Emily was in her office, completing her own reports for an upcoming congressional oversight meeting. It was one of those rare, boring days, she should have been completely at ease but she wasn't.

She knew that it was highly unlikely that the team would stay insulated from the current situation and that once it started to really affect them, it could cripple the team. She actually had her suspicions that Garcia was hiding something and had a bad feeling about what that might be.

She pushed her chair away from her desk and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. This whole situation was a nightmare. There was no choice, one way or the other, she needed to know if her suspicions about Garcia's strange behavior were right. She stood up and walked to Garcia's office, but she didn't wait for a reply before coming in. The office was dimly lit as usual, Garcia's myriad of small toys, plushies, and framed photos gave it it's lived-in feel. She registered instantly that Garcia had nearly lept out of her chair when the door had opened, as though she hadn't heard Emily knock.

"Emily… wh-what are you doing here?" Garcia asked horsley. "D-did we get a case?"

"No, there's still radio silence on that front."

"So what are you doing here?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and gavally, as though it hurt to talk.

"I just thought we could, you know, hang out for a bit, it's a quiet day… honestly if I have to look at one more sheet of paperwork I think my head's going to explode…" Emily replied as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Garcia. It was only half a lie.

She attempted a laugh, but this too, seemed to cause her pain. "Oh I hear ya…" she said, that's when she finally turned to look directly at her friend, and as soon as she did, her secret was out.

Emily studied Garcia carefully, her face had a pale, flushed tinge to it, there were beads of sweat on her forehead, even Garcia's heavy makeup couldn't mask the fact that she looked as though she could pass out at any moment, and it was hard to tell but Emily could swear she was shivering slightly.

"Garcia…" Emily began.

"Yeah Em?"

"You're sick aren't you?"

"Wh-what? N-No I'm not, what gave you that idea?" She asked, forcing herself to appear more alert. That was her intention anyway, but as soon as she straightened up, she started coughing again, covering her mouth with one hand and spinning her chair so she faced away from Emily with the other.

"That. Among various other things, like the fact that you've been avoiding us all day, plus you look pale and tired and just generally...not well…"

"I'm fine, I can keep working, I promise. Kevin and Monte are already home sick, if I go home too who would we get to take over? Huh? What? No one? Yeah exactly… I don't wanna let you guys down…" Garcia insisted.

"Garcia. I, admire your dedication, and you know we all appreciate everything you do to keep this team functioning, but you're also our friend, and we love you. Just because you can keep this up, which, to be honest I'm not sure how you're managing that in your condition, that doesn't mean you should. You're no good to anyone if you pass out. It won't be easy but we'll manage, please go home… get yourself to the infirmary and when they check and see that I'm right, you'll be free to go, and we'll see you in two weeks when you feel like yourself again. Ok?"

Garcia sighed heavily. "Ok fine…" She said, standing shakily and picking up her things.

"You want me to walk you down there? Because I will…"

"No thanks Em, I got it… I feel like crap but I'm not quite that bad just yet…"