Chapter 34
*Josh's POV*
Dr. Cassidy pressed the sedation into her arm and within a minute her body relaxed again. Her arms fell against the mattress. The only sign of discomfort was her breathing that came slightly irregular. As soon as she was still, he began to work.
He started with an IV that he hung on a coat tree we found upstairs. Once the fluids started dripping through the line, he pushed a syringe of pain medicine. While the pain medicine began to take effect, I watched as he performed a more through exam. His eyebrows knitted together the further into his exam he got.
"I need Luna. Please bring her immediately. Have her bring a change of clothes." I got off the floor and ran at full speed to grab Luna.
I didn't bother knocking because I knew someone would be in the living room. Sure, enough Adam was sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. He glanced up at me, but then immediately looked back at Lily. Trinity had burrowed herself in the wolf's fur and was almost invisible amongst the fur and legs.
"Where's your mom? The doctor said we need her." I shifted my weight impatiently.
"She went to put the baby down. She'll be back in a second?"
"How long has she been gone? I need her to come over quickly, and with a set of clothes." At this Adam stood up so his face was now inches from mine. He made sure to keep his voice low enough that Trinity could not hear.
"Has she shifted?" I nodded and looked around him to the hallway where Trinity would be coming from. "Has she said anything about what happened?"
"No, she just told us her name. She was in too much pain and had to be sedated again so that he could help her. I really need the Luna." The request came out as more of a demand than I meant it, but I didn't have time to play twenty questions.
Before he could ask me any more questions, she stepped out of the baby room. I rushed over to her and gripped her hand.
"Dr. Cassidy has sent for you. Sam woke up and was able to shift back. We need another pair of clothes. She's in pain. We sedated her again." I stumbled over the words saying them as quickly as I could. I was pretty sure I flipped some of them around, but it was clear enough for her to turn around and grab the first pair of pants and shirt she could find out of the dryer.
She held the clothes close to her body as we made our way back to the door.
"I'm coming too."
"Then come on." I didn't have time to argue and just walked out the door ushering Luna along with me. If I thought, it was acceptable I would have picked her up and carried her to Sam. Her legs were excruciatingly short making our walk across the two yards take twice as long.
Dr. Cassidy met us at the front door. He allowed Luna in but stopped us from coming inside.
"Give us some time and we'll come get you. The girl is covered in blood and needs new clothes." We both stepped back understanding that it wouldn't be appropriate for us to be down there as Luna changed Sam's clothes.
Adam leaned on the porch railing and looked up at the house. The light blue paint with red trim gave it the feel of something out of a story book. Even the door was painted a bright red and illuminated by a porch light on either side. White paint that still smelled fresh covered the porch and railing.
"You know this is supposed to be my house." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Since there wasn't a question, I didn't respond. I just crossed my arms and paced from one end of the porch to the other. "Mom and Dad's house was built small because they knew they wouldn't be having any other children. This is supposed to be mine...mine and Lily's. I didn't know it would be Lily of course when we started building." He sighed and looked down at his feet.
The sun was just starting to come up turning the sky a faint blue with a touch of pink. "Did she tell you anything before they sedated her? I know she was in wolf form, but through the link maybe?"
I stopped walking and sat on the porch step only to stand up and pace again. "No. As soon as we started giving her fluids she came to and started panicking. We tried to get her to shift but she growled and snapped at us. That was when we first sedated her. The first few times she came to we tried to communicate, but it was no use. Her wolf took over fully and it was best to let her regain her energy."
"You said she told you her name. What was it?"
"Sam."
Trinity opened the door and waived us inside. I jogged into the house and down the stairs. I fell onto the floor hard enough to make my knees ache. She was still in almost the exact same position, but instead of the soiled pajamas she wore a pair of clean black sweats and a baggy blue t-shirt that had to have been wither Adam or Alpha's.
Luna placed her hand on my shoulder forcing me to look up at her. "I think we need to talk about her condition."
Adam stepped up on the other side of me and we waited for her to continue. "Cassidy has informed me that you have a connection with her." I nodded ignoring Adam's glances between the three of us. "She has given birth recently. Whether that child be alive or still born you know she has to have a mate to have created it." I nodded again and reached over to put my hand on hers but thought better of it and dropped my hand in-between us on the mattress.
"Her condition remains critical. By the looks of her clothes, she has lost a lot blood so brace yourself for the possibility of still losing her. The hospital will be opening in a few hours. We know a midwife and doctor that will make a house visit to tend to her."
At this I ignored the appearance and closed the distance holding her hand in mine. "We'll know more tomorrow, but please remember we don't know her role in all this or if her mate is some how a part of it and looking for her."
"She's mine..."
"She's someone else's too."
*Janey's POV*
Morning shifts were generally my favorite. They were the toughest to get to on time, but once you got out of bed and started your day it went by pretty quickly. The morning rush was nothing to joke around about until around ten. After around ten o'clock the office normally slowed down and you had the rest of your shift to do anything you might want or need to get caught up on.
I sat my coffee down by the phone and logged in to the computer to start looking at the appointment schedule for the morning. I waived at the nurses and doctors as the filtered into the break room then to their designated areas.
I logged off my user and grabbed my first file of the day. I was starting off easy with a 7:30 sonogram appointment. I picked up their chart and skimmed through on my way to the door separating the lobby from the exam rooms. We were going to be finding out the sex of the baby.
I could already hear the father gushing over his wife while she shushed him and reassured him that she couldn't possibly have another glass of water, or her bladder would explode. I chuckled and reached for the door. Baylin called out to me before I could open it.
"Let one of the others handle that. We have an emergency."
"Isn't that the whole point of...ambulances?"
Baylin shook her head sending the pigtail braids waving around her head. "Maybe if someone hadn't already told them we would do house calls. They said they aren't sure if she can be transported anyway. They have a physician on site, but no obstetrician."
I handed the file back off to the nurse at the front desk and went around to grab my field bag. "OB? I offered for that baby...Rory. They wouldn't need an obstetrician for him."
"Clearly this family attracts pregnancy related things and now has a girl that has given birth...they think. Either way she's in critical condition. Also, you forget that I am a pediatrician as well so I can check in on Rory while we are there."
I felt a lump settle in my throat. The coincidence was just too great to be anyone else. It had to be Sam, and if it was, we were all about to face the music.
We ran to Baylin's car, and she quickly plugged in the address. The house was only fifteen minutes away and definitely not the house I had been traveling to for appointments. I bounced my leg then crossed and uncrossed my ankles. When that didn't help the anxiety, I opened my mouth to tell her everything, only to close it again. If it wasn't Sam then telling her would only complicate the situation more, but if it was, then at least we could go in with a medical history.
When I left her, we had already passed the placenta, and the bleeding had slowed. I left her a pump to relieve the pressure as her milk came in and she seemed in good health. Tired, but she had just given birth. I was resolved to keep my mouth shut until I knew for sure it was her.
Baylin, sensing my discomfort, glanced at me every few minutes.
"You make these calls all the time. Why are you so anxious?"
"I make house calls. Not emergency visits." The excuse made sense, and she seemed to buy it.
"Well stop fidgeting. You're making me nervous."
I crossed my ankles and dug my nails into my thigh forcing my leg to be still. Everything would be fine.
We pulled up to the large blue house and quickly made our way to the front door. It swung open before we could knock revealing a rather large teen.
Wolf.
Without him being in his wolf form there was no way for me to be sure he was part of the group that found the baby. His short brown hair stuck out in every direction. He pushed it back with his hand showing me exactly how it came to be that way.
"Are you the doctors?" Baylin nodded and the boy reached out shaking her hand. His hand easily swallowed hers and she wobbled slightly as he shook it with more force than he intended. His jaw had been clenched making his face look even sharper, but as we walked in his jaw relaxed and his shoulders dropped slightly. His plain black shirt was coated with stray strands of fur. The black sweatpants weren't much different.
"Are you the father?"
No.
He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck.
"We don't know who the father is...or really who she is." I dropped my eyes to the floor and followed behind the two while he led us down a flight of stairs.
When we stepped off the final step, he led us to a makeshift hospital room. The blonde pixie cut came into view and I knew it was her. I closed my eyes and looked away from her.
I thought she looked young before. In this light and circumstance, she seemed even smaller. Her face was pale with a fresh scar running down her cheek. Her stomach was clearly disproportionate to the rest of her frame. Baylin leaned down and hissed in my ear.
"Hold yourself together."
She moved to Sam while I remained frozen at the doorway. The physician began recounting all the treatments he had given her along with the sedation she was on. The man that had answered the door glanced at me then back at Sam.
I knew I should move closer, but I couldn't. My feet were glued to the ground.
"If you all will clear the room, we need to do a pelvic exam." The Doctor turned to move out of the way. Instead of leaving the boy only moved closer to me.
"You know something."
My eyes widened and I shook my head quickly. Baylin pushed herself off the floor and looked at me as well.
"I-I don't know anyt-thing. I j-just don't normally s-see this."
He tilted his head slightly examining me with his green eyes. When he spoke it wasn't a question.
"You're lying."
The relief that had appeared on his face at our arrival was now gone. I turned to bolt, but he was quicker despite his size. His hand gripped my wrist making me yelp. If he didn't let go he would surely snap my wrist like a twig.
"What do you know?!"
"Unhand my midwife!" Baylin ran over and clawed at his arm. He remained as still as stone despite Baylin shrieking for help.
"What do you know? Don't make me repeat myself." His lips pulled up into a snarl. I couldn't help the tears that warmed my eyes while I tried to pull it out. His grip only tightened.
A man's voice rang out from the base of the stairs. "Josh release her!"
The voice was deep and clear with a level of authority I had never heard before. I could feel him walk up behind me. I dipped my head down and stopped pulling away from Josh.
The man's hand moved to Josh's arm. "Now. She is here to help." This time his words were quieter with the same level of authority.
Josh growled at me releasing my arm and took a step back. "She knows something but refuses to speak."
The man moved to stand in front of me. I recognized him as Nathan, the husband of Everleigh.
"Janey? Is that what it was?" I nodded and refused to look up. I was a grown fucking woman, and this man was making me feel like a child.
Baylin stepped beside him. I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. My heart raced faster sending a flush to my cheeks. She reached out and touched my wrist that would surely be bruised tomorrow. "Janey, you need to tell us what you know."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the group. They were completely blocking my view of Sam. She was the one who needed our attention.
"She's Rory's mother. She begged me to take him away. Something wasn't right about the father."
"What wasn't right?"
I shrugged and rubbed the goosebumps on my arm. "I don't know. He was just dark and scary. One time I saw him, and he was nice and caring then when I came back the next day, she would be having contractions because he was making her lift bags of trash and laundry up and down the stairs. She seemed scared of him."
Josh growled louder and stepped forward. His mouth was opened halfway to ask more questions, but Nathan put his hand out to stop him.
"We can get any non-medical information later. The doctor said this girl is in critical condition. We will leave allowing you to share pertinent information to her care. Isn't the right Josh?"
He grumbled in protest while following Nathan back up the stairs.
"Can you please stop the sedation so she can begin to wake up?"
"She was in a lot of pain..."
"I don't know how to treat the pain or where it's coming from if she isn't awake to tell me."
He nodded and moved to unhook the line from the IV port in her arm.
"Janey, you have until she wakes up to give me what you know about this girl."
"Samantha Hendrix. She said she was eighteen but didn't have any form of ID other than a social security card, so I don't know how accurate that is."
"When did she give birth?" Baylin had pulled out a clipboard with blank paper on it from her bag. She jotted down notes as I talked.
"She delivered late afternoon three days ago. We used Oxytocin to induce. The baby was born a week and a half early."
"You induced her early? That explains Rory being on the small side."
"Her boyfriend was leaving town for the night, and it was our only chance to get the baby out." She sighed waiving her hand for me to continue. "The birth went well. No complications, and she seemed to be on the mend."
Sam's hand started to twitch, and she groaned quietly. I brought my voice down to a whisper. "The scar on her cheek is new. Since she is here and not at her home, I assume the father is the one who gave it to her."
"Do you have a name for him?"
"Henry."
The doctor shook his head and walked over. "That can't be right. It just can't be."
I looked up at him with annoyance. What kind of doctor was he? "It is right. I only met him a few times, but she talked about him often."
"If you'll excuse me." Before waiting for our reply, he scrambled across the basement, and up the stairs.
That can't be good.