A/N: Many thanks for Phish Tacko for beta'ing this.
Ch. 12
It was exactly a month to the day that Katrina had switched Ichabod's pills that he started exhibiting symptoms. Of course, with his bad luck, they came at the worst times. His first experience had occurred a few minutes after he'd settled into his desk at work, when a wave of extreme nausea had overtaken him. He knew he wouldn't make it to the bathroom in time, and had ended up grabbing the bin under his desk and throwing up into it.
As he got sick, everyone around him stared. Some laughed.
"Got another bun in the oven?" One of them had asked. Ichabod could hear others snickering at the question.
"I must've eaten something funny," Ichabod said once he was finally able to sit back up. His stomach still hurt, but he didn't think that he had much to puke up anymore.
"Right. It's okay, Crane. We'll all make sure to keep you on light duty."
Ichabod sighed. "I'm not pregnant again. Can't you all just leave me alone?!"
Just then, Mr. Samuels walked in.
"Everyone, back to work!" The inspector yelled.
The crowd began to disperse, people mumbling to themselves as they walked back to their desks.
"Crane, in my office," Mr. Samuels then said.
Ichabod did his best not to roll his eyes. Of course, he couldn't just be left alone.
He pushed himself up and followed his superior in.
"Close the door and take a seat," Mr. Samuels instructed.
Ichabod did as he was told, sitting down on one of the chairs in front of the inspector's desk.
"How may I help you, sir?" He asked meekly.
"I just wanted to speak to you, is all. Get an understanding for what's going on. Since I transferred here, I've heard the other constables... picking on you, for lack of better words. And you don't seem to fight back. Did you ever end up getting your desk drawers out?"
Ichabod gritted his teeth. "No, I did not." Then he took a deep breath. He was already starting to feel sick again, but he was trying to push the feeling down. "A little less than a year ago, I gave birth to a son. I had not known that I had the mpreg gene, and it was a bit of a surprise to have become pregnant. The others are making fun of me because of that. They feel that it makes me less masculine."
"I gathered that," The inspector replied. "I'll be watching them to ensure that it stops. The men are to respect their fellow coworkers. My only other question is, are you pregnant now?"
"I.. um.. not that I know of," Ichabod answered.
"Alright. I'll take your word for it. For now, though, I think you should go home for the day. You're clearly not well."
"I'm fine," Ichabod replied, getting annoyed. "I can continue to work-"
The inspector just glared at him, so Ichabod gave up.
"Fine. I'll be back tomorrow, then."