It was almost eight when Cosima entered her small place. Stumbling to her couch she looked for her phone in the bag.

After she was done comparing schedules with Alex, she had looked around the lab looking for her professor, finding it empty, apart from her and the other student. Alex had insisted in going out to get dinner, but all Cosima could think about was reaching home to call Delphine.

Dialing the number, she waited for her professor to answer. Cosima was about to end the call when she heard a low "Hello."

"Hi!" Cosima said with a smile. "You left without saying goodbye!" She joked.

"You seemed to be busy, I didn't want to intrude." The answer was not as light as Cosima expected.

"Hm, hm… Just matching schedules." Is she jealous? "I thought we could still see each other today. I have some clothes to give back to you, like your panties and whatnot…"

"I'm already settled in for the night." Delphine said. "And we should be fresh for tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah… Right…" Cosima said annoyed.

"It's at ten, Cosima. Don't be late!"

"I know, I know… Want to come over in the morning, make sure I won't be late?"

"Not a good idea." Delphine was not in the playing disposition. "Be there on time! I know it's not the best way to spend your Saturday, but since you agreed to be part of the project, take it serious, please. If you screw up, it's not only you that will get affected; everyone on it will."

"Delphine, calm down! I know that." Cosima gave up trying to convince her professor to visit. The Frenchwoman was clearly more worried about Cosima's attitude, she had to assure her that she would behave. As much as Cosima didn't like the idea of being involved in the research, she was not about to fuck it all up. "Believe me, my resistance was over the moment I agreed to it, okay? I'll take it serious. Don't worry!"

"Okay, then…" Delphine's voice sounded a little softer. "I just want to make sure you understand what's at stake here. If you let your animosity towards Dr. Leekie affect your work…"

"Delphine, I'm telling you not to worry. I know how to play nice!"

"Well, I know you do!" Finally she heard a chuckle on the other end. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah! Have a good night!" Cosima said, more relieved now that her professor seemed calmer.

"Bonne nuit!" And the call ended.

Cosima got up and gathered her things, which she dropped on the floor when she arrived. Her night suddenly free. Resolved to follow her professor's lead, she ordered pizza and got ready for a calm night at home.

Turning on the computer for some music, Cosima decided to give a quick clean on her place, while she waited for dinner. And for the next twenty minutes she moved around her small apartment, storing papers and placing her clothes where they belonged.

When dinner was delivered her house was much more presentable. She sat on the sofa, with the computer on the coffee table in front of her. Cosima browsed through her dean's previous investigations' reports that were available online, finding out that several were accessible for all the students in her department. Pretentious fucker! As she kept reading the notion she had at the first contact with his work maintained: Dr. Leekie was arrogant in the way he approached science, convinced that he could bend it at his will.

When she thought she had enough she turned the computer off and went to bed. Cosima would need to deal with Leekie tomorrow. The only good thing was that now she had a good excuse to see Delphine on the weekends and that largely surpassed the annoyance she felt about needing to share her free time with the dean.

At nine her alarm went off, with a grunt, she forced herself to leave the bed and shower. After, dressed in jeans and a simple tight shirt, she left still with time for a quick stop for breakfast.

Alex was at the counter placing her order. "Hi, Alex. How are you this morning?" She said in a greeting way.

"Good Morning, Cosima!" Alex answered when the brunette was next to her. "Not that good. Saturday mornings are supposed to be spent in bed."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Then Cosima ordered and both women set in one of the many free tables, very different from the usual rush that Cosima witnessed on week mornings. "I don't think I've ever saw you here!"

"Um, um… I don't come here often, usually I have breakfast at my place, but this way it's faster, so I get to sleep ten more minutes, which obviously makes a huge difference!" They were seating facing each other, Cosima's back to the door. "So you're in senior year, yes? How's that like?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure yet." Cosima said, which lead the other student to laugh. "I'm serious, I don't think I've intuited all of it. But professors are more demanding, many papers, it seems like it will be a lot of work."

"Hm… I don't doubt that." Alex said. "But you must be excited, in no time you'll be out of here. Do you know what you're going to do once you're done?"

"I'm not sure, yet. I've got some proposals, a few institutes contacted me and most of them gave me the possibility to continue study, which is what I want to do." Cosima was saying, but at the same time she realized that she wasn't sure anymore if her future would be the same as she planed a month ago. "Some even offered to pay for the remaining of my education, if I agree to sign with them."

"Wow, that's really something. You're like a superstar, with teams fighting over you!" Alex's voice got a little higher. "I wish job offers would run after me and not the other way around."

"Well, you never know! It wasn't until the end of last year that they started to contact me." Cosima encouraged.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. My grades are not as high as yours… probably." The other student's voice broke mid-sentence.

"At least Dr. Leekie saw something in you that seemed promising or he wouldn't have invited you to join the project, no?" Cosima asked, but didn't fail to notice how strange it was for the dean to recruit a student who seemed average. Even because Cosima knew about other colleagues that were almost as good as she was and, like her, had institutes interested in hire them, and were not recruited for the research. Despite what she said, as soon as her first grades started to show up, job offers began to rain on her email account.

"I guess…" Her colleague started to get up. "We better leave or we'll be late."

The two women arrived at Lab C just in time, everyone was already in, except for Dr. Leekie. Cosima glanced at Delphine, who was talking lively with one of the other professors, with her lab coat on. She decided to go say hello; nothing more normal than to greet her professor.

"Good morning, Dr. Cormier." Cosima said when she was next to the blonde.

Turning to face her student and after a few seconds to register what was happening, Delphine answered. "Good morning, Ms. Niehaus!" Then she followed by introducing the other professor. "This is Dr. Alison Kent, she teaches Human Genetics."

"Oh, hi!" Cosima extended her hand for a shake. "I've taken Human Genetics last year with Dr. Black."

"Hm, hm… I'm afraid I never got to know him." The professor answered. "But I did read some of his work, he's a brilliant man."

"Yeah, a good professor as well. It's a shame he's no longer here… I mean, not that I think you shouldn't be here, it's just that he's not…" Cosima started to stumble in her words.

"Don't worry, Ms. Niehaus, take a deep breath." The professor had a gentle smile. "I know exactly what you mean!"

Cosima was saved by the door opening and Dr. Leekie making his entry. She took the chance that no one was looking at her to glance at Delphine, who was looking at her sideways, but a hidden smile on her lips, her head slightly shaking left and right.

"Good morning, everyone!" Dr. Leekie said to the room. "Glad to see everybody's already here. So we can start without delays. Pairs come get the trials that have your names on and get to your stations." He said placing a stack of folders on his desk.

For the next half-hour no one said anything as they read the directions they should follow. After most of the group finished their reading the room turned chaotic as people started to move around the shelves where the tools and solutions were stored. Just so, moments later, a new order returned to the lab; half-whispering voices all around when partners started to arrange their trials.

Alex was going to the fridge to get something when Delphine made a stop on their station. "Is everything okay in here? Any questions?" She asked, gently placing one hand on Cosima's shoulder, which made the student almost drop the vial she was holding. "Careful there!"

"Hm.. Yeah… No… I mean, it's all good, no questions!" Cosima said glancing up at her professor, while Alex returned to her seat next to her partner.

"Hello! Dr. Cormier, right?" Alex asked in her usual enthusiastic voice.

"Yes, Ms. Robison." Delphine answered, her lips forming a straight line. "I was just asking Ms. Niehaus if you needed any help."

"You can call me Alex, and we're great. Cosima has us covered." She said, placing one hand on the other student's forearm.

The professor's eyes narrowed a little, almost imperceptibly. "Yes, she's very bright!" Cosima heard her professor answer with a voice a little lower than usual.

"I meant to introduce myself personally, this morning at the coffee shop, but when I noticed again you were already gone." Alex was saying. "I thought it was the right thing to do, since we'll be working under your direction."

"We are all working under Dr. Leekie's direction!"

Cosima was lightly registering the conversation. At the coffee shop, this morning? She never noticed her professor there. "You were at the coffee shop? I never saw you there?" The brunette said a little high.

"Yes, I was." The blonde was again looking at her. "I imagine you were entertained by the conversation. Keep up the good work!" She said before moving to another station.

"Dr. Cormier is your professor, right?" Cosima heard the voice distantly, she was still looking at the Frenchwoman.

"Yes, immunology." She answered looking again at her pair.

"How is she?" Alex was working while she talked. "I mean, I heard some of the guys saying that she's a great professor and all. But I think they're kind of bias."

"What do you mean?" Cosima was also working, but her mind was not quite focused in what she was doing.

"Well, I mean… Look at her." Alex said, waving her head in the blonde's direction, who was talking with another pair at the end of the lab.

"What's that supposed to mean? Beautiful women can't be intelligent?" Cosima was not liking this conversation.

"No, not at all. What I meant was that the guys' opinion can be a little tainted." The other student was saying, dismissively. "I just wanted to know the opinion of a female student, it's all!"

"Barking at the wrong tree, here. I go for the ladies, so…" Cosima decided to face Alex's reference as just curiosity. "But if you still want my opinion, she seems to really love her field and that's half-way to be a good professor. And she explains well and is concerned about her students."

The other student had an half-smile playing on her lips that Cosima didn't necessarily know the meaning. "If you say so, I'm gonna take your word for it. And I'll find out next year about that." They were back to their work. "What about other professors? Anything good?"

"Well… I like Dr. Palmer, he's pretty cool, but this is his last year teaching."

"Oh, I know him, we share that one. Yeah, I guess he's alright."

Until the lunch break they kept working and comparing opinions on the professors they both met. The room was filled with the sound of low voices and the clatter typical of all labs. Delphine regularly stop by their station, making sure everything was going fine, which lead to Cosima get a little distracted from what she was doing and Alex sending side glances at the blonde.

When Dr. Leekie announced lunch break Cosima had half-a-mind to find her professor and share a few words with her. Last night's call still on her mind and she was acting oddly all morning. But as they were exiting the lab, Alex trailed after her.

"So where's lunch?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know yet." Cosima answered, glancing at her partner.

"Well, I know this little restaurant, it's pretty close and not too expensive… Good food!" Alex said.

The brunette looked around. "I don't know…" She distractedly said; the Frenchwoman was nowhere to be seen, damn! "I guess…"

"Okay then, let's go!"

Cosima returned from lunch with a new-found energy and immediately got to work. As much as she hated to admit, the project was interesting and, so far, she couldn't envision any red flags. She was concentrated in what she was doing, when Delphine passed by where she was working.

"So, how's it going, Ms. Niehaus?" The professor was next to her.

"You can call me Cosima, you did it before, among other things." The small woman said with a low voice, a slick smile playing on her lips; they were alone, Alex left for a bathroom break.

"Ah, ah… Very funny." Delphine's face a light color of red, her answer coming on a low voice as well. "Seriously, how are things going? Any difficulties?"

"Seriously, I've missed you last night!" The student couldn't help it. "What are your plans after we're done here?"

"Cosima, pay attention to what you're doing!" The taller woman tried to hold it, but Cosima could see a smile forcing its way on her face.

"Ah, so you do know my name…" The brunette turned her head when she heard the door open, Alex entering. "But later?" She asked hastily before her partner was next to her.

"We'll see." The Frenchwoman whispered back. "Ms. Robinson, I was asking your partner if everything was under control." She directed to the other student when she was next to them.

"Perfect! We're both very excited with our trial." Her typical happy voice. "I think ours it's going to stick!"

"It's too soon to know, but I hope you're right." Delphine said before taking her leave.

It was almost eight when they were finally done. Cosima packed her things, removed her lab coat and said goodbye to Alex before she had the possibility to invite her for dinner. It was not that Cosima didn't like her partner, but she had other plans in mind. However, when she glanced around the room there was no sign of the blonde.

She reached for her phone and texted Delphine: "Where are you? I meet you and we go out for dinner. If anyone asks we say we say I've got some questions about the investigation or something… C'mon!"

Cosima was not in the mood to play hide-and-seek, she just wanted the Frenchwoman's company. A few minutes later, when she was already outside, her phone vibrated: "Can't! Have a meeting with Dr. Leekie to discuss how things went."

It looks like another night alone. Cosima thought raising her eyebrows, already walking towards her small apartment. But instead decided to call Scott and see if her friends were available to kill some time with her. Misery loves company, Cosima thought already texting her friend.