"Tommy? Why is the room spinning?" Dawn grabbed the table to steady herself, but she still felt off balance. She closed her eyes tightly shut in the hopes that the sensation would leave her. It didn't.
Tommy frowned as he looked at her. At first glance, he thought she was playing one of those peekaboo games that Michael used to be so fond of, but as he took good long look at her, he saw how her hands clutched the table and knew she wasn't playing around. "Dawn, what's wrong?" he asked, rising from his chair to go to her. He kneeled down beside her chair and tried to pry her hands from the table, but she held fast.
"No," she whispered. "I'll fall. Just make it stop spinning and I'll let go."
"Baby, it's not spinning," he said, his voice filled with concern as he accidentally included an endearment in his sentence. "Are you hot?" He placed his hand against her forehead. She didn't feel hot. Her skin felt soft and her body's temperature felt the same as his.
"Mm...good," she told him, pressing her head against his strong, hand. Her eyes fluttered opened and looked at him. "You're sooo good," she whispered softly, putting emphasis on each word. "So very good."
"Thanks," he said, slightly taken aback by her demeanor. "Dawn, I want you to listen to me. You seem delirious. Are you sick? Have you been taking any medication?"
"Uh uh," she shook her head, her eyes wide as she looked at him. "I don't take medicine. Ever. Medicine is no good."
"Okay," he said. "Um...are you sick? The flu? A cold?"
"Right as rain." She giggled and her hands flew to her ears. She leaned against him and whispered, "Did you hear that? It's so loud!"
Her sudden movement towards him threw them both off balance. Dawn fell off the chair and into Tommy's arms, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. She screamed and he pressed her to him, murmuring, "It's okay. You're safe. I got you."
The gentle pressure on her back and his soothing voice calmed her and she became quiet. Her thoughts came in jumbles, leaving her confused. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what. The ignorance frightened her and she began to cry. Her face burrowed against his neck as she pressed herself closer to him, her hands clutching his arms.
"Dawn? You're okay. Really, you are," Tommy reassured her, stroking her back and hair. The close contact of her body on his was maddening, but he knew he couldn't react to it. She was scared, and so was he. Something seriously wrong was happening to her and he had to do something about it. Now. "Dawn, you're not feeling well. I'm going to take you to the hospital so that they you can get help," Tommy spoke slowly to her. He wasn't sure if she understood, but he had to try. Gently, he began to extricate himself from her arms and legs.
"No, Tommy," she mumbled against his neck. Her body became limp as he tried to move her and the more he tried, the harder it became. She could hear his breath coming in raggedly and it sounded loud and exciting in her ears. She rested her hand on his chest and she felt the pounding. Afraid that it might split her hand in two, she moved her hand and placed it on the floor close to his backside. The temptation proved to be too much for her hand and she grabbed his rear.
"Dawn!" he yelped as she touched and caressed his backside. "Stop it! I'm taking you to the ER now!"
"No, no, no, no!" She shook her head. "Oh, no, Tommy!! It's spinning again!! Make it stop!"
"I can't," he said, trying to move them into a sitting position. She clutched him and refused to budge so the best he could do was hold her in his lap. Her face was once again burrowed in his neck and he could almost feel her lips pressed against him. He *had* to do something to help her. "Dawn, I want you to look at me," he said, softly. "Would you do that for me?"
She nodded her head slowly. With careful movements, she leaned her head away from him. Her eyes were closed tight again, but as she leaned away she opened them, squinting as she did so. Her hands closed over her ears as she whispered, "It's very loud, isn't it? The colors...so many...and they're moving so fast."
She's tripping, Tommy finally realized, as she told him about kaleidoscopes, fire-breathing dragons and the tiny men who kept staring at her. He'd read about the after-effects of some drugs, but he knew that he didn't have the capability or the knowledge to do anything for her. He *had* to take her to the ER.
"Dawn, I won't let those men near you, okay?" he asked, cupping her face and turning her head to look at him. He searched her eyes for any sign of lucidness, but he saw none. He'd have to play this very carefully. Using a conspiratorial tone, he whispered to her, "I can take care of them, but first we have to go for a little trip. Want to go?"
"Yes!" she nodded, peeking past him to look at the men who wouldn't stop glaring at her. "We have to be careful," she whispered as she looked at Tommy again. "We can't let them see where we're going."
"I won't let them see," he reassured her. With his arms around her waist, he brought them to a standing position. She held onto him tightly as she moaned about the spinning room. He told her that it would stop when they went on their trip and he then led her back to her chair. "Stay here. I have to get our coats. I'll be right back."
Tommy went into the back room where Michael's toys and cot was kept. He grabbed their coats from the bed as quickly as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. The sound of her screams sent him running back into the office. He didn't understand what had upset her so until he saw the blood. Pools of it surrounded her and was all over her hands. Immediately, he thought that she'd hurt herself, maybe cut her wrists, but after a quick inspection, he knew that was not the case.
"Is it blood?" she asked him. "Is it, Tommy? Am I bleeding?"
Tommy's eyes flew over her as he tried to determine where it was coming from. "Stand up," he said, helping her from the chair. As she stood, he saw the blood's origins. Her once blue jeans were dark with blood and it didn't look as though it was stopping.
The following moments passed quickly as Tommy ran back into the small room and grabbed the biggest towel he could find. He went back to her and as carefully as he could, he placed the towel between her legs. He then wrapped her coat around her, not bothering to place her arms inside the sleeves. He shrugged his arms into his coat and then lifted her into his arms and carried out to his car.
Fate was on their side as he sped down the snow-slicked streets of Port Charles. His first thought was to go to General Hospital, but it was too far away so he took her to Mercy instead. The admitting nurse didn't waste time with questions when she saw the blood that still continued to flow from Dawn. She instructed the orderlies to take Dawn from Tommy and they whisked her to a room.
The wait seemed like hours to Tommy as he paced in the waiting room. He'd washed his hands and cleaned his and her jackets as he best he could. And, now he was on his fifth cup of vending machine coffee. He'd briefly considered calling her family or perhaps AJ, but what could he say, he wondered. That she had a bad PCP trip and it made her...hemorrhage?? He couldn't tell them that. He'd have to wait and see what the doctors said and then, he'd place the phone call-
"Excuse me? Are you the young man who brought the young woman in?"
"Yes," Tommy said, tossing his coffee into the trash as he moved to the doctor. "How is she? Did the bleeding stop?"
"She's better. We pumped her stomach and we stabilized the hemorrhaging. I regret to inform you that we were unable to prevent the miscarriage-"
"Miscarriage?" Tommy repeated quietly. "Is she awake? Can I see her? Does she know?"
"Yes, to all of your questions," the older woman placed a hand on Tommy's arm to stop him. "You can be with her for a few minutes. We're going to admit her for overnight observation and we'll need you to complete the paperwork. My name is Dr. McIntyre. Ask for me at the front desk, and again, I'm sorry about your loss."
Tommy nodded. "Back here?" he asked, pointing down the quiet hallway.
"Yes. The third curtain on your right."
Tommy moved quickly down the hallway. He took a moment to relax and then he went inside. The sight of Dawn, lying so still on the bed scared him for a second. She looked as if she wasn't breathing, but she was. Just barely. He wondered if she was awake, but when he saw a tear stream down her cheek, he had his answer.
He went to her and reached out for her hand. She accepted and rested her hand on his. She didn't grip it or hold it. She just let it lay there.
"Dawn...I don't know what to say..."
"They told you?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the equipment behind him. "About the...baby?"
"Yeah," he whispered hoarsely. "Do you want me to call AJ?"
"No," she shook her head.
"I know it's not any of my business, but he does have a right to know."
"No, he doesn't. It wasn't his baby. Nikolas was the father," she choked out.
"Did he know?"
"Tommy, *I* didn't know!" she cried. "I killed my baby!"
"No!" he cried, sitting on the bed beside her. "You didn't kill the baby. It was an accident."
"It was no accident. It was drugs. They had to pump my stomach. They found Angel Dust in my system! PCP, Tommy! How did that get inside of me?" She started to weep.
The sight of her tears, brought tears to Tommy's eyes and he began to cry with her. He pulled her into his arms. "I don't know," he said, stroking her hair as he rocked her. "But, I'm going to find out."
He held her and rocked her until their tears subsided. He didn't release her until she removed herself from his arms. He gently wiped the tears from her face. "They're taking you upstairs and I have to go fill out your paperwork. Are you sure you don't want me to call AJ?"
"I'm sure," she nodded. "I don't want you to call anyone. Tommy, you can't tell anyone. Promise me, you won't!"
"Dawn..."
"Tommy, please! Promise me. No one can know about this night. Ever. Please, don't tell anyone," she begged.
"Dawn, I don't think that's a good idea-"
"Tommy, please!"
"Okay, I won't," he said, afraid to upset her further. "But on one condition."
"What?" she asked.
"That you don't shut me out. You shouldn't be alone right now. After I finish the paperwork, I'm coming up to your room. We don't have to talk or anything, but I can't just leave you alone."
"Agreed," she said. "Tommy, before you come to my room, could you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"I hate to ask you this..." she faltered when fresh tears clouded her eyes. She blinked them back and forced herself to continue. "Would you go back to SNR and clean up the..bl...bl..."
"Ssh," he said, squeezing her hand. "I'll do it. And, when I'm done, I'll be back."
"I'll be here."