Disclaimer: I don't own A.T.O.M. and never will. Unfortunately. But I do own the idea of this fic and the new characters I introduced.
A/N:
Remedy.
Chapter Four.
Sophie Olin was standing in the middle of her room in San Salomon mansion, which had been reconstructed some time ago, her eyes wide open, talking on the phone.
"A-… Are you completely sure about this, Dr.Spencer?" she asked the man on the phone.
"Yes-Yes, Mrs.Olin, there's absolutely no doubt about it. My congratulations!" the doctor answered happily.
"Thank you, doctor," Sophie hang up the phone and put it on the table. She was white as snow, the tips of her fingers icy cold, her legs shaking.
It was about three months since she and Janus had made up. They were an official couple now, and all of their friends had been very happy for them.
"Finally!" her best friend, Krista, now engaged to her University boyfriend, Steve McLaren, cried upon hearing the news, "Finally I lived to the moment you are engaged in a serious long-term relationship!"
"Yeah, well, thanks, Krista!" Sophie glared daggers at her, "But I still haven't told him something…"
"Really? What is it?" Krista was hyper curios.
"My age, Krista," Sophie answered lazily, and Krista burst out laughing.
Yes, well, that WAS funny when she had finally made up her mind to tell him. Sophie still could not forget his expression.
"You look fantastic tonight," Lee told her when she had come down stairs in a gorgeous new evening dress.
"Thank you," she smiled brightly, "You don't look bad yourself."
Of course, it was a joke. He looked astounding in his evening suit.
"Well, shall we?"
She took him by his arm, and they headed for the door.
"You somehow always manage to look like you're barely twenty," he noted.
"Twenty-three," she corrected him.
"I'm sorry?" he stopped and looked at her, unsure of what he just heard her say.
"I'm twenty-three," she said in an amused tone. In truth, she was doing her best not to burst out laughing at his reaction, for Lee's eyes widened two or three times, and his eyebrows couldn't possibly go any higher.
"WHAT?!!"
He usually never yelled, but when he did, it was either very scary, or very funny. Now was the second case, and Sophie could no longer suppress her giggles.
"You're what?!" he repeated again, watching her almost double from the amount of laughter.
"H-Honestly, Janus…" she managed to say through tears, "I wish you could see yourself now!..."
"T-twenty three?... B-… But that's impossible!" he stammered out, "I mean… That means that…"
'That she was seventeen when we had…' his mind was finishing the thought for him. He felt heat rising to his cheeks and ears.
"Come ON," Sophie nudged him forward, still laughing, "We'll be late for the 'party' Mr.Jacobs is setting up tonight…"
"Oh. My. God," he continued to rant, "When I agreed upon this relationship a month ago, I already hated myself, and now it turns out that I'm just an old pervert…"
Sophie laughed again.
"First of all, you're not OLD. Don't. Ever. Say that. And second, you know what they say? Age doesn't matter when it comes to love."
Sophie was glad and relieved that Janus managed to live through that 'terrible' discovery. Although, he had been ranting on about it for the next several days.
Sophie smiled at the memories.
She had moved in with Janus when San Salomon had been rebuilt. Her father came to visit them a few times. He met Mr.Lee and, thankfully, they were friendly to each other. Janus admitted later that he had been afraid Sophie's father would kill him right on spot.
"He wouldn't do that," Sophie told Janus, "Because he knows I love you and I'm happy with you."
But now Sophie had another problem. She would have to tell Janus that something he had considered almost impossible happened after all.
A morning before, Sophie felt sick, and Janus forced her into staying at home.
"You're overworking yourself," he told her sternly.
"As if you're not," she retorted at once, but seeing the look he gave her, she sighed in defeat.
"Ok, FINE, I'll stay at home today," she said in annoyed tone.
"AND tomorrow," Lee was not asking.
"Wha..? Argh! Whatever!" she was not in a mood to argue now.
He laughed a little. That got her.
"What's so funny, Mr.?" she glared at him, making him laugh harder.
"I like it when you're mad," he teased her.
At first, Sophie wanted to punch him, but then she laughed together with him.
And yet she stayed at home. She said that maybe she had just eaten something, but when her friend Krista called her and heard that, she was at her place ten minutes later.
"Come ON!" Krista had almost literally dragged Sophie out of the house and took her to the city.
Sophie was utterly surprised when she found herself and Krista in one of the city's best private clinics.
"Krista, what are we doing here?" Sophie asked, annoyed. Sometimes her friend was unbearable, "It's not that I'm terribly ill or something!"
"No, I think you're in much better state!"
What Krista meant by that phrase became obvious to Sophie only after she had done several medical tests.
"Krista. This. Is. RIDICULOS!" Sophie marched to her friend with a murderous glint in her eyes, "I can't be pregnant! I told you: Janus can't be a father! And I'm NOT cheating on him! I love him!"
"I'm not questioning her loyalties!" Krista protested loudly, "I'm just saying that you COULD be pregnant! After all, as far as I understand, there is a LITTLE, not NO, chance that he could get you pregnant!"
Sophie froze. Krista was right
"I... There's almost no chance that I'll ever be a father."
Almost.
'Almost' was the key word. As usual.
'Looks like God loves you, Janus,' Sophie thought, putting her phone on the table and glancing into the mirror. She put a hand on her belly. 'You ARE going to be a father.'
Sophie smiled.
A few hours later, she was sitting in the living room downstairs when she heard the entrance door open and close. Sophie smiled brightly. At last she'd be able to break the news to Janus.
Moments later, Janus himself came into the room.
"Hello, sweetheart," he came up to her, as she stood up from the sofa, and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. She smiled. He looked tired, but seemingly satisfied.
"How was your day?" she asked him.
"Oh, not bad," he answered putting his case on one of the armchairs, "We signed another contract today… With DigiEra Inc."
"Great!" Sophie smiled, knowing that the contract would be very profitable for Lee Industries.
"And how are you feeling?" he asked her with concern.
"Actually… Not bad, thank you," she answered truthfully.
'Here goes nothing,' she thought before continuing:
"I've been to the doctor," Sophie said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.
"Oh, what did he say? Is there anything wrong?" Lee asked, alarmed.
Sophie smiled. Jesus, he was such panic-monger when it came to her well-being. Well, that was only natural: he loved her, after all.
"No, everything's fine," she said, watching Lee's relieved expression, "In fact, I have some good news."
She interlaced her fingers nervously, as an unasked question appeared on head of Lee Industries face.
Sophie stepped closer to him.
"You're going to be a father, Janus," she broke the news finally.
Lee paled. Other than that, he didn't move at all.
A few minutes passed in dead silence. As no reaction came from Lee, Sophie started to worry.
"Janus, say something," her voice was almost pleading. Was he mad at her? But why? Wasn't that what he wanted?
Still no response. After a few moments, however, Lee made a small step backwards, his face as white as never before.
"Th-… That's impossible," he shook his head violently, "It can't be. No, there must've been some kind of a mistake…"
A part of Sophie knew why he was reacting that way: all his life he believed he would never have a family and a child of his own, and now… Now he could have it all.
Sophie smiled kindly.
"It is," she said lovingly, "There's no mistake about it."
A few more moments passed. A mixture of fear, shock and disbelief were plastered on Lee's face. Then, he crossed the space between him and Sophie in several long strides and embraced her tightly. Sophie held to him as well, understanding how he felt.
"Oh, Sophie…" he almost sobbed into the crook of her neck. No man in the world was happier than him now.
"I love you," he told her after a few moments later, looking her in the eyes.
"Yeah, I've already figured that out," she smiled, but then added, "I love you too."
And then Lee did something Sophie had not expected of him: he stood on his knees in front of her and embraced her by the waist, pressing his head gently against her stomach.
"And I love YOU, little one," he said in a strange, too gentle for a grown man, voice. For a moment there, he seemed like an overgrown baby to Sophie. "And I'll do everything to protect you and your mommy."
He looked up at her smiling face. She gestured him to get up, and as he did, Sophie embraced him tightly.
"Marry me," he said after a few moments, pulling away from her and taking a small red box with a beautiful diamond ring in it.
Sophie looked shocked for a few moments. But then she smiled happily.
"Of course, I will!"
He put the ring on her finger and kissed her.
At last.
At last, everything was just as it should be. At last, both of them were happy.