As Doc drove back into the parking lot of the Brew Pub, she noticed the activity, or perhaps the lack thereof, first. The usually crowded entrance was deserted, and the cheerful noise, which spilled out the door and into the street when the doors opened, was deathly silent. Trash was emptied and then emptied again. Everything was a bit more rigid than it had been that morning, and the tension in the air was unmistakable.

Scanning the parking lot, Doc finally spotted what she was looking for, and it made her blood run cold. Carefully, she parked the big SUV in the parking lot, and led the couple in the back door, up the stairs, and down the hall to Nate's apartment. She knocked twice, and got no answer. It was the work of a moment for her to pick the lock and lead the couple inside, where she seated them in the two chairs that made up Nate's small seating area.

She opened her phone and sent two text messages, then closed it and looked at the couple across from her.

"Do you know why you are here?"

The older man shook his head. His wife remained silent.

"I have some friends who wish to talk to you." She paused, seeing the look on their faces. "You have nothing to fear from me or my associates. You'll be safe here, if you stay in here."

(0o0)

Doc had just moved back into her office, and was preparing to examine Rachel again, when there was a knock on the door. Without really waiting for an answer, the door opened, and in walked the Surgeon General himself.

Doc nodded at him and said, mildly, "You really should knock before you enter a clinic room, where examinations might be taking place. You know that, Doctor."

"Well, Kitty, if you had checked in with me as I asked you to do, I wouldn't have had to come see for myself what's going on."

"My apologies. I was a little busy setting up this makeshift clinic and tracking down the people who might have been exposed, so we can get them the help they need."

"So everything is under control, then."

"Everything. Why do you ask?"

"You don't seem to have many patients," he said, glancing around the room.

"Oh, this? This is just the treatment room. For those who needed to be quarantined, the owner of this building was nice enough to allow me to use all of the apartments on this floor. All I have to do is make rounds twice a day."

Walking over to stand face to face with the Surgeon General, she looked him in the eye and said, "Why are you here?"

He glared at her, to no effect, and said, "I just told you why I'm here."

"You've never felt the need to check up on me before. And if you did, you might call, but you wouldn't normally come in person. You can't possibly think I wasn't doing my job."

While she was speaking, she had taken hold of his arm, and led him to the chair in front of her desk, guiding him to sit in it. Hastily, he shook his head, acknowledging her words.

"No. Of course not, Kitty. I guess I'm just a little nervous. Congress has caught wind of the epidemic, and they are breathing down my neck for answers.

"So, you'll tell them the truth—that you have two of your very best officers working on it, and the situation is under control, and will soon be in the past."

"Thank you, that makes me feel better. I'll just check in with Vance for a SIT REP from his standpoint, and then I'll be going."

"Not so fast." He gave her a funny look. "You walked into my medical emergency and quarantine. You've now been exposed to hepatitis. I can't let you leave without an exam and a vaccine."

"Kitty," he started to say, but she cut him off with a shake of her head. "You are under my care, and it's my job to keep you safe. You know better than to ask me to break regulations for you. That's not going to happen, and I would hope by now that you know me well enough to know that, even without asking."

He nodded. She motioned to one of the cots in the room, and he grudgingly moved over to it and stretched out, untucking his uniform shirt as he did so. She probed his liver. He didn't seem to have hepatitis, which made sense, since he was not on the trip with them, and had only been exposed for a few minutes here. Still, she couldn't afford to take a chance.

She filled a hypo with her back to him, talking to him as she did so.

"How's Angelica?"

"Oh, she's fine. She's not happy I had to be away from DC this close to our anniversary, but she knows I'll be back soon."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to have you at least you aren't overseas."

"True."

"Drop trou and turn over for me." He did so.

"What year is it this year, General?"

"Thirty two," he said, then sucked in a breath as he felt the medicine going into his rear.

"Congratulations to you and to your beautiful wife. Make sure you keep moving," she said, indicating the spot where she'd given him the injection. "It helps."

He was tucking in his shirt when she looked up. He nodded, wincing as he did so. He managed to walk out of her office, and across the hall, dignity mostly intact. As the door closed behind him, she heard him knock on Vance's door.