Prologue:
Doc examined the body, making sure there was no damage. There was some bruising, the soul had put up quite a fight. But there was no severe damage. He turned to the heartbroken mother.
"Well, Melanie," he said. "She looks like she'll be fine." Melanie was silent for a long while.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and left the room.
Melanie watched him go, and broke into tears. She could pull through this. She had to pull through this. Godammit, she had lived through worse than this! She had survived the apocalypse for Christ's sake! She could hear people talking in the other room, gossiping about it.
"Andie's back?" she heard someone say. Probably Trudy.
"Didn't she runaway with that boy?" Betty asked, always eager for gossip.
"I wonder where he went."
"God! Did you see the soul? she looked really pissed." oh no. Even Jamie was getting into this. Melanie curled up. Why couldn't Jared be here? She needed him right now! Why did both Jared and Wanda have to be on a raid right now? She looked down at her daughter's body, it was bruised, her feet and arms sprawled, her stomach swollen with child.
"My poor baby," she squeaked. "My poor, poor baby."