Thursday 29th August 2019, 6pm

"Thirty three! You're getting old, woman." Tom laughed as he, Daniel and Sam sat at a small table in the brand new Chinese buffet restaurant that had opened that week in Holby.

"Says you Mr Thirty Five year old." Sam retorted. "Anyway, it's only less than two weeks until your party isn't it?" Sam smiled as she looked down at Daniel who was sitting at his own chair with a cushion underneath him so that he could reach the table. "You're going to be four years old. God, the time has just flown by."

"Tell me about it. You're 25 weeks pregnant and we still haven't gotten Daniel's new bedroom or the nursery finished yet." Tom stated.

"Yeah, and we've still got 15 weeks to do the nursery, and Daniel's room isn't urgent so there's no need to panic." Sam stated. "Right, shall we go and get some food?" Sam suggested, so the family got up and headed for the buffet bar. Tom got a plate for both himself, and for Daniel so that he could serve food up for his son whilst Sam got her own. Little did she know that she was serving food onto her plate that had been cross contaminated with raw meat. And that was going to have horrific effects...

Friday 30th August 2019

The next day, Sam and Tom were at work whilst Daniel was in the hospital crèche and throughout the day, Sam had had phases of nausea on and off. But because it was her second pregnancy, she knew that nausea attacks came and went as they pleased so she just worked through them. Only it got to 2pm and she had had a bought of nausea for quite a long time and it hadn't passed. She had skipped lunch because of it, and she had begun to suspect that it maybe wasn't nausea associated with pregnancy because it was never usually this bad, nor this overpowering. Sam had to take a moment as she quickly walked to the toilets and locked herself in a cubicle. Within minutes of being in there, she knew she was going to be sick so she held her ponytail behind her back and knelt on the floor, awaiting the inevitable.

Moments later, though it seemed like an age to Sam, she projectile vomited into the toilet bowl twice before she collapsed onto her backside on the floor and leant against the door of the toilet. That was confirmation that it wasn't pregnancy related sickness because she had never projectile vomited because of her baby, let alone more than once in the space of a minute. Usually, it was only a little bit of vomit, but this time it pounded up her throat of such a force that she was thrown forward to vomit into the toilet. It was then as she leant against the back of the door that she noticed how achy her limbs were and now dreadful she felt. She felt so unwell and she didn't want to be alone so she took her phone out of her pocket and dialled her husband.

"Hello?"

"Tom, I... I don't feel well. I've been sick and I need you to... Take me home. Please?"

"Yeah? Okay sweetheart, where are you? I'll come and get you." Tom asked worriedly.

"The toilets near cubicles." Sam croaked.

"Alright, I'll be right there." Sam hung up the phone and put it in her pocket before she realised that she was going to have get up and open the door. Slowly, Sam moved to her knees and then stood up with the assistance of the wall before she clicked the lock open awaiting the arrival of her husband. Why did she have to have a buffet the night before? She had eaten so much until she could eat no more and, though she didn't yet know the cause of her symptoms, she knew that eating so many platefuls of greasy food during pregnancy probably wasn't a good idea in the first place. "Sam?" Tom questioned and slowly Sam opened the cubicle door. "Woah, you weren't kidding." Tom concluded as he saw the vomit in the toilet bowl. "What's up? Is this pregnancy related or not?" Tom asked as he reached past Sam and flushed the toilet before he gently rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"It's not. Please take me home before it happens again." Sam pleaded.

"Okay, come on. Let's go and get Daniel-"

"No, leave him here. Pick him up later, I don't want him to see me like this." Sam panted as she put her hands on her bump which she wished wasn't there so that she could push hard down on her abdomen for some relief.

"Alright. Come on, let's get you tucked up in bed." Tom said softly as he put his arm around her. Just as they were walking out, a female nurse walked in and held the door open for them, though she was shocked to see Tom in the women's toilets. "Thanks." Tom mouthed before he slowly walked Sam to the staffroom where they found Fletch.

"Where've you been all morning? I've barely seen you." Fletch asked Sam cheerily whilst Tom got their things from their lockers.

"We think she's got a bug so I'm taking her home." Tom explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?" Fletch asked but Sam just shrugged as she stood with her arms folded across her chest.

"Actually, yeah. Would you possibly be able to pick Daniel up at the end of your shift and bring him home? It's just that Sam doesn't want him seeing her this ill and I don't think that she's going to make the journey home in one go and I don't want to leave her by herself later so..." Tom explained quietly.

"Yeah sure, that's fine. Don't worry about Daniel, I've got it covered."

"Thanks Fletch. I'll give the crèche a ring when we get home and I'll just tell them that you're going to pick him up." Tom said gratefully as he stood with Sam's handbag and his keys and wallet in his hands. He didn't want to waste time getting changed out of his scrubs when Sam was obviously so uncomfortable and wanted to go home.

"Alright, I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks." Tom said so that Sam didn't have to speak before he put his arm around her shoulders and walked her out to the car.

Sam had been silent for the entire 15 minute journey which why why Tom got worried when Sam finally spoke up.

"Can you put your foot down?" She mumbled.

"You want me to pull over?" Tom asked but Sam shook her head so he increased his speed slightly as he turned down their road. Rather than backing onto the driveway and into the garage like usual, Tom just pulled straight into the driveway and jumped out. He opened the front door stepped back and Sam walked as fast as she could without running into the downstairs bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Tom locked the car and the front door before he stood in the hallway and unfortunately, he couldn't help but hear Sam's distress on the other side of the door; it wasn't just a vomiting bug.

It was a good five minutes until Sam came out and she leant in the doorway with her hands on her 26 week bump.

"Why don't you go and get into bed? I'll bring you some water up and come and tuck you in in a minute yeah?" Tom suggested.

"I feel awful." Sam groaned.

"Yeah l kind of worked that out from the sound effects." Tom admitted sheepishly and Sam rolled her eyes before she hugged her stomach. "Go on, you go to bed, I've got to disinfect the entire bathroom." Tom smirked.

"This isn't funny." Sam moaned as she slowly made her way to the staircase.

"I didn't say it was." Tom said innocently.

"Right, the downstairs bathroom has been bleached so if you stick to using the ensuite while you're ill, we can try and stop this thing from spreading." Tom said as he came up to the bedroom where Sam was lying in bed with her knees up to her bump; she was curled up as small as she could get.

"I still think you're finding this funny." Sam huffed.

"Of course I don't, I'm worried about my unborn daughter." Tom quipped as he placed a bottle of water on her bedside table. "Oh come on. There's no need for us to be depressed just because you've got the runs." Tom joked and Sam squinted her eyes at him. "What? You have!" Tom laughed.

"Mm. Whatever, I'm gonna be sick again." Sam groaned and Tom pulled back the duvet as Sam slowly sat up.

"If you didn't like my breakfast I made you, you should've just said." Tom joked halfheartedly as he walked Sam into the ensuite bathroom. Tom felt bad as Sam remained quiet whilst she stood in front of the toilet but for her, the feeling was much worst. The nausea had become seriously intense and Sam felt slightly flushed as she waited for what seemed like forever as she knew that she was going to vomit soon, she just hoped it would get over and done with. "You need to tie this back." Tom warned as he stood behind her and pulled her hair behind her back - she had untied it so that she could lie in bed with her head on her pillow comfortably. Sam suddenly inhaled before she bent over and practically chucked up her guts. "It's alright, let it out... Let it out... Well done." Tom said softly as he kept her hair out of her face until she had finished vomiting, and when she had, she had been doing so for so long that she needed to catch her breath back.

Tom left her to recover for a few moments before he guided her back to bed.

"For the record, your breakfast that you made me was disgusting." Sam huffed as she got back into bed but remained sitting up as Tom pulled the cover over her legs and bump before he sat on the edge of the bed besides her.

"I thought you liked porridge." Tom protested.

"Yeah, I do. But when I only like it made with water when I feel a bit sick and I want something light. Otherwise I hate it made with water. Why didn't you make it with milk?"

"Because I thought you were watching the calories." Tom protested and Sam frowned. "Not that I'm saying you need to watch what you eat because you're fine, you're perfectly fit." Tom said quickly. "Please, don't take that in the wrong way, I didn't mean to-"

"Calm down. You know better than anyone that just because I'm pregnant, it doesn't mean that I'm gonna cry at everything you say-" Sam paused as she screwed up her face in pain and clutched her bump.

"You alright?"

"Stomach cramps." Sam muttered.

"What? Like period pains?" Tom asked worriedly.

"No, it's abdominal cramps. The baby's fine." Sam stated.

4pm

Tom was in tescos getting some shopping including some rehydration salts for Sam when suddenly, his phone began ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tom." Fletch said. "What symptoms has Sam got?"

"Why?"

"Just answer me, I think I know what's wrong with her."

"Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, achy limbs and loss of appetite." Tom stated confusedly, yet quietly because he was in public.

"Right. Didn't you talk about taking Sam out for dinner for her birthday yesterday? Did you go the the new Chinese one by the shopping centre?"

"Yes, why?"

"I was just checking the Holby news website and there's a story on there that 7 people have reported cases of food poisoning from there, and 3 of them have been admitted to hospital for dehydration and they've been diagnosed with salmonella." Fletch explained. "And all seven of those reported had the stir fry pork in black bean sauce." He added.

"Yeah, I think Sam had that too." Tom admitted sadly.

"I've done as much research as I can, and there's no threat to the baby as long as you keep Sam hydrated."

"Alright, thanks Fletch. What's happening to the restaurant?"

"Er, I think there's an investigation being organised into the hygiene of their kitchens."

"Right well I'd better get back to Sam."

"Aren't you with her?"

"No, I'm just getting some shopping in for her."

"Okay, um how about you pack a bag for Daniel, and he can stay over ours tonight?" Fletch offered.

"I couldn't ask you to-"

"Nonsense, he loves playtime with Noah. It'd be no trouble, we can give him dinner, he can sleep in Noah's room and we can drop him off at the crèche tomorrow morning so that you can look after Sam."

"Er... You sure?"

"Yeah, it's not a problem. I'll just tell him that mummy's ill and maybe he could give Sam a phone call before he goes to bed."

"That'd be brilliant, thanks Fletch."

"No worries. Listen, Zoe's watching me like a hawk so I'd better get on but I'll bring Daniel back to mine and if the timings right and Sam's not being ill, maybe Daniel could pop over for ten minutes of so to just say hello to her."

"Yep okay, I'll see you later."

"Bye."

After unpacking the shopping, Tom carried the carrier bag of things for Sam up to the bedroom where Sam was sitting reading her kindle with the curtains closed.

"Have you been sick since I left?" Tom asked as he unpacked bottles of water, rehydration salts, a box of paracetamol, plain crackers and apples.

"No but I did have..."

"Diarrhoea again?" Tom questioned and Sam nodded. "Alright. Well I got you these lucozade tables, caffeine free of course to give you a bit of energy and Fletch is going to have Daniel over for tonight so we don't have to worry about him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And Fletch rang me about something by the way, I know why you're ill." Tom stated solemnly as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's not a bug. You've almost certainly got salmonella from the Chinese where we ate last night. Seven other people have got it, it's in the news." Tom explained.

"I've got salmonella, and I'm 25 weeks pregnant." Sam said concernedly to herself.

"Oi, the only danger to you and the baby is dehydration so as long as you keep on drinking, you'll both be fine." Tom said softly as he put his hand on top of hers. "When was the last time that you had a wee?" He asked curiously.

"Um... About an hour ago. And I checked, it was diluted. Not concentrated." Sam stated confidently.

"Alright. You fancy anything to eat?"

"No." Sam shook her head. "Can we go and sit in the garden? I could do with some air."

"Yeah sure. And if you need to, you can use the bathroom downstairs now seeing as we know that it's not contagious." Tom smiled. (A/N I know salmonella can be contagious but please pretend that it's not for this story :)) "I'll take these for you." Tom added as he picked up the lucozade energy tablets and a bottle of water.

Sam groaned as she sat up because her body was aching all over, and she had a really bad stomach ache - both nausea and cramps at the same time.

"I bet your daughters's having a right party in there; there must be a lot more room in there, I can't believe I've got anything left to come out either end." Sam smirked and Tom was slightly worried as she slowly went down the stairs one step at a time but he let out a sigh of relief when she was safely on her feet at the bottom of the steps.

"Has she been kicking and moving like normal?" Tom asked.

"Yeah. Y'know I didn't think I could feel any worse when I was throwing up but then your daughter slammed her foot against my abdomen and made me feel bloody awful." Sam complained as she sat down on a deck chair out in the garden where it was nice and cool.

"Fletch had just texted me, he's on the way home with Daniel now. And he asked if it's alright for Daniel to pop in and see us quickly." Tom stated. "You think you're gonna be needing the toilet bowl anytime soon?"

"Honestly, I can't tell." Sam admitted. "But tell him to bring Daniel around, I haven't seen him since this morning."

"Alright."

"If um, if Daniel says he doesn't want to stay over at Fletch's or he asks why he can't stay here overnight, why don't we just have him? Because I know I'm still ill, but we know it's not contagious now so there's no harm in having him here."

"Okay but if he's excited about sleeping over with Noah, which he probably will be, we'll just let him go yeah?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Hello you little monkey." Tom smiled as he opened the door to greet Fletch and Daniel so he picked his son up and gave him a big hug.

"Is mummy okay?" Daniel asked worriedly.

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She's getting some air in the garden." Tom stated and Daniel zoomed through the living room and shot outside.

"How's Sam doing?" Fletch asked as he entered the home and shut the door behind him.

"She's still either vomiting or having diarrhoea about once every half an hour or so, but she's in good spirits. I know she wouldn't be doing this if she wasn't pregnant but she is really trying to drink plenty of water and she's eaten a couple of bits so I'm not too worried."

"Mummy!"

"Gently." Sam warned as her son ran up to her where she was sitting on a deck chair and he immediately halted in front of her.

"Is this the baby making you sick?"

"No, you know when we cook something like cakes and it has raw eggs in it so I tell you not to lick the bowl because it can make you ill? Well that causes food poisoning and that's what I've got. I got it from the restaurant that we ate at last night but given that you're feeling fine, I would've thought that you haven't got it." Sam explained.

"Is daddy looking after you?" Daniel asked and Sam looked up to see Tom and Fletch coming out of the house and onto the patio besides them.

"Yeah, daddy's looking after me really well." Sam smiled. "But hey, are you looking forward to having a sleepover with Noah?" Sam asked.

"Yeah! Uncle Fletch is letting us make biscuits and everything!"

"Really? Well Daddy's packed you a bag with everything you need in it and just in case you miss home, I've put mini Shadow in there too for you, okay?" Sam asked and Daniel nodded.

"You're looking remarkably well for someone with food poisoning." Fletch stated.

"Yeah well, I have to look after myself properly." Sam replied as she put both hands on her bump. "Besides, there's only so many times that you can vomit in one day until you get used to it." Sam quipped and Fletch laughed.

"How long will mummy be sick for?" Daniel asked.

"Um, it's hard to day. Salmonella could last anywhere from 2 to 7 days." Tom stated and Daniel appeared upset. "But don't worry, you won't be staying with Fletch until mummy gets better, just for tonight and then you'll be back at home. It's only while mummy gets over the worst of it." Tom said reassuringly.

"I'm sorry if I wake you in the night." Sam apologised as she laid in bed, curled up to deal with the abdominal cramps whilst Tom laid besides her, and facing her - he wanted to give her a cuddle but she had made it clear that she wasn't feeling up for anything intimate and she just wanted a bit of space to herself.

"Don't be sorry, one: you can't help it and two: I'd rather you wake me up anyway, I want to be there for you when you're not very well. And it's not as if I've never seen a bit of puke before. In fact, I've had it dripping down my chest before from a complete stranger." Tom chuckled softly and Sam smiled as she remembered that on their engagement day, he had smelt strongly of sick, but that didn't made the situation any less romantic because both were doctors and were used to it. "Oh. Fletch just texted me... He says Daniel's fast asleep and that he hopes you feel better soon." Tom smiled.

"At least Daniel's alright then. I'm going to try and get some sleep okay?"

"Yeah sure. Goodnight."

"Night night."

Coming up: Daniel's 4th birthday party arrives, will all go to plan with lots of screaming 3 and 4 year olds in their house and garden?

Thanks for reading, please review :)