Ashley sat at the hospital, her body shaking with sobs. She was scared for
Christopher, and shaken with the news the doctor had just given them.
Unfortunately, Arielle had lost the baby. She had miscarried. Her daughter
wanted her nowhere near her, and she understood why. Taylor was with her right
now, and no one seemed to care how upset she was. No one bothered to show her
any compassion, no comfort at all. This made her cry more. She had made a
complete mess of her life and she knew it.
When Diana and Walker showed up at the hospital upon getting the call about
Arielle, they saw her sitting in a corner. They could see how terribly upset she
was, and actually felt bad for her. Instead of going in to see Arielle right
away, they walked right on up to her. Diana placed a hand on her shoulder, and
Ashley jumped. " We heard Arielle lost the baby."
" Yeah. She... the stress must have been too much, I guess. Christopher is
gone, and..."
" We heard about that too. I'm sorry, Ashley. You must be beyond scared right
now." Walker interrupted her, giving her a little hug.
" Very. Brian is... he is a very scary guy. He never used to be, but... I
guess when he realized I could never love him the way I... I loved Taylor, he
just... snapped." She told them, tears rushing down her face.
Diana nodded. " Something tells me you still love our son. I saw it when you
first came into town and I saw you with him."
Taylor came out of Arielle's hospital room, and saw them. " Arielle really
wants to see you guy's." He told them, holding the door open.
" We'll see you around, Ashley. Keep your head up about Christopher. I'm sure
he'll be found." Walker said, and headed inside to see Arielle.
Diana followed him in, and Taylor sat at Ashley's side. " I know you want to
see our daughter, but she is really mad at you for taking off her on her still.
You really can't blame her, Ashley. You never should have..."
" I know. I've made a total mess of my life. I... I married the wrong guy,
Taylor. It was never him I loved anyway. I... I loved you. I still do."
" Ashley, what do you expect me to say? That I love you?" He asked, wiping
her tears away. " I would be lying if I said I didn't care for you still. I do.
But I'm married."
" But do you love her the way you loved me, Taylor? Be honest with me and
with yourself. Please. Just... tell me how you really feel. Can you look at me
and tell me you don't love me anymore?" She asked.
He looked her in the eyes, and said nothing for a moment. He just sat there
and wiped strands of hair back behind her ears. " I... I never stopped loving
you, Ashley. I have missed you. But you didn't come back to me. You ran away
from your parents, and you... you didn't even bother to come back to me. That
hurts."
She nodded, bringing a hand to his face and wiped his tears away. " I know.
But I tried, Taylor. I really did. You were gone when I came back and I didn't
know how to find you." She ran her fingers through his hair. " I'm sorry."
He brought his lips to her's gently, and kissed her lightly. " I will talk to
Arielle. Maybe I can talk her into seeing you, for a moment. I can't promise
though."
She kissed him back, a little smile forming. " Thank you."
____________________________________________________
Nikki and Isaac sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, trying to eat a little
something. Neither of them were very hungry though. They had really been talking
about taking in their niece or nephew, and now that wasn't happening. Both were
angry about Christopher's being kidnapped, and sad about the loss of the baby.
They figured if it hadn't been for the kidnapping, the baby would still be
here.
" I... I know we still have our own baby on the way and I should be happy,
but I just... it would have been kind of cool to have two more around the house.
I was starting to really get into the idea of it." Isaac told his wife. " This
really just sucks, you know."
" I know. I can't believe it's gone." She looked at him sadly. " I was so
looking forward to two more babies."
" Arielle was so set on it too. No matter how often we asked if she was sure
about it... the answer was always the same. Not Taylor, but us. She wanted us to
have the baby." He used a napkin to wipe his tears away, picking at his food.
" It's not fair. Those kids just have no luck. First they are brought to
Oklahoma where they don't know anyone, their mom then leaves them behind, and
now... Christopher has been kidnapped. He must be so scared." She cried. " And
the baby is gone. I... I wish... there was something I could do to help Arielle
through this."
Zac came down to the cafeteria with Kate and saw them. He walked over to
them, and gave Nikki a big hug. " Calm down, Nikki. Please. The last thing we
need is for you to miscarry too."
She nodded. " Your right. I... if I had to go through that, I would...
probably really lose it." She took a deep breath.
Kate looked at her sadly. " I know this is hard on all of us. And I don't
really want to admit to this, but... while I don't exactly like Ashley, I feel
kind of bad for her too. She lost a part of herself in this baby. Not to mention
Christopher is in trouble."
Nikki pushed her salad away. " Do you want this, Kate? I'm not very..."
" No. You need to eat that, Nikki. You are eating for two." Kate pushed it
back in front of her. " Now eat it. Please." She begged. " Don't make me force
it down your throat."
With a little laugh, Nikki took a bite. " Yes, mother." She smiled a
little.
Kate and Zac grabbed something to eat themselves, and joined them at the
table. They sat there talking about everything as they picked at their food,
hoping that some good news about Christopher would come in.
_________________________________________________
Natalie had left the hospital to go grab some stuff for Arielle. She figured
that Arielle would want a few things to try keeping herself busy during her stay
there. But she got distracted when she thought of Taylor and Ashley together.
She saw the way that Ashley clung to him earlier, like she couldn't handle the
news of Christopher being gone on her own. But if she had cared at all, she
never would have left her kids to begin with. So what did she care anyway? With
a heavy sigh, she went through Arielle's room and grabbed a few magazines and
her ipod touch. On her way out the door a few minutes later, she saw the photo
album sitting on Arielle's desk and grew curious.
Sitting on the bed with the photo album in her lap, she opened it to the
first page and saw an older picture of what looked like Arielle as a baby with
her mom in a wading pool. As she flipped through, she saw how happy of a life
Arielle must have led with her mom. She had a smile in each picture, never once
looking sad. When she got to the newer pictures, she saw the pictures she had
taken herself of Taylor and Arielle together. They looked so happy together, and
that made her happy. But she wondered what it must be like for him to look at
his daughter, as she looked so much like her mother. Did he have feelings for
her the way he used to? Did she really have a chance to hold onto him anymore?
" Natalie, what are you doing? You shouldn't be going through her things."
She jumped, and looked up to see her sister in law Jessie. " I... I know. I
was just curious, that's all. She talks so much of... of her younger days, and
how happy she used to be. I wanted to see for myself. That's all."
" You are afraid of losing my brother, aren't you? You don't think he'll want
to be with you anymore?" Jessie asked.
She nodded. " I can't help it, Jessie. I know he still has some feelings for
her. I could feel it earlier, when he was trying to comfort her. Those feelings
are still there."
" Natalie, even if he left you for her... he wouldn't just leave you in the
dark. He has kids with you, and he does love you. He always will." Jessie told
her. " You know he wouldn't abandon you."
" You think it will happen? That he'll realize how much he loves her?"
Natalie asked.
" I wouldn't be surprised, that's for sure. But try not to worry about it
right now. The only thing that matters is getting Arielle through the loss of
her baby. She may have decided to give it up, but it still mattered to her."
" Your right. We should get back there." Natalie put the photo album back,
and grabbed the magazines and ipod. " Let's get out of here."
Christopher, and shaken with the news the doctor had just given them.
Unfortunately, Arielle had lost the baby. She had miscarried. Her daughter
wanted her nowhere near her, and she understood why. Taylor was with her right
now, and no one seemed to care how upset she was. No one bothered to show her
any compassion, no comfort at all. This made her cry more. She had made a
complete mess of her life and she knew it.
When Diana and Walker showed up at the hospital upon getting the call about
Arielle, they saw her sitting in a corner. They could see how terribly upset she
was, and actually felt bad for her. Instead of going in to see Arielle right
away, they walked right on up to her. Diana placed a hand on her shoulder, and
Ashley jumped. " We heard Arielle lost the baby."
" Yeah. She... the stress must have been too much, I guess. Christopher is
gone, and..."
" We heard about that too. I'm sorry, Ashley. You must be beyond scared right
now." Walker interrupted her, giving her a little hug.
" Very. Brian is... he is a very scary guy. He never used to be, but... I
guess when he realized I could never love him the way I... I loved Taylor, he
just... snapped." She told them, tears rushing down her face.
Diana nodded. " Something tells me you still love our son. I saw it when you
first came into town and I saw you with him."
Taylor came out of Arielle's hospital room, and saw them. " Arielle really
wants to see you guy's." He told them, holding the door open.
" We'll see you around, Ashley. Keep your head up about Christopher. I'm sure
he'll be found." Walker said, and headed inside to see Arielle.
Diana followed him in, and Taylor sat at Ashley's side. " I know you want to
see our daughter, but she is really mad at you for taking off her on her still.
You really can't blame her, Ashley. You never should have..."
" I know. I've made a total mess of my life. I... I married the wrong guy,
Taylor. It was never him I loved anyway. I... I loved you. I still do."
" Ashley, what do you expect me to say? That I love you?" He asked, wiping
her tears away. " I would be lying if I said I didn't care for you still. I do.
But I'm married."
" But do you love her the way you loved me, Taylor? Be honest with me and
with yourself. Please. Just... tell me how you really feel. Can you look at me
and tell me you don't love me anymore?" She asked.
He looked her in the eyes, and said nothing for a moment. He just sat there
and wiped strands of hair back behind her ears. " I... I never stopped loving
you, Ashley. I have missed you. But you didn't come back to me. You ran away
from your parents, and you... you didn't even bother to come back to me. That
hurts."
She nodded, bringing a hand to his face and wiped his tears away. " I know.
But I tried, Taylor. I really did. You were gone when I came back and I didn't
know how to find you." She ran her fingers through his hair. " I'm sorry."
He brought his lips to her's gently, and kissed her lightly. " I will talk to
Arielle. Maybe I can talk her into seeing you, for a moment. I can't promise
though."
She kissed him back, a little smile forming. " Thank you."
____________________________________________________
Nikki and Isaac sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, trying to eat a little
something. Neither of them were very hungry though. They had really been talking
about taking in their niece or nephew, and now that wasn't happening. Both were
angry about Christopher's being kidnapped, and sad about the loss of the baby.
They figured if it hadn't been for the kidnapping, the baby would still be
here.
" I... I know we still have our own baby on the way and I should be happy,
but I just... it would have been kind of cool to have two more around the house.
I was starting to really get into the idea of it." Isaac told his wife. " This
really just sucks, you know."
" I know. I can't believe it's gone." She looked at him sadly. " I was so
looking forward to two more babies."
" Arielle was so set on it too. No matter how often we asked if she was sure
about it... the answer was always the same. Not Taylor, but us. She wanted us to
have the baby." He used a napkin to wipe his tears away, picking at his food.
" It's not fair. Those kids just have no luck. First they are brought to
Oklahoma where they don't know anyone, their mom then leaves them behind, and
now... Christopher has been kidnapped. He must be so scared." She cried. " And
the baby is gone. I... I wish... there was something I could do to help Arielle
through this."
Zac came down to the cafeteria with Kate and saw them. He walked over to
them, and gave Nikki a big hug. " Calm down, Nikki. Please. The last thing we
need is for you to miscarry too."
She nodded. " Your right. I... if I had to go through that, I would...
probably really lose it." She took a deep breath.
Kate looked at her sadly. " I know this is hard on all of us. And I don't
really want to admit to this, but... while I don't exactly like Ashley, I feel
kind of bad for her too. She lost a part of herself in this baby. Not to mention
Christopher is in trouble."
Nikki pushed her salad away. " Do you want this, Kate? I'm not very..."
" No. You need to eat that, Nikki. You are eating for two." Kate pushed it
back in front of her. " Now eat it. Please." She begged. " Don't make me force
it down your throat."
With a little laugh, Nikki took a bite. " Yes, mother." She smiled a
little.
Kate and Zac grabbed something to eat themselves, and joined them at the
table. They sat there talking about everything as they picked at their food,
hoping that some good news about Christopher would come in.
_________________________________________________
Natalie had left the hospital to go grab some stuff for Arielle. She figured
that Arielle would want a few things to try keeping herself busy during her stay
there. But she got distracted when she thought of Taylor and Ashley together.
She saw the way that Ashley clung to him earlier, like she couldn't handle the
news of Christopher being gone on her own. But if she had cared at all, she
never would have left her kids to begin with. So what did she care anyway? With
a heavy sigh, she went through Arielle's room and grabbed a few magazines and
her ipod touch. On her way out the door a few minutes later, she saw the photo
album sitting on Arielle's desk and grew curious.
Sitting on the bed with the photo album in her lap, she opened it to the
first page and saw an older picture of what looked like Arielle as a baby with
her mom in a wading pool. As she flipped through, she saw how happy of a life
Arielle must have led with her mom. She had a smile in each picture, never once
looking sad. When she got to the newer pictures, she saw the pictures she had
taken herself of Taylor and Arielle together. They looked so happy together, and
that made her happy. But she wondered what it must be like for him to look at
his daughter, as she looked so much like her mother. Did he have feelings for
her the way he used to? Did she really have a chance to hold onto him anymore?
" Natalie, what are you doing? You shouldn't be going through her things."
She jumped, and looked up to see her sister in law Jessie. " I... I know. I
was just curious, that's all. She talks so much of... of her younger days, and
how happy she used to be. I wanted to see for myself. That's all."
" You are afraid of losing my brother, aren't you? You don't think he'll want
to be with you anymore?" Jessie asked.
She nodded. " I can't help it, Jessie. I know he still has some feelings for
her. I could feel it earlier, when he was trying to comfort her. Those feelings
are still there."
" Natalie, even if he left you for her... he wouldn't just leave you in the
dark. He has kids with you, and he does love you. He always will." Jessie told
her. " You know he wouldn't abandon you."
" You think it will happen? That he'll realize how much he loves her?"
Natalie asked.
" I wouldn't be surprised, that's for sure. But try not to worry about it
right now. The only thing that matters is getting Arielle through the loss of
her baby. She may have decided to give it up, but it still mattered to her."
" Your right. We should get back there." Natalie put the photo album back,
and grabbed the magazines and ipod. " Let's get out of here."