Chapter 24 - Another Long And Sleepless Night

Beth is awakened by banging on the back door, the door that was on the vineyard side of the house, away from the road.
She's thinking that it's passerby's letting her know that her cows got out and were blocking the flow of the traffic again.  It happens all the time and she, time and time again, tells people that they aren't her cows, they need to go to the house a quarter of a mile up the road farther.  She would then typically look at the damage that they caused to her lawn and go fix it.  But this morning was different.  The knock seemed to be a little louder and completely intentional.  Whoever is knocking knows that she is in the house.

She gets out of bed, noticing that it's 7:30 a.m.  She has no idea who it is or what they want.  As she walks through the house, she leaves all of the lights off.  Whoever is knocking won't see her until she wants them to see her.  When she reaches the door, she peeks out the side window to see who it is and when she notices, she can't believe her own eyes.  What the hell are they doing here? she asks herself.

She freezes there for a moment, with her hand on the doorknob - unsure whether she wants to open it or not.  She can hear her own heartbeat, it's that quiet until the banging starts again.  "BETH!  Come on, we know you're in there!"  she hears through the door.  She doesn't move.  "BETH, open the door."  She stands still, hoping that they will go away.

She really isn't in the mood for whatever they want at this hour of the morning.  "God damn it Beth, open the door."  Beth now knows that she isn't opening the door and she isn't dealing with is what on the other side of the solid oak door.  

Beth quietly turns around and works her way back to her bedroom.  She's not in fear, she knows that he house is locked up tighter than Ft. Knox, she figures that in time they'll go away.  She just can't figure out what they want.

Climbing back into her bed, she melts into the warmth and the softness that she has tried to enjoy, but her ever changing body makes everything uncomfortable or less enjoyable.  But she was able to drift off to sleep and sleep until almost 11 a.m., when she was woken up by the ringing of her cell phone.

She reaches over and sees who it is and declines that call.  What the hell does she want?  She just needs to leave me alone.  She wasn't left a voice mail and that made her happy.  She didn't want to listen to any recorded ranting anyway.  

She lays there for a few minutes before she decides that she really needs to use the bathroom.  Flipping the blankets back and making her way to the edge of the bed, she thought she felt something wet on her hands.  Looking back, she sees that there is a big wet blood spot in the middle of her mattress.  She panics at first. stopping to do a system check.  I have no pain or cramps, this can't be good. 

She sits there for a second and gathers her thoughts, Okay Beth, don't panic.  That doesn't work, she starts to stress.  Her first and her gut reaction is to call the front desk, but she's too modest for that.  She can't have an ambulance come and get her, that will be all over the press in just a matter of minutes.

With her phone in her hand, she calls Gloria, her hotel manager.  "Gloria, I know it's your day off, but I need your help."  She says to her trusted and valued employee.

"What's up?" she asks.

"I know it's your day off, but can you run me to the hospital?"

"Are you okay?"

Beth is a little embarrassed and hates feeling helpless, but she knows that she can't drive herself to the hospital.  She tells Gloria, "I have some bleeding and I think I should go in.  Can you drop me off?"

"I have to grab my purse and I'll be right there.  Okay."

"Thanks Glor.  I'll unlock the door."  Beth says just before she hangs up the phone.

Gloria lived on the grounds so when she says that she'll be right there, she means it.

Beth unlocks the door and gets herself dressed.  Gloria is in a bigger panic mode than Beth, and it's Beth that feels like she's bleeding to death.

On the way to the hospital, Beth calls Jon.  It's been 6 days since they last talked, it's been six days since they have had any communication - she's not even sure where he is.  Her heart is racing as she waits for him to answer.

"Hello."

"Hey." she whispers.

"What's up?"

"I'm on my way to the hospital.  I woke up in a puddle of blood."

"How are you getting there?"

"Gloria is taking me."

"What hospital?" he wants to know.

"Where are you?" she asks him, hoping he's really close.

"Vegas, what hospital?"

"St. Joseph's."  she tells him.

"Are you in pain?  How do you feel?"

"I'm scared." was the last thing she said to Jon before she passes out from hypovolemic shock.  Her head slumps and she drops the phone.  Gloria sees this and reaches over for the phone.  With it to her ear, she can hear Jon saying, "Beth.....Beth?"

"Jon, she passed out.  I'm going to have an ambulance meet me."

"I'll see you at the hospital."  Their connection ended. His interview is over and he is calling in a chopper.  He will be there for her, like he has always said.

Gloria called 911 and an ambulance met her on Highway 29.  When she was loaded into the ambulance, Gloria followed them to the hospital.

Unit 537 to Central

Go ahead 537

Enroute to St. Joe. Pregnant woman, 33 weeks, twins.  Vaginal bleeding, lost consciousness before we intercepted.  eta 6 minutes.  Bolus, non responsive to painful stimuli

537 we will meet you at the door.