The Test

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Layna

I was almost constantly surrounded by darkness. Sometimes I could hear voices talking, saying things about comas and blood loss, but other times it was completely quiet. When I was in this darkness, I could feel my body but it was too heavy to move. I always tried to open my eyes, but every time I did, it was like they were glued shut.

If I wasn't in the dark, I was in my memories. The times before everything had gotten complicated when I was happy and I had my parents and Derek. I preferred remembering those memories rather than the darkness; it felt so utterly and terrifyingly alone that I couldn't stand it.

***

I wasn't sure how long I was in this state. It could have been hours, days even years. I had no concept of time when I was like this, but I had nothing to go back to so I didn't mind.

The only thing that I hated was the pain. It was constant, and it hurt. But it always went away when I was in my memories, and that made it more bearable.

***

One of these times, when I was waiting in the darkness, I heard of voice and I could feel someone holding my hand, as they slipped a ring onto my finger.

All of a sudden, it was like the weight had been lifted and I opened my eyes. My eyes were met with the beautiful green eyes that I had thought I would never see again.

"Derek," I croaked my voice thick. Tears sprung to my eyes and before I even realized what I was doing, I had thrown myself at him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

He laughed, "I missed you too, my angel, but I was only gone for an hour."

I pulled back slightly and looked around, surprised to see that I was in a hospital room. We were currently sitting in a hospital bed, the light making the white room look brighter. It was a stark difference compared to the darkness that I had been trapped in.

I glanced down at my body and saw that I was in a hospital gown, but I had no injuries as far as I could tell, but my stomach was flatter than it was while I was pregnant. For some strange reason, I was extremely confused as to why there were no injuries on my stomach or arm. A memory of the pain in my dream resurfaced, and before I could grab it, it wriggled away, leaving me even more disoriented.

"Why am I here?" I asked Derek, as he gently stroked my hair. I leaned into him, my eyes fluttering closed at his touch.

"You don't remember?" he asked, his voice sounding concerned. "You went into labour and I brought you in; you were in labour for almost a full day. We had to get a cesarean, because the baby was on his side and you've been sleeping ever since you were so tired."

I tried to think back, tried to remember what he was saying but I pulled a blank. I could feel something in the back of my mind, a nagging feeling that something wasn't right but I ignored it.

I pulled the hospital gown to the side, and sure enough, there was a scar there from the surgery I had just undergone.

"Why are you crying, Layna?" Derek asked, and I opened my eyes to see him looking at me with concern.

I realized that there were tears streaming down my face and my whole body was shaking as I tried to control the sobs. "I don't know...I had a dream and...I can't remember but something awful happened."

I tried to recall what my dream was about, that horrible dream that made me shiver when I thought about it but that also came up as a blank.

He pulled me closer to his chest, and rocked me gently, "It's okay, angel, everything's just fine. It wasn't real."

I snuggled closer, breathing in his comforting scent as I tried to calm my breathing.

"What happened?" Someone asked and I looked up to see that Steve was standing there, looking extremely confused.

"Daddy!" I cried and ran over to him, hugging him tightly. I didn't pause to realize that I shouldn't have that much mobility after surgery.

"Why is everyone in here crying?" Tom asked, and I tried pulling him in for a hug, but realizing I couldn't. He was holding my precious little baby in his arms.

"Michael," I whispered, somehow knowing that that was the name I had given my little boy.

"Did someone call me?" the older Michael jokingly asked as he also walked in the room. I laughed through my tears as I took my sleeping baby from Tom, and held him in my arms.

"You guys are all here...you're all alive?" I asked softly.

Tom looked at me confused, "Of course we are sweetheart, why would you think otherwise?"

I shook my head, "I don't—I...I can't remember."

Michael moved in my arms, and I looked down, watching him as we woke up. He had dark hair, just like his daddy, but when he opened his eyes and blinked sleepily, I could tell that they were the same colour as mine.

I held him close to me I gently bounced him, and I could feel Derek come and put his arm around us. "The doctors said we're okay to go home now."

"Home," I whispered, smiling up at him, "That sounds great."

And together, Tom, Steve, Derek, the two Michaels and I walked through the hospital doors, and into the brightness that lay beyond them.