Chapter 3

They now had almost a week's worth of spying under their belts, and their operations had gone well. Ronon had retrieved enough records from the Ministry of Extermination for them to study. Gannon's name had come up more than once, and Tion, Scotter's contact at the salvage yard, had decided to join their group. As had become their custom, the men compared notes at the end of the day.

"Ronon, you did an excellent job of retrieving records. I've been through more than half of them, and already I know that the majority of them could have been saved with the bacta. I'm sure that a medical specialist would be quite interested in that information," Kairon commented.

"I'm almost sorry that my days as a soldier are done. I rather came to like the uniform," Ronon replied.

"Don't put it away, yet, Ronon. It may come in handy trying to contact Gannon. I propose that we have Ronon approach him and bring him here so that we can all talk with him," Don stated.

"Do you think that's safe?" John asked.

"I think it would be safer to bring him here than for us to go to him."

John acquiesced. "Alright, as long as we have a back-up plan to protect ourselves. Let's see if we can get him here tomorrow morning."

"How is the long range communication system coming along?" Scotter asked.

"It's going well, I should have something set-up here by tomorrow, then I'll be ready to return to Carmellia to complete the other part of the system." John replied.

"So, things are going extremely well!" Kairon effused.

"Yeah, but let's not get too comfortable yet. We still have a long way to go." Don advised.

They lay together side by side, his hand caressing her swollen form, and he leaned over to speak into her belly button.

"Anytime time now, kid… Whenever you're ready… Gotta lot to teach you about… Dave Matthews, U2, Springsteen, Star Wars, but not Madonna, definitely not Madonna…"

She giggled at his words and gave him a light slap on the arm.

"Don't agree with me, huh?" he asked and kissed her belly, her breasts, and her neck. He captured her lips and closed his eyes as he lingered in her kiss.

The kiss dissolved and he was now sitting behind her on the med bay bed, Judy propped up against him. He held her hands and she squeezed them like a vise as the next contraction brought their child closer to their arms. Marcus stood in front of them and encouraged, "Push, Judy, almost there."

She grunted with one final effort, and the child was out. He saw the shock on Marcus' face and brewing anger beneath. Marcus wrapped the baby in a blanket and handed it to Judy, saying, "I'm sorry."

"Come on, Don, wake-up. I have to talk to you."

Don jerked awake to find John nudging his shoulder and calling his name.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Get yourself together and meet me in the galley."

Don wasted no time in leaving his room and found a glass of brandy awaiting him on the table. His stomach dropped to his knees. 'Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.'

"I heard from Maureen," John started.

"How?"

"She commed me from the Jupiter. Don, they'll be here tomorrow."

"Judy…"

"They think she was kidnapped by Appolus."

Don clenched his fists and spit out, "That bastard!"

Placing a calming hand on Don's forearm, John continued. "Don, there's more… She's pregnant"

He stared at his father-in-law in disbelief.

Scotter stood in the doorway and heard the exchange. He walked over to the table, picked-up the glass and put it in Don's hand. "Drink up, son."

Don brought the glass to his lips and swallowed it in one long swig. He stared at the empty vessel and asked, "What else did she tell you?"

"She must have been writing in her journal at the swimming hole when it happened. They found it along with her pen and a cloth laced with a sedative. It happened the other night," John explained.

As he slammed the glass down onto the table, Don exclaimed, "I knew it. I knew something was wrong." He adamantly looked at his father-in-law. "I need to find her, John."

"We need to find her, but I'm sure Appolus and his crew haven't landed yet."

Scotter added, "I'll contact Tion to find out everything he can."

Don's face was flushed with anger and worry. He stared at his two father figures and spit out, "If he touches her…"

Scotter poured brandy for all three of them, nodded and tipped his drink towards Don. "And we'll help you."