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The first twinge was unexpected, just a quick sharp stabbing in her left side. By midday, it had escalated to the point where she was chanting repetitively in her head every curse word she knew, starting with “f” words and ending up at “s”. Zhu Hong glanced at the date, started back at the “f” words - in the rush of new cases she’d lost track of time.The boys were gathered around the main room, discussing the latest case: Lin Jing, Da Qing, Guo Chang Cheng, Chief Zhao, Professor Shen and Chu Shu Zhi. Wang Zan and Sang Zen rarely left the library now, working on cataloging the books in a way that makes sense; in other words, undoing Chief Zhao’s “I’ll just put this book, um… HERE!” habit. Wang Zen would be no help even if she was around, the last time this happened she was apologetic that “it had been so long that I can’t remember what it feels like.”Generally, Zhu Hong was ambivalent about being essentially the only girl in a male dominated office. She felt equal to “her boys”, never a question about quality of work or feeling uncomfortable. But at times like this she wished there was someone who would understand. Who’d stroke her hair, give her tea and painkillers. A “sister”. Instead, she had what often felt like a frat house. Zhu Hong dropped her head on her desk, wishing she’d had some of Uncle Four’s wine; oblivion would feel so good right now.The first one to notice there was something wrong was, of course, Guo Chang Cheng. He’d been sitting across the room from Zhu Hong’s desk, scribbling notes in that little notebook he was just about married to. “Hong Jie, are you okay? Can I help?” ‘Hong Jie’ didn’t bother to raise her head off her arms, just gave him a thumbs up. This, of course, centered all their attention on her. She sat there thinking “Shut up! Shut UP! STOP TALKING!” as they fired concerned questions at her: what’s wrong? Is she alright? Over and over. Finally she snapped.Raising her pale, pinched face she yelled, “SHUT UP! I’M OVULATING!!” Mortification warred with the pain in her side and lower back, flushed her face. With a groan she dropped her head back on her desk. Kill me.You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed her unplanned declaration. Then Chief Zhao’s slightly panicked voice cut through the silence. “Um, we’ll all just leave you alone” accompanied by the sounds of scrambling feet and the slam of the front door. COWARDS! I HATE YOU ALL! Zhu Hong had no idea if she’d said that out loud, and to be honest, didn’t really care if she had.~~~A warm weight on her shoulders and a light tap on her desk woke her from a doze. Lifting her head, she touched a blanket covering her shoulders.“I thought maybe you might be cold.” Zhao Yun Lan motioned at the blanket. Shen Wei handed her a teacup. “I brewed some Flower tea, it’s supposed to help with pain. There’s more in that carafe on your desk.” He gestured to the tall black carafe they used when guests were expected.Guo Chang Cheng pulled Chu Shu Zhi through the doors and up to Zhu Hong’s desk. He nudged Chu Ge with his elbow, glancing her way. A slightly uncomfortable Chu placed a vase of sunflowers on her desk. “Chang- I, I thought you might like something to brighten up your desk and let you focus on something.” Xiao Guo beamed at him like a proud parent, and if Chu Shu Zhi had a tail he’d be wagging it right about now.Chang Cheng pulled some things out of a bag and placed them on her desk. “A heating pad, three types of painkillers because I wasn’t sure which one you used and some chocolate. We weren’t sure what you liked so we got one of each. My aunt said chocolate sometimes helps.” Chu Ge wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder, pulled him close, kissed the top of his head.A light touch on her leg brought her eyes down to Da Qing, in his furriest cat form. “Lin Jing said that petting animals helps reduce pain, so… You can pet me if you want. He’s putting together something he said’ll help amplify the pleasure effect.”“FIVE MINUTES!” came a shout from Lin Jing’s lab. “I’LL BE DONE IN FIVE MINUTES!”~~~~They settled Zhu Hong on the couch, treating her like she was made of glass. Guo was handling all her work, all she had to do was sit. She knew it was ridiculous but that didn’t prevent her from enjoying the experience, maybe a little more than she’d like to admit. She had an image to maintain in this frat house of office boys.Now, sitting with Guo’s heating pad on her back, Da Qing on her lap, covered with Yun Lan’s blanket, drinking Shen Wei’s tea, looking at Chu’s sunflowers with Lin Jing’s device on her head, she felt her pain lessen. Maybe it was the tea, maybe it was the painkillers, or maybe it was the warmth of friendship.