The Telling of More to Come

“Honey! Honey are you awake?” Ashley blinked several times then slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, Ben was home and had moved her to the bed and was sitting beside her. She looked up at him, and tried to remember what had happened.
”Thank God you’re ok! What happened to you?” She strained to remember. Something about a man that sent chills down her spine and water. That water, that horrid, delicious water. She had to have more. She tried to get up but Ben just pushed her back down saying she needed to get rest. But she didn’t need rest, that was the last thing she needed right now. Sure she was tired, and her head was throbbing, but a glass of that water would fix it all.
”Water!” she whispered hoarsely, “Can you get me my cup of water?”
“Yeah honey, just lay right here. Don’t move and I’ll get it for you” Ben said standing up and quickly moving towards the table. He grabbed a bottle and a glass and turned to come back. Ashley noticed that everything was exactly as she remembered. Wait, was she remembering things now.
“NO! I want my water! Not that bottle, the cup on the table!” She screamed at him realizing he was getting a new bottle. She partially couldn’t believe how forceful she sounded, and she partially didn’t care. He reached for the cup and lifted it off the table.
”But it’s empty honey?” He sniffed, raised the cup to his nose and sniffed again. “What’s that smell? Ashley, what happened here?” Ben started to sound slightly angry, and extremely concerned and confused.
”I…I…I don’t know? I came home, I drank some water…water! Get me my water! Get me…”
”Ashley!” Ben yelled cutting her off, “what happened after the water?”
She paused then slowly told him the story, or at least what she could remember. When she finished she closed her eyes and laid her head back. Just telling the story, reliving that horrid memory, drained her.
“Honey! Honey, stay awake!” She heard him rush across the room, and felt him grab her shoulders, then her face. She opened her eyes and he was right above her, she could see where he had been crying.
”Honey, we need to go to the hospital, get you checked out. I think he may have drugged or poisoned you. We need to make sure you and the baby will be ok! Then we, no I, you need to rest, I need to get the cops on this. This guy will pay for this! Oh, he will pay!”
He stood up and began to walk around the apartment, getting her coat and shoes and getting himself ready as well. She heard him mumbling more about how this man ‘was going to pay’. She just laid her head back, feeling herself slowly slip into oblivion. Everything began to feel surreal, like a dream of a far off place. She heard Ben yelling at her and felt him shaking her. She didn’t care anymore, she just needed to rest her aching head.
For the second time Ashley blinked her eyes open and looked up to see Ben sitting on the bed beside her. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from her with his head in his hands. She looked around and quickly realized she wasn’t at home. Immediately she knew that she was in a hospital, mostly because of the extremely uncomfortable bed that she was on. She turned slightly, trying to find an acceptable spot without waking Ben. So much for that. At her first movement he stood and spun around to face her. There were bags under his eyes, he was still wearing the same clothes as he had been the last time she saw him, and he looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
”Oh gosh! I’m so glad to see those beautiful eyes! You’ve been asleep for two days! If the doctor hadn’t insisted otherwise I would have sworn you were in a coma. Speaking of the doctor, he said you were going to be fine. Oh and…” Ashley suddenly felt extreme pain in her abdomen and screamed in pain.
”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! OH MY GOSH! GET ME SOME MEDICINE! SOMETHING! BEN!” She screeched in pain. Ben turned and started to run out of the room when a small parade of doctors and nurses ran into the room. She looked down to her stomach to see where this great discomfort was coming from, and thought something looked out of place. It dawned on her as she began to scream in terror again. Only this time not in pain but in horror. Her belly! Where was her big, fat, pregnant belly?
”Honey calm down!” Ben tried to yell over her own shrills. “Calm down, let me talk to you!” She felt the pain slowly lighten as the nurse beside her injected something into her IV line. Ashley felt tears pour down her face as she grabbed her belly to make sure what she saw was real and wasn’t just some horrid disillusion. Pain shot through her entire body again. Once again she released a scream of pain and horror as two small nurses grabbed her arms and pulled them away and Ben grabbed her face. He turned her face to his, and once again she could see where he had been crying. Several more tears rolled down his now red and puffy cheeks as he kissed her forehead.
”Honey, you were poisoned by that monster. The doctors were afraid that it might affect the baby so they did an emergency c-section the night you got here. It’s ok. You’re ok. The baby came through the surgery fine and is in the nursery. That’s why your stomach hurts. Ok? It’s fine, just calm down.” They both began to cry again. She felt relieved, overwhelmed, and happy. Then she thought of something,
”Wait, is it a boy or a girl?” Ashley felt something in her stomach again only this time it wasn’t pain. She was anxious, she wanted to know, her heart jumped into throat.
”Baby, she’s the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen!” He whispered to her choking over his own tears of joy. She felt her heart burst and melt at the same time. She had hoped and prayed for a baby girl! Of course if it was a boy she would have loved him just as much but a little girl…
”When can I see her?” She questioned eagerly.
”as soon as your pain is down.” Answered the doctor that was still in the room looking over her charts.
”I’m fine, can I see her now?” Ashley asked in a tone that suggested only one answer, trying not to let her pain show in her voice.
“Well…” the doctor looked at her as if this was a life or death decision. “I guess so if you promise me your not in pain”
Within minutes a young nurse brought her in.
”now be careful, she’s still about two weeks early so she’s very fragile.” The nurse commanded as she gently passed Ashley’s sleeping baby to her.
”What do you think I was going to do with her? Start playin’ racquet ball or somethin’?” Ashley thought to herself. But as she looked down into that tiny pink face, everything else melted way. She could hardly breathe looking at the angel in her arms. Then the little frail body opened its tiny perfect eyes and trustingly peered up at her mother.
”Hey there beautiful, I’m your momma!” Ashley cooed to the small infant in her arms.
”I’m going to get some food” Ben said in a quiet tone after kissing their daughters soft head. “Can’t remember the last time I ate.”
”Ok, I’ll be here with my daughter.” Ashley replied mostly just to hear herself say the words. Ben slipped out the door and down the hall as Ashley adjusted herself slightly to get more comfortable. As she looked down at her sleeping child she again began to cry, softly, not wanting to disturb this resting angel. Just then a doctor walked in. He was tall and was dressed in a smock and a head and face cover, like the ones they wore into a surgery. Ashley just politely said hello not even paying attention. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him inject something into her IV line. Seconds later she began to feel dizzy.
”Wait, what was that?” Ashley demanded.
”Nothing.” He quickly and harshly snapped back.
”NO! That wasn’t ‘nothing’, and as a patient I have a right to know what I am being treated with!” Ashley barked back just as forcefully.
”Just doctors orders.” He answered shortly; Ashley could now feel the hostility in his voice.
“That’s not the answer to the question…” just then Ashley noticed something frighteningly familiar about the dizziness that was caused by whatever it was that he gave her. The room began to spin as a few things briefly changed colors. Fear froze her entire body, she didn’t want to move, she couldn’t, she knew if she did she would attomatically look at him, and she didn’t want that. But she couldn’t stop herself. As she looked over and peered into this strange doctor’s eyes she felt a burning chill all over her body. She looked into his unmistakable black eyes and saw only death. He laughed at her, his eyes seemed to sparkle at her fear. She clutched her tiny baby and tried to scream but she couldn’t. she began to panic, she tried to stand and run but the monster beside her immediately pushed her back down, nearly knocking the breathe out of her. Suddenly everything went fuzzy, then black. She shook her head and opened her eyes. She wasn’t going to let this brute win this! Forcing one of her arms to let go of her crying child she reached over and pressed the nurse button repeatedly until he grabbed her wrist and yanked it over her head. She felt her wrist pop, and then he pulled it way up over her head and behind her so she was in a virtually hopeless position. He got close to her face and whispered in her ear,
”The time I have planned is upon us.” he hissed. Something about his voice, part of it froze her to the core, while another part of it soothed her soul. It was mind-numbing, yet relaxing. She heard running footsteps in the hall, and he obviously heard them too because she saw fear shoot through his devilish expression.
“I’ll see you soon.” He breathed kissing her on the forehead. She pulled away, then he did something Ashley will never forget. He grabbed her baby and tried to pull her away, Ashley’s ‘mother bear’ instincts set in. She reached up and, screaming at the top of her lungs, scratched his face with all her strength. He screeched and turned and ran. She couldn’t hold off the dizziness and nausea anymore, she just laid her head back and fell asleep, gripping her child tightly.