Hey, I'm back from holiday and it was so nice to meet and visit family. This chapter is pretty much Emily-centric, which I think a lot of you will like. Oh, little warning, you may need tissues at the end ;). Also, I will be now putting this story on a every two-three week update plan, due to, you guessed it, school is coming to a close next month and I will be loaded down with work and tests from here on out. I won't have as much time to write and this was my last chapter I have fully written. I promise, after I post this, I will get my bum into high gear and get those chapters out.
Disclaimer- I have no real knowledge of nursing or psychiatry or anything in the likes. I also do not own Revenge, nor do I profit from this story. This is merely a figment of my imagination.
Emily's POV:
After the psychiatrist left, I'm left alone. I allow this time to let everything set in. The psychiatrist laid out what has happened. I have been missing for about seven years now. Nolan Ross has searched for me since then, but since there was no hard evidence that I was kidnapped, the police shrugged it off.
Nolan Ross is alive, Emily. He's been looking for you.
Nolan Ross is alive. Nolan Ross is alive. Nolan Ross is alive.
I blocked off everything after that. Dwayne had lied to me. That's easy to believe, but what about the video of the poor man being shot in the head that he showed me. I know he did. He laughed at me as I gripped my barely showing baby bump. He slapped me in the face and told me to suck it up. He yelled that he would help me through the pregnancy and raising our child. I wanted to scream at him, my baby wasn't his! Their father was now dead and he had no chance of knowing the wonderful joy of seeing it when it got out of here. That was when I had hope of successfully escaping. When she realized I wasn't listening and wasn't offering to say anything, she left. I have no interest in talking to a shrink, look where that landed me the last time. A nurse comes in, looks at a few machines, and types something on her tablet.
"By the looks of this, you'll be out of the ICU soon." She informs me, "Can I get you anything to make you more comfortable?"
"Is the man that was here earlier still here?" I ask. If Nolan was really alive, I need to see him again. If he's alive, would my sweet light still be shining, or was I hallucinating because of the effects of what they gave me.
"I'm sorry Hon, but he left right after the psychiatrist showed up." She informs me.
"Is there a way I can contact him? Did he leave a number?" I question.
"Nope, I'm sorry, but he did mention coming back tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you." She leaves and I'm left alone again. Being alone was sometimes a blessing when I was trapped, now it seems like a full on curse. I begin a waiting game by sorting out what I've learned and separating possible truth from what could be a lie.
Third POV:
Nolan isn't able to make it in the next day, due to meetings with home school tutors interviews, therapists, work meetings, and taking care of Arrayah. He doesn't want Emily to be alone, so he sends Aiden in with the little knowledge Nolan had acquired from the previous day. Nolan makes a call to the hospital to clear Aiden of only visiting Emily, with the guards standing outside the room.
Aiden makes it to the hospital in record speed once Nolan had given him the clearance. He gets a thorough pat down once he shows his license.
"Emily?" Aiden gently calls into her hospital room.
Emily's head snaps from the window she had been struggling to look out of all day from her bed, "Aiden?" Her voice is timid and quiet, surprising Aiden.
He's lost for words when he sees her. He had convinced himself she was dead, and now here she was: all black, and blue, and broken. Her brown eyes reveal everything now; her façade, broken. "Yes, Emily, it's me." He takes a few tentative steps toward Emily's bed, not wanting to scare her.
"Is it true?" Her voice, if it all possible, got quieter and more timid.
"Is what true?"
"Arrayah, is she really alive?" He can hear the desperate hope in her voice.
"Of course, she's with Nolan at the office now. She's truly lovely Ems." Emily smiles, overjoyed that everything had been a lie. "How is she?"
Aiden is silent, mulling over what to say. "She's got a clean bill of health now, but she's scared. She's scared over that... man coming to get her" Aiden takes a breath to calm himself and sees Emily's frown, "She's wanting to see you more than anything though. Every time I visit, she's talking about you. I believe you will have a lot of homemade gifts when you get home." Emily smile returns, loving hearing about her baby.
"I wish I could see her, but the nurses won't allow her in here." Emily sighs, "I already checked the age requirement and since I'm not dying or too critical, she can't visit till I'm put in a regular room."
"I'm sure they would allow her in here." Aiden hesitantly takes her hand and strokes it. Emily pulls away slightly and clasps her hands in her lap. "I wouldn't want her to see me like this. Arrayah carries guilt like bindle. If she sees me like this, she'll think that because she broke a rule, those things did this to me. I don't want this to be what she thinks about. She can't turn out like me."
Aiden doesn't know what to tell her and shuffles his feet. "Too serious?" She asks, a sad smile dangling from her lips and changes the subject, "Do you have a picture of Arrayah?"
Aiden digs through his pocket for his phone and scans through his photo library and finds the best one, "We had taken her out for Chinese the first time. She told us she had never seen so much food in her life. Needless to say, her eyes were definitely bigger than her belly." He chuckles and shows Emily the picture. Arrayah was sitting beside Nolan, her plate full of exotic food and Emily's smile reflecting from her face.
"She looks so happy." Emily sighs happily, there's proof that her daughter is alive.
"She is, and she's excited to see you. She told Nolan that we had to bring you there when you came home." Emily lightly touches her daughter face, wishing for her light to be with her. She's stunned when the phone vibrates under her finger tip. Aiden quickly glances at the message.
"I'm sorry, Emily, but I'm being called away. I promise to visit you soon."
"It's fine, Aiden. I'll see you soon." Emily forces a smile and Aiden quietly departs. She stares back at the window and notices the once sunny day had turned into a gloomy overcast. With nothing else to do she falls asleep, hoping when she wakes up, she will get to see Arrayah.
She is dressed in an elegant floor length blue dress. She picks at her finger nails nervously. She sees all the happy couples dancing in the middle of the floor. She's about to turn back to leave, but feels a small hand slip into hers. She looks down and smiles: Arrayah, in a white puffy dress, is holding her hand and reflecting the same sweet smile she's always had.
"Arrayah, what's going on?" Emily asks quietly, not to draw attention to their conversation.
"He's looking for you Mommy. He's missin' you." Arrayah sways lightly and pulls her mother toward the floor.
"Who's looking for me?" Emily tries to slow her daughter down, but it doesn't work.
"Daddy's lookin' for you Mommy; he wants to dance with you." Arrayah looks back and smiles at her Mommy as she weaves them through all the well-dressed couples.
Emily's heart soars at the thought. Before they can take another step, the doors at the top of the stairs opens and there's Nolan, dressed in a simple black tux and white button down. He makes his way down the stairs and Arrayah leads her mommy to the bottom of the stairs. Nolan smiles gratefully at his little girl when he meets them.
"Thanks, Ray-bear." He leans down and kisses her cheek. Arrayah giggles and steps back to allow her daddy to take her mommy. He turns back around to face Emily with his school-boy grin on his face. He takes her lightly by the arm and leads her to the middle of the ballroom floor. He places one hand on her waist and clasps one of her hands out to the side. They move in a slow waltz and look into each other's eyes. When Emily glances away, the beautiful ballroom is replaced with her living room, she's in one of Nolan's shirts, her swollen belly being noticeable, and a pair of shorts, he's in his work clothes and they are dancing to some happy, jazzy song on the radio. They hear a distinctive child's laugh and look over and see Arrayah giggling at her parents in a fairy costume. Nolan leaves Emily only for a second to pick up Arrayah and bring her over so she can join in their dancing.
The last notes linger and die out and her allusion crumbles. She's not dancing with the man she loves, her little girl is not giggling at her parents. She's alone in the hospital room, the rain pelting the window like bullets aiming to pierce her heart. She feels the tears prick her eyes and she doesn't bother to wipe them away. She allows them to fall, the little thumping they make when they hit the hospital blanket matching the rainfall's tempo outside.
Oh, by the way, a bindle is another name for a hobo sack. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please leave what you think down in the comments and can't wait to see you in two weeks!