Ambria saw a crying child who looked to be about nine or ten hiking through the wooded area. By the way, he was walking, it appeared he was lost, for he seemed to be walking in circles. He was wearing a bright yellow windbreaker, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. As she looked around the area, it appeared to be familiar to her, but wasn’t sure why, as she couldn’t place it. She wanted to comfort the child so she extended her arms out to him, but she wasn’t able to touch him because something was forcing her arms down to her side.

Dustin was in awe as he watched Ambria raised both of her arms as if she was trying to grasp something to her. This was the first movement she’d done since her surgery and he hoped it was a good sign. When he gently pushed them down to her side, she became agitated and he quickly became worried. He didn’t know what else to do, so he told her she was having a bad dream as he softly stroked her face.

When his words seemed to help, Dustin started telling her the story of their courtship and about the daughter, they were expecting, but she still didn’t open her eyes. He continued to talk to her and when she started responding with a nod, he knew it wouldn’t be long before she would be completely awake.

She became angry when something had prevented her from getting to the child and began to fight them. Then she heard a voice filled with love and a hand gently touching her face, she relaxed and quit struggling. As she awoke, her first thought was she was dead, but the more she became aware of the man’s voice, the more it reminded her of Dustin, the man she loved.

“Ambria, it’s time for you to wake up,” he called.

“Am I dead?” she asked, her eyes remaining closed.

“If you would open your eyes, you’d see you’re very much alive.”

Slowly she opened her eyes and saw her husband looking back at her. “I know you, don’t I?” she asked, unsure if he was her imagination or not.

Her question filled him with an instant panic, causing him to worry she may have amnesia or worst, brain damage. He quickly said a prayer, hoping she was teasing. “Should I kiss you to refresh your memory?” he asked boldly, just in case she was teasing him.

“Most definitely,” she replied happily.

Relief shot through him by her words, then he bent down to give her a quick kiss. When he leaned back in his chair, he gave her a smile. “Now do you know who I am?”

“Well, I thought you might be my husband, but I’m sure he would have given me a better kiss than that one,”

“Really?” He gave her a look as if to say he was in deep thought about her comment. “Maybe I should try again. If it’s all right with you?”

“By all means, please try again,” she replied, her eye twinkling at him. This time his kiss was full of passion, so much so Ambria pulled him down onto the bed with her.

He fell beside her on the bed, his body coming to rest against hers. Slowly he removed his lips from her and gave her a sexy grin. “Was that better?”

“Yep,” she said, smiling at him. “Now I know you’re my husband.”

“How are you feeling? Any pain?”

“My head is throbbing, but I guess I’m going to live.” She looked into his eyes, closely watching his expression. “I am going to live, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are,” he said, smiling at her as he took hold of her hand.

She took her free hand and touched her head, surprised to feel she still had hair. “I have hair.”

“They had to shave part of your head, but it was low enough on your head that most of your hair will obscure the bald spot.”

“How come I’m alive?”

“Would you believe the tumor stopped the bullet from hitting your brain, so in a way, it saved your life.”

“Is it still in me?” she asked, her voice slightly shaking.

“No, the surgeon took it out when they removed the bullet.”

“And?”

“It wasn’t malignant. You and the baby are going to be fine.”

Ambria’s hands quickly moved down to her belly and smiled when she felt the child inside of her give a light kick, as to say, “I’m okay.” She turned to face Dustin. “When can I go home?”

Dustin laughed. “You just woke up from a week coma and you’re already asking when you can go home.”

“I was in a coma for a week?”

“Yes. Removing the tumor caused your brain to swell, which produced a coma.”

“Do I have any brain damage?”

Dustin wanted to laugh at her question, but just in case it would hurt her feelings, he didn’t dare. “No, the tumor was resting against your brain, not in it.”

“You’re sure the tumor is completely gone?” she asked, too afraid it could still be there.

“Yes, it is.”

“Does the doctor think it will come back?”

“He’s not sure. He wants you to have another MRI before you leave the hospital just to make sure everything is fine.”

“I would feel better knowing it’s completely gone.”

“If you feel like it, you should call your mother and let her know you’re awake. She’d been here most of the day, but she went home when I arrived today.”

Before Dustin could dial the phone for her, her room door opened and they both looked at the door to see who was there. When he saw it Martin Maxwell, he quickly sat up and hurried off the bed. “Detective Maxwell, what are you doing here?”

He felt he should apologize for being caught in his wife’s bed, but didn’t, she was his wife after all. Besides, if the detective had knocked before entering, Dustin would have been off the bed before the man came into the room.

“I came to check on Mrs. Crenshaw. It’s good to see you awake.”

“I just woke up.” She watched as the detective studied her. “What is it?”

“We have another missing child and I stopped by to see if you might know if you’ve seen him.”

“The tumor has been removed, and since we felt it was what had made me have those visions in the first place, I doubt if I can help you.”

“You don’t happen to remember any dreams you may have had?”

Ambria tried to remember what she’d been dreaming about just moments before she’d opened her eyes and an image of a young boy came to mind. “I remember dreaming about a young boy who appeared to be lost,” she said slowly, then waited for his response.

“Did you recognize anything around him to help us to find him?”

Ambria was astonished she still had the capability to see these children. She quickly looked over at Dustin. “I thought it was because of the tumor I had these visions, now I know that isn’t so.”

“Well?” Martin prompted.

Ambria glanced back at Martin. “I’m sorry, your question sort of put me into a state of shock. I wasn’t expecting to still be able to do this.”

Martin nodded at her statement, but was impatient for her to continue.

“I remember seeing a child crying,” she started, but stop and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the boy. “He was in a wooded area and seemed to going around in circles.”

“Can you see what he’s wearing?”

“He was wearing a bright yellow windbreaker, a pair of blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.”

“That’s him. Go on.”

“I remember seeing a lot of trees surrounding him. The place seemed familiar to me, but I don’t know why.”

“It isn’t much to go on. Anything else?” he asked hopefully.

“I’m sorry, that’s all I remember.”

“It’s okay. At least we know he’s alive. That’s more than we hoped for.”

“How long has he been missing?”

“A group of Boy Scouts went up to Watkins Woolen Mill State Park for the weekend. He was separated from the rest of the group today just after lunch.”

“Now I know why the area seemed familiar. I’ve been to park before, but it had been several years since I’ve been there. I believe it is a National Historic Landmark.”

“Yes, that’s right. The mill was once a 19th century textile mill and it’s the only one in the country with its original machinery still intact. There is about four miles of paved bicycle trail encircling the lake, and has several picnic and camping sites.”

She glanced over at the clock and saw it was almost three in the afternoon, plenty of time to find him before it got dark. Now all she had to do was to try to explain to Martin how to find the boy. “I’ll try to describe where I saw him last.” She closed her eyes, bringing the boy’s image to her mind again. Then she told the detective which direction they should go to look for the boy.

Martin dialed his cell phone and told the person who answered how to find the boy, then disconnected the phone. “Someone will call me back as soon the boy is found,” he said, then nervously cleared his throat, giving her a weak smile. “I want you to know how bad I feel for coming here today to ask about the boy.”

Ambria reached out and took hold of his hand. “Don’t give it another thought. I’m just glad I was able to be of some help. I just hope he’s found safe and unharmed.”

Twenty minutes later, Martin’s cell phone rang.

“Detective Maxwell,” he answered. As he listened to what the caller had to tell him, he started smiling, then gave Dustin and Ambria the thumb-up gesture. “Thanks for calling. Yes, I’ll let her know.” He disconnected the call, then looked up. “The boy has been found and other than a few scratches, a bit sunburned, he’s in great condition. His family sends you their thanks,” he said, then waved good-bye as he left the room.

After the door closed behind him, neither of them spoke, each thinking about the phenomenon she had experienced again.

“I guess this means we’re still going to have to keep track of your dreams.”

Ambria turned to look at her husband. “I don’t understand. Are the doctors sure they got the entire tumor?”

“They believe they did. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “So there could still be a tumor somewhere in my head?”

He grabbed hold of her hand. “Ambria, don’t think that way.”

“I still have the gift of seeing these lost people. If the tumor had been the cause of it and I still have the capability, then that means there still something in my head,” she said tearfully.

“Ambria, it just means something else was causing your ability. Let me call the nurse so they can inform the doctor you’re a wake.”

An hour later, the doctor entered her room to check her out. His examination went quickly, and he told her she would have another MRI tomorrow, then they would know for sure. He wanted her to rest and not to worry about having another tumor, as he thought it was unlikely she had another one.

She told Dustin he might as well go to work tomorrow since there wasn’t anything he could do for her here and she would call him if she needed him. He didn’t like her suggestion even though it made sense for him to go on to work. Dustin stayed with her until nine, then he left, promising he'd return tomorrow after work.

She didn’t sleep well that night, nor did she eat much of her breakfast the next morning, as she was too afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep it down. After she pushed the tray away, she called Dustin and they talked for a few minutes. Later a nurse helped her out of bed and made her walk up and down the hall several times. When she got back to her room, she was so exhausted from the walk that she quickly went asleep, her dreams free of any kind of crisis.

An hour later when she heard a noise, she opened her eyes to see an orderly there to take her for her MRI, and when the test was over, he took her back to her room. Now all she had to do was wait for the doctor to tell her what the test showed. When her dinner came, she tried to eat, but her stomach rebelled so badly she finally gave up and called the nurse to ask for something to settle her stomach. When her door opened, she was expecting to see the nurse with the medicine, but instead it was Dustin. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw it wasn’t even five yet. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you for another hour.”

Dustin forced a smile on his face as he moved towards her. “I missed you, so I came to see you early,” he said, the lie coming out of his mouth as smooth as silk.

“No, there’s more to it than you missing me. You know something about my test, don’t you?” Her eyes watched him intently. When she saw his tense expression, she knew he was keeping something from her.

He knew he couldn’t continue to lie to his wife. “Dr. Howard called me and asked me to meet him here.”

“He didn’t tell you why?” She watched him closely as she waited for his reply.

Dustin sat down on her bed and took hold of her hand. “No, he didn’t, but I can assume he has bad news to tell you and didn’t want to tell you without me being here.” When he saw her tears, he pulled her into his arms.

“I don’t want to die,” she sobbed.

“Honey, if there’s another tumor, it’s probably just like the first one. I’m sure they can remove it.”

“Dustin, I’m scared.”

He leaned down and began kissing her, and soon the kiss became so erotic that they didn’t hear the door open. When they heard a clearing of one’s throat, the two broke apart, then turned, looking guiltily at whoever had entered the room.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dr. Howard said, trying to keep from smiling.

Ambria blushed, but she didn’t know why. She didn’t have a reason to be ashamed, as the door had been closed to her room and Dustin was her husband.

“I’m afraid I have bad news,” he said. He walked toward them, taking hold of Ambria’s hand when he reached the bed.

Ambria started crying and Dustin tightened his hold on her other hand. “Tell us.”

“There is another tumor. I don’t know how we could have missed it, other than the first tumor had been hiding it. It isn’t very big, but it should probably be removed since you’re here and,” he tried to give her a weak smile, “that part of your head is already shaved.”

She took a deep breath, trying to be brave and not cry. “When?” she asked.

“Tomorrow morning.”

She nodded, then Dustin kissed her on the forehead.

“Do you need anything?” Tim Howard asked her.

“A new head would be nice,” she murmured, trying to sound funny.

“I’ll try to give it to you. You won’t be able to eat or drink anything after midnight. The surgery is planned for seven. I’ll have Dr. Applegate stop in before you get your pre-op so you can answer any questions you may have.”

“Thank you, Dr. Howard. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Continue with what you were doing before I stopped by,” he said, laughed and then left the room.

“Dustin, would you make love to me?”

“Oh honey, you know I would in a heartbeat, but I’m not sure a hospital room would be the best place to try something like that. We got caught just kissing and you turned as red as a beet.”

“If I’m going to die, I want to experience your lovemaking one more time,” she whimpered as she tightly squeezed his hand.

“Ambria, you aren’t going to die. You’re going to have this surgery and live for many more years.”

“They are going to be working on my brain again. What if this time something goes wrong and they nick something they shouldn’t.”