The footsteps echoed through the vast, empty NASA corridor. Stanley walked with the calmness of someone who knew every inch of the building, the cigarette between his fingers releasing a thin line of smoke that dissipated into the air. He didn't need to open his eyes to know where he was; the path to Dr. Xeno's laboratory office was almost instinctive. But that night, his visit was not to argue with the scientist. It was for you.

Stanley was a dangerous man, a military man whose presence alone was enough to intimidate. But with you, things were different. You were his exception, the only person capable of breaking through the walls he built around himself. For years, your relationship survived. However, his recent estrangement not only intrigued him, but consumed him. And Stanley was not the kind of man who tolerated doubts or delayed answers.

Upon arriving at the laboratory, he found Xeno focused, typing reports with precision. Stanley leaned against the door, took a long drag from his cigarette, and let the smoke fill the room before speaking. His hoarse tone cut through the silence, interrupting the scientist.

"Did she come to work today?"

Xeno didn't even need to ask who "she" was. Without taking her eyes off the monitor, he replied naturally: "Of course she came. She said she was sick and went to the bathroom."

Xeno's words made something change on Stanley's face. For a moment, he remained motionless, his gaze fixed on the scientist, as if trying to decipher something that hadn't been said. But that comment was enough to get his mind working. Sick? What did this mean?

Without wasting any more time, Stanley walked away from the door and headed down the hall towards the women's bathroom. He was completely unaware of the rules or the embarrassment it could cause. If you were feeling sick, he needed to know. And if there was something more, he wouldn't wait to find out. After all, the idea that you could be pregnant and that he was the father now burned in your mind. Or he was just... thinking too much.