Chapter 26

Dr. Scott listened patiently as Dr. Baker explained her theory. It made sense, in the grand scheme of things, and it was the only thing that explained all of Olivia's symptoms.

"Given the nature of her condition, and your familiarity with both the patient and her condition, I think it only makes sense for you to take on this case, Doctor," Dr. Scott said, after several moments of silence.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Dr. Baker said as they completed the necessary forms to transfer Olivia from Dr. Scott's care to Dr. Baker's. Dr. Baker quickly made arrangements for her caseload at the clinic to be covered so that she could be at the hospital.

"Doctors," the nurse that introduced the pair said, rapping softly on the door. "Olivia Tutuola is awake."

XxXxX

Olivia's head was roaring in pain as she opened her eyes to harsh white lights and insistent beeping of equipment around her. The basement she had been confined in was dark and dingy, and she was confused. She knew she wasn't in the basement anymore, but she couldn't figure out where exactly she was. She whimpered slightly from the throbbing pain.

"Liv? Hey…" Elliot said, leaning forward in the chair that had been placed next to her bedside and taking one of her hands into both of his. The cramped emergency bay didn't give them much room, or privacy, but he had insisted on staying by her side until he was sure she understood what was happening to her.

"Elliot? Where am I?" she asked, in a dazed confusion.

"You're in the hospital. You had a seizure and scared the hell out of us," he answered. Gradually, Olivia's memory started putting pieces together.

"Tina?" she asked, her eyes widening in fear.

"She's fine, Liv. She's fine. I just saw her. She has a high fever, but she's upstairs in pediatrics. The doctor said it's already starting to come down. She's going to be fine," Elliot said. He wasn't going to lie to her, but he didn't want to worry her, either. She needed to know that her child was in the hospital, but that it was in no way life threatening.

"El, they took her away from me. Is she…did they…" she asked, wanted to know if her child had been assaulted in any way, but unable to form the words.

"No, Liv. No. Other than a severe case of the flu, the doctors found nothing out of the ordinary," he said. He left out Tina's bald head. Hair would grow back and the small cuts would heal. He could tell Olivia about that when she was a little stronger.

Olivia closed her eyes in relief and tried to bring up her most recent memories. She remembered being strapped to the bed, and Elliot coming to her rescue, and…and…there was something else. She held her eyes closed and a tear slid down her cheek as she remembered the gunshot.

"My husband's dead," she said, swallowing the sobs threatening to spring forward. Elliot grasped her hand tighter.

"He's not, Liv." Olivia opened her eyes, and hope filled her so much that she could hardly breathe.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"He had surgery, and he's in ICU until he's through the worst of it, but it was a clean shot. He'll make a full recovery," Elliot said. "And you should know, Adam Colin was pronounced dead, and Joseph Colin has been taken into custody. We can deal with the rest later, after you're feeling a little better." Relief washed over Olivia. Her husband and child were going to make a full recovery. Her family was still intact.

"Elliot, I…" Olivia began, but was interrupted by a familiar woman in a white coat.

"Welcome back, Olivia. How are you feeling?" Dr. Baker asked, pulling the curtains around the bed in some semblance of privacy.

"I've felt better," Olivia said, grateful to see her regular obstetrician instead of a stranger. "But, I don't like the look on your face." Dr. Baker swallowed before she spoke.

"I wish I had better news for you," Dr. Baker began. Olivia's heart dropped into her stomach. "I've gone over and over your case, and I've been keeping a close on the baby's vital signs. There's only one cause that explains everything you've experienced."

"The…the baby's ok, though…right?" Olivia asked. She gripped Elliot's hand tighter, almost as if she could draw healthy energy out of him and channel it to the tiny life inside her.

"Olivia, the injection you received while you were being held captive was a concentrated salt solution. That's what caused your seizure. It's an old abortion method that essentially poisons the fetus, but it poses dangers to the mother's central nervous system," Dr. Baker said gravely.

"What?" Olivia breathed. She hadn't been able to focus on what Dr. Baker had said beyond the word 'abortion.' A few times now, she had expected to hear that she miscarried, but this…this was something different. "Can you save the baby?" One look at Dr. Baker's face, and Olivia already knew the answer.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia," Dr. Baker said softly.

"NO…ELLIOT!" Olivia cried, burying her face in Elliot's chest. Her body heaved as she was overcome by sobs of grief. Dr. Baker stood patiently. She had expected this sort of reaction, and her training told her not to say anything more until Olivia was calmer.

"It's ok, Liv. It's ok," Elliot said softly, as she cried into his shirt while he stroked her hair. Elliot turned his attention back to Dr. Baker while he continued to try to soothe an inconsolable Olivia.

"What happens next, Doc?" he asked.

"She'll go into labor within the next two days. I'm having her admitted to maternity, and I'll perform the delivery myself," Dr. Baker explained.

"Do you really have to put her through that?" Elliot asked. "Isn't there a more humane way?"

"If it becomes necessary, we can deliver the baby surgically, but given the damage to her nervous system as well as everything else she's been through, the safest thing to do is to let nature take its course. I know it seems cruel, but it poses the least amount of risk to Olivia," Dr. Baker explained. The sight of the brunette, so obviously heartbroken, in front of her was making it more and more difficult for her to keep her own emotions in check. And yet, this was her job, and she would do it, with the same finesse and grace she had every day.

"Olivia, you should know that only someone who knew what they were doing could have pulled this off," Dr. Baker said. And something about that statement jarred Olivia's memory.

"It- it was Black!" Olivia sobbed, still not moving from the comforting embrace of her partner as she wrapped one arm around her slightly swollen stomach. "Sh- she did this! She killed my baby!" Baker narrowed her eyes in confusion, her mouth parting in astonishment slightly.

"What do you mean?" Baker asked stoicly.

"Doc- Doctor Black sa- said she was just taking a sample for an Amino!" the brunette cried. "I- I should have fought her more!"

"This wasn't your fault, Liv," Elliot whispered softly, but knowing that no matter what he said, Olivia would continue to blame herself.

"I should have struggled harder! I shouldn't have let her do this to me!"

Dr. Baker licked her suddenly dry lips, struggling to keep the furious blinding fury from her voice so that Olivia didn't think that she was angry at her, which she wasn't. She was angry at her friend and partner, Victoria Black. Baker always knew there something wasn't quite right about her. She had an icy cold exterior, even when making friendly chat with her and other members of the staff, but she was friendly nonetheless and a talented physician to boot. Plus she had provided a large amount of the start up costs to open the Manhattan Family Clinic, which Baker had dreamt about since before she entered medical school.

"Olivia, I promise to get to the bottom of this," Baker told her as soft as she could in her anger. "And if you want a new physician I completely understand." Olivia shook her head, still not lifting it from Elliot's chest that was we from her tears. Olivia trusted her beyond words, plus she had delivered Tina and had worked valiantly to protect every one of her pregnancies. She knew Baker knew just as much about the cold deadly secrets that Victoria Black held as Olivia did.

"I need to see my family," she cried. "Please let me see them."

"Of course," Baker told her with a nod of the head. She knew Olivia was supposed to stay in bed, but her plea or such a simple thing broke the woman's heart and as long as her husband and daughter was up for visitors, she would make sure her patients request was granted. "Let me get you admitted and I'll see what you can do."

Not even bothering with a comforting grin that would have given her no comfort, Dr Baker left the room. After witnessing Olivia's reaction to the news in person, she headed up towards the roof. She needed a smoke…

XxXxX

"I thought you quit," Dr. Tanner said, approaching Dr. Baker as she gazed out over the city from the rooftop. Dr. Baker exhaled a puff of smoke, mingling with her own misted breath.

"I did. Three years ago. And after seeing what I saw in there, I just…" She placed the cigarette between her lips and inhaled deeply, letting the words hang in the air. Dr. Tanner sighed.

"Do you have any more of those?" she asked. Dr. Baker scoffed, reached in her pocket and handed her friend the pack of Newports and a Bic lighter.

"I didn't think you smoked," Dr. Baker said.

"I get that a lot. I quit six months ago, but, yeah," she said, lighting the end of her own cigarette. "How's Olivia?"

"About to go through the worst hell of her life. Tina?" she asked.

"The flu went unchecked. Her fever spiked, and I really don't like the sound of her cough. I just ordered a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia. How a child can practically die from the flu anymore baffles me," Dr. Tanner said.

"You'll pull her through. You're a good doctor," Dr. Baker said.

"So, what's going on with Olivia?" Dr. Tanner asked. Dr. Baker closed her eyes, and for a moment thought she might actually cry. She rarely did, but she genuinely liked Olivia, and she couldn't comprehend how or why this was happening to her. She stamped out her cigarette and lit a fresh one before she spoke.

"Any other doctor would have missed it. Did you know I was in the Peace Corps after medical school?" Dr. Baker asked. Dr. Tanner nodded. She had heard some of the Peace Corps stories. "I spent a considerable amount of time in Africa, and sometimes, refugees came to the clinic. Women, who had been raped by soldiers and were now pregnant. Or women who were so poor, having a baby meant its certain death. Whatever the circumstances, they would beg for help." Dr. Tanner had seen women come to the Manhattan Family Clinic seeking abortions, and she knew that Dr. Baker was pro-choice and performed them herself at the clinic.

"Over there, we didn't have the luxury of expensive drugs or common conveniences. Even simple things, like refrigeration, were obstacles for us. But, there's a low-cost method that's commonly used under those conditions. You never see it here anymore because we have drugs that are more effective and less dangerous to the mother," Dr. Baker said.

"What method?" Dr. Tanner asked.

"Salt poisoning." Dr. Baker took another hit of her cigarette before continuing. "You extract 50-250 milliliters of amniotic fluid and replace it with an equivalent amount of a salt solution. It acts as a corrosive agent and poisons the fetus. The mother goes into labor within two days, and the entire thing is over. But, there's a risk to the mother's central nervous system, should the salt solution enter her bloodstream," Dr. Baker explained.

"And a seizure would certainly indicate CNS damage," Dr. Tanner concluded.

"It makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense. She has two puncture wounds on her abdomen, directly over her uterus. Her sodium levels were dangerously high, and the fetus was in distress, plus she had a grand mal seizure. Her tox screen is negative for any of the usual drugs that would have caused that sort of fetal distress," Dr. Baker concluded.

"Wait, did you say was in distress?" Dr. Tanner asked.

"Yeah. We lost the heartbeat about twenty minutes ago," Dr. Baker said glumly.

"I'm sorry. I know how much Olivia wanted another child. She was so concerned about Tina's illness affecting the baby when she brought Tina in," Dr. Tanner said.

"Oh, it gets worse," Dr. Baker said. Dr. Tanner furrowed her brow. "Guess who murdered the baby?"

"I'm not sure I want to know…" Dr. Tanner said, bracing herself for the next bomb.

"Victoria," Dr. Baker told her.

"Victoria…Black?" Dr. Tanner asked in utter shock and disbelief. "What are you going to do?" Dr. Tanner was a staff member at the clinic, not a partner, so she had absolutely no standing in matters of this kind.

"I can't let an accusation of this magnitude slide by. I'm convening an emergency board meeting, and we'll take it from there. If the investigation proves that she willingly and knowingly performed an abortion without the mother's consent and without sufficient medical evidence that pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother, I have no choice but to report her to the State Medical Board," Dr. Baker said, processing her own thoughts outloud.

After a few long moments, Dr. Tanner spoke again. "You know, I never thought I'd hear you describe an abortion as murder," said Dr. Tanner, still surprised that her exceedingly pro-choice friend had used a very pro-life term.

Dr Baker shook her head before she exhaled a puff of gray smoke. "This wasn't an abortion, it was murder. An abortion is for consenting women who want to terminate a pregnancy that they either didn't want or would endanger themselves or the fetus. Olivia wanted this baby more than anything and there was no evidence to suggest it would harm Olivia's life or it was sick. Whoever did this; whether it was Victoria or not, took a life unwillingly and without consent. That's not a choice; that's murder."

"Why would anyone risk their career like that? What could she possibly have against Olivia or her baby?" Dr. Tanner asked.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Dr. Baker said.

XxXxX

Munch walked into Tina's room with the large plastic bag in his hand. He hoped that the two objects inside might provide some semblance of comfort to the sick toddler. Like Elliot, he too stopped at the sight of the sleeping child surrounded by the machines and cold packs trying to keep her temperature down. Sitting at Tina's bedside, who looked like he had seen better days, and he was gently stroking her hand while her breaths came in short, crackling gasps.

"How... how she doing?" Munch asked, his voice cracking at the last syllable.

"She still can hardly breathe, and she's still burning up. The doctor ordered a chest X-ray to see if she has pneumonia, but thankfully, she doesn't," Ken answered. Then he turned back towards his sister. "The doc said she's getting better, but I don't see it."

"She is," Munch told him, refusing to believe the girl that had won over his heart the moment he first laid eyes on her could possibly be getting any worse. "You gotta believe that." Ken nodded at Munch's advice before his stomach rumbled noisily. "Go get something to eat," Munch told him, "I'll stay with her."

"I'm fine," Ken told him, his growling stomach announced his lie.

"Sounds like your stomach as different ideas," Munch said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. "I'll buy, you fly."

"Really, I'm fine," Ken insisted. Munch looked over his darkened glasses at his partner's son who shifted guiltily in his spot.

"Go."

With a heavy sigh Ken took the cash and stood up from his chair. He leaned down and kissed Tina's forehead lightly before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Munch took his spot just as Tina's eyes flickered open.

"Hey, Tina," he said with a soft smile. How ya feelin'?"

"Where's Ken?" she asked, her voice low and raspy.

"He went to go get something to eat, but I promise I won't leave your side until he comes back," he told her as he gently took her tiny hand in his. Tina coughed, and Munch winced at the harshness of it. When she was done tears filled her eyes as she looked over at Munch. "I want my mommy," she told him, repeating the plea she had given any and every adult who had come into her room.

"I know you do, Sweetie," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And I promise you can see her soon." Munch wasn't sure in any degree what so ever if this was the case, but if he could give her a tiny bit of false hope for even a little while, he would do it.

Seeming satisfied with that answer, Tina leaned back in her bed and Munch gave her a saddened smile before he reached in the bag and pulled out one of the two items.

"I had someone pick this up for you," he told her as he showed her the familiar, tattered pink thermal blankie she had slept with since the day she was born. It was the very blanket Olivia had brought to the hospital to bring her daughter home in. Tina reached for it immediately and held it close to her chest so that her fingers could dance along the soft fabric.

"Better?" Tina only responded with a weak nod before she stuck her thumb in her mouth.

"Good," said Munch as he grabbed her hand and gave her a short lived smile. With his free hand he reached in the bag and pulled out a brightly colored book and showed the cover to Tina.

"Feel like reading our special story?" Another nod was her only answer once more but just seeing the cover seemed to bring back some of Tina's strength. Her eyes got a tad bit brighter, she sat up a hair more and Munch was sure the makings of a smile shone on her face. Munch grinned at the response before he opened the book so it faced the young girl he loved like his own.

"Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars," he began as he showed her the pictures. "The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars. Those stars weren't so big. They were really so small. You might think such a thing wouldn't matter at all. But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches would brag, 'We're the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches.' With their snoots in the air, they would sniff and they'd snort, 'We'll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly sort!' And, whenever they met some, when they were out walking, they'd hike right on past them without even talking. When the Star-Belly children went out to play ball, could a Plain Belly get in the game? Not at all. You only could play if your bellies had stars and the Plain-Belly children had none upon thars."

With every flip of the page, Munch turned and saw that Tina was fighting against the sleepiness that overwhelmed her so she could listen to their story. And finally, just as he finished the last rhyme, Tina's eyes closed and she fell back against the pillow. "I love you, Uncle Munch," she muttered sleepily. Munch paused for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too, Tina," he whispered just as softly, and meaning the four words with all his heart.

XxXxX

"No!" Joseph Colin screamed, desperately trying, and failing, to hold back a sob as the cops who were taking him to Central Booking told him what exactly had happened to his brother. "You're lying! You're fucking lying! Where is he?"

"He fired his weapon on an unarmed, innocent man. The officers had no choice but to fire, Sir. I'm sorry," said the cop dryly, not meaning a word of what he said, knowing full well what he said.

"Liar!" Joseph roared as a sob ripped past his lips. "My brother isn't dead! He's not fucking dead! Get the fuck off me!" Neither listened to him and instead simply opened the door to the cell and threw him in there, locking it behind him. Joseph simply collapsed on the ground, thankful they hadn't thrown him in with some degenerate spic or nigger and sobbed for his brother; his one and only friend apart from Victoria, who had been the only person who still believed in him after he received his dishonorable discharge.

Finally he collected himself enough to begin to think straight. He wiped his eyes and his thoughts turned at once to revenge. That fucking traitor whore and her nigger family was to blame for Adam's murder. It was their fault some liberal, nigger-loving, faggot pig murdered his brother. If both had just stuck to their own kinds, none of this would have happened!

Joseph's fists clenched so hard he felt blood running down his palms. He was going to make sure he got out of this hell hole of a prison, and he would make them pay. What he did to the 'family', and he used that term in the loosest sense possible, in the basement would be nothing compared to what he would do to them afterwards. The pain he caused them would be mere child's play in terms of what was to come.

A cruel grin overtook his face. He would make them pay alright. He would make them pay with their very lives…

We'll get into Dr. Black's sordid past soon…I know she's still a mystery here.

And I'd like to comment on a review before I sign off. A reader seemed to be under the implication that I wrote Olivia enjoying being raped by Adam. Let me dispel this now. NOT TRUE. AT ALL. What happened with that was that her body reacted, on a purely physical level, to what he was doing to her. It *is* possible for a victim to orgasm during a rape, and in fact, there are rapists who get off on that sort of thing. Just because an orgasm is present doesn't make it any less painful or traumatic…in fact, some would argue it's worse. Seriously, go look at my profile. I know something about this subject.

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