One-shot

Helen was beating Frank. To death. For a woman of her size you wouldn't expect that much strength. Stop watching! RUN! Anne thought; She won't notice you. Anne got up from where she was hiding to grab the keys to her chain. Quickly she got free and ran up the stairs and made for the front door. She pulled, but it was locked with at least 4, maybe more, different types of bolts. Shit! No!

"ANNE!" she heard Helen scream from the basement. She fumbled with the locks in panic. One more! Key! Need a key! She moved to grab a set off the wall next to the door but froze when she saw Helen, keys in one hand and a gun in the other. "It's this one." Helen held the key up next to her blood splattered face. Smiling, she threw the keys over her shoulder into the kitchen and pointed the gun at Anne. "Get downstairs. It's time to sleep now."

Anne didn't want to sleep, not in this house, not in that bed, where Helen had just murdered her own husband. "B-but F-Frank…" she stammered out, she didn't notice how cold it was until now, or maybe it was fear that made her unable to speak, either way she way shaking violently.

"I'll clean up after I have you all safe and secure. Now move." Helen jerked her head in the direction of the basement stairs and took a step toward Anne.

"P-p-p-please…" Anne started, "C-c-can I-I g-get w-wa-warm?"

Helen looked her over once before rolling her eyes. "Fine!" she snapped, "You could use a bath too. Let's go." Helen put the gun into Anne's back and walked her down the hall toward the bathroom. She ran some warm water and began to fill the tub. "Strip." Anne felt uncomfortable but had no choice, so she took off her clothes and climbed into the bath. Helen picked the clothes up off the floor and walked out of the room, locking Anne in of course.

The bath felt wonderful. To be in a real tub, with warm running water, with no one around to watch, to finally be able to get clean, to escape the cold and fear, the bath felt really wonderful. Anne cleaned up and then just sat in the warm water, refreshing it now and then, until Helen came back to get her.

While Anne was in the bathroom, Helen decided to clean up downstairs. She took Anne's clothes and threw them in the hamper, then carried the basket to the basement. Helen looked around and saw how much blood there was on the bed, floor, and ceiling. This was going to take days! If only Frank hadn't lied to her, if only he had given her a child… Helen sighed and walked over to the bed. No point in saving these sheets anymore… She rolled Frank up and tied a knot on one end, then used the sheet roll to drag him up the stairs and into the kitchen where she began to chop away her stress.

After about an hour of Helen's personal version of angry management, she decided that she needed to get Anne out of the bath and into something warm. She needed to keep the baby healthy after all. She washed her hands and arms in the sink and ran up to her room to grab clothes and a towel, then back downstairs to get Anne. Helen found her soaking in the tub, belly poking out above the surface and her head back against the wall. She looked pretty when she was clean and really did have a natural glow from the pregnancy.

"Hey," Helen said softly as she walked to the tub. Anne looked up in surprise and tried to cover up, but failed due to her sizable tummy. "I brought you clean clothes. They should fit and keep you warm. You get to sleep upstairs tonight, but the windows will be locked and I'll know if you try anything again." Helen put the towel and clothes down on the floor by the tub and walked back out to wait for Anne to change. Once she was ready, Helen escorted her upstairs to the master bedroom and tucked her in.

"I'm going to finish cleaning up downstairs and in the basement. Good night." Helen smiled and, again, locked the door behind her.

Anne was left alone for the second time that night, in a part of the house she never would've dreamed to see. She was clean and warm, and safe for the night. Helen may only care about the baby, but that made Anne feel as though she didn't have to worry for now, which was more comfort than she ever could get when Frank was around. Helen is crazy, but she wouldn't be a threat tonight. Anne closed her eyes and tried to block out the sounds floating up from the kitchen. Frank. Helen killed Frank and now was scrubbing him out of their lives for good. Anne turned to her side and used and extra pillow to cover her ears to muffle the sounds. She laid there for a long time before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, Anne was gently woken by Helen, who brought her breakfast in bed. It was a fruit smoothie and two chocolate chip smiley face pancakes. Anne looked at the food for a while, then looked at Helen, who sat on the edge of the bed expectantly.

"I thought you might want something sweet to go with you smoothie this morning." Helen said simply, "And I figured I better try making something cute, to see if I need practice or whatever before the baby gets here." She smiled at Anne's belly. "They taste really good. Even if it might look a little burnt on the one side. I ate some before bringing it up to you. Just to be sure. Like a mommy should."

Anne picked up her fork and cut off a piece of pancake to pop in her mouth. It was good. Anne looked to Helen and gave a small smile before taking another piece. And another. She took a sip of her smoothie, then ate more pancake. Helen sat at the edge of the bed just smiling and watching at first, then got up to look out the window as Anne continued to eat.

"I want you to know that since Frank is gone, I'll be helping you exercise and stuff. I'm not trained like he was but I did read a lot of the books and watched what he taught you to do. I think I can do a pretty good job with it from here on out. After all, it's not much longer 'til the baby comes anyway so it won't be so bad." She turned around and saw that Anne had stopped eating to stare at her. "Finish your breakfast. You're eating for two. You need to eat all." Anne picked her fork back up, but was eating much slower than before. Helen didn't seem to notice and was just satisfied with the fact that she was eating. "After breakfast, we can wait an hour or two before we go out for your jog. Then when we come home I'll make lunch." She smiled.

Anne finished her pancakes and tried to act nonchalant as she asked, "If it's a boy, what will you name him?" She picked up her smoothie and took a sip. Helen turned around with a huge smile on her face.

"I'll name him Randolf. No! Richard. Or Ethan. I don't know." Helen giggled and bounced excitedly. "Why? Do you think it's gonna be a boy?"

"Yeah," Anne tried to smile back, "I think so."

"This is so exciting!" Helen practically skipped to the bed to pick up the tray. "I'm going to take this back to the kitchen and when I come back you better have finished that smoothie. Then we'll wait before going outside." Anne smiled and nodded, then took another sip from the cup as Helen bounced out of the bedroom.

This woman is nuts. Clearly crazy, yet she wants to be a mom so badly that she is willing to take care of me…I wonder how long this is going to last? Anne sat and finished her smoothie. As crazy as Helen was, she did try very hard to give Anne the nutrients she needed and the food wasn't bad.

Helen came back into the room for the cup and checked on Anne to make sure that she didn't need anything, and also to lock the doors and windows. As much as they pretended to trust each other, it was just pretend. Anne was allowed to walk around the room, but not touch anything that was closed. If she needed to use the bathroom or got hungry, she just had to knock on the door and call for Helen. It was a crummy arrangement, but not as terrible a situation for a kidnapped person. Helen walked down the hall to a small study room, it used to be where Frank did work from home, but he didn't need it anymore. Helen propped the door open and went to take a nap on the couch. She was exhausted from all her work the night before and cooking breakfast this morning and fell asleep the instant her head touched the pillow. She dreamed of caring for a beautiful, happy baby boy.

This dream, however, wasn't just about the baby. This one was different. It began with Helen sitting out on the back porch in the spring, wind blowing through the trees as she watched her son play on a blanket in the grass. Something moved in the bushes, a black cloud floated over to her son. Helen jumped up and froze. The closer the cloud got, the more it looked like Frank. Impossible! She thought, He's dead! I killed him! She opened her mouth to shout for help and found that she had no voice. Not a sound came out no matter how hard she tried. Frank got closer and reached out to her son. He scooped him up and the boy screamed, then began to laugh and smile. He turned in his mother's arms and gave her a hug. It was Anne who was holding him. Not Frank. Anne. The boy seemed so happy and was laughing as his mother played with him. Helen relaxed. He was safe. Anne turned so that both she and the baby were smiling at Helen and waved. "Helen!" she shouted, but sounded so much further away than she really was. "Coming!" Helen stepped off the porch.

"Helen? Are you still here?" Anne's voice came through as Helen rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I really have to use the bathroom."

"I'm coming! Just hang on!" Helen got up off the couch and walked back down to the bedroom. She opened the door and escorted Anne to the bathroom. Although Helen didn't notice she was un-armed, Anne did. Unfortunately she really did have to use the bathroom and now would not be a good time to make a break for it or she might wet herself trying. Helen guarded the entrance to the bathroom, thinking about her dream. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't lock the door and was surprised when Anne let herself out.

"Are you feeling alright?" Anne asked, "Did you sleep at all?"

Helen looked up, then nodded. "That's not the problem. Don't worry. Are you ready for your run?"

They went outside and Anne got her daily exercise; Helen chasing her around on the tractor as she did elephant walk and brisk jogging. Something felt different now. Anne knew how dangerous it was and knew that fear of Helen is what kept her from turning this exercise into an escape. But part of her was no longer afraid to wait this out, to see what would happen if she went along with it. Maybe if she played her part, things would change to her favor and she could run off with her baby safely.

Once they were back at the house, Helen made lunch as promised.

"Toby."

"What?" Anne looked up from her plate to Helen, who was sitting across the table enjoying her sandwich.

"His name. If the baby is a boy I would want to name him Toby. I don't know why. It just feels right."

Anne was surprised, but at least that was a better name than all the others she had said. Both of them continued to eat in silence after that. When they were done Helen took their dishes to the sink and sat back down with Anne.

"I've been thinking: All the plans I have for me and the baby, were never just for me and the baby." Helen paused to check if Anne was following along. She didn't look like she understood so Helen kept talking. "They've always been plans for me, the baby, and Frank. That way there would be two parents. A mommy and a daddy to raise the baby to be perfect." She smiled as she thought of her dream, "But two mommys would work too." Helen beamed at Anne from across the table, like she had just come up with the best idea in the history of the world. Anne, on the other hand, was so shocked she didn't know how to react to the news. It sounded so impossible to her that she couldn't process it as well, and Helen could tell. "I mean, it would be great right? I get to have my baby and you get to still be its mommy too. You'd have to follow all the rules of course, but it wouldn't be as bad because you would have to stay since Toby will be here. We could be a family." She reached across the table to take Anne's hands, but Anne pulled back and stood up.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly, "But I need time to think this over. You kidnapped me. Killed me in the eyes of everyone I know and love. Threatened me. And now you want me to play 'happy family'? Can I please have space? Just until I can give you an answer." Anne's head was spinning. She grabbed the chair and sat back down with her eyes closed. She didn't see the wounded look on Helen's face, or notice when all the windows in the kitchen were locked. She didn't see Helen pick up the knife and tuck it into the ties on the back of her dress.

"Fine." Anne felt her arm get pulled up and was dragged out of her seat. "But you get all this 'time to think' in a locked room." She thought she just got herself thrown back into the basement, but was lead upstairs and locked back in the master bedroom. What the hell am I doing here? Maybe this is my chance! She ran to the window; locked. All she could do was watch from inside her prison cell as the world passed her by. She had to think.