Laura's Revenge

Part Eight:

"Bored Now, part two"

While John was in the hospital undergoing a rape kit examination, Gloria and Freddie had the tables turned on them by Willow, Hayley, and Lyle. Freddie was held back by Willow and Hayley and repeatedly hit over the head, while Lyle raped Gloria twice. After a few exchanges and after John sensed that two were in danger and headed to where he managed to track them via GPS, Willow and Hayley made like basketballs and bounced from the scene, while Mitch made his appearance. After Lyle was done raping Gloria, Mitch attempted to do so, but, Gloria fought him off, prompting him to stab her in the midriff about three times, trying to kill her, before John came to the rescue. John and Mitch exchanged a few hits, punches, headbutts, and kicks, before John tranquilized Lyle and Mitch, went over to Gloria and comforted her, as Freddie woke up. Upon passing out due to blood loss, John was now rushing Gloria to the hospital, while Freddie was following them and trying to track down Willow and Hayley at the same time. Will John get her to the hospital in time? Find out!

John was driving like a bat out of hell in order to get Gloria to the hospital and fast. Gloria was still unresponsive and bleeding out. Seeing this, John, with one hand, covered the wound in order to stop the bleeding, while driving with the other hand. After finally arriving to the hospital, John parked the car and ran inside.

"Someone please help me!" John yelled.

"What's the problem, sir?" a dark haired nurse ran toward him.

"Please help." John said in between sobs, before running back outside.

"Sir, your injuries may be serious, so, if I were you, I wouldn't be running anywhere." the attending physician followed John.

"No, it's not me who is injured, it's my daughter." John opened the passenger door.

"Whoa! Nurse Gianna, you and Nurse Michelle get a gurney, a breathing bag, and get this young lady in immediately." the attending physician helped John get Gloria out of the car.

The two nurses came back with the gurney and breathing bag. John and the attending physician put Gloria onto the gurney and the nurses wheeled her in.

"What's her name?" the attending physician asked.

"Gloria." John brushed another tear away from his eye.

"Gloria, sweetheart, it's going to be OK. Come on, stay with us. Breathe." the attending physician put the breathing bag onto Gloria's mouth and started putting air into her airways.

John grabbed a clipboard and started filling everything out. After he was done filling out papers, he handed them to the nurse at the desk and texted Sharon everything that had happened. Freddie came running into the hospital, informed the nurse at the desk his reason for being there, and met up with John.

"Where is she?" Freddie asked, looking around.

"She's in the back getting situated." John looked at his phone.

"John." Freddie said.

"Yes, Freddie?" John looked up at him.

"I'm...I'm so sorry." Freddie's voice started to break, again.

"What are you sorry for?" John raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't save Gloria. If I could've, I would've. She's not just anybody to me." Freddie brushed the tears out of his eyes.

"Freddie, if you don't mind, may I ask you something?" John put a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Ask away." Freddie replied.

"Do you and be honest, do you like my daughter in a more than friendly way?" John firmly asked.

"You want me to be honest?" Freddie looked up into the older man's eyes.

"Yes, I want the honest to God truth. None this beating around the bush business." John sounded stern.

"Yes, I do. I never thought I would feel that way towards another woman, but, every time I look at Gloria, I get a happy feeling and I've been wanting to tell her my feelings for her, but, I figured she would think that I was weird." Freddie quickly looked down at the ground.

"I've been in that boat before and I know the feeling." John rubbed his shoulder.

"Now, I really am beating myself up for it, because, I may never get the chance to tell her." Freddie tried to fight back tears.

"I know how you feel. I feel bad that, that happened to her." John could feel himself starting to cry, again.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying." Freddie took a few deep breaths.

"No, it's OK to cry. Come here." John pulled Freddie into a hug.

"Uh, excuse me, but, which one of you is John Bradley?" Nurse Gianna came out into the waiting room.

"That'd be me." John stood up, "OK, nurse, how's my daughter?".

"Well, the doctor will tell you, but, I just want to know how you are related to the patient by the name of Gloria Bradley." Nurse Gianna replied.

"I'm her father." John told her.

"Well, come on in here and the doctor will explain what's going on." Nurse Gianna motioned for him to follow her, which he followed the Italian nurse, and she shut the door.

"Hi, Mr. Bradley, I'm Dr. Yamamoto, the attending physician. We met out there when I brought your daughter in. So, anyways, I have good news and bad news." Dr. Yamamoto started.

"What's the good news?" John asked.

"The good news is, your daughter will be alright. The bad news is that she bled out a lot and lost a lot of blood. In order to close her wound, since, it is deep, we need a pint of A positive blood and we haven't found any donors, yet. Hopefully, we do real soon, because, if not, then, she'll pass away. I'm of the understanding that you've been here earlier for a rape kit examination and an Olivia Bradley is a patient here. How are you related to Olivia?" Dr. Yamamoto explained everything in a nutshell.

"I'm Olivia's father." John took a minute to take all of what Dr. Yamamoto said, in.

"Do you know of any-" Dr. Yamamoto was cut off.

"John, I got your text and came as fast as I could." Sharon walked into the room, Freddie behind her.

"Ma'am, how are you related to Miss Bradley?" Dr. Yamamoto asked.

"I'm her mother. I'm Capt. Sharon Raydor." Sharon flashed her badge.

"OK, well, Capt. Raydor, as I told Mr. Bradley, she is going to need A positive blood for the stitching up of her wound and the removal of her spleen due to the fact that when she was wounded, her spleen was split in half. That caused her to lose a lot of blood among the stabbing, of course. Do you know of any donors?" Dr. Yamamoto told her.

"I do." John raised his hand.

"You do?" Dr. Yamamoto, Freddie, and Sharon looked at him.

"The donor is me." John stood up.

"But, Mr. Bradley-" Dr. Yamamoto was cut off.

"I have A positive blood." John told him.

"Alrighty then, we have a donor. You know, that's a wonderful thing you're doing." Dr. Yamamoto guided him to the area where his blood will be taken.

"Hey, she's my little girl. I want her to be OK." John sat down on a chair and held his arm out.

"Nurse Gianna will be right with you." Dr. Yamamoto left the room.

"Hi, Mr. Bradley, I'm going to be taking your blood." Nurse Gianna handed him a foam ball, wrapped the tourniquet band around John's arm, pressed for a vein, found one, and swabbed the area with betadine, before grabbing the needle and bag.

"OK, nurse, could you let me know when you're gonna-Ohhhh, there's a needle in my arm!" John tried his best not flinch.

"Mr. Bradley, go gentle on your squeezes, because, your blood is coming out pretty rapidly." Nurse Gianna made a soft squeeze motion with her hand.

John did what he was told and pretty soon, his bag was full of his own blood. Nurse Gianna took the needle out, grabbed a piece of gauze, and taped it to the spot where the needle was. Afterward, she gave him a can of Ocean Spray Orange Juice and a homemade chocolate chip cookie in order to boost his sugar levels up, while she took the blood to Dr. Yamamoto. Sharon came into the room John was in, stood there, and smiled.

"What?" John took another sip of orange juice.

"You did a great thing, David." Sharon continued smiling at him.

"I hope so." John didn't sound too optimistic, as he still feared that Gloria would succumb to her wounds.

"You did, John, you did." Freddie reassured him.

"Yeah, I-Wait a minute! I just did the worst thing a parent could do!" John suddenly realized what he did.

"What do you mean?" Sharon and Freddie were thrown off by what he just said.

"Have you two forgotten that I have lycanthropy and that I just gave my blood to Gloria! My contaminated blood!" John's eyes bulged out and he even did a facepalm.

"Uh oh! I think we did forget, but, oh, well, you can't reverse it now." Sharon had the "what can you do" look on her face.

"Oh my God! I just contaminated my daughter's blood! I must be the worst parent on Earth!" John put his head in his hands.

"John, you did what you felt in your heart was right. You did something extraordinary. That's all." Freddie tried to reassure John that he did the right thing.

"David, I know it's bad timing, but, what's this 'Gloria Bradley' business? How come she doesn't have Raydor as part of her last name?" Sharon put her hands on her hips.

"I only signed her in as Gloria Bradley. However, it doesn't stop me from wanting to/going ahead with changing her name to just Gloria Bradley. I don't want her carrying Jackson Raydor's name and having the difficulty of two last names. One is enough and mine is strong." John sounded extremely blunt.

"But, Raydor is also MY last name, too and I am her mother." Sharon sassed.

"Well, I'm her father and that's my decision. Plus, if I am not mistaken, there's really no love lost between you and Jack Raydor." John shrugged.

"No, there really isn't, but, I still think that as her parents, we need to do things that concern her, mutually." Sharon told him, very firmly.

"Look, Sharon, I don't know why you're fighting me on this, but, she'll always be your daughter as much as she is mine. Also, everybody knows that we were a thing at one time and that we had an illegitimate child, who you gave up for adoption, only for her to find her real parents, this many years later. Everyone knows now and they'll always know that Gloria is our child out of a drunken post-divorce/post-separation one night stand." John bluntly pointed everything out in a nutshell.

"Well, I-" Sharon was interrupted.

"Captain Raydor and Mr. Bradley, this is no time to fight and plus, Captain, no disrespect for anything, but, eto ne dolzhno imet' bol'shogo znacheniya (it shouldn't really matter)." Freddie finished that last part in his native Russian language.

"YA vse yeshche mat' Glorii, i ya prosto boyus', chto yesli Reydor ne budet chast'yu yeye imeni, ona zabudet, chto ya yeye mat' (I'm still Gloria's mother and I am just afraid that if Raydor isn't part of her name, that she'll forget that I am her mother)." Sharon responded in Russian, revealing that she was indeed fluent in more than one language.

"I never knew you were fluent in more than one language. Anyways, it really shouldn't matter, because, she'll never forget that you are her mother. Please, let Mr. Bradley go ahead with it." Freddie reassured her.

"I'll think about it." Sharon firmly replied.

"Bottom line, Sharon, it's Gloria's decision." John chimed in, after being astonished at Sharon being fluent in Russian.

"That is true and whatever she decides, we'll have to respect it." Sharon finally came into agreement.

"All we do now is wait." Freddie pulled up a chair and sat down.


About three hours later

While John was pacing back and forth, Sharon and Freddie were trying to think about positive things in order to calm their nerves. Finally, Dr. Yamamoto came out into the waiting room, which triggered the trio's attention.

"How is she?" John, Sharon, and Freddie asked at the same time, in unison.

"Either I am a good Doctor, which I don't want to toot my own horn, or God was really watching over this hospital. Gloria is doing good. She's a little weak at the moment, but, she made it. However, once she woke up, we did a rape kit examination on her, as it very evident that she had been sodomized and raped. She, however, rejected to give us her clothing as she knew who her attacker was and what struck me as odd is that she told me that the same person attacked you, Mr. Bradley." Dr. Yamamoto had a pleased, yet confused look on his face.

"Yes, it's true. I was here earlier and underwent the whole rape kit thingy. Anyways, may we see her?" John clearly wanted to see Gloria, so, that he could hold and hug her.

"Yes, but, only one at a time and you'll need to put on gloves and a blue gown." Dr. Yamamoto nodded.

"I'll go in first." John turned to Freddie and Sharon, who both nodded back to him.

"OK, follow me." Dr. Yamamoto led John in and shut the door.

"So, which bay is she in?" John looked around.

"Oh no, she's in the intensive care unit upstairs." Dr. Yamamoto pointed to the ceiling.

"Intensive Care Unit? What for? I thought you said that she was fine and plus, if I may ask, why do I have to wear the blue gown and gloves?" John was confused and completely confused.

"We are going to monitor her condition, because, while in the middle of stitching her back up, after the splenectomy, her heart stopped, which was due to the amount of blood she lost and she nearly slipped into a coma, but, we managed to save her and like I said, before, she's alright now. Also, the gloves and gown is just a safety precaution. I'm sure you can understand." Dr. Yamamoto put his hand on John's shoulder.

John nodded his head and went straight to the elevator, only to be stopped by Dr. Yamamoto.

"I thank you both for your service to our country." Dr. Yamamoto smiled.

"You thank us both?" John looked puzzled.

"Yeah, Gloria told me all about your military service and hers." Dr. Yamamoto still had a smile on his face.

"She never told me that she was in the military, then again, she's not one to brag and quite frankly, neither am I, but, thanks, young man." John shook the Doctor's hand, before going into the elevator and heading to the second floor.


Meanwhile, upstairs

Gloria, who had a gauze bandage around her head, was indeed awake and she was talking with a dark haired female psychiatrist about how she had managed to cope with life after her military service, her struggle with PTSD, the slaughter of her adoptive family, finding out who her real birth parents were, and the multiple times she had been sexually assaulted. She also talked about her dad's military service and how proud she was of him.

"You know, Gloria, for someone who has been through hell and back, you are one tough young lady." the psychiatrist nodded.

Gloria nodded, raised her eyebrows for a brief moment, and shrugged.

"Living with PTSD is hard, I completely understand and the confusion about your family is a big pill to swallow, but, by what I can tell, you're tough as nails. I'm very impressed. So, if I may ask and if you don't mind sharing, how long were you in the military for and what was the reason for retirement?" the psychiatrist was curious.

"I was in for 16 years and..." Gloria stopped mid-sentence, as she started to mentally relive the horror of being raped and tortured near Guantanamo Bay, while she was a guard, and again, when she was in Kabul, Afghanistan, while the tears welled up in her eyes.

"Miss Bradley, are you alright?" the psychiatrist put her hand on Gloria's shoulder.

"I was...tortured and raped by...would-be terrorists!" Gloria started sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you." the psychiatrist had a soothing and comforting tone in her voice, "Did you ever tell your father or anyone of your military service?".

Gloria shook her head and brushed the tears away.

"Why not? I mean, I am not trying to pressure you or anything, but, family comfort during PTSD episodes is very very reassuring and important." the psychiatrist was confused.

"My mother and father would never look at me the same." Gloria looked down.

"Miss Bradley, they'd be more horrified by what happened to you. I mean your father was also in the military and he'd definitely understand what you went through, because, he probably went through the same thing, if not worse. After all, you did tell me that he was raped by the same attacker who raped you." the psychiatrist tried her best to reassure her.

"I wonder." Gloria shrugged and sighed.

"Miss, Bradley-" the psychiatrist was cut off.

"You can call me Gloria." Gloria said, monotonously.

"Gloria, I-" the psychiatrist paused when John walked in.

"Am I interrupting something?" John asked.

"Oh, no no. Are you related to Miss Bradley?" the psychiatrist turned to John.

"I'm her father." John nodded.

"Oh, how do you do? I'm Dr. Blair." Dr. Blair shook John's hand, "Your daughter told me all about your military service and I just want to thank you for serving our country."

"I appreciate that." John shook her hand and smiled.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone." Dr. Blair went to leave, but, stopped and turned to Gloria, "Gloria, it was great talking to you. I wish you well."

Gloria looked up and gave a weak smile, before looking back down, again, after Dr. Blair left.

"Gloria." John sat down on her bed.

"Oh, daddy." Gloria pulled her dad into a hug and allowed herself to cry into his chest, again.

"It's OK, baby, I'm right here." John held her tightly and rubbed her back.

"God! Why? Why did we have to be raped?! Why?!" Gloria sobbed, as the flashbacks started playing in her mind like a movie, yet again.

"Lyle is a very sick and twisted individual! Oh, how I want to kill him for what he did to you and that Mitch guy, too!" John had rage filling his eyes, but, tried to control himself, as best as he could, "Gloria, may I ask you something?"

"Mmmm hmmm." Gloria lifted her head out of his chest and nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me that you served in the Army, sweetheart? Why?" John had a gentle tone in his voice.

"First thing's first, why am I in the intensive care unit of the hospital?" Gloria looked around the room and had a look of confusion.

"Gloria, answer my question first, then I'll answer yours." John held his daughter's hand and rubbed it.

"Well, I am not one to boast about things." Gloria sighed.

"But, you and I both served in the Army and I just want to know what happened to you." John looked her in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" Gloria raised an eyebrow.

"My father instincts are telling me that something bad happened to you both at the military academy and during your time overseas, because, it made you go to the point of not talking about your service, let alone tell anyone." John knew and sensed that Gloria went through some kind of horror that had made her have the urge to forget about her service in the military.

"Dad, I can't simply talk about it or even if I did, you wouldn't ever look at me the same. Not that I'd blame you." Gloria's tears streamed down her face, as she started to remember everything she went through.

"Gloria, I've been in the military and I know what PTSD is like and I, myself, have experienced horrors similar to yours or worse. I have done things that I haven't been able to come out about until recently. I know you're sheepish about your days in combat, because, I feel the same way at times." John rubbed her shoulder, trying to reassure her that he was also in the same boat that she was in, "Look, I'm still your father and whatever you tell me will not affect me in any way nor will it impact what I think of you. You're my daughter and I love you no matter what. None of the possibly gruesome things you and I have done will ever pry us apart, honey."

"I love you, too, dad." Gloria smiled.

"Now, please tell me little by little of what happened to you." John kissed her on the forehead and again on the cheek.

"Well, I was in the military for 11 years, prior to being in the academy for four years." Gloria swallowed hard and brushed a tear away from her right eye, "During my time at the academy, there was a guy I liked. Not in a romantic way, but, in a sibling-like way. He, however, didn't like me in a sibling way. He liked me in a lusty way, too. Knowing me, I don't roll that way and I-I-I tr-tried to get him to under-understand that, but.."

"Go on." John gave her a nod to continue.

"He didn't understand nor did...he ever try to. However, I did my best to ignore and avoid him at all costs, but, what good did that do?" Gloria, while reliving the awful event, tried to compose herself, "One night, I was going back to my barracks, well, the room, I was in, but, I stopped to warn another girl about the guy and to be on the lookout. Afterward, I got into my room and was straightening my bunk, when suddenly, he came in and shut the door behind him. I told him to get out and that I didn't want any dealings with him, but, he wasn't taking "No!" for an answer. Then, he...started to come at me and listening to my instincts, I ran to my door, only for him to push me onto my bunk. Upon pushing me onto my bunk, he held me down, ripped my clothes off, and...raped me!"

John shook his head in disgust and even let out a disgusted noise.

"I tried to stop him, but, I couldn't and I never told anyone, because, I still, to this day, feel that it was my fault!" Gloria had goosebumps on her arms.

"Gloria, it wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't." John had a very sad look on his face, "I have a feeling that besides that incident and what Lyle and Mitch did to you, weren't the only times."

"No, dad, they aren't, because, after, I did my years at the academy, I was sent to be a guard at Guantanamo Bay. I thought that it was cool, but, I was tortured, beaten, and sexually assaulted by two inmates who were in the process of escaping. Luckily, they were caught and I was sent to Kabul, Afghanistan, after recovering in sick bay. After arriving in Kabul, I thought I'm with my platoon, I'll be safe." Gloria shook her head, "Wrong! I wasn't, because, during the night, while I was wide awake and scouring the area for any terrorists in order to take them out, before they could take us out, I was grabbed from behind and taken prisoner. I was in between scared and furious; Scared, because, I didn't know if I was ever going to make it out, alive and furious, because, well, that was pretty nervy to grab someone from behind. Anyways, I was taken by four would-be terrorists and bomb makers and let me tell you, they were vicious, obviously. I mean, because, I was a girl made it even more easier for them to beat me, torture me, sodomize me, and take turns raping me! However, I wasn't the only victim, because, there were other female victims and even young children as victims! The whole ordeal went on for two weeks until I managed to get the courage to escape from my captors in the middle of the night and make it back to my platoon. In the meantime, I felt that I had...let everyone down! That's a feeling that I still have, even though I did save my platoon from more amateur terrorists and butchered a few innocent casualties in my path, because, I had gotten to the point of no longer caring and something in me just snapped."

"Damn, Gloria. You know, with all that you went through, I'm surprised and glad that you didn't commit suicide or go completely catatonic. I'm actually more glad than surprised. I'm glad that you have developed the tough as nails personality that you have and your determination, too." John was indeed proud of his daughter for being strong and finally letting all of that go.

"Well, PTSD has its ups and downs and even though, some days are harder than others, I finally figured that dwelling on it wasn't going to change it or do me a bit of good. However, it wasn't easy breaking my silence, but, to be honest, dad, I feel a little better. I mean the mental scars will never go away, but, you just got to put one foot forward and keep going." Gloria breathed a big sigh of relief, "However, I just don't like to make a big deal of myself or what happened to me, which is why I had suppressed for so long until now and to be honest, today's incident just triggered those terrible memories to replay in my head, but, like I said, after telling you, I am starting to feel better."

"That's good, I'm glad I made you feel comfortable enough to open up and like I said, before, it wouldn't change how I feel towards you and it hasn't. You're still my daughter and I love you to the moon and back." John gave her a kiss on the side of her head, "Now, I hate to do this to you, but, remember, this is a way of you letting go of the baggage you have held onto for years. I bet that those times, unfortunately, weren't the only times that you had something horrible happen to you."

"You're unfortunately right, dad. How do you know?" Gloria was finding it difficult to stay strong.

"Father instincts." John tapped the side of his head with his index finger.

"Well, before, my military career, I had two horrible incidents in high school." Gloria gulped hard and took about five deep breaths, "In one incident, I was walking home from school in the normal route I usually went. Everything seemed fine until I was jumped by a few of the popular kids. I was an outcast, to them, which made me a much easier target. They beat the living tar out of me and do you see these?"

"What?" John asked.

"This scar on my left cheek and this one on the right side of my upper lip." Gloria pointed to the faint, yet, keloid scar on her left cheek and to the one on the right side of her upper lip.

"I never noticed those until you just showed me right this minute." John winced when he saw the scars.

"They cut me with a switchblade, before stabbing me, kicking me, beating me, and leaving me to die of my wounds. Luckily, I picked myself back up and I honestly don't know how, but, I managed to shrug it off and not report it to the school or even Dr. Moran. I felt that he had, had enough to worry about with patients that he didn't need to worry about me nor would he have." Gloria traced the scars with her finger.

"Good lord! No wonder you suppressed all of this!" John couldn't take his eyes off the faint scars.

"Well, that wasn't the only incident in high school. I was gang raped by a bunch of these popular boys, one night in the girl's locker room, after I had completed my swim lessons. To be honest, I don't know how they managed to get into the locker room, without being caught, but, they did and once, I was through showering and in the midst of getting my clothes on, the boys grabbed me from behind, took me back to the shower, and pinned me to the shower floor. I fought really hard, but, these dudes were stronger than I was and they had managed to get my pants and underwear off, before taking turns sexually assaulting me. After they finally stopped, I felt so dirty that I just put my clothes on in a frantic, ran home, and got into the shower in order to wash away my shame, but, all of the soap and water in the world can't wash away the emotional damage that is still haunting me. Sure, it washed away physical evidence, because, I knew that if I peeped a word, it would've been mine against those guys and I knew nobody would've believed me over popular high school boys who were football players. However, that wasn't the first or last incident, because, I was also sexually harassed by my gym teacher. He made weird comments to me and went as far as to stroke my leg up and down with his hand in a sensual manner. I never reported it, because, I thought I would've been expelled or something. Plus, he was friends with Dr. Moran and I knew I just had to keep quiet and act like it never happened."

"Jesus Christ! You've been through a lot! Well, you're not alone, because, I have been through the same thing and like you, I too have kept quiet for all these years. I tried to pretend that none of it happened, but, obviously, pretending doesn't do any good when you have those memories in your mind. However, like you've said and I've always said, you can't dwell on it. You have to let it go and keep your chin up." John put his arm around his daughter, "That don't change the fact that I am proud of you and glad that you were able to let go of the weight that's been on your shoulders for a while now."

"Well, it feels good when you could tell someone who understands." Gloria nodded her head and smiled, "You can tell that we're definitely related, because, we've been through hell and we both have the tough as nails personality and determination, among other things. "

"Yes, we do." John also smiled.

"Dad, I think I also inherited your fiery temper and determination on never letting anyone take advantage of me, ever again, even though, I think we both failed miserably on that today." Gloria joked, but, quickly got serious, again, "Oh, if I ever see that Willow or Hayley, I'll wring their necks for standing there and hurting Freddie, while watching Lyle rape me. Boy, would I love to get my hands onto their necks!"

"I don't blame you, because, I feel the same way about Willow, Hayley, Mitch, and Lyle! I hope we do see them, again!" John's neck made a cracking noise.

"Well, I hope I get discharged in a few minutes." Gloria changed the subject.

"Gloria, I think you wanted to know why you were in the I.C.U., if I'm not mistaken." John reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Why am I in the intensive care unit?" Gloria remembered her question.

"Well, you lost a lot of blood when Mitch stabbed you and had to have a splenectomy." John started off.

"Oh, well, that's-what?!" Gloria got bug-eyed and partially took off her gown, revealing the fresh scar of her splenectomy, "I-what the hell?!"

"The knife went in so deep that it split your spleen in half. However, you needed a pint of blood in order to operate." John couldn't help, but, stare at the fresh scar.

"I'll have to thank the donor whoever they may be." Gloria nodded and put her gown back on.

"Well, you won't have to look any further." John had a smile beginning to form on his face.

"Why?" Gloria tilted her head to the right side.

John pulled the gown sleeve back, revealing his bandaged up right arm.

"D-Dad? You're-You're my donor?" Gloria gently touched the bandaged area.

"Yupp." John pulled his sleeve down and smiled.

"Thank you, dad!" Gloria smiled at her dad.

"Also, doctor told me that your heart had stopped during surgery due to your blood loss, but, they managed to restart your heart and once my blood went into you, well, here you are." John patted her on the shoulder, "If I may ask, how old were you when you went into the military?"

"I was 18, but, lied about my age and said I was 20. Surprisingly, due to my tall stature and mature appearance, they believed me." Gloria chuckled.

"You were older than I was when I joined." John wasn't at all surprised that his daughter had lied about her age.

"Oh, how old were you?" Gloria was curious.

"14, but, due to my muscular build and older appearance, they believed that I was 24, so, they let me in." John chuckled, while reminiscing about that moment.

"Good lord, we are alike!" Gloria was wide eyed at the similarities she shared with her dad.

John started laughing after Gloria said that. Sharon walked in and cleared her throat.

"Hey, Sharon." John greeted.

"Hi, John. Hi, Gloria, how are you?" Sharon pulled up a chair and sat down.

"I'm good, mom. Just a bit busted up, but, I'm good." Gloria told her.

"See, John, you saved her with your blood." Sharon reassured John, unaware of the fact that John had informed Gloria.

"I told her everything that has happened." John pointed his head at Gloria.

"Did you tell her um about your-" Sharon finished the last part of that question by clearing her throat.

"Oh...oh!" John nodded his head, getting the hint that Sharon was indicated.

"What?" Gloria was completely thrown off her parents' subtle hints.

"Gloria, there's something I didn't tell you." John sounded very solemn.

"What is it, dad?" Gloria was curious.

"Gloria, what I am about to tell you may sound like a story by Edgar Allan Poe." John swallowed hard.

"Dad, whatever you are about to tell me will not affect me or the way I think about you. I'll believe you no matter what." Gloria tried to reassure her dad.

"Well, Gloria, I have a horrible curse that has been with me, since, before I went into Vietnam." John took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, "I have lycanthropy."

"Lycanthropy? What's that?" Gloria was confused.

"When the full moon rises, I turn into a werewolf." John didn't take his eyes away from hers.

Gloria was taken aback by this news and let it all sink in.

What will Gloria say? How will she process what her dad just told her?

To Be Continued...