Today Ambria was going for her two-month MRI checkup, and Dustin had taken the day off to be with her, as they both were scared of what the test would show. The two of them sat there quietly holding hands while they waited for Ambria’s name to be called. She wouldn’t know the results until tomorrow when she saw Dr. Howard, whose office was just down the hall, but she was sure if it were bad news; he would call and tell her sooner. The headaches hadn’t return, but she was still worried the tumor may have grown. When her it was time for her test, they stood and Dustin gave her a quick kiss on lips.

“I love you and wish I could go in with you.” His eyes were filled with his love.

“I wish you could too,” she said, then left to follow the nurse.

During the procedure, afraid of what the test was going to show, Ambria’s mind began thinking of the worst-case scenario, which was she was dying. If she were, would it be fast? Would it be painful? Would she have the baby before her time came? Would she have time to say goodbye to her husband before she took her last breath? She was afraid to think of the answers to her all her questions and began to cry.

After the procedure, the technician asked her to wait outside in the waiting room instead of leaving, and all she could think about was she had cancer and was dying. She joined Dustin in the waiting room, telling him she was told to wait. They held hands, watching and waiting for someone to come out to tell them the results of her test. When the outside door of the office opened, they didn’t even turn to look, assuming it was someone coming in for their appointment.

Dr. Howard entered the office and when he saw them staring at the other door, he call Ambria’s name to get her attention. Dustin and Ambria jumped, turning to look at the doctor.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He walked to them, then sat down next to Ambria.

“You have bad news, don’t you? That’s why you’re here, isn’t?” she cried, squeezing Dustin’s hand to the point of pain.

“No, not at all,” he assured her as he took hold of her other hand. “Because of the baby, I thought it would be best for you to know the results of the test today instead of waiting for tomorrow.”

“Then you have good news for us?” Dustin asking the question Ambria couldn’t find the courage to pose.

“The tumor hasn’t grown.”

Ambria and Dustin let out sighs of relief.

“Now I don’t want you to get too excited, the tumor hasn’t shrunk either.” When the couple nodded at his comment, he continued. “I want you to make another appointment, scheduling it for two months from today. If this test shows no change, or even a decrease in the tumor’s size, we schedule the next appointment for four months, and then so on. If it has changed for the worst in anyway, we’ll decide then what you want to do. Will that work for you?” His eyes watched her carefully, wondering how she was accepting his report.

“Yes, it does. Thank you so much for coming and telling me this today. I don’t think I would have slept a wink tonight worrying about the results.”

“I’ll just add this call to your bill,” he teased.

“It was worth it,” Dustin replied.

Dr. Howard said good-bye, and after he left the office; Ambria went to the receptionist to schedule her next appointment. When she was done, Dustin told her they were going out to do some shopping for baby stuff, but Ambria vetoed the idea, saying she wasn’t ready to buy any baby’s furniture just yet, as she was still afraid she might die.

Dustin wanted to brighten her outlook, but no matter what he said or did, her mood remained dark and sad. Finally, he gave up trying to cheer her up. The drive back to the house was a quiet one, and as soon as they arrived at the house, she went to the bedroom to lie down. Dustin wanted to join her, maybe even fool around a bit, but he was afraid she’d turn him down, so he didn’t even bother to ask.

She waited for Dustin to join her in bed, but when he never showed up, she closed her eyes and went to sleep. When she woke from her nap, she decided instead of being sad the tumor hadn’t shrunk, she should be glad it hadn’t grown. Who knew how long the tumor had been in her head, as it could have been there for years. Since she had been so gloomy since they’d left the doctors, she left the bedroom and went to find Dustin to make it up to him. She found him on the couch reading a book and hurried towards him.

“Dustin, I’m sorry for my earlier sour disposition. I had been hoping to hear the tumor had shrunk, and when the doctor told me it hadn’t, I was upset.”

Dustin reached over and took hold of her hand. “I’m sorry. I just felt you were blocking me out and it hurt my feelings.”

“Dustin, I’ll try to do better in expressing my concerns.”

The phone rang and Dustin answered it. “Hello?”

“This is Martin Maxwell.”

“Is something wrong?”

“A two-year old toddler has vanished from her home and I wondered if Ambria might know something about her.”

“Just a minute.” Dustin turned to his wife and handed her the phone. “It’s Martin Maxwell.”

“This is Ambria, what do you need?”

“I have a missing two-year old girl. Do you know anything?”

“I don’t think so.” She looked at Dustin and he shook his head. “No, I haven’t had any dreams about any children lately. What can you tell me about this case?”

“She was taken from her bed during the night. A typed note was left telling them not to call the police, stating they wouldn’t ever see the child again and they knew why. The parents deny knowing the reason why the child had been taken, but I think they know.”

“Do you think she was taken by someone she knew?” she asked, disappointed she didn’t know anything to help find the child.

“We aren’t sure. The parents weren’t even the one to call us, but I don’t know if it was because of the letter or for some other reason. The babysitter called us when she was told she was no longer needed, and when she asked why, they told her the child was gone and wouldn’t be returning to them. She thought it was suspicious, so she called us. I think there’s something going on the parents won’t talk about, but I’m not sure what it is.”

“I wish I could answer your questions.”

“If you should dream something regarding the child, I’d appreciate you calling as soon as you can.”

“I will.” After she hung up, she turned to Dustin. Taking hold of his hand, she explained the situation to him. “Now I’m going to worry every time I go to sleep. What if I never dream about her?”

He tightened his grip on her hand. “Honey, maybe this is one child you won’t be able to help.”

“Why do you say that?” Panic filled her eyes.

“We don’t know why you had this capability in the first place. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with the tumor, maybe it was just some sort of phenomenon or fluke and it has disappeared just as suddenly as it came.”

“I guess you could be right. Maybe it’s for the best. Those dreams were pretty scary.”

“Come on, let’s go out to dinner. After a day like today, you deserve not to have to fix dinner.”

“You won’t hear me arguing with you. I’m hungry for Mexican, how about you?”

“As long as Junior doesn’t mind, it’s fine with me.”

They had a nice dinner, then spent a quiet evening watching television. At nine, Ambria started for bed, while Dustin said he wanted to watch the news. When he did come to bed, he heard Ambria moaning in her sleep. Thinking dinner was talking back to her, he went into the bathroom to get some antacids and went to wake her. He had just put his hand on her arm to shake her awake when she screamed and sat straight up in bed, her eyes wide open and filled with fear.

“Ambria, what is it?” he asked, grabbing hold of her, thinking something was wrong with the baby.

“I saw the child.”

He didn’t need to ask which child she was referring. “Is she alive?”

“Yes and she’s safe. In fact, according to my dream, she’s with her biological mother.”

“How can that be?” he asked, anxious for her reply.

“If I interpreted the dream right, the parents were never married and the biological mother had legal custody of the infant. When the child was about a year, the biological father kidnapped the child because his new wife was sterile and they wanted a baby.”

“You better call Martin.”

Ambria call the detective to explain her dream to him, then waited for his response.

“So you’re saying the custodian parent kidnapped the child back?” He frowned, as this wasn’t the information he’d been expecting.

“Yes.”

“I wonder why she didn’t get the police involved when the child was first taken.”

“I think it had to with the father threatening the mother somehow. He had money to fight for custody, whereas the mother couldn’t afford a long drawn out legal dispute.”

“I’ll check into this and get back to you later. Thanks for your help.”

“I was glad to do it.”

When Martin called them back an hour later, he told them the father had denied Ambria’s dream, saying the child was theirs, even though when they went through his wife’s medical records, there was proof they were lying. They were both arrested and charged with kidnapping. When they went to the biological mother’s home, she was relieved to know her child was safe from the child’s father and his wife. When they told her there wouldn’t be any criminal charges against her for retrieving her daughter back, she cried with relief.

Ambria was glad another child had been found and returned to where they belong. As the next few weeks passed, she was able to return several more children with their families, each with a happy ending. Even though so far all the children had been found safe and unharmed, she still worried that one of these times she wouldn’t be able to find a child in time to save their life.

* * *

With having a good report from the doctors, they decided now would be a good time to go visit Dustin’s parents. They ordered their train tickets on-line, then the day of the trip, they drove to the train station and were excited as young children waiting for Christmas. The trip went quickly for them and soon they were at his parents’ home. Delbert and Sharon welcomed her into their home, making her feel they were glad she had married their son.

Ambria told them about her tumor and the baby and they made plans for his parents to come stay with them after the baby came. Before they knew it, the weekend was over and it was time for them to return home.

On the way home, Ambria fell asleep, but Dustin was too concerned about his wife to relax. He kept wondering what he would do if she should die because he wasn’t sure if he would want to live without her. Then he thought of his child she carried and knew if the baby survived, he had to been there for their baby. He rested his hand on her belly, praying she would live a full life, carry the baby to term, that it would be healthy, and both of them would be tumor free.