"Who are you?"

Ella wasn't sure she made herself heard,but the doctor glanced down at her and smiled. "Glad to see you awake. How're you feeling?"

"Not good." She was nauseated,and it was difficult to focus on his multiple wavering images. She vaguely remembered a nasty scene. She had been bleeding. It seemed like a very long time ago. "What's wrong with me? Where's Cassie?"

"Your family and I agreed that you needed absolute bed rest after you lost your baby, so we moved you to the VIP room." He patted her arm,but she wouldn't have felt his touch if she hadn't been looking at her hand, where an IV needle was dripping a clear solution into her vein.

Motion on the other side of the bed drew her attention. A nurse was smiling down at her. "I'm Grace Kelly," she said. She was thirty or thereabouts, with wide face and short ginger hair.

"Miss Kelly's been staging with you round the clock," The doctor said. "She's taking excellent care of you, and so far you've been an ideal patient. Also, my name is Dr. Stevenson."

Ella was confused and disoriented. The room looked unfamiliar and the doctor gave her a weird vibey-vibe feeling. "Where's everyone? And why do I have an IV?"

"To ensure that you don't dehydrate," the doctor explained. "You were in coma for six days."

The nurse was taking her blood pressure.

"Am I sick?" She asked,suddenly seized by panic. What weren't they telling her? Had she been in an accident? Lost a limb? Did she lose the baby?

Those frightening thoughts were instantly replaced by the terrifying reality. He is not Dr. Greene.

"Where's Cassie? I want to talk to her?"

"Your family are not around. And your husband went down to the cafe for a coffee." Dr. Stevenson told her, pleasant smile on his handsome face. "He would be here soon. Maybe you can talk to him later."

"Am I dying?"

"Of course not, Mrs. Mckade. Lie back," Dr. Stevenson said, pressing her shoulder gently when she tried to sit up. He looked across at Grace Kelly. "We'd better bring her down some more."

"But Dr. Steven-"

"Please Ms. Kelly."

"Certainly, Doctor." She left the room.

"Where's mom?" Ella asked,her voice sounding distant and feeble even to her own ears. "I don't trust you. Call mom. Tell her to come and get me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ella. And you're right not to trust me, but as far as your family knows, I am your new doctor. Dr. Greene's out of the country. If I were you I wouldn't try anything funny, because of your daughters and dear sister-in-law, who's currently in West Mercer."

The nurse returned with a syringe. She gave Ella an injection in her thigh.

"You'll get better faster if you relax and let us take care of you," Dr. Stevenson told her gently.

"What's wrong with me?" Ella sobbed. "Have you got my baby?"

"Let's leave so that she'll rest now."

"No,please." Ella rasped. "Don't leave me. What aren't you telling me? I lost my baby, didn't I?"

Dr. Stevenson sighed and signalled the nurse to follow him from the room. Ms. Kelly quietly closed the door behind them.

Ella struggled to remember something. It was important,but she couldn't quite grasp it. She had to think, had to remember. There was something she should remember. What was it?

Then a moan spiraled up from deep within her. She remembered the blood as saw after Cassie called her name. She heard echoes of her own scream as the baby slipped out between her legs on the hospital bed.

"My baby," she sobbed. "My baby. Oh, God. I'm sorry,Liam."

Rather than debilitate her, the anguish stimulated her. She was unclear as to her goal, but she knew that she couldn't lie here helplessly any longer. Unaware of the pain, she ripped off the tape securing the IV needle to the back of her hand. Once she got it out, she swallowed her nausea and pulled catheter from her vein.

When she tried to sit up, she felt as if a rock was on her chest,anchoring her to the bed. Summoning every ounce of reserve strength she had, she finally willed herself into a sitting position. The room titled. She retched,but dryly. Her brain seemed incapable of sending messages to her legs. It took her five minutes and an incredible amount of effort to drag them over the side of the bed. Then her feet dangled above the floor while she fought off dizziness. Eventually she summoned enough strength and courage to slide down the edge of the mattress and placed her feet on the floor.

Her legs didn't support her. She collapsed in a heap beside the bed, then lay there sobbing, breathing heavily, too weak to stand, too weak to even call out for help. She had to get to William and tell him that the family was in danger. And also about the Doctor and whatever they injected in her. She wished for death.

No. She'd be damned if she made it easy for them.

Determined, she inched along the floor like a crude life form, using a hand, a foot, a shoulder, a hell like a snail, propelling her forward in a minute increment. When she finally reached the door, she was bathed in sweat. Her hair and hospital gown were plastered to her skin. She curled into the fetal position and rested, shivering now as her perspiration cooled.

At last, she raised her head and looked up at the doorknob. It appeared as unreachable as the sun. She tried pounding on the door, but her hands on make futile slaps against it. So she pressed her palms against the warm wood and crawled up the door, straining the muscles of her arms and chest,until she could get one leg beneath her,the the other,until she was on her knees.

Then she seized the doorknob with both hands and managed to turn it, at the same slumping against the door. It burst open,and she fell out into the hallway, landing hard on her shoulder and sending rockets of pain down her arm.

"Mrs. Mckade! Oh,my God! Dr. Stevenson."

Shouting voices. Running footsteps. Hands cupping her armpits,lifting her.

Limp, spent, she swayed between two men dressed in scrubs as they carried her back to the bed.

Dr. Stevenson elbowed them aside. "Thanks, gentlemen."

"Should I paged Dr. Alfred?" One if them asked.

"That won't be necessary." He listened to her heart through a stethoscope. "Ms. Kelly, will you get another IV line going, please?"

The other man in scrubs asked if he should call her husband or family. The doctor said he would make the call himself as soon as Mrs. Mckade was stabilized. The two men withdrew.

"Let's put some restraints on her," Dr. Stevenson told the nurse. "Her arms only."

"Isn't that excessive?"

"We can't risk her getting out of bed and falling again, Grace."

"I'd be happy to assist her if she wants to get up,Dr. Stevenson. In fact, it might do her good to get out of bed. I think she's overly sedated."

"I appreciate your input," his tone bellied his words. "But I know what's best for my patient. Besides, she's still in shock and I don't think she's going to be waking anytime soon. So please follow my orders, which are also orders from her family. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes, Dr. Stevenson."

Ella's eyes were closed,but she had followed most of their conversation, although some of the words were difficult to assign meanings to. Why couldn't she get up if she wanted?

Where was Liam?

Where was Cassie?

Where was she?

Hell,maybe.

No, hell for sure.

<<<<<<   >>>>>>

William sighed as he took another step forward when the person in front of the counter made their exit. One quick glance at his wristwatch confirmed that he had been standing in the queue for forty- one minutes now, and the line seemed to be increasing as minutes went by.

He was a little bit cranky,after replying to some emails his Sheila sent him, so he decided to go to the hospital cafeteria for a cup of coffee and donuts. It seemed every other person had the same thoughts because the line was so long that it reached the entrance. There was also the fact that old people and pregnant women kept entering the front line.

He was a bit worried about leaving Ella on her own,seeing as she might wake up anytime and would be confused about her environment. When he finally got his coffee and donuts, he sighed in relief.

Even the reception looked a little busy. And it also happened that the elevator was a little busy. When it finally came down empty, he had already spent an hour away from Ella. Shuffling into the elevator with some people and a doctor, he relaxed against the elevator wall and took a sip from his coffee. It felt like an eternity passed before he arrived at the twenty-sixth floor.

Sighing in relief, he made his way down the quiet corridor. The private ward they had chosen for Ella had only two rooms,which were far apart and a special doctor and nurse were assigned to her on Steve's insistence. And he must admit that he like it that way. That way, they wouldn't have to deal with noise or other patient's demise.

Just as he was about to reach for the knob, the door opened to reveal Dr. Stevenson and the nurse he couldn't remember her name. The nurse was carrying a tray filled with used IV bag,a needle ,a syringe and old plaster. The nurse murmured a greeting to him before hurrying down the hall.

"Mr. Mckade!" Dr. Stevenson smiled at him. "Just the man I was looking for."

"I went down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. What's up?"

"Your wife woke up few minutes ago,and I think it's from shock, because she went unconscious immediately."

"What?" William elbowed him out of the way,and rushed inside the room. He dumped the coffee cup and donut into the waste basket before kneeling beside the bed. He clasped Ella's limp hand between his. "Raffy? It's Liam. Open your eyes,baby."

He got a faint moan in response,which made his heart skip a beat.

"Raffy?"

"Li-li..."

Dr. Stevenson appeared beside him. "Don't stress her too much,Mr. Mckade. She's barely unconscious as it is."

Ella moaned again. "Li... He-"

William kissed the back of her hand. "No,Raffy. Don't talk. Just... Just relax,okay? I'll be here when you wake up."

This time he didn't get any response from her which made him sigh. "How long will she be out for?"

"We never can tell." He shrugged. "But for now,let her rest." He watched her more closely and when he saw that she was unconscious, he started to leave.

"Wait." William kissed Ella's hand one more time before placing it beside her on the bed. "Let's talk outside."

The two of them made their way out of the room and William made sure to shut the door behind him before speaking.

"I need a favour from you."

Dr. Stevenson buried his hands in the pocket if his scrubs. "What do you need?"

William sucked his teeth in. "Can you not tell any of my family that she gained consciousness,at least until she wakes up again?"

Dr. Stevenson frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"They're angry with me as it is, and they would be mad if they heard I wasn't around when she came to." William explained.

"Huh... I'm not sure I can do that."

"Please?"

The doctor hesitated for a few minutes before finally nodding. "Okay. I can do that."

"Thank you so much." William shook hands with him.

"If that's all then I must be on my way."

"Okay. Have a nice day."

William waited until the Doctor entered the elevator before going inside the room.

<<<<<<<<  >>>>>>

"Why did you assigning a bodyguard to me?" Lea stormed into her father's office, ignoring the dirty looks his kinsmen threw her way.

Imagine her shock when she wanted to go for shopping and a tall bulky man dressed in dark suit with matching sunglasses materialized beside her and carried her back into the house as if she weighed nothing. Then he told her he was her bodyguard,and had been instructed not to let her out of the house.

"What's this nonsense, Alejandra?" Mendoza asked in that no-nonsense voice of his. It should scare her,but Lea was far too incensed to care.

"Your watchdog said you gave orders for me not to leave the house." She heard the said 'watchdog' groan behind her,but she ignored him. "I am not a baby anymore."

"It's for your safety."

"My safety?" She scoffed. "Bodyguards are supposed to make sure I don't get into any trouble not stop me from leaving the house."

"It's for your safety." He repeated.

"I am going out,and he can come with me. Either that or I'll find a way to sneak out without your consent."

Her father knew she would go through with her promise if he refused,so he nodded. "Fine. But make sure you stay in his sight at all times."

"Fine." She flashed him a smile before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind her. By the time she made it to the front of the house, her car was already waiting for her.

Few feet away from the car,Lea turned to say something totally unprofessional to her bodyguard when an explosion rent the air. The resulting concussion from the blast pushed her backwards directly into her bodyguard. They fell and she hit her head against the pavement so hard that she was stars.

Another explosion caused smoke and fire to geyser thirteen feet into the sky. The gas tank of her car exploder with a boom that she was sure could be heard for miles. Her ears rang with the sound. At the same time,she felt something hot and warm trickle down the side of her face and and down her neck.

"Alejandra!"

The voice of her father shouting her name was the last thing she heard before falling into an abyss of darkness.