"Sydney," Irina said, knocking on the door of the bathroom, "Are you alright?"
The sound of a flushing toilet followed, and Sydney's voice answered softly,
"I'm fine."
"Honey, I think you should see a doctor," Irina said, "You've been sick for weeks." The bathroom door opened, and Irina gaped at her daughter's haggard appearance.
"Sydney, you look awful," she said. Sydney smirked.
"Thanks," she said sarcastically, moving to sit on the couch.
"Sydney, you need to see a doctor," Irina said.
"That's not necessary mother," Sydney said.
"I think it is," Irina said.
"And you're an expert?" Sydney asked, then immediately regretted her statement.
"I'm sorry mom," she said, looking at the floor.
"It's okay. I'm just concerned sweetheart," Irina said.
"It's just a stomach virus," Sydney said, rubbing her stomach.
"I don't think so," Irina said. Sydney looked at her in confusion.
"What else would it be?" Sydney asked in what sounded like annoyance.
"You tell me," Irina spoke.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sydney said, shaking her head.
"Sydney, you've been throwing up for weeks. It's not normal, unless..." Irina trailed off.
"Unless what mother?" Sydney asked, grimacing in pain. Irina hesitated.
"Sydney, is there any way you could be pregnant?" Irina asked. Sydney's eyes widened, and she glanced down at her stomach, and back at her mother. Whatever she was going to say was interrupted when her stomach beckoned again, and she ran to the bathroom to answer its call.
*****
Sydney looked around cautiously. She hated everything about hospitals. The cold, bare white walls. The clinical, lemony smell. The sterility. She glanced over at her mother, who was holding onto her hand tightly.
"I can't believe this," Sydney spoke aloud, and Irina sighed.
"It's going to be alright," Irina said.
"I have no right to bring a child in this world. Everything and everyone I touch ends up dead," Sydney said, looking down at the floor.
"That's not true Sydney," Irina said, and both were alarmed when the door opened, and the doctor entered.
"Hello Sydney. Miss Derevko," he said, and Irina and Sydney nodded in response. He moved over to take a seat in a chair across from the examination table that Irina and Sydney were both seated on, and he sighed loudly.
"Well, doctor..." Irina asked.
"I have the results of your test Sydney," he said, and Sydney breathed deeply.
"And?" she asked, squeezing her mother's hand.
"You are definitely pregnant," he said, and Sydney could only nod, silence overtaking her. He looked at her, and when she did not look at him, he glanced at Irina.
"I'm sorry doctor. She's just overwhelmed. Shocked and overwhelmed," Irina said, looking at her daughter.
"Oh God," Sydney finally said, forgetting the doctor's presence, "I have to call Will. I have to tell him."
"Will? The father?" the doctor asked. Sydney nodded. Irina sighed loudly, wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders.
"Is everything alright? Obviously, it's very early but..." Irina began.
"Irina, Sydney is three months pregnant," he interrupted, looking at Sydney. Sydney lifted her head at his statement, her eyes wide. Irina's reaction was similar.
"That's not possible," Sydney said matter-of-factly looking at her mother in shock. The doctor looked from daughter to mother and back, and nodded slowly.
"I'll give you a minute alone," he said, and stood up, leaving the room. Sydney was silent for a moment.
"This can't be happening," Sydney said, looking at her mother, tears falling down her face.
"Sydney, calm down," Irina said, stroking her daughter's back.
"This baby can't be Will's, so whose it is? Oh God, mom. This means...this means...this baby was conceived when I was Julia Thorne," Sydney said.
"So it would appear," Irina said, shaking her head.
"Oh God," Sydney said quietly, and before Irina could move to stop it, Sydney had fainted before her very eyes. Irina's eyes widened as she stood up quickly, calling for the doctor.
"Help!" she screamed, "My daughter's fainted!"
*****
Julian's cell phone rang, and not bothering to check the ID number, he opened it quickly.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Julian?" a female voice inquired. Julian's eyes darted around, checking for any outside listeners.
"Irina?" he asked, "You shouldn't be calling me. It's dangerous," he whispered frantically.
"It's an emergency Julian," she said, exhaustion evident in her voice.
"What? Oh God! Did something happen to Sydney?" he asked, his voice unconsciously raising.
"Julian, just come home soon," Irina answered.
"What are you talking about? Is she alright?" he asked, panicked.
"She needs you. That is all I can say. Just come home soon," she said, and before he could ask another question, he heard a dial tone.
Bloody woman.
Always cryptic.
He closed his phone and sat at his desk, considering this new information, and wondered how fast he could get out of this facility...
He sprang to his feet when an idea finally came to him, and reached for his gun on the nightstand.
