Title: Why Tuesdays are amazing

Pairing: GEN, none, C/G implied

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Eastern Market, not mine. Characters, not mine. Awesomeness? MINE.

Summary: "Which do you think will be better? Strawberries or the cherries?" The ladies of the Lightman Group show the men why Tuesdays are the best day of the week. PWP? Mildlycrackish.

A/N: Instead of writing my epilogue or even a post-ep, I was struck by this idea during brunch this a.m. Enjoy.

.::.::.::.

It was Tuesday, warm and sunny and perfect for a farmers market. Whenever they weren't terribly busy, Gillian and Ria would go to Eastern Market and pick up some lunch. Like always, their fruit guy Frank would have a couple select items waiting for them. Gillian would always ask about his dog and his mother and he'd always insist that they take the fruit as a gift, though Gillian always flashed him a smile and force a ten into his hand. Ria figured it was because Frank was sweet on Gillian, who rolled her eyes and blushed profusely when Ria mentioned it on the way out to the car.

"Can you blush on cue?" Ria asked jokingly, but was slightly curious as well.

"You tell me," Gillian replied as they climbed into her Volvo. Ria contemplated how often Gillian blushed and decided it was unlikely. The woman couldn't take a compliment to save her life. Instead of voicing this opinion, she chose to discuss the case on the short drive back to the office

"Which do you think will be better?" Gillian asked as they entered the building, the blast of cool air causing chill bumps to erupt along their arms. "Strawberries or the cherries?"

"I imagine we'll have to launch a study to have any kind of certainty," Ria smirked at Gillian, her lip quirking up in reply. They walked into the break room, grabbing bowls and glasses. Ria rinsed the fruit while Gillian filled their glasses with lemonade.

"Ooooh, Tuesday! I love Tuesdays," said Heidi as she breezed in, handing Gillian a couple messages. "I still have some whipped cream from last week."

Ria glanced at Gillian whose eyes lit up. "Bring it."

"Want some lemonade too?" asked Gillian as she pulled out a glass.

"Of course," said Heidi as she searched the fridge for whipped cream. Gillian smiled as she threw her bag over her shoulder and carried the glasses outside onto the patio, Ria and Heidi in tow. It was warm outside, but the shade trees provided relief from the harsh rays of sunlight filtering through. Sliding into their chairs, Ria passed around the bowls and spoons.

"Okay before we begin, Ria will be determining which is better: strawberries or cherries. For the sake of science, we must admit to any bias. I'm already partial to strawberries. Heidi?"

She bit her lip in consideration, then glanced at the other two women, "me too. Strawberries."

"I guess I'm alone then," Ria stated. "Cherries for me. If we use whipped cream, does that count?"

"Hmmm that can only serve to give the strawberries an unfair advantage," said Gillian seriously. "I guess we'll have to save it."

Heidi frowned.

The three women placed scooped the fruit into their bowls and each picked up a strawberry. Glancing at each other, they all took a bite at the same time. And another. And another. Until all that was left was the top.

Gillian placed the top of her strawberry on her napkin, licking her lips to savor every last bit. "You know, I think I need to try another, that was hardly enough to come to any solid conclusion."

"Yes, I agree," Ria nodded as did Heidi.

Again they grabbed another strawberry and resumed their scientific analysis. Gillian made an unusual sound and Ria looked over as Gillian leaned forward, juice from the strawberry running down the side of her hand. Then, she did something very unFosterly. She turned her hand to the side and licked. From wrist to pinky.

Ria's eyebrows shot up in surprise, which Gillian did not miss. "What? This is way to good to waste."

The sound of whipped cream being expelled from its canister made them look to Heidi. She didn't even bother trying to look sheepish. "I'm going to remove myself from the study. Whipped cream is the whole reason strawberries exist."

"And melted chocolate," Gillian stated matter-of-factly as she picked up another strawberry, waiting for Heidi to pass over the container.

"Best aphrodisiac, hands down," said Ria as she glanced into the bowl of cherries, selecting a handful.

"Definitely," Gillian agreed as she dipped her strawberry into a pile of whipped cream, closing her eyes as she took a bite.

"I don't know," Heidi said as she popped a cherry into her mouth. "I think I'm a cheap date. All I need is a bottle of champagne and a comfortable bed."

Ria shrugged, "using alcohol to ply you into sex? Hardly a gentleman."

"Considering neither of you have been married, I can tell you that sometimes, alcohol is the only way to get through an evening," Gillian stated as she took a long sip of lemonade.

"I've been engaged, doesn't that count for something?" asked Heidi.

Gillian only shot her a look as she picked up a cherry by the stem and slid it into her mouth. "Mmm, these are good. I don't know, Ria. This is going to be tough."

Ria, holding a cherry between thumb and forefinger, glanced over at Gillian in disbelief. "Are you serious? Cherries. No doubt."

"But the whipped cream!" Heidi said as she held up the container. "Cherries do not work well with whipped cream."

"Oh yes it does," Ria replied as she leaned over and dunked her cherry into Gillian's quickly diminishing mound of whipped deliciousness. For emphasis she ate it ever so slowly, taking care to avoid the pit. "See? Amazing."

Heidi glanced over at Gillian who seemed to be staring into space, half eaten strawberry clenched in her fingers. "Dr. Foster? Are you okay?'

Face flushing immediately, Gillian broke from her reverie and glanced at the other two women. "Yes, sorry. I was just… thinking."

"About?" Ria prodded. "I'd say it wasn't exactly PG by the way your cheeks match your strawberry."

Gillian pursed her lips then looked at her strawberry, choosing to eat it instead of replying.

"Knew it. It's one of your romance novels, right?" asked Heidi as she leaned forward on her elbows, toying with the stem of a cherry. "How dirty was it?"

"No. No novel," Gillian replied enigmatically with an impish grin.

"There's a story involving strawberries and whipped cream and you aren't going to tell us?" Ria asked in mock indignation. "That's… not right."

"I think it's too hot outside to tell you," Gillian said as she ate another cherry. Ria merely shook her head, swearing to get the story later.

Heidi sighed as she sipped her lemonade then picked up another cherry. "Remember when you were younger and you used to see if you could tie the stem of a cherry?"

"We used to time ourselves," Ria said as she considered the bowl of cherries. She looked up at both Heidi and Gillian who were both holding up stems. "Really? We're really going to do this?"

"I haven't done it in years," Gillian replied. "Worth a shot."

Shrugging, Ria plucked off the cherry and surveyed her stem. "Ready?"

"Go!" said Heidi. In a matter of seconds, Gillian pulled out a stem, holding it up in victory.

"How?" Ria asked in amazement. "That was ridiculous. How did you do it so fast?"

Gillian smiled again, more coyly this time. "Practice. Lots of practice."

.::.::.::.

Cal, Loker, and Reynolds were sitting at a table in the break room, completely at a loss. Loker was pretty sure his heartbeat could be heard hammering against his chest.

Reynolds cleared his throat as he resituated in his chair. "God, I love Tuesdays."

Cal crossed his arms and nodded absently. Rarely was he ever without anything to say, but Tuesday lunch always managed to render him speechless.

Loker would have agreed, but he didn't trust his voice at the moment. His eyes waffling back and forth between the three women, he scrubbed the side of his face with his palm and forced out a question, his voice thick.

"Do you think they're doing it on purpose?"

Cal's eyes went from Heidi to Ria and stopped on Gillian. She was holding her bowl in one hand, while her index finger was sliding around the side to gather the last of the cream. Lifting her finger to her lips, Cal watched her pink tongue sneak out and glide tortuously along her finger, just as when she'd licked her hand earlier. She then licked her lips, tinted red from the strawberries. Just then, she re-crossed her legs, the slit on the side facing them showed a marvelous stretch of thigh.

Shaking his head to clear his gaze, Cal inhaled deeply. Just before he turned to look at his beleaguered companions, Cal caught the briefest of knowing glances coming from his partner. That little minx.

"Without a doubt, Loker," he said as he looked over, slapping him on the shoulder. "Close your mouth. You too, Reynolds."

They closed their mouths, but their eyes remained fixed on the table of three lovely women tormenting them outside. From the frowns adorning the ladies' faces, Cal figured they'd reached the end of their supply of fruit.

"Right then, back to work," he said as he shoved away from the table, standing slowly.

"I'll uh, be there in a minute," Loker said as he stood and walked carefully out of the room.

"Reynolds, you comin?"

"You know, I think I'm just fine right here. Thanks," he said as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Suit yourself," Cal replied as he walked back to his office.

He wondered how Foster felt about fondue.