Your trip to Menagerie had come and gone. And the two of you had returned to Vale, safe and sound. But with travel, sometimes comes post travel sickness.

And if Weiss had anything to say about it, she was on the brink of death. And if you had anything to say about it, Weiss had a cold.

"I don't think I've ever felt this atrocious in my entire life."

She lays huddled in a ball under blankets on your couch. Where she's migrated back and forth from the bedroom to for the better part of the last three days.

She had made it through a day and a half back at work before what she refers to as 'The Plague' set in hard. The sneezing, the coughing, fever. All of it.

"I know you don't feel well and I'm terribly sorry." You press a kiss to her forehead. Mostly just to check on her fever. "And I will be home at lunch time to make sure you are still alive. I left you bottles of water in the refrigerator. There's tea already portioned out into the steeper for you, all you need to do is add hot water. And there is soup in containers in the refrigerator as well, all you have to do is put it in the microwave for two minutes. Get some rest. Watch awful day time tv, and I will see you in a few hours."

"Do you really have to go to work?"

She looks miserable. And you feel bad. But you also know that Ironwood's boss is coming to the office today, and you can't take the day off of work so that you can sit next to your girlfriend on the couch while she sleeps.

"I do. But I'll come home for lunch. And I will try and leave early today. I'm serious about those fluids and eating. You won't get better if you don't do it." You take the groan from Weiss as she pulls the blanket up around her neck as your queue to leave. "Try to rest. I love you."

The murmur from under the blanket sounds somewhat like an 'I love you too' but you aren't completely sure.

—

It had been weeks since you had presented your findings from the study and submitted all official final reports. And thus far, you had received little to no feedback from Ironwood about your success or failure.

What you did know is that the head of the university that sponsors all your department's research projects, and the place where Ironwood spends three days a week teaching, was coming to your office today.

So Weiss' cold or not, you had to be at work at least for that.

You're checking through emails and helping Velvet classify some data points when a woman with light blonde hair in a messy ponytail peers over the edge of your cubicle.

"Good morning. Are you Dr. Belladonna?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank God. Cute snowflake, by the way."

"Thank you. Glad to see you seem relieved to have located me. I wasn't aware anyone was looking for me." You stand up to greet this unknown person properly, extending your hand out towards her.

"My apologies." She takes your hand and firmly shakes it. "My name is Robyn Hill. I'm the dean of the university."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. Would you be so kind as to have a chat with me in the conference room? I will meet you there in say, 10 minutes? Just need to have a brief chat with Mr. Ironwood."

"Absolutely." What were you gonna say? No? Yeah right.

Once she wanders off to speak to Glynda, you turn back around and see the faces of Velvet and Sage peering over the tops of their own cubicles.

"I've heard she only comes to the office for something either really good, or something positively horrendous." Velvet's excitement seems misplaced, but not entirely out of character for her.

"Thanks Velv, that really helps to ease the anxiety I have brewing in my chest."

"I heard the last time she was here, like eight people got fired." Sage quirks an eyebrow and spins back around to face his computer.

"I'm just gonna go sit in the conference room and await my own demise then. Nice knowing the two of you, I think."

Somewhere in between the heavy sound of your pulse rushing through your ears you hear Velvet wish you good luck. And you give her a tiny thumbs up before sliding through the opening in the conference room doorway.

You probably waited less than five minutes, but it's felt like a God's honest eternity. Losing your attention span, your eyes drift off to the handwriting on the white board next to you. Looks like a plot of study for prothesis users and their behavioral alterations and their response to preexisting phantom limb pain. Interesting.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Just had to tie up a loose end."

"Truly not a problem."

"Well, why don't we have a seat. There's quite a few things for us to discuss."

"Okay." To say you're nervous is a grave understatement.

"I will start off by saying how pleased I am to arrive here and see that you are, well, you."

"I confess that I'm not really sure what you mean by that." You tilt your head slightly.

"When I read your name on the top of your study, you aren't the person I had expected to be seated in front of me now."

"Ah. You thought I was a guy. Gotcha."

"Exactly. But that aside, I'm always over the moon when I see women succeed in scientific pursuits."

"Good to know."

"But that's not necessarily why I'm here."

"Yeah I must admit, I have no idea why you have come to visit the department. The email didn't give any additional information or I would've been able to plan for.. whatever this is."

"Well, Dr. Belladonna, I have come here today with an offer I'm hoping you won't be able to refuse."

—

When you turn the key in the lock to open your apartment door, you try to be as quiet as possible. In case a sickly Weiss is asleep.

What you actually find looks more like a gremlin hidden under a cocoon of blankets, sipping hot tea out of your favorite mug while she watches some game show on tv.

"How's it going? Feeling any better?" You set your work bag and computer down in the chair and make your way to the couch to sit beside her.

"I do feel a little better. This tea must be magic or something."

"It should be. It's loose leaf and it's expensive as hell."

"Why are you home so early? It's not lunch time yet and you brought all your stuff with you." She looks at you, sniffing lightly.

"Aren't you just a modern day Sherlock Holmes, sleuthing around."

"Seriously though." She just stares back at you, unamused by your joke and clearly not feeling her best.

"I took the rest of the day off." This perks her up.

"Really?"

"Uh huh, because I have some news that I wanted to share with you. And I also said I'd need to discuss this news with you before I made any official decisions."

"Jeez Blake, you're making me nervous. Just tell me."

"The dean of the university came to the office today."

"And?" She sets her mug of tea down on the table.

"She told me that she's been following my work since I've started working for the university's location in Patch, and she's read my dissertation. And she was very interested in seeing how my recent study could be applied to other aspects of therapies, business processes and other stuff like that on a much more official and supported scale."

"So what does that mean?"

"She wants to give me my own department."

"Like all by yourself?"

"Yes and no. But I would basically oversee an entire team on my own. I would also be teaching people how to do what I do. And I would be required to teach lessons at the university two to three days a week. Basically, no more Ironwood."

"You would get to be the boss, huh?" This makes you chuckle.

"Only when I'm at work."

"This is absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah?"

"Of course! This is a huge deal for you and I'm so proud of you. If I didn't have the plague, I'd be kissing the hell out of your face right now. But why didn't you automatically accept? I mean, it's basically what you've always wanted to do."

"I just wanted to talk with you about it first."

"Why? It's a no brainer."

"Because I didn't want to accept something like this unless I had time to talk with you about it. It means a lot of amazing things for me, professionally. But I don't like the idea of making big life changes without at least telling you first."

"You know I'm always behind you one hundred percent."

"I know that. You are also at the heart and soul of everything for me so I just wanted to make sure. My job doesn't affect just me."

"You better get on that damn computer right now and send in your acceptance or give me the computer, I'll do it for you." She wiggles like she's trying to get out of the blanket cocoon and grab your bag.

"Oh no you will not." You hop up and grab your bag and sit back down. "Sit there and sip my expensive tea until you've been cured."

"I guess the doctor knows best."

Rolling your eyes at Weiss, you open your email and type up a response to Robyn's official offer letter. And at the very bottom you make sure it's signed 'Dr. Blake Belladonna' before you copy Ironwood on it and press send.