“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Why?”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Where should I be?”
He didn’t know how to answer her question. She should be safe, and anywhere other than a hospital. She should be free to do what she wanted, not having to hide – not needing a bodyguard. He didn’t know what he should say.
“Home. Safe,” he finally said. She looked at him quizzically.
“They said my name is Bree. Who are you?”
“Chad, your boyfriend,” he answered, knowing the lie might come to bite him in the butt, but not caring. She carried his child and he didn’t know when she’d get her memory back, so it would be much easier if she assumed they were a couple. He felt a twinge of guilt for lying to her, but he pushed it back. He had to protect her and his unborn baby.
Her eyes widened at his words and he could see she was digging in her memory, but not coming up with anything.
“I don’t think I like hospitals,” she finally said, making him smile for the first time in months.
“I don’t think you do, either. I’m not too fond of them these days, myself, but this one has kept you safe,” he answered with a chuckle. His laugh made her smile and the slight flush that came to her face filled him with joy he didn’t know he could feel again.
Chad couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms. He needed to feel her close to him, to reassure himself she really was awake and everything would be okay. She stiffened – but only for a moment, then she let him hold her.
“This feels familiar,” she finally whispered. The crack in her voice tore at him, but at least he was hearing her speak.
“I’m so glad you’re awake,” he said without thinking.
“How long have I been asleep?”
Chad tensed. He didn’t know if he should answer that. The doctor said to keep her calm.
“Please tell me,” she pled.
“Two months,” he answered and watched the color drain from her face once more. “It will be okay, Bree,” he quickly assured, tugging her close again.
Bree felt the walls closing in on her. She’d been asleep for months and didn’t remember anything. How could that happen to a person? She felt an overwhelming need to get out of there. She fought back the tears wanting to escape. She somehow knew she wasn’t that kind of woman, she wouldn’t lose control.
He gently rubbed her back, calming her, and she took a deep breath. She couldn’t change the past so she had to move forward. Little did she know how many more shocks were coming her way. She felt exhaustion begin to overtake her again and didn’t understand how she could be so tired when she’d been asleep for months.
“What happened?” she finally asked. She had to know.
“We need to wait for the doctor and your family,” he said. He wasn’t going to be responsible for giving her any more information that could jeopardize her health.
“Please, I need to know,” she tried, but he stood firm. He needed to find out what information was safe to give to her, and what wasn’t. He wouldn’t do anything else to cause her further harm.
Dr. Bailey stepped in the room, saving him. She turned her eyes on him.
“Good to see you awake again, Bree,” he said as he walked over and checked her charts.
“I need answers. Why am I here?” She got right to the point.
Dr. Bailey sat in a chair next to her bed and looked her over for a few moments before speaking.
“I think that’s a discussion for you to have with your family. I’m here to tell you, your health looks good. If you can eat some solid food and work hard over the next week, we can let you get out of here,” he answered, avoiding her question.
“But why am I here in the first place,” she asked, her voice cracking even more in her frustration.
“Your family will fill you in on all of that, but I do have some great news for you. It’s the reason you need to focus on eating so you can leave here,” Dr. Bailey said. Chad tensed. He didn’t want the doctor to blurt out the news, but the man was either ignoring him, or disregarding what he wanted.
“What?” Bree asked, momentarily distracted.
“You’re about eight weeks pregnant.”
There was pure silence as the news sank in. Bree’s startled eyes went from the doctor to Chad, who managed to muster up an encouraging smile.
“I… I…” Bree couldn’t seem to find words.
“It will all be okay, Bree,” Chad said, though he didn’t know how to make anything okay. Bree had lost her memory, there were still unknown men after her, and he didn’t know how to fight an unseen force.
Her hand glided to her stomach and he watched as tears flashed in her eyes.
“Ours?”
“Yes,” he answered with zero hesitation. She gave him a tentative smile, and all her other questions were forgotten as she pondered the reality of impending motherhood.
Chapter Eight
“After your ultrasound, if everything is fine with the baby, you’ll be free to leave,” Dr. Bailey said before Bree was able to open her mouth.
She’d come out of her coma two weeks ago but was still confined to her hospital room. Okay, not exactly the room, she was allowed to walk to the cafeteria, and even sit outside on occasion – as long as she had someone with her, but still, being stuck in a hospital, even a nice one, made her feel trapped.
She’d been a good sport about it for the first week and a half, but then her irritation at the situation became quite apparent to everyone. She was now used to the revolving door of visitors who called themselves her family, though she still hadn’t gotten her memory back, but she just wanted to leave. She didn’t know where home was, but anything had to be better than the sterile hospital room.
“Looks like he knows you well,” Chad said with a laugh. Bree shot him a glare, and then regretted it. Chad was the one person she felt ‘right’ being around. She figured they must be incredibly close, because when he walked in the door, she felt butterflies in her stomach. He stirred things inside her she couldn’t fully comprehend.
She thought she may be falling in love with him – though she had to love him already if they’d made a baby, right? She hated to start having those thoughts because they made her head hurt trying to put the pieces together of her broken memory.
“You promise?” she asked the doctor, ignoring Chad’s comment.
“I promise – but only if the ultrasound says everything is good,” he reminded her. She refused to think anything could be wrong.
She hadn’t felt the baby move, didn’t show any signs of pregnancy yet, but still, she had a connection to her unborn baby. Being pregnant gave her hope that her endless blank of a mind would have to someday clear.
She had a huge, obviously loving family, who visited her every day. And she couldn’t define Chad. He was by her side night and day, and he was just so… She couldn’t even put into words what he was.
Masculine.
Charming.
Manly.
Handsome.
There were thousands of descriptions, she was sure could describe him better.
“I’m ready,” she said, excited to see the first images of her baby. Maybe seeing the pictures would stimulate her brain somehow and she’d regain her memory. She secretly crossed her fingers.
Another person came in the room, pushing a table with a machine and large monitor on it. She felt her nerves flutter at the sight. She was moments away.
Chad sat silently by Bree’s bedside as he watched the hospital staff move around her room. He’d been on combat missions where he hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat, but waiting to see the first images of his unborn child was like sitting in a hole anticipating the first grenade to drop. He was terrified something could be wrong with the baby, but overjoyed to see his son or daughter.
Without thought he reached out and gripped Bree’s hand. She grew stronger each day and he hoped his child did too. She tensed at the coldness of the gel placed on her stomach, but soon there was a fuzzy image on the screen.
They both watched intensely as the technician moved the small wand around her belly, stopping every few seconds and clicking buttons on his monitor. Chad wanted to strangle the guy and demand he tell them everything was going to be all right.
Chad looked on, but couldn’t see anything even sort of resembling a person inside her. Was something wrong? He had to fight not to shout.
“I’m just getting a few pictures of the womb right now. Your baby is very small at this point. Not even the size of a shelled peanut, and there’s a lot of fluid and other internal things in the way, so it’s hard to catch a good shot, but give me a moment longer,” the guy finally spoke. It was a good thing, because Chad didn’t think he could take much more silence.
The doctor bent down and looked at a place on the monitor where the technician had paused. They both spoke quietly for a moment and Chad felt a bead of sweat run down his brow. He was startled by how intense his emotions were. He’d never thought it possible to love something so much that he hadn’t even known he wanted.
“You both will be pleased to know the baby is developing exactly as it should at this point in the pregnancy. This first machine gave us valuable information we needed. Now, Henry is hooking up our three dimensional ultrasound. Your baby is in a great position, so you’re going to get a fairly clear image of him. At ten weeks along, your child is about an inch long and weighs less than an ounce,” Dr. Bailey explained.
They both let out relieved breaths at the doctor’s words. Bree turned toward Chad and sent him a stunning smile that would’ve dropped him to his knees had he not already been sitting. She had her color back and looked even more radiant than before. Pregnancy was beautiful on her – as was everything else.
“So, I can go home, right?” she asked.
“Yes. You’re doing great. All signs point toward a full recovery and a healthy pregnancy,” Dr. Bailey answered. He left out the amnesia. They didn’t dwell on that as it would hopefully cure itself in time.
“Here’s your baby,” he said and they turned back to the screen. Before them was the image of their infant. It was obvious the baby was awake and moving around. Chad was dazed to see what looked like tiny arms moving in front of a large head. The image made it appear bigger than a peanut.
“Remember, this image is blown up, but your baby is almost fully developed. They grow rapidly at this stage of pregnancy. In a few weeks he, or she, will be fully formed, just have a lot of growing left to do. The first three months of pregnancy move the fastest in terms of development,” Dr. Bailey informed them. Neither could take their eyes from the screen and they only absently nodded at his words. It was amazing to watch the tiny babe moving inside her body.
“Would you like to hear the heartbeat now?”
“Yes.” They both answered in unison and then smiled at each other.
Chad was already filled with unbelievable love for his son or daughter, but when the sound of its already beating heart filled the room, he thought his own would burst. Such a strong sound for something so tiny.