Title: Shanghai
Author: Supplanting Promise
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
My Son
Author's POV
As Elizabeth stood from her seat at the desk she felt the fluid gush out of her womb. She stood paralyzed for a few seconds before her brain took over. She quickly walked to her door and pulled it open.
"Emily!" Elizabeth called as she pulled on a robe.
"Yes Miss?"
"I need you to go to Dr. Meadows and tell him that my labor has started." Emily turned to leave but Elizabeth stopped her again. "And tell my father." Elizabeth said shutting the door.
Elizabeth changed out of her dress and into an old nightgown. She gingerly sat back on the chair at her desk and awaited the arrival of her father and Dr. Meadows. She sat at her desk for some time before her father finally arrived.
"Elizabeth? What's wrong? Why have you sent for me?" She turned to look at him, and gave him a halfhearted smile.
"My labor has started." He didn't know how to react. He stood there with his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait for Dr. Meadows and Emily. They should be back soon." She said as she felt a contraction hit. He nodded and left her room, consciously leaving the door partially open
Elizabeth ran her hand over her abdomen and took a deep breath as she felt another contraction hit. She got out of her chair and began to pace the room, waiting for Dr. Meadows to arrive. She paced the length of her room for nearly fifteen minutes, the contractions coming every ten minutes, finally as she sat down on her bed, Emily came in.
"Where's Dr. Meadows?" Elizabeth asked in a slightly panicked voice.
"He'll be up shortly Miss, he's just stopped to talk to your father. He asked that I make sure you're in bed and relaxing as much as possible." Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she sat against the headboard. She took a deep breath as yet another contraction hit.
"Miss, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Yes. Can you bring me some water and get Dr. Meadows in here?" Elizabeth asked as politely as possible, wanting the hovering woman out of her room. Emily muttered a quick 'yes miss' and then left the room to do as Elizabeth had requested. It was that moment that Dr. Meadows chose to come to check on Elizabeth.
"You're early." He said as he pulled the two heavy blankets off of the bed and deposited them on the floor out of his way.
"Only a week and I've been told that's normal for a first child." Elizabeth defended, keeping the sheet tightly up around her waist.
"Yes that's correct. I didn't mean to imply anything disrespectful." He said cautiously. He stood at the side of her bed and pressed on her abdomen in four different places.
"Well the child seems to be in the correct position for birth. Have you had any contractions?"
"Yes a few."
"Approximately how many and how many minutes apart?"
"I would estimate four- -" She stopped to take a deep breath as another hit, "ten minutes apart."
Dr. Meadows was careful in his actions and words around Elizabeth. He knew that her emotions were running high and that she didn't need anymore stress. He kept an eye on her but everything seemed normal. Her contractions continued at a steady pace every five minutes. Dr. Meadows had the maids bring him one basin of warm water and one of cold water and two towels. He had his medical bag sitting at the foot of the bed open.
"Have you felt a pressure in your lower abdomen? Making it feel almost as if you need to push?"
"No, I just feel the pains." Elizabeth said as yet another hit.
"We'll wait for the contractions to become more forceful or until you feel that pressure." He said and then turned to the maid.
"Stay in here with her, cooling her with the cold water. Do not leave this room and do not let her get out of that bed. I need to go back to town and find the midwife." He left the room and went downstairs to tell the Governor what he was doing
"I'm going to find my wife and have her deliver the child. Mrs. Turner is highly stressed and understandably uncomfortable with just a male doctor in the room. I will be staying here to help if needed but I believe that this will be an easy delivery for your daughter."
"Yes of course."
The doctor was only gone for thirty minutes but to Elizabeth and her father it felt as if he had been gone for an eternity. When finally he came back Elizabeth breathed a little easier. She was happy to see the kind face of Mrs. Meadows enter in front of the doctor.
"I have brought my wife to help. Have the contractions progressed at all?"
"No."
"Well that's normal, the first child is usually the longest birth. We'll wait him out and within an hour or so you should be ready to begin the labor process. I have another patient to check on, I'll be back in about an hour." Dr. Meadows said and then left the room.
"Mrs. Meadows, how did it take for you to have Melly?" Elizabeth asked the elderly lady.
"Nearly six hours." Elizabeth paled at the thought of going on in this pain for much longer. The last contraction had been slightly harder.
"Don't worry dear; when my pains started they were nearly twenty minutes apart. It took me several hours to get to the point you are at now." Elizabeth looked at her skeptically but said nothing.
Elizabeth sat with Mrs. Meadows for nearly an hour and a half. The contractions had began to come three or four minutes apart and she was beginning to feel the need to push. Mrs. Meadows sent a maid to find Dr. Meadows and bring him back to the house. Mrs. Meadows had Elizabeth bend her knees and open her legs.
"I'm going to lift the sheet up to you knees now." Mrs. Meadows said as she slid the sheet up Elizabeth's legs. She laid one of the towels under neath Elizabeth and laid the second and third towels at the foot of the bed.
"Good. Now on the next pain I want you to take a deep breath and hold it while bearing down." Elizabeth nodded her head and took her breath as another contraction came. She pushed with all her strength until Mrs. Meadows told her to relax.
"Good girl." Elizabeth kept this up for another thirty minutes; pushing on almost every contraction. She fell back onto the headboard, exhausted.
"Mrs. Meadows I don't. . . know. . . how much longer. . . I can do this." Elizabeth said breathing heavily. Finally Dr. Meadows arrived. Mrs. Meadows left the bedside and went to talk to him.
"She's been pushing for nearly thirty minutes. The baby still has not come down." Mrs. Meadows whispered in a very hushed voice. Dr. Meadows' brows furrowed in thought that was soon disrupted my a painful cry from Elizabeth. Both the doctor and his wife hurried to Elizabeth.
"The baby has finally dropped." Mrs. Meadows said with relief very apparent in her voice.
"Mrs. Turner, you're almost there. A few more pushes and you'll be holding your baby." Dr, Meadows went to the foot of the bed to deliver the child while Mrs. Meadows stayed next to Elizabeth to wipe the sweat off her brow and give her support.
Elizabeth pushed on each contraction, but showed no progress after ten minutes. Dr. Meadows pulled a spoon like object from his bag. At Elizabeth's panicked expression he stopped.
"They're called forceps. I will use it to turn the baby's head and pull slightly."
He slid the cold metal under the baby's chin and turned the head to the right and then pulled gently on the forceps. He felt the baby move and so continued to pull until the head was fully out. As he got the head out Elizabeth felt another contraction and pushed with the rest of her strength, the baby's body came out. Dr. Meadows looked down at the baby in front of him. The umbilical cord was wrapped tight around the small child's neck, twice. He hurriedly pulled the cord from around the baby's neck and tied it off with a piece of string from his back and cut the cord. He laid the baby on the second towel that the maids had brought and thumped the small baby several times on the back to clear any fluid.
"Why isn't he crying?" Elizabeth asked weakly; trying to sit up and look at her baby. Mrs. Meadows pushed her back.
Dr. Meadows saw the small child take a shaky breath. He began to vigorously rub hoping to get the blood flowing and get the baby breathing. The baby took another breath, this one steadier and deeper than the first. He wrapped the child in the third and last towel and handed him to Elizabeth.
"Congratulations Mrs. Turner, you have a son." Elizabeth clutched the small boy to her chest and looked into his face. He peeked an eye open at her.
He had a light layer of dark hair over his head and his eyes were a dark obsidian. He was small, just over six pounds if Elizabeth had to guess. He made a pitiful mewling noise, lifting his tiny fists into the air.
"Try feeding him." Mrs. Meadows suggested. Elizabeth lifted the baby to her breast and moved it into his mouth. He eagerly began to suck and his color began to pick up. Dr. Meadows delivered the placenta and wrapped it in the two towels and threw it out while Mrs. Meadows cleaned up Elizabeth and the bed. Elizabeth was watching as her small son nurse when she heard a loud crash outside of her room.
"You will let me in that room." She heard the familiar drawl and then the click signaling a pistol being cocked. "Savvy?"
Elizabeth heard a maid squeak and then the door creaked open. She looked up to see Jack standing there looking more perturbed and angry than she had ever seen him. Mrs. Meadows tried to stand in his way and intimidate him out of the room. He pointed his pistol at her.
"It's fine Mrs. Meadows I can handle him; please leave." Mrs. Meadows gave Elizabeth a skeptical look but left anyways.
"Jack." Elizabeth said looking him up and down.
"Lizzie, darling, I have quite the story to tell you." Elizabeth smiled at him.
"Come here and meet your son." She said waving him over.
He cautiously stepped forward, putting his pistol back in its holster. He pulled the chair from the desk to the bedside and sat in it. Elizabeth tapped the side of her son's mouth to loosen the suction, and pulled him back slightly. She pulled her nightgown back up to cover her breast, and shifted the baby. He made a whimpering noise but quieted right away. Elizabeth turned slightly to face Jack.
"Would you like to hold him?" Elizabeth asked, holding the baby out slightly for Jack to take him.
Jack stayed in his seat for a few moments before rising and taking the small bundle. Jack held his son close to his chest, almost afraid of dropping him. He looked down as the boy opened his eyes. They stared at each other, studying one another. The baby gave a small yawn and closed his eyes again.
"He has your eyes, and your survival instinct." She said softly yawning. There was a quiet knock at the door.
"Come in." Elizabeth called. A maid came in along with her father.
"Elizabeth, Emily has just told me that- - Mr. Sparrow what are you doing?"
"Holding my son." Jack stated quite simply. Before her father could say anything Elizabeth spoke up.
"Emily can you please make two of the guest rooms ready? I do not wish to sleep on this bed until there is a new mattress, and Mr. Sparrow will be needing a room." Emily nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
"What do you mean your son?" The governor burst out.
"I lied. I did not want you to be ashamed of me; I lied to make everyone believe that I was still a woman of honor. I lied to keep you proud of me." The governor's face softened at her emotion.
"We'll discuss it in the morning, you need your rest." Jack and Elizabeth sat in a easy silence until Emily came back in.
"The rooms are ready Miss."
"Jack give Emily the baby so she can clean him up and dress him." Jack, reluctantly, handed the baby over and watched as Emily walked out of the room with his son.
"Don't worry I trusted her with everything. She's a good woman. Now could you hand me that robe." Elizabeth said pointing to the robe she had discarded earlier that day. Jack picked it up and helped her to put it on.
"Good, now you can help me to the guest room." Elizabeth said trying to get out of bed.
"No, no, I don't think so." Jack said scooping Elizabeth into his arms. "Where's the guest room?"
"Down the hall to the left, second door on the right."
Jack walked to the guest room the Elizabeth had indicated and laid her gently on the bed and pulled the blanket up to cover her. Elizabeth said a quiet thank you and curled up on the bed. After several minutes her breathing evened out and Jack knew that she was asleep. Jack got up and left the room to find the governor. Jack wondered around for some ten or fifteen minutes until finally he opened a door to find Governor Swann.
"Mr. Sparrow."
"Govn'r."
"Come in and shut that door behind you." Jack did as told and took the glass of liquor that the governor offered him. Jack downed it in one swig and set the glass down on the table.
"I suppose you'll be taking Elizabeth with you again."
"Aye, when she's ready and if she'll go." They stood in an uncomfortable silence until Jack spoke up.
"Ye can come with us." Jack offered. The governor gave a snort of laughter.
"Join a pirate crew and abandon my governorship? Give up all sense of propriety and give up land to stay on a ship for the rest of my life?"
"Have a chance to see your grandson grow and your daughter be happy. Never know again the loneliness of no family or friends." Jack said pouring himself another glass of liquor. The governor said nothing as he mulled over those his thoughts.
"Mr. Sparrow you are welcome to stay in my house until Elizabeth is ready to leave."
"Thank you." Jack left his still full glass on the table and left the room.
Please Read and Review