Have you ever really loved an angel
Once you have you'll never be the same again
Have you ever had to let go of an angel
Say goodbye, let 'em fly, my angel, my best friend
Rori clicked on the email from Captain Travis, the Crime Scene Unit Commander. It had the digital form of the CSU case report and his personal notes. She downloaded the file into their local server before opening it. She flipped through the pictures and stopped on the one with the trash can. There were IV bags discarded in the trash.
"What the hell?" she asked. Of course, she was alone in her office so she didn't get a response. She pulled her phone out and dialed Hank's number.
"Dr. Lawson," he answered after a few rings.
"Henry, is it still possible to do a tox screen on Mandy?" she asked.
"We could, it may not show everything that was in her system depending on the drug breakdown," he said. "You think she was using?"
"I think she was drugged," she said. "CSU found IV bags in the garbage. They are, of course, testing them, but I was curious if yours would be faster."
"Probably not faster, but I can do it anyway," he said.
"Thank you," she said.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Henry, I'm fine," she replied. "Do you have a better estimate on time of death?"
"Closest I can get is ten days, give or take a day or two," he said. He was clearly annoyed that she was dismissing his concern. "Any sign of Mandy's baby?"
"Steve and Danny haven't checked in yet," she said. "I'm taking that as a no."
"Okay, keep me updated," he said. "And let me know when Jennifer is coming."
"I will," she said.
"Well, back to my autopsy," he said. "I love you, Rori," he added after a pause.
"I love you too, Hank," she said and ended the call. She hated herself for keeping the baby from them. Even with the best intentions it had been wrong and she never should have kept such important information from them.
"Rori," John called from the main room of the office. She pushed her chair back and went to join him at the command table in the middle of the room. "Got an ID on Mr. Tattoo."
"That was fast," she said.
"It's cause I'm good like that," he winked. "Anyways, meet Hector Benavidez. He has spent a cumulative eight years of his life behind bars for petty crimes but, and this is really the only interesting thing about him, he was recently suspected of being involved in an illegal adoption operation."
"He sells babies?" she asked.
"Yup, considering we're looking for a baby that was born at home and the mom is dead," he said.
"And she may have been drugged," she added. "Who's leading the investigation?"
"Agent Simmons in the Albuquerque FBI Field Office," he said. They'd worked with Simmons before.
"Alright, I guess I know who I get to call," she said. She spun on her heels and started toward her office. She got dizzy and lost her balance. She hit the floor hard.
"Rori!" John dropped down next to her.
"I'm fine," she said. She grabbed his arm to stabilize herself and pulled to a sitting position. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, you're the one that hit the floor," he said. "You okay?"
"I just tripped over my own feet," she said. She wasn't sure she was okay though, she was still dizzy and she couldn't focus her eyes. Everything was a blur. She was shaking. Something was wrong and she had a feeling it meant that Jennifer was right, she was losing the baby. She tried to get to her feet, but she was so dizzy and her stomach was lurching again. A sharp pain shot through her stomach, causing her to double over.
"You're not okay, I'm calling General Carter to get Jennifer," he said.
He quickly dialed a number on his phone and shared a quick conversation with someone before hanging up.
"Jennifer is on her way, apparently they're going to beam her right over," he said. He knelt back down next to her and gripped her hand. "Oh, Rori, I am so sorry."
"It's not your fault, John," she said.
A bright light filled the room for a moment and Jennifer appeared in it's wake. "Rorianna, what are you feeling?" Jennifer asked as she knelt next to John in front of Rori and began checking her over with a scanner Rori recognized from Atlantis.
"I'm dizzy, I can't focus my eyes, very uncoordinated, and a sharp pain in my stomach," she said. "I was pretty nauseous earlier too."
"More than pretty nauseous, she chunked it at a crime scene," John said.
"Your pulse is racing," Jennifer said. "Let's get her into Hank's exam room so I can check her over."
John gathered Rori up in his arms and carried her into the exam room. He kissed her lightly on the head as he laid her down and then brushed the hair off her face. That guilty look returned to his eyes and it broke her heart. Jennifer administered some kind of medication into her arm and continued checking her with the high tech scanner.
"John, call the rest of the family," Jennifer said.
"Is she going to be okay?" John asked.
"Get the rest of the family here," Jennifer said firmly.
"What's happening, Jennifer?" he asked.
"Rori, how's your vision?" Jennifer asked, ignoring John's question.
"Better," Rori said. "Jennifer, please, what's happening?" She was even more scared now. Whatever Jennifer had found in the tests had her very serious and concerned.
"I can't find the baby's heartbeat and the tumor has doubled again," Jennifer said. "Carson thinks it's draining you."
"Like a Wraith?" John asked.
"Yes," Jennifer replied. Rori didn't know much about how the Wraith killed their victims, but she knew it was by somehow draining away years of the victim's life.
"You said it was only going to effect the baby," John said.
"I said the Wraith DNA is adaptive, you of all people know that," Jennifer said. She gave John a look of concern which prompted him to pull his phone out and step out of the room. Jennifer quietly continued checking her scans while they waited for John to come back. He returned pretty quickly.
"They're on their way. Hank said about five minutes, but Danny and Steve are on the other side of town," John reported.
"I don't think we have that long," Jennifer said. "I have a surgical team waiting on the Daedalus in orbit."
"Surgical team?" Rori asked. "I can't go into surgery without the rest –"
"I have to remove the tumor before it kills you, too," Jennifer said. "John, I'm going to leave a radio with you, when they get here, radio the Daedalus and they'll bring you up."
"I should go with you," John said, glancing from Rori to Jennifer.
"I've got her," Jennifer said. "I need to get her into surgery now."
"Okay," John said. He took the radio that Jennifer held out to him and gripped Rori's hand. "You're in good hands, babe." He stepped back and Jennifer pressed a button on a small device in her hand. Everything around her changed. In a second, Rori and Jennifer were in a small room with gray walls. Jennifer started shouting commands to members of her staff. Nurses surrounded her and helped her into a hospital gown.
"Rori, I'm going to put you under. When you wake up your family will be waiting," Jennifer told her before nodding to one of the people who had surrounded Rori, who put a mask over her face.