Josiah waited until he was settled in his Suburban before pulling out his phone and dialing Chris's direct office number. "He ok?" was the brusque answer after two rings causing him to quirk a small smile. Chris tried to hide it under a gruff exterior, but it was no secret that he had a soft spot for all his men especially when they were sick or hurt.

"The doctor confirmed mono. He's going to be out of commission for a while."

"Where is he now?"

"I took him home and made sure he ate something. He was out like a light when I left. I'm going to make a grocery run and get him stocked up. He's got a lot in common with Old Mother Hubbard right now."

There was a moment of quiet from the other end of the phone before Chris spoke again. "We should put together a schedule of which of us can drop by and check up on him...give him a hand. He's going to need some help for a while. He's not going to feel up to doing much of anything."

This time, Josiah let out a rueful chuckle. "Do you really think he's going to go for that. You know how he gets."

"If he feels half as bad as I did when I had it, he's going to have no choice," Chris countered.

Josiah heaved a sigh. "I suppose you're right. I was thinking of staying the night when I got back with his groceries.

It was Chris's turn to chuckle this time. "Somehow I knew you would." There was a pause and what sounded like Chris shuffling papers before he spoke again. "I'll relieve you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'll get with the rest of the guys and figure out a schedule. With any luck, we'll all survive this."

M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7

Ezra wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep when he woke up. The movie he'd started to watch had ended replaced by what looked to be an infomercial. Since the movie had been half over when he turned it on, he guessed it had been at least an hour that he'd been sleeping.

The townhouse was quiet, other than the soft sound of the TV. From that he deduced that Josiah hadn't returned from the grocery store...or he had and then left. He quickly discarded that thought. He knew Josiah well enough to know that before leaving for the day, he would have either waited for him to wake to let him know he was going or left a note. There was no note, and he didn't remember waking up, so Josiah just must not have come back from his grocery run.

Ezra lay still for a while trying to figure out what it was that had woken him up. It wasn't because he was no longer tired because lord knew he still felt like he could sleep for a week. He didn't have to ponder for long when he felt his stomach roll and he swallowed against rising nausea. That's what had woken him up. As the seconds went by, he regretted having eaten the scrambled eggs earlier. He should have held firm when he'd told Josiah he had no appetite. He was determined that he was not going to give into the nausea.

He lay still for another minute or so when he couldn't fight it anymore. With a sudden rise of bile, the tenacity he prided himself on fizzled away. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he got up from the couch as quickly as he could. For a moment, he thought he was going to lose the battle with his stomach right there as he found himself tangled in the blanket. He finally got free from it and made a headlong dash to the hall bathroom knowing he'd never make it to the ensuite in his bedroom.

He dropped to his knees on floor and pulled up the lid of the toilet just as his stomach contents made a very painful reappearance. It felt like everything he'd eaten in the last year and then some kept coming up. He braced his arms to hold himself over the toilet as he prayed it would just end. Finally, the vomiting gave way to dry heaves that soon ended.

He dropped down to sit on the cold tile floor. Glancing down at himself, he saw that his aim hadn't been particularly good as both his bathrobe and the visible part of his shirt were soiled. "Good lord," he mumbled then scrambled back to the toilet as the site of his sullied clothes started a new round of nausea and vomiting.

Thankfully, it didn't last as long the second time as there wasn't much left in his stomach. Once the retching had stopped, he reached with a shaky hand to flush away the evidence of his sickness then dropped to the floor again. His breath was coming in fast, almost sobbing pants.

He took a few minutes to compose himself then very gingerly took off his bathrobe and pulled the shirt off as well. He should soak them both but didn't have the energy and just balled them up in the corner of bathroom. He heard a soft meow and looked over to the door. Kenny was standing there looking at him with what he could only call concern. "Not to worry, my friend. I'll soon be fine."

Grasping the edge of the sink, he used it to lever himself to his feet. He turned on the faucet then used his cupped hands to bring water to his mouth so he could rinse the vile taste away. He dearly wanted to brush his teeth, but that would mean going to the ensuite where his toothbrush was. He wasn't sure he'd have the wherewithal to stand and do the job after walking that far. As it was, just standing still was taking everything he had.

"You are a sorry mess," he croaked at his reflection in the mirror. His throat had been sore before the vomiting. Now, it felt like he swallowed acid. A chill went through him, and he wrapped his arms around his body. He needed to get warm, and he needed to lie down...and he needed to do both as soon as possible.

He stumbled to the door of the bathroom and looked up the hall in the direction of the living room and then in the direction of his bedroom trying to decide where to go. Finally, he shuffled in the direction of his bedroom. It was a little further away, but the thought of the soft, down-filled comforter on his bed won him over.

He made a beeline for the ensuite and grabbed the small trashcan he kept in there and put it by the side of his bed. He indecisively looked toward the chest on chest where he kept his nightclothes. Putting on a shirt would go a long way to helping him warm up. He discarded that idea when a wave a weakness washed over him. The few steps across his room looked like miles to him. Instead, he crawled into bed, pulling the covers up so only the top of his head was visible and curled into a ball hoping he'd soon warm up.

He thought he'd fall right back to sleep, but instead he lay shivering and feeling thoroughly miserable. He found himself wishing for the first time in a long while that someone else was there to take care of him. He hoped Josiah would be back soon and wondered if he could persuade him to stay with him for a while longer. Normally, he hated the thought of having to depend on anyone, but this was a completely different situation than he'd found himself in the past. He knew he was going to need help and the sooner he accepted that, that better. Eventually, his shivering stopped, and he drifted off to a restless sleep.