Disclaimer: I do not Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean, its story and characters, is owned by Walt Disney Pictures.

Chapter 10

The past few days in Tortuga had been spent buying things for the baby. Jack and Will had went from store to store buying everything from bottles and toys, to a baby carriage and a crib. They bought everything that they would need, but a home. Will brought up the subject of buying place for him and the baby to live, staying firm to his belief that a pirate ship was no place for a infant, but Jack wouldn't hear of it. Every time Will would even mention a home on land, Jack would change the subject. Will decided it would be best to drop the topic for now, but he still wanted to look at homes.

Perhaps he could find a smithy that was in need of an apprentice? Then again, he was getting much older now, and had mastered the craft. It wouldn't be a bad idea to open up his own forge, perhaps take on an apprentice of his own.

One morning, Will woke up to find that he had a terrible cramping pain in his stomach. He clenched his teeth and grabbed his stomach tightly, waiting for the pain to pass. He gasped and breathed a sigh of relief when the pain finally subsided. He turned over, hoping to see Jack sleeping next to him, only to find that he wasn't there.

"Jack?" Will called quietly in a horse voice. He looked around the room, but couldn't find the pirate. "Jack?" he called again in a louder voice. He grunted when he got no response as tried his best to get up. He struggled for a moment, but stopped once he felt that same pain from before. He fell back down to the soft mattress and groaned in pain. "Jack!" he practically screamed this time around, thrashing in pain.

The door swung open, but it wasn't Jack that came through, but Anna Maria. "What's wrong Will?" she asked in a panic, clearly distressed after hearing the poor boy's cries of pain.

"Jack!" Will gasped as the pain continued. "Need Jack!"

"Is it the baby?" she asked, trying to get more information from the young man.

He nodded, his face twisted in pain. "Where's Jack?" Jack was all he could think of now. Nothing else seemed to matter to him but having the pirate near him to make him feel better. Jack will make it better, he reasoned. Jack always makes me feel better.

"He should be down stairs," she said quickly. "I'll go get him."

"Hurry!" Will cried as she dashed out the door and down stairs.

Jack was nearly toppled over by Anna Maria as the dark skinned girl came charging towards him. He took a step back, protecting the tray of food in his hands that was filled with Will's breakfast.

"Jack," she said, her voice filled with panic and anger. "Where have ya been?"

"Gettin' Will's breakfast," he explained. "What's the matter, lass?"

"It's Will! He's in labor!"

Jack stared at her wide eyed with shock, letting the tray of food crash to the floor. "Labor?" he said dumbly. "Now?"

"Yes now!" She said annoyed. "And he's callin' for ya."

Jack nodded. His head was spinning. Now. Why now? "Alright," he said trying to calm himself. "Go find Eugene. Tell 'im Will's in labor and ta go get the other doctor 'e was tellin' me about."

Anna Maria nodded and went on her way. Jack quickly ran up the stairs and towards his room with Will. He heard the young man's cries of pain get louder as he reached the door. A few people had gotten out of their rooms and where staring at the door wondering out loud to one another what was going on. Some even thought that someone was being murdered from the yelling. Jack had to push past them all and shove his way into his room.

There, he saw Will laying on the bed. Face red and twisted with pain, tears streaking down his cheeks. It was enough to break Jack's heart into pieces. He ran over to the young man's side and cradled him in his arms. "'S alright, Will," he soothed. "Jack's 'ere now."

Will looked up at Jack, wide eyed and panting. "J-Jack," he said, not knowing what else to say. He leaned into the older man's embrace, relieved that the pain had subsided, at least for now. "Where... where is Eugene?"

"Shh," Jack said. "Don't worry, Anna Maria went to look for 'im. They'll be back in no time, with the other doctor, and before ye know it, it'll all be over."

Will grunted as another wave of pain hit him. Jack only held him tighter, muttering words of love and reassurance. Once the pain was over, Will just sat in Jack's arms panting. It went on like that as they waited impatiently for Anna Maria and the others to come back. Jack was starting to get nervous, he didn't like seeing Will in pain.

"Jack," Will began, a hint of panic in his voice. "I want to tell you something. If... if I don't make it-"

"Don't talk that way luv. I won't let ye die!"

"No, Jack. Let me finish." Will took in a few shaky breaths before he continued. "If I don't make it through this, take good care of the baby. It didn't do anything wrong, so don't blame it. And don't blame yourself either! You've been so wonderful and kind to me these past few months... and I've been..." Will broke out into tears. His voice horse from the emotion. "I've been horrible. I just keep thinking about that night... when I said I hated you. It wasn't true. I-I don't hate you. Never... never did. I just want you to know that... I love you. I'll always love you no matter what."

Jack had to bite his lip to keep from crying. It wouldn't do for him to falter now. He had to be strong for Will. "I-I love ye, too whelp," he said, giving Will a kiss on his brow.

They sat their in silence until there was finally a knock on the door. Jack got up carefully, making sure not to harm Will. He went to the door and flung it open. "Where the hell 'ave ye been?"

"So sorry we're late Captain," Eugene said, groggily. His eyes were squinting and he was rubbing his head.

"Ye're hung over!" he accused rather than asked. He grabbed the tall doctor by his collar, pulling him down to his eye level roughly. "Why the hell did ye get drunk for?"

"Shore leave," he said nonchalantly, as if that explained everything.

Jack growled at him. He wanted to kill the man, slit his throat for being so careless, but he needed him to operate on Will. He let go of his collar and shoved him back against the opposite wall. He turned and blinked at the unfamiliar young man standing next to Anna Maria. He was average height, with brown hair pulled back into a loose pony tail. He had freckles covering most of his serious face and glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. However, what worried Jack was that this man looked about as old as Will. "Don't tell me yer the other doctor," Jack asked, praying the young man would say he was just an assistant and that the really doctor was on his way up.

"I'm afraid so," he said, there was no humor in his serious tone. "I'm Dr. Swanson, and Dr. Eugene here tells me you have someone in labor. Where is the young lady?" Jack stepped aside allowing him to get a good look at Will. The young doctor's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He turned to glare at Eugene as if he had just been at the wrong end of a practical joke. "David, please tell me that this is just another one of your jokes?"

Eugene shook his head, wincing as he did so. "'Fraid not," he groaned. "That young man's in labor and we need to operate."

Dr. Swanson took a few steps forward and stared at Will's stomach. Will, who was wearing nothing more then a thin nightshirt, turned deep red as the doctor lifted it up to see if this was really a man he was looking at. He took a shaky step back and stared at the other three behind him in disbelief. "This is impossible."

"Possible or not is not the point," Jack snapped. "The point is that that boy needs ye and yer going to help 'im." Jack and Anna Maria stood there glaring at the doctor until he finally shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

He licked his lips nervously. "I'll... uh need you to leave the room," he said finally.

"What?" both Will and Jack said at the same time.

"Captain, please," Eugene explained. "It's for Will's own good."

"Jack please," Will pleaded. "Don't leave me."

Jack went over to Will's side and grasped his hand in his. "'S alright," he said, soothingly. "Ye'll be alright." He kissed the back of Will's hand. "Everything is going to be alright." He leaned over and kissed Will deeply on the lips , not caring what anyone else in the room thought. When he broke the kiss, he leaned over and whispered into Will's ear, "I love ye."

"I love you Jack," Will whimpered.

Anna Maria had to practically drag the captain away from the young blacksmith. Closing the door behind them, Jack and Anna Maria settled down for a long wait.

Jack slumped down on the opposite wall, fidgeting impatiently. "Are they done yet?" he groaned.

Anna Maria responded by grunting and rolling her eyes at him in frustration. Honestly, this man could be such a child at times! "Jack," she groan. "They're going to take a while. They have to if they wanted to do their job right."

"Just want this to be over." Why was this taking so long? Was it just him or had hours passed since he'd left the room? Maybe it was just him, but he couldn't help but feel worried. The fact was that any second now Eugene could come out into the hallway and tell him that Will was dead, and he was dreading that moment. Please God. Don't let that happen. The lad doesn't deserve to die for my mistake.

Jack's head snapped up at the sound of a small voice wailing in the other room. He got to his feet as the door opened. Eugene came out into the hall way with a small little bundle in his arms, smiling from ear to ear. "It's a boy," he said cheerfully.

Anna Maria threw her arms around her captain in a quick embrace, before breaking it. "Congratulations Jack!"

Jack just stood their dumbstruck as Eugene put the wailing baby into his arms. Jack stared down at the little boy in disbelief. He had black curly hair and brown eyes so dark, they looked black. Until this moment, Will had been the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. It only seem right that he could make something lovelier then himself. "Hello lad," he said, smiling down at the little one. "I'm yer da'." The baby continued to cry, but snuggled closer to Jack, as if he understood that the man was going to make it all better. At that moment, a way of emotions like Jack had never known before hit him hard, swepping him away. It was almost frightening how much he loved this baby and only having known it for a moment.

Dr. Swanson stepped out into the hallway. He looked horrible. His shirt was covered in blood, his face was drippng with sweat, and his hair was clinging to his face. However, the smile on his face made Jack relax. "The mother is doing just fine," he announced, proudly. His voice was full of pride at the fact that he managed to have both parent and child live through the operation, but he was a bit awkward at calling Will a "mother." "He just needs his rest," he said. "He'll be up and about in no time."

Jack relaxed. This was turning out to be the best day of his life.

Will awoke to find that it was the middle of the night. He was cold and groggy. The pain he felt in his stomach reminded him what had happened. He tried to sit up, but found he was too weak from the pain in his midsection. He felt a pair of kind hands push him back down to the soft mattress. He smiled and turned towards their owner. "Jack," he said happily. "What happened? Is the baby alright?"

Jack smiled at him, flashing his gold teeth. "Baby's just fine, luv," he said reassuringly. "'S a beautiful baby boy."

"A boy?" Will repeated, tears of joy flowing down his cheeks. "We... we have a son? Can... Can I hold him?"

Jack nodded, helping Will into a sitting position. He went over the little cradle in the corner and pulled out their son, who was clothed in soft white cotton night clothing. Will felt himself choke up as Jack carefully laid the child in his arms. "He's so beautiful," Will sobbed.

"Aye," Jack said fondly, kissing Will's forehead. "Just like his momma."

Will was too happy to let the comment bother him. He just gazed down at the child sleeping in his arms. He touched the baby's soft skin with his work hardened fingers and was rewarded with a soft coo as the baby leaned into his touch. "Can't believe this was inside of me," he said in wonder.

Jack sat down next to him on the bed, gazing down at the tiny bundle and caressing Will's hair at the same time. "He'll need a name," Jack said thoughtfully.

"I-I have a name," Will said.

"What is it?"

"Gabriel." Will said, glancing over at Jack unsure. "Do you like it?"

Jack kissed his temple. "Aye," he chuckled. "'S a right fine name, isn't it Gabe?" The baby gurgled at the sound of his name.

AN: For all those who wanted Will to die... shame on you! No, but seriously, I just couldn't do (both in that I didn't have the heart to kill him off and I didn't know how to write it :P). Also, if you're wondering, I know that just because two men have a baby (rather, if they could have a baby) doesn't mean that the baby is going to be a boy. I took biology and I remember all about the X and the Y chromosomes. I mearly wrote the baby as a boy because I wanted it to be a boy, and the crew commenting on the baby's gender was simply because I'm going to assume people didn't know any better back then. I don't know if this was surprising or not, but I think this is a pretty good ending, but I've got one more chapter and a sequel in the works. So stay tuned for that.