PART FIVE – IN DISTRESS

Annie sat on the table in Loomis' office patiently, waiting for the doctor to return with the latest test results. She could hardly believe that she had really been carrying her baby for seven months! It was simply unbelievable to her. Ian had been right about the change in her feelings… With every day and in every way, Annie knew for certain that she wanted this. She wanted this baby inside of her, this small version of her that would soon be her own beloved child.

It hadn't been an easy month after she had discovered the gestational diabetes… in fact, it had been hell. She had had to restrict her diet, begin the regiment of medicine, keep up on everything she could… and yet she didn't seem to mind any of it. The worries and the fears she had held at one time were gone, and had been replaced by a bursting pride and happiness at the thought of actually doing what she had never thought she would do. Motherhood was hers to embrace and love, and Annie was relishing every last second of it. As she continued to wait, Annie placed her hand on her round belly and smiled contentedly.

Meanwhile, Ian looked at the latest test results and smiled. He had found it… the excuse he needed to get the baby out. Masterson seemed to have become stable enough, but he wanted this over with as soon as possible. The test results were the key, for they revealed the existence of a condition. Like the gestational diabetes, it was a problem that could be serious but probably wouldn't be. Loomis, however, had plans for this little result… he would over-build its importance, and then let it fester for a couple weeks. The two weeks were purely insurance to ensure that the baby would be matured enough to be stable… not to mention a psychological strike against Masterson. As Loomis walked back to the examination room, he again felt a pang of his conscience. With a quick thought of The Resort, he shook it off before it could affect him.

He entered the room to see Annie from behind, humming softly to herself. "Jan, I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said seriously, his tone hiding his relief at finding the answer.

Annie opened her eyes and looked to Ian, her calm smile fading at the sight of Ian's grim expression. "What is it, Ian?" Annie asked quietly.

Ian's eyes met hers, and he cleared his throat. "Jan, we have a problem. A serious problem."

Annie's mind reeled back to the last time she had heard Ian utter those words… It had been the same day the diabetes had come out. What was happening now? Hadn't that been enough? Suddenly, her eyes lost the happy glow they had held for the past weeks, and regained the tired, desperate look she had known in her darkest hours of self-doubt.

Ian said quietly, "Jan, the placenta is calcifying." Of course, Ian knew that the problem wasn't as threatening as he would make it seem, but he also knew one other thing… that an out was an out and that was all there was to it.

"What does that mean?" Annie asked in a whisper.

"Well, it means that the placenta is drying out and hardening inside of you. The baby isn't able to get all the nutrients it needs."

Annie looked down to her belly forlornly and imagined the baby inside starving to death. He hands softly caressed the round bulge. "Why is it happening?" she asked, wondering what she could have done to make this happen to her baby.

Sensing her feelings of guilt, Ian's tender side kicked in. "Nothing you did caused it, Jan. It just happens sometimes, especially in older pregnancies."

"And what is to be done? Meds? Diet?" Annie asked, her eyes and hands still stuck on her belly.

Ian took a deep breath. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Jan." he replied.

Still, Annie's eyes never left her belly. "What, then?"

"You must have the baby as soon as possible." Ian said, his eyes avoiding her, lest the former agent detect his true motives.

Annie looked up. "At seven months? But isn't that risky?" she asked with concern.

"The placenta will hold for another couple weeks at least. That would put you at about seven and a half months. Babies born after that point have an excellent chance of survival." Ian paused, waiting for a reaction, but there was none to come. "We can get you into the hospital then and the baby can be born. We can set it up today, in fact." Ian finished, and looked at Annie, who was solemnly caressing her stomach.

"You'll induce labor?" Annie asked quietly.

Ian grimaced. "Actually, the pressure at this age from labor could conceivably hurt the baby. A Caesarian Section would be more the way to go. We'd deliver the baby that way, and you could be up and out within a few days, assuming there are no complications." Again, a half-truth. While damage to the baby from labor was not impossible, it was unlikely… but stealing the baby would be much easier if Masterson was unconscious when it was born.

Annie nodded. "Two weeks, then?" she asked. Ian nodded, and stuck his head out the door to tell his receptionist to set it up.

When he turned back to her, Annie was smiling strangely. "Everything all right, Jan?" Ian asked cautiously.

"I'm going to be a mommy." Annie whispered in awe.

Ian smiled and nodded, confirming that Annie was indeed close to the moment she had been craving for months.

An hour later, Loomis was again in the secret communications room, talking with his employer on the secure frequency. "Two weeks to the day, sir. That's when the baby will be born by C-section."

Giovanni smiled coldly. "Will it need an incubator or anything?" he asked.

"Possibly for a day or two. The baby should be strong enough to survive, considering the excellent care Masterson has been giving and getting." Loomis said with a small sense of pride. "It's nothing that can't be rigged up at Team HQ, sir."

"Excellent. Come set one up next week." Giovanni said.

"Yes, sir." Ian replied with a bow.

"You have done a fabulous job, Loomis. You are to be commended."

"Thank you, sir." Ian replied uneasily.

"I will be at the hospital in two weeks to take possession. I want that baby as soon as humanly possible, do you understand?"

"Of course, sir." Ian answered immediately. "And uhm- what of Agent Masterson?"

"Leave her to me. Your involvement with her will end that day." Giovanni said firmly.

"Understood, sir." Ian said.

"Good. Success in all endeavors, Loomis." Giovanni said as the screen went black and the Green Branch insignia appeared again.

Ian mopped his brow and began to gather the supplies for an the incubator he was to set up over the next week.

CHAPTER SIX: THE THIEVES OF LIFE