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Chapter 9

Lucy's POV

The ride to the hospital was quiet. After my mother discovered that I was pregnant all conversation stopped. I don't think she knew what to say and I was thankful for the fact. I mean, how uncomfortable would it have been to have to have had that conversation in front of the EMT? I will be a bad enough conversation when we are all alone.

Once we arrived at the hospital, I was immediately taken back to the emergency room and placed in an exam room. The nurse took my vitals before leaving, explaining that Uncle Hank would be in soon to check up on me. Once we were alone, my mother finally spoke.

"Are you okay?" She asked, standing next to me. She carefully grabbed the blanket that had been placed over me and pulled it up to my shoulders.

"Am I okay?" I questioned. "I was wondering if you and Dad are okay. Today couldn't have been good for his heart."

"We're both fine." Mom answered. "What about you?"

"Mom, I'm fine," I explained. "Really, this is all so unnecessary. Mike just thought that the baby should be checked out and for some reason everyone is taking his side."

"You've been under more stress today than anyone should have to deal with in an entire lifetime," she kissed the top of my head. "That isn't good for you or your child. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"You're taking his side too?"

"It's not about taking sides. It's about doing what is best for you." Mom explained.

"Don't you think I would know if something was wrong with my baby?" I asked.

"It's not always that simple," she explained. "You need to relax and let Hank exam you so that there will be no doubt that the baby is okay. Why are you so against this? Don't you care if your child is okay?"

"Of course I care," I sighed. "It's just that, all those kids were shot and I know some of them were probably killed. It makes me feel guilty taking a doctor away from one of them. My problems aren't that bad in comparison." I told her as tears threatened my eyes. The day's events still amazed me. I just don't understand why anyone would want to shoot someone else.

"Sweetheart, you are not taking a doctor away from them. I'm sure how much an OBGYN would be able to help them, so stop worrying." She told me.

"I guess," I answered. I looked up at her, my mind wandering. "Are you disappointed?"

"I'm going to reserve judgment until I know the whole story," she smiled softly at me. "Right now, I'm just happy that you, Simon, and Mike are all okay. Everything else we can deal with in due time."

"You can thank Mike for us being okay. He saved us. I hope you won't be too hard on him for our current situation. Really, it was mostly my fault." I told her as I thought back to my baby. Mom was being calm about this, but I still wasn't sure about how Dad will react. "How am I going to tell Dad about this? He'll probably hate me."

"Let's not think about that right now," Mom kissed the top of my head once again. "Besides, once he gets to the hospital someone will tell him and he will never hate you."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "This isn't how I wanted to tell you guys. I wanted to invite Mike over tonight and the two of us explain it to you together. Matt was supposed to help us."

"Matt? Who else knows about this?"

"Mike, of course, and then Matt, Mary, and Simon." I answered. "I only found out this weekend when Mary took me to the free clinic."

Mom nodded. "If I am guessing right, I would say that either Simon or Mike has already told your father. I'm sure he made one of them tell him why you were going to the hospital." She sighed. "Still, that should be the least of your worries right now. I'm sure that Eric will just be relieved that you are alive."

"I hope so."

"I know so," she told me as we heard the knock on the door. "Come in."

I was expecting Uncle Hank to walk in, but instead it was Dad and Mike. I was actually a little relieved. I was starting to worry that Mike had told Dad and Dad had actually killed him before coming to the hospital.

Mike immediately came to my side and held my hand. "Has the doctor been in yet?"

"No," I smiled weekly at him. "We're still waiting. I'm glad you're here."

"I hope you don't mind, but I told your dad about the baby." Mike told me and kissed my cheek.

"Actually, I kind of hassled it out of him. I was worried about you." Dad stood next to Mom and bent down and kissed my forehead. What is with all these people kissing me? I'm fine. "Thank God you're okay."

"I'm sorry Dad," I told him, glancing over at Mom. She was giving me the 'I told you so' look.

"Don't apologize. Let's just think about what's happening right now. We'll talk about you and Mike tomorrow."

"Where is Simon?" Mom asked.

"Well after Mike told me Lucy was with child, I took Mike's mother home and then I dropped Simon off at the house. I explained everything to Matt, Mary, and Robbie and they are going to stay with the kids."

"How were they getting along?" Mom asked.

"Mary decided to stay in Glenoak and apparently the Colonel is on the way. She promised to call him and assure him that everyone is fine. We'll keep our fingers crossed that he listens and decides to stay in Buffalo after all. Ruthie was upset, but she feels much better now that she knows everyone is fine. Robbie is fixing dinner and the twins are asleep." Dad explained.

"Did you tell Ruthie everything?" I asked.

"I told her that you were fine and the hospital was a precaution," he answered. I didn't know whether to be relieved or not. I know it's my responsibility to tell Ruthie, but I almost wish Dad would have told her instead. When Mary was exiled to Buffalo Ruthie was angry with her for a long time. Since then Ruthie has relied on me to be the good role model in her life. How is she going to react when she discovers that, I too am a disappointment?

The door opened and Hank stepped inside. "Thank goodness you're alright. What about Simon? Is he okay as well?"

"Simon's fine," Dad answered. "I dropped him off at the house."

"Good," Hank turned to me. "I take it you told them."

"Not exactly me, but yeah they know." I told him. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Okay just roll your shirt up a bit and I'll get the ultrasound machine set up."

I pulled the blanket off of me and adjusted my clothes enough to expose my stomach. Thankfully, I wasn't showing yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be. I slightly jumped as I felt the cool jelly hit my warm stomach.

"Are you okay?" Hank looked at me.

"Cold," I answered.

"I'm sorry about that," Hank apologized as he rubbed my stomach with the ultra sound machine. A few moments later an image appeared on the screen. I looked at the image and was a bit overwhelmed. "Okay," Hank pointed at the screen. "Here is the fetus. There isn't any bleeding. According to your chart, you blood pressure is normal. Are you in any pain?"

"No," I answered.

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked.

"Everything is fine. Everything is developing normally." Hank told us as he printed a picture of the screen and handed it to me. He wiped the jelly off of my stomach and looked back up at me. "I would like to keep you overnight though, just to make sure that you are completely out of the woods."

"Do I have to?" I complained. "I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed."

"Listen to what he says," Mike told me. "I can stay with you if you want me to."

"Well I certainly don't want to stay alone," I sighed, giving in. "Fine, I'll stay."

"Great," Hank said. "I'll go take care of the paper work and we'll get you all set." He left the room and I glanced over at my parents.

"I'm sorry. I…"

"You just can't let it go can you?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "Not until we all talk about it."

"Please, just stop worrying about it. This isn't good for you or the baby." Dad told me, hugging me tight for the first time since we were found in the closet. "I know it's in your persona to worry about everything, but just for tonight, let it go."

"Your father is right. Right now you need to calm down and get some rest. It's been a long day." Mom scolded me.

"I'll try," I promised.

"Will you two be okay here tonight?" Dad asked.

"I would rather be at home, but as long as Mike stays with me, I'll be fine. We'll both be fine." I answered. I glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late. You guys should probably get home and get some rest. I'm sure it's been a stressful day for you too. Are you sure your heart is okay Dad?"

"My heart is strong." He kissed my head again.

"Alright," Mom sighed. "Once you get settled in a room, your father and I will go so you can get some rest."

"Could you call my mom and let her know where I am?" Mike asked. I can't believe how sweet he is being. If he keeps acting like this I am going to fall in love.

"Sure," Dad answered. "And I'll invite her over to the house tomorrow so we can all talk."

A nurse entered with a wheelchair and Mike helped me off of the exam table. The nurse wheeled me up to my room on the second floor. It was a double room and one of the beds was already occupied by a girl from our school; Ashley Fields, a member of the exclusive 'A' list.

"Are you sure you will be okay?" Dad asked one final time.

"I'll be fine," I yawned. "Mike will take care of me."

"Okay," Mom kissed me one final time. "We'll be back first thing in the morning."

"We love you Luce," Dad kissed me as well.

"I love you too," I answered as they walked out the door.

"You should get some rest. It's been a long day, you have to be exhausted." Mike told me, gently running his hand through my hair.

"I couldn't go to sleep right now if I tried." I answered. "My parents seemed calm. How did my dad take it when you told him?"

"He was relieved that you are okay. I guess he figured that pregnant was better than dead."

"Maybe, but will he still feel that way in the morning?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that everything will work out okay." Mike comforted you. "I'll always be there for you and I'm going to make sure that everything works out."

I smiled. I think I could be falling for him. "Do you think all of this is still on the news?"

"It's on every station," Ashley answered from the bed next to me. "I had to turn it off. There is only so much one person can take. It all seems so unreal; I just couldn't watch anymore."

"Yeah," Mike answered understanding. "Are you okay? I mean, are you hurt badly?"

"I'm okay. The bullet just grazed my shoulder." Ashley answered. I noticed the bandage on her shoulder and reminded me of when my father had been shot a couple of years ago. "I was lucky. A lot of other people on the list were hurt much worse."

"What list?" I asked. There was a list.

"It's on the news. The reporters are saying that the police opened those guys' lockers and they found a hit list." Ashley told us.

"Hit list?" Mike asked. "They must have really thought this out."

Ashley nodded. "I've heard that it was mostly the 'A' list kids. Apparently a bunch of the 'A' list boys were bullying the shooters, so they decided that all of the popular kids were bad and must be punished."

"What kind of logic is that? A few popular kids pick on you, so you kill everyone? That doesn't make any sense." Mike pointed out. "Lucy tried to defend those guys and in return they wanted to shoot her." My stomach churned. I now realized what those guys meant by 'take me out of their business.' If only I could have realized it sooner.

"It's messed up I know." Ashley said. "I don't even think I said a word to them. Nothing about this day has made any sense. I just want to go to sleep and forget that today ever happened."

Mike turned back to me. "You really should try to get some sleep too. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day."

I sighed. He was probably right. Talking to our parents was going to be hard and I am going to need all the sleep I can get. "I guess you're right." I closed my eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

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