The mysterious trip

          Two Days Before

"Explain to me exactly what you have done Mother" Tyler hissed into his cell phone as he barreled to the airport.
Tyler you must stop screaming at me or we won't get anywhere." Mrs.Holt replied calm and demure.
"Explain, Mother, now." Tyler stated again less loudly but not more calmly.
"Alice was supposed to keep my abreast of the fate of the pregnancy, nothing more."
"No mother, the adoption. Tell me about the papers Bianca signed, your so called non disclosure agreement. Carl told me everything."
"Ah, of course, Carl" Barbara Holt mused silently for a moment, the betrayal by Carl Baxter, the Holts families attorney and trusted friend hadn't surprised her. Carl was terminated from his position with the family when Barbara had discovered a letter addressed to Tyler in the briefcase Carl carelessly left at the Holts residence after a mid afternoon martini meeting with her Husband.  Barbara, suspecting that Carl was displeased with her actions in regards to Bianca, had wasted no time helping herself to the contents briefcase and confiscated the letter.  The letter was written as if it were coming from an anonymous source, warning Tyler that the papers that Bianca signed under the assumption that they were a non disclosure agreement were in fact papers stating that if the pregnancy were successful Barbara would adopt and take possession the baby immediately. The money had sealed the deal and the agreement was air tight, Carl had seen to it. When Barbara confronted Carl, he was honest about his intentions with the letter. He expressed his disgust with her dishonesty and said his conscious was eating him alive.  He also said he had not yet said anything to Tyler or anyone else about the agreement.  Barbara immediately  terminated him, and  told him if he ever infringed upon their client attorney privilege he would be disbarred at best all the while implying a threat of harm to his person and his reputation in Oxford as a whole.  Even then she hadn't felt confident it would be enough to quiet him for long, as she knew he had always felt an endearing connection to Tyler, but she had hoped that it could at the very least buy her some time to execute her next move.

When Barbara had devised to plan she actually believed that Bianca would terminate the pregnancy, the adoption was something the had thought up to cover her bases with Tyler, show him that she was always protecting his best interests by retrieving for him the love child that a very sick and undoubtedly mentally unstable Bianca had tried to disappear with and keep to herself despite being unfit both physically and mentally because of her aggressive cancer to care for.  Barbara had believed Bianca would not reach out to Tyler again because despite her disdain for the young lady she sensed that Bianca  a genuine concern for Tyler's future, and she was right, Bianca wouldn't have reeled Tyler back into her troubles.  What Barbara Holt lacked was not an understanding of Bianca's heart it was a lack of understanding her sons.  When Tyler Holt, love sick and broken, embarked on his mission to recover Bianca everything Barbara thought she knew didn't matter anymore.
"Tyler my actions were in your best interest, I was trying to protect you, to insure that if you had a child that you could have access to it."
"If I had a child, right mother? If, as in if Bianca hadn't aborted the pregnancy like you had asked her to?" Tyler snapped in response without skipping a beat.
"Oh Tyler why are you pretending to be so niave! Bianca was a very sick girl, carrying the baby to term was unlikely and dangerous for the both of them, can't you see that I was doing my very best for everyone involved, under the... unique and complicated circumstances I think my reasoning was sound. I'm not understanding how you are failing to see it.  You may think me a wicked witch or whatever you please but you will not convince me to agree with you. Sometimes the right thing seems wrong and sometimes ethical lines get blurred but at the end of the day decisions must be made, and action must be taken to protect the ones we love."
"Oh my God Mother. You've convinced me, your a manipulative deviant because your so kind hearted and loving ."
"Deviant, Tyler, really do mind your manners, I am your mother."
"Mother who is Alice Leck?"
"She was your father's idea, he's not without fault in this situation either you know." Barbara sighed at the lack of response from Tyler about his father's involvement, Burford always somehow slipped through everything without any blame " she was a colleague of his several years , a companion rather that he entertained a relationship with during a rough patch in our marriage."
"He had an affair with Alice Leck?" Tyler shook his head overwhelmed by this new information.
"Oh I suppose if you must label it, you could call it that.  Despite my feelings about their continued correspondence Burford and Alice have stayed in touch, I only allowed it because the poor woman fell apart when he ended the intimate aspect of their relationship. I'm no monster the woman deeply cared for him, she tried to end her life when he left her."
"That doesn't sound right Mother, I don't buy that for a second, what details are you conveniently omitting, you would never abide by Dad and his ex lover keeping in touch."
Barbara sighed again, she was Mother, always formal, always two syllables, never mom, never mommy and despite Burford's minimal, in her opinion, contribution to the raising of the boys he somehow managed to attach himself to the more endearing title of Dad. Very few things hurt Barbara Holts ridged heart the way the word dad did. "
"I understand that you are upset, I understand that you are looking for answers, but dredging up your father's indiscretions and knowing every detail is simply unnecessary because frankly it is unrelated. In marriage there are some things that are kept simply between a husband and wife the ins and outs of Alice Leck is one of those things.  I will gladly share the pertinent information when you get here."
"Fine, yes I'm parking at the airport now. I fully intend to return home no later than tomorrow so all of the paperwork needs to be prepared when I arrive, to be clear, you will be signing the rights to the baby away, and arranging the rolling my trust over to the baby and removing yourself as an interested party."
"Yes son, just as we discussed, I am prepared to void Bianca's and I's agreement, although I don't see any need, with th circumstances the way they are presently I wouldn't have taken any action."
Tyler couldn't help but laugh, "Mother I have no idea what you are capable of these days, I don't trust you as far as I can throw you. Again, I need paperwork showing this is over so you can never pull any of your bullshit with my child.  And the trust?"
"Tyler, I will sign the trust over to the baby as long as you fulfill your end of the of the agreement."
"For God's sake after all you have done to Bianca and I, I can't believe your insisting..." Barbara cut him off "in matters of the families money your opinion doesn't matter, the rules are in place for a reason, you are still my child and I am still your mother.  You have satisfied the marriage and baby stipulations,  but the investment option is still mine, and Mother," she emphasized the word mother in an obvious display of her distaste for the word "knows best. Besides Tyler, I find it completely ridiculous that you would even take issue with it!  Holt stop is fantastically successful Austin is the perfect place for a new location. It will be a nice source of income for your family."
"More like it's a nice way for you to keep one foot in the door of my life forever."
"Well yes, that too, it's worked out beautifully for your brother in Atlanta, I have no doubt that it will be just as lucrative for you. Trent and Avery were no more excited about the opportunity than you are but I would  be willing to bet that if he were being honest about it, he's content with my decision now."
"Don't delude yourself Barbara" Tyler growled "Trent wants nothing to do with you and either do I."
"I'll arrange transportation from the airport." Barbara stated "and call me Barbara if you want, I think I prefer it to Mother any way."
"No need to arrange a car, I'll be renting one, I want you to have no say if I come or go. And I believe I prefer Barbara as well, I don't know that you have ever behaved like a Mother." With that Tyler hung up the phone and made his way into the airport.

He's already here

"How did she end up in the B wing" the voice of a woman asked.
"I don't know ma'am, I found her at the nurses station, she was in shock ." A man's voice replied, Bianca identified the man's voice as bishop's, the guard 5hat had discovered her.
"Were you able to get her name?" The woman asked.
"No ma'am, but I think I found the room she was in, there were no personal effects inside, but there was a bag of urine and a catheter there was some blood on it."
" My name is Bianca Holt" Bianca stated clearly into the fog.
"I think she's coming too" the woman said then Bianca felt hands on her arm. I must have passed out, she thought, I have to wake up "my name is Bianca Holt." She stated again. "Miss, if you can hear me nod your head" the woman encouraged. Bianca began nodding her head and with every nod the white cloud lifted a bit revealing blackness beneath.
"Very good" coaxed the woman "open yours eyes, your safe, your in the hospital, Bishop Page the doctor and tell him jane doe from the b wing is coming too." Bianca heard bishop's footsteps as he left room. Open your eyes Bianca, she told herself open them! Her eyelids were so heavy it felt as if they were weighted down but slowly the blackness began to take shape and she could see the face of the woman who was speaking to her and hospital room around her. "My name is Bianca Holt" she said her voice weak and hoarse. The woman wrote her name on a small spiral pad she held in her hand.  The woman wasn't dressed as a nurse or doctor but in a ill fitted pantsuit.  She was an attractive woman despite the lack of any make up and her hair, seemed dirty and swept up into a sloppy ponytail. She appeared to be in her forties but Bianca thought she may have appeared younger if she were wearing make up. "Ok Bianca,"  the woman said, "now we are getting somewhere. Can you tell me how you got here, to the hospital?"
"Alice Leck" was all that Bianca could squeak out and it was the only thing on her mind, "find dr. Alice Leck, I think she has my baby" Bianca was able to state more clearly.
"Is that why you came here to the hospital Bianca, to have a baby?"
" Yes, I went into labor. I was supposed to have a c section and hysterectomy. I had a contraction in the parking lot and two men retrieved me and brought me inside."
" they brought you into the b wing?"
"Honestly it's a blurr."
"Bianca, what is the last thing you recall before the surgery?"
It suddenly occurred to Bianca that she had no idea who this woman was and that it certainly wasn't prudent to divulge any information to anyone that couldn't be trusted given the mysterious circumstances surrounding her situation.
The woman stared intensly at Bianca for a moment before she turned her head to acknoowlege the doctor and another woman Entering The room. "  "thank you officer, can you come with me for a moment so Dr. McAllister can assess the patient" the woman who came with the dr. Asked an officer, Bianca thought, that makes since she felt relief wash over her knowing it was some sort of officer that she had been talking to and not someone with questionable motives. "certainly " the officer replied, "I'll speak with you again soon Bianca" the officer said as she laid a card on the table next to the hospital bed. Bianca nodded.
"My name is Bianca Holt. My husband is Tyler Holt and someone needs to contact him." Bianca stated to the doctor. "We will get to working on that right away, but first let's have a look at you." The doctor replied matter of factly. "My baby is missing, you need to find Dr. Alice Leck and find out where my baby is." Bianca snapped impatiently.  It was time to get things done.  The doctor, a man Bianca guessed was in his mission fifties with pure white hair and wore thick tortoise she'll glasses almost identical to her father's smiled at Bianca and touched her shoulder. "I'm Dr. McAllister, I'm going to need to examine you and then we will address every concern you have, one at a time until we have sorted this all out.  While you were unconscious you were given several units of blood.  You incision was cleaned and re dressed, you aren't exhibiting any indications of infection and the work on your c section appears to be sound and professional. An ultrasound shows that your uterus is where is should be, in relation to its size and position for someone 2 days postpartum .
"Two days!" Bianca exclaimed, shocked that she had no idea how long she had been in the hospital. "My God, and no one has heard from my husband and no one has located my child I still have a uterus?!" Dr McAllister looked puzzled, no doubt because Bianca seemed upset to have a uterus. But smiled calmly and spoke softly, "I know you are concerned and you have every right to be. But I need you to keep calm, your blood pressure is a concern right now and I don't want to have to give you something to calm you as I'm sure you would prefer being as sharp as possible while we sort this all out." The suited woman reentered the room without the officer and approached her bedside.  The doctor looked at her and quickly instructed her to locate Dr. Leck and Tyler Holt .
"We have reached out to Dr. Leck, we are waiting to hear back and Mr. Holt is here and eager to see his wife." Bianca felt her hands grow cold and her cheeks grow warm, Tyler is here, thank God, she wanted him to hold her so badly. She felt the prick of tears welling up in her eyes. The suited woman cut her gaze to Bianca, "hello Bianca, my name is Sandra, I'm the hospital administrator." Without missing a beat Sandra returned her attention back to the Dr. "Shall I tell Mr. Holt he can see her as soon as he's finished with officer charles?"
"Yes, have him shown in immediately." Dr . McAllister instructed commandingly "when he is here no one is to disturb their visit, they have much to discuss." The dr patted Bianca's shoulder and Bianca beamed at him with appreciation.

Is my Baby with you?

"Bianca, the authorities are trying to reach you. Shane and June have been in an accident.  Bea, Shane....your father, he didn't...honey I'm so sorry, he didn't make it.  June is on life support but they tell me they are holding out little hope for her..." It was a shaken April Bettles, June's mother who had left Bianca the message Bianca say paralyzed in shock as she listened to the horrific news "the baby, he is critical, but he's alive Bianca, and he may make it. You need to get to Oxford as soon as possible. I'm leaving Florida now.  I'm sorry to have left you this message but I don't know what else to do. Please call me just as soon as you can."  Bianca felt faint, and realized she wasn't breathing. She sharply inhaled as she listened to the voice mail menu rattle off her options. When it prompted her to press 2 to save the message she did and the next message began playing "Bianca! What the hell is going on, why are you not answering the phone. I'm here in Oxford, I got your message baby, please call me.  April Bettles got ahold of me I am on my way to the hospital that your family is at, I can't believe your having the baby, I'm so sorry that I'm not there, I need to know what you want me to do, do you want me to come back or stay here.  Darlin' I don't even have the words...i don't know what to do, I called the hospital where you said you were going, they say your not there. God please don't let something have happened to you. Bianca...." the message cut off after that, Bianca presumed it was because it was too long. Again she pressed 2 upon the voicemails instructions. "You have no new messages in your mailbox". 
Her trembling hand replaced the reciever. Daddy's dead she whispered. Junes dying. I had a baby. Where is my baby. Tylers looking for me, he doesn't know anything. She continued talking to herself as her brain tried to digest everything that had just been revealed to her When she was startled by a man's voice. "What are you doing here!" The man shouted, he was wearing a uniform, he looked like he could be a police officer, maybe just a security gaurd. He had one hand hovering over a night stick and the other held up as if telling her to stop. He was a very tall black man and looked to be in his early forties.  The metal name badge on his shirt read "Bishop" beneath the name it said security.  Bianca couldn't move or speak she felt as if she were watching herself from outside of her own body. Reading the name "Bishop" over and over again she could feel her lips mouthing the name, she was unable to stop, she wanted too, but her body felt like a robot that had short circuited. "Maam!" Bishop snapped at her again "what are you doing here?!" He insisted.  Bianca's ears were ringing, she could see his mouth moving but she could hear nothing beyond the deafening buzzing ring in her head. Bishop approached her cautiously, she followed him with her eyes, her lips still mouthing the name but everything else still frozen solid. He approached the counter speaking into a walkie talky attached to his shoulder. One hand still hovering over the nightstick. She still heard nothing but could tell he was telling her to come out from behind the counter, she couldn't move, she couldn't even shake her head. He continued towards  her slowly, still motioning for her to come forward. When he reached the counter his brown eyes widened in disbelief.  Seeing now that she was wearing a hospital gown and was unarmed his demeanor softened and Bianca could tell he was speaking softly he paused from time to time to talk into the speaker on his shoulder but no longer held his hand over his nightstick. The ringing in her ears began to subside slightly, she heard him ask her if she was okay and for the first time since his appearance she was able to move. She shook her head no slowly,  and slower still raised her hands to her abdomen.  She may have been able to speak if she had tried but there just weren't any words sufficient enough to summarize how not okay she was. Bishop spoke into his shoulder "She's bleeding from her abdomen, we need a doctor  here immediately." Puzzled Bianca looked down at her throbbing abdomen.  Her gown was soaked in blood.  She felt like she was going to pass out "no," she plead with herself quietly in her mind, "do not lose conciousness, Bianca, you have to stay alert, God knows what will be done with you if you pass out." Bianca could feel her eyes fluttering and her brain slipping into a dream like state of confusion "no" she wimpered at Bishop "please, don't let me pass out, please" Bishop ran around the counter and kneeled beside her she offered him her hands and he gently held them. "Help is on the way miss, your going to be okay" he told her gently while he squeezed he hands. She nodded indicating she was trying to hold on before the ringing returned to her ears and everything in the room except for Bishop became a foggy blurr. She could feel him squeezing her hands and could see his lips moving and his head nodding assuringly as he was washed in the white fog that had overtaken the rest of the room. 
The familiar voice of a woman began singing that song, the one she and Tyler liked so much, their song.

"Your silent retreat was screaming loudly our love had died and tho we were just a moment you took my heart along for your selfish ride. How do I say goodbye to my heart, how do I give up on you, you have to feel it too, just get to know me, let me just know you."

"Why are you singing that?!" Bianca asked with suprising vigor. Still seeing nothing but foggy white, "who is singing that Bishop? I can't see you. I can't see anything" Biancas voice was so strong and clear she didn't know how she had the strength to project it so well.  Suddenly her nose was filled with a familiar smell, it was the warm and comforting smell of her mother, just like on the robe in her mother's bedroom when she and Shane had returned after the funeral. " Mom!" Bianca  exclaimed "yes"  her mother sweetly replied.  "Am I dead?" Bianca asked unsure of what she really wanted the answer to be. "No baby, your not dead, you have lost alot of blood, but your going to be alright. Your father is with me now, and we don't want you to worry, everything is going to be alright. We have to go, and you have to wake up now. "
"Please mom, no, don't go yet...mom is my baby with you? Is he dead?"
"No, Bianca, he's not here, wake up baby you must pay attention now."
"Mom, no! I love you!" Bianca plead.

A renovated plan

At the end of the hallway was an empty reception desk. Not a nurse in sight. Of course, Bianca thought. Well there may not be a nurse but there almost certainly will have to be a phone. She would have to walk to the desk without any handrail or anything else to steady her. Causiously she let go of the hand rail, to her surprise standing without the aid of the rail wasn't much more painful. But walking was.  Bianca felt as if she were in a nightmare she wished she could just tell herself to wake up and discover she was still napping next to Tyler, she wished they had just played chess. His cryptic words about the queen haunted her. Had he been talking about her and not his mother. Was he responsible for this, how could he have planned this though, it didn't make any sense. There was no one looking for her, no one who would knew she had gone into labour but Tyler, if he checked his phone and Alice Leck.  Maybe June would begin to wonder where she was Bianca was certain that June would be trying to contact her about her father's accident eventually.  Bianca was unsure of the where abouts of every person she loved.  She had no idea if her father or her baby were living or dead.  She suspected her husband was in someway responsible for the nightmare of her reality, and that her doctor...she didn't even know what to make of Alice Leck, the last familiar face she had seen prior to all of this "when you wake up, this will all be over" Bianca replayed Dr. Lecks words over and over in her head.  How could it be possible for her to be involved with some grand conspiracy, she had a practice, she would be easy to trace. The panic washed over Bianca in grand waves pumping adrenaline through her broken heart.  She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized she had made it, she had walked to the desk and yes, there was a phone.  Bianca scanned the nurses station, or reception area...whatever it was and made noticed the yellow caution tape on the far end.  It ran from the desk to the wall and the floor behind it was stripped down to bare concrete.  There were buckets and dusty bags laying beside stacks of new flooring tiles.  On the walls there were wires hanging out where it looked like lighting fixtures should have been.  It was obvious that this wing of was being renovated and by the looks of it would be for some time. The only lights that were working were dim fluorescent ones, Bianca  figured that this must be emergency lighting.  For a moment her hope waned that there would be a live telephone in the station, but she remembered that even when she temporarily lost power in her home the antique style phone attached to the land line still functioned despite the lack electricity.  She made her way to the inside of the desk and causiously lowered herself into a rolling desk chair. Sitting proved more painful than standing but she committed to it hoping the pain was caused by the act of getting into the chair and would dissapate after she was positioned in the chair, and she was right. She rolled the office chair to the telephone, once again feeling defeated noticing that none of the lights were lit up, it could still have a dial tone she told herself reassuringly. As the chair glided across the floor a vision of Tyler popped into her head.  Handsome and charming spinning her wildly in an office chair waltz, calling her his princess in their home in Oxford.  A sob escaped her but only one before she broke free of her nostalgic indulgence and arrived back to her current  nightmare. Bianca placed a hand on the reciever and lifted it.  Who am I calling, she thought for the first time.  Who can I trust, who all is involved with this. She lifted the reciever to her ear, a dial tone. There must be a way to call another station or security, she thought. She hung the reciever up, while she planned her next move. There was a red button next to the number keys on the dial pad, that must mean something,  she thought.  Bianca lifted the reciever again but she didn't press the red button.  She instead dialed her own phone number.

Get there

"Bianca, Bianca wake up" a muffled female voice said. Bianca opened her eyes, they were heavy and her vision was still a bit blurred. "Bianca, you've just come from surgery, I need you to aknowledge that you can hear and understand me, can you?"  Quickly Bianca nodded "y...yes" She managed to squeak out. The fog in here eyes was beginning to clear and she began recounting the chaos that had been prior to going under.  Alarmed she reached for her belly.  The baby was gone, she had given birth but had no idea how. "What's happened" she asked sharply, annoyed and panicked with her lack of involvement in her own delivery. 
The nurse was a woman of probably about 40, she was attractive and was wearing alot of eye make up. "You've had a baby, Bianca." The nurse replied matter of factly.  "Where is he?" Bianca asked not at all satisfied with the nurses response. "Dr. Leck will be in to see you shortly" the nurse replied handing Bianca a cup of ice chips "your mouth is probably dry dear, try and suck on these ice chips, take it slowly and we will see how well your stomach tolerates them.  It's not unusual to feel nauseated after anesthesia, her is a basin if you feel like you are going to be ill." With that the nurse handed Bianca a grey plastic tub and left the room.

Bianca had never felt more helpless or confused. She shook a few ice chips out of the white steyr foam cup into her mouth,  which was extraordinarily dry, and sucked on them.  She felt certain that no one in the history of baby birthing had ever been treated this way. Where is my purse, my phone, she thought, where is Tyler, where is Dr. Leck, for God's sake where is my son.  Rage boiled up inside of her. This in unacceptable she said to herself aloud shifting the ice chips around in her mouth, she didn't even know if she still had a uterus.  Had they performed a hysterectomy? The more the groggy fog lifted the more anger seethed within her.  it was True she hadn't given much thought to the way the delivery would transpire but she had never fathomed this. She lifted the blanket and paper hospital gown covering her, a gauze pad laid atop of her incision blood just begining to seep through, carefully she lifted the gauze  beneath it laid a 5 inch incision just below her bikini line held together by 12 large metal staples. The work appeared clean and neat, Bianca couldn't believe how much flatter her abdomen already appeared to be.  She wiggled her toes, no problems there.  Bianca cautiously lifted her legs one at a time, there was definitely pain at the incision site but she did have mobility in her limbs. Shouldn't someone be explaining this to me she thought. She scanned the recovery room, it was a private area, only 2 chairs beside the hospital bed that no one was sitting in, my God, Bianca thought, My father, where is my phone. "Nurse!" Bianca hollared in the direction of the rooms closed door as soon as she felt as if there was enough moisture in her throat to tolerate it. After a few moments of no reply she began scanning the room she was in, it was the same room she had initially been brought in to.  There were monitors but they were neatly positioned in the corners of the room and covered as if they had never been used.  Bianca looked at her arms, no IV, but bruises where one had been.  Her clothes and her purse were nowhere that she could see.  She glanced at the trash can, it was empty, not even a trash bag inside.  A horrible feeling washed over her, she knew something was terribly wrong here, how was it possible though, she wondered, am I dreaming, is it possible that after surgery there would no longer be any monitors needed no IVs with antibiotics or fluids, she hated herself for never asking any questions she hated Tyler for abandoning her and June for not answering her phone.  She began to fumble around her bed looking for a call button or some sort of alarm and found a controller wired to the bed with a nurses hat icon on a red button.  She pressed the button over and over but the led light never lit up. She pressed the bed positioning buttons but the bed didn't move, it obviously had no power coming to it. Bianca noticed for the first time that the lights were off. "Does anyone know I'm here!" She screamed, nothing "HELP ME!!" She shrieked, still nothing.  Inhaling deeply  she flung her legs from the side of the bed.  I'll grab a chair, she thought, I'll use it as a walker. Exhaling through the pain she thrust herself from the bed and over to a chair never anticipating the pain in her abdomen when she put weight on her legs.  She fell just short of the chair and felt a ghastly tug in her groin, a result of plastic tubing leading to the opposite side of the hospital bed she had taken leave of.  Lying on the floor in front of the chair she visually traced the tube from the bed to under her gown, a catheter. No, Bianca thought, knowing getting back to the other side if the bed to fetch the bag was out of the question she had no choice. She was going to have to remove it herself.  She had seen this done with her mother and knew there wasn't much to it but she still trembled with fear as she deeply exhaled and yanked the tube with great force. it was wildly uncomfortable but only for a brief  moment.  Bianca began sobbing, how had this happend, why.  She felt so helpless and violated, left in this room for dead, forgotten or discarded, she couldn't be certain which.  Her incision was throbbing, she was certain there was no pain medication left in her body.  She had to pull herself together, she had to find someone, afterall she had just had a cesarean, people have them everyday she would just need to push through the pain.  She reached for the gauze that had been covering her incision, it was lying on the floor beside her and with one hand placed it back over her wound applying pressure to it will she hoisted herself to her feet using the chair for support. "Help!" She screamed again in vain. 

The chair slid quite easily across the floor to Bianca's  surprise. She felt like her insides were going to fall out if she didn't hold them in with her gauze pad.  Slowly and clumsily she made her way to the door. "Help!" She screamed again but with no response. Letting go of the chair she grabbed the door handle and pushed down the doorknob didn't budge, as if it was locked from the outside but whomever had locked it had not fully closed the door, thank you Jesus Bianca cried as she pushed the door open to reveal a empty hallway.

There was a handrail running the length of the hallway, Bianca grabbed it with one hand applying pressure to her incision with the other. Breathe, she told herself, breath through it. "Help!" She shrieked, she wasn't going to be able to scream anymore. It was painful and required more energy than she could afford to expend if she was going to walk. "God help me" she prayed with every excruciating step she took. "God help me, God help me, God help me." She moved down the hallway at a glacial pace, she had no plan other than to walk down the hallway. She would figure out her next move when she reached the end."Get there," she added to her mantra "get there, god help me, get there, god help me..."

A stew of emotions

Feelings of elation flooded over her before her panic set back in. "Ok Bianca," she said to herself "let's just make it to the hospital, that's all you have to do right now." She carefully stepped over the puddle of fluid on the foor and grabbed her keys and her purse.  Her phone was in the back pocket of her slacks.  She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Alice Leck office, leaving a message with the answering service that she was headed to the hospital.  The new voice mail notification flashed across her phone screen, of course, she thought, the missed call from Mississippi. While making her way to the car she listened to the voice mail message.

"Mrs. Holt, my name is Deputy Scott from the Lafayette county sheriff's.  I'm afraid there's been an accident involving your father Shane Shelk.  Please return my call as soon as possible. Thank you."

Bianca, now sitting in the drivers seat of her mercedes froze.  Dad had an accident, she spoke to herself, her voice trembling as a contraction wrapped around her again more powerful than even the last, she clenched her teeth and squeezed the steering wheel trying to force her lungs to inhale. She needed to get to the hospital and fast, it was never the plan to delivery traditionally and that was looking more and more likely with every passing moment.  As the contraction retreated Bianca comanded her high tech car to call June's cell and the call went directly to Junes voicemailbox.

Bishop was moving about within her wildly and painfully pelting on her cervix, she put the car in reverse and quickly headed out of the driveway, she knew she had to make haste to the hospital about 10 minutes away before another contraction came on.  "Call Tyler" she shouted at her car, straight to voicemail she was delivered.
"Tyler, my water broke...I'm on my way to the hospital, my dad had an accident please find out what you can, call me immediately. I love you."

Bianca tossed her phone into her bag. "Focus Bianca. Get there" she encouraged herself in the rear view mirror.  A stew of emotions bubbling with in her, excitement, panic, sadness, fear, frustration none more prominent that the other, she had to shut it all down, she had to focus only on she and the baby right now that was the priority. She clicked on the radio with the intention of immersing herself in whatever was playing.

"Your silent retreat was screaming loudly our love had died and tho we were just a moment you took my heart along for your selfish ride. How do I say goodbye to my heart, how do I give up on you, you have to feel it too, just get to know me, let me just know you."

Their song, of course Bianca thought. "Always together when we hear it right Tyler." She scoffed.  She didn't think she would ever forgive his absence, she was wishing, in that moment that Tyler had just left her alone.  Despite his return to her, here she was in labor, all alone. In addition she had no idea what had happened to her father, the sheriff's office, why would they call her, why not June or the hospital.  Was he dead, oh my god, Bianca thought, is he dead. "Stop it Bianca, have this baby. He's not dead. Tyler will check his voicemail, he will get your answers and he will call you as soon as he lands or whatever.  So just stop Bianca, you can't do anything now"  she tried hard to convince herself to let go of the burden of that worry but she could not.  Feeling a contraction coming on she whipped into gas station parking lot, still 5 minutes away from the hospital.  The contractions are coming faster she thought. Again clenching her teeth and strangling the steering wheel she surrendered to the pain of the contraction almost grateful that the pain was substantial enough to clear her mind of everything but the enormous pressure for the few moments it took to pass.  As soon as the contraction subsided she threw the car in gear and continued her voyage to the hospital.

When she arrived she felt like the journey had taken hours. She parked in a handicapped parking space near the emergency room and as quickly as she could gathered her handbag and phone and climbed out of the car and began walking to the entrance, the pressure in her pelvis unbelievable and causing her to waddle slowly despite her efforts to move swiftly .  Another furious contraction overcame her halfway to the emergency entrance, with nothing to steady her she collapsed to her knees. Out of no where two men in scrubs appeared at her side with a wheelchair and loaded her into it. "Thank you" she wimpered still recovering from the pain.

They wheeled her straight past the desk and quick into a room where they helped her into a bed on her side.  Monitors and IVs quickly being installed in and on her, the men worked quickly and with out speaking, which suited Bianca fine, she was weakened by the ordeal and didn't have much interest in speaking, consumed with dread in anticipation of the next horrific contraction. Everything had become  just a blur of bleeping and wooing sounds, they must have given her something for the pain because she couldn't feel the pressure anymore.  When she tried to speak only an incoherent slur escaped her mouth. A blurry figure from the background made its way closer to her and Dr. Leck face began to come into focus.  Bianca could tell she was wearing scubs. "It's ok Bianca," Dr. Leck spoke in a calm and reassuring tone.  "We are taking you back for surgery , your going to fall asleep and when you wake up all if this will be over." Bianca couldn't speak, or move and it was the last thing she would remember before she faded out of conciousness.

Pesky queen

"Hi Dad" Bianca chirped as she answered the phone. "hey there baby!" Shane replied "How are you holding up, 35 weeks today right?"
"Yes sir, and feeling every bit of it."
"Yes, June was certainly ready for the baby to come at that point, but hang in there kiddo, your on the home stretch.  What are the doctors saying about delivery?"
"Dr. Leck was wanting to wait until 38 weeks, but I see her again tomorrow and we are supposed to schedule the delivery then, so tomorrow we will know when we get to meet him, Im feeling pretty excited about it."
"Bianca, Dr. Leck is she an obsetretic oncologist?"
"no, she is a high risk OB, she told me there was no need for an oncologist until closer to my due date."
"Thats bizarre. Is she the one preforming your hystorectomy"
"shes supposed to"
"Bianca you need to take a moment and write up a list of questions for your doctor.  Im no expert but it seems concerning to me that you havent been evaluated by an oncologist since you left Mississippi."
Bianca knew he was right.  She really knew very little of what was to be done with her after the baby was delivered.  Alice had been seeing her every week for sometime now, and the last mention of her cancer was at the appointment tyler accompanied her too th eday they got married.  In all hoesty this had suited Bianca just fine, she never forgot about her cancer, it was in the forefront of her mind constantly, she didnt want to discuss it with the doctor, she didnt want all of the dirty details of how her trearments would begin.  Bianca wanted to be pregnant, just normal and pregnant.  She loved hearing the heartbeat and seeing the baby at every appointment. Dr. Leck examined her cervix at every visit, but said nothing of her condition growing worse, bianca took this as a positive sign that perhaps it hadnt been getting any worse.  The slew of literature Bianca had read had nothing to do with cancer, just prenancy and fetal development.  She resented her cancer, the moments that she was able to ingnore it were precious.  But now so close to deliver she found herself thinking of it more often than she liked.  Thinking of it in terms of being able to raise her son, in terms of not missing his infancy while being treated.  She knew it was time to start asking difficut questions, and accepting the difficult answers.  Bianca had fully intended to ask Dr. Leck to address her concerns at her appointment tomorrow, Shane always had had a gift for pointing out the obvious in the most infuriating way.
"Yeah Dad, I know.  I have some questions ready for her.  How is Brock?"
"Hes fantastic, finally sleeping through the night now, and thank God for that."
"I bet that makes life a little easier, Is June around I would like to talk with her for a moment."
"Yep, Let me go get her.  Be sure to call me first thing after your appointment tomorrow with all the details so that June and I can get our stuff together to head your way."
"You got it. I love you."
"Love you too, heres June"

Bianca had been speaking with June nearly everyday.  It had been wonderful reconnecting with her.  Junes relationship with Shane was no longer disturbing to Bianca, although she would never think of June as her Mother, it seemed to Bianca that Shane and Junes relationship was as authentic and natural as any other relationship.  June was someone who knew Biancas very soul and Bianca regretted not speaking with her when all of the news of the baby and cancer first surfaced.  In her haste to cast June from her life she had completely forgotten what a dear friend and companion June had been to Bianca. 

April, June's mother, had left Paris and had cut June out of her life.  April still had feelings for Shane when June told her of her relationship with him and it was too much for her mother.  April felt betrayed by everyone in her life June, Shane, Junes Father with his affair.  June believed one day her mother would forgive her and wrote to her regularly so that when she did she wouldn't feel like she had missed anything.  June had heard that April was seeing someone now in Orlando where she had moved and June was elated with this news knowing that this new relationship would allow Aprils damaged heart an opportunity to heal eventually paving the road to their reconciliation.  Junes father had taken the news much better, sending her a nice stipend of money as a wedding gift.  While June and her Father were not close in a traditional sense, June still bitter about his leaving her mother, they too wrote and exchanged pictures.  Junes father now had a one year old little girl, whom June had not yet met and a little boy on the way.  Fate again was doing its tricky thing, June experiencing friction and exclusion in her family very much the way that Bianca had.  Bianca didnt rejoice in this, instead she was sympathetic to June, and glad to lend an ear when June needed one.  Perspective is a beautiful thing when it comes to finding solace and perspective was something Bianca had to offer her.  It felt good to be on the other side of sympathy, Bianca spent so much time receiving it that she felt that it made her whole to issue some.  Shane and June had even named Tyler and Bianca in their will to be the care taker of her brother if the unthinkable occurred, Bianca was really the only obvious choice but she found it touching and meaningful none the less.

As Bianca concluded her conversation with June Tyler walked through the front door, a large box tucked under his arm.  "Hi Baby!" Bianca was elated to see him home so early on a monday afternoon.
"Hey darlin, how are you and my little man doing this fine afternoon."
"we are terrific, what are you doing home at 2:oo? Late lunch, and whats in the box?"
"not lunch, home for the evening to hang with my beautiful wife," he ttok the box from under his arm and laid it on the granit counter top, "and this is a wedding gift from the fellas at work."
"ohh exciting" Bianca squealed crossing the kitchen to him and kissing him on the cheek.

"I know right?" Tyler grinned excitedly, his boyish charm showing through, his youth had been something Bianca had recognized in him lately. In the recent weeks Tyler had become very serious. He had been working long hours and although his consideration for Bianca never waned, there was little laughter or playfulness in their marriage.  The house, the cars, his job these were the things Tyler concerned himself with the most.  Bianca wondered if the intimacy between them would ever return,  even after the baby was born because it seemed Tyler was light years ahead of her maturity wise, it was something she tried not to give too much thought to because her mind was simply too full of all of her other concerns, but there was no denying that Tyler was annoyed by her lack of sophistication.  Bianca could only hope that he was consumed as she was with worry, and that in the same manner she had surrendered her worried mind to preparing a nursery for the baby he had surrendered to becoming a successful provider. "It's our first wedding gift baby" he said beginning to tear into the brown box. "Bianca threw her arm around his waist and watched as he excitedly unpacked a beautiful marble chess board.

"I guess you will have to teach me how to play" Bianca said poking Tyler in the ribs.

"Wanna play now?" He asked while be carefully unwrapped each chess peice. "I would love nothing more Bianca sweetly replied, excited to spend some quality time with him.

Tyler placed the king on the chess board and stared at it thoughtfully.  

"The name of the game Bianca, is to protect your king.  You have to be three steps ahead of your opponent. You have to anticipate the attack they are planning..." He placed the queen next to the king and tapped it looking at Bianca, "got to get rid of this pesky queen, she can move in any direction, as long as she is on the board, even if she's just hiding out, your chance of winning is always in jeopardy."  Bianca looked at him, puzzled by his seriousness.  She was certain that he was no longer talking about chess.