You had been worried sick. All you had received from Tim that day was a stern phone call with an underlying sense of stress in his voice. He was telling you something that could jeopardize his job if you told others. There was a terror cell with a biological weapon, and he needed you safe and out of the way. The call had only lasted five more seconds after that, with quick “I love yous” and “be safe.”

Tim and yours had never been more clean. You had spent the first couple of hours trying to distract yourself from worrying about Tim, but it was always at the forefront of your mind, especially when you ran out of things to clean and began to pace. You were debating whether to call Angela or Wade for some information, but you knew they wouldn’t be able to help. It wasn’t until your phone rang and you saw Angela’s name that your heart dropped. It always did when one of Tim’s coworkers called you when he was on shift instead of Tim directly. The feeling only grew worse when Angela’s only words were to meet them at Shaw Memorial Hospital with sirens in the background.

The drive felt like a fever dream, as if it took seconds when in reality, it took you ten minutes to get there. You were greeted by Lucy and two nurses who were trying to coax or force Tim into a wheelchair, but he adamantly refused. “I’m walking fine, aren’t I? I’m fine.” Tim bit his lip and clenched his teeth, holding his head where you could see a large purple and blue bruise underneath. As you swiftly approached, Tim caught sight of your blurry figure in the corner of his eye and immediately turned his attention to you. His eyes softened significantly, and he opened his mouth to speak before you interrupted him, ignoring the confused looks from the two Rookies.