“Stop badgering her,” came a young girl’s voice from behind Emily.
Emily turned to see who it was. A smile took over her lips when she saw who it was—her fiery kleptomaniac friend, Junie. And she was standing by the back wall of the room with her hands on her hips. She looked to be about age twelve—the same age she’d been when Emily first met her in the homeless shelter. Her hair was in pigtails and wrapped with cute little pink bows.
Junie’s sassy side was in full bloom, with her head moving from side to side and in rhythm with the words she spoke. “Emily is the best friend I’ve ever had. And if you were a real mom, you’d know how good she really is.”
Another voice spoke up an instant later. This time it was a male’s voice and it was coming from her right. “Yeah, Emily is special. Don’t you know that? You shouldn’t yell at her like that. It’s not fair. She can’t help what’s happening to her.”
The familiar boy’s voice brought her eyes around, filling her heart with anticipation. It was Sheldon, the brilliant computer tech from the library. The same awkward boy who loved Twinkies and who always seemed to go out of his way to help her whenever she needed it.
She was about to wave at him and say hi, but stopped when he raised his arm slowly and pointed to the front of the classroom.
Emily turned forward in her seat to face the blackboard. She expected to see her mother standing there with the busted yardstick in her hand, but she was gone. Someone else was now in charge of the class. It was Master Liu—the wise old Chinese man who’d taught her self defense after one of her earliest time jumps.
She waited for the slight man to say something profound and on point, but he didn’t. He only stood there, looking sad and withdrawn, never taking his eyes from her.
A second later, the dream changed again. This time she was on a wooden bench in the center of Glassford Park. The sun was warm on her skin and the sky was a piercing blue color with fluffs of clouds dotting the view. She took in a deep breath of air, but before she could exhale, a weight landed in Emily’s lap.
Emily looked down.
It was Shroedy! The red and white tabby cat who somehow managed to keep following her across time and space.
The quantum kitty didn’t hesitate, purring his loveable motor while arching his back and rubbing it against the palm of her outstretched hand.
He was just as cute and soft as she remembered, making her heart melt when he looked up at her with his soulful blue eyes and meowed.
“Hey Shroedy,” she said, petting him gently from head to tail. “I’ve missed you. Where have you been?”
Just then, the cat turned his head in a flash and snarled at the bushes on her right.
Emily followed the cat’s attention and saw two tiny bare feet appear from within the bushes. Then she saw a pair of bare legs, a naked waistline, then a torso without clothes. She followed the young kid’s body upward and saw the face of a petite boy looking back at her with deep blue eyes and jet-black, wavy hair. His features were delicate and precise, making his face so adorable it could probably reenergize a dying neutron star.
“Hi, Mommy,” the boy said in a confident voice.
“Julius?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Emily stood up from the bench, sending Shroedy flying from her lap. The cat hissed, then took off running in the opposite direction. Emily went quickly to her son and knelt down in front of him. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them gently as she held them to her heart. “Oh my God, you’re so beautiful.”
He smiled at her, filling her heart with so much joy that it wanted to burst inside her chest. She wrapped him in a tight hug, never wanting to let go. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”
Julius pried her arms loose and backed away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Mommy, you need to wake up. You can’t be here right now.”
“Why?”
“They’re coming.”
“Who’s coming?”
“The Orange Men.”
“Right now?”
“No. But soon. You need to warn everyone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I can sense them. And their masters. They’re on their way back in their ship.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
Emily woke from her strange but wonderful dream and forced her eyes open. She tried to hang on to all the details about the dream, but they were fading fast. She made a stab for them before they disappeared forever, but it was no use. The sweetness faded until only a few specks of the dream remained in her memory.
She looked around and found that she was on her back and being carried in Derek’s arms as he ferried her down a white hallway. There were other people around—people she didn’t know—wearing hospital attire and standing to the side as Derek flew by them. Duane and Jim were trotting behind Derek with guns in hand, while Nora was on a cell phone and following in last place.
“Which way?” Derek said, glancing back to Nora. She took the phone from her ear and answered, “Take the next right, then two immediate lefts. Look for a set of double swing doors. Dr. Montoroli and her staff are waiting there, outside of Exam One.”
Derek’s eyes looked down before his next stride and caught Emily’s gaze. He smiled.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Urgent Care on 7th Avenue,” he said in a breathy voice as his lungs gasped for another round of air.
“The place Nora volunteers at?”
“Yep. Dr. Montoroli’s clinic. She’s the doc who came by my group home and checked out my busted ribs. Do you remember her?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” she said with attitude, feeling every one of his choppy strides slam into the back of her neck.
“Well, it was a while ago. Wasn’t sure if you did.”
He’d obviously forgotten it had only been a handful of days in Emily time.
“You feeling any better, Em?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a little. I still can’t feel anything below my neck. Plus, my head’s still foggy and it’s a little hard to breathe.”
“Just hang on. We’re almost there,” he said taking two quick lefts and coming to a stop a few gallops later.
“Let’s get her inside,” Dr. Montoroli said, holding one of the swing doors open.
“Where do you want her?”
“On the table is fine.”
Derek turned sideways and hurried into the examination room, putting Emily on the six-foot- long stainless steel platform waiting in the center. He straightened her legs out and adjusted the blanket.
Three nurses—two males and one female—closed in around the table wearing gloves, goggles, gowns, and masks, as was Dr. Montoroli, who joined them.
Emily glanced to the left and then the right, seeing a myriad of medical equipment strewn about the room. Some of the technology was mounted on the walls, while the rest sat on rolling carts, including a spread of medical instruments on a standup tray next to the table.
One of the male nurses wrapped a clear plastic oxygen supply line around the back of Emily’s head, over her ears, and tucked it under her nose.
The air supply carried a hint of coolness, tickling the skin along the inside of her nostrils as it entered. Next, he clipped some kind of plastic device to the end of her finger. It looked like a high tech clothes pin and had a wire hanging from it that led to a nearby machine. Then he wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her thin bicep.
Dr. Montoroli nestled in next to Derek. “I need you to please wait outside, young man. Thank you for your help.”
Derek shook his head and took Emily by the hand. “No, I’m not leaving her side.”
“It’s all right, babe,” Emily said, giving him a forced smile. Even though she was petrified about the red stuff covering her stomach and her paralysis, she didn’t want him to worry. Nor did she want him to watch whatever the medical staff was going to do next. He’d been through enough today. “I’ll be okay. Nora’s h
ere with me. You should go take a break. You’ve earned it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Positive.”
“Right now, I need all the non-medical personnel to clear this room and take those damn guns with you,” Dr. Montoroli said, shooting looks at both Duane and Jim Miller.
Nora looked at Duane. “Take Derek and wait outside. Emily’s in good hands. Trust me.”
Duane nodded and corralled Derek with his arm before escorting him outside. Miller went with them.
Emily took a deep, struggling breath and let it out slowly as the swing doors closed behind the men. When the two doors stopped swaying, a strange tightening sensation took control of her throat. It was as if someone had just chilled her soul, sending an intense feeling of dread into her jaw. She didn’t know why, but it felt as though she’d just said goodbye to Derek for the last time. Tears welled in her eyes and ran down the sides of her cheek.
“It’ll be okay, dear. I promise,” Nora said, wiping the tears from Emily’s face with the back of her fingers. “We’re gonna figure this out.”
“I hope so,” she said, wondering why she hadn’t heard from Julius since she’d woken up from her dream. She shot a string of mental images and loving thoughts his way, but her son didn’t respond. She hoped he was just hiding again. Or better yet, maybe he was asleep and totally unaware of what was going on around him.
“I’m really scared,” Emily told her friend, praying the red mercury wasn’t hurting her son.
“I know you are, but we’re going to do everything we can to keep you and your baby safe,” Nora said, putting on her medical apparel like the others.
The second Nora was dressed, Dr. Montoroli removed the blanket. Her nose pinched and her voice stuttered with some kind of mumble before she stepped back.
“Any idea what that is?” Nora asked the doctor.
Montoroli shook her head. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things come through those doors in my time, but never anything like this.”
“Yeah, me either.”
Montoroli turned her attention to Emily. “So, I understand you’re pregnant. How far along are you?”
“About a week. Give or take.”
“Only a week? Are you sure? Looks more like about four months to me.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Are you in any pain or discomfort?”
“No. I really can’t feel anything right now. At least, not from the neck down.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Just that it seems to be getting harder to breathe. Not sure what that means, but I thought I better tell you.”
“It’s important to tell us everything,” Nora said, taking Emily by the hand.
“It’s possible the swelling is from the substance around her abdomen,” Montoroli said to her assistants, bringing the overhead light into position over Emily’s torso. She looked at the female nurse. “There may be fluid buildup or we’re looking at a Molar Pregnancy. We’ll need to check her hormone levels before we’re done here.”
The doc’s eyes made their way to Emily’s. “Have you been experiencing any vaginal bleeding?”
“No. Why?”
“Just ruling some things out,” the doc said, bringing her right hand up with the first two fingers extended and pushed together. “I’m going to take a measurement.”
Emily was about to ask more about the term Molar Pregnancy, but decided not to. At least not right now. She didn’t want to interrupt the doctor as Montoroli put her two fingers just above Emily’s naval. Then she slid them down a bit and stopped. “Looks like about sixteen centimeters.”
“Is that good or bad?” Emily asked.
“It means you’re roughly four months into your term, assuming there are no other factors involved.”
“Other factors?”
Nora spoke up next. “What the doctor means is that you could be having twins or triplets. It would explain the accelerated growth.”
Emily laughed. “Twins? Triplets? Really? Is that what you all think?”
Nobody responded.
“No, I’m only having one. Trust me,” Emily said with conviction, wanting to change the subject. She couldn’t stop her mind from drifting back to the strange term she’d heard a little earlier. “So what’s a Molar Pregnancy?”
Nora leaned in a little closer than before. “Let’s not worry about that right now, Em. Let’s focus on getting that stuff off you and getting you better.”
“But what is it? I think I should know.”
Montoroli cleared her throat, acting like her brain was searching for the proper words. “It’s a very rare condition and frankly, one that we usually don’t see in mothers under thirty-five.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not anywhere near that age. Not in my time, anyway.”
“Which is why I don’t want you to worry about it,” Nora said, looking at the doctor for a moment before looking back at Emily. “We have other things to focus on right now.”
“That works for me. Nobody wants the red mercury off more than me. Do whatever you need to do as long as my baby is healthy and safe—that’s all I care about.”
“That’s our hope, too,” Nora said, giving Emily a thin smile. Though it looked fake and forced.
Emily detected a hint of worry in Nora’s eyes. “I know you think there’s something wrong with my baby, but there’s not. My belly’s getting big because my son’s growing really fast.”
“Well, it could be a girl, too,” Nora said in a soft voice, like she was trying to keep Emily calm. “And I’ll bet she’ll be just as beautiful as you.”
“Oh, he’s a boy all right. I know that for a fact. I’ve even seen his face and talked to him. He’s beautiful and perfect in every way. Just like his daddy.”
Montoroli shot Nora a sideways glance, then looked at the female nurse. “Let’s get her started on a liter of normal saline and a push of Ativan,” she told the female nurse.
“How much?” the brunette asked, looking to be in her thirties and thick around the middle.
“Well, there’s not much to her, so let’s start with one milligram. Any more and it could be risky. For her and for the baby.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse said, turning away and heading out of Emily’s vision.
“Are you allergic to any medication?” Montoroli asked Emily. “Any history of glaucoma or nervous system disorders in you or your family?”
Emily shook her head after sifting through her memories.
“How about kidney or liver disease? Asthma?”
“Nope.”
“Are you on any medication right now? Or doing any drugs?”
“I don’t take meds and I never do drugs. Ever.”
“What about alcohol?”
“I don’t drink, either. Well, except for only once,” Emily said, seeing the nurse return with an IV bag and a syringe. “What’s all that?”
“Ativan and some fluids to help keep you hydrated.”
“What’s Ativan?” Emily asked, turning her head to the doc.
“It’s to help you relax,” Montoroli said. “You seem a bit agitated.”
“Agitated? Of course I’m agitated! I’ve got this red goo all over me and I can’t move anything from the neck down. Plus, the whole hard to breathe thing ain’t helping either. You’d be a little agitated, too, if you were in my shoes!”
“Please, you need to calm down so we can treat you properly.”
“No! No drugs!” Emily fired back, looking at Nora. She was starting to regret letting them send Derek out of the room. “Promise me, Nora. No drugs. Please. Don’t let them give me anything that might hurt my baby.”
Nora didn’t respond, looking at Montoroli for a moment, then back at Emily.
“Please, Nora. I’m not in any pain. I’ll calm down. I promise,” Emily said, trying to take in a series of deep breaths. The oxygen came to her lungs, but it was a fight to get the air inside. “But no drugs, please. You can’t let them
do that to me. There’s no telling how it might affect Julius.”
“So you have a name for your baby already,” the doc said, furrowing her brow for a moment.
“Yeah, it’s no big deal. People name their babies ahead of time, right?”
“Some do, yes. But typically after they’ve had an ultrasound and know the sex of the baby.”
“Like I said, I already know he’s a boy. And yes, I’ve given him a name. I know this all sounds totally weird, but trust me, it’s not. Not if you knew the rest of my story. But we don’t have time for all this now,” she said, suddenly remembering the warning Julius gave her in the dream. “I just need you to get this red crap off me so we can all get the hell out of here.”
“Easy, now,” Nora said, putting a hand on Emily’s forehead and stroking the skin gently with the vinyl glove.
“Seriously, Nora. We need to go. They’re coming back.”
“Who’s coming?” the doc asked from the right.
“The Orange Men,” Emily answered, still looking at Nora.
“Are you sure?” Nora said.
“Yeah, Julius told me. He can sense them. They’re coming back in their spaceship.”
“Okay, I think I’ve heard enough,” the doctor said, nodding to the male nurses. “Just the on-duty staff from here on out. Let’s get that push started, stat.”
“Just on-duty staff? What does that mean?” Emily asked Nora.
The male nurses pushed in close to Nora and held out their arms in the direction of the double swing doors.
“It means Dr. Montoroli wants me to wait in the hall with the rest of our group. If I stay here, I’ll just be in their way and we don’t want that, now do we?”
“No, you can’t go. Don’t leave me in here all alone! Please, Nora. Stay with me. Please. I need you.”
“It’ll be okay, Em. Dr. Montoroli is one of the very best physicians in all of Arizona. I trust her with my life and you should, too.”
“No, Nora. Please. Don’t go. Please.”
“I have to, Em. We need to let these wonderful people do their job and help you get better. I’ll be just outside. Okay?”
Emily didn’t want to agree, but she realized she didn’t have a choice. Not with her paralysis. There was no way to get up and run, nor could she fight back. Plus, she couldn’t tell if there was a time jump building inside or if one was even possible with the red crap stuck to her.
Glassford Girl: Boxed Set (Complete Series) (Time Jumper Series) Page 56