Sorry for the wait. Been very busy working on my labor of love with 554Laura, Lachelle Nepper's Love & Carbonite.

Here we have another adventure of the Aubreys. This one takes place around January 2021.

For the reference near the end, check out Lachelle Nepper's Love & Carbonite Chapter 11: The Karen Menace here on this site or AO3.

Aubrey and Jessica were spending a quiet night at home in front of the lit fireplace playing Star Wars Monopoly. Their daughter was spending the night with Hodgins and Angela as a thank you for taking Michael Vincent and Jeffrey for them the night before. Their evening involved a DiAngelo's Meat Lovers pizza, a veggie with chicken and alfredo sauce pizza, a bottle of wine, and games. As always, their game was full of trash talk.

"This is nice, Superman." Jessica finished a piece of pizza.

Aubrey ate another slice of his Meat Lovers pizza. "It sure is, Jess. I miss Rachael, but it's nice to be alone with you, delicious pizza, wine, and Star Wars…especially when I win the game like last time."

"Uh no, I'm going to beat you this time, Superman." Jessica rolled the dice. "Seven…shit…"

Aubrey smiled as he saw where his wife had landed her Princess Leia game piece. "Oh, you landed on my Coruscant Senate. That's 2000 credits, please."

"Damn it…"

Aubrey knew he had his wife over a barrel. He waited as he knew she had to mortgage more than one of her properties. "Come on, Jess…"

Jessica looked up and smiled. "Superman, may I offer an alternative?"

Aubrey sipped his wine. "Sure, Jess, but I don't know what you can offer me that is worth all your planets."

"I have one." Crawling around the board, she sat on her husband's lap and slowly moved up and down.

"Uhh…" Aubrey began to stiffen as he felt her move. When Jessica whipped off her sweater, he was greeted with her breasts enclosed in a blue lace bra. Taking a lace enclosed rosy peak into his mouth, he suckled through the material, making her moan. Pulling her onto the floor, the couple soon forgot about their pizza and game.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Aubrey was the first one awake that Saturday morning after they spent the night on the couch. Feeling a sleepy Jessica snuggle closer to him, he enjoyed her until Skinner swatted at him. Gently letting go of his wife so she could continue to sleep, Aubrey got up and found his boxer shorts near the fireplace. Looking around, he smiled as he found Jessica's bra hanging off the television and what remained of her panties lying on their Star Wars monopoly gameboard.

Stretching, he felt content and rested for only getting maybe five hours sleep. However, it was worth it as they made love twice last night before falling asleep on the couch. It was a great night and had everything. Star Wars…wine…hot wife…pizza…

Suddenly, Aubrey's eyes got large. "The pizza…oh shit the pizza."

Looking on the floor, his worst fears were confirmed as he saw two boxes, one with two pieces of the extra-large half Meat Lovers and the other with three pieces of the Chicken and Alfredo sauce pizza. Aubrey estimated that they sat out for about ten hours. Picking them up, he placed them on the center island and felt the need to apologize to the unfinished meal.

"So sorry, beautiful pizza. How I love you…but I love my naked wife more, especially when our little girl is spending the night elsewhere…"

He continued to gaze at the food with regret. He knew it should be thrown out because it probably wasn't safe to eat sitting out as long as it was. However, like a great mind, a DiAngelo's pizza was a terrible thing to waste. Quietly, he put it in the fridge to have for later. As he shut the door, Jessica came up behind him wearing only his t-shirt.

"Superman, can you start coffee?" she asked as she opened the pantry and pulled out Skinner's food.

"Sure." Aubrey said, his sadness gone when he saw his wife bend their cat's food dish over to reveal no panties. 'She has such a great ass.'

After returning the food to where it belonged, Jessica recognized the look in her husband's eye. "Special Agent Aubrey, why are you looking at me like that?"

Aubrey ground coffee beans and added them along with water to the machine. Pushing the START button, he walked towards Jessica. "Because we still have a house with no young Jedi and my beautiful wife has no underwear on."

"Yes…it seems my panties became collateral damage last night..." The redhead said with a smile. "Whatever am I doing to do?"

"I will have to use my awesome Jedi powers to protect you." Aubrey rushed her and put her in a fireman's carry to her screams. Walking her back to the couch, he put her down before climbing on top of her.

Jessica could feel Aubrey's excitement. "Oooohh, your…light saber burns bright, Special Agent Aubrey."

"Yeah…I'll show you how bright my light saber burns."

Their laughing turned into kissing…which lead to his t-shirt and his boxer shorts flying across the living room.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Ninety minutes later, Jessica was making a quick grocery list while Aubrey loaded the dishwasher. "What about goulash for dinner tonight?"

Aubrey shut the appliance and looked up. "Sounds awesome, Jess."

"Good." Jessica said as she opened the fridge. "Since we're out of Saoirse Finn's pinor noir, I'll get a bottle of wine as well and…Aubrey…is this the pizza from last night?"

'Busted!' Aubrey thought. "Well…"

The redhead pulled the pizza box from the fridge and held it up. "OMG Aubrey…this was left out all night, wasn't it? You can't seriously be thinking about eating this?"

Aubrey shrugged. "It was only out for a few hours…"

Jessica set the pizza box on the center island. "James Robert Aubrey! This pizza has been sitting out for at least twelve hours. Do I need to tell you again about bacteria and all the food borne illnesses that are out there?"

Aubrey casually waved his hand. "It's fine."

"It's not fine, Aubrey." Jessica said as she folded the list and put it in her pocket. "Now, please get rid of that before Rachael and I come home. I don't want our little girl to eat that by mistake."

"I'll take care of it."

The redhead crossed her arms. "Superman, please don't eat that. You brag about that iron stomach of yours, but gastroenteritis has a nasty way of biting you in the ass when you least expect it."

Aubrey held up his hands in surrender. "Don't worry…I'll get rid of it."

"Thank you." Jessica came up and kissed him. "I'm going to pick up your dry cleaning, grocery shop, and a couple other errands before going to get Rachael at Angela and Curly's. I will probably visit for a little bit before the two of us come home. Want me to bring you back something to snack on?"

"Yeah, surprise me."

"Okay, Superman. I'll see you in a few hours." Jessica said before giving her husband another kiss as she grabbed her keys and purse. "Now, don't forget to toss that pizza."

"The pizza will be gone when you and Rachael come home…" Aubrey said as he leaned against the counter. When his wife walked out of the house and shut the door, he stood up with a smile. "…because I'm going to eat it."

Walking to the living room window, he watched as his wife backed her Jeep out past the gate and down Janus Street. When clear, he almost skipped to the kitchen, taking the pizza out of the box. "A Meat Lovers slash Chicken pizza hurt me? Never."

Aubrey put the pizza in the microwave for thirty seconds. When the appliance dinged, he pulled the plate out and started to eat. He sensed a couple areas not as hot as others, but he didn't care. Digging in, he moaned.

"Oh so good…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Three hours later, he was working on his FBI laptop when he felt something in his stomach churn before he heard gurgling. Ignoring it, he went back to his task but it hit him again about a minute later before nausea kicked in.

"A little stomach upset. I'll just go take some Pepto."

But when he stood up, he felt dizzy. Giving himself a minute to recoup, he walked to the downstairs bathroom slowly, his abdomen moving a roller coaster in his stomach. Halfway to the destination, he broke out into a cold sweat before dry heaving. Feeling the urge to puke, he ran and barely make it to the toilet before his food came up. After a few minutes, he stood up slowly and rinsed his mouth out.

"Just a little nausea. Happens to everyone." Aubrey said to himself. "My stomach would never betray me."

He'd barely sat back down on the couch when he felt his stomach churn again. However, it didn't want to go up this time. Aubrey's eyes opened wide as he ran to the bathroom again, barely having time to drop trou before things exited in a rush. When he was finally empty, he inhaled and exhaled deeply as he sat quietly.

"Fuck...this is worse than being tased...wresting with chickens…Chili Reuben's van…" Aubrey muttered before hearing the door slam.

"Superman?"

"Daddy…home."

Aubrey closed his eyes and groaned. "Double fuck…"

"Superman, where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom, Jess." Aubrey said, trying to keep his composure, grateful that the door was shut. However, his relief was gone as he saw the door creep open slowly, followed by an orange paw peeking through.

"Skinner…Daddy needs some privacy. Go see Mommy and Rachael." Aubrey said weakly but it was no use as the tabby forced the door open, greeting his owner.

"Aubrey…are you all right?"

"Yeah, Jess I'm…fine…" Aubrey groaned before another wave came on. "God help me…"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Ten minutes later, Aubrey came out of the bathroom slowly. His stomach was doing cartwheels and he thought he wanted to die. Walking out into the open dining room/kitchen area, he saw his daughter coloring in her Star Wars book at the table and Jessica in the kitchen washing vegetables for dinner.

Turning to greet her husband, the anthropologist saw that her husband was pale. "Aubrey, are you feeling all right?"

He needed to be honest...to a point. "No Jess. I think I'm going to lay down for a while."

Rachael looked up from her activity. "Is tummy sick, Daddy?"

Aubrey rubbed the redhead's hair with affection and kissed her, earning him some dizziness in the process. "Yeah, Pumpkin. Daddy's going to take a nap for a while."

Rachael smiled at her hero. "Love you."

Aubrey could help but smile into a set of large eyes as blue as his own. "Love you, too."

"I'll check on you later, Superman." Jessica said as Aubrey went upstairs.

"Thanks." The agent replied, feeling guilty as he slowly climbed up the stairs. 'Coward...'

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Aubrey managed to get changed into a pair of pajama pants and an old Syracuse shirt before the next wave hit him. His body seemed to take turns on which direction it came out for the next two hours but eventually he was emptied. More than once he broke out into a cold sweat and was weak as he laid in bed.

'I've been shot at more than once, almost tased, and blown up by a bomb. However, it's stupid ass fucking food poisoning that knocks me on my ass like a little bitch.'

Finally, the door opened, and Jessica came in holding a Gatorade and a can of Vernors. "Superman, how are you doing?"

"Like death warmed over." He replied as he put his arm over his eyes.

Jessica came around and put the fluids on his nightstand. "So, you need to drink some Gatorade for fluids then drink the ginger ale to settle things."

Weakly, Aubrey sat up and rested against the headboard. "Thank you."

Jessica studied her husband for a moment before combing his right temple. "I wonder what kind of bug you caught. Think you got it from work?"

The agent thought quickly in between slow sips of Fruit Punch Gatorade. "Probably. Things travel, but I'm sure I'll feel better later."

Jessica sat next to her husband on the bed. "I hope Rachael and I don't get sick."

"Yeah, would like to avoid the repeat of the family strep throat plague we had a couple of months ago…and all that COVID 19 shit last year…ugh…a little dizzy."

Jessica felt her husband's cheek. "Well you don't have a fever, so I'll let you sleep. I'll check on you in a little while."

"Thank you, Jessica."

Covering up her husband, the anthropologist pet his head once more before walking away. She was two steps from the door when she turned around. "Oh by the way, next time you're going to eat old pizza and try to hide your resulting food poisoning from me, maybe actually wash the dish instead of hiding it in the dishwasher between other dirty ones."

"Shit…" He muttered.

"I have to feed our daughter her dinner now." Jessica said. "We'll talk later."

Aubrey heard the door shut and groaned. "I hate it when she says that."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The FBI agent fell asleep a short time later and when he woke up, he found another room temperature can of Vernors along with Gatorade. Next to it was a package of saltine crackers and a small Thermos container that when he opened it had some chicken broth with a spoon nearby. On the other side of him, his laptop sitting there with his mouse already plugged in with his phone next to it.

Looking at the clock, he was surprised to see it was 8:30, realizing he slept for almost four hours. Slowly sitting up, he felt the wave of dizziness before he sipped some of the chicken broth and ate some crackers. As he swallowed, he heard a faint knock and smiled, knowing who it was. "Come in, Pumpkin."

Slowly, the door pushed open and a PJ clad Rachael came in as Jessica held her hand. "Someone wanted to say good night to her daddy."

"Come here, Rachael." Aubrey said, realizing that he slept through her bath.

"No don't climb on the bed. We'll walk to Daddy." Jessica said.

When they got to his side of the bed, he hugged his daughter gingerly as he got dizzy when he dipped his head. "Night, Daddy."

"Night, Honey." He said weakly.

Jessica walked her out and shut the door to a crack. He could her them across the hall in their little girl's room. He knew the routine down pat. The small redhead would get into bed and either he or Jessica would read to her. Tonight, it was Jessica's turn and he smiled while listening to his wife's sweet voice read 'Goodnight, Moon' to her.

Halfway through the book, his contentment was interrupted when he felt another wave coming on. Rushing to the bathroom, he had a few dry heaves before the chicken broth and crackers came up. When he was empty again, he sat on the bathroom floor, weak from everything. Hearing the bedroom door open, he tried getting up, but got hit with another dizzy spell and was forced to wait until Jessica appeared in the doorway.

"Vomited or the other way this time?"

"Puked up your chicken broth and crackers." Aubrey said weakly. "Sorry, Jess."

"It's okay. Come on, James. You can't spend the night on the bathroom floor."

Aubrey felt stupid as his wife helped him up and walked him back to the bed. Giving him the open bottle of Gatorade, she gave instructions. "Sip slowly and alternate with the Vernors for a few minutes. I'm going to take the chicken broth back downstairs but I'm leaving the crackers."

"Aren't you coming to bed?" The agent replied weakly.

"In a while. I'm going to finish cleaning up the kitchen before I read a few articles that Dr. B recommended to me. Get some sleep Superman. I'll see you in the morning."

Aubrey felt like an ass. "I'm sorry Jessica."

The redhead looked at her husband, pathetically sad and sick and as much as she tried, she couldn't stay mad at him. "It's okay. There's no point in being angry with you because I think you're learning your lesson now."

Aubrey watched his wife walk out before shutting the door. Hearing her footsteps downstairs, he leaned his head back. 'Lesson learning really, really sucks.'

Aubrey woke up around 6:30. Sitting up slowly, he felt weak, but his head didn't spin like yesterday. Looking over, he saw Jessica sleeping with her back to him in the middle of the bed. After slowly dangling his legs, he slowly stood up and while a little weak, felt okay. Grabbing the empty items from his nightstand, he tiptoed out of the bedroom.

"Daddy…"

Moving the gate blocking the doorway, he stepped into Rachael's room and saw his toddler sitting up, red hair askew and utterly adorable. "Morning, Pumpkin."

"Daddy…hungry."

Aubrey smiled as he helped his daughter out of bed. Walking downstairs quietly, he let her pick out a Blu Ray to watch as he started coffee, fed Skinner, and prepared oatmeal for them. When done, they ate in the living room together watching television before he opened his laptop and checked on his work email. As he was responding to an agent's inquiry, he heard footsteps and saw his wife coming down the stairs.

"Morning you two."

"There's coffee and oatmeal on the stove." Aubrey said. "I wasn't ready to eat anything bolder this morning."

"It's okay, Superman." Jessica said as she yawned. "Coffee and oatmeal sound good right now."

A few minutes later, the redhead joined her husband on the couch as their daughter continued to be entertained by the adventures of Kro Nos the Snow Giant.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

By afternoon, Aubrey had mostly recovered from his illness and was looking forward to dinner. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw his wife adding blanched and peeled Roma tomatoes to a pot. Next, she dumped in peppers and other spices, making his mouth water. Walking up to his wife, he smelled again and was in heaven.

"That smells so good. What are you making?"

Jessica turned to her spouse. "Goulash."

Surprised, Aubrey looked up. "I thought you made it last night?"

"I was going to, but you were sick, so I made pasta for our Jedi and myself and blanched extra tomatoes for today."

Aubrey put his arms around his wife's waist and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I lied about dumping the pizza and getting sick."

Jessica turned her head. "It's okay. I just hope you learned a lesson."

"Yes…my stomach failed me." Aubrey said before he was smacked by his wife in the arm. "Okay…okay…my wife had a point about eating expired food sitting out all night."

"And?"

Aubrey kissed her on the cheek again. "And…not to lie to my wife about that again because she's a Mensa genius who knows all."

"Bingo. Since you were nice, you can cook the meat if you like." Jessica said. Seeing her husband's excited face, she let him work before bringing up something else. "Aubrey, do you remember a conversation we had about old pizza, say…over four years ago? It was our first date after we decided to try getting back together…we ate at the diner before going to Retro Science Fiction Night to see The Thing From Another World…"

It took a minute but then he remembered. Groaning, he turned to Jessica. "Please don't Jess...I'm begging you…"

The redhead smiled as she turned to her husband and laughed. "James Aubrey…I told you so…"

Aubrey responded by tossing a couple wheat elbow macaroni at his wife, who responded in kind before they laughed together.