Okay, so I've been in a major writing mood the past couple of days. While I'm in the mood I figured I should keep on writing. :o)

Chapter One

Caitlin rushed around downstairs grabbing her purse and jacket. She called upstairs to String who was taking his time coming down.

"Stringfellow Hawke, you had better get down here right now!" she demanded. "I won that bet fair and square and you promised."

"Caitlin," he yelled back down. "I don't need to see a doctor. Why do we have to do this?"

String finally made it down the stairs before she responded. "String, you had a fever of a hundred and three this morning and you passed out. You've been sick since yesterday morning and it doesn't seem to be getting any better," she replied. "I won the bet and now you have to go. I called Michael and he's meeting us at the clinic."

"What the hell did you call Michael for?" he asked. "That's all I need is him getting involved."

"Don't lecture me," she said. "I was worried and with Dom and Saint John out of town, I needed someone to talk to about this."

"Fine," he said. "Let's go and get this over with."

String followed Caitlin out to the dock. She insisted on flying since he obviously wasn't in shape to. He sat quietly as they lifted off and headed to the nearest Firm clinic. He hated doctors and he never trusted hospitals. He was only going because he made a bet with her that he wished he hadn't. Now he was stuck because he had no choice but to keep his promise.

"You're lucky I love you because I wouldn't let anyone else do this," he said sarcastically. "You know I hate doctors and I've never liked how you worry over me."

Caitlin shot him a dirty look. "Just be glad that someone cares enough," she replied. "Sometimes you can be so stubborn."

Michael was waiting for them when they got to the clinic. Hawke continued to complain about being there as they ushered him into one of the small examination rooms. Caitlin and Michael followed him in.

"Come on Hawke," said Michael. "Humor us will you? We just want to make sure you're alright."

Before he could respond, Caitlin and Michael notice how pale Hawke was becoming. Suddenly he wavered and nearly fell face first to the floor. They caught him and helped him up onto the examination table.

"I don't like this," said Michael. "I've never seen him so sick."

"Me either," Caitlin replied. "Something's not right here."

The doctor came in and asked the two to leave while he examined Hawke and took some blood for testing.

While waiting out in the hall, Caitlin couldn't help but pace back and forth as her nerves were getting the best of her.

"Take it easy Cait," said Michael as he gently grabbed her arm to stop her from pacing. "He's in good hands. We'll know something shortly. It's going to be okay."

Afterwards the doctor came out to see them. Well, something definitely going on with him," he said. "The problem is that we won't know for sure until we get the blood work back."

"How long will that be?" asked Caitlin.

"We put a rush on it," he replied. "I expect the results within the hour."

"Can I go and wait with him?" asked Caitlin.

The doctor smiled. "Sure, we just put him in a bed for now and he wasn't too keen on the idea," he replied. "We told him it was either that or he could end up falling on his face. He got the message."

Caitlin tried to laugh. "At least someone managed to get through to that thick head o f his. Where is he?"

The doctor showed Caitlin to Hawke's room and she went in to sit with him.

"How're you feeling?" she asked. "You look a little better now."

String sighed. "I'd be better if I wasn't in here," he replied. "But, I'm glad you're here. Come sit down with me on the bed."

"Sure," she replied as she moved over to the bed. He made room for her as she snuggled close to him and held him.

"You would have made a good nurse," he said jokingly.

Caitlin giggled. "Nah, I don't like the site of blood."

"Oh yeah," he continued joking. "So you became a cop instead? Not much blood in that I guess."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

An hour later, String and Caitlin went to meet with the doctor in his office. The doctor had given Michael String's file and they had been discussing it before String and Caitlin joined them. The doctor excused himself at Archangels request.

"What's going on?"asked Caitlin. "Why did the doctor leave?"

"I asked him to," he replied. "This is now a top secret situation and he has a lot of work to do for me."

"What are talking about Michael?" asked String.

"I'm afraid I've got some news and it's not good," he continued. "It appears that you have been injected with a deadly virus known as K11."

"What the hell is K11?" asked String. "How did I get infected with it?"

"That's the question I'd like to have an answer to," he replied. "It's only carried through injection and isn't spread in any other form at this time. How you contracted it, I don't know."

"What's going to happen to me?" String asked. "How long do I have?"

Caitlin's heart nearly stopped when she heard String asked that question.

"Five days from the time of the first symptoms," he replied. "So I'm guessing that leaves you three days."

"Is there an antidote?" asked Caitlin. "There has to be an antidote!"

"We're working on it," replied Michael. "I've contacted my top research scientists. They've actually been working on it since we first found out about this virus. The only thing is that they didn't have anyone infected to study. I've sent a vial of Hawke's blood over to them. They might be able to work from that."

String sat and stared at Caitlin. "They just had to find an antidote," he thought. "We finally set a date to be married next spring and I can't let her down."

Caitlin stood up behind String and put her arms around his shoulders. "What can we expect to happen to him?" she asked almost scared of the answer.

"You've already experienced some of the symptoms of a sudden high fever and then unconsciousness," replied Michael. "Next will be flu like symptoms of stomach pain at times. After that you may experience extreme mood swings. We'll need to keep you slightly sedated at those times or you may become dangerous to yourself as well as those around you."

String stood up abruptly pushing Caitlin back away from him. "I'm not going to just sit around and wait to die Michael," he said. "I'm going to find out who did this to me and hopefully get the antidote at the same time."

Michael smiled. "I knew you'd say that," he replied. "That's why I called in some support. He's waiting for you in the hallway."

Caitlin looked at Michael and then turned to String. "I'm going to help too," she said. "You aren't going to leave me out of this."

String sighed. "I didn't think I could," he replied as he walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Come on, let's get out of here and come up with a plan. We need to figure out who is responsible for this and how they got to me."

"Don't forget to pick up your friend in the hall," said Michael.

As they walked out of the office Caitlin and String both smiled. "I knew it was you," said String. "Glad to have you by my side for this one."