It was Butler's job to be observant. As a bodyguard, noticing anything out of place could mean the difference between life and death for his principal, Artemis Fowl II. In this case, the out of place thing was Artemis himself. Lately, Butler noticed dramatic changes in the teen's disposition. He was moody and irritable, often snapping at those around him one minute and breaking down in tears the next. Very unlike him, considering Artemis tended to be well in control of his emotions at all times. Butler had tried to ask Artemis about his sudden mood swings, but every time the manservant brought it up, Artemis denied anything was wrong and locked himself in his room.
This had gone on long enough. Today was the day Butler was going to take matters into his own hands. His plan: to stand vigil outside Artemis's room and confront him when he left. It was for his own good; if something was bothering the young Fowl, as his paid protector, Butler felt he deserved to know.

Artemis woke that morning feeling as he had many previous mornings: nauseous. As of late, he found himself spending much time in the bathroom each morning. Some mornings were better than others. This was not one of them.

He lurched into the adjoining bathroom and took up his position in front of the toilet, a position that was far too familiar these days. And like every morning, as he retched his insides out, he wondered what was wrong with him. Why did he feel like this? Was there something wrong? But what could be wrong? What type of illness could he possibly have that incapacitated him each morning, but left him unscathed for the majority of the day?

He made his way back to his room and summoned the little bit of strength he had left to remain standing instead of falling onto his bed again. He couldn't laze around all the time; he had work to do. He wasn't about to let ill feelings keep him from his plans. A trip to the doctor may be in order though if this impacted his life any more…

Artemis slowly dressed and opened the door to his room, only to find it blocked by Butler.

"Artemis, is there anything wrong?"

Artemis was taken aback. "Wrong, Butler? What's wrong is that you seem to be hovering over me. I realize it is your duty to protect me, but I do need some space. And some privacy."

"Artemis, I heard… Are you ill?"

"And now you're eavesdropping? Really, Butler…"

"Artemis, stop avoiding my questions." The manservant widened his stance and crossed his arms against his chest. "Tell me what's wrong."

Artemis tried to squeeze past the bodyguard as he assured him, "There is nothing wrong with me. I am perfectly fine."

"Don't lie to me, Artemis!" Butler yelled. This surprised both of them. Butler rarely got upset, and even less frequently did he get upset at Artemis.

"Artemis," Butler said, lowering his voice to its usual gravely level. "I have tried expressing my concerns for your health before, but this time, I think it would be wise for you to listen. I feel this has gone on long enough, and a trip to the doctor is in store, just to ensure this is nothing serious." The look Butler gave him certainly was.

"Very well," Artemis sighed. "But only to put your mind at ease, old friend. There is so much work I'd rather be doing than wasting my time on your little doctor's visit."

"It's not a waste of time when it could very well save your life," Butler retorted.

Artemis found it very hard to believe the trip to the doctor's wasn't a waste of time. For all the time he spent there getting poked and prodded and scanned, all they had been given was a theory. A hormone imbalance, the doctor had suggested. An ultrasound of his abdomen had come back showing a lump, but the doctor assured him it wasn't a tumor and was most likely a cyst. He'd written out a prescription for medication to balance his hormone levels and told Artemis to check back if he worsened or noticed any changes in the lump/cyst.

Butler was equally disgusted. "The best doctor in Ireland, and he doesn't even know what's wrong. Just guesses what might be wrong."

"Perhaps it's because there is nothing wrong with me," Artemis said pointedly as he crumpled up the prescription for drugs he knew he didn't need. "You can't diagnose something that isn't there."

"Don't start with me, Artemis," Butler warned.

"You heard the doctor, Butler. He couldn't find anything noticeably wrong with me. Can't you drop this?"

"No, Artemis, I can't. I've known you your whole life, so I can tell when something is off. And something is off. I think maybe we should consider going belowground to see if maybe it's something fairy-related. I've noticed that Holly's been around an awful lot, and she might have been carrying something that could be the cause of all this."

"You've put a lot of thought into this theory," Artemis noted.

Butler inclined his head toward the exam rooms. "You were back there a while, so I threw around some other possibilities. Can you at least humor me and call Holly about this?"

Artemis considered it. He'd actually thought of the same possibility himself. Maybe the reason human doctors couldn't explain his symptoms was because he was suffering from a fairy disease.

"Alright," Artemis conceded. "I'll call her. But if this, too, fails to find anything wrong, will you please allow me to make my health my concern and not yours?"

Butler grunted, which Artemis took to mean yes. Once they were safely buckled into the Bentley, he turned around the ring on his middle finger and called Holly.

Artemis was growing impatient. He had been forced to endure similar examinations and tests to his previous ones aboveground, and now he was forced to sit and wait for Dr. Blazel to come back with what was most likely going to be a similar diagnosis to the one he received earlier. To put it simply, the déjà vu doctors' visits had lost any luster they might have had.

The door opened and Dr. Blazel entered, carrying a folder and a stack of papers. Artemis followed the doctor's movements as he placed the folder and papers on his chair and turned to face his patient.

"Artemis," he said.

The boy interrupted him. "Let me guess: you aren't sure what's wrong with me, but it might be a hormone imbalance. Been there, heard that, Doctor."

"Yes and no," Dr. Blazel answered, unperturbed by Artemis's rudeness. "You do show some levels of hormone imbalance, but I have determined a reason for it." He took a step closer and seemed to brace himself for the news he was about to deliver.

Artemis shifted on the exam table, making the white paper crinkle beneath him. "What is it?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You mentioned that aboveground you were given an ultrasound that isolated the presence of a lump in your abdomen but that the doctors could not say what it was. Well, we ran an ultrasound through our fairy machine and got drastically different results."

Artemis felt like the air had escaped from the room. His lungs burned, desperate for air, but he couldn't breathe. He blinked away the black dots that were forming around the edges of his vision, trying to focus on the fairy doctor.

Dr. Blazel's eyes locked on his. "What I am about to tell you is going to sound absolutely impossible, but believe me. We studied the results again and again, and there is simply no other explanation. Artemis, you're pregnant."