Her Boss's Baby

Her Boss's Baby - Chapter Sixteen

"This can't be Nikki." Jane whispered as she flipped through the pictures Shyanne was showing her. 

Her eyes were swollen shut, and black and blue. Her nose was crooked, and obviously broken. There were two jagged cuts on her lips, and several others on her cheeks and jaw. A few of the pictures showed her broken arm, and cuts on her neck and shoulders. 

"How did she get cut?" Jane asked. 

"Probably a ring." Shyanne answered, "That's what the police think." 

"When did you find out?" 

"Earlier." Shyanne answered. "You were still asleep so I just went over to the hospital." 

"Why didn't you wake me?" 

"You need to rest." Shyanne retorted. "Don't get mad at me. I'm not going to wake you up when you're sleeping just to give you more bad news. I went over to the hospital and stayed with her." 

"Weren't her parents there?" Jane asked. 

"Of course, but you know how her mother gets in high stress situations. Her father has a hard enough time keeping track of her. He wasn't able to deal with both of them. So I stayed with Nik, so he could take care of Vickie." 

"What's wrong with Nikki's mom?" Sylvia asked as she packed up her medical bag. 

"She has dementia." Jane answered. "She wanders a lot." 

"Her mind at least." Shyanne answered. 

"So young?" Sylvia's voice conveyed her surprise, "Nikki's no more than thirty, her parents can't be much over fifty." 

"They're in their seventies." Jane explained. "She was a surprise when Vickie was in her late forties." 

"Wow, that is a surprise." 

"They didn't want children." Jane commented, rubbing her belly as butterflies began swirling around. "Geez, that's weird." 

"What?" Sylvia touched her belly, "Pain?" 

"No, butterflies. It's..." Jane gasped, "They're moving." 

Sylvia grinned, "Probably. That's a good feeling." 

"Can you feel them?" 

"No, not yet. That's all you right now." 

"So gross," Shyanne groaned, when Jane shot her a glare, she shrugged, "you have humans growing inside of you. It's disgusting." 

"Don't mind her." Jane said to Sylvia, "She is anti-procreation." 

"Damn, you want to put me out of a job?" Sylvia teased Shyanne, who rolled her eyes. 

Jane moved to sit up and climb off the bed. Sylvia pushed her back down, "I want to go to the hospital." Jane complained. 

"No, sweetie," Sylvia shook her head, as she picked up her bag, "bed rest for the next forty-eight hours. You only get out of that bed to pee." 

Jane gasped, "Why? I'm fine. You said so yourself." 

"Yes, but the fact is, you fainted. Not normal for you. I've already drawn blood..." Sylvia nodded to the bandage on Jane's arm, "I'll get it to the lab, and let you know what we find." 

"It's not normal for pregnant women to faint?" Jane asked, though Sylvia was already at the door.

"Not really. But it can be an indication of an underlying illness." Sylvia answered. She glanced from Richard to Shyanne, "Make sure she stays in bed."