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Faithfully
Chapter 3
By Dottie
Copyright 2016

Present Day

When we get to the hospital, Thad walks with me to the maternity ward. When we're outside the door to Hanna Jo's room, he says, "AJ went to the B & B to take care of a few things. He...wanted to give you some time alone with Hanna Jo."

I feel nervous. "He should be here with Hanna Jo."

Thad puts his arm around my shoulder and squeezes me. "He will be. But he knows you both need this. After...later on you and I are going to have a long talk. And I'll tell you everything I know. OK?"

I nod slowly, fear clutching at my heart. I don't know if I want to know everything. I manage to smile and whisper, "Thank you Thad."

He kisses my cheek. "Go see Hanna Jo."


As he walks away I push the door open slowly. The first thing I see is blue balloons everywhere. A boy! I'm so excited for her. My eyes land on her lying in the bed sleeping. She's changed so much. Her hair is longer. Her face isn't pale and gaunt like it used to be. She's tanned and her cheeks are fuller. Even though she's sleeping I can see how good AJ is for her.

I hear a soft whimper and my gaze turns toward the bassinet sitting close to the bed. I tiptoe over and see Hanna Jo's baby is squirming in his sleep. He's so cute. I hate to tell AJ but this little boy looks just like his mama.

As I'm gazing on his sweet little face I hear Hanna Jo mutter, "AJ?"

I move to the bed and lean against it. I reach out and touch her hand. "Ho Jo?"

Her eyes fly open and she whispers, "Jessi?"

Tears start leaking from my eyes. "Ho Jo, your son is beautiful."

She struggles to push herself up and we fall into each other's arms, both of us crying. She cries, "Where have you been? Are you ok?"

I push away from her and wipe my eyes as our gazes meet. "I'm ok Hanna Jo. I'm sorry I disappeared. I couldn't...I needed time."

She nods and sniffles. "I understand. I...I've missed you so much but Thad kept telling me you were ok." Suddenly she notices my stomach and she gasps. "Jessi! Oh my God, you're pregnant!"

I can't help but giggle. "Yeah I know. In a few months your son will have a girlfriend."

She rubs my stomach. "A girl! Oh Jessi, that's..."

When her voice trails off, I know she's thinking. I manage to whisper, "I couldn't abort...no matter what happened, this is my baby."

She starts crying. "Did you...have you heard from Nick?"

Anger sweeps through me. I wipe my cheeks and whisper, "No. God, why would I EVER want to speak to him after what he did?"

She grips my hand. "Jessi, didn't he tell you?"

I pull away from her. "There's nothing he could say I'd want to hear." I stand and walk away from the bed. "Don't defend him Hanna Jo. Don't! He fucking GAVE me to Donnie for..."

She cuts me off sharply. "Donnie kidnapped us Jessi!"

I can feel the blood drain from my face. "He...what?"

She whimpers and forces herself to stand, coming over to me. She grabs my arms and whispers, "Jessi, after the wedding a bunch of Donnie's goons grabbed us. AJ and me. And Denise."

My hand flies up to cover my mouth, stifling my screams. Hanna Jo pulls me over to the bed and we sit. I grip her hand. "What? What do you mean?"

Suddenly the baby starts crying. She must see the longing in my eyes. She whispers, "Will you get him?"

I pick her son up, cradling him to my chest. As I stare at his face, her words come back to haunt me. "What did Donnie do to you?"

She reaches for the call button and when the nurse calls, she asks for a bottle for the baby. Turning to me, she says, "Jessi, there's so much you need to know. So much happened. Thad said you wouldn't let him talk about it." I just keep staring at the baby, not wanting to talk about what happened. She whispers, "His name is Todd Alexander. I wanted to name him Jessie but AJ said he might feel awkward growing up named after his Godmother so I used your last name."

I can't help but giggle softly. "I've missed you Hanna Jo."

She leans against me and whispers, "I've missed you too."

The nurse brings in a bottle and once she leaves, I whisper, "Why aren't you breast feeding?"

She rubs Todd's head and whispers, "My milk hasn't come in yet enough to satisfy him. I tried a couple of hours ago. Next feeding I'll try again."

As I'm feeding him his bottle, I whisper, "What did Donnie do?"

She crawls back in bed and I lay her son in her arms so she can finish feeding him. She whispers, "Will you listen to the whole story?"

I drag my gaze away from her son to her eyes and say, "I'm not going anywhere."

She smiles brightly. "I'm glad." As I make myself comfortable on her bed, the door opens and AJ's head comes around the edge. "Mind if I butt in?"

I can't help but smile when I see him. He comes in and comes right over to me, hugging me. I whisper in his ear "Thank you for taking care of Hanna Jo."

When he pulls back, he whispers "It's good to see you Jessi." He glances down at my stomach. "What...umm...how are you?"

I smile sadly. "Now that I'm here with you and Hanna Jo, I'm feeling a lot better. Your son is beautiful."

His gaze falls on his son before moving up to his wife's face. "He is. He looks just like his Mama." His gaze moves to my stomach before rising to my eyes. "Does Nick know?"

I try to put a clamp on my anger, but there's an edge to my voice when I mutter, "There's no reason for him to know. It's Donnie's baby."

His eyes widen. "How do you know? I mean Nick..."

I cut him off quickly, "Can we please NOT talk about Nick?"

Hanna Jo cuts me off. "AJ, take the baby and burp him." When AJ lifts his son to his shoulder to burp him, she takes my hand. "Jessi, we have to talk about him because a you have to know what happened."

I glance back and forth between them. "He...he isn't here, is he?"

AJ shakes his head. "No. He moved to Mexico. He's...well, he's a beach bum. I haven't heard from him in a while now. No one has."

I sniffle. "Can we...I'm so confused.Please...just tell me what happened?"

AJ moves to the rocking chair in the corner and sits. Hanna Jo takes my hand again and says, "Remember how AJ and I left the reception first...?"

Chapter End Notes:
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