Maxi's pregnancy was going too well. It was a constant source of stress as well as joy. Joy because her baby boy was healthy. Stress because it was becoming very hard to make up reasons for Freider not to join her during the ultrasounds. She was sure that if he did, he would figure out that she was much further along than she claimed and then her life was over. The only solution was to schedule them on days she knew Freider would be busy.

"Everything looks great." Doctor Reynolds pushed away the echo machine and rolled his chair closer to her to wipe the gel off her belly.

"When am I due?"

Doctor Reynolds quirked an eyebrow "Still sometime at the end of August. Just like last time."

Maxi hated to hear that. It would only be five months after her wedding, and even considering that she might have become pregnant the first time she slept with Freider, the math still didn't add up. She needed at least another month given when she'd decided to tell him about it. Two would be great.

"Before you ask, there's nothing I can do to keep your baby in there longer," the doctor said, raising his eyebrows. "You shouldn't even care. All that matters is that you deliver a healthy baby."

She knew that he was right, but since the baby was doing great, she couldn't focus on that. The end of August was two months away. It was too soon.

"You should tell your husband the truth."

"He knows the truth," she snapped.

The doctor shrugged. "Then why are you so worried?"

She couldn't explain it. Doctor Reynolds was right. It only frustrated her that it didn't fit with her plan. Things had been going downhill lately, so she once again needed the stars to align. As her pregnancy evolved and her belly continued to grow, Freider turned a bit colder, watching her with suspicion, asking her if she didn't think she was getting a little too big too fast.

She'd laughed it off, said that maybe they were having twins. She pretended that she wasn't getting ultrasounds, just regular checkups. Freider didn't even know the sex of the baby. It was easier to lie like this, claim that she had a lot of fluid and that was why she was so big. Claim that sex made her uncomfortable as an excuse to skip it all together, even if her hormones were raging.

It wasn't going well. Her husband was definitely not an idiot when she so obviously needed him to be one. And the doctor wasn't helping.

She had no idea what to tell Freider that evening when he came home from work and asked how the checkup had gone.

"You were right. I'm a bit big," she said carefully. "And exhausted, really."

Freider looked concerned at her words. "Is the baby alright?"

"It appears so, but..." She had no idea what to do and what to say. Her pulse drummed in her ears. "I may be in danger of a premature birth."

His face fell and it killed her that she couldn't tell if he was worried or skeptical. "You don't say."

"Yeah..."Please buy it.

"I've been thinking about this, you know." He walked to her and placed a bottle of pills in her hand. "Ever since you mentioned how tired you were and that there might be a bit too much fluid, I've spoken to a doctor and they recommended these vitamins. They said they're the best for babies."

"Oh, really?" Maxi turned the bottle in her hands. She'd never heard of the brand but it did say they were prenatal vitamins. Her heart warmed that Freider had been worried enough for her to do something like this. "Thank you. That's really thoughtful of you."

"Maybe it will feel easier this way?"

She smiled at him. "Maybe it will."

"You should rest more, too. Stop doing housework. I'll hire someone for that."

"It's no bother, really. I can't be in bed all day. And I like cooking for you." 

Now that his mother had finally moved out, it was a blessing to have the entire house to herself. Every day while she cleaned, she discovered a new nook or cranny. The only room she never approached was Davyn's. After the incident with him, they'd moved to what Maxi figured was the master bedroom in the first place. She couldn't wait to sell the house.

"As you wish," Freider gave her a smile and her body seemed to untense. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed his smile and the feeling that everything was okay.

The vitamins also seemed to help as over the next few days, her backpain seemed to ease and she had more energy. This translated into finishing her cleaning sooner, so she had nothing else to do but lay on the couch in front of the TV and watch daytime shows.

On such an uneventful afternoon, she was awakened from dozing off on the couch by the front door opening. She startled into a sitting position and found herself facing a redheaded boy with a suitcase. He looked to be about twelve and had freckles speckled on his cheeks. He'd stopped in the doorway and studied her, his head tilted slightly. Her first impulse was to scream, but he didn't look dangerous, merely confused.

"Can I help you?" she asked, smoothing her shirt over her belly.

"The question is, can I help you? You're in my house." His voice was rough and scratchy, lost somewhere between its childish tone and the voice of the man who was to come.

Something clicked inside Maxi's mind and she pulled back a little. "Then you must be Ron, right?" But how? He seemed so young, and yet he'd been in rehab and had almost died from a drug overdose at least twice.

"Yeah." He dropped his suitcase and stepped closer to her. "And you are?" He frowned the slightest bit as if she looked familiar.

"I'm Maxi. Freider's... Um, wife."

"Freider's wife?"

Any further conversation was interrupted by the appearance of Freider himself. He halted as he caught glimpse of Ron. "Oh, you're back."

"I am. Thanks for picking me up, by the way. Asshole," Ron mumbled. "You got married?"

Freider sidestepped around him and headed for Maxi who did her best to stand without wobbling too much. Ron took in her pregnant belly, looking even more confused.

"Yes, I did. And we're starting a family. So I'd be very grateful if you didn't act up. There's going to be a baby in this house, and one is enough."

"Ah, yes. Of course." The sarcasm in Ron's voice was obvious. But he didn't say anything else, just kept staring at Maxi.

"You can take that to your room," Freider said, nodding towards his suitcase.

"I'm surprised you didn't turn it into the nursery or something," Rom mumbled. Then, his eyes suddenly widened as if he could finally place her. His gaze moved to Freider with the speed of light. "Is she...?" Then he burst into hysterical laughter.

"Just get your ass upstairs," Freider snapped.

This time, Ron obeyed, laughing all the way up. Once the door to his room slammed shut, they could still see him laughing. Maxi's cheeks caught fire as she realized Ron probably knew she used to date his other brother. How he knew when she'd never seen him before she wasn't sure, but it didn't matter.

"Sorry about that," Freider said. "He's an unpleasant fellow."

"How old is he anyway?"

"Fourteen now."

He didn't look fourteen. "You don't get along, do you?"

"We would if he wasn't such a pain in the butt."

He did seem like a bit of a pain and Maxi suddenly felt as uncomfortable with him in the house as he'd been with her mother-in-law. "Can't he go live with his mother?"

"I'll have to think about that. I'm technically his guardian. And while my mother can take care of herself, I don't think she can handle a moody teenager."

Maxi didn't know why that meant that she had to handle a moody teenager. Over the next few days, however, Ron proved to be quite harmless. He didn't snark at her, kept to himself, and ate whatever she put in front of him. He only complained and rolled his eyes when Freider was around. Even if she found that annoying, she kept out of it, grateful that Ron wasn't trouble when she was forced to stay home with him alone.

"So," he said one afternoon, munching on a plate of sandwiches she'd made for him. "Does Davyn know?"

Even if she'd ben expecting this conversation for a while, she still flinched. "What do you mean?"

"You're Davyn's girlfriend, aren't you? Well, ex-girlfriend since you married Freider."

She chose not to answer and busied herself washing cutlery in the sink. "I saw the two of you once. The way you were kissing gave it away. Don't tell me it wasn't you. It took me a while to place you, especially with the giant belly, but I know it's you.

"Well, that was in the past, and I'd rather not talk about it."

"Of course, of course." Ron was silent for another few moments as he chewed. "Have you seen him lately? Where is he anyway?"

The question startled her again. "I have no idea." And it frightened her more than she cared to admit. Was he still in his apartment or had he disappeared again to wherever he'd been before?

"He does have a way of abandoning people, doesn't he?" Ron said and the bitterness in his voice made it clear that he was disappointed in his older brother.

Maxi didn't answer. She guessed Davyn did have a habit of disappearing on people. Though in her case, she wasn't sure him sticking around would have changed anything. His absence only made her plan easier.

Maybe him abandoning her was the best thing that could have happened.

♣

Davyn had never felt more burdened in his life, not even after his father died and he was left with a broken family. As he'd come to find out, not having a family didn't make him special. But so, he started to wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to lose his mother as well rather than watch her spiral into madness.

This time, the burden was brought by the whispers he kept hearing in the dead of night. As much as he tried to bury himself in work and take this job as his purpose, he couldn't pretend not to see the red flags.

It was the reason why he was reluctant to share the results of his search, why he whispered every time he had a conversation with Simon, why he kept Alan out of the loop. He hated it, that he did this, that he couldn't trust and sink into it.

But he wasn't an idiot. 

He knew he wasn't supposed to hear half of the things he did. Whispers of laser theory had him dropping the historical research for over a week and look more into that. Phillip had mentioned it before, but it felt like another life, one in which Walt was still alive and he wasn't completely disillusioned with everything.

One late evening while he was deep in a paper on the effects of lase amplification, the door to his office opened. He jumped and pulled other papers on top, but he relaxed when he noticed it was Rachel. Though what Rachel was doing there at one in the morning, he wasn't sure.

"Hi," he said, the surprise obvious in his voice. "When did you get back?"

She glanced over her shoulder for a moment before closing the door again. There was a stack of folders under one arm. "I need to talk to you."

Davyn frowned but didn't say anything as she took the seat in front of his desk. With careful movements, she placed the folders on the wooden surface, pressing one hand over them as if she wanted to flatten them. For the longest time, she stayed silent.

"Rachel, are you alright?" he asked. "What happened?"

"No, I'm not alright." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Davyn, but you're one of the few people I trust, so you're not going to be alright anymore either." She pushed the folders towards him.

Keeping wary gaze on her, he took them and opened the first. What fist hit him was the photo of what appeared to be a dead four-year-old. Frowning, he started reading. It was a medical report. The further he read, he could tell it was more than that. It was a scientific chart. 

A chill settled deep in his bones as he read the next chart. And the next. And the next. The ages varied, but the effects and conclusions were the same. Whatever they were testing, it was unfit for humans. And he knew what it was.

"Did you show these to Simon?" His voice was neutral as his mind tried to comprehend the insanity of what he was holding.

"Not yet. I just got back. I haven't even spoken to him."

"Rachel..." He closed the folders. "Do they know you took these?"

She shook her head, her eyes wet. "But they're copies. The originals are still at the labs."

"What labs?"

She swallowed heavily. "There is a lab compound in Montana. It's where they sent me and Phillip to work on... On this."

"They're trying to make super soldiers, aren't they?"

A powerful shudder shook her body. "How did you know?"

"We've heard whispers. And Simon suspected this is what you and Phillip have been working on. But what exactly...?"

"We have a formula. Actually, so to say, bits of a formula. But as you can see, it's failing. They want us to make it... not fail."

"So you're basically playing with chemistry sets." He narrowed his eyes. "Or are they making you inject the subjects?"

She shook her head so hard, her crimson waves covered her face. "No. I just take care of the chemistry. Phillip... I'm not sure."

"Is he back?"

"No. I sort of... Sneaked out. They didn't outright tell us that we're not allowed to leave, but you can sense these things. I thought it would be safer if I came because I can always claim that I'm here to see Simon."

Davyn didn't know what else to say. Even if the folders were closed, their content still swam before his eyes. This wasn't good. It was worse than the dangers he was investigating. They were testing drugs on children. Killing them. And yet all he could focus on was the possibility of the Counters using Rachel and Phillip to figure out the formula. Then they'd have super soldiers. And then what?

"There's... There's more." With a shaking hand, Rachel pulled something out of her pocket. It was a long tube, filled with a milky white substance, and another about the same length, only that the content was green.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what at least one of those was. "Were you allowed to take that out?"

"Why do you keep asking that?" 

"Because I'm concerned for your safety!"

"Sweet, but no. Of course I shouldn't have taken these out."

Davyn's heart started racing and he glanced at the door. They were so close to their supervisors, and even if it had never happened before, someone could burst in and catch the red handed.

"Put them away."

"I want you to have them."

"What? Why?"

 "In case something happens to me."

"Rachel, no."

"Take them." She stood from her chair and shoved them into the palm of her hands. "Take them, keep them safe and listen."

Davyn immediately shoved them into the drawer of his desk, glaring holes into her. "Just what the hell--"

"Listen!" She took in a deep breath. "The serum is not going to work. They've tested it on children and adults, but every time it fails, it's back to the drawing board. The formula in itself is not wrong."

"Huh? Then why isn't it working?"

"It is working. The subjects to get increased physical strength and resistance. But they also get very aggressive and end up hurting themselves. It burns into their brains in a way that it shouldn't."

He had no idea what to say to that. He hadn't read the reports fully, but it did seem to be a major problem. "Does that count, though?"

"It does, because it means that all the formula needs is a stabilizing agent. And I made one. It's the white one."

Davyn could do little else but stare. "You... You figured it out? How do you know that it works?"

"I tested it on the lab rats."

"That doesn't mean it's safe for humans."

"I know, but so far, with all the other tests, the rats have behaved the same as the humans. The difference is that it works a lot faster on rats."

He pondered on this, but his brain seemed out of order. It was all so much. "What about that other vial?"

"That's the actual serum. The good one, with the stabilizer already inside."

"And why are you giving it to me?"

"Because you're the most efficient of us all. I'm not going to continue making the stabilizer. It's too dangerous if they figure it out, and they might force me to keep making it. But if they do manage to figure it out without my help... Well, it's good to know that there will be someone out there who can face them."

"Wait, you want me to inject that thing into myself?"

Rachel's eyes filled with tears again. "I hope you'll never have to."

He hoped he never had to either. But this conversation opened a door he had hoped with all his might would stay closed.

"This is it, isn't it?" he whispered. "We have to accept that they don't have the world's interest in mind."

She nodded. "It was hard for me to accept as well, even if Simon gave me hints that it was the case. Even before I figured out what they were trying to do and that they were experimenting on children." The look she gave him was expectant, as if she expected him to give him their side of the dirt.

With a heavy sigh, Davyn pushed his research papers towards her. She took them and began reading, a small crease between her eyes.

"Laser theory?"

"Remember what Phillip said? That they might want to weaponize these jewels? Well... From what we've heard when we weren't supposed to be around, it seems like it's going that way."

Rachel dropped the papers, a disgusted look on her face. "What have we fallen into?"

"The question is, how do we get out?"

"No. The real questions is, can we get out?"

 ♣♣♣

Happy Christmas Eve! I think this is by far my favorite day of the year! And with it, you get an update.

Lots of things happening here. You get to see Ron again and a lot of series plot stuff is put into motion. 

Rachel is back with a startling discovery and I'm sure the fact that she left those substances with Davyn won't shape the rest of this series. Nope, not at all.

It's also summer, Maxi is pretty far along, which means that we will be meeting a tiny baby very soon.

I hope you're still enjoying the story! I hope there's not much left until the end.