30 minutes had passed by. Gabriel was on his phone clearing his agenda for the day. He wanted to be there with his son.
Nathalie was next to him, legs crossed staring at the floor. Lost in her own thoughts.
"How didn't you see this before? You should have known! If only you had brought him here before... No, still appendicitis needs to be operated, there was nothing you could do. But if only...."
-Hey – Gabriel interrupted her thoughts.
Nathalie looked at him.
-I am sorry, Sir – she said. -I should have known, I should have done more.
-No, Nathalie, you did enough, I will always be thankful with you for this.
-I wasn't quick enough. I could have brought him after fencing, he wouldn't have had that awful pain... I... could... - Nathalie couldn't finish her sentence. Tears started running through her cheeks making it impossible for her to state a word.
Gabriel took his assistant in between his arms. Nathalie put her arms around his neck and cried. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, Nathalie cried in her boss's neck. He only stroked her hair and back.
-Listen to me – he said grabbing Nathalie's face in between his hands and taking her glasses off. -You did the right thing; you are not responsible for this. Please stop crying, I can't see you like this.
Watching his assistant like this, vulnerable, crying in his arms caused in him a strange feeling. He felt like he wanted to cry himself. But mostly he felt like he was willing to give everything just to stop her tears from falling. It hurt him to see her cry like this.
Nathalie stopped crying, she would occasionally sob.
-I thought you were angry – she said.
-Angry? No! I am preoccupied, not angry – he answered. He wiped away the tears Nathalie still had on her cheeks. -Here- he handed her a handkerchief.
-Thank you – she sobbed. -Is just, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to him.
-I know, me too – said Gabriel. -Come here.
He relied on the back of the sofa and pulled Nathalie towards his chest.
Nathalie hugged him and laid her head on his shoulder.
-I love him, Gabriel, so much.
-And he loves you. Try to get some rest. I will be awake.
Nathalie didn't say anything, truth is she didn't want to sleep, but the warmth of Gabriel's body and the sound of his heartbeat rocked her to sleep.
She opened her eyes and took a look at Gabriel that was also asleep, his head resting on the back of the sofa. How she longed for something like this to happen, this just wasn't the situation she imagined.
Gabriel opened his eyes and stared at her. Nathalie didn't move an inch. His face was so close she could feel his breath. Gabriel stared at her lips. They were leaning forward when...
-Mr. Agreste – interrupted Dr. Laurent.
Both adults immediately stood up.
-Surgery was a success, Adrien is fine. We took his appendix off, no complications. He is now resting and recovering from the anesthesia. We will take him to his room in about an hour.