Southern Comfort: Chandler's Story (The Southern Series Book 1)

by Shelley Stringer

  “She’s still bleeding, but it seems to be tapering off. The next few hours will tell.” Banton smoothed the covers over me as he searched my face with his eyes. He lowered his head, and rested it on the bed beside me.

  I finally managed to make a small sound.

  “Chandler?” Banton pulled away to look at my face when he heard me clear my throat. “Chandler, sweetheart, can you hear me? Chandler! How do you feel?”

  “Head,” I coughed and choked on the dryness in my throat. “My head,” I managed to strain the words out. My head was throbbing with every beat my heart thudded.

  “We can give her something mild. I’m sure she has a headache from the transformation and severe dehydration. She will probably have it for a while.” Dr. Renault explained.

  “Banton, we’re going to give you some time alone with her. If you need us, just call us. We’ll be in the next room. There is a lot we need to consider in light of her condition,” Dr. Lane spoke determinedly to him.

  Banton abruptly jerked his head up to look at them. “Doc, will she be all right? Will the baby be okay with her being bitten while she’s pregnant?” The alarm in Banton’s voice pulled at my heart.

  “Everything is fine for now. Dr. Renault wants to consult with others, and we’ll fill you in on everything later. She just needs rest. The greatest concern now is miscarriage. We just need to keep her calm and comfortable.” The door closed behind them.

  “Chandler,” Banton’s voice broke as he murmured against my neck. I lifted my hand enough to place it on the back of his head, and slowly stroked his hair with my fingertips.

  Clearing my throat roughly, I managed to cough out his name. “Banton?” I croaked. “Banton, I…I’m so sorry.”

  He raised his head, and looked at me incredulously. “What could you possibly have to be sorry for?”

  “I’m sorry about going back out there, about getting captured, putting you ….in danger, and what I’ve put you through.” I felt like I wanted to cry, but being so dehydrated, I guessed my tear ducts were dry.

  “Chandler, none of that is your fault. You were trying to help Olivia. Her brother told us how you talked to her, and were coming to get us. We found Sam because of your contact with her.”

  “And I’m sorry about…the baby.” I searched his eyes, hoping he’d taken the news like I’d hoped, and he wasn’t too upset.

  “Oh, Chandler Ann. There is absolutely no reason to be sorry. It’s all right.” He kissed me softly, caressing the side of my face. “I wish I’d known. The baby is fine, Chandler. I saw it on the sonogram…our baby.”

  I could hear it in his voice. He felt the same way I did and there was no disappointment or anger in his voice.

  I let my eyes close and listened to his breathing, his heartbeats mingling with mine.

  I’d lost all track of time. I sighed as Banton placed his lips against my forehead, and then moved down to kiss me and caress my cheek.

  “Did you know about the baby? I mean before you were taken?” He murmured, searching my face.

  “Yes, I suspected when the nausea wouldn’t go away, so I took a pregnancy test.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “I didn’t want to worry you until I was sure. I knew how you felt about my age and Ava, and you were dealing with so much already.”

  His eyes suddenly turned dark and hard, and he stared off into space.

  “What’s…wrong?” I asked, frightened at the turn of his emotions.

  “When I think of them holding you in that filth and keeping you chained, starving you, trying to hurt you, finding that monster on top of you, and you in the condition you are in…” his tortured voice broke off abruptly.

  I weakly reached for his face, and turned him back toward me. “Shh, I’m okay now. Knowing I carried your baby…kept me strong, made me determined to get back to you. I couldn’t die, with your not knowing.” I closed my eyes to rest and take a deep breath.

  He pulled me up into his arms, cradling my whole body. “God, Chandler, I love you so much. I thought I’d lost you. I’m so thankful…and…” He suddenly pulled me back to look into my eyes as he smiled at me. “A baby,” he whispered. “We’re going to have a baby.” He smiled, and kissed me softly. “I’ve never loved you more. You and this baby, you are everything to me. Everything.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I opened my eyes slowly. Banton was stretched out beside me on the bed with my body cradled next to his. I scanned the room, Claudia and John both napped in chairs in the corner. Banton stirred and looked down at me as he felt me move my head.

  “Hey…there are those beautiful eyes. How are you feeling?” He smiled as he slid his hand down my cheek.

  “Dry,” I managed to whisper.

  He jumped up to get me a glass of water from the nightstand. As I gulped the cool liquid down, he searched my face.

  “What else? Are you hurting anywhere? Do you want me to get the doctor?”

  “No. I’m fine. I just need some more water.” I drank the cold water down in gulps, as if I couldn’t get enough. My throat felt salty.

  “Chandler, honey, we’ve been so worried. I’m so glad to finally see those brown eyes open.” Claudia stood and hurried to sit on the other side of the bed.

  “Where is Ava? Is she all right?” I realized I hadn’t asked Banton about our little niece, and even though I’d seen her make it to Mr. Jackson the night I was attacked, I still worried that she’d made it home safely.

  “Ava is fine. She is at your house with Brie and Will. He came up the day after you were kidnapped by those creatures. He’s been here with us ever since,” Claudia assured me.

  “And Mom and Dad, too. They are all at the house. Everyone is so worried about you.” Banton continued to stroke my cheek, and brush my hair back away from my face.

  I was full of questions, now that my brain was working beyond the confines of my body. “Did Sam and Olivia…” and then I was afraid to finish, as I glanced at Claudia. I didn’t know how much she knew about the Aldon protectors.

  Claudia cleared her throat, glancing from Banton to John. “Um, I think I’ll go get the doctor, now that Chandler’s awake.

  After she’d closed the door behind her, Banton smiled down at me.

  “John knows everything, even about Everett. You can talk in front of him.”

  When Banton mentioned Everett, I shot a glance over at John, and he was watching my reactions intently.

  Banton continued, “He was clued in when Dr. Renault made the comments in the emergency room about Everett knowing you were a carrier of the gene. So I had to fill him in.” He smiled at me.

  “Yeah, I always knew there was more to my man Everett than just a pretty face!” John joked as he stood and walked over. He leaned over me, and placed a kiss on my forehead. “I’m glad to see you awake too, Andie girl. You sure had us scared.”

  “And to answer your question, Sam and Olivia made it out right behind you. Sam is going through some rough rehab at a naval facility right now, kind of de-toxifying after being tortured by venom for so long. I’m really worried about him, but he is strong, maybe the strongest of all of us. He will make it,” Banton assured me.

  “Ty went back to be with him, after he helped us save you here. He is staying with him at the hospital,” John added.

  “And what about Olivia? Where is she?” I was frightened for the young creature. She seemed so naive and new to the outside world.

  “In the perfect place..,” Banton smiled. “Everett and Philippe have her and her brother Patrick at a safe house. Olivia and her brothers are very gentle, Chandler, as you well know, but they don’t know how to blend in to society, to hide their eyes. So they are going to charm school, as Everett put it.”

  “What about her younger brother, his name was Jonah, I think. Is he all right?”

  “We don’t know. We couldn’t find him in the raid. We don’t know if he escaped, and is roaming somewhere, or if he is still
with them. We can’t get clearance yet to go back in and search for him, so for now, we are just on high alert in case we find him on the outside.”

  “Oh, no, I can imagine how devastated Olivia must have been to leave him behind. Jonah is only twelve.”

  “Did you meet him too, Chandler?” Banton asked softly.

  “Yes, once, he came to help me and bring me food, right before…” I couldn’t mention my attacker, as my heartbeat quickened. Banton noticed the increase on the monitor, and turned back to me, concerned.

  I was panicked, having lost all track of days and weeks. “What day is it?”

  “It’s the eighteenth, Sweetheart,” Banton told me quietly. “You’ve been sleeping the two days since we found you.”

  “How long was I…was I down there?” I whispered. I didn’t even want to say it, or to have any memories of what happened.

  A dark shadow seemed to cover his face as he was reminded of my capture. “They kept you almost six days.”

  “We have less than two weeks till the wedding!” Tears pooled in my eyes as I began to panic about the time I’d been away.

  “Chandler,” Banton took my face in his hands. “That is the last thing you need to worry about. If you feel up to it, we will go on as planned. If you don’t, we will postpone it. Let’s just get you well first, all right?”

  “Absolutely,” Claudia replied, returning into the room. “Everett and Mr. Philippe could handle anything, I’m convinced of it. And if we all need to go to the beach and get you two to elope, we’ll do that too. Whatever it takes, just don’t worry. Everyone just wants what is best for you.” She smiled down at me, as she took my hand.

  My thoughts and my emotions were all over the place. I couldn’t keep one train of thought going to its conclusion. I raised my eyes, full of questions about the baby and the pregnancy. “Banton, what have Dr. Lane and Dr. Renault said about the…”

  I swiftly realized John and Claudia might not know about the baby yet. Banton guessed where my thoughts had taken me, and he cleared his throat.

  “Um, Claudia, you and John are probably hungry. Why don’t you go and get a bite to eat, and bring me something back?” He smiled at John, and John nodded back to him, understanding we wanted some time alone.

  When they were safely in the other room with the door closed, Banton turned back to me. “They need to get some of your blood work back, and Dr. Renault went to talk to some other doctors. The baby seems to be fine, and they think you are about four weeks along.” He smiled down at me, and kissed me softly. Then he continued, “But they will need to do an amniocentesis further along, obviously to check for genetics, abnormalities…”

  “They are afraid of what effect the venom might have on the baby.” As I confirmed their fears matched mine, my eyes stung with unshed tears.

  Banton searched my face, and I could tell he decided to be honest with me. “Yes, that is what they are most concerned with, right now. That, and the fact that introducing venom to your own system when it was so vulnerable might make your body reject the baby as it fights the venom. But so far that doesn’t seem to be happening. So every hour that passes is good for the baby.”

  “I’m…so confused. I don’t know what questions to ask, or what to react to,” I sobbed into his shirt, with a dry, choking sound devoid of tears.

  “Chandler, part of what you are feeling is so normal. And part of it is going through the transformation. Don’t push yourself, and don’t struggle. Don’t worry about your reactions – everything will get easier, I promise. He slowly caressed my face, and then bent to gently kiss me. “I would tell you I know exactly how you feel, but that would be a lie. I just transformed too, only I didn’t have pregnant hormones in the mix.” He grinned down at me, and I laughed with him.

  “Does anyone else know about the baby?”

  “Just John. He was in the room when they told me. He promised he wouldn’t say anything until we were ready. He can’t wait for us to tell Everett. He wants to lord it over him that he knew first.” He grinned even bigger, and I giggled.

  “Wow, I’m so glad to hear that sound.” He kissed me again, deeper this time, as he pulled me up into his arms.

  “Knock, knock…I thought I heard the patient, may I come in?” Dr. Lane’s voice drifted from the hallway.

  “Come in, yes, she’s awake,” Banton answered him cheerfully.

  He pushed the door open, and entered with a clipboard in his hand. “Well, Chandler, you are looking much better this afternoon. How is your head? I know the headache you’ve had has been excruciating.”

  “Well, it still hurts, but not like before.”

  “It will continue to get better, as you get fully hydrated. We are pumping as much fluid into you as we can, but you need to drink, too.”

  “Okay, yes, I will.” I reached for the glass again, as Banton handed it to me.

  “Do you feel like eating?” He looked at me over his glasses. “You may begin to crave red meat, and other things. It is normal, and your protein and iron intake will increase dramatically.”

  My stomach turned over when he mentioned food. I could feel the water I’d just taken in rising up my esophagus…

  “Banton, hand me the trashcan!” He took in my expression and instantly knew what I meant. He jumped from the bed and grabbed the trashcan, and placed it under my chin just as everything I’d swallowed came back up. I heaved violently, and my stomach continued to contract long after I was empty. It wouldn’t seem to stop.

  Banton rubbed my back as I stayed slumped over the trashcan.

  “Chandler, were you able to keep anything down, before you were rescued?” Dr. Lane asked.

  “I didn’t have much…to eat. Just some broth and water. But I didn’t keep much of that down, anyway.”

  “We’ll start you on something for nausea. You need to try to eat, maybe when you get something in your stomach, it will help. Could you try some crackers?”

  “I’ll try.” Just the thought of eating anything brought the waves of nausea back.

  “I’m going to change your IV, and have something mixed at the pharmacy. You need calories and protein. I also want you to start drinking an electrolyte solution. I’ll be back with everything shortly.” Dr. Lane left the room writing on the chart.

  Banton reached over and got a rag off the sink and wet it under the faucet, then returned to the side of the bed.

  “Will this help?” He began to wipe my forehead with the cool rag, down my cheeks, and down my neck and across my chest. I immediately cooled down, and my stomach relaxed. Sighing, I sank back down into the pillows, exhausted from being sick. He continued to bathe my face and my neck. Pausing at the base of my neck, he gently caressed the spot where I’d been bitten. I raised my eyes to search his. His eyes burned with anger as he looked into mine.

  “Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself. It’s over, and I’m fine.” I wanted to reassure him, to make him stop torturing himself over what had happened to me. And my own mind wouldn’t let me go there, not yet.

  “Chandler, did…were you, I mean, did he …hurt you any other way?” He choked the words out, and at that moment, I saw raw pain in his eyes as he asked the question I knew he dreaded most.

  As dry as my eyes had been, moisture rapidly collected there, stinging them beyond belief. I struggled with my own memories, wanting to suppress the very ones he was asking me about. My heart began to race, and the monitor went wild. “He…he was going to…but,” I couldn’t choke the words out. My throat closed at the very thought of voicing my memories. Everything came flooding back at once. His breath, his weight crushing me down, ripping my shirt down the front, his hands on me, the teeth sinking into my neck… I groaned, clenching my teeth together, trying to tell him but not wanting to remember too much.

  “Okay, shhhh, I’m sorry. It’s all right, I won’t ask you about it again. I’m so sorry. Shhhhh.” He rocked me back and forth in his arms, but I could still hear the tortured tone in his voice. I had
to let him know the Orco hadn’t been able to violate me.

  “Banton,” I whispered. He pulled me away from his chest to look at my face. “He tore my shirt, and crushed me under him…he put his hands on me…and he was going to…” my voice began to shake violently. “But he bit me, and that was all. That is all I remember, before you got there. But he didn’t…he wasn’t able to do anything else…” And then the sobs took over, as he held me and cried with me.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  As always, the more time I spent in Banton’s arms, the better I felt. He rocked me until I was calm, and then gently laid me back into the pillows. He never spoke another word, just held me and urged me to drink some more water. Doctor Lane came back with a grape electrolyte solution and crackers, and I began to drink that and to attempt to keep some food down. Banton looked at his watch, as he began timing me, to see how long I could keep it down.

  I frowned at him. “That’s not going to help anything.”

  “I’m sorry. I just feel so helpless. I want to speed things along.”

  “I promise to stay calm and try to keep something down, all right?”

  “Okay.”

  Claudia and John returned with Banton’s dinner. He grabbed it, slipping out the door, not wanting the smell of the food to turn my stomach and hinder my progress.

  “You don’t have to baby sit me, I know both of you are tired,” I stated. They both sat down in their chairs.

  “We’ll leave when Banton comes back. We’ve got to report back to everyone else before our cells start ringing again.” Claudia smiled, checking hers for missed calls.

  “Has Banton slept? He looks terrible,” I remarked, taking another bite of saltines.

  “He’s napped, when you are asleep. He hasn’t left your side since we brought you here, Andie,” John admitted.

  “Neither have you, have you, John?” Claudia asked him, concern in her voice.

  “Well, no, actually. I left long enough to go and get Banton and me a change of clothes, and to let Brie know we were all safe,” he admitted, smiling at me.