The Story of Udonia

Chapter Thirty: Shots Fired

I fluttered my eyes open and saw bright light to my left. I quickly got a look of my surroundings. I was lying in a hospital bed. There was a nightstand to my left with a glass of water and a large open window. I squinted as I looked in the light. I rubbed my eyes with my left hand. I walked the walls with my eyes. I saw a door slightly cracked open that lead into a bathroom. The wall continued to a door to the hallway. I looked to my right and saw Ashton. He was sitting in a chair next to my bed scrolling through his phone.
I was suddenly thirsty. I turned to my left and reached for the glass of water. It was so close yet so far. I couldn't reach it. That's when I felt it.
Pain. Pain spread from my belly button and down. Curiosity got the better of me. I looked down. I was wearing a hospital gown. My legs were covered by a blanket.
"Hey." Ashton's voice interrupted my search.
I rolled over to see his concerned face. "Hi." I smiled.
He put his phone in his back pocket as he stood up. Ashton moved to the other side of my bed and picked up the glass of water.
"Thank you." He handed it to me.
I put it to my mouth.
"You should sit up when you drink that." Ashton said as he moved back to his seat.
"Right." I put the glass closer to me on the nightstand.
I moved to sit up and pain shot through me.
Oh yeah...I was shot!
I groaned.
Ashton frowned. "Sorry, does it hurt?" He asked.
"Yes...oh my god! What happened?!" I asked.
Ashton grabbed my hand. "What do you remember?" He asked in a somber tone.
"Um...Ashley and I had signed the treaty and then Hannah stepped up. But she hates me apparently...and she shot at us. She shot Lacey! Is Lacey okay?!"
"Lacey is fine. She's a fighter."
"I can't believe she took a bullet for me! I mean, she's said it before, but I never thought it would actually happen." I frowned.
"I know." Ash stroked my cheek. "And, uh..." He started to choke up a little.
"What?"
"Nothing...um so, I tried to come over to you, but the guards wouldn't let me. Then after Lacey was shot James ran up there and I followed. And then..."
"I was shot." I touched my stomach.
There was a knock at the door. A doctor walked in.
"Sorry to interrupt." The doctor said.
"It's fine." Ashton let go of my hand and sat back slightly.
"Miss Hazenberg, I was the doctor that operated on you. I'm Dr. Vincent Keller."
"Hi, Dr. Keller." I said nervously.
"Claire, when you got here you were conscious. Do you remember any of that?" The doctor asked.
I furrowed my brow. "No, I don't. I just remember when I shot and nothing until now." I observed their concerned faces. "Why...what happened?!"
"Alright, well when you got tot he hospital we took you into surgery. That was last night. I'm happy that you slept, but I'm afraid I have bad news." The doctor frowned.
I glanced over at Ashton. He buried his head in his hands.
He already knows.
I looked back at the doctor. "What is it?" I asked.
"I'm afraid that you lost your baby."
I never thought that those words could hurt so much. I'm not going to lie, I didn't want to have a baby that young. But I accepted it. I accepted him or her. I wanted it. I was happy. I loved my baby. Now...he or she was gone. How could I love him or her so much although we haven't met?!
My breathing increased and my eyes teared up.
The doctor continued. "I'm sorry for your loss. There is more..." He frowned.
Ashton looked up, but not at me.
At least he hasn't heard this part. Why didn't he tell me about the loss of your baby?! Did he not want him or her?
"I'm afraid that the bullet actually damaged part of your right Fallopian tube. We were able to control the internal bleeding caused from it, but you should know that this cause future difficulty conceiving in the future. You are essentially less fertile now than you were before. And once you do get pregnant, you may only be able to have one child because it will too much of s strain on your uterus." I nodded. "So that is something to consider for the future. You can discuss a specialist when the time comes." He paused. "Any questions?" He asked.
Not only did I just lose my baby, but now I may only be able to have one!
This is Hannah's fault!
It turned back to the doctor.
Focus Claire. Ask questions now, kill Hannah later.
"Um, yes doctor. Could you tell me the condition of my friend Lacey Evans?" I asked while wiping a tear from my eye.
"Yes, she thought you might ask that, so she had her doctor give   me a copy of her charts." He looked through the papers on his clipboard. "Yes, here it is." He pulled out a piece of paper and read it. "Lacey Ann Evans was shot in the right thigh. The bullet was lodged in her femur and was successfully removed. She is fine, but her femur was broken. She will need rest and at least a month if not more in a cast, and then maybe month or so of physical therapy." He said then looked at me. "Any more questions?"
Ashton cleared his throat. "Yes. Dr. Keller, when can Claire go home."
"Tonight if she's feeling up to it or tomorrow." He looked at me for my opinion, but I just stared at the left wall.
"I would like to take her home tonight. If you could get the release forms together that would be a appreciated, thank you."
The doctor nodded and left the room.
Ashton sat back in his chair. I turned my head over and looked at him. His blue eyes met mine, an action that used to turn me in so much, but now spread sadness throughout my body. I started to tear up. I didn't want to think about that...not now. There were so many other things.
I took a breath. "Where are we?" I asked.
"Pickford." He replied in a bland tone.
Pickford was a large town near the border of the three kingdoms.
"Did you check on Lacey at all?" I asked.
"Yeah. Last night while you were sleeping and this morning." He replied. "Ashley was here earlier, but her security didn't want her to stay long. She sends her love to you and Lacey both." He paused to take a breath. "I called Monica and Jasmine. They said they were in New York looking for Jack, but are coming back. They should be here later today." I still couldn't tell what he was feeling.
I have to know.
"Okay." I responded and took a deep breath. "So...we lost our baby." As I said the words my throat closed up and my eyes began to water.
Ashton leaned forward and wiped a tear from my cheek. "I know." He frowned. "They told me last night while you were in surgery. They said...they said that it was a boy." He started to choke up too.
Well at least he feels remorse. I was so nervous that he wouldn't care.
I just wanted to hold him. I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him closer, but he resisted.
I kissed his hand. "I love you." I said as I started to cry.
Ashton wiped his face with his free hand. "I love you, too." He took a breath. "I just don't understand how I could have loved him so much although he was didn't even live." He stated.
I nodded and continued to cry. "I know me too." I took some breaths. "A boy..."
"Yeah." He leaned closer and kissed my hand.
Ashton buried his head into the side of the hospital bed with his hands now both smothering my right hand. Some more tears trailed down my cheeks as I gasped for air. I moved my left hand down to my lower region and over the bandage covering wear they had slit into my body. I was going to have a scar there as a permanent reminder of who was lost on that day. Our little boy.