Chapter 31 Sick with the Ick?

Later Morning

Ava woke and slowly slithered out of Lee's arms with a wide smile. She stood and walked towards the bathroom only to grasp at the wall to steady herself as a slight dizzy spell hit her. She held her head with her free hand and shook herself. She couldn't remember what if anything she'd had to eat the night before. She shrugged and made her unsteady way to the bathroom before taking a long, relaxing shower. Just as she was about to turn the water off, Lee snuck in behind her to wash. She kissed him quickly and escaped out of the bathroom to get ready for the day. As much as she wanted to play in the shower, she knew she'd used most of the hot water. Lee was quick to finish and follow, pulling her into a deep kiss before they left the room.

They held hands as they walked down the stairs making Maggie smile brightly as she was walking out of the kitchen. Barney grumbled about evil women in the morning while he protected his coffee. Maggie thumped him none too gently on the head with a spatula before tossing it in the sink. Barney rubbed his head before lifting his head to glare at her. Ava tilted her head in confusion as they walked in.

"Evil I tell you," he mumbled before taking another swig of black coffee.

Maggie raised an eyebrow at him making him slouch a bit. Ava tried to hold back a laugh while Lee snickered behind her. Barney turned his eyes towards them and narrowed them.

"You try living with this shrew!" he exclaimed.

"I have and she really isn't," Lee smirked, "Besides we'll all be family soon."

Barney dropped his head to the table with a loud thunk and let out a loud, disappointed groan. Maggie scoffed at him. Lee sat and pulled Ava down on his lap after she grabbed his coffee. The tea kettle was already on the table so she served herself some cranberry apple tea with a few teaspoons of honey stirred in well. Meanwhile, Lee pulled an empty plate over and tossed a bunch of food on. Somehow they shared the plate between them making Maggie's eyes twinkle and even Barney's scowl softened while his lips twitched upward.

"Not so bad," Barney slurred.

"What was that?" Ava asked before Maggie could tease him.

"It's not so bad," he repeated tiredly, staring down into his cup before continuing, "Seeing you with a guy. I think it's the way you glow when you smile. Doesn't hurt that it's nice to see my best friend happy too."

"Awwwe," Lee said smiling, "You sounded almost poetic there mate."

"Shush," Ava said, "We're having a happy moment. How often does dad get all mushy?"

"True, true," Lee said smirking.

Barney grunted and looked up at all of them. He hiked a thumb towards Maggie.

"I can even put up with THIS shrew if it makes you happy."

Maggie's soft smile quickly transformed into a glare. A light kick was heard from under the table and Barney grunted in pain. He grumbled under his breath and took another swig of coffee.

"Aaaand happy moment gone," Ava said shaking her head at the two elder hooligans.

Thorn appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with ruffled hair and looking like he hadn't had a wink of sleep.

"I have a final list on everything prick and his goons acquired while down here. The places they visited were low key and not worth looking into, but our favorite bartender said Lacy came by with a bruised up face looking scared. She needed to know where our actual headquarters was so she could find Lee. Either Mike sent her, or she really needed help."

"Could be both," Ava said humming a bit, "The more I learn… the more I'm glad I'm away from him. If I'd stayed… if I had stayed I would probably already be dead."

"Or he would've waited until you gave birth before adding you to the traffickers lists," Maggie said solemnly, "Men like this will stop at nothing to get what they believe they are owed."

"Which means Mike may be closer than we think," Barney said sighing heavily.

Thorn nodded in agreement, "I've got search parameters set for him through any of the traffic cams, airport cams, and anything other cams that have a public or wifi connection."

Barney looked at Thorn and stared.

"You didn't understand any of that did you?" Thorn asked exasperatedly.

"I know what search parameters are," Barney grumbled before putting his empty cup in the sink and leaving the kitchen, "I ain't THAT old!"

Maggie snorted and let out a loud chuckle. Ava and Lee laughed at her laugh and Thorn laughed just to loosen up. The stress was going to get to them if they didn't let loose once in a while.

One Week Later

There hadn't been any sightings of Mike or his top level goons. The guys were getting stir crazy. They wanted to end the guy before another mission came up. None of them felt they could leave if they hadn't put a bullet in his brain. Or lit him on fire. Or skinned him alive. The crew was getting quite creative in their ideas of killing him off as further crimes came to light. Church had scavenged every piece of intel he could find in all the busted locations. What came back turned out to be a listing for almost every sin in the book.

Evidence had been found of Mike's involvement with Sarah's son's death. Proof they hadn't needed, but was nice to find anyway.

Even the Spears computer network was brought down, leaving them no way to hack into search parameters again to find Ava or anyone else. Turned out Lee was the last one he searched for before it went down. Lee had simply clenched his jaw and held Ava tighter against him. Maggie had straightened in her chair at the information and narrowed her eyes at Church before leaving the room and tapping a few speed dials on her phone.

Once everyone had eaten dinner, Ava headed back to her work room to see what else she could salvage. She found she couldn't focus well on her technical stuff so spent the time pulling apart scrapable tech. She stopped after a moment and stared off into space. She'd had a full nights rest and she still felt tired. In fact, she felt a bit queasy. She frowned in thought. She'd felt like this before, but she couldn't figure out when with her tired mind. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and shook herself. She set aside her tools and parts before heading back upstairs. Lee was with Maggie and Barney in the main room. He looked over at her in concern when he noticed her slouched shoulders. She yawned into her hand and headed upstairs.

"Poor girl seems a bit stressed," Maggie mumbled as she watched Ava disappear upstairs, "Though she looked a bit peaked as well."

"You think she's getting sick?" Lee asked frowning while he turned to look at his mum.

"She certainly seems to be coming down with the symptoms," she said quietly.

They heard the pipes and figured she was using the shower. Lee got up and put his coffee mug in the kitchen sink before heading upstairs to check on Ava. She'd gotten out of the shower and toweled herself off. She'd dressed in her most comfortable shirt, which was actually one of Lee's. She was sitting on the end of the bed staring off looking deep in thought. Lee gently set his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She blinked hard a few times before turning to look up at Lee.

"You okay?" he asked lowly.

"I feel… off," she admitted as she tilted her head.

He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her, "Think you have a stomach bug?"

"I don't know. I know I've felt this way before, but I can't seem to think straight with how tired I feel," she sighed heavily and scrubbed at her eyes with her hands, "I feel like I had no sleep last night, but I know I woke up fully rested. Does that make any sense?"

"Stress may be a factor," he suggested, "Mum thinks to think so too."

She nodded in agreement, "I think I'm heading to bed early tonight. You joining me… or do you guys have some more stuff to do tonight?"

"Hmm… tough choice. Stay up here holding you all night or return downstairs to listen to our parents bicker and snipe at each other all night."

She smacked his chest lightly and laughed softly. He pulled back the covers for her and got ready for bed. She crawled into bed while he took a shower. When he came out, she was already asleep and dead to the world.

He smiled as he brushed her hair out of her eyes. He crawled in beside her and she rolled to burrow into his side. He wrapped his arms around her and tried to sleep as random thoughts flew through his head.

Next Morning

Ava woke with the sudden urge to hurl. She quickly squirmed out of Lee's arms and ran to the bathroom, just making it in time to throw up what little was in her stomach. Lee shot up out of bed almost an instant later. He stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping next to her and helping her hold her hair out of the way.

After a few moments of dry heaving, she wiped her mouth and let out a shaky breath.

"Yeah," she murmured with a raw throat, "Definitely remember that."

"You gonna be okay love?" he asked concerned.

"I'll be feeling much better once I get ahold of some saltine crackers and 7UP."

His brows furrowed in confusion, "You sure you can keep it down?"

"It'll actually settle my stomach," she said quietly.

She shakily got to her feet with Lee's help. She washed her hands and her face before brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth.

"I think I need someone to make a run to the store for me," she said quietly.

"Make me a list and I'll get whatever you need, love," he said while tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Well," she said pausing before speaking slowly, "7UP, saltine crackers, and a pregnancy test or two would be wonderful."

"Pregnancy test?" he asked, eyes widening.

He looked down at her stomach before looking back up at her. She had a fetching blush spreading across her face. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Already?" he asked happily.

"I'm pretty sure," she said quietly, "I dealt with this for a few weeks before I tried getting away from Mike. When Sarah told me about the baby I lost… I didn't believe her."

Tears slowly made tracks down her cheeks as she struggled with the memory.

"She took me through the symptoms and checked each one off," she said shakily, "Her doctor friend confirmed that I miscarried. She's the one who said I was about ten weeks along at the time."

She pulled back from Lee to look up at him, "What if I lose this one too?"

Tears poured faster down her cheeks before Lee pulled her tightly to him again. He kissed her forehead and leaned his cheek against it.

"We'll keep you safe," he said softly, "Noone is going to beat this one out of you. In fact, if you ask Dixie… you'll find the whole team gets a bit overprotective."

She let out a watery laugh and buried her face in his chest. He pet her hair until she calmed down enough to pull away.

"I'll get dressed and head to the store," he said smirking, "Mum will want confirmation so she can brag to all her friends."

Ava chuckled and wiped the tears from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her stomach before looking towards the mirror. She let her hand drift down and spread her fingers across her belly. She smiled softly before deciding to get dressed and face anyone downstairs and awake.

Lee had left in a hurry after hearing what she needed. His mother noticed the large smile on his face and raised a brow as the door closed behind him. Her gaze turned to the stairs to see Ava with red rimmed eyes, but a soft smile on her face. Her fingertips kept grazing her stomach. Maggie smiled widely as she guessed what all these symptoms had meant.

She gestured towards the kitchen when Ava spotted her. Ava smiled widely and nodded before she followed Maggie into the kitchen. Maggie urged Ava to sit as she put the tea kettle on. She dug around in the cupboard to find the ginger tea she'd bought on one of their grocery runs. When the tea kettle whistled, she steeped the tea and added some honey before setting the cooling cup before Ava.

Ava closed her eyes and inhaled while she continued to smile softly. Maggie made her own cup of tea and sat next to Ava with a small smile of her own. She set her hand atop Ava's and squeezed gently.

"I remember having terrible morning sickness," Maggie confided, "But ginger and honey always managed to settle me down. I'm assuming my son went to get you supplies to help?"

Ava smirked, "And some pregnancy tests to confirm."

"But you already know," Maggie said confidently.

Ava nodded and smiled widely, "Lee and I talked about it, but I can't believe it happened so soon."

"What happened so soon?" Barney slurred while making his way to the coffee pot.

"My son knocked up your daughter," Maggie said sternly just as Barney went to take a slug of coffee.

He coughed and sputtered, sending coffee across the sink he stood next to. Ava and Maggie chuckled wholeheartedly.

He turned to face the table with a look of pure disbelief, "What!?"

"Is your hearing going with your old age?" Maggie asked with a raised brow.

He looked back and forth between the two women waiting for some kind of denial, "It would be one of you two that gives me a heart attack."

Ava tried to look innocent while Maggie smirked in triumph. Just as Barney opened his mouth to say something to Maggie's smug grin, the door in the main room slammed shut and hurried steps ran upstairs. A few moments later, those same steps hurried back down the stairs and approached the kitchen. Lee popped in through the doorway with eyes only for Ava. He smiled at her and set a couple bags on the table. He pulled out four 2 liters of 7Up, four boxes of saltine crackers, and a box with three pregnancy tests.

Barney sat down in his chair with a small thud, eyes wide.

"I figured this way, if the guys get into some of it… we got plenty," Lee said, still only staring at Ava.

She smiled widely and stood to wrap her arms around him tightly. He wrapped one arm around her while his other still held the small box. She stepped back and nabbed it from his hands before sprinting upstairs. Lee grinned so wide his teeth showed. He finally looked around and noticed his smirking mother sitting next to a tired and glowering Barney.

"Oh," Lee said clearing his throat, "Hey Boss."

"Hey my ass," Barney growled while narrowing his eyes at Lee.

"What?!" Lee asked while he held up his hands defensively before pointing towards the stairs, "She's happy isn't she?"

Barney's face softened reluctantly before he turned his head down to pout at his cup, "Yeah."

"But?" Maggie asked.

Barney looked up at Maggie with a sad smile, "I just got her. Now she's moving on to the next step."

"For goodness sake! It's not like you're losing her. She'll always be your baby girl, just like my Lee will always be my baby boy. They grow up and may not need you as much, but that doesn't mean they don't need you at ALL. A child is still going to want advice and confirmation they aren't a bad person. Sometimes all they need is a hug or a smack on the back of the head, but they will NEVER stop needing you."

Maggie settled back into her chair, a little misty eyed. She sniffed a bit as tears threatened to fall. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked at Lee who had sat down looking at his mother concerned. She reached out a hand to pat his cheek.

"Not a day goes by that I don't worry. That I don't want to protect you from everything out there… but then I have to settle down and remember you're a grown man and more than capable of taking care of yourself and those around you."

Lee smiled softly and wrapped his arms around his mother. She hugged him back tightly.

"And now my baby is going to have a baby," she said sniffling some more, "I'll be able to babysit and give advice when the wee thing is teething. I'll be able to help if anyone threatens to hurt them. I'm still needed."

"Yes, you are mum," Lee said softly, looking over at Barney, "We'll all have something to teach them."

Barney nodded slowly and smirked a bit, "Stop your blubbering you old nag, let him go see if she's really pregnant."

Maggie stiffened up and pulled away from Lee. She glared at Barney for a solid minute before they both burst into laughter. Lee took the moment to sneak away to join Ava.

Upstairs

Ava set a timer on her phone and paced back and forth. She tried reading the rest of the directions on the indicators only to huff when her attention span wouldn't hold. After a few minutes Lee stood in the doorway watching her wrinkle the papers before grabbing her hands and slowly easing them away.

"I had to pee on sticks. That's kind of gross," she huffed, "But at least it should tell us something."

He chuckled deeply and wrapped an arm around her. He looked down at the papers and noticed the indicators for positive and negative.

"How much time left?" he asked as she nibbled her bottom lip.

She wiggled a bit, "Um, about a minute? I set a timer on my phone."

She kept staring towards the bathroom before pulling her gaze away again. He chuckled lightly. The timer beeped a few times. Lee turned it off and followed her into the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the counter were all three sticks with two pink lines on every single one. Lee smirked as she frowned at them.

"That means positive right? They wouldn't be mean and make it negative would they?" she mumbled.

Lee smiled widely and pulled her in for a tight hug, "Yes they mean positive, love."

She jumped a little in place in excitement as she hugged him tighter, "I'm gonna be a mom."

He chuckled lightly, "You are gonna be one hell of a mom. They'll be pulling apart the toaster before you know it."

She leaned back and looked up at him with a toothy smile, "Or throwing knives at the dartboard scaring Doc into an early grave."

He shook his head and grabbed her hand, "Let's go put our parents out of their misery shall we?"

She nodded enthusiastically before pulling him after her.