Anything for Her - Complete

Chapter 40

"Your Majesty?" Guardian Croft interrupted, standing at the door to Vasilisa's office. "May I have a moment?"

"Certainly," the Queen replied, gesturing for Densley and Fleur to step outside so they could speak privately. "What can I do for you, Guardian Croft?"

"We have a situation at St. Vladimir's I need to make you aware of," Hans replied uncomfortably, walking into Lissa's office and closing the door before taking a seat in front of her polished walnut desk. With white peonies in a crystal bowl vase and a silver desk set, the whole office was undeniably feminine and screamed money and class.

"I had a call from Guardian Petrov. Guardians Belikov and Hathaway were on their way to visit the Academy when they encountered Strigoi." Hans decided he was within his rights to decorate the truth. He'd known for a while now that Belikov and Hathaway lived near the Academy, and that Rose was receiving her antenatal care from Dr. Olendzki, but since that wasn't relevant to this discussion, he judiciously decided to omit that from the information he presented.

"Oh my God! Are they ok?" Lissa gasped.

"Yes and no. They made it to St. Vladimir's, however as a result of fighting and killing a Strigoi, Guardian Hathaway has gone into preterm labor. She is twenty-nine weeks today, and I have been alerted that her waters have broken, and she is now in active labor."

"Twenty-nine weeks," Lissa murmured in dismay. She could remember from her own pregnancy how early that still was. "Is the baby likely to survive?"

"That's the thing. The baby will need an intensive care unit. There's one at Billings they can take the baby to by road ambulance, but there is also a neonatal MedFlight team from the Billings NICU who can come to St. Vladimir's to be there for the delivery and then fly them back to Billings. The baby stands a much better chance if the neonatal medical team are there when Rose gives birth."

"Humans, of course," Lissa commented.

"Yes."

Hans honestly didn't how her Majesty was going to react to this. Keeping the human world ignorant of their existence was imperative. However, a baby's life was at stake. Her former best friend's baby. A month ago, Hans suspected Vasilisa would have said the risk of disclosure was not worth trying to save the child's life – but since returning from Jill's wedding, her Majesty seemed to have changed her stance on things a little.

"Did Guardian Petrov have any suggestions?"

"She had a couple. A lot will depend on the time of day Rose delivers. The main suggestion is Petrov will put the entire Academy into lockdown while the humans are on campus, only allowing a handful of staff to interact with the medical team."

"Is there a precedent for this?" Lissa asked, trying to consider things with her Queen hat on.

"Yes. About nine years ago a Novice sustained a serious back injury during training. A MedFlight team was brought in to stabilize and transport him to the hospital. A few years before that, a Moroi teacher, Mr. Perkins, had a heart attack and was also flown to the nearest human hospital for treatment."

"The maths teacher," Lissa murmured. "And those were all successful? No questions asked?" Lissa checked, speaking a little louder.

"They were," Hans confirmed. The infirmary was the first major building encountered from the Academy airstrip which certainly helped. It would be relatively easy to restrict the medical team's movements to the infirmary, and a complete lockdown would prevent students or staff appearing where they shouldn't be.

"Provided there is little risk of exposure then give my authorization for the medical team to come onto campus. Please ask either Adrian Ivashkov or Sonya Karp to be in attendance in case it becomes necessary to compel any of the staff."