Chapter 22: To Every End, A New Beginning
The next morning came and Tori found herself tucked into her nice warm bed. Her and Hunter had spent most of the night just sitting on the beach catching up on things that had happened in the last two weeks. Then the two decided to go inside and talk some more, before she knew it she fell asleep beside Hunter on the couch. Hunter had picked her up and tucked her into bed. Hunter, himself, was too tired to go back to his place that he made himself comfortable on the couch. Tori got out of bed and headed into her bathroom to freshen up. As she was drying off her face she looked at herself in the mirror, "Geez, I look like I just got ran over by a truck!" She observed as she was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness. Tori grabbed the counter to balance herself. "I don't feel so good," she said aloud as she headed into the living room.
The sun was shining in the living room as Hunter decided to pry his eyes open. He stifled a yawn and had stretched out his arms and legs as he noticed Tori stumble into the living room. He quickly got up from the couch and grabbed her before she fell. "Whoa Tor, are you feeling okay?"
Tori was relieved that Hunter had stayed the night and was even happier that he was there to catch her before she fell. "Hunter, I don't feel so good."
Hunter was now worried. He walked Tori over to the couch and instinctively felt her forehead. "You feel a bit warm and look very pale, " Hunter was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "Who can that be?"
Tori laid her head against the back of the couch as Hunter went to go answer the door. "It's Dustin. We were supposed to go for our usual morning ride and surf."
Hunter answered the door and found the goofy yellow clad motocross rider on the other side with a now lopsided grin. "Hey Hunter, noticed your truck in the parking lot..."
"Yeah, yeah Dustin, come help me with Tori. She's not feeling well." Hunter then led Dustin to where Tori was on the couch. Hunter practically ran to her side when he noticed that Tori's beautiful face was contorted like she was in some sort of pain. "Tor, what's wrong?"
Tori felt an awful cramping in her abdomen and this awkward sensation to push. "I have no clue what's going on, but I think that we better head over to the hospital quick...please!" Tori cried out as she grabbed onto Hunter's shirt from the abrupt wave of pain that came over her.
Hunter grabbed the keys to his truck off the coffee table and threw them at Dustin. "Bro, go grab my truck and bring it to the front while I carry Tori down." Hunter then got up and pulled Tori up into his arms.
Once a very nervous Dustin pulled up, he hopped out of the truck and helped Hunter place Tori in the front seat. Hunter then slipped beside her on the driver's side. Dustin went to go grab his truck and followed Hunter to Blue Bay Memorial Hospital. When they arrived luckily there was two open parking spaces on the Emergency room side of the hospital. Once they were parked, Hunter walked over to the passenger side, pulled Tori out and rushed into the hospital with Dustin trailing behind. "Help us! Somebody help us!"
A nurse rushed up to the three with a wheel chair, "What seems to be the problem?"
As Hunter placed Tori into the chair she couldn't take it anymore and spoke for herself, "I'm having awful abdominal pain and this urge to push!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, but are you pregnant?" The nurse asked curiously.
"What? I don't think so...to be honest I don't know. My boyfriend just died a few months ago and I haven't been feeling well for a while." Tori finished as she began to cry from the physical pain she was feeling and from the emotional pain of talking about Blake's death.
"Okay, I'll take her from here." The nurse said as she started to wheel away with Tori.
"Wait!"
"Wait!" Hunter and Tori said in unison. The nurse stopped abruptly. "Yes?"
Hunter looked over to Tori and read what she wanted in her eyes. He wanted the same thing too. "I want to go with her."
The nurse rolled her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, sure, if she's okay with it, but we need to hurry."
Hunter quickly turned to Dustin and told him, "Call Leann and tell her what's going on and then call everyone else. I will keep you posted." Hunter then disappeared behind the double doors along with Tori.
Three Hours Later...
The emergency room doctor got the results from the various tests and scans that he ran on Tori. The results showed that she was 18 weeks pregnant and was in the process of having a second trimester miscarriage. She was already dilated and having contractions. This only happened in a small percentage of women when the woman's cervix can't hold the weight of the baby. (AN: This is a true statistic, I know someone who went through this.) Tori had dispelled the baby a half an hour ago and was now asleep in her hospital room. Hunter was seated beside her watching her intently. He was emotionally drained beyond imagination and he could only guess what Tori was going through. Him and Tori couldn't possibly suffer any more sadness from losing Blake to now what would have been Tori and his late brother's first-born son. Hunter wanted to scream out and shake his fist up to the heavens for letting them suffer this much. "It's not fair! This is not how it's supposed to be! If anyone is up there listening, please stop all this and let us be! I love this girl and all she deserves is a happy life filled with love. You can let me suffer, I don't care, but please leave her alone!" Hunter rested his head on the rail of Tori's bed and finished his vent session with the higher beings above, "I love her...I love you Tori, always have and always will." A lone tear fell from his eye as the blond beauty in the bed awoke from her slumber.
"Hunter?" Tori asked as she looked around the room. She was asleep when she could've sworn she heard someone talking. She was almost sure that it was his voice. He sounded upset and in despair. He was also whispering something that she wasn't sure if she had heard right, 'Did he say that he loved me?'
Hunter's head shot up from its place on the rail and his eyes met with hers. "Tori? Are you okay, do you need something?"
Tori let out a small smile. She thought Hunter looked so cute at that moment. His face showed so much concern. "No, I'm okay...how about you, how do you feel?"
"I'm okay too."
Tori didn't buy it, "Hunter, what were you saying just a few seconds ago?"
Hunter tried to give her a bizarre look, but noticed from the look in her eyes that it wasn't going to work. "I was just yelling at fate for being so cruel on you."
"Is that it? I thought that I heard you say something more?" Tori wasn't giving up on this, after all that the two had been through she had to make sure of what she heard.
"Tor, I don't think that this is the time nor the place to say this, but if you really want to know I will tell you." Hunter then paused and waited for her response. He saw her nod and he continued, "Tori, I love you. I have been in love with you for so long that I can't even tell you when it happened, but I am. I know that this may be a little quick and even awkward so, I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I just want you to know."
Tori felt her heart melt as tears began to stream down her face. She missed Blake so much and with losing their son, she felt like she had hit a brick wall. Then now Hunter comes in like the light at the end of her dark tunnel and offers her his love. She couldn't hold in her emotions anymore and rightfully so. She pulled Hunter close to her and sobbed into his chest. "Hunter, I love Blake and apart of me always will, but I can't help, but feel the way I do for you. I just hope that Blake is not looking down on us and is disappointed because Hunter, I think that I love you too."
Hunter couldn't believe his ears. He hugged Tori tighter and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Tor, I just want you to know that there is no rush for anything between the two of us. We have both been through a lot and I think that we should take our time on this. I will always be here for you, you can count on that."
Tori looked up at Hunter and replied, "Thank you for everything. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to be with me right now, but you. You have been my strength through all of this." Their eyes locked on one another as their heads inched closer and closer together. Hunter captured her lips in a slow, bittersweet kiss.
A few minutes later the nurse walked in to check on Tori. Hunter then got up to talk with Dustin and the rest of the group who were in the waiting room.
In the waiting room, Shane, Dustin and Cam looked worse for wear. The three had been pacing the floor for the past few hours. Sensei Watanbe took over their classes so Marah and Kapri were still at the Wind Ninja Academy. Leann was going to get there as soon as she could. The three stopped in their tracks as they noticed Hunter walk through the double doors. Shane was the first to approach him, "So bro, what's going on? How is she? When can we see her?"
Hunter placed a hand on Shane's shoulder and replied, "Whoa dude, slow down. Tori had a second trimester miscarriage...the baby is gone. Tori is holding up okay or so it seems and yes, you guys can see her."
The three let the news sink in, "A baby?" Cam asked. "How far along was she if she had a second trimester miscarriage?"
Hunter let out a sigh and then answered, "18 weeks, she had a boy. The doctors told us that although Tori was only that far along that you can still tell what sex the baby is. If she had been like 22 weeks along there could have been a small possibility to save the baby, but it was just way too early."
"Wow, I don't know what to say, but maybe that explains her new powers. It must have been because she was carrying Blake's baby. This is interesting, I will have to talk to Leann and do some further research." Cam said as he noticed the quizzical stares he was receiving from everyone except for Hunter. "What?"
Dustin was the first to speak, "Whoa dude, what powers are you talking about?"
Hunter and Cam exchanged looks and then Hunter said, "You guys better sit, this is going to take a while."
The four then all sat and talked about Tori, her new powers and the different theories that Cam had thought of in the passing months.
AN: I apologize if this chapter was at all graphic in the contents of the miscarriage. I tried to keep it calm as possible. Now with the baby gone, are Tori new powers gone? What will Cam find in his research and what will become of Hunter and Tori's love for each other? Stay tuned and find out!
The next morning came and Tori found herself tucked into her nice warm bed. Her and Hunter had spent most of the night just sitting on the beach catching up on things that had happened in the last two weeks. Then the two decided to go inside and talk some more, before she knew it she fell asleep beside Hunter on the couch. Hunter had picked her up and tucked her into bed. Hunter, himself, was too tired to go back to his place that he made himself comfortable on the couch. Tori got out of bed and headed into her bathroom to freshen up. As she was drying off her face she looked at herself in the mirror, "Geez, I look like I just got ran over by a truck!" She observed as she was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness. Tori grabbed the counter to balance herself. "I don't feel so good," she said aloud as she headed into the living room.
The sun was shining in the living room as Hunter decided to pry his eyes open. He stifled a yawn and had stretched out his arms and legs as he noticed Tori stumble into the living room. He quickly got up from the couch and grabbed her before she fell. "Whoa Tor, are you feeling okay?"
Tori was relieved that Hunter had stayed the night and was even happier that he was there to catch her before she fell. "Hunter, I don't feel so good."
Hunter was now worried. He walked Tori over to the couch and instinctively felt her forehead. "You feel a bit warm and look very pale, " Hunter was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "Who can that be?"
Tori laid her head against the back of the couch as Hunter went to go answer the door. "It's Dustin. We were supposed to go for our usual morning ride and surf."
Hunter answered the door and found the goofy yellow clad motocross rider on the other side with a now lopsided grin. "Hey Hunter, noticed your truck in the parking lot..."
"Yeah, yeah Dustin, come help me with Tori. She's not feeling well." Hunter then led Dustin to where Tori was on the couch. Hunter practically ran to her side when he noticed that Tori's beautiful face was contorted like she was in some sort of pain. "Tor, what's wrong?"
Tori felt an awful cramping in her abdomen and this awkward sensation to push. "I have no clue what's going on, but I think that we better head over to the hospital quick...please!" Tori cried out as she grabbed onto Hunter's shirt from the abrupt wave of pain that came over her.
Hunter grabbed the keys to his truck off the coffee table and threw them at Dustin. "Bro, go grab my truck and bring it to the front while I carry Tori down." Hunter then got up and pulled Tori up into his arms.
Once a very nervous Dustin pulled up, he hopped out of the truck and helped Hunter place Tori in the front seat. Hunter then slipped beside her on the driver's side. Dustin went to go grab his truck and followed Hunter to Blue Bay Memorial Hospital. When they arrived luckily there was two open parking spaces on the Emergency room side of the hospital. Once they were parked, Hunter walked over to the passenger side, pulled Tori out and rushed into the hospital with Dustin trailing behind. "Help us! Somebody help us!"
A nurse rushed up to the three with a wheel chair, "What seems to be the problem?"
As Hunter placed Tori into the chair she couldn't take it anymore and spoke for herself, "I'm having awful abdominal pain and this urge to push!"
"I'm sorry ma'am, but are you pregnant?" The nurse asked curiously.
"What? I don't think so...to be honest I don't know. My boyfriend just died a few months ago and I haven't been feeling well for a while." Tori finished as she began to cry from the physical pain she was feeling and from the emotional pain of talking about Blake's death.
"Okay, I'll take her from here." The nurse said as she started to wheel away with Tori.
"Wait!"
"Wait!" Hunter and Tori said in unison. The nurse stopped abruptly. "Yes?"
Hunter looked over to Tori and read what she wanted in her eyes. He wanted the same thing too. "I want to go with her."
The nurse rolled her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, sure, if she's okay with it, but we need to hurry."
Hunter quickly turned to Dustin and told him, "Call Leann and tell her what's going on and then call everyone else. I will keep you posted." Hunter then disappeared behind the double doors along with Tori.
Three Hours Later...
The emergency room doctor got the results from the various tests and scans that he ran on Tori. The results showed that she was 18 weeks pregnant and was in the process of having a second trimester miscarriage. She was already dilated and having contractions. This only happened in a small percentage of women when the woman's cervix can't hold the weight of the baby. (AN: This is a true statistic, I know someone who went through this.) Tori had dispelled the baby a half an hour ago and was now asleep in her hospital room. Hunter was seated beside her watching her intently. He was emotionally drained beyond imagination and he could only guess what Tori was going through. Him and Tori couldn't possibly suffer any more sadness from losing Blake to now what would have been Tori and his late brother's first-born son. Hunter wanted to scream out and shake his fist up to the heavens for letting them suffer this much. "It's not fair! This is not how it's supposed to be! If anyone is up there listening, please stop all this and let us be! I love this girl and all she deserves is a happy life filled with love. You can let me suffer, I don't care, but please leave her alone!" Hunter rested his head on the rail of Tori's bed and finished his vent session with the higher beings above, "I love her...I love you Tori, always have and always will." A lone tear fell from his eye as the blond beauty in the bed awoke from her slumber.
"Hunter?" Tori asked as she looked around the room. She was asleep when she could've sworn she heard someone talking. She was almost sure that it was his voice. He sounded upset and in despair. He was also whispering something that she wasn't sure if she had heard right, 'Did he say that he loved me?'
Hunter's head shot up from its place on the rail and his eyes met with hers. "Tori? Are you okay, do you need something?"
Tori let out a small smile. She thought Hunter looked so cute at that moment. His face showed so much concern. "No, I'm okay...how about you, how do you feel?"
"I'm okay too."
Tori didn't buy it, "Hunter, what were you saying just a few seconds ago?"
Hunter tried to give her a bizarre look, but noticed from the look in her eyes that it wasn't going to work. "I was just yelling at fate for being so cruel on you."
"Is that it? I thought that I heard you say something more?" Tori wasn't giving up on this, after all that the two had been through she had to make sure of what she heard.
"Tor, I don't think that this is the time nor the place to say this, but if you really want to know I will tell you." Hunter then paused and waited for her response. He saw her nod and he continued, "Tori, I love you. I have been in love with you for so long that I can't even tell you when it happened, but I am. I know that this may be a little quick and even awkward so, I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I just want you to know."
Tori felt her heart melt as tears began to stream down her face. She missed Blake so much and with losing their son, she felt like she had hit a brick wall. Then now Hunter comes in like the light at the end of her dark tunnel and offers her his love. She couldn't hold in her emotions anymore and rightfully so. She pulled Hunter close to her and sobbed into his chest. "Hunter, I love Blake and apart of me always will, but I can't help, but feel the way I do for you. I just hope that Blake is not looking down on us and is disappointed because Hunter, I think that I love you too."
Hunter couldn't believe his ears. He hugged Tori tighter and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Tor, I just want you to know that there is no rush for anything between the two of us. We have both been through a lot and I think that we should take our time on this. I will always be here for you, you can count on that."
Tori looked up at Hunter and replied, "Thank you for everything. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to be with me right now, but you. You have been my strength through all of this." Their eyes locked on one another as their heads inched closer and closer together. Hunter captured her lips in a slow, bittersweet kiss.
A few minutes later the nurse walked in to check on Tori. Hunter then got up to talk with Dustin and the rest of the group who were in the waiting room.
In the waiting room, Shane, Dustin and Cam looked worse for wear. The three had been pacing the floor for the past few hours. Sensei Watanbe took over their classes so Marah and Kapri were still at the Wind Ninja Academy. Leann was going to get there as soon as she could. The three stopped in their tracks as they noticed Hunter walk through the double doors. Shane was the first to approach him, "So bro, what's going on? How is she? When can we see her?"
Hunter placed a hand on Shane's shoulder and replied, "Whoa dude, slow down. Tori had a second trimester miscarriage...the baby is gone. Tori is holding up okay or so it seems and yes, you guys can see her."
The three let the news sink in, "A baby?" Cam asked. "How far along was she if she had a second trimester miscarriage?"
Hunter let out a sigh and then answered, "18 weeks, she had a boy. The doctors told us that although Tori was only that far along that you can still tell what sex the baby is. If she had been like 22 weeks along there could have been a small possibility to save the baby, but it was just way too early."
"Wow, I don't know what to say, but maybe that explains her new powers. It must have been because she was carrying Blake's baby. This is interesting, I will have to talk to Leann and do some further research." Cam said as he noticed the quizzical stares he was receiving from everyone except for Hunter. "What?"
Dustin was the first to speak, "Whoa dude, what powers are you talking about?"
Hunter and Cam exchanged looks and then Hunter said, "You guys better sit, this is going to take a while."
The four then all sat and talked about Tori, her new powers and the different theories that Cam had thought of in the passing months.
AN: I apologize if this chapter was at all graphic in the contents of the miscarriage. I tried to keep it calm as possible. Now with the baby gone, are Tori new powers gone? What will Cam find in his research and what will become of Hunter and Tori's love for each other? Stay tuned and find out!