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jingling the cuff holding her captive in the bed. He leaned over, not saying a word, and removed the cuffs from her wrist and the bed frame.
     
    “Just don’t go taking off now,” he said, the tone of his voice somewhat playful, and she could’ve almost sworn she saw him smirk ever so slightly as he said it. She dismissed it as being a side effect of the drugs the nurse had used to sedate her and closed her eyes again.

 
    Chapter 8
     
    She had been ripped from a deep sleep by the unnerving, unfamiliar blare of the telephone on the nightstand beside her bed. The house phone rang so rarely now that she and Michael both had cellphones she almost didn’t recognize the sound. She sleepily picked up the receiver and mumbled “hello?”
     
    It was the phone call no mother ever wanted to receive. She had started throwing on clothes haphazardly – not bothering to take the time she normally did to ensure not a hair was out of place, nor a wrinkle showing.
     
    “Michael –for god’s sake Michael – wake up!” she shouted while flittering about their bedroom throwing every light on. He grunted and then jerked awake. “Linus just called, we need to get to the hospital right away!”
     
    “Wha…?” he inquired sleepily. She responded by chucking a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt at him and ran downstairs to find her car keys. Normally she would have Michael drive at night. Not only was her eyesight not the greatest, but she firmly believed it was the chivalrous thing to do. Tonight she threw chivalry aside as she dashed out to the garage and started the car.
     
    “Michael – let’s go!” she commanded. It was a least a half an hour’s drive to the hospital, which by Rhode Island standards was nearly an eternity. He stumbled into the garage obediently, slamming the door to the kitchen behind him without even bothering to turn off the lights. He still had his shoes in his hands. He just stared at her blankly, the sleep slowly creeping from his eyes. “Michael! Now!” This last high pitch shriek jolted him and he jumped into the passenger seat.
     
    “What is going on?” he asked, strapping his seatbelt across his chest as she flew in reverse down the driveway.
     
    “Something horrible has happened to our little girl. Linus called from the hospital. There was some sort of accident. We have to get there right away.”
     
    “What about the…?”
     
    She cut him off. “All Linus knew was that she was in surgery….” Her knuckles were beginning to turn white as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She bit her lower lip and stared straight ahead at the dark suburban road. She wasn’t the best driver to begin with, but Michael knew better than to argue with her at a time like this, opting instead to keep his hands planted firmly against the dashboard in front of him and his breath held until they pulled into the parking lot of Women and Infant’s Hospital.
     
    Linus leapt up when he saw the two of them barreling into the waiting area. Rarely had he spent time alone with his in-laws. He almost didn’t know how to act around them without his wife at his side. Michael had always intimidated him; Linus could always tell Michael wasn’t his biggest fan. In fact, the last time these two men had spent any time alone was when Linus had asked for permission to marry Michael’s daughter. But now seeing them both standing there—looking to him for answers—he almost began to wish he hadn’t called them.
     
    “I-I-I’m sorry,” Linus stammered. “I didn’t mean to wake you up – it’s just so much more serious than they initially thought. I think. I don’t know. I-I-I…”
     
    “Linus, what the hell happened?!” Michael demanded, knowing whatever Linus had told his wife over the phone had gone in one ear and out the other as soon as she heard her pregnant daughter was in the hospital.
     
    “I’m not entirely sure, to be honest,” he replied, wringing his hands and looking at the