Disclaimer: I don't own Mort Rainey or anything Secret Window. That belongs to Stephen King.

AN: My decision on a sequel hangs in the balance. I might not do one, but you never know. I suggest that you keep an eye open because you never know what kind of story might be written next! Oh, and this chapter might be a bit "Mary-Sueish," because we hear about Amber's childhood and how she grew up. It's important to read because it explains a few things about why Amber is the way she is, but if you want to pass on it, go ahead. Other than that, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 13: Tales of the Past:

Amber's POV:

I felt sunlight hit my eyes, and winced. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was take a three-day nap. I never thought giving birth could be so painful and exhausting! Well, I knew it'd be painful, considering I've heard others complain about it and how long they were giving birth. Of course, if you think about it, being in pain that long would make a person exhausted, wouldn't it? Okay, now I'm babbling…time for sleep again…

I nearly fell back to sleep when I felt lips gently press against mine. I opened my eyes and saw Mort smiling down at me from the right side of my bed. I returned his smile, but quickly yawned. I covered my mouth and blushed. He chuckled and took my hand from my mouth.

"Ah, the fair maiden awakens," he whispered, leaning closer to me and kissing my hand before pressing his forehead to mine. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," I whispered, my eyes beginning to flutter shut again. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I needed to be sure of one thing before I could rest. "Is Elizabeth alright?"

Mort gave me a soft, loving smile. "She's fine, darling," he said, rubbing his nose against mine. "She's the most beautiful and most perfect baby girl in the world, though I'm sure you were just as perfect when you were born."

I let out a small chuckle as I pulled back from his face. "But she's healthy, right?" I asked, looking up at him. I needed my precious baby to be healthy.

Mort nodded. "She's happy, healthy, and fine," he said, reaching up to stroke my cheek. "In fact, I think the nurse might bring her in soon in order to have you feed her."

I closed my eyes and winced. "I don't think I feel up to breastfeeding her, Mort," I said. "If I did, I might fall asleep and drop her."

Mort chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think you'll drop her," he replied. "You're too good of a person and a mother to let that happen."

I looked at him skeptically. "Mort, I've only been a mother for…" I blinked, unsure of what time I had given birth and how long I'd been asleep. "How long have I been a mother, anyway?"

He laughed. "About twelve hours," he said. "You had her around nine o'clock last night, and it's nine in the morning now." His eyes grew worried. "You were in there for about ten hours, darling."

I gave him a small smile. "But it was worth it, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely," he whispered, softly caressing my face again.

Leaning in, he pressed his lips against mine, and I was amazed that he loved me so much. I'd thought that love could never happen to me, and now it had! He called me his wife, his love, his darling, and a good mother to his child. I never thought a man could care for me like that. Loving it, I closed my eyes and enjoyed our kiss.

Our tender moment was disturbed by someone's polite coughing. We broke apart and turned towards the door. There was a nurse standing in the doorway with a covered tray, which likely contained my breakfast. Smiling, she placed the tray on a small roller-table and wheeled it over to me. Without saying a word, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Famished, I looked at the cover and winced. Hospital food…I could swear that it was the blandest food in the universe. I'd had food from hospital cafeterias when visiting friends or relatives who were recovering from surgery, and it'd all had just the barest hint of taste. I could only imagine what the patients' food was like!

"You need to eat it, Beautiful," Mort said, removing the cover from the tray. "You need your strength for taking care of our little one."

I sighed and looked at the tray. There was toast, Jell-O, some jelly packets for the toast, fresh fruit, and some eggs. The eggs just looked nasty, so I passed on those. The rest looked safe, though, and I polished it off in record time. Mort frowned when I refused the eggs, but promised to bring me something from a nearby café later. He was just removing the tray when a different nurse walked in, my baby girl in her arms and a smile on her face.

"Glad you're awake, Mrs. Rainey," she said. "It's time for the baby's feeding."

"Elizabeth," Mort said. "The baby's name is Elizabeth."

The nurse's lips twitched in amusement. "Okay, it's time to feed Elizabeth, then." She handed the tiny, wiggling bundle to me and stepped back.

Looking down at my little girl, I saw her eyes flutter open, her chocolate-dark eyes staring at me. I smiled and caressed her cheek, murmuring nonsense to her. Elizabeth simply looked at me, blinking and occasionally glancing around, but always coming back to my face. We sat that way for a little bit, and then she began to squirm and fuss a bit. I looked at the nurse, clueless about what to do next.

The nurse chuckled. "You need to breastfeed her," she said. Coming over, she helped me get into the right position and arranged my gown so that I could easily hold Elizabeth against me while she ate. Mort looked uncomfortable with me exposing my breast in public, but since it was going to be just the nurse, me, Elizabeth, and him, he didn't say anything. Instead, he helped me get comfortable and gave me encouraging smiles.

Once the gown was pulled down and Elizabeth was comfortably nestled in my arms, I carefully guided her to my left breast and let her feed. It was the strangest sensation I'd ever experienced, but it felt right. I noticed that Mort had taken a seat on the bed to my right and had put his head next to mine on my right shoulder, watching Elizabeth as she ate. I could feel his hot breath on my face and his hands on my upper-arms, gently holding and rubbing them. All in all, it was a wonderful family moment…well, besides the fact that the nurse was standing next to us, watching me as I fed the baby.

Once Elizabeth had drained my left breast, her face scrunched up and began fussing and crying. I looked at the nurse for some help, but she just smiled. I was on my own for this one. Sighing, I looked down and, thinking that she might still be hungry, I shifted Elizabeth so she could now feed off my right breast. Once she latched onto my breast, she instantly stopped crying and went on feeding. I sighed with relief and could hear Mort chuckle.

"And what, exactly, is so funny?" I asked, turning my head to look at him.

He chuckled again. "You," he said, moving his head so our noses rubbed against one another. "You're a natural mother, Amber, like I knew you'd be."

Mort then kissed my nose, his beard and mustache tickling me. I giggled softly so as not to disturb Elizabeth, and held her closer. She whined a little, but didn't stop feeding. It was several more minutes before she was done, but I knew that a full baby is a happy baby. The nurse came up and placed a towel over my shoulder, and I moved Elizabeth so I could burp her. I was sort of scared about burping her, considering that babies throw up sometimes when you do, but it couldn't be helped. Instead, I just patted her gently on the back, and was overjoyed to hear a tiny 'burp.' I had successfully burped my baby girl!

"I'll take her now, Mrs. Rainey," the nurse said, coming up to me.

I instinctively clutched Elizabeth to me. "Do I have to? It's only the second time I've seen and held her, and the first time we've really been together as a family."

The nurse smiled. "Well, I'm sure I can leave you for a little while," she said, turning to leave the room. The door clicked shut behind her, and Mort and I were left alone with our little girl.

As I held Elizabeth, I wondered about her future. Would she be happy with me for a mother? Could I raise her to be a good, caring, moral person? Would Mort and I be good parents, and would we raise her right? As I pondered our future together as a family, I couldn't help but think about my own child hood and all of the hardships my mother had put me through. Just thinking about Mom gave me the shivers, and I protectively clutched my baby closer to my breast.

"Amber?" asked the warm, husky voice of my husband. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said as I relaxed my grip on my daughter and looked up at him, giving him a forced smile.

Mort frowned. "No, you're not," he said, wrapping an arm around my waist. "What were you thinking about?"

I looked away. I couldn't upset Mort with depressing stories, especially when I had just given him such a beautiful baby girl! I couldn't do that to him…

"Amber?"

Looking up, I saw his eyes plead with me, begging me to tell him what was wrong so he could make me feel better. I sighed, knowing that I couldn't resist those warm brown eyes of his.

"I was thinking about Elizabeth's future childhood, and that reminded me of my own," I said, looking down at my dozing baby. Mort's hand reached around and gently gripped my chin, making me turn to look at him.

"Tell me," he whispered. It wasn't a command, but for some reason, I didn't want to refuse him.

"Well," I said, licking my dry lips. "When I was growing up, my mother and her brothers and sisters were always on my back, telling me what to do and how to do it. They were fine when I was little, and they were always sweet and did what normal families did with little children, like encourage me and tell me how adorable I was. My aunts dressed me up in little dresses of velvet, lace, and ribbons, like I was a doll, and would always coo over me. They would also drive me and my mom around to places where we could just be together and have fun. My uncles would play with me and buy me all sorts of toys and gifts for me to play with."

I sighed. "Things changed when I turned ten. They started acting as though I had the mental equivalence of an adult, and had the life experience of one, too. They began telling me how many things I did wrong, how I should have known better when I did things, and how many bad choices I had made. Nothing I did was ever good enough to make them happy.

"Mother was the worst of all. She was always giving advice, telling me how stupid I was for not doing what she suggested and scolding me if I actually did follow her advice and it didn't work. If her idea didn't work, she always blamed me, telling me how it was my fault it didn't work, and that I hadn't done it right in the first place!"

I felt Mort's arm tighten around my waist, and I leaned back against his shoulder.

"My teenage years were the worst. Once I started my growth spurt and began looking really thin, Mom began telling me how skinny I was, that I should eat more. I did, but not enough to make her happy. When my skinny years ended and I started gaining the muscle to make up for my skinniness, Mom began telling me how fat I was and that I ate too much!"

I felt tears in my eyes and quickly wiped them away.

"No matter what I did, I just couldn't please her! Even when I graduated from high school and college, she was disappointed it me! When I couldn't find work, she told me that I wasn't trying hard enough and that I should try harder! Dad tried to help with everything, but all he mostly did was sit there and watched while my brother and I got emotionally scared by our mother!"

I felt an arm settle around my shoulders and a warm body against me. Looking up, I saw Mort gazing down at me, his brown eyes intense as he held me against him. I could only stare back as his head bent down and his lips pressed against mine in a blinding kiss. With his lips against mine, I forgot every other emotion except the blissful one his lips were giving me right now. When he pulled away, I felt calm and loved, which was probably what he intended.

"Now you listen to me, darling," Mort said, staring into my eyes. "You are the most beautiful, warm, caring woman I've ever met, and you are perfect just the way you are. No matter what happens, our child will not be raised the way you were. She will be cherished like the treasure she is and she will be loved like every child deserves to be."

My eyes swelled with tears again, but instead of sadness causing them, it was joy. Mort truly believed that I was beautiful and perfect the way I was, despite of the ways I had been raised and the ways I treated him during our time together. Did I really deserve such a wonderful man as my husband?

"I don't deserve you," I said before I could think.

"No," Mort said, looking me right in the eye. "You deserve better."

I shook my head and smiled. "I wouldn't trade you-" I looked down at the sleeping Elizabeth, "the both of you, for anything in the world!"

Mort leaned forward and kissed me again, and another sense of peace overwhelmed me.

Earlier that day, the Rainey hotel room, Mike Olson's POV:

The previous day and past night had not been very pleasant for the Olson family.

Forced apart from their oldest child, and confined in a hotel room with guards outside the door, Mr. and Mrs. Olson had spent the entire day and night sitting and talking together. Their focus was about what they could do to get their daughter away from the freak of a madman who had taken her. Both wanted to take tremendous legal action against her abductor, the author Mort Rainey, and have justice dealt out to the fullest extent their lawyers could take it. Mr. Olson wanted to sue Mr. Rainey for every penny he was worth to make up for the fact that he had taken Amber, and to help with raising the baby that Amber now carried inside her. He wanted his grandchild well taken care of, and a lawsuit would likely be the best bet.

Mrs. Olson, on the other hand, not only wanted the money, but she wanted Mr. Rainey to suffer as she had suffered during the time Amber had been gone. She had no doubt that Amber would agree that her abductor should come to a painful end for getting her pregnant. Her daughter, pregnant at such a young age! It was outrageous, and she would not stand for it!

As the two older Olsons argued throughout the night in the master bedroom, the youngest member of the family lay on his side on the couch, facing away from his parents. Mike Olson had tried not to think about the large belly his older sister now sported, and the precious life she carried inside her. His sister, the one who had stuck by him through so much and who had encouraged him when their mother had tried to tear them down with her cruel words. She was always there for him, and when she had vanished, he had been heartbroken. Seeing her alive and pregnant on TV had shocked him, and when he had seen how happy she was, he began to think. What if she was happy with Mort Rainey? Amber had never had a boyfriend before in her life, and here she was, married and pregnant, all in the span of ten months! She positively glowed on TV, and that was a sure sign that she was happy where she was, how eager she was to meet life with a husband at her side and a baby in her arms.

Groaning, Mike had gone to sleep with the sound of his parents arguing in the background.

The next morning had been hard, too. Mr. and Mrs. Olson were yelling at the guards, demanding to be freed, when one of them left to answer his cellphone. Mike had crept over to the door and listened to the info the guard was repeating back to the other person on the line. It was info about Amber, and the place they had taken her! Excited, Mike silently went back to the couch and checked to make sure no one had missed him.

They hadn't.

A moment later, the missing guard returned and nodded at the chief, who had been dealing with Mike's parents. Suddenly, the guard gave them a small bow and told them they were free to leave the hotel. Mike was surprised, but understood that the guards had only been waiting for a signal that Amber had given birth, and that it was safe to release her family.

Needless to say, his mom and dad were shocked, but didn't argue. His dad grabbed his mom and him, dragged them out the door and onto an elevator. The ride downstairs was eerily quiet, and Mike could tell that his parents were angry and desperate to find Amber and her baby. They were worried about her, and needed to know whether she was safe or not with the man who had taken her. After all, she was their only daughter, and they needed to be truly sure about her safety. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"I know where Amber is," he said softly into the silent air.

His parents turned to look at him, and Mike could only hope that Amber wouldn't be mad at him for wanting to help their parents find out if she was safe or not. If she was, he was going to be in deep trouble when they found her.

Taking a deep breath, he told them what he had learned from the security guard's conversation.

Amber's POV:

The rest of the morning and early afternoon flew by. Even though the nurse came by a few times to take Elizabeth back to the nursery and bring her back later, Mort and I couldn't get enough of the family time that we had. We would take turns holding our little baby girl, cooing nonsense to her and making countless promises of wonderful presents on future birthdays and Christmases. However, Mort promised her what every little girl wants for a gift: a pretty pony in her future at our cabin at Tashmore Lake. Although, how he was going to get a pony up there and take care of it was beyond me.

Meanwhile, as I held our living, tiny treasure, I promised her things I could actually give her. I promised her days filled with love and caring and laughter. I promised her happy times, fixed booboos and interesting learning experiences that she would never forget. I promised her all the books she could ever want to read and study throughout her lifetime. True, the cabin was small, but we would manage the promises the best we could. The last things I promised her were the best education her father and I could give her with the money he could make, and a family trip around the world so she experience life instead of hearing or reading about it. It sounds like a lot, but nothing is too much for our baby girl!

Suddenly, Elizabeth started squirming, so I began to try and rock her to calm her down. She had just started drifting off to dreams when the door flew open and my parents entered the room.

AN: Oh, another cliffhanger! Please leave a review, since the next chapter is the last! Thanks!