Chapter 38

"I WILL NOT HAVE HIS BABY!" Sammi screamed as she picked up the butcher knife we had not seen on the floor next to her. "I will cut it out first!" She screamed in horror, as she plunged the knife towards her abdomen.

My heart sank. Amy was not in the room. Megan was too far away, and besides, I was in front of her, blocking her way to Sammi. I realized with despair that no one was close enough to stop her, as I felt my body begin to move automatically.

I had seen Megan move before, and Amy also. They were easily the fastest humans I had ever seen. I knew there was no way I could get to Sammi in time, but I had to try. I knew there was only one possibility of stopping what she was doing. I also knew that if I succeeded I would be badly hurt, but I had to try.

I never dreamed I could move as fast as I did. I dove towards her on the floor, and arrived next to her just as the knife was about to slice into her stomach. Knowing it was my only chance to stop what was happening, I slid my hand in between the knife and her stomach.

I knew I was in time, despite the overwhelming odds against success, when I felt the tremendous pain. I don't think I had ever felt anything that had hurt that bad. I felt the knife slice across the palm of my hand, cutting through the flesh. It felt like it cut all the way to the bone. I grabbed the knife blade as hard as I could, feeling it cut even deeper, but I didn't care. I held on as hard as I could, trying my best to push it away from her body. I dimly heard Megan yell for help.

I held on desperately, hoping help would arrive soon. Blood was pouring out of my hand like a faucet. My hand was starting to get slick from the blood; I could feel it starting to slip and I was starting to feel woozy. I was eternally grateful when I felt someone moving my hand back away from Sammi, the knife still in it. I never saw a more beautiful sight than when I looked up and saw Megan and Amy pulling the knife out of Sammi's hand.

I felt Katie and Becky, with Julie's help, move me over to a chair and help me sit down. Everything started to go black for a minute, until they had me in the chair. Julie grabbed a towel and wrapped my hand up in it, trying to stop the flow of blood. I wondered how bad it was until I saw how white her face was and how big her eyes were as she looked at the wound just before she wrapped it up. I looked over at Sammi and saw Megan and Amy holding her down as she screamed and tried to get away. I tried to tell them to beware that she didn't freeze them, but no one seemed to understand what I was saying. I didn't know if she could do that to Megan anyway, but we already knew it would work against Amy. I saw Megan tilt her head slightly and Sammi went limp, seeming to fall asleep. I watched them carry her into the bedroom and lay her down.

I must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing I was aware of was Megan holding my hand and tilting her head slightly, preparing to heal me. I pulled my hand away abruptly, causing her to look at me with concern.

"No!" I croaked. "Don't heal me. Stop the bleeding and bandage it, that's all." Megan looked at me as if I was crazy. She talked to me slowly, patiently, as if she was talking to a little child. I'm not sure she didn't think I was out of my mind with the pain.

"Patrick, honey, you are badly hurt. Let me take care of it, please," she said, concern in her voice. I saw the same concern through the tears in the girl's eyes, especially Amy and Cindi. Katie and Becky just seemed to be standing around, not sure of what to do to help.

"No," I said again. "I don't want it just healed. I want Sammi to see what she is responsible for." I closed my eyes, fighting back another wave of nausea. I saw the girls look at me in shock.

"Patrick, it wasn't her fault," Megan tried to convince me. "Please don't hate her. I can't even imagine what she must be going through, carrying that evil man's baby. Please, honey, give her a break. She didn't mean to hurt you." I looked at the other girls. I was surprised that Amy and Cindi seemed to agree. I half expected them to be ready to take Sammi out. I closed my eyes again, trying to deal with the pain and nausea. I gritted my teeth, and then explained my reason slowly.

"I don't hate her, Megan. I know she didn't mean to hurt me. Hell, I did it to myself. I'm the one that put my hand in there. But Sammi needs to learn that there are consequences to her actions. I want her to see what happened to me because of what she was trying to do," I said, my voice weak. I saw the girls look at me in surprise. I realized that the fact that I had intentionally inserted my hand in the way of the knife, doing it myself, was what had prevented Amy and Cindi from activating their Protector and Guardian modes and going after Sammi. Somehow, in the split second before they would have activated, they realized that Sammi had not attacked me; she had not meant to harm me.

"Patrick... you can't make her feel guilty about this. You can't say 'see what you did?'. That isn't right," Megan insisted.

"I know, Megan. I don't intend to do that. I won't say a word to her about it. I just want her to see for herself. I'm sorry, but we have to do something. I don't want to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders wondering when Sammi is going to try to kill herself again. We might not be able to reach her in time the next time." I closed my eyes again. When I opened them, Megan was looking at me as if I was nuts. The other girls didn't look too happy with me either. I really didn't care at that moment.

Megan bandaged my hand and gave me some pain pills and antibiotics. She had to look around the house to find either. For obvious reasons, we didn't have the need for those things very often. I then asked her to help me into the bedroom where Sammi was sleeping. I laid down next to her and put my arms around her, holding her close. Megan shook her head and left us together. I was still holding Sammi when I fell asleep.

When I woke up later, I had a splitting headache, probably from the blood loss and the pain in my hand. My arm was also wet, making me wonder if my hand was bleeding again and the blood had seeped through the bandage. It became obvious why my arm was wet when I opened my eyes.

My arm was wet because Sammi's head was lying on it, and she was crying. From the amount of tears soaking my arm, she had apparently been crying for some time. I put my good arm around her neck and held her, stroking her hair. She cried even harder, and then tried to speak.

"Did I do that?" She asked in a tiny, quiet, little girl voice, looking at my hand. I saw the pain and sorrow that filled her eyes. I could still see the horror there also.

'No, Sammi, I did it. I made the decision to stop you and that was the only way. I'm a big boy... I knew what I was doing. I knew what would happen." I wanted to get through to her, but I didn't want to devastate her. She cried harder.

"I'm so s... s... sorry, Patrick! I didn't mean to hurt you! Why... why would you do that? I don't understand."

"We've discussed this before, Sammi. You are my daughter. I love you. I would die to protect you. I don't know what else I can say or do to help you understand that." I held her, listening to her cry.

"I do understand, Patrick. I do. I just... I can't have his baby! I can't! I've tried so hard to get away from his evil influence, to become a member of this family. I can't have it inside me! I just can't. I will die first," she sobbed. I decided it was time to change the subject for a little while.

"Want to tell me why you're calling me Patrick, instead of Daddy?" I asked her gently. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't think I would notice.

"I... I don't deserve to call you Daddy. Look what I did to you!" She wailed. I held her close, waiting for the newest tears to subside.

"Sammi, you can always call me Daddy. That's who I am. You don't have to work to be good enough to call me that. I will always be your Daddy, no matter what you do." I kissed her nose, finally getting a small smile in return. She looked at me fearfully, her eyes full of terror.

"What am I going to do, Patr... Daddy? I can't have his baby!"

"You won't, Sammi. I promise you. Megan and I are going to see someone tonight about what to do about it. There is a way, Sammi, I promise you. Just let us take care of it. You have to trust us. Sammi, what you tried to do today could have killed you, or caused permanent damage to yourself. Had you been successful, and lived, you might never have been able to have children again. I don't think that's what you want, is it? Promise me you won't try to handle it yourself again." I pleaded with her. She looked at me sadly, a stricken but stubborn look on her face.

"I can't promise you that, Daddy. I promise I will give you some time to see what you can do. But I will not have this baby. If you can't help me, I will take care of it myself. I don't want to hurt myself, nor do I want to be in a position to never have children, but having this baby is just not a negotiable issue," Sammi said without hesitation.

Sammi helped me get out of bed, and she walked with me into the living room, her arm around my waist. The girls were glad to see us up and around. I was delighted to see the girls paying as much attention to Sammi as they were to me. I really didn't want her ostracized from the family because of this. She was a problem child sometimes, often even, but I really thought we could reach her, make her whole. She had really been showing improvement and doing well lately. We just had to get her back on track again. Obviously, she was also important according to the Ancient Prophecy.

We all sat around and talked for a while, just trying to get everything out of our systems. It was obvious to everyone that Sammi was really upset. If there had ever been any question, and there had been at one time, about her being truly on our side, those questions were not seriously considered by anyone anymore. It was clear that Sammi was not going to have that baby, no matter what. If we couldn't resolve it, she would. We managed to get her to agree that she wouldn't do anything to cause permanent damage to herself, but that was as much concession as we could get out of her. I kept having the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that we were missing something. Something wasn't right, but I just couldn't place it; my head and hand hurt too much to concentrate. I wasn't too worried; chances were one of my flaming geniuses would think of it before I did.

Before we went to bed, I let Megan heal my hand. I could tell by the look on Sammi's face and her actions, the attentiveness she showed me, that I had made my point. She wouldn't let me out of her sight, and insisted on waiting on me hand and foot. Whatever I needed, Sammi was there to get it. If looks could kill, poor Katie would have died instantly from the look Sammi gave her when Katie tried to help out by getting me a glass of water. Sammi's look clearly said that was her job and her job only.

I was glad I decided to let Megan heal me. I became nauseous again and almost fainted when she took the bandage off and I saw the wound. The hand had indeed been cut all the way to the bone. Ligaments, tendons, and muscles had all been severed. Without our special healing abilities, I would never have been able to use that hand again. That wasn't even considering the inflammation and possible infection that seemed to be setting in. I was a very lucky man. If I doubted whether Sammi had gotten the message before, the paleness and horrified look on her face, her renewed tears, and her running to the bathroom to throw up when she saw the wound convinced me she understood the consequences of her actions.

Megan and I went to bed early that night. We were both excited, for different reasons. I was excited to learn how we could help Sammi. Megan was excited about that too, but she was also excited about the possibility of seeing Eric again. None of us had understood until the last fiasco just how important Eric had been to her. I hadn't even known about him before then. This time, Megan made sure she held my hand all the time we waited. She periodically looked at me with love and adoration in her eyes. She was taking no chances on a misunderstanding this time.

We had waited about half an hour when suddenly the room was noticeably brighter. Then, a figure appeared at the foot of the bed. I recognized it as the same figure as we had seen before. I heard Megan gasp and felt her squeeze my hand even tighter.

"Eric!" She breathed softly, her eyes bright with joy. I could feel her trembling, partially from the joy of seeing him again, and partially from fear that he might still be mad at her from the last time. I considered how I would have felt had Victoria died. I would have been devastated. It gave me a whole new understanding of what she felt, of what she had gone through every day for the last 28 years.

"Megan," he responded softly. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was not mad at her.

"I see you and Patrick are together again. That's good. I hope you're not going to misbehave again this time, Megan," he said with a smile.

"No, Eric, I promise I will behave," she said, returning his smile. "I love you, but I love Patrick also. I know you can't stay, and my future and happiness is with him. Besides, if I misbehave this time, I might never see you again." Eric laughed softly when she said that, but we both could see in his eyes that she wasn't wrong in her assumption.

"Eric, we have a problem with Sammi. She is pregnant with Bandor's child. Sarah said you could help. Please tell us what to do, Eric," Megan pleaded. I saw the smile on Eric's face.

"Sarah is with you? Isn't she delightful! I'm glad you've found her. Has that obnoxious cat of hers caused any problems yet?" He asked, a twinkle in his eye. Megan looked shocked.

"Cire? He's not obnoxious! He's just the sweetest thing. He likes me!" She said proudly. Eric laughed.

"Everyone likes you, Megan. Even Bandor likes you, and he doesn't like anyone. That hardly is a vote of confidence for that cat," he laughed. Then he turned serious.

"Cire is the key to resolving the issue with Sammi's baby. You have to deal gently with Sammi on this issue. I'm sure she has already told you she will not have this baby under any circumstances. She must have the baby. It is very important. Bandor impregnated her for his own use, just as he made 'Sandi / Sammi' for his own use. Cire can convert that use for the baby to our own use, similar to what you did with Sandi, making her Sammi. Because of Bandor's power, only Cire has the power to convert the baby to our side. It must happen. Sammi must not be allowed to terminate that pregnancy."

"What will Bandor think of that?" I asked. Eric laughed.

"Not much. You must expect him to try to get Sammi and the baby back. He'll use everything he can to do so. Be careful; he learns just as we do. Don't expect him to be the same enemy that you have vanquished before," Eric cautioned.

Eric and Megan chatted for a while; mostly it was Megan filling him in on what had been going on. Finally, it was time for Eric to go. I saw the look of sadness in Megan's eyes. Eric smiled at her gently.

"Come here, Megan, give me a hug and kiss before I go," He said. Megan glowed with excitement.

"I can do that?" She asked, her face beaming. He nodded.

"This time, you can. Physical contact causes problems for me, but it is ok occasionally, especially for you. I want to hug and kiss you just as badly, Megan. This hasn't been easy for me either. It is necessary, even critical, however, and I have no choice in the matter." He held out his arms for her. Megan jumped up off the bed, but refused to let go of my hand. She held on to me as she dragged me up to where Eric was. She only let go of my hand when she had to in order to hug him. I saw the look of pride in Eric's eyes as he saw that Megan was not going to do anything foolish this time. I watched them hug tightly and kiss tenderly. I saw the tears shining in both of their eyes. As soon as they parted, she turned and hugged me close and kissed me also. Then she grabbed my hand, holding it tight again. Eric said goodbye tenderly, and faded away slowly.

Megan and I sat on the bed and discussed what we had learned. We decided we would try to arrange whatever we needed with Cire for tomorrow night. We weren't sure how to talk to him, as he had always initiated the conversations. We would just have to see what happened.

Megan and I made sweet, gentle love that night. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer. Megan is usually quiet when she has an orgasm, but that night, she screamed out her pleasure. Not as loud as some of the other girls, but loud enough for me to know it was different. We held each other tightly as we fell asleep together.

We got up early, at least early for us, the next morning. After we took a shower together, during which Megan actually behaved herself, we headed for the kitchen. I think she was a little sore from the previous night. I was surprised to see Becky already there, eating breakfast. Becky only got out of bed this early for very serious reasons. She looked... intense. I kissed her and messed up her hair, earning a nasty look. Not that anyone would notice the difference in her hair this early in the morning.