Subj: Remember Chapter Five
Date: 2/3/00 12:45:29 PM Central Standard Time
From: Melissa
Remember
Chapter Five
Daphne continued to tell Quentin about her life with Charles. Then one day she dropped something that he was never expecting.
“You never mentioned being pregnant before,” Quentin said.
“I just remembered it,” she said with a secret sweet smile. “Somehow it’s just like it happening right now.”
For the next couple hours Quentin watched with amazement as Daphne’s figure filled out. Her eyes shined with happiness and anticipation. She talked of nothing else, but the baby, about clothes, possible names, Anne if it was a girl, and Matthew if it was a boy.
Quentin began to understand the excitement he had never understood before, and he was excited for Daphne.
She was seven months pregnant by noon that day, and she was telling Quentin about the house that she and Charles were staying at.
“Charles needed a vacation, and it gave me a chance to begin my writing,” she said.
“You started writing? That’s wonderful, what did you write?”
Daphne didn’t answer, her face became troubled, “It was a beautiful day, I was finishing a poem I was working on, then I . . . I went into labor,” her voice began to quiver, and Quentin felt some kind of dread creep up on him. “There was no hospital nearby, just a local doctor. . . Charles took me to his office.” Quentin saw her hand was clenched tightly into a fist. “They got me to his operating table in the back of his. . ." Daphne suddenly cried out in pain, she fell to the floor, her arms clutching her stomach.
“Daphne what’s wrong?” Quentin asked.
“Make it stop,” she screamed, “Please make it stop.”
Quentin watched helplessly, something terrible was happened, and Quentin realized just how helpless he was. He wished he could go inside the hologram and hold her, but he couldn’t.
Her screams brought Will into the lab. They both watched her tortured face, her eyes were filled with tears, she closed her eyes against the pain, then opened them again. “Please help me Quentin, help me,” she whispered.
“Daphne, I can’t, I don’t know what to do,” he said.
Then just as suddenly as it began it stopped. Her cried quieted, but she still held onto her stomach, her eyes were dry now.
“Are you okay?” Will asked.
When Daphne spoke again, she was very quiet, “I lost the baby,” Quentin saw some kind of wisdom that had not been there before, “I remember everything now. . . ” Quentin could feel her pain as if it was his own, “I’m going to be by myself for awhile.” Then the light of the hologram disappeared.
Will looked at Quentin with surprised, “Did you know she could do that?”
“No,” Quentin said.
“You don’t look too good, why don’t you get some sleep?”
“I can’t, what if she comes back.”
“I almost forgot I found something else out,” Will said.
“What?”
“Charles died in 1966.”
“Nothing on Daphne yet?” Quentin asked.
“No, nothing yet.”
“There has to be someone who knew them that’s still alive.”
“That was a long time ago,” Will said.
“NO, it’s happening now. I want to know why, and she needs to know why she’s here.”
“Well there’s nothing you can do, you need some sleep, I’ll see what I can do,” Will said.
“Daphne mentioned that Charles had a partner, Gerard Stiles, see if you can find out anything about him. Maybe he’s still around,” Quentin said wearily.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“You know she’s very special,” Quentin said.
“Is she?” Will questioned.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Quentin asked angrily.
“She the one controlling the computer. . . ”
“I can’t explain that, but I feel it. Will I watched her grow up. I think I’d know if something was up.”
“Don’t you think you’re getting kinda involved here?”
“Involved with a spirit?”
“Some people say that’s what we fall in love with, the soul, the spirit, whatever. Anyway she’ll be gone in 3 or 4 days, what then?”
Quentin didn’t know what to say.
To be continued. . .