Hello!

Please except my apology for not posting a new chapter by now! It was all my fault. I kept putting it off, and putting it off!

I'd like to thank my two new reviewers:

LillieBillie90210 & Protego Totalum

And my other three devoted reviewers:

Elaine Dawkins, Charlene Bates and Ilse Averil Haynsworth

Thank you all so much. All of you are very encouraging!

And on with chapter seven!

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CHAPTER 7

SECRETS REVEALED

It was now winter and the muddy pond was frozen over.

Patrick, (now thirteen) and Jenny were ice skating like they did every year, and, Mathew had some business to do in town.

"Hey mother!" Patrick yelled. "Watch what I can do!" he jumped in the air did a spin, and landed on his feet.

"Hurray!" Jenny clapped her hands.

"You try it." Patrick urged.

"Oh Patrick, no." Jenny laughed.

"Go on!"

"Alright! Alright!" she jumped in the air did half a spin and landed on her seet. "Ow!" she cried.

Patrick doubled over with laughter, and almost lost his balance.

"Patrick Fall! Come over here and give me a hand up!" Jenny moaned.

Patrick skated over to her and took her hands in his and pulled her up.

Just as he got her up, she grabbed his hand, and swung him around really fast and, then let go. He spun around and around, tripping over his skates he fell flat on his back. "Hey!" he yelled once he had caught his breath. "That's not fair!"

This time Jenny was laughing as she skated to him.

"Patrick," she said sitting down on the ice beside him. "For some time now I've been meaning to ask you this question."

Patrick lifted his head, his eyes locked with his mother's, before he quickly looked away.

"Remember that night several years ago when you asked your father if we were Jews?"

He slowely nodded his head.

"What made you ask that question?"

"I'd rather not say." He said, barley above a whisper.

"Patrick," Jenny protested. "I'm your mother, I love you, you are my only child, and I want to know what is going on in your life." She stopped and looked into his eyes, but they still had the stubborn look. "Patrick please. It's not like I'm going to get your father to punish you if you tell me, or something. I could help you out. Besides I guess maybe I should tell you the truth." Patrick could hardly make out the last part she said.

"Tell me the truth about what?" Now he was getting interested.

"First, just tell me why you asked that question." She said.

"Well," he drew in a breath and began. "A couple days after my ten'th birthday, a met this boy, his name is Jeremy, and anyway, we met right here actually and we had a really good time playing together. Somehow we got to talking about religion, and he asked me if I was a Jew. When I told him I didn't know, he said that I needed to find out, because, if I was he couldn't be around me because he wasn't aloud to be around Jews. So then that was the reason I asked father." All this time Jenny had quietly been listening, and now felt a heavy weight at her heart. Her dear little boy. Her dear little Patrick. What had she done to him? She had never told him about his real life, and, worst of all, she had deprived him to the point that he had known no one save for her and Mathew. Tears burned in the back of her eyes.

Patrick turned and looked at his mother, just as the first few tears streaked down her face. Patrick began to feel uncomfortable. He always did whenever one of his parents got teary eyed. "I'm sorry," Jenny said, hastily brushing away her tears. "I guss it's my turn to tell my story. Actually the story I should have told you ever since you were old enough to understand things." She sighed, drawing in a painfull breath. "My real name is actually Rachel. I lived in a Jeweish village in America. My family was having a very hard time, money wise, and so were most of the people in the village. One day this man by the name of Sasha came by the village looking for a place to loge for a couple weeks. He was just passing through on his way to London to find a job. He ended up staying with us. Me and Sasha became very close friends, and, little by little, I fell in love with him. When it was time for him to leave I begged him to take me with him. He had fallen in love with me too, but thought that I was too young to marry. (I was fifteen at the time.) But he finally agreed to take me, seeing how I was another mouth for my father to feed. So we married, and I joined him on his journey to London. I soon became pregnant," at this Patrick's head snapped up. Pregnant? Did he have another sibling out there somewhere?! But Jenny calmly went on. "The journey was horrible, especially the boat ride across the Atlantic. Finally we arrived in England, and we rested up for a week at an inn by the seaside. After that we continued to London. We stopped in this same village that we live by right now, at another inn. There I had my baby - my first baby, and I named him..." all of a sudden she stopped. There was a loud cracking sound, and all of a sudden Jenny was screaming and falling through the ice. "Patrick! HELP!"

Patrick hand shot out and grasped hers, throwing him self down on the ice, he pulled with all his might, inch by inch she came up, her red hair plastered to her face, she franticly kicked her legs which were waded down by her skates, in the icy water, gasping for breath. Finally she got one of her knees up on the ice, and, with Patrick's help heaved herself up. She was shivering madly, and soaking wet. The water had gone all the way up to her neck. They both lay there for a moment trying to catch there breath. Then Patrick slowly got to his feet, helping Jenny up with him. She fell back in his arms and passed out. They dead weight was more than Patrick could handle, but somehow, he managed to get her off the ice. He then laid her down on the ground, taking off his scarf, coat, sweater and hat, he wrapped her in them to keep her warm. Then he kicked off his skates not even bothering to put on his shoes, he ran in his sock feet back to the barn, but his shoulders begane to sag before he even got there. He could already tell that his father had taken all the horses. How in the world was he going to get his dear mother into the house before she froze to death. He began running back full speed across the field, when all of a sudden he heard horses hoofs. Glancing up he saw his father and the team riding into the drive. "Thank you God." He breathed, as he ran to the wagon.

"Father!" He yelled.

Mathew glanced over at him casually before looking back at the team. Wait, something wasn't right. He looked at Patrick again. What in the world was he doing just in trousers, shirt and socks? Something must be terrible wrong. Mathew jumped out of the wagon, running towareds Patrick.

"It's mother!" Patrick gasped. "She fell through the ice. I got her on the land..." But before he could finish Mathew had passed him, and was now heading for the pond full speed himself.

When Mathew reached it he spotted Jenny in a bundle of clothes. He stooped down next to her and gently lifted her in his arms. Slowly they all made there way back to the house.

Once inside Mathew brought Jenny to there bedroom and began stripping off her layers and layers of her's and Patrick's wet, outer clothing. When he finally reached her dress he found that too was soaking wet. Every where he touched her was like freezing, cold ice. "Patrick," he called softly. "Get a warm bath ready for your mother."

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Later that evening Patrick was drinking some scalding hot tea. When he saw his father silently slip out the door. "Probably going to unhitch the team." He thought.

He waited a couple of minutes to make sure his father was not coming back in, and then slipped upstairs to their bedroom. He knew his father would not be happy if he disturbed his mothers sleep. Creeping into the bedroom, he stood in horror at the sight that met his gaze. It was his mother lying flat on her back in bed, in a white nightgown, her face almost as white as her gown, her lips pale, her eyes closed and her long, beautiful, red hair splayed across her pillow. She looked like death. In fact Patrick thought she was dead, but drawing closer he saw her chest moving up and down as she breathed. Tears filled his eyes and began to spill down his cheeks.

"Dear God." He prayed. "Please, please let her live." He could barely see her face the tears flowed so fast. "If it be Your will, let her live. Don't let her die!"

Just then Jenny's eye's opened, and a faint smile began to show on her ghastly white face. "Patrick." She whispered. "You saved my life!"

Patrick nodded, then was struck with a question. "Mother, who - what did you name your first baby? Please answer me."

"F-f-fagin." She breathed

There eyes locked together before her eyes closed. And this time they never opened again.

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Hope you all enjoyed it!

Cheero;D