Disclaimer: I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to get anything else to you guys. School gets crazy and then I don't have time to write anything at all; I'm sure some of you writers know how that goes. In any case, this chapter is again filler but I couldn't just let you all imagine what was to come after the cliffhanger, now could I? Okay, well, considering this is a disclaimer, I'm supposed to say that I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, but we all know that, don't we?

On with the show.

Chapter Nine: Change of Plans

The four sat in the carriage as it raced up the hill. Every few minutes Elizabeth would let out a cry as her contractions hit.

"I need you to breathe, Lizzie," cooed Andria as she grasped the woman's hand in support.

Jack and Will sat on the other side staring in bewilderment. They didn't know what to do to help. Once the latest wave of pain had passed, Andria turned to them and dictated instructions.

"Will, I need you to get hot water, blankets, and plenty of rags we we'll have a mess to clean up. I'll also need some wire to cut the cord when we're finally done. Jack, I'll need you to go back into town and fetch the doctor for after the baby is born."

The men sat back on the cushion looking puzzled and exchanged glances of confusion. Wouldn't it make more sense the other way? "Actually," she interjected just as they were about to question her, "scratch that, reverse it. Will, go into town; Jack, get supplies."

They arrived at the house just as the orders were finalized. Andria and Will helped Elizabeth out of the carriage as quickly as they could and just as quickly, Will took it back into town. A maid came rushing out and helped the laboring woman up the stairs to the bedrooms. Two contractions later – they were getting closer together, much to Elizabeth's dismay – Andria had her propped up in the bed on many large pillows, stripped of her day dress. She now lay in a cotton chemise with a cloth placed on her brow to collect the sweat beading on her forehead. Jack had brought in the water and pieces of cloth, handing the small wire to his fellow captain.

"You," Andria said, pointing to Jack when he finished setting down the basin, "Out. Wait outside and tell Will to do the same when he returns."

Jack gladly accepted this order; he completely forgot they were going to leave port; he just did not want to witness that baby being born. Minutes later, Will rushed in the door with the doctor close behind on his heels. He bounded the stairs two at a time, much to the doctor's dismay, and had a frantic look on his face.

"Where is she? How is she?" he asked as he made for the bedroom door.

"I wouldn't be doing that, mate" said Jack as another scream from Elizabeth rippled through the door.

"Why not?" asked Will, grasping the door handle and making to turn it, he desperately wanted to see his wife and he was damn sure that no one was going to stop him.

"'Cause Dria said you were not allowed, you were to stay out here with me" replied Jack simply, leaning back on the velvet-covered bench he was sitting on. He didn't see why Will wanted to go in there, it sounded painful and messy and he was just sitting out in the hall, imagine how it would be if he were in the room.

As if on cue, Andria opened the door only to come face to face with Will.

"Is the doctor here?" she asked with a red face and disheveled hairstyle.

"I'm here madam, may I come in?" asked the short elderly man that had finally made it up the stairs, he was standing behind Will, remaining silent until now. He wore half-moon spectacles and carried a heavy leather bag Andria guessed contained tools.

"You may doctor; you may not, William," she replied sweetly at first with a venomous ending. She opened the door long enough for the doctor to step inside and slammed it in the young man's face.

"Told you," said Jack with a smirk. To add to the effect, he scooted over on the bench and patted the spot next to him.

"Breathe, Elizabeth," coached Andria.

Elizabeth's feet were propped up the best they could be as Andria checked her progress.

"I can see the baby's head, it's crowning!" she cried; encouragement was the only way to help her friend through this.

"Okay, can you push again?" she asked Elizabeth. She shook her head yes, squeezing the hands of the two maids on either side of her and contorting her face in determination and struggle. "Good, only a few more and you'll be done, Lizzie. Breathe."

Meanwhile, Will was pacing in the hallway, just outside the door. He was sitting for a few minutes after being shut out, but then he got restless. It had been hours, though it seemed like days waiting in agony, only to hear the cries through the door and not being able to do anything about it. Jack had nodded off, but Will was as tense as ever. Every single cry or outburst and he was stopped, staring at the door, but it was no use.

Maids would come out periodically to retrieve more water for Andria but they would close the door too quickly for Will to see anything that was going on inside. All he wanted was to see if Elizabeth was okay. Andria would get him if something seriously wrong was happening, wouldn't she? Surely she wasn't that black-hearted for a pirate. Stubborn woman, he thought with another turn in his pacing.

"Push once more for me, Lizzie," said Andria to the haggard almost-mother. Elizabeth took a deep breath and pushed with all the energy she could muster. With the last push, her baby was out and she could relax once more, taking even breaths to calm back down.

Andria grabbed the piece of wire and wrapped it around the umbilical cord, cutting it and wrapping a strip of cloth around it to avoid infection. She then handed the purple newborn to a maid to have it cleaned of the placenta and blood covering its body.

"Doctor, you may check Elizabeth now," she said with a curt nod to the man standing awkwardly in the corner. He nodded back and walked over to the bed to check Elizabeth's heart rate and any internal or external damage. Luckily, there was nothing that needed stitches and her heart rate was returning to normal, along with her breathing.

Andria walked over to the maid and the baby let out a cry once its airway was cleared; she was beautiful, healthy, and softly pink. A covering of light brown hair graced her head, eyes not yet open. The godmother – Elizabeth declared so while they were in the carriage down to the docks – wrapped the baby in a small blanket and brought her over to the new mother.

"It's a girl," Andria said softly with a smile as she handed the baby to Elizabeth who was now under the coverings on the bed – after they were changed from the mess that was made.

"Can you get Will?" asked Elizabeth, grinning at the wiggling child.

Andria walked over to the door and opened it, finally beckoning the two men in. Will jumped at the chance, pushing past her and rushing over the bed. He was elated, a girl, his daughter. The couple began to speak amiably about the name of their minutes-old daughter. Andria simply turned around and stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the light spilling in from the hallway. The lamps in the bedroom were just now being lit as the sun was going down. There was no better a background to such a pure and innocent miracle.

She let out a sigh of content mixed with fatigue. Being a make-shift midwife for someone you have barely known for a week was not an easy task, not that modesty mattered to Elizabeth in a time like that. Wrapping her arms around her body, essentially hugging her body, she felt another pair of arms snake themselves around her torso. Giving in to tiredness, she leaned against her lover with a heavy head but a lighter-than-ever heart. It was something amazing to witness, much less aid in the delivery of a child.

"What a pretty picture, the Turner family," whispered Jack into Andria's ear.

Andria smiled at his remark, "I helped make that picture. Will is going to be a fantastic, if not spoiling, father."

Just as Andria was about to doze off in Jack's arms, standing up no less, Elizabeth called them over to the bed.

"I'd like you to meet Jacqueline Marie Patience Turner, named after her godfather, to be frank," beaming at the couple, Jackie's godparents.

"She's beautiful, just like her parents," said Andria to the happy – rather, elated – parents, "But if you'll excuse me, I could use some sleep, I'm exhausted."

"Oh, go right ahead. We'll be fine here, thank you for everything," replied Elizabeth. She was surprised Andria hadn't already fallen asleep standing there with them.

Andria curtsied in a polite thank-you to the family and retreated to the hallway, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, thankful to be going to sleep. Jack followed quickly after saying a few words to the parents and sweeping Andria off her feet – literally, mind you – and taking her down the hall to their room.

"You would make a wonderful mother, love," remarked Jack as he took lazy steps toward their usual last room down the hall – on the left.

"I'm not so sure, wantin' to be on the sea an' all," she murmured into his neck, her eyelids drooping, she was so tired.

"Why don't we find out," he said in a low voice, making her bring her head up only to make him kiss her deeply and passionately just as they reached the doorway.

They broke apart when Jack set her on the bed and he began stripping off his various belts, his jacket, and his boots. But by the time he was done and looked back up at her, her boots were on the floor in a heap and she was sound asleep on the soft floral bedclothes.

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, lifting her body to place her under the covers. Soon after he climbed into the bed next to her and placed a possessive yet gentle arm over her waist. She sighed in her sleep and shifted slightly but was other wise undisturbed.

Looks like we'll be staying at least another day, Jack thought as he suddenly remembered that they had been leaving when this turn of events occurred. No matter how much whining he tried to use on her, she was there to help her friend and his return to sea would have to wait. He would have to live with that. Honestly, he was content wherever he was, as long as he was with his Dria-love. With that thought, he drifted into a sleep that brought dreams of his own family, content exactly where he was.

AN: You should review. I know, fluffy. It's filler, what do you expect? Oh, and don't kill me for taking forever, please. I'm hoping to get another two chapters out before break is over. However, I do have homework so I'm not sure how that's going to work. But it'll happen, I'm hoping. Have a great holiday:)