A few days later Nick and Sara were laying bed enjoying the early morning hours of just laying together. They normally didn't get to relax with each other because Ava normally awoke in the early morning and wanted to be entertained. However, this morning they didn't hear anything coming from her room. Nick started to trail his finger up and down her naked back, causing Sara to giggle. He kissed her forehead and then pulled her so she was on top of him.
"You look beautiful, darlin." He told her softly, and she smiled and leaned down to kiss him sweetly. They spent the next few minutes tenderly kissing and caressing when they heard an unpleasant sound coming from down the hallway.
"What was that?" Sara asked getting off of Nick quickly and finding her pajama pants and tank top.
"I have no idea, but I think it was Ava." Nick answered her pulling on his shorts. The unpleasant sound repeated itself again as Sara rushed to her niece's bedroom. As she opened the door, she found Ava looking decidedly upset and unhappy, with vomit all over her comforter. She looked up, and as soon as she saw Sara's familiar and safe face, she started bawling and held her arms up.
"Nick!" Sara yelled from where she was standing at Ava's doorway. Nick came running down the hall and skidded to a stop when he looking inside Ava's door. "I think it's safe to say that Ava has the stomach flu." Sara retorted softly.
"I no fweel good!" Ava cried as she threw up once more on her comforter and all over herself. Sara had dealt with a lot of disgusting things over the years, but never with a sick child. The thought of getting any of it on her almost made her feel physically sick. But her motherly instincts took over, and she couldn't stand to see her child suffering there alone on her bed.
"Ava, sweetie, give me your hand." Ava cried and slowly got out of bed and took Sara's hand. "Let's go to the bathroom before you get sick anymore." Sara told her slowly leading her out of her bedroom. Sara turned her head to Nick and motioned to the bed.
"Can you change her bed? Please?" Nick gave her a grossed out look, but knew it had to be done. He nodded and watched them walk to the bathroom. Ava sniffled the whole way as Sara led her to the toilet.
"Do you need to throw up any more?"
"Don' fink so." She replied sadly. Of course, Sara thought to herself. She'd emptied her stomach all over her bed and the floor. Why would she save any for the toilet?
"Okay, sweetheart. I'm going to turn the shower on and help you wash all that icky stuff off, okay?" Ava nodded as Sara contemplated how exactly to get Ava out of her soiled clothing.
"Hold up your arms. I need to get you out of your dirty pajamas." Ava did so apathetically. Sara couldn't help but getting a little bit on her hands as she worked to make the neck hole as big as possible so she didn't get it all over Ava's face. She crumpled up the dirty top and set it beside the door. Next, she helped Ava balance as she took off her bottoms and her Pull-Ups.
"Nick, can you put her pj's in too?" She called down the hallway. Nick peeked his head in the door, a pile of her bedding in his arms as he bent down to get the pjs.
"How you feeling, Peanut?" He asked his niece sympathetically.
"Gwoss!"
"I'm sorry sweetheart, maybe after your shower you'll feel a little better." Nick said giving her a slight smile. Ava wrapped her arms around her stomach moaning.
"Sawa, my tummy hurts."
"If you need to throw up, go to the toilet." Sara reminded her. Ava walked tiredly to the toilet. Sure enough, she had another brief puking section. Sara didn't think she'd eaten THAT much. Nick and Sara looked at each other sympathetically, and he went off to start the washer. Sara rubbed Ava's back when she finished and tried to move her hair away from her face.
"It's alright. It feels better to get it out." Ava cried some more, and then Sara had her sit on the floor while she started the shower. Sara felt the water and determined that it was it hot enough. She turned to Ava.
"Come on honey, let's rinse off and then you can go back to sleep." Ava nodded as she wobbled over to Sara. Sara lifted her into the tub. Ava had never had a shower before, so she was a little frightened of the falling water coming from high above.
"It's okay. It's just water, but it's going to help you rinse that icky stuff off." She put her hand under the water tentatively and moved slowly until she was standing under it, but kept her head away.
"Good girl." Sara praised her, and helped her wash with a washcloth. She washed the toddler's hair also, talking to her soothingly as she cleaned Ava. Soon, she was done and she switched the water off. Sara helped her out of the tub and into a big, fluffy towel.
She dried her off quickly and asked, "Do you feel like you're going to be sick anymore?"
"No." She said, rubbing her eyes. It was just after eight in the morning, but Ava was again ready for bed. Sara told her to sit on the floor again and she turned around to get a Pull Up from the cabinet. When she turned around, Ava was curled up on the floor, closing her eyes.
"Ava, sweetheart, I need to put your Pull Ups on, and then I'll put you back to bed." Ava mumbled something uncomprehendable and didn't move. Sara skillfully dried her off as she lay on the floor and managed to get her Pull Ups on. She was already fast asleep when Sara picked her back up. Sara carried her into the bedroom and decided that she would let Ava go without actual pajamas on and softly laid her down into the bed. Ava curled up around her stuffed fish and started to suck her thumb.
Nick had just finished redressing the bed. He looked curiously at the small pile that had managed to get on the floor and back up at Ava.
"Poor girl." He commented. "I'll get something to clean this up while she's sleeping. Did she throw up again?"
Sara sighed and answered, "No, she didn't throw up again, and I hope that was the last of it, but I have a feeling it wasn't. I'm glad she's asleep for now." Nick stood up and kissed Sara's head, and brought her in to a hug.
"You were great then. You make a really great mom." He said softly, so they wouldn't wake Ava.
"That means a lot to me Nick." Sara answered sighing softly and she snuggled into Nick's arms.
"Baby, do you think we could have kids of our own?" She asked softly. Nick took a deep breath in and smiled. He'd dreamed of being a father for years now, and had come true out of the blue with Ava. They both loved Ava like she was their own, but Nick had been dreaming lately of having children with Sara.
"I think that's a great idea, baby." He turned her in his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. They moved softly from Ava's bedroom and into their bedroom kissing each other passionately. After a few minutes of heavy kissing and petting, Sara pulled away suddenly just as Nick was pushing her shirt up.
"Nick, I didn't mean RIGHT now." She smiled, rubbing his face lovingly. He laughed down at her and ran his hand over her bare stomach.
"I know. I just can't resist you." Nick admitted. "Ava will be asleep for a while, though you know. We could practice for the real thing." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Sara pulled him back down for another kiss. Practice does make perfect.
Lindsey sighed as she logged into a chat room. She became happy though when she saw that the guy who she had been talking to for a few weeks now was online. She knew her mom and Gil wouldn't approve, but at this point she didn't care. She wasn't even supposed to be on the internet anyway, since she'd been grounded, but boredom was setting in after a couple weeks. Her parents were at work, as usual, and they were none the wiser. She was getting her homework done, so as long as she kept that up they were generally off her case. She had been flirting with this guy whenever she talked to him and he flirted right back. She figured what's the harm in doing so. She figured once she really got to know him then she would give him her cell phone number. Of course, she had to be off grounding to do that.
Her favorite on-line crush caliguy06 instantly sent her a message reading "Hey babe, what's up?"
"Hanging around at home. What are you up to?" Lindsey responded back.
"Just thinking about you, hotty." He answered back. Lindsey smiled. She'd sent him a few pictures of herself, in photos that she thought made her look really hot. He was a year older than her and going to school in California. He hadn't sent her any pictures yet, but Lindsey was sure she could coax him.
"So, is today the day I get to see a picture of your fine self?" Lindsey sent back to him.
"No, I'm really camera shy. Obviously, you're familiar with it, since you can work the camera! What r u wearing?"
"Hip huggers and a tight tank top. What are you wearing babe?"
"Just my boxers." He replied. Lindsey giggled. It was fun chatting to him. He talked to her like she was really grown up; not like some dumb teenager. He made her feel wild and sexy; something she'd never felt before. But she hadn't told anyone about him yet. Not even her friends. Maybe when she had a picture, she would show her best friend. Lindsey didn't think anything of the fact that he had yet to send a picture. She didn't think of whether or not it was safe. She just thought about the thrill of talking to him. Lindsey was about to respond when she heard the front door open and shut and the squeal of "Mommy!" through the house. She quickly typed, "Gotta go, ttyl." And logged off immediately.
She quickly pulled up a school report she was working on. The only reason she was allowed on the computer was for school projects. She would go back later and delete the day's history so her parents wouldn't know.
"Hi, Emily!" She heard her mother say, and heard Emily run off towards the door. "Lindsey! What are you doing?" Catherine yelled up the stairs.
"Just working on my English paper." She yelled back down the stairs. Lindsey was really supposed to be keeping a close eye on Emily, but she had been watching TV, so she didn't see any harm.
Lindsey wandered downstairs so her mother couldn't comment on the state of her bedroom. She came downstairs to see Emily standing by the fridge beside Catherine who was getting the ingredients out to make dinner.
"Where's Gil?" Lindsey asked plopping down at the table.
"He has to stay later at work." Catherine reported, which wasn't out of the usual. He tried his best to be home for dinner whenever possible, but sometimes they still had to eat without him, since he was the supervisor and had more responsibility.
"How was Emily today?"
Lindsey shrugged, "She was fine."
"Good." Catherine answered putting the food on the counter. Lindsey rolled her eyes as Catherine bent down and tickled Emily's stomach telling her to go run to the pantry and get the can of beans. Lindsey liked Emily alright, but she was ashamed to admit she was still a little jealous. Lindsey seemed to be constantly in trouble, and Emily did nothing wrong. She hadn't even gotten in trouble once since she'd come to live with them.
"Mom! I just remembered something. Emily was playing outside today and when I told her to come inside, she wouldn't." Lindsey said proudly. Catherine looked at her older daughter curiously. It was weird that Lindsey would just randomly report something like that. She looked back at Emily, who looked at the floor.
"Emily, did you listen to Lindsey today?"
"I just wanted to finish looking at the butterfly an' I told Lindsey that and she got mad saying that I had to come inside now." Emily answered softly.
"That's okay, Emily. Just make sure you do what Lindsey says, alright?" She told her daughter gently, and looked back to Lindsey. "We okay then, Lindsey?"
Lindsey sighed and nodded her head slowly. That backfired on her.
"I'm going to my bedroom. Holler when dinner is ready." Lindsey got up and walked back up the stairs.
"Mommy, can I help?" Emily asked her mother hopefully.
"Of course!" Catherine exclaimed, and dragged a chair over to the counter so she could help mix ingredients. Emily and Catherine happily started putting together a casserole.
Meanwhile, at the CSI lab, Gil was trying to finish off his work for the day with an Internet predator that was being handed off the lab. Gil sighed as he looked through the names of the women this man was stalking. Truth be told, he honestly would rather be at home with his family. He smiled at the thought of Emily running to the door to greet him as she did every day when he returned home from work.
The man he was researching was 27 years old and lived in Vegas, though he was known to regularly lie that he lived in California. He regularly worried about Lindsey during cases like this. The man was chatting up young girls on chat rooms and aim. They'd talked to Lindsey, however, and felt that though she was rebellious, she had a good head on her shoulders. He scanned the list of screen names of the women he was stalking and stopped when he came across one that seemed familiar. The name was Blondebaby23. That vaguely reminded him of Lindsey, but he shook his head and kept scanning. As he continued to search however, he kept second guessing himself. Blondebaby23. It was really familiar. With the software he had, Gil had the ability to find out a lot of information about people if he wanted to. He started to type the username into the search and then stopped. He should be trusting Lindsey, not investigating her. Gil picked up his cell phone and quickly dialed the home number. A few moments later he heard Emily's voice cheerfully answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, baby!" He greeted her warmly, feeling better already at hearing her sweet, innocent voice.
"Daddy! When are you going to be home?" She asked impatiently. Gil didn't think his heart could get any bigger when he heard Emily call him Daddy. She had slipped a few days ago and called him Daddy and he had quickly assured her that he was fine with it. She had been calling him Daddy ever since.
"I'm going to try and be home in about an hour. Sweetie, could I talk to Mommy please?" Gil asked.
"Okay. I love you." She told him, and he said it back. The phone transferred and he heard Catherine's voice.
"Already miss me?" She asked him in humor.
"Hi, sweetheart. Listen, I was searching through the usernames of the girls this punk is chatting up. What's Lindsey's username?"
"I think it's BlondeBaby, and then some numbers, but I don't really remember. Gil, she's been grounded and I don't think she's been on the computer..." Catherine said trailing off.
"Mommy! She was on the computer all day today!" Emily said pulling on Catherine's pant leg. Gil heard what Emily said, and his stomach turned. This was not sound good.
"Catherine, just because she's grounded, doesn't mean she's not been sneaking around. Is she still home?"
"Yeah." Catherine said, worried at just what Gil was implying.
"Can you find a way to check her history without her knowing?"
"I can log in on the computer downstairs and check her history and she wouldn't know." Catherine answered softly.
"Can you do that for me sweetheart? Please?" Gil asked silently begging her to do so. Catherine sighed.
"Yeah I'll do it right now and call you back."
Catherine and Gil were pretty Internet savvy, as was Lindsey. Using some of their top-notch technology at work, they did find out her password and checked her emails from time to time to make sure she wasn't emailing anyone they didn't know about. They weren't overly protective about it, but they took their liberties as parents. Catherine quickly logged on, finding her username and password in a notebook they kept in one of the drawers. Catherine found Lindsey's internet history and was surprised to find some for today. She searched and read through a conversation with Caliguy06. She reached for the phone and called Gil.
"Gil, it's me. I logged on and she was talking to some guy named Caliguy06." She reported, scrolling through the conversation, which had only lasted a few minutes, but was full of red flags for her as a parent. Gil sighed loudly into the phone.
"Sweetheart...that's our guy." He told her as gently as possible, but knowing it would be difficult for Catherine to hear in any fashion.
"Gil, are you sure?" She questioned him tearfully.
"Yes, I'm sure. When I get home we'll talk to Lindsey about this. Don't worry we'll take care of this." Gil reassured her.
"Honey, I think maybe we need to get away for a little. We need to get Lindsey away from all of this." Catherine suggested wiping at her eyes.
"I think that would be good, sweetheart. We'll talk later, okay?"
"Okay. Gil, come home soon. I want to ring her neck right now and hug her at the same time."
"I'll be home as soon as I can." Gil said before telling her that he loved her and hung up. Catherine sighed and went back into the kitchen and continued making dinner.