Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.
Hello again! Thanks, as always, to those who read and reviewed the last chapter. I was happy to see that there were still a few who remembered the story and returned to it! In what was a much faster turn-around time, I present the next chapter – enjoy!
Indeed, it was a long night. At two o'clock, Dr. Reynolds went upstairs and in his place returned Dr. Keyes. This was a welcome relief to Reid, Will, and Rossi as the good doctor saw the state of distress and stepped in alongside them holding bins, filling cups of water, and sponging fevered brows.
At long last, her pager went off. Dr. Keyes lifted the cold compress from Aaron's forehead and plucked it off her belt.
"The messenger is here," she announced. "He has the test results."
Though good news, nobody cheered. Aaron, J.J., Jack, and Henry felt too sick to do anything and Rossi, Will, and Reid were too tired to react beyond a small smile.
Dr. Keyes handed Rossi the compress and hurried up the stairs to meet the messenger. As the sound of her footsteps faded away, Rossi sat on the edge of Hotch's bed and began applying the cloth again.
"This means they can help Jack," he told his friend and Aaron, his eyes closed in attempt to mask the pain, nodded.
"And it means we can start building a more accurate profile," murmured J.J. She caught sight of Rossi's raised eyebrow. "You. You can start building a more accurate profile."
Rossi nodded.
"You got that right. You and Hotch aren't going anywhere or doing anything."
"That won't be a problem," Aaron groaned in pain.
"What is it?"
"Stomach."
"Do you want me to see if they can give you anything?" Rossi repeated the question from earlier in the day and wasn't at all surprised when the agent changed his answer and gave a stiff nod.
"Alright, I'll ask as soon as Dr. Keyes returns. Try to relax."
"I can't," muttered Aaron. "My instincts wake me up every time I hear Jack throw up."
"Jack is well taken care of," Rossi assured him. "Reid hasn't left his side."
Hotch opened his eyes enough to see Reid sitting on Jack's mattress, quietly reading to him from The Hobbit. A bin was resting in Reid's lap, ready to be used if the need arose, and Jack's eyelids were heavy.
There were footsteps on the staircase and Dr. Keyes appeared with a thick manila envelope. She dropped it on the desk and walked towards them holding two files.
"These are Jack and Henry's results," she said once she'd reached Hotch and J.J.'s beds. Will joined them quickly. "The good news is that the labs in Atlanta were able to determine that the influenza strain does not pose a public health risk. That is, it's not contagious through human or animal contact. It requires direct and purposeful contact with the germ for infection to take hold."
"What's the bad news?" Rossi hesitated to ask the question everyone wanted to know the answer to.
"The lab was also able to confirm this is a genetically altered avian flu."
"Why is that bad?" J.J. asked.
"Because," Dr. Keyes answered gravely. "Whoever genetically altered it made it drug resistant."
Her words hung in the air like lead.
"Drug resistant?" Rossi repeated. "You mean there is no cure for this? There's nothing you can do?"
"There are several antiviral medications in existence," Dr. Keyes answered. "And we'll try them but if the lab is correct, none of them will be effective."
"And if they aren't effective, how do you treat the strain?"
"If we're lucky, whoever altered the strain also made an antidote."
"How long do we have before this becomes serious?" Hotch asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Agent Hotchner. This is already a serious situation but there is still hope. The CDC is working on finding an antidote and we have the antiviral medications to try. If they don't work, we will begin treating the fever, the pain, and the nausea separately. You are all healthy and strong with uncompromised immune systems. We hope that with a little help from the medicine your bodies will begin fighting the strain and you'll begin to recover."
Hotch nodded.
"I'll start Jack and Henry on the antiviral medication first," Dr. Keyes continued. "And then I'll come back with your first round of treatment."
Dr. Keyes donned a pair of gloves before going to Henry's bed. She changed the IV solution and, with Will's help, coaxed some oral medication into her youngest patient. By the time she finished working her way down the line, the boys and Hotch were already asleep and J.J. was beginning to doze off.
"I suggest you three get some sleep yourselves," Dr. Keyes said to Reid, Will, and Rossi. "I'll be awake and keeping an eye on them."
"Before we do, Doc," Rossi said. "I have a couple of questions about what the lab report said."
Dr. Keyes nodded and Dave continued.
"You said that the H5N1 strain has been altered to be drug resistant, which means no cure."
"That we know of."
"But someone knows it; the person who made it."
"Yes."
"But we don't know who that is. Is the CDC doing anything to find out more about where this strain came from?"
"I'm sure questions are being asked and, as I said, the labs there are working 24/7 to find an antidote."
"Is it being investigated?"
"I don't know, Agent Rossi. I'm a primary healthcare giver, not an epidemiologist or policy maker."
Rossi nodded.
"One last thing," he continued. "You mentioned the strain isn't communicable by human or animal contact?"
"That's right. It requires direct and purposeful contact – it could be as simple as touching a contaminated object and then putting your finger in your mouth."
"Thank you for your time," said Rossi, beckoning Will and Reid to follow him upstairs.
"Someone did this on purpose," Reid said as soon as they were in the kitchen. Rossi nodded.
"While we suspected it, we know now for sure," he said in a serious tone. "We need to figure out who and why."
"And most importantly," Will said. "Find where the cure is."
The rest of the night went by quickly and by seven o'clock, people had started appearing in the kitchen.
"Morning, Emily," Rossi greeted over his cup of coffee.
"Morning," Emily replied. "How are Hotch and J.J.? Have the lab results come in?"
Dave nodded.
"I'll wait until the whole team is here to share what the lab sent back," he answered cryptically. "But when I brought Dr. Keyes some coffee, everyone downstairs was sleeping."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"They were given sedatives."
"Less good, then."
Emily sat down with her coffee and took a muffin from the basket on the table. Will and Reid stumbled into the kitchen moments later, both sporting dark circles around their eyes. Morgan joined them a few minutes after that.
"Where's Garcia?" Rossi asked, eager to brief the team before Dr. Reynolds came to take their vitals.
"Her door was still closed," Morgan answered. "Do you want me to get her?"
Rossi nodded curtly.
"We have new information," he said. "And we need to get moving on it."
"That doesn't sound good," replied Morgan.
"It's not," sighed Will.
"I'll wake Garcia."
Morgan bounded up the stairs and knocked on the door to the room next to his.
"Baby girl?" he called. "Are you awake?"
There was no answer and he turned the knob.
"Garcia?"
He heard a low moan and pushed the door open further. The room was still completely dark thanks to black-out curtains and Derek followed the pathway of light from the hallway into the bedroom.
"Penelope?"
It took one look at the lab tech for Morgan to know something was wrong.
"Garcia!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Someone help!" he yelled as he bent over Penelope.
"Come on, baby girl, wake up."
Garcia groaned and tried to push off Morgan's hand to roll over.
"No," Derek said firmly. "Come on, open your eyes."
He could see the effort it took for Garcia to focus her gaze on his face. She blinked slowly as Dr. Reynolds, Emily, and Rossi burst into the room.
"I found her like this," Morgan explained, stepping back as Dr. Reynolds hurried to her side, unlooping the stethoscope from around his neck.
"Was she alright last night?" Rossi asked and Emily nodded.
"Seemed to be."
"We need to move her downstairs," Dr. Reynolds said in a no-nonsense tone. "She needs immediate attention."
Without hesitation, Derek stepped back up to the bed and picked her up, bridal style. Dr. Reynolds followed him down the two flights of stairs and Morgan gently placed Garcia on the empty bed next to J.J. He watched helplessly as Dr. Keyes and Dr. Reynolds quickly inserted an IV line and tried to bring her temperature down.
"Morgan," said Rossi quietly. "We need to debrief without them around."
Morgan kept his eyes trained on Garcia a moment longer and then nodded, following Rossi upstairs.
"How is she?" Reid asked immediately.
"They're treating her now," answered Rossi. "In the meantime, we learned some new information last night."
He recounted what the lab reports had said about the new strain of H5N1.
"How do you want us to proceed?" Emily asked when he was done.
"Reid and Emily, I want you keep working on the lists Garcia had generated but focus it in further. Look for people who had access to the avian flu virus and the ability – both knowledge and facilities – to genetically alter it. Once that list is narrowed down, look for connections to the BAU, no matter how trivial."
"Got it." Emily nodded and she and Reid hurried into the study.
"Morgan, I want you to pull together a list of everyone we – all of us, including Henry, Will, and Jack – had contact with in the last two weeks. Avian flu has a relatively short incubation period but we need to be sure we don't miss anyone who may have had the opportunity to poison us. Cross check those names against the ones Reid and Emily pull."
"What about me?" Will asked tiredly.
"Take care of your family." Rossi answered simply.
Morgan went to the study and Will and Rossi returned downstairs.
"Uncle Dave?" Jack called when he saw him. Dave hurried over, glancing at Garcia as he passed her bed – both doctors were still leaning over her.
"How are you feeling, Jack?" he asked.
"A little better," Jack told him. "What's wrong with Miss Garcia?"
Rossi tried for an encouraging smile but it was strained at best.
"Did your dad explain what quarantine was, Jack?"
"Uh-huh."
"They put us in quarantine because there was a chance some of us could still get sick. Miss Garcia got sick last night and the doctors are taking care of her."
"Just like Daddy and Miss J.J."
"Right. It's nothing to be worried about because they'll all get better soon. So will you and Henry."
He may not be a child psychologist but Dave suspected that hearing they were sick with something medicine couldn't help would not be beneficial to Jack's prognosis.
"Can I have something to drink?" asked Jack and Rossi smiled.
"Of course. What do you want?"
"Orange juice."
"Coming right up. Do you want a muffin with it?"
Jack nodded and Rossi went to fetch the food and drink.
"Your dad would be so proud of you right now," Rossi told him as Jack ate the muffin without fuss. "And so am I."
To everyone's relief, Jack did not throw up the muffin or the orange juice.
"It's a good sign," Dr. Keyes said brightly. "Well done, Jack."
Jack smiled at the doctor and then looked at Dave.
"Can you keep reading to me? Mr. Reid stopped right when the dwarves were stuck in the jail cells."
Rossi smiled.
"Sure thing, kiddo."
He picked up the book, pulled the chair closer, and began to read.
By comparison, the morning was quiet in the quarantined house. Dr. Reynolds made his rounds collecting everyone's vitals and then he and Dr. Keyes sat hunched over the desk, looking at requisition forms for supplies and medications to try.
Dave read to Jack until the boy fell asleep and when the older man looked up, he smiled, stuck a page marker in the book, and tucked the blankets around Jack's shoulders.
"Thanks for reading to him," Hotch said quietly and Rossi looked over to the next bed.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Since the barrel escape," answered Hotch, smiling. Rossi chuckled and went to his bedside.
"How are you feeling?"
"My stomach's settled but that's really the only change."
"Good. Jack managed to eat some breakfast this morning."
"That's the best news I've had all day. How's Garcia?"
Hotch had clearly noticed yet another member of his team had joined their ranks.
"I'm not sure," admitted Rossi. "I haven't asked since she was brought down here in the first place. She was in rough shape when Morgan found her."
Hotch glanced down the ward at her and frowned; the lab tech was the only one being provided oxygen through a nasal cannula and she had two IV bags hanging over her head.
"How's the rest of the team?"
"Still healthy, if that's what you mean. Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss are still looking for the answer and Will hasn't really left Henry's side."
Both agents glanced over to see Will fast asleep on Henry's bed.
"That's not the first time he's done that," Dave said.
"I can't blame him, though." Aaron replied. "I'd do the same if I could."
"I know," said Rossi patiently. "But I've been staying with him, so has Reid."
"And I appreciate it."
Rossi smiled.
"You should get some sleep," he said. "Unless I can get you something to eat?"
"No, thanks," Aaron answered quickly.
Dave laughed and said he'd be back later. As Aaron was shifting in his bed trying to get comfortable, Rossi went upstairs. He glanced at his watch and was surprised to see it was already quarter to eleven.
He went into the study and found three quiet, intent-looking agents.
"Any progress?" he asked.
"We've got the list down to about fifty names," Emily answered. "But so far none of them have any connection to the BAU, or even the Bureau for that matter."
"If you don't get anything, try casting a wider net. Look only for people with the knowledge to do something like this – microbiologists, genetic scientists, that kind of thing – and try again. Facilities can be found if the need is desperate enough."
Emily nodded and looked back down over Reid's shoulder at the computer screen.
"What about you?" Rossi asked Morgan.
"I've finished the lists for the BAU," Derek replied. "And I'm working on Henry's but Rossi, this is a ton of people. It was a little easier for us because we interact with so many of the same people but there are tons of possibilities – grocery store clerks, bank attendants, taxi drivers, you name it. It's going to take forever to check them all out."
"Prioritize them," Rossi said. "Start with the ones who show up on more than one list."
"That's not a lot," admitted Morgan. "For the BAU there's a lot of overlap but Will has a completely different routine and don't even get me started on Jack and Henry. Different classes at school, classmates and their parents, teachers, after-school programs, sports on Saturdays."
"There only has to be one that overlaps between us all."
Morgan nodded.
"Then I'll find it. How's Garcia?"
"Sleeping."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"You look exhausted."
"I have long ago learned that sleep can wait until everything is right with the world again."
Morgan raised an eyebrow.
"I also have learned," Rossi sighed. "That my body doesn't agree with this logic."
"Why don't you take a nap?"
"I've never been able to nap."
"Then at least put your feet up and take it easy. We're dropping like flies; you don't want to be next."
"The sad reality is that we have no control over it anymore. Whether or not we get sick is not dependant on how much rest we get or how well we eat."
Morgan thought about that for a minute.
"Hell of a scary thought," he muttered.
"Is it ever," Rossi said. "So let me help you figure out who the one in a million is."
Two hours later, the four agents had made progress but it was a drop in the bucket. Emily hated cases like this because she always felt they were missing something blaringly obvious.
"Who wants lunch?" Morgan asked, tossing down his pen and notepad. He stretched and his spine cracked.
"Me," Rossi said, leaning back in his chair.
"I'm starving," Emily added.
"Reid? Something to eat?" Morgan repeated.
"No, thanks."
"Kid, you need to eat."
Reid didn't look up from the laptop.
"I don't feel great," he said as if it was just another day at the office and he could work through the discomfort.
Emily met Rossi and Morgan's eyes and then they all looked at Reid.
"Reid, why are you not downstairs then?"
"I want to finish this before they hook me up to an IV and insist on bedrest. It's not too bad yet and I'm of more use here than I am downstairs."
"It doesn't work that way," Emily said. "If you're sick, you need to be treated."
"And preferably before you end up in a state like Garcia," added Derek.
"Come on," Emily literally pulled Reid to his feet. "I'll come down with you and see how everyone's doing."
"And we'll make lunch," Rossi said.
Reid was less than happy about being put to bed, poked, prodded, and then told to rest.
"I'm not even tired," he mumbled. Emily smiled.
"Would you like a stack of books?"
"Yes."
"And lunch?"
"If I have to."
"You should try."
"Fine."
Emily shook her head and went upstairs. Rossi and Morgan were spooning up bowls of soup.
"Reid's all settled?"
"And extremely unhappy about it," Emily replied. "He wants something to read."
"There are books on the shelves, pick the thickest volume," Rossi advised. Emily laughed but did just that – she found The Lord of the Rings, Les Misérables, and Anna Karenina. She brought them down to Reid.
"There," she said. "That ought to at least get you to tonight."
Reid glanced at them.
"I've read all these."
"Read them again."
"I have an eidetic memory. I don't need to read them again."
Emily rolled her eyes and left Reid to eat his soup. He and Jack were the only ones enjoying lunch – Hotch was valiantly trying for Jack's sake but Emily knew that very little of the soup was going to make it into his stomach and if it did, it wasn't going to stay there long.
"How are you doing?" Emily asked, perching on the end of J.J.'s bed.
"I'm surviving," J.J. answered. "It's not great but it's better than last night."
"Good, I'm glad you're at least feeling a little better."
"It reminds me of being pregnant, actually."
"You felt this terrible?"
"For the first few weeks."
"If that's not effective birth control, I don't know what is."
J.J. laughed.
"It gets better after a while, or you just get used to it." She glanced down the ward; Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Keyes were eating their soup, still preoccupied with forms and research on how to best treat their patients. "Any progress on the case?"
"We're getting there," Emily said loud enough for Hotch to hear as well – he'd turned their way when J.J. asked the question.
"As Rossi put it, we're literally looking for one person in a million – someone we've all had contact with who had the means and ability to do this."
"I imagine the seven of us have very similar circles," Aaron stated. "Try talking to Will again, and Jack and Henry if you can. Whoever this was likely had to go out of their way to interact with those three given the rest of us spend so much time together."
Emily nodded.
"I will after lunch," she said.
After lunch came and went. Emily had every intention of speaking with Will, Henry, and Jack but things fell apart in a rather disastrous fashion.
It began when Jack threw up his soup and began crying.
"It's alright, Jack," Hotch said, struggling to get out of bed to comfort his son. Morgan and Emily were upstairs cleaning up from lunch and Dr. Keyes was on the phone with the CDC in Atlanta. Dr. Reynolds glanced up but saw both Aaron and Dave responding to the incident and therefore didn't act.
"No, it's not," blubbered Jack. "I was getting better and now I'm sick again."
Hotch found this particularly challenging to deal with and fought with his IV line in order to get to Jack. Finally, he gave up trying to detangle the tube and simply unhooked the tubing from the cannula.
He was already on Jack's bed with Jack's face pressed into his stomach when Dr. Reynolds came hurrying towards him.
"Agent Hotchner," he said sternly. "I can't permit this; you need to be on your medication."
"Just let him have a few minutes with his son," Dave interjected. "The poor boy's scared and sick."
Dr. Reynolds looked very annoyed and Jack looked up.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm okay. Daddy, you can go back to your bed now."
"It's alright, Jack," Hotch said without even glancing at Dr. Reynolds. "I'll stay with you for a few minutes."
"No," Jack insisted, pulling away from Hotch. "You're going to get in trouble."
Dave shot a pointed look at Dr. Reynolds, who softened slightly.
"It's okay," he said finally. "But just for ten minutes and then I need to get you back on your drip."
Aaron didn't bother to thank the doctor and it was just as well because Jack had immediately hugged his father close again and was sobbing.
"Jack, shh … Jack, it's okay ..."
All of Hotch's attempts at soothing the crying boy were in vain and to be honest, Aaron couldn't blame him. Jack had been sick the longest out of all of them and unlike Henry, he didn't have a parent constantly at his side, holding him until he fell asleep. A pang of guilt washed over Hotch but he tried to swallow it and focus on what he could for Jack in the next ten minutes.
"It's alright," Hotch mused, rubbing Jack's back. Dave watched the heartbreaking scene before leaving them to have some privacy. He saw J.J. watching Hotch and Jack and there were tears in her eyes.
"I wish I could make it easier," Dave said quietly and J.J. nodded.
"Me, too."
After ten minutes had passed, Hotch managed to pry Jack away and tuck him in – Jack had nearly cried himself to sleep anyway – and Dr. Reynolds returned to hook up the IV.
"Thank you for allowing that," Hotch said and the doctor nodded.
"I know it can be hard for young children when they're sick and don't have a parent taking care of them."
Hotch didn't reply – he knew the feeling all too well and it was no easier being the parent leaving a sick child – and tried to relax.
Will was having just as hard of a time as Hotch was in dealing with this. Of course it helped that Will wasn't bedridden but Henry was so clingy that he barely let go of his dad when he was awake. Henry could see J.J. a few beds away but was too young to understand why he couldn't snuggle with mommy or fall asleep in her bed. He cried endlessly when he was told he couldn't see J.J. and the only thing that made him stop was Will's constant presence. The only time he could leave was if Henry had been given a sedative to ensure he slept.
Of course Will was more than willing to stay with Henry but it was taking its toll on him. The three year old's clinginess and subsequent crying meant that Will was not getting much sleep himself and his sleep cycle was slowly converging with the sporadic naps Henry was taking throughout the day. And of course Will was worried about his son and wife; he more than anyone else had the most at stake in finding a cure.
As they ate dinner in the kitchen, Emily had forgotten about speaking with Will or the boys but the case was still their topic of conversation.
"I wish there was a faster way to get through all these names," Morgan said. "But there isn't."
"Slow and steady is how this one is going to be solved," replied Rossi. "There's nothing we can do but keep going."
"What if we get sick?" Emily asked. "What if we're slowly wiped out until the entire BAU is sick and there's no one left to find who did this. Then what?"
"Then we call in another unit to take over the search." Rossi said confidently. "But we can't think like that. We're all still healthy and we'll keep working until we find the bastard or die trying."
"That's not funny," Morgan replied.
"Excuse me," Dr. Reynolds appeared in the door to the kitchen. "But once you're done eating, I need to collect blood samples. The messenger from Atlanta will be to collect them in about an hour."
"What happened to the midnight handover?" Morgan asked.
"They pushed the collection forward to accommodate another flight schedule."
This explanation satisfied Morgan and he stood up to follow the doctor into the living room. Emily followed a few moments later and Rossi was last. He sat down in his favourite armchair and rolled up his sleeve. He wasn't paying much attention to what the doctor was doing – in all honesty, he was so tired that he started dozing off almost as soon as he'd sat in the armchair – but he felt the prick of the needle.
"Sorry," Dr. Reynolds apologized a moment later and Dave felt the needle coming back out. "The vein slipped."
Dr. Reynolds went through the process of holding a cotton ball to the injection site and finding a new needle and sterile vial.
"Let's try that again," Dr. Reynolds said. "On three … one, two, three."
The needle went in cleanly this time and after a minute, the vials were filled and Dave rolled down his shirt sleeve.
"Thank you," said Dr. Reynolds, smoothing a sticker label onto the vial. "You feel alright?"
It was a routine question by now.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Be sure to get some sleep tonight."
Dave nodded and left the living room. In the study he found Emily and Morgan back at work and he joined them. He wanted to see how the rest of the team was doing – Jack in particular – but he knew he was of more use here than making small talk at a bedside.
He ended up falling asleep on the couch, a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
I have actual plans to finish this out now so it shouldn't be too long for another update – your reviews are very appreciated, thanks!