Chapter Three: Meeting the Countess

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"This has to be the right hall." David commented as the elevator door shut behind the two brothers. A smile crossed the dark-haired man's face. "We've been down all of the others."

After a bit of a drive from Paris, the pair had finally arrived at the hospital in the east of France. The old building was only a few minutes drive from the Chateau du Pres, the ancestral home of the du Pres family. Leo had stayed there when he had been forced into hiding from his mother's organization a year or so ago.

"Yeah." the tall, brown-haired man nodded, looking down both sides of the hall that spanned in front of them. "But, which way?"

"That should be easy to figure out by reading the room numbers." a brown and gray-haired man commented as he walked up to the pair. A friendly look was present in his hazel eyes.

"Dr. Jacot." Leo greeted with a smile, recognizing his doctor.

"I wondered if you had been contacted, Leo." the doctor smiled, "I know that your father would want you here if something happened to him."

"How is he?" a worried Leo asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"He's stable for now." Jacot replied before turning to David. "And I'm assuming that you're Dr. Hayward."

"Yeah." David nodded.

"I'm Henri Jacot, the chief of staff at this hospital." the brown and gray-haired man introduced as he offered his hand to shake. "I'm also a very old friend of the du Pres family." He nodded at Leo. "I took care of your brother while he was in hiding."

"Pleasure to meet you." David smiled, shaking the other man's hand.

"The pleasure is all mine." Jacot assured, "Thanks to Ms. Devane's advanced warning, I've gotten clearance for you to work at this hospital and on the Comte's case." He started down the hall, and the two brothers followed him. "Our only remaining obstacle is asking his wife to allow you to see him."

"His wife?" an anxious Leo repeated. He had never met any of Guy's family before, and he was worried about how they would take to him. After all, he was the Count's illegitimate child from an alcohol-driven, one night stand. He slowly rubbed his forehead as he continued walking, and paid little attention to the details of Guy's condition, which were being discussed by the two men in front of him. Leo tried to ignore the sudden desire to run the other way.

The trio suddenly entered what Leo assumed was the family waiting room. The only occupant, an elegant looking, elderly woman with shoulder-length, straight, blonde or white hair, rose from her comfortable seat as they entered. Dr. Jacot led David over to the woman, but Leo found himself stopping and staying by the door.

"Is there a problem, Henri?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"No." Jacot assured, putting his hand up. "No. Your husband is doing just fine." He motioned towards David. "This is David Hayward. I believe that Ms. Devane told you about him already."

"Oui." the woman nodded, looking at David. However, Leo could swear that her eyes had strayed over to him for a moment. "She mentioned that you're one of the best cardiologists in the world."

"I'll have to thank her for the rare compliment." David chuckled.

"So, it's all right if he works on Guy's case." Dr. Jacot assumed.

"Of course," the woman nodded, looking back to Jacot. "I know that Guy would want that."

"Good." Jacot nodded before turning to David. "We should get started immediately. We've got him stable for now, but that could very well change."

"Just show me where to scrub in." David smiled as the pair headed out for the door. As they passed the nervous looking Leo, David stopped briefly and put a reassuring hand on his younger brother's shoulder. He lowered his voice. "You'll be fine."

As the door shut behind the two doctors, Leo contemplated opening it and following after them or going somewhere that was not this room. Swallowing the massive lump that was in his throat, he looked over to see the woman watching him with an interested look.

"Did you have a good flight?" she inquired.

"Yes." Leo replied in a voice quieter than usual. He wondered if she knew who he was, and, if she did, how she felt about him.

"I'd imagine that you'd like to get back on that plane to America." the woman chuckled as she walked over to him. "We haven't been formally introduced. I am the Countess Madeline du Pres." She smiled widely at him. "It's nice to meet you, Leo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Countess." Leo nodded.

"Please call me Madeline." the older woman requested, "Countess is too formal for a stepson to use." Her blue eyes narrowed slightly. "You seem nervous. What's wrong?"

"Well, I know that this can't be easy for you." Leo replied, looking at the floor. "Considering the circumstances surrounding my birth."

"Oh, I don't blame you for that." Madeline replied, putting a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "You're just as much of a victim of what happened that night, if not more." Regretfully, she shook her head. "If only Guy and I had known…"

"I wish you had too." Leo nodded, thinking about how bad his childhood with his mother, Vanessa, had been. Since he had been dragged around from country to country, he had never really gotten a proper education, nor what could be considered a real childhood.

"Where are you and your brother staying?" Madeline inquired, deciding to change the subject in an attempt to lighten the younger man's mood.

"I think we were just going to get a motel someplace." Leo replied honestly.

"That's nonsense." Madeline stated, "Why pay for some place when the two of you would be most welcome at the chateau?" She paused and her friendly blue eyes focused on Leo. "Although, I would definitely understand if you would rather not stay there after those long eight months."

"It's not that." Leo assured with a smile. "It's just that David and I really don't want to be a burden…"

"You wouldn't be." Madeline said, shaking her head. "The chateau is big enough to accommodate two more people, and I know that your father would want you to stay there."

"I guess that I can't say no to that." Leo replied with a shrug.

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As Leo slowly opened the door, the all too familiar surroundings of the top room of one of the Chateau du Pres' many turrets came into view. The tall, brown-haired man had spent the majority of his time in hiding in this very room, and was a bit depressed that he once again found himself calling it home, even if it was for a short while. Shutting the door behind him, Leo mindlessly set his duffel bag down on the wooden chair in between the door and the queen-sized bed as he looked around.

As his brown eyes finally landed on that same chair, Leo felt a wave of sadness rush through his body. It hadn't been uncommon for the younger du Pres to wake up during the first couple months of his stay at the chateau, when he was still injured from his fall at Millers' Falls, and find his father sitting there.

His eyes suddenly drifted to the ring on his finger, the one he wore just below his wedding band. It was the signet ring of the du Pres family, which every male in the family wore. It was then that Leo remembered how his father had also been sitting in that chair when the older Frenchman had told Leo that they were in fact father and son, and had given him that very ring.

Not wanting to remember anymore, Leo layed fully down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. A sense of anger at his situation filled him. He wanted to do something! Guy had done so much for him those eight months, and now this was all Leo could do in return? Lie there and pray for his father's recovery? It just wasn't fair!

"You look like you could use some good news." David said, getting Leo's attention. The dark-haired, older doctor stood just inside the room and was closing the door behind him. He smiled gently at his younger brother.

"David." Leo said, sitting up against the headboard. "How is he?"

"Well, the tests show that your father has bacterial pericarditis." David replied as if he was just stating that Guy had a bad cold.

"Bacterial peri-what?" a confused Leo asked.

"Bacterial pericarditis." David repeated, "It's extremely rare and can be fatal if not caught in time." Seeing a worried look fast appearing on Leo's face, the older man put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Luckily, we caught your father in time and it can be easily treated with antibiotics and bed rest."

"So, he's going to be fine?" Leo asked hopeful.

"Well, he still might need surgery if the damage is significant enough." David stated, rubbing his brow in weariness. "Dr. Jacot is doing tests right now to determine that." He shrugged his shoulders. "But if not, I think that your father might be able to come home in a few days."

"That's good." Leo said, feeling as if a two-ton weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. Sitting up fully, he wrapped his arms around his brother and embraced David tightly. "Thank you so much, David."

"Hey." David replied, hugging back. "I was only happy to help." A deep laugh escaped him as the two brothers seperated. "Now if you had asked me to save our mother, that would have been a different story."

"I know." Leo yawned, stretching his arms out above him.

"Looks like someone wants their rest." David noticed, "Then again, you have been through a lot. Finding out that Greenlee was pregnant and about your father all in one day?"

"I don't want be an ungracious host though." Leo said, putting his arms down. The tall, brown-haired man cocked his head slightly. "Have you gotten settled into a room?"

"Not yet." David shook his head. "The Countess was busy on the phone when I arrived, so Pierre showed me up here." He smiled slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty nice place."

"Like you can imagine, it's been in the family for quite awhile." Leo said as a chuckle escaped him. "Dad will be more than happy to fill you in on its history, believe me." A deep sigh escaped the younger man. "Of course, I stayed in this very room a lot when I was in hiding." He shook his head. "Seemed more like a prison at times than a bedroom."

"I'd imagine." David sympathized, shaking his head as well.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two brothers as Leo flashed back to more various events from those eight months and David thought about how much he wished that he could have helped his younger half-brother out in some fashion.

"You know," Leo said, looking at David. "I am pretty tired, now that I think about it."

"Well," David replied, standing up. "I'll let you get your sleep then."

"You remember the way down?" Leo inquired.

"I think so." David nodded confidently. "Goodnight, little brother."

"Goodnight, David." Leo returned, shutting the door behind his brother.

To be continued...