ATTENTION: Stories marked with an * may contain material which would be better appreciated by those over 18. Parental Discretion is advised. This is your responsibility, not ours."Tainted"
"Hey, Birkoff... I think you'll be my best friend!" Gannon says happily as he pulls a large box towards the computers. "Is that the new computer I begged Operations and Madeline for eight months?" Birkoff asks, barely looking over at Gannon. Gannon sighs and laughs as he continues to drag the box. "I think this is much more important to you... I just got it off the supply truck." Gannon says as he pulls up short of the computers. "Gannon, I don't have time for this... there is a mission going haywire, two of our satellites are down, and I'm out of oreos!" Birkoff snaps angerily. "Birkoff... Supply truck?" Gannon says with a bright smile. Birkoff jumps up and sees the familiar logo on the box. "MY OREOS!" Birkoff sings out as he opens the box, and drags out a bag of the black and white cookie treat. "I thought Madeline had limited your Oreo supply... put you on a twelve-step program?" Gannon asks as he watches Birkoff shovel two oreos immediately in. "MMM.. she did.. until she found out that she couldn't give them up, either." Birkoff says as he wipes of the few stray crumbs from his mouth and smiles. "Better get some to Madeline.... Anna loves them." Gannon digs into the box and pulls out two bags. Some of the operatives stand around, laughing. Gannon smiles back at the one red head operative and then turns to be meet by the tall blonde operative. "Our oreos... thank you, Gannon." Nikita says as she grabs the oreos and quickly walks back to the office. "You have Nikita and Michael hooked on oreos too?" Gannon asks in shock. Birkoff, who has polished off three more oreos, again, wipes his mouth. "Nope... they hooked me." Birkoff says, still chewing one of the cookies. "Who, Nikita?" Gannon asks surprized. "Nope... Michael..." Birkoff answers, and Gannon shakes his head. In all the years that he knew Michael, he never thought that Michael would go for a junk food like Oreos. "I'll take these to Madeline." Gannon says, and he quickly leaves, before he finds out who else likes oreos. ************ "Mi-chael... time for a break." Nikita says as she shuts the door of the office and walks immediately to the couch. Michael looks over from his computer, and continues on. "Michael, am I going to have to cut off the computer?" "Nikita, you should be working." Michael says, cranky as he shoots a glare at Nikita. "Mi-chael... do you remember telling me how you wished you could get out of that terrible mood you've been in for three days now?" Nikita asks with a bright smile. "Are you playing Madeline, now?" Michael spits out as he turns off the computer and turns fully towards Nikita. "No, I am not. Now, come sit over here, with me... I'll make you feel better." Nikita says. Michael stares at Nikita with thin eyes. "Nikita... we don't have time to play around." Michael says. "Michael... don't worry, you'll feel better in no time!" Nikita says with a loud laugh. Michael moves over to the couch, knowing that he was going to hope that Madeline called them back from the adventure Nikita was ready to go to. "You know that I don't like quickies either!" Michael rumbles from deep in his throat. He sits down and Nikita snuggles in closes to Michael. "Look what I got!!!" Nikita sings out as she holds out one oreo in the air. She watches Michael's eyes bug out and can feel his pulse start to race. "Where did you get them? I thought they were contraband?" Michael says in a hushed voice. "Madeline is hooked... right off of the supply truck." Nikita says as she moves the cookie back and forth. She watches Michael trying to control his tongue from licking his lips, but it darts out, and wets the lips. Nikita bends down and quickly kisses the moisture. Michael's body fights, and does the same action over again. "Can I have it?" Michael asks, still in a hushed voice. Nikita bursts into laughter and drops the oreo towards Michael's mouth. He starts to take it in, along with Nikita's finger. Nikita smiles. It is nice to get her Michael back. Three days without oreos is just too long. "Mmm.. Michael.. I thought you said no playing around..." Nikita sings out playfully. Michael savagily pulls Nikita's body towards his. Nikita bends over and takes a chocolate kiss from Michael's lips. "Another?" Nikita asks, and she pulls the bag out from underneath the couch. Michael laughs. "Michael and Nikita... I sure hope you two are focusing on the mission.. and not on the oreos that Nikita took into your office." Madeline's voice rings out. Both operatives roll their eyes, and walks towards their own computers. ************ Madeline moved away from her phone with a smile on her face. She knew her operatives, and needed to shake Michael and Nikita up every once in a while. Now, Madeline walks to the table, wear she has placed her supply of oreos out on a plate, along with a cup of herbal tea. "Well, I better take a break, it won't take much to get Michael and Nikita off track, in the mood they are in." Madeline says outloud, and she sits down. Madeline starts to eat the first cookie, very elegantly. Gently taking little bits from the edges, and then polishing the cookie off. She sips the tea, and departs from elegances. She grabs the second cookie, and pulls the two black cookie parts, and licks at the white icing. Madeline smiles, and is enjoying her treat so much, she has not realized that Walter has entered. "Oh, Honey... that does something to me!" Walter says in a deep voice as he watches Madeline lick the icing. Madeline glares at Walter, and then pops the cookie into her mouth. "Would you like one? They taste amazingly better than I remember." Madeline says as she grabs for her third cookie. "Eveyone goes three days without oreos... and suddenly they taste better than before... Madeline, don't you think you should have enforced the twelve-step program?" Walter asks in complete seriousness. "Walter, you saw poor Birkoff for yourself. Now, tell me if that boy could function without oreos for a week!" Madeline says as she chews on the cookie. "What if he is on a mission in the jungle.... we can drop ship oreos to him!" Walter says angerily. "Oh, our food service is working on a freeze drying process that shrinks the cookie, and then when added with water, gets back to the orginal, delightful flavor, size, and texture." Madeline says very seriously as she sips at the tea. She tries not to grab another cookie, but her hand rules over her head. "He was crabby before... and now, you can't go near him without giving him an oreo!" Walter informs Madeline. "Oh, Walter... kiss me!" Madeline says, in a sudden burst of laughter. She leans back, and brushes her hand against Walter's shirt. Walter bends down, intending on a quick kiss, but Madeline grabs his hair. "Madeline! What has gotten into you!" Walter says as he pulls away from Madeline. "Oreos." Madeline says with a blank stare. The buzzer on her phone goes off, and she rolls her eyes. Walter, puzzled, stands off to the side. "Yes???" Madeline practically sings into the speaker. "We need someone to replace Birkoff." a timid voice echos over the phone. "And why is that?" Madeline asks, thinking that Birkoff probably went hunting some milk to go with the oreos. "Birkoff ate way to many oreos..." the voice says, still being very timid. Madeline listens carefully to the background. "Oh man! I'm not cleaning that mess up!" a male operative screams. "EEEWWWEEEEE.. that stinks!" a female operative joins in. "He is sick... has he gone to Medlab?" Madeline asks. "He is on is way... but making quite a mess... I didn't think he ate that many oreos..." the voice says. Madeline turns off the phone, and starts to walk out of the office. Walter follows, but is shocked when Madeline grabs two oreos and shovels them down before she continues out of the office. ************ Nikita stares down at the empty bags of oreos and shakes her head with a slight smile. Michael follows her gaze, and Nikita blushes and turns her head back to her computer screen. Yet, Nikita can feel a headache building in the back of her head. She tries to focus on the words, but they soon twist and move around, as if Nikita was looking at the screen cross-eyed. As Nikita tries to force herself to focus on the screen, the headache builds. She swallows hard as the thumping concentrates about two inches away from her ears, and goes all the way to her forehead. Michael watches Nikita, and can see the sudden wave of pain. Nikita grabs her forehead, and leans forward, and turns off her screen. She knows that it is not good that she still continues to see words. "Nikita, are you alright?" Michael asks from his desk. He feels a small headache, but ignores it quickly. Nikita swallows again, and forces herself to sit up straight. At first, she seems a lot better, but suddenly, she heaves for the garabage pail, just within her reach. Michael blinks his eyes, the smell is stronger than he has ever come across, and that was saying a lot. He pulls Nikita's hair back, and Nikita slowly sits up. "Nikita... are you ok?" Michael asks again. He looks down at her almost swollen face. "I just threw up... do you think I am ok?" Nikita fires back, with a slight smile. "Where is your calendar, Nikita?" Michael asks methodically. "What? Why do you need my calendar?" Nikita asks, still holding her pounding head. Michael starts to go through her drawers until he pulls out the tiny calendar. He flips to the calendar. He starts to count the days from the last smiley face. "Michael... put that away!" Nikita demands, and tries to pull it away, but her stomache clams down on her again. Michael's headache builds as he gets another batch of the smell. "Nikita.. we better speak to Madeline." Michael says as he folds the calendar, but Michael pauses, and runs to his own garabage pail. "Michael, I'm not pregnant." Nikita says as she sees Michael pull his head up from the pail. "How can you tell?" Michael says, hoping that Nikita would say that she just started her friendly visitor. "Because, then this throwing up would mean that your pregnant too... and I wouldn't want to know how that happened!" Nikita jokes lightly, but both holding back laughter, while holding back other vile mixtures. "OH, Man... you should smell the stuff... MAN OH MAN! YOU TWO TOO!!!" Walter says as he enters the office, and turns as his eyes water. "MEDLAB!" Walter bellows. He watches Nikita stand up, and can see her face turn green, just like Birkoff's and tries to run away. "Oh, thanks Nikita.. that was my favorite shirt!" Walter says in disgust. ************ "Madeline, I don't know what smells worse.. that.. goop or the disinfectant." Walter says as Madeline stands in Michael's and Nikita's office as she watches the cleanup continuing. "What is being done?" Madeline asks as she turns towards Walter, who has now changed into a black shirt. Madeline blinks her eyes in seeing the black shirt, the definately looks too tight. "They are just letting them.. ah.. upheave the mess.. they are being hydrated..." Walter informs Madeline. "Do we have any theories here?" "Those three went out for pizza last night together. It might be that simple." Madeline says as she looks at the office, not seeing anything out of place. "Sorry, honey, it's not simple food poisioning.... they told me that at Medlab." Walter says, and Madeline shakes her head. She snaps her fingers to an operative standing nearby. "Don't touch anything on their desks or computers, or anything else they have touched." Madeline orders and quickly closes of Michael's and Nikita's office. She points to Birkoff's desk and starts to walk towards her office. Just around the corner, Madeline and Walter is hit with the smell again. "They are all in Medlab, right?" Madeline asks. Walter nods his head. Madeline looks into the room, and sees Elana, in the process that Walter had labeled as upheaval. Madeline looks at Walter and shakes her head. "Medlab." Madeline calls out, and she looks for an operative to close off this room. "I must call Operations." Madeline declares and walks quickly from Walter. Madeline sits at her desk, and rubs at her forehead softly. She dials up Operations in Moscow. "Madeline, you don't look good." Operations declares before even saying hello. "We have a situation here." Madeline informs. "You always have situations. What is it this time? Need to go to Hollywood to select a movie?" Operations says very harshly. "Actually, our star duo is puking up their entire guts along with Birkoff and Elana.. if this isn't a situation... I won't bother you..." Madeline says firmly, and makes the motion to disconnect. "What?!? Do we know how?" Operations says angerily. Madeline continues to rub her forehead. She hears the door slam, and looks to Walter. "'Kita and Michael both confirmed that it started with a bad headache and quickly..." Walter starts to say, but cannot finish before Madeline leans over, and Walter walks away. He turns the screen. "I'll call ya, chief.. Maddie here must go to Medlab... we all know she loves Medlab.. couldn't even have Anna there!" Walter says, and he disconnects the computer connection. ************ Walter steps outside of Medlab, not being able to take the smell alone any longer. Operations had yelled and screamed at Walter, since no new information had been found. Birkoff continues to throw up, and doesn't show signs of stopping. The doctors continue to IV feed nutrition into all of the victims, now up to ten, including Madeline. "WALT!!! AWWWWAAAHHHHH!" Anna screams from Mildred's arms as she heads towards Medlab. Walter looks at Anna, and the smell hits him again. Now, all of these people, Walter has had contact with all day, and therefore it was determined that it wasn't being passed from person to person. "Is she?" Walter asks Mildred. "I should have told Miss Madeline not to leave those oreos were Miss Anna can get into.. junk food is not good for babies." Mildred says as she enters Medlab. "OREOS!" Walter suddenly screams, and heads off towards the computers, where the main stash was still at. Gannon is heading, about to open a bag. "Don't eat them!" Walter screams from still a distance down the hall. Gannon looks at Walter and raises an eyebrow. "With everyone sick, even I need a chocolate kick." Gannon says. Walter grabs them from him, and looks at the labels. He shakes his head, remembering quickly, of all the people in Medlab, all had been on Madeline's list of Oreo Eaters, excluding Madeline, she was still in denial. "The oreos.. take them to the Medlab.. I bet you all of my wages that they are tainted..." Walter says, handing the oreos back to Gannon. Gannon looks down at the bag, and realization suddenly hits him, as he remembers delivering the oreos to all of those in Medlab. "Oh, my... this could be bad." Gannon mutters. "They are all over Section." Gannon informs Walter as he starts a sprint to Medlab, with the questioned Oreos. Walter looks around the computer section and sees Oreos scattered around. He looks at some passing operatives and calls them over. "We must gather all of the oreos in Section. Search underneath every desk, in every drawer... find them and take them to T45." Walter orders, and the operatives start to move away. "AND DON'T EAT THEM!!! SPREAD THE WORD!" Walter screams out after them. ************ Walter moves over to Nikita's bed as the doctors move away from her bed. They had decided to pump everyone's stomache, just in case. They had easily found the light poison in the oreos. Nikita is still gasping for air, but for a different reason. "Nikita... sugar... do you still in the doc?" Walter asks as he touches her shoulder, but soon sees that Nikita's gasps are caused by tears. "No..." Nikita says in a soft moan, as she turns her head away from someone. Walter looks across the hall and easily sees Michael. He pulls the curtain around Nikita's bed and moves back to her. "Ok, sugar.. spill it." Walter says as he sits down on her bed. Nikita looks at Walter and then at the blanket. "When can I leave?" Nikita asks. Walter shakes his head. Why does it always have to be the ones that hate Medlab that need Medlab? "I'll see what I can do once you tell me what all of this is for." Walter says as he wipes at Nikita's tears. "When I first threw up... Michael thought.. thought I was... late." Nikita says, and then drops her head. "Are you?" Walter asks. "Late according to average standards... but with the stress of Section... no, I'm not." Nikita says slowly. "I guess you wanted to be." Walter says softly. "No.... but you can see it in Michael's eyes... sometimes I think he wants this more than wanting me." Nikita says softly. "Not a word to Madeline." Nikita says quickly. Walter raises his hand and then opens the curtain. He kisses Nikita's head and walks away. The doctor is just finishing with Madeline, and Walter grabs the doctor to stay. "When can they go?" Walter asks. The doctor sighs. "I don't make those decisions with certain operatives.. I no longer fight them." The doctor says, and moves away from Madeline's bed. "How is Anna?" Madeline immediately asks. "Fine.... she is already playing with some of the nurses." Walter says with a bright smile. "And everyone else?" Madeline asks. "Birkoff is the worst, but that is no surprize... Nikita is kind of emotional... but other than that... all are feeling hungry." Walter says with a chuckle. "Have we found the source?" Madeline asks. Walter nods his head. "Gannon intercepted some communications... seems one of our operatives had another operative from a small substation do the dirty work. Both have been cancelled." Walter says "Fine. Thank you. I want to go check the... ah.. them myself." Madeline says, standing up. Walter shakes his head. He should have never said that Nikita was emotional. Poor Nikita. ************ Madeline pulls Michael to the side as he tries to escape Medlab. Madeline had already missed Nikita, so she took the next best thing. "Are you going to do that each time Nikita gets sick?" Madeline demands. Michael looks at Madeline with the blank stare. "DON'T YOU BLANK STARE ME!!! I THOUGHT YOU THAT BLANK STARE!" Madeline almost yells. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Michael says, maintaining his composure. "You check the calendar, didn't you?" Madeline demands. Michael's eyelid flutters, and Madeline knows she has said the truth. "Does she mark it with a little checkmark? Or is it a heart? You counted the days... didn't you?" Madeline says firmly, continuing to watch the eyelid bounce. Michael moves his head away, knowing that the eyelid had given him away to Madeline, yet again. "A smiley face... and it has been 32 days." Michael says. Madeline closes her eyes. "Michael... stress alone can cause that... I bet you, if you count the other distances that you'll find out that Nikita wasn't 'late'." Madeline says a little bit friendlier. "Why this reaction from you?" Michael asks firmly back to Madeline. "Michael... Nikita knows of your want... don't let it overshadow your relationship." Madeline says, letting go of Michael and moving over to the other problem of the day. "Birkoff..." Madeline says as she approaches his bedside. Since Birkoff had eaten so many oreos.. he was still feeling pretty sick. "I know... no more oreos." Birkoff says, rolling his head way from Madeline. "I would like it if you cut down... but I can't keep you from them totally... We need a happy medium." Madeline says. "Take tomorrow off." Madeline says, and she leaves to retrieve Anna. Now Anna wasn't going to have another oreo in her life, if Madeline could help it.
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