Title: Life's Schedule
Summary: Will and Elizabeth are becoming accustomed to Emily's demanding schedule, and finding it harder and harder to do the things they love to do. Third in the Turner Series.
Disclaimer: Will and Elizabeth Turner belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney, certainly not me. But I do claim Emily and the household servants, because I had to name them.
Chapter 1: All work and no play
Will cried out in pain as he dropped the hammer to the floor, it crinkled and thudded against the hay as he shook his hand, placing his index and middle finger into his mouth in attempts to ward off the throbbing.
"Watch what yer doin' boy." Mr. Brown snarled from the opposite corner as he lifted the whisky bottle to his lips, peering with scrunched eyes and a dirty face as Will attempted to fill his orders on time.
"I'm never going to get this done in time, you should have told me of it sooner." Turner growled as he lifted the hammer back into his hands as he placed the nicely bent tip of the sword back into the glowing embers of the fire in front of him.
"If ya work harder, you'll git it done." He stated, standing up and making his way over to the cot in the corner, curling up as be began to snore loudly.
With a sigh, Will began hammering again as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Large circles under his eyes explained his lack of sleep, as did his tattered appearance. His now six month old daughter Emily was drying both him and his wife out. Waking at the top of every hour in tears, he and Elizabeth had finally given up on sleep last night as they both sat in the infant's room taking turns rocking her.
A stuffy young man walked into the shop, looking with distasteful eyes at the scene before him.
"Can I help you sir?" Will questioned, setting his work down and picking up a rag; he wiped his face and hands, extending one out in greeting.
Looking with a frown at the blacksmith's dirty hands, the young man merely bowed and nodded, pointing over at the embers.
"I take it my sword is not prepared?"
"Not yet Mr. Tavington, frankly Mr. Brown just informed me of the task this morning. I've been working all day on it, but I'm afraid it will not be completed until tomorrow at the earliest."
"Can you not work through the night?" Tavington asked as he folded his hands behind his back, rocking up onto his heels. His regal air made Will gag as he just smiled, turning back to his work.
"I do have a wife and child sir. They're my top attention. I can have it ready my tomorrow afternoon. At the earliest." Lifting his tools he began to work again, shaping the broken edge into place as he placed melted steel over the crack, sealing the two pieces together. Lining them p evenly he heard Tavington exit and frowned, looking up at the ceiling and rafters, a smile creeping over his features as he remembered the time he spent fighting with Captain Jack Sparrow, of the Black Pearl.
He cried out in pain for a second time as the hammer came down once again atop his two already sore fingers. Throwing out a string of curses, he placed the rapier onto the grinding wheel, virtually making the seal disappear as he continued long into the evening.
Placing the finished product back onto the rack, he let out a breath of relief as he looked at his two swollen fingers and blackened thumb.
"Not the most productive day ever." He grunted as he locked the shop up and headed home. Walking up the drive he heard Emily's crying as Elizabeth rocked her gently on porch swing, her sweet voice mumbling words of endearment to the child as she tried to end the infant's tears.
She smiled when Will sat next to her, taking the crying Emily from her arms as he turned her to sit up on his lap, bending his neck down to look at his daughter.
"Have you been like this all day angel?" At Elizabeth's nod he leaned over, placing a hand on her knee as he bounced the baby on his leg.
"Oooh, what happened to your hand?" She asked, lifting his swollen hand up to her face as she examined the fingers.
"I've just been really distracted lately, what with getting no sleep." The last part of his sentence was directed toward his child as she sat contentedly against his chest. Lifting her up over his shoulder he heard her burp and felt a slight moistness against his collarbone. Sighing, he heard Elizabeth's stifled giggle as he put Emily away from him, seeing her smile as he tried to look angry. Her deep blue eyes shone as her short, dark curled hair covered her head with little circles.
"Come inside, it's time for bed." She commented, taking Emily from him as he stood up, the butler Godfried opening the door with a grin.
"Again sir?" He asked as he took the towel from his arm and placed it over Will's shoulder.
"Yes, she's quite good at using me for a rag." He answered with a smile, following Elizabeth up the stairs as Ms. Trudy bumped into him in the hallway.
"Pardon sir, there's a fresh bath poured for you in the cleaning room, sir." She smiled, seeing him mop at the unsightly white liquid that covered the front of his shirt and shoulder.
Elizabeth turned and walked into the baby's room as he made a detour into the wash room, cleaning himself off and placing his clothes into the bin as he donned a pair of cotton pants. Walking from the room he heard Ms. Trudy shriek as she covered her eyes.
"Mr. Turner, please! Put some clothes on." She snarled, walking away from him with a glare as his wife closed the door to the nursery.
Giving her a tired and careless expression he walked into their room as he rubbed the wet towel over his head to soak up some of the water as he sat on the edge of the bed. Elizabeth walked around the screen and changed; coming back around the corner she smiled at the sight of her husband flopped down atop the covers, cattycorner across the bed with an arm dropped off on her side and his leg hanging off on his side.
"Poor Will." She laughed and sat next to him, moving her head onto his lap.
"I'm so tired 'Lizabeth." He mumbled, nuzzling his face into the soft cotton of her gown as he pushed himself up with some effort, stretching out his back and arms as he undid his side of the bed and fell into it, falling asleep instantly. The room grew dark as she walked around, blowing out the lamps that had been lit as she climbed into bed; placing an arm across his back as she smiled, drifting away.
* * *
A soft knocking on the door of their bedroom woke Elizabeth as she rose, pulling her robe around her shoulders as the closed door muffled the sound of Emily's cries and the whispering of Ms. Trudy.
Opening the door quietly she stepped out into the hallway as she took the fussy baby from the maid with a grateful smile and padded down the steps into the kitchen. A small lamp was lit in the corner, and light shone under the door to Cook's room as Elizabeth looked around for anything to sooth the aching baby.
"I believe she's teethin', miss." Ms. Trudy commented as she settled the mother and child down into a chair and stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.
"Why don't you go back to bed, Trudy. Will and I don't expect to have you up all night trying to care for Emily."
"No, if'n you wanted someone to do that you would've hired a nanny."
"It's not far from my mind, but Will is adamant. He doesn't seem to want anyone else caring for her, but we're her parents we'll take care of her." Elizabeth sighed as Ms Trudy placed a washcloth in cool water. She took the crying baby from her mistress and placed the corner end of the cloth into her mouth, watching as the crying subsided as she gnawed the cloth fiercely.
"Now that is a wonderful trick." Elizabeth stated as she came over the maid's shoulder as Emily began to fall back to sleep.
"Go on to bed, miss, I'll put her in her crib when she's asleep." Trudy winked and Elizabeth nodded, seeing a clock on the mantle read midnight as she climbed the stairs and walked into the bedroom, as Will sat up and looked at her.
"That was quick." His sudden voice made her jump as she tried to close the door quietly, frowning at him as she latched it and slid back into bed.
"Trudy found us a cure. She says that she's teething."
"Elizabeth, are we bad parents for letting her cry so much?" He asked, concern in his voice as he flopped back down onto his back, taking her hand in his and curled his fingers between hers.
"No Will, we're not. It seems like it's just another phase we must go through, and this is our first child."
He nodded silently as his dark brooding eyes burned into the ceiling, the stubble on his chin and upper lip moving as he bit at the inside of his mouth while he thought.
"Relax. The second time around it will be much easier." She leaned forward and placed a kiss to his shoulder, rolling back over and closing her eyes with a smile.
Will laughed, wrapping his arms around her as he fell asleep with her against his chest.
* * *
Morning came too soon for Will as he watched the sun rise from Emily's room, the infant chewed on his pinky as he leaned back in the comfortable chair. He began to doze as a slight hand rested against his shoulder stirring him.
"It's morning love." His wife smiled sadly as she took Emily from his arms, eliciting a dreadful cry from the baby at the loss of something to chew on as she gnashed her gums together and cried, large tears falling down her cheeks as Will stood, placing a kiss to the baby's feverish forehead and a small lingering kiss to his wife's lips before heading off to the master bedroom to change. Only an hour after he and Elizabeth had fallen asleep the infant had woken up. Will took the cloth from Ms. Trudy and sent the elderly woman back to bed as he stayed in Emily's room for two hours.
Elizabeth relieved him and he'd fallen back to sleep for another two before climbing from the bed and putting the sleeping baby into the crib, lifting his wife into his arms and laying her back down onto her pillow. As he sat on the edge of the bed prepared for a few more minutes of needed sleep, her cries could be heard again as he ran a frustrated hand over his face and through his hair, walking back into the room as he lent his child a finger to chew on and rocked her back and forth until the sun rose.
Dressing himself slowly, he lifted a new vest over his arms as he saw Elizabeth walk back into the room, almost falling into the bed. With a smile, he lifted the covers up under her chin and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek as he left the room.
Seeing Trudy walking the hallway with Emily, he placed a thankful hand on the maid's shoulder as he kissed his daughter's bright red head and headed down the stairs.
"Breakfast sir?" Godfried asked lightly, pulling back a chair at the cherry wood table for Will to sit in, and the blacksmith gratefully slumped against the back, laying his head in his hands with a tired sigh.
"Well, look at this. You seem a right pathetic sight if I do say so me boy." Cook commented as she placed a plate of steaming hot scones, sausage and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice in front of him. Will ate with a grateful smile and made his way to the front of the house in a daze.
"Perhaps you should take some time off, sir; you don't look well at all." Godfried spoke as he opened the front door, seeing the younger man tie back his hair with a nod and a yawn, walking from the house without so much as a word.
* * *