I was in severe pain.

Sweat was pouring down my face, and my pelvis was on fire. Nausea was taking its toll, and I'd already been throwing up all day. Elizabeth had stopped by and talked with me about the whole 'delivering the baby' part. It was so much more reassuring knowing that I'd have someone by my side when the moment finally came. When I really thought about it, that was the scariest part. It was almost like a timed explosion…you didn't know when it was going to go off, until a couple seconds before, and then it would be too late.

Will had come down and sat with me on the bed, and held my hand, occasionally wiping the sweat off of my face with his bandana. Elizabeth and Will talked, leaving me out of the conversation, and were talking about which ship I would be a passenger of on the trip back to Port Royal. This seemed to be a problem, but I couldn't see why…

"She should be with me on the Pearl." Elizabeth said.

"The Flying Dutchman is a faster ship! We could be there three times faster than the Pearl ever could!" He blinked twice before she replied.

"But she can't go on your ship with you…can she?" there was another silence before he replied.

"Yes she can. Because she's a blood-relative, and tied to me…you, however, are not. You do not know how desperately I wish you could be with me." I had no idea what they were talking about, but the sweetness of the last comment brought tears to my eyes. Ugh, hormones again! Wait…they're married? Oh, wait…I knew that…

"But, your ship travels that speed underwater. She'll drown."

"I have water-tight compartments that she could stay in."

"Will, I'm sorry…but I would feel a lot more at ease if she just rode with me." I felt my abdomen cramp, and I gasped aloud. I squeezed Will's hand until all the blood had drained from it. Then my abdomen relaxed and Will wiped the new sweat beads off of my forehead. He leaned forward and opened his mouth, but I knew what he was going to ask before he asked it.

"I'm fine!" I whispered impatiently. He pulled his head back in surprise, and then returned his attention to Elizabeth.

"She could use some time with her father on the Dutchman." I could feel my temperature rise, and my heart was pounding furiously. I was feeling the pressure build up in my anger.

"She wants to be near me!" Elizabeth shouted back. That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. These people think they can speak for me!

"Can I PLEASE HAVE A SAY?!" I spat suddenly. Both heads spun to look at me. The pressure in my body had been released, but I was ready to go into a rant.

"Why must you people insist on making things so difficult? It's really not that difficult to-"my abdomen cramped again-"make a decision! I'd much rather stay with Elizabeth, but if the Dutchman is faster, then I'd rather go with Will and my father!" Elizabeth's mouth opened slightly, and Will chuckled.

"I told you." He whispered. And that was that. Elizabeth stood up quickly, and began to walk towards the door. She stopped in the doorway, and spun around.

"I'm sorry I was tense, I just want what's best for you…" she turned her head and looked at the floor for a moment. Then she turned again, and ran up the stairs, two at a time. Will and I watched her go. I turned back to stare at my bulge, Will's eyes lingered on the empty stairs.

"We should go." I said. He turned back to me, but his eyes were unfocused. I cocked my head in an attempt to draw his attention back to my face.

"Are you all right?" his eyes refocused, but he didn't respond. His index finger began to tap on his knee rhythmically. "Will?"

I was interrupted by Bootstrap. He trotted down the stairs, and stood in the doorway for a moment before entering. We stared at each other for a short second before he walked closer to Will and I. Will quickly came back to earth, and stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" I inquired.

"I'll just give you two a moment alone." He gave a half-smile, and turned to jog up the stairs. Bootstrap's eyes met mine, and without looking away, he sat down where Will sat.

"Hello." He started. Goodness, this is awkward…"So how are you doing?" his eyes wandered down to my stomach, and then snapped back to my face.

"Fine…" there was silence in the room again while we glanced awkwardly around the room. He broke the foreboding silence.

"How long?" he whispered. I cocked my head towards him.

"Excuse me?"

"How long until the birth?" he whispered a little louder. I glanced up at the ceiling trying to do the math.

"A week or two, and the journey back to Port Royal will take two weeks. I only hope we arrive there before the delivery." I never thought I'd be discussing this with my father. Never. I let my hand wander to my stomach, and I let it rest there. But then he did something surprising…he put his hand on top of mine, and closed his eyes. Then I noticed something else…I could have been easily mistaken, but I could swear to the highest power that I saw a tear trickle down his face.