Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews! Updates may be a bit less frequent this month (nanowrimo) but I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Tell me what you think!

connection re-established

Nigel Uno didn't consider himself easily fazed. When Numbuh Five declared her desire to leave the team, he didn't blink. He regarded her for a moment. Then, he said, in his usual sarcastic way, "You're joking."

Numbuh Five shook her head.

"You must be," Nigel continued, "if you can't even look me in the eye when you say it." Numbuh Five did look at him then. He went on. "Furthermore, you can't just leave. I haven't given you my permission."

"Numbuh Five didn't ask for your permission," the girl snapped.

"Take off the headphones, Numbuh Five. Obviously, you aren't hearing me."

Numbuh Five reached up and slowly removed the headphones from her ears. The whole time her hands were moving, she was glaring at Numbuh One. He felt her eyes boring right into his. They were dark and angry.

"In case you've forgotten, this is a team and I am its leader. You have a responsibility to this team and above all, to me." Nigel thought he saw her flinch. He stifled a sigh. He knew he could be really hard on Numbuh Five but she was his second. She had to be able to take his harshness. She'd never taken exception to it before. He cleared his throat, which felt suddenly scratchy, and continued. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you today but it's certainly no reason to walk out on your obligation. Why don't you go out for a few hours, take a break? I'll tell everyone you weren't feeling well." He thought she'd appreciate the respite from duty but as Numbuh Five shoved her way past him in sullen silence, he wondered if maybe he might've handled the situation better…

Nigel walked down the corridor back to the main elevator. He pressed the down triangle and when the lift reached level twenty-five, he walked inside, pushed another button and sagged against the back wall of the box. His eyes went to the ceiling as the elevator began its gentle drop. He was saying the wrong thing a whole lot lately. Nigel thought he'd seen Numbuh Four grimacing during his speech earlier and it seemed that recently, every time he was around Lizzie, his foot was lodged in his mouth. He imagined he could taste the rubber soles of his boots on his tongue. The strangest thing was that making Lizzie upset didn't bother him nearly as much as not being able to say the right thing. Weren't all the best leaders great orators as well? The elevator reached the main level and Nigel stepped out and walked back to the common room. The rest of the team was still eating cake.

"Where's Numbuh Five?" Numbuh Two said around a mouthful of butterscotch icing.

"She's not feeling well so I told her to get some rest."

"Anything I can do to help?" Numbuh Three perked up.

"I…don't think this calls for your assistance. I'm sure she'll be fine." He wasn't, though. Nigel couldn't help but feeling that maybe he'd gone too far…No, he'd worry about it later. He cleared his throat. "Numbuh Two, I have a matter that I must discuss with you…"

Numbuh Five wasn't feeling well. Even though Numbuh One had "given her permission" to go out and take a break, she didn't feel like setting foot outside of the tree house. She didn't want to see the sun. Her stomach hurt, she felt inexplicably cranky and every other minute, her eyes threatened to spill over with tears. She though about the team's mission, how the battle against adults never seemed to end, and she wanted to bawl. She thought about Joaquin and the other hamsters that powered the tree house, running and running, every hour of the day, running to nowhere. It made her want to sob. She thought of decommissioning. She felt cold and alone. And the worst thing was, this wasn't her! Numbuh Five didn't usually think about stuff like this. She didn't cry about hamsters. Numbuh Five never cried. It was as if some alien was holding her captive inside her own body and forcing her to watch as it did everything the wrong way. Everything she said was wrong. Everything she thought was…

There was a tap at her door. Numbuh Five tossed aside the pillow she'd been clutching and rolled over onto her stomach. "Yeah?" she called to the door.

"Hey, Numbuh Five." Numbuh Two pushed the door in with one hand. There was a saucer of cake balanced on his other palm. "Numbuh One said you were sleeping but I thought you might like a mid-nap snack." He chuckled a bit at his joke and waited for Numbuh Five to tell him how lame he was.

"Thanks, but Numbuh Five's not hungry."

Numbuh Two looked concerned for a moment but then he smiled. "I'll leave it in here anyway. Temptation, you know?" He set the plate on top of a stack of CDs on the nightstand next to Numbuh Five's bed. "Anyway, I hope you feel better. The tree house'll be pretty quiet in a while anyway so you can get some rest."

Numbuh Five sat up. "Mission?"

Numbuh Two shook his head. "Nope. Numbuh Three's gonna go with Numbuh Four to the arcade. Good present, by the way." He paused to snicker. "The look on Numbuh Four's face…" Numbuh Two stopped laughing when he noticed Numbuh Five's impassive face. "Yeah…and me and Numbuh One have this thing tonight so I have to pick up Numbuh 78--"

"Oh, don't tell me Numbuh One's into that stupid game too. What, is there a Yipper card convention tonight? Do the nerds get points for bringing new converts?" Inwardly, Numbuh Five winced. Why did she keep saying these things?

She'd hurt his feelings. Numbuh Two's head was bowed and he was locking and unlocking his fingers. Numbuh Five opened her mouth to apologize when he spoke.

"It's not…not Number 78, it's Numbuh 78…I mean, Angelie…we're supposed to be getting together with Numbuh One and Lizzie for…you know, for a thing."

Numbuh Five gaped at Numbuh Two as he blushed crimson.

"Well, yeah, so….it'll be quiet in the tree house. Enjoy the cake." Numbuh Two practically ran from the room.

Numbuh Five was in shock. Numbuh Two…had a date. She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

transmission interrupted