Chapter One

I've never felt this strong. I'm invincible, how could this go wrong? No, here, here's where we belong. I see a road ahead, I never thought I would dare to tread.

It was 11 at night and Vittoria was pacing the corridor outside of her lab in CERN.

She had just found out that she was pregnant and there was only one man whose child it could be.

The trouble was, he lived hundreds of miles away, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Looking at her phone screen, she took a deep breath and dialed his number. She knew he would be asleep, but she couldn't wait. If she didn't tell someone, she might just burst. Robert was the only "family" she had left.

Vittoria placed the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing tone, praying that he would pick up. And then the phone connected, and Robert's deep but sleepy voice answered the phone.

"Robert Langdon?" he sighed down the phone.

"Robert? It's Vittoria."

She could hear his attention peaked. They hadn't seen each other in months, not since they had decided that their relationship wasn't going to work.

"Vittoria! How are you? How have you been?" Suddenly he sounded more awake.

"I'm fine. Busy working. I have some news for you though…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to say this…"

"Vittoria?" he sounded worried now.

She sighed, thinking it would be best just to say it, "I'm pregnant Robert, and it's yours…"

There was silence on the phone line. The only thing Vittoria could hear was the sound of the machines whirring in the background behind her and the sound of their breathing.

"Robert?" she asked, "Robert, are you ok?"

"Pregnant?" he finally responded, "But how…"

"Do I really need to tell you…"

"No, that's not what I meant." He chuckled, "Vittoria, we haven't seen each other in four months…"

"And the last time we saw each other, we had that rather fond farewell in Florence, I believe?"

She could hear the realization hit Robert.

"Oh my…."

"Anyway, I just thought I would let you know."

"Wait, Vittoria!" Robert sighed, "I'm sorry, it's early here and you've taken me by surprise…"

"I know and I'm sorry, but I had to tell you, you have a right to know."

"Look, I'm coming over to Italy in a few weeks for my Art Conference. How about I come and stay until the baby comes?"

"But what about Harvard? Your classes?"

"I can take a few months of Sabbatical. The University owes me that much. Call it a research trip for my book!"

Vittoria smiled, "Sure. I'd love to have you over here."

"Alright, I'll call again when everything is settled, and I know what I'm doing!"

"Thank you, Robert."

"Hey, we made this baby, we're in this together."

A few months later, and Robert was living with Vittoria in Switzerland. She had decided to stay there until their child was born and then she would move back home to Rome, where she would live with their daughter. Robert had already stated that he couldn't move out there and Vittoria couldn't ask him to give up his life. She had contemplated going to the states, but she liked her position at CERN and it had taken her a while to get there.

Vittoria was glad that she wasn't pregnant in the summer heat. Luckily, Switzerland cooled off in the winter and as she was nearing her due date, it began to snow.

And then, one morning, Vittoria woke up to a searing pain across her stomach. She cried out and Robert woke up.

"What? What is it?" he asked, groggily.

"I think…" she gasped, wincing at the pain, "I think I'm in labor Robert!"

"Oh right!" and he leapt out of bed to call an ambulance.

What seemed like hours later, when in fact it was just a few minutes, both Vittoria and Robert were speeding towards the hospital. Robert was in a state of panic but tried to hold it together for Vittoria's sake. There was a part of him that knew he wasn't ready to be a father, but at the same time, he had to be ready. Vittoria needed him, the baby needed him, his baby, his child. In a matter of hours, he would be a dad. His brother had done it and had a beautiful baby boy, Thomas, who would be a few months older than his child. His sister and younger brother had yet to start families, but if his brother could do it, then so could he.

Robert paced nervously up and down the corridor in the maternity ward. Everything was in French and he was beginning to wish that he was pacing the corridors of Mass General in Boston, with its English signs and English-speaking nurses.

After what seemed like hours, and this time it probably was, Robert was called by a young nurse from Vittoria's room. She pushed back the door and there was Vittoria, tired and exhausted, but smiling none the less. In her arms, lay their sleeping child. Vittoria looked up as she heard the Professor come in. She smiled.

"Robert, you have a daughter." She stated simply.

"A girl?" he asked, coming round to her side.

Vittoria nodded, "A healthy baby girl. Born at half four on the 17 of December, in Geneva, Switzerland."

Robert blinked back the tears from his eyes. He could see his daughter sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. Even wrapped in the blankets, he could tell that she had electric black hair. Her fists were curled under her chin. She just looked so peaceful.

"I told Il Camelengo when he asked if I believed in God that Faith was a gift that I had yet to receive. That I wasn't lucky enough to experience faith. I now feel that in this moment, I finally know what everyone has been going on about, I have received faith." He smiled at Vittoria, "She's my Faith."

Vittoria smiled, "We should call her that!" she looked down at her daughter, "Little Faith. Her grandfather would approve."

Robert just smiled and looked down at his little miracle, his Faith. In that moment, Robert Langdon knew his life had changed forever.