The room was so still you could hear a not only a pin drop but everyone's slowed breathing as well. Henry and Mike stared each other down then slowly turned toward Vicki. Henry asked the nurses politely to leave while he made his way methodically to Vicki. Mike started to follow then thought better of it.
"Vicki did I hear right?" Henry asked. The look on his face was one of pure angst and hurt, his expression showing that he knew this baby couldn't be his. As much as he wanted it to be, it just wasn't possible which left only one alternative, Vicki had cheated on him.
"So they say," she shrugged still unable to believe it herself. It had to be wrong,she thought, there was no way.
"And who might the father be?" Henry asked, his jaw clenching.
"Are you serious?" Vicki shot back. She stared at Henry knowing he was more than serious, he was distraught.
"Yes, I am. Victoria, you know I can't father children, so Micheal, is this your doing?" Mike's mouth dropped open. Vicki hopped off the table, pushed Henry out of the way and headed for the door.
"Where are you going? You can't just leave like this, we need to talk," Henry told her. Brushing past Mike she started to leave without saying a word then changed her mind. They were not getting off that easy, neither one of these men.
Stopping before she left the room completely, she looked at Henry with pain in her eyes and tears threatening to spill over.
"How could you think that of me Henry? After all we have been through, after the lengths we went through to be together you think I would just cheat on you? Is that how little you think of me and my commitment? Oh wait," she put her hand up dramatically, "I can't commit, that's right. I'd have to run back to him!" she yelled pointing at Mike.
"Hey! I'm not that bad am I?" Mike should have kept that comment to himself but realized it much too late. He cleared his throat, jammed his hands in his pockets and shifted his feet.
Telling them both in no uncertain terms to go to hell and stay there, she headed out the door.
"Fuck you both," she added for good measure. Did she fuck them both? Henry didn't know but he did know that he could not father children. He wanted so badly to have children but being dead kind of put a stop to that. His seed was no longer plantable, it was useless.
"Detective, is there something you would like to share with me?" Henry's eyes burned a hole through Mike.
Mike put his hands up in defense, "Hey, it's not for me to say. You need to talk to Vicki." Mike felt nothing but breeze and Henry was gone in a flash. Mike knew he'd done the wrong thing but right now, he didn't care. Sighing, Mike called Coreen to tell her Vicki was fine and ask where exactly she was supposed to be going. Coreen told him somewhere near or in the park but she knew nothing else.
"This should be fun," Mike muttered as he stuck his phone in his pocket.
Vicki hailed a cab and quickly got in the first one that stopped. She ordered him to the park not even realizing at first it was Louie's friend Carl.
"Hey..Ms. PI..what's goin' on?" He grinned at her. The smile faded when he looked in the rearview and saw tears streaming down Vicki's face.
"Hey pretty lady, whatsamatta? I don't like to see no woman cry, you want I should get your man, Henry?" Carl had never met Henry but knew his name through Louie.
Angrily wiping the tears away, Vicki vehemently said hell no. She would not need any 'man' right now. Her mind was reeling over what had just happened. What HAD just happened? Pregnant? That wasn't right and even if it was, how the hell did that happen? What hurt the most was Henry's accusations she had cheated. She hadn't and would never cheat on him. If she truly were pregnant, it had to be Henry's. How? She didn't know. Suddenly she had the realization, a horrific one...what if Dahak had been successful? She couldn't keep it, there was absolutely no way. How would she know? She was yanked back to reality when Carl asked her a question, twice apparently.
"Vicki? Didja hear me? Sure you wanna go to the park right now? It's awful dark.." Carl noted as he pulled to where she had ordered.
"I'll be fine alone, I've been alone a long time, trust me," that statemtent hit home for Vicki. She was destined to be alone, she just knew it. Angry with herself for allowing Henry in, her heart was aching and broken. Happily ever after..right! "More like happily NEVER after," she muttered more to herself than out loud. She had made the wrong choice and her short-lived joy was just that, short-lived. Her feelings of insecurity and fear came tumbling back down fillin her heart with an ache she had only felt once before, when Henry had told her so be it and she thought he was gone.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," she told Carl. Opening the door, she half-fell out of the door in her anger and haste. Her stomach was still a little queasy too thereby not helping her abitity to maintain her balance.
"Dammit!" she cursed out loud. The caller had told her to meet him by the fountain but upon arriving, she saw no one at first. Then, in the dark, a shadowy figure walked toward her.
"You!" Vicki recognized the man but it was too late. It was the man who had been following her, not well albeit but nonetheless he had been following her earlier in the day and she had seen him at the university. After realizing it was him, she knew something was wrong and turned to run. He grabbed her by the hair and jerked her back. Vicki screamed as loudly as possible but his hand went to her mouth so quickly she wasn't sure anyone heard her. He had something on a rag that covered her mouth. Quickly recognizing the familiar smell of chloroform, it wasn't long before Vicki was off to dreamland after being unable to hold her breath any longer without passing out on her own.
"That's it, sleep. Now, off to collect my prize. Let's just see who wants you worse, the she or the he vampire," the man mumbled. Throwing her over his shoulder, he jogged back to his awaiting van. Hearing her screams, Carl had exited his cab but was too far away to catch the man. He ran toward him but it was too late. The man had sped away before Carl could reach them.
"Hey! Bring her back you asshole!" Carl screamed at the van as it took off. It had writing on it but he was so distraught, he couldn't make out all of the words.
"Holy shit!" Carl reached into his pocket and dialed 911. After telling them what happened, he called Louie.
"I'm sorry Louie, she was upset..no Henry wasn't with her...how the hell should I know why not?" Louie was berating him for not calling him or asking her where Henry was.
"Yeah, yeah..look just call the man. I know you got his number..yeah I called 911..I'm not as stupid as I look...HEY!" Louie must have disagreed with that last remark.
Mike's cell phone rang. He had been circling the park looking for any sign of Vicki but so far had yielded nothing.
"Celluci..yeah...when? Where? I'm here now..okay thanks!" Mike sped off toward the fountain and found Carl the cabbie still there, pacing and running his hands through his hair.
"Oh hey..are you her man?" Carl asked with wild eyes.
"No..I mean, yeah..no..I'm a cop and I'm her friend. Had a 911 call come through about an attack and my friend at the precinct called me, said the caller told them it was Vicki Nelson..where is she? Where'd she go?" Mike was looking around thinking Vicki had just been attacked, not taken.
"Some big guy took her, put her in a van..had uh..." he thought hard as he pushed his cap back and scrathed his head doing his best to remember. It was there but just so deep behind the frustration of not being to help Vicki he coulnd't seem to see it.
Mike grabbed him by the shoulders.."THINK man, THINK..." Mike shook him with urgency as he was frantic with worry. If Vicki was pregnant, that was a huge concern but that fact that she was now missing, possibly kidnapped by some crazed lunatic that was killing and making it look like a vampire, that was a much bigger concern. The even bigger concern than that was what if that crazy ass bitch Christina had returned? Mike's mind was reeling with possiblities, none of them good.
Mike didn't know that a crazed man would have been the least of Vicki's worries.