****

Deirdre looked over the table at Frankie as she sat there with Jessie trying to keep from falling asleep.

"Here, give me the baby and you get some coffee into your system. You look like crap."

"Well, gee, thanks Mom." Frankie growled out as she handed Jessie to her grandmother. All too soon coos and squeals echoed as Grammy Dee started tickling and playing with her only grandchild.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it Francesca Marie." Deirdre smiled despite the reproach. "I can understand missing Jake terribly, I'm rather fond of the boy myself, but you can't let it get to you like this. You knew this was going to happen when you married him."

Frankie looked at her mother and sighed. True, she did know this and didn't pay it any mind. Something else was nagging at her. Usually by now she'd inhaled a pot of coffee and a few croissants. Deirdre had clucked the last time she'd had breakfast with her, musing about how Frankie kept such a tight figure when she ate like a horse. This morning, however, the mere sight of the coffee was sending her stomach into fits of knots and upsetting it to no end. Once or twice when the waiter passed the carafe over her shoulder to offer it, she felt her stomach revolt and it was all she could do to keep from tossing her cookies.

Deirdre watched Frankie for a moment. She was looking a little green. "Maybe you should go back to bed for a while. Those files can wait for you."

"No Deirdre. I've got something up my nose about the operatives Frank's worked with in the past. I mean, who else could get the papers together for Daphne Charles and who else would want to pull off a hit on him? No, Thomas went through a lot of grief to get me access to those files and-"

"Francesca… in the three days you've been here, you've steadily gotten more and more ill looking. You look like someone ran over you with a tractor. Please, let me take you to my doctor." She sat back, waiting for Frankie to say something. When she received a mutinous glare from her daughter, Deirdre sighed. "Fine then. I'll have them courier delivered to my place and you can lie in bed while looking at them. You look ill dear and if Frank or Jake were to find out that I allowed you to make yourself sick, then I'd never hear the end of it. Nope, Jessie and her Grammy are going to go to the park, possibly the mall to do some shopping. YOU are going to pile yourself into a taxi and go back to the house."

Frankie watched as she stood up and sighed. There was no use arguing with her when she put her foot down. Jake had choked the first time he'd witnessed it and then blandly put forth the old saying - 'Like Mother, Like Daughter.' Of course, that had started a round of teasing at the nest and a small silent war at home until Shay chuckled and said it was very true. She kissed Jessie's cheek as she leaned over and said, "Bah bah mommy!"

After Deirdre had Jessie in the car and had left, Frankie found herself trying to put a bite of croissant into her mouth. But, any attempts to chew it were met with a rolling stomach and a toppled chair as she bolted up and flew into the restaurant's restroom… where she heaved up her pretzels from the airplane ride to D.C.

As if on cue, her cell phone rang. Slowly Frankie settled back on her knees and used some tissues to wipe her mouth. With a shaking hand, she reached for the phone clipped to her jeans pocket and jerked it up.

"Hello?"

"Jesus girl, you sound like hell. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"

"You should know that your Jake landed himself in some hot water."

"What?" Frankie sighed and leaned back against the cool aluminum wall of the bathroom stall.

"Apparently Alex caught some 'mystery woman' leaving his apartment a few nights ago and hauled him in front of Frank by the short hairs. Shay racked the poor bastard and proceeded to lay into him like no tomorrow. I felt so horrible for him it was pathetic."

"You were there?"

"Nah, I heard about it second hand. You gotten that bug out of your system yet?"

"I think so, yeah. I think I landed another bug though."

"You getting sick on me?"

"Possibly. Might just be that lovely airplane food…"

"Not possible. Food poisoning shows up within 2-4 hours after ingestion. It's been how long since you flew to D.C.?"

"First or second time?" she chuckled weakly.

"Point taken. Even so, I doubt you're sick from food poisoning. Go back to bed, get some rest and if it's not better by tonight, go see a doctor."

"Alright Dr. Katie. Keep me informed about Jake - no one else will."

"You got it."

Frankie hung up from the phone call and groaned. Did she crawl back to Deirdre's home, or did she sit there until she felt like she had the strength to stand up and walk to a taxi??

"I think I'll crawl…"

****