Replacement

Research

A/N: First of two finished chapters. I was very much into this today. This time, I am taking a bit of the background knowledge from Grey's anatomy too. Can you tell, which?

After a short night, as they both had woken up after just a few hours, Gabriel had brought Nathalie's computer to the side of the bed, so she could stay there and continue to rest. He even had tried to make her order him around, tell him, what to look for, but soon had figured, that she did a lot faster and with less effort, if he stayed away from the device.

Instead, he had taken care of a rich and healthy breakfast, together with not only a mug, but a whole pot of coffee, to take it up into their shared bedroom and place it on the nightstand, where still several medications were placed.

Nathalie had given him a thankful look, then had turned back to her screens, but he had caught her face by cupping her cheek and told her, to have something to eat, before she would go on with her research, whatever she might be looking for, or he would take the device away until she was done.

With a sigh, the young assistant had taken a freshly baked croissant from the tray and bitten off one corner, placing it in her lap afterwards, to pour herself some coffee into the cup, while her left hand kept scrolling through the pages, she had opened.

Gabriel just shook his head, as he sat down beside her for a short moment and tried to catch her attention.

After a couple of minutes, she paused, what she was doing and gave him an annoyed glare:

"Is there anything I can do for you right now, Gabriel?", she asked, her anger audible in her voice.

He nodded with a sheepish grin.

"Remember, what you told me last night? Before you drifted off to sleep, while you were only halfway awake?"

"Actually, Sir, I don't! Why?", she lamented.

"Because, you told me, that you would have liked it, if I had kissed you!", he told her with a lilting tone.

"No I haven't! I would never loose that much control over myself, not even shortly before I fall asleep, that I would admit to that!", she told him snidely.

Gabriel snickered.

"What?", Nathalie now spat.

"Just repeat in your head, what you have just told me, my dear Nathalie!", he cooed.

She sighed deeply and did as he told her, to then turn even paler as she had actually been before.

"I-I-I d-d-didn't mean it that w-w-way!", she stuttered, making his grin widen even more.

"Well, my dear, you have told me though, that I should not try to kiss you again, unless I would be meaning it, right?", he pried.

"Yes, so?"

"Would you just look at me for a short moment! I would like...."

"I FOUND IT!", she yelled, startling her boss so much, that he jumped to his feet and stared at her in utter shock.

"F-F-Found what?", he wanted to know.

"Well, do you remember, a couple of years ago, when Emilie was having that idea, about leaving a heritage behind? The eggs, she had frozen back then?", Nathalie wondered.

"I do remember!", he nodded, "they said back then, that there would be a better chance for those eggs to survive and be implantable, if they were already fertilized, when they would get frozen! That's why they took my", he gazed down to his crotch with blushing cheeks and mumbled, "sperm to....you know! Though I never could find out, if it worked and where she had them stored!"

"That's right! She never told anyone about this, not even if it had been successful! But....after a lot of researching and cheating, meaning using all viruses and trojans I could come up with, I eventually figured out the lab, where she had them fertilized and from hacking it into their database, I could eventually find the place they are contained in. So....", she paused, looking at his pensive face.

"So?", he asked, making her explain further:

"So, there is a tiny chance, that you can keep everything, that actually is already yours, just that...you know, the last will says otherwise. Sadly, only one embryo has reached a state to be placed into a surrogate's womb, because all the others died. So, you need to act fast now. And for the first time, I have something good to tell you. The fact, that this embryo carries your DNA as well, gives you alone, now, that she is officially dead, all rights to decide over it's further existence. So all you have to do, is find a surrogate and have it placed into her womb, et voila, with a bit of luck, it will grow and give you a child that will bear yours and Emilie's DNA!", Nathalie chuckled lightly, then added, "In all her arrogance, she forgot about me and my tiny talent to get into almost every database, I want to get in!"

"Well, how long would it take, to get access to this.....embryo? And how much of preparation would a woman have to go through, before.....it......it could be......put into her......womb?", he questioned her now.

"I'm not sure, but I already found out, that you can have it brought to the clinic of your choice in less than an hour after your call. And that means, as soon, as you found a healthy, young woman, willing to become a surrogate to your child, and her being in the right state of her monthly cycle, the whole procedure could be over in about two or three hours!", Nathalie explained.

He nodded to make her see, that he had understood her. Then he asked another question:

"So, when exactly will that be?"

"You mean, that state? Well, usually it's around the time, a woman is ovulating, as at this time, her womb is ready for the embryo to implant into the mucosa!", she described the biology to him, "for most of the women it's around the middle of their monthly cycle, like two weeks before the next menstruation is about to start!"

"Well, that's not what I meant, Nathalie. What I wanted to know...", he now took her hand into his and looked deeply into her eyes, "when exactly this will be. Like in days, weeks, hours, Nathalie!"