• • •

My reflection stared back at me. Matted hair plastered to my temple with blood, grime and sweat. My left eye was bruised and I had a gash along the side of my jaw. My black shirt was torn and disgusting. My right shoulder was tight and my arm hung loosely by my side. I dared not move it. I could feel the tears and sobs threatening to breakthrough and turned the shower on to stifle my cries. As carefully as I could, I wet a washcloth and began to wipe the blood from my face as tears streamed down mixing with the dirt and blood to leave an awful muddy color on the washcloth.

"Ingrid?" Arthur knocked on the door startling me.

"Y-yes?"

"I need to set your shoulder."

I didn't answer.

"I saw how you moved it. Let me help you, please." I could hear the strain and hurt in his deep voice, and I began to nod.

"Okay." My hand shook as I turned the knob to let him in.

Arthur's intense eyes locked with mine as he stood in the doorway. His body emitted heat and comfort, and I wanted so badly to wrap myself up in him, but I was hurt and now childless because of him. He stepped inside shutting the door behind him, leaning against the door I sat down on the side of the tub. The shower splashed up hot water and filled the room with steam.

"Who did this to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ingrid, you have to tell me-."

"No! I don't want to talk about it!" I seethed, "Just set my shoulder, please."

I breathed hard and glanced at him through dirty hair, and I nearly doubled over with how hurt he looked. Sighing, Arthur ran a hand through his tousled hair and motioned for me to stand up.

"This will hurt." Arthur warned as he stood next to me and laced a hand on my shoulder and angled my arm back.

"Ah." I gasped, "Tell me wh-FUCK!" I screamed as he popped it back into place without any warning. Black spots danced around my vision, and I leaned against Arthur.

"It's better not to anticipate it." He told me as he set me on the edge of the tub, his hands resting on my hips to steady me.

A heavy silence lingered between us, and I moved to unlace my shoes. Pain bloomed behind my right eye, and I grimaced.

"Let me help." Arthur sat in-front of me. The bathroom was small, and he pulled my feet into his lap and began to unlace my sneakers. I leaned back against the tub and stared at Arthur.

"It was Yvette," I whispered.

Gold eyes glanced at me as he set my shoes aside and pulled off my socks. White painted toes wiggled back at him.

"We ran into her near Atlantis." He told me while he helped me up off the floor. My legs were tired, and I leaned against him, breathing in his familiar subtle scent. It's always reminded me of the initial smell of pine trees when you entered a State Park. Clean and crisp. Untouched.

The sudden lift of my shirt brought me back to reality, and I swatted his hands away.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Getting you out of these clothes. You were drifting off."

I was tired. My head hurt, and so I nodded and let him lift my shirt over my head, my shoulder sore and heavy as he helped me maneuver through it. Arthur's body language changed and I held shaky arms across my torso, the skin tender to touch. His large dark hands pulled my arms away, and I heard an intake of breath.

"There were two of them." I whispered, "Atlanteans, I mean. They wanted to know where you were and didn't like that I didn't know."

My torso was riddled with dark purple bruises and scratches, and I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes. I fumbled with the button of my jeans, my bruised, and sore fingers wouldn't stop shaking. Warm hands stilled my small ones and undid the button and zipper. My eyes jumped from triangle to triangle that made up his tattoos, keeping busy, don't look at him. I kept my eyes on his hands as they helped pull the ruined jeans from my body.

They were stiff from all the blood, and I couldn't believe that for just a moment I had forgotten about the baby. Arthur was disturbed with the blood that soaked my jeans and stained my thighs and underwear in dark, angry splotches because the air around us chilled and I could only hear my ragged breaths as sobs bubbled up my throat. The blood. Flaked with every movement. It was everywhere.

"Did they-." I could hear the waiver in his voice. Just the thought of anyone forcing their self upon me made his body shake with anger.

Placing a hand on his wrist, I finally looked up at him, "No, they didn't, but you need to sit down,"

"Sit down? I think you need to sit down." His eyes searched my face, and I couldn't hold it any longer.

"Uh, I didn't even know." I said running a hand through my hair, "I think if I had known it would have been more painful-it was painful- but emotionally...I wasn't aware of it before it happened. It was still emotionally draining because I feel like I failed you. The beating didn't help, and I'm not sure what blow did it or if I did something? Maybe it was the stress of losing Simon that caused me to lose-." My words stumbled from trembling lips and were loud and almost unidentifiable as I began to break down.

Arthur cut me off, his hands cupping my face forcing me to look him in the eye.

"Ingrid, lose what? What are you talking about?"

"The baby, Arthur. I had a miscarriage."

Arthur blinked twice before he registered what I had told him. His brow furrowed and his lip twitched as his eyes searched mine as if for some clarification.

"How?" He stammered out, "We've only been together-."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't plan for this to happen and I didn't plan to lose your baby either." I lashed out at how he questioned me.

"This isn't your fault, Ingrid."

"Then why does it feel like my fault?! I couldn't do the one thing a woman is supposed to do!"

Arthur stared at me his eyes wide.

"I am a woman. I am supposed to carry a child. That is my purpose. I couldn't even do that. I thought it wouldn't hurt this badly, and I didn't know, I had no idea...why..." I collapsed into his arms, "Why? Arthur?! Why?"

Tight and protective, he held me as I screamed into his chest, my fist balling up his sweater — my body heaving.

"I'm sorry." I cried, "I didn't know. I didn't know."

Arthur held me tighter and tighter his body enveloping mine. I screamed and writhed in pain on the floor, in his arms for what felt like hours before there were no more tears and my throat was dry, and my voice was gone.

• • •

Noises came all at once, and I jolted awake. A ringing sounded in my head as I blinked, trying to gather my bearings. It took a moment for my vision to clear, but I recognized the stacks of aquatic books and with a heavy body I sat up. Outside, the sky was dark. Three blankets fell from my body to reveal I was dressed in one of his large knitted turtle necks. Wiggling my toes I could feel heavy socks and my fingers went to my thighs. There was no blood. I was clean.

Pulling the blankets back to see bare thighs caused me to check the rest of my body before I looked around the room. She sat in the corner. Her hair so bright it almost glowed. She was dressed in a sweater and jeans her jaw tense as we locked eyes. She leaned forward and offered some smile. It looked more like disgust. I pulled the blankets back over my body and squared my shoulders.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Mera, human." Her mouth twitched like she was to add to her name, but she pressed her lips together and just looked at me.

"I have a name."

"I do not wish to know it."

I glared at her, "Why are you here?"

"Atlantis was threatened. I am here to help subdue our enemies." She stood up and walked towards the door. In the light, her eyes were bluer than Arthur's, and her face was beyond beautiful. I stared blankly at her. I had never seen such an intoxicatingly beautiful and threatening woman before. Not since Wonder Woman debuted last year.

"Where's Arthur?" I asked.

"He went to a grocery store? I am not used to your world. We Atlanteans don't mingle with lesser beings." Her hand settled on the door knob before she glanced back at me, "I am sorry for your loss. I wish it upon no woman."

"Thank you." My gaze fell upon my flat stomach, and my hands rested there for a moment.

"It was inevitable." I glanced at her, "The miscarriage. Your body can not sustain a being not meant to be carried by a human. You were simply too frail for Atlantean blood. Arthur should see that now." She walked out of the room the door closed with a click.

Her words cut through me like a hot seared knife. Sobs came quick and sporadic as tears spilled over my cheeks, curling into a ball, my hands found my stomach, a flat stomach. Below me, I heard Arthur's heavy steps enter the house, and his deep voice ask if I was awake, his feet loud on the steel staircase before a lighter sound stopped him.

He didn't come up.