Oh we are all of a kindred spirit here, aren't we? I love your comments, your encouraging, your angst, your LOVE for them. I have fallen so deeply in love with these characters...and the people who play them. I literally have ached the last 2 nights while writing. Keep the comments coming! It spurs me on!

Beryl Patmore sobbed while she scrubbed the upholstery in Mrs. Hughes sitting room.

"It's alright Mrs. Patmore, she'll be okay. I'm sure of it." Daisy struggled to hold her own tears back, hoping she was right.

Charles stood outside the room where they were attending to Elsie; the front of his stark white waistcoat mostly covered in blood…her blood. The stains on his hands were taking on a brownish hue as it set in deeper. His eyes were glassed over and he could not think of anything but the blood and her pale, beautiful face.

"Mr. Carson?" The sound of his name caused him to jump slightly. "We need blood. Can you donate?" Dr. Clarkson's white coat had some blood on it and that is where Charles' eyes focused first. His mind wouldn't go, it wouldn't process anything. "I…uh…" he knew he should answer, say something but, he couldn't. He only nodded. "Follow Nurse Joan."

"Dr. Clarkson, what can we do? What do you know?" Cora rushed to the doctor's side.

"I'm afraid she has lost a lot of blood. It's what we call a uterine hemorrhage and she's in shock. We are doing everything we can to bring her blood pressure up and keep the seizures down." Dr. Clarkson's voice was grave as was his expression. "You can give blood, that's what we need right now."

"Thank you Dr. Clarkson. We will do just that." Cora and Robert's eyes met and this is all too familiar and all too painful for both of them. "Let's do what we can Robert." They go in the direction of the nurse and Carson."

"You can see her now, Mr. Carson." Charles opened his eyes; he is still dressed in the remains of the day, his waistcoat still bloodied. He had refused to leave and go change until he saw her, until he knew she would be alright. He got up and swallowed hard. His heart was pounding and he was literally scared to death.

Dr. Clarkson pulled the linen curtain to one side. "Now she isn't awake. She is heavily sedated and she will be that way for a while. We won't know if she's out of the woods for some time. If the bleeding has truly stopped, she needs to be able to keep a steady blood pressure and her body temperature must even out. Charles only nods in acknowledgement. He rounded the curtain and stopped as his eyes fell on her. It felt like a vice has been placed on his heart and his knees were weak. "Come…Mr. Carson, have a seat here." The doctor pulled a chair over and placed it near the head of Elsie's bed. Carson sat quickly before he made a fool of himself and toppled over. Dr. Clarkson patted his shoulder gently.

"But..Dr…." Charles turned his head, addressing Dr. Clarkson.

"Yes?"

"Can she hear me?"

Dr. Clarkson smiled slightly. "I think so Mr. Carson." He fibbed. He had no idea if Elsie could hear him but he wanted Mr. Carson to have the hope she did.

Charles stood and leaned over Elsie. He gazed at her pale, sweet face. She looked like a dream, lying there. Her color was better and she seemed at peace. Tears rush to their boundaries and he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips and a stray tear dropped onto her pale lips as he pulled away.

Charles kept vigil at her bedside Everyone had tried to get him to go rest but he had quietly refused. He had not seen her beautiful blue eyes or heard that sweet melodic voice for going on 24 hours. He had sat in a straight back chair almost constantly, resting his head on her only occasionally. He had kissed her and talked to her, urged her to come back to him. There were tears...lots of tears. He was exhausted and emotionally overwrought and the stoic, butler, who had set the precedent among his staff had let his guard down, in front of everyone he knew and he had cried, showed his deep fear of losing the only person that truly mattered to him. His Elsie.

"Mr. Carson, you won't be any good to her or yourself if you wind up here!" Beryl Patmore encouraged him to go rest. "I'll be here...I'll not leave her for a minute." She patted his shoulder gently. "You know it's what she would want you to do!" She grinned which turned one corner of his mouth up in a slight smile.

He was truly exhausted. He hadn't eaten in a day, had only a few sips of water. He was sick to his stomach and his head was pounding. "You are right there."

"She is right Mr. Carson. You need to take care of yourself just now. She will need your strength to recover." Dr. Clarkson urged him as well.

He reluctantly agree and when he stood to go he looked at Dr. Clarkson. "Might I have a word?"

"Of course." They walked to Dr. Clarkson's office and he offered Charles a seat.

He sat and rubbed his brow. "Dr. Clarkson, what is going on with my wife? Why is this happening?"

"Mr. Carson, this is a complicated matter. While women's health has improved vastly over the last 20 years, we still have a long way to go to understand why things like this happen. We won't know until she is awake and we are able to perform more tests. But..." he lowered his gaze.

The question that had been vexing him since this happened will not leave his mind and while he is embarrassed to ask it, he must know. "Dr...beg your pardon for being so personal but...I must know. As you know, Els...Mrs. Hughes and I are...newlyweds. He glanced nervously at his hands. "We...uh...have...well...we have engaged in..." He rolled his eyes, struggled to say the words.

Dr. Clarkson anticipated what Carson was trying to say. "You've...had...intercourse."

Carson's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. He cleared his throat loudly. "Uh...well...yes...I mean...you see..I just wondered if I've...been the cause of any of this." His voice is almost a whisper as he hung his head.

"Well...yes and no." Dr. Clarkson answered, matter of factly.

"WHAT?" Carson was stunned.

"Let me explain." Dr. Clarkson came around to the front of his desk and leaned against it. "While you've engaged, as you say, in sexual activity with your wife...over the last 10 days or so, you've done what every newly married couple do and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Intercourse did not directly cause what has happened to Mrs. Carson.

"However...?" Carson continued for him with eyebrows lifted in question.

"However..." Clarkson said slowly. "There is a certain science to the human body and when a woman has gone through, what we call, the change of life, it is rare but not impossible for a woman to experience a surge of hormones that can sometimes lead to pregnancy, if she is sexually active."

"WHAT?" Charles is flabbergasted and felt like he might pass out. "He leaned back in the chair and brought his hand to his head. "Pregnancy?"

"There are a dozen reasons a woman might experience a hemorrhage of this type. Without further testing, we won't know for sure, but I believe Mrs. Hughes, was quite simply...pregnant. Because of her age, her hormones and her more fragile health right now, I believe her body spontaneously rejected it. Our goal now is to find out why it was so severe."

Mr. Carson could simply not take it in. He leaned on his elbows on his knees and covered his face with is hands. Soon, he gather himself. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I think the worst part is over. It's now just a waiting game to see if the bleeding has truly stopped. She will need to stay here for awhile and be cared for.

Carson stands to leave, his senses somewhat numb. "Thank you doctor."

"Oh Mr. Carson? I have spoken with the pathologist in London, regarding the results of her resent biopsy. I've informed them of what we have now and they are going to push the tests through. I believe we will have an answer before the week is out."

"Very well." Charles wasn't sure he was happy or sad about that news.