Flint woke up early on the morning of July Fifth. He had tossed and turned all night, afraid his phone was going to ring with news on an attack somewhere in the country. When he had slept he had nightmares about the Red Shadows. But as he saw the sun shining through the window he realized they had made it through the night.

He picked up his phone that was resting on his night stand to confirm that he hadn't missed a call. He then turned on one of the twenty-four hour news stations. The smiling faces on the anchors as they reported on the latest political news was further confirmation.

Alison stirred awake. She went into the bathroom, and came out rubbing her stomach. "Are you okay?" Flint asked.

"I'm fine. Just a little queasy, but nothing too bad. At this point with Marissa I remember spending most of the first hour of my mornings vomiting."

"I bet that means it's a boy," Flint said.

"If you believe old wives' tales," Alison said. She climbed back into bed. She looked at the screen. "So it ended up being a nice and quiet Fourth."

Flint wrapped his arms around her. Now that their holiday weekend was coming to an end, he had to talk to her about what was coming down the road. Alison snuggled closer to her. "Okay, what's going on?"

Flint couldn't help but smile. She knew his mood intuitively. "Anvil wants me to spend a couple of weeks with the Joe team."

Flint braced himself for the backlash but Alison surprised him. "When do you need to leave?"

"By the end of the week. I didn't commit to anything, I told him I need to talk to you first."

"I think you should go." Alison rolled over to her side. "I've been doing some serious thinking myself about my stint in the CIA. I don't think I'm going to extend my assignment."

That surprised Flint. "Really? Why? I thought you've enjoyed your work."

"For the most part I do. But I thought I would be dealing with less bureaucracy with the CIA once I got out from under the Jugglers. But it's basically the same there. And while I'm proud of what I accomplished in Paris, I don't want to spend that much time away from my family. Especially with this little one on the way."

"Can't you transfer to a desk job?"

"I probably could. To be honest I haven't spoken to the Director about any of this. But I promised you that I was going to try this out for a year. With the baby coming in February, it just seems like the right time to take a step back." Alison sighed. "And to be fair, since you gave me my opportunity, if you want to entertain the idea of rejoining the Joes, I'm on board."

Flint sat back and considered the offer. He had given up on the idea of rejoining the Joes, and had become very happy with the life he had been building with Alison and Marissa. And with another baby, one that might be a son, would make his life complete. But he still felt that familiar call to return to the team he loved. "Let's not make any decisions right now. I'll find out from Anvil is a permanent return is even still on the table."

"Okay. And I have one request. While you're away, I want to take Marissa to London, just for a long weekend. I want to take advantage of the one on one time we have left."

Flint nodded and brought her in for a hug. "I think that would be nice trip for the two of you."

Flint pushed himself to run a bit faster on his second lap of the running trail behind Joe Headquarters. He knew he was dragging a bit due to the late night he had with Duke and Scarlett. Work was only partially to blame. While they did stay after hours to finish up on some items on their to-do list, the reason Flint ended up hitting the rack close to midnight was due to the good company and an excellent Scotch that Duke had hidden away in his desk.

As Flint neared Beachhead who was screaming several unflattering phrases at the unfortunate Joes who lacked self-motivation, Flint called out with a smile, "Damn, Beach, I'd figured you'd have some new material by now."

"I'm sorry Faireborn am I not paying you enough attention? I took one look at you and I could tell that your desk job has made you fat and lazy, so I wasn't planning on wasting my breath on a lost cause."

Flint had to admit that the insult stung a bit, because deep down he knew it was true. It was one of the many reminders that he wasn't the same man as he had been a few years ago. And neither was the Joe team. That point was hammered home by the fresh faces struggling through Beachhead's PT.

Flint became nostalgic for the past, as he realized he had become the guy that started to reminisce about the good old days. He missed having Lady Jaye running by his side, as she would tell Beachhead exactly what she thought of him. But as much as a part of him missed the past, the happiness and contentment he felt for the present, and excitement for the future made up for it.

The woman that he had fallen so desperately in love with here at Joe Headquarters was now his wife, mother of his daughter and mother-to-be of his second child. He knew he was a lucky man.

His thoughts were disturbed by the ringing of his phone. Flint ran off the course and pulled the phone out of his back pocket. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it.

"Flint, it's Sean Murphy, Alison's partner?"

"Yes, of course. How are you?"

"Not good. I've actually been trying to get a hold of Alison. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's in London with Marissa."

"I know. But do you know exactly where she is right now?"

Flint frowned. There was something wrong. "I don't know. Alison told me she had a couple of different ideas for today, but she was going to wait to see what Marissa's mood was. What is going on?"

"I can't go into specifics while you're on a cell phone, but it is imperative that we get in touch with her ASAP. I talked to one of your intel agents, a woman named Firewall who is probably trying to find you right now."

Flint looked across the field, and he saw Firewall run out of Joe Headquarters. "Sean, I see her. I'll call you right back."

"Don't worry about me. Just talk to Alison and get her out of London."

Flint ran across the field to meet Firewall halfway. He tried to clamp down on his growing fear, "What happened?" he asked once he was within speaking distance.

"Nothing yet, but the CIA is afraid something big is brewing. MI6 reached out to them to say they had gotten credible intelligence that a Red Shadows sect was in London and planning an attack somewhere in Western Europe."

"Damn it," Flint said. He quickly dialed Alison's number and prayed that she answered.

Alison led Marissa out of the aquarium. Even though it had been low on her list of activities to do while in London she was glad that she had made the last-minute decision to go. Sure, they could have seen fish, sharks and sea lions at any of the many aquariums that the United States had to offer, but Marissa had grown bored of seeing some of the more standard London sights. Watching her toddler enthralled in the sea lion show had been worth the price of admission.

Once they were back outside, Alison turned on her phone. She didn't want it disturbing them as they made their way through the aquarium. As it connected to the local service, she frowned at the high number of missed calls and messages she had received.

She saw that almost all of them were from Flint and Sean. Knowing that there was probably a work emergency brewing which was going to mean an early return home, she decided to call Flint. At least he would try to sugar coat the bad news.

"Al? Can you get to a secure line?" Flint asked as soon as he answered.

It was an odd question that put Alison on alert. From her training, she scanned her surroundings. "No. I'm out in the open near Westminster Bridge. What's going on?"

Flint paused. "Okay. You two need to come back home. Do you remember my Aunt Rhonda? Rhonda Sue?"

Alison wracked her brains trying to remember the names of Flint's relatives. She knew there were quite a few of them, but the name was so unusual she should have remembered it. And then she remembered his initial comment and realized he was talking in code. The initials R.S. must mean the Red Shadows. "Of course I remember her. What's going on?"

"I don't know. The details are a little fuzzy, but Sean said she isn't doing well. They think she might have another attack in the next couple of days."

That was not good news. Sean must have gotten intelligence that a Red Shadows attack was imminent. Alison's grabbed Marissa's hand a little tighter. "Okay, we'll be home as soon as we can. Where is she?"

"I'll find out before you come home. But it's such a shame since she was so looking forward to her trip to Western Europe."

That sealed it. Maybe Flint was overreacting, but it had to be a severe enough threat for him to pass along what was probably classified information over an open channel to her. And with now two children to think about, Alison wasn't going to take any chances. "I'll get on the next flight available."

"Come to Phoenix. We can then go visit my aunt together."

Alison hung up. As calmly as possible she said to Marissa, "Let's go back to the hotel."

It was a short walk, and once they arrived, she began to pack. Alison had decided that instead of trying to change their ticket ahead of time, they were going to go right to the airport to try to get on one of the flights going to the US. "We go home?" Marissa asked as she jumped on the bed.

Still not wanting to frighten her daughter, Alison went with an easy lie. "Actually, Daddy missed up so much he asked us to fly to where he is."

Marissa was thrilled with the news. She babbled excitedly about the chance to see her father again. Alison grabbed her daughter's hand and the two went out to flag down a cab.

Flint waited as patiently as possible for their flight to land. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since he had talked to Alison. She had kept him posted throughout their ordeal getting out of London. Since they hadn't been sure exactly what the Red Shadows was planning or where they were going to attack, she had avoided any flights to the US that meant stopping in a different European city first. It meant they waited on stand-by for a few flights before they finally got on a plane to Chicago. There had been a four-hour layover there as well, before they got on their Phoenix flight.

Flint hoped that the quick exodus and travel ordeal wasn't too strenuous for Alison or the baby. He knew he wouldn't relax until he saw Alison and Marissa first hand. After what seemed like an eternity they announced that their flight had landed.

Flint pulled them both into his arms as soon as he saw them. They looked tired but that wasn't surprising based on the trip they had just taken. Both fell asleep as soon as they had gotten into the car. Marissa perked up once Flint brought them to their hotel room. Alison too did her best to stay awake.

With a yawn she asked, "Okay, so what was the threat? I haven't heard anything on the news about a new attack."

"Sean said the MI6 shared with the CIA that they had picked up on a sudden and unusual amount of chatter about three days ago. It was either the Red Shadows or a sect that was closely involved with them had some kind of device in the city. They were working on getting it out. The MI6 strongly believed that some sort of event was imminent."

"Wow, that does sound pretty serious. I'm surprised Sean let me come here instead of back to Langley."

Flint grinned sheepishly. "To be honest, that was what you were supposed to do. I exaggerated the truth about your flight difficulties. I did eventually admit that you were coming here, and I suggested that you could work with Firewall, Mainframe and the others. I think the Director still wants you back."

"Okay. Once I catch up on some sleep, I'll fly back."

Flint noticed that Marissa had already fallen back asleep. "Should we wake her for dinner?"

"No, let her sleep." Alison let out another yawn, and said, "I think I might join her."

The next morning Flint's alarm went off and he got up. Alison didn't even stir besides him. He briefly thought that was unusual, but he figured between the jet lag and the pregnancy, she was probably exhausted.

He took a shower and got dressed. Before he left, he kissed the top of her forehead. She seemed warmer than normal, but again he chalked it up to pregnancy hormones. Marissa too was still out cold in her bed. They apparently both still needed their sleep.

Alison woke from a series of strange nightmares, drenched in sweat. She felt awful. She was so hot, her head was pounding and the room was spinning. She wondered if she was just experiencing pregnancy symptoms, but she didn't remember anything this extreme with Marissa. It was a chore to just make it to the bathroom.

Once she exited she looked at the clock. She gasped when she saw the time. It was after ten. She stumbled her way to Marissa's bed on the other side of the room. It was only a few feet away but it seemed to take forever to get there. Even with jet lag and the time change, Marissa shouldn't still be asleep. Alison took one glance at her daughter and knew something was very wrong. She brought her hand to Marissa's forehead and felt that the girl was burning with fever.

She shook her. "Marissa, sweetie, please wake up."

All she got was a half hearted groan from her daughter. That was enough to spur her into action. She was dimly aware of cramping and pain that her own body was experiencing. She stumbled towards the table where she had placed her phone the night before and she dialed 911. Once the phone call was completed, Alison had just enough energy to unlock the hotel door before she passed out.

Flint watched as Falcon finished up his conversation with one of the MI6 members. After he hung up the phone, Falcon shook his head. "They have nothing. They raided the apartment, and it was cleared out. The bomb squad is going over it with a fine-tooth comb, but they're not expecting to find anything."

Flint's phone rang. At first he ignored it, but when he saw it was from one of the local medical centers, he answered it.

"Mr. Dashiell Faireborn?"

"Speaking."

"My name is Karen Richmond and I'm an ER nurse at County General. Your wife and daughter were admitted a short time ago. Sir, I don't mean to make you panic, but they are in pretty bad shape and I think you need to get here as soon as possible."

Flint thanked the nurse for the call and told her he was leaving for the hospital.

Once he hung up, Falcon looked at him with concern, "Something wrong?"

"Alison and Marissa are in the hospital. I have to go."

"Oh my God, of course. What happened?"

The simple question stopped Flint. He realized he didn't know if they had been in some kind of accident or, were suffering from a sudden debilitating illness. "I don't know. The nurse didn't say."

"Okay. I'll give you a ride."

Flint shook his head. "No, I have a car. Stay here and keep working on this. Tell Duke and Hawk that I'm at the hospital and will let them know what's going on as soon as I can."

Flint ignored Falcon's further protests and raced to the hospital. However, once he got there he met a wall of resistance. The nurse behind the desk of the emergency room was on the phone. He tried to tell his story, but she glared at him as she angrily tapped her finger on a clipboard. Flint saw it was a sign-in sheet. He stared her down until she hung up her phone. "I'm Dashiell Faireborn, and from what I understand my wife Alison and daughter Marissa was brought in a little while ago."

She met his glare. "If you enter your information on the clipboard I can look up your family members."

Flint begrudgingly did as he was told. He then handed her the clipboard. At first the nurse typed away at her computer with a face of passivity. But something triggered a much more concerned look. "Sir, can I ask you to wait here a moment while I get someone."

As she walked away, Flint couldn't help but have his thoughts turn to panic. On his drive over he contemplated every various scenario. At first he thought that something was wrong with the baby, but that wouldn't explain why Marissa too was being admitted.

Flint's phone rang, but he silenced it. He knew it was Joe Headquarters calling, but he couldn't deal with them. They had also called on his ride to the hospital but he had ignored it then as well. A hospital administrator approached, shook Flint's hand and introduced himself. He then asked Flint to follow him to his office. Once they were seated, he got down to business. "Mr. Faireborn, your wife and daughter were admitted earlier this morning showing signs of an advanced flu-like virus. I do have one question for you. Have they been on any international travel lately?"

Flint nodded. "They just returned from London yesterday."

The administrator's face took on an even graver look. "I was afraid of that. I'm not sure if you paid attention to the news of the last couple of hours, but there are initial reports of some sort of bio-event that had occurred in London."

Flint's eyes widened. That explained the calls from Headquarters. They too were probably just cluing into the fact that the Red Shadows attack wasn't of a traditional explosive nature, but one of bio-terrorism. However, Flint couldn't deal with the big picture, he was too concerned about his family. "So what about Alison and Marissa? What's going to happen to them?"

"Mr. Faireborn, I always try to stay optimistic. We are doing everything we can for them. We have them both on a vigorous course of antibiotics."

Flint swallowed against the lump forming in his throat. "My wife is pregnant."

The administrator consulted his file. "Yes, the doctors are aware of that. I'm sure they are tailoring their treatment in the best interest of both your wife and the fetus. Due to the nature of this sickness and the fact that we don't know the origin or the characteristics of it, we have them both in isolation."

"I understand the precautions, but I want to see them."

"Mr. Faireborn, I know you are probably worried sick, but I have to caution you against that. Once again, we don't know what we are dealing with, so we can't expose you to them."

"You're talking about my wife and daughter. They are the two people I love most in the world. And from reading between the lines it seems like the consensus is that they are not going to survive. Do you really think I care if I too catch this virus? And furthermore, if you're worried about exposure we all spent the night together in a hotel room. So I'm pretty sure I've been exposed to all of their germs already."

The administrator sat for a moment, and then he nodded. "Okay. But in the interest of public safety, once you enter their room, we will have to quarantine you."

"I'm fine with whatever you need to do."

"I will talk to the staff about bringing in a third bed to make you as comfortable as possible." He picked up the phone, and asked one of the doctors to report to his office. Once he did, he led Flint through the hospital to an area that had been cordoned off. Another doctor was standing there holding a hazard suit, which Flint refused. He could only imagine what Marissa's reaction would be if she woke up and saw him wearing that.

After a final word of caution that Flint only half listened to, he was escorted into their room. He had been expecting the worse, but he still wasn't prepared for what he saw. He had never seen Alison look so pale. And Marissa was hooked up to so many tubes and wires he could barely see her.

The doctor that came in with him made a few notations in his chart. "I know your wife looks bad, but she is showing signs of improvement," the doctor explained. He was speaking through a microphone through his suit, so it was difficult to understand him. "However, her extremely high fever caused her to miscarry."

Flint nodded as he wiped away a tear. He turned from Alison to Marissa. "What about my daughter?"

"It's hitting her hard, but she's fighting. We're doing all we can for her as well. We've been in constant contact with several hospitals in London that are also battling this. We're pooling all of our resources to figure out the best cause of action. I'm afraid there is not much more for you to do for them other than wait."

In a daze, Flint walked to one of the chairs that was situated between the two beds. He looked from his wife to his daughter and tried to comprehend all that had happened.