"This feels familiar," she finally whispered. The crack in her voice tore at him, but at least he was hearing her speak.
"I'm so glad you're awake," he said without thinking.
"How long have I been asleep?"
Chad tensed. He didn't know if he should answer that. The doctor said to keep her calm.
"Please tell me," she pled.
"Two months," he answered and watched the color drain from her face once more. "It will be okay, Bree," he quickly assured, tugging her close again.
Bree felt the walls closing in on her. She'd been asleep for months and didn't remember anything. How could that happen to a person? She felt an overwhelming need to get out of there. She fought back the tears wanting to escape. She somehow knew she wasn't that kind of woman, she wouldn't lose control.
He gently rubbed her back, calming her, and she took a deep breath. She couldn't change the past so she had to move forward. Little did she know how many more shocks were coming her way. She felt exhaustion begin to overtake her again and didn't understand how she could be so tired when she'd been asleep for months.
"What happened?" she finally asked. She had to know.
"We need to wait for the doctor and your family," he said. He wasn't going to be responsible for giving her any more information that could jeopardize her health.
"Please, I need to know," she tried, but he stood firm. He needed to find out what information was safe to give to her, and what wasn't. He wouldn't do anything else to cause her further harm.
Dr. Bailey stepped in the room, saving him. She turned her eyes on him.
"Good to see you awake again, Bree," he said as he walked over and checked her charts.
"I need answers. Why am I here?" She got right to the point.
Dr. Bailey sat in a chair next to her bed and looked her over for a few moments before speaking.
"I think that's a discussion for you to have with your family. I'm here to tell you, your health looks good. If you can eat some solid food and work hard over the next week, we can let you get out of here," he answered, avoiding her question.
"But why am I here in the first place," she asked, her voice cracking even more in her frustration.
"Your family will fill you in on all of that, but I do have some great news for you. It's the reason you need to focus on eating so you can leave here," Dr. Bailey said. Chad tensed. He didn't want the doctor to blurt out the news, but the man was either ignoring him, or disregarding what he wanted.
"What?" Bree asked, momentarily distracted.
"You're about eight weeks pregnant."
There was pure silence as the news sank in. Bree's startled eyes went from the doctor to Chad, who managed to muster up an encouraging smile.
"I … I … " Bree couldn't seem to find words.
"It will all be okay, Bree," Chad said, though he didn't know how to make anything okay. Bree had lost her memory, there were still unknown men after her, and he didn't know how to fight an unseen force.
Her hand glided to her stomach and he watched as tears flashed in her eyes.
"Ours?"
"Yes," he answered with zero hesitation. She gave him a tentative smile, and all her other questions were forgotten as she pondered the reality of impending motherhood.
Chapter Eight
"After your ultrasound, if everything is fine with the baby, you'll be free to leave," Dr. Bailey said before Bree was able to open her mouth.
She'd come out of her coma two weeks ago but was still confined to her hospital room. Okay, not exactly the room, she was allowed to walk to the cafeteria, and even sit outside on occasion – as long as she had someone with her, but still, being stuck in a hospital, even a nice one, made her feel trapped.
She'd been a good sport about it for the first week and a half, but then her irritation at the situation became quite apparent to everyone. She was now used to the revolving door of visitors who called themselves her family, though she still hadn't gotten her memory back, but she just wanted to leave. She didn't know where home was, but anything had to be better than the sterile hospital room.
"Looks like he knows you well," Chad said with a laugh. Bree shot him a glare, and then regretted it. Chad was the one person she felt 'right' being around. She figured they must be incredibly close, because when he walked in the door, she felt butterflies in her stomach. He stirred things inside her she couldn't fully comprehend.
She thought she may be falling in love with him – though she had to love him already if they'd made a baby, right? She hated to start having those thoughts because they made her head hurt trying to put the pieces together of her broken memory.