LANDSTUHL HOSPITAL RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

Arianna sat there with a stunned look on her face. A baby? I’m pregnant? She hadn’t had a period since before she was captured. She figured it was due to stress, but she was actually thankful. Her living conditions were so unsanitary; it was one less thing for her to contend with.

“A blood test shows an elevated HCG level but nothing shows on ultra sound so you can’t be that far along,” she heard the doctor say. “When was your last cycle?”

She had to think. “Maybe two months ago.”

“And you were held captive for approximately a month, is that correct?’

Arianna nodded. “I must have been pregnant before I was captured because I was not raped during my captivity. One man tried to rape me, but I fought him off. I have these cracked ribs to show for it. Someone came to my rescue and stopped the man from sexually assaulting me.”

“You’re a very brave woman, Miss Garrett. I commend you for defending yourself. You paid a heavy price, but you lived to tell about it. And now you can live happily ever after with your new baby.”

Sure, she thought. Zach’s baby. She didn’t know how she got pregnant. Birth control failure of some kind, but it was for sure Zach’s child. The baby of a man who no longer wanted anything to do with her. What should have been a joyous occasion was just another disappointing moment she faced in the aftermath of her horrible ordeal.

“When will I be well enough to leave the hospital?” she asked the doctor. “I’m anxious to go home.”

“Oh, I think you’ll be good to go in a couple days. As soon as the pneumonia and UT infection clear up, we’ll discharge you. The nurse said you were pretty agitated earlier today. Maybe you had an anxiety attack. Would you like to talk to a counselor or someone about your ordeal? We deal with PTSD a lot in this hospital.”

PTSD? She had post traumatic ‘something’ for sure. “No, I think I’ll be fine. I know I’ll feel better once I get home and back around friends and family.” It was probably a lie, but she said it anyway.

“Well, okay, I can give you something for your nerves, but don’t want to because of the baby.”

Arianna carefully shifted in the bed. “I understand. I’m fine. I do not need anything, thank you.”

“Good then, rest and relax. You’ve been through a lot. I’ll check in tomorrow, and we’ll talk about a release date.”

Arianna thanked the doctor and watched him leave. She felt like crying again. What is wrong with me? She hated that she was so weak…so weepy. She was pregnant with Zach’s child. This should have been the happiest day of her life, yet here she was, in a complete state of depression. Depression so deep, she felt totally defeated.

She put her hands on her abdomen. My baby. Zach’s baby. Our baby. She sobbed. Cried for what was. Cried for what could have been. Cried for what wasn’t to be.

“ARIANNA, WAKE up. It’s me…your mother.” Katherine gently shook her daughter’s shoulder.

Arianna slowly roused to find her mother standing by her bed. “Oh, Mom,” she said and threw her arms around her in a heavy embrace. Seeing her mother, the first friend or family she’d seen since her captivity, brought on a fresh wave of tears.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you.” Katherine was overcome with tears as well. “I’m so glad they rescued you. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

They hugged each other for the longest time until Arianna finally grabbed some tissues and tried to dry her tears. “And I was afraid I’d never see you again, also. You don’t know how bad it was. At one point I was sure I’d never make it out alive.” The tears streamed down her cheeks.

Katherine sat down on the bed and scrunched up beside her. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay. You’re free now. You’re safe.”

Arianna let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m sorry to be such a blithering crybaby. I think all I’ve done since I got out of there is cry.” She blew her nose and dried her eyes.

“You’re entitled to cry after what you’ve been through. Your body’s had quite a shock, so don’t apologize. You need to let it all out.”

“I know, but I have to get it together. I have responsibilities to take care of.”

“Now, don’t even think about work. You need to rest and heal. The job can wait.”

She wasn’t thinking about the job. She was thinking about her baby, but decided not to announce her pregnancy to her mother for the time being. “How was your flight?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I was on a military transport, and it whisked me right over here non-stop. They treated me like royalty. It was very nice.” Katherine smoothed Arianna’s hair back off her face. “What’s the latest on your condition?”

“I’m healing. They’re taking good care of me. The doctor said I should be out of here in a couple days.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news. And what do you hear about Zach?”

Arianna stiffened. She fidgeted with her blanket and bit her lip to keep from crying again. Something about being with her mother made her super sensitive to what was going on in her life. “He’s okay except for his leg. It’s really messed up, and uh, his military career is probably over.”

“Oh, no.” Katherine gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, that’s terrible. His work is his life. He must be devastated. Have you talked to him?”

“See that’s the problem,” Arianna said, gingerly sitting up in bed, still feeling the pain of cracked ribs. “He doesn’t want to see me.” She could barely get the words out. Despite her best effort, tears splashed down her cheeks. “I think he blames me for causing his injury.”

Katherine grabbed more tissues and handed them to Arianna. “Now, why would he do that? He’s a soldier. Getting injured is part of the risk you take in that line of work. He knew that when he signed up, so why blame you?”

Arianna blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes. “He told me to leave this story alone…not to follow the bomber’s wife. I obviously didn’t listen and look what happened. If I’d just let the story go, there would have been no kidnapping. No injury to Zach.”

Katherine pondered that statement for a moment, then turned to face Arianna. “I’m sorry, but I’m not buying that. He shouldn’t make you feel bad for doing your job. And no one forced him to go after you. He freely went. He knew the risk as soon as he put on that uniform. He knows that so why is he blaming you? Shame on him.”

Arianna looked at her mother and smiled for maybe the first time since her ordeal had started. Such a smart lady. This was exactly the conclusion she herself had come to earlier in the day. Yes, she did feel somewhat responsible for the situation Zach found himself in and was deeply saddened by it, but she wasn’t about to take the whole blame. After all, she had a right to follow her ambition, too. There was risk in her job as well, and she’d also paid a heavy price for taking that risk.

She heard some commotion outside her door, and the head nurse came rushing in. Some cameras flashed, and Arianna sensed there were photographers in the hall. She hoped the privacy curtains around her bed had blocked any view of her.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, hon, but it seems the story of your rescue has hit the news. Reporters are out there wanting an interview.”

Arianna shook her head. “No, I don’t want to talk to any reporters.”

“I know,” the nurse said. “We’ve put a guard on your door, so no one can get in here. Security is coming to clear the floor of all the reporters. Looks like you’re a celebrity.”

Hardly a celebrity, she thought, and if so, it was a kind of celebrity she wished on no one. She may in time tell the tale of her kidnapping, but if she did, it would be at a time and place of her choosing.

But this just confirmed what she already knew. Life as she knew it was over. She was going to be a mother. Maybe a single mother, but a mother. When her pregnancy became known, people would think she’d been raped. Think that she was carrying the baby of a one of her terrorist kidnappers instead of the baby of a proud former Navy SEAL. Could she handle that? She’d have to.

LANDSTUHL HOSPITAL, RAMSTEIN, GERMANY

“TIME TO get you up and moving,” the nurse said. She began unhooking Zach from monitors and tubes. An orderly joined them at the bedside and helped Zach into a wheelchair.

“Where am I going?” Zach asked.

The orderly released the wheelchair locks and began pushing him down the hall. “You’re off to physical therapy. The doctor wants you to get his leg moving as soon as possible.”

“Good morning, Zach,” a physical therapist said when he entered the rehab facility. “My name’s Bruce, and I’m going to help you get this leg back in shape.”

The orderly helped Zach transfer to the rehab table.

“Are you ready to go to work?” Bruce asked.

Zach nodded, not really replying. He looked down at his leg. Where there had once been a strong, muscular thigh, he now saw a long zipper scar and an atrophied muscle. Still having a fair amount of pain, he required continued medication.

“I need you to lift this leg,” Bruce said, pointing to Zach’s injured limb. “Let’s see how much strength you have.”

Zach strained, but try as hard as he might, could barely lift it more than an inch or two off the mat. And worse yet, he could only hold it there for about fifteen seconds before fatigue set in, and it dropped back down on the therapy table.

“Very good,” Bruce said and wrote something on Zach’s chart. “This gives us a starting place to build on. Now, let’s check the flexibility. Can you bend your knee?”

Zach attempted to bend his knee, but without much success. Not only could he not bend it, but it hurt. He lay there steeped in frustration and despair.

“Stay positive, my friend,” Bruce said. “You’re in good hands. We’re going to get this leg back to full function. You believe me, right?”

Zach just stared at him. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

AS HIS leg healed, and with every visit to rehab, leg function improved. First, Bruce had him doing leg lifts to build back strength. Slowly, Zach could lift the leg higher and higher, but just when he was feeling good about his progress, Bruce added weights to make it harder.

Next the goal was to try to get his knee bending. Stiffness and pain stopped Zach from bending the knee himself, so Bruce took over.

“Here let me help you.” With gentle but firm pressure, and despite Zach wincing in pain, Bruce pushed Zach’s knee closer and closer to a ninety-degree bend.

“Son of a bitch, that hurts,” Zach wheezed.

Bruce chuckled. “You know the saying…no pain, no gain. So, buckle up, my friend. You’re probably going to hate me before this is over.”

Finally, Bruce had him stand on his good leg, then touch down and put weight on his injured leg. After a few days of this, he took a few halting steps, walking between two bars to keep himself from falling. His doctors had prescribed an aggressive form of rehab, and day after day, Bruce put him through his paces.

But if the days were filled with many hours of PT, the nights were hell. He lay in his bed with nothing but his thoughts for company. He tried to picture his future…life without his career. Being in the military was all he’d known. All he’d ever wanted to do. He’d never once considered the risk. Never imagined himself injured.

In his twenties, he had to admit nothing had been more important than being a Navy SEAL, then later a Black Op. He’d had nothing but shallow relationships with many women which filled the void when he was not with his true love, the next mission he would undertake. His career was the real love of his life.

Then, it all changed. He met Arianna…in Afghanistan of all places. Thinking back, he had to smile. Damn, that girl had courage. She was fearless, and he was sure he’d fallen in love with her from the moment he first laid eyes on her. He’d never met anyone like her and though admittedly, sometimes he couldn’t decide if he wanted to kill her or kiss her, he knew he loved her.

Yeah, kill her or kiss her, like now. He told her not to follow the bomber’s wife. She had, and his worst fears had come true. He had no choice but to rescue her, and look what it had cost him. On some level, he was ashamed to admit, he blamed her for what happened to him. Even though getting injured was a chance he took on all his missions, he blamed her.

Now, as he lay alone with his thoughts, regret ate away at him. Why had he been so selfish to think only of himself after the rescue? She’d been through hell, and what had he done? Thought only of himself. Crawled into his own shell of self-pity and shut her and everyone else out. And worst yet, he blamed her for his misery. “You’re pathetic,” he whispered to himself.

So nearly healed, his leg didn’t ache anymore, but there was another ache he just couldn’t get rid of. It was the ache in his heart over missing Arianna…the real true love of his life. He wanted her back, but would she…could she ever forgive him? This question tormented him more than his leg injury.

MILWAUKEE, WI

THANKS TO security, Arianna and her mother managed to elude the gaggle of reporters who had invaded the hospital, looking for a story about her kidnapping. They arrived undetected back at Katherine’s home in Milwaukee. Arianna was moving around fairly well, but was plagued with infrequent bouts of nausea.

“Have you checked the answering machine?” Katherine asked, as she stood in the kitchen making breakfast. “Most of those messages are for you. When you have a moment, please go over them and start returning calls and delete the ones you don’t want.”

Arianna started through the messages, secretly hoping one might be from Zach. But it was not to be. With every upchuck from the nausea of morning sickness, she was beginning to hate him more and more for abandoning her.

Then there was a message from her boss, Steve Shine, welcoming her home and talking about how they planned to feature her story on an upcoming broadcast. He thought it could only enhance her career. It would show the world she was a tenacious reporter who would go anywhere and take major risks to get a story. He felt getting kidnapped was a hard way to build a career, but this experience could work to her favor in the end.

The rest of the messages were from other news outlets that had tracked her down to her mother’s address and were wanting to interview her. Some reporters had even parked outside the house, waiting for her to leave. It was at times like this, she missed the security of being behind the walls of Zach’s estate. She felt very vulnerable and once her pregnancy became known, she hated to think what the tabloids would do with that story.

Rescued journalist pregnant with Taliban’s baby.

Or how about,

Boyfriend abandons journalist pregnant with Taliban’s baby.

She ran to the bathroom and threw up. She wasn’t sure if it was from morning sickness or the thought of all this publicity hitting the paper.

“Arianna, are you all right?” her mother asked, coming to the bathroom door.

Arianna wiped her face with a wet washcloth and looked at her mom standing in the doorway. “That’s hard to say. Reporters are hounding me for a story by calling here night and day. Some are sitting outside my door so I can’t even leave the house. The man I love has abandoned me, and on top of it all…I’m pregnant.”

Katherine gasped and fell back against the door jamb.