~ oOo ~
Early update again - aren't I good to you? ;)
Well, truth is, I spent all day today in a muddy field with 153 Dalmatians,
including my own spotmonster Dakota, so I'm on a bit of a high - childhood
dream come true, right there!
Anyways, I'm mega busy tomorrow which was when I planned to update,
but my wonderful, fantabulous new beta SunflowerFran had already beta'd
this chapter so I figured I'd treat you to another early update.
I'm still loving all your theories and thoughts, so please keep them
coming! I promise we'll get the answers you're asking for in due time,
bit of a slow burner this one, I'm afraid. A lot of you have begged for
Emmett, so you'll be pleased to see him making a cameo in an
upcoming chapter...Not just yet, but soon, I pinky promise!
Enough out of me, enjoy!
~ oOo ~
Summary: When two little girls were allowed to walk
home from school one bright spring day nobody could've
predicted the events that followed. The way two families
were torn apart by the vendetta of a deranged man.
Nearly twelve years on, we'll watch as the two girls stolen
away from their homes at eight years old fight to take
back their lives. If only it were as simple as escaping. AU
Pinky Promises
Chapter Thirteen
A week after the girls' arrival at the hospital, they finally had answers.
Not all of them, but enough to paint a harrowing picture of what Scarlett and Rosalie – and later, Marley – had experienced during their time on the ranch.
The revelations had begun during Megan's therapy sessions, and with the permission of the girls, she'd shared the information they had given with their dads, and thus, Edward.
Edward cringed as he brushed Marley's hair back into a ponytail on the third morning at the hospital, remembering the scene the previous morning when Scarlett had told them about Marley's father.
Scarlett was sitting on the chair in the window, with Marley sitting at her feet with Mister Eddie and some wooden blocks a nurse had brought up from the children's ward. Megan was present, as was Edward at Scarlett's insistence. She wanted him there so that Marley could be taken out of the room if she got too upset. She didn't want to frighten her daughter, but having Marley nearby helped her to feel safer.
She felt better when she could see Marley, see that she was safe.
"Are you still okay with discussing what we planned?" Megan asked softly.
Scarlett turned her head slightly, meeting Megan's gaze. She looked petrified, but resigned. With a nod, she sighed and visibly steeled herself for what would doubtlessly be an uncomfortable conversation. "Yeah. I just…it's difficult to talk about."
"That's okay, there's no rush. We're not in any hurry, so you just take your time, okay?"
A few minutes passed before anybody spoke again. Surprisingly, it was Scarlett to break the silence.
"He came to the ranch after a supply run and begged for a job. Garrett wasn't there at the time, some trip, so one of the older guys just said 'yes' and let him stay."
Megan hummed, "so he worked on the ranch. Do you know his name?"
A maelstrom of emotions crossed Scarlett's face, a shudder rippling through her body. Megan saw it, even from the chair on which she sat a good six feet away.
"Marcus. Marcus Lucien. That's what he said, anyway."
Edward's fists clenched in his lap. It was clear from the tone of Scarlett's voice that she didn't like this Marcus Lucien one bit. Rage bled into his veins, but he forced himself to stay still and hide it. Scarlett wasn't done.
"He was there for a while, six months or so altogether I guess. Garrett…he came back after about three weeks and went crazy, but it was weird. He was angry before he even got to the ranch. It didn't click at first that he must've been watching on the cameras or something to know Marcus was there…" Scarlett trailed off, then shook her head and continued. "Rosalie got really sick that winter. Everyone got the stomach flu, but it hit her and one of the other guys the hardest. She was in bed for almost a week once it passed just to recover."
Edward didn't like where this was heading. If Rosalie spent the week in bed, that meant Scarlett was alone most of the time. She'd already admitted that she and Rosalie were treated like slaves, forced to do the cooking, cleaning, and general upkeep of the house, which had to be kept up to ridiculous standards. The men had been warned not to mess with them upon their arrival, she'd heard Garrett giving some new hires the lecture once, but he hadn't been there when Marcus was hired. she'd just said that. He hadn't given Marcus that warning.
He watched as Scarlett shuddered and stared at Marley. He wondered what she was thinking. If she could see Marcus in her baby. It was likely her hair at least was his. Or possibly carried down from her grandmother, who'd passed her dark tresses down to Archie through Charlie.
"I think it was the third or fourth day Rosalie was ill…I'd just finished cleaning up after dinner, and the dishwasher was broken. I was distracted and knocked a plate off the side, it didn't break but it made a really loud noise,and I guess he heard."
"Marcus, you mean? He heard?"
Scarlett nodded in answer to Megan's question. "Yeah. All the other guys had gone back to their rooms, but he must've hung around. I didn't know why until he came into the kitchen and started trying to touch me. Just my arms or my hands at first, but when I told him to get off he, um, he grabbed at me and pushed me against the cupboards." Choked, she paused, swallowing convulsively. Remembering that day, that night, made her feel sick to her stomach. "He made me go with him to one of the outbuildings,and I had to drink from his flask to stop him threatening to hurt Rosalie or me. It was disgusting, I have no idea what it was, but it completely wiped me out. Whiskey, maybe? It smelled strong. I woke up a while later; I don't know what time because it was really dark outside and freezing cold, but Marcus was gone, and I hurt so bad…um, you know. I knew what he'd done, but I don't remember anything after he made me drink about half his alcohol. I went back to our room and cleaned myself up as quietly as I could, but Rosalie was out cold, and I didn't want to scare her, so I just didn't say anything."
Megan's eyes flicked over towards Edward when a quiet groan escaped him. If there'd been any doubt before, it was abruptly obvious that Marley's father was a degenerate pig.
A rapist.
With a squeal of the chair against the floor, Edward motioned over his shoulder towards the door. He then made a beeline straight for the restrooms down the hall where he emptied his stomach of his breakfast. Then and there, he vowed to protect Scarlett from any other horrors that may come her way. Nobody would be able to hurt her again.
Of course, if he'd stayed, he would have heard Scarlett say that there was no point giving a description of Marcus, of the FBI looking for him. He was dead. Buried somewhere near the ranch, she guessed.
Garrett had shot him at point-blank range in front of all the ranch hands as a lesson to them not to touch Scarlett or Rosalie. Sometimes at night, she could still see him slumped in a pool of his own blood right outside the house.
She still saw his sightless gray eyes and Marley's hair hanging over his face, matted with sticky crimson blood.
In the end, Scarlett had surprised everybody with her cool recollection of a horrific ordeal. Rosalie explained that she'd been the same way when she explained it to her, six weeks after it happened when it became obvious something wasn't right, when her period didn't come.
"She does this thing," Rosalie said. "She just kinds of...disappears for a while. Like her mind is somewhere away from her body just telling it the information she has to say. It's creepy, but I think, I think it's how she's managed to cope, you know?"
Megan had surmised it was Scarlett's defense mechanism, and they'd left the discussion at that, not wanting to ruminate on why Scarlett needed one in the first place – although obviously Rosalie knew, but wouldn't say without her best friend's permission. It wasn't hers to tell, in Rosalie's eyes.
All Rosalie was willing to tell were the things she had witnessed, had experienced, although she hadn't gone into great detail. It was hard enough to remember without having to look into her dad's heartbroken face as she relived it. Megan had told her that, at some point, she and Scarlett would need to give statements, but it could wait.
And Rosalie could wait forever. The very idea of having to detail the past twelve years of their lives for their families and police to hear was a terrifying one.
A small hand tapping at his leg pulled Edward from his thoughts.
He peered down at Marley, twisted in his lap to look up at him. She had a small quirk to her lips as she pointed across the room. It took him a moment to realize what she was pointing at.
Grinning, Edward stroked the crown of her head and murmured, "You can watch more Spongebob later, little sweet. The doctor will be here soon."
Marley's almost-smile transformed into a fully-fledged one immediately at the mention of the doctor. Dr. Cairns had become a firm favorite, which Edward attributed to his gentle nature, soft voice, and pocketful of sweets. It both did and didn't surprise him that Marley had never experienced the joys of sweets, such as lollies, fudge, and sherbet. The first time the doctor had offered her an apple lolly – or sucker, as he called them – she'd been confused about what she needed to do with it. Scarlett had demonstrated, a look of euphoria on her face as she tasted the sweet treat before handing it to Marley. The little girl had been sold on it, and always beamed when Dr. Cairns did his rounds and offered her a new taste sensation to ease the sting of an unfamiliar face.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Mommy will be back in a minute, too. She's just gone to the bathroom. Don't worry, I'm sure she won't stop you."
"Stop her from doing what?" Scarlett asked, appearing in the doorway.
At the sound of her mother's voice, Marley bounced off the bed and charged towards Scarlett, wrapping her arms around Scarlett's legs while peering up hopefully.
"She wants a lolly when Dr. Cairns gets here," Edward supplied.
Scarlett smiled, bending to scoop her daughter into her arms. Edward bit back his concern that she shouldn't be lifting in her condition, choosing instead to enjoy the sight of Scarlett and Marley's sweet bond.
"If Dr. Cairns offers you a lolly you can have one, okay? But no asking for one, that's rude."
Marley nodded, ponytail whipping behind her head, as the door behind Scarlett opened.
Dr. Cairns strolled in with Charlie, Peter, and Megan right behind him, Rosalie entering a few seconds later with a nurse they'd all grown to like. Lily was a sweet, kind young woman and she adored Marley, which made her popular in everyone's eyes.
"Good morning, Scarlett, Marley," Dr. Cairns grinned, gently tapping the underside of Marley's chin to garner a smile before facing Edward. "Edward, morning."
"Morning, Dr. Cairns."
"All right, so. Shall we get started? Lots to talk about today."
Everyone made themselves comfortable on the various seats around the room. Scarlett and Rosalie sitting side-by-side on one of the beds, Marley still wrapped around her mother, while Edward took a chair. Charlie and Peter perched on the side of the free bed, Megan on another free chair while Dr. Cairns rolled stools over for himself and Lily, the nurse.
"Ok. Rosalie, if you keep taking your vitamins like you have been and keeping your fluid and food intake up, you'll be right as rain in no time. Your oxygen checks have come back clear, so no lasting effects of the smoke inhalation for you."
Rosalie smiled, nodding and joining hands with Scarlett. She wasn't really interested in her own results. It was Scarlett's she was waiting for.
Truthfully, they were all waiting to see what he'd say about Scarlett. About the baby she carried, whose origin even Rosalie didn't know. She felt worried and was hurt that Scarlett hadn't confided in her, and she had no idea who the father might be which made her even more nervous.
Had she spent her days and nights sharing space with not one but two rapists?
"Scarlett, we're going to do a scan in a moment and check what's going on with the baby, but I'll cover everything else first, is that okay?"
With Scarlett's nod, he continued, ignoring the way Charlie gulped hard and Edward's hands clenched in and out of fists with his every breath.
"So you'll be pleased to hear you have no lasting issues from the smoke inhalation either, Edward here did a good job getting you out as quickly as he did. Your head wound is looking great, and the dressing can probably come off after another day or so now that it's all closed up. As with Rosalie, you need to continue with the vitamins and fluids, and I'm going to prescribe some anti-sickness meds so you can eat without being sick every time. If you don't start eating soon, we'll have no choice but to intervene and I really don't want to have to do that. Ideally, we need to get some good food and nutrients into you, as soon as possible."
The mere mention of food had Scarlett feeling nauseated, but she swallowed back the taste of bile and nodded, knowing she needed to start eating more. For one, it was worrying the hell out of her dad, she could tell. And now she needed to start thinking about the other person relying on her being able to eat a decent diet – the baby. The baby couldn't eat if she didn't, and as it was, she could barely manage to be in the same room as food before having to run to a toilet or nearby sink.
"I'll try, Doctor."
He nodded. "Good. Now, I wanted to ask you, did you experience this severe sickness with your first pregnancy?"
"Not at first, no. I didn't have any symptoms at all really until quite near the end. I didn't even feel Marley kick for the first time until exactly a week before she was born. I did get really sick though a few weeks before that, I just thought it was a persistent stomach bug everyone else had had it."
"She didn't even have a bump, not really, and you can see how thin she is. Marley barely showed at all," Rosalie added, her half-smile tinged with both sadness and nostalgia. "You don't have a bump now either, so it's pretty much the same all over again."
Dr. Cairns jotted notes down in the clipboard Lily handed him, smiling once he was done. "Okay, now for the exciting part. Do you want everyone to stay while we do the scan, or would you rather I kick these yahoos out?"
Megan excused herself to answer an incoming call. Lily left the room and returned wheeling an ultrasound machine while Scarlett looked around at the faces of her family members. They were trying to hide it, but each one wore hope in their expressions so blatant that Scarlett could never evict them from the room. They missed this experience the first time around, with Marley, just as she had. And besides, she was absolutely petrified anyway, so there was no real reason not to have her loved ones surrounding her for support.
"They can stay. Please stay," she added, meeting each of their eyes, in turn, ending on Edward. She waved him over, noticing belatedly, the rigid set of his broad shoulders and the narrowing of his eyes. He shook them off, though, when he saw the nerves in her eyes and her hand extended in a plea for support.
It took a few minutes to set the machine up, and then it was time. Lily smiled gently at Scarlett as Dr. Cairns squirted the cool jelly onto her exposed, flat stomach, then reached for the Doppler. He smiled a little as he met her eyes, murmuring a warning seconds before he touched the device to her skin. The room was suddenly filled with a rhythmic thrumming sound that brought tears to the eyes of every adult present. Marley frowned, scooting along the bed, so she was just inches from the ultrasound screen.
In a way, nose-to-nose with her sibling.
Confused, she tapped the screen with a fingertip, looking back at her mother with a knot between her brows. She was used to Spongebob, not this odd, grainy ultrasound imaging.
Scarlett sniffled, brushing a few loose tears from her cheeks with the back of her free hand – the one not squeezing the hell out of Edward's fingers. "Come here, baby girl."
Marley scampered back after one last glance at the image on the screen, leaving enough room for Dr. Cairns to see what he needed to as he moved the Doppler around, looking at all angles of Scarlett's uterus and the baby within.
"You know how you came from my belly? You grew in there, and then you came out to give me and Auntie Rosie cuddles and kisses?"
Charlie chuckled, remembering that that was how he'd explained to Archie and Scarlett about their births. Scarlett shot him a small, sad, half-smile before returning her attention to Marley, who was nodding slowly.
"You see that wiggly shape on the screen over there? That's a baby, like you were. It's in my belly."
Awed, Marley twisted again to face the screen where Dr. Cairns had paused the screen it on a perfectly clear profile shot of the baby. Scarlett, Rosalie, Charlie, Peter, Edward, and the medical staff watched as she crawled towards the screen, reaching out to stroke the top of her baby brother or sister's head, his or her legs, arms, nose. Her eyes were bright with wonder, smile wide and adorable.
"Marley, little sweet, that's your brother or sister," Edward told her when she scampered to him, grabbing his hand and pointing at the screen to make sure he was looking.
"I can actually tell you, brother or sister, if you want to know, Scarlett?" Dr. Cairns interjected gently.
All eyes turned to Scarlett. Wide-eyed and looking just like her daughter, Scarlett opened and closed her mouth like a fish several times before clamping it shut.
"I don't, um…I don't know?"
Edward chuckled, crouching to perch on the edge of the bed beside Scarlett. Tucking an arm around her shoulder, he whispered, "did you want to know with Marley? If you'd had the chance, would you have found out?"
She thought about it for a second, realizing that no, she hadn't wanted to know. Not once had she wished to be able to know if she was lying awake at night while Rosalie slept talking to a boy or a girl. It didn't make a difference; she'd just wanted a healthy baby.
"I don't want to know, but thank you," Scarlett finally murmured. She looked up at Edward, "thank you. I was a bit, caught off guard, I think. I didn't expect to be able to know."
"I'd say you're around thirteen, fourteen weeks, does that sound about right? Around three months?"
Ignoring Rosalie's stare on the side of her face, Scarlett swallowed hard, trying to think back. Frowning, she realized her dates didn't add up. "I think more like four months? Um, it could only be one particular date, and that was over four months ago."
Dr. Cairns nodded, his expression blank, as though he'd expected her answer. "Okay, so I'm not a specialist so don't take everything I say as gospel. Your baby measures a little on the smaller side. At four months, I'd expect him or her to be between four and five inches long from his head to his bottom, your little one is just a touch smaller at the moment. That could change, though, and it's probably down to your lack of a good diet, which can be fixed easily, so don't worry. I don't suppose you know roughly how much Marley weighed at birth, do you?"
"Actually, yes. We had some scales, and we held her while we stood on them to see what the difference was. She was about five pounds, maybe, give or take a couple of ounces."
"God, she was tiny!" Peter exclaimed, looking a bit sheepish when everyone turned to look at him after his outburst.
"My twins each weighed more. Six pounds seven, each."
Dr. Cairns smiled. "Great weights for twins. Gestation?"
"Thirty-seven weeks. How my wife held onto them that long I'll never know."
"Do you know how far along with Marley you were? That might give us some indication as to whether this baby will just be on the smaller side anyway," Dr. Cairns asked Scarlett, laughing when Marley moved back to the screen showing the image of her brother or sister again to take another look.
Scarlett was watching her, too, as she answered. "She was born on my birthday, and I got pregnant near the end of July."
Dr. Cairns did some quick math, then said, "so a few weeks early, then. This one will most likely be on the smaller side as well, but we'll keep a close eye."
He did a few more quick checks, reminding everybody that he wasn't a specialist before offering the services of an OB/GYN and leaving the family to regroup. It was clear they were all overwhelmed, tears streaming over Charlie's cheeks as he stared at the image of his grandchild on the screen, then at the living, breathing proof of Scarlett's ability to nurture even in horrific circumstances. Marley was beaming as she moved from person to person, making sure they'd seen her sibling.
They didn't need him and Lily standing over them while they got to grips with it all, so they made their exit quietly.
~ oOo ~
Throughout the next few days, the misfortune that had followed the girls like a bad smell for the past twelve years began to fall away.
Slowly, with the support of her dad and Megan, Rosalie began to feel more herself. She found comfort in good food she didn't have to slave over, though she missed the routine of a set schedule. She took the vitamins prescribed, and kept her fluid intake up, as requested. Bit by bit, Rosalie pieced herself back together, and it was noticeable. The nurses – kept to a team of four on rotation – commented daily on how well she was looking, how her hair had a healthy sheen now, her skin clearer, weight creeping back on. Even within a few days, there was something different about her shape, something healthy looking. The gaunt edge was gone from her features, replaced with her late mother's classic beauty.
Scarlett was in worse shape, but finally, her head dressing was removed, and she didn't look quite so poorly then. A raised, pink line marked the spot where her head had hit the long-gone floor of the study, but it was fading fast as it healed over. With the anti-sickness medicine doing its thing she'd managed to start eating again, albeit little and often. Her stomach wasn't used to being fed after days of expunging itself every few hours, so she needed to stretch it back to a normal size gradually. With Edward, Charlie, and Rosalie on her case, she never forgot to drink, eat, or take her meds, and she too began to look healthier.
As for Marley…her grandfather and uncles took great delight in feeding her, and finding every sweet treat available to let her try. She'd missed out on a lot, and had the men pandering to her every whim.
The first time she tried chocolate would be burned into Edward's mind for the rest of his life.
The look of pure euphoria on her face, nothing beat it. She'd been a bit of a raving addict ever since, and they'd all been present to witness her first ever tantrum when Scarlett told her 'no' after she'd eaten an entire bar of Hershey's before asking for more. Scarlett had been too shocked to do much of anything at first, having never witnessed her well-behaved baby acting out, so Edward had scooped Marley up and set her on a chair in the corner, as he'd seen Archie do with Carl-Roman countless times when he misbehaved. Later, he'd apologized for taking over, but Scarlett had brushed him off with a flustered flush of her cheeks. She'd never had to deal with the discipline side of things. Marley had never given her cause to, up until then. Megan had explained that, like Scarlett and Rosalie were slowly grasping, Marley was realizing she was safe now, and as such, was confident enough to act out without fear. This had brought on a discussion about Scarlett's initial behavior when she'd been rescued, about why her mind and body had closed her off even from the loved ones she'd missed so much.
She'd finally felt safe enough to break down, to release the emotions she'd hidden on the ranch for the sake of Rosalie and Marley.
It made sense, but Scarlett hated that she'd lost precious days with her family when she'd already missed out on so many.
That said, as she watched Edward and Marley together, she was glad they'd had a chance to bond. They were so precious together. Despite Megan's warning that Marley was becoming used to watching too much television, she was allowed to watch her Spongebob DVD during the evening. She always did so ensconced in Edward's arms, head pillowed against his chest, Mister Eddie in one hand, the other wrapped around Edward's fingers. He doted on her, and in turn, she worshiped him.
It really was adorable, and Scarlett hadn't yet been able to capture it on camera even though she'd tried many a time. Someone had provided a cheap digital camera, and they'd abused it a lot since, having printed the full SD card three or four times in just a few days. As Riley had pointed out, they had a lot to celebrate and document.
One sunny day almost two weeks after the motel fire, Scarlett and Rosalie found themselves alone with Marley for the first time since escaping the ranch.
Charlie was in a therapy session with Megan, Peter had gone with one of the FBI agents on a grocery run – Scarlett's special request tucked in his jean pocket. Edward was making the most of the facilities, abusing the shower and the pack of razors they'd purchased on their last shopping trip. He was long overdue a shave, and it had taken Marley's teasing tugs on his burgeoning beard for him to realize.
Wrapped in a blanket on the bed nearest the window, Scarlett and Rosalie snuggled Marley between them, poring over the pictures the OB/GYN had printed out from her scan earlier in the day. The baby was a little on the small side, she'd said, but it was nothing to worry about. He or she had plenty time to catch up, especially now that Scarlett was eating regular, small meals and under far less stress than before.
"She has Marley's nose," Rosalie said quietly, tapping said button-nose when Marley tipped her head back to grin at her.
"'She'?"
"Yep. I'm betting team pink. I think this one's a girl."
Scarlett sighed, tilting her head. She had no idea. Charlie had told her that he'd been right guessing both of Penelope's pregnancies. He'd known Archie was going to be a boy from the beginning, and had declared Scarlett a girl during the first scan when she'd been a total diva and wouldn't let them see her face. Shouldn't she know? Or have an inkling? When she was pregnant with Marley, she'd been utterly terrified, and the idea of gender hadn't crossed her mind until very late on. With this little one, she could know right that second if she called Dr. Nancy. This pregnancy was already so different from her first.
For one, she was safe, and had medical assistance this time.
They came to the end of the sonogram pictures then, and the top of a photo underneath caught Scarlett's eye. She moved it to the front, smiling wide when she took in the image.
It was Marley and Edward, their heads hunched together like schoolchildren sharing secrets. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the floor-to-ceiling window across the room, and had a stack of wooden blocks between them. Scarlett didn't remember seeing them like this, so it must have been while she was asleep or something. They were lit from behind by the setting sun, which brought out the blonde highlights in Marley's otherwise dark locks, and made Edward's copper hair shine. The blocks between them were in a rough tower formation but slightly blurred. They were falling. Marley's face was drawn in shock, Edward's in amusement. Clearly, he'd had a hand in the destruction of the tower, and was finding Marley's subsequent reaction funny.
Marley huffed a silent laugh, reaching out to touch Edward's hair and looking to Scarlett in question.
"He'll be back in a little while, baby girl," she promised, glancing towards the door and finding herself disappointed that he didn't appear. She missed him, Scarlett realized.
Marley pouted, but took the photos from her mother's hands and flicked through, pointing out herself to Rosalie in every picture.
Meanwhile, Scarlett held the picture of Edward and her daughter, memorizing the scene so that she'd never forget what it looked like to see Marley happy, to see her content and with people who adored her. One day in the future, she hoped to see the same scene only in a place she tried to pull from memories years old, faded from lack of use. She hoped to see Marley playing with the little boy she knew was named after her as closely as possible. Carl, for Scarlett, and Roman because it was as close to Rosalie as Archie had been able to get –, running amok in her dad's garden, making a mess with toys in the living room she and her brother had once trashed as children. It was all so tantalizingly close now, and Scarlett couldn't wait for it to happen.
Little did she know, the day her wishes would come to fruition was fast approaching.
The day they'd get to go home was coming.