Copyright ©1999, Lyta All rights reserved.  No part of this story may be re-posted in part or in full without written permission from me(That includes mailing lists).
Disclaimer: Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict is copyright 1998, Tribune Entertainment Co.
Rating: PG.
Title: Stolen Moments
Author: Lyta
Authors Notes: This is set during "First of Its Kind".

Stolen Moments

        The small boy put his hand on the glass partition that separated him from his mother. With solemn eyes he watched her turn her head to face him. Recognition dawned on her face as two pairs of green eyes locked for the first time.
        He had been a baby the last, and only time she had seen him, but Siobhan Beckett knew the child on the other side of the glass was her Liam. Ha'gel told her he would mature rapidly, but it still came as a jolt. He had the appearance of a four-year old child.
        Siobhan smiled at her son, he was such a beautiful boy. Liam walked over to the door, and had to stand on his tip-toes to reach the top of the handle, but a minute later he was in his mother's arms. Siobhan tenderly ruffled his light brown hair and rocked him gently, tears running down her face and into his hair. Liam broke away from her slightly and placed her hand on her cheek to brush the tears away. His face was filled with a thousand silent questions she could not answer and her entire body was choked with emotion.
        "I love you so much, my son. Never doubt that Liam." Siobhan whispered with a fierce protection in her voice. Liam nodded and allowed his mother to enfold him in her arms again. Siobhan pulled him up onto the bed, ignoring the pain, mostly masked by painkillers, from her recent labor. Liam lay his head on her shoulder and Siobhan began to sing him a lullaby her mother had once sung to her. Within minutes they had both fallen, exhausted, into a peaceful sleep.
        Jonathan Doors watched the pair, drink in hand. He remembered moments from his own son Joshua's childhood. A lump formed in his throat thinking of the distance that had developed between them. Vital though it might be to keep away for Joshua's safety, it still hurt.
        Doors frowned, it would be cruel to separate mother and child but they really had no choice. It took time to engineer a CVI without a motivational imperative that would not alert the Taelons to the tampering, time the Resistance and Beckett did not have. Beckett had seen the faces of several of their deep cover operatives and knew the location of the hideout. Even the child, Liam, was a potential threat. For all anyone knew the boy might be part of the Taelon Commonality and unwittingly expose them all.
        Being a leader to Doors meant being able to make the hard choices. Already hating himself, while understanding that his actions were for the greater good, he gave the order and two guards slipped into the room quietly. With surprising gentleness one removed Liam from his mother's embrace without the child stirring. Perhaps it was not a surprise considering the day the youngster had just had, Doors mused. He watched the guard lay Liam on a couch in nearby room. Meanwhile the other guard injected Beckett with a sedative to keep her quiet until they decided what to do about her.
        Dr. Park was busy analyzing Liam's DNA, and from what little she had told him it was clear Ha'gel was not Taelon. The species were closely related but definitely different. That fit with what his agents had been able to glean from Zo'or and Da'an, though something about their answers troubled him. He did not think for a moment that the Taelons had been entirely forthcoming. Dr. Park had already determined there was no genetic virus at work, and even if Liam married and had children the alien genes would fall by the wayside in succeeding generations. There was something about all of this that Doors was missing. It was obvious that Ha'gel's intent was to create a child, not to harm the Taelons. The alien had the ability to do significant damage and access in the form of Sandoval, yet had chosen not to do so. Doors wanted to know why.
        By the time Augur and Lili had returned from catching a few hours sleep and a shower, Liam had awakened. He seemed startled by his location and immediately moved to the door that kept him from his mother, but Doors intercepted him. Jonathan impressed upon the child that his mother's CVI was broken and she needed to sleep. Thankfully Liam accepted the explanation, but Doors wondered exactly how much the child understood. He also wondered how long Liam would listen to him.
        To keep him amused, Augur had given Liam some pencils and a pad of paper. Liam was soon diligently occupied in drawing with a focus strange for a child, then again just about everything concerning Liam was unusual. When he was finished with the drawing he handed the picture to Lili.
        "Why thank you, Liam. Augur look what Liam drew." Lili showed him a surprisingly accurate drawing of Siobhan Beckett, smiling in a gentle and loving way.

Fin