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He wasn't busying himself with his side projects in lab 204, he wasn't distracting himself with some of the delightful tormenting of some of his "favorite" subjects... he wasn't even pacing. Instead, Dr. Duvert was seated in his plush officechair, his feet propped up on his desk and reclined as far as the backboard would allow. As he stared up at the ceiling, he clicked his pen in and out repetitively against the side of his cheek, but he was hardly aware of the action. His mind was rolling over something that he had been avoiding thinking about for too long since Moreau had departed - leaving him with a very specific set of instructions. His secret mission as it were. But as much as Sabin reveled in secrets, in holding things over one or the other, he was not pleased with the position that this particular request left him. He didn't want to have to pick affiliations between them. Not yet.

But as the handy reminder on his desk calendar prodded him, Aubrey's unborn child was not a device or an experiment that could be paused. It was growing, developing even as he sat there lost in thought. And it would be as early as the coming week that the gender would be able to be determined with a sonogram. Which meant that Sabin would soon have to reach a decision. AND, he would NEED to find out the true gender of the child before Aubrey did. Which meant that he needed to stick close by her side until he could discern it to make sure that she didn't.

But... the decision was partly out of his hands. He couldn't predict the child's gender at this point, or whether or not he would even need to act.

Of course.... that opened the door for an entirely differnet decision. If the child was male, then he wouldn't have to tamper with the results. He could either stand back, be loyal to Moreau and tell him the truth: that he checked and confirmed that the outcome was favorable to him, and let things go as normal from there. Aubrey wouldn't have to know that Moreau ever tried to tamper with her. Moreau would be satisfied with his work, but not impressed. And Aubrey would go on being blissfully ignorant of how deep the corruption of her fiancee was rooted. She would never know that he was as masogynistic as to alter the gender of his own first child to be the son he wanted, no... needed. And she would never know for certain that the chip in the back of her neck's deactivation had only been done so with the toggle of a computer setting, a process that was easily reversed when Moreau left this lofty task in his hands - and in his power. Sabin had nearly spit out his coffee when he saw the name on the list when he had gone into the computer system to observe the chip status of the islanders. At first he had thought that it was a glitch... until he realized exactly why it was there, and the significance. Moreau had said that he would make things very easy for him to alter the gender.... Sabin didn't realize HOW easy. But then, it made sense that Moreau wouldn't want her gassed through the ventilation... the drugs in the system would be more potentially damaging to an unborn child than a mild electical impulse in the proper part of her neurological system. For days it had inflated Sabin's ego. HE had the power, even if Aubrey was technically in charge. Of course, he had eventually come down from that high. If he abused it, he was certain that Moreau would figure out - there were computer logs every time a chip was activated. If Aubrey was buzzed more than once or twice, even if she didn't remember, the computer logs would. Besides, it was just one more costly piece of semi-power. It was an illusion of power, even. Because despite the trust that Moreau had placed in him, despite how much he had scrabbled to gain that trust and, subsequently, that power... it didn't really leave him in any better position other than caught between a rock and a hard place.

Sabin had hoped that by the time he had garnished this much influence that it wouldn't be directly between Aubrey and Moreau, but more of the one subtly causing the conflict and keeping them busy with each other. Not the other way around.

So.... if it WAS male... there were two other options.

One was to appeal to Moreau: he could falsify the initial sonogram and claim responsibility for the gender. That would put him in Moreau's GOOD graces. He could get away with more, he could justify any questionable action that he had conducted in his absence. And it could be leverage in the future. BUT... Aubrey and Moreau would get married, she'd never be the wiser, and he would continue to manipulate her into doing his bidding. The connecting would grow stronger on false pretenses and Sabin would ultimately always be third in command. But... he would have more priviledges... but those were easily something that could be revoked in a mood swing from Moreau. He would have some important secrets, however.... IF Aubrey believed him. And by that point, it might be too late for any rebellious thoughts from Aubrey with a child of the Mad Doctor's and likely married.

The other option... and one that Sabin loathed to admit was more tempting than it logically should be... was to come clean to Aubrey. If there were any time she could be pursuaded to believe him, it was now. Now that he could show her that he had the access to buzz her, that her chip was active, and the supplies left to him from Moreau. And most importantly... now that Moreau was off the island and would likely not have the time to unearth the conversation. He could insert that ever so vital piece of doubt into Aubrey's mind and whisk the cover of decency off the man to finally expose the rotten core. And.... then what? Aubrey refuse to marry him? It's not like Moreau wouldn't figure out pretty darn quick where that decision came from. Maybe she could agree to keep it quiet... but why would she other than for Sabin's sake? Maybe she could agree to work against him more subtly... but what subtlety could be had on an island that when he was there he was virtually omniscient and omnipotent? Even IF she called the wedding off, though, what good would that do her? She was as much a captive here as he was. So... there was leverage to not to get her to immediately confront him. Maybe she could even agree to allow Moreau to believe the deception that the gender was changed to grant him more power to help her.

Was that what he wanted? To usurp Moreau? Moreau was the mastermind behind the project. While Aubrey wasn't far behind, and had certainly absorbed much of Moreau's research, and even been a vital component in its development... could they do it without him? And.. more importantly... would Aubrey even continue the project without Moreau? Would Aubrey ever even take a stand against him, even knowing what he was? Hell, why would Aubrey stand with him and not Moreau. Sabin was no idiot to assume that he was exactly the shining hero. Would... she rightfully be paranoid that Sabin would just fill Moreau's role - manipulating her and taking advantage of her....

As much as Sabin had enjoyed playing one off the other... he had grown a fondness for Aubrey that he was reluctant to even admit to himself. She was the only person on the entirety of the damn island that would both talk to him and seem to understand what he had to say half the time. She wasn't some delicate, innocent flower like Awen and Sayuri. She was entertaining to torment. And.... sometimes... she reminded him a bit of Samantha. He had seen her laugh, seen her happy, and seen her cry. And as much as Sabin was trying to distance himself from his own humanity and sentiments, no man is himself an island. He had listened to her problems and even shared some of his own with her. And.... he should probably cut that line of thought off where it was going....

So... ultimately... if it was male... it would leave too much potential untapped to not tell her. He would have to be very careful with how he presented it, and make certain that Aubrey didn't confront Moreau with that knowledge - assuring her that it would get them nowhere.

If it was male.

If it was female..... that was an entirely different situation. If Sabin didn't change the gender, then Moreau would be furious. At him. The threat that he would be working for Delia was not Moreau blowing steam. And as much as he tried to phrase the message that doing what he requested would get him rewarded, Sabin knew that Sabin wouldn't just NOT get the reward if he didn't do as asked. He would be punished. Sabin... Sabin wasn't scared of Moreau.... per se.... but on this island, he wielded the command. BUT. Sabin.... didn't want to do that. He didn't want to do that to Aubrey. As much as he swore to himself and strived to make human connections on the island - especially to the islanders to prevent precisely this sort of sentiment that would HURT him... he had opened himself up to the pain with a fellow staffmember. Sabin had forgotten how much it hurt to be alone. To not be able to honestly talk and confide with any peer. And now the damage was done.

So if he didn't change the gender, he was screwed by Moreau. Losing everything he had fought for. That.... that wasn't an option. If he changed the gender, then he would feel that infuriating pain around Aubrey. That... guilt. He HATED feeling guilty. Not to mention, she would be none the wiser and continue to fawn over the madman. Think that things were peaches and cream. Or... at least not be truly cognizant to how deep the corruption ran. He would be a pawn to Moreau and let him 'win'. As much as Aubrey thought that she was being 'rebellious' in having the child, Moreau would ultimately use it against her instead. It would get him respect from Moreau, but be the same situation as if he had just pretended to change it before, only with the added price of guilt.

He could.... tell Aubrey Moreau's plans. But she would never go along with letting him change it. Right? She would sooner see Sabin be penalized than allow her unborn child to be tampered with. So much for the friendship. He couldn't risk her not agreeing with him. Because when Moreau got back, the child needed to be male. And if he changed the gender AFTER he told her and she disagreed, then he was screwed with both of them - Aubrey would hate him, and likely tell Moreau.

So...... what if.... what if he changed the gender.... and then told Aubrey Moreau's plans...? Played the hero. Told her that it was male anyway, thank goodness... but here's what Moreau was going to do....

But if she ever found out.... hell even if she DIDN'T find out... it would make him just as bad as him, right? But who cared - it wasn't about right or wrong, it was about the power play and the strategy and the opinions each had of him.... right.....?

Then why was there that painful aching in his chest...

With a gutteral growl, Sabin threw the pen irritably onto the desk and roughly pushed himself out of his chair, stalking out into the hallway. He didn't like this position, not one bit. He didn't want to leave a decision this important to chance....

It had better be male without his tampering... but fortune rarely smiled on the wicked.