The Nouveau Riche

By Olga Alexander

Patrick Peterson was finally home at his Peterson estate in Thomasville city after being his chosen brother’s bodyguard for the past two months.

His brother, George Jr. Jones, had a brain operation at the Lord Winsor Private Hospital. The operation was performed by Dr. Lord Winsor in Winsor Town, England.

While Patrick was guarding George from six o’clock in the morning until twelve a.m., Patrick’s agent, Kathleen James, was guarding him for six hours, from midnight until six a.m., so Patrick would get a chance to get some sleep before he started another shift in looking after his brother once again.

One day, he was just coming out of George’s room when Kathleen was about to knock on his hospital door. Out of the blue, she asked Patrick how his three-and-a-half-year-old little girl, Sabrina, was.

Patrick was shocked because no one knew that he had a little girl. He pulled Kathleen hard against his chest, whispering in her ear that she better tell him how she knew about his little girl, Sabrina, if she knew what was good for her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546210719

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© 2018 Olga Alexander. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/26/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1070-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1069-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-1071-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Dedicated to Alexander C. Alexander, my husband, my friend, and soulmate for fifty-seven years.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 1

P atrick Peterson was finally home. He arrived at the Peterson Estate in Thomasville City after spending two months as his adopted brother’s bodyguard. His brother, George Jones Jr., had a brain operation and was a patient at the Lord Windsor Private Hospital in Windsor, England. The operation was performed by His Lordship, Dr. Stefan Windsor, himself.

Patrick guarded his brother George from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. His colleague Kathleen Daniel James—like Patrick she was an operative for an international spy agency—guarded George from midnight until 6:00 the following morning, in order, for Patrick to get some needed sleep before he started another eighteen, hour shift.

One day as Patrick was just coming out of George’s room, and Kathleen James was coming on shift, out of the blue, she asked him about Sabrina, his little girl, who was three and a half years old. Patrick was shocked because no one knew he had a little girl except him, so he pulled Kathleen hard against his chest and whispered in her ear, that if she knew what was good for her, she’d would tell him right then how she knew about his young Sabrina.

If you will let me go, Patrick there is a chance you will find out, Kathleen responded. But if you don’t, I promise you I will yell rape, then you will never find out. So, tell me, Patrick, she baited him, what do you intend on doing?

Patrick gently released Kathleen, apologized in forgetting how to act like a gentleman, something his father had, began to teach him from the first day his mom brought him home from an orphanage at the age of two.

Kathleen had started working for Patrick with his own agency before she met and married her husband, Dr. Frank James Sr. She was helping him at this time because she had promised Mr. George Jones, a very good friend of hers that when the time came for him to have this very dangerous operation, Kathleen will be there to morally support him including protecting him from his secret enemies. After the death of her husband Kathleen had been forced to begin a brand-new life with her two three, year old children. Her husband Frank had acquired dossiers on all his enemies, especially, on Patrick and George. Kathleen mentioned Sabrina, in order, to let Patrick know she had the dossier. Did he want her to give it to him or let her burn it instead, so no one will be able to find out of the unusual way his little girl was brought into our world?

Patrick told her he would love to have the dossier, but at her convenience, so Kathleen opened her extra- large Channel bag, took out a large manila envelope, then handed it to Patrick, saying, ‘my opinion of you has changed because of the way you turned your life around by helping the human soul instead of using it to your advantage."

Kathleen looked after her very good friend George for a while, so Patrick Peterson was able to get some well, deserved and needed sleep. Their conversation gave Patrick hope that one day in the near, future, they would become friends once again. After he woke up, Patrick picked up Frank James’s dossier. He was amazed at the thorough investigation this evil genius had accomplished. Dr. James had photographs of Sabrina from the day she was born until the age of three. Patrick never believed he would be grateful to this man, who equally was kind at helping a tortured Soul, but also had no conscious in operating on young people to further learn how the brain worked, in order, to continue with his work to help mankind. Patrick was the one who put him away behind bars. Then one day he read how the Warden in the prison he was serving his time with no bail, Dr. James had operated on his only son and during the operation he had died. Instead of telling his family of his death, he told them their son ran away from his hospital before his operation. When the warden father found out about his son’s death on the operational table, he instigated a scheme to butcher Dr. Frank James in the same manner he had butcher his only son, using the same scalpels.

As Patrick read the dossier, he recalled that when he found out that his wife, also named Sabrina, was pregnant, he had a hard time sleeping. Patrick was worried whether this baby would be born healthy and normal, not deformed like the baby he and his then-fiancée, Ruth Woodward, lost when her womb upon sensing the deformity rejected it at once. He surfed the Internet for information about deformed babies and inventions that would be able to take the tiny embryo from the mother before it began forming into a deformed baby, then help any such baby brought into this world to be born normal in every way.

One night while surfing the internet he read an ad from a Dr. Arnold Bauer in Vienna, Austria, who had just invented an artificial womb. It could do everything a mother could do except love the baby. The doctor owned a private institution, the Bauer Clinic, on the outskirts of Vienna. Dr. Bauer was looking for volunteers willing to place their fertilized human embryos in his invention. He provided a telephone number and an e-mail address. Patrick had saved everything in his computer just in case he needed this doctor’s help.

A week later, he got a call from Dr. William Briton, a very good friend, who asked Patrick if Sabrina had taken any of the pills Dr. Roger Jeremy, her gynecologist, had prescribed for her. Tell her to destroy the pills if she hasn’t taken any, Dr. Briton insisted. They are not vitamins like Dr. Jeremy told your wife Sabrina. Dr. Jeremy gave her an unproved drug to stop her baby from forming, so the womb will automatically abort it.

Sabrina sat next to Patrick as he talked to His Lordship, Dr. Briton, and was able hear their conversation. She shook her head for no when Patrick looked at her, then Sabrina stood up, and then left to go upstairs to their bedroom. Patrick had a very good idea that Sabrina shaking her head meant she was avoiding the question. He opened his computer, found Dr. Bauer’s telephone number, picked up his cell phone, then called. Patrick asked if the doctor had space in one of his inventions.

Dr. Bauer told Patrick only one of the artificial wombs was still empty. The other four had already formed babies. Patrick decided to reserve, the last one for an hour; he promised to call back Dr. Bauer before the hour was up. The good doctor right away told him how much it would cost him for nine months. Patrick informed him they would discuss the money matter, at the end of their talk at the appropriate time for both. For now, all he wanted to do was to reserve the artificial womb for one hour, beginning immediately. Dr. Bauer agreed with Mr. Peterson, so Patrick thanked him then told the doctor he would hear from him before the hour was up.

Sabrina came downstairs, crying. She first apologized to Patrick, then she told him she did take one, of the pills after dinner. She’d believed Dr. Jeremy, who told her, the pills would enhance the growth of their baby and not what His Lordship informed him would happen.

"Agape mu, Patrick he asked, please tell me how many pills did, you take?" (my love in Greek)

"Petrackie, agape mu, I took only one, she replied, not the two Dr. Jeremy recommended I take." She made the sign of the cross, indicating she was telling her husband the truth and not avoiding him the way she did earlier.

I believe you, agape mu. He kissed her lips tenderly, then wiped her tears with his handkerchief. Patrick told her to please go upstairs to their bedroom and lie down. He called Navel North, his co-pilot, then told him to get the new jet ready, that they were going to Vienna, Austria, and to make sure to give the jet enough fuel for the return trip.

In addition to being, a secret agent, owing his own agency, Patrick owned one of the oldest most prestigious law firms in Thomasville City. He had a home office outfitted with everything he had in his downtown office. There, he found a miscellaneous contract that would do for what he had in mind. Patrick called Dr. Bauer back on his private cell number, and this time he told him what had happened to his wife. He asked if Dr. Bauer would be able to help him with his wife. The doctor informed Patrick the sooner he brought his wife, the chances of succeeding will increase.

Patrick asked the good doctor, where will he be able to land his jet. Meanwhile while they were inside the jet, he wanted to get the contract ironed out before they arrived at his clinic, so he better, get in touch with his solicitor at once on his cellphone, giving his cell number to Dr. Bauer.

Mr. Peterson, you may land your jet on the roof of our clinic, Dr. Bauer told him. And I’ll call my solicitor, then give him your cell number, but he only speaks German.

We are in luck, Doctor, proclaimed Patrick. I can speak and write fluently in four languages. And my favorite language is German. They agreed that the contract would be signed before the doctor touched Sabrina.

Patrick now had to find a way to persuade Sabrina to go to the Bauer Clinic, which was on the outskirts of Vienna, near a small town called Termizon. He entered their bedroom and told Sabrina he had to leave for a business appointment in Europe in a few minutes. He asked her if she would join him and keep him company while he flied his new jet.

I would love to join you, agape mu, on one condition. You already know what my condition is, but since you no longer trust me after I destroyed your precious Bentley, I suggest you go on your European business trip alone. I will see you when you return tomorrow.

For a minute, Patrick ignored her not-so-subtle request to fly his jet. Sabrina, how did you know I was returning back home tomorrow?

Patrackie I heard you inform Navel your co-pilot to get the jet ready for a two-way trip, but I lost interest after that, so I switched on the TV.

Sabrina, he proclaimed, I believe it’s time I begin to trust you once again. First, you have to promise me that you won’t do to my jet what you did to my Bentley. She made a face. Why are you hesitating, Sabrina? he continued. Did you, all of the sudden, get cold feet? I can understand why you might change your mind, since my jet is more powerful than the one your brother Charles lets you fly.

For some reason Sabrina was furious with him. I allowed you to get me pregnant, believing the baby will bring us closer together, she informed him, but it seems it hasn’t succeeded. I no longer want to be with you Patrick! Here is an excellent thought. Why don’t you Patrick go alone to your, across The Atlantic Ocean business appointment. But don’t be surprised if I am not here when you return, back to your precious palatial home. You Patrick didn’t try hard enough to make me feel it was my home, instead you made it a prison for me, so I may try to escape and be with my own people, who I know I can depend on their love, the way I cannot with yours!

Excuses, only excuses my dear Sabrina, hating what he was doing after confessing her feeling to him! Oh dear, Sabrina has lost her nerve and is unable to fly, Patrick continued with his sarcasm. I wonder what your brother Charles would think of you now?

A furious Sabrina grabbed her purse, hating her husband for baiting her. She walked downstairs, opened the front door, then waited for the man she knew she loved, but he didn’t return that love, not the way she wanted. Sabrina wanted to be the only one in his heart and not share him with Ruth Woodward, his ex-fiancé, who they shared a tiny dead deformed baby, unable to part from one another. It broke her heart to watch them together, so for the sake of their baby she pretended in front of them not to mind seeing them, while inside, her heart was slowly dying!

Here you are, agape mu, my jet is yours, he told Sabrina. Get in the cockpit. Then you can prove to me, just how proficient you are in flying my jet.

‘You Patrick are an unforgiven man therefore you do not deserve to see my skills. I am doing all this for my brother Charles, who I know I can always count on his love especially on his protection!"

That hit Patrick where it hurt the most—deep in his heart!

Sabrina was proficient enough to take over his jet, making it her own at this time, as if she had flown it countless of times with no reservations whatsoever. When Patrick tried to kiss her lips, she turned her head away. Disappointed, he left Sabrina to fly his jet to her heart’s content. Meanwhile, he ironed out all the details of the contract; all it needed was his signature and Dr. Bauer’s.

Sabrina, a tall slim Grecian Beauty with straight black long hair and olive, green eyes landed the jet on top of the clinic’s roof smoothly. She came out of the cockpit, then told Patrick she was thirsty. Patrick was ready with her special glass of apple juice, handed to her then watched her drink it in small gulps. Five minutes later, Sabrina fell asleep in his arms. While in his arms, he stood up cautiously, then when Navel opened the jet’s door, Patrick saw an empty stretcher with a male nurse waiting. Nearby was a man in white; he presumed that was Dr. Bauer.

Patrick placed Sabrina down on the stretcher, covered her up to her neck with the already blanket on the stretcher, in order, to keep the cold night air, kissed her lips softly, whispering to her, na me se horis agape mu, (forgive me my love, in Greek), for what he was about to do to her without her consent. But he did not want to lose their baby! He believed, deep in his heart, they were saving their helpless baby from doctors like Roger Jeremy, who believed in destroying life for the sake of stem cell research.

Dr. Bauer and Patrick introduced themselves, then together they followed the stretcher with Sabrina, covered well. They took an elevator down to the second floor; then Patrick was told to enter a small room and sit on the chair by a window. Meanwhile Dr. Bauer followed the stretcher into a surgery room that Patrick could see through a one, way window. He watched as Dr. Bauer took their tiny embryo from Sabrina’s womb, placed it in a petri dish, then covered it. When he returned to Mr. Peterson, he gave him a mask with a, hospital gown, divulging he could put them on later, then led him to another wing of the clinic on the first floor.

A very young nurse with rare beauty, opened the door, took the gown and mask from Patrick’s hand, and helped him put them on. She spoke to Patrick with a perfect American accent, then asked him to please follow Dr. Bauer.

Patrick watched as Dr. Bauer opened the artificial womb, opened the petri dish, and gently placed the very tiny embryo in the same place it had been in Sabrina’s womb, then closed and locked the incubator. Dr. Bauer showed Patrick four other versions of the invention, with the babies already formed.

Mr. Peterson, look at this, Dr. Bauer exclaimed, and Patrick saw, inside the incubator, a four-month-old already formed baby boy.

While they both were walking back to the room, where Patrick’s wife laid sedated on a stretcher, Dr. Bauer informed him that another boy was five months old, one was six months, and there was a little girl, who was seven months.

On their return, back to their Thomasville City home, Navel flew the jet this time. Patrick held a fully sedated Sabrina, tightly in his arms inside their jet bedroom. He was filled with remorse for what he did to his wife without discussing it with her first, but with Sabrina, knowing she, no longer trusted him in doing the right thing, it would have taken a long time and Patrick was aware that he didn’t have the time to give Sabrina, if he wanted to save their unborn baby!

By the next morning, they were back in their own bedroom. Just as Patrick fell asleep, he felt something touch him. Patrick opened his eyes at once and saw Sabrina, her eyes brimmed up with tears. She apologized, telling him, she wasn’t pregnant after all.

Sabrina, agape mu, what do you mean? How do you know that you didn’t lose our baby?

Patrick, I just got my period.

He looked at Sabrina and, with a straight face, he lied to her. He told her he was extremely sorry, this has happened to them, but they were still in their twenties and had plenty of time to try again and again to have another baby, knowing in his heart Sabrina was already getting ready to leave him for the people of Rutherford, who knew they revered her for her espionage work she did against The Duke to be, her other half- brother, Nikolas Rutherford.

Patrick, why do I still feel like I am pregnant?

I do not know Sabrina, agape mu, but my adopted sister Isabella might be able to explain to you why, since she is an International Psychiatrist. Come to bed, agape mu. You must be exhausted.

Patrick got down from their bed, then lifted Sabrina in his arms, placed her on the center of their bed, covering her with their comforter. He got into bed, covered himself, then he took his handkerchief and began to wipe Sabrina’s tears, telling her in Greek, how much he loved her, over and, over again, until they both fell asleep.

While their tiny embryo was inside Dr. Bauer’s invention, Sabrina continued to believe she was still pregnant. Then, tragically, she accidently fell from the top of a landing trying to assassinate Ruth Woodward, his ex- fiancé for ten million dollars. She broke her neck and died instantly. He found the certified check in her purse and was signed by Mr. George Jones, Sr., who wanted to hurt his son, George Jr. by killing his fiancé Ruth Woodward, at this time.

After Sabrina’s death, Patrick focused on keeping his law firm the number one law firm in Thomasville. The city was growing rapidly; one-third of its citizens were billionaires. His self- adopted Brother George Jr. Jones was on top of the list with his adopted sister Isabella Rutherford Jones second and third, Patrick.

Meanwhile, his baby inside that incubator Dr. Bauer invented, was growing in the usual way. Patrick was not allowed to see his baby, but in his contract with the doctor he added a clause, allowed him to call the nurse, Bernadette Pickering, as often as he wished at his expense. Miss Pickering was exquisite, like a rare flower, with dark brown curly hair. She was his little baby’s surrogate mom, looking after his baby from the outside of the incubator. One day she called Patrick and asked him to make a tape of his voice, telling his baby who he was, how much he loved his baby, how much he looked forward to see his baby and reading to. Then he was to send the tape to her as soon as possible.

When Patrick questioned her, Miss Pickering apprised. Trust me, please, Mr. Peterson and do not ask any questions. So, Patrick did just that. A month later, she called him and told him, This is off the record Mr. Peterson, but the only baby girl the clinic had in their invention … as soon as Dr. Bauer delivered her, he smacked her gently. No voice came out, and minutes later, she died. Patrick asked Miss Pickering, how his own baby was doing?

Your beautiful baby Mr. Peterson is growing and developing normally with ten precious fingers and ten precious toes and the most beautiful tiny face I have ever seen, with two eyes, two tiny ears, one tiny nose, and the most-perfectly tiny, shaped lips!

Miss Pickering, tell me, why are you, crying?

The three nurses, who looked after the three boys were infiltrators from a competitive clinic, who are working on the same invention secretly. she proclaimed with a sob. They had been paid by one of their doctors. During the night the three of them unplugged the incubators, then ran away. The next morning, when Dr. Bauer did his rounds, he found all three of the baby boys dead. He ran to find me, believing I would be involved with the other three nurses. He was very mean to me, shaking me, slapping my face, asking me if I knew about the three nurses’ scheme. She stopped to take a breath!

I am sorry, to disappoint you Mr. Peterson, but I am quitting. I didn’t come all the way to Austria from Thomasville City to have Dr. Bauer whip me with his belt for something I didn’t do! I am terrified to stay here in the clinic and see Dr. Bauer every day. If he whipped me like that once, who will stop him from doing it again? I’ve called the American embassy in Vienna, and they are coming to pick me up. I am sorry, Mr. Peterson, but I have, to leave!

Miss Pickering, Patrick asked. Please tell me to whom did you speak at the American embassy?

Mr., Peterson I spoke to so many of their people, but there was one man who was very kind to me, a Mr. Robert Fergus.

I know what I am about to ask you is extremely unfair, but I have no one else to ask. Will you please do me a favor, Miss Pickering. Please do not leave my baby alone until I get there. Will you promise me?

All right, Mr. Peterson, she agreed. I will stay until you come.

Thank you, Miss Pickering, you sweet Soul!

Patrick filled with anxiety asked Navel to pilot the jet back to Austria. During the flight, Patrick spoke to the American embassy’s Robert Fergus, who told him that Dr. Bauer had completely lost it, toke off his belt, and whipped Bernadette Pickering across her back when she stopped him from unplugging the invention. Mr. Fergus had visited Bernadette and saw the belt marks all over her back. The buckle on Dr. Bauer’s belt had drawn blood!

Mr. Peterson, Mr. Fergus imparted. I spoke to Dr. Lucas Tobias, who is Dr. Bauer’s partner in the clinic. I asked him where Dr. Bauer was? Dr. Tobias replied, once he realized what he had done, like a coward, he went into hiding. Now the Austrian police are looking for him.

Patrick told Mr. Fergus, he was on his way to Austria and would land on the roof of the Bauer Clinic in a couple of hours. He asked Mr. Fergus to stay and keep Bernadette Pickering company until he arrived. He wanted to talk to him, to seek his advice on a very personal matter, for which he would need the American Embassy’s support.

When Patrick arrived at the clinic, he went straight to the apartment Dr. Bauer had assigned to him, where the incubator with his baby was housed. Bernadette Pickering shared the apartment with his baby. The first thing he saw when Patrick entered the apartment was Bernadette Pickering in a fetal position on the sofa. That was when he realized how much this young nurse loved his baby, and for the first time he felt real love, especially compassion at this time for her! For God’s sake she was only doing her job and that animal Dr. Bauer had taken advantage. In his heart, he promised Bernadette Pickering, that he would find him, then make him pay for what he’d done to her!

Patrick bent down on one knee and touched the nurse gently on the arm. He whispered, Miss Pickering, it’s Patrick Peterson. How are you feeling, my dear?

I feel numb, Mr. Peterson, she declared, but I have all my wits about me. I’m able to look after your baby.

I can see that, Miss Pickering, he responded. I want to thank you for staying until I got here. I will stay here with you until you get well. Then you can decide what you want to do. But I promise you, I will find that rabid animal and see that he pays for what he did to you!

Thank you, Mr. Peterson. By the way, Mr. Fergus was called back to the embassy. He left only fifteen minutes ago, but he gave me his business card. I placed the card on top of the table. It has his cell phone number on it. He wants you to call him at your convenience.

I will get it later, Patrick added, ‘but is there something I can do for you Miss Pickering now?"

Will you please help me to stand up Mr. Peterson, she asked. I want to show you, your little baby for the first time. Can you help me to walk to the incubator?

Are you sure, Miss Pickering?

Yes, I am, she replied. I have been waiting with anticipation and enthusiasm for this moment. I have been looking after your, take a big breath Mr. Peterson, your little girl as if she were my own!

Miss Pickering, are you sure it’s a little girl?

Help me stand up, Mr. Peterson, so I may show you.

I have a better idea, he imparted. Patrick gently lifted her in his arms, then walked the number of steps toward the incubator. There, he placed her on her feet, holding her against him, so she wouldn’t fall. He said, Now Miss Pickering will you please introduce me to my little baby girl?

My rare flower, I want you to meet for your first time, your daddy, Mr. Patrick Peterson!

Miss Pickering, she is so tiny. You were right; she does have the most beautiful tiny face, and the most perfect tiny shaped lips. Miss Pickering she is perfect in every tiny way. Patrick decided to name her Sabrina, after her Greek Mom! It’s a pleasure to meet you, my sweet Sabrina, my agape, mu (my love). Then Patrick’s eyes began to brim up with tears because her mommy was not there to meet this precious angel of theirs!

Bernadette began to walk very slowly back towards the sofa, in order, to give Mr. Peterson and his baby girl some privacy.

Patrick was in a world of his own. He kept wiping away his tears, remembering the happy times he’d had with his beautiful Greek wife Sabrina. Life was never the same after she left this earth. Patrick prayed for this tiny Sabrina, for her life to be a happy one, the way her mommy’s, never was. He slowly bent down, then kissed his tiny Sabrina, on top of the incubator, Miss Pickering’s rare flower.

He went back to the sofa, finding Bernadette in the same fetal position, unable to sit up or lie on her back due to the beating she’d received from Dr. Bauer. Now she was able to give him the full story. Dr. Bauer had gone crazy and tried to unplug the incubator holding Patrick’s baby. When Bernadette tried to stop him, he whipped her severely on her back!

During the flight, Patrick made an appointment with Dr. Tobias to discuss the contract he had signed with Dr. Bauer. Bernadette, he called, using her first name. I will get a nurse to look after you for a while, so I may be able to see Dr. Tobias.

Mr. Peterson, I am fine, she responded. Please do not call a nurse. I look much worse than I feel.

Why don’t you show me your back, Miss Pickering, then let me be the judge about how you really feel?

Listen Mr. Peterson, she disclosed. ‘I only have a hard time standing up, but even if I was proficient of showing you my back, you as a man would never see any part of my body, especially my back. I would, appreciate, if you please stop calling me Bernadette, since I haven’t asked you to do so. I suggest you go to your appointment, and please stop worrying about me or your baby girl!"

I do apologize if I offended you, Patrick declared. But let me transfer you to another room, where you will be taken care of properly and get a chance to slowly recuperate in a peaceful environment. Or have you already made up your mind to leave my little baby girl? Patrick too anxious to find what she had decided to do, didn’t wait for the young nurse to answer. Excuse me for a moment, so I can get everything arranged for you, Miss Pickering, then Patrick left. He arranged for Bernadette to be moved to one of the clinic’s best rooms then went to meet with Dr. Tobias.

After they introduced themselves, Patrick took out his copy of the contract from his briefcase. Dr. Tobias already had his copy open on his desk.

Mr. Peterson, Dr. Tobias proclaimed. Let me assure you that your little baby is in better hands now that I have taken over the clinic. You see, I am the actual inventor of the incubator. I know more about it then my partner did. The reason that first baby girl died as soon as it was born was because Dr. Bauer didn’t know how to deliver the poor baby girl properly, even after I told him how. He wouldn’t listen to me, although I knew he would kill her! His ego let him believe he was far more superior and capable than he really was … Now Mr. Peterson, it is too risky for you to have the incubator moved. My advice to you is not to move your baby girl for the next four months.

Dr. Tobias seemed to read Patrick’s mind. If you are planning to keep Miss Pickering on, in order, to look after the baby, the doctor continued, while you stay in the clinic as well, I am afraid that is impossible.

Why is it impossible Dr. Tobias? questioned Patrick.

Mr. Peterson, The Bauer Clinic cannot allow a man to cohabit with a woman unless they are married. I am assuming you are interested in Miss Pickering, so I am advising, you to find another young nurse to look after your baby girl.

The doctor moved onto another subject. According to our contract, your baby girl has to stay close to our clinic until I pronounce her fit enough to live with you in your own home. The town is in walking distance from the clinic, so as soon as I feel it is safe, you may move her to the town, where you will be able to lease a house. Our town is open-minded, he continued, so if you are living with a woman, no one will question you.

Dr. Tobias explained that he’d, already apologized to Bernadette, who had told him something about the tragedy.

Dr. Tobias, do you know what would possess, a man like Dr. Bauer to beat an innocent young nurse with his belt?

Yes, Dr. Tobias declared. Dr. Bauer went into a fit of an animalistic rage. He was going to unplug the incubator and kill your baby. You paid him one million dollars as soon as he placed your embryo in our incubator and you promised him another one million dollars if the baby was delivered safely. After that, you were to pay two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each year for the next four years. In the rage state of mind, he was at that time he forgot everything, except take his revenge on the only nurse who remained and kill your baby to prove, just how powerful he was, not caring what his loss will cost The Bauer Clinic at the end!"

When Dr. Bauer showed me your contract, Dr. Tobias proclaimed, I knew you wanted to give him enough money to continue to modify the incubator and make it even safer. I want to thank you Mr. Peterson, for your generosity! Now you know I am advising you for both our sakes.

Patrick replied that he did indeed understand, but now he had to decide what was best for his baby girl Sabrina! He left the doctor’s office, then let himself into his apartment and was surprised to find Bernadette Pickering there, still on the sofa, in the same fetus position he’d found her when he first arrived. Miss Pickering, he asked, What are you doing in my apartment, and why aren’t you in your own room?

I have changed my mind Mr. Peterson. As long, as you allow me, I will continue to look after my rare flower!

That is out of the question, Miss Pickering, Patrick replied, unless you are willing to marry me. You see my dear, The Bauer Clinic will not allow an unmarried couple to live in the same apartment. So, if we do not marry, I will have to look for another nurse.

All right, Mr. Peterson, Bernadette declared. I will marry you, but in name only.

No dice, Miss Pickering. Patrick implied. I have already been married once, in name only, and it was hell for my wife, especially for me. I would rather find a new nurse for my baby girl.

You will never find someone like me, Mr. Peterson, but if that is what you prefer to do so, then go for it!

I most likely won’t, he declared, but marrying you is out of the question. Let me call an aide to help you move to your new room. You see Bernadette, I am looking forward to some privacy of my own! It has been an exhausting day, for me, especially a very excruciatingly painful one for you!

No need bothering anyone to call on my behalf, Mr. Peterson, Bernadette exclaimed. I will find my own way. I am glad we straightened out this whole matter amiably. This way I can leave, guilt-free.

I have changed my mind, Miss Pickering, Patrick unexpectedly declared. I would prefer you to look after Sabrina. I will see if I can persuade Dr. Tobias, given the circumstances, to bend the rules and make an exception in our case!

I am extremely disappointed in you, Mr. Peterson, proclaimed Bernadette, for taking advantage of an already thrashed and defeated human being. You are almost as bad as Dr. Bauer. You believe, since I was physically brutalized that my mind was affected as well, that my eyes were blinded, so I would jump up and say, ‘All right, I will marry you as long as you promise to allow me to choose, when we will consummate our marriage.’ But then you will end up divorcing me as soon as my rare flower gets a clean bill of health from Dr. Tobias!

It seems I have underestimated you, Miss Pickering.

You were very confident in my love for your little baby girl, Mr. Peterson Bernadette declared. I just wanted you to know that I was always conscious of your con game. We will do it your way, Sir. You for your reason, and I for mine! Now, may I suggest, that you go and lie down, so you may get some rest. You look exhausted.

Are you going to be all right, Miss Pickering if I leave you?

If we are going to be married, I suggest you start calling me Bernadette.

Thank you, Bernadette, and I insist that you call me Patrick.

Bernadette just closed her eyes. Patrick stood up, walked over to Bernadette, then kissed her lips gently. In that minute, something ignited between them, but neither one acknowledged it to one another!

Did the nurse administer your medication to you, Bernadette?

I am my own nurse, so I took my medication before you came in.

Tell me, Bernadette, do you remember my first name?

Yes, of course, I do.

Then I insist you use it!

Get lost, Patrick! Will that do for you?

For the time being it has, to, he responded. I’ll see you later, Bernadette. Thank you for staying to help me and our tiny rare flower, Sabrina!

‘You are welcome, Patrick. Now go before you drop on the floor. One invalid in this apartment is more than enough."

Patrick landed his jet on top of the roof, then told his co-pilot Navel to go back to the bed-and-breakfast where he had been living; he’d call if he needed the jet. He took the elevator down to the apartment section of the clinic, went to his secret apartment, and deposited all the shopping he’d done in Vienna that day. Then he let himself into the apartment he shared with Bernadette.

It is about time you got home, Patrick, an angry Bernadette shouted. You left before I was up, and you should never do that unless you first wake me up. One of us should always be watching baby Sabrina!

Good evening, Bernadette, he said, ignoring her anger at him, then he took her in his arms and kissed her on her lips. After a whole week of taking you in my arms, kissing you hello and goodbye, you haven’t returned even one of my kisses my dear. That tells me you do not want to be kissed by me! From now on, I promise you, I won’t kiss you again. Has our dinner arrived yet?

I was really worried about you, Patrick, especially when you fly that jet of yours. You didn’t call me once; then you expect me to return your kiss? You are selfish, Patrick Peterson! You know that I still have nightmares about Dr. Bauer coming back, hurting me and this time succeeding in killing Sabrina!

You never told me about any nightmares, Bernadette. If you had, I wouldn’t have stayed out as long as I did.

Tell me Patrick, when you hear me crying at night, do you think I do that for my own pleasure!

No, Bernadette, I presumed you were crying because you didn’t want to marry me, that only your desire to be with Sabrina was making you do it!

Well, you were wrong. I want to marry you for us first and then for Sabrina!

Tell me, Bernadette, when did you realize you wanted to marry me?

A couple of hours ago. When you didn’t call, I thought you’d had an accident.

You didn’t look very happy to see me when I arrived home, Patrick remarked.

I was very angry at you for making me worry all day for you,’ Bernadette confessed, so I wasn’t going to show you my emotions. Now I suggest we drop the subject, so you can see baby Sabrina. You haven’t seen her at all today. While you are seeing Sabrina, I will check on what is taking so long for them to bring our dinner. For what they are charging you, they should always bring it on time."

Bernadette, the housekeeper still has fifteen minutes, so she is not late.

When did you decide to hire a housekeeper, Patrick?

A couple of days after you told me you would marry me. ‘Why are you so inquisitive in wanting to know Bernadette?

I was just being curious.

Tell me, Bernadette, when do you want us to get married?

Since you are giving the orders around here Patrick, why don’t you decide? Then let me know, so I can get ready.

Bernadette, why don’t you have your dinner alone tonight? I am too tired to eat, so I will go to my room and go to bed. I will see you in the morning.

In that case, I will cancel dinner, she volunteered. I will ask your housekeeper to give the food to someone who really is hungry. Meanwhile, I will go to my sofa and watch my rare flower until I fall asleep.

Her name is Sabrina, Bernadette. Please remember that in the future.

To you, Mr. Peterson, her name is Sabrina. The whiplashes on my back beg to differ. Since I saved her life I can call her my rare flower, and don’t you forget that! By the way, I want to thank you for promising not to kiss me. Now I can look forward to waking up once again each morning. You think that I am so obtuse, unable to see how you tried to manipulate me, in order, to get your way? It might have worked with your ex-fiancée Ruth Woodward, including your wife Sabrina, but it will not work with me!

After Bernadette cancelled their dinner, she went to her bedroom, opened her jewelry box and found the ring she’d planned to give to the man, one day she would marry; who would love, but most of all respect her! Before she took the bus to The Bauer Clinic to begin her nursing position, Bernadette decided to go shopping in Vienna. While she was window shopping she found an out of the way small jewelry shop, so she decided to go in and browse around. She found this intricate antique ring completely black. She did not know if it was real gold or gold plate, so she asked the owner how much she wanted for the ring. The woman looked at her, then told her one hundred American dollars, and it was hers. Bernadette took her last five twenty, dollar bills from her wallet, then handed them to the shop owner. The owner placed the ring in her hand and Bernadette placed it inside her purse.

Bernadette after buying her ring she hired a cab, then asked the driver to drive her to the bus terminal that would take her to The Bauer Clinic. Two hours later she entered the nursing house at the clinic then was escorted by one of the nurses to her room. She unpacked her one large suitcase, placing her clothes inside the one dresser in her small room, that included one chair, and one plain hospital single bed. She found her jewelry cleanser, then cleaned the ring she’d bought. Bernadette had difficulty cleaning inside the design of the ring, so she took the glass from her small bathroom, poured one-third of the jewelry cleanser in the glass, added water, and mixed it together with one of her long bobby pins. Then she placed the ring inside the mixture.

For a whole month, she stirred the mixture in the glass every time she got a chance. Finally, curiosity got the better of her, so she took out the ring and rinsed it with water from the bathroom faucet, until all the cleanser had completely washed down the drain. In Bernadette’s hand was the most intricate beautiful man’s ring she had ever seen. The engraving inside the ring told her it was a fourteen-karat gold ring made in Austria.

She’d had it appraised by a jeweler in Termizon, who said it was an antique and in the current market was worth up to one hundred thousand Euro dollars, so he asked her if she wanted him to sell it for her. She told the jeweler no: because some day she intended to propose to her future husband with it, but only if he loved her and, most important of all, respected her!

Bernadette took the cloth and shined the ring, once again, so it would always look brand new; then she placed it back in her jewelry box and closed it. She picked up her book and went in the sitting room where her rare flower always stayed, looked at her, and made sure that she was fine. When she saw the baby Sabrina’s right leg kick twice in a row, Bernadette knew their baby girl’s heart was beating. She began to cry with gladness. Welcome in our hearts Sabrina, you precious baby girl!

Bernadette was trying to decide whether to knock on Patrick’s door, when she heard a key in the front door. Patrick opened the door and came in, carrying a large paper bag. He had left Bernadette alone once again.

I didn’t go out, Bernadette, he exclaimed, so stop giving me the evil eye!

Well, now that you are back, you can look after Sabrina, she told him. I will leave the two of you alone since you haven’t seen her all day! Then Bernadette went to her bedroom.’

I brought food, Patrick called out.

Then bon appetite, Mr. Peterson, Bernadette called right back.

Bernadette’s bedroom door was slightly open, so Patrick knocked on her door. For some reason she wasn’t able, to answer; he walked in and heard her shower running so he placed her share of the food on her coffee table at the end of her bed. Just then he saw Bernadette, wearing only her bikini underwear, walking towards the bathroom. He could see the belt marks all over her back, especially the three scars, still raw, that had been caused by the belt buckle. Patrick thought, since she hadn’t seen him, he decided to walkout quietly and backward out of the room. He just made it to his own bathroom, where he retched, his guts out. What kind of an animal was Dr. Bauer to do that to a young woman who was only trying to protect an innocent baby?

Patrick, stood up, flushed the toilet, switched on the shower, then took his clothes off, entered the shower stall, and scrubbed his body. He wanted to dispel the shock he felt when he saw Bernadette’s back. That back was beautiful once, he thought. He wondered if a plastic surgeon might be able to reconstruct and remove the scars.

He put on his pajamas and silk robe, tying the robe securely. Then he entered the sitting room and watched tiny Sabrina, waiting for Bernadette to come in. He didn’t know how long he stood there; while his eyes looked at Sabrina, his mind was on Bernadette’s back!

Bernadette, wearing a black velvet housecoat, walked to the sitting room and lay down on the sofa, as she had so many times that week.

Patrick sitting on the same sofa turned toward her. Bernadette, I want you to tell me how Dr. Tobias is treating your back, he questioned. I want the truth, Bernadette and not the act you have been putting on for my benefit. I know you’ve been lying to me, so I won’t move Sabrina from this sitting room. But technically and medically, Sabrina is not alive yet. Therefore, I can take a chance and move her to another hospital. I promise you, where I go, Dr. Tobias will go. He will deliver Sabrina. You don’t have to marry me!

You saw my back, didn’t you Mr. Peterson, so now I am damaged goods and not good enough for you to marry me?

Patrick hadn’t realized she had seen him in her room, but he ignored her question. Talk to me only about your back and nothing else, Bernadette, please!

Dr. Tobias injects me every morning with a painkilling drug, she edified him, so I am never in pain, but I do have the nightmares.

Tell me, again Bernadette, how this happened to you. I’m still not clear about this whole brutal incident.

Bernadette took a deep breath and told her story, giving more details than she had before.

Dr. Bauer let himself in my apartment with the master key. I was sitting on the sofa, watching the baby. I knew he wasn’t himself because he left my door open. He walked toward me, calling me names, telling me I had killed the baby boys. He kept shaking me, yelling at me to confess, saying that I was part of the conspiracy to destroy the clinic, like the other nurses. When I told him, I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, he slapped my face, saying, I may as well let your baby die the way you let my babies die!

‘‘You bastard! I yelled at him, if you think I am going to let you do this, you are much crazier than you look!"

I will show you just how crazy I am, you little fucking bitch! he said in German. He took his belt off and was about to use it on my face, but I got away. I ran to where the incubator was plugged in the socket and covered the plug with my body, holding my face down as I waited for the first lash. When it hit, me I screamed. He continued lashing me, and I screamed louder, then even more louder! The pain was excruciating!"

Then two huge men wearing white uniforms arrived. One of them grabbed Dr. Bauer’s belt from his hand and began to whip the doctor, his eyes were brimmed up with angry tears. I looked at the man and whispered to please stop, wiping his eyes with the palm of my hand. The man threw Dr. Bauer over his shoulder, then left. Dr. Tobias came in, injected me with something for the pain, and a few minutes later I fell asleep.

Today, she continued, a plastic surgeon came and examined my back. He said he would use some kind, of a laser machine to take the lash marks away, but first the three belt-buckle scars have, to heal. They are below my waist line, so I am lucky in that sense.

Mr. Peterson, I am lucky! I am alive today because Dr. Bauer forgot to close my door, so people could hear my screams. If those two men hadn’t come in, especially the one who was strong enough to take the belt from Dr. Bauer’s hand, that animal would have crippled my back for life!

But Bernadette was eager to change the subject. There’s something more important I must tell you, enthusiastically she disclosed. "Please call Dr. Tobias, then ask him to come and see baby Sabrina tomorrow, and to bring his equipment. I want you both to hear her heartbeat. I know it is there because I saw her move her tiny right leg twice in a row, making me aware that she has a tiny soul in that incubator machine!

I promise you, I will stay until Dr. Tobias delivers Sabrina; then you can return to your home. And once you are able, to move Sabrina, you will no longer need me. I will return, back home to Thomasville City, USA, where I am originally from, so my commitment to marry you is null and void. Now go back to your room, free as a bird once again, and leave me alone to do my job, Mr. Peterson.

You are forgetting you made a commitment, Bernadette, and signed on the dotted line.

There is a clause in our agreement Mr. Peterson, that states, if I change my mind and decide to stay until your baby is delivered, the agreement becomes null and void!

I don’t believe you should live alone, Bernadette, not while Dr. Bauer is still free. You need me!

Mr. Peterson, I managed for a whole week without you here most of the time, she reminded him. You haven’t been much of a help to me so far, and that’s how I know I will survive without you!

As you wish, Bernadette, Patrick stated. Then he went back to his room, taking his food with him.

The next morning, Dr. Tobias arrived, carrying his equipment. Patrick was able to hear his little girl’s heartbeat. When Patrick asked Bernadette if she wanted to listen, she gracefully declined, telling him she was his little girl but her patient. That hurt Patrick acutely and he wondered why, when a few days earlier he would have been glad if she’d called Sabrina her patient. Patrick kissed his baby girl, then left the clinic the same way he arrived.

Four months later, he flew back to the clinic to watch Dr. Tobias deliver his baby girl. Patrick heard her sweet cry, that automatically brought tears in his eyes! Then he watched the good doctor give her to Bernadette, who washed her, weighed her, and then dressed her in a diaper, T-shirt, and white gown. Patrick watched Bernadette bundle Sabrina in a pink blanket. Then she placed the baby in his arms, saying, Here is Sabrina, your baby girl Sir and congratulations!

She is your little girl too, Bernadette!

No, Mr. Peterson. You never wanted baby Sabrina to be my little girl! Now she is Nurse Cooper’s patient. Goodbye. Bernadette left the delivery room, and Nurse Cooper took over right away.

Bernadette packed her suitcase and waited for a cab to take her to the bus station. The town had only two cabs, so she knew she’d have to wait for a while. She sat down on a bench outside the clinic. Patrick came outside and sat down next to her.

Is anything the matter, Mr. Peterson?

You left so abruptly, you didn’t give me a chance to thank you for looking after my little baby girl!

Well, now you have! Now go back and play nice with your buddy Dr. Bauer!

Bernadette, you can’t leave me like this, with a new nurse who doesn’t know a thing about my little girl.

Have you forgotten Mr. Peterson–that it was you who left me once you saw my back! At least, I kept my word and looked after your baby; although I was in constant fear, knowing that Dr. Arnold Bauer was already secretly working in his clinic!

You are the one who broke our agreement, Bernadette, Patrick insisted.

Tell me, she emphasized, "when did I break our agreement? Was it before or after you looked at my damaged back Mr. Peterson?

I made it easy for you to leave, she disclosed, and like a coward, Mr. Peterson you did just that!

Bernadette’s cab arrived, so she pulled her suitcase and walked toward the cab. Luca, the young man who owned the cab, placed her suitcase in the trunk, while Bernadette got in the back, closed the door, and put on her seatbelt. Luca drove her to the bus station.

Ten hours later Bernadette was back in her apartment, and a week later she was back at Thomasville General Hospital, one of five nurses who looked after newborns. Those four months she’d spent looking after Sabrina were filled with terror of fear—for herself, certainly, but also for Sabrina. She knew while she was looking after Sabrina, Dr. Bauer had returned and secretly began to work again because she had been too scared to press charges against him. She worried that he might kill her little rare flower!

Her back was back to normal except for the belt-buckle scars. Thank God, they were not as noticeable! Life without her rare flower was not the same. Every night, Bernadette would cry herself to sleep; in the morning, she’d get up and go to work, and then return home to an empty apartment.

Three months later, Patrick called her at work and informed her Sabrina was losing instead of gaining weight.

She is no longer my patient Mr. Peterson, Bernadette reminded him once again. You, are a lucky man now that you have both her doctors there. Why, you even forgave your new buddy Dr. Bauer, after what he did to me, and you have the gall to call me? Bernadette angry as hell, hung up on him!

That night Bernadette called Dr. Tobias, and they discussed her rare flower, baby Sabrina. Dr. Tobias sadly informed her, he was going to lose baby Sabrina, because he didn’t know how to help her. He asked Bernadette to please return, back to the clinic and look after the innocent helpless little soul.

Living in the clinic for another year, especially now that Dr. Bauer is in charge once again, is out of the question, Bernadette exclaimed. "If I were you, Dr. Tobias, I would make sure he is not causing this problem because he wants baby Sabrina dead. Remember, he failed once before to kill her!"

Dr. Tobias told her that he and Mr. Peterson had talked about that, so they hired a bodyguard to secretly keep an eye on Dr. Bauer whereabouts concerning his baby girl. But so far, he hadn’t even seen the baby girl.

I am sorry, Dr. Tobias but I don’t trust your clinic, and I have three scars that will never go away to remind me every day of the nightmare that I went through. If I have, to watch him work, my nightmares will increase. Goodbye.

The following night, her doorbell rang. Bernadette asked, Who is it?

Miss Pickering its Patrick Peterson!

What do you want Mr. Peterson?

I want to talk to you Miss Pickering!

Talk to me tomorrow at the hospital.

By then it might be too late, Bernadette. You see our Sabrina is dying!

Go and wait in your car, Mr. Peterson, while I pack my suitcase. I will be with you as soon as possible. Half an hour later, she walked out of her apartment building. Patrick was waiting for her. He took her suitcase with one of his hand and with the other, her hand, then walked her to his car. He placed her suitcase inside the trunk of the Bentley, opened the door to the front passenger seat. Bernadette got in and buckled her seatbelt; then Patrick closed the door. He got into the driver’s seat, looked at Bernadette, and expressed his gratitude for her going with him by saying Thank you, Bernadette!

You are welcome, Mr. Peterson!

That’s all that they said to one and other until they entered the apartment, double the size of the previous one, in what was now called the Tobias Clinic. Patrick led Bernadette to the sitting room, where a pink bassinet stood instead of the incubator. She asked Mr. Peterson where she could wash her hands, so he showed her. He washed his hands too, then they went to the sitting room where