Chapter 19

He could hear a strange sound somewhere nearby, repetitive, clinical. It was unsettling, and it bothered him, although he couldn't remember why.

What had happened? The last thing he remembered was Elizabeth. He was with Elizabeth, and they were walking along the river…

Pain. Bullets and blood and so much pain.

He couldn't remember anything else; he didn't even know where he was. He felt alone.

His heart began to race, and the strange, persistent noise became faster as well, falling onto rhythm with his pulse.

A hospital. That sound belonged in a hospital. But he hated hospitals, and he hated being alone, and he was too exhausted to control the fear…

~One Hour Earlier~

"I have good news." Dr. Hoo stood in the doorway, looking pleased. "Will has showed remarkable improvement over the past few days. I'll have to confer with my colleagues, but I believe… we may be able to take Will off of the sedatives today. He can wake up," he said with a smile.

"When?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly.

"As soon as I talk to my friend about it, hopefully. He's very good with these sorts of cases. If he agrees with my prognosis, I'll stop Will's sedatives immediately. I'm actually on my way to find him right now," he added with a smile. "Just thought you would want to hear the news."

Bill nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

Once Hoo had stepped back outside, Elizabeth said quietly, "So if he's recovered enough to wake up… that means he's out of danger now, right? He's going to be okay?"

Bill's haggard face was tired, tense. "I hope so."

Elizabeth understood how he felt. "I just want to hear his voice."

"Me, too," Bill agreed softly.

Dr. Hoo stood with his back to them, adjusting something on the IV line that ran into Will's arm. He turned towards them.

"All right, the sedatives have been disconnected. It'll probably be at least forty minutes to an hour before we see any change. I'll be just down the hall or in another patient's room. Call the nurse's station if you need me."

Elizabeth and Bill both nodded silently from their seats next to Will's bed.

It had been slightly less than half an hour when Will's eyelids twitched. Elizabeth and Bill glanced at each other, startled, before turning back to Will. He was still for several seconds, and then there was another faint movement, his eyes flickering from side to side beneath his lids. His breath hitched suddenly in a faint gasp, and then Elizabeth's eyes flicked upward to the heart rate monitor next to the bed, watching the glowing line spike as his pulse suddenly became more and more rapid. His breathing became heavier as well, matching his heartbeat.

Bill leaned over his son and whispered quietly, "Will."

Will's eyes flew open, wide with fear, and he blinked several times, trying to focus on his father's face.

Bill brushed a hand over his unruly hair. "Calm down, kiddo. You're not alone. We're here for you. You're not alone."

Will let his eyes fall shut for a few seconds as he relaxed, getting his breathing under control, his pulse slowing back to normal. Finally, he opened them again as he managed, in a weak, raspy voice, "Dad…"

Bill smiled. "Hey, kid. Good to see you awake."

Will's gaze shifted from his face, coming to rest on Elizabeth's.

She squeezed his hand. "Don't try to say my name yet. It's too long."

He gave her a weak smile, returning the squeeze as well as he could. "How 'bout Liz, then?"

Elizabeth shook her head, laughing reluctantly. "The point was to stop you from trying to talk, you idiot."

Will grinned. "I know." He coughed slightly to clear his throat. "I love you."

Elizabeth held his hand against her cheek, smiling as he wound a few loose strands of her hair through his fingers.

"I love you, too."

Later that afternoon, Will and Elizabeth had the room to themselves, having finally convinced Bill to leave and get some sleep.

"You think I could get Dad to bring me some real food when he comes back?" Will asked hopefully, poking at his semi-unidentifiable meal with a plastic fork.

Elizabeth laughed. "Do you have a problem with hospital food, Will?"

He raised an eyebrow in an expression of disbelief, picking up a small plastic cup of quivering orange cubes. "This is Jell-O, I can tell you that much. But what," he continued, picking up a paper plate, "is this?"

Elizabeth eyed it critically, finally taking it from him and sniffing uncertainly at it. "I really don't know."

"Then yes," Will announced. "I have a problem with hospital food."

Elizabeth snorted. "I'll ask your dad to pick up some fish and chips on his way back, okay?"

"Thank you," Will said, relieved, covering the strange mass on the plate with a napkin. "I'm not afraid of a lot of things, but I am afraid of eating that."

Elizabeth laughed again. "Eat your Jell-O before Jack gets here and eats it for you."

Will let out a snort of laughter. "Are you kidding? Jack's only interested in Jell-O if it's got alcohol in it and it's served in a shot glass."

Elizabeth was about to reply when entered the room. "You have another visitor, Will. Do you want to see a Mr. Swann?"

Will and Elizabeth exchanged glances, Elizabeth shrugging curiously.

"Er… yeah, I guess."

The nurse glanced at the covered plate on his tray. "You're not going to eat that, are you?"

"I, uh, wasn't planning on it, no."

She smiled slightly. "I didn't think so. Can't say I blame you, to be honest." She took the tray. "I'll send Mr. Swann in."

"What do you think your father wants?" Will asked Elizabeth nervously.

She shrugged again. "I guess we'll find out."

Will nodded as Mr. Swann walked into the room. He looked at Elizabeth. "I had hoped I might speak with William alone…"

Elizabeth glanced at Will, who nodded again, uncertainly. She squeezed his hand as she stood up and left.

Once he was alone with Elizabeth's father, Will said, "It's Will, actually."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Will. Not William." I think that's the painkillers talking…

"I see."

"Was there, um… was there something you wanted? Sir?"

"Yes, actually," Mr. Swann said, seeming to remember his exact purpose for visiting. He paused for a brief moment. "You know, when I first gave you permission to marry my daughter, I have to admit that I was still somewhat uncertain about you."

Will shifter nervously. That's comforting.

"However," he continued, "I saw the news report on your… accident the other night."

"It wasn't really an accident so much as just me getting shot…" Will reddened slightly. Shut up, painkillers.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Mr. Swann's mouth. "Indeed. The report said… the victim was injured because he was 'protecting his girlfriend.' I was just curious… what exactly happened that night? Elizabeth said you were walking by the river."

Will nodded, staring at the end of his bed. "He was aiming at her. That was one of the first things I remembered after I woke up. He was aiming at her, and I couldn't… I couldn't let him hurt her." He closed his eyes briefly. "Don't remember much after that."

"Will," Mr. Swann said quietly.

Will looked slowly up at him.

"You marry my daughter. I know she'll be safe with you, and happy. So you go ahead and ask her to marry you." He smiled slightly. "And you don't need to be afraid of me. I won't bite."

Will managed a grin, blushing a little more.

"When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know," Will admitted. "To be honest, I don't have the ring. I don't know what happened to it after I got shot."

"I can 'elp yeh there, mate."

Mr. Swann turned in surprise, staring at the dreadlocked man standing in the doorway behind him.

Jack stuck out a hand. "Jack Sparrow. Will's bes' friend an' adopted big brother. You mus' be 'lizabeth's dad."

Mr. Swann took the proffered hand somewhat gingerly. "Indeed." He glanced back at Will. "Am I correct in assuming that Mr. Sparrow will be part of the wedding, then…?"

"He'll be my best man," Will said, struggling to hold back the laughter that was threatening to erupt. The effort was making his chest ache.

"Yer damn right, I will," Jack confirmed, nodding.

Will let out a snort, doing his best to cover it up with a cough. Jack gave him an amused look behind Mr. Swann's back.

"Yes, well…" Mr. Swann took a step toward the door, moving around Jack. "I should be going. Make sure Elizabeth remembers to call me after you ask her."

Will grinned. "I will."

Mr. Swann nodded and stepped outside. Jack watched him go, then pulled a chair up to Will's bed.

"'ow're yeh doin', mate?"

Will shrugged. "Not bad. But that's probably the painkillers."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Nice. Bu' anyways…" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box. "This's yers."

Will took it, looking relieved. "How did you get this?"

"Asked th' nurse outside. I figured yeh wouldn' want 'lizabeth t' find out 'bout it, since yeh hadn' asked 'er yet."

Will smiled gratefully, tilting the ring so it caught the light. "Thanks, Jack."

"'s no problem. What're big brothers for, eh?" Jack answered, grinning.

Will laughed. "When, exactly, did you decide that we're actually related?"

"When th' nurses wouldn' tell a friend wha' was goin' on, bu' they were perfectly happy t' tell family," Jack growled irritably.

Will laughed again, doing his best to ignore the persistent ache that it caused in his chest.

Watching him closely, Jack asked, "Tha' hurts, doesn' it?"

Will shrugged, wincing slightly. "A bit." He spun the ring between his fingers. "I really want to ask her to marry me."

"So do it."

"I don't want to ask her in a hospital. I had this big romantic date night planned and everything…"

"Yeah, an' look where tha' got yeh," Jack pointed out, sounding amused. "Jus' ask 'er, already."

"But I'm in the hospital…"

"Look, mate," Jack said in exasperation, "after yeh ask 'er, you'll prob'ly leave, what, 'bout a year before th' wedding? Yeh gotta 'ave time t' plan an' whatever else people do."

"Where the heck are you going with this?"

"Pipe down, would yeh? I'm gettin' there! So anyways, yeh ask 'er now, the two of yeh can be blissfully married by this time nex' July."

"Sure…"

"Bu' if yeh wait 'til yer out of th' 'ospital, you'll also wanna wait 'til yer completely healed, 'cause after yeh ask 'er she'll prob'ly jump on yeh – or somethin'," he added suggestively.

"Jack!"

"So if yeh don' ask 'er now, yer prob'ly lookin' at – I dunno – maybe a month before yeh can? Maybe more? Then yeh prob'ly won' get married 'til a' least nex' August or later."

"Your logic baffles me, Jack."

"Look, kid," Jack said, irritated, "it's all 'bout waitin' fer th' opportune moment. So yeh can either ask 'er now an' stop 'er thinkin' 'bout nothin' but whether or not yer gonna die – "

"Is she really still thinking about that?" Will asked, surprised.

" – or yeh can let 'er worry 'bout it an' not ask 'er fer at least another month."

"She really still thinks I might die?" Will asked quietly.

"Yeh nearly did, Will! I was 'ere, I saw it! Yer heart stopped. It yeh coulda seen th' look on 'er face, you'd know she's still worried 'bout yeh." Jack stood up. "I'm gonna go before she comes back. You ask 'er. All right?"

Will looked down at the ring in his hand. "All right."

Aaaaand Will's alive! And is he about to propose? Tune in next week to find out ;)