Fear Itself
Chapter Eight
Sara walked around the residential grounds by herself, still thinking, still staring straight ahead, convinced that she was going somewhere, but she really wasn't, and she wasn't aware of that fact.
Suddenly, she just sat down on the ground and stayed there unmoving. Something horrible was about to happen, and she just sat…waiting for it to come and take her away. There was no use in running from it.
"Sara," the nurse said. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Sara did not answer.
"I'm not going to pick you up like I did the other day," the nurse said sweetly, coming around to face her. "I don't want to have to go get Bertha because I hope we don't have to go through this today."
As if to rebel more, Sara got off of her knees and sat on her butt. She wasn't rebelling; she knew something was going to happen and she was just going to sit it out.
Catherine laid back on the examination table and pulled up her shirt.
"Okay," the doctor said. "I want you to let me know if you feel any pain."
Catherine nodded.
She had another cramp at home, and it was worse than the others from the week before. She decided to go in to see the doctor. Lindsay was waiting outside in the playroom.
The doctor felt around her belly and pressed in the skin here and there and Catherine felt no pain from those sensations.
"No pain whatsoever?" Dr. West inquired as she pressed a little more. "Could you describe the pain again?"
"Well, it's kind of a sharp kind of pain, but its deep in the lower part of my stomach," Catherine said as she pulled her shirt back down.
"Where in the lower part?" The doctor asked.
"Just all the way across," Catherine said.
"Have you had your cycle?"
"Um, no," Catherine said. "It's actually due this week."
"Could it be possible that you're having regular old cramps?"
"No because these cramps just come out of nowhere and then they're gone in a couple of seconds," Catherine said.
Dr. West nodded.
"I think we need to run a few tests, get an ultrasound done, and see what's going on," she said. "I'll need you to put on a gown and I'll go get your daughter."
Catherine was afraid of what was going on with her body.
A few hours went by and the doctor ran all of the tests except for the ultrasound. They put a rush on all of her specimens and she was sitting idly on the examination table in the flimsy piece of fabric the hospital liked to call a gown.
The curtain was being pulled back and Dr. West came in.
"Well Catherine," she started. "I got your test results and everything looked pretty much normal."
Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.
"But, those cramps that you've been complaining of," the doctor started again. "Those weren't cramps."
"What were they?" Catherine asked.
"Braxton Hicks," Dr. West said.
Catherine was thoroughly confused. "Wh-what is that?"
"You've been having slight contractions, not cramps," Dr. West said. "And you've been having them because you're six weeks pregnant."
Catherine was shocked.
"I'm pregnant?" She asked.
"Yes, congratulations," Dr. West said with a smile.
"Thank you," Catherine said, still in shock. "What do I do about the cramps-I mean the contractions, whatever?"
"Well, Braxton Hicks are preparatory contractions," Dr. West said. "You're the second patient that I've had in almost a decade that's experienced them this early in her pregnancy. It's very rare, but for women your age, it's not impossible. I have some medication for you to take during your entire pregnancy to stop the contractions. If you hadn't come to the hospital, they probably would have gotten worse and you would have lost the baby."
Catherine didn't know how she was supposed to feel about the baby. She wanted to be happy, but then she thought about telling Warrick, and how it might not go so well. She hadn't seen him after hours for close to three weeks, and she knew that he was probably hurting from that. Now, what was she supposed to do? Show up on his door step and tell him she's pregnant with his baby after not seeing him for a while? What was he going to think?
"Catherine," Dr. West broke into her thoughts. "I know that times have gotten a little scary over the last month or so, but please don't put yourself under anymore stress than necessary. At about your fifth month, I might list you as high risk, depending on how well you respond to the medication. You need to rest, and I even advise that you take a few weeks off from work to relax."
"I can't do that," Catherine said. She felt about a million miles away from her body. "I'm in the middle of an investigation and I have a ten year old to raise…I just can't-"
Catherine began to cry.
"See, that's what I'm talking about," Dr. West said sympathetically.
"But, I didn't mean for this to happen," Catherine sniffled. "I've trapped him and I know that he's going to be angry with me."
"Who?" Dr. West inquired.
"The father of my baby," Catherine said. "He's so loving, and caring, but I don't know if what we have is real and now we have this baby…I don't know what to do."
Catherine went out to the waiting room and found Lindsay reading a book.
"Hey sweetie," a teary eyed Catherine said. "We're ready to go."
"What'd they say mommy?" Lindsay asked as they walked out to the parking lot.
Catherine didn't know how to tell her daughter that she was going to be a big sister soon.
"Well, mommy's fine," Catherine said. "But I'll have to explain everything to you later. Are you hungry? I am."
"I guess," Lindsay said.
"You guess?" Catherine giggled. "Either you are or you aren't kid."
"Okay, I am," Lindsay laughed.
The thought of a baby made Catherine's heart warm. Maybe she, Warrick and Lindsay could be a family. She shook those thoughts from her head. She just knew that Warrick would not appreciate the fact that she'd been avoiding him over the last few weeks and then all of a sudden, she drops a baby on him. She didn't doubt that he would be responsible, it was just that she didn't know if he felt the same way about her as she did him.
I'll just wait until this whole investigation blows over to tell him, she thought. I have a feeling that we're getting close to cracking this case, and I won't be showing anytime soon…I just have to stop acting like I'm pregnant. That means no indulging in weird cravings like right now; tortilla chips doused in chocolate sauce sounds really good.
The traffic was moving kind of slowly.
I should just go ahead and call Warrick and tell him, she thought. That way it's not eating away at my heart and so that I can go get those tortilla chips. Never have I been more hungry in my life!
"Mommy, can we get hamburgers?" Lindsay asked.
"Sure baby," Catherine said.
Yuck! Hamburgers? I can't even look at one right now, she thought. No, stop acting like you're pregnant. I should just go ahead and tell Lindsay and call Warrick.
Catherine parallel parked at a boulevard of shops. Lindsay was looking at her strangely. Catherine took a deep breath before starting.
"Sweetheart," she started. "I know that you've had a rough couple of weeks and I am going to do everything to make you feel better and be happier," Catherine paused, trying to find the right words. "And I hope that one of the things to make you happy is being a big sister."
Lindsay just looked at her at first, looking rather confused.
"Honey, mommy's having a baby," Catherine said with a beaming smile.
"Why?" Lindsay asked innocently.
"Well, because…" she trailed off because she herself didn't know why. "How about I explain everything to you when you're older?"
"No mom," Lindsay said. "I'm tired of waiting until I'm older. I'll probably be old and crinkly by the time you tell me about all the stuff I don't know about."
Catherine sighed.
"Well, it's not really something I want to explain because," Catherine swallowed before finishing. "I don't know the reason myself."
"Who's going to be my new dad now?" Lindsay asked, not very pleased.
Catherine began to cry. "Baby, your daddy will always be your daddy," she explained as she smoothed the girl's hair down. "No one could ever replace your father. I know this is hard to digest, but I hope that you'll get used to the idea of a new life and a new man in your life. He's a great guy, I guarantee it."
Lindsay looked down at her mother's hand and took it in her own.
"Don't cry mommy," she said. "I promise to love the baby."
Catherine smiled through her tears and hugged her daughter.
Sara had been picked up by Bertha and had been made to stand up and walk. Sara fought Bertha with all of her might.
Just then, she felt herself being thrown to the gravel and she witnessed Bertha being pushed away. Sara couldn't scream, she just tried to will herself to run as fast as she could, but the unseen assailant had grabbed her with his big bulky hands and pulled her back to him with such force, that it hurt when her back came in contact with the kidnapper's broad, well muscled chest.
She couldn't see his face, and she could hear his voice. She was terrified and she blacked out.
Catherine took out her cell phone and dialed Warrick's number.
"Brown," he answered in that deep voice Catherine always loved.
"Hey it's me," she said, trying not to sound too emotional.
"Hey," he said. "How have you been? Have you had anymore of those cramps?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "About that, I went to the doctor today and…"
Catherine was about to tell him something, and just then, Warrick heard a loud roaring noise, glass breaking, Catherine and Lindsay's screams, and a struggle.
"Catherine!" He shouted over the phone. "Catherine!"
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Catherine's scream came through the phone. "NO!"
"Catherine!" Warrick yelled again. "Where are you? Catherine?"
"If you come after her, both she and the kid will die unless you stay back and follow our orders," a deep, raspy voice threatened from the other line.
"Who is this?" Warrick asked.
The line went dead.