CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
ONE WEEK LATER
Martha was standing in a dark room. It was pitch black. The only thing visible was herself. She didn't know where she was.
She looked down, and there, nestled safe in her arms, was her baby. She couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl because it was wrapped up tight in a white blanket. Its tiny face was all she could see.
Martha turned in a circle; looking around and wondering why the hell she and her baby were there. But she had no idea. She was too scared to even move forward in case she tripped in the dark and hurt the baby.
Martha heard a noise from behind, so she spun around, only to be blinded by a bright light. She held a hand up as a shield; trying to block out the light that was stinging her eyes. Once she had adjusted to the light, she moved forward.
She could see the outline of a group of people moving towards her. They were blurry, so couldn't make out who they were. But as she got closer, she started to recognize them.
Jack was standing in the middle; smiling at her. To one side of him; her grandad, Ric, Morag, Roo, Tony and Lucas were standing. On Jack's other side was; her mum, dad, and three brothers. But what stood out the most was that they were all wearing white.
"What's going on?" Martha asked.
Jack moved towards her and touched her cheek. "Look at our baby. Such an angel," he exclaimed, as he took the child from her arms and cradled it safely in his own. "So pure and so innocent. Our baby deserves so much more than this world can give it," he continued, and took a step back.
"Jack, what are you talking about?" Martha cried.
Jack ignored her question and continued to step backwards. "The baby has to stay with us," he said.
"What?" Martha shook her head. She was confused.
Her father then moved forward. "The baby is coming with us Martha. You have to stay here. Alone," he told her.
"No," Martha started to cry. "Give me my baby," she yelled.
Martha ran towards them, but they just seemed to get further and further away. All of a sudden they all started to fade; until she was left alone. The bright light then disappeared and she was left in pitch black; again.
"My baby," she screamed.
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Martha sat up; gasping for air. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was boiling hot, clammy and the bed sheets were tangled around her body.
"What's wrong?" a worried voice asked from beside her.
Martha turned her head to look at Jack. She was still to upset to talk.
"You were crying and talking in your sleep. Are you okay?" Jack rubbed her back.
Martha's hand flew to her stomach. "The baby," she muttered. "A dream. It was just a dream," she said breathlessly.
"What happened?" Jack asked again. "Are you feeling okay?" he said.
"You took my baby," Martha sobbed. "You and your dad and Lucas. And my family. You all took my baby away from me and said that I had to be alone. And then you all just disappeared. It was horrible," she cried harder.
"Hey, it's okay," Jack soothed, as he pulled her into his arms. "Nothing like that will ever happen. It was just a dream. Nobody will ever take our baby away," he assured her.
Martha nodded. "Yeah, I know. But it felt so real," she whispered.
Jack leaned across her and grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand. "Here, have a drink," he said.
Martha took the glass from him; taking a sip. Jack noticed that her hands were shaking. Must have been some dream, Jack thought to himself.
Jack then took the glass from her; placing it back on the nightstand. He then grabbed a hold of Martha and gently lowered her back onto the bed. "Just forget about it and try to go back to sleep. It was just a dream," he said softly.
He reached a hand out and smoothed her hair back off her face. She felt really warm and clammy. He lay back down beside her; kissing her softly on the cheek.
He placed his hand on her stomach and moved closer to her. It took a while, but she eventually calmed down and fell back to sleep.
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Martha was sitting on a chair in the middle of the baby's room. She had gotten bored, so she had decided to start painting the room. Jack had told her that he would help her do it once he got home, but he was running late, so she had started it without him. He was supposed to have finished at two pm, and it was now four pm, and Martha was starting to get cranky.
Kit and Tasha had dropped in for a little while and had helped her. They had managed to get one wall painted already.
Martha had also been thinking about the dream that she had. It had really freaked her out, and the thought that her baby had been taken was scary. She knew that it was just a dream and that it would never actually happen, but it had still frightened her a lot.
Martha let out a loud sigh and stood up. She walked out into the lounge room and turned on the T.V. She sat down and waited for Jack to get home.
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Martha was still sitting on the couch when Jack got home and hour later. She didn't speak to him and she didn't look at him.
"I'm sorry," he said as he sat down next to her.
"Three hours Jack," Martha exclaimed. "You said that you'd be home by two. It's now five," she said.
"I know, and I'm sorry," Jack said again.
"How hard is it to pick up a phone and call me," she snapped.
"I didn't have time to call to you. There was a robbery at a coffee shop in Yabbie Creek and I had to go with Harper," Jack explained. "It's the third one in two days, and they still haven't found the guy," he continued.
"Yeah, well I was really looking forward to painting the baby's room with you," Martha said.
"I was too," Jack assured her. "We can do it tomorrow instead. I don't have to be at work until late afternoon," he told her.
"I already started," Martha said as she kept her eyes glued to the T.V. She was still mad at him, so she didn't really feel like looking at him.
"Come on, don't be angry. I said I was sorry," Jack exclaimed.
Martha turned around to look at him. "Yeah, well if you really are sorry, you'll make sure you're home by six o'clock next Friday night. I've invited Tasha and Robbie around, and Kim's going to invite Kit," she explained.
Jack smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be home before then. I promise," he told Martha.
He leaned over and kissed Martha on the cheek. "Now, come and show me what you done today," he pulled her up off the couch and dragged her off.
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