Rita paced up and down the hallway, with her baby Izzy in her arms. She could not get the sight of Gail's blood out of her mind, or the way the Sheriff had stared at her when it became evident something was wrong with her.
Rita had been in the hospital room with Gail on and off for over 24 hours, while she assisted in the birth of her child. She had witnessed this procedure thousands of times previously and she was not some trainee just out of University, she was skilled enough to deliver a baby and there had been no other alternative that would have suited Gail's demands. She had performed to the best of her ability, ensured both baby and Mother were well; therefore, she could not understand what had happened.
Matt had assured her that she had done nothing wrong and she had delivered the baby safely; however, the look of accountability that Lucas had given her, before Matt ordered her out of the room made her question her actions.
Had she endangered Gail some how? Surely not, as the woman was her friend and she had been extra careful to ensure she was acting in her best interests. She was sure she had followed the correct procedures and performed as well as any other medical professional could have; however, that awful look of blame made her question everything she had done in that 24 hour period.
Rita had been tired, they all had been after such a long period of time. Could she have missed something? Maybe some sign that Gail was injured, maybe a push had ruptured something that she had not noticed? All the different scenarios played through her head, as she held onto her baby for comfort.
Ben came around the corner and spotted Rita with their daughter. He saw the look of sorrow on her face and went to her, then placed a reassuring arm around her shoulder. 'Stop this' he ordered.
'Stop what?' she snapped and pulled away from him.
Ben sighed and shook his head. 'You did the best that you could, this ain't your fault...Matt doesn't even know what happened, so how could you?'
Rita continued to pace and rocked Izzy in her arms. It was true that Matt had not been able to find the source of the blood, which was strange; however, Gail had been in her care and look what happened. 'I never should have believed I could do what a Doctor could' she said defeated and could feel tears welling up within her eyes.
Ben could feel the anger rising within him, as usual he had been brought into something that he wanted no part of and now Rita was suffering because of it. He should never have allowed her to go into that room, he knew better than to trust everything would work out when the usual suspects were involved.
'God damn it Rita!...' he snapped, then spotted the hurt look on her face which instantly made him regret his outburst and changed tactics. '...What I mean is, you're a skilled professional and whatever the hell is goin' on in that room is beyond any of our control...This whole thing is weird and you can't blame yourself for something even Matt can't fix'
Rita let out a deep breath and shook her head, what he said made sense and nobody had any idea what was going on in that room. She supposed blaming herself was not going to solve the problem; therefore, she handed Ben the baby and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
'What was that for?' he asked confused, as he had expected a row.
'For talkin' some sense into me...' she smiled and stroked his cheek, '...You take Izzy home, I need to help Matt'
Ben shook his head and stood his ground. 'I'm not leavin' you here...I know there's no point arguin' with you to come home, so if you're stayin' me and Izzy are too' he said with an authoritative tone.
Rita rolled her eyes and playfully smacked him on the behind. 'Fine, well seen as you're stayin' you better make sure all the children are seen to' she smiled, then turned and headed towards Matt's office.
Caleb was sat with Abraham in the main area of the hospital, playing with his hands. When Gail had given birth to his little baby brother, everything had happened so fast and he felt as though he was in a haze.
Lucas was guarding the baby and appeared to have no time for him. Merlyn had camped inside Gail's room, refusing to leave her side and Doctor Matt was in his office trying to figure out what had happened to Gail. This meant Caleb had been left babysitting Abe, he supposed he did not mind as it kept him out of the way; however, part of him felt discarded.
He had caught a glimpse of the new baby when Merlyn was caring for him and when Lucas took over. He knew he should feel happy that there was a new addition to the family, especially seen as most of his family were dead; however, there was a bitterness growing inside of him and although Lucas had warned him against that kind of feeling, he could not help but feel some disdain towards his baby brother.
'You're quiet boy...I bet you're worried about my Rosie' Abe sighed and placed a reassuring hand on Caleb's shoulder.
Caleb nodded obediently, performing as he should; however, his outward appearance was not how he truly felt. Part of him felt relieved Gail was in the condition she was, as she would instantly see the change in him and he did not want to risk her knowing how he felt about the baby. Caleb suspected that he needed to sort out his feelings before his cousin came back to the land of the living, or there would be hell to pay.
Abe stood up and slowly walked towards Gail's hospital room, with Caleb following close behind. 'You know, I remember when her daddy was younger and his little sister was born...that boy put a whole lotta hurtin' on that poor girl, so much so that she ran away when she was a teenager'
'Gail's daddy had a sister?' Caleb asked curiously, he had never heard much of that side of the family and was not aware that there may be more of them.
'She was a pretty little thing, kind too...it's a shame she got driven away' Abe sighed and turned towards Caleb knowingly.
Caleb stood uncomfortably under his knowing gaze and shifted on the spot. 'What happened to her?'
Abe watched the boy carefully. 'Some say she got outta this town, but I've been here long enough to know things rarely work out that well...You know, being the older siblin' can be hard and it can seem like you're bein' forgotten about'
Caleb stopped shifting and stood tall. 'Why are you tellin' me this?' he asked.
Abe shrugged and continued to watch the boys reactions. 'You're an alpha male, just like Peter was and sometimes it's easy to believe you have the right to be at the top of the chain, but remember this...you come from a long line of alpha's and you're not the only player in this town' he warned, then entered Gail's hospital room.
Caleb stood for a moment, unsure what he was supposed to gain by Abe's ramblings.
'He's warnin' you to put your bad thoughts behind you, as you're not the only alpha in this neck of the woods' Merlyn said, as she leaned against the door and watched her brother suspiciously.
Caleb stared defiantly at her for a moment, then turned away. 'I'm gonna go find my daddy' he called, as he walked down the corridor.
'You do that' Merlyn said and shook her head. She did not have the time to deal with the conflicting feelings her brother was clearly plagued with and closed the hospital door, so she could tend to her cousin.
Gail had been walking down the riverbank, following the flow of the river. She had decided that she did not like being by the fair, it was eerie without the townspeople and she did not trust that area after her run in with Caleb's Mother; therefore, she had crossed a small bridge to the other side of the river and started walking.
It had not taken Gail long to remember her cousin and figure out who the young blonde woman had been, she had just been in shock initially and had not been able to think straight at the time. She was now in full control of her senses and she was trying to figure out the best way forward here.
Gail had started to recall a few things, now that she was aware of her cousin. She did not have her full memory or could she figure out for the life of her why she was in Trinity; however, small pictures began to come back to her. She remembered crab fishing with Caleb, staying with him at the Boarding House and taking him out for long walks on the pier. She was clearly close to her cousin, but did not recall what had happened to bring them together.
This situation was frustrating and she was starting to lose her patience. She knew there was a lot that she could not remember, important things; however, it was as though there was a mental block preventing her from taking full control of her memories. She sensed that this was the key in figuring out what was going on and she needed to snap out of whatever haze she was in.
Gail felt something stir within her and stopped, she glanced into the wooded area to her left and could not stop her feet from walking in that direction. She felt as though she was being pulled towards something and began to get concerned. She did not fully understand what was going on; however, whatever she was drawn to may provide her with the answers she required.
When she pushed deeper into the woods, she spotted a large cabin and a wave of relief flowed through her. She did not know where she knew this cabin from; however, it felt safe and she wanted desperately to go inside.
Suddenly an older Judith Temple came walking towards her, from behind the cabin. Gail spotted a sharp object in her hand, then instinctively turned and ran back towards the River. She could sense Judith following her at a steady pace and began running faster, with her trusted dog running along side her. It was evident that her Aunt wanted to hurt her and she was confused as to why; however, she would not give her the opportunity to catch her and she sensed it was paramount that she got away from her.
Gail was beginning to struggle to catch her breath, but she pushed on as quickly as she could. Her legs started to feel like lead and she felt herself ready to collapse, when she spotted a teenage girl signalling her from behind a tree. She stopped for a moment and regarded the girl suspiciously, then glanced over her shoulder to see Judith closing the distance and chose to follow the girl.
The young girl, with long brown hair rushed to a nearby clearing and led Gail to large open area. Gail did not believe standing out in the open was the best course of action here; however, she sensed Judith's pursuit end and turned towards the girl. 'Who are you? What the hell is going on here?' she panted and tried to get some much needed air into her lungs.
The girl smiled sweetly and signaled for Gail to follow her, when she reached the middle of the open wooded area she sat down and crossed her legs.
Gail watched the girl curiously, she felt as though she was familiar; however, she could not place the girls face. She sat down beside her on the ground and glanced around. 'It's nice and quiet here, do you come her often?' she asked.
The girl just shrugged and continued to watch her, she appeared fascinated with Gail and could not take her eyes off of her.
Gail felt herself become impatient, she was not in the mood to be someones science project; therefore, she stood up and brushed off her dress. 'I haven't got time for this, you should go home to your parents...' she started, then spotted something sticking out of the grass to the side of the girl.
The girl smiled and stood up, then backed away a few steps.
Gail walked forward slowly, then knelt down where the girl had been sat. She gently touched the strange shaped rock that was sticking out of the ground and tried to clear away some of the dirt around it. When she dug around the sides, she realised what she was looking at and screamed. She had cleared away the dirt to reveal part of a corpses skull and she began to run again, in an attempt to get away from this hell.
-To be continued-
