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Don threw his arm over his face as the bathroom lights flipped on once more. He cringed, hearing his wife lose the contents on her stomach once again. This had been going on all night. He sighed and pulled himself off the bed. From there he wet a wash cloth and knelt down behind Jess. He gently set the wet cloth on the back of her neck. He rubbed her back, riding out the episode. Eventually she slumped back against him. Don wrapped his arms around her and she settled her head on his shoulder.
"Your kid hates me," Jess sighed. Don chuckled.
"I'm sorry, if I could have a talk with them I would, but I think it's too early for that," he replied. Jess groaned and sat forward again, Don shook his head. He couldn't believe she had anything left to throw up. When she finished again, he spoke up. "I think you should stay home from work," he suggested.
"Don, I can't," she protested.
"And what are you going to do, throw up between suspects?" he returned.
"Don," she warned.
"No Jess, you've been up all night, you have yet to go twenty minutes with out throwing up, I don't think it's a good idea," Don laid out.
"You've been up all night too," she argued.
"But I haven't been vomiting," he replied. Jess sighed heavily and rested her head on her arms on the rim of the toilet. "If you feel better by lunch, you can come in," he compromised. Jess mumbled something he couldn't understand and had yet to lift her head again. "I'm going to start getting ready for work, are you going to be ok?" he asked, rubbing her back again.
"Yeah, just let me sit here for a few minutes, I don't think I'm done yet," she mumbled.
"I can do you one better, I'll just go shower in Maeli's bathroom, you can have this bathroom all to yourself," Don mentioned.
"Lucky me," Jess replied sarcastically.
When Don was completely ready himself, he went to wake Maeli and get her ready. As they were eating their cereal, Maeli noticed her mom was missing.
"Where's Mommy?" she wondered.
"She's still in bed sweetheart, she doesn't feel good," the father explained. He noticed his daughter's expression grow very serious.
"Is she going to be ok?" she asked.
"Of course baby, her tummy just hurts," Don stated, realizing this was the first time one of them had been down since Maeli was old enough to understand. It had been years since either of them were injured or sick enough to stay home from work.
"Can I go see her?" Maeli questioned.
"Yeah, but you have to be really quick, she needs her rest," Don instructed. Maeli climbed down from her chair and started towards the master bedroom. "Hey bug," he dad stopped her. He walked over to her and handed her two large bottles of water. "Tell her she needs to drink both of these today," he added. Maeli nodded and continued walking.
"Mommy?" Maeli called in the dark room.
"What sweetie?" Jess murmured, slowly sitting up in bed, fighting off the wave of nausea that came with that.
"I just wanted to tell you to feel better," Maeli mentioned, somewhat sheepishly.
"Thanks honey," Jess said with a soft smile, reaching out to gently hug the little girl and kiss the top of her head.
"Oh, Daddy said you need to drink both of these today," Maeli added, point towards the two bottles of water she set by the nightstand.
"Ok, can you go get Daddy for me?" Jess requested, sending Maeli out of the room. She couldn't fight back the urge to vomit anymore and she didn't want her daughter to witness that. No sooner than the child's small form started down the hall, did Jess dart to the bathroom. That's exactly where Don found her.
"What did you want me to feel guilty one more time before I left?" he joked. Jess sent him a death glare. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he backpedaled quickly.
"I just needed to send Maeli out of the room. I didn't really want to throw up in front of her," she explained.
"Oh, I see, are you done in here?" he asked.
"I think so," Jess responded.
"Then let's get you back in bed," he suggested, helping her back to her feet. He tucked her in and gave her a soft kiss.
"By the way, that was a clever ploy sending Maeli in with the water," Jess noted.
"You need to stay hydrated," Don said with a pointed look.
"I'll do the best I can," she promised.
When Mac pulled up at the crime scene, he was surprised to find Flack there rather than Angell.
"Where's Angell?" he asked.
"She's sick, been throwing up all night," Flack answered honestly.
"Wow, that sucks," Mac replied.
"Yeah, I hope she stays home all day, but I told her she could come in after lunch if she felt better, so we'll see," Flack shrugged.
"Alright, we'll what do we have?" Mac turned his attention back to the crime scene. Flack rattled off the details and went to start the canvas.
Don couldn't help but let his mind wander to Jess whenever he had a free moment. He was trying to figure out if the vomiting was all "morning sickness" or if Jess actually had the flu. If it was the latter, they probably should get her to a doctor. It had been a few years now, but he remembered reading that it was dangerous for a pregnant woman to get the flu in his parenting book. He would have to look it up when he got a chance. However, she didn't seem to have a fever or any other flu symptoms. He sighed heavily and turned back to the report he was working on. When it was done, he checked the time. Maeli needed to be picked up from school. He went to go deliver his files to Mac.
"You heading out?" Mac assumed.
"Yeah, I have to go get Maeli and then I want to get home to check on Jess," Flack explained.
"If you want, I could take Maeli off your hands for the evening," Mac suggested. "We could take her to dinner, give you enough to time to settle in for the night," he offered.
"Really? I'd appreciate it," Flack accepted.
"Ok, so after you pick her up, just bring her back here, Stella or I should be leaving within the hour to relieve the sitter," Mac informed.
"Thanks again Mac," Flack smiled as he left the office.
Maeli babbled on about her day at school as he dad carried her to the car. He buckled her in her booster seat and walked around the car.
"How's Mommy?" Maeli wondered.
"She still sick, baby," he replied grimly. He actually didn't know for certain. The last he heard from her was when he text her around lunch to ask if she was coming in. When she said no, he figured she was still feeling bad.
"Oh," Maeli added.
"But guess what!" Don continued, his tone lightening considerably.
"What?" Maeli responded excitedly.
"Mac wants to take you out to dinner tonight!" Don announced.
"Really?" she squealed.
"Yes, I'm going to take you to his office now and he'll bring you back home later," he explained. He laughed as he watched his little girl in the rearview mirror. She was doing a little happy dance.
When they got to the lab, Don had to carry Maeli in, to keep her from running through the halls and taking out everyone in her wake.
"Daddy, put me down!" Maeli demanded, as they neared Mac's office.
"Hey, be nice," he scolded gently, setting her on her feet. She finished off the last three feet to Mac's off at a run and pushed through the heavy glass door.
"Hey there," Mac greeted as Maeli ran at him. He lifted her off the ground and set her on the desk in front of him. "Are you excited about dinner?" he asked. Maeli nodded her head furiously. "Well, I have a little bit of work to finish up before we leave, do you want to help me?" he wondered.
"Yes!" she grinned.
"Ok, can you take these files to Stella's office for me?" he instructed, handing her a couple files. Maeli nodded and walked towards the door. Before she got there however, Adam walked in.
"Hello Miss Maeli," Adam smiled, handing Mac the papers he had for him.
"Hi Adam!" Maeli greeted and turning to start on her mission again.
"Hey where are you headed?" he wondered.
"To Stella's office," she replied simply.
"I'm going the same way, would you like to go together?" Adam offered.
"Sure!" Maeli nodded. Adam scooped the little girl up and carried her down the hall.
"That girl's got it made" Don, who'd been standing by quietly, commented.
"She was the first lab baby, she had two years of spoiling before anyone else came along. That kind of attention sticks," Mac smiled.
"Thanks for taking her tonight," Don mentioned gratefully.
"It's no problem, I'm sure she'd enjoy seeing Aaron. Plus, Stella and I haven't really had an opportunity to get out of the house lately, so it's a win-win," Mac replied.
"Well, I better get home to Jess, just bring her back by bedtime," Don mentioned.
"Sure thing," Mac promised, watching the young detective leave.
Don walked down the hallway to Stella's office, wanting to say goodbye to his daughter. When he found her, she was sitting in Stella's plush office chair, with a juice box in one hand and a bag of cookies in the other. She was surrounded by most of the team.
"Well, don't you have it made little princess," Don laughed.
"Daddy!" Maeli squealed.
"I'm leaving, bug. I'll see you later tonight," he said, leaning down and kissing her hair.
"ok, bye Daddy," Maeli replied.
"Tell Jess to feel better, ok?" Stella chimed in. Don nodded and left the lab.
When he opened the door to the apartment, he immediately ran into his wife. She had changed from her pajamas into sweats and a t-shirt. It appeared she had recently showered. She looked only slightly better than she did when he left that morning.
"Not feeling any better?" he questioned gently.
"Well, I quit throwing up about two hours ago," she said with a somewhat cheeky grin. He walked up and wrapped his arms around her. "Where's Maeli? Please tell me you did remember to pick up your daughter," Jess sighed. Don cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Of course I picked her up, I just let her out at the next street corner and told her to find her way home," he joked.
"Don!" Jess smacked his chest.
"She's having dinner with Mac, he's bringing her back later," Don provided.
"Don't joke like that, I don't feel good," she whined.
"Aww, I'm sorry," he replied, kissing her hair.
"Does Mac know?" Jess asked, suddenly a little panicked.
"He knows you're sick, he doesn't know why," Don calmed her. "So what feels bad?" he wondered, turning his attention to the task at hand, making his wife feel better.
"My head hurts pretty bad," she admitted.
"That's because you're dehydrated," he stated.
"But I drank both those bottles of water," Jess protested.
"Well honey, you were dehydrated before I gave you those bottles of water," he reminded.
"But I don't want to drink anymore, I've been peeing every half hour and I'm not even pregnant enough to have a baby big enough to be sitting on my bladder," she groaned.
"Jess, you have to," Don mentioned softly. "If you don't want water, how about some Gatorade?" he tried again.
"I don't want to drink anything, Don, I just want to go to bed," she replied, starting to get irritated. She pulled away from him and took on a defiant stance. Don closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I know you do and I'd love more than anything to allow you to do that, but we both know you're not the only one to consider here," he stated in a somewhat clipped tone. He waited on her reaction. He knew that would either set her off or win her over.
"Ok," she sighed.
"If you want, you have another option," he started. She looked at him curiously. "I could take you to the hospital and have them hook you up to an IV," he finished slowly. Jess shook her head.
"No, no, we can't afford that and I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of needles if I don't have to be," she objected.
"Ok, then here's what need to happen. You need to eat something and take in large amounts of liquids," he planned.
"I have to eat too?" she complained.
"What have you eaten today?" Don asked.
"Nothing that stayed down," Jess grumbled.
"Exactly," Don proved his point. "I'm not going to make you a four course meal, I was thinking an assortment of snacks," he shrugged. Jess smiled. She wasn't really hungry and just wanted to crawl back into bed, but she realized she would also like to eat something. She walked towards the refrigerator and opened the door. The first thing her eyes landed on was blue jell-o. Her grin grew. Don couldn't help but smile back at her, he was rather fond of this turn of events.
"I want to start with this," she decided, searching for a spoon and going to settle on the couch. Don reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and took a seat next to her. He laughed as Jess ferociously dug into the jell-o. "You know, I hate jell-o," she pointed out as she shoveled another large bit into her mouth.
"I was going to say, I've never seen you eat jell-o before," he mused. "You don't seem to be hating it too much now," he chuckled as she scraped the bottom of the plastic container.
"I know, could you please get me another one?" she questioned with her best pout.
"Stop, I was going to get it for you anyway, you don't need to pout," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Drink some of your Gatorade," he prompted. When he returned to the couch he'd brought her another jell-o and a large bottle of water.
"Don, I'm going to be up all night peeing," Jess mentioned with an exasperated sigh.
"Just half the night," Don retorted with a wink, pulling her into his side. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly as she curled into him.
"A little better," she informed as she finished the second jell-o.
"Maeli's going to be mad you ate all her jell-o," he smirked.
"I'll buy her more," Jess replied dismissively.
"You were never this sick when you were pregnant with her," Don observed, tried of fighting the urge to slide his hand around to he abdomen and finally letting it happen. He ran his thumb over the almost nonexistent curve of her belly.
"I sure wasn't, and if I was I wouldn't have considered having another one," she laughed dryly.
"Did you talk to your doctor?" he wondered.
"I called her today and she said if it's still bad tomorrow I have to make an appointment. Other than that she said I probably have a horrible case of morning sickness and she'll prescribe me something if it doesn't end with the first trimester," Jess relayed.
"I was worried about you," he admitted. Jess looked up at him and smiled warmly. Even after years of marriage, he still amazed her with his sweetness from time to time.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he smiled, gently kissing her. He watched her eye lids start to fall. He had no doubt she was miles past worn out. From the sounds of it, she didn't get much rest during her day off. It wasn't much longer until he could tell she had fallen asleep. She was clutching the half empty bottle of water in her hand. Her two empty jell-o containers and the empty Gatorade were discarded on the coffee table. He smiled to himself, at least she tried. He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. When he tucked her in, he took the bottle from her hand and set it on the nightstand. He kissed her forehead and went to change his clothes. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt and went to go find something on TV to watch until Maeli got home. To be honest, he was some what out of sorts having time to himself. He hadn't had time to himself since he could remember.
Meanwhile, Maeli was thoroughly enjoying herself at dinner with Mac, Stella, and Aaron.
"So Males, how do you like kindergarten?" Stella wondered.
"I like it so much! We get to do art and have recess!" Maeli replied enthusiastically.
"That's…great," Stella replied somewhat distracted, as she attempted to feed herself and try to keep Aaron entertained. Mac noticed her struggle. It had only been a month since the kidnapping and her arm was still cast.
"Stel, I got it," Mac said quietly, pulling Aaron from his carrier. The boy cooed happily as he bounced on his father's lap.
"Mac, can I hold Aaron?" Maeli wondered.
"When you're done with your dinner sweetheart," Mac allowed, prompting her to turn her attention back to her chicken tenders.
When they finished at the restaurant, they returned home, taking Maeli with them. There were still a couple hours before bedtime. The little girl was delighted to get another chance to help with Aaron's bedtime activities. It wasn't long before Stella noticed Maeli actions getting somewhat lethargic. The little girl was currently sitting in the rocking chair staring off into space while Stella put Aaron in his jammies. When Mac came into check on them, Stella pointed towards Maeli. Mac laughed to himself, she was trying her hardest to keep her blue eyes open. He lifted her from the chair. Her head immediately went to his shoulder and he had no doubt she was out cold.
"Are you going to be ok here while I run her home?" Mac questioned, making sure Stella was comfortable being at home by herself.
"Yeah, just hurry back, ok?" she pleaded.
"Of course," he smiled softly and kissed her.
Don's TV was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. He stood from the couch and went to answer the door. He laughed lightly when he found Mac standing there, holding the sleeping Maeli. He reached out and took his daughter.
"I take it you guys had a good night," Don assumed.
"Yeah, she was about ready for the bed by the time we put Aaron down," Mac chuckled.
"Is Stel at home?" Don asked. Mac nodded affirmatively. "How is she doing?" Don wondered, concerned for his still healing firend.
"she's doing good, it's still a little touch and go, but we're getting there," Mac stated.
"Well good," Don replied. He felt Maeli begin to stir in his arms.
"Daddy?" she murmured.
"Yes, sweetheart," he whispered. "Are you going to say goodbye to Mac?" he added. Maeli barely lifted her head to look at Mac.
"Bye, thank you," she mentioned politely and set her head back down.
"Goodnight honey," Mac started, he had every intention of saying more, but he didn't think it would matter much since the girl was once again asleep. "Well, I better get home," he stated.
"Yeah, well thanks again, we really appreciate it," Don said gratefully. He shut the door behind the older detective and carried his daughter to her room. He didn't bother changing her into the PJ's he simply slid her shoes and jeans off and placed her under the covers. He bent down and kissed her forehead.
Now that Maeli was home, he just decided to get into bed and call it an early night. He was after all, up all night with Jess the night before. Plus, it wouldn't hurt him, for once in his life, to get a little extra sleep. As he drifted off, he prayed Jess would feel better in the morning. Seeing her feel awful was tearing him apart.