To Love a Stray Ch. 18

"Sam won't give Rosy and I any privacy," I say angrily. " We need a chance to work things out between us. He's trying to keep me away from Rosy, trying to bust us up."

"What's going on out here?" Mitchell asks as he walks in glancing between Sam and me with a frown. "It sounded like the building was getting knocked down."

"Wade, you have your phone?" Marissa asks as she hurries into the room. "Call Doc, Rosy got bumped or something,"

The worry in her voice and the words that come from Marissa sends the rage from my body. All I want is to go to Rosy and make sure she is okay.

"What happened?" Mitchell demands glancing around the room. His gaze stops on me and his eyes narrow, he takes in my appearance then Sam's. "What have you done to my sister?"

"Malcolm can you go bring Rosy inside?" Sam asks quietly as Wade moves Marissa and Jazzy into the kitchen.

"Everyone stop this stupidity now!" Marissa snaps.

My attention doesn't leave either of the MacIntosh brothers as Mitchell moves to Sam's side.

"What happened?" Mitchell asks tightly.

I hear the screen door shut then there is the sound of one set of footsteps down the hallway. I frown as Malcolm walks into the lounge room carrying Rosy in his arms.

"Someone fix the lounge up," Malcolm says and the soft buzz of voices ceases instantly.

"What happened?" Marissa and Wade demand in unison.

"She went to stand up and doubled up in pain," Malcolm says.

"I don't want to be out here, I want to be in Sam and Mitchell's room," Rosy says quietly. Her face is pale and her head rests against Malcolm's shoulder while she fixes her gaze on her two brothers.

"It'll be nice and quite and calm in there," Marissa agrees and I can only watch as Malcolm walks back through the doorway.

Sam and Mitchell follow him from the room, Sam pausing in the doorway to glare at me for a moment before walking away.

"Don't put her in Mitchell's bed, she doesn't get to sleep in his bed." I hear Jazzy protest.

"Jazzy you get back to the house now, Micah you go with her as well," Wade orders.

"I am not leaving the quarters," I say on a low growl.

"Wade?" Marissa questions softly and I glance her way to see her exchanging a worried look with Wade.

"Dwayne," Wade says turning towards my brother with a grim look on his face.

"I'm going to check Rosy is okay," I say tightly. An uneasy feeling is starting to grow in me. Why isn't Rosy asking for me? Why isn't she calling out to me to be with her?

"You need to stay here Micah," Marissa says with a worried glance towards the door.

"Is it the baby? Did Rosy get hurt? Rosy will be okay won't she?" I demand, the questions rushing from me. These are things I can think about. Things I can voice. Not like the monstrous idea forming in my mind, the dark thought threatening to rip my entire world apart.

Marissa avoids my gaze and heads out the hallway door to follow the others. I go to follow them but Wade steps in my way blocking me and I growl as I glare at him.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." I annunciate each word carefully as I force them between gritted teeth.

Wade hesitates a moment but steps aside and I walk quickly towards the bedrooms. Jazzy is outside of Sam and Mitchell's room, she looks towards me for a second and I see the worry on her face before she turns back to the door.

"Mitchell. Mitchell lets go for a hunt," Jazzy calls but Mitchell shuts the door without replying and I hear Jazzy's soft cry of disbelief.

"Mitchell she'd better not be in your bed," Jazzy yells and rattles the door.

A radio is turned on to a music station with the volume up inside the room. I step up beside Jazzy and try the door handle for myself only to find it locked.

"Micah, you need to go over to the main house," Dwayne says quietly beside me.

I glare at my brother for a minute or more, he holds my gaze with a look like pity and that dark fear I refuse to name grows. I compromise by moving back to the start of the hallway before turning around and facing him. I plant my feet shoulder width apart and cross my arms over my chest as I watch him angrily.

"Sam. Sam can I speak to you for a few moments?" Dwayne calls.

The door opens after several moments and Sam stands in the doorway effectively blocking it with his body. He seems to eye Dwayne for a few moments before glancing back along the sunroom.

"Excuse me Sam," Malcolm says and Sam steps aside to let Malcolm leave the room.

I take a step forward intending to go and demand entrance to the room but Malcolm shakes his head at me as he walks towards me.

"Is Doc on his way here?" Sam asks.

"Yes," Wade answers as he steps around me. Before he can say more or reach the doorway Sam closes the door without slamming it and relocks it.

"Do we have a problem here Sam?" Wade calls through the door. "Is Rosy injured?"

The radio inside the room is turned down but the door stays closed.

"Yeah Wade, we have a problem." Sam says in a clear carrying voice. "Looks like a broken wrist ... and broken engagement,"

I stand there stunned, I hear the words but they make no sense. The words and situations are mixed up, Sam's got things wrong - that has to be it. Sam was never engaged to Lotty, not officially. I'm engaged to Rosy. It's only been a few days since I asked her and the ring I picked out for her hasn't arrived at the jewellers yet. But we're ...

"Nooooo!" It's more a guttural cry of anguish than a word as realisation hits me.

I turn around and head for the lounge room - I need to get away from that closed door. I see the lounge where it lays sprawled awkwardly on its back in the walkway towards the kitchen. The blanket that had covered Rosy's legs draped across one arm of the lounge. One end snagged between the loose arm and the base, the rest of the blanket stretched out towards the hallway door.

An animal like roar of pain escapes me as I realise that Rosy must have been tangled in that blanket. I grab the loose arm of the lounge and twist it savagely as I try to rip it free. Pain clutches in my chest as I heave the lounge at a wall and watch it demolish the plasterboard between two struts.

Rosy, Rosy, Rosy.

Her name can be heard in every pulse of my blood as it roars in my ears. I can still see her cowered from me in the corner ... the way she had spit in fear exactly like a housecat when I stepped towards her as Sam took her away from me ...

I'd done it to myself I realise. Driven the best thing that ever happened to me away. My Rosy, I'd lost my Rosy.

* * * * *

Rosy

"Sam," Wade's voice comes from just outside the locked door.

Sam turns the radio down before moving over closer to the door. I roll to face the doorway and gasp as I pull my knees up towards my stomach as pain wraps around my lower stomach and the muscles in my lower back spasm.

"What is it Rosy?" Marissa asks gently in a worried voice. "Is it the same pain as before?"

"Sam, you have my wife in there," Wade says tightly from just outside the door.

"I'm alright Wade," Marissa calls back to him. "I'm just sitting with Rosy."

"Sam I want this door open so we can see Marissa is okay," Dwayne cuts in with authority.

"Is Micah still there?" Sam asks and I can't help the little sob that escapes me.

Marissa brushes my hair back off my forehead, peering down into my face and I close my eyes as I turn my head away. She pats my shoulder gently and makes soft soothing sounds as she rubs her hand up and down my upper arm.

"Rosy wants to wait here for Doc. She wants to be sure there is no danger to the kitt before she decides where she'll go," Sam says and I glance towards him to see the door open with Wade standing outside looking in.

"Rosy's more than welcome to wait here for Doc, she's more than welcome to stay here." Dwayne says loudly just behind Wade. There's silence for a few moments before he speaks once again. "Is this clan about to loose one of its top warriors Sam?"

"That depends on the way things turn out, Rosy is my sister and we are all she has now." Sam tells him before walking away from the door and turning the radio back up.

"Has there been a reply to those messages you sent to Kurt and Ray yet?" Sam asks Mitchell.

"Not yet," Mitchell says quietly.

"How you going there Rosy, has the pain stopped or eased any?" Sam asks quietly.

"It mainly only hurts when I move. My back is aching but it's not as bad anymore and he's wriggling away like normal that has to be good." I say with a scared smile.

We wait in silence except for the radio for quite a while before there is movement at the doorway and I look that way in alarm expecting to see Micah.

"Sam, we would like to know how Rosy is doing." Dwayne says and I can hear the strain in his voice. Sam glances at me and I nod to him.

" She's getting some kind of pain in her back and lower stomach, lying down is helping her a little bit. Is there any chance of getting some cool bottles of water? Rosy is thirsty," Sam tells him.

"I'll get right onto that," Dwayne answers.

Two or three minutes later there is a soft knock on the wall beside the door and Sam glances my way before facing the door once again.

"You got the water Dwayne?" Sam asks.

"Yes, I have the water here Sam." Dwayne answers.

Sam walks to the door and returns with several bottles of cool water. He opens one and I take it thankfully but it is hard to drink it while lying down and I don't move for fear of the pain that strikes every time I do.

"We'd need to leave the door open and Wade would sure to be in the doorway. They'll probaly want to be sure ..." Sam is explaining when Mitchell's phone beeps it has received a message. Mitchell checks it and gives a nod to Sam.

"Kurt will be here in about three hours, maybe a bit less depending on traffic." Mitchell says quietly.

"Good." Sam says with a nod then looks back at me, "As I was saying Wade won't take the chance Marissa's safety could be used as a bargaining chip, not that either Mitchell or I would ever consider hurting her. So you okay with the door being open and Wade being close?"

"I don't want Micah near me," I say closing my eyes.

There is a soft sob from Marissa but I refuse to think about how my decision will affect anyone other than myself, Sam and Mitchell.

"Rosy, are you in much pain?" Marissa asks in concern.

I open my eyes to see her leaning over me. She is looking over me as if searching for signs of injury, her eyes are bloodshot and glassy and I can tell she has been crying.

"It hurts when I try to move and my back keeps aching but he is still moving. Every so often he moves and gives his strong kicks like usual." I tell her.

"Well Doc should only be a half hour or so as long as he doesn't get any speeding tickets," Marissa tells me. I nod and close my eyes as I try to relax. I begin to drift in and out of sleep, my mind troubled by memories and I come awake trembling with fear as memories of Kendal Darnel surface. I snarl as I open my eyes and inhale deeply trying to work out where I am, who is with me.

"Rosy, it's okay Rosy you're safe now, you're safe." Sam's voice reaches me. I roll towards the sound of his voice but stop with a gasp as pain catches low in my stomach and I draw my knees up in an attempt to ward off the pain.

"I see I got here just in time," Doc announces and I turn my head towards him as the pain starts to recede, he looks around the room with interest but makes no comment.

"What have you done to yourself this time Rosy?" Doc asks then glances between my brothers. "Sam, Mitchell you pair can go but send Micah in he'll ..."

"No, I don't want him near me," I protest wrapping both arms around my stomach as I force myself into a sitting position. The resulting outbreak of voices is lost beneath the buzz in my ears and the sound of my breath hissing between my clenched teeth.

Oh God, Oh God, It hurts, It hurts, I want Micah!

I don't fight as someone eases me onto my side and I am able to pull my knees up against my stomach, a gentle hair brushes my hair back off my face and then strokes my cheek.

"Don't argue with me. Get out if you want me to see to your sister," I hear Doc yell and force my eyes open. There is no one else left in the room except for Doc and I watch as he closes the door and locks it before turning back to me.

"Worst of the pain stopped now?" He asks gently.

"Yeah, it's going away." I say with a sigh of relief.

"Ok, update me on all that's happened." Doc tells me softly as he reaches for my wrist. As he takes my pulse and blood pressure I give him a short version of the events surrounding the break-up and my injury, he remains silent only nodding now and then as I talk.

"You're not going to like this but I need to do an internal examination so I can tell if these Braxton-hicks are the start of early labour after you hurting yourself. You seem to have strained some muscles in your lower stomach pretty badly. They help support the weight of your uterus which is why it hurts when you move." Doc explains.

"Do it, I figure someone will be looking down there soon enough when I have this little fellow," I say tightly. I grit my teeth and turn my face away during the short time it takes and surprisingly, though it is slightly uncomfortable, it is not the torture I had expected.

"No signs of labour starting. I want to give you an injection for pain relief and one to sedate you lightly when I set your arm. You should know better than to break your fall with a rigid arm," Doc chastises me lightly as turns towards his medical bag.

"I was about to fall flat on my stomach, I couldn't get my legs up to take the fall on my knees, so I put my hands out." I state flatly.

"That was when you jumped over the back of the lounge to get away from Sam and Micah?" Doc asks as he opens a plastic encased syringe.

"Let my brothers and Marissa back in and I'll let you give me the needles," I tell him.

"You're willing to let Marissa back near you, you told me you broke up with Micah." Doc tells me in surprise.

"She's still this baby's family. It's still her grandchild." I tell him evenly.

"Lotty made a remark just before I slapped the shit out of her, or went to make a remark but Malcolm shut her up. Afterwards when I asked about it, Dwayne cut me off, brushed it aside. But he was hiding something, I could tell," I say lifting an eyebrow.

"Bartering secrets now are you?" Doc asks with a small smile of amusement.

"I figure I need to know as much as possible so I can make an educated choice. I am not having this decision made for me by anyone else," I say firmly.

Doc gives a hard sigh as he looks down at his hands for a few moments before looking up and meeting my eyes.

"I had better get your brothers back in here," Doc says quietly.

"You really don't need to tell me. I can make a blind guess," I tell him as he turns and heads for the door. "This baby, this kitt, its Wade's attempt to keep me here and ensure that the Williamson clan has heirs,"

Doc pauses as he reaches the door, he looks back at me silently for a few second before opening the door and disappearing from my sight.

A minute or so later Sam and Mitchell come in and Mitchell immediately moves to sit on the bed beside me, he doesn't say anything but I can tell he is upset so I guess there are now problems between him and Jazzy.

"Rosy has some pulled muscles in her back and pelvis, as well as the break just above her wrist. I'll give her something for the pain, set the break and with some complete rest she should be fine within four or five days. The break will take longer to heal of course but there is nothing serious," Doc explains as he approaches the bed.

The 'nothing serious' is more than I can take and I dissolve in tears. Micah nearly attacking me last night is nothing serious? Nearly being fallen on by Sam and Micah, as they fought is nothing serious? My own bad judgement thinking Micah would never hurt me and would protect me is nothing serious?

I cry great heaving sobs that shake my body and make my back and stomach hurt anew but I welcome the pain even as I wrap both arms around my stomach and curl up into as tight a ball as I can.

"Rosy, Rosy, what is it?" I am dimly aware of Mitchell's frantic voice.

"I'm just ... just glad it's ... nothing serious ..." I manage between sobs.

I am surprised when someone crawls onto the bed behind me and strong arms gather me against a chest. I hear Sam crooning to me softly as he cuddles me close, his hand engulfing mine when my uninjured arm is eased away from my body. I feel the pinch of a needle in the back of my hand and quickly I become drowsy and strangely detached. Soon the pain in my wrist, back and hips becomes a distant ache and I glance over my shoulder at Sam.

"Ready to have your wrist set?" Doc asks and it is all I can do to blink tiredly before closing my eyes.

"Just close your eyes and go to sleep Rosy," Sam says quietly behind my head.

Even as I drift off on a soft floating sensation I am aware setting my arm will hurt, not only is it broken but the wrist dislocated as well. I feel my arm moved and then the tugging sensation as Doc works but nothing makes me cry out. The sharp pain is nothing. Micah could have hurt me worse, would have if he let go.

He'd said he promised to try his best to make me want to run to him instead of ever running away from him ... now all I want to do is run as far and as fast as I can so he can't hurt me anymore.

* * * * *

"Hey Rosy, wake up. Come on wake up," Sam's voice reaches me and I open my eyes slowly. It takes me several minutes to wake up properly as he talks to me and I lie still, blinking occasionally as I try to piece together the pieces I remember.

"How are you feeling, hungry?" Sam encourages me when I look his way.

"Hmmm, like my heads stuffed with cotton wool." I murmur.

"Here have a drink of cool water. Doc said it should help if you have trouble waking up," Sam tells me and offers me a cool bottle with a sippy lid on it. I take it and drink thankfully, the cool water does help and I glance around more alertly.

"How long have I been out to it?" I ask as I look around.

"About two hours," Kurt Black says startling me as he approaches the bed. "Just long enough for me to fly here in my helicopter,"

"Where's Mitchell?" I ask.

"He's talking to Wade and Micah, they need to work together for Jazzy's sake. Uncle Kurt is happy for you to move to his and his wife's clan compound if you have any concerns about staying here with Mitchell and I. Wade is arguing that you need time to recover from your injuries before deciding anything. Micah is simply refusing to let you leave," Sam tells me.

"Hmmm," I murmur I know I should react in someway but the effects of the sedative are making me feel calm and detached.

"Where's this food?" I finally manage to ask.

"Marissa said she would cook something that should tempt your appetite and to have you awake about now," Sam tells me and then leans closer from where he sits in a chair by the bed. "She's happy you're not hurrying to move away immediately."

"Hmmm," I murmur the response as I close my eyes. I am curiously relaxed and cannot find the energy to worry over anything.

"I'll be back in a few moments, I'm just going to the door so don't worry." Sam tells me gently. I try to nod my acknowledgement but I am too comfortable to bother to move.

"Hey Justin, can you go tell Doc Rosy is type of awake? He wanted to see her when I woke her up," Sam says firmly.

"Go fuck yourself you bastard! All you're trying to do is cause trouble," Justin yells and I frown as I turn my head towards the door. Some instinct deep inside urges me to open my eyes and check for the source of the hostility but my body and mind are too relaxed to respond to the faint urge.