They had wheeled Shayera into a different room for the actual procedure. It was smaller than the other one, but filled with twice as much medical equipment. Some of the machines - the ultrasound, the heart monitor and such - she recognized, but many of them were completely alien to her. Bright white, artificial light filled the space, disorienting her more than the drugs already had. Around her, nearly a dozen people dressed in the same pastel clothes moved trays of surgical tools and handed each other charts filled with papers she imagined were about her. Slowly, the commotion began to settle down as people took their seats and a single tall man came to her side while the nurse from earlier stood on her other, gloved hands held up to prevent contamination.

"I know we met earlier to discuss your medical information, but is there anything else I need to be aware of?" The elderly doctor asked indifferently. Everything about him was cold from the arctic grey of his emotionless eyes to the slightly darker scrubs he wore of the same color. Even the brittle white hairs which stuck out from beneath the back of his cap held little life. Shayera looked down to the sharp scalpel he held just above her swollen belly, anxiety welling up in her chest. Instead of answering, she simply shook her head.

"Alright, then." He looked up at the dark haired young nurse on her other side "Hopefully this won't take long."

She nodded seriously, "I'll let him know."

"See that you do." He said stiffly, "Personally."

The woman's eyes flashed to him in surprise and then almost instantly dropped downwards towards the floor in silent acceptance. Quietly, took a step back with her shoulders set while another nurse took her place opposite the surgeon. The kind woman removed her gloves roughly and dropped them in a basket on her way out of the room. The old doctor's eyes followed the woman closely until the door clicked shut behind her, and then he turned back to Shayera and picked up a scalpel.

"What was that for?" She asked the man in annoyance.

He shrugged, "We don't like for the staff to get too attached to the pets."

It took all of her restraint to keep the shock from her face. Without another moment's pause, the old man slide the blade across Shayera's stomach, and rather than watch, she took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling intently. Until they moved the mirrors that had been set up earlier, she couldn't see anything clearly, and she didn't want the partial images of blood and knives piercing her skin to be one of the last things she saw. The doctor spoke in medical terms to the nurse, describing his work with her foreign arteries and tissues, which he had to carefully work around. Ironic really, she thought, all the work they're going to so that I can die at the proper time. After a few minutes the surgeon put down the scalpel and asked once again, "Is there any last minute information you would like to sure with me?"

Shayera took a deep breath and said, "You know everything I know. Just be sure not to cut into her wings which you pierce the amniotic sac. The loss of blood from such a wound would be…bad."

He nodded, and picked up the scalpel once more. She tried to ignore the cringeworthy sounds of knife slicing flesh with such precision and frequency, but it was nearly impossible. A few moments later, however, she felt a strange pulling in her core and then… a high pitched cry rang out in the room! Her eyes flew back to the doctor, who was now handing the nurse a small, dark haired baby with jet black wings. She's beautiful, Shayera thought, so beautiful. The woman quickly wrapped a pale yellow blanket around the miniscule child and looked at the doctor with a question in her eyes. In response, the man gave a short nod, and his assistant swept the child out of the room without a word. Most of the other medical technicians followed her out.

"No!" Shayera called in a panic, shaking her restraints, "Wait!"

"Not to worry." The man said quietly, "She has instructions to keep your child safe. No harm will come to her yet."

"What are you going to do to her?" She couldn't keep the worry from her voice.

"Well," the man lifted a needle up to the light, measuring the dosage of the medication, "She'll undergo a few tests to start with, much like you did. And depending on her value after that, we'll see."

He harshly jabbed the syringe into her arm and emptied the vial. She gasped in surprise, but before she could speak again, he continued, "You don't have to worry much longer either way. This medication should help to stop your heart, and after that, we'll get started on your dissection. I'm sure that your body will provide us with valuable insight into your kind. Your daughter, though, might turn out to be even more useful."

"She's just a child!" She accused.

The man scoffed, "Your people killed plenty of our children."

A knock came from the door, and the cruel surgeon sighed heavily before setting down his tools. Holding up one finger, he walked across the room and opened the door slightly. Shayera could hear him whispering with another person, but her chest was slowly becoming heavier and heavier. It was almost like someone was sitting on her, and she had to struggle to fill her lungs. The door closed quietly, and the doctor was suddenly called, "Okay, everyone! There has been a change of plans. Please gather all of your research as quickly as possible and leave the room in an orderly fashion."

Shayera sighed in relief as the room quickly emptied. Men and women hurried to stuff papers and computers in their bags, while others simply left their work and rushed out the door empty handed. Some were attempting to carry out pieces of equipment with them, as to continue their work elsewhere, though knowing her friends that wouldn't be happening. The surgeon came back to Shayera's side for just one moment, to whisper, "No matter what, you'll be dead in five minutes. At the very least, I get to live knowing that I killed a traitor to Earth." And with that, he grabbed her chart and followed the last researcher out of the door. She was alone.

It felt like an eternity that they laid in that room.

The surgeon hadn't bothered to close the incision from her c-section; there had been no point considering that they were just going to cut her open again in a few minutes. The loss of blood combined with whatever drug she had been injected with were making her feel woozy, and she found it impossible to focus on anything, let alone time. There were sounds coming from the hallway: running, banging, the sounds of bodies hitting the floor. In the back of her mind, she felt relief, it only because she knew her friends were looking for her daughter.

"Shayera!" A shocked voice called through the fog of her mind.

She opened her eyes, not having realized that they were closed. Her head fell to the side to see Wally leaning over her, looking at horror at the blood which covered her body. His red gloved hand brushed through her hair comfortingly as he yelled, "John! We need medical help!" He turned back to her, tears in his eyes as he promised, "You're going to be okay, Shay. I swear we're going to get you out of her."

Her forehead pinched in concentration as she tried to talk back to him, but her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and all that came out was, "E-Eh."

"Hey," He whispered, "It's okay."

"Shayera!" John said in horror. The color from his face drained away as he took in the sight of her strapped to a bed, cut open, bleeding. Wally rushed around her body, untying her restraints as John leaned down beside her. Gently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and promised, "J'onn's on his way. Everything is going to be fine."

"Ellie." She finally whispered.

"W-What?" John stammered.

She swallowed hard and concentrated long enough to order, "F-Find. Ellie."

"I'm not leaving you." John swore, leaning his forehead against hers.

"F-Find...her." She whispered weakly.

"John." Wally interrupted as he took Shayera's hand, "I've got this. Go find her."

"I can't." John tried to argue, but Wally wasn't having any of it.

"We have to get Shay out of here, GL. She'll die otherwise. Either you go after your kid and I get her back to the Javelin or the other way around. We both know which way it has to be." Wally said as he packed her wounds the best he could. His medical training was minimal, but J'onn had taught him enough for a situation like this. When he noticed that his friend still hadn't moved, he shouted, "Go!"

John's eyes darkened with the knowledge that his friend was right. He leaned down to brush a chaste kiss against Shayera's dry lips, but she didn't even have the strength to respond. Gripping her hair tightly, he ordered against her lips, "Don't you dare die. You can't leave us now." He stepped back to look in her eyes, "I love you."

Then, he disappeared in a bright green blur of light. She savored the warm feeling emitted by his shield for just a second before Shayera sighed in contentment once he was gone knowing two things. One, John was going to get their daughter and bring her home. They would be together and her child would grow up only knowing love and happiness. John would never allow anything lesser for her. The second thing she knew was that John wasn't going to have to watch her die.