Love's A Hard Game To Play

What's Wrong With Our Daughter?

Christine, Mick and John had left an hour before, now Lindsey sat outside in the backyard just staring at the pool.

He had cleaned himself up a bit but he still hadn't shaved. He sighed a heavy sigh, maybe a swim would clear his head for a moment.

He spent a few minutes in the pool swimming some laps then he got out of the pool and made his way upstairs to take a quick shower.

Once dried and dressed in clean clothes, Lindsey made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He didn't want to drink anything else; he wanted to be sober in case he got that phone call that they had found Stevie.

He took a sip of his water when suddenly he had the sudden urge to look outside.
The front yard to be exact; he didn't know why the feeling was so overwhelming.
He set his glass down on the counter and ran to the door.

Lindsey opened the door and looked about the yard. Then he spotted something lying on the ground. No, not something, someone.

Lindsey's heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He ran to the person and relief washed over him but also sadness and panic.

He picked Stevie up and gasped as he took in her appearance.
Her face was black and blue, her dress was torn and she looked as if she hadn't showered in a while. Her gaze looked empty.

"Oh Steph..."  Lindsey said as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Stevie just stared ahead; she heard Lindsey's voice but it sounded as if he were far away. She wanted to reply but she couldn't.

Lindsey lifted her from the ground and rushed inside the house. He laid her on the sofa and covered her with a blanket.
He immediately grabbed the phone and dialed the number to the detectives that had been assigned to Stevie's case.

In a matter of minutes, the detectives showed up with an ambulance and several police officers.
No one knew how Stevie had gotten back and she was in no shape to answer any questions.

Once at the hospital, while Stevie was getting taken care of, Lindsey called Stevie's father and let him know that Stevie was found.

Lindsey told Jess that they were at the hospital but didn't tell him what shape Stevie was in, they would find out soon enough.
Jess said that he and Barbara would hop on the first red eye flight to L.A.

An hour later, the doctor treating Stevie came out and found Lindsey pacing in the waiting room.
"Mr. Buckingham...I'm Dr. Edwards." He said shaking Lindsey's hand. "Your wife is now in a private assigned room and resting. We documented every bruise and all of her injuries. She is also extremely malnourished and we had to put her on a feeding tube to help her get all the nutrients she needs to get healthy again. Also, it appears she was tied up by her wrists and legs. What she was tied with cut into her her skin. We cleaned the wounds and bandaged her wrists." Dr. Edwards paused for a second then continued. "There is more...it appears that your wife has suffered from sexual assault. We have drawn some blood so we can test for any forms of sexual diseases. We should have the results back in a few hours."
Lindsey's tears came fast and hard. "Can...I...see her?" He sobbed.
"Of course, now, she isn't responding to any form stimulation. She is catatonic at the moment and it's hard to tell when or if she will come out of it." Dr. Edwards said gently as he led Lindsey to Stevie's hospital room.
"I'll give you both some time alone. Maybe she'll respond once she hears your voice. I'll come check on her in an hour or so." Dr. Edwards said as they reached the door.
Lindsey just nodded his head and opened the door. His knees were shaking as he made his way to Stevie's side.

Lindsey reached for Stevie's hand and held it in his but she didn't respond to his touch.
More tears ran down his cheeks; he finally took in her appearance.

Stevie's face was swollen; her eyes were half way shut but you could tell her eyes were open and staring at the ceiling. She was so thin Lindsey could see her bones.
He stroked her cheek gently. "Stephanie?" He said in a whisper. "I never stopped looking for you. But I should have tried harder...maybe I could have found you sooner and...stop this...from happening. I love you so much."

Stevie continued to stare at the ceiling; she heard every word Lindsey spoke but couldn't find her voice.
She wanted to tell him she loved him too. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and not let go.
But she was frozen; she didn't move, the only thing that she could do was cry silently.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and fell onto her pillow.

Lindsey saw her tears. "Oh Angel...you can hear me!" He smiled a little.
Lindsey gently and carefully laid next to her and held her in his arms.
In that moment, Stevie felt safe again as she felt his strong arms around her.
She closed her eyes, her body relaxing and finally she fell asleep.

A few hours later, Jess and Barbara walked into the hospital and asked what room Stevie was in.
A nurse led them to Stevie's room.
Barbara and Jess thanked her then they opened the door.

They walked in to find Stevie's doctor speaking to Lindsey who was now standing; tears rolled down his cheeks.
Dr. Edwards stopped speaking for the moment.

Lindsey saw them standing by the door and he walked over to greet them.
Barbara and Jess hugged their son in law then turned their attention to Stevie.
Barbara gasped as she saw her daughter lying on the hospital bed, her face unrecognizable.
Her knees grew weak, Jess held onto to her to keep her from falling to the ground.

Lindsey stepped in to help lead Barbara to the chair that was next to Stevie's bed.
Barbara sobbed; once she was sitting, she reached for Stevie's hand and held on tight.
Stevie didn't stir, she was still asleep.

Dr. Edwards then began to explain what he had told Lindsey when Stevie was brought in and also what he had found out a moment ago.

"We ran some tests on her blood to make sure she didn't contract any form of disease." Dr. Edwards said. "And her blood came back clean. However I do want to give her a check up in a few months just to make sure." He took a second to continue. "Now, her blood did show something unusual so we ran another test."

Lindsey already knew what the doctor had found; he stayed quiet as he waited for Dr. Edwards to continue.
Jess looked into the doctors eyes and asked as he tried to hold in his tears. "What is it that you found? What's wrong with our daughter?"

Stevie began to wake; her eyes were still closed but she heard the different voices around her.
When she heard her mother's voice she wanted to jump out of the bed and wrap her arms around her. But she felt so weak she didn't even move an inch.
She felt her mother's hand holding onto hers. She felt slightly comforted by that.

Then she had heard her doctor say something about blood tests and that they had found something in her blood.
Dread spread through her; she hadn't heard anything before so she was assuming she had caught some type of disease.

Dr. Edwards cleared his throat then said. "You're daughter is pregnant. As to how many weeks we do not know. We are going to do an ultrasound in a few minutes and find out."

The room was quiet; Dr. Edwards left the room to get an ultrasound machine leaving Stevie's loved ones in total shock.

Lindsey was sobbing silently; he hoped there was chance that the baby was his. They had been trying for some time before Joe took Stevie.
If this turned out to be Joe's baby...well, he didn't even want to think about it.

Stevie's eyes were now open; even though they were swollen, her eyes were wide.
She was in total shock.
She was pregnant; she prayed like she had never prayed before and hoped she was carrying Lindsey's baby.
If this baby turned out to be Joe's...she didn't know if she could even stand the thought of it.