After a few minutes, Jim leaned away from Madeline embarrassed that he had broken down like that. But Madeline was a guide, one whose empathic abilities were directed toward sentinels only. She understood his emotions, since she was able to tap into them, to fell them.

"Its alright, Jim. It will get better." She said one hand rubbing his arm in a soothing manner.

"You making time with my wife there, Jimmy?" A weak, humor tinged voice said, and Jim turned to see Rucker staring at them with a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"Rucker, you old dog, you're awake." Jim exclaimed and went over to his cousins' bedside. "And of course I am. Can't do it when you're around, got to find sometime alone with her."

Rucker laughed weakly as his wife and guide walked over and held his hand, tears making her eyes bright and shiny. "Hello sweetheart, this young whippersnapper bothering you." Rucker said with a sweet smile to Madeline.

"Of course not." Madeline said as she brought Rucker's hand to her cheek, the tears falling silently down her face.

"Hey, hey, no crying, now. I'm going to be alright." Rucker said.

"I know. I thought I was going to lose you Rucker. I don't think I could handle that."

"You're strong Madeline, you'd gone on, and raised the baby into a good sentinel. But now I'll be there to corrupt him or her."

Madeline laughed at that and kissed her husband and sentinel on the lips. "You crazy old sentinel." she said fondly.

Jim smiled at them. Madeline was good for Rucker. Though Jim didn't want a guide, if he had to, he would have chosen someone like Madeline. She was one of a kind.

Blair Sandburg walked over to the family gathering with a smile on his face. "I see our patient is awake." Blair said.

"He sure is," Madeline answered, "Thank you, Dr. Sandburg."

"You're quite welcome, Madeline. I am glad I could help. Jim I need to check you over."

"Why?"

"You may well have had Tiberius Flu, but the baby hasn't, and I want to make sure he or she has weathered this epidemic. I'm not entirely trusting of the amniotic sac to be able to keep out such diseases."

Jim nodded, "Alright, Doc." He turned to Rucker gripping the older man's shoulder, "I'll be back in a few." He said.

"Just take care of yourself, Jimmy." Rucker said.

Jim nodded again, and then followed Dr. Sandburg to one of the labs.

"Go ahead and take off your shirt and lay down on the biobed." Blair said as he looked over one of the machines.

Jim removed his shirt and laid down on the biobed as instructed, and waited. Blair came over with the sonogram machine, and placed the gel on the wand. to run over Jim's abdomen.

Blair rubbed the wand over Jim's stomach and looked at the screen. "Damn, I was hoping this wouldn't happen."

"What's wrong?" Jim asked.

"That idiot placed the uterus behind a few of you organs. Probably not a good place for them. Still plenty of room for the baby to grow I think. Just makes it hard to find on the sonogram. Move on to your side, and we'll try there." Blair ordered. Jim complied, and Blair placed more gel on Jim's side below his ribs, and rubs the wand over it. The baby's heartbeat came clear and strong over the fetal monitor.

"Good, I can see the baby better this way. Heartbeat sounds good, and the baby seems to be developing alright." Blair sighs, replacing the wand on its hook.

Jim looked at Blair, "What's the sigh for?" He asked.

"There's only one way I can be sure that the baby is healthy and didn't catch Tiberius flu." Blair said.

"And how's that?" Jim asked.

"By taking a sample of the amniotic sac and analyzing it."

"No way, Doc. I know exactly how you plan to do that, and it isn't happening."

Blair sighed, "Jim, I have to make sure. The amniotic sac is a bit different from a natural one. I can't be sure that it works as good as a natural amniotic sac. The baby could develop Tiberius flu, and die. If that happens I can't be sure you're body will react accordingly and abort the fetus. You could die from infection. I promise, we'll sedate you before the procedure. You won't feel anything."

Jim rolled onto his back and placed a hand over his eyes sighing. He couldn't let the baby die without trying to save it, "Alright Doc, but only if I'm sedated."

"I'll get Madeline to assist me." Blair said, and Jim nodded. "Wait here." Blair left the room to find Madeline.

A few minutes later Blair and Madeline came into the room. "How's Rucker?" Jim asked Madeline.

"He's asleep. Tired from fighting the virus but doing good." Madeline answered as she handed Jim a gown. "Need you to get undress, Jimmy and put this on. Dr. Sandburg told me what needs to be done. I'll be here, I promise." Madeline was a licensed RN, and Rucker's guide. Jim trusted her explicitly.

Taking the gown, Jim laid it on the bed, and began to get undressed while Dr. Sandburg and Madeline set up the equipment. Once he was nude, Jim put the gown on, and Madeline had him lay down on his side while she covered him with a sheet. She then went to fill a syringe.

She injected the sedative into Jim's arm, and rubbed his shoulder as he fell asleep. Dr. Sandburg brought the equipment over the bed. Seeing that the patient was asleep, Blair removed the sheet, and Madeline handed him a large speculum covered in KY.

The procedure was different from taking a sample from a woman. A camera mounted on a probe helped Blair find the entrance to the uterus. The camera helped him to maneuver the specimen-procuring needle to the amniotic sac. Once he had the specimen, Dr. Sandburg removed the probes from Jim's rectum, and then removed the speculum.

Dr. Sandburg took the specimen over to the equipment, while Madeline cleaned up Jim, and then covered him with a sheet to allow him to sleep off the sedative.

Blair studied the specimen, analyzing it with the machines. Madeline walked over to him and handed him a cup of hot tea. "Any results, yet?"

"Yes, no sign of Tiberius Flu. Right now I am studying the amniotic sac. It is different from a normal one. I think I was right. If the baby does die, the amniotic sac will not break, and Jim's body will not expel the dead fetus."

"Which would then poison Jim's body." Madeline finished.

Blair nodded, "Yes. This means I am going to have to keep a closer eye on him. If the baby dies, and we don't catch it in time..." Blair let the implication lie.

"Its good thing Jim is a sentinel. He can hear the baby's heartbeat, I'm sure. He could tell if the baby died." Madeline said. "I know the female sentinels I've talked to have all told me that they could hear the baby's heartbeat."

"That is good to know, but I still think he needs to be monitored more than he has been. This is too new, too different. I need to contact the doctors of the others to tell them the newest information I've gathered. They will need to be monitored as well."

"But the baby's doing alright now?" Madeline asked.

"Yes. No signs of any problems. I think he will carry the baby to full term, but I can't guarantee it 100%."

"Only God can do that, Blair." Madeline said placing a hand on Sandburg's shoulder.

Blair smiled at Madeline, "I guess you're right about that. Jim told me that you and Rucker were going to adopt the baby."

"Yes. I can't have children, I have ovarian cancer and my ovaries had to be removed. Jim is giving us a special gift."

"I'm glad the baby will be cared for. There's a good chance he or she will be a sentinel or a guide for that matter." Blair said.

"You are a guide too, Blair. I can feel that."

"I have strong guide potential, but have not bonded with a sentinel. Someday, perhaps." Blair said.

"Jimmy needs a guide, but he refuses to bond."

"Why is that Madeline? All the sentinels I have known avently searched for their guides."

"I'm not sure I should tell you. I don't want to betray Jimmy's trust." Madeline said.

"Madeline, not only am I a doctor of medicine, I am also a psychiatrist. If it can help Jim, then I need to know."

"When Jimmy was twelve, he found a guide. A woman by the name of Lila Hobson."

"She was ten years older than Jimmy. But you know sentinels. They tend to grow up faster than regular people. She seduced him. A twelve-year-old boy and she seduced him! Then she betrayed him. If Rucker's mother hadn't figured it out. Lila tried to sell Jim on the black market. She had seduced him into her bed, and then tried to sell him. An unbonded sentinel child would have sold for millions on the black market. Rucker's mother managed to save Jimmy, and Jimmy.... During the escape, Lila tried to kill Rucker’s mother, and Jimmy picked up a gun to stop her. Jim killed Lila Hopson. To this day he refuses to bond with a guide. Afraid of a betrayal. Once bitten..." Madeline sighed and looked over at the sleeping sentinel.

"My God. I would never have thought that a guide could betray a sentinel like that." Blair breathed.

"She had little guide potential, just enough to make her desirable by unbonded sentinels."

"How has Jim survived so long without a guide?" Blair asked.

"Sheer Ellison stubbornness. It's a legendary trait, Dr."

A moan from the bed, and jerky movements, told them Jim was waking from the sedative. Blair stood and followed Madeline over to the bed as Jim slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. "Welcome back, Jimmy. How was you're nap?" Madeline asked teasingly.

Jim smiled at Madeline, "Fine. Just fine. How's the...baby?"

"He or she is just fine. No sign of Tiberius. However, I am concerned about the amniotic sac." Blair explained what he had discovered. "You'll need to be monitored more closely. Madeline says that you should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat, is this true?"

Jim shook his head, "It was driving me nuts, and I tuned it out."

"Oh Jimmy. If..." She didn't finish knowing Jim wouldn't want to hear that a guide could have helped him tone the heartbeat down to where it wasn't so distracting or annoying.

"Well in that case we will definitely be monitoring you more closely. I want a fetal monitor hooked up to you at all times. I have one on Seaquest that is small and waterproof. When we get back I'm going to have it implanted." Dr. Sandburg's tone brooked no arguments.

"Fine." Jim said not even bothering to try and argue.

"Now that this epidemic is under control, I am sure Captain Hudson is ready to move on to the next assignment." Sandburg said.

"Yeah making the ocean safe for all citizens." Jim murmured sarcastically. Blair chuckled. There was no love lost between Jim and the Captain.

A few hours later, Hudson did receive new orders, and the Seaquest team disembarked from the colony and took the shuttles back to the Seaquest. Jim let Brody report back to the Captain, and followed Sandburg into the med lab. Blair wanted the monitor implanted immediately.

Giving Jim a local anesthetic, Blair implanted the fetal monitor beneath the skin of Jim's lower abdomen just above his groin. The monitor was directly tied in with Blair's computer and would warn him should the fetal heartbeat change in any way.

The damn thing was so unobtrusive, that not even Jim with his heightened sense of touch was bothered by it.

"The range is limited to the Seaquest. Off the Seaquest, I'll have to bring my palm computer, and that will limit the range to about fifty feet." Blair explained.

"Guess it’s a good thing we are on the Seaquest." Jim stated.

Blair nodded at that.