Part 13: Remembering
See Part 1 for disclaimers
This was a rather hard chapter to write, but I got it done! I don't know when I'm going to write part 14 because I have no clue what's going to happen in it at the moment. But I promise to get it up as soon as possible. Thanks for being such wonderful readers, hope you like the chapter! Manda
A year had passed since the proposal, and Natalie and Michael were now happily married, living in a cozy three-bedroom house that was ten minutes away from Llanfair. Shane was a year-and-a-half year old now, and talking up a storm. His first word had been "Mama", a fact that pleased Natalie to no end, as you might imagine. Michael was still working at the hospital, and Natalie had finished getting her college degree and now worked from home so that she could be with Shane.
It was a bright summer day when she saw the news story that would forever change her life. She had been planning to take Shane to the park after finishing her work for the day, but something had told her to watch the news first, so he was in his room playing while she did that. The first half of the news was nothing new, and she'd almost convinced herself to turn off the TV and just go to the park when the story she'd been unconsciously waiting for came on.
"This new drug has been proven time and time again to help rape victims remember every detail about their rape, which does cause them emotional pain, but at the same time it not only helps them heal but can also help them find their rapist." As the woman's voice droned on in the background, Natalie froze, her mind flashing back to that terrible moment she had re-lived so many times. Suddenly she knew that she had to find out more about this drug.
"I thought we had moved past that, Natalie." She sighed in frustration. "So did I, Michael. But I don't know that I can ever truly move on until that bastard is in prison; until he's being made to pay for what he did to me." Michael pulled him to her and she wrapped her arms around him, letting herself be comforted. "I'll find out what I can about the drug, but if there are any serious side effects you can just forget it." Natalie smiled and kissed him lightly. "Yes, Doctor."
Two weeks later, Michael came home with an appointment for Natalie to meet with Dr. Yvonne Baker, a therapist who specialized in rape cases and the new drug. "She assured me there are no serious side effects, but you do realize you're going to have to go through the entire experience again, exactly as it happened that day?" She bit her lip and nodded. "I know, but I have to do it." Michael kissed her forehead. "You are such a strong, beautiful, brave woman. God, I love you." "I love you too, Michael McBain." She kissed him.
The next day, Michael and Natalie arrived at Dr. Baker's office, having left Shane with Jessica for the day. Michael had insisted that he be allowed to sit in on the session, and Dr. Baker had agreed, saying that it was important for the woman to have someone there for emotional support when they came out from under the drug's influence.
Thirty minutes after she had taken the drug, Natalie had been taken back to that day and was being walked through it step-by-step. "I went home, and had just finished packing when I heard the door close. I tried to remember if I had locked it and walked into the living room, taking mace out of my pocket." Suddenly her voice was panicked, and Michael grabbed her hand, squeezing it helplessly. "He has a gun! Oh my god, what does he want? I told him to take anything—"
She whimpers and tears begin falling. "No! I can't let him—No, stop! Get away from me!" The tears were falling fast and hard now. "Natalie!" Yvonne snapped her fingers and Natalie began to take deep, calming breaths. "Now, I want you to freeze his image in your mind. Got it?" She nods slowly. "Now look at it closely. What is there that you recognize?" Her forehead furrows in concentration, and then suddenly comprehension dawns. "His tattoo— I've seen that tattoo before." "Where did you see it, Natalie?" "On the news one night. There was a man they were looking for, he was wanted for questioning in the rape of a nine-year old girl."
Michael cursed softly, and Yvonne gave him a warning look. "Natalie, what is the man's name?" "Thomas Jenkins," she said. "You've done very well, Natalie, but now we need to finish going through the rape." She whimpered. "Doctor, can't we just bring her out of it now?" Yvonne shook her head. "She needs to go through it completely so that she can let it go and realize that none of it was her fault." Michael nodded.
"Natalie, let go of the image and focus on where we were." Her face crumpled up and she began to sob. "Let me go! Let me go!" She was crying hysterically now, and Yvonne looked sympathetically at Michael. "Natalie, what's going on right now?" "He has me on the bed, and he's opening a condom…" Suddenly her face is filled with terror, and Yvonne winces. "Natalie. I need you to stay with us. No matter what he does to you, know that Michael and I are right here and we're not going anywhere, okay?"
Fifteen minutes later, Natalie had come out from under the drug's influence and was in Michael's arms, sobbing. But these tears were different; these were cleansing, healing tears. Yvonne had gone to call the LPD and tell them the name of Natalie's rapist as soon as she had finished the session, and now returned. "Thomas Jenkins is in prison right now for the rape of that nine-year old, but they can get his sentence extended if you agree to testify against him and to have a DNA test done for Shane."
Natalie raised her head and looked at Yvonne. "Shane? I don't want my son brought anywhere near this. That's all I need is for that bastard to find out about him and find a way to take him." "Well, they're going to need all the physical evidence they can get. Since it's been almost three years since your rape…" Her voice trailed off, and Natalie stood to her feet. "Thank you. I-I'll think about it." She and Michael walked out of the office.
TO BE CONTINUED