Don Eppes had to stop drinking. He knew because he'd gone out the night before and now it was 7 a.m., he was at work, and also fairly certain he was dying. He'd never had a hangover this bad before. His head was aching and his stomach was gurgling unpleasantly as he sat at his desk attempting to fill out paperwork.
"Hey," Don turned to see Megan approaching his desk, her brow furrowed, "you don't look so good."
"Rough night," Don shrugged.
"Maybe this will help," she handed him a steaming cup of coffee.
Don's stomach turned as he caught a whiff and he almost gagged, but he managed something in the vicinity of smile. "Thanks. Are David and Colby here yet?"
"I just talked to David. He stopped to grab bagels, and Colby should be here any minute."
"Good, we gotta go over the details of that case last week."
"The bank robbery?"
"No, the smuggling case."
Megan nodded. "I'll send them your way when they get here," she gave him a hard look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Thanks for the coffee."
Megan didn't look convinced but knew not to argue with her boss. Deep in thought she went back to her own desk. Don groaned softly and put his head in his hands. All he'd wanted was to get away. To be away from work, from his family. He'd needed some time alone. Granted, the dive bar he'd ended up in probably wasn't the best choice, but it had at least guaranteed his anonymity. Now that he thought about it though, Don tried to focus his fuzzy brain, he hadn't even had that much to drink. One beer, maybe two, knowing he'd be driving himself home. He hadn't felt drunk at the time, so how could his hangover be so awful?
Don's phone rang and he reached for it instinctively. "Eppes."
When he got off the phone ten minutes later he felt even sicker. David and Colby were walking toward him and Don rose, trying to pull himself together. "Megan said you were looking for us," David greeted him.
"Yeah, we've got bigger problems now. Remember that kidnapping about a year ago?"
"The Russian Diplomat's kid?" Colby asked.
"Yeah that's it. They just found her."
"You're kidding," Colby said shocked.
"Dead?" David asked.
"No, alive. They need us to come down and help. Let's get Megan and get down there."
The team met SWAT and Gary Walker down the street from the house. "What's going on Gary?" Don asked as he checked his vest to make sure it was secure.
"We got a tip. Family just moved into the neighborhood. Grandmother down the street is part of the neighborhood watch, recognized the girl from a newspaper," Gary said. "We got a male and female inside along with the girl."
"Doesn't sound like your typical kidnapping," David said.
"Maybe the kidnapper or the wife got attached. It happens," Megan said. "They can't have kids of their own or they just can't bear to kill the child."
"You think they're armed?" Don asked.
"I'd bet there are guns in that house," Gary replied. "Whether or not they have them on, that's anybody's guess."
"Well, let's treat it like they're armed, but be careful, we don't want anybody getting hurt," Don cautioned them.
Suddenly feeling like he was going to be sick, Don turned away and doubled over. You all right Eppes?" Gary asked.
"Don?" David asked, moving in closer when he didn't respond.
Don swallowed and straightened. "Yeah, I'm good. Come on."
His team seemed reluctant so Don pushed past them. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to ignore the pounding in his head and the churning of his stomach and get into position. "All units ready?"
Don got confirmation from each team. "On my signal. 3, 2, 1, Go, go, go!"
Simultaneously the three teams burst in through separate doors. "FBI! Get on the ground! On the ground now!" Don yelled.
Don cuffed the guy sprawled on the floor. "Don, we've got the girl, she's in an upstairs bedroom," Megan said through his earpiece.
"All right, are we secure?"
"Everything's clear Don, we've got the woman here in the family room," Colby said.
"Okay good, I-" Don stopped as his stomach lurched. He could taste bile in his throat.
"Tucker!" he managed to call to a nearby SWAT member, "take care of this guy."
As soon as Tucker had hands on the suspect Don pushed through the room and out the back door. He barely made it to the bushes in time to be violently ill. His stomach now empty Don took several minutes to pull himself together. He straightened and wiped a hand across his mouth, trying to get rid of the acidic taste in his mouth and the burning in his throat. What surprised him was that he didn't feel any better. In fact he felt worse, and now he was light-headed.
Turning back to the house he saw Megan approaching him at a rapid clip. He moved toward her quickly in an effort to hide the puddle of vomit now in the bushes. "Are you okay?" Megan asked worriedly. "Tucker said you ran out."
"Yeah I-" Don scrambled to come up with a plausible reason for his sudden exit, "I thought I saw something. It was just an animal."
Megan took in his pale and sweaty face and didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Don said moving deliberately toward the house, attempting to evade Megan's penetrating stare. "Is the girl okay?"
"She's scared," Megan said slowly, her eyes still on his face, "She's confused, but she's young, in a year or two she won't even remember."
"All right, let's get them in for questioning. Did anybody call the parents?"
"They're hopping a plane from D.C. right now."
"Good. Grab David and Colby and let's go."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews make me happy!