"How did you get here?" Will was overjoyed, but very surprised, to see Geordi and Data.

"We waited and waited to hear back from you, but we never heard a thing," Geordi replied. "We assumed that your comm badges must have malfunctioned and beamed down to investigate."

"As a matter of fact, our comm badges did malfunction," Will replied. "We've been waiting for you to find us, and now that you finally have, we've a favor to ask of you. We need to borrow a shuttle craft. Irina is missing, and Arkady suspects that she's been kidnapped and taken to New York by her former lover."

"Oh my God," muttered Geordi. "To have survived anaphylactic shock only to have this happen!"

"Not only that, but she also just found out she's pregnant," added Deanna. "It's absolutely imperative that she be found as quickly as possible."

"That goes without saying," Geordi replied. "I'll contact Picard right away. I'm sure the loaning of a shuttle craft won't be a problem."

Irina heard Max gently snoring beside her and knew that if she was going to escape, she'd have to act fast. Max hadn't bothered to dress before falling asleep, and in the jumble of clothing lying on the floor, she could see the handle of his gun sticking up out of the pocket of his pants.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, she quickly put her own clothing back on and grabbed the gun, heading for the door.

She was almost there when she tripped over a stool and crashed to the floor. Trying her best to ignore the painful bump on her head, she struggled to her feet and had almost reached the door when she heard Max's voice. "Oh, no, you don't. You're not going anywhere." He took a threatening step in her direction, and almost without thinking, she raised the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. Almost instantaneously, Max dropped to the floor with a surprised look on his face and a neat round hole in his forehead.

Once outside the bungalow, Irina realized that she was totally lost. She was miles from civilization and had no idea how to get back. She began to walk aimlessly along the road, hoping to eventually encounter someone who could help her. She'd journeyed about five miles when, exhausted, she sank by the side of the road, unable to take another step.

About half an hour later, a young family was on their way to a picnic in the country when they came upon the barely-conscious woman lying there. The father, Mark, stopped the car immediately. Irina watched as he got out of the car and felt his arms as he gently lifted her and deposited her on the back seat. The children, Jeremy and Mallory, moved over to make room for her, and Mark drove to the hospital.

At the hospital, a wheelchair was brought for Irina and she was taken to intensive care. Mark and his family waited as she was examined, and afterwards, the physician emerged and gave his report. "She's basically in good health but severely dehydrated, and she's also been sexually assaulted very recently. In addition, she's about six weeks pregnant."

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Mark's wife, Lisa. "So will she lose the baby?"

"We're doing our best to save it," the physician replied. "Only time will tell if we're successful."

Having acquired a shuttle craft, Will, Deanna, and Arkady lost no time in flying to New York. Arkady was so worried about his wife that he forgot to be awed by the novelty of warp-speed travel. Almost instantaneously, they found themselves standing in an open field just outside New York City. From there, Arkady was able to use transportation he was more familiar with to locate a telephone, where he called the NYPD and all the hospitals listed in the telephone directory. He quickly located the hospital to which Irina had been admitted, and he, Will, and Deanna took a bus there. Arriving in the waiting room of the ICU, the three met up with Mark and Lisa, who gave them the news about Irina.

"You're Russian," Mark commented.

"Yes. Why?"

"My father's Russian, too."

"That's nice. When can I see my wife?"

"She's resting now," the physician told him. You can go in and see her whenever you want."

Arkady slid the door opened and immediately saw his beloved lying on the bed with her eyes closed. An IV had been inserted into her arm. As he watched her chest gently rise and fall, a wave of tenderness washed over him. She looked so helpless, so frail, just lying there. How he longed to take her into his arms, to hold her close and protect her! The knowledge of what that vile monster had done to her infuriated him, and he desperately wanted to crush the man's neck between his hands. Not that that would undo the harm he'd done to Irina, but it would at least avenge her violation.

He longed to touch her, to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be all right, but he knew that she needed her rest, so he took a seat beside her bed and stroked her hair ever so softly.