"Adrien, do you have a moment for me?" Nathalie asked as he walked up to the boy.
"Yes, Nathalie." Adrien nodded. "Did something happen to father?" He quietly added.
"No, he is still the same." She assured. "How about some tea and biscuits?"
"Please." Adrien softly sighed in relief and followed Nathalie to the Atelier, where they could sit without Félix or Amelie accidentally walking in.
"How are you doing, Adrien?" Nathalie inquired, her voice gentle and her eyes full of concern.
"I know my grades have been dropping…"
"I am not talking about your grades, Adrien." She poured two cups of tea. "I am more interested in everything else."
"You mean about father?"
"A part of it, yes, but also how you are feeling. I was wondering if there were things I might be able to do for you."
"I have a hard time concentrating at school… I am constantly worrying about my father. It makes it hard to fall asleep at night. It makes me feel sad there is nothing I can do to make him feel better."
"Yes, I understand that." Nathalie softly soothed. She wished there was anything she could do to make Gabriel feel better… "Would there be anything I can do to make you feel better, Adrien?"
"I don't think so. I just want Father to get better and come home." Adrien slightly leaned into Nathalie when she reached out to give him half a hug.
"There is nothing else I wish for as well."
"Do you think you can come to have dinner with us every evening?" The boy requested after a short silence.
"I can do that," Nathalie assured.
"I would like that."
"Do you even mind that Amelie and Félix are here?"
"I don't think I mind they are here. Although I still find it a little strange that Félix is in my class."
"And?" Nathalie prompted as she could see on Adrien's face there was something else.
"Does it sound strange that it feels like Amelie is pretending to be my mother?"
"No, I do not think so."
"I don't want to sound ungrateful. I love that she cooks ratatouille just like Mother did, but sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable that she pushes me into things I prefer not to do. Not to mention all the unasked advice she gives me and her opinions she forces upon me."
"You can just tell her off if she does something you do not like," Nathalie said after a small sip.
"I know she only means well, and that is why I don't want to tell her off."
"You can tell her just that."
"Don't you think she will get angry?"
"Well, if she gets angry, you may send her to me, and then I will explain to her that she showed up here uninvited and that if she does not agree with you, she is welcome to leave." Nathalie seriously said, making Adrien smile.
"But Nathalie…" Adrien hesitated.
"You know you can ask and tell me anything."
"What if Father does not make it…"
"You should not think about such things Adrien." Nathalie gently said. "Your father will make it."
"But still… I need to know, Nathalie. Will I be forced to go live with Aunt Amelie in London?"
"That depends if there are pre-set arrangements. Child services will come in to assess the situation since you are no adult yet. They will also listen to you, Adrien. If you do not wish to live with them, they have to give you other options." Nathalie was silent for a while. "If it ever will come that far, which I do not believe… If you want to stay with me, I am more than willing to adopt you, Adrien." That made Adrien look at her.
"What about your job, Nathalie?"
"That is neither something you should worry about. But I will just have to go look for another job."
"Okay…"
"Any other wandering thoughts that need to be addressed?"
"No, not right now, I guess."
"Well, if something comes up, you know where to find me."
"Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien nodded and stood to give the woman a proper hug. "Thank you for actually listening."
"Any time." Nathalie soothed before they both went their way.
That evening, Adrien and Nathalie went to the hospital once more.
"Good evening, father." Adrien softly said as he stepped into the room. Nathalie followed him and softly closed the door behind her. Gabriel was still fast asleep. Nathalie and Adrien quietly sat in the room, a little unsure about what to do. "Shall I read something?" Adrien proposed, not wanting to sit here in the uncomfortable silence.
"I think that would be very nice, Adrien." Nathalie agreed, that it would be the best option for now, hoping Gabriel would still hear them. Nathalie had brought the tablet and a book for Gabriel's bedside, even if he could not use them right now. Adrien then proceeded to read from the book, reading in total two chapters before it was time for Nathalie and him to go home. As he got up, his hand brushed against one of the charms on Marinette's ribbon, reminding him of his father's ring, and the rash is most likely caused.
"Nathalie, would you mind waiting for a few more minutes, there is something I need to go ask the doctor."
"Make it quick, Adrien." Nathalie nodded before Adrien hurried off to find the doctor. It took Adrien a bit to find the doctor but was glad when he finally encountered the man.
"Young Mister Agreste, what can I do for you?" He was about to leave to go home.
"I was wondering if a ring could have made my father ill," Adrien stated and went to show the man his father's ring. "I wore it for a little while now and received a rash from it, and if I remember correctly, father seemed to have something like a rash from the ring as well." Doctor Monet studied the ring for a moment.
"A rash could be one of the possible symptoms, yes. We can perform a relatively simple test to determine if this is the cause." The doctor said before he handed the ring back.
"Can we go do that now?" Adrien inquired.
"Well since it is evening, the laboratory is closed, but if you leave the ring here, I will make sure someone will do that the first thing in the morning."
"I don't think father would appreciate that, and neither would I…" Adrien carefully said.
"How about you come here after school, then I will make sure there will be someone to show you."
"Thank you, I think I would like that." Adrien nodded. "I will be back tomorrow after school." He promised, and as he turned around, Nathalie was already waiting for him.
"Have a good evening." She greeted the doctor before walking back with Adrien to their car. "You know you have fencing class after school."
"I know, but it would not be a problem if I skip one time? I will be learning about science all afternoon in return." Adrien tried.
"D'Argencourt won't be happy, but I will excuse you for this once," Nathalie replied once they got to the car. She would gladly cancel any lesson for the boy right now.
"Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien offered her a tiny smile. He tried not to be too hopeful at the thought of finding something. The odds were still very small…
-Ring of Toxic Love-
Adrien quietly knocked on the door of the laboratory and waited. After a minute, a young lady opened the door. "You must be Adrien. I am Laura." She introduced herself as she let him in. "Safety first." She quipped and handed Adrien a pair of safety glasses and a pristine white lab coat. "Please don't touch anything unless I tell you, you may do something."
"Yes, Miss," Adrien responded as he quickly pulled on the coat.
"Please, call me Laura, you are making me feel old." Laura smiled. "Do you have the ring for me?"
"I do." Adrien nodded and carefully got it from Marinette's ribbon. "You are not going to damage it, are you?" He asked and watched as she pulled on a pair of green gloves.
"Not exactly," Laura said as she took the ring from Adrien. "I will put it in this beaker with de-mineralized water and then we will set a current upon the ring and this electrode. Because of the current, small metal particles will come loose from the ring's surface and dissolve into the water. You won't see anything of it once we are done." She promised and swiped the ring with a cotton swab. After that, she clipped an electrode to the ring before she put it in the beaker and used a little device to put a current upon it.
"Bubbles are coming up from the ring," Adrien observed as he closely watched what was happening in the beaker.
"That is a side reaction of the water. It is nothing to be concerned about." Laura assured. "Now we need to wait for half an hour so that there will be enough metal particles in solution. Shall I go explain the machine we are going to use to measure the metal particles?"
"Yes, please," Adrien said. It was all quite interesting.
"This is an Atom Absorption Spectrometer." Laura started after she walked over to a device that was as big as an old 2000s computer screen. "If you look through the grate, you can see the flame. That flame is a mixture of acetylene, a very flammable gas, as well as oxygen. This tiny straw will suck up the solution we are making and that will be misted through the gas solution before it will be burned. Because of the metal particles that will be going into the flame, the flame will change colour, and with that colour change we will be able to measure and determine which metals and how much of that certain metal is present." The lab assistant explained.
"Really?" Adrien asked. "Metals can have different colours?"
"Metal ions do, yes. This is the same principle as is used in fireworks. The fireworks get different colours because of the different metals that are burned." She quickly took out a small book and took a minute to find the correct page before showing a chart that stated the different colours of different metals.
"Cool." Adrien grinned. Laura continued to explain several more things about the device like the different lamps that were used and which other purposes the machine served. Once the half-hour had passed, she turned off the current and dried off the ring before handing it back to Adrien. She proceeded to add a standard of another metal, adding several steps to the procedure before the solution was finally ready to be measured. Adrien was allowed to put the little straw into the round-bottom flask so they could start the measurement.
"Oh, the flame turns from orange to red," Adrien observed. Laura nodded.
"There are multiple elements that can turn a flame red, and the exact component we will know in a second." She replied and started typing away after the computer beeped.
"Laura?" Adrien asked as she jumped up, cursing under her breath. "Laura?!" He asked as she quickly speed-walked out of the laboratory. She needed to find the doctor.
A/N Yes, a little science lesson, has been part of my study and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to incorporate some of my knowledge xD Please let me know if you like the little bit of Angst, comfort and story progress!
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