Thirty Six Weeks

And

Counting

(Week Thirty-nine)

Kenna sat in the waiting room of the doctor's offices alone for the first time since she found out she was pregnant. Eliot had promised he would meet her there after he finished up a job for Nate. She hoped he came in less beat up looking than he did after the last few jobs. Kenna closed her eyes ran her hand over her belly. Faith kicked and Kenna smiled. She had a name now and soon she would be born and reality would set in. For weeks they went back and forth about the little girl's name. Nothing Eliot chose suited Kenna and nothing she picked excited him. He said it had to have a flow to it and nothing either of them picked had what he was going for. Then one night just after New Year's Eliot had come home extremely battered and bruised.

(Flashback)

"Damn it Kenna Shane, take it easy." He growled at her as she put more pressure against his cracked ribs than she had meant to.

"Sorry." She said as she leaned into him and put another piece of tap carefully on his wrapped ribs.

"Clementine?" He whispered.

"Charlotte?" She countered.

"Cheyenne?" Eliot tried again. Kenna shook her head.

"You slept with Cheyenne in the tenth grade."

"How do you remember that?"

"Because I tried to make a voodoo doll of her when I caught you in the barn on prom night." She meant to pull tight on the wrap this time around. Eliot painfully sucked in a breath. Kenna put away the bandages and antiseptic. Eliot watched her stiff movements and knew she was pissed. Slamming the medicine cabinet door she went to the bedroom.

"Kenna come on, I don't even remember what she looked like." He went into the bedroom and found her in bed with her back to him. "Kenna…" He shook his head. Eliot hadn't been much of anything but a friend to her then but a few short months later he would be her everything. Kenna had faith in him back the and by having his baby and marring him she had that same faith in him now. He got into beds and put his arms around her pulling her back against his chest. "Faith Valentine Spencer." He whispered in her ear. She turned her head.

"Faith…Valentine…Spencer." Kenna smiled. The baby kicked her hand. "I think she likes it." She snuggled into him.

"Let's keep the Valentine part a secret so we can surprise Parker." He said as they drifted into a much needed sleep.

(Present)

"Is this your first?" Kenna broke out of her thoughts and looked at the younger woman next to her.

"What, oh yes, it is."

"Do you know what you're having?" The woman continued her friendly questioning.

"A girl." The woman smiled.

"I find out today. " The girl answered excitedly. Kenna had to be a little jealous. To be young and expecting she might have had a differ outlook on life. Running her hand down her belly Kenna looked at the girl.

"That's great." The door opened and Kenna looked up expecting to see Eliot walking in the waiting room but it was another man. She felt the girl next to her tense as the man scanned the large waiting room. Leaning to her left she turned her ear bud on.

"Eliot where are you?" She whispered.

"In the parking garage, I'll be there in five."

"Make it three."

"Trouble?"

"God I hope not." Eliot stepped up the pace and ran to the stairs.

"Talk to me Kenna." She was silent but he could hear voices. "Hardison, I need eyes in Kenna's doctor's office."

"Who do you think I am Big Brother?"

"I thought you were better than that guy?" Eliot growled.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Hardison said. "Video to your phone in three, two and action." Eliot was standing at the door of the doctor's office. He looked at the video feed on his phone.

"Son of a bitch."

"Eliot, is that a bomb strapped to that dudes chest?" Hardison asked.

"Yeah, Hardison. That's a bomb." Eliot closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Can you get anything from Kenna's com?"

"It went off line right after she talked to you." Eliot looked at the feed.

"She's relaxed so whoever that guy is, he isn't gone completely off the rails yet. He's behind the door so if I go…"

"Eliot…don't do anything stupid." Nate's voice said into his ear.

"It'll just look like a guy late meeting his girlfriend. I rush the door and I'm in."

"And he blows up a medical building."

"Nate, he's still pretty calm. If I wait any long this could go south really fast."

"We're headed to you. Wait till we get there."

"I'm sorry Nate, that's my life sittin' in there with a crazy man with a shit load of C4 strapped to his chest. I get in there and you find away to evacuate the building."

"Be careful." Nate said knowing Eliot was right.

"I'm I anything but?" He said as he reached for the knob and opened in the door. "Hey, sorry I'm late." He was breathing like he had run all the way from the parking garage. He counted the woman in the room in various stages of pregnancy. Kenna shook her head. "What?" Eliot turned around. "Hey man." Eliot looked at the man.

"Eliot, his name is Private First Class Dayton Wilder. He was stationed in Iraq till six weeks ago when he was called home when his wife went into premature labor. Dr. Cole, Kenna's doctor's partner was her doctor. She died last week. So did the baby." Eliot looked at the man.

"What going on?" He asked the man.

"Go sit down." Wilder motioned to Eliot. He went to sit on the other side of Kenna. "Somebody better get Dr. Cole here now." The man looked at the nurse behind the desk.

"Dr. Cole is delivering a baby at Boston General." The nurse said nervously.

"Eliot you need to get a handle on this." Nate said.

"Really?" He whispered. "Hey man why don't you let these women go." Eliot stood.

"Sit back down." The man took a step forward.

"You're scaring them." Eliot stood between the man and most of the women. He had slid a button cam on his jacket before he went into the office.

"Eliot there is more than enough C4 on that vest to blow up a city block." Hardison informed him. Eliot took a deep breath.

"What do you want with Cole?" Eliot asked.

"What do you care?"

"You got me and eighteen pregnant women held hostage with enough C4 to blow up the block. I really want to know what you want with Dr. Cole."

"Have you ever met the man?"

"Can't say that I have. Dr. Baker is my girlfriend's doctor."

"He's an arrogant prick who thinks he's god gift to gynecology and obstetrics." Wilder swung his hand with the bombs detonator in it. A few of the woman in the room nodded.

"Glad she picked the woman doctor." Eliot said.

"My wife went in to labor six weeks early. It took them two hours to find him, when they did he should have never been able to operate on her. He had been at a Christmas party."

"You wife didn't make it?" Eliot already knew the answer but he knew he had to get the guy talking.

"No, she died last week. The baby too."

"I'm sorry man." Eliot watched the man's movement. "Let the women go. They all have every reason to live and if something should happen to them…well you know what you felt like to lose your wife and baby."

"Which one is yours?" The man looked at the women.

"The blond in the grey t-shirt." He looked Kenna up and down.

"You married?"

"Not yet. Issues, you know?"

"How long have you been together?"

"It's complicated." Eliot looked at the younger man. "Rangers?

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah. Black ops mostly but that's just between you and me." Eliot searched the room as he talked.

"Did you leave her to go serve?"

"Not the first time. But my duty took me away from her for a really long time." He glanced at Kenna who was sitting expressionless. Eliot saw her hands stroking her belly.

"What's wrong with her?" Wilder asked.

"She's shutting down." Eliot said quietly. He turned back to the man. "Let the women go or we could lose a few of them to panic."

"I want Cole."

"My name is Eliot Spencer. I want to help you and there is a better way than this. My firm deals in cases like this."

"Doctor's killing patients?"

"People getting away with things they should never have gotten away with." Eliot took a step closer to the man. "Just let them go." The man looked at the women again.

"All of them but the brunette and your girlfriend." Eliot looked at Kenna and the woman sitting next to her.

"And me?"

"And you." Wilder nodded. Eliot went over to Kenna and the younger women.

"I got him to let everyone but the three of us go."

"Why can't I go?" The woman sniffled.

"I won't let him hurt you." Eliot said. "You good baby?"

"Yeah." She smiled and gripped his hand.

"She doesn't look okay." The woman added.

"I'm fine." Eliot stood.

"Okay, I didn't catch your name."

"Private Wilder." The man said.

"Lets get the women out of her and we can figure this out." Eliot stood and went to the far corner of the room. "I got sixteen women coming out Nate. Are the cops here yet?"

"I called Bonanno and he's on his way. Hardison looped the feed. If you get him out soon we can help this guy Eliot but that's if you get him out of there before the cops get here."

"I'll do my best. I hate to see a good man's life screwed up for being human." Eliot went to the man. "I got people on the outside that want to help. You disarm this thing and we walk out of here. We go see my friends and we figure this out together."

"I want Cole to pay."

"I got ways of making the bastard pay like you wouldn't believe but right now you gotta start thinking straight. You get caught with something like this your career is over and you'll have nothing."

"I have nothing now." Eliot knew what the man was feeling. He had never lost love to death but what he had lost he thought he never could or would get back again so it was almost the same.

"I know it seems that way but the universe has a way of righting its self sooner or later. Take it from a man who's been there." He looked at Kenna. "Things get better."

"Your people can help me?"

"They're already on it." Eliot said. The man looked confused. "Trust me. I have as much to lose as you do. If this guy is as bad as you say I don't want him on call the night my woman goes into labor." Wilder looked at Kenna. Her eyes were closed and she looked at peace.

"Okay." Eliot let a long breath out. He held out his hand for the detonator and the younger man handed it to him. Eliot handed it to Kenna and more alert than anyone thought she was she disarmed the device as Eliot carefully disconnected the wires from the C4. "You've done this before?" Eliot smiled a small smile.

"A few times."

"I thought your girlfriend slipped into a coma." Eliot looked over at Kenna talking to the woman next to her.

"If this wouldn't have gone the right way, she was my back up plan." Wilder took off the vest and handed it to Eliot. The vent above them popped open and Parker reached down and grabbed the vest.

"Thanks Sparky." She popped back into the vent and was gone.

"One of your friends?"

"Yeah. They pop up here and there. Those sixteen women you let go won't recognize you if you're put in a line up but this girl might. I have Kenna talking her out of it so hopefully we can get out of here and work this out."

"Thank you." The younger man almost looked relieved. "When Julie and Marcus died I didn't know what I was going to do."

"We'll get you through this." Parker came back through the vent.

"Next." She hung with her hair falling just above them.

"Go with her and we'll take it from here." Eliot helped the man in the vent and turned to Kenna who was talking to the woman who had been seated next to her for the hold ordeal. "We good?" Kenna nodded.

"Eliot this is Arianne."

"Hi, nice to meet you." He smiled. "We need to get going. Bonanno is on his way and he's gonna want some answers."

"Doesn't he always." Eliot helped Kenna to her feet and the other woman followed. "You did really good Spencer." She kissed his cheek.

"Would have been better if I was here on time."

"The way I see it you were right on time." He had always been there when she needed him and today had been no different.

0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/

"Okay Hardison, tell us about Dr. Cole." Nate said as the six of them sat around Nate's office apartment.

"Dr. Alexander Cole is forty-two and has been a doctor for twenty years now. Graduated middle of his class from Harvard Med, did his internship at Boston General but bounced around at half a dozen private practices before he settled at the Aurora Heath Center where he has had a spotless reputation as an OBGYN."

"Any complaints at all?"

"Seven. Never at the same practice. The AMA has been investigating him but nothing ever sticks. Julie Wilder's parents are filed papers with the hospital last week but they haven't showed up at any of the hospitals legal memos. His other charges are pending."

"How have these charges been swept under the rug for so long?" Sophie asked.

"Because he's married to Margot Brighten Cole." Kenna added.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Nate asked.

"Her father is the president of the Massachusetts AMA." She threw the file on the desk and stood. "The bastard married the princess of the medical community." Kenna paced.

"What did your Dr. Baker say about Cole?" Nate questioned.

"He's a chauvinist prick with a hefty patient list longer than most doctors in the business ten years longer. She voted not to hire him but with his father in law connections she was about the only one who saw through his bull."

"What did she say about you?" He stopped her and she looked up.

"Everything's fine. Normal. You know."

"Yeah, good to hear this afternoon's excitement didn't cause any problems." Nate went back to the screens and Kenna turned and ran right into Eliot.

"You need to relax sweetheart."

"I know." She smiled. "How's Wilder?"

"He's good. Parker brought him to her place downtown. He promised to sit tight for a few days till we work this out." Kenna nodded.

"Okay, so how do we catch this son of a bitch?"

"We make the good doctor an offer he can't refuse." Nate looked at the team. "Let's go steal us a medical practice." He dramatically left the room.

"That really is getting on my nerves." Kenna whispered.

"Gotta admit it gives flair to the job." Eliot had to admit. Kenna nodded and they all followed Nate to plan the con.