FicWad

There was a moment of very awkward silence while the two of us just kind of looked at each other. I tried crossing my legs, but you could still see the blood. My cheeks turned a shade of dark red and I stared at the floor. I moved my mouth to try and come up with some excuse, but unfortunately for me, no excuse came out.

"I see you hurt yourself," the commodore finally said after a very drawn out silence. Not sure what else to say, I nodded and stared at the floor. James Norrington walked across the room to me and held out a hand. Confused of what he was doing, I just kind of stared at his hand and gave him a questioning look. To be honest, I was surprised he hadn't kicked me out for the blood mess.

I tentatively reached out and took his hand. It was a very beautiful hand was creamy skin and long, slender fingers. Blushing an even darker shade of red, I told myself that these types of thoughts were not at all helpful in a situation like this. James pulled me to my feet and started leading me across the room. I followed until I couldn't keep my questions inside anymore.

"Commodore? Where are we going?" I asked hesitantly. Luckily, this time I had enough sense not to call him by his first name. James looked down at me from the corner of his eye. I could see his gaze drop to my bloody skirt again. Oh god, this was so embarrassing! James lifted his gaze again and said resolutely, "I'm going to get you some bandages and water so you can clean up."

Oh, that was nice of him. I smiled and said a soft, "Thank you." James nodded and we lapsed into silence again. Did he know? I wasn't sure. I mean, it was a rather strange thing to get blood on the inside of your legs like that and James certainly wasn't a stupid man. He probably knew what I had done with Beckett, but I knew he was smart enough not to say anything.

James led me into a small room and opened a wooden cabinet. He pulled out some bandages and then took my hand again. There was a tingling sensation as the two of us held hands. Well, at least there was a tingling sensation for me. I'm not sure if James was feeling the same way or not. Or perhaps, I was just nervous.

James led me over to a little sofa and motioned to it, "Go ahead and sit there. I'll be back with some water." I nodded to James and perched on the very edge of the chair, not wanting to get it bloody like everything else. I looked around the room while James was gone. Everything seemed to be white in the room. The carpet was white, the walls were white, and even the cabinets were painted white. In my opinion, it was too much white. The only thing that wasn't white was a picture of a flower garden on the wall opposite me.

A few minutes later, James returned with a bowl of water. He handed me the bowl and then stood in front of me rather awkwardly. I could tell he was trying to decide whether he should go or stay. Finally, he took a few steps forwards and sat on a chair to my right. He looked straight ahead of himself instead of at me and cleared his throat.

I took the bowl of water, dipped the cloth into it, and hesitated. I wasn't sure if lifting my skirt in this situation was appropriate or not. James didn't appear to be looking at me, so I finally decided it was okay. I slipped the cloth over my thighs, cleaning it off all the blood and other content from earlier. A frown crept across my lips as I cleaned myself off; why were my thighs so damn big?

I couldn't keep thinking about this, however, because James started speaking. He cleared his throat and coughed awkwardly to get my attention. He didn't really need to cough to do that. He already had my attention. I blinked and looked up at him, wondering what it was that he wanted. James tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair almost nervously. This couldn't be good...

"Miss...oh dear, I'm sorry, I forgot your name," James said with a frown, faltering slightly. I blushed again. People always seemed to forget me and my name when someone like Elizabeth Swann was around. I wiped off the remaining blood from my legs and looked up at him, "It's Jenna. Jenna Cook. There's no need to apologize."

James nodded slightly and continued what he was saying earlier, "I am sorry if I seem bold, but you must understand that I am only looking out for your safety in this regard. I see that you are bleeding. Am I right in the thought that you brought this down on yourself? Meaning, I highly doubt that you tripped, fell, or did anything of the like in this situation."

Oh god, so he did know apparently. I faltered for a minute, pulling my skirt back over my legs. The bleeding seemed to have stopped and hopefully, there would be no more issue. Of course, I still would have to face my parents when I got home. Mother certainly wouldn't be too happy about me getting blood on my skirt, but I would worry about that later.

"Um...perhaps," I said sheepishly to James' question. He nodded a-matter-of-factly, still not meeting my eyes. He stared straight ahead of him and coughed, "Keep in mind that I am only looking out for your protection here. With your best interests in mind, I would recommend to stop doing...whatever it is that you're doing."

I nodded, not saying anything. This was so embarrassing. James opened his mouth as if to say something before he decided not to and shut it again. Giving me an awkward smile, he stood up again and held out his hand once more. Feeling even more embarrassed than before if that was possible, I stood and took his hand once more. Again, I felt that strange tingling in my hands. If James felt it too, he certainly wasn't showing any sign of it at all.

He walked me to the door and we stood there awkwardly again. James looked around at his feet and then finally said, "I think that perhaps this isn't the best time to discuss your best friend. I think that maybe you should come back a different time when perhaps you aren't..ahem...bleeding so much." James stepped around me and opened the door.

Feeling like he really wanted me out right this minute, I nodded and stepped out of the door, "Thank you for the water and things. I will see you sometime in the future." With a small, stiff smile on my face, I tore off running back home. I didn't care if it wasn't ladylike. I just had to get out of this situation right now. I had made such a fool of myself.

Once I returned home, I ran straight to my bedroom. After that, I changed into a clean dress and hid the one that I had been wearing under my bed. I didn't think I could stand any more trouble or embarrassment this morning. The rest of the day kind of went by in a blur for me. Mother summoned me for lunch, but I said I had already eaten. Somehow, I managed to get out of dinner too. But even after all that, standing in front of the mirror, all I could see was someone ugly and fat.

~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, I awoke early and dressed quickly. I brushed my hair quickly and yawned before running downstairs. I already had plans for this morning. I was going to go back to Beckett and apologize for getting the bloodstain on the floor. I would ask if there was anything he wanted me to do about it or if there was anything I could do to pay him back.

After that, I was going to go back to the commodore and actually try to have a full conversation with him about Elizabeth since I hadn't really figured out anything from the other day. Plus, by leaving this early, I would be able to skip breakfast. Quietly and sneakily, I cracked the front door open and slipped on my shoes. No other sounds came from the house.

Glad that I was escaping before anyone was awake, I crept outside and started walking towards Beckett's office. I was tempted to run, but decided in the end not to. After all, running would make me all sweaty and hot. I didn't really think Beckett would appreciate the stench of my sweat or the view of me dripping with it.

Since I was walking, it took me almost thirty whole minutes to arrive at his office. Once I was there and was standing in front of the door, I started to have second thoughts. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. What if Beckett was very upset with me? Or what if he didn't want me here at all? He might just want to forget all about me.

I hesitated in front of the door for a few moments, unsure of what to do. However, some strange feeling deep inside me was pushing me to go on inside. It was probably the same part of me that had sent little fireworks all over my body when James had held my hand yesterday. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and knocked on the door.

There was a long silence. The silence started to get unbearable. I was really quite tempted just to go and run in the opposite direction and pretend that I had never knocked on this door. Just as I was preparing to do so, an emotionless voice called from inside the room, "Come in. It's unlocked." That was definitely Cutler Beckett's voice.

Now I was starting to sweat despite the fact that I had walked all the way here. Great. Isn't it awful how you can end up sweating when you get nervous? Taking a deep breath and telling myself that it was too late to turn back around now, I opened the door softly and stepped inside. I shut the door behind me and this time, it made a loud creaking sound.

Beckett was absorbed in something on his desk as usual. I bit my lip and stood in the doorway awkwardly. The office was just as I had left it yesterday. The rug was still in its new position, the curtains were drawn, and Beckett was sitting in the exact same spot as last time. I wondered if he ever moved things around. It must get quite boring in here.

I was tempted to clear my throat to get his attention, but my voice (and throat for that matter) seemed to have stopped working altogether. So instead, I just stood, waiting for some que of what to do. Suddenly, Cutler looked up at me. His blue eyes pierced right through me. Oh god, I had made such a big mistake by coming here...