Author's Note: Let me start out by saying thank you to the guest that reviewed the other day and the two people who signed up to follow this story. It sparked new inspiration in me. I really do mean it when I say that reviews help inspire me and I value them highly. I've had a hard life and honestly, reviews are sometimes the only good part of my day and are often a major catalyst in telling me I've done something worthwhile. I've said before that you never know what kind of impact a review will leave on a person, well that's the impact reviews have on me. So please, if you like this story, tell me.

Chapter 22: Revealing

"He's not even awake," Mike heard Darla mutter several minutes later.

"Wake him up," Robert spat angrily. Mike opened his eyes and looked over. Micky's head was hanging off to one side and even from the angle he was at, Mike could tell his eyes were closed. Darla slapped Micky, but nothing happened. He wouldn't wake up.

"He's out cold," Darla said. "Poor baby can't handle the pain."

"Fine," Robert said angrily. "Let's just go." Robert stormed out of the room in anger at his failed attempt to torture Micky. Darla glanced at Mike and Rose and smiled. It made Mike sick.

"What the fuck are you smiling at, bitch?" Rose snapped.

"Just be glad I'm restrained," Mike added, "or I'd wipe that smile off your face."

"It's so cute that you think you can even touch me," Darla laughed before following Robert out the door. Mike snarled a little at her, but quickly turned his attention to Ginny. They'd left her lying on the ground, but now she was slowly getting up.

"Ginny, take it easy," Rose said as Ginny walked over to them, limping slightly.

"I'm fine," Ginny said brushing their concerns off. Her clothes were torn and hung loosely over her body. She looked a little pale and her lip was bleeding. She walked over and untied them.

"Mike, take care of Ginny," Rose said and immediately darted towards Micky.

"I said I'm fine," Ginny said, though she looked like she was going to fall over.

"Let me help you to the bathroom so you can get cleaned up," Mike offered.

"Ok," Ginny said, but when he reached out for her so she could lean against him, she flinched away.

"Sorry," Mike said quickly.

"No, it's not you," Ginny said. "It's just...it's involuntary. I know you aren't going to hurt me."

"He really won't wake up," Rose said worried.

"Oh, right, he won't for a few hours," Ginny said as she leaned into Mike and they walked toward the bathroom.

"Why?" Rose asked.

"I didn't think he should have to see that, so I willed him to sleep," Ginny said. "I tried to do the same to you, but you're too far away."

"Really?" Mike asked.

"It's not gonna hurt him," Ginny said. "But I promised him I wouldn't do anything like that to him…"

"We know it won't hurt," Rose said. "And you did what was right. He'll understand. I know he will."

"Want me to help you get him into bed?" Mike asked. "Once I help Ginny into the bathroom."

"No," Rose said. "I can't chance you getting infected too."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

"If any of his blood mixes with yours, you both will be infected," Rose said. Mike wasn't really sure what she was talking about, but thought he'd let it go and just help Ginny. He carried her into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet seat.

"Your lip is bleeding," Mike said. "Let me help you clean it up." He grabbed a small rag from the sink and began to soak it with warm water when he noticed that his wrists were both bleeding. He stopped in shock. He felt no pain.

"You didn't know you were bleeding, did you," Ginny asked looking at him knowingly.

"I can't feel any pain," Mike said staring at his wrists. He must have worn open his wrist trying to fight the ropes that bound him.

"Adrenaline," Ginny said. "That's understandable." Mike shook his head a little and went back to trying to help Ginny. He carefully wiped her face clean of blood and dirt and noticed the blood on her lip was from a bite mark.

"Did you bite your lip?" Mike asked.

"I was trying not to cry," Ginny admitted. "I don't want to give him the satisfaction and I didn't want you to hear I was in pain."

"You don't have to hide that from us," Mike said feeling a knot in his stomach.

"You shouldn't have to be exposed to any of that," Ginny said.

"You shouldn't have to go through any of that," Mike said.

"I knew he'd get mad at me for spitting on him," Ginny said. "I knew he'd do that, just not in front of you. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Mike asked. "This isn't your fault."

"I told you I made a choice," Ginny said. "I knew what I was doing. I really don't care what he does to me. I just didn't think he'd drag you into it." Mike sighed. He knew she'd made a choice. She didn't care what happened to her and he couldn't really blame her for that. He'd gladly have taken a beating if it meant sparing her any kind of pain. But it wasn't just her that she had to worry about...but she didn't know. He knew he promised Rose he wouldn't say anything, but he was finding that difficult to do now.

"I got him into bed," Rose said as she entered the room before Mike could say anything.

"Good, can I talk to you?" Mike asked walking over to her and pulling her aside just outside the bathroom.

"Sure," she said as he dragged her.

"We need to tell her," Mike said bluntly. "She's making decisions about what he's going to do to her with limited information. If she knew she was putting her child at risk…"

"Mike, we don't know if she is even pregnant," Rose said.

"The likelihood is fairly high, I'd say," Mike said. "What if he hurts the baby? What if he already hurt the baby? She doesn't care what he does to her, but she'll care what he does to her baby. She needs to know."

"Alright," Rose sighed after looking through the doorway a moment at Ginny.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked when they walked back in.

"We need to tell you something," Mike said. "We think that maybe...maybe you should think of taking it easy when butting heads with Robert."

"I don't care what he does to me," Ginny said. "I know it's not right that you had to see what he did, but I wasn't going to let him keep torturing Micky."

"That's not what we mean," Mike said. "We think you have someone else to worry about."

"We think you might be pregnant," Rose said.

"That's not possible," Ginny said.

"Why not?" Mike asked surprised.

"My dad did experiments on me as a teenager," Ginny said. "He must have messed something up. I was here five years with him and he never wore a condom. I never got pregnant in five years."

"Maybe he was giving you birth control in your food or something," Rose offered. "And while you were free they wore off."

"Why would he be sneaky about giving them to me?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe he thought you wouldn't take it if you knew what it was," Rose said.

"What makes you think I'm pregnant anyway?" Ginny asked.

"You're sick all the time," Rose started, "you're walking with a gait of a woman with wider hips, and your chest is a little bigger. You have to admit your breasts are sore, right?"

"You really think I'm…" Ginny started. She moved her hand over her stomach and looked down. "I can't have a child in this place."

"We know," Mike said. "I really wish this wasn't happening like this. But we will be here to support you."

"Why?" Ginny asked quietly.

"What do you mean "why"?" Mike asked.

"Why would you want to help me deal with a pregnancy Robert caused?" Ginny asked.

"Because it's not something you asked for," Rose said. "And you're family."

"So is Robert," Ginny said. "Family doesn't mean anything."

"You're wrong," Mike said firmly. "Robert isn't family. Robert is a man who married her mother and made Micky. Doesn't make him family. Same goes for your father. Just because he made you, doesn't mean he's family. Family are people who stick together and love each other no matter what happens. They aren't always people who share your blood, but they are always people whom you choose to be in your life. You are family, Ginny. We will help you through this."

"Not that it matters to us, but you should remember that it may not be Robert's," Rose said.

"Micky…" Ginny trailed off before finally looking back up at them. "We can't tell him."

"Whatever you want," Rose said.

"He's already got enough stress to think about," Ginny said.

"It's ok," Mike said.

"And Robert can't know either," Ginny said.

"Of course," Rose said.

"Like we said, we'll support you," Mike said. "We'll help you get through this. Together."

"It makes sense," Ginny whispered lowering her head again.

"What does?" Rose asked.

"When my mother was pregnant, her powers were stronger," Ginny answered. "My grandmother said the same thing happened with her. When you have a powerful child, often times you tap into that baby's power when it's still in the womb. That's why I can do magic right now. I'm tapping into my baby's power."

"What happens if he starts giving her those pills again?" Mike asked. "Will it hurt the baby?"

"He would have already started if he were going to do it," Rose said. "I would think. I doubt he is because we're all eating the same food and if you and Micky were eating food laced with them, we'd notice. They're basically estrogen."

"I think I want to lie down," Ginny said.

"Sure," Mike said. "I'll help you to bed." Mike carefully helped her cross the room and let her lay down. He pulled some sheets over her, but she seemed in a daze. She seemed to look right past him, clearly too focused on her thoughts to comprehend what was around her right now.

"Let me clean your wrists," Rose said when he went back to the bathroom. Mike shrugged and let her start taking care of him. He still wasn't feeling any pain from it.

"What did he do to Micky?" Mike asked looking out the door at his friend passed out cold in the next room. "Robert said something about ergot. Do you have any idea what that is?"

"It's a sort of fungus that grows on crops," Rose answered. "Mostly wheat or rye."

"What does it do?" Mike asked.

"People extract LSD from it," Rose said bluntly.

"Really?" Mike asked surprised. "So what, Micky's gonna start hallucinating dancing purple unicorns?"

"Probably not that, but he will hallucinate," Rose said. "He'll also have muscle spasms and potentially seizures. I've only ever heard about it being ingested. If it gets directly into the bloodstream, it should do the same kind of damage, just faster. There was a small town in France that was infected not too long ago. They thought demons were after them; they all went mad. Some people even think ergot is responsible for the Salem Witch Trials."

"Really?" Mike asked.

"The ones infected were really the eldest because they got the biggest share of the food," Rose said. "It started out as a mass poisoning, but it turned political. Neighbors called each other out to grab for more land. At least that's the theory."

"So that's gonna happen to Micky?" Mike asked.

"He's gonna go crazy," Rose said finishing the bandages on his wrist. "And I have a feeling Robert wants him to hallucinate about what was done to us. That's why he was saying those things to Micky. We have to be really careful until this wears off."

"How long will that take?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Rose said. "I hope it wears off quickly, but I really doubt it. Robert would have measured the dose carefully. Not enough to kill him but enough to keep him poisoned for a while."