Author's Note: Whoa, great response! Thanks for reading! Here's Chapter 2 - let me know what you think.
"Do you know her?"
Sarah's words echoed loudly in the room, yet they sounded so distant to Cosima, who remained frozen at her desk. Marion Bowles' image had disappeared from the computer screen nearly ten minutes earlier, all that remained now was the captured grainy image of Doctor Bernard Cormier.
Cosima stared at the picture trying to make a connection between Bernard Cormier, the French scientist, and Delphine Beraud, the beautiful blonde she met in the lab. But it was like trying to compare apples to oranges; the only observable similarities being that the two were both tall and blonde.
Cosima leaned in further, her nose inches from the monitor when suddenly she felt the dull thud of a pillow connecting with the side of her head.
"What the hell, Sarah?"
"Do you know her?" Sarah asked again, pointing at the screen. "Do you know the woman Marion Bowles was going on about?"
Cosima considered the question. Should she tell Sarah about Delphine Beraud? Was she even the "Delphine" they were looking for? Something held Cosima back. No use in jumping to conclusions, not before she had all the facts about the mysterious blonde.
"Nope, never heard of her," Cosima said with a shrug, her eyes looking everywhere but at Sarah.
"Well, you know what that means," Sarah said, standing up from the couch and stretching. "You and I have a date with the University of Minnesota bright and early tomorrow morning."
"Wait, what?" Cosima said, head snapping to Sarah. "What are you talking about?"
"And they call you the Geek Monkey…" Sarah shook her head and mumbled some more indiscernible words under her breath. She was halfway out the door before she poked her head back in and added, "See you tomorrow. Don't be late."
Cosima spotted Sarah as soon as she stepped into the student union on the University of Minnesota campus. The grungy, punk clone stuck out like a sore thumb, her blue plaid sweatshirt – the hood up – and black leather pants clashing with the majority of students. Sarah stood by herself in the middle of the union, nodding at a few passersby before occupying herself with the large bulletin board on the wall behind her. Ten minutes passed before Cosima finally joined her.
"What are you doing here, Sarah?" Cosima hissed. She kept her eyes straight ahead, every so often picking at one of the flyers on the notice board.
"Finding Delphine," Sarah answered. She took her time studying a "Wanted: Dog Walker" flyer before finally turning to face Cosima. "Boss's orders."
"My orders," Cosima corrected.
Sarah shrugged as she casually leaned herself against the board. "I'm here as backup then."
"Backup? For what?" Cosima asked, scoffing at the thought. "I think I can handle myself against a willowy blo – er – person. A willowy person. If she's willowy, that is."
If Sarah noticed Cosima's slip-up she didn't say anything. She was too busy watching a small group of students nearby. There was nothing special about the group, just that they happened to be female and had the unlucky fortune of passing Sarah at that exact moment.
"Sarah, no," Cosima warned. "Don't even think about it."
Sarah waved Cosima off and marched toward the group. It didn't take long for the girls to notice the grungy brunette blocking their path, and as soon as they realized she wasn't moving, they stopped walking and their talking ceased. That's when Sarah jumped into her interrogation.
"Any of you Delphine?" Sarah asked the group.
The girls shook their heads.
"Any of you know a Delphine?"
They shook their heads again.
Sarah groaned and jutted her thumb over her shoulder. "Piss off then."
At once the group of girls scattered, leaving Sarah to hunt down her next victims. Cosima watched it all unfold from afar. She couldn't believe her eyes. Not only were Sarah's actions senseless, but they were tactless. And before Sarah could corner another gaggle of girls, Cosima yanked the clone back to the bulletin board.
"What?" Sarah shrugged. "It was worth a shot."
"Sarah, we're supposed to be discreet," Cosima said through gritted teeth. "Let me handle th-"
"Cosima! Cosima!"
The voice rang out somewhere from behind Cosima and when she turned around she saw the perfect golden curls of Delphine Beraud rushing toward her. The tall blonde was all smiles and enthusiastic waves – a sight Cosima would've enjoyed much more if Sarah hadn't been hovering right behind her.
"Who's that?" Sarah asked.
"Lab partner," Cosima lied, pushing away from her sister. "Go home, Sarah. We'll talk later."
Cosima tried putting some distance between her and Sarah, but Delphine was too quick. By the time she took a step, the blonde was already next to her.
"Bonjour, Cosima," Delphine said with her perfect French pronunciation. "I'm so glad I caught you. Am I interrupting?"
She nodded toward Sarah, who had resumed picking at some flyers on the notice board. Cosima noticed that the brunette clone was now turned, face hidden, but she was still very much within earshot.
"Oh, no," Cosima said, waving her hands. "I don't know who that is."
"Weren't you two just talking?" Delphine asked, once again peering over Cosima's shoulder at Sarah.
"She needed some directions; seems pretty lost," Cosima said, tugging lightly on Delphine's sleeve. "Walk me to class?"
It wasn't a demand, but it wasn't really a question either, because Cosima was already in motion, tugging Delphine with her.
"Are you sure she's okay?" Delphine asked stopping and turning toward Sarah again. "If she's lost…"
"She's fine. Trust me, Del-" Cosima stopped herself, but not before catching Sarah stiffen ever so slightly. Had she noticed? "She'll be fine. Come on."
Again Cosima was tugging at Delphine and this time the French woman followed. Every so often Cosima would glance over her shoulder, but Sarah was nowhere to be found. And finally, when everything seemed safe and sound, Cosima slowed her pace to a leisure stroll.
"Is everything okay?" Delphine asked, finally breaking the silence. "You seem distracted."
"No, everything's good, everything's perfect," Cosima said. "Is there something you needed from me?"
The question seemed to trigger something within Delphine, because suddenly she was pulling Cosima off to the side, stopping their forward progress.
"I wanted to thank you again for your help yesterday," said Delphine.
Cosima waved her arms, trying to indicate it was no big deal, but Delphine pushed forward.
"I turned in my lab this morning and Doctor Dean seemed very impressed with my work. I couldn't have done it without you, Cosima, and I was wondering…" At this Delphine dropped her gaze to the ground, a slight tinge of red creeping up her neck. "I was wondering if I could buy you dinner and drinks. You know, as a thank you."
Her words were rushed and somewhat jumbled.
"What? Like a date?" Cosima joked.
"Oh, I…"
"I'm kidding!" Cosima said, giving the blonde, who was now a bright shade of red, a slight nudge. "Totally kidding. But yeah, dinner and drinks. That sounds great, let's do it."
Her answer seemed to soothe Delphine's nerves, because suddenly the blonde was all smiles again.
"Great! How about tonight?" Delphine asked. "I know a great little place nearby."
"I'll be there."
Delphine's "great little place nearby" ended up being a quaint little French restaurant just a few blocks from campus. While the outside was nothing fancy to look at, the inside exuded a rustic charm, outmatched only by its selection of classic French cuisines and wine offerings. Cosima and Delphine sat comfortably in the corner, the whole place basically to themselves.
"What did you order me, Delphine?" Cosima asked, poking at plate of stew in front of her. "Because whatever it is, it smells delicious."
"That's Poulet Basquaise. It's basically a chicken, pepper and tomato stew." Delphine answered.
"And what did you get?"
"This is Sole Meunière. It's sort of a crispy, buttery, lemony fish." Delphine said, taking a bite. "Would you like to try some?"
Cosima nodded, about to hand her fork over, when Delphine sliced off a piece with her own utensil. Carefully, with one hand cupping underneath, Delphine passed the fish over to Cosima.
"Here, careful. I don't want it to drip..."
Cosima reached for the fork, her fingers brushing lightly against Delphine's during the trade-off. If she found the exchange awkward, it was all forgotten as soon as the Sole Meunière hit her taste buds.
"Oh. My. God. That's amazing."
"You like it?"
"I love it. How did you find this place?" Cosima asked, scooping a bit of Poulet Basquaise into her mouth.
"I found it one night after I got very, very homesick."
"Homesick?"
"I'm from Paris, new here this semester," Delphine explained. "I didn't bring anyone with me, so it can get pretty lonely in this brave new world…"
"I'm sorry," Cosima said. "It must be tough to be so far away from your family."
"It is," Delphine shrugged, "but I'm making new friends."
Delphine briefly glanced up at Cosima, before taking another bite of her fish.
"So tell me about your family," Cosima said, leaning herself over the table. "Do you have a big family? Brothers? Sisters?"
Cosima was genuinely interested in getting to know the blonde, but she also realized she could use this opportunity to uncover whether Delphine Beraud was the very same Delphine Marion had told her about – the daughter of lead scientist number two on Project Leda. So far all Cosima knew was that Delphine was tall, blonde and French, just like one Doctor Bernard Cormier.
"Small family, no siblings," Delphine said, her voice quieter than before. "My mom raised me all by herself. My dad left when I was little."
"Oh god, Delphine, I'm so sorry."
"No, it's okay," Delphine said. "It was a long time ago. What about you, though? Big family? Siblings?"
"Oh, yeah – big family. Lots of sisters," Cosima said. "Lots of sisters."
Before another question could be asked, the waiter popped by the table asking the most important question of the night: "More wine?"
More wine? Cosima and Delphine happily indulged in more wine, so much so, that by the time they left the restaurant, the warm, fuzzy effects of the alcohol had already taken control of their bodies. Arm and arm, the two inebriated women walked down the sidewalk while Cosima told yet another one of her stories.
"So I told him: 'You get to have sex… with yourself," Cosima said, falling into a fit of giggles.
Delphine laughed too, just barely able to get her next question out. "And what did he say?"
"Awesome deal."
At that, both women doubled over in a burst of laughter, having to clutch on to each other to keep from falling over. They stood like this, their loud giggles ringing throughout the quiet night, until they were left gasping for air.
"Oh, shit. This is me. This is my apartment," Cosima said, finally noticing their surroundings. "Would you like to come up? I've got booze, coffee, water…"
"I'll take a coffee, if you don't mind."
Grabbing her hand, Cosima pulled Delphine inside and up the stairs until they were standing just inside the spacious apartment.
"I'm sorry, it's a bit messy," Cosima said, shuffling some books on a nearby table. "I wasn't expecting company."
"It's perfect," Delphine said, taking her time to survey the space. "It's so… you."
Delphine moved herself throughout the apartment, running her fingers over the books, papers and pictures she found along the way. See seemed completely captivated, taking her time to explore every nook and cranny.
Cosima just watched, slowly walking backwards so as not to miss a moment. She was headed for the kitchen when suddenly her whole body collided with the desk. Cosima reached out to steady herself, her hand landing on the keyboard of her laptop, making the dormant machine suddenly spring to life.
"Ow my ow! Shit!" Cosima cursed loudly, rubbing the part of her leg that had smacked the desk. "Shit, that really hurt. I'm going to need something stronger than coffee after…"
Cosima stopped talking, the expression on Delphine's face being the reason why. The blonde stood frozen, her face suddenly very pale. Before Cosima could ask why, Delphine raised a shaky hand and pointed at something on the desk – the computer.
Brows furrowed, Cosima turned to look and then she saw it – the grainy image of Doctor Bernard Cormier, Delphine's presumed father, was still displayed on the computer screen from her chat with Marion. She had never closed it out. Before she could say anything, though, Delphine was already out the door.
"Shit."