Chapter Nine

Monica pulled the car into the closest parking spot she could find once they arrived at the hospital. Becky jumped out of the car, running toward the hospital, not waiting for Monica and Angel. Monica shut the car off, and she and Angel ran after Becky.

"Monica, what's going on?" Angel wanted to know, as she struggled to keep up to Monica. Becky was just entering the hospital. Monica didn't answer, and Angel knew it wasn't because she didn't want to. Angel knew the situation was very serious.

When Monica and Angel caught up to Becky, she had already talked to the hospital receptionist, who had given Becky the information she needed.

"My mom's in emergency!" Tears were welling up in her eyes again, and Monica put her arm around the girl, and began to lead her toward the emergency room. Angel followed quickly, trying to keep up, still curious. What could be this serious? What could make Becky cry like that?

There was still a lot going on, and Angel didn't know what to think, what to feel, or what to do. All she knew was that Becky was very upset, and this was a hospital. She didn't know much, but she did know that hospitals were for sick people, or hurt people. That thought made Angel worry.

She struggled to keep up with Becky and Monica, as they turned corners and climbed stairs. Becky said she didn't want to wait for the elevators.

Finally, they arrived in a wing with a big sign that read 'Emergency.' Becky ran up to the attendant. While she was talking, Angel approached Monica.

"What's going on, Monica?" She asked. Monica looked down at her, almost forgetting she was there.

"Just a minute, love." She said distractedly, as Becky came back over to the two of them.

"She didn't know anything about my mom, but she's finding the doctor who's in charge of my mom. He can tell me what's going on." Becky's cheeks were red, and tears were falling down her face. She was breathing heavily.

"What if it's Tonya? Oh god, what if something's wrong with the baby?" Becky began crying again. Angel swallowed, feeling a new emotion she had never felt before. She didn't know what was going on inside of her, but it felt strange.

"It'll be okay, Becky." She tried, not really sure what else to say, but Monica stepped in promptly.

"We don't know what's happening yet, love, we just have to keep hoping and praying that everyone is alright." She said, as she put her arm around Becky's shoulders. Angel watched helplessly, unsure what else to do. As Becky tried to calm herself down, her gaze fell past Angel's shoulders, and Angel turned to see a doctor approaching the three of them.

"Which one of you is Rebecca?" He asked, eyeing both Angel and Becky. Becky stepped forward quickly.

"Me." She said, her voice quavering. Angel looked over at Monica and didn't like what she saw. Monica looked worried, and very sad. But that wasn't what worried her the most. As Monica stepped forward to join Becky to listen to Dr. Barner's news, Angel saw Andrew walking past them down the hall. She wondered why he was there, but she stopped thinking about it when Dr. Barner began to speak.

"Your mom was brought into us about an hour ago. We tried to get a hold of you earlier, but I guess your cell phone was not getting reception." Dr. Barner could see Becky was becoming impatient. "She came in with a lot of cuts and bruises; she was in pretty bad shape."

"What happened to her?" Becky asked, holding back her tears. Monica put her hand on the girl's shoulder. Angel listened, but stole a glance down the hall, not seeing Andrew anymore. Why was he here?

Dr. Barner looked hesitant, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He obviously wasn't a huge fan of giving bad news.

"The police were called by your neighbours, they heard noises. They said it was different from the noises they were used to hearing from your house." Becky looked embarrassed. "When the police arrived, they caught your father...your dad throwing your mother...down the stairs."

Becky gasped, and Monica caught her as she fell back a little. She tried to speak, but couldn't, so Dr. Barner continued.

"I'm sorry, Becky, your dad was arrested." He said. Becky didn't seem fazed by this much, she just stared at the doctor, uncertainly.

Angel puckered her brow. None of this was making sense to her. She knew Becky's father was bad news, but she didn't think he would hurt anyone to the point of landing them in the hospital. Yet, here they were.

Becky shook her head, taking in all of this new information, seemingly in shock. Monica still had a grip on Becky's arm, as Becky was swaying slightly. Angel still watched from a safe distance, trying to puzzle out everything that was going on.

"I can't believe this. My dad was arrested? Are you sure?" She asked the doctor, still not sure. As Dr. Barner nodded, Angel was trying to understand, but all she could understand was that Becky's dad was bad, and now he was being taken away. From what she knew about the police, and being arrested, she knew Becky's dad was going to be locked up, but she didn't know for how long, or if he'd ever be able to get out and hurt Becky and her mom again. Or little Tonya for that matter.

"Wait!" Becky cried out suddenly, causing Angel and Monica to jump. "How's Tonya? Is she okay?" Angel's stomach dropped. Why wouldn't Tonya be okay? Her dad threw her mom down the stairs, not Tonya. Angel couldn't figure anything out.

Dr. Barner puckered his brow, and looked up at Monica with a confused expression. Monica was about to speak up, but Angel ran forward.

"Becky's little sister! Tonya's Becky's little sister who will make everything better." She said, thrilled she was able to help in some way. Stealing a glance at Monica, she wasn't so sure it was the best time though. She stepped back again, as Dr. Barner continued to wait for Monica to explain.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Barner. Tonya is the unborn baby. Becky's mother is pregnant." Monica said, as she tightened her grip on Becky's arm.

Dr. Barner's expression completely changed at this, and Angel suddenly had a bad feeling. It was something she hadn't felt before, but she could tell just by looking at Dr. Barner, and maybe it was something more than that, but she knew something wasn't right.

"Rebecca, I'm sorry, but...your mother...she lost the baby." Dr. Barner said.

A scream came from Becky as she fell to the ground on her knees, crying into her hands. A tear rolled down Monica's cheek as well as Dr. Barner turned to Monica.

"Her mom's in room 412, she can go down anytime. She's been asking for her daughter." He whispered, as Monica gave a firm nod. As Dr. Barner left, Monica knelt down next to Becky, and put her hand on her shoulder. Becky pulled away at first, but when Monica tried again, Becky didn't move. She just continued to cry, and mutter things that were incomprehensible. Not knowing what else to do, Angel knelt down next to the two, and reached out to put her own hand on Becky's free shoulder, but she caught a glance at Monica, who shook her head softly. Angel pulled away, feeling angry. Her friend was crying, and sad, because Tonya was gone. Why couldn't Angel help? It wasn't fair. Still, Angel obliged, and stood back up, watching, as anger consumed her.

"It's not fair! It's not FAIR! Tonya didn't do anything wrong! Why did she have to die?" Becky screamed out. Angel felt tears in her own eyes at the sight of her first friend in pain, angry and upset. That was when it happened. A heavenly glow surrounded Monica, as Becky looked up in shock. Angel felt her heart beating faster. Monica was revealing herself as an angel to Becky. Becky's eyes were wide with fear and wonder, as she stared at Monica nervously. Angel sighed. I wish I could glow like that. Knowing there was nothing more she could do, she turned and walked away, leaving Monica to do the job she had wanted all along.