*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. THey were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.
NATALIE:
I wake up in a dark room and I have no idea where I am. Everything after running into that man on the street all went dark and I don't remember anything after that. I am in so much pain and I feel empty. I reach down to feel my stomach to realize that it's not as round as it was before the world went dark. I am panicked. I have no idea where my baby is or what happened to him. "HELP!" I yell. "WHERE IS MY BABY? SOMEONE HELP ME!" I yell loudly with my heart racing. I am scared feeling for my baby that is no longer there. "HELP!" I yell again before the door opens. The light flicks on and a woman is standing in my doorway wearing a pair of scrubs. I have no idea who she is or where I am. "WHERE IS MY BABY?"
"Ms. Morgan, Please calm down," she says as she walks closer to me.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BABY?"
"Ms. Morgan, it's okay. You're at the hospital. I didn't do anything to your baby. He is in the NICU," she says moving closer to me.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! WHERE AM I AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BABY?" I yell again. I am full of panic and fear. I don't' know this woman for all I know she could be working with Ashley.
"Ms. Morgan, it's okay. I am a nurse here at the Hershey Medical Center. You are safe now. A man called the ambulance and they brought you here. The doctor delivered your baby yesterday evening. Everything is okay. I'm here to help you not to hurt you. I promise. See," she says showing me her badge.
I look at her badge and say, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Look around. You're in a hospital room."
I look around the room I'm in and see all the hospital things but I still don't believe her. I don't know who I can trust and who I can't. This could all be a trick from Ashley. "GET AWAY! I WANT MY BABY! GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!" I yell.
She backs away from me and says, "Ms. Morgan, you need to calm down or I'm going to need to sedate you. Please just relax. Would you feel better if I got your boyfriend?"
"My boyfriend?" I ask. "Max is not my boyfriend. He's dead."
"Ms. Morgan, I'm talking about Mr. Cena not Max. Do you want me to get Mr. Cena so that he can come talk to you?"
I feel a bit of relief and let out a deep breath. I'm still confused and lost. I don't understand what's going on. I don't know what happened and I don't know where I am. "Yes," I say. I hope that she's telling the truth. I just really want to see John to know this isn't a trick.
"Okay, I will go get him for you. I will be right back," she says before walking out of the room.
As soon as she leaves the room I look around. I feel cold, empty and scared. I break down and start to cry as the tears roll down my cheek. Where is my baby? I just want my baby. He was there and then he wasn't. About 10 minutes later my door opens again and John walks into the room. I feel instant relief as he walks into the room. "Nat," he says.
"John," I say as I choke on my words, "they took our baby."
"Nat," he says as he walks closer to me. "No one took our baby. He is okay. He is in the NICU."
"The NICU?" I ask.
"Yes. They had to deliver to save his life and to save yours. He's okay. They have him safe and sound in the NICU."
"Promise?" I ask.
"Promise," he says moving closer to me. "He is doing well."
"So he is alive?"
"Yes, he is alive."
"And they didn't take him?"
"Who, Natalie? Who do you think has him?" he asks me.
"Ashley and Max. Ashley wanted him. She was going to keep him."
"No she doesn't have him. He's safe," he says.
"Good," I say feeling better. I'm more relaxed and my heart isn't pounding like it was. "Where is Angelina?"
"She is at Ruthie's house," says John. "How are you?"
"I hurt," I say as I feel the pain in my stomach from where they cut the baby out and from the beating I took from Ashley.
"Natalie, I'm so glad you're okay," he says. "I was so scared."
"Me too," I say. "I didn't think I would ever see you or Angelina again. It was horrible. It was hell," I say.
"What happened?" he asks.
"Ashley came in the window and took me at gunpoint. She took me to a farmhouse and made me stay outside in the cold. I had to pee in a bucket, sleep on the floor and they had me tied to a chair."
"They?" he asks.
"Max and Ashley were working together," I say as I feel goosebumps on my arms as I tell him about it. "It was horrible. Ashley and Max beat me up daily. I never thought I would make it out alive. I didn't think the baby would make it into the world. I was kicked, punched, thrown, slammed around and hit with objects. It was horrible," I say as tears fill my eyes as I relive the horror. "Max raped me every day 3 or 4 times every day. If I resisted he would hurt me. It was so rough, John. He hurt me so bad. I cried and yelled but no one could hear me no one could help me. I can still smell him and feel him. I hate it, John," I say as the tears fall. "I gave up. I waited every day for you to find me. I prayed every day for you to find me or for someone to find me but no one ever did. I just started to feel weak, broken, torn and I just wanted to die. I was losing hope. I was ready to die because I felt like I would never make it out alive. She was going to kill me and take the baby and say that it was hers with you to get you back. She wants you back, John."
"She isn't getting me back and I am so sorry that you went through that," he says as he hugs me. I almost want to pull away because I can feel Max on me but I can't. The smell of John and his cologne is comforting. It is a smell I never thought I'd smell again. His arms are comforting to me. I never thought I'd feel his embrace again. I cry on his shoulder as he holds me. "Nat, they aren't going to get away with this. They will pay for it. Where are they?"
"I don't know," I say as I pull away from John, "but I did something bad."
He looks at me with a puzzled look on his face. "You didn't do anything bad," he says.
"Yes, I did," I say as I feel myself choke on my words. "I did something really bad. And you're going to hate me."
"Natalie, I will never hate you. What happened?"
"I killed Max," I say before I break down.
John pulls me into his embrace again and says, "Natalie, it's okay. You were defending yourself. I will never hate you. You did that in self-defense. You didn't do anything bad you did what you needed to do to get away. It's okay. Natalie. Don't cry. You don't have to cry," he says holding me tighter.
I continue to cry on John's shoulder and say, "I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," he says. "It's okay, Natalie. Everything is going to be okay. What about Ashley?"
"I don't know. I left after I knocked her out. I ran and kept running. She was looking for me but I never looked back. I kept going," I say. "I just kept running."
"Good," he says, "the police will find her and they will get her. I promise. I will make sure they take care of her. And don't beat yourself up over Max. After everything he did to you and all the pain he caused you he deserved every bit of what you did. How did you kill him?"
"I stabbed him," I say.
"He deserved every bit of that. He's lucky it wasn't me," he says.
"John," I say.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm just so angry. I am so upset that they hurt you like this. I will never let anyone hurt you again."
His words are comforting and make me feel safe. "And the baby is okay?"
"He's good. He is in the NICU. He eats like a champion."
"Is he going to make it?"
"I'm sure he will," he says. "He's a fighter."
"I know," I say with a smile as I think about my son. "I want to see him."
"That may not be a good idea right now. You need to rest," he says.
"But I want to see him. How much did he weigh?"
"2 lbs. 3 oz," he says.
"He's so small," I say.
"He is," says John, "but the kid is a fighter."
"Good," I say. I can't wait until I see my son. I want to see the life John and I created together. "I love you, John. I missed you so much. I really missed you. I never thought I'd see you again."
"I love you, Natalie. I missed you. I never gave up. I thought that I'd never see you again but I'm so glad I have more days with you. If something happened to you I don't know what I'd do. I promise no one will ever hurt you again. I will make sure of it."
"John," I say.
"Yes."
"Can you just hold me?" I ask.
"Sure," he says as he climbs into the bed next to me and wraps his arms around me holding me as close to him as possible. I am still exhausted from everything and inhale the smell of his cologne. I press my head against his firm chest and allow exhaustion to take over and drift off to sleep. This is the safest and most relaxed I have felt in weeks. I never want him to let go.
*A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for taking the time to read.
