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*January 15, 1999*

Pain... She felt such intense pain, unlike any she had ever felt in her entire life. It gripped her in ironlike clutches, hitting her so very hard that she saw stars behind her tightly squeezed shut eyes.

Amy doubled over, her vision swimming as she opened her eyes again. Her breath was nearly lost at the intensity of the pain in her lower abdomen. She felt as though she were dying. But what was wrong with her?

She sat up in her bed, her teeth clenched, brow furrowed in agony. Thank goodness Paul E. had let her have the last month off to recover from her horrible ordeal in that maniac's basement. It was just her good luck she had a boss who was beyond understanding and sympathetic.

"Ugh..." she moaned. She clutched her stomach, wondering what in hell was wrong with her. The only thing she could compare this feeling to was the worst menstrual cramps she'd ever experienced in her life. Come to think of it, she hadn't had her time of the month in awhile... In fact, it had been close to two months since she had!

'Oh, God!' she thought, her heart nearly stopping. To tell the truth, she hadn't really given much thought to her period in awhile. That was due to the fact that so many other things had been on her mind, but could she really be blamed for that? She'd gone through a hellish time in the not so distant past!

Amy rose weakly from her bed, the pain in her stomach growing far worse as she stood up. She reached out and clutched onto the edge of the nearby dresser, her free arm wound around her middle. She felt as though she were going to be sick. She had to get to the bathroom, purge her stomach of its contents, as the pain was so bad, she thought she was going to throw up.

The young woman nearly collapsed as she hobbled her way into her small nearby bathroom. The pain in her lower abdomen was only getting worse, and it terrified her. She doubled over, leaning on the sink as she entered the room, her gaze flying up to her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes looked positively haunted.

She cried out and fell to the floor, her body curling in on itself. The pain was so great, tears began to leak from her eyes. And then, she glanced down her body, and noticed it...

... The blood.

"No!" The single shouted word was out of sheer horror of what she suddenly realized was happening to her - she was unmistakably having a miscarriage... And she didn't have a boyfriend, either. Dear God, that sick, psychotic son of a bitch had impregnated her when he'd raped her!

*

She bolted up out of the bed, her breath rushing out of her in a loud gasp. A small yelp escaped her as the dream-memory remained with her. She felt as though she were going to pass out, become sick.

"No... No!"

Adam instantly bolted awake, his gaze flying to the distraught redhead. Frowning, he reached out to her, guessing she'd had another nightmare. It was a vast contrast to the almost indifference she'd shown the previous day, when they'd returned from her therapy session.

"Amy?"

The redhead buried her face in her hands, now sobbing harshly. Her body shook almost uncontrollably as she cried and cried.

"Sweetheart, talk to me... please," the blond man pleaded, his heart breaking at the sound of her sobs. He gathered her in his arms, pulling her flush against him. One of his hands held her head down to his chest while the other gently stroked her mussed hair. "You're safe, baby - I swear it."

Amy pressed her face to his bare, muscular chest, as though trying to hide. Her tears wouldn't stop as the horror kept her in its grasp. No, it couldn't be! But she knew it was true... Oh, God!

"The... the baby," she moaned miserably.

Adam arched a brow as he looked down at her, her face still burrowed against his chest. What was she trying to say? Her voice was muffled in her current position.

"What was that, honey?"

She raised her head, meeting his eyes sorrowfully, the tears still falling down her cheeks. She had to tell him.

"When... when the doctor said there was a reason I had the... ec-ectopic pregnancy..."

The blond man frowned again. What was she getting at here?

"What about it?" he questioned. For some reason, his heart began to hammer uncontrollably in his chest, and he felt somewhat sick.

"I *was* pregnant once before," she moaned. She shook her head, horrified to no end. "I-I blocked it, Adam... When I was raped, I... oh, God!" She lowered her head and sobbed harshly for a full moment, the blond man's blood feeling as though it had frozen through. Then, "I didn't know it, and I had a miscarriage. I... I just remembered it in my sleep now."

"Oh, God... Ames..." Adam felt his heart being wrenched right through his body, and he was at a sudden loss for words. He pulled her against him again, his own tears intermingling with hers as they held tightly to one another.