2

"I'm a little nervous."

"You'll be fine. Just relax."

Anni laid back and closed her eyes.

"Do you know why all that press is here?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because of me." Lilith looked up.

"Ohmygod! It's you."

'Here we go!' Anni thought.

"Well well. Hard to believe, but the cervix of a celebrity looks the same as the cervix of a mere mortal. Imagine." Lilith laughed. About 2 centimeters dilated, not terribly worrisome, but a little more than one would normally hope for with a 31 weeker. She backed away from the exam table, snapping gloves into the trash and tossed the metal speculum she had used onto the table. "You look great. 2 centimeters dilated, which is a little much for a 31 weeker, but nothing to get too concerned over." She smiled. "Now, can I call that anxious husband of yours in?"

Anni sat up and pulled the sheet down to cover her knees. "Yeah. Lieutenant?"

"Yeah," Lilith responded, straightening the room.

"Will I be okay?"

She heard the anxiety in her patient's voice, and stopped what she was doing.

"You'll be great, Anni. We'll call the OB to come next week, which is sooner probably than necessary, but I don't want any surprises, and with dilation at 31 and 5, it's better safe than sorry. But I think you'll do just fine. You're young, healthy, and probably in better shape than I am." She winked. 31 and 5 just meant that she was 31 weeks and five days.

"Thanks. I don't know about the doctor, though. What kind of doctor works for a whorehouse?"

Lilith threw her head back and laughed. "Dr. Pierce is a fantastic doctor, and that man has probably kept several whorehouses in business!"

Anni grinned, and motioned for Lilith to let Sidney and Hawkeye back in.

*6 days later*

"God, I feel fat." Anni said to Sara who was painting her toenails.

"You should." Sara replied setting the nail polish on the bedside table.

"What?"

"Just kidding!" Anni wasn't feeling good and it was showing.

"Then just kid with this." Anni yelled throwing a pillow at Sara.

"This means war." Sara yelled back throwing her pillow. The two of them started a full waged pillow fight when suddenly Anni doubled over.

"Anni what's wrong?" Sara asked

"I'm not sure."

"Come on lets go find someone." Sara tried to pick up Anni and help her out the tent, but it didn't work. Just then the tent door opened, and there stood Sidney, Lilith, and the obstetrician, Dan. Anni fell forward and hugged Sidney.

"It hurts." She managed to whisper before she fainted.

Sidney Shook her "Anni? Anni? Anne!"

"Oh, damn. Come on, folks, get her into pre-op." Lilith began issuing orders like MacArthur. Dan nodded his assent.

Sidney put his arm at her back and behind her knees and picked her up. He carried her through camp into pre-op.

Dan and Lilith bustled around, gathering supplies that might or might not be needed.

Finally, Lilith donned a pair of sterile gloves and, after squirting some jelly onto two fingers, checked the cervical dilation. She glanced up at Dan. "Anni has dilated to 5 centimeters."

He frowned. "Anni, have you been having any contractions?"

She nodded, grimacing in pain. "Yeah, but I thought they were those false labor ones Lilith talked about the other day. Braxton-Hicks or something."

"How regular are they?" That was Lilith.

Sara answered. "Not regular, but she said they were strong. They seem to be getting more frequent within the last two hours, though."

The team nodded and went to the corner to confer.

"I don't know what else we can do. I guess just keep her on strict bed rest and hope for the best." Dan looked over at the nervous father and mom-to-be.

Hawkeye interrupted. "Nothing else can be done?"

Dan started to reply, but was interrupted by Lilith. "Hawk, remember that asthmatic kid we had a few weeks ago?"

Hawkeye nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, he had an inhaler, right?"

Again he nodded.

"Do we still have it?"

"Yeah, we have a few of them actually. What are you getting at?"

"Well, the medicine in those acts as a dilator, or a relaxor for the smooth muscle in the lungs. The uterus is smooth muscle, too. It might do the same thing, and stop the contractions. Worth a try. If it's Albuterol in the inhaler, that is a Pregnancy class B, won't transfer through the placenta much." Lilith tapped her foot impatiently.

Dan smiled. "Might work, Lil. You're right--it's worth a try." With that, he and Hawkeye rushed off to find the inhaler.

*6 hours later, in the Mess Tent*

"Well, not to be premature, but it seems like it's working." Dan smiled tiredly.

"Don't say premature." Lilith smiled. "I just wish we knew how long it'll continue to work. At 32 and 4, she needs another two and a half weeks, minimum."

He nodded. "I know. But every day the baby stays inside is a better chance it will have." He looked across at the redhead across from him. There had been a connection when they'd first locked eyes, as he'd stepped off the chopped that had carried him there. He had been knocking on her tent door when they'd heard the ruckus in Anni's tent and gone to investigate. He hoped to pick up where they'd left off.

"Hey, look!" Lilith motioned over to where Hawkeye was talking to a pretty, dark haired woman at another table. "Isn't that the doctor who flew in on your chopper?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. Sweet lady. Her name is Margie, I think she said.

General surgeon, and so when they sent me, they figured she would be a good addition here. She didn't argue. Hawkeye sure looks interested."

Lilith grinned. "Hmmm. Love all around us..."

He smiled and stood up. "There's supposed to be a movie tonight, showing in post-op. I'm not sure what it is, though." He offered his arm in an invitation.

She took it and stood. "As long as it's not a VD film."

As they entered the hospital, Lilith groaned. It was a VD film. "Listen, why don't we hit my tent? We've gotta be able to scare up more fun than this," she said, gesturing to the movie screen.

He grinned. "Gladly. Lead the way"