A/N: FIRST a HUGE HAPPY FREAKING QUARTER OF A CENTURY BIRTHDAY to my GSRBFF, Jen (the amazing Jenstog)! This is my sappy moment people (walk away if you are uncomfortable): Talking to you always manages to brighten my day…thanks for the friendship AND I sincerely hope that you like the following story…Lastly…Break out the Bacardi and remember to party like it's your birthday!
A/N2: This is inspired by Jen, who warned me about the baby flu.
A/N3: A thank you to Becky (BeckyCSI) for the beta. However, I still was unhappy with the wording so I did some more changes to the story so all mistakes remaining are mine.
Disclaimer: Major newsflash: I still do not own CSI.
"Simms, party of four?" called the male host.
Rising from her seat in the waiting area, Sara followed her friends as they walked to their table.
Today was Wendy's birthday. Last night at work, she had extended invitations to go have lunch to celebrate, knowing that they would never all have a night off together. Sara had almost said no; she didn't really understand the sacred rituals of female bonding. However, Catherine had insisted that it would have been rude to not attend the party, which is why thirty minutes later she had found Wendy and accepted her invite to lunch. Wendy had seemed genuinely excited that she said she would come so it made her glad that she hadn't said no.
Arriving at their table, Sara took a seat by Catherine while Mandy sat next to the birthday girl on the opposite side.
"Hello and welcome. My name is Madison, and I'll be your server this afternoon. What can I start you ladies off to drink with today?" she asked when she appeared at their table a few minutes later.
Once Madison left, Wendy said, "I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming. It means a lot to me."
"It's your birthday! Of course, we would come and help you celebrate," Mandy replied.
"Besides, we all need a little girl time every now and then, especially when we're surrounded by the testosterone-gendered at work. Although, truthfully, that's not always such a hardship…" Catherine said with a grin, causing the others to laugh.
For the next few moments, they studied the restaurant's lunch menu in silence.
"Everything sounds so delicious," Wendy said while Mandy seconded the opinion.
Catherine complained, "There's too many choices! How am I supposed to decide when they all sound great?"
Sara, personally, was happy that they restaurant seemed to have a respectable selection of vegetarian fare.
By the time their waitress returned with their drinks and some bread, they all knew what they wanted to eat. After copying down their orders in her notepad, Madison said, "I'll go put in your lunch orders, and I'll check back to see if you need anything a little later," and then she left again.
Much later, after their food had been delivered and while they were still eating, Mandy said, "That's the second I've seen today!"
"Second what?" Sara questioned, curious.
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't realize I was thinking out loud. I do that sometimes… I was referring to seeing another pregnant lady walk by us. I swear it's getting a bit ridiculous…"
"I know what you mean! My friend Julie called me three days ago to tell me the happy news that she was pregnant. Then this morning I stopped to get gas, and there was a woman who looked to be about four-months pregnant with a young child already in her arms," Wendy said.
"That's nothing. My neighbor's twenty something year old daughter just found out she was expecting twins. Plus, Lindsey knows two girls at her school who are pregnant as well," Catherine added. "Seriously, what is up with the sudden baby boom? And that's not even taking into consideration all the pregnant Hollywood actresses at the moment either!"
"It's like there is an epidemic," Sara joked.
"Like the flu or something," Mandy said.
"Yeah, the baby flu! It's apparently known to be highly contagious," Catherine put in, laughing.
Chuckling, Wendy said, "Oh my God! The baby flu! That's freaking ingenious, Cath."
"Well, I'm going to hide from it that's for sure," Catherine declared.
"I wonder if there's a vaccine we can get to inoculate ourselves?" Mandy asked her friends as a joke.
"Yeah, there is," Sara stated matter-of-factly. Everyone's head turned to look at her expectantly. She said, "It's called don't have sex," with a mischievous grin.
Catherine groaned. "Very funny, Sara."
"Hey, I'm just being honest. You know you kind of have to do certain things to catch the baby flu. We all know that contraceptives aren't foolproof," Sara continued talking.
"Yeah, yeah. We hear you. We all had Sex Ed in school," Mandy said with a laugh.
While they were still conversing about the sudden baby epidemic, Madison arrived back at their table to check on them. "How was everything?"
"Everything tasted wonderful. Thanks," Mandy volunteered.
"Great! Would any of you like to try one of our desserts today? We have some pretty amazing chocolate dishes," Madison said.
No one could resist the temptation that chocolate provided. After writing down their dessert orders, Madison asked, "Out of curiosity, were you all talking about the baby flu earlier?"
When they were alone again, Wendy said, "Abstinence is no fun…"
"And Sara it's easier for you to say," Catherine asserted
"Oh, really? Why do you think that, Catherine?" Sara asked, arching her eyebrows in question.
"Well, because number one you don't have a boyfriend. You also haven't been on any dates that I know of… right? Unless you're holding out on us… are you hiding something, Sara? Do you have someone, and you're not telling us?" Catherine grilled her friend. She was always more than ready to learn some new gossip. She especially wanted to see what Grissom would think about Sara dating someone.
"No," Sara answered, quickly. "You're absolutely right, Catherine. It is much easier for me to say."
"So basically Sara's the only one at this table exempt from catching the bug? Lucky her… well, actually not really since that means she's not getting any," Mandy teased good-naturedly.
"Um, excuse me for a moment. I need to go to the restroom. Right now," Sara said as she rushed off in the direction of the bathrooms.
As the others worried that they had offended or upset her, Sara proceeded to throw up her lunch she had just eaten. Uh, lunch must not have settled well with me…
When she returned the girls were onto a new topic. "Thank God," she thought as she reclaimed her seat.
Lowering her voice a notch, Catherine asked, "So tell the truth… have any of you ever screamed –or almost screamed – out another man's name when you were having sex with your current guy?"
xxx
Seven straight days of throwing up and after realizing that she was late…
She was in their bathroom, on her knees, hugging the toilet and retching. How is it possible that I still have anything left in my stomach when I haven't been able to keep anything down lately?
Gil must have heard her moaning because he appeared at her side a few seconds later. "Honey, are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her hair away from her face and got down on his knees beside her, stroking her back gently.
Instead of answering him, she emptied her stomach again. In the past week, Gil had been busy with work so this was the first time he caught her throwing up.
Rising, he walked over to the sink and got a washcloth. After running cold water over it, he pressed it against her forehead while murmuring softly to her. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm going to take care of you…"
A few minutes later, she finally quit hugging the toilet and leaned back against the tub. "Thanks," she whimpered, holding the cool cloth to her face.
"I'm going to go into the kitchen and get you some 7-up to help settle your stomach. Just sit there, honey," he told her before he left.
When he came back, he found her standing at the sink and brushing her teeth. After rinsing her mouth out, she said, "Sorry. I just had to get that awful taste out of my mouth." She took the glass from him and took a couple of swallows of the cool liquid. "Thanks, sweetie."
Placing his arm around her, he helped her back into their bedroom and back into their bed, where he pulled the covers up and around her. "Do you think you have a stomach virus or the flu, honey?" he asked concerned. He took a seat next to her on the bed, pushing a stray strand of hair back away from her face.
Sitting up and taking his hand in hers, Sara asked quietly, "Gil, have you heard about something called the baby flu? I think I've caught it..."
FIN
A/N4: Reviews are welcomed. Also...go send Jen some birthday love!