Chapter 3

Athos got up quickly grabbing his robe on the way to the bathroom. He draped the robe over Sylvie's shoulders and grabbed hold of her hair keeping it out of the way.

Sylvie moaned from where she was crouched on the floor.

"How do you feel?" Athos asked.

"Surprisingly better," she said. She pulled the robe around herself putting her arms through the sleeves.

"You're sure?" He offered her his hand as she stood.

She turned on the faucet. Cupping her hands she brought some water to her mouth and after swishing it around, she spit it out.

"Would you get me a glass of water?" She asked.

"Of course," Athos pressed a kiss to her temple before going to the kitchen.

When he returned Sylvie was back on the bed curled up on her side, his robe securely tied around her. His robe was a dark blue flannel. Sylvie liked wearing it when she was at his apartment. She looked up at him and grinned. "You're naked."

He looked at himself and then back at her smirking. "I noticed." He sat down on the edge of the bed handing her the glass of water.

"Thank you," she said sitting up and taking a sip of water.

"Do you think you're coming down with something?" He asked resting his hand against her cheek. "It is cold and flu season."

"I had a flu shot a week ago," she said.

"You could have caught the flu before the shot," he said.

"True, but it doesn't feel like either," she sighed pressed the tips of her fingers over her lips. It was a habit she had when she was contemplating something or upset.

"Food poisoning?" He hated to suggest it.

"Bite your tongue," she glared at him.

He raised a hand placating. "Apologies. You've been fatigued for the last week; maybe you should see a doctor just to confirm something."

"All right," she handed him the glass of water. "I'll make an appointment Monday."

"At least you can sleep in tomorrow," he said. He crawled back into bed setting the glass of water on his nightstand. Sylvie moved closer to him resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders holding her close to him.

TM

Sylvie was able to get an appointment with her doctor the following Tuesday. She took the day off. She was however feeling better if still a bit over tired. At least she hadn't felt like throwing up again.

Athos sat at his desk going over files for his recent case when Sylvie appeared. Athos greeted her with a smile only to notice she looked nervous. "Sylvie, are you all right?"

His friends as well as a few other officers looked up at them.

"Athos, can we speak in private?" She asked.

Athos looked over his shoulder glaring at the others who promptly looked down at their own work. Athos rested a hand at the small of her back and guided Sylvie to a conference room.

He closed the door and looked at her taking in her nervous energy. She had her hand pressed to her mouth and was pacing over a small area. "Sylvie sweetheart, you're worrying me," he walked over to her grabbing her shoulders halting her pacing.

"I don't know how this happened," she said.

"What happened?" He was getting nervous.

She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Athos' brain seemed to stop for a moment. His mind was blank. He was lost for words.

"I know, it's unexpected," she said. "I take birth control. I swear I haven't missed a day."

Athos pulled himself together seeing the panic on her face. "I know," he pulled her close to him wrapping his arms around her. "It's not a hundred percent," he said.

Sylvie pressed her head against his chest. They stood like that for a few minutes. "What are we going to do?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled with her face pressed against his chest.

"We have some time to think about this," he said. "It's nearly the end of my shift, I'm sure Treville wouldn't mind letting me go a little early," he saw the worry on her face. "I'll just tell him you're under the weather and just came back from the doctor."

He told her to wait in the conference room so he could speak with Treville. He was correct in his assessment. The captain let him go early. But as he was heading back to the conference room he had four detectives approaching him at once.

"Is everything all right?" Constance was apparently the one to draw the short straw.

"Sylvie's a little under the weather, I'm just going to take her back to my apartment, make sure she's taken care of," he said. He hated to lie to his friends, but he promised Sylvie he wouldn't say anything and he really didn't need their input.

Eventually they seemed to be placated and returned to their desks. He continued on his path to get Sylvie and take her home.

TBC