(Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet; just Maryam and my other OC's.)

(Authors Note: Hello dearest readers and fellow writers! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story. Feel free to leave a comment/review as they're always appreciated.)

(Warning: This chapter contains some graphic content and some slight discussion of SA.)

Chapter 17

**As another wave of pain rolled throughout her body, Maryam clutched her swollen belly and screamed as the child within began to violently thrash and tear at her insides in attempts to break free of her womb. To her horror, it succeeded! The squelching sound of blood spurting filled her ears before a screeching cry emitted from the newborn.

Despite being in agonizing pain and weak from blood loss, Maryam willed herself to look upon the child; however, upon doing so, she was met with a terrifying sight as said infant was a mirror image of her late husband, Edmund Swift! Upon locking its burning eyes with hers, a menacing grin appeared along its twisted face, while its spidery legs found leverage and pulled itself from her mangled womb, to which it then began crawling up towards her face with a hungry look in its eyes.**

With a frightened gasp, Maryam snapped awake and sat upright, to which she immediately placed both of her hands along her abdomen and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was flat. Taking a moment to compose herself, she glanced around at her surroundings and saw that she was in an unfamiliar room and sitting in what appeared to be a hospital bed. As she was about to remove the covers and step out of the bed, the door opened and a you (human) woman walked in, carrying a covered tray:

"Oh! You're finally awake! I'm glad to see some color returning to your cheeks."

"..Umm, I'm sorry, but..who are you?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? My name is Ophelia Tiller. Your friends brought you in for treatment the other day and I've been tasked with monitoring your condition."

"Wait, how long have I been here?"

"Two days. You came in needing an emergency blood transfusion because you had apparently lost a lot of blood prior to arriving here. That, and you had other injuries that needed treatment."

"T-Two days," she asked, shocked, to which Ophelia set the tray down and gently placed a hand on her shoulder:

"Easy now, your wounds are still healing."

Although Ophelia was right, Maryam still tried moving off of the bed; however, a sudden and sharp burst of pain from her pelvic region forced her to reconsider her actions and lay back down. "..I just want to give my Father medicine for his damp lung," she whimpered as her body began to throb and ache in protest.

*sigh* "I understand. Will told me that was the reason you came back to Audra."

"Wait, Will?! He's alive?!"

"Aye, that he is. I stumbled upon him the other day while I was in Portersville. He's recovering remarkably well, despite the severity of the injuries he sustained."

"Is he here? Can I see him?"

"Of course. I'll go fetch him for you, but in the meantime, I need you to stay in bed. Alright?"

She nodded in response, to which Ophelia stepped out of the room, leaving Maryam to her thoughts. Glancing out the window, she resisted the urge to cry as she thought about her Father; however, her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened to reveal a familiar figure: Will entered the room alongside Miss Tiller and Scrapper, to which the young Canid approached and addressed her with a smile:

"Maryam! Bless the stars, you're awake! How're feeling?"

"I should be asking you that question," she noted with a pained wince as she looked upon his bandaged legs, arm and torso, to which he shrugged as Scrapper climbed atop the bed, seeking attention from the hybrid woman.

"Well, I've been better. Thankfully, the doctor says I should be fully healed in a matter of weeks."

Petting the adorable sabermink, Maryam smiled at the young lad, "That's great! By the way, do you know where B.E.N and Mr. Sterneck are? I remember coming here with them, but everything after that is a blur."

"Actually, as soon as Dr. Tiller confirmed that you were going to be alright, they headed off to the sanatorium to deliver the damp lung medicine to your Father."

Relief washed over the young hybrid as she continued to gently pet the sabermink on her lap, "Thank the stars.." *sigh* "I wish I was there with them, but I'm at least grateful that he's getting treatment..assuming they made it in time," she added in a worried tone, prompting him to gently place a hand on her shoulder while Ophelia poured them some tea.

"I'm sure they did," he assured before a new figure entered the room:

He was an average height, middle-age (human) man with dark hair and gray eyes. Upon seeing the hybrid woman, he approached with a kind look, "Good morning, Miss Weller. My name is Dr. Benjamin Tiller and I'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright?"

Taking that as a hint to leave the room for the time being, Will and Ophelia stepped outside with Scrapper following behind, to which Maryam emitted a pained sigh, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Well, to be blunt, I need to know how many times you were assaulted," he inquired, opting not to skirt around the topic.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she glanced down at her lap in embarrassment as her ears flattened, "..I-I'm not sure.."

*sigh* "Miss Weller, your injuries match those of assault wounds inflicted by a male Mantavor. As unfortunate as it is, yours is not the first case I've seen in my career. To further validate my statement, there was also a large plug of seminal fluid at your vaginal entrance. As you may or may not be aware, male Mantavor's will plug the female's vaginal canal with a thick layer of semen as a way of ensuring that no one else will impregnate her. For this to even occur, the two would've had to engage in multiple sessions of intercourse within a short period of time."

A cold sweat rolled down her spine upon hearing this, to which she placed a hand over her lower abdomen and muttered, "..It was six times.."

"..I see," his face softened in sympathy for the young woman before he emitted a sigh, "Unfortunately, I can't say whether or not you're pregnant at this time; however, because of the extent of the damage you sustained, the chances of you conceiving any future children are very slim, if non-existent."

Hearing this, Maryam felt her head spin as his words hit her like a tidal wave. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tear what was left of Edmund's lifeless corpse into tiny, unrecognizable pieces and scatter them into Audra's endless sea for the sharks to feed on.

Damn him! Not only did he ruin her body, but he (likely) ruined her future! Sure, she certainly wasn't in a rush to have children, but now she might never have any.

Suppressing her tears and anger, Maryam calmly asked, "..Are there any other concerns I should know about at this time?"

"Well, you'll likely have some scars as the lacerations you sustained were rather prominent. Thankfully, they only required minimal stitching. Other than that, I highly advise that you avoid any sort of physical activity for the next several weeks as your body needs time to recover from the trauma you sustained."

She merely nodded in acknowledgment before he added, "In the meantime, I'll be prescribing you some medication to help with the pain. I would also advise that you refrain from lifting any heavy objects throughout the duration of your recovery."

Another nod was her response as she processed his words. She felt absolutely sick. A wave of nausea rolled throughout her frame as she tried suppressing the urge to vomit. Seeing this, Dr. Tiller grabbed an empty pitcher and handed it to her, to which she immediately purged her stomach of its contents, which was nothing more than bile at this point.

XXXXX

-Later-

Although she was still in shock at the circumstances she now had to face, Maryam was trying not to let Dr. Tiller's words upset her too much. Yes, she had a long recovery ahead of her. Yes, there was a possibility that Edmund had impregnated her. Yes, her chances of having more children down the road were slim.

Yet, despite knowing all of these things, she was happy to be free of the monster who did all this to her. Granted, if she was indeed carrying his child, she'd have to decide what happens next. Would she allow said child to grow and be born? Or would she terminate its existence, knowing she'd likely never conceive again?

Closing her eyes, Maryam mentally prayed that his vile seed didn't end up taking root. She just wanted this whole nightmare to end.

"Mary?! Oh, thank goodness you're okay," B.E.N's voice suddenly broke through the silence as he rushed into the room and embraced her in a tight hug, causing her to wince in pain, which he noticed and released her. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot you're still rather sore. I'm just happy you're awake."

"It's fine," she waved it off with a pained smile before asking, "So, did you and Mr. Sterneck deliver the damp lung medicine to my Father?"

"We did..but he's..well..," he fidgeted with his digits before projecting a holo-image/recording of her Father, to which said image began to play:

"Maryam, my starlight, if you're seeing this, I'm already gone or am not long for this world." *cough, cough* "I-I know you fretted over my health for years, but unfortunately, I kept the worst of it from you as I didn't want you to be saddened by my impending death. Rather, I wanted you to be happy and enjoy the little time we had left together."

There was a slight pause before he continued to speak:

"When that bastard, Edmund, told me of your fate, I refused to believe him. Heh, good thing he's dead now, huh? Aye, I heard of his demise from your 'unlikely' companions. Honestly, I'm surprised you fell in with their lot," he added with an amused chuckle before breaking into a coughing fit.

"Maryam, I don't want you to see this and feel guilty or sad that you're not by my side. I've lived a good life and I'm looking forward to seeing your Mother again. But you, my daughter, you've got to take the helm and chart your own course. Find your happiness and live your life to the fullest. I love you, my starlight, and I'm so proud of you."

The holo-image/recording ended, to which B.E.N glanced over to see Maryam silently crying. Not knowing what else to do, he gently placed a servo on her shoulder, which she responded by surprising him with a hug. Of course, he was more than willing to let her express her emotions and be there to lend his support.