Gabriel

Sequel to "When Can I see you again?" This is another pure fluff about Robert and Sophie. They are still together, but not alone for long.

Chapter One: Suspicion

It has been five weeks since Langdon and Sophie left Florence full of plans for their new life together. After the trip to Italy, Langdon had managed to earn himself a two-week Vacation so he could go to Paris with Sophie to actually enjoy the city, since their last experience there hadn't been exactly enjoyable. He also helped her pick her belongings and close her apartment. They had decided on not selling it yet. As they hadn't an urgent need for money, especially with the inheritance Sophie would receive from her Grandfather, they would keep it, at least for the time being. It would be wise to have their own place in Europe. After everything was settled in France, the couple flew over to Scotland to tell the grand news to Sophie's Grandmother and Brother, Marie and Leonard. As she had expected, both reacted to her moving and the wedding with nothing but joy.

The only thing that had gone different from their plans involved Sophie's job, or, rather, at the moment, the lack of one. It had nothing to do with her being unsuccessful at finding a place to work, though. In fact, it was all going very well. Langdon had arranged an interview for Sophie at Harvard University. For months, the academic staff had been thinking of creating a new discipline for Informatics students that involved decrypting messages. Langdon had heard about the rumor, but didn't pay much attention to the information at that time. However, it had somehow been sitting in the back of his mind. Then after he met Sophie, like magic, it all came back to him, even before he had invited her to live with him. Their meeting had made his mind race. After a long conversation with the head of Technology Department, the man had agreed to give it a try. If Sophie proved she was worth the honor of being the first Professor of Crypthology at Harvard University, the position would be hers.

Sophie Neveu had been really nervous about the interview. She was insecure, she feared that they might not like her after all and, above all, she was ashamed of her french accent.

"He will laugh at me, Robert! I know how you Americans make fun of French people speaking English," she had confessed her fears to him while he drove her to the University.

The car went to a stop; the lights above them were red. "That's not true, Sophie, your English is perfect," he said in a comforting way. "Besides," he brought his right hand to her chin, making her head lift, "Your accent is lovely."

She couldn't help the faint grin that formed in her lips.

"You'll be great," he affirmed, kissing the top of her head just as the traffic lights turned green again.

Exactly as Langdon had predicted, Sophie did very well. Suddenly all her fears melt away and she showed no signal of weakness. David Hale was so impressed that he didn't think twice before requesting a trial class from her. She was required to prepare a talk about the subject of her choice, as long as it was related to decoding encrypted messages, and present it in front of most of the Professors who were part of Technology Department. "A piece of cake," she had thought then.

Sophie was given one week to prepare her presentation. During three days, she sat tirelessly in front of her computer, and during the other four she made Langdon watch her speak over and over again. Nothing could go wrong. But it did. When the day came, while she sat and waited in Mr. Hale's office, a sudden nausea took over her, her head began to spin and she felt she was going to be sick. Without further explanations, she excused herself and dashed to the nearest lavatory, which fortunately was just next doors. The whole week, many times Sophie caught herself feeling a little dizzy, and she had attributed this to the emotional pressure she had been under. This time, however, the nausea she felt had nothing to do with anxiety, she knew it. Her period had been about three weeks late, but, considering it had happened to her a few times before, she chose to wait and not give herself or Langdon unnecessary worries. But could it all be coincidence, the passionful week they had spent in Florence, her missed period, and now the nausea? A visit to the drugstore had to settle the question. But first she had to solve the problem at hand.

There was no way she could give a talk in these conditions. Furthermore, if her suspicious were confirmed, she wouldn't want to commit herself to a job. When she felt it was safe to return to Mr. Hale's office, Sophie washed her face up and exited the lavatory. She told the Director's secretary that there had been an emergency and that she would have to go home.

"Please, tell director Hale that I will call him shortly," she said when the woman eyed her with an intrigued look.

Instead of taking an internal bus and go looking for Langdon in his Institute, Sophie preferred to take a cab. She feared he might want to prevent her from missing this chance, after all he had done to arrange everything. But it really was an emergence, and there was no other solution she could think of at the moment. If she stayed, what would she tell the Director? "I'm sorry, Sir, I feel sick and think I might be pregnant, so it won't be possible for me to give this talk." What if he wanted her to do it even so? What would they think if she had to interrupt the presentation to go to the lavatory one more time? And worse, what if she did well despite her condition and had to resign the position afterwards? None of those options were plausible. Sophie thought of Langdon again; she would explain everything to him later.

The cab dropped her two blocks away from Langdon's apartment, which now was hers as well, so she could stop in a drugstore and buy one of those cheap but efficient pregnancy tests. Sophie was unaware of her accelerating heart as she made her way to the building, took the elevators and stepped into the warmth of their home again. For a brief second she wondered if she should tell Langdon about her worries before taking the test, so she would be able to share them with him. As a new wave of nausea took over, Sophie decided she couldn't wait anymore. So she carefully followed the instructions on the box and waited for the longest two minutes of her entire life. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and stared down at the result window.