Ponch was on the bathroom floor, too weak to make it back to the report room. He'd spent over half his day throwing up and he just wanted to sleep.
Jeb came in, to use the bathroom and found Ponch on the floor.
"Hey, you need some help?"
"Yeah…" Ponch started.
Jeb helped Ponch to the report room, where Ponch collapsed on the floor.
"Man, I hope this only lasts a few days," Jeb said as he left to use the bathroom.
In the break room
"This is all my fault…how could I have been so stupid!" Bear yelled at himself before throwing up again.
"Hey, calm down," Sindy said as she itched her arm.
"Calm down!? How!?"
Sindy blinked at the intensity of his voice. "Geeze," she muttered.
"Ok, sorry you didn't deserve that. But this whole mess is my fault. It's hard to stay calm…and Ponch is gonna hate me."
Sindy said nothing. She wasn't sure what to tell him.
In the briefing room
Jon laid his head on the table in front of him. "This is insane! I'd rather be at home and in bed than sitting here."
"Jon, who wouldn't want to be home?" Grossie replied.
Jon was silent. He knew everyone wanted to be home, so why would Getraer keep them all here?
He knew why he just wished everything were easier. He wished that they would just all get better and not have to stay here.
oOoOo
A full week went by and as the week went on some got worse before they got better. But now Getraer was pleased to see all of his officers were starting to look and act like their normal selves again. No sickness. Well maybe it was there a little, but it was pretty well gone by now.
"Sarge, can we leave now?" asked one officer.
"Not yet. You have to be healthy for at least a day or two before you leave. I don't want you to try to leave and then find out you're all still sick," Getraer replied. He was being pretty cautious about the whole thing.
Jon stared at Getraer. "Can we at least see everyone else? We've all been separated for a week."
"Jon, I want you all to rest. And there's no such thing as rest when you're hanging out with Poncherello so the answer is no," Getraer replied.
Jon let out a long sigh.
Getraer tried to ignore it as he moved on to the next room to share the same news.
"Why can't I see Jon? He's my partner!" Ponch protested.
"You won't rest, Frank."
"Yeah right," Ponch muttered.
"Frank, listen I know you well enough to know you wouldn't rest. You and Baker together now would come up with some plan to get out of here…and I don't want it."
Ponch made a face at him. "Fine, fine you win I'll stay here. But that doesn't mean I can't text him."
"Poncherello, I'm warning you if you…" Getraer started.
Ponch threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, relax. I'm not doing anything wrong," he said.
"Yeah…sure…I feel so much better," Getraer replied leaving the room.
oOoOo
The next few days went by like a blur, and before they knew it the doors were being opened again.
"OH MY GOSH, FRESH AIR!" Ponch exclaimed running out the door and taking in a nice refreshing breath of fresh air. The California sunshine was very welcoming to him today, and he felt fantastic!
He turned and smiled when he saw Jon come out. He threw his arms around his partner. "I never thought I'd ever be this happy to see you! I missed you. That was the most miserable week of my whole life."
"Same, partner."
Then they saw Bear come out. "Hey, Bear!" Ponch greeted cheerfully.
Bear stared at him. "Ponch, this was all my fault how could you even say hi to me in such a cheerful tone?"
"Because I'm not holding it against you. You made a mistake, and we all forgive you. You're our friend, we're not staying mad forever."
Bear stared at him. "What?"
"We're not staying mad forever," Jon repeated Ponch's words.
Bear looked puzzled. "You guys…you amaze me," he said.
Ponch and Jon both smiled.
Bear then cracked a smile, he couldn't help it. "Thanks…it feels good to be forgiven…and uh…I'll try to listen to you next time, Ponch."
"Yeah, you'd better," Ponch replied. Then they all laughed.