"Skimbleshanks...the railway cat, the cat of the railway train..."
"Mike, will you hush?" Raph griped.
But Mike ignored him. "There's a whisper down the line at eleven thirty-nine when the night mail's ready to depart..."
Raph grumbled something under his breath and rubbed the bottom of his carapace as he walked.
"Saying, 'Skimble, where is Skimble has he gone to hunt the thimble...We must find him or the train can't start!'..."
Three long days on the shaky railroad tracks had done nothing for Raphael's new "wound" except make it more sore than it already had been after initially having that needle pierced through his skin. And it certainly hadn't helped his demeanor either. Mike noticed he seemed even grumpier than he'd been in San Fransisco, and that wasn't a good thing. But Mike wasn't having such a comfortable time himself. It hurt the worst when he walked, and being that he had to do that to get anywhere...
Don held out a hand and watched Trevor intently, wondering if he trusted him enough yet. He knew it would take time before the two of them could really connect, and he figured that Robyn would be the strong force that would tie them together. He couldn't wait to see the expression on her face... The child studied him for a moment, and then very slowly, he reached for Don's hand, gripping it firmly. A feeling of discomfort struck Donatello for a moment, but something inside of him also felt...good. This kid trusted him, even if it was only enough to take his hand, to touch this creature he knew practically nothing about. It would get easier as time went on. Maybe they could even end up like a real family. He knew Robyn would be pleased.
Leo stopped in his tracks as they neared the apartment building. It looked horrific. Large chunks of brick and concrete had been dug away on the left side, and big boulders lay in heaps on the sidwalk over large cracks in the cement. The entire structure was tilted. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Something strange had happened here, and he didn't like it one bit. A line of yellow police tape bordered the structure, but they didn't let that stop them. The Bel Aire was parked outside. Casey and April must be here. They were probably gathering up whatever belongings they could before the whole building crumbled into dust.
As Leo knocked on the door, a chill went up his spine. Something felt...odd. He couldn't quite place it, but as he stood there, pounding on the door, the vision of tubes and wires flashed through his mind again, this time just for an instant. Shivering, he turned to the others. "I don't think anyone's home."
"Uncle Leo?" Shadow's voice came from behind him.
"Hey, Shadow!" Mike was to the door and scooping her up in his arms before Leo could even turn back around. "I missed you!"
Shadow wrapped her arms around Mike's neck. "I missed you too!"
When they walked into the living room, it was pretty apparent that no one else was there. The room itself was a mess. The furniture was ruined. Peices of foam and stuffing covered the floor, along with some dark stains that resembled blood.
"What's going on?" Leo asked concerned. "Where's your mom and dad?"
Shadow's demeanor suddenly changed, and she grew very quiet. Mike could sense her uneasiness and he set her down. He dropped to his knees, facing her. "What is it, honey? Where are they?"
"Daddy's at the corner using the phone." her voice grew quieter. "Mommy's sick in the hospital."
"The hospital? What happened?" Raph asked quickly. "Is she okay?"
"I think so. She's there with Aunty Robyn. She's sick too."
Don's eyes grew wide, and his face paled. "Robyn? She's in the hospital? What happened to her?" He glanced at Trevor, and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "She's okay, right?"
Shadow shrugged. "I don't know. Mommy's getting better, but she said that Aunty Robyn's really sick."
Don felt the nausea creep up in his throat. Sick? What did she mean by sick? Had she come down with something? Oh god, what if she was pregant? No, no...that can't be it...well, it could, but... And what would happen with Trevor if he couldn't see his mother right away?
"Where's Megan?" Raph broke in. He could feel his heart pounding through his plastron. She better be alright, dammit! She better be okay...
Mike could tell the girl was struggling not to cry. "I don't know. She's not here. Some bad man tooked her."
"What!?" The anger burst forth on Raph's face. "What do you mean took her? Where the hell is she?"
Shadow let out a sob.
Mike wrapped his arms around her and scowled at Raphael. "Raph! Stop! You're scaring her!" But as he stroked her hair, he couldn't tame the fear and anger that had begun to rise in his own heart.
Raph began to pace, his fists clenched into tight little balls of fury. "Dammit! If anything's happened to her..."
"Hmmm...your blood pressure's a little higher than normal today."
"I wonder why..." Megan said sarcastically. She'd had just about enough of all this poking and prodding and being tied up and kept here against her will like a prisoner.
"I suggest you calm some of this...hostility before it becomes a problem."
Yeah? And what the hell are you gonna do about it, shithead? "If you'd just let me loose once in a while, maybe I wouldn't hate you so much, and my blood pressure wouldn't be so damn high."
Philipe seemed to ignore that last comment. He busied himself with the ultrasound instead.
Sighing, Megan laid still as the scope was pressed to her abdomen. At least she would finally be able to see her child, even if it was on a television screen for these creeps to gawk at.
In a moment, the little t.v. came to life. Megan squinted at the black and white photograph that flashed on the screen. It was hard to make out any real details at first, but as Phillipe ran his finger along a rounded area in the picture, she could tell that it was the head and body.
"My god!" she gasped. "That's my baby..."
"Wow..." a voice from behind startled her.
"Sorry." Amber forced a smile. "I didn't mean to scare you. So that's your kid, huh?"
Megan nodded and turned back to the screen, trying to distinguish the child's features. It was hard to tell this way whether the baby looked fully human or not. All she could make out completely was the head and a body and limbs. It was hard to see if there was a shell, or how many fingers and toes the child had. But one thing was clear - the baby was big. It was about ready to be born.
"Any day now." Phillipe mumbled.
Megan wasn't sure she liked the tone of his voice, or the thought of giving birth to her child in this awful place, alone, with strange hands touching her and her child.
Phillipe turned off the machine and removed the scope from Megan's belly.
"Wait a minute. I wasn't finished. Can I please just--"
"The child will be born very soon. You can look at it then." He turned and began to walk off.
"But wait!" Megan called. "I didn't even get to see if it was a boy or a girl!"
"I'm back, Shadow. I talked to mommy. She can have visitors for a few hours today, but let's hurry if we're gonna get to the hos--" Casey spotted three green faces staring back at him, their looks a mixture of sadness, confusion and determination. Then he spotted the fourth one - the expression dark and angry.
"Hey guys, I--urk--"
With one swift movement, Raph had his hand around Casey's neck, and was throwing him against the wall. "Where is she?"
"Raph...Raph, let go..." Casey choked.
"I said...where the hell is she?"
"Daddy! Uncle Raph..." Shadow began to cry again.
"Come on, honey, it's all right." Mike scooped Shadow up into his arms and held out a hand for Trevor. The little boy seemed uncertain at first. He glanced up at Don, who nodded, and then back at Mike, finally taking his hand. Mike led them down the hall. "Let's go play a game. You like 'Candy Land'?"
After the three were out of sight, their attention returned to Raphael and Casey.
"Raph, come on..."
The black eyes flashed at him, cold and angry. "Stay out of this, Leo."
Casey coughed and pulled at Raph's fingers. "Come on, man, let's talk...about this..."
"You talk. I'll listen. Where the hell is she, Casey? Where the fuck is my wife?"
"If you let go, I'll explain."
He kept his grip firm.
"Come on, Raph, maybe we should..." But Don stopped when Raph flashed him that wild, angered expression. Raphael wasn't in the mood for talking things out. He wanted answers. Now.
"Look Raph, we'll find her." Casey choked. "I just need your help to--"
"I can't believe you did this! How could you let her get lost like this? What the hell were you doing?"
"It was an...accident, Raph. I..."
"Come on, Raph, at least let him explain." Leo tried.
Raphael loosened his grip and pulled his hand away, but remained directly in front of him, his eyes glowing fierce. "Okay, so explain. And make it quick."
Casey rubbed at his sore neck. "Geeze Raph..."
Leo took a deep breath. He had a feeling what they were about to hear was not going to be pleasant.
"I picked Megan up from the hospital the other night, and I brought her here. Don't worry, she was okay, just had an ulcer or something weird like that."
Leo and Don exchanged glances. An ulcer? So he didn't know yet...
"I told the girls to keep the apartment locked tight. When we got here, there were all kinds of people and police cars everywhere. I locked the door and told Megan to stay in the car while I investigated. The apartment building was in shambles like it is now. I had to push my way past the cops. And when I got here, shit...it was like a war had broken out in the building. There was shit falling apart everywhere. And what's worse, when I got to the apartment..." He hung his head. How could he tell them about all of this? He couldn't really blame Raphael for getting angry, but after explaining what had happened to Megan and Robyn, he had a feeling he was in for a real beating.
"Robyn and April were in bad shape." He spared a glance at Don, who stood there still and quiet, a look of intense worry on his face. "April was still conscious, but Robyn... Well, I tried to get her to breath again, but then they came after me..."
Don's face had become whiter than Casey had ever seen it in all these years, even more so than the time he'd messed up his hand. He hardly even recognized him at the moment, he looked so ghastly pale.
"What came after you?" Leo asked.
"Mousers."
Three voices chimed simultaneously, "What!?"
Casey nodded. "I had to fend the little shits off. And by the time I got back to Robyn, the rescue squad had finally gotten here, and we were all taken to the hospital."
Leo stared down at the long gashes and deep punctures on Casey's arms. There were spots where he had tried to patch them up, and the blood had soaked through the gauze. Leo could only imagine what it must have been like that night, and what April and Robyn had suffered.
Casey glanced at Don again. "I'm sorry, man. I wish I could have gotten here sooner."
Don gulped. He could feel his whole body begin to shake. "So she's..."
"No, no." Casey corrected him. "She's alive. Just...not in the best of shape. The doctors don't know how long she'll be in the coma..." Or if she'll ever come out...
Coma? Don lowered his head. "I see."
Leo laid a shaky hand on Don's shoulder. He could feel the shock and worry grip him, but he knew he had to stay strong for the others.
"That still doesn't explain what happened to Megan." Raph reminded him.
"I was just getting to that." Casey ran a hand through his hair. Here came the big one. He only hoped that his face would still be intact by the time he was finished, though he wasn't going to give Raph the upper hand without a fight. "While I was in here trying to 'save the day', she must have gotten out of the car. The police, those stupid no good bastards...they told me they saw her wandering around outside the building. Said she wanted to get in here, but they stopped her. Next thing they knew, there was this big hellicopter thing...came and picked her up..."
"A hellicopter? A fucking hellicopter? Shit Casey! You're gonna have to do way better than that!"
"It's true, Raph. I swear it is. And I've been trying to find her, but--"
"Yeah? Well, trying's not good enough!" He grabbed Casey's shoulders and slammed him to the wall again. This time Casey was ready for him though. He broke an arm free and shoved the turtle away from him. Raph staggered back a few steps and then lunged at him again.
"Raph! Raph, get off of him. This isn't gonna solve anything!"
"Shuddup Leo!"
Casey took in a painful breath and punched Raph in the plastron, sending him backward. "Dammit Raph. What the hell is your problem?"
"She's my wife, Casey! What the hell do you think is my fucking problem!?"
"Yeah, well she's my cousin too! Ever think about that! You think I wanted to lose her like this? Why are you taking this out on me? It wasn't my fault!"
Raph snarled at him and shoved him into the wall. "She's pregnant, dammit!" Raph let go and slumped down by the wall. "She's fucking pregnant..." he said softly.
Casey's eyes widened and he stood there in shock for a moment. "P...pregnant? Holy shit..."
"I brought you some soup. And some of that bread you like." Amber set the tray down next to Megan. "You'll have to eat quickly though, because I think my dad is coming in a while to check your vitals again."
Megan sighed in relief as the straps were loosened once again from her wrists. The flesh was starting to get raw where the leather dug in and rubbed. Squinting in pain, she carefully massaged her skin a little and then slowly began to eat.
"I hope you like it. It's chicken noodle. All I had time to whip up this morning after my dad left."
"It's great. Thank you."
They continued on in silence for several minutes until Amber finally decided to ask the question that had been plaguing her all night. "What's he like?"
"Hmmm?" Megan set down the spoon and stared at her.
"You know...does he talk...what kind of personality does he have...what does he eat...that sort of thing."
Megan wiped her mouth with the napkin and set the tray aside. She stared at the floor, her thoughts on him - the turtle man she loved so much.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just--"
"No." Megan smiled lightly. "It's okay."
Amber sat down next to her on the bed. "He must be a great guy."
Megan smiled again, a little more genuinely this time. "Yeah, he really is. A little misunderstood, a little hot-headed, but he's great."
"So...how do you communicate?"
Megan couldn't help but smile at the question. She remembered when she had first met Raphael, how she had been so surprised that he could talk and move just like a human being. "He speaks just like we do. And he's really intelligent. In fact, his brother Don's a gen--"
"You mean there's more of them?" She remembered Megan telling her about four brothers, but she couldn't imagine there being more like Michaelangelo.
"Yeah. There's four."
Amber swallowed hard. They had to be brothers then, Megan's husband and Mike. But this was absurd. She had tried for weeks to convince herself that Mike had only been wearing a costume, that the whole thing had been some sort of sick joke. She had a lot of enemies. She was convinced that one of them must have tried to make her look like a fool by planting those love letters in her mailbox. But now, she wasn't so certain...
She swallowed again. "What are their names?"
She wasn't so sure she wanted to give away this peice of information. What if Amber blabbed it to her father or Baxter? But still...she had been a good friend to her so far, and she felt that she could trust her. "My husband's name is Raphael."
"Raphael." she repeated it. It was a neat name. It had a certain ring to it.
"His brothers are Donatello, Leonardo and Michaelangelo."
Amber gasped. Michaelangelo...so he is for real...
"And they're normal...people just like you and me. They have emotions and feelings and thoughts just like we do. They laugh like we laugh...hurt like we hurt...love like we love." Her expression saddened as she thought about Raphael again, and wondered if she truly would ever see him again.
Amber felt a little guilty. Mike actually existed. He was real. And she'd hurt him. She wondered where he was right now, how he was feeling, what he was doing. She hadn't wanted to believe he really existed. It frightened her a little. But when she searched herself, deep down inside, she realized that a part of her had always known.
She wanted to ask something just then...something that was a little akward to voice. But she knew she'd die of curiousity if she didn't come out with it. "What's it like...you know..."
Megan stared at her blankly for a moment. "Oh...you mean..."
"Yeah. Isn't it hard to...?"
Megan smiled. "Not really. See, I lay on my back, and he kneels over me with a knee on each side of my waist..."
He leaned his back up against the wall, his arms resting on his knees, his head down. The pain in his neck was minimal now, and he didn't care about that anymore anyway. "Why...?"
Raph stood there for a moment before slowly starting to lower himself next to Casey. Then he remembered the sore spot and decided against it.
"Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't you tell me, Raph?"
Raph closed his eyes for a moment, picturing her in his mind - the long, shiny hair that fell perfectly down her soft back, the light brown eyes with the flecks of gold, the soft rounded mouth...
"She was afraid."
Casey looked up at him. "Afraid? Why?"
"She thought you'd go ballistic. And from the way you've acted about other things, don't you dare say you blame her. I sure as hell can't."
He knew he deserved that. He'd given the two of them nothing but a hard time ever since they'd met. And even now, when it was so obvious that they were meant to be, he still had a hard time accepting it fully. He wished he could just get past that denial and be happy for them.
"We were planning on telling you together, as soon as I got back into town. Looks like that plan didn't work out so well..."
There was silence for a moment. No one spoke or even looked at eachother. The moment was too akward, too heartbreaking. Their return was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but all that greeted them was chaos and despair.
Raph balled his fists again and shook them. "Dammit! I just wish I knew where she was! I would go teach that guy some ma--"
"Baxter has her." Don said quietly.
The others turned to him. "What?"
"It makes sense." Don continued. "April's been receiving threats. Who's more likely to want revenge than Baxter? And then the break-in of the mousers. That was most likely a diversion. And Megan and April are both brunette, so he could have easily mistaken one for the other..."
"But Don..." Leo frowned. "Baxter's dead."
Leo was startled by the evil glint in Don's eye. "Is he?"
Raph frowned at him. "Donnie, what are you talking about? The guy bit it. I saw it with my own two eyes. I mean, sure, we never saw his body, but he was in that robot. We even found his glasses."
Don thought back to the incident of discussion. Baxter had gone insane. He had supposedly removed his brain from his own body and transplanted it into this robot he created. Bent on April's destruction, he hunted her down and attacked her. Don and his brothers eventually took the evil robot down, but when they looked inside, there was no brain in sight.
"Where's his brain?"
Leo thought about that for a moment, and his eyes grew large. "Oh my god...I never thought about that, Don. I mean, I did, but I sort of dismissed it. He was gone. We hadn't heard from him. But now..."
"Dammit!" Raph cursed again. "I should have never left her here. She begged me not to go. She told me--"
"Raph...it's okay. We're gonna find her." Leo laid a hand gently on his shoulder. "Let it go..."
Raph brushed his hand off and began to pace again. "It's my fault. I knew I should have come home. Something kept telling me..."
"Shit." He kicked at a rock and watched it skid across the snow, sliding over the little patches of ice. The sky was dark now. It had been hours since they'd returned home...to the chaos...to the heartache...
He had to break free. He couldn't stand to be under their eyes anymore, to have to hide his emotions, to be expected to hold things together. It was too much. Why was it always him? What had donned him with that special honor of being the emotionally strong one? He didn't want that pressure anymore. He had feelings too, and although he realized he dealt with them much better than anyone else, he needed the right to be sad sometimes, to storm out the door like Raphael when he was having a bad day.
And today's the day.
He walked on in silence, his senses on auto-pilot. His thoughts were on April and Robyn. What had the mousers done to them? Robyn must have been severely wounded to be in a coma from this. It made him angry to think that Baxter, or anyone, could have done this to her. And poor Shadow. She seemed really shook up.
But the worst was imagining the unknown. Where was Megan? What had been done to her? And with that baby inside of her, the first born of their kind... He shook his head. Why her, the girl he had looked up to like an older sister? The one that appreciated his many talents and never laughed at him? What had she ever done to deserve this? And poor Raph. He was a basket case. If Baxter really did have her, he vowed to himself that he would make sure he suffered.
"Michaelangelo?" A startled voice jarred him from his thoughts. Glancing up, he was surprised at where his feet had taken him. He was standing in front of her house again, a wide-eyed girl staring at him from the porch.
He pulled down the scarf a little, revealing his mouth, and the rounded beak. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't--"
"I didn't think I'd see you again." she said gently.
Mike was a little shocked by her reaction. "You...wanted to see me?"
She smiled. "Well...I've been thinking...I mean, you did say some pretty nice things in those letters..."
He smiled and blushed a little. "Just what was in my head at the time..."
She returned the gesture. "You...wanna come in?"
- Michael Bolton, "Missing You Now"
The room was dark. The shadowed figure slid carefully and silently from behind the curtain and slowly approached the bedside. There were tubes everywhere - in her wrists, up her nose, peeking out of the sleeves of the hospital gown. The light beeping of the monitor was slow and steady, telling him that her heart hadn't given up the fight.
He leaned down over her and brushed a strand of matted hair from her forehead. His heart sank. She looked like hell. But still, a small part of him gripped onto hope. She was still alive, and she was a strong woman. She could pull through this.
He sank slowly into the chair beside her, studying the silent face, the closed eyelids that refused to so much as even flicker. He could see the bandages lining the top of her chest and arms, and he remembered how she'd helped him when he had nearly lost his hand. He'd nearly died then too, but he made it, and he knew with a little hope and a little perserverance, she could make it too.
He bit his lip as he took her hand, trying to hold the tears in as best he could. "Robyn..." he whispered. "Can you hear me?"
There was no response. He hadn't expected there to be. "Robyn, I'm here. It's Don. I did it, Robyn. I brought Trevor back, just like I promised."
Still nothing.
He squeezed her hand a little tighter, noticing how clammy and lifeless it was. "He's waiting for you to get better so he can come see you. We're gonna be a family, Robyn...just like a real family..."
A sound. Someone was coming down the hall. He got up swiftly, and returned to the shelter of the curtain. The soft footsteps, barely audible, stopped outside her room. There was silence for a moment, and then the squeek of the door. He listened intently as more footsteps led to her bed. Don peeked out from behind the curtain. The nurse set a tray down on the nightstand and wrapped a peice of fabric around Robyn's arm. She was checking her blood pressure. After a few moments of testing her vitals, the lady scooped up the tray again and was on her way.
Don waited for a moment in the silent darkness. He wanted to be sure they could be alone for a moment more. He knew he didn't have much time here. Kneeling down beside her, he gripped her right hand in both of his and stared at her again. She looked so beautiful and peaceful in her sleep. He wondered what was going through her mind, where her spirit was at the moment, if she could hear his voice...
"Robyn, you're going to be okay. You're going to come home to me and Trevor. Things are going to be great. Just hang in there. And remember...I love you."
He stared at her for a long while before willing himself away. As he slipped back into the darkness once again, he felt heat on his face, and soon he could taste the salt from his tears.
He glanced around nervously, taking note of the big bookcase, stocked full of various works by Koontz, Rice, Tolkein and Lewis. Must be a horror and fantasy lover... A large stone fireplace lined one wall, the mantle covered with little trinkets and photographs. There was a really nice one of her and a Malamute. He figured that must be her dog. "Nice place you got." he smiled nervously as he studied the cushy looking leather couches.
"Thanks." She smiled softly. Such beautiful lips... "I decorated most of it myself. My dad...he's not around much."
Mike nodded and absent-mindedly ran a hand along the leather armrest.
She smiled. "Have a seat."
Mike returned the smile and lowered himself carefully to the couch, his thigh beginning to burn again. "Uhhh...thanks." Gritting his teeth, he struggled to endure the pain and sink into the cushion.
Amber stared at him in concerned curiousity. "Are you okay?"
"Oh...yeah.." he swallowed and poitioned himself. "I'm fine. Just a...leg cramp."
She smiled at him skeptically and took a seat in the chair across from him. They just sat there for a few moments, staring at eachother silently. Amber couldn't believe how human-like he seemed. It was so incredible. He had a unique personality, that in a crazy sort of way, reminded her of herself. Megan was right. They were very much like ordinary people. She studied his face for a moment - the way the rounded beak stretched into a mouth down below. And his eyes...they seemed so friendly and warm. Her sight travled down toward past all the layers of clothing, to his gloved hands, and she noticed they seemed a little akward under the coverings.
Mike noticed her curiousity and smiled. "I'll take them off if you promise not to scream and run away in terror."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you..." But then she saw in his eyes that he was joking, and a mischevious grin spread across her face. "Hmmm...I promise."
Mike smiled and took off the gloves, tossing each of them to her, then, his face growing more serious, he lifted his hands, palms toward her, and wiggled the six fingers at her.
Amber stared at him in amazement. The sight of his hands didn't make her want to scream and run at all. In fact, they fascinated her. His fingers really did resemble turtle claws, but the nails were nicely manicured, and they bent and moved just like human hands.
Amber remembered what Megan had told her about Raphael. About how their skin was actually softer than it looked, and how his rugged touch had felt so secure and safe. She wondered if Michaelangelo's was the same. Slowly, she lifted a hand and reached out toward him, watching his face for disapproval. Mike sat very still, keeping his hands up so she could explore them. He didn't flinch or even move as her fingers brushed against his palms.
Megan was telling the truth. His skin was a lot softer than it appeared. And his eyes...she couldn't help looking at them again. When she stared into the friendly brown pools, she was almost swallowed whole, they contained so much innocence and joy, and boyish charm. Now she was starting to understand what Megan had seen in Raphael.
Mike felt little shivers of pleasure travel through him as she ran her fingers along his skin. A few days ago, she'd told him to stay out of her life, and now here he was, in her home, and she was actually touching his hands!
But, slowly, his thoughts turned to his friends, and some of the joyous spirit in his eyes began to fade. Amber couldn't help but notice.
"What is it?"
He tried to force a smile, but he could tell she was too smart to be fooled. "I just...some of my friends are in danger."
Amber felt a pang of guilt travel through her. "Oh..." she said softly. "What kind of danger? Are they alright?"
Mike lowered his head and stared at his hands. He wanted to tell her so badly, but he had only just met her. How could she ever understand who and what he really was?
"Look, if you really don't want--"
"No" he lifted his head, and she could see the traces of a smile. "I don't mind. I want to tell you. I need to tell somebody..."
Amber could almost feel his pain as he explained about going off to find Don's kid and the trouble they ran into with Collin. He told her about their disastrous return to find all the peices of their lives in shambles. Now he had no place to live anymore, and his friends, Robyn and April had gotten hurt. They weren't even sure if his brother's girlfriend would make it.
"I'm really sorry..." Amber took his hand.
"The worst is my brother Raph's wife...
Amber could feel her heart pound a mile a minute.
"She's missing. She was kidnapped. And she's pregnant."
She could see that he was struggling really hard not to show his grief, but his eyes were welling up anyway, and his lower lip was starting to tremble.
She was burning up inside now. Her heart cried out to tell him what she knew. Was this April the one that Baxter had been looking for? She couldn't stand to see him so distraught. She felt, in a small way, that this was her fault. She had the information he needed to set the wrong things right. If only she could bring herself to tell him. She knew she owed that much to Megan, but she was afraid. If Baxter found out she had even made contact with one of them, she feared he would kill her.
"Where's Dr. Hudson?"
Philipe kept his eyes on the monitor. "He got...tied up."
"What, did you strap him to a table too?"
"You know..." he looked at her with burning eyes, and she could feel herself melt against his gaze. "You have a big mouth on you. If you don't shut it, it's going to get you into trouble."
She shook off the dizzying sensations and glared up at him, challenging him with her eyes, even though she could tell he was serious. "Why are you doing all of this anyway? You have nothing better to do with your life? Baxter giving you sexual favors? What?"
He glared at her with those eery eyes, a look of anger crossing his face. "I wouldn't talk about such things if I were you...having given favors to that...freak."
She glared up at him, almost as furious as Raphael himself would have been upon being called such a name. "for the last time, he's not a freak...you are."
She moved her hands around just a little, making sure the bindings were still loose as Amber had left them. The idiot hadn't even bothered to check them today.
Seeing how the subject angered her, Philipe decided it was an effective weapon. He walked to her side and laid a hand on her rounded stomach. "Tell me...how does it feel to know that this...thing inside of you isn't even human? That it's not even a person? It's a freak of nature, Megan. An ugly, deformed, re--"
She'd had it. That was the last straw. As Philipe stood dangerouly close, she yanked her free foot up, kicking him in the jaw. The force of the blow threw him back a little, and he gripped his chin in pain.
"You're going to pay for that!" he yelled. He came at her, but he staggered a little from the pain. The blow had been hard. As he lunged at her, she struggled to pull her hands free from the bindings. As she pulled, she felt her wrists slowly slip out one by one. Finally free, she blocked the punch that had come dangerously close to her face, and returned it with a punch of her own to his nose.
As Philipe wiped the blood away, and struggled to regain his bearings, Megan reached over and undid the last strap around her left ankle. Then, very slowly, she pushed her body upward into a sitting position. It had been a while since she'd actually sat up, and her belly had grown much rounder in the short time she'd been here. She waited for a moment as the light-headedness passed, knowing that she only had a few seconds until Philipe would be strong enough to come after her again. Using all her strength, she pushed herself down from the table and glanced around for an exit.
Philipe dabbed at the blood again and glared at her. "You'll never make it out of here. The security's too tight. And when that freak gets here--"
Megan had had just about enough of his mouth. Mustering up all her anger and determination, she brought up her foot again, this time catching him right between the legs. As she watched him sink to the floor, an evil grin spread across her face.
"At least that freak taught me how to fight, asshole. Too bad you can't say the same for Baxter."
She turned and hobbled away as quickly as her stomach would allow.
Chapter 10 Coming Soon!