The Doctor

It was not hard for Ralphael to get into the Fairmont, nor to be very quickly ushered by James the doorman (who was off shift and worried about his young friend) up to the suite where Jessica was staying in, rapping his knuckles smartly on the door.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, for what must have been the eighth time in the past five minutes, "Very worried about her. She didn't look good, not at all, definitely doesn't look good... I hope you can catch who did this to her, or convince her to talk to the cops. Need to get this sorted out."

He knocked on the door again and fidgeted, looking at the smartly dressed man curiously. "I know she said to let you in, but... who are you, exactly?"

On the other side of the door, Jessica had an ice-pack against her nose, wrist cradled against her chest. She had taken her frustrations out on the bathroom wall down on the lower floor, feeling the shock impacting up her arm and now she had a dull ache in her wrist and forearm. She hoped she hadn't broken anything - except the tiles that had chipped away and the skin across her knuckles. The beginnings of a black bruise were forming around her left eye, along with a dark one along the length of her jaw, a cut low along her jawline marked where Faith's third punch had landed. Her nose was a little swollen, as was her lower lip. Underneath her shirt, there was a bruise where she had been punched in the stomach and another in the shape of a boot against her side, that darker bruise giving way to several other ones, revealing the damage done by the force of that kick.

Her shirt still had blood on it, she couldn't get it off without thinking she was going to scream in pain so she had yet to change. Her ribs had already taken more than a battering in her life, they were easier to break than they had been three years ago. She swallowed and hobbled towards the door, unlocking it before she put the ice against her nose again.

"'s open," she muttered, knowing it would be Ralphael on Bethany's behalf. She backed up from it. The last thing she needed was a door being opened in her face. She just wanted to sleep it all away, but she couldn't quite get comfortable when she had tried, so she'd given up. "C'mon in."

( Mutual Friend )

( Not A Fair Fight )

( That's The Spirit )

( Home Safely )

[NPC Ralphael was written by Mands & NPC Nurse Haley was written by Willow]

She carefully drove her small SUV-hybrid down the residential street to avoid slipping on any icy slick spots. The satellite radio played a classic 80s song. The music of the 80s strangely appeal to her now since late Fall. The Shade of Winter by the Bangles seem a good match for the gray overcast skies over Chicagoland.

The trip from the heart of Chicago to Toby’s house was uneventful with the usual traffic for this time of day, shortly before the mad rush hour. Kathleen had left her things under the stairs at his house last night, because her stay at the Holiday Express near the airport was only for the one night. The Fairmont was more long term, till she found an apartment to lease.

Toby had said for her to drop by later in the day, and that either he or his housemate would be there to let her inside to get her things. She hoped that he would be there because felt like having something eat, and maybe they could go get something or order in. She preferred to have company for dinner, than eat alone in a restaurant, even as nice as they might be back in the Fairmont.

Alec had just finished his shift for the day and for the day after that, apparently he was allowed a day off, which was a welcomed relief. He'd spent way too many hours in the hospital since his arrival in Chicago and the whole point of coming to Chicago was to get away from work and experience life or as much as you could in a city where demons roamed the streets.

It didn't take him very long to get home, the engine of his bike clearly audible from over a block away. There was nothing more freeing or exhilirating than riding a bike at full speed down a long empty stretch of road, Alec loved it and he also loved the potential danger. What? He was a bit of an adrenaline fuelled danger junkie, always had been.

It was as he was pulling up outside of the house that his brow furrowed beneath the dark visor of his helmet, there was an unfamiliar vehicle on the drive. Alec cut the engine and kicked out the stand, pulling one leg off the seat of the bike before easing it down onto the stand. He reached up and unbuckled his helmet, sliding it off his head to reveal that wonderful helmet hair of doom. Alec quickly sorted that out by reaching up and rubbing a couple fingers through the short strands, tipping his head at the woman stepping out of the car.

"Hey, can I help you?"

( What's Your Poison? )

( Exchanging Numbers )

Session Start (All Work No Play/Infelicitas)

All Work No Play: Let me guess, you fell asleep and left your computer on. Again. You have any idea how sad it is that your online status says '48hours, 55 minutes and 30 seconds'? ;) Toooby, wake up, I'm bored, entertain me!

Infelicitas: I'm awake!! I'm just trying to download something and it's taking a really long time. So technically, yes, I have fallen asleep with my computer on, but not right now. Kinda glad you weren't in the other day when I woke up from crashing on the keyboard and I had imprints on my face. That was embarrassing. And I'd left my contacts in. My eyes feel like they're on fire.

Infelicitas: Anyway, I don't exist to entertain you! :p Don't you have some doctor to do that? No, wait, that's you ;) And it's totally not sad that my status says that. It's quite epic. I'm going for 100 hours. Just because.

All Work No Play: Uh-huh sure you are, I can practically feel your lightening quick wits from here ;) Y'see I didn't really need to be there to see it, you've just told me and I can now use my very active imagination to envision it. Either that or just wait for you to do it again and snap a pic!

All Work No Play: It's slow, very slow. There was a mad rush over New Years and now it's like a (excuse the wording) graveyard o.O. You, dear Toby, need to get out more. I'm totally dragging you away from your precious computer and into the real world for a night.

( I hate you )

( In Your Dreams )

Personal Journal Entry of Alec Lee Reed

It's the same every year without fail.

I'm the new guy so I pulled the short straw as far as working New Years went, a long 12 hour shift that began and ended the same. You'd think for the turning of a New Year people would let things alone, but you'd be wrong.

Arguing couples, car accidents, fights, stupid pranks that somehow (God only knows how) went wrong and the occasional family on the brink.

I spend every New Years Eve hoping that things will be different, that I'll be surprised - I never am. Different city, same bullshit. People always ask me why I don't look forward to the New Year and I always tell them that my job doesn't really lend me to the same excitement as everybody else.

Least this year I have a place of my own and I'm not holed up in some random hotel room because my apartment may or may not have gotten flooded. My parents called just before the clock struck midnight and I proceeded to listen to my mother complain about me still being single. I think she wants grandkids, but she'll be lucky.

Although there was this cute nurse on shift with me, maybe I'll ask her out? Or not, mixing business with pleasure never works out. Been there, done that, never again.

The biggest things about the last year are of course: my move, meeting my first vampire and vampire slayer. Who would have thought it? Not me that's for sure. In spite of everything I do think I made the right choice by moving, I wasn't happy.

Maybe just maybe I'll have a better chance at knowing what happy is like now that I'm here.

One can hope, right?

Alec had settled into his new hospital with relative ease, getting to know the doctors and making friends with the nurses. He was already well liked and welcomed into the hospital, it was a good environment to work within. Even so he couldn't help but notice the plight of patients not so accustomed to the hospital, how they eyed the walls like they might fall down around them and how they poked at the food. There was always a heavy feeling of misery at this time of year and it was always the same: people lost family members, others were struggling for money, some had been unlucky enough to fall ill and others were there because they had nowhere better to be and at least in hospital people paid them attention.

He'd been assigned to a particular family where the sixteen year old girl had tried to take her life, her parents blamed television and the video games she played, but there was more to it than that. Alec could see it, the way she avoided eye contact and how she would never talk about school. He'd tried, she never wanted to say anything. He suspected she was being bullied, but he couldn't be sure, it was just a feeling he had.

"Hey," he said as he entered the room and offered the girl a smile. "How are you doing today?"

The girl whose name happened to Mariah simply lifted her shoulders into a shrug. "Okay, I guess."

Alec picked up the clipboard at the end of her bed and glanced over the notes taken by nurses doing their regular checkups. "Where are your folks?" For worried parents they were sure absent a lot, talking on their cell phones or blaming one another for their daughter being in the hospital. Alec wouldn't put it past them to blame Mariah for ruining Christmas, they seemed the type.

"Around," Mariah said vaguely.

Alec put the clipboard down and approached the bed, picking up her bandaged wrist to gently unwind the bandage so he could check on the healing cut. It was strange how his fingertips tingled at the contact but he put that down to the sudden change of temperature as he'd been out talking to the paramedics before checking in on Mariah. "They do that a lot, huh? Just disappear?"

Mariah gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah, they do."

Alec tipped his head and once satisfied that the cuts were sufficiently stitched and healing he wrapped another clean bandage around the wound. "My folks were the same. Always had somewhere they needed to be. The wonders of having parents that work, huh?" He glanced up at Mariah and smiled. "Mom always had some case to work on and dad? His pager was always on so invariably it always went off at the most important times." He checked on her other wrist. "Your folks like that?"

Mariah nodded her head. "Yeah, I don't see them a lot."

"But you'd like to," Alec muttered as he filled in the blanks, looking away after Mariah had given a nod of her head. "Yeah, I can imagine you would. Most kids do." Once he was satisfied with his observations Alec returned to the clipboard to write down his thoughts on the paper. "Do you find it easy to talk to them? About stuff at school?"

Mariah's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Nothing's happening at school."

Alec simply tipped his head and lifted an eyebrow. "Something must be going on if the only option you think you have left is to take your own life." He was silent as he let Mariah soak that up, making a few extra notes on the next page. It would be easier for the psychriatrist assigned to Mariah to understand what was going on if they had detailed notes to work off of. "You should try talking to them."

Mariah just shook her head and gave a small sad smile. "They wouldn't listen. They never listen to me."

Alec felt something in his chest twist at the sad accepting look on Mariah's face. He hated when he saw young teenagers ignored by their parents especially when being a teenager was one of the harder things there was to be. Kids were cruel, unfortunately. Mariah was clearly in need of a lot of love and attention. "Well if you can't talk to them I know somebody you can talk to. She's a lovely lady and she'll be introducing herself to you in about an hour or so. Her name's Claudia and she's a good person, I think she'll be able to help if you let her."

Mariah frowned and fiddled with the edges of her bandages as she hid behind long dark hair. "Yeah, maybe." She lifted her shoulders into another shrug and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Try it," Alec suggested. "It might make you feel a little better. Until then I'm afraid you're stuck with me, but I think I've bugged you enough for one day. I'll check in on you a bit later." Alec smiled and turned to leave the room, pausing only briefly when Mariah called her name.

"Doctor Reed?"

"Yeah?"

"You could do one thing for me."

Alec turned on his heel and waited, wondering what if anything he could do to help.

"Could you maybe tell the nurses that I hate red jello? I feel bad everytime they bring it in and I always feel like I've got to eat it." Mariah bit her lower lip and gave a sheepish smile.

Alec laughed and nodded his head. "Consider it done, Mariah. Consider it done."

( Voicemail for Izzy )

Once he had some free time and he wasn't working a ridiculous from dusk to dawn shift at the hospital Alec had made a call - first to Toby, to let the other man know he was in town and looking to meet up and it was agreed that he'd make ahouse-call and then a second call to that woman Faith, to basically ramble about the other night and how he had his suspicions about a guy working within the hospital's morgue. Mostly it was just an excuse to drop a message and see about meeting up again or something to that effect, it wasn't often he got to meet a Slayer or a woman like that.

Currently he was stood outside of what he hoped was the right house for Toby or else he'd be very embarrassed when somebody opened the door and gave him this blank stare when he asked the question "are you Toby?" unless a woman opened the door and then it would be fairly pointless.

He raked his fingers through his hair and then curled his hand into a fist, rapping his knuckles against the wood. Hopefully he had gotten the hang of this direction thing, he was definitely not getting as lost as he had in the beginning.Yay, progress?

Alec glanced over his shoulder as he thought he heard something in a nearby bush.

Toby tilted his head when he heard a knock on the door and Wolf barked. It was unusual for him to do so, but his feet could be heard on the other side of the door as he headed towards it, excited at the prospect of more attention and someone new and fun to play with him.

"Hang on!" he yelled, flicking the coffee pot on again considering he'd gotten distracted and the water had gone cold. He then padded out into the hallway, almost tripping over his cat. He had been expecting Alec for a little while now, ever since the doctor had called him and he was quite excited. He'd even cleaned at the prospect of the guy coming over. It would be nice to have someone else living in the apartment, after all, he was a social creature and living alone did not really suit him.

He reached the door, glasses perched on the end of his nose. He pushed them up as he pulled it open, greeting whoever was on the other side with a huge, welcoming smile.

"Alec, right?"

( Introductions )

( Nitty Gritty )

( Serial Killers, Axe Murderers And Vampires )

Izzy sipped her hot chocolate as she perused an article in the latest issue of Popular Science, taking a break from her Christmas shopping in the cafe of the mall's bookstore. Shopping bags laid at her feet, the fruits of her efforts to find presents for the people she'd come to consider family since arriving in this dimension. The tech-witch had been on the go since the mall opened that morning, trying to get all the shopping done today and the stop in the bookstore cafe was a way to recharge the batteries before continuing to brave the throngs of other shoppers all looking for the best deal.

Alec officially hated maps and poorly explained directions, he was lost and had been for the last... three hours. He'd been determined to find his way around Chicago, bad weather and all, but clearly he was failing miserably. Eventually even Alec Lee Reed had to admit defeat and he did so by entering the local mall and looking for somebody who might have some idea of how he got to the hospital he was supposed to be working within. It would be pretty bad of him to turn up late on his first day, he didn't really relish the thought.

A couple shops later and he found himself in the depths of a bookstore cafe type place and was doing his best to explain things with the map and the scribbled notes of a co-worker who went by the name of Lauren, she was his contact in Chicago and had met up with him to exchange information but unfortunately her phone appeared to be off today, Alec had tried.

"I'm pretty sure I went that way," he shared with a rueful smile and a small laugh as the girl behind the counter gave him a sympathetic smile. "Can you tell I'm from out of town yet?" Alec was fortunately blessed with an easy charm that managed to win over most people, a few exceptions here and there.

( Crash Course )

( Dealing With Magic )

Jetlag: Alec hates it, he's always hated it. It's an essential evil but it's one he wishes he could do without; it's bad enough he's in a strange city but he also feels like he's slogging his way through thick treacle which has somehow wrapped itself around his ankles.

He has bags over his shoulders and directions in his hand, they were scribbled onto a map and Alec (not for the first time) curses his co-worker's chicken scratch excuse for handwriting. What is it with doctors and bad handwriting? He squints and mouths out the letters like it might help him figure out what the hell that dot and the corresponding line could mean, Alec is pretty sure it's a word, he just can't tell which.

Alec finally decides that he can find his own way and if all else fails he can ask somebody because surely not everybody in Chicago bites even if he has heard some of the more... crazy rumours about the town. Not that they're all rumours given the great big reveal that the undead walk amongst you, it was like something out of a horror movie, only not. Sometimes Alec wonders when the zombie apocalypse is coming as foreseen in countless cinematic events across big screens. He may or may not have invested in something blunt and heavy for that eventuality.

What? It doesn't hurt to be prepared.

He shakes himself out of his wandering thoughts and flags down a cab, repeating the name of the hotel in the hopes the local driver might know where it is and Alec won't have to wander around Chicago looking like a very lost tourist. He could pull off an accent if he needed to, totally.

Thankfully the driver nods and grunts some sort of answer, gesturing for Alec to get in. Which he does, only to regret it a few moments later as he realises that the cab smells vaguely of... vomit. Clearly somebody had quite the eventful trip in this cab.

Wonderful, what a welcome to Chicago. And to think he's the one who asked for this early transfer, what in the hell had he been thinking?

"I really appreciate this," Alec said as he regarded the older man. "I just feel I need to make a fresh start somewhere and given what's been going on in Chicago lately I figure I can be better use there than I am here."

The Chief Of Medicine nodded his head and extended his hand. "I understand your reasoning, Alec. Just know that we're going to miss you around here. You've been a good addition to the staff. You're always welcome back."

Alec ducked his head at the compliment. "Just doing what I can to help. And thank you, it's good to know I have somewhere to come back to."

The older man chuckled and patted Alec on the back, passing him papers. "Your transfer papers with a recommendation from myself. You're going to do just fine in Chicago, keep in touch and I'll be expecting news from you."

"You know I will," Alec said with a slanted smile and a parting look as he left the office he had pretty much come to know as a shelter from the proverbial storm that was the busy hospital. He'd been working in the same hospital for the last year or so but he was far from content, unable to balance both a personal life with a work life. He was miserable, truth be told, and he was lonely. It sucked. Hopefully Chicago would be exactly what he needed to make a clean break, start anew and it didn't hurt to be somewhere you were actually needed.

Chicago seemed to have come alive with drama as of late, Alec wanted to be in the thick of it.

He breathed out and scrubbed his fingers along his jaw, beginning to feel the faint fuzz of newly grown facial hair. Man, he really needed a shave, all in good time. As it was he had a couple more patients to see before he could even think about doing anything in relation to himself.

His gaze dropped to his transfer papers and he shook his head, not quite believing that it was finally happening. "Guess I should find myself someplace to live," he muttered to himself as he rocked on his heels. "No way I'm going to survive more than a week in a hotel." He hated the impersonal feeling you got with hotels, how the sheets were always white and smelt faintly of... some sort of detergent and that sterile feel you got to the room itself. He was all for germ control but there were limits and he appreciated the warmth of a well used and familiar room.

"Note to self, look on the internet tonight."

With that decided, Alec wandered in the direction of the changing room. He needed to put his papers somewhere safe and then he could tackle his workload. There was no way he was leaving without getting everything done and making sure his patients were handed off responsibly, he'd been treating them for too long to do anything else.

"Alec?" Janine asks, leaning in to peer at the blonde who appears to be staring blankly into space. "Alec? Hello? You in there?"

It's not that he means not to listen, it's just that Alec's got lost in a train of thought that's currently dragged him from reality and taken him into a very familiar daydreamer state. It happens a lot. He drifts off, stops making eye contact and doesn't move. It's fortunate that Janine knows him as well as she does or she might get offended, it's happened before.

"Alec!"

Alec jumps and regards Janine with wide almost skittish green eyes, surprised and a little taken aback. "...Huh?"

Janine sighs. "You weren't even listening to me, were you?"

Alec pauses for thought and wonders if there's any way he can pretend he heard every word she said when he heard nothing at all. "Um, I- You were saying something about..." He clears his throat and ducks his head, offering what he hopes is a cute enough smile for him to get away with not listening, the smile might even have dimples in it.

"And you wonder why you're still single," Janine mutters before lightly smacking him on the arm with her clipboard before nodding. "Heads up on your right." And then she's gone.

Alec turns and immediately searches the area in front of him before he feels a tug on his scrubs and he drops gaze to rest it on a very small girl no older than six. He knows her as Alison. "Hey," he says quietly as he drops down to look her in the eye. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Alison pouts. "Can't."

Alec gives her a sympathetic look. "No? And why not, beautiful?"

"The monsters will get me," Alison mutters with an assured nod of her head. "They're hiding under my bed."

Alec does a good shocked expression and shakes his head. "We should do something about that, shouldn't we?" He gets back up off the ground and offers his hand. "C'mon, I'll fight the monsters for you and then you can get some sleep. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow." She's got surgery on a tumour and Alec is hoping for the best, Alison is too young to die.

Alison beams and takes his hand immediately, bouncing along beside him quite happily.