Title: Genetics
Author: Shannon - shannyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own "Eleventh Hour" or its characters, CBS does. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A new group is out to create superior new life.

Chapter 3 – "Recovery"

Author's Note: Okay, this is my first "Eleventh Hour" fanfic...I've mostly stuck with "Bones" lately...though I am still working on my epic fanfic. Since we don't really know much about the world of "Eleventh Hour" (where Jacob & Rachel live, the exact nature of Alex's family, and such...) I'm going to be making some things up. Normally, I'll pick locations that are unique to the exact area. FYI. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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Agent Rachel Young's Residence

Rachel was still asleep. He'd fallen asleep on the couch and then when he'd woken, it had taken him a few seconds to find out where he was. He had constructed a few of the items that he knew he could put together in the front room that would be able to be moved later into the nursery without a problem. He'd done this after Rachel had gone to bed, though it had taken him about thirty minutes to locate a flat and Phillips head screwdriver, but it was worth it. He had also finished taping the plastic down over the carpet and taped off the molding at the bottom of the wall.

Walking into the nursery, he looked around and pulled out the paint supplies that he had moved into the closet the night before. He picked up the plastic paint can and read the side. The paint was a newer organic friendly environment kind. It was specifically made to keep toxins out of the atmosphere that would normally be present in normal paint. The paint shouldn't release any toxic fumes since it was all natural. He opened the plastic container and peeked inside. It didn't release any fumes that he could smell, but he hadn't expected that color. Jacob looked at the label on the container. The Green Planet Paints declared this color as sagebrush.

He looked around and then noticed that it matched a part of the nursery set. Rachel had picked out a blanket set for the crib that was all fairy tale like with castles, unicorns, butterflies, and frog princes...and the colors were white, pink, and the sagebrush color. Jacob had to admit that it was nice that it wasn't the stereotypical pink that he'd be painting the walls, but it still shocked him a bit. He shrugged and then leaned over to pour the paint into the pan. He wanted to surprise Rachel and get some of the work done, so that she wouldn't worry about it. Jacob knew that even though she was supposed to be on bed rest that she'd try to help him. That was just how Rachel was. She didn't take things sitting down.

..........................

Agent Rachel Young's Residence

Jacob tried to get to the door as quickly as possible. Even though it was ten-thirty, Rachel hadn't emerged yet from her bedroom. He unlocked the door and twisted the doorknob to pull it open. He smiled when he saw Alex there with Owen. "Hey," he greeted.

Alex laughed and shook her head, "Morning Jacob," she greeted. "The green suits you," she commented as she let herself in. She'd brought a box of things over.

"Green?" Jacob asked and then noticed that he had specks of paint all over him. "Oh...I was painting the nursery. It's actually called sagebrush."

"Painting the nursery," Alex commented as she set the box down on the table. "Rachel's got you working already, huh?"

"Is the baby home yet?" Owen asked.

"Not yet," Alex told him. "I told you. Why don't you sit on the couch and play your DS while I talk to Jacob?"

"Okay."

Jacob smiled and watched Owen hop over to the couch before turning back to Alex. "Rachel isn't up yet. I was trying to at least get a start on the nursery..."

Taking in some of the already assembled furniture in the front room area, she nodded as she put her hands on her hips. "I can see that. I'm impressed."

"Impressed that I put it together?"

"Maybe."

His smile brightened, "It'll be ready by the time Hannah comes home," Jacob told her as he led her towards the nursery.

"Are you excited?" Alex asked curiously. She was excited and it was her niece. "You do know that I'm available to babysit, right?"

"I know now," Jacob told her. "Truthfully, I'm scared, but I'm excited as well. I don't really feel prepared for a child."

"Who is?"

"You seemed okay."

Alex beamed, "I was obviously good at faking it."

Jacob laughed.

Taking in the new color of the walls, Alex smiled gently. "It's going to be absolutely beautiful."

"Hopefully it's what Rachel wanted."

"What did Rachel want?" Rachel asked walking out of her room sleepily and then pulled her robe tighter around her when she noticed Owen and then Alex. It wasn't that she wasn't wearing appropriate pajamas; it was just that she was a bit self conscious of her appearance at the moment. She had no idea what she looked like.

"Rachel!" Alex greeted brightly and hugged her. She felt like Rachel had become like a sister even though Jacob and Rachel weren't married. She still felt quite close to her. "Good morning."

"What's going on?" Rachel questioned after a moment once she was released from Alex's hug. She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped out farther.

"Nothing," Alex and Jacob spoke in unison.

Rachel sighed and then stopped when she saw the green on the nursery walls. "You started to paint..." she said. She was definitely surprised by it. She hadn't expected him to be painting just yet. "Wow..."

"Is it right?" Jacob asked.

"It's right," Rachel told him. "It's going to be beautiful."

"And you are to not lift a finger," Alex reminded Rachel.

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Saint Mary's Hospital

They were in the elevator, waiting for it to arrive at the maternity ward in order to visit Hannah. It would still be a couple days until they were to take her home, but Rachel insisted on visiting her. Jacob didn't argue, in truth he wanted to go. He didn't feel like he could just go to the hospital on his own and ask to see her. He didn't even know if his name was on the birth certificate. He looked over at Rachel and noticed that she still looked off. It had been something that he'd noticed earlier after Alex had left, when he'd made a comment Rachel had just brushed it off as being tired. He was concerned, but he figured that at least he'd be able to keep an eye on her. Where else did he have to go right now? The F.B.I. had boxed up his apartment and put it in storage and his lease had run out while he was gone. At the moment, Rachel was the only link he had...and he was going to take advantage of it.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Jacob asked politely. Rachel seemed pale, she blinked a lot, once in a while her hand would go up to her head, and her posture seemed to have changed. He felt like he had a good reason to worry.

Rachel turned her head to him, "I'm fine, Jacob," she responded. "Really..."

"I'm just worried," Jacob admitted as the doors opened and they both exited. "I want to make it possible for you to get all the rest you can. Alex told me things have been hard and you've been pushing yourself..."

She smiled; Alex was so worried all the time about her. It was sweet, but Rachel felt that it was unnecessary. She'd been taking care of herself for some time. "I always push myself, even if I'm not sick."

As they approached the maternity nursery viewing area, Jacob immediately started to scan it for Hannah. As they reached the center of the nursery window, he still didn't see her. She had been in a basinet that was located towards the back in the middle. Today there were fewer infants, but he didn't see Hannah. She was easy to spot, being so small.

"Do you see her?" Rachel asked, her heart was starting to race. They would have called her if there was a problem.

"No."

.

.

.

It was dark and she was terrified. With only a bit longer until she was supposed to give birth, Rachel worried about what her current state of incarceration could possibly harm her child. She'd been there three days and they'd barely fed her or given her water. It was okay if she was hungry, but her baby needed to live.

"It's a girl."

The voice was familiar, yet she couldn't put a name to it. For the last three days she'd been poked and prodded and scanned. She already knew she was having a girl. She'd found out some time ago. It wasn't a shock to her.

"The child is defective."

It felt like she'd been kicked so hard that all of the oxygen in her lungs had been knocked from her body. It was hard for her to regain her normal breathing. Her eyes flooded with tears. There was something wrong with her child? She didn't understand. Rachel had never intended on getting pregnant. She'd done all the safe things in order to keep it from happening, since it hadn't been part of her plan. At least not at the time. But they had done this to her. They had implanted her months ago and apparently now they didn't seem happy with the results. Her doctors hadn't said anything about the baby having any problems. They had told her that her baby girl was developing just fine. She'd even picked out a name.

Hannah.

Rachel knew that the only test that could tell them that much besides the baby itself would have been the test that had forced her to cooperate with them and ultimately the one that hurt physically and emotionally the most. The amniocentesis. Her doctors had offered it as a choice, but since she didn't have to do it and all the results at that point led them all to believe that Hannah would be born healthy; there was no reason for her to agree to such a drastic test. It put her baby's life in danger. But these men had forced her to do it. They called themselves The Genesis Group.

A better life form, that's what they claimed to be creating. Her child was supposed to be genetically superior, but apparently they had messed up in some way. They were creating a child by splicing DNA and impregnating her. She couldn't even guess whose male DNA was part of her child's make up.

"What should we do with it?"

Rachel wanted to scream. It wasn't their choice. This was her child. She had been the one who had made the decision to keep the child. She'd been the one who'd sacrificed so much at her job in order to have Hannah. She wasn't going to let them take her baby away from her. It was her choice.

Her choice.

"We could dispose of it."

Tears escaped her eyes and she covered her mouth to keep in the sobs. They couldn't just throw her baby away like it was a piece of trash. She wasn't asking them to care for her. Rachel was going to take care of her baby. She'd gone out and bought things for the nursery. The space was no longer being used as a pathetic office any longer, it was ready to be painted and for furniture to be set up. "No," she whispered. She wasn't going to let it happen. This was her child, her choice.

"We should dispose of them both."

Getting up, Rachel tried to think of a way to escape. She didn't know where she was. They'd managed to keep the location from her. She suspected it was either a facility that went under a different title and type or it was an abandoned building that they'd taken over. Either way, she didn't have an idea. She was still getting out, though.

"That could bring Doctor Hood out of hiding."

Jacob. It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned him. She missed him. Her partner/protectee had become about the only friend she had. Rachel felt relieved to know that he was safe, though. They couldn't use her to get him right now. She didn't even know where he was. She tried to concentrate. She needed to escape. Rachel knew that they said they'd be back. She'd look for an escape opportunity then.

They weren't going to take her baby.

.

.

.

Rachel quickly rounded the corner to the door that gave way to the nursery. Once inside, one of the nurses in the curtained area spotted her and started over. "Where's Hannah?" she asked quickly.

"Hannah is..." the nurse started and then went to check the infant's chart. "She's with the doctor right now."

"But shouldn't he be examining her in here?" Rachel asked.

Another nurse appeared. "Doctor Cahill wanted to examine her in another room. One of the other little ones was really upset and it was causing a chain reaction. He couldn't check her properly in her basinet with all the noise." She gave Rachel a smile, "They should be back in just a moment."

"Thank you."

"Why don't you just wait outside in the waiting area? He'll have to come right through that door with her, so you'll know when she's back."

Rachel just nodded and then turned around to leave. They sat together on the bench of chairs right outside of the nursery door. She leaned back in the seat and let out a breath of relief. For a moment, she'd gotten very paranoid and had thought that Hannah was missing. The Genesis Group deciding that even though Hannah is "defective" that they could still use her was a worry that often ran through her mind. Rachel closed her eyes and tilted her head up towards the ceiling. She was telling herself to keep the tears back that threatened to fall. She really hated crying in front of Jacob. There was no reason to cry, Hannah was fine...she was safe...she was just being checked.

"I know you hate me asking this," Jacob began. "But are you okay?"

"I just—I just thought," Rachel started and then went quiet for a moment. "I thought that maybe she had been taken."

"By Genesis?" Jacob questioned.

"Yes," Rachel admitted opening her eyes and without her consent a few tears trickled down her cheeks. She reached up and wiped them away. She hated to show weakness, especially in front of him. Her job had been to protect him, and now look at her...crying at nothing. "I don't know why I would think that...they didn't want her before...why would they want her now, right?"

Jacob put his arm around her shoulder and tried to pull her close. "It's just you being a mother. You're concerned about Hannah, there's nothing wrong with that." When she finally relaxed, he pulled her to his chest and let her head drop under his chin.

"I'm being a crazy out of control mother who's letting fear get the best of her," Rachel corrected him and felt even sillier being comforted and held by Jacob.

"It's not you," Jacob argued. "Right now your body is releasing hormones. It's the hormones, not you that's being crazy and out of control."

Rachel laughed a bit and wiped her face again and then pulled away still feeling silly. "Thanks. Explaining away my insanity with science..."

Jacob smiled and then glanced to the side when he heard a doctor talking to a baby. It was obviously a baby because of the language the doctor was using. "Rachel," Jacob tried to alert.

"Hmm?"

Jacob pointed, Doctor Cahill was returning with Hannah and it seemed like he was very happy and having far too much fun with their daughter. He got up and noticed that Rachel was doing the same.

"Hello," Doctor Cahill greeted with a bright smile. "Hannah is looking very good today, but I still want to keep her for at least another day to make sure that everything is perfect before she leaves."

"I understand," Rachel told him.

Doctor Cahill was about to suggest them stepping inside, so that they could hold Hannah and give her a bottle when he noticed Rachel. "Are you feeling okay today, Rachel?"

The dreaded question. "I'm just tired," Rachel told him.

"You slept for at least twelve hours, Rachel," Jacob told her quietly. He wasn't doing it, so that she'd be mad at him; he was doing it so that she could possibly get help. He didn't want her to be sick... He wanted her to be happy and healthy and have Hannah home in just a couple of days.

"Who's your doctor?" Cahill questioned.

"Doctor Reynolds," Rachel responded. "And then Doctor Miller."

"Two doctors? Is one your general doctor?" he asked curiously.

"No, they called me back for tests, but Doctor Reynolds wasn't there, so they had me see Doctor Miller," Rachel explained.

"Mark Reynolds?"

"Yes."

"Sara Miller?"

"No," Rachel responded. "Doctor Miller is male."

Doctor Cahill frowned, "I don't know any other Millers."

Jacob frowned; he didn't like the look on Doctor Cahill's face. It worried him. He knew that Rachel would say that he should be worrying for Hannah, not her. But he couldn't help it.

"You should pay Mark a visit, though. I can call it in, he could probably see you today," Cahill offered.

"It's okay; I'll call on my own. Maybe schedule an appointment for tomorrow." Rachel didn't feel up for being poked and prodded today. She didn't feel sick, she just felt tired.

"Sure?"

"Yes, but thank you."

"Do you mind?" Jacob asked motioning to Hannah. He figured that now that Rachel had been confronted by Doctor Cahill, that he was ready to give her an escape route. "I've been kind of waiting for this all morning."

"Of course," Doctor Cahill said and led them back into the nursery.

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TBC...