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'What?!' Laura spluttered in shock, turning round to be face to face with Jean. 'You're are joking aren't you?'
Jean looked at Laura in disbelief. 'It hasn't crossed your mind then?'
Laura laughed in disbelief 'That I could be pregnant?! No, I have a stomach bug –the majority of the lab have it. You have to have an immune system that is as strong as an ox to not have been affected by it. I've been going through hell recently, so no – my first thought hasn't exactly been to whether I'm pregnant.' Laura said incredulously. Is she having some weird kind of breakdown because of the deaths and the stress she'd been under? Laura wondered.
'If you're being honest with yourself you've been having these symptoms way before this bug.' Jean ventured. She's so far in denial
Laura visibly prickled 'have you been keeping tabs on me, Innocent?'
'Oh, don't be such a bloody diva Laura! I don't need to keep tabs on you - you don't have to be a detective to see. I'm a woman, believe me, it's pretty obvious when you know what you're looking out for.'
Laura shook her head in disbelief, 'Jean, not only am I nearing fifty which means my body is probably past suitable child rearing age, but these 'symptoms' you say I've had are more to do with grief. You probably wouldn't be looking your best every day if you had Hathaway living at yours, trying to drink himself into an early grave.' It was also bloody impossible when I DID try to have kids. Laura thought sadly.
Jean chose to ignore the last part. 'So you've got there then?' Laura looked at her blankly, 'the menopause?' Jean asked a bit more forcibly then she had thought.
'Not that it's any of your business, Jean, but no I haven't…' Jean rolled her eyes at her. She hadn't been regular at best, and well medically…. On top of that the stress of everything from the last seven weeks was probably enough to throw even a young woman's body into disarray. 'If you must know medically I had issues when I did try - they told me it would be difficult for me to have kids… and…'
'Oh, I'm sorry' Jean interrupted in a hushed apologetic tone, before adding hopefully 'But it's not impossible… just difficult?' So that would explain why our lovely Laura didn't put two and two together.
'Pretty much; very difficult, yeah' Laura said thinking back to when she was with Franco and they'd had the heartbreak of finding that out.
'So when where you last on?' ventured Jean
God, she won't give up will she? Thought Laura. 'Um… I think… god I need my diary …think I was on a couple of weeks ago'
'But were you though? It may not have been your period. It could have been one of these breakthrough bleeds and as for age, stranger things have happened, you should know being a doctor.' Now it was Laura's turn to roll her eyes at Jean. 'For what it's worth you're definitely within child worth rearing age. My friend fell pregnant at 46, and she had issues throughout her life. So it's possible'
She really wants me to be, doesn't she? 'Potentially yes there is a chance but I doubt it. I tried in my thirties, but it never happened… so definitely not really on my radar. Y'know you really are wasted here Jean. You should have become a midwife or something.' Laura teased, trying to make the subject less heavy and less revealing about her
'If that's the case, does that mean you haven't taken a test?'
'Why would I have even thought about taking one?! Laura sighed exasperatedly. 'I just put it down to being under the weather' she shrugged.
Jean stared at the small doctor in front of her, and shook her head.
'Under the weather?! Just humour me for a moment - how do you explain the fact that just the smell of a tuna mayonnaise sandwich and an orange – Laura visibly shuddered - are enough to make you vomit? In my history of stomach bugs they don't make you do that, you should know you're a doctor. When I was pregnant with Chis it was eggs. Jesus, couldn't stand the smell of them…'
Laura went to protestbut Jean was on a roll now and wasn't going to let her or anything else to interrupt her.
'You look dog tired Laura and I mean that from a friendly point of view. I realise that partly stems from the grief – I just have to look at Hathaway to see that – but there's more to it than that! And even if it was just grief and a stomach bug, how the heck do you explain the cheese?' Jean had been waiting to use her best card until the end.
'Cheese?' Laura looked at her blankly.
'Yes cheese; yellow, smelly stuff Laura.' Jean said irritably. 'When I popped in to see Jess for some data about that case the other day? You were sitting there at your desk, eating it like it was going out of fashion. And not that I've been keeping tabs on you,' She held up her hands in defence 'BUT, you did say to Hathaway the other day, quite loudly I may add whilst I was passing how much you wanted him to buy some cheese on the way home as you were craving it.' Unless it was some really weird kind of euphemism
'Sorry, you're basing part of your argument on cheese?! I just happen to like it, a lot…' she drifted off, registering that she HAD been eating a lot of cheese recently. In fact, it's the only thing she did want to eat, and her stomach was allowing her to eat. But hadn't that happened after the bug?!
In the silence now that Jean had stopped talking, Laura found other oddities sprang to mind. My breasts have been feeling slightly tender for a while, she thought, but for some reason hadn't properly registered it. It dawned on her although she'd love to dismiss it as Jean just being eccentric, she was starting to think the woman did have a point. You're a doctor Laura, how the hell didn't you see the possibility? But even if it had registered with her, she knew she would have dismissed it knowing about her past.
Jean watched Laura think, her brow furrowed 'Mmm exactly. Look, make a doctors appointment pronto, but it's always better to check before - especially if you go in with a symptoms that sound exactly like early pregnancy. Come to mine tonight so you aren't alone and take a pregnancy test.'
Laura started to protest weakly, 'Jean..'
'Just humour me - anyway this is not a request Laura!' Jean said in a manner that she usually reserved for when asking an officer to do something with her – someone had to whip her out of denial. Laura could tell from her tone that there was no point in even trying to protest. 'I'll send you a text when I'm leaving with my address but it'll probably be around seven so just come by when you've finished. I'll pick you up a test so you don't have to worry about that.' Jean knew she'd rather get Laura a test – just looking at the woman she wondered how she was going to get through the day – and she'd rather know that there was one, rather than Laura 'forgetting' to get one.
Laura sighed, 'thanks' she mumbled.
'My pleasure', smiled Jean back at her, and then turned on her heels and walked out the toilets, shaking her head as she walked down the corridor. If she was pregnant, then she'll need as much as support as possible especially without Robbie. Poor woman. Jean felt a lump rise in her throat feeling overwhelming sadness for Laura's position, but she defied herself to cry, especially here.
Laura stared at the door as it slowly shut after Jean left. She felt like she'd been hit by a tornado. Could I be? Or the fact I'm thinking that I could be mean I'm starting to go a little mad? She suddenly felt the need to be outside, away from the overwhelming smell of bleach and the four white walls. Praying she wouldn't bump into James or DI Piper or Wells who she still needed to see, she walked as fast as possible to the station front door. The warm air hit her and she took a massive gulp of fresh air, she could feel that she was shaking and knew she had to sit down before she fell down but she wanted to get to her car, to get to her diary and to work out whether there was a possibility. 'Shit!' she muttered loudly to herself - shocking several people walking past out of their reverie - realising it would have to wait as she'd left her keys in her bag in the station,
She leant on the railings outside the station trying to clear her head and took several deep breaths to calm herself. There were black spots within her periphery vision and her legs felt weak, her stomach was uneasy and she was unsure whether she'd vomit or fall first, so she edged down carefully and sat on a step for a bit, rest her head in her hands, staring at the floor. When she looked all she could saw were young mothers with their babies pushing prams, babies and toddlers crying and their mothers struggling. They all looked so young. Was it possible?
It wasn't that Laura hadn't wanted children, it just never happened. In her twenties she was naive, and she always thought that she'd meet someone – the love of her life - have the 2.4 children and have a great career - like most of her friends from home. But, it had never happened like that, she'd had a succession of not so great boyfriends in her twenties and then mid- thirties she'd met the lovely Franco. He'd been the only one as such who she thought she may have a future with. They'd discussed children and decided to go ahead – even though Laura hadn't been that regular she knew of women who just seemed to get it right and fall pregnant. But it didn't happen for her, and after trying to for a while; they'd got checked out to find that medically for Laura it wasn't impossible but it would be difficult. A while after that the relationship disintegrated as Franco was relocated back to his native Germany.
Over the years the pain surrounding it had lessened - she'd had a great life and in the end was happy with how life had panned out. Then, she'd fallen for Robbie, and when they finally ended up being together, she realised he'd been the man that she'd wanted back in her twenties. He was her shining knight in armour and although she'd experienced love and thought at the time Franco was exactly that, she felt like she experiencing love for the first time. At infrequent times during their relationship she'd thought about if she'd got together with him earlier, when she'd first started in Oxford - if he hadn't been with Val - and how much she wished she could have had a child with him, someone who was a mix of him and her, running around, calling them Mummy and Daddy. But she knew that even if she wanted a child with him now - if found getting pregnant in her thirties impossible, in her forties it would have been the work of a miracle to get pregnant. So in the end she was happy that his children had accepted her and she'd become a sort of step mother to them and a granny to the beautiful Jack who she loved more then she thought possible.
As she sat on the step listening to the birds singing in the summer sun, she rubbed her hands over her arms, as she grew slightly chilly, even though the day was a warm summer's day. She mused further on what Jean had said and realised there was some truth to it. It was possible she thought. Quite early on in their relationship they'd have that discussion, and decided to not use contraceptives. She trusted him, and knew he hadn't been with anyone but Val and he knew of her difficulty in getting pregnant so had thrown caution to the wind. Don't be so silly Laura. You're not pregnant. You're just sick. If it continues you're going to have to go to a doctors anyway. But it is a good idea to just check dates… she argued with herself. But she didn't want to get her hopes up. It had been so soul destroying the first time round, and now, when she was presented with a stick later on at Jean's she didn't want to cope with the pain from the double whammy of losing a child she'd never have and Robbie.
Half an hour later she made her escape, she knew her mind had wandered as she gave them thei Inspectors their PM results earning several disapproving looks from the cocky Wells, but she'd done it. She walked out quickly, hoping no-one would stop her or ask her to do something else. Her pager had also mercifully stayed quiet so she had enough time to sit in her car and think before driving back to work. Scrambling about in her bag, she fished out her diary. Right, let's see. Butterflies were spinning round her stomach, and she had to swallow several times to make the nausea abate. She saw a star, that was a first star in at least 2 months, a way that usually marked her period. She sat there the star going blurry and remembered the morning before they had found out about the potential release of Lawrie. She'd woken up and turned over to see Robbie asleep; his beautiful lined face peaceful with sleep and with the sun streaming in through the break in the curtains onto him she'd been overwhelmed with love, so she'd woken him up in that special way. Later on, he cooked her breakfast, with him in his boxers and a casual blue t-shirt with a smile from ear to ear that exposed his teeth and when he looked at her she realised just how happy he was. It was bliss she thought.
The pain in her chest grew, and she tried to dismiss the thoughts by flicking through the days. She needed to stay together now. Her eyes rested on a couple of dates, Shit. That night with James. She shook her head, she wasn't entirely sure what had happened that night. To her it was just a blur of hazy memories. But…if…, did he even wear a condom? She tried to conjure up images, only to be hit by more hazy blur 'Shit!' she shouted out loud and hit her steering wheel. If I was, could it be James' She sat in her car, staring ahead, trying to dismiss the idea, and the fact she could be pregnant. Guilt started to overwhelm her though; Robbie had stayed loyal to Val for ten years, and here she was unable to go a month without bedding his best friend. She was grateful to Jean for even flagging it up but she really wished she hadn't. Ignorance they say is bliss she thought. In that moment though Laura realised she'd never felt more alone in her life.
Jean was driving back from a meeting in Abingdon – something she despised that she had to do when she had a station full of murders, rapes and so on that needed to be dealt with – and decided to pull up at the local chemists and buy a pregnancy kit. It was easier then heading back into Oxford especially as it was four and parents would be picking their kids up from school – it would be hellish - considering that it was last day before summer holidays for some schools. She knew people who lived around here, so prayed she wouldn't run into anyone due to the fact it could make for a slightly awkward conversation.
She scanned the shelf for the brands, knowing now they usually did the how many weeks you were as well – only naturally it looked like it had sold out of the most useful ones –sods law she thought, so instead went for two bog standard ones that just showed a line. She knew from her past that more than one were better for checking. She started queuing for the cashier, only to hear her name being called. Turning around she came face to face with one of her husband's friends, Phil. Bugger - it had to be the nosy git.
'Oh hi Phil!' She said, quickly whipping on her best fake smile.
What brings you to this side of town?' He asked nosily
'Oh y'know… meetings and the like.' She said, trying desperately to be discreet, and noting there was just two more people to pay. PLEASE GO, she inwardly screamed. But he was still standing there.
'I'm just here to get some cold relief stuff… got one of those nasty summer bugs. Sods law it would have to be me who got it.' AH man flu - I think you're confusing me with someone who cares thought Jean who was still fake smiling and nodding her head to show that she had empathy for the man. 'So is Al back from.. where was he this time?' She could see his eyes flittering down to see what she was holding.
'India, and yes he's back. I'm sure he'd love to meet you for a beer and a curry, a real good man's night',
He laughed 'Well I'll give him a text then later.' Bet its nice knowing he'll be home for a while now.'
Jean laughed and moved forward to the cashier, and tried to discreetly hand them over to what looked like a fifteen year old who very indiscreetly scanned them – all the while glaring at her with disgust and yes I may be the same age as your mother we are allowed to have sex!
The silence was now really awkward and she looked up to see Phil still there, eyes like saucers and as red as a tomato. Shit.
'Er.. well.. um..I'd better go and er.. find.. that.. er.. cold stuff.' He muttered, almost running away in his need to get away as quickly as possible.
She thought about going after him and explaining it was for a friend but decided against it. It's none of his business for starters, even though she knew half of Al's friends would know by tomorrow that she'd been buying pregnancy testing kits. Might do some good for Al's reputation she smiled smugly, getting into the car and driving back to the station. Her mind less on work and more on Laura.
Laura's phone buzzed at just gone seven true to Jean's word. She'd had to do a particular grizzly PM shortly after getting back from the station on a young woman who was the latest victim of DI Wells murderer. It had been extremely depressing and thankfully the nausea hadn't made an appearance, but the tears and the tiredness had. She had managed to dismiss the thoughts surrounding her possible pregnancy because she knew this young woman needed her to be on the ball - which was hard enough when fighting through something that was akin to a fog in her brain.
It was close to eight when she'd finished packing up; putting the body away and cleaning her tools. She saw Jess's light was on, and walked over to the room; knocking lightly on the door and opened it.
'Hey, I'm knocking off now – if that's OK?' Laura said, emitting a jaw cracking yawn.
'Yeah it's fine. You deserve a night off anyway…I'll shut up shop.' The younger woman looked at her as Laura stepped away from the shadow of the door. 'Hobs you OK?'
'I'm just knackered that's all - long day! See you tomorrow then.' Laura said, relieved that she'd managed to escape this particular interrogation.
Jess nodded, and turned back to her work. When the door shut she looked up and mused on just how ill Laura had looked, suddenly and inexplicably a thought crossed her mind
Maybe she's pregnant? Jess was a romantic at heart and the only reference she had was of a couple of her friends falling pregnant recently. Maybe she and Hathaway are lovers and that's why he seemed to be constantly at her house? She smiled to herself at being so ridiculous you saw how happy Hobs and Lewis were - just because you fancy Hathaway…
Her mind wandered over the times she'd met Lewis since his return from retirement. He was always kind and sympathetic to the 'clients' families, emitting an empathy that only those who'd been through a similar bereavement could do, and a compassion and a warmth that made it easier for them and for that she respected him even more then she already did. She'd liked him almost immediately, she thought he had a kind and understanding; if not weathered face that had seen its fair share of life; both happy and tragic events. She knew even before he'd returned how happy Hobson was with him – and when she saw them on the rare occasions outside of work she knew she'd want a relationship like theirs. She wasn't afraid to admit that when she'd found out about Lewis being murdered she'd sobbed like a baby. Then there was Hathaway, Lewis's sidekick and the complete opposite to him; tall, lanky, cigarette smoking enigmatic Adonis that was Hathaway….
She shook her head, whilst chewing the tip of her pen. It was late and her mind always ran away with her – her thoughts going back on Laura. She could be pregnant, she'd had a few symptoms for a while now even before the stomach bug. I wonder… OR, it could be something worse, or just grief. She had to get Hobs to book an appointment for a doctors however scary her boss could be. She smiled at herself, now to just get this work done - PM analysis wasn't going to get done by itself!
Laura walked wearily along the corridor; all she really wanted to do was sleep. Go home, get into bed and shut her eyes - then wake up and find it was all a nightmare - that Robbie was beside her - and that everything that was happening wasn't true. Something like the shower scene from Dallas? She loved that when she was younger – her guilty pleasure! But she knew she wouldn't wake up from this particular nightmare. As she was thinking about how blissful it would be to get into bed tonight so that she stop thinking, although she knew she'd probably not sleep until much later - she walked out of the hospital directly into James who was smoking, leaning up against the front of the hospital in the evening sunshine which was still warm even though it was just gone eight. Great, the last person I wanted to see!
She eyed him suspiciously wondering if he'd come to check up on her knowing that he was on paper work duty. 'You look like you're holding the hospital up standing like that' She quipped, noting how her voice seemed to sound much more aggressive then she hoped it would come out.
He looked at her, slightly surprised that he'd been snapped out of his reverie 'Comparing me to Atlas are we?' He mused for a moment; 'He was able to personify the quality of endurance…' I'm the complete opposite James thought.
'We too must endure and persevere in the inquiry, and then courage will not laugh at our faintheartedness in searching for courage; which after all may, very likely be endurance'* He said into the silence, trying to dispel the weird feeling of awkwardness he could feel. Laura looked at him, frowning 'Socrates' he said to more or less fill the silence
'Ah - why are you here James – I guess it isn't to spiel of Ancient Greek philosophers quotes' She demanded. If he's checking up on me…
'That idiot Golder – who somehow thinks I'm below him – asked me to come and get some results from Dr Carter.' He said vehemently 'and quite frankly the only reason I said yes, was to get away from the airless pit of a room I work in that has enough paperwork to sink the Titanic. Otherwise I would have probably hit the git' More importantly I wanted to see whether you were OK he thought, but decided not to mention it , not just now. Why did he get the feeling that she wanted him to go?
'Ah OK,' realising she needed to dial back her irritation. 'Yeah Jess is still in…' she nodded back at the station.
He frowned, watching her. She looked at him and saw that his brow was furrowed, looking in some concern at her; 'what?' she snapped. Normally she'd have offered up some sort of comfort telling him to calm down, that Golder was an idiot – but right now she didn't have inclination to do that.
'No nothing,' he shook his head - he said throwing his cigarette to the side. Then feeling a bit braver backtracked on himself; 'I heard about earlier', he said, nodding towards the laptop bag over her shoulder 'I see you're going – good - are you OK?'
Ah there it was she thought; 'Me? I'm fine' Her voice several octanes higher then she wanted it to be. 'Absolutely fine', she tried again, but realised she was fooling neither of them, she sighed 'I'm probably going to be late, so don't wait up' she relented.
'But you're going…' He looked confused, which irritated her further.
'I do have a social life, James' her reply was brusque, but she didn't care, she just wanted to go. I'm definitely NOT telling you where I'm going…
It's none of my business really' he muttered. 'But I'm glad.' What social life? He ungallantly thought.
'Not really no' Then looking at his hurt face, realised he had no idea what was going on and she really did need to dial back the irritation 'Look if you want to come over do. I'm just saying don't expect me to be there until late, and please don't drink me out of house and home.' She said more tersely then she realised and started to walk off in the direction of the car.
'Bye then' muttered James under his breath. He watched her walk off, the sun catching her hair God she's beautiful he thought, followed immediately by what the hell is wrong with me? Don't be such a fucking sod Hathaway. He shook his head free from the thought, and trying to push away the guilt he felt, he walked through the door and in the direction of Jess's room. I wish she'd go to the doctors… she's been ill for a while now I don't want to lose her too, which is exactly what is happening, he found himself thinking as he reached the door and gently knocked on it, and then dispelled the thought 'it's just grief, and probably having to look after me.'
Laura drove slowly to Innocent's house. As much as she wanted to find out whether she was, she also didn't want to get her hopes up. She had wanted a baby, but not like this, I'm not even sure…. She shook her head free from the thought, and then blurry images from that night crossed her mind, and then Robbie's beautiful smiling face seemed to be in front of her; she blinked, trying to get the image away, but couldn't. She stopped her car on a layby and just had enough time to get out to the other side and vomit on the verge, the pain in her chest almost insufferable. Hathaway's words from a few weeks back 'grief has no closure' echoed in her mind.
She got herself together and finally pulled up to the house that her sat nav had shown her was the right one, and killed the engine. Two cars; a grey Volvo which she knew was Jeans, and a dark blue Audi A5 were outside. A cat was sitting on the bonnet even though it had been a warm summers day, and the birds were singing their evening song. The sky was a mixture of blue, pink, orange and yellow. She sat there for a moment leaning back against the seat, closing her eyes, thinking about Jeans idyllic life with her husband, , and trying to sum up the energy to walk up the steps to the front door.
Jean watched from a distance from the window, Laura seem to sit in her Alfa for what seemed like forever. As she got out Jean padded to the door in her slippers - still in a summery work dress having just put the kettle on. Calling over her shoulder to her husband who'd been reading the paper in the kitchen;
'Are you going to the pub tonight!?' she swung the door open even before Laura had made it up the front steps 'Hi Laura' she smiled at the blood shot, wan, exhausted looking woman on her doorstep.
Al emerged from the kitchen as Laura stepped into the hall way 'No.. why…should I be?' Confused, mainly as she hadn't said anything about it until now. She was never usually this keen for me to go to the pub.
'Laura this is my husband, Al..' Laura smiled, so this was the mysterious Mr. Innocent, finally! Walking further into the house she was hit by a combination of baked bread, lillies and perfume, and noticed the huge antique type mirror in the hall way by the front door. She couldn't help looking at herself, and was shocked by what she saw, she looked more awful then she thought was possible – could probably scare little children - how ironic.
'Hi there' Al noted that the small woman standing in front of him looked absolutely exhausted and on the verge of tears - Oh. Laura. As in THE Laura... Ah this was why she's so keen for me to go to the pub. He could cope with one emotional woman - but that was because he loved the bones of her - two, that really was asking too much.
He took his cue from Jean who was looking at him and was still standing with the door open. 'Yes, actually… I am. I'll give Phil and Simon a text on my way over..' he said, gathering up his wallet from the table in the hall way, kissing her on the cheek 'nice to meet you Laura' and walking out 'have fun!' he called over his shoulder. They'll be on their second bottle of Prosecco and one of them will be crying, my guesses on Laura he thought as he rounded the driveway onto pavement.
'Something I said?' Laura asked, gesticulating to the rapidly disappearing Al.
'Al's learnt over the years that being in the house with more than one woman is quite a scary concept. Anyway thought it was best that he wasn't here, y'know give us some alone time.'
Laura smiled and accepted the gesture. It was awkward enough being here, let alone being surrounded by two Innocent's.
'I've just put the kettle on, do you want a cuppa or…' she said, stopping her sentence or hanging in mid air.
'I…. think it's best if I just get it done with.' Laura muttered, Jean nodded.
'My thoughts exactly… right just a second, I'll just get them from my bag' she said, walking down the corridor and picking it up. Laura moved away from the mirror, just so she didn't have to catch herself looking into it. 'Thanks for doing this Jean'
'No problem.' She got the tests from her bag and walked towards Laura. 'I'll come up with you, show you were the bathroom is and then I'll stay outside the door. I'll be right there if you need me,' she said looking Laura directly in the eye, and rubbing the top of Laura's arm.
Laura smiled exhaustedly, the two women silently made their way up the stairs - conversation seemed needless. At the top of the stairs they turned right along the landing, and Jean opened the door. As it creaked open Laura admired just how big it was. She looked around her, noting how everything seemed to just have its right place, and she couldn't help smile at how 'Jean Innocent' it was; everything seemed to have its place, and naturally they were in those places.
'Here' said Jean, passing her the test, noting how clammy Laura's hands felt. 'Remember I'll be right outside.' As the door closed, Laura took several deep breaths trying to calm herself; It's probably the bug. It's definitely won't be pregnancy, she said trying to convince herself and failing.
A few minutes later she was sat on the edge of the bath, fingers curled round the bathtub, fingernails and knuckles turning white due to her death grip on the edge of it. She could hear the rush of blood as her heart seemed to beat faster and clatter against her ribs; she felt cold though even though she was overwhelmed by emotion. She was physically shaking, her hands were clammy, her stomach seemed to be angrily protesting and gurgling madly - nausea washed over her and her mind was blank - completely devoid of anything but how she felt in that moment. The two sticks were lined up and sat on some tissue on the edge of the sink. The instructions had fallen in the sink. 'Everything OK, Laura?' she heard Jean shout with some concern through the door, but to Laura it was faint only vaguely recognisable. Everything swam in front of her, black spots appeared in her vision. She tried to swallow down the nausea so that she could reply, but found she couldn't.
Laura propelled herself towards the toilet and just managed to get there when she vomited what little was in her stomach into the toilet bowl. Through her retching, she heard the door creek open and then felt a calming hand on her back; her hair was roughly pulled away from her face and into a pony tail. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see Jean putting a glass of water on the side, and then taking a long look at the sticks and then at the slightly damp instructions in the sink;
'I see congratulations are in order…'
* Taken from /quotation/we_too_must_endure_and_persevere_in_the_
