by Anna Lewis
“What do you mean?” she asked in return.
“I mean, what if I don’t wake up?”
Anna Leigh blinked back tears.
“Don’t say that,” she whispered. “You know I cry easily right now and–”
She bent over, clutching her stomach. Xander held her up and rubbed her back, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I think it was the baby kicking,” she replied. “It must have been just that. Let’s inject you quickly. I can’t stand for much longer.”
“This was a terrible idea. Why would they hire you when you’re this far along?” Xander asked.
“I may have lied about that,” she admitted with a grin.
Xander shook his head.
“Look at you becoming an agent over night,” he teased.
Anna Leigh pushed his arm gently and then grabbed a disinfectant towel from the table nearly.
“I need you to stay still,” she said while wiping his skin. “This might sting a bit.”
As she pinched some skin on his forearm and positioned the needle, Xander leaned forward to inhale the sweet scent of her perfume. He was taken aback by the intoxicating aroma and stopped her hand from moving further. Before she could say anything, he leaned in to taste her lips. A soft moan greeted him and he was delighted to find she tasted as amazing as their first date.
Every moment spent alone in his cell he yearned to feel her touch. Each dream held only her beautiful form, her loving embrace, and her shining eyes. It was truly alarming to not have her body next to him every night and he lamented ever having been involved with such a scheme against the company. If only he had done things differently—honestly—then perhaps they wouldn’t be in such a situation.
As they kissed, he felt a pinch on his arm and pulled back to gasp, noticing she had jammed the needle into his skin while he was distracted. His brows furrowed together.
“Darling,” he whispered. “That hurt.”
She smiled sweetly and started to inject the serum into his vein. He could feel the hot liquid coursing through him, immediately inspiring his body to begin convulsing. She held his head as she started injecting the rest. Behind her, the door flew open and two guards seized her before she could finish the procedure. Xander was left convulsing on the bed and a doctor sprinted into the room to tend to him.
“Nurse, get the CPR machine!” he cried out into the hallway. “We’re losing this patient!”
A smaller nurse in a white tunic came rushing into the room with a machine, pulling it up next to the bed. Anna Leigh screamed in the background while the guards pulled her from the room, carefully dragging her out into the hallway as she kicked. Elu was behind them with a ray gun.
“Let her go!” he cried.
From Xander’s limited view, he could see the guard and Elu grappling in the hall while Anna Leigh held her stomach and cried. Elu was overcome by the guard. Anna Leigh bit into a red nail. Xander continued shaking on the table until the doctor and the nurse strapped him to the bed. White foam gurgled from his lips, his throat swelling and cutting off oxygen to his brain. He felt like he was dying.
The doctor placed a tube in his throat to open his airways, temporarily allowing oxygen to fill his lungs. Xander gasped. It was all he could do to keep himself conscious. The serum began taking over his legs. They wouldn’t move. No matter how much he willed it, he couldn’t get his legs to kick. Not even a wiggle from his toe could be produced.
“Airways open. Nurse, find out what he was given!” shouted the doctor to the other nurse.
The nurse fled into the hall to ask the guards about his condition, but none of them knew how to reply. Anna Leigh stood on the sidelines crying. She raised a hand.
“I know what it is,” she squeaked.
“Tell me,” the nurse demanded.
“It’s Kuhlarai Inkaapa serum from the Venutian plant,” she explained. “I injected him so he would appear dead.”
“That’s a highly toxic poison!” cried the nurse. “What made you do that?”
“I was just trying to transport him out so we could–”
“We’re losing him again!” cried the doctor.
“Come with me,” the nurse instructed while grabbing her wrist. “We need you to create a counter injection that will bring him back.”
“I don’t think I can. I would need the rest of the serum and a laboratory,” Anna Leigh replied.
A guard came and grabbed her arm, trying to wrestle her towards the door. The doctor intervened.
“She’s the only one who would be able to help this man. Release her,” the doctor demanded.
The guard took a step back and raised his hands, heading back out to the hall as the other nurse retrieved some supplies. She lifted the syringe off the ground and handed everything to Anna Leigh who quickly laid them out on the table. Within minutes, she had produced a counter mixture that would help bring Xander back from his partially paralyzed state. He watched with wide eyes as she stabbed it into his chest and he heaved.
As Xander struggled against the restraints, Anna Leigh stood back and watched with a look of horror. Another guard entered the room and ushered her away while Xander’s vision returned to full functioning. He opened his mouth and croaked.
“No...” he whispered while she was taken. “No, bring her back.”
He tried hard to push against his restraints, but they were far too tight. The doctor leaned over with a small flashlight and waved it over his eyes that obediently dilated in response.
“Please,” he squeaked. “You must not let her be taken.”
“I can’t control that, sir,” the doctor replied. “We have to tend to your health.”
“But she’s pregnant. She can’t be taken away like that!” Xander cried.
As he spoke, a cry came from the hall and the guard yelled for the nurse to come quickly. She ran from the room. Xander couldn’t contain himself, his heart beating wildly as she returned to grab the doctor.
“Come quickly,” she instructed. “She’s gone into labor.”
Chapter 9
Anna Leigh was wheeled into a neighboring hospital room.
“We don’t have all the equipment necessary to handle a live birth,” the nurse said to the doctor.
“We’ll work with what we have,” the doctor said. “Hello, miss. Can you tell me your name?”
He waved a small flashlight over her eyes and she squeezed them shut, wincing at the pain coming from her stomach.
“Anna Leigh Black,” she replied. “I’m so sorry about earlier. I was just trying to rescue my–”
“None of that now, Miss Black. We need to get you ready to push,” the doctor explained as she propped her legs up into stirrups. “Nurse, she’s nearly eight centimeters. Get the BP machine.”
The nurse quickly attached a plastic tube to Anna Leigh’s finger, watching the screen for changes in her condition. She recorded them into her touch pad.
“BP is rising,” she informed the doctor.
“Get a saline drip and some morphine,” the doctor replied.
“No morphine!” Anna Leigh cried. “I don’t want any drugs at all.”
“Are you sure?” the nurse asked, concern filling her face.
“I know it’s going to be painful—Ah!—but I swear I can handle it,” Anna Leigh replied.
The nurse nodded.
“Nine centimeters,” the doctor announced. “You’re getting ready to push, Miss Black.”
“Where is Elu?” Anna Leigh asked while holding up her legs. “He needs to be here for this.”
“I’m afraid he’s in custody at the moment. He pulled a weapon on a federal guard,” the doctor replied.
Anna Leigh grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close to her face that was growing redder by the minute.
“Get him, now!” she growled.
The doctor reeled back when she released his shirt and turned to the nurse who immediately scrambled fro
m the room to find Elu. Within moments, he was standing right next to her while she grimaced, holding up her legs and whispering words of encouragement.
“I can see the head,” the doctor informed them. “Keep pushing, Miss Black!”
“You’re doing great,” the nurse said. “Just a little further and you’ll have your baby girl!”
“A girl!” Elu cried tearfully.
Anna Leigh cried out and gasped, breathing as deeply as she could. Another contraction took hold of her stomach and she winced while taking a deep breath, focusing on pushing her pelvic muscles forward. She screamed and gripped Elu’s hand.
“I won’t survive this!” she cried.
“Yes, you will, darling,” Elu replied. “You will survive this. I promise.”
“But we got caught!” she wept.
“Don’t think about that. Focus on your muscles and on your baby girl. She’s about to be here born, Anna Leigh,” Elu instructed.
“I’m trying!” she cried.
“You’re doing great. Keep going!” the nurse shouted. “She’s almost out!”
“Shoulders!” the doctor cried triumphantly. “And she’s out!”
Anna Leigh gasped and relaxed into the hospital bed, utterly exhausted by the entire ordeal. She sighed heavily and held out her arms to accept the little aqua-colored child with antennas. The little girl cooed and gurgled, green slime still covering most of her body as the nurse wrapped her in a warm blanket.
“She’s beautiful,” Anna Leigh whispered with tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Elu, look at her.”
Elu nodded, leaning over to kiss her forehead.
“That she is,” he replied.
“Congratulations,” the doctor said while patting Elu’s back. “She’s a beautiful baby girl.”
“Thank you,” Elu said.
“Miss Black, would you like me to wash her off in the sink?” the nurse asked.
“Yes, please,” Anna Leigh replied. “Can you also tell Xander it’s a girl?”
“Of course,” the doctor replied.
* * *
“Sir?” asked the doctor from the door.
Xander looked up from the bed, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity.
“Is Anna Leigh alright?” Xander asked quickly while sitting up.
The doctor eased him back down and patted his shoulder.
“She is doing great, sir. It’s a baby girl,” the doctor replied.
Xander smiled wide, beaming with joy while trying to contain his excitement. His chest was hurting where the needle had penetrated his chest plate, but his legs were finally coming back to full function.
“That’s wonderful news,” he said.
“Indeed it is, sir. Will you be needing anything?” the doctor asked.
“No, thank you,” Xander replied.
The doctor nodded with a smile and left the room. Silence fell over Xander, his thoughts filled with all sorts of questions about what would happen to them. Their plan had been spoiled. It wouldn’t be long until the Federation caught wind of his escape and they would be punished heavily for their efforts.
All for nothing, he thought. This is a mess.
Xander worried gravely about his new child, whether she might be given to an alien orphanage or perhaps adopted by a neighboring family. It was overwhelming to think he might not even get to meet her. As he thought deeply, a knock came from the door and he looked up to find his lawyer, Jack.
“Hello, Xander,” he said. “You took quit a hit, didn’t you?”
“It seems I have,” Xander replied while laying back on the bed. “It still hurts, too.”
“I’m sure they’ll give you something for that,” Jack replied. “I heard you have a baby girl. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Xander said with a smile. “I’m assuming you’re here because of the incident.”
Jack nodded while closing the door. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and pulled a touch pad from his steel suitcase.
“Well, it’s more of a mess than an incident, but yes,” Jack replied. “Your little girlfriend might face some time for her attempt.”
“And Elu?” Xander asked.
“He will likely be charged with interference, but nothing too heavy because he’s an agent and the judge happens to like him a great deal,” Jack replied.
“Do you think the judge would drop charges if Elu testified in favor of Anna Leigh? I mean, we just had a baby. Can they be lenient?” Xander asked.
“I’m sure the judge will take that into account. Like I said, it’s quite a mess here and the paperwork is just...” Jack trailed off and sighed while typing into his touch pad.
“Can you help me adjust my bed? I want to sit up,” Xander said.
Jack leaned over and pushed a button that elevated the top of the bed until Xander was upright.
“Thank you,” Xander said. “What kind of paperwork do you have to fill out?”
“Well, it’s unclear at the moment. I’m still corresponding with the judge,” Jack replied.
“There has to be something we can do to prevent Anna Leigh getting jail time,” Xander said.
“Well, she was registered as being employed by the Federation yesterday. That’s a legal standing document we can use, even if ulterior motives are suspected,” Jack explained.
“Will that be enough?” Xander asked.
“Not by a long shot. She was caught injecting you by two Federation prison guards. The poison has yet to be confirmed because the doctor became distracted with Anna Leigh's labor,” Jack replied. “We can sway the jury to believe that she wasn’t in her right mind due to a complicated pregnancy.”
“Do you think the doctor can confirm that?” Xander asked with a grin.
“Absolutely,” Jack replied. “The only other thing is you.”
Xander shook his head.
“I’m still being charged by the Federation,” he said grimly. “I don’t know what else to do about that, Jack. I still have to stand trial and now I'll have a baby girl at home.”
“Can you prove Elu interfered in any way?” Jack asked.
“What do you mean?” Xander asked in response.
“Do you have any physical evidence that would show Agent Elu had tried to interfere with the case?” Jack asked. “The judge may drop the charges if you can prove he broke his clearance level in favor of you.”
Xander sat back in his hospital bed, stroking his chin with two fingers. He ran a hand through his tousled hair.
“I mean, technically, but I’m not sure if the tape exists,” Xander replied.
“What do you mean?” Jack asked.
“Elu set up a meeting with myself and Anna Leigh some weeks ago in a private interrogation room some floors below the hospital,” Xander explained. “There was a camera in the corner of the room. I think Elu had it turned off, but we had gotten pretty...”
Xander blushed and bit his lower lip.
“We were all pretty heatedly engaged,” he said.
Jack raised his eyebrows.
“If that camera was recording, that’s pretty much perfect evidence,” Xander said. “Even though it’ll be embarrassing.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Jack teased.
“Thanks, Jack. I appreciate the vote of confidence there,” Xander snapped.
“I’m kidding, Xander. Relax. I’m going to make a phone call and see if we can get that tape pulled,” Jack said while pulling out his phone.
While Jack handled the details of his case, Xander relaxed into the cushions and waited patiently for him to finish. Another knock came from the door. He looked up to see Elu holding a bundle in his arms. Xander gasped and bit his lower lip, nearly tearing up.
“Is that…?” he whispered while trailing off.
Elu walked into the room and held out the little aqua baby girl who was sucking on her thumb. Carefully, Xander cradled her in his arms while grinning wide, tears falling from his eyes as he admired his sleeping baby.
; “She’s beautiful. Have you named her yet?” Xander asked.
“No, we’ve been waiting for you,” Elu replied.
“What have you thought of so far?” Xander asked.
“Ophelia and Sophia,” Elu replied.
“How about Azalea?” Xander asked.
Elu smiled, leaning over to stroke her cheek.
“I think that sounds amazing. I’ll tell Anna Leigh and come back,” Elu said while standing to the leave the room.
When he was gone, Xander looked down at the precious bundle in his arms. Jack leaned over to look at her with a smile.
“Wow,” he said. “That’s quite a color. A mixture of all three of you, I gather.”
“It’s beautiful,” Xander commented.
“Good news—the judge accepted the tape that we found and your charges have been dropped due to misconduct on behalf of the charging agent,” Jack explained. “Elu will face charges, but we’ll handle those later. The judge said you four should get home and rest.”
“I’m free to go?!” Xander exclaimed.
The baby stirred in his arms and he shushed her immediately.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her. “Daddy got excited.”
“You are free to go,” Jack whispered. “I’ll leave you with your new baby. I'll go handle the rest of the paperwork.”
“Call me as soon as anything changes, okay?” Xander said.
“Of course, Xander. Take care for now,” Jack said while standing.
“Thank you, Jack,” Xander called after him.
In the doorway, Elu waited for Jack to pass. Jack held out his hand to shake and Elu hesitantly took it.
“Congratulations, Agent Elu,” Jack said. “I wish you the best with your new family.”
“Thank you, Jack,” Elu said.
Jack smiled and then walked up the hallway, disappearing past the window. When he was gone, Elu entered the room and sat down on the hospital bed next to Xander.
“How’s Anna Leigh doing?” Xander asked.
“She’s resting right now,” Elu replied.
“That’s good,” Xander said.
“She likes the name Azalea,” Elu said.
Xander smiled.
“Well, then, I guess you’ll be Azalea,” Xander whispered to his sleeping child.