Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter after being absent for about two months. I really hope that I won't have too many delays, it's just that I've been so busy getting through a tough situation in my life and now, I'm back in school, so updating has been a task that I put on the back burner lol
All that matters now is that I'm back with the next chapter and from here on out, the story is going to get even more twisted and there will be twice as many turns, I can assure you that. So, let's get on with the disclaimer so you guys can read.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, any of its series, or any of the show's characters. Also, the plot of this story was inspired by the 2009-2010 storyline of Days of our Lives. However, all parts of the plot that I changed, the scenes I made up, and characters I created are my property. So, NO STEALING!
"June Bug"
Four months passed by at a rabbit's pace after Katherine and Collin were wed. The two of them had decided to put their honeymoon on a hold to avoid traveling with their infant daughter. They decided to postpone their honey moon until August, much to Katherine's delight. They were going to take a private jet to the Ignalis family's private island somewhere on the other side of Jamaica and it was going to be a honeymoon most women dreamed of.
Katherine was managing to keep her baby switching secret under wraps, which pleased her immensely. Collin had no idea that their precious little Neveah was Kimberly's biological daughter and to please her even further, the baby was developing most of her father's features and barely resembled the brunette at all. Katherine was playing the role of a mother very well. The baby looked at her as though she was her actual mother and she loved Katherine loved her unconditionally.
Baby Neveah was spoiled rotten, getting gifts day after day and living in the lap of luxury, and that's exactly how her parents wanted her to be treated. After all, she was a miracle baby that Katherine shouldn't have been able to carry to term, and Collin was going to treasure his little princess.
Across town, Kimberly and Tommy were living in unconditional love and bliss. Most of the neighbors assumed that the two of them were a young married couple living in a permanent honeymoon stage. Tommy always had a smile on his face when the brunette was in his presence and her eyes always lit up at the mentioning of the police officer.
As for the children, things were going well for them as well. Jacob had turned two in May and he was speaking in full sentences. He was a hyperactive little ball of fire and he loved spending time with Kimberly and Tommy, who he looked up to in many ways. Grace was growing as well. She was always smiling and her head was now covered in soft brown curls. She loved spending time with her mother and the man that she only knew has her father.
On this particular June evening, Kimberly was washing dishes in the kitchen. Tommy was going to be working a night shift again and he wasn't expected to be home until three the following morning. Jacob was watching Spongebob Squarepants on the television set up front while Grace was lying in a playpen on the other side of the kitchen.
Kimberly hummed quietly to herself as she did her best to scrub the remnants of last night's casserole from the inside of the glass dish. She's interrupted by the sounds of the front doorbell ringing. Wiping her hands as she walked, Kimberly went to greet her visitor.
"Trini," she smiled when she opened the door and found her best friend standing there, "it's so good to see you. I had no idea you were coming by today."
Trini stepped into the house as Kimberly closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry Kim, I should've called first. I was just in the neighborhood coming back from the bridal shop."
"Oh, that's right." Kimberly said as the two of them headed for the kitchen. "Does the dress still fit?"
"It fits perfectly." Trini giggled as she took a seat in a chair. "I found the dress last month and I've been watching my diet to ensure that it will fit. After all, the wedding's next month and I would hate to outgrow the dress."
Kimberly nodded as she went back to work, scrubbing the pan. "I understand. I've been doing the same with my bridesmaid dress."
"Correction," Trini spoke, "your matron of honor dress."
Kimberly and Trini giggled. "Of course," Kimberly smiled, "how silly of me to have forgotten."
"So, where's Tommy?"
"At work." Kimberly sighed. "The commissioner keeps giving him night shifts and I don't like it one bit. When I go to bed at night, I want to be in Tommy's arms, you know?"
Trini smiled as she looked at the playpen. "Is Grace asleep?"
"She shouldn't be." Kimberly said as she stacked the clean tray with the other cleaned dishes. "She's been sleeping all day. I just woke her up and put her in there with a few toys."
Trini stood from the table and peered into the playpen. Grace was lying on her side motionless. Worry overcoming her, Trini reached into the playpen and lifted the baby girl up into her arms. Grace's skin was warm at the touch, causing Trini to worry even more.
"Kimberly, Grace is awfully warm." she commented as she readjusted the little girl in her arms so that she could view her face. Grace was awake, but her eyes were very hazy.
Kimberly looked over at Trini who was staring down at her little girl with worry. "What do you mean? Warm as in over heated?"
"No Kim, I mean warm as in feverish."
Kimberly quickly made her way over to Trini and gently put her hand to the baby's forehead. She was definitely warm.
"I'm going to call the doctor." she said nervously as she made her way over to the phone on the wall. As Kimberly spoke with the doctor, Trini gently began to rock the baby to sleep. Perhaps that could relieve her of some of her symptoms?
"Okay." Kimberly spoke into the phone. "Alright then. Yes, I'll be sure to keep an eye on her. Thank you. Goodbye."
"Well?" Trini asked as Kimberly hung up the phone.
"He told me not to worry unless her fever exceeds one-hundred point four degrees. He suggested to give her a bath and lay her down to rest."
"Okay then. How about I give her a bath while you finish cleaning up in here?"
"Thanks Trini, that would be great. Just lay her down in her crib when you're through and I'll be up there soon."
Trini nodded as she left the room with the baby. Kimberly took a breath of relief as she continued tending to her dishes. The doctor told her not to worry, so she intended to do just that.
The Ignalis Mansion
"Collin?" Katherine called out into the vast mansion as she rolled Neveah's baby stroller through the front door. "Collin, are you home?"
"Katherine?" Colleen's voice came from the top of the stairs. "Is that you?"
"Yes." the blonde replied as she pushed the stroller to the bottom of the stairs. "Where is my husband?"
"In his father's room." she replied in a quiet voice. "Mr. Ignalis isn't doing too well right now."
"What's going on?" Katherine asked as she reached into the stroller and lifted Neveah into her arms. "Is everything alright?"
"Mr. Ignalis had a heart attack."
"Oh my God..is he…?"
"Oh, no Katherine, he's still alive. Just in a lot of pain. We just called for an ambulance to come and take him to the hospital."
"Can you take Neveah and give her a bottle please? I need to be with my husband."
"Right away Mrs. Ignalis."
Katherine walked to the top of the stairs and set the baby in Colleen's arms before making her way down the hallway to the bedroom with two large French doors. There were several servants in the room tending to the older man who was shaking on the bed. Collin sat beside him, his mother on the other side, as they held his hands trying to comfort the man through the pain. Katherine's heart ached at the sight of him and she wanted more than anything to turn around and run the opposite way, but she had to be strong for her husband's sake.
"Honey," she called out to him, "I just heard. How is he?"
"He isn't doing too good." Collin said in an emotionless voice. "Is the ambulance here yet?"
Katherine leaned out into the hallway and she could hear faint sirens. "I believe they're almost here. It shouldn't be too much longer."
"I wish they'd hurry up. My father might not make it through this."
"Is there anything you'd like me to do?"
"There's nothing that can be done. Just make sure the paramedics can make it upstairs quickly."
"Yes Collin."
Katherine exited the depressing room and ran down stairs to move the baby stroller out of the way. The paramedics came rushing in a few seconds later.
"He's upstairs, to the left, at the end of the hallway." Katherine said as they took off upstairs. What an evening this was turning out to be.
In less than five minutes, the paramedics had Mr. Ignalis on a gurney and loaded up into the back of their ambulance. Mrs. Ignalis hopped in to ride to the hospital and they took off. Collin came down the stairs a few minutes later with relief on his face.
"Are you okay?" Katherine asked as she walked to him to hug him tight.
"I'm fine dearest." he replied as he kissed her forehead gently. "I'm just glad that father's going to be taken care of. One of the paramedics said that he'll pull through."
"Do you want to head to the hospital?"
"Yes, I do. Where's Neveah?"
Katherine smiled as she broke their hug. "I had Colleen take her to the nursery to feed her a bottle. She'll be okay with Colleen looking after her. Let's just head to the hospital so you can be with your father."
"Thanks darling." he replied as he kissed her sweetly. The two of them then made their way out of the house and into an awaiting limo.
Kimberly's House
"This isn't good." Trini said as she gently placed Grace into her crib. "She's gotten so much warmer since earlier."
Kimberly entered the nursery with a look of worry on her face. "Has she cooled off any?" Kimberly asked.
"Afraid not. She was a little irritated while I bathed her. She started crying and everything, but she eventually stopped and she's been quiet ever since."
"I have a baby thermometer." Kimberly said as she went to retrieve it from a cabinet beneath the changing table. "Let me check her temperature."
"Would you like me to check on Jacob?"
Kimberly nodded as she walked back to the crib and placed the ear thermometer into Grace's ear. She clicked the trigger as Trini exited the room to check on her son.
When the thermometer beeped, Kimberly removed it from Grace's ear and gasped at the number displayed on the electronic screen. Grace's temperature was one-hundred and two point three degrees.
"Oh my God." she said as she began to go into a panic. "This can't be happening."
Kimberly ran from the room and into hers and Tommy's room to retrieve her cell phone. She quickly flipped it open and dialed the hospital's phone number.
"Hello? Yes, this is Kimberly Hart. I know, I called earlier. Listen, my daughter has a fever of one hundred two point three degrees. What should I do?"
Kimberly paused to catch her breath as the nurse on the phone gave her instructions. "I'll be right there." she replied as she hung up and ran back to the baby's room.
Upon entry to the nursery, Kimberly could instantly tell that something was wrong. Grace was making little grunts, sending her mother into an even bigger panic. Kimberly rushed over to the crib and began crying when she spied the tiny infant's body shaking.
"Trini," she screamed, "get up here now!"
Trini appeared seconds later with worry on her face. "What's the matter?" she asked. The woman gasped when she spied Kimberly leaning over the crib trying to comfort the little girl who was shaking.
"We have to get her to a hospital." Kimberly said quickly as he lifted the shaking baby from the crib. "We have to do something now."
Trini nodded. "I'll call Jason to come and get Jacob. For now, we can leave him at your neighbor's house. Our main priority is getting Grace to the emergency room."
Kimberly nodded as the two of them quickly left the room.
Angel Grove Memorial Hospital
Katherine and Collin rushed into the hospital and stopped at the reception desk.
"Where is Charles Ignalis at this current moment?" Collin asked as he drummed his fingers against the countertop impatiently.
"Just a second." the nurse replied as she opened a few files on her computer. After two minutes of waiting, they finally received an answer. "Intensive care unit on the second floor. Please way in the waiting room when you get up there."
"Thank you so much." Collin replied.
"Honey, I'm going to go ahead and call your family to let them know what's happened." Katherine said. "You go ahead upstairs and I'll meet you there in a few."
Collin nodded as he dashed towards the elevators. He pushed the up button and waited impatiently for the doors to slide open. Once they did, he came face to face with Trini.
"Trini?" he said surprised. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that question." she said. "Anyways, I haven't got the time to chat right now. I'll see you some other time."
Trini dialed a number as she headed down the hall. Collin got onto the elevator and sighed in relief when he reached the second floor. However, he caught sight of specific brunette standing in the center of the hallway staring at the operation room doors.
"Kimberly?" he called out to her. "Is that you?"
Kimberly jumped slightly at the sound of Collin's voice. She wasn't expecting to hear it, that's for sure. She slowly turned and around and Collin gasped at her appearance. Kimberly's hair was in a messy ponytail and her eyes were red and swollen as tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked scared out of her mind and that worried Collin.
"Kimberly," he said as he approached her, "what are you doing here?"
Kimberly took a shaky breath as her eyes moved up to meet his. "M-my little girl…" she stammered as her eyes slowly moved back to the operating room doors.
"What about Grace?" he asked worriedly, forgetting about his father's current condition. "Is she alright?"
"One minute, she was completely normal, laughing and being her usual happy self, and the next…she had this awful fever that escalated to one hundred two degrees. She started…having seizures."
"Are the doctor's taking care of her?"
Kimberly nodded. "Yes. It's the same doctor that took care of me when I…had my accident a couple years back."
"She's in good hands then." Collin said reassuringly.
"I can't stand all this waiting." Kimberly said nervously as a new set of tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just want them to come out here and tell me what's happened. I tried calling Tommy, but he won't answer his cell phone. Trini just went outside to try the police station."
"Yes, I saw her earlier." Collin recalled.
"Grace…she just has to be okay." Kimberly said as she quickly spun around to face the doors once more. Collin placed his hands on her shoulders comfortingly.
"She will be." he reassured her. "She will be fine. Listen, I'll stay here with you as long as you need me to. How does that sound?"
Although she didn't want him to be in her presence, she couldn't help but to want him around to help her get through this. So, she nodded, giving him permission to stay by her side.
The two of them waited for forty five minutes and there seemed to be no new news about the infant that was under the doctors' care. Finally, a nurse appeared from the operating room and headed to the receptionist desk to retrieve a few papers. Kimberly left Collin's side and rushed over to speak with the nurse.
"Hi there." Kimberly said as she tried to keep her emotions under control. "How's my baby?"
The nurse looked at Kimberly and smiled. "The doctor shall be with you shortly."
Before Kimberly could ask her another question, the nurse turned to another nurse who was busy with a file folder. Kimberly looked slightly hurt by the nurse's actions and Collin didn't fail to notice.
"Excuse me ladies," he called out to them, gaining both of their attention, "my friend has been waiting here for almost an hour for news on her daughter."
"I'm sorry Mr. Ignalis," the nurse replied, "but if you could just wait a minute-"
"No, I'm not going to wait." Collin said, maintaining his politeness. "What I want you to do is to go and find the doctor and get some information on her baby. Now, please."
The nurse looked at Collin, slightly embarrassed. "Of course sir." she said before walking back to the operation room.
"Thank you." he called out to her as she disappeared through the doors.
Collin turned back to Kimberly who was staring at him, slightly surprised.
"Sorry about that." he apologized. "I just want be sure that you get the doctor's full and undivided attention. They shouldn't put your issues on the back burner."
"Oh, well thank you. So…what are you doing here?"
"My father had a heart attack."
Kimberly's mouth fell open at the news. "Oh my God! Is he going to be okay?"
"The paramedic back at the house said he should make a full recovery. I'm waiting on him to get out of surgery as well."
"Well, where's your mother? You should be with her, not here with me."
"It's quite alright Kimberly. Besides, you're dealing with a serious situation all by yourself. I want to stay here to make sure you'll be okay."
Kimberly sighed. "Alright then."
Suddenly, Kimberly caught sight of the doctor exiting the operating room.
"Doctor Jonas." she said quickly as she rushed over to him with Collin right behind her. "How's Grace? How's my baby doing? Did you find out what's wrong with her?"
The doctor stared at Kimberly sympathetically before looking down at the charts in his hands. "We managed to stop the seizures." he announced, earning a sigh of relief from Kimberly.
"Okay, that's great." she said. "So, do you know what caused them or why they happened?"
"Well, the seizures Grace was having are common for some infants to develop. The good news is, they're harmless."
Kimberly's face lit up with happiness at the news. "That's great news! Oh my God…it's such a relief."
Collin wrapped an arm around Kimberly shoulder. "I told you not to worry." he said.
At that very moment, Katherine appeared in the room, unbeknownst to anyone. The sight of Collin with his arm around Kimberly made her shudder with anger. What was she doing at the hospital and just why did she and her husband seem so damn happy?
"So she's okay?" Kimberly asked the doctor. "I can take her home?"
"Well, since the seizures lasted longer than we expected, we'd like to run some tests and possibly do a little blood work."
"Blood work?" Kimberly said nervously.
"Yes, we want to rule out any infections and we want to be sure that we gave your little girl the right diagnosis. You did say she was adopted didn't you?"
Kimberly glanced at Collin out the corner of her. "Yes, that's what I said."
"Okay. Well we also need to make sure she didn't inherit something seriously harmful from her biological family."
Katherine stiffened when she heard him say that. After all, Grace wasn't Kimberly's real child or Collin's for that matter.
"Now Kimberly, according to the information you filled out, you don't know anything about the baby's biological family."
Kimberly took a deep breath. "Actually Doctor Jonas, that's not entirely true."
"What?" Collin said. "You know Grace's birth parents."
Kimberly waved Collin off as she tried to keep her emotions under control. "I thought I was keeping Grace safe by keeping her biological parents out of the picture, but if knowing more about them will help my daughter, I will tell you everything I know."
Katherine felt light headed at Kimberly's suggestion. If she told the truth, there's no telling how it would affect her little secret.
Just as Kimberly prepared to tell Doctor Jonas the truth, the same nurse from earlier returned with panic on her face. "Excuse me Doctor Jonas," she interrupted, "but you're need down in ICU. The baby's fever is spiking again."
Kimberly's face washed over with fear at this news as well as the Doctor's.
"Kimberly," Doctor Jonas spoke, "do I have your permission to do a lumbar puncture?"
"A what?" Kimberly asked, fearful of what the procedure involved.
"It's just a little procedure that will help us rule out any illnesses." he explained quickly.
"But you never mentioned that-"
"I know Kimberly, but the baby's fever hasn't gone down at all. We were just able to stop the seizures. Now, I need to do this procedure to collect cerebral spinal fluids and do an analysis but I need your permission. Do I have it?"
"Yes." Kimberly blurted out as Collin's grip on her shoulders tightened to keep her calm. "Just do what you have to do."
As the doctor's nurses rushed off, Kimberly tried to follow, but Colin grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving.
"Let me go Collin." Kimberly protested as she tried to free herself. "I need to be with my daughter."
"No Kimberly." Collin said trying to hold her.
"No, you have to let me go. My little girl is in there and she's scared. She needs me to hold her and be her mother."
"I'm sorry Kimberly, but you can't go. Let the doctor's take care of her."
Kimberly burst into tears as Collin wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. Katherine watched the scene with a heavy heart as guilt ate at her. There was Kimberly crying her eyes out with worry over a child that wasn't even hers. Her real daughter was safe back at her and Collin's mansion, perfectly healthy, being tended to by the staff without a care in the world. How could she be so cruel as to put her through such pain and misery?
With those thoughts in mind, Katherine headed for the hospital's chapel to think over what she'd done.
Collin managed to get Kimberly to calm down and the two of them had taken seats on the uncomfortable waiting room couch. Kimberly's fingers were holding tightly onto Grace's baby blanket that she'd been wrapped in when she and Trini brought her to the hospital.
"What's on your mind, other than the obvious?" Collin asked, trying to make light of the dreary situation at hand.
Kimberly took a deep breath as a thought she hadn't revisited in months came to the front of her mind. "There's something we need to talk about." she admitted in a quiet, sad voice.
"There is?" he asked, quite surprised. "Well, what is it we need to discuss?"
"It's about…Grace's birth parents." Kimberly admitted as her body started to shake with sobs another time. Collin placed a hand on her back comfortingly, encouraging her to go on.
Just as Kimberly prepared to spill the truth about their daughter, Doctor Jonas appeared in front of them. Kimberly jumped to her feet quickly and stared at the doctor.
"Doctor Jonas, how's my daughter?" she asked quickly.
The doctor stared at Kimberly sadly. "She's very sick Kimberly." he admitted, not bothering to sugar coat his words. "What your daughter is fighting is…much more serious than we originally expected."
Collin's hand covered his mouth at the news. He knew he wasn't going to like what they were about to hear next.
"What's wrong with her?" Kimberly asked as she blinked more tears free.
"She has bacterial meningitis." he said sadly.
Kimberly took in his news slowly as she let it all sink in. Grace's condition was very serious. Suddenly, a thought hit her.
"Okay, then you can give her antibiotics." she said. "Then she'll be okay."
Doctor Jonas and Collin stared at Kimberly sadly. She didn't fully understand the severity of the situation.
"We do have antibiotics Kimberly, and they're very powerful."
Kimberly studied the doctor's face before realization hit her. "You…don't think my baby's going to make it…do you?"
The doctor sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you or make everything seem dandy when it really isn't Kimberly. Your daughter is dealing with a serious illness, but we've given her all of the antibiotics we can for now. So, all we can do now is wait and see if her condition improves."
"I don't understand how this could happen." Kimberly said as she turned to look at Collin with tears in her eyes. "I take good care of my daughter. I take good care of both of my children, making sure they're properly fed, that they take their vitamins every day, that they visit the doctor on the regular, and I keep my home clean to prevent things like this from happening. I mean, Jacob's never been sick before, has he Collin?"
"She's telling the truth." Collin said. "Our son has never been sick, not even with the common cold."
"I should've come to the doctor sooner." Kimberly admitted. "She's been having these fevers for a couple of days now, and I just assumed that she was teething because she was acting just fine. If I would've known that it was something else I would've brought her in, I would've-"
"Kimberly," Collin cut her off, "it's alright. This isn't your fault at all. Don't go blaming yourself. That baby is the luckiest baby in the world to have a mother like you. Now Doctor Jonas, Kimberly said something about knowing Grace's birth parents. Will finding them help?"
"Probably not at this-whoa, whoa, whoa. Kimberly, are you alright?"
Kimberly was about to respond when she spied a certain police officer with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail walking into the room.
"Tommy!" she cried as she pushed herself out of Collin's arms and ran into his. Tommy stared around in confusion.
"What's going on?" he asked as he pulled away from Kimberly to look her in her eyes. She looked completely destroyed.
"It's our baby." Kimberly replied in between sobs. "It's Grace Tommy."
Collin stared at Kimberly, slightly hurt that she'd run away from him, the man who'd been comforting her for almost an hour and a half.
Tommy pulled Kimberly close to him as he stroked her hair comfortingly, whispering soothing words in her ears to keep her calm.
"I guess everything's slightly under control here." Collin said as he stared at Tommy and Kimberly. "I guess I'll go and check on my father now. Oh, and Kimberly…if you need anything, feel free to let me know."
"I will Collin." she said, not bothering to let Tommy go. "Thank you for being here."
Collin nodded. "Listen, I heard what Doctor Jonas said about waiting for the antibiotics to kick in, but if you want more immediate actions to be taken or you want a different doctor's opinion, you have my permission to use Ignalis Enterprises to get the job done. We can even look up information on the baby's birth parents if you'd like."
Tommy looked at Kimberly in surprise. Just what had happened in his absence?
"Tommy, can I speak with Collin alone please?" Kimberly asked him. Tommy nodded as he kissed her cheek.
"I'll be sitting right over there." he pointed to the seating area. Kimberly nodded as she watched him go. She then turned back to Tommy.
"Collin," she said in a quiet voice, "Doctor Jonas said that knowing about the birth parents probably wouldn't help at this point. So, I thought it was a good idea to talk about them when I was sure that it could help Grace's condition. Since it isn't going to do us any good at this point, let's forget about them. Besides…if they knew that she was sick, it would probably make things worse."
"Okay then." Collin nodded as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I'll be praying for you."
"Thanks." she replied as she pulled herself out of his arms and walked over to Tommy. Tommy held his hand out and she gently placed hers in his as she took a seat. The two of them watched Collin as he headed down the hall before turning to each other.
"Isn't there anything that Collin can do to help Grace?" Tommy asked. "After all, he is her father."
Kimberly shook her head. "Doctor Jonas said there wasn't." she told him. "I almost told him."
"I know you did." Tommy smiled.
"Doctor Jonas had mentioned earlier that knowing about her birth parents could help and I decided then and there that I would tell them everything, but when he revealed that it wouldn't help…I backed down and changed my mind about the whole thing. Tommy…this is all my fault."
"Don't say things like that Kimberly."
"No Tommy, it is my fault. When she had that fever a few days ago, I shouldn't have been so passive about it. I should've brought her in and maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they are now. Or maybe it's because I didn't have all the necessary prenatal care when I was pregnant with her."
"Kimberly, you were being chased by a murderer and were in the witness protection program. What could you have done?"
"I should've just listened to you when you said you were going to call your boss." Kimberly cried. "You told me that my being pregnant changed everything and that I needed a different kind of arrangement."
"Hey, everything's going to be fine." Tommy said as he gently grabbed her head and put it to his chest. "Grace is going to be just fine."
Kimberly nodded as she buried her face in Tommy's chest and continued to cry. Their baby was going to pull through this. She just knew it.
Author's Note: And so ends another chapter. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It really made me sad, but it's only going to get sadder from here unfortunately. Anyways, leave me a review and wait patiently for the next update. Until next time guys!
