DISCLAIMER: CSI is the property of CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer etc.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Patience
By Jen
Part Two
Catherine awoke to the sounds of Lindsey and Sara arguing. Groaning, she pushed herself off the bed, "I swear, sometimes it's like having two children."
"Lindsey, I'm not saying you can't play the game, just bring the Playstation into your room, okay?"
Lindsey shook her head vehemently, "No! I want to play in here so I can talk on the phone."
"Bring the cordless with you into your room." Sara retorted, "Please Lindsey, I don't feel well, and the noise from your game is just making it worse."
Lindsey put her hands on her hips, stomping her foot angrily, "If you're that sick then you should go back to bed. It's the 'family room', which means that you can't kick me out. Ever since you've moved in, you've been sucking the fun out of everything. You and my Mom are practically attached, which, by the way, I think is gross. You've made it so I can't eat in the family room, you make me do my homework when Mom's not home, you made Mom stop buying junk food, and now you're telling me that I can't play my game!" Lindsey finished her tirade in a yell, causing Sara to wince.
Sara shook her head, "First off, I'm not trying to take your Mom from you. I'm not trying to change anything, I never realized I have been, and I'm sorry for that. I'm not telling you that you can't play your game, for the millionth time, I'm just asking you to play it in your bedroom."
"I was here before you, today and always, and I'm not going anywhere. Like I said, if you are still sick, then go back to bed and leave me alone!" Lindsey yelled, stomping her foot with a frustrated tone, "You aren't my Mom, you can't boss me around!"
"Lindsey, that's enough." Catherine said tiredly, walking into the family room, "You treat Sara with respect. Sara, go back to bed, you look like shit. Lindsey, bring the playstation into your bedroom and stop being a brat. If you two can't play nice, then you both go to your rooms and I'll finish my few hours of sleep in the living room."
Sara was about to respond when her face turned a sickly pale color and she rushed from the living room to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Rolling her eyes with a sneer, Lindsey flipped her hair over her shoulder and stormed to her bedroom, slamming her door so hard that it rattled the pictures on the wall. Sighing, Catherine sank onto the sofa, shaking her head as she tried to decide who she would go to first to try to reclaim peace. On one hand, Sara was her girlfriend, and in obvious need of some caring at the moment. On the other hand, Lindsey was her daughter, and was obviously having some anxiety issues over their new living arrangements.
The phone rang, saving her from making a decision, and she answered it tiredly, "Willows."
"Cath, this is Warrick. I'm having some car trouble, and the towing service is on their way to tow my car to the shop, but I need a ride home. I'm only a few blocks from your house...I know it's early, but--"
Catherine smiled, despite her fatigue, at Warrick's gentle tone, "Not a problem, I'd be glad to drop you off at home."
"Oh Cath, thank you so much, you're a lifesaver."
"I'll even pick you up before shift tonight." Catherine said in a teasing tone, "Unless, of course, you want to walk to work tonight?"
Warrick groaned, "In this weather? Are you insane? I'd probably leave my house in a sweater and need just a t-shirt by the time I got there."
"Maybe you're just that out of shape." Catherine joked, "Let me get dressed and I'll be right there."
Relief was evident in Warrick's voice, "Thank you so much, I'm right in front of the Burger King, you can't miss me, I'm the one with smoke coming from the hood."
"I'll be right there." Catherine replied, hanging up and walking down the hallway, towards her bedroom.
She decided to pop her head in and check on Sara, and was surprised by what she found when she passed the bathroom. Sara was sitting on the floor, her back against the bathtub, her face pale and her body trembling slightly as her hand rested on her stomach. Kneeling beside her was Lindsey, who was carefully pulling Sara's hair into a ponytail.
"Mom always gives me some of the pink medicine and some ginger ale when my tummy hurts. I think we have a bottle in the fridge, do you want some?" Lindsey asked gently, her voice, which five minutes ago was full of anger, now reflected deep concern, and she seemed rather pleased when Sara nodded.
"That would be nice. Thank you, honey." Sara murmured, leaning her head against the wall as she drew her knees to her chest, moaning softly.
Lindsey kissed the top of Sara's head gently, "It's going to be okay, Sara, throwing up is just your body's way of getting all of the yucky stuff out so you can feel better. Mom and I will take care of you until you feel all better." The young blonde stood, "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. If you want to play the Harry Potter game later, I'll let you pick your character first that way you can have the one you want."
Sara, despite how lousy she felt, managed a smile, "Thanks Lindsey. I love you, kiddo."
"I love you too, Sara." Lindsey replied, stopping in the doorway when she spotted her mother, "Mom, we don't need you, I'm taking care of her today."
Catherine felt a smile tugging at her mouth at her daughter's serious tone. "Oh, you've got it under control, then?"
"Sometimes you and Sara are grouchy when you first wake up. And I know you're super grouchy when you're sick, so I guess Sara must be too. I guess I shouldn't have fought with her. But we're friends again, right Sara?" Lindsey waited for Sara's moan of agreement before continuing, "And since Sara's not feeling well, and I'm off of school, I'm going to make her feel better."
Lindsey disappeared into the kitchen and Catherine gently rubbed Sara's back as she began to retch once more. "Baby, you need to see a doctor."
"I'm going to be okay. It must be food poisoning or something. Maybe the flu." Sara groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "I'm just ready for this to be over with. I hate being sick."
Catherine pulled a shaky Sara to her feet, "Well, it's not on my top ten list either. Let's get you back to bed, you look like something we'd see on Doc Robbin's table. When was the last time you were able to keep anything down?"
"3 days?" Sara replied, "Maybe 4. I don't remember. I may never eat again."
Lindsey appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, unsteadily carrying a lap tray with an empty glass, a can of ginger ale, and a plate of crackers on it. "I brought you some ginger ale and crackers. You don't have to eat all of it, but you've got to at least try." Lindsey said in her most motherly voice, "Oh! And I got you some medicine!" She reached into her pocket and placed it on the tray, which she set down on the bed gently. "Mom and I are going to leave you alone so you can sleep, sleeping is important."
"I need to go pick up Warrick anyway." Catherine replied, "His car overheated or something...I'm going to drop him off at his place and I'll be right back. Do you want me to pick you up anything?"
Glancing down at the food before her and turning slightly green, Sara shook her head, "No, it's okay, really."
"Try to rest, baby." Catherine said gently, letting her lips brush against Sara's. She looked towards Lindsey, "You try to stay out of trouble and let Sara rest until I get back." She walked towards the door, slipping on some flip flops, "I've got my cell if you need anything."
Catherine left, Lindsey in tow as she begged for her mother to bring back donuts for breakfast. Once alone, Sara cracked open the bottle of pepto and took a swig, groaning as she had to fight to keep it down. Not wanting to disappoint Lindsey, she nibbled on the corner of a cracker and took a small sip of ginger ale. This would definitely be a slow process.
Setting the tray down on the bedside table, Sara gave into her heavy eyelids and drifted into a light sleep, praying she wouldn't be interrupted for awhile.
The next time her eyes opened, the faint aroma of lasagna filled the air. Sara stretched with a yawn, relieved to find that the movement didn't leave her wanting to gag. Taking a small bite off of one of Lindsey's crackers, she found her stomach grumbling with hunger.
She walked into the kitchen, silently watching as Lindsey clumsily helped Catherine butter the french bread. It was moments like these that she loved Catherine the most. Sure, she enjoyed working with the blonde, she was constantly impressed by her knowledge, and the sex was great, but watching her interact with Lindsey was so natural, so relaxed and maternal...it made her cherish every moment she got to observe their relationship. Every once and awhile it would tug at her heart, reminding her that she may never have that sort of special bond with a child of her own, and letting a bit of regret seep through that she didn't get to enjoy that closeness with her own mother.
"Sara!" Lindsey exclaimed, spotting the brunette in the doorway, "You're supposed to be resting." She added, a frown on her face.
Sara pulled Lindsey in for a hug, "Well, it seems like you did a really good job taking care of me today, because I feel tons better now," she smiled at Catherine, "What's for dinner?"
Catherine opened the oven slightly, "Lasagna for Lindsey and I, vegetable soup for you."
"Soup makes you feel better." Lindsey added, "Usually chicken noodle soup makes people feel better, but I told Mom that you'd want the vegetable soup. Mom said you'd probably like tomato, but tomato soup is yucky."
Sara smiled at the young blonde, who had her arms wrapped around Sara's waist, smiling up towards the brunette, "Vegetable soup is my favorite type of soup. Thank you Lindsey."
"We made it from scratch, so it's a good think you like it, because we have plenty." Catherine said with a smile, walking over towards Sara and placing a hand on her forehead, "You're not warm, of course, you weren't warm earlier. You still look pale though."
Sara rolled her eyes, although she was pleased to see Catherine cared about her so much, "I'm doing much better. I'm sorry I worried you this morning."
"I just don't like to see the people I love sick." Catherine replied, her voice in mock-threat, "So you better stay healthy, you hear me?"
Sara raised her hand in a mock-salute, "Yes mam!"
"Sara, you're going to stay home from work tonight, right?" Lindsey asked, "We can rent a movie and you can let me paint your toenails."
"Uh..." Sara began, looking towards Catherine, who nodded, "Sara's going to stay home tonight, but I don't know about the movie and nail polish. Didn't I tell you last weekend that you aren't allowed to use nail polish in the house anymore?"
"I only spilled it that one time." Lindsey protested, "I've grown up a lot since then!"
Catherine rolled her eyes, "Linds, it was red polish on my white bedspread, and it was only 6 months ago."
"We can rent a movie, though." Sara said to the frowning blonde, "And we'll play your game." She knew better than to argue with Catherine when her girlfriend had already made up her mind on something. Besides, as much as she wanted to work, the idea of resting was highly appealing.
Lindsey wrapped her arms around Sara's waist, hugging her tightly, "We're going to have so much fun!"
"But you'll have to let Sara take it easy, she's not feeling well." Catherine said sternly, "And Sara, you better be resting while you're home tonight."
"Yes, Mom." both Sara and Lindsey replied, matching smiles on their faces. Rolling her eyes, Catherine nudged Sara's arm, "You're so corny."
"It's part of the geek charm, you didn't know that?" Sara asked, a coy smile on her face, "It's too bad you can't stay home with us."
Lindsey nodded enthusiastically, "If you could, then we could play my Jeopardy video game." She frowned, looking at Sara, "I can't play with just Sara, because she always wins."
"I don't always win!" Sara protested, a smile on her face, "If I recall, you beat me the last time we played."
Lindsey turned her head towards her mother, her eyebrows raised, "She let me win."
"Did not!" Sara protested, the smile on her lips lighting up her entire face, "Would I do that?"
Catherine laughed, "Yeah, that doesn't sound like something Sara would do."
"She did!" Lindsey protested, "She 'accidentally' pushed the button to answer and then didn't answer the question every single time for two entire categories."
Sara shrugged, an innocent expression on her face, "Clumsy, I suppose."
"It's okay that you let me win." Lindsey said, hugging Sara's waist again, "It made me feel good that you cared."
Sara stroked the small blonde head gently, "Of course I care, Linds, I love you just as much as I love your Mom."
"I'm glad you're here with us." Lindsey replied, closing her eyes, "You'll stay with us forever, right?"
Sara nodded, bending over to kiss Lindsey's forehead gently, "Of course I will, sweetie, unless your Mom gets tired of me and kicks me out."
Catherine laughed, "Like that will happen anytime soon. Go set the table, Linds, dinner's almost ready. Sara, can you slice the french bread while I get the lasagna out of the oven?"
"Sure." Sara replied, grabbing the loaf of bread with a smile on her face. Finally, she was part of a normal family...at least, as normal as she was ever going to be a part of. For so many years she had longed to be part of something, and now that she had it, there was nothing that would be able to spoil this moment for her.
"Sara, hurry up, will you? I'm ready to finish this DVD!" Lindsey called from the living room, where the two of them had been watching 'Scrubs' for the past three hours, "We're on the last episode!"
Sara sat on the ledge of the bathtub, the small, clear plastic stick in her hand. Two lines...it couldn't be. She tossed the test to the floor as bile rose in her throat, sending her onto her knees in front of the toilet.
It couldn't be. Pregnant. There was no way. She had been in a relationship with Catherine for three months. A very, very monogamous relationship. That left the brief time she was with Bryan, the cop who was willingly transferred to New York City after busting a gigantic drug ring. How could she not have known?
Doing some quick math, she estimated she had to be around 4 and a half months, maybe closer to five, but if she was that far along, wouldn't there have been some kind of indication? She wasn't an expert, but if this nausea thing she had been fighting was morning sickness, she would have been inflicted with it many weeks prior. Wouldn't her clothes be growing tighter? Wouldn't she feel the flutter of a child moving inside of her? Hadn't she just had a period a few weeks ago?
She vomited again as she realized that she would, indeed, feel a child moving inside of her sometime in the near future. What did this mean for her? For her relationship with Catherine? Catherine was going to be so angry! She hadn't agreed to take Sara and a child in when they decided to move in together, she had agreed to take Sara only. How would Catherine feel about having another man's baby in the house? How was she even going to tell her?
She shakily rose to her feet, rinsing her mouth out and looking at her reflection. She was going to be a mother. A real mother. She fought another wave of nausea as she wrapped the pregnancy test and box in a blue plastic bag from the pharmacy, shoving it in the back of the cabinet beneath the sink, praying no one would run across it until she had gotten the nerve to tell Catherine.