The Incubus

Chapter 4, Scene 4

'Why us?' Rebecca asked, barely audible through her sobs. 'What have we done to deserve something like this?'

'We didn't do anything,' Justin said as reassuringly as he could manage. His mind was racing and he wasn't sure whom he was trying to convince; Rebecca or himself. 'The doctor wasn't sure of anything, Becky, and neither are we.' He had to swallow hard at the lump in his throat before he could continue. 'Everything will turn out fine, baby.'

Rebecca nodded, but she wasn't convinced. Something in her gut told her that everything was not going to be fine. The realization was more a sort of instinct than anything based on solid evidence or facts. She just somehow knew, and therefore, all she could do was nod.

Although Rebecca nodded in agreement to what he said, Justin could see the doubt in her eyes. 'If we get there and there's no heartbeat,' he said and paused. He waited until Rebecca made eye contact before continuing. 'If we get there and there's no heartbeat, we will just have to try again.' He knew that there was a huge chance that there would be no heartbeat, and thus wanted to prepare her for the worst. 'We will not be less of a family,' he said. 'I will not love you less, and I hope that you will feel the same way.'

'Try again...' Rebecca repeated softly. The words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

'That's right,' Justin said and forced a smile. He lightly placed his hand on her knee. 'These things happen, Becky,' he said. 'We didn't do anything to deserve it. It just happens. That's life.'

Rebecca realized that there was truth to what he was saying, but truth is not what she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that everything was going to be fine. She wanted to know that the baby would be okay and that when Doctor Taylor did a scan on Monday, she would find a strong heartbeat. But something deep inside her told her that it wasn't going to happen.

'We just try again,' Justin said softly, trying to muster as much compassion as possible. 'Everything's going to turn out fine...'