Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

Hi, everyone! I hope you're doing alright. I'm so excited about this story now that I have a plan. Thank you, as always, for your generous and kind reviews.

"Garcia," Hotch shook the lab tech's shoulder and the young woman jumped.

"I'm awake, I promise I'm awake."

She glanced up at Hotch, whose eyebrow was arched but he was smiling.

"How's Jack?" Garcia asked, glancing at the sleeping boy. "What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight," Hotch answered. "You just missed the doctor."

"Why didn't you wake me? What did he say?"

"Because you're exhausted," Aaron replied. "And they're admitting Jack."

"Oh no," Garcia exclaimed. "What's wrong with him, do they know?"

"They're not entirely sure yet but they think it's some sort of avian or swine flu. They're doing more tests."

"Avian or swine flu?" Garcia repeated, looking at Jack. "But … but … how?"

"They don't know yet," Hotch said. "Hence the tests."

Garcia didn't take her eyes off Jack, who looked far too small for the hospital bed.

"Penelope. Go home and get some sleep."

"No, Sir, I want to stay with him."

"He's sedated. He won't be waking up till morning and you've been taking care of sick kids for almost twenty-four hours. You told me I needed to eat because I'd been exposed to Jack all day and the same is true for you. Go home and go to bed."

"Are you going to stay with him?"

"Of course." Hotch replied. "And I promise I'll call if anything changes."

Garcia stood slowly and went to Jack's side. She kissed his forehead and smiled at him before facing Hotch again.

"Promise?"

"I promise. Goodnight, Garcia."

"Goodnight, Sir."

Penelope left the hospital and drove home, falling into bed without changing or taking off her makeup. She pulled her sleep mask on and put earbuds in to channel soothing music. She was asleep within minutes.

After Garcia left, Hotch watched two orderlies move Jack up to the children's ward and into a private room.

"There's a quarantine sign," he said to the nurse in the room. "Is Jack contagious?"

"It's a precaution at this point," the nurse replied. "Until we know what sort of flu Jack has, we don't want to expose any other patients to him."

"May I stay?"

"Of course," the nurse replied. "You've already been exposed so there's no reason to keep you away. I'm sure Jack will want his dad, especially when he wakes up."

"Thank you." Hotch said, sinking into the visitor's chair. The nurse and orderlies left and Hotch sighed. The sickness that had made him so uncomfortable was no longer something some soup and a few days in bed could cure; the doctors didn't know what was making his son so sick and that was a terrifying notion. When the people who were supposed to be experts in the field were at a loss, Hotch knew the outcome was rarely good.

Aaron forced his eyes closed and took a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts under control. Jack was going to be fine; the doctors weren't out of options, they just needed more tests. It would be fine.

Once he felt a little more composed, Aaron glanced at the closed door before slipping his shoes off. He got onto the bed and pulled Jack towards him, falling asleep holding his son.

"Let me see him."

"I'm sorry but the room is under quarantine. I can't let you in there, you'll be exposed."

"Like hell you can't."

Aaron forced his eyes open, sure he was dreaming. The door opened and a triumphant Rossi strode in.

"Dave," Hotch said, sitting up and glancing at his watch. "What are you doing here? It's six-thirty. What about the case?"

"Taken care of," Rossi replied. "And we came straight home. How is he?"

Hotch glanced at Jack, who was still sleeping. The IV was dripping steadily into his arm and he appeared to be resting comfortably.

"Sedated at the moment," Hotch replied, feeling Jack's forehead. Despite the constant hydration, it was warmer than ever.

"What do the doctors think?"

"They're running tests but they think it's some sort of avian or swine flu."

"How would Jack get that?"

"I don't know. How did you get in here? The room's under quarantine."

"I promised Jack I'd visit him as soon as I got home. A sign on a door was not going to make me break my promise."

Hotch smiled.

"Are we allowed to leave? I could sure use a cup of coffee."

"It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission," Rossi replied, nodding towards the door. "You go, I'll stay here in case he wakes up."

"Thanks."

Aaron got of the bed and left the room, glancing over his shoulder as he entered the hallway - even better than asking for forgiveness was not getting caught in the first place. Rossi sank into the visitor's chair and watched Jack's chest rise and fall. He seemed to be aware that someone had left.

"Daddy?" he mumbled.

"Shh," Rossi soothed. "Your dad just went for some coffee."

Jack's eyes opened.

"Uncle Dave," he said and Rossi smiled.

"Hey, kiddo," he whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Sick." Jack mumbled, turning a wicked shade of green. Luckily, Rossi had quick reflexes and spared the cleaning staff a trip to the room.

"It's alright," he said, rubbing Jack's back as the boy coughed. "You're fine."

He noticed more blood in the vomit but didn't say anything.

"Do you want some water?"

Jack nodded and Rossi helped him sip from the cup.

"Better?"

"I guess." Jack fell onto his pillows, exhausted. Rossi noticed he'd broken out in sweat.

"Are you hot?"

"No."

Rossi sat back in the chair.

"Your dad told me how brave you were about coming to the hospital last night. I'm proud of you, Jack."

Jack smiled half-heartedly but turned his head when the door opened again. Aaron appeared with two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to Dave.

"Jack," he said, setting his coffee down on the table. "How do you feel?"

"I threw up." Jack informed his father, who nodded.

"I see that. I bumped into one of the doctors downstairs, he's going to come and take a look at you soon."

"Okay."

Jack didn't seem to have the energy to engage in conversation and began to doze almost immediately. Aaron looked at Dave.

"Do you know how Henry is?"

"J.J. talked to Will before we took off," he replied. "It didn't sound good."

Hotch sighed, studying his son.

"Do you think there's something suspicious about this?"

"I don't see how there can be," Rossi replied. "There's no way to prove they got sick through you and J.J. – she told me about your conversation – and I'm sure at least a dozen other kids came down with the flu in the past few days, too."

Aaron didn't say anything and the room was quiet again until the doctor appeared. He was wearing a yellow paper gown over his white coat, a surgeon's mask covered his nose and mouth, and he was wearing. He didn't question how Rossi got in the room as Aaron introduced them.

"Do you have the test results back?" he asked and the doctor nodded.

"We do," he replied. "Jack appears to have a strain of H5N1, or in common tongue, the avian bird flu."

"I didn't think that strain could be communicated through humans," Rossi said and the doctor nodded.

"It normally can't," he replied. "Which means Jack came into contact it with it another way."

The doctor looked at Hotch.

"Has Jack been exposed to any livestock recently? A petting zoo or a farm?"

Hotch shook his head.

"No, not that I can think of. Is there no other way he could contract it?"

"We'll run some more detailed tests," the doctor replied. "If this is a new strain of the flu, it's possible he contracted it through human contact."

"Will he be alright?"

"The morbidity of avian flu is higher than that of a normal flu strain," the doctor admitted. "But we're doing everything we can for him. Jack is young and healthy and we caught this in plenty of time. He should be fine."

"Is he still in quarantine?"

The doctor nodded.

"Until we know more, it's the best thing for him."

"What about us? We've been exposed."

"I'll need to ask you to remain here until we have more answers." He glanced at the coffee on the table. "We've been tracking the avian flu and it rarely mutates significantly within such a short period of time so I don't think you're in any danger. But, as I said, until we know it's the best for all involved to impose quarantine. From now on, anyone coming into the room will be gowned, masked, and gloved. I'll have a nurse come in shortly to replace the IV and bring Jack some breakfast."

"Thank you, Doctor." Aaron said and the doctor nodded, leaving the room. Aaron sighed, turning to look at his son again.

"You heard what the doctor said," Rossi said immediately. "Jack will be fine."

"He said Jack should be fine. There was no guarantee."

"There's no guarantee of anything," Dave argued. "You could take a sip of coffee and choke to death right now. Besides, the doctor said the avian flu rarely mutates so quickly which means they should be able to treat it easily."

Hotch didn't reply, still watching Jack's chest rise and fall.

"What about Garcia?" he asked, the frown never leaving his face. "She was exposed and she went to see Henry. Should we tell them?"

"Do you think we should?"

Finally, Aaron glanced at Dave.

"If it were the other way around, I'd want J.J. to tell me."

"Then call her."

Aaron pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled the media liaison.

"J.J.," he greeted. "How's Henry?"

J.J. sighed, glancing down at her son. He was as pale as the pillowcase.

"Not well," she said. "How's Jack? Are you still at the hospital?"

"Yes," Hotch replied. "Listen, J.J., the doctors think Jack has some new strain of the avian flu. He's under quarantine."

"Will he be alright?" J.J. asked immediately.

"The doctor seem to think so but Dave and I are in quarantine until we know, given our exposure."

"What about Garcia?"

"I'm going to call her next," Hotch said. "But I thought you should know, given that Garcia took care of Henry after staying with Jack."

"What did the doctor say about it?"

"We didn't mention it," he said. "We wanted you to make the decision about bringing Henry here."

"I'll talk to Will." J.J. told him. "I'll call you back."

"Alright."

Hotch ended the call and Rossi looked at him.

"What did she say?"

"She's going to talk to Will," Hotch replied, dialling Garcia. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail and Hotch tried her home number to the same end.

"I'll keep trying," Rossi said, pulling out his phone as Hotch's vibrated.

"J.J.," he answered.

"Can you tell the doctor to expect us? Will thinks we should take Henry in, just in case it's the same thing."

"Of course." Hotch replied. "See you soon."

He glanced at Rossi.

"J.J. and Will are bringing Henry in," he said. "Still nothing?"

"Zilch." Rossi replied and Hotch frowned. He went to Jack's bed and pressed the Nurse button and a moment later, a brunette wearing the gown, gloves, and mask appeared.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, noting Jack was still sleeping.

"There's another boy who may have the same thing," Hotch told her. "My co-worker's son got sick a day after Jack did and the same woman took care of them. They're bringing him here now."

"I'll find Dr. Clyde," she said. "Have you contacted the woman who took care of the children? She'll need to be quarantined as well."

"We're trying," Hotch said, motioning to Rossi.

The nurse nodded and left with the information. For a while, they weren't sure what was happening but half an hour later, J.J., Will, and Henry joined them in the quarantine room. Henry, who looked even smaller in his bed, was crying because of the IV in his arm.

"J.J.," Hotch said to his friend once the orderlies had left. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea Jack was this sick or else I wouldn't have let Garcia near Henry."

"Relax." J.J. said, glancing at Henry and Will. "You had no way of knowing. None of us did. Where's Garcia?"

"We can't get in touch with her." Rossi replied. "I've been trying all morning."

"Do you think something has happened?"

"I don't know." Hotch answered with a sigh. "How's Henry?"

They both looked at the three-year-old, now nestled in Will's arms.

"Scared," J.J. answered. "He doesn't understand what's going on. The doctor's gave him the IV for hydration but nothing else until they get more results back."

"More? What tests have they done?"

"Enough to determine it's the same strain of flu," J.J. replied. "Hence the quarantine."

"Did they ask you about livestock?" Rossi asked and J.J. nodded.

"The closest Henry has been to an animal is the preschool's goldfish," she replied. "And somehow I don't think that gave him avian flu."

"No," Hotch said with a thin smile, though it fell away almost instantly.

"You alright?" J.J. asked and Hotch sighed.

"Yeah," he said, not making eye contact. "It's just … everything about this feels wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just a feeling," Hotch replied. "But something tells me that it wasn't an accident that it's Jack and Henry lying in these beds right now. Someone did this."

"But who? How?"

"I don't know." Hotch glanced at Rossi. "Any luck with Garcia?"

"No."

"Call Morgan," he said. "Tell her to go to Garcia's place and make sure she's alright."

"Do you want to let the rest of the team know what's going on?" J.J. asked.

"We may as well," Aaron replied. "If I'm right, we might need them. Besides, they all care about Jack and Henry."

"I'll call Reid," J.J. said, pulling out her phone.

It didn't take long for Reid and Prentiss to be in the waiting room, though Morgan and Garcia were still missing.

"Hotch, the door is locked and no one is answering the phone," Morgan said, pacing outside Garcia's apartment. "What do you want me to do?"

"Break it down," Hotch replied.

"I can't," Morgan answered. "After being shot I insisted she have the door metal plated and deadbolts put in. She wouldn't take the gun but she did take my advice on that. I won't be able to break that down."

Hotch sighed.

"Find some other way in, then," he said. "You've checked with the landlord for an extra key?"

"Landlord is away," Morgan replied, examining the hallway. "And Kevin doesn't have a key. I'll get in, don't worry."

Hotch nodded and ended the call.

"What did he say? Is Garcia alright?" J.J. asked from Henry's bed.

"Morgan can't get in," he said. "The door's locked and plated. She's not answering her phone."

J.J. frowned and looked back at Henry, stroking his hair.

"Daddy?" Jack whimpered and Aaron hurried to his son's side.

"What's wrong Jack?"

"My tummy hurts."

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No. I think I'm gonna be sick."

That was all the warning Hotch got and the next thing he knew, he was wearing the contents of Jack's stomach. All the adults looked on in sympathy, though Will and J.J. stayed where they were.

"Sorry," Jack mumbled, rubbing his eyes with a clenched fist.

"Shh," Hotch soothed, rubbing Jack's back. "It's alright, you didn't mean to."

"Here," Rossi said. "Take a sip of water. It'll get the yucky taste out of your mouth."

He helped Jack sip from the cup while Aaron ducked into the bathroom and tried to wash the stain – or at least the smell – from his shirt.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Reid asked Prentiss. Emily looked up at Reid, who was pale and there were bags under his eyes. She imagined she looked about the same.

"I don't know, Reid," she answered honestly. "The doctors are doing what they can and they're with people who love them. That's the best thing right now."

Reid's foot was bouncing.

"I hate hospitals," he said, looking around. "I hate waiting in hospitals."

"I know," Emily replied.

The two lapsed into silence as the clock on the wall ticked away.

Agent Derek Morgan had done a lot of things but shimmying through a ventilation duct had never been one of them. It looked a lot easier in the movies, he thought as he covered his nose with his hand to keep from breathing in the copious amounts of dust. He supposed he should consider himself lucky; Garcia's building was older and had been converted from some sort of factory, which meant the duct work was big enough for a full-grown man to fit through. It wasn't particularly roomy but it was enough.

Peering down through one of the registers, Morgan stopped. He recognized the dark purple walls and zebra-print area rug.

"Gotcha," he murmured, pulling his utility knife from his belt. He pried the vent cover off and let it fall to the ground before lowering himself through the opening in the ceiling.

"Garcia?" he called. "Baby girl?"

There was no response and Morgan peered into the bathroom and then the bedroom.

"Garcia!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. He touched her shoulder and Garcia screamed, sitting up and throwing off her night mask and pulling out her earbuds.

"Derek Morgan!" she exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"We've been trying to reach you," Morgan explained. "Are you alright? You weren't answering your phone."

Garcia frowned and reached for her cell phone. She pressed a button but the screen stayed black.

"It's dead," she replied.

"What about the house number?"

"It's not working," she answered. "The landlord was supposed to take care of it but it's taking a while. What's going on? Is Jack alright?"

Morgan shook his head.

"He and Henry, plus Rossi, Hotch, J.J. and Will are in quarantine at the hospital. You need to join them."

"Quarantine? What happened?"

"The doctor thinks this may be a new strain of avian flu," Morgan replied. "They're doing tests and the quarantine is precautionary at this point."

"And they think that I have it, too?"

"Not necessarily," Morgan replied. "They just want to make sure you're alright. You've been exposed to both of them in the past twenty-four hours."

"Oh goodness, oh goodness," Garcia mumbled, frantically got out of bed and searching for a fresh set of clothes. "We need to get to the hospital."

"It's alright," Morgan replied. "Take your time."

"Take my time?" Garcia exclaimed. "We're talking about Hotch and J.J.'s kids! How can I take my time?"

Morgan didn't respond, mostly because Garcia had shut herself in the bathroom but he honestly didn't have a good answer. The lab tech appeared a moment later.

"Let's go," she said, walking past Morgan to the door. She pulled it, expecting it to be unlocked, and stumbled slightly when the door didn't budge.

"How did you get in?" she asked again, flipping the locks and opening the door.

"Duct work," Morgan replied with a grin. "Hotch told me to break the door down but, well, that wasn't going to happen so I had to find another way."

Garcia raised an eyebrow.

"Did you ask the neighbor?"

"What?"

"Patsy, two doors down. She has a key."

"Garcia."

"Don't worry," Garcia said with a smile. "I did a full background check first. She waters the plants when I'm away but enough chit-chat. We have to go!"

"Where are they?" Garcia's voice carried down the hallway and Reid and Prentiss stood up.

"Room five-twelve." Reid said. Garcia hurried away and Emily raised an eyebrow at Derek.

"What happened to you?"

Dust bunnies clung to most of Morgan's black ensemble.

"Don't ask." Morgan replied. "How are they?"

"The doctor's in there now."

Garcia opened the door and everyone turned to look at her, including the doctor.

"You must be Penelope Garcia," he said and Garcia nodded, eyes alternating between Jack and Henry.

"Are they alright? Please tell me they'll be alright."

"As I was just saying," the doctor continued. "Tests have confirmed that this is, in fact, a unique strain of avian flu. However, it was not contracted by animal contact."

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked.

"The infection, for lack of better terms, is too strong to have occurred naturally." The doctor replied. "These boys were dosed with the strain."

"You mean someone poisoned our kids?" Will asked, holding J.J.'s hand. The doctor nodded.

"Yes," he said.

"Are they contagious?"

"Because it's a strain of the flu we're not familiar with," the doctor replied. "They may be."

"Does that mean the quarantine is still in effect?"

"Yes." The doctor replied. "But I'm afraid it's more serious than that."

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.

"I understand your team has been in close contact since Jack first got sick, is that correct?"

"Yes. Does that matter?"

"It does," the doctor replied. "All of you will need to be placed under observation and have tests run. We'd also like to give you the vaccine we have for avian flu. It may not be effective, as it was made to protect against a different strain, but it can't hurt. We don't have enough beds to keep you all here," the doctor continued. "So we're transferring you all to a hospital in Georgia. The Centre for Disease Control will work with you there."

"Is that really necessary?" Rossi asked and the doctor nodded.

"We need to isolate you as much as possible," the doctor answered. "And no hospital in the city has the space."

"Can we use a house?"

"Theoretically," he said. "But it would need to be big enough to accommodate all of you while being secluded enough to ensure neighbours aren't placed in any danger."

"We'll use my place." Rossi announced and Aaron looked at him.

"That's not necessary, Dave. We can go to Georgia."

"Don't be ridiculous," Rossi replied, looking at the doctor. "I have plenty of space and the nearest neighbour is almost five acres away."

"You'll need to clear it with the CDC and see if they can send their staff here," the doctor replied. "If they okay it, then it sounds reasonable to me."

"Thank you." Rossi said and the doctor turned to Garcia, asking her how she felt. Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course," Rossi replied. "But you were right; there's something bigger going on here. If we stay at my place, we can try and figure out who did this. We've been targets before, Aaron, and I'm sure there's someone out there sick enough to target Henry and Jack as a way to get to us. I want to know who and I want to stop them."

Aaron nodded.

"I agree," he said. "But let's keep our investigation quiet. I don't want the doctors knowing we're investigating this. If we're dealing with an unsub who poisons children with a strain of avian flu, chances are they have a very specific medical background."

"Right." Rossi replied. "I'm going to make a few calls to get the house ready."

He saw Aaron glance at his son.

"We'll catch whoever did this, Aaron."

"I know."

So … lots happened here and lots more is going to. Please review!