Hey, everyone! Last night's showing of Bad Blood on Dutch TV inspired me to write this story. Don't worry, I'm still gonna continue A study in London, this is just something that popped into my mind when I was watching the episode and I knew I'd want to write it down. Hope you guys like it! :)

Be strong

It would be the most difficult thing he'd ever have to do, he knew that, but he had no choice. He had to tell her.

Before walking into her office, Conrad Ecklie watched his daughter for a few moments. She was reading a file, still unaware of what was going on. She looked so peaceful, so calm… and he was going to change all of that.

Taking a deep breath he walked into the office.

"Morgan, do you have a minute?" He hoped calling her Morgan instead of 'M' would immediately make her realize the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah, sure, Dad!" she happily smiled. So calling her Morgan had made no difference… Taking another deep breath he sat down next to her. "Morgan, I have to tell you something. It's… not good news, I'm afraid. It's about Greg."

Morgan already frowned. "What about Greg?"

"He and Sara were at a crime scene," Conrad started, trying to break the news as gently as possible. She didn't give him the chance, though, she already responded: "Yeah, I know, Russell sent them. Some guy with a gunshot wound, right?"

"It wasn't just that, Morgan," Conrad softly said. "The guy, the victim, was sick. Really sick. They think he had a deadly virus… and there's a chance Sara and Greg caught it by being at the crime scene…"

Morgan's face turned so white Conrad was afraid she was going to faint.

"Greg… might be sick?" she whispered, her eyes growing larger. "No… No, that can't be, I… I just saw him before he left!"

"He and Sara were taken by the CDC, they have to stay quarantined for a while until they figure out which virus we're dealing with and whether or not Sara and Greg have caught it," Conrad continued. "We're not allowed to visit them yet."

Morgan started shaking her head, tears appearing in her eyes. "No… No… No, that's not possible! It can't be… It's… Not Greg…"

Tears now started rolling down her cheeks. Carefully, Conrad wiped a few away. "I know it's tough on you, M, more even than on me. But this is not helping Greg, please realize that! I need you to stay strong, help Nick work the case and figure out what happened. That's the only way you can help Greg, do you understand?"

She slowly nodded, staring at the floor with tears still running down her face.

"Can you do that for me?" he asked her, forcing her to look at her. She nodded again, a little more confident this time. "Yeah, I can do that, sure. I'll, eh, go and find Nick."

"Take a minute before you do, he can wait a moment," Conrad said, stopping her from getting up. He looked around and saw a box of tissues on another desk. He quickly reached out to it and handed Morgan a few.

"Thanks." Morgan wiped away her tears, smiling a little at her Dad. "I'll be fine now, really. Don't worry about me."

"You sure?" Conrad carefully looked at her. She smiled again through her tears. "Yeah, honestly. You go and… do what you have to do, I understand. I'll, eh, clean up and then I'll go and find Nick."

She didn't quite convince him, but he still got up and walked towards the door. Her soft "Dad?" didn't surprise him. He turned around and smiled warmly at her. She jumped up from her chair and ran straight into his arms, crying as if her heart was broken. It probably was, he realized. The thought of losing Greg was one she couldn't live with, even he knew how she felt about her co-worker.

"It's gonna be okay, honey, I know it will be," he softly whispered in her ear, stroking her back to try and comfort her. "Greg's gonna make it, don't you worry about it! He'll be just fine!"

After another few minutes of crying she finally managed to pull herself together again.

"I'm fine now," she said, sounding a lot more convinced than before. "You're right, of course Greg will make it. And crying isn't going to help him. I'll go clean up and then find Nick."

This time he believed her. It would be difficult for her, but from now on she'd stay strong and focus on solving the case.

As time passed, Conrad checked on his daughter a few times, but like he had already realized: she was doing fine now, working and not thinking about the possibility of Greg being sick.

The more time passed, the more Conrad started to believe Greg was fine, something he of course didn't say to Morgan. Even though he was sure Greg was okay, he didn't want to give Morgan false hope.

When the news finally came that Sara and Greg were both fine, Conrad watched Morgan let out a sigh of relief, tears already in her eyes. Greg was going to be alright! He saw how she fought back the tears, not wanting to look weak in front of her co-workers. Why, he wondered, they all knew how she was feeling about Greg!

"I can see them!" Henry called out. Morgan was already out of the breakroom before Hodges could even get up. She watched Sara and Greg walk down the hall together, a cup of coffee in their hands, laughing and talking.

"Go," Conrad softly said to her. Of course he didn't have to say that twice: she ran up to Greg and threw her arms around him. Sara quickly took his cup of coffee from him so he wouldn't spill it all over Morgan.

Now that she finally had her arms around him, Morgan couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She broke down completely, letting out all of the tears she had been holding back since her father had given her the news.

"You're okay, I'm so glad you're okay!" she sobbed, holding him tighter and tighter. Suddenly she looked up at him and kissed him full on his lips before wrapping her arms around him again. "I was so worried, I thought I was going to lose you!"

"Hey…" Greg gently pushed her back so he could wipe the tears from her face. "You didn't think I'd just let a virus get to me, did you? Yeah, I was afraid I had caught it of course, but I already knew that if I had it I'd do anything to survive! You knew that, right?"

She pulled back, sniffling a little. "I'm sorry, I'm just being selfish here… I can't imagine what it must have been like for you, I'm sorry! You probably never even thought about me…"

Carefully, he tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "I tried not to think about you, because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep myself together then. But you were always there with me, there wasn't a second you weren't on my mind! I… I…"

He hesitated for a moment. They had never admitted to being in a relationship together, even though they both knew they had feelings for each other. They had never been out on a real date, they had never even kissed (or he had to count that kiss she had just given him), they had never even held hands! And yet he knew he actually shouldn't even hesitate.

"I love you, Morgan," he softly said.

"I love you too!" she immediately responded. The words had been lingering in the air between them for a while now, both aware of them, but both afraid to say them, afraid to scare the other away. But now was not the time to be afraid anymore. Greg had faced the possibility of dying and Morgan the possibility of losing him. The words were impossible to hold back any longer.

Right in front of everyone they finally shared their first real kiss. Sara, smiling at her two co-workers and friends being so happy, quickly looked at Conrad from the corner of her eyes. He was smiling too, she noticed, happy for his daughter. And why wouldn't he be of course? He knew how much she cared about Greg, why else had her told her about the situation in person before telling everyone else? And now they had finally admitted their feelings for each other, unable to seem any happier than now. It was right, maybe even more than that. It was perfect.