Henrik had been a little surprised with how easily Roxanna had rolled with the news that he was going to be a father. That news had been something he had taken quite a few days to wrap his mind around. It wasn't as if he didn't want to be a father, it just hadn't fit into his plan for how life was supposed to go, especially not when he had met Roxanna and realized that he would never feel for Maja what he had found with his best friend. But that was just like her, to accept the changes life brought with a fervor and zest that he just wasn't able to have.

"Would you mind getting us something to eat, Rox? I know, technically it's my turn, but the results from this test I'm running are just starting to come in, and I don't want to miss a single detail."

John's voice interrupted his reverie, and he looked up at his friend, wondering why he had asked Roxanna to go, when he could just as easily go in John's stead. Roxanna was also giving him an askance look, but she finally nodded before getting to her feet and grabbing her purse. "The usual, I'm assuming?" John nodded instantly before bending back over his microscope once more, clearly dismissing her. Henrik frowned a little before motioning her over to his side at the table across from John.

"Please make certain there's no tomato on my sandwich, Roxanna," he murmured lowly as he looked up into her face. She gave him a small smile before bending down and quickly kissing him. He still wasn't the most comfortable with public, overt, displays of affection, but with Roxanna, he found that feeling lessening. "Here, let me get it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing over what he knew was the typical cost for their lunches, since it appeared that John wasn't even going to pay for his portion.

"You don't have to, Henrik." He just gave her a look, and she sighed as she held out her hand, letting him place the money there. "All right, I should be back in about thirty minutes. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." Roxanna winked at Henrik before heading out of the lab, allowing the door to slam shut behind her, a sure sign that she was as frustrated with John as he was. Henrik let out a long breath as he steepled his fingers together and carefully watched his friend, wondering what was going on in his brain.

"You know, she's just using you for your work ethic."

"I'm sorry?" he asked, wanting John to repeat himself.

"She's using you. She has you wrapped around her little finger, has you doing her bidding. It's so distressing to see you just blindly following behind her like a puppy dog trailing after his master." Henrik cleared his throat, trying to get John's attention. The other man continued to stare into his microscope, taking notes as he adjusted settings. "I hate to see you becoming so common as to fall in love with the first woman who gives you a second look. You're better than that."

The words stung a little, and Henrik felt his mouth flatten into a thin line as he continued to steadily regard John. He felt like he should have seen some of this coming, since the way John had treated them over the last two weeks had shifted the more obvious it was that they had become a committed couple. The element of surprise was there, though, since Henrik had always wanted to assume the best of his friends. "I wouldn't consider us to be in love, John, even if we are going steady. And how can you think so little of Roxanna, when you respected her enough to bring her on as our third musketeer?"

John sat up and fixed a cold, steely, gaze on him as he took a deep breath. "I didn't see just how calculating and manipulative Roxanna was at first. It took a while to see her true colors come out. And you've just become blinded to that side of her thanks to your little twitterpation. You should be careful about who you associate with, Henrik, since the choices we make now will affect us for the rest of our lives."

Henrik stood up and made his way across the lab to stare at the chalkboard where Roxanna was writing down her findings for her research, using the precise nature of her handwriting to calm and focus him before he said something to John that he regretted. "I honestly don't see that side of her, John. Are you certain that there's not something that's colouring your judgement of her?"

He clasped his hands behind his back as he continued to read the information written there on the board. Henrik heard John's chair scrape against the floor and braced himself for his friend to join him. "I believe that my vision is clear, Henrik. After all, she doesn't know you like I do. She doesn't live with you like I do."

There was something a little odd about his phrasing, and Henrik glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, trying to get a read on him. "Well, of course, she doesn't live with us, that would be a little odd. But I think that she does know me. Perhaps not as well as you do, not yet, but in different ways she knows me better."

John's face scrunched up into a tight grimace. This elicited an eyebrow arch from him, and in that instant, John's face flattened out into a smooth, clear, expression, as if nothing was wrong. "I don't want you to get caught up in something that will pull you under, Henrik. Just…watch yourself, and know that I will always be here for you, even when Roxanna has moved on from us."

"I hate that you see her so negatively, John. She's been nothing but a good friend to both of us, and I rather think you know that. I know that this has changed our dynamic a little, but I still view us as a trio. You're just as important to me as she is, just in a different way. I hope that one day, sooner rather than later, you can see that."

John shrugged a little as he turned to face Henrik, his look so dark and intense that Henrik felt a little thrown. To his surprise, the other man reached up and gripped his shoulder tightly, never looking away from his eyes. "I would never abandon you, Henrik. Just know that." He nodded dumbly, feeling like John was going to either kiss or slap him at any moment. It was only the sound of the doorknob rattling that broke the mood around them, and John stepped away from Henrik quickly, making his way over to the microscope and taking a seat, bending over to look into it as the door opened.

"There wasn't too long a line today, so I was able to get back early! I hope this won't interrupt your work, John," Roxanna called out as she entered the lab, bring the large bag over to the table in front of the sofa and setting it down before making her way to Henrik and slipping her arm around his waist, holding him close as she looked up into his eyes, a questioning look on her face. "Is everything okay?" she mouthed, and he nodded a little, knowing that they would have to talk about what John had said at some point, since he didn't want to have anything disrupt their relationship, not when he liked how things were going. Instead, he rested his hand on her shoulder as they made their way over to the sofa. And for the first time in weeks, he realized that if he was forced to choose between them, he would choose Roxanna.