"Has something happened? Are you alright?" Larry whispers, his voice barely audible.

"I'm fine, Larry. I just..." her voice drifts off a little as she thinks of how to respond. "I miss you. I... I'm sorry it took me this long to call..."

"It's wonderful to hear your voice again, Megan. No matter the circumstance," Larry provides, his hands shaking a little as he holds the phone to his ear. "I've missed you too. It's been far too long, hasn't it?" She is silent on the other end for longer than was necessary.

"I'm sorry, Larry."

"For what, darling? Calling and disturbing my peace? Think nothing of it. I miss our intellectual conversations and—"

"You have a son."

Larry almost drops the phone in surprise. Instead, he ends up sitting down and perching himself on the edge of his bed so as not to fall over. He's quiet for many moments, his studious brain working overtime to process this new information.

Megan, more than two thousand miles away, waits for him to respond with slightly baited breath. It's been more than three years since she's seen him, and she's not sure if he's the same man she left in LA. She's not sure if he still as an aversion to children and the concept of having a family— the reason she's kept this from him for so long.

"I can't. That's not possible," Larry finally determines. "We only... and we were careful..." Megan sighs.

"Not as careful as we thought. I didn't know I was pregnant until I was already in New York, and I knew how you felt about having kids..."

He was trying to process the information, and found it more difficult than some of his old work at CalSci. He had once thought that Einstein had been correct in that one can only have one of two things: a family, or work in physics. But in recent months, with the time to think in solitude, he often wondered about the opportunities for love he missed out on; all the beautiful things that he could have been a part of. And that included having a family, and having obligations.

"I'm flabbergasted. Are you sure that your son...?"

"Shares half your DNA? Yes Larry, I'm sure. You were the only one who it could be. And... he looks like you."

"Can I see him?"

"Do you want to?"

"Of course I do! He's my son!" Larry stands once more, determined in his declaration. If he indeed had a son, he wasn't going to let him grow up without meeting his father, sure as the universe tastes like raspberries.

"Then... when can you get here?"