Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long! Things have been kind of crazy and I was rushing to get one of my other stories done (it's finally finished!). Thanks for reviewing, everybody. no longer allows author's to personally thank reviewers, but you guys really mean a lot to me. Hopefully I'll update soon.

Chapter 17: Going to the Surface

Holly checked the bag one more time. Wings? Check. Willow? Check. Blackout suit? Check. Change of clothes for Willow? Check. Baby formula? Check. Helmet? Check. Diapers? Double-check. Weapons? Double-check. She was good to go.

"Are you sure the pod'll take me with all this gear and Willow?" she asked Foaly.

"Holly, the techs have run the numbers twice. It'll run and the flare will be strong enough to carry you," Foaly insisted. He refrained from saying that he'd run the numbers himself and knew they weren't wrong.

"I'd still feel better if I was flying a shuttle up rather than riding the hotshots with a baby strapped to my chest," she grumbled. She checked her helmet over making sure everything was working properly.

"You know why you have to take the pod, Holls. Beetroot told you it'd be too risky to go to the shuttle port now. With all those toys you've got there you'd draw attention to yourself."

Holly looked down at her belt. Root was not sending her unarmed. Just in case there was a nasty surprise waiting for her when she got out of the pod she had her buzz baton, her Neutrino, and one of the older electric rifles. You could never be too careful.

"Besides the pod'll be quicker than a shuttle. You'll be up there earlier than you told Fowl. I even promise to put you in a nice new one. Wood and leather interior," he coaxed.

Holly checked each piece of equipment she was bringing one more time. She looked over the black out suit for any rips or tears. It wasn't the pod or the ride itself that worried her. She'd done it enough times. It was the fact that she was going to have to do it with a baby strapped to her chest.

At that moment, one of Foaly's techies buzzed to be let in. "She can't take the pod," he huffed through the intercom.

"What do you mean? I ran the numbers myself; it'll hold the weight," Foaly insisted, pressing the button to let him in.

"Weight isn't the problem. That infant doesn't have strong enough lungs yet to ride the hotshots. It'd be like sending a human in up in a pod. The shuttle is equalized. She's got to take it."

"Have you run this by Beetroot yet?" asked Holly. This was sounding better all ready. Take a nice cushy shuttle up to the surface and strap Willow in a seat in the back.

"Alf is running it by him now. You should hear the explosion momentarily I'm sure." Alf was Foaly's second in command among the techs.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Root came barging through the Police Plaza, right up to the tech booth door. He buzzed the intercom to be let in. Foaly, deciding not to be suicidal, let him in immediately.

Alf was tailing behind him, looking much worse for the wear.

"Is he right?" Root demanded.

"In all probability, it's very likely that he is right. The only way to test it would be to send Willow or another infant up there, but her lungs probably aren't strong enough and would pop from the pressure. It looks like they've got to take a shuttle," Foaly said.

The vein at Root's temple was throbbing. "And why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Foaly's tail swished in annoyance. He hadn't mentioned it earlier because he hadn't thought of it. "There's been no precedent of a case when we've taken an infant on a pod. The only the we have to go on are numbers and probability."

"And you were willing to take that risk?" Root asked threateningly.

Foaly muttered something.

"What was that?"

Foaly clenched his big, horsy teeth. "I didn't think of it."

Root cackled. Foaly finally admitted to being wrong about something. That was a milestone in itself. He composed himself again. "Short, we need a change of plan. It looks like you'll be heading down to the shuttle port." He sent the two techies scurrying out of the room with a look. "Horse, do you still have those masks you made?"

"I told you that those were single use. Use once and throw them to the recycler."

"But do you have any extras?" asked Holly, impatiently.

"Yeah." He looked around for a lackey to send into storage and get them out. "Julius, you scared the help away."

"Deal with it," he grunted. "And don't ever call me Julius, horse. We'll need an escort and it'll have to be somebody who can pilot the ship back down. I'll see who I can scrounge up. Foaly, get Holly something to wear. I want her to look like a mother, and that haircut has got to go." The last comment was directed at Holly. "It makes you too identifiable." With that, Root turned heel and left.

"Alright, Holly, time to get you all dolled up for your day out," snickered Foaly.

Holly searched her belt for the buzz baton and, still holding Willow with one arm, smacked Foaly with it.

Foaly let out a pained whinny. "Ow. What was that for?"

"A remainder to behave yourself."

"Alright, alright." He paged one of the techies to come back and buzzed to let him in. "Go to the storage facility on third floor and get me one of those masks I made a couple of months ago, a long haired wig, and something for Captain Short here to wear. Don't forget shoes too. What size are you Holly?"

"Thirty-four."

"Remember that," Foaly said to the sprite.

"You've got it, boss," the sprite said, saluting Foaly and turning heel.

Holly held her laughter in until the sprite was gone, but after that she couldn't shut up. Foaly took Willow from her arms, lest Holly drop her in her mirth.

"He's new, right? He's got to be," Holly said, managing to catch her breath.

Foaly's tail swished. "As a matter of fact he's only been here a week. He's my new favorite worker."

Holly just shook her head. This was too much, really it was.

"So what exactly is the new plan?" Foaly asked.

"I don't know. My guess would be that Root is going to find me a pilot, and we'll take the baby to the shuttle port. We'll get on one of the LEP shuttles. I'll fly that baby to the surface, take Willow with me to Fowl Manor, and the pilot'll take the shuttle back down here."

"Sounds simple enough."

The techie buzzed the intercom to be let back in again. Foaly shift Willow so that he was holding her with one arm, and he used his other hand to push the button to let the sprite in.

The sprite came in, arms full. He had what looked like a head tucked in the crook of each of his elbows and was carrying clothes in his arms. He looked around for someplace to put them, trying to find a space that wasn't jammed with computer equipment.

"Just set everything on the floor," offered Holly.

Seeing nowhere else to put everything, the sprite did just that. "Anything else, boss?"

"Not right now. I'll need you in a while to return most of this though."

"Yessir." The sprite gave a cheery salute and left.

"I wonder if I could adopt him?" Foaly mused.

"Foaly, back to the task at hand?" Holly said, reaching for her baton.

"Ah, right," Foaly said, eyeing the stunner warily. "Let's just put that over here shall we?" He reached for the baton and Holly hit his hairy hand with it. "I'll just let you keep that then." Foaly bent down and picked up two heads. More accurately he held two mannequin heads—each with one of Foaly's special masks on it and a wig.

Momentarily Root returned, another sprite in tow.

"Oh no," breathed Holly.

"What was that, Captain Short?" asked Root gruffly, probably fully aware of what it was that Holly said.

"Nothing, sir," she replied firmly.

"Good. Captain Short, Private Verbil, hear are your instructions: Verbil, you will escort Captain Short to the LEP shuttles at the shuttle port attracting as little attention as possible. Captain Short will pilot the shuttle to E1. She and the cargo will disembark and you, Private Verbil, will pilot the shuttle back down and return the Police Plaza without delay. Foaly is going to bring up the shortest route to the shuttle port."

"One question, C'mmander," asked Verbil. "What's the cargo?"

Root glanced pointedly at Foaly.

Foaly trotted a few steps closer to Chix and gave Willow to the confused sprite.

"That, Private, is the cargo. It's very precious and may lead to busting up the latest goblin gang that's on the rise," Root said. He gave a grin that did not look entirely pleased.

"Oh," Chix said stupidly. There wasn't really much more he could say without possibly losing his job, so he kept his mouth shut.

Root turned away from Chix and back to Foaly. He kicked his foot at the pile on the floor. "What's this?"

"The gear my new assistant brought in. Clothes for Holly, two choices for the mask you suggested, and two wigs," Foaly explained, twitching his tail in annoyance. It wasn't that hard to see what was lying on the floor.

"Get the map of Haven up, zoom in on the area between here and where these officers need to be, and highlight the speediest route without going through any back alleys." Root remembered the last time he'd asked Foaly to send Grub Kelp directions and the centaur had sent him to a neighborhood where he likely would have been beat to a pulp (Neutrino or no) if it hadn't been that another officer was patrolling nearby and heard the commotion. Root kept waiting for the day when his brother's attitude or skill would kick in on that elf, but the day seemed to be taking its time in coming and Root was not a patient man.

"Child's play," Foaly muttered, but he did as he was asked.

"Pick your guise, Short."

"Guys? I thought I was her guy today," interjected Chix. Willow started to cry.

Root ignored the private's comment. "Quiet that infant." He turned to Holly. "Well?"

"What guise were you thinking, Commander?" Holly asked, deciding not to push any buttons.

"A young mother walking with her daughter and being escorted by a kind LEP officer. Aside from giving you someone to watch your back on the way there and provide someone to pilot the shuttle back to Haven, it'll give us some good publicity," Root said, a little dry humor in his voice.

Holly knelt down by the pile looking for something to wear. How about her face for starters? She thought the facemask was unnecessary but it didn't seem like a good time to argue. Root wouldn't have stuck her with Chix if it hadn't been that he was the only choice, though she supposed Grub could be worse.

One mask had a snooty looking, upturned nose, big rosy cheeks, and delicate little eyebrows. The other mask had a very pointed chin, a big square-ish nose, and a tiny forehead. She opted for the first mask. Hmm. Wigs. She never much liked those. Much too hot for comfort. Ah well. There was a long, wavy, blonde one that reminded her of Lili Frond, and a slightly shorter brown haired wig. She chose the brown. That bimbo was the last person she wanted to look like. She had nothing against blondes in general, just that particular one. Next: clothes.

Among the clothing were a few frumpy looking housedresses that looked to be at least a century old, a skirt that was much too short and a top to match, a dark suit, and a sleeveless, knee length black dress with tiny sunflowers on it. The black dress looked to be the winner. It was light, loose, and comfortable looking and the neckline met Holly's standard of approval.

She picked up her chosen pieces and a pair of black shoes that she wasn't sure she could walk in. She'd live with it. She was a professional.

"Are you ready, Short?" asked Root.

"I think so, sir." She looked scathingly at Verbil who still hadn't managed to quiet Willow throughout her choosing. Verbil was studying the map Foaly had pulled up, making sure that he knew which streets he was supposed to take.

"Is there anything else we need?" Root asked, looking around. Holly had guns, the cargo, diapers, a disguise, and an escort.

Foaly gave a sniff. "More diapers I think, you don't know how long you'll be there and it smells like Willow needs a change already."

Holly, Root, and Foaly turned expectantly to Chix.

He looked down at the baby in his arms. "Oh, no, I'm not changing her diaper."

"Great, then you can go out and buy more diapers," Holly said cheerfully. "If that's alright with the commander," she added hastily.

"Good idea. Get going, Private. I want you and Short both ready to leave for the port within the hour and there's not much of the hour left."

"Yes, Commander Root, sir," Chix said. He tried to pass Willow off to Holly, but she crossed her arms. He didn't dare give the infant to Commander Root. The only thing left to do was pass the baby to Foaly. Chix did so, gave a sloppy salute to the commander, and left.

With Chix gone, Foaly finally asked what Holly had been dying to know. "Alright. Why the grounded idiot of a sprite?" In a few seconds he had Willow silent.

Holly gave a nod in agreement.

If they didn't know him better, Foaly and Holly might have thought Root looked uncomfortable for a brief second. But of course, they knew him better than that. "I've got very few fairies on-duty right now that I can spare. It looked like it was either going to the younger Kelp brother or Verbil, and frankly I've seen Corporal Kelp fly and I do not want to be in that shuttle. Verbil is a decent pilot and rarely gets out of the Police Plaza on duty these days since his injury a few years ago."

After that, Root went off to see to some things he had to take care of. Holly hauled the diaper bag over to Foaly. "Enjoy."

"What?"

"You've got diaper duty. I've got to change." Holly gathered up her things and left the booth, setting off to find somewhere she could change into her clothes and new face.

Foaly shook his head, watching the door close. "The things I do for my best friends. I think I need some new friends." He looked down at Willow and made a face that got her to giggle. "You're not so bad. You're sort of cute. Only problem is that you smell really bad." That said Foaly set about finding a place to change the baby elf's diaper.

Dressed and looking nothing like herself, Holly emerged from the closet she was in. She was about two inches taller now—thanks to the shoes—and her own clothes and her boots tucked under one arm. She wondered if there were any spare jumpsuits lying around. Maybe she'd have time to run home…

She found Trouble seated with Ash, Vein, and some of the other officers in the lounge where they waited to be needed.

"Hey ya, handsome," she said, altering her voice.

"Er…"

"Root said he wants you in his office, pronto." She gave her hair a Lili-esque flip over her shoulder and walked away, waiting just outside the door.

A moment later, Trouble came out.

Out of curiosity of how he would react, Holly turned to Trouble and kissed him forcibly. She was pleased to note that it didn't take long for her husband to pull away.

"What was that?" he sputtered, his face turning red.

Holly returned her voice to normal and gave him a wry grin. "What's the matter? You don't recognize your own wife?"

"Holly? What are you doing looking like that?"

"Special assignment. I'll be gone for I don't know how many days."

"What happened? I thought you resigned this morning."

Holly sighed. "I had every intention of it, but there was a change of plans. Apparently that goblin gang is a little more trouble than Root thought. We got stopped on our way here this morning and when I told Root about it, he said that I needed to get Willow out of Haven immediately. There was more to the story than he told me at first. But Willow and I are about to be escorted to the shuttle port and take a LEP shuttle to E1."

"E1? That means…"

"Fowl. Yeah. He knows we're coming. I'm due there in a matter of hours. I just wanted to come say goodbye." She gave him a hug.

"Why don't I escort you to the shuttle port?"

"Root said he didn't have much of anybody to spare. They want to be ready in case something shows up about that gang. Chix is escorting me."

"Chix Verbil? The no good sprite who was always harassing you?"

"That's the one. He can pilot a shuttle though, and somebody has got to pilot the shuttle back here."

"Good luck. I'll miss you."

"You too." They kissed goodbye a few times, neither wanting to part. "I've really got to go."

"I'll see you whenever you get back."

"If you want to talk, just bug Foaly about it and he'll put you through a line to me." Holly gave him one more hug.

"Alright. Watch out for Willow, please. And be careful: I still don't entirely trust Fowl. He kidnapped you." He kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll be fine. You watch yourself. These tunnel gangs are getting better weapons than us these days."

"I'll remember that."

She punched him lightly on the arm and gave him one last brief hug before walking away. She was going to miss him.

"Root didn't really want me for anything, right?" Trouble called.

Holly turned around, shaking her head. Then she continued back towards the Ops booth. Inside, she asked Foaly if there was anywhere for her to pick up a spare uniform. "I came here in sweatpants. I need something else to wear. You've got to have spares somewhere."

"Of course we do," he said, irately. He was holding Willow with one arm "Holls, please be careful. If you got hurt Trouble would worry, and Root would worry, and then I'd have to start worrying."

"I will, Foaly," she said, knowing that in his own way he was saying he cared. "About that jumpsuit?"

Foaly paged his favorite lackey and by the time he arrived with the suit, Chix was back with the diapers. In a few moments Holly, Chix, and Willow were ready to leave. Holly had somehow manage to cram the extra bag of diapers, her sweats, boots, and uniform into the diaper bag with everything else she was bringing. Root came in one last time to remind them to watch their backs on the way to the shuttle port.

The walk was fairly uneventful. Holly pushed Willow along in the stroller, diaper bag over one shoulder. Chix walked beside them, trying to look important. They passed along the streets mostly unnoticed. At the shuttle port, their LEP security badges got them away from the civilian ships and over to where the LEP shuttles were. Authorization had been called in and uniformed gnome handed Chix the starter chip. Once inside the shuttle, Holly proceeded to take the chip from him.

"I'm flying this bird," she said, putting Willow in his arms. She headed toward the lavatory at the back of the shuttle.

"Where you goin'?" Chix asked, bewildered.

Holly wrinkled her nose. "To change. You didn't honestly think I'd pilot this shuttle in a dress, did you?"

She reemerged from the bathroom with her own face and hair, wearing her customary uniform. She strapped herself into the pilot's seat. Verbil was in the co-pilot's seat, Willow in his lap.

She jerked her thumb to the back of the shuttle. "Sit back there. It's a safety hazard to have the kid up here, and she's too little be strapped in the back by herself."

Grumbling, Chix moved to the passenger seat in the rear of the shuttle.

Holly grinned to herself and put the starter chip in. They were off and on their way to the surface.