HANNAH DROVE HER car up the long driveway to Morgana’s home. Leroy’s car was already there, and she watched in her rearview mirror as Declan pulled up behind her. She’d left Sarah thirty minutes ago, and Declan had called and told her that Morgana had requested an update and to meet at Morgana’s house. She shut off the ignition and got out of her car as Declan did the same.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“I’ll fill you in when we get inside.”
Walking up the driveway, he asked, “You gonna tell me who the guy is?”
She stopped her approach to the front door. “Excuse me?”
“The guy. Dr. Marshall Maxwell.” He rolled his eyes. “It sounds like someone in a soap opera.”
“You went to the office?”
“I walked up to the door. I wanted to see where you were.”
“What for?”
“Makes it easier in case I have to come help you to actually know where you are. It’s sort of a basic rule of protection.”
“And you’re sort of an ass.” She moved to walk past him.
Her annoyance didn’t thwart him. “You dating him?” he asked.
That stopped her again. She glanced at him, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you worried about my safety or my relationship status?”
“Both, actually.”
Hannah resumed her walk to the front door. “Well, don’t be. You have nothing to worry about in either case.”
Her answer seemed to mollify him, and Hannah couldn’t help herself when she added, “But there’s a good looking plastic surgeon across the hall,” she said. “Now him, I’ve got my eye on.” She grinned when she noticed his shoulders bunch and knew she’d successfully irritated him.
“What’s his name?” Declan asked. “Dr. Bradley Breechcloth?”
“No,” Hannah answered as she rang the bell. “It’s Dr. Henry Heart-Throb.” She reached her hand beneath the top of her shirt and thumped her fingers against her chest, simulating a heartbeat. “And he lives up to his name,” she said in a sultry voice.
Declan frowned. “You think you’re pretty funny, huh?” he asked as the door opened.
“I do,” said Hannah, dropping her hand. “Hello, Ronald,” she said to the man who opened the door.
“Please come in,” said Ronald, who stepped back. “They’re in the office.”
Hannah and Declan walked down the long hallway, passing the living area and kitchen, and headed into Morgana’s office. Seeing Leroy and Ramsey already seated, Hannah dropped her purse on the chair and sat down, and Declan took the seat next to her. Morgana sat at her desk, her usual air of authority in place as she watched them enter.
“Welcome,” she said, looking over the group. “Thank you for meeting me here, especially since I know we’ve all been somewhat preoccupied.”
Ramsey made a grunting sound. “You always did have a way with words,” he said. He spoke to Hannah. “What happened?” he asked. “Is she okay?”
Hannah pulled out the plastic bag from her purse. “I got one of the pills. She wants to know what it is.”
“As do we,” said Morgana. “I’ll arrange for the analysis.”
Ramsey took the bag from Hannah and studied the small pill through the plastic. “This is what she’s been taking?”
“Yes. It’s probably some sort of anti-anxiety drug mixed with a mild sedative, if I were to guess.”
“Great,” said Ramsey, dropping the bag on the coffee table. He looked worn and tired. “Anything else? Any progress?”
“She’s experiencing headaches.”
“Headaches?” asked Leroy.
“Yes, since she stopped taking the medication.”
“What does that mean?” asked Ramsey.
“I think she’s trying to remember, but her mind’s not giving in just yet.”
“Is there any indication that she’s remembered anything?” asked Morgana.
They all looked at her.
“Hannah?” asked Ramsey.
“Yes,” she said.
Ramsey leaned forward. “Yes?”
“She had a dream.”
“A dream?” asked Declan.
“About what?” asked Ramsey.
“About you.”
“Me? What kind of dream?”
“The kind you don’t tell your mother about.”
Ramsey looked confused, and Hannah rolled her eyes. “A sex dream.”
His eyes widened. “She did?”
“Are you sure she didn’t use the term nightmare?” asked Morgana.
The four of them looked surprised.
“My God,” said Leroy, “did you just crack a joke?”
“Not at all,” she answered. She stood, made her way to front of her desk, and leaned back against it.
Hannah managed to continue. “She believes it’s more than a dream. She thinks, or knows, it actually happened.”
“That’s good news, then,” said Leroy. “Sounds like she is remembering.”
“There’s a ‘but’ coming, though, isn’t there?” asked Ramsey. “Don’t tell me. I’m not going to like it, am I?”
Hannah didn’t mince words. “It terrified her.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because…” Hannah found it harder to say the words than she thought.
“Because why?”
“Because she’s pregnant.”
Ramsey sucked in a breath and clenched his eyes shut.
“She is?” asked Declan. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Ramsey dropped his head into his hand. “So this is actually happening.”
“Yes, it is.”
He looked at Hannah with weary eyes. “And why is this terrifying her?”
“Because she’s afraid it’s your baby.”
“She’s what?” asked Declan.
“Why is she afraid of that?” asked Leroy.
“Because she still doesn’t remember Ramsey. She still thinks she loves Yates. Right now, she’s thinking she had some sort of fling with the man her husband hates and may be carrying his child.”
“Oh hell.” Ramsey hung his head.
“That’s excellent news,” said Morgana.
Ramsey’s head shot up. “What? How is this good news?”
“Because she remembered something. That’s a good sign.”
“I think Morgana’s right,” said Hannah. “Right now, it’s her only logical interpretation, but as she remembers more…”
“Then she’ll figure out the truth,” said Leroy.
“But what is the truth?” asked Ramsey.
“What do you mean?” asked Hannah.
“So now we know she’s pregnant.”
“Yes.”
Ramsey couldn’t hide the look of sadness in his eyes. “But how do we know it’s mine?”
Hannah held his gaze. “Because it is.”
He made a sad smile. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, actually I do,” she said.
He didn’t look convinced.
Hannah gauged her next words carefully. “Listen. I worked as an obstetrician’s nurse in that office for several years, Ramsey,” she said. “I may not have Declan’s sensitivity or your gut instincts, but what I do have is a damn good barometer.”
“Barometer?” he asked.
“Yes. I did a general physical exam on her before she left. I’ve done it a million times with expectant mothers over the course of my employment there. And there’s one thing that happened every time, without fail.”
“What’s that?” asked Ramsey.
“While I had my hands on them during the exam, every time I mentioned the father, or mother, for that matter, I could feel the baby flutter.”
Ramsey looked confused. “Flutter? What are you talking about? She’s less than two months pregnant.”
“It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with a baby’s size. It’s about the energy I feel transmitted from them to me. I feel it every time.”
Ramsey’s fear-filled eyes glimmered with hope. “And you felt this with Sarah?”
“I did.”
“And you say you felt it ‘flutter’?”
“Both times.”
“Both?”
“I made a point of mentioning both Yates and you while I did the exam. I did it a few times, just to be sure.”
“And you felt it when my name was mentioned?”
“Yes. Easily.”
“And when Yates was mentioned?”
“Not even a whisper of movement.” She watched quietly as he sat unmoving across from her and tried to digest what she told him.
“You’re not lying to me, are you?” he asked. “You’re not just trying to make me feel better?”
She didn’t take her eyes off his, knowing how much he’d struggled with the doubt, no matter how much he’d tried to hide it. “No, Ramsey,” she said. “I’m not. That baby is yours. I’d swear my life on it.”
Anchors of weight seemed to drain from his shoulders, and she saw his eyes well with emotion. He sighed and dropped his head back into his hands. “You promise me?” she heard him ask.
“I promise you,” she said, feeling her own emotions surface.
“You okay, Sherlock?” asked Leroy.
Ramsey continued to stare at the floor without answering.
“Perhaps you should focus more on the silver lining and less on the cloud,” said Morgana. “It helps.”
“Thanks for the advice,” said Ramsey, wiping at his eyes and composing himself.
“It’s not my advice,” said Morgana. “It’s your grandmother’s. She said it to me more than once.”
Ramsey glanced up at her with shiny eyes, but she held his gaze only briefly as she turned back to Hannah. “So what’s next?”
Satisfied she’d convinced Ramsey, Hannah turned her attention to Morgana. “I told her I’d contact her once I have her test results confirming her pregnancy.”
“How long will that take?” asked Morgana.
“Shouldn’t take more than a couple of days. I told her we could meet up again next Monday, or sooner if she wanted to.”
“Has she told him?” asked Ramsey.
Hannah assumed he was referring to Yates. “About the pregnancy? No, not yet. She’s still processing it. It took her by surprise.”
“How was she when you left her?” he asked.
“Better. Calmer. I told her we’d figure everything out. We’d just take it slow.” She thought back on the conversation. “I just hope she remembers more soon, before I have to tell her who the father is.”
“We’ll just have to figure that out when the time comes,” said Declan. He regarded Hannah. “She hasn’t said anything to Yates about you?”
“No,” said Hannah. “Not that I know of. She somehow knows that he won’t approve.”
“Let’s hope she keeps it quiet.”
Ramsey was clearly frustrated. “So we just keep waiting…”
“We can’t wait too long,” said Morgana.
Leroy frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Has Sarah made any reference to the Mirror?” Morgana asked Hannah.
Hannah shook her head. “No, but I haven’t mentioned it either.”
“What is it?” asked Leroy. “Something we should know?”
“It’s the Mirror,” said Morgana. “It’s beginning to cloud.”
“Cloud?” asked Ramsey.
“Older mirrors can begin to cloud over, begin to lose their reflectivity. We noticed it last week.”
“But the Mirror was fine when Sarah tried to read it,” said Hannah.
“We don’t understand it either, but there is definitely a discernable difference.”
“And what is the significance if it clouds?” asked Declan.
“It can become unreadable,” said Morgana.
“You’re kidding,” said Ramsey.
“I wish I were,” said Morgana. “It’s why I asked you all here. Is there any way we can speed this process along?”
“We’re not playing Twister here, Morgana,” said Declan. “We can’t just walk up to Sarah and ask her to hold John’s hand, oh, and by the way, please read this Mirror and tell us where our serum is.”
“I appreciate your ability to point out the obvious, Declan,” said Morgana, “but at the rate the Mirror is clouding over, we may have few other options.”
“It’s happening that fast?” asked Leroy.
“Apparently it’s doesn’t take long.”
“How much time do we have?” asked Ramsey.
“I’d say a week, maybe less.”
“A week?” asked Declan.
“Yes.” She observed their looks of concern. “It’s better than twenty-four hours,” she said.
“I’m glad you’re optimistic,” said Declan.
Morgana remained unflappable. “I have found that once given a deadline, the odds of success tend to improve.”
Ramsey grunted. “Especially if missing it means we’re all going to die a lot sooner than we want to.”
“That helps.”
“Well, I hate to deepen the hole here,” said Declan, “but if Yates gets wind of our plans, and at some point he will, reading the Mirror is the least of our worries.”
“And I thought we were already under pressure,” said Ramsey.
“Guess I’ll be canceling my pleasure cruise this weekend,” said Leroy.
“Pleasure cruise?” asked Ramsey. “What? You weren’t going to invite me?”
“I said ‘pleasure,’” answered Leroy.
Ramsey made a face. “You’re all heart.”
“So worst-case scenario,” said Hannah. “Sarah hasn’t remembered by next week. What do we do?”
“Maybe exactly what Declan suggests,” said Morgana.
“What? We ask her to sit down and read the mirror with me?” asked Ramsey.
“Why not?”
“Well, first of all, she’ll have all kinds of questions which will require an explanation,” said Hannah.
“Yes, she probably will.”
“But that would mean telling her everything,” said Ramsey.
“Yes, I suppose it would.”
“But that could hurt her,” said Ramsey.
“Maybe. We don’t know for sure.”
“Morgana, I am not going to put her at risk like that.”
“You don’t think she’s at risk right now? You think if she knew the situation, she’d want you to do any different?”
“We may not have any other choice,” said Declan.
“We can’t do that to her,” said Ramsey.
“What are our options?” asked Declan. “If we leave her as she is and do nothing, we lose the opportunity to read the Mirror. Maybe she eventually remembers and, if we’ve managed to do away with Yates, we all still die within the next twenty-four months and she’s left alone. Or worse, we don’t manage to do away with Yates and he either kills us or he just waits us out until we’re all dead, leaving Sarah to fend for herself.”
Hannah’s face furrowed. “You are definitely not optimistic.”
“Or,” said Ramsey, offering an alternative theory, “we tell her everything and she falls apart. She refuses to see me and won’t read the Mirror, in which case we die anyway and she’s left dealing with whatever part of her mind is left intact, Yates or no Yates.”
“Or,” said Hannah, shaking her head at Ramsey, “we tell her everything, she remembers, she agrees to read the Mirror, she falls back in love with you, we get rid of Yates, she has your baby, and we all live happily ever after.”
“I like Hannah’s version,” said Leroy.
“So do the seven dwarves and Cinderella,” said Ramsey.
“And me,” said Morgana.
“That explains a lot,” said Ramsey.
“It could be any of those scenarios or anything in between,” said Declan. “We don’t know.”
“Exactly,” said Morgana. “So stop thinking it to death. If it comes to that, then we’ll do it and hope for the best. Besides, we have no idea what the week will bring. Everything could change in a heartbeat.” She looked at Hannah. “I doubt that last week you thought you’d be using your ex’s office space again, right?”
“Never crossed my mind,” said Hannah, avoiding the look she felt from Declan.
“Of course it didn’t. We all have to deal with the unexpected. The key is to trust that destiny is on our side. Without that, then we are doomed to fail.”
They all sat thinking about the future before Ramsey finally spoke. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’d make a great Councilwoman?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that a compliment?”
He smirked. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Perish the thought.”
Declan continued to look at Hannah. “So soap opera guy is your ex, huh?”
Hannah glanced over at him but said nothing.
Not getting a response from Hannah, Declan turned his attention back to Morgana. “You’re right about one thing,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“This week is gonna be full of surprises.”