11:

I opened my eyes and found myself in darkness. A machine near me was beeping steadily. I could just see twinkles of sunlight trying to come in through the window shade. It looked like early morning. I was wrapped in a blanket. I had an oxygen tube in my nose and an IV attached to my arm. My body felt numb, calm, and painless. I blinked a few times, unsure if I was really awake.

"Dean?" I croaked. I needed a drink of water.

His hairy body was hard to see in the dim room, but his warm blue eyes were easy for me to spot. He appeared from the far corner and took my left hand into both of his. He smiled at me and asked, "You alright?"

His breath smelled like coffee. I wondered how long I had been asleep.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up a little.

I looked down at my stomach. It was still a big lump under the blanket. Not quite as big as it would eventually get, but big enough for me to know that it hadn't changed. Fragments of the day before began to seep into my mind.

"Everything's alright, the baby is still inside of you. The doctor was really worried but Miz came in and they both worked on you," Dean explained.

Miz must have more training than I originally believed.

"I'm sorry I showed you my lady parts in such a weird fashion. I mean for you to see them while I was being sexy and desireable and not while I was screaming and panicking and bleeding and passing out," I said quietly.

Dean leaned in to see me better and replied, "Don't think about that right now. All that matters is you and the baby are safe."

"How is Sami?" I asked.

"He's fine," Dean answered, but the look on his face made me think there was more to it than what he was telling me.

Dean moved to one side and pointed to the other side of the room. I saw Sami lying in another bed across from me. He had been staring at me, and when I looked over, he smiled faintly against the bruising around his face and mouth. I could tell from his gaze that he wasn't the same Sami I spoke to a few days ago. He seemed stronger, but hardened somehow. He was no longer like the timid and giggling young man who always greeted me with a wide smile and twiddling fingers.

Sheamus was by his bedside, asleep with his head resting against Sami's right elbow. The last time I saw them together, it seemed like Sheamus was the one in charge. Now, it looked like Sami had more life left in him.

Trumbly and Marlyn walked in at that moment. I turned my head the other way to face them. Marlyn came to my side and took my free hand, brushing my hair away from my face like Abbey would've done if she were here. Trumbly smiled at me, then he looked deliberately at Marlyn and cleared his throat a little. I could tell from their faces that they had something important to say.

Marlyn sighed and leaned into me, saying, "Sweetie, we called your father to tell him what happened to you, and he's coming to check in on you and make sure you're alright."

My numb body suddenly felt completely detached and far away from me. I started to panic, asking, "What?! Why?! Why is he coming here?!"

Marlyn continued to stroke my hair soothingly while she spoke in a kind way, "Don't worry, honey, he just wants to throw his weight around. He'll be gone before you know it."

"Don't let him take me away!" I cried out loud enough that I woke Sheamus up and he made a loud yelp of surprise.

Marlyn tried to comfort me, saying, "No, honey, he can't take you anywhere. You're eighteen now, remember? You make your own decisions."

I shook my head and replied, "No, you don't understand. If he can't do anything to me, he'll punish everyone else."

Marlyn glanced at Trumbly nervously. I explained further, "I tried to run away from home after Trumbly stopped coming to see me, and Daddy found the family I was staying with. He called them and told them he made Abbey move into a motel. He threatened to divorce her unless I came home. When I told him I was pregnant, he humiliated Seth and drove his family out of town."

Trumbly's eyes actually widened, like he didn't know his brother was capable of such atrocities. I looked deliberately at Marlyn and finished with, "My father won't do anything to me if he's mad. He'll hurt everyone else because of me; because he knows that hurts me the most."

For a split second, Marlyn's expression seemed to match mine. Then, it melted away and she became very stern, telling me in a calm but firm tone, "You don't worry, Liz. We can take care of ourselves. We're Carnies. we've crossed paths with much worse people than your father."

I wasn't sure I believed it.

:-:

Marlyn and Trumbly left to talk to the doctor about letting both Sami and I go home. Dean lifted my blanket to let my feet air out when it got hotter later in the day. The nurse brought me some food and I ate while we all watched some dumb sitcom on the tiny television hanging from the far wall. Whatever was going on with Sami wasn't mentioned while I was there. I noticed that Sami wasn't speaking at all. Sheamus kept asking Sami specific questions about what he needed. Sami would nod or shake his head instead of answering with words.

There was a slight knock against the frame of the open door to the room, and I looked over and saw AJ peeking his head in. He was holding a bouquet of mixed wildflowers in front of him while his expression looked sheepish and somber.

Dean shot out of his chair and clenched his fists, asking, "What the fuck do you want?!"

AJ glanced at Dean but mostly kept his eyes on me, trying to urge me to let him in as he explained, "My dad knows the staff here and he said you were in the hospital, Liz. I came because I still feel bad about the other day and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Sheamus had also gotten up by this time and stood beside Dean at the ready. I sighed and answered AJ, "Fine, come in. I'm warning you ahead of time that if you do something stupid, I can't control what Dean and Sheamus will do to you."

AJ glanced at Sheamus and Dean again and swallowed hard. He looked back at me and answered, "Right," then he slowly made his way into the room and took deliberate steps over to the side of my bed opposite of the guys.

Sheamus went back to his post and sat down, but kept a watchful eye on AJ. Dean also slowly made his way to his own seat on the other side of me. Dean's chair made a loud scraping noise as he scooted closer to me and took my left hand in his own. AJ let me see the bouquet and observe the flowers before he awkwardly set it on the bedside table next to him. AJ cleared his throat and said more seriously, "I was going to tell you that I was sorry about what happened at the store. I was going to wait until you came into town again. I feel really bad that I'm telling you now when I should've said something sooner."

He did seem legitimately upset. I nodded and answered, "Well, I accept your apology. This means you're not going to do what you threatened to do, right?"

Dean grunted and sat up straighter. Sheamus sniffed loudly with disapproval. AJ swallowed hard again and replied quickly, "No, of course not! I would never do anything to you! It wasn't even a threat! I mean, I was joking! I would have told you otherwise if I knew you felt that way about it."

Big. Fat. Liar.

I was sure he had done exactly what he had threatened to do in the store. He had probably told some, if not all of his friends and anyone else who would listen that I was dating a werewolf Carny so the whole town would think I was a freak and my senior year of high school would be spent being mocked and terrorized by my fellow peers. I was enjoying my power over AJ for the time being. I said nonchalantly, "Yeah, well, I guess you were also joking when you said you were dying to kiss me at the party because you were kissing that girl at the store, instead."

AJ laughed uneasily when he felt the tension rising in the room. He was starting to sweat. I was going to offer him my wet washcloth to wipe himself down. I added easily, "It's no big deal. I actually wanted to just stay friends. I would have told you that at the store, but your tongue was busy in that other girl's mouth so I didn't think you had time to respond to me."

Easing his way more closely to the door, AJ shrugged his shoulders and said, "So, friends, then? That's cool. Yeah, I could live with that."

More seriously, I said, "Thank you for the flowers and for the apology, AJ."

He stopped looking so eager to jump the gun and smiled at me. I should have stopped there. I had my fun, and it was actually kind of sweet of AJ to come and see me, but I was feeling wicked. I told him simply, "You know what? I think you should do what you threatened at the store if you haven't, already! Go ahead and tell everyone I'm dating a werewolf! His name is Dean, by the way!"

Dean was up like a shot, and AJ disappeared out the door just as fast. Sheamus was trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter. Sami also had a bit of a smile on his face. Dean immediately calmed down, showing that most of his anger was boasted to scare AJ. Dean smirked at me and asked, "Weren't you being a little too hard on him?"

"He deserves it for being mean to me and for calling you a werewolf. You are so obviously not an animal," I answered.

Dean put up his hands and argued, "So what am I, then? A dog? A half-human hybrid? Lucifer's spawn?"

I countered, "No, you are a human being. A man. A person with a condition called hypertrichosis that has been heavily documented as a legitimate thing and it doesn't require you to howl at the moon."

Dean let his shoulders drop in wanton defeat. I added quickly, "And I'll tell everyone you're my Chia Pet boyfriend. It's much cuter."

Sheamus busted out laughing so hard that he fell out of his chair. Dean narrowed his eyes to look angry at me, but I could see him trying not to laugh as well. I chuckled myself and Dean asked, "So we're officially a couple now?"

I shrugged and answered, "Until I get tired of people offering laser hair removal surgery for my luv-a."

I purposefully pronounced lover in a seductive way so that Dean would finally laugh. He did, and seeing his brightened expression made me feel better than I had in a long time.

All of that happiness melted away when I heard my father's voice call out from the hallway, "Elizabeth?"

I sat up as straight as I could. Dean sat down beside me once more. Sheamus got back into his chair to wait for my father to arrive. Abbey came to the door with Marlyn, first. Abbey's brunette hair was blown all around her face and she looked much older than I remembered her to be. She was holding a blue box with a red ribbon tied around it. I held out my arms for her and Abbey started for me. I glanced at Marlyn and she mouthed, "Mom," to indicate to me that I should not yet reveal that I knew the truth. Abbey should be referred to as Mom for the time being.

"Momma!" I said gladly.

"Oh, my baby!" Abbey gave me a strong and generous hug. I could feel her sobbing against my shoulder. She pulled away from me and handed me the box in her hand. She added with a smile, "I know it's late, but we brought you a birthday present."

I took the box and replied, "Thank you, Momma."

Abbey placed her purse on my bedside and opened it up, pulling out a little white jumper as she explained, "I also went through our things in the garage. I found your old baby jumper that I used to dress you in every night. I thought you might want it for your baby."

I took the jumper and gasped, my eyes brimming with tears at the gesture. I held it up and I noticed that there was a little yellow duck sewn into the far corner, a bit tattered from time. The jumper itself still looked almost new. It also looked so small. I couldn't believe that my baby would be the same size soon.

I put the jumper down in my lap while Abbey continued softly, "We also heard that you helped a boy that was injured."

I pointed to the other side of the room and said, "Sami."

Abbey smiled at him and waved politely. She also nodded her head at Sheamus and at Dean. She didn't seem at all bothered by Dean's looks. I was glad to know that about her, but I wasn't so sure about my dad.

She looked at me again and covered her mouth to stifle more tears. Abbey said sweetly, "Oh, I'm so proud of you! I miss you every day, Sweet Pea!"

She cupped my head in her hands and kissed my forehead. I was surprised to hear her say something like that out loud. I asked, "Really? You missed me?"

"Every day, Lizzy! Every day," Abbey smiled.

"Liz! Elizabeth!" my father was still calling from the hallway.

I could hear Uncle Trumbly arguing with him. Something fell or broke in the hallway with a loud crash and I jumped a little. Abbey moved aside to blend in with the wall as my father's tall and looming presence made its way through the door frame. I had forgotten how much Trumbly matched my father's marginal height until I saw them standing side-by-side. Hefram didn't even look at Marlyn, Dean, Sheamus, or Sami. He just focused all his attention on me as I smiled brightly and said, "Hello, Daddy."

Coming to stand by my bedside, he said in his usual civilized but boiling-beneath-the-surface tone, "Elizabeth, you are looking better than I expected."

Trumbly scoffed from behind my father, "What is she supposed to look like, Hefram?!"

My father ignored his brother and motioned to the box with the bow, asking, "Did you enjoy your gift?"

"Oh, I haven't opened it yet," I mentioned, looking down at it.

"Why don't you open it, then," he said, making it sound more like an order than a suggestion.

The ends of my father's mouth were starting to twitch. I was beginning to think it was taking him a great deal of effort not to yell. I had never seen my father so restricted, before. He was making a real and dedicated effort to appear as calm as possible in front of the others.

I slowly unraveled the bow and opened the box while my father idly tended to my hair, forcefully trying to push it back away from my face like he always insisted it should be. I saw Dean shift uncomfortably in his chair out of the corner of my eye. I didn't dare look over at him. My father had yet to acknowledge Dean and I didn't want to provoke him.

"Take both sides of it, it's very fragile," my father told me when I opened the top and spotted a blue porcelain feature inside that resembled a big top tent.

I took the object by both sides like my father had instructed. I pulled it out to reveal a miniature carousel made of porcelain pieces in blue and white, my favorite colors. It seemed to glow as I examined it carefully, saying in awe, "Oh, it's beautiful, Daddy."

"There's a tab on the bottom. You don't have to wind it, just switch it back and forth to listen to the music. The carousel moves as well," my father explained.

I was so happy, I had forgotten to say something until my father mentioned, "What do you say?"

"Oh, thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Momma," I said to he and Abbey.

Abbey smiled broadly, her eyes brimming with tears, again. My father replied simply, "Abbey thought you would like it."

"What about the letter?" Trumbly asked, his voice gruff.

I thought my father was the one holding things back, but apparently Trumbly was also trying very hard not to make a scene.

"What letter?!" Hefram turned to face him sternly like Trumbly had asked a stupid question.

"I saw you folding up a letter in your car! It had Liz's name on it, and that means it belongs to her," Trumbly stated.

Hefram sighed forcefully out of his nose, then he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a letter, handing it to me while he explained passively, "This came for you in the mail. It's from Seth."

I took it and smiled, turning it over to open it. I realized as soon as I touched the back of the envelope that it had been tampered with. My face fell and I looked up and said, "Daddy, it's already been opened."

With a formless expression, my father informed me, "Yes, I wanted to make certain that Seth didn't write anything inappropriate. You two didn't part on good terms."

I nodded my head and accepted what my father said because I noticed Trumbly's face had turned bright red and he was opening his mouth to argue. I didn't want them fighting some more. My father motioned beside him and stated, "Abbey."

She stepped forward and pulled out my old scripture book from her purse, handing it to my father, obediently. He placed it on my lap and said, "You left this at home. I thought you would want it back."

I could hear Uncle Trumbly grinding his teeth. I quickly replied, "Thank you, Daddy."

Moving on, my father informed me of the details, "Your mother and I will be staying at a hotel in town, overnight. We would like to take a look at the room you are staying in and we want to make sure that you are being provided for before we leave tomorrow evening. After what has transpired, I couldn't stand to leave knowing you could be prone to more accidents."

"ACCIDENTS?! WHAT ACCIDENTS?! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE ME TO BE THAT INCAPABLE?!" Trumbly roared, unable to contain himself.

Hefram turned to face his brother and replied with a sense of superior calm, "I don't think you're incapable, Trumbly. I know you very well. You forget that we grew up, together. I know your tendency to juggle too many things at once. It probably slipped your mind to be more observant of my daughter during her time of need. Have you spoken to the doctors about leaving this place?"

Trumbly's eyes began to bulge with fury. He responded in a shrill tone, "This is not some guest house, Hefram! You can't just go to the front desk and say, 'I'm done being sick now, I think I'll leave!'"

"Are you insulting my intelligence?! Do you think I don't know that?!" Hefram's voice started to rise.

"No, I am not insulting your intelligence! I'm insulting your knowledge of the outside world and the rituals that normal people do!" Trumbly folded his arms in protest.

I had never heard anyone talk to my father like that before. It was awesome.

"A quick wit is the sign of a fool, brother," Hefram quoted one of his most favorite of sayings he reserved for when he didn't know how else to combat people.

Trumbly scoffed and rolled his eyes like he had heard it many times, before. He answered dryly, "It's funny how you only use that phrase when you don't have a good comeback for me!"

Hefram's anger was also starting to rise. He turned to leave, saying loudly, "I'm going to talk to the doctor!"

"Wait! You haven't met my colleagues!" Trumbly motioned to Dean, Sheamus and Sami.

Hefram didn't even look at them, but turned back to Trumbly and said snidely, "I'm not inclined to associate with the delinquents you've dared to claim as your colleagues! I need to get my daughter out of this place!"

"So, just ignore my friends and my wife and everything I say to you, is that it?!" Trumbly argued, but Hefram was already leaving, so Trumbly followed after him and their voices continued echoing in the hallway.

Once they were gone and their voices had faded, Abbey stepped up more closely to me and pulled out another piece of paper from her purse. She handed it to me and said, "I want you to hide this from your father. It's the rest of Seth's letter that he tried to throw away."

I had never known Abbey to defy my father like that, before. I quickly put the second half of the letter in with the first as she explained further, "He didn't want you to have Seth's grandfather's phone number on the second half of the letter. I called it and spoke with the grandfather. A very nice fellow. He says that Seth is in Florida, now. He graduated early because he's so intelligent. He's already enrolled in college and working on a physics degree. He also met a young lady down there, and they're planning to be married."

A knot formed in my stomach when Abbey said that. I didn't love Seth and I had no plans for a future with him, but knowing that he had found someone else when we never officially got to say our good-byes was hard to hear. Abbey went on, not noticing my discomfort, "His grandfather says that Seth thinks about you every day, and he would like to help support the child in any way that he can. He wants you to know that he would love to meet his child someday, whenever the time is right."

Dean, Sheamus and Sami were silent. Marlyn was also still listening by the door, but kept her mouth shut as well. Tears started forming in my eyes, and Abbey looked at me with concern, asking, "What's the matter, dear?"

"He's not mad at me?" I asked.

"Why would he be mad at you?" Abbey asked, taking my head into her open palms again.

"I ruined his life, Momma! I got knocked up and he thought he was going to have to end his schoolwork and career because of me, but instead he had to pack up and leave everything behind and pretend I never existed so he could go out and live his life, but he'll spend the rest of it wondering about me and the stupid thing we did on a Wednesday afternoon in his basement when I should've just let him go to the comic book store like he wanted to!"

I started crying, and Abbey held me, saying, "Oh honey, he doesn't think of you and the baby as a mistake. These things happen, and we live with our choices."

I sniffed and tried to wipe my eyes, saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so upset like this. I'm really happy you're here. I'm happy you gave me the letter. Thank you, Momma."

Abbey pulled out some tissue from her purse and dabbed my tears away, saying, "I never told anyone this, but I got pregnant my first time, too."

I stopped crying and stared at her in shock as I blurted out, "What?!"

She sighed and explained, "It was a different time when I was your age. We all thought our first time was a freebie and pregnancy was impossible. I found some rebel boy with a nice car who thought I had pretty eyes. He took off as soon as I revealed to him that our beliefs were false."

I couldn't believe it. My eyes were as wide as saucers and I asked, "What happened to the baby?!"

Abbey's face took on a mournful look and she answered softly, "Oh honey, you know me, I'm not very strong. I miscarried just a few weeks into it."

I let my mouth drop open and the tears started coming again. I wailed, "Momma, that's horrible!"

She took me into her arms in a hug again, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm always telling the wrong stories at the wrong times."

Abbey was patting my back and trying to get me to calm down when Hefram and Trumbly appeared at the doorway, again. Hefram looked in on us and asked sternly, "What's going on in here?!"

Abbey let go of me and I blurted out loudly, "DADDY, I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"

His eyes widened and he said quickly, "I'll talk to the doctor, again!"

Both Hefram and Trumbly took off without another word, probably just to get away from me in case I went hysterical, again.

I stopped crying for a moment and I looked at Dean with astonishment, telling him, "Oh my God, he listened to me!"

Dean's eyes were as wide as my father's. Sheamus and Sami were also in some sort of shock at my unusual behavior. I looked at Abbey and said, "Did you see that?! He listened to me! He NEVER listens to me!"

I started balling again, and Abbey took me into her arms once more while Marlyn went to check my IV, asking rhetorically, "What kind of medicine are they giving to you?"

:-:

Like my father wanted, the hospital let both Sami and I leave that day. They determined our conditions to be stable, but I knew that the staff was probably trying to get rid of us because my father and my uncle wouldn't stop fighting, carrying their arguments along with them wherever they ventured. My father and Abbey followed behind us in their own car while I sat next to Dean in Trumbly's car. I took the time to open Seth's letter and read it:

Dear Elizabeth,

I'm so sorry that I can't be there for you. I didn't want to leave you without

saying goodbye, but you and I both know why it had to be done that way.

I want you to know that I'll always have time for you and the baby if you

need anything. I know money isn't much compensation for the sacrifices

you've made, but a baby is expensive and I want you to have access to

provide he or she with the best things in life.

I don't want to live my life knowing that

you struggled for all three of us. I wish I could be there to welcome our

baby into the world, Liz. I know we didn't love each other but we still

made a miracle together and that means something. I'm sure you'll marry

some great guy and have more babies with him, but I'm glad for ours.

I don't know what you want to do about telling our baby about me. I won't be mad

if you decide not to tell our child about me at all.

My mom says that most parents wait until the child is grown up to tell them

because they might not understand it when they're young. Sometimes

the child never knows. Please mention me, Liz. I want

our baby to know that the conception was unexpected, but no less

amazing than anyone else.

I flipped to the second page, the one that my father had tried to dispose of, and read on:

I would love to hear about your progress as well as our baby's. I can

only give you my grandfather's phone number for now, because I'm

sure your father is reading this, but Grandpa Jones has promised to pass on

anything you might send to him.

I want to know when he or she learns to walk, rides a bike, starts the first day

of school and (hopefully) becomes a science superstar, or (more popularly)

goes on to be a football champ.

I won't forget you or the baby, Liz. I can't wait for the phone call when

Grandpa tells me our baby's name. Of course, I'll let you pick, but I can't

help pointing out that Seth is a very unique boy's name and it's frankly

badass. If it's a girl, your mom's name would be cool.

Best Wishes Liz,

Seth

His grandfather's number was right underneath his signature. I smiled when I finished the letter. I read it over one more time before putting it away. I glanced over at Dean. He could have easily read the letter from next to me, and I was sure he had, but he acted as though he knew nothing when he said, "Do you mind sharing what it says?"

"It's mostly what Abbey told me. He wants to be a part of the baby's life and he hopes I'll find a man to marry someday and be happy with."

I looked very deliberately at Dean, but he said nothing.

"Oy, wha' a trooper. Yer da' almos' made me piss out me ears when he yelled for us to ge' movin'. I'd die of frigh' tellin' him I baked a bun 'n his daugh'er," Sheamus pointed out.

Dean smirked, and I asked him, "Are you scared of my dad, Dean?"

Trumbly was watching us from the rear view mirror while he drove, listening to the conversation intently. Dean shrugged and said, "He's moody, but I figure if I stay out of his way then he'll stay out of mine."

"You do remember that he's going to look over all my stuff, right?" I asked.

"So?" Dean looked at me.

"So...we're roommates," I pointed out.

Dean's eyes widened and he answered, "Oh...right."

Sheamus chuckled and patted Dean's shoulder, saying jokingly, "It was nice knowin' ya, Dean-O!"