When Natalia felt the pain again, she knew something was wrong. It was intense and something she had never felt before. It radiated around her mid-section and it took everything in her to not cry out.

This continued on for another few hours. She started to get scared as she paced around the cave hoping for Loki to show up. Pretty soon though, her legs got too weak and she had to lay back down. The drugs in her system made her too weak and she had no idea what would happen. She curled into a ball and stared at the fire in hopes that it would distract her.

Through the crackling of the embers, she heard a different kind of sound. It was working its way to the cave like it knew where to go. She sighed in relief when Loki's name came to her mind but quickly grimaced again when another bout of pain shot through her stomach.

"Loki!" she called, but no one answered. It must have been an animal looking for shelter in the winter storm. She buried her face into her arm but then jumped at the sound of a voice.

"Natalia, are you okay?" She lifted her head and saw a man standing there with concern etched across his face. He kneeled down to her and she rolled over and tried sitting up.

Dr. Andrei saw the sweat pouring from the red heads face and he felt her head for a temperature.

"Natalia, your temperature is dangerously elevated, we need to cool you off."

Allowing him to help her, Dr. Andrei guided Natalia away from the fire and backed her against the wall for support. She grimaced in pain the whole way and she saw the worry on the doctor's face.

"What's going on, are you in pain?" She ignored the question and then caught her breath.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

He sighed. "I've always known that you snuck out. Don't worry, Ivan doesn't know. I believed that you needed the exercise since he restricted your training. I worried about the injections weakening you too much, but Ivan demanded me keep giving them to you. I've had a spy follow you for the past few months. He said that you had been meeting with some man, but I didn't see any harm in that. Anyways, I noticed that you didn't come back tonight and I grew worried because of the storm. Ivan increased your dosage and I thought it might have caused problems. My spy lost you about halfway here in the snow and turned back since you always returned. I got here as fast as I could in the blizzard."

Natalia didn't know what to think. Had he always been looking out for her? He was always nice to her and made sure she was okay. Another wave of pain rocked her body and she curled into her knees with a moan.

"Let me look," Andrei said as he pushed her back up and undid her heavy coat. She allowed him to lift her shirt and then felt his cold hands on her. He pressed various painful areas and then cursed to himself.

"The baby is coming."

"What!? I'm almost 8 months, not 9! How could it be coming? Natalia grew terrified, she didn't know if she could trust this man.

"I know, and that worries me. It must be because of the injections and then the strain of getting here. Why in the world would you risk your lives to come out here?"

Natalia looked away from him and then noticed his medical bag by the fire. She breathed out in relief that he had something in there that could possibly help her.

Dr. Andrei followed her gaze and then got up to retrieve the medical bag. He saw her bag of belongings and quickly put two and two together, she wasn't planning on coming back. He grabbed the blanket and set it around her shoulders as she shivered against the cold. Her temperature seemed to have gone down some but she look extremely weak.

He felt around some more around her abdomen and then crossed his eyebrows in confusion. "How long have you been feeling like this?"

"About 5 or so hours I think," she coughed out. She started to panic when she saw his face fall.

"It should be further along than that," he mumbled to himself.

"Speak up doc, what's going on."

"I, I think your body is too weak to deliver this baby, and it has stopped the labor process."

She could almost hear her heart stop as he took out his stethoscope from his bag and pressed it into her belly. He shook his head and then took out a needle and syringe and pulled up a dose of something.

As he brought it towards her arm, she grabbed his hand and stared warningly at him.

"Not to worry, it is just something to help with the pain." Still glaring at him, she let him slip the sharp needled into her arm. She closed her eyes and quickly became relaxed, but she still felt pain, immense pain.

Her eyes shot open and she saw blood running down her side. She looked at Dr. Andrei and he had a surgical knife poised for another cut into her belly. Her arm raced to knock it from his hand, but her hand wouldn't move, in fact, she couldn't move anything but her eyes and head.

Dr. Andrei glanced up from his work and offered a weak smile. "I am sorry Natalia. If I don't bring Ivan this baby, he will kill me and my family. My time is almost up..."

Natalia's eyes spilled with tears as she realized what was going on. Ivan knew about her leaving and he was curious to see where she was going. He allowed her to sneak out, and he sent Andrei to take the baby when she didn't return. The injection Dr. Andrei just gave her was a paralytic, not a pain killer.

"Forgive me, but I fear Ivan more than I fear you. I am to meet a guard detail halfway back with the child and then a team will come and get you. You will both be okay, Ivan has assured me your safety."

All Natalia could do was feel the pain and cry. She couldn't move and she couldn't watch. After another minute or two, she felt the tugging stop. She looked back over and Dr. Andrei had a small object wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes followed it as Dr. Andrei smiled at the bundle and placed it in his coat for warmth. Through the sound of crackling embers and the gusting of the wind outside of the cave, she heard the most beautiful sound in the world. She looked at the bulge in Dr. Andrei's coat as small cries erupted from it.

Dr. Andrei stitched Natalia back together as she desperately tried to gesture for him to let her see her baby. She felt so frustrated that she couldn't move. When Dr. Andrei was finished, he placed a thick gauze pad over the incision and pulled her now bloodied shirt back down. While cradling the bundle under his coat, he packed his things and went to leave.

Fury built inside of Natalia's chest as she watched Dr. Andrei leave with her baby. She hadn't even got to see it yet. All she could do was lie there in a pool of blood as her anger built and eventually spilled over. When she heard her baby's crying finally go quiet when they got too far away, something snapped inside of her. She felt strength flood back into her body and she felt herself growing stronger. Latching onto her emotions, she embraced her anger and let it carry her. She felt the feeling come back into her body and she slowly started to stand up. She hobbled past the fire and had to lean against the ice wall for support. The wind blew towards her now and she could have sworn she heard the baby again. Thinking of that sound, she ripped the gauze pad off of her stomach and to her surprise, it had dramatically healed, though it was still bleeding immensely. She bundled her coat around her and then stepped into the blizzard to get her baby back.

Not even the wolves howled as the storm raged on. Natalia picked up her pace, leaving a bloody trail in her wake. She didn't slow down for anything, and only fell twice in her dizziness. The wind died down some and then she heard it again, a cry. She started sprinting, ignoring her pain and raced to the sound. She found them just as the wind picked up again and she grabbed Dr. Andrei in a headlock. She forced him to the ground on his knees and choked the life out of him. She wanted to beat him so badly, but she didn't want to risk injuring the baby.

He finally went limp and she lowered him down to the ground on his back. She ripped open his coat and found what she was looking for, her daughter. Carefully picking her up, the baby opened her eyes and they were the most beautiful color she had ever seen. Her eyes were a beautiful purple lilac.

The baby then started crying again from the cold and Natalia shook off her coat and wrapped her in it.

"Ksenia," she said sweetly as she cradled the bundle close. She then started walking back the way she came. If a detail was indeed halfway, they would catch her. She had no choice but to try and run. She got no more than 20 feet away when she felt two bullets pierce her body.

One bit into her back as the other went into her leg. She fell to the ground, protecting Ksenia as she fell. She reached one hand to her leg to stop the bleeding, she had lost too much blood today. A figure then started walking towards her, it was Dr. Andrei, alive. He had the gun drawn and pointed right at her. It seemed as if he didn't want to kill her since they may need her if the experiment didn't work. It was then she remembered her knife in her boot.

As another large gust of wind tossed snow into the air, Dr. Andrei tried to shield his face from the sharpness of the ice. In that moment, she reached into her boot and drew the knife. She aimed and threw it as hard as she could manage in her weakened state. He didn't even see it coming, especially since it pierced his left eye and lodged deep into his brain, killing him instantly. More red littered the white snow and it made Natalia's stomach roll.

She pulled herself up, focusing again on her anger which seemed to make her stronger, though only slightly. She had to get to safety, the guard detail would have heard the gunshots. Picking up her pace, she made her way back towards the cave, and then passed it. The spy would think to look there first and surely find them.

Natalia kept a steady pace and couldn't help but keep checking on her daughter wrapped up in the coat in her arms. She was tiny and looked so fragile. Tears sprung into her eyes at the thought of not being able to protect her. She had only known her for a short time and was already in love, a feeling she never thought she could possess. After a short while, Natalia's adrenaline ran out and her senses were dulled and taken over by pain. She noticed that her stomach had healed more, but was still bleeding. Her new gunshot wounds though hadn't healed much at all and it scared Natalia. What would happen if she collapsed? Ksenia would be all alone and surely die.

The wind got harder and she sensed the detail tracking her. She couldn't hear them, but she felt them in a way. She needed to find shelter. As if answering her prayer, the wind stopped blowing snow around for just a few moments and she was able to spot a small cave up ahead. She rushed to it and ducked in to shelter from the now full force blizzard. She knew Ivan, and he would not stop until they were found.

There was nothing in the cave that would prove useful to her, but at least it faced away from the wind. She curled into a ball with Ksenia at her center, trying to keep the baby warm. She could hear fitful cries and even small coughs from her. Natalia uncovered the baby's face and blew her warm breath onto her tiny face. Her little lips were a bluish color from the cold, and Natalia cried because she couldn't keep her child warm.

Natalia must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, there was a guard in the cave with her and he had a taser drawn at her. Pushing Ksenia out of the way, she summoned what little strength she had left and lunged at the man, snapping his neck in less than a second. From the look of him, it looked like he was trying to shelter from the storm, but if he was here, that meant more guards were near. She couldn't leave though, she had no more energy and they wouldn't make it out there.

She pulled the dead man to the back of the small cave and then placed Ksenia between them. It was the only way she could think of to keep her warm. The baby was still coughing though, and it worried the new mother to no end.

As mother and daughter sheltered in the small cave, they were being sought for. One man in particular was determined to find them. He found the cave not too long ago, and saw the large amount of blood. This worried him, Natalia must have given birth, but something happened them. The man then closed his eyes and tried to apparate to where he felt Natalia. He was still unpracticed with this, but he found her and appeared in a small cave. He saw a man with a red head between him and the wall and in anger, raced forward and hurled the man away from her. He was surprised when the man was found to be dead.

Natalia then pulled a bundle close to her and glared defiantly at him. Her eyes softened when she realized it was Loki. Loki kneeled before her and gathered the woman into his arms. She was extremely pale and covered in blood. She didn't even have a coat on. He looked at the coat in her arms and then heard the cry of a baby. She allowed him to pull the top part up and he was able to see the baby girl, but she looked cold, Natalia did too.

"Natalia, we have to get you out of here. I feel people closing in on us." He started to pull her up but she pulled back. He looked at her questioningly and she then pushed her daughter into his arms.

"Take Ksenia somewhere safe," she whispered.

"No, Natalia. I'm not leaving you here." The desperation in his eyes pleaded with her to get up; but she couldn't.

She pulled her hand away from the baby and then curled back into a ball, ignoring Loki's pleas to get up.

He didn't want to leave her, but he had to. There was no chance Heimdall would open a portal for her, but an innocent baby he might.

"I'm coming back for you, I promise." With that, he backed out of the cave and ran a short distance with the bundled up baby in his arms. He didn't want the portal to attract the guards, like they could see it in this storm anyways.

"Heimdall!" he yelled into the white sky. It took a few moments, but the portal opened. Loki was transported to Asgard with Ksenia. Within moments, he appeared in front of Heimdall. He had a scowl on his face but he couldn't turn away an innocent baby.

Loki ran past the guardian and across the bridge into the Asgardian night. He hoped his body heat would warm the baby as he ran. He wasn't sure where to leave Ksenia at this time of night, so he made a split decision. A few minutes later, he was knocking on the chamber door.

"Loki! What are you doing at my chambers?"

"I am sorry Lady Sif," he apologized as he pushed passed her.

"Excuse me, that is not gentlemen like! Do you have any idea what time it ..." Her words trailed off as she heard the baby cry. She became tense and looked at Loki accusingly.

"Where did that come from Loki, where did you get it? Is it yours?"

"Sif no! She is not mine but she is in danger. I need you to care for her until I return. She is very sick."

Lady Sif's eyes softened when she heard the tiny coughs come from the bundle in her friend's arms. She walked forward and uncovered the baby. She gasped when she saw the most brilliant shade of lilac she had ever seen look up at her. She then took the baby out of the cold coat and rushed to her bed. She grabbed a golden blanket from it and re wrapped the little girl.

"I'll look after her Loki, but she needs her mother." The relief she saw in Loki's eyes convinced her that he was trying to do the right thing.

"Thank you Sif, her name is Ksenia." He then turned and ran from the room back to where he came. He had to get back to Natalia before they found her.

The moment Loki left, Sif knew she had to get this baby some help. She cradled her close before laying her on the bed while she changed. She was only in her gown and not appropriate to be running around the kingdom in. As fast as she could, she got back to the baby and rushed her to the healers. There always seemed to be healers awake at all hours of the night and she found one in just a few minutes.

"Excuse me, this child is in need of dire help, she is coughing and only a few hours old." Since Sif was a high ranking member of Asgard, the healer did not ask where the child came from. She took Ksenia from Lady Sif's arms and laid her on the warm stone table to examine. Even the healer gasped at the beautiful eyes. Using her abilities, she scanned over the baby to try and find a problem. In a matter of seconds, the healer froze.

"This child is of Midgard!"

Sif was unaware of this fact, but she had vowed to protect her. She pretended she knew.

"I know healer, can you help her?"

The healer looked down at the helpless bundle and shook her head. "I cannot, she is Midgardian and no healer's powers can help." The healer bundled her back up and handed her to Sif. Sif cradled Ksenia to her chest as the healer spoke.

"From what I can tell by looking and listening to her though, she has an infection in her lungs, most likely from being in the cold too long. There is nothing anyone can do, not even Midgardian healers." The healer was sympathetic, and she told the truth.

"Tell no one of this visit," Sif said as she left with the child.

XXXXXX

When Loki made it back to Natalia's cave, she was gone, and Loki only thought of the worse. She would get her back, wherever she was.