Rosy:

I glance at the back of the drivers head as I sit in the back seat of the car silently. The hair at the back of my head feels as if it is suddenly standing on end and I catch his eyes watching me in the rearview mirror. I look away hurriedly as I move uncomfortably, there's something about this tom called Micah. Something that makes my head ache and my breath catch in my throat.

"You okay Rosy?" Sam asks as his hand closes over mine where it rests on the seat between us.

I look out the car window at the buildings and people all around us. I feel uneasy being among so many humans but I don't know if it is me or all the things Drew has told me over the months we were together.

"Are you sure it's safe to be near so many humans?" I ask with a glance at my brother.

"We're with you and we won't be doing anything strange," Steven says from the front of the vehicle. "You don't like being near people?"

"Drew was allows telling ..." I fall silent as a low growl comes from Micah.

"Rosy?" Sam prompts beside me but I shake my head and remain silent. I don't want to upset these toms in anyway, I can't shake the urge to do whatever they ask in an attempt to make them happy.

"He was always saying to avoid people," I murmur quietly.

"We're here," Micah says as he slows the vehicle to turn into the entrance of a big parking lot belonging to a medical clinic.

"Sign says radilogy is around to the left," Steven announces.

"I see it." Micah acknowledges crisply.

I am jostled by several speed bumps before we find a space to park. A tree casts shade over the vehicle and I look up into the branches when I get out of the vehicle and stand waiting for Sam to show me where the werecat doctor, Aaron who everyone calls Doc, will be waiting for us. Something about the dappled branches and leaves call to me and just for a moment I can almost imagine I am up in the tree stretched out on a limb, one paw hanging down lazily.

"Hey! Steady there!" Sam's voice startles me and I come back to my surrounds with a strange sensation as I had been in a bubble as it poped. I sway slightly as I grasp his arm, the middle of the day has suddenly turned warm and I feel a light sheen of sweat break out on my entire body.

"You okay?" Sam asks in concern and I glance around to find Sam, Micah and Steven watching me closely.

"I'm fine," I say ignoring the shaky feeling in my chest. My unborn kitt shifts restlessly and I find myself automatically putting a hand on the worryingly small swell of my body. I glance down at my hand and as I look back up I catch sight of Micah's face as he looks away, his jaw is clenched and the skin around his mouth nearly white. The hair at my hairline on the back of my head prickles slightly and I know it is standing on end as a protective, defensive feeling fills me.

"Can we go inside out of the sun?" I ask as I turn to Sam.

"You finished all of that water Doc said you need to drink?" Micah asks as he turns his face towards me. I can almost feel him hold his hand out towards me but I avoid him as I start towards the clearly marked entrance to the building eager to get this over and done with so we can leave.

"Rosy it is normal for a human couple to walk side by side or ..." Micah begins tightly.

"We are not normal or you would have let me see my sons," I say sharply but quietly, aware of people around the car park.

"I thought we agreed it would be best to wait until you didn't have to rush off to these appointments," Micah says in a patient tone. "That it was best to leave it until the boys would be able to spend as long as they wanted with you."

"You decided, you dictated, you didn't give me a chance to say anything!" I say as I sidestep to avoid his hand as he reaches for my arm.

"Come on Sweetheart," Micah says stepping up beside me and offering his arm in a gentlemanly gesture even though he is clearly fighting to control his anger. "Will you let me walk you inside my dear?"

It takes me a moment but I remember everyone had stressed that we need to act like a happily married couple, or at least like a couple. I reluctantly place my hand on his forearm and he places his hand over mine before gently leading the way inside. Inside the building the glare of artifical lighting grates on me and the strong sharp smell of disinfectant burns my nose leaving an acrid taste in the back of my mouth. I glance around at all the activity but Micah seems to know where he is going and I follow along meekly. Finally I spot Doc in a waiting room and Micah leads me to a chair near him.

"I'll just let my friend know you're here and then she'll come get you for the scan," Doc says quietly.

"This test won't hurt my baby will it?" I repeat my often asked question as I place a protective hand on my stomach.

"I can answer that question for you Mrs Williamson," A female voice says and I turn my head to look at the pretty brunette who walks through a doorway into the room. "A CT, computed tomography, does use the same radiation as an X-Ray but we will be using the standard protective wear for you. Plus the CT will only be of your head, not any part of your body so there will be minimal exposure if any."

I study her closely, the tone of her voice is very reassuring and all of her body language as well as her heartbeat and breathing indicate she is telling the truth. I glance at Micah before looking for Sam but he isn't in the waiting room and I stand still, uncertain when she guestures towards the door she came through.

"My name is Susan," she says in a friendly tone before asking, "Shall we go to the examination room?"

"The sooner the tests are over and done with, the quicker we can head home." Micah says placing a hand in the centre of my shoulder blades and applying the slightest of pressures.

Micah:

I watch as Rosy exits the room where she's had the first test and is directed towards another room for the ultra sound. I look away as she glances my way. I don't dwell on the way she looks uncertain, I don't want to see the evidence of her time with Dorrington. It is going to be hard enough accepting it as my own. I turn my head as I hear footsteps. It's Susan, the woman who done the special x-ray on Rosy's head.

"Mr Williamson would you mind coming through to my office?" She asks quietly. "Aaron is already there,"

"I'm coming as well," Sam says firmly before I have answered or gotten to my feet.

"I'll wait here," Steven says quietly as he stretches his legs out in front of him.

"I'm not ..." Susan begins.

"It's okay Susan, Sam is one of Rosy's brothers," Doc says quietly from just behind her. She glances back at him for a moment before moving out of the way and letting Sam and I through the door.

The walk to the office is short and I notice that there are starting to be more people around. The office is small and there aren't enough chairs so Sam stands back against the wall. Susan sits behind her desk and puts on glasses before picking up two large yellow envelopes off the desk.

"Here are the films for the CT scan as well as an MRI I done after seeing the results of the CT." Susan says a serious tone. "Mr Williamson your wife has sustained some very extensive and serious brain injuries. I am no accredited expert at reading the scans but I am more than capable of recognising multiple areas of damage. The MRI shows massive trauma to her skull, most of the left side has been shattered with several bad breakages of the facial bones as well."

"The brain injuries," Sam says and swallows audibly. "Would they affect my sister's memory?"

"Can you tell how old the injuries are? When the damage to the skull happened?" I ask with a sick feeling in my stomach as the word shattered echoes in my mind.

"Going on ... Just looking ..." Susan stops talking for a moment and takes a deep breath before looking directly into my eyes. "When a human turns up with such a severe head injury they are either dead or the doctors in attendance make the decision to 'Take no extortionary measures'. The patient would either be brain dead or exist in a vegetate state for what remained of their life. As for how old the injuries are, it's hard for me to tell."

"Is it possible the injuries destroyed her memory?" Sam asks intensely.

"There is extensive damage to the cerebral cortex and the prefrontal lobe. Both of which are very important in memory, both short-term and long term." Susan says gently. "As I have said I am not accredited to read the films ... but I've never seen a patient so badly injured survive. And I do not believe she will regain any memories of prior to the head trauma."

I can't help the uneasy feeling that creeps up my spine and makes all the hairs on my arms stand on end as I get an uncomfortable roll of nausea in my stomach.

"You said when a human turns up with such an injury ... " I say flatly and Susan looks at me levelly.

"My father is ... what, as a child, I thought was a very unique individual. Let's just say I have family reasons for helping my cousin here get the tests done on your wife," Susan says calmly.

I sniff loudly thinking I might have missed the smell of werecat in the choas of the hospital smells but all I get is her light floral perfume and a slight tang of nervous perspiration.

"You're human," Sam says behind me and I glance at Doc with a frown. I will be asking him some serious questions later.

"I believe Mr Williamson and his friend Steven Willoughby helped Toby, my brother, when he was having trouble finding a place he fit in." Susan says calmly.

It takes me a few moments to bring a stray called Toby to mind and when I do remember him I can see the family resemblance between him and Susan. I give a slight nod and glance at Sam who is watching Susan with interest. I open my mouth to ask more questions about Rosy's injuries when hurried footsteps come to the door, there is a knock and then the door is opened abruptly. A man with a worried look on his face pokes his head around the door.

"Susan your last patient is having a seizure," he says and Susan comes around the desk hurriedly.

"Aaron," Susan calls as she rushes from the room. Doc hurries after her and I glance at Sam as it hits me who the guy had been talking about.

"Rosy!" I say her name and bolt for the door. Behind me I can hear Sam following at a run. In the hallway I glance left to see both Susan and Doc running down the hallway behind the guy who had bought the message. I rush after them following to a small room that seems filled with people. I can barely make out Rosy on a narrow examination bed as people crowd around her. I can only watch in horror as her body convulses and I glimpse her eyes rolled back in her head.

I realise there are only four people around Rosy but the room is small and I strain to make out the individual comments from them. I suddenly feel cold as I clearly hear someone comment 'She's barely responding to the drug and I can't give her anymore without risking compromising the foetus.'

"Save my wife!" I plead. "The baby doesn't ... sacrifice the baby if necessary but save my wife!" I plead as fear for the kitt as well as Rosy fills me. I become aware of someone squeezing one of my shoulders and glance behind me to see Sam, his face pasty white. I glance back at the commotion around Rosy and catch Doc looking at me, I look away from him to Rosy. It seems like an eternity before whatever drug they are giving her works and she is still, the steady rise and fall of her chest the only movements from her. Her face is a horrible sallow colour except around her mouth and lips, which are nearly blue.

"Her colour is coming back," Doc says quietly. I tear my eyes away Rosy's face to glance at him. Beside him Susan is using a stethoscope to listen to the kitt Rosy carries and suddenly my stomach churns, what if my pleas to save Rosy has endangered the kitt? Rosy's kitt. Finally Susan straightens and gives Doc a nod before flicking me a closed look, her face carefully blank.

"Here, let me," The fourth person in the room says stepping forward. The woman runs a handpiece over Rosy's exposed belly as she watches the monitor beside the examination table. I move into the room where I have an unobstructed view of the screen. I'm not totally sure of what I am seeing but if I remember correctly from the ultrasounds of Wynn and later Cameron I am seeing the rapidly beating heart of the kitt.

"The heart is racing but there's no decelerations at the moment," The woman says quietly after several minutes. "I can't get a good clear picture, loss of bladder control during the seizure. She needs to be admitted into hospital for oxygen therapy and observation for the next twenty-four, maybe forty-eight hours."

I'm torn with concern for Rosy and this kitt she carries, the kitt that now I find myself suddenly caring about. We can't allow Rosy to be in a human hospital but a glance at her face scares me with the blue tinge that still lingers around her lips and mouth.

"Any chance of getting some oxygen in here?" Doc asks quietly then looks at the woman who is standing back by the large machine I take is the three dimensional ultrasound machine Doc had talked about. Susan answers softly and I hear her slip from the room as I turn my eyes back to Rosy.

"Did you get to do the ultra sound?" Doc asks.

"I was just starting but I got enough done to be able to tell you what you need to know," the ultrasound operator says seriously. The tone of her voice makes me look up from Rosy's face to glance at her as she answers Doc. My stomach turns over as I see the seriousness in her expression and I look back to Rosy where she lays almost motionless on the table. I move up by her head and someone pushes a stool towards me. I sit down where I can brush the hair back off her sweat dampened forehead, her breathing is worryingly shallow and I notice her eyes are moving beneath her eyelids.

Is she dreaming? If so what is she dreaming about? Maybe the kitt she carries or is she remembering her time with its sire? The thought tears at me, I don't want another male on her mind.

"Micah," Sam's voice startles me out of my thoughts, I make a noise in my throat but don't look his way as he starts to speak again. "I'm going to go buy Rosy some clean clothes. Want me to get you something to eat?"

"Yeah," I say whisper soft. Doc bumps me as he steps forward to put a mask over Rosy's nose and mouth, I glance his way with a frown.

"Oxygen," Doc says quietly. "It should help her."

I hear Doc, Susan and the ultrasound operator speaking quietly near the door but I don't take my full attention off Rosy. The blueness is leaving her skin and being replaced by a healthy soft blush of colour. This close I can hear the rasp of her breathing and it reminds me she is ill with a chest infection or even pneumonia. I catch snatches of the conversation between the three near the door but don't take proper notice. For now all that matters is standing watch over my Rosy.

The silvery traces of scars lace across the left side of her cheekbone, temple and forehead then disappear up into her hair. Her once glorious mane is shorn short and sticks to her head damp with sweat, only the long veil of her fringe seems to resemble its former glory. At rest her face shows the changes caused by the accident clearly and it crosses my mind that Rosy must hate looking in the mirror and no longer seeing herself but a strange face looking back at her.

Sweat beads and runs down the side of her face into her hair and she frowns as her eyes flutter open. There is a dazed expression on her face and her lips move as her eyes close once again.

"Drew ..." The name comes from her hoarsely causing my stomach to clench painfully. "So hot ..."

"The high temperature has returned," Doc says as he moves between us to take her pulse and temperature. "Rosy? Rosy can you tell me what happened?"

There is no reply from her and I see Doc frown before leaning closer to her.

"Harley? Do you know what happened?" He asks and a small sound comes from the back of her throat as her eyes flutter once again. "Harley?"

A sick feeling grows in my stomach as she looks around, fear and uncertainty flitting across her face only to be replaced with a panicked expression as both her hands come to rest on the small mound of her stomach. A relieved express crosses her face and she closes her eyes.

"Seizure," Rosy whispers. "We thought ... Drew! Don't leave us!"

The words that leave Rosy on a cry of pain make my heart stop for a few seconds only to start once again, pounding at a furious pace. My chair hits the floor behind me with a loud bang as I lurch up from her bedside, dimly I notice that her eyes come open instantly as she turns her face towards me. Her arms cross over her stomach protectively as she watches me with wide eyed fear.

"It's okay Harley," Doc says soothingly as he pushes between us, I hear her whimper Dorrington's name and I leave the room quickly.

In the hallway I can't block my ears to the soft murmur of voices in the room I just left and rather than hear my Rosy call for Dorrington again I stride down the hallway. My surroundings blur into a nondescript blur as I stride along rapidly trying to out pace my pounding heart as the sound of Dorrington's name on Rosy's lips rings in my ears. It takes me close to half an hour to realise I am in unknown territory and nearly ten minutes before I find my way back to the waiting room where Steven is.

"There you are!" Steven exclaims worriedly and strides towards me. "Doc was here looking for you. He says we need to get Rosy out of here ASAP!"

"What the ..." I start surprised.

"Something about seizures, high temperature and a doctor trying to admit her. Doc has her to where he thinks she can walk out on her own. But without her husband there, the medical staff will probably try to stop her." Steven interjects hurriedly.

"Shit!" I exclaim careful to keep my language acceptable for a hospital. I hesitate a moment as I remember Rosy calling Dorrington's name before I hurry towards where I last saw her.

Rosy:

I cling to the strong arm of the tom that walks beside me ... Micah, yes that's his name. It comes to me through the fog clouding my mind. The world tilts and sways around me but I grit my teeth and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. The foreign sound of close traffic invades my mind and I try to look around only to find my body doesn't want to obey my commands beyond walking slowly

I become aware that I am sitting in a vehicle, the knowledge that time has passed fills me and I blink as I try to look around. It is hard to focus my eyes and even harder to focus my mind. A hand brushes my fringe back out of my eyes and the knowledge the hand is much cooler than my face filters sluggishly through my mind. I allow my eyes to close reluctantly. I don't have the strength to keep them open, don't have the strength to resist when I am cradled against a large hard body that is curiously cool.

A pained groan struggles from my throat, my eyes refuse to open though my eyelids flutter wildly. I can hear my heart pounding and my breath rasping in my chest and throat as my muscles tense and shudder in wave after wave of strong spasms. Some spark in my mind tells me I am having another seizure! But it's been so long since the last one!

I want to scream and cry out as I sense movement near me but I am unable to do anything to control my body. I sense rather than hear voices near me, their tones tingling across the over sensitive nerve endings in my skin. I long for Drew to cradle me in his arms and talk to me as I ride out the horror. I've told him how feeling him close and hearing him helps me stay calm. Pinpoints of lights burst into illumination behind my eyelids and images flash through my mind lightning fast.

Slowly the voices around me start to make sense. Someone is talking to me softly and urgently, calling me back from that total darkness in way Drew never has. My body slowly relaxes as calmness washes over me. I become aware of someone's thighs behind my back, of their body beside me as I am cradled in gentle arms.

The knowledge it isn't Drew holding me washes over me and what memories I have begin to come back almost like a slide show. Dark shadowy figures flicker in my mind for a moment before being replaced with Drew's voice and scent. His image disappears beneath the knowledge he has lead danger to me in the form of a dingo that is intent on hunting me down. Intent on ending the small life I carry before it can begin.

I see a figure in the shadows, he is silent, motionless, but he calls to me. I can feel it. I recognise his eyes, the expression in them intense. His lips don't move. But I can still hear him calling me and I reach towards him desperately. His face shimmers for a moment, and then vanishes! I give a soft cry of desperation. I don't want him to go! I am left with the profound sense I have lost something very precious, as precious as my life itself. Slowly my mind folds in on itself and sleep descends, with it comes the knowledge I will have to deal with my loss later.

Micah:

It is well after dark when Rosy is finally settled in a motel bed and sleeping comfortably. Her fever seems to have broken and Doc believes the high temperature she had caused her seizures. I hear Sam moving around quietly and glance over to find him placing three plastic bags on one of the beds. Steven begins pulling an array of food from one of the bags and I walk over slowly, reluctant to leave Rosy's side but my need for food drives me.

"How is she?" Sam demands.

"She is very weak but I think she has this chest infection beaten," Doc says quietly.

"This trip could have waited until she was stronger," I growl angrily.

"No," Doc says firmly. "I found out some vital information as well as you boys gathering evidence Rosy was not responsible for anything Dorrington got her to do."

"There is nothing so vital that it couldn't have waited for Rosy to be stronger before having those tests," Sam snarls voicing my very thoughts.

Doc turns around to face us with a hard look on his face, he stares at us individually before glancing at Rosy where she is sleeping.

"Rosy can't be allowed to go into labour or deliver the kitt naturally." Doc states firmly. "I've already called Frank Inness and asked for his opinion and assistance ..."

"What the hell are you playing at!" Sam roars in demand. He glances across at Rosy for a moment then turns his attention back to Doc. "Mitchell has already explained to you how important it is that you do not let word of her return slip until we work out how to defend her against a possible charge of Stock Killing and Running with Rouges!"

"It's called Placenta Previa," Doc says tightly in a cold tone. "There is no guarantee I can get the pregnancy to where the kitt is far enough along to have a chance at surviving when a C-section is done. Rosy CAN NOT be allowed to deliver naturally. CAN NOT be allowed to go into labour. The afterbirth is dangerously low. It is actually sitting across her cervix with a large hematoma under it that tells me she has already had at least one significant bleed. If Rosy goes into labour it is almost guaranteed she will bleed out before I can cut in and get that kitt out let alone control the bleeding!" The angry words pour from Doc and I feel myself go cold as I turn to look at Rosy where she sleeps deeply.

"Sam, Micah," Steven says walking over to where I stand having taken a step towards Rosy as if being near her can keep her safe.

"Mikkarl sent me a text maybe half an hour ago," Steven says quietly.

"What shit is going on now?" I demand angrily as I turn to face him. Steven looks worried as he glances past me at Rosy before meeting Sam's gaze then looking back at me.

"The Council knows she is alive. Mikkarl isn't sure if they know the entire story but Kurt Black has already made it known he will be charging Rosy with Desertion of her very young Kitts, claiming it is an inherited defect from her mother." Steven says quietly.

I feel my blood turn to ice in my veins, I am dimly aware of Sam yelling at Steven in the background, as I move to Rosy's bedside. I watch the covers move slightly as she breathes. Reassured she is still alive and seemingly on the mend I turn back towards the others. In the back of my mind I note that Sam has punched Steven and although Steven is wiping a dribble of blood from his nose with the back of his hand he is not reacting to Sam's blow.

"Doc what is the punishment for ..." My voice trails off, I can't bring myself to say it. Doc glances past me worriedly and it takes me a few moments he is avoiding meeting my eyes.

"Doc?" I ask firmly.

"Sterilization," Doc says flatly. "They will order a tubal ligation or contraceptive implant so Rosy does not produce any more kitts to abandon and endanger."

"That will put an end to our Maternal Clan!" Sam exclaims in horror. "Rosy needs to have a daughter to carry on the Clan!"

"I think claiming it is an inherited problem means the possibility of any daughter being the same," Steven says softly. This brings an enraged hiss from Sam and I am not surprised to watch Steven quickly leave the room.

I turn away and move to sit at Rosy's bedside as the image of Cantrell Yates fills my mind. Yates seemed to have a personal hatred for Rosy, how was she going to come through this with her uncle Kurt Black against her?