First Neric oneshot since forever! For an explanation of my hiatus, please see Chapter 11 of my Densi collection.
I have quite a few Neric fics going and I wasn't sure which one to type up first so I kind of did eenie meenie. I really like Sam in this one. Fluffy alert!
Rain. Nothing but rain for three days straight. Traffic was a nightmare since people that normally walked or biked to work were forced to take their cars or the bus, the latter leading to serious overcrowding and exceptionally uncomfortable bus rides. Beaches were empty except for the occasional group of teenagers that thought it would be fun to get sucked into the mud or decided it was smart to dare Mother Nature to strike them with lighting. As for the boardwalk...well, nobody dared walk it for fear of slipping and falling into the tumultuous ocean below.
The flow of intel seemed to match the downpour outside the stuccoed walls of OSP. It was so much more than usual that Hetty had to temporarily transfer some officers to Ops just to cope with the influx of information and to sift through the good and the bad. Eric was calm for the most part but when one of the transfer agents asked him a question about anything while he was working on archiving his virtual mountain of data, he simply and sharply said, "Stick it in the 'Sort Later' folder and one of the senior analysts will take care of it," without looking away from his monitors. About halfway through the transfers' first day, which was Ops' and Eric's third day, the transfers figured out it was best not to bother him.
On the other hand, Nell was a little more patient than Eric but only a little. Before the rain started she could feel that something about her was off, like the early stages of a cold, so she took all the necessary precautions like going to bed as soon as she and Eric got home, taking extra vitamins, and drinking copious amounts of herbal tea courtesy of Hetty and her wonderful wedding gift. Still, she was dizzy and nauseous in spite of her cold-prep but she plowed through her work all the same. For good measure, she worked in her little alcove isolated from any and all possible further infectants, kept a thermos of hot tea on her desk, and a trashcan within reach for emergencies.
When Nell came out of the bathroom for the third time in two hours, Sam took it upon himself to check on her well-being. "You okay there, Nell?"
"It's just a stomach bug," Nell replied. "Happens at this time every year."
"Yeah, my kids get it, too, but not this bad. You should go see a doctor."
"You sound like Eric," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be fine in a few days."
Sam crossed his arms and chuckled to himself. "I know it's not my place but, I really think you should see a doctor. This might be more than a stomach bug. Or you're just real fond of visiting the ladies' room."
Nell laughed and shook her head. "I'm really fine, Sam. Again, I get the stomach bug this time every year. It's just a little harder to shake this time around."
"Alright. As long as you're sure it's not something else," Sam sang.
"It's not," Nell sang back.
"I'll leave you to your work then. I think there's some saltines and ginger ale in the kitchen if you're still feeling-"
"Thank you!" Nell said, ushering out Sam. She returned to her work with half of a smile, which was a half-smile more than she had that morning, and thought nothing of her sickness until Eric stopped by to check on her.
"Stop," Nell said sharply when Eric tried to give her a kiss. "I don't want to get you sick. That is that last thing we need."
"And I really don't care at this point," he replied, kissing the tip of her nose. "I still think you should see a doctor."
"You and Sam," Nell said exasperatedly. "My immune system is shot because all this intel is stressing me out. I'm clearly not dying and this stomach virus is an annual thing so it can't be any... Oh, my gosh."
"What?" Eric asked, clearly confused.
Nell felt like an absolute idiot. "How did I not consider that possibility?" she said more to herself than to Eric. Without another word, she dragged a very confused Eric out of her office and into the bullpen to confront Sam. "How do you know?" she demanded in a hushed tone.
Sam smiled and shrugged. "I'm a father. I know things."
"What does he know?" Eric asked, looking from Nell to Sam and back.
"You couldn't elaborate more when you talked to me earlier?" Nell asked while ignoring Eric.
"Elaborate on what?" Eric asked a little bit louder, hoping someone would answer him.
"I know you like to draw your own conclusions." Sam sat back in his chair and smiled again. "You wanna tell Eric before he collapses from the suspense?"
Nell turned to Eric and shook her head at her own obliviousness. "Eric. I think I'm pregnant."
"What?" he exhaled.
"I think I'm pregnant," Nell repeated, this time more emphatically.
Eric laughed incredulously but when he thought it out and saw the look on Nell's face, he shook off all bewilderment and let out a noise somewhere between a cheer and a yelp which caused some people to look in his direction.
"You gonna go see a doctor now?" Sam asked which earned him a paperclip to the forehead.
Teehee! Thoughts?
I've got part duex of Delta Gamma in the works. I am excite! *happy dance* It's good to be back.