- " […] I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life […]" –

(part of the traditional Catholic marriage vows)

Leonard woke in the middle of the night; blinking into the semi-darkness of the room unsure of what had roused him from his slumber. Next to him, Chris stirred in his sleep, murmuring something and turning to face him. Leonard reached out to gently pull him closer, and even in his sleep, Chris responded to the tender gesture and settled into his husband's embrace.

Something wasn't right, though. Leonard frowned, trying to chase the last fogs of sleep from his mind.

"Chris."

"Mhm…"

"You're hot."

Chris yawned, stretching slightly. "And you couldn't wait to tell me that until morning…? I'm flattered, but…"

"It's not that," Leonard huffed, touching a hand to Chris' forehead. "You're burning with fever."

"Am I?" Chris asked drowsily. He tried to sit up, but sank back with a low moan, closing his eyes temporarily.

"Are you in pain?" Leonard asked, alarmed.

"Just dizzy."

Leonard sat up, calling on the lights, and bent over Chris to closely examine him. His face was flushed and there was a feverish gleam to his eyes that Leonard didn't like to see at all.

"Chris, why exactly are you shuddering?"

"I'm cold."

Puzzled, Leonard drew an arm around him, helping him up and holding him close. "You shouldn't be. Judging from your body temperature and the color of your face, you should be feeling like an ice bear in the Mojave."

Chris managed a brief smile at that, but it was impossible to overlook the fact that he seemed to be highly uncomfortable.

"I'm taking you to Medical," Leonard announced.

"Now? It's two o'clock in the morning… Len, love, do I need to tell you that you're somewhat overreacting? So maybe I've caught a fever. What of it? You can give me a hypo, I'll sweat it out, stay home for the day and be fine tomorrow."

"You were perfectly fine last night, which tells me that this isn't just any odd fever. And you've spent yesterday afternoon with a survivor of an outbreak of the Modlari virus. So no, I'm not overreacting."

"Delia was tested," Chris protested.

"I don't care. I'm not taking any chances with you. So do me a favor and listen to your favorite doctor for once."

"Honestly, Leonard…"

Leonard cast him a look that stopped him from finishing the sentence. Grumbling something, Chris got up shakily and started looking for his clothes.

"Dad?" Joana's sleepy voice came from upstairs. "What's going on?"

"Hush. Go back to bed. I'm taking Chris to the hospital."

"What… is he sick?"

"Don't worry," Chris called upstairs.

"If you need anything, or if anything happens, call Laurel," Leonard told her. "We'll be back as soon as possible."

"Shouldn't I go with you?"

"No. Go back to bed. Everything will be fine."

"Do you live at the hospital?" Chris asked Leyla Maliki when she greeted them.

The doctor flashed him a grin. "Well, it's pleasure to see you again so soon, Chris. What's the matter?" She looked from him to Leonard and back.

"I want you to test him for Modlari," Leonard said.

Leyla raised her eyebrows.

"As always, he's completely overreacting. Every time I so much as catch a simple cold, Leonard freaks out and wakes up everybody in the middle of the night." Chris gave an exasperated sigh.

"We already had that discussion," Leonard snapped.

"It's unlikely that he could have gotten the virus from Delia," Leyla mused, before turning to Chris. "What are your symptoms?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Not you, too!"

"It's part of my job to be overprotective," she reminded him. "Part of Leonard's, too. And after all, he's not the one who had a specialist from Berlin fly in when there wasn't even a patient to treat."

"That was an entirely different situation!" Chris protested.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Now come along, I'll do the testing, and we'll have a cup of tea while we wait for the results. Shouldn't be too long. Luckily, the procedure is pretty simple."

Leyla had just poured them all a second cup of tea when one of her assistants, a young, olive skinned doctor with curly brown hair, entered the room, looking rather agitated.

"You need to see this," she told her superior, handing her a PADD without any further explanations. Leyla read, frowned, then cursed.

"My sentiments exactly," the young doctor said. "We need to lock down the entire ward and place everyone who's been in contact with the girl in quarantine. It's Modlari. I can't believe they overlooked it when they brought her aboard the Avicenna."

"Lieutenant Fairbanks assured me that she had been tested!" Leyla exclaimed.

"Well, maybe they got a bad batch. It's rare, but there is a slight margin of error, even with the most sophisticated testing methods."

Leyla nodded slowly. "Yes, there is," she agreed, "well done, Cassandra. See to it that all Medical personnel currently on duty in this section is alerted and that a list of everyone who has been in contact with Delia is drawn up. Then make sure that these people – all of them – get tested as soon as possible, either here or in other Starfleet facilities. If there is so much of the hint of a chance that one of them might have caught the bug, place them in quarantine and have everyone they interacted with tested."

She turned to Chris. "I am afraid we'll have to keep you here." And looking at Leonard she added: "I want you to get tested, and for safety matters, Joana, too."

Leonard nodded, looking distinctly paler than before.

"If I got the virus from Delia, then why isn't she sick?" Chris asked.

"Good question. There is a rare genetic trait in the Orion race, probably due to a mutation several centuries ago, that enables some of them to develop antibodies against the virus. Maybe Delia has it. We won't be able to tell for sure until we've tested her."

"If I can help…" Leonard began, but Leyla shook her head firmly.

"No. You stay with Chris. I'll send someone to your house to pick up Joana, and I'll have them test you both. Though I doubt that either of you caught it."

"Why me?" Chris asked, somewhat confused. "Why not you or one of the people on the Avicenna? I only spent a few hours with her."

"Because your immune system has been weak ever since you played host to that infernal slug thing," Leonard replied darkly, remembering Nero and his poisonous parasite. "And you tell me not to worry about you!"

He was looking at Chris, but there was no anger in his eyes – just concern and tenderness, and deep down, hidden for anyone who did not know him very well, something else, something darker.

Fear.

"I've got good news for you," Leyla announced, sounding almost a little too bright. Leonard looked up. There were dark shadows under his eyes and despite the early afternoon sun filling the room with rich, golden light, the atmosphere in there as well as in his mind, was rather gloomy.

"By every test we've been able to come up with, you and Joana are clean. So is everyone else working at Medical. There is a suspected case on the Avicenna, but they already have him quarantined and are treating him with the appropriate medication, just in case. Delia has also been tested, and she really does have those antibodies. She has been placed in quarantine, too, and everything she brought with her has been sent through decontamination. All in all, we are hopeful as to having contained the virus."

"That doesn't make Chris any less sick," Leonard stated, his gaze travelling back to his sleeping husband.

"True," Leyla admitted, stepping closer and leaning over Chris. "How is he?" She asked quietly.

"Not well," Leonard replied. "The medication knocked him out flat. He just contracted one of the most nasty viruses threatening human life and health, and he has to fight it with an already weakened immune system. That's like David fighting Goliath."

Leyla, who had heard the angry helplessness in his voice, put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Leonard. But then… look on the bright side."

"The bright side?" Leonard asked incredulously.

"David won, didn't he?"

Thanks for the input, Biatricie. You are right, of course, and I should have seen the mistake myself, since I learned that in 10th grade biology...;) Oh well, nobody's perfect. I changed it from "recessive" to "rare".

By the way - at this point, I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing this story so far. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it and thank you so much for the feedback! I would like to reply to every review I get, like some authors do, but I simply don't have the time. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate them, though!