she saw Alice and pulled her into a joyous embrace. Alice raised an eyebrow at Norrington over the smaller woman’s shoulder, but allowed the hug.

The woman began to chatter rapidly in Spanish. Though he did not speak the language, he had heard it spoken enough to recognize it. It surprised him when Alice automatically answered back in Spanish.

She abruptly stopped talking and turned to Norrington with a slightly bemused expression.

“I speak Spanish.”

“Apparently,” he responded, smirking at her.

Alice turned back to the servant and resumed their conversation. From her gestures and facial expressions, Norrington could tell that Alice was explaining to the servant what had happened to her. The servant seemed to grow concerned and began speaking more gently, but Alice smiled and laughed putting the servant back at ease.

Penny started shifting uncomfortably in his arms and looked at him with a whine. He cleared his throat to get Alice’s attention.

“Perhaps you can ask her where the midwife is? I think Penny’s patience is about to run out,” he said with a smile so that she didn’t think he was angry.

She smiled back at him apologetically and asked the servant where the midwife was.

The servant frowned and began chattering away again.

Alice’s smile left her face.

“Oh. Apparently she had to leave to help with an emergency in the next town. Maria here, was hoping that I had come back to help out,” she explained, looking around a little nervously.

Norrington wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Are you ready to do something like that?” He asked, quietly.

Alice looked at him helplessly.

“I don’t know. Part of me wants to stay because this place seems familiar. I remember it, and I feel like if I could stay here long enough I’d remember more. But what if I can’t remember something and make a mistake causing someone to get hurt? I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Not yet, anyway.”

He nodded at her, knowing that she needed to make this decision herself.

Alice turned back to Maria and asked a question. The servant answered and Alice looked relieved.

“She says there are no emergencies, and the few apprentices here should be able to handle it,” she explained.

“Good. Let’s get some shopping done, and then maybe we can have a picnic on the beach,” he suggested shifting Penny to his other arm.

Alice nodded absently, as her eyes focused on her surroundings, trying desperately to remember more. She finally let out a sigh and gave up.

Saying goodbye to Maria, and telling the servant to send word to Norrington’s house when the midwife returned, they made their way back to the carriage.

If Norrington thought he had spent a lot of money on Penny, it was nothing compared to Alice. Of course, he had no one to blame but himself.

The dressmaker had recognized him and Penny, and though she must have known through the town’s gossips that they were not married, she still asked Alice, “And what can I do for you today, Mrs. Norrington?”

Alice blushed, but did not correct the woman. That pleased him greatly. She obviously was not as against the idea of marrying him as he’d thought.

“I just need two simple gowns…” she began.

“… and five extravagant ones,” he finished, sending her a sharp look when she began to protest.

The dressmaker was ecstatic at the idea of such a sale, and soon brought several bolts of material for them to choose from.

“What are you doing? I don’t need such finery,” she hissed to him when the woman left them alone to get more fabrics.

“I’m a commodore, Alice. I get invited to a number of social events and a ‘simple gown’, won’t do.”

She gave him a putout look.

“What makes you think I will accompany you to these…events?” She demanded.

“You don’t want to?” He asked with a frown.

“I didn’t say that. I just thought you’d ask, instead of just assuming I would, like we were married or something.”

He chuckled.

“Oh, I still plan on asking you, but now you won’t have to worry about not having anything to wear. And if you don’t want me to assume that you’ll behave as if we are married, then you should have corrected the dressmaker when she called you ‘Mrs. Norrington’.”

Alice blushed and looked away.

Norrington hoped he hadn’t offended her.

“I was just teasing you,” he said, quietly.

Alice laughed and shook her head.

“Yes, I did realize that, Commodore.”

Norrington was spared a response when the dressmaker returned.

The woman stocked so many different kinds of material that it took the better part of an hour for them to narrow down which ones they liked.

“This one is a favorite among the women of Port Royal,” she said, holding out yet another sample for their consideration.

It happened to be the exact same material and color as the gown of Elizabeth’s she had borrowed the night he met her.

They both said ‘no’ at the same time then laughed at themselves.

Penny looked up from her spot on the floor, where she had been quietly playing with her toys, trying to see what had caused them to laugh so. She gave them an odd look, as if to say they were strange for laughing at nothing, and turned back to play.

After the dresses, she had to buy things to wear under the dresses. And then it was off to the shoemaker. They visited a jewelry store, a bookstore, and then went to market for food items.

When they finally returned to Norrington’s house, his pockets were much lighter, and Alice was dismayed at how much he had spent on her.

“It really wasn’t necessary to spend so much, Commodore,” Alice told him as he carried a sleeping Penny to their room.

“It’s my money, I can spend it how I choose,” he snapped and Alice giggled at how childish he sounded.

They tucked Penny into bed and headed down to the kitchen to make lunch.

Norrington had never had a problem with cooking his own meals, but found it was an enjoyable experience with Alice helping him.

“You’ve obviously had some experience cooking,” he commented as he watched her chop tomato for a salad.

“Yes, I think my mother taught me. I have a memory of being very small and standing on a stool so I could watch her cook,” Alice said, with a far away expression.

“You remember your mother now?”

Alice blinked and shook her head.

“Not really. I can’t see her face, but I do see a sort of basin with water that pours out of a spout when you turn a knob.”

He gave her an odd look.

“That sounds… convenient.”

She shrugged.

“Could have just been a dream,” she said, and focused back on the vegetables.

They had just about finished when Penny began crying out for them.

“Mama!” She wailed.

Alice wiped her hands on a cloth and quickly went to collect her.

Norrington packed the lunch into a basket and waited for them at the door. A few minutes later, Penny came running, dragging her bag of beach toys behind her.

Alice and he both laughed at her enthusiasm as they made their way toward the water.

The weather was nice, and though they both tried to convince Penny to eat, she just wanted to play.

“Okay, but don’t get in the water Penny. Stay on the sand,” Norrington said at the sight of her tears.

Alice laughed.

“Commodore, my daughter has you wrapped around her finger.”

He smiled.

“She has for a while now,” he admitted.

They made themselves comfortable on a blanket and pulled out the food. Penny would abandon her toys every few minutes to run to Norrington and Alice with her mouth open demanding they feed her a bite of food. As she chewed she would make her way back to the toys, until she was ready for more.

“See, she’s compromising. Very smart girl,” Norrington said, with pride.

Alice just shook her head and returned to her food.

They finished and relaxed as they watched Penny play. Norrington peeked a glance at Alice and was surprised to see how sad she looked.

“Are you okay, Miss Clark?” He asked, concerned.

Alice sighed.

“I’m just feeling sorry for myself,” she admitted with a frown.

“How do you mean?” He asked.

“I feel guilty for remembering the midwife’s shop, but not my own daughter. I look at her, and I love her, but I don’t remember her. It’s devastating,” she tried to explain.

He grabbed her hand and looked into her pretty green eyes.

“You will remember her. It’s not your fault that you don’t right now. What was it the midwife said? Oh yes, the mind is very complex. You can’t blame yourself for this,” he said.

A tear slipped out of one of her eyes as she looked at him with awe.

“Why are you being so good to me?” She asked gripping his hand tightly.

Norrington reached up and wiped the tear from her face, not sure how to answer.

He knew what he wanted to do, but was afraid of how she’d react. In the end, it was Alice who leaned forward, closing the small space between them, and pressed her lips against his.

It was a brief kiss, and Norrington kept his eyes closed for a few seconds after she pulled away. Alice was smiling when he looked at her again, and he felt his lips twitch in response.

They both bent toward each other at the same time to share another kiss, but were interrupted by a piercing scream.

Penny came running up to them, giant tears tumbling down her chubby cheeks, and held out her right arm to show them the rapidly forming welt.

“Penny, what happened?” Alice asked, studying the wound.

“Bee bite,” she said with a hiccup.

Norrington pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Penny’s face. He gave the girl a reassuring smile.

“Mama will make it all better,” he said, rubbing her back comfortingly.

Alice was holding Penny’s arm, watching the bite intently.

“What are you looking for?” Norrington asked her.

She shook her head, then cursed under her breath and jumped to her feet.

“Bring her inside,” Alice said and took off running toward the house.

He watched her for a few moments, bewildered.

Then Penny coughed drawing Norrington’s attention to her. He gasped in shock.

Her little body was beginning swell all over, and in the few moments it took to get her into the house, she had begun wheezing and gasping for breath.

“Alice?” He called out fearfully.

“Bring her up here!” She called from her and Penny’s room.

Obediently, he ran up the stairs as fast as he could without dropping Penny.

“Lay her on the bed,” Alice said, her voice steady though her shaking hands revealed how scared she was.

She was frantically opening bottles and peering inside looking for something.

Penny took one more gasping breath, then feel silent and unmoving.

“Alice, she’s not breathing!” He cried watching Penny’s swollen lips turn blue. Never in his life had he felt so helpless.

Alice made a triumphant noise and held up a small yellow case barely larger than a pen.

It was the most curious looking object he had ever seen.

He watched in fascination as Alice deftly opened the case and drew out an even smaller see-through container that was holding a milky liquid. The container was wide at one end and narrowed into a fine metal point that was revealed when she removed a cap that had covered the other end.

“What is…” he began but broke off with a gasp when she suddenly stabbed the sharp end into Penny’s thigh.

Penny jerked slightly, but made no other move.

Alice watched her silently, doing nothing.

“Can’t you do something?” Norrington demanded, looking up at her from where he was kneeling beside the bed.

Alice sank to her knees beside him and took his hand in hers.

“Give her a minute,” she said quietly, not taking her eyes off of the unnaturally still girl on the bed.

To Norrington it seemed like hours, but Alice insisted it was less than a minute when Penny began coughing and breathing deeply.

He had never heard a more precious sound.

“Why cry, Comdore?” Penny asked a few minutes later. Already the swelling had significantly gone down.

Norrington touched his face, surprised to find tears there.

Alice gave his hand a squeeze.

“He was worried about you, Penny. The bee made you sick,” she explained.

Penny frowned and sat up to give Norrington a hug.

“Penny okay, Comdore,” she said, patting his cheek.

He couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat, so he just held her close, thanking God that she was okay. Grateful that Alice had been there and had known what to do.

Eventually, Penny fell asleep and he carefully laid her back on the bed and looked back at Alice. She was staring off in the distance, chewing on her bottom lip.

He slowly got to his feet, wincing as he knees popped.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

She looked at him silently for a moment before saying, “I remember.”

His heart skipped a beat.

“What do you remember?”

“Everything.”

End Chapter 6


A/N: I’m still trying to decide if I want to switch viewpoints. It’s hard to describe modern objects using terms from the 15th Century. But I like the idea of being in Norrington’s head as Alice tries to explain everything to him.