October 14, 1973
Dear Augustus,
Auggie, I miss you. Kit and Anna miss you, everyone misses you. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you, but I am getting by. How is Henry? He said he wasn't able to write to me. Please tell me that nothing happened to him. I love you, Augustus. Make me proud and come home as soon as you can.
Your sister,
Helene
I folded the lined paper and pressed my forehead to my wooden desk. It's been two months since Henry left and the sickness hasn't stopped. I can't sleep, I can't keep anything down, I'm losing too much weight from being so sick. Sometimes, after a vomiting spell, I would start crying because I just felt so helpless. I just wanted to stop being sick.
"Helene, are you alright?" Ansel asked from my door frame. I shook my head on the wood and winced. That kind of hurt. Ansel entered my room and crouched beside my chair. "What's wrong, Lena?"
"I don't know. I'm still sick and it's not going away." I mumbled.
"Do you want to see Dr. Rhodes?" He asked, brushing his fingers through my hair.
"If you think he will help, bu I doubt it, Ansie. It's just stress." I said, looking down at him. My stomach churned unfavorably, forcing me to get out of my seat and run to the bathroom two doors away. I just barely made it to the toilet so I could empty what little sustenance I had in my stomach. Ansel was behind me, holding my hair back until I pulled my head out of the toilet.
"Ansie," I whimpered as he got a cool face cloth and wiped my face like he did when we were younger.
"Shh, Helene." He said, pulled me to him. "We'll get Papa to take you to see Dr. Rhodes, okay?" Ansel cannot drive due to his accident. Ansel picked me up like I weighed nothing more than a feather and brought me downstairs.
"Ansel, Helene," Mama said, dropping her dished and running over to us. "My baby, you look so pale." She cooed as she pressed her hand to my forehead. I leaned into her cool touch. I know I did not have a fever, I had Ansel check my temperature earlier, I just felt so hot.
"She's still vomiting, Mama." Ansel said, his words laced with worry. "Can you give her something?"
"She won't hold anything down, Ansie." Mama said softly. "Vlad, get the car! We have to take Helene to the doctors!" Mama called to Papa.
"She is still sick?" Papa asked, jogging into the room with Richard in his arms. Mama nodded.
"She has gotten worse this week. At least over the past two months she could hold something down for a few days. She can't even hold something down for a few hours." Mama said, she was so worried. I reached out for my Mama and grabbed her hand. Mama kissed my hand reassuringly as the five of us went to the Volkswagen with the wooden side panels and green exterior.
Dr. Rhodes is a family friend. Uncle Frank and Dr. Rhodes were in the service together in WWII. After WWII, Papa, Uncle Frank and Dr. Rhodes went to Korea together, both wars were before my time. We got there as quickly as we could and Dr. Rhodes saw us immediately. He asked me to tell him what my symptoms were, where I was feeling crappy the most. After jotting everything down on his little note pad, he handed me a cup and asked me to give him a sample. I left the room and did as he asked, and then returned to give Dr. Rhodes the cup. He left for about a half hour to run the test.
Papa, Ansel and Richard were in the waiting room, waiting for the test to be done and Mama and I to come out of the little room to tell them the results. I did not want to tell them the results, whether the results were good or bad. Dr. Rhodes came back with the results of the test on his clipboard. He sat down on a little wheeled chair and looked at me through bifocal glasses.
"Helene, before I give you the results of the test, I have a few questions for you." He said, looking down at his clipboard. "When was your last menstrul cycle?"
"Um.. almost five weeks ago." I whispered.
"When was the last time you experienced intercourse?"
"Two months ago." I whispered, pressing a hand to my stomach. Was he insinuating that I'm pregnant?
"Helene, congratulations. You are pregnant." Dr. Rhodes said happily. I sat on the cot, frozen in place. I'm having Henry's child. Mama wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.
"What about her sickness? Is there anything you can perscribe her?" Mama asked. I tried to listen to their conversation, but I couldn't. I'm pregnant and Henry is not here. He's not in the waiting room, he's not at his house or at work or even at the College with me. He was a world away with Augustus and Harvey and whom ever else we know. He's just not here with me, when I need him the most.
"Dr. Rhodes, how far along am I?" I asked quietly, butting into their conversation.
"With the information you have given me, Helene, I would say you are almost three months pregnant. But I won't know for sure until next week when you come in for a check up. Get some rest and eat something after you take your perscription." He said as Mama pulled me up from the cot. The two of us shuffled out of the room silently and into the waiting area. Papa and Ansie stood quickly and came over to us. Mama sat me down into a chair and quietly told Papa and Ansel what Dr. Rhodes had told us. Papa was silent while Ansel bent down and picked me up. I caught a glimpse of Papa's eyes and my stomach dropped. He was disappointed in me.
After going to the drug store, we came home with my perscription in hand. Papa had not spoken a word to me since Mama told him I was pregnant. I wanted more than anything to make the disappointment in his eyes go away, but Mama said to give him time. I took the little pill the pharmicist gave us and a piece of bread up to my room. I had to write to Henry and tell him.
October 14, 1973
Dear Henry,
My love, I do not know how to tell you this, so I will be blunt. I am pregnant and probably three months along. Please do not tell Augustus, I need time with them like I need time for Papa to come to terms with this.
I love you. Please come back to us.
All my love,
Lena
"Helene!" Mama shouted as I folded the letter up. "Get down here!" I got up and scurried down the stairs as quickly as I could.
"Mama, what's all the shouting for..." I trailed as my eyes landed on the two uniformed men standing in our living room.
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Hello lovelies!
Sorry for the cliff hanger! But what do you guys think? Who are the Uni's there for? Harvey or Augustus?? How many babies do you think Helene will have? Gimme a number and I'll tell you if you're close or not ;).
Happy 4th of July my friends from the U.S.A!! I hope you are havin a wonderful day. My forth of July got rained out, and is still raining :( But I saw Maleficent and I flipping loved it. I loved the story twist from the original animated version.
Lots of Love,
DoctorWho
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