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Christina loves road trips. Ever since she was a kid, it has been a part of vacations that she always looks forward to. Although planes were (and still are) fascinating to her, she can't help but feel that they ruin the magic of traveling for her. So when Andre suggested taking a plane to the Outer Banks, Christina feigned offense at the very prospect.
It took a lot of convincing, but she finally got the entire crew to agree to a road trip, at least from Atlanta to the Outer Banks. How everyone chose to get to Atlanta was up to them. Christina drove (and Jenni came along, bless her), but everyone else flew in.
It's Christina's car so she's up front, but after driving for half the day yesterday she's too tired to do anything beyond offering her phone for directions. Jeremy drove the first quarter, and then Reid took over after they stopped for lunch. Now Jeremy's asleep next to Victor in the middle row of seats, with Jenni and Andre in the very back behind them.
Everyone's tired after the excitement and chaos of the morning, so the lull in the road trip shenanigans makes sense. Christina hopes that everyone is resting now so they can all have a good time on their planned hike this evening.
Jeremy stirs, shifting a little before settling back into sleep. Reid smiles at him in the rear view mirror and Christina reciprocates, looking back down at the license plate challenge worksheet in her lap.
They're actually only missing fifteen states now. Part of her gets excited knowing that they're probably the reason someone gets to cross off Texas. (In her mind, everyone plays this game.)
She disassociates for a few minutes, just watching the road. The thing that brings her back is Victor's voice; quiet, but audible enough to draw her attention. "You alright, Jere?" He seems more confused than concerned, but there's a bit too much of a pause before Jeremy responds with an unconfident, "Yeah…"
"Okay…" Victor doesn't sound convinced, which makes Christina turn around. Jeremy definitely doesn't look fine… he's staring out the window intently, and she swears he's growing paler by the second. She watches him pick up his water bottle and take a long sip. He doesn't even notice her staring directly at him, just picks unsettledly at his fingernails.
She turns back around, trying to figure out what may be wrong. Reid doesn't seem to have picked up on the conversation whatsoever… although, that could be because he's focused on driving. She almost wants to ask him what he thinks, but she knows if she says anything she'll be putting Jeremy on the spot, given everyone would likely be able to hear her.
Her initial theory is probably rooted too much in her own experiences. And that theory is that he's having a panic attack. She's never seen him have a panic attack before, but there's a first time for everything.
The second theory she has seems far more likely… and that's that Jeremy is carsick. But wouldn't he say something if he was? Or at the very least roll down his window? (Granted, they are on a highway, but she'd much rather suffer the sound of cars passing at 70 miles per hour than share a car with someone who's vomiting…)
Although she really hopes that both of her theories are wrong, she simultaneously prays that whatever the case, he speaks up sooner rather than later…
She's getting herself worked up over something that's probably nothing… but she can't help but perseverate on it. She takes what she hopes is a subtle deep breath and glances back at Jeremy again… he looks no better than before. In fact, he actually looks a lot worse.
She tries to get Reid's attention by staring at him, but other than giving her a quick smile, he doesn't acknowledge her. Damn Reid, and his focused driving! Thankfully, Victor doesn't seem willing to let this go.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Victor asks again, this time turning his entire body towards Jeremy. "Mhmm…" Christina frowns at how distressed he sounds. "Jeremy… what's wrong?" Victor presses further, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Everyone's attention is now on Jeremy and it's clearly making him uncomfortable. "I don't feel good…" He says it so quietly that Christina's the only person able to hear him, given she's sitting directly in front of him (and also, since she's focused so intently on monitoring him at this point that she is practically aware of his every breath).
"Sorry?" Victor asks, furrowing his brow. "Can…" He exhales shakily, "Can we pull over?"
Reid is definitely paying attention now. "Like right now? Or do you want me to find a rest stop?" he tries to clarify, but Jeremy is growing visibly more panicked with every passing second. Christina can practically feel the anxiety radiating from him… or maybe that's her own.
"Right now… please." Reid immediately flicks his turn signal on and tries to merge over to the side of the highway as quickly as possible, rolling down the two back windows in a futile attempt to somehow improve the situation. Jeremy presses a hand over his mouth and leans forward. His forehead is beaded with sweat. "Do you-" Victor tries to ask, but Jeremy cuts him off with a gag.
"Shit-" Victor swears, scrambling to find something for him to be sick into. Christina grabs the center console, as if to brace herself for what's about to happen. Reid's sole priority is to get to the shoulder even though he knows it may be too late.
"Breathe…" Jenni coaxes, leaning over her seat. Jeremy promptly doubles over even further and vomits onto the mat Christina has on the floor to protect her car from sand and Sadie. "Oh my God…" she whispers, trying not to succumb to the wave of anxiety that crashes over her.
"Fuck, Christina, I need tissues…" She doesn't have tissues, and in her panicked state, she forgets for a moment that napkins will work just fine. "Tissues, Christina!" She opens the glove compartment and grabs a stack of napkins, handing them to Victor wordlessly.
The car finally stops and Reid unbuckles his seatbelt to walk around the car. Christina remains in her seat, staring directly ahead and willing the familiar panic attack feeling away, unsure of what she can do to help.
Reid opens Jeremy's door and gently pulls him to the side, just in time for him to vomit between Reid's shoes. "Okay…" Reid says, stepping back. "Just… get it up," he says awkwardly. Jeremy promptly throws up again, one hand braced against his seat and the other resting against his stomach.
Jenni climbs over the seat and perches behind Jeremy, carefully avoiding the vomit as she rubs his back soothingly. "I'm so sorry…" Jeremy murmurs when he finally gets a break.
"It's alright…" Reid assures him, patting his shoulder. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" Jenni asks gently. "I don't know…" he sighs, taking the clean napkins Victor practically throws at him to wipe his mouth and hands.
"Well, it seems pretty obvious to me… unless something else is wrong, you just got a little car sick…" Jenni says, handing him his water bottle.
"A little?" Andre retorts from the back seat. Jenni sends him a glare. "I haven't been car sick since I was a kid… I guess I forgot what it felt like…"
"Until you were actively vomiting in Christina's foot-well?" Victor asks, half joking, half serious. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, Christina…" He seems to have just realized that he threw up in her car.
Christina hesitates, momentarily unsure of what to say. "It's okay… we can clean it." She's not cleaning it. Reid will, and then her husband will perform a deep clean when they get home. She already has a plan, which calms her slightly.
She decides to add a bit of humor to try and let him know that she's not angry. "Besides, it beats you throwing up on me any day of the week…" Everyone has an embarrassing moment in training that tops all other embarrassing moments. And for Jeremy, that was when he threw up on Christina during a centrifuge exercise.
Everyone but Jeremy laughs. "You're never letting me live that down…"
"No, but I will let you forget about this one." That sentiment makes him feel a lot better, she can tell.
They help Jeremy out of the car for a few minutes so Reid and Jenni can do their best to perform a haphazard clean-up. Then, once they're certain Jeremy's stomach is settled, they make their way to a rest stop.
"Do you want to go to the restroom and clean up a bit?" Victor asks Jeremy when they arrive. He nods and opens the car door, but the second he tries to stand, the world spins around him.
Jeremy quickly lowers himself to sit on the ledge of the car. "What's wrong?" Jenni asks, noticing first. "I can't… I'm too dizzy…" he admits before squeezing his eyes shut.
"Okay…" She climbs all the way out of the car this time, until she's next to him. "Just take your time… you'll be okay," she soothes, rubbing his shoulder.
"I'm gonna go find you some Dramamine… that should help," Christina says, finally feeling as though she's useful for once. Jeremy nods and she heads towards the store. Thankfully, they have what she's looking for. She also picks up a pack of baby wipes.
Jeremy takes the pills when she returns and they stow the baby wipes away just in case. She stands behind Jenni, surveying the scene and partially feeling like this is all her fault for insisting on a road trip.
"Can I…" Jeremy shakes his head, averting his gaze from them both. "It's okay… what do you need?" Jenni presses gently. "Can I maybe sit up front?" While Christina is slightly reluctant to give up her front seat, she also doesn't want Jeremy throwing up in her car again, so the decision is a pretty easy one to make. "Of course…"
They rearrange the car so that Jeremy is in the front, Andre is driving, Victor and Reid are in the middle row and Jenni and Christina are in the back. They swap around again after two hours, but other than that, the rest of the drive goes exactly to plan.
Whilst Christina promised not to bring this up in the future… Reid certainly did not and he would later tell this story, much to Jeremy's despair, at his retirement party.