I opened my eyes and saw nothing but blackness. Pure empty blackness. Pressure was built up on my body, and all I could do was remain still, blinking through the dark. Then there's a sliver of white light in the distance. Is this the tunnel to Heaven?

No, it's not. I realized that as the light came closer, growing bigger and brighter. I reached out to touch it, and all of a sudden it blinked out, leaving me alone again.

Abruptly, the light returned all at once, only it was then a moving string of ceiling bulbs. I heard voices and yelling all around me and a rapid beeping.

"Where.... am I?" As I spoke the words, intense pain flooded my body, and I couldn't hold back my wail.

"She's awake; I need 40 Milig. Morphine stat!"

I tried to sit up but men in white coats surrounded me and pushed me back down. Then someone moved their face above mine, shining a flashlight into my already blinded eyes.

"Ms. Smith, can you hear me? How much pain are you in?"

"A lot..... Where am I? What's going on, what happened?"

"You were in a car crash, but now you're in the hospital. We're going to take care of you, ok?" I glanced down at my body and noticed a giant piece of metal permeating from my leg. Just the sight of it was enough to make me panic. I started to thrash and scream, causing the doctors to hold me down and inject me with something.

The beeping I heard eases into a continuous buzz. I recognized the blackness at the edge of my sight, threatening to overtake me again.

"Get the paddles, we're losing her." I heard a loud whine and felt something press against my chest.

"Charging; clear... Charging; clear." My already numb body didn't feel anything, and I allowed the blackness to wash over me again.

~~~~~Zacky's POV~~~~~

I sat in the examination room waiting for the doctor. When he finally walked in, I jumped to my feet, only to wince and sit back down.

"Calm down Mr. Baker. You're injured enough as it is."

"I don't give a damn about me! It’s Mari I'm worried about..... She’s ok right?" The doctor sent me this look and shook his head. My mouth fell open and I dropped my head into my hands, not daring to believe it.

"Oh, no no no no! She's not dead, she can't be dead......" I lie down and start to sob, not caring that it hurts. The doctor continues on;

"She flat lined after we brought her inside. They're working on bringing her back, but it's not looking good. You may leave without your friend Mr. Baker..... I'm sorry." After that, he leaves me sitting there, huddling in a ball while tears flow down my face.

"Zacky." I glance up and see Jimmy standing in the doorway, his face ghostly pale.

"Is it true? Is she dead?" I couldn't speak without blubbering nonsense, so all I did was nod. His face was unreadable as he collapsed into the hospital chair, rubbing his temples. I noticed he subtly brushed away a tear.

"I... I don't know what to say.... What I said to her before she died.... I must've broken her heart..." I sat up and limped over to him, and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know man, I just don't know." We sat there in silence, until the doctor appeared in the doorway again, happiness apparent on his face.

"I have good news for you two. You were here for a Ms. Smith right?" We nod.

"Well, our doctors were able to bring her back, although she's in a coma right now. We have high hopes that she'll wake up within the week." We looked at each other in absolute joy and relief. She was alive.... Mari was alive. I glanced at the doctor and noticed he still looked antsy.

"We don't know what the effects of the coma will be until she wakes up. But there's something else....." We motioned for him to go on at the same time.

"There's a slight complication."

~~~~~Mari Again~~~~~

Where am I? I feel like I'm floating in air, but it's all black. No one's around, does that mean I'm the only person here? Am I..... dead?

A quiet whimper interrupts my thoughts, like that of a frightened child. I try to move around, and surprisingly it works. I swim through the air and look around, trying to find the source of the sound I heard.

I float around until I find a door, just a wooden slab floating in place. I push against it and suddenly I'm flung into a dingy white room, face-planting into the floor. No, not the floor.... the ceiling.

I flip over and look around; I'm in a dirty hospital room with red-stained and rustic walls. I notice a broken body lying directly below me on a gurney, wild eyes probing the room.

Four white coated men surround her, prepping her for something. Their voices sound slow and deep, echoing inside my ears, completely un-distinguishable. I know instantly that she was the one whimpering. But how can I save her?

And there's something else about that broken girl. Something achingly familiar.... that's when I realize; she is me. I am looking down on myself.

She's also pregnant. Her little baby bump protrudes from her dingy hospital gown, and I wonder how this could be..... I wasn't pregnant, so why my sub-conscience body is, I haven't a clue.

One doctor enters and he's holding a tray of mini tools and knives. I look back and forth between him and my body, perplexed and apprehensive.

He approaches the others, and all five of them buckle belts up around her (my) head, arms, and legs. Strangely, as if by some divine force, my appendages stretch out and stay in place on the ceiling. As if I'm buckled down, and some sick God is forcing me to watch this mesmerizing yet scary display.....

I observe the lead doctor as he takes a marker and draws little lines all around her stomach.

Then, he picks up the nearest tool; a scalpel. He presses it into the skin at the base of her stomach bump and begins tracing a bloody trail across the lines. She cries out and grits her teeth.

"No, what are you doing to her? Stop it, your hurting her! YOUR HURTING HER!" My outraged shouts don't reach the surgeons and they pull out another tool; a buzz saw. Her whimpers have transformed into sobs and begging for them to stop.

I'm frozen in place as they slice the bump in two, and pull a bloody bundle out of it... her baby... MY baby...

I watch in horror as the life is bled out of her, as she struggles against her binds and tries to scream. A single tear crawls down my cheek when her gargled wails finally stop and her head drops to the side. One doctor takes the baby and places it in the dirty sink to rinse it off.

She was dead... I was dead..... these monsters killed us. And now they were going to kill our child. My tears fall onto her face, joining with the other tears she had shed during the procedure.

The lead doctor, the one who had sliced her open, see the tears and glances up at me.

"Oh god... No, please no...." The face I had always thought was so handsome, so trustworthy, was staring up at me.

Jimmy's face showed only pure smugness and insanity. He smiled the biggest grin ever, showing all his teeth.

Seeing his teeth bloodied and sharp, like a tiger that had just finished its meal, it was impossible to suppress my scream. The rest of the doctors looked up at me, all of them with sharp dripping-blood teeth and insane smiles.

In absolute trepidation, I realized they all had the faces of the Avenged gang.

I pushed against the ceiling, desperate to find the door. I needed to escape, even if it meant going back to that desolate wasteland. Jimmy pulled himself up onto the gurney, oblivious the body under him, and reached out to grab me.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to call for help, but no sound comes out. All I can do as he wraps his hands around my head is pray I'd somehow find freedom from this place, before he destroyed my soul too.

~~~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the original hospital, not the dirty one with the atrocious doctors and my dead pregnant body. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I'm not dead, and that the entire ordeal was just a dream.

"Water... Please." I croaked to the passing nurse, and she nodded and hurried away. I waited for a few minutes until she returned with water and another doctor.

"Ah, Ms. Smith, your awake. I had a feeling you would be back before the weeks end. Do you know your name, your age, where you are?" I drank the cool liquid hungrily before answering.

"I'm Marissa Jay Smith, and I'm 29. I'm in the hospital right? For a c-car crash?"

"Wonderful! You haven't seemed to suffer amnesia, and your vitals are all good." He examined me carefully, and clapped after seeing I was going to live.

"Now, there were complications to the crash. You had a punctured lung, three fractured ribs, a broken arm, and almost got your leg cut off. You have also been in a coma for the past 4 days. We fixed all the problems, though you won't be leaving for a while. And there was another thing-"

He was interrupted by Jimmy and Zacky both charging past the nurse and into the room.

"Holy fuck! You look like shit Mari." I whimpered and cowered away from them. That nightmare was fresh in my mind and I had no intention of going near either of them. Especially not Jimmy.

They both noticed my obvious fear, but Jimmy ignored it and sat next to me.

"Baby, I'm sorry about what I said to you. I was worried and angry and confused.... I love you, please forgive me." I stuttered uselessly, unsure what to say.

I mean, this guy killed someone (I know it was a dream, but it felt real enough), and was going to kill me too!! I wasn't ready to forgive and cuddle him yet.

"Excuse me," the doctor saved me, "I still have questions for Ms. Smith." He shooed the guys back, but they only sat down and stared at me.

"Anyways.... Ms. Smith, how long have you known?" I looked at the doctor in confusion.

"Known what?"

The doctor and the guys shared a look. What was it?

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Ms. Smith.... You're pregnant."

Notes

Ok, in case you guys are wondering why it's so long, we're moving so it could be a while for the updates. We don't head out until Saturday, so I want to get in as much as I can before then. There may be another update very soon, there may not be: you'll just have to wait and see :P.

Also, I'm sorry for "extra-tiz-izing" (as I call it) on Mari's whole comatose nightmare thing. I wanted to produce feels, but I don't think it quite struck that cord.... :(

Anyways, comment your thoughts, or don't. I don't mind silent readers, but I love my talkers... Naw, I love you all! Until the next update! :D