Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Sunday, December 27, 2020
With a sick pregnant woman and three kids in quarantine, Dmitri Petrescu moved into the hub. John and Ken brought a few personal items when they came to visit Dawn. Dmitri stored them in the former alchemy lab. Given Dawn's condition, he slept in the infirmary.
When the first alarm sounded, it didn't surprise him. A part of him hoped for a miracle. After Dawn arrived on Christmas, he'd done more scans. Rhys suspected Atmore energy. If that had been the case, the problem should have resolved itself. Even if the energy affected the baby and Dawn indirectly, Dmitri would have expected different results.
He slid off the cot and crossed the room. The information was unfortunately what he expected. There wasn't a lot of time. Dmitri tapped his ear com and removed his bag of equipment from the cabinet next to the Nanogene station. He didn't know how the fancy equipment worked and doubted anyone else did either. They needed a more experienced Torchwood doctor.
"Who's in the hub." Dmitri set the bag on the counter.
"Me," John said. "Jack went home."
Dmitri discussed the situation with Jack previously. They agreed not to mention it until they had to. "Come to the infirmary. I need to delivery Dawn's baby."
"I'll call Rhys."
"No, John. I need extra hands." Dmitri checked the scan read-out again. "Hurry. The baby doesn't have much time."
"What?"
"Hurry. I'll send Jack a message. Don't call anyone."
Dmitri quickly typed Jack a text message.
When John rushed through the door, Dmitri was setting out his equipment. "Dawn was exposed to the dreamfish drug. I wasn't sure until Christmas. It must work differently in a pregnant woman. Or it was whatever happened at Atmore that made it possible for her to get pregnant."
John hesitated. "Dawn's dying?"
"Yeah." Dmitri suspected she knew. She'd held on for her son.
A second alarm sounded.
"No more time. I have to take the baby. Do you know what a cesarean section is?"
John hesitated. "You're cutting her open."
"Yeah."
"Is the retrovirus active?"
"No. That's why I had trouble finding it." For the first time since he'd arrived, he knew what he had to do. It wasn't the first time he'd performed the operation. Whether it was a person, or an animal, the odds of the mother surviving in his experience were not good. In Dawn's case, there was nothing he could do but save her baby.
"What do you need me to do?"
John Hart sat on the edge of a medical cot holding Michael David. He'd never held a newborn. Dmitri had successfully saved the boy's life, but had a meltdown afterward. When Jack joined them in the infirmary, Dmitri was sitting on the floor against the opposite wall.
"Dmitri, can you tend the baby?" Jack asked.
Reluctantly, Dmitri stood. "Yeah."
After he accepted the baby, Jack led from the infirmary. From his body language, he wanted to discuss something and didn't know how. John wondered what could be difficult after everything. As Time Agents they'd seen and done insane things. Ironically, they'd been introduced to Torchwood in much the same way by very different people. Jack had been abducted, tortured, threatened and finally bribed. John was abducted, bribed and manipulated. After everything, John couldn't miss the similarities between the Time Agency and Torchwood.
"I need to ask a favor."
John already figured that much. "What?"
They continued toward the main entrance in silence for a few minutes.
"We have a paperwork problem with the baby." Jack sounded uneasy.
"Michael David," John said. Dawn decided on the baby's name on Christmas Eve.
Jack nodded. "Ianto figured out how to generate the paperwork for a marriage in case Dawn preferred widow to single mother. With Dawn gone, the only way to avoid social services and a custody issue is if Dawn was married. Dmitri would agree, but he couldn't handle the baby."
"If I'm married to Dawn, no would question the baby's paternity. My name would automatically be on the paperwork?"
"Yeah."
"You want to give Ken a newborn? After the mall, finding out Dawn died is going to be worse."
"Ianto and Dmitri would help. You've been seen with Dawn. The text messages Ken and Dawn exchanged sounded like more than friends. Anyone looking would see an unconventional relationship."
"What about Ianto?" John countered. "He wants a kid. If you can fake a marriage, you can fake a surrogacy agreement or preliminary adoption papers."
"Ianto still has stress issues; he couldn't handle it right now. Ken has experience caring for his sisters' babies."
"I don't know." A memory came to mind as they left the back hallway and entered the main area in front of the large door. Morpheus' words at the London sleep center returned. One day your son will save the world. "What do you need me to sign?"
Torchwood Four; Dublin, Ireland
Keara Montfert:
In the moment Dawn Sowell took her last breath, one thread ended and another began. For life is a pattern. Each thread seems inconsequential when compared to the loom. But the weave is a delicate balance. Each thread contributes to the emerging picture. One small change can alter the entire image. One mistake can cause the very fabric of reality to unravel.