**Chapter 1: A Lead and a Lurch**

Alec Hardy had felt off all day, a nagging sense of malaise that he'd tried to shake off as he pored over the latest developments in the case. The breakthrough they'd been waiting for had finally come, and he was determined to see it through, no matter how under the weather he felt. It wasn't just the exhaustion of a long investigation that was weighing on him, though that didn't help. It was the personal stuff, too - his daughter Daisy moving back in with her mom, and the ache that had been growing inside him since she left his place. As he and Ellie Miller drove back to the station, Alec's gut began to churn and his stomach started to roil. He tried to focus on the conversation, on the details of the case and what they meant, but it was no use. The nausea was getting worse, and he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead. "Ellie, can you pull over for a minute?" he asked, trying to sound casual, but his voice came out tight and strained. Miller looked over at him, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong, Alec? You okay?" Alec nodded, trying to play it off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to...uh...stretch my legs." Miller raised an eyebrow but pulled over to the side of the road. As soon as the car stopped moving, Alec pushed open the door and stumbled out, making a beeline for the treeline. He barely made it behind the tree before his body betrayed him, and he was throwing up. When he finally emerged, pale and shaken, Miller looked at him with a mixture of worry and amusement. "What took you so long?" she asked, trying to stifle a grin. Alec forced a smile, feeling embarrassed. "Just...just had to get out of the car for a minute. I'm fine now." But he wasn't fine. The nausea was still churning in his stomach, and he could feel it rising again. "Ellie, can we please pull over again?" he asked, his voice laced with desperation. This time, Miller wasn't buying it. "Alec, you just got out of the car. What's going on? Do you need to pee or something?" Alec shook his head, feeling a sense of panic rising. "No, it's not that. I'm just...I'm really sick, okay? If we don't pull over, I'm going to...I'm going to be sick all over your car." Miller's expression changed from amusement to concern, and she pulled over to the side of the road once more. "Okay, okay. What's going on, Alec? You're really freaking me out."