"Have you told him yet?"

"Crap Beth, if you ask me that again I'm going to reach through the phone and smack you!"

"Mood swings much?  I was just asking."

"Sorry.  I'm just freaking out.  I haven't told him yet.  He comes home in less than a week.  I didn't want to tell him over the phone.  Now I just have to figure out how to tell him in person."

It had taken Katie a full week to digest the fact that she really was pregnant, and another few days to tell Beth.  She hadn't told anyone else yet, she wanted AJ to know before anyone else found out.  Beth had hounded her about it ever since she'd found out.

"Fine.  But if you don't tell him the first night he's home...I'll tell him for you."

"I'll tell him, I'll tell him.  Chill out.  I'm going to have to tell him soon anyways.  I'm not planning on letting the baby tell him."

"So how far along are you now?"

"Ten weeks I think, maybe a little farther?" Katie responded absently as her cell phone was ringing.  "Hey Beth, hang on just a second, my cell is ringing."

Katie put the cordless house phone down on the bed where she'd been sitting and reached over to the nightstand for her cell phone.  The small caller ID screen flashed ‘unknown'.  It wasn't all that odd.  Many times when AJ called it showed up that way if he was calling from a hotel or venue.  She flipped open the phone and put it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Katie?"

"Umm...Who's calling?" Katie didn't recognize the voice on the other end.

"An old friend."

"Ben?"  she didn't think it was Ben, it sure didn't sound like him, but she didn't know who else it could be.  No one else from California had her new cell phone number in Florida.

"No Ben here..."

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number," Katie was starting to panic.  She had no idea who this could be, all she knew that it wasn't right.

"Oh c'mon Kitty Kat.  Forgot me already?"

Katie went cold.  The sound of that nickname made her break out in a cold sweat, her heart pounding through her chest.  The cell phone slipped out of her hand and onto the hardwood floor next to the bed, but she hadn't even noticed.  She didn't hear the phone make contact with the floor, popping it in half, or the sound of Beth's voice calling for her from the cordless that still sat on the bed.  All she could hear was the blood rushing through her ears, her heart pounding in her chest, and his evil laugh ringing in her ears.  The memories of him flooded her brain and she couldn't breath.  All she could think about was if he was there, if he'd gotten out of jail and found her.

Finally she was pulled from her panicked trance by the sound of Beth's urgent voice.  She slowly picked the phone up with shaky hands and lifted it to her ear.

"How...d-did...did he...get...my n-number?" Katie managed between attempted deep calming breaths.

"Katie?  What happened?  Who?"

"He...he has...my cell phone number."

Katie was trying to process it all.  Had it really happened, or was she imagining it?  Did he find her?

"Katie, hon, you're not making sense."

"Dane."

That single name let Beth know where Katie was now.  Beth had been able to convince Katie to leave because of him.  She'd started her life over, she was happy, and she'd moved past him.  How was he back now?

Beth spent the next twenty minutes talking Katie down.  She had insisted that she needed to come over and stay with Katie, but Katie refused.  She was not going to be dependant on anyone again.  The house had an alarm, and it was on.  Katie insisted she would be fine.

"I promise I'll call if I change my mind."

"And you'll call Alex?  Tell him what happened?"

"I'll tell him.  He said he'd call when he had a few free minutes, so I'll tell him then.  I promise."

"Fine, but you better tell him.  You call me if you need anything!"

"I promise.  I'm going to lay down now though."

The girls hung up and Katie replaced the phone on it's cradle.  She stepped down off of the bed, avoiding the broken cell phone on the floor, and went over to the closet.  After a few minutes of rifling around the shelves, Katie found what she was looking for.  She pulled AJ's favorite t-shirt over the tank top she'd originally intended on wearing to bed.  If she couldn't have him right there to hold her and protect her, she'd at least have his scent.  She walked back over to the bed and curled under the covers, holding AJ's pillow tightly against her.

*****

Eventually Katie had fallen asleep, the scent of AJ flooding her senses.  The sleep hadn't lasted long though, and Katie hadn't expected it to.  She'd only intended on resting for a short time while she waited for AJ to call and check in.  The call hadn't come on the house phone and Katie fell into a deeper sleep than she'd intended.

Her sleep was interrupted by memories.  The memories of him, of Dane, flooded her dreams, quickly sending Katie awake in a cold sweat.

After spending a few minutes trying to relax herself, Katie sat up.  She stepped out of bed, a little unsteady on her feet, but she assumed it was just from the nightmares.  She went into the bathroom off the master suite, wishing away the dull aching pain in her lower back.  She briefly looked at herself in the vanity mirror, seeing what looked like her reflection, but it just wasn't right.  She didn't feel right.

The pain increased as she went to the toilet.  That's when she noticed it.  She'd sat down to use the toilet and she saw the red on her shorts...she was bleeding.

Forgetting her need to pee, Katie pulled up her shorts and went for the cordless phone on the bedside table.  Her shaking fingers dialed Beth's phone number, and she waited what seemed like forever for an answer.

"Hello?" Joe's groggy voice was heard as he answered on the third ring.

"I need Beth," Katie was trying not to cry.

"Katie?"

"Yeah...I need Beth," her voice was quivering now.

There was rustling on the other end as Joe passed the phone to Beth.

"Katie?  Are you okay?"

"No..." she shook her head for emphasis even though she knew Beth couldn't see it, "Something's wrong."

"Did he call again?  Did you hear something?"

"No...s-something's really wrong...I'm...I'm bleeding."

"We're coming to get you."

*****

Katie watched the ultrasound technician's face as he ran the wand over her still flat abdomen.  They'd rushed to the emergency room and the doctor had ordered an ultrasound to see what they could find out.  Tests had been run, questions had been asked.  The pain in her back had persisted and the bleeding hadn't stopped.  Katie was sure it had actually gotten worse.  In an attempt to comfort her, Beth had insisted it probably wasn't getting worse, it was just her mind.

Katie was panicking again though, because no one would tell her anything useful.  The most she got out of anyone was ‘You need to calm down, I'm sure it's fine' and ‘We won't know without an ultrasound.'

The technician's face was giving nothing away.  He was focused on the small screen, slowly running the device back and forth in a search.  Katie assumed from the silence that it couldn't be good.  If everything was okay then they would have said something.

The tears crept up again, spilling again down her cheeks.  Katie hadn't even realized she was crying again until she felt the tears drop onto her chest.  Beth gently squeezed her hand and the technician finally turned to face them.

"I'm sorry Miss Sullivan...I can't find a heartbeat."