The Heart of a Broken Soul

Of Babies and Chocolate

A/N: Thank you to Well I Don't Mind, Dahlia Rose-Marie, liiddee, Karli82, Venetiangrl92 and 1 guest (your review hasn't shown up yet, but thank you!)

The first part of this chapter took a lot of research... Ehehehe. Oh the things my mother would do if she saw what I looked up on google... :D

Pain. Excruciating pain.

It was the only thing Gabby was aware of when she woke. She groaned. Coughed. That only worsened the pain. Her eyes slowly opened to a pair of worried dark brown ones. She blinked, because her lids were heavy, then shifted slightly.

Filip's voice found its way to her ears. "How do ye feel?"

Gabby just shook her head, her groggy mind unwilling to form words. She tried to sit up, but the movement only sent pain shooting through her abdomen, and Filip put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down. "No, ye're not ready yet. Doc'll be back soon, to give ye more painkillers."

"What happened?" Gabby asked. Her voice was rough. "How long have I been here?"

"A few days," Filip told her. He studied her face. "Ye need to sleep."

"I don't want to sleep." She forced herself into a sitting position, the effort bringing tears to her eyes. Her head swam. "Filip?"

He sighed. "You were stabbed, Gabby."

Gabby blinked, as her mind scrambled to make sense of his words. Stabbed? She glanced down, putting a hand on her abdomen. The pain felt about right. "But... but I'm okay now." She tried to recall what had happened. Memories swam in her mind like a pool of tiny fish, and she scrambled to latch onto one.

Filip rubbed his cheek. "Aye. I..."

"Filip..?"

Before he could speak again, a white-clad doctor walked in. When he saw her sitting up, his face broke into a grin. "You're awake!" he exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened? Am I going to die?" Gabby rushed. She'd rather know now, than later on.

The doctor blinked. He glanced at Filip, who sighed and dropped his head. "Ah. Right. Well, I'm pleased to tell you that you won't die. The blade punctured you large intestines, so we went in to operate on that. There shouldn't be any problems there. We're going to put you on-"

"But?"

He hesitated at being cut off. "Well, the blade also pierced your uterus, damaging the lining. We fixed it up, so it isn't life threatening, but it will make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to conceive."

Gabby blinked. She'd obviously heard him wrong. Obviously. "I... what?"

She was vaguely aware of Filip's hand rubbing her back as the doctor spoke again. "You may never be able to have children," he explained. When nobody spoke, he went on. "How's the pain?"

No children? The knowledge ran through Gabby's mind, over and over again. No. Things like this couldn't happen to her. She couldn't not have children. She couldn't. That was half of Gabby's plan for the future, right there. Get married; have kids. Didn't this man understand that?

"Gabriella?"

"But you can fix it, right?" Gabby blurted out, ignoring him. "I... I mean you're a doctor, you fix things, that's your job. You can't just tell me that and then say there's nothing you do!"

The doctor seemed lost for words. Filip put a hand on the side of her face. "Hey, it's alrigh'," he said, placing a kiss on her cheek. "You wanna get some morphine, or something?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll be back in a moment," the doctor replied, hurrying out of the room.

"Ah, don't listen to him," Filip told her when he was gone. "He doesn't know shite."

"And you do?" Gabby asked.

"I did serve as a medic for five months," he pointed out.

"Delivering babies?"

Filip grinned. "When the occasion calls."

Gabby glanced up at him. She narrowed her eyes. "You liar."

"No, I'm serious," Filip insisted. "Screamed so bloody much you'd have thought someone was murderin' her." Gabby chuckled. "Ye know, the doctors told us that Fiona couldn't have kids, and she did. Somethin' to do with a, a funny shaped uterus. I never really listened to all that woman shite, but that's not the point. The point is, he," the oblivious doctor walked in at that moment, "doesn't know shite," Filip finished.

Gabby wished she could believe him, but she knew he was only saying it to make her feel better. The doctor gave her the morphine, checked her blood pressure and vitals, and left with a promise to come back and check in on her later.

"Where's everyone else?" Gabby asked, glancing around the room. There were flowers and chocolates on the bedside table, and a tower of empty Styrofoam cups. The faint smell of coffee wafted for them.

"They're at work. Bobby's tryin' to find out from Unser everything they've got on what happened, but it isn't much. Got no fingerprints."

Gabby nodded, picked up one of the cups. "I thought you didn't drink coffee."

"Of course I drink coffee. I just don't like it much," Filip said. He sighed. "Wha' happened? Now ye've woken up, the cops'll be in asking ye questions."

"Tig dropped me off, I went inside, and I was attacked," Gabby told him. She stared off into space as he watched her, waiting. She tried to push the face out of her mind. "I don't think they meant to stab me; they just wanted to scare me."

Filip pretended like he didn't hear. What they meant to do or not was beside the point. "Who was it?" he pressed.

Gabby didn't answer right away. She enjoyed the moment of peace and silence, because she knew the moment she told him, all hell would break loose. "It was Jeremy."

Jeremy peeked through the curtains. He was surprised no one had gunned him down yet. It wasn't like he was exactly hiding. There wasn't much point; sooner or later, someone would find him, whether it was the SOA, or Darby's guys.

The drugs he took full responsibility for. But stabbing Gabby...

Jeremy swore.

He hadn't gone in there to stab her. He didn't even take a weapon! The intention had been to scare her, to make her and her bikie friends help him. But, no, she'd grabbed a knife and that's where it went downhill. He tried to wrestle it off her, as they destroyed the dining room in the struggle. She eventually dropped the first one, and as he went to grab her she lunged at the counter for another.

He twisted her hands so the knife wasn't pointed at him, it pointed on a downward angle. Then she tripped as he slammed her into the table, and they both fell.

Jeremy had heard that you didn't feel it at first when you're stabbed. It must have been true, because Gabby didn't even notice, and went to stand. It wasn't until she unknowingly pulled the knife out of her abdomen, and the blood flowed out, did she notice. Her eyes widened and became glassy her whole body froze as her breathing quickened, shallow and desperate. Jeremy could practically see the blood flow out of her face as she went white. Then her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp as she keeled forward.

He didn't stop, didn't think; he bolted. He hadn't touched the knife. They had no fingerprints, no evidence of him ever actually being there. As long as she never woke, he'd be safe from them. It would've only been Darby's guys he'd have to worry about.

Now, he was well and truly screwed. If she wasn't dead, she would have told them it was him. If she was dead, they'd probably assume, or find out anyway. His only relief that neither the SOA nor Darby knew where he lived.

Not yet, at least.

Jeremy cursed himself. He hadn't needed the money in the first place. It was greed that had compelled him. And now that greed was going to kill him.

The sound of a motorbike caught his attention. Panicking, Jeremy shot up from the couch, inching back from the front door.

"We're not that stupid, boy."

Jeremy spun round, coming face to face with three men. He recognised the Scotsman, but it wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't; they were all wearing their cuts.

"Heard you got yourself into a bit of a drug situation," the one with curly hair said. "What's that got to do with Gabby, huh?"

"I asked for help, man," Jeremy stuttered. He inched backwards.

"And she said no, so ye stabbed her," the Scotsman stated.

"It was an accident."

The Scotsman was livid. "That accident ruined her life!" he screamed. His fist connected with Jeremy's cheek, and he fell to the ground.

The two other men had to hold the fuming Scotsman back as he rained down punches. "Chibs, calm down, man; we need this!"

Jeremy glanced from one to the other. They needed what? He searched for something to use as a weapon, a way to get out. There was nothing.

"Tell you what," the third man began. He was older than the other two, twice the size, and twice as calm. "You tell us where you got those drugs, and I'll let you live."

Jeremy blinked. He wasn't sure if they were serious or not. This man seemed to be telling the truth, but he was hesitant about the other two, especially the Scot. "You're lying."

The second knelt in front of him. He had a mean look in his eyes as he ran his tongue across his top teeth. "How about this; you're tell us where you got them drugs, or I'll cut your dick off, and slit your ass so you've got a nice little pussy. Then I'm gunna make you suck my dick before I stab you in the gut and watch you bleed out, just like I had to watch Gabby bleed out because you're too much of a pussy to take care of your own damn business!"

"It was Darby!" Jeremy screamed.

The man clocked him on the ear. "We said where, not who!"

"Oakland!"

"Who else is dealin' in Charming?" the Scotsman pressed.

"No one! It was just me, but I didn't give Darby his money, and now they're gunna kill me."

"You're lying."

"I'm not, I swear." Jeremy tried to inch away from the man in front of him, but he was caught by the collar.

"Fair enough." The man clapped him on the shoulder before standing. "You might wanna get that checked out," he added, pointing.

It was then Jeremy noticed a dull throbbing in his stomach, as blood gushed out of a gaping wound. He gasped, putting a hand over it as the pain intensified until it felt as though his insides were on fire. He scrambled back, hitting the wall as the blood seeped through his fingers. The man who had stabbed him sat in a chair, watching.

Jeremy's whole body began to shake, as his consciousness wavered, and he wasn't sure if this was really happening or not. His whole body was on fire, and his thoughts slipped from him like fish from a child's grasp. His vision faded to a pinpoint, and the last thing he saw was the Scot's face, and the last thing he heard was 'he didn't deserve a clean death'.

"Did you see the attacker's face?"

Gabby shook her head. "No."

"Did they say anything?"

Another head shake.

The police officer sighed, as she scribbled on her pad. "No distinguishing features? A tattoo, a scar, anything?"

"I already told you, no," Gabby replied.

"How tall were they?"

Gabby motioned. "About this much taller than me."

"And you tall are you?"

"About this tall."

The woman's eyes closed as she let out an annoyed breath. "I can help you, Gabriella, but only if you help me."

"I've told you everything I remember," Gabby insisted. "They were wearing a hood, I don't know what they looked like, alright!" She winced as a wave of pain shot through her.

"I guess we're done, then," the woman said. "Thank you." She left as Filip came in.

He glanced back at the officer. "Christ, I didn't think they'd be in this soon."

Gabby smiled. "What else did you expect?"

Filip shrugged, sitting on the side of her bed. "Tig said he'll be in soon. He's got somethin' to take care of, first." He sighed. "Gemma told everyone."

Gabby blinked. "She what?"

"I don't think she meant to. When it happened, Tig rang her, hoping she'd get in contact with Bobby, but instead she went lookin' for me. Couldn't really say much else when everyone kept askin' why I found out before Bobby."

"And... how did that conversation go?" Gabby asked. She fiddled with her necklace as she watched Filip mouth curve slightly upwards. Not too bad, then.

"Well, I'm not dead," he told her. "Which is good."

Gabby nodded. "That does tend to be a good sign." Her thoughts wandered, as a question that she'd been avoiding for a while came to mind. "Filip?"

His gaze met hers. "Aye?"

"Who... who found me?"

Filip didn't answer straight away. "Tig," he finally said. "Went back to tell ye to tell Bobby about a meet the next mornin'. Found ye on the dining room floor."

Gabby stared at the sheets. Poor Tig. Poor anyone else if they found her. He must have been terrified. "How is he?"

"I think he's feelin' better now," Filip replied after a quick consideration. He leaned forward to kiss Gabby. "I have to talk to Bobby about somethin'. I'll be round tomorrow."

Gabby nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Wow, that was touching." They both turned to see Tig leaning against the doorframe. "Real cute. No, I'm serious!" he added, because Filip had narrowed his eyes.

With a final goodbye, Filip left them. "Bye Chibby," Tig said to his retreating back. Filip said something in Gaelic. "I love you too, man." He plopped down where Filip had just been sitting. "How ya doin', darl?"

"I've been better," she told him with a shrug. "But I'm alive. Thank you."

"Don't need to thank me. I thought you were... were dead when I found you. You know, I didn't think you were gunna make it." A soft laugh escaped his lips. "Why didn't you tell me? About that shithead?"

"Because I didn't think he'd come to my house."

Tig let out a sob as he replayed that night. "You went... limp. Like a doll. And pale."

With some difficulty, Gabby made herself sit next to him, grimacing, as she bought him into a hug. He hugged her back. "I'm alive, aren't I? You're still stuck with me, Tig."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."