Chuck and Jill Vs. The Bug Part 1

One day Jill approached Chuck at the Nerd Herder desk with a scared look on her face. Chuck looked at her and said, "Jill, what's the matter? Are you alright?"

Jill replied, clearly showing that she was finding speaking difficult, "Chuck, we need to talk."

Morgan saw this and replied, "Jill, remember I told you not to hurt him again."

Lester came up with Jeff and said, "Morgan, are you really surprised?"

Jill's face turned into a face of pure rage and said, "Lester if the next thing you say isn't, "Jeff, Morgan, let's leave these two alone." it will instead be, "OW OW PLEASE STOP WITH THE HURTING, ROBERTS! PLEASE!"

Lester paused for a bit, and said, "Jeff, Morgan, let's leave these two alone."

Jill then said, "Let's find some privacy, okay?"

As Chuck led Jill outside, he said, "You borrowed that from the show Scrubs, didn't you?"

Jill replied angrily, "It worked didn't it?"

As they found some private space out back, he asked, "Are you... Are you... Are you... Uh..."

Jill said, "If you are thinking I want to break up with you, I don't. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Chuck."

Chuck replied, "So what it it, sweetheart?"

Jill took a long sigh and said, "Chuck, Beckman and the brass feel that you have been too hesitant to give me any assignment that has any danger to my mortal well being. Not a criticism, just an observation. They recognize that I'm a damn good biochemist now. However, a certain assignment has been brought to their attention. A very dangerous assignment. An assignment that they feel is well suited to my particular skill set. Since they don't trust you to make a good judgment in this case, they decided to bypass you and bring the situation directly to me. They are not exactly ordering me. They are giving me the option to refuse, and the case they make seems,.. well... logical."

Chuck replied quietly, "What's the mission?"

Jill rested her back on the wall and said, "Join the team the World Health Organization is putting together as a response to a plague that is ravaging an area of Brazil. There is also intel about some groups planning to sabotage the efforts of the response team. The disease bears genetic similarities to other pathogens I've studied. That and my spy skills to boost the security makes me well suited to join the response team. Chuck I cannot stress enough how dangerous this bug is. It is incredibly contagious, and always lethal. One way or another, joining the response team is an incredibly dangerous proposition. Chuck, I won't do it if you don't want me to."

Chuck saw that Jill was scared to make eye contact, and lifted her chin up. "Tell me. This is what you want, isn't it?"

Jill nodded and said, "This kind of mission is the kind I've dreamt of ever since I decided to be a doctor. If I am sucessful, it will be my crowning achievement as a scientist. Chuck, please, What do you want me to do?"

It took a full minute before Chuck grabbed Jill and pulled her into a hug and said, "Show that bug who is the best biochemist around."

A week later, Chuck and Morgan were playing video games together, and Morgan asked, "So, It's been a week. This is the first time you and Jill have been separated for so long since you hooked up. Any feelings?"

Chuck replied, "I'm suffering from Phantom Girlfriend Syndrome."

Morgan stared at nothing for a moment and said, "Okay, I don't know what that means."

Chuck said, "I find something funny online, I call out to Jill for a moment before I remember. "Jill! CHECK THIS OUT! Oh wait, you're in Brazil." I wake up every morning expecting to find her next to me. It takes me a moment to realize that I shouldn't."

Morgan replied, "You miss her. Is there any problem that isn't just a symptom of a healthy relationship?"

Chuck paused the game, thought for a bit and said, "Just because its just one of a symptom doesn't mean it's not overwhelming sometimes. I hate this Morgan. I'm usually used to people I care about being in danger, but I'm with them when it is so I know whether or not they are alright. I just want to call her all the time. It's driving me nuts."

Morgan replied, "Well maybe this will help. Jill told me this bug takes at least two days to kill, but there are visible symptoms before then. If Jill gets infected, I'm sure she will tell you."

Chuck replied, "I don't know if that would make me feel better though."

Later that night, Chuck turned on his videochat viewer, and looked at the list, and sure enough he saw the word online next to Lorenzo's Mommy. He made a request and Jill's face appeared on the screen. She said, "Hi Chuck. It's good to see you."

Chuck said, "I've been so worried about you, you know that?"

Jill smiled, although Chuck felt it was a tired smile. It was a smile that said to him that things were not well. Her face returned to her normal face and she said, "Chuck, guess what! I'm almost certain that I'm close to a cure to the disease! The problem is coming up with the correct genome sequence. There are hundreds of possible permutations, but every instinct I have says that the correct genome sequence is in there. It feels like a word that's right on the tip of your tongue. I just need to get it off the tip of my tongue. Just a moment."

Jill typed in a sequence and her computer said, "Running Simulation...Cohesion Negative." She typed again, and the computer said, "Running Simulation...Cohesion Negative."

Jill said, "If I can get it to say "Cohesion Positive," that means I have a cure. I'm close though, I can just feel it."

Chuck replied, "Well, that's great then!"

Jill's smile dissappeared as she shook her head and said, "That's the good news."

Chuck's smile dissappeared just as quickly and said, "Don't tell me the bad news."

Jill replied, "I can't really deny it..." but stopped as she covered her mouth and coughed several times. She took a moment to look at her hand, then turned it to show blood on it. She then said, "Oh, great. I've started coughing up blood. I've been wondering when that was going to happen."

Chuck winced and said, "Jill, please find that sequence. I can't lose you."

Jill replied, "Then talk to me, Chuck. Talk to me, to stimulate this brain of mine."

She took a moment to enter a sequence, "Running Simulation...Cohesion Negative."

Jill frowned and said, "The solutions there we just need to drag it out. Talk to me, Chuck."

To be Continued