Disclaimer: No, I still don't own anything.

Yay! Chapter five is in da house! Heh. Sorry. I just couldn't help it.

This story is getting fun to write. If only you understood how much more interesting it gets. Hee. I know stuff. Thank you guys so much for the reviews again! They're what drives me. If it weren't for you guys, this fic would not be going anywhere. Yay!

Enjoy!

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The next day, Ingrid was filled with even more dread than she had been the day before. She was going to be trapped in the office all day with the stupid forms and nothing to focus on but the confusing thoughts running constantly through her head.

"You'll be fine, Ingrid." she muttered to herself as she entered currently vacant HQ, dropping her backpack on the back of her chair. "You can handle this. You're just under stress. These 'emotions' are just tension induced. They aren't real. Just forget about it and concentrate on getting the rest of you forms filled out so you can just go home already. You'll be OK, it's the last day of this......"

"Talking to somebody?" Fillmore's voice came out of nowhere. Ingrid whipped around and stared him in the face, slightly embarrassed but she kept her cool. It seemed more like the normal Ingrid Third was in control of her body today.

"No. Sorry. Just giving myself a pep talk. Not like that's going to be enough to get me through all this paperwork," she said, feeling a bit more like her old self again and sliding into her chair.

"Yeah. At least we'll be done after today. Gotta look forward to tomorrow," Fillmore said. "And I can't help but notice you seem a lot better. Some of the stress getting better?"

"Very, very slightly," Ingrid said. Fillmore grinned and walked back over to his desk.

'The emotions aren't real. The emotions aren't real.' Ingrid thought. She was a person normally driven by logic. That was who she was. And it was strange to her to have emotions more in control. She began dealing with the evil library book notice forms once more.

Ingrid didn't even bother to attempt focusing on the forms. She started letting her mind wander almost immediately. This wasn't a good thing, but Ingrid decided it didn't matter on a job this trivial. She was usually so focused on any task she might be assigned to. It was unlike her to slack off.

She'd had another dream last night, and so it was almost impossible to look at Fillmore normally today. She tried to see him the way she used to, but it was difficult. As she glanced at him, she realized that she had pretty much been lying to herself, telling herself it wasn't real. Who was she kidding? Certainly not herself.

XXX

"Well, that's about as much as I can stand," Fillmore said, slamming the record book on his desk shut.

"My thoughts exactly," Ingrid said, shutting hers also. "If I have to look at one more of those annoying little slips I'm going to snap."

"Well, I'm starving. What do you say we bail and get some lunch?" Fillmore asked, standing up and grabbing his backpack.

Something about the thought of talking to Fillmore outside of the job made Ingrid feel uneasy. But she sternly scolded herself mentally. 'Get real. This is Fillmore we're talking about. You really think it's going to be weird?' she told herself.

"Uh, sure. I need a break," she said, standing up.

"Great. Anything to get out of this place," Fillmore said, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. The two of them walked out the door.

XXX

"Wow. I'm a Safety Patroller, and I'm truant. What are the odds?" Ingrid asked, sliding into her side of the booth and picking up an egg roll.

"It feels kind of weird, doesn't it?" Fillmore said, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. "I must be losing my mind. I guess this whole thing is getting to me, too."

"Who would have thought the great Cornelius Fillmore would take lunch off just to avoid duty?" Ingrid asked. Fillmore snorted into his soda. Ingrid grinned at the sight of him mopping up the puddle he had made. There was a pause as Fillmore tried to get the fizzy drink out of his nose without causing an unsightly scene. He gave up and blew his nose loudly on a napkin. Ingrid broke down and started laughing, trying not to choke on her egg roll. Fillmore watched, shaking his head. He stuffed the napkin into the nook behind the napkin holder.

"Well, that was interesting," he said, resuming his eating normally. Ingrid tried to swallow her giggles. Fillmore smiled. "I've never seen you laugh so much, Third. I suppose you enjoyed seeing me publicly humiliate myself?"

"I suppose I did," Ingrid said, her laughter slowly dying away. There was a pause.

"Well, maybe I can finish eating without causing another scene. How much do you want to bet?" Fillmore asked.

"I'll bet you lunch tomorrow that you're going to choke," Ingrid said, starting to enjoy herself.

"It's on," Fillmore said, taking another bite of his egg roll.

There was a brief pause. Ingrid was about to say something when suddenly Fillmore gasped and choked on his egg roll. Ingrid laughed.

"And I emerge victorious," she said. Fillmore coughed up the bit of egg roll he'd been choking on and pointed frantically over Ingrid's shoulder. She turned around to see John Hasseny walking out of the building.

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Gasp! The fugitive has been sighted! (bites her fingernails)