The Doctor

After their eventful landing in what they now knew to be some place called 'Lincoln Park', Jenny and Alec had branched out to see whether or not they could find anything that would be of help to the others. They needed medical supplies, food, water and clean clothes, preferably of the kind that the women here wore. The tattered remains of Jenny's dress hung at her knees and she fiddled with the hem as they walked, loose threads tickling her skin.

They'd branched out pretty far from their initial landing spot, but now exhaustion was beginning to get the best of them. They were both half-starved and exhausted, the adrenaline coursing through their brains not being enough to keep them going for long. Jenny's hands were already shaking, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a decent meal. The vampires were not the only ones that struggled to eat. In fact, they probably had it easier as many - including Jenny herself once or twice - had offered themselves to be a small snack to tide the vampire over for a while.

As they had walked side by side, probably looking every bit as tired and strung out as they were, Jenny's hand had slipped into Alec's for the reassurance, and also so that they wouldn't get separated in the crowds. Apparently, there were people out and having fun at such a late time of night. Well, it was early in the morning, she supposed, and the people that were out did look like they were the last dregs of a heavy night of drinking and partying, whooping and cheering and vomiting in nearby bins.

"We need to find somewhere to rest, and we need to get something to dress that cut," she said quietly, knowing that their base was somewhere behind then, but there was not a lot that they could do to get back there now. They needed to get supplies and things first, and the cut on Alec's head looked nasty. She knew the one on hers had stopped bleeding, at least. She didn't think she could walk that far, and more than that, she was hungry and dirty and she wanted to just get clean and find somewhere to sleep for a while that wasn't a bunk or a hard, wooden or stone floor. She wrinkled her nose and then looked up at him with something approaching a grin, adding teasingly, "And you still need to have a wash."

( Thousands Of People )

( Close Encounter )

( Stopping For The Evening )

When Alec had agreed to come back and settle his beef with that asshole he had no idea what he was getting into. The race itself was insane and it had no rhyme or any reason, every rider was out for themselves, the more confident ones muscling others not so confident off the track.

He'd already watched two guys go down and not get back up and he was trying very hard not to think about it, simply accelerating before braking to handle a sharp turn. The back of the bike swung out and the bike's weight balanced on the front wheel, precariously and dangerously, but Alec shifted his weight and manipulated both gears and brakes to allow the bike to hit tarmac again.

He breathed out and pressed down again, letting the bike handle the road ahead with as much speed as he could pull from its tank, determined not to let the guys behind him overtake and try to muscle him out. Alec's hands tightened around handlebars and pressed down, shifting through the lull that accompanied the next corner, drawing his weight up a few moments later.

A bike shot past him and a curse escaped his lips before Alec merely focused his attention, catching sight of a shorter way around and it was with an abrupt change of direction that he took it. "C'mon, c'mon," he muttered as he played chicken with the lights, seeing a small amount of traffic up ahead. If he didn't hit the road right then there was a good chance he was going to get clipped and he'd seen how high speed crashes on bikes had worked out from past patients so that really wasn't an option.

He pushed the bike that much harder, listening to the purr turn into a steady roar. The seconds that passed were tense, but thankfully Alec timed it right and managed to get through the lights without any hassle. The doctor let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding and hit the next turn at startling speed, grunting as he fought to control the bike. His risk paid off, he overtook the leader and then simply accelerated away, leaving them trailing in his dust.

He could do this, he just had to stay ahead and think outside of the box.

Just another lap to go.

Alec pulled on the split in his lip and grunted faintly as he spat out a mouthful of blood, hissing in a breath that caused his teeth to rattle in his jaw. Apparently he'd taken a bend too fast, cut somebody off and the brute hadn't taken too well to coming in last. It really wasn't Alec's fault that the dude couldn't ride.

"Look," he began, immediately cut off by a set of hands in his collar and hauled to his feet. Okay, wow, strong. "It's not my fault you lost."

"You cut me off!" He snarled before drawing his hand back.

Thankfully this time Alec saw it coming so he had the good sense to duck and figured fuck it if the guy could try and kick his ass then he might as well give as good as he got. Alec slammed himself into the other man's stomach and took him down to the ground, managing to catch his own knee at the time, not that it mattered. Alec was currently focusing on making sure the other man couldn't and wouldn't get up anytime soon.

There was a struggle, both men vying for dominance, a battle that eventually ended with Alec's hand freezing mid punch when the guy spoke through a mouthful of blood. "Wait!"

Alec's hand flexed restlessly as the other remained fisted in the guy's shirt collar. "What?" He demanded, hair in complete disarray and knuckles split open and raw.

"We can solve this another way 'stead of us just beating up on each other."

The crowd around them immediately started talking and this caused Alec to look up, furrowing his brow at what could have caused such a buzz so quickly. Obviously the guy on the ground knew something he didn't.

"So, what?" Alec demanded, adrenaline in his veins causing his voice to be deeper and patience shorter.

The guy grinned slowly. "Meet me here tomorrow at three in the morning and we'll settle things then."

Alec found himself cocking his head as he attempted to understand, but he didn't have a lot of time to question the other man because his friends were stepping forward, helping him and Alec to their feet.

"Tomorrow," the guy confirmed with a nod of his head before turning on his heel, disappearing back into the crowd.

Alec brushed the back of his hand over his mouth and then stepped back, turning a second later as he slid through the crowd to where his bike was parked. Three tomorrow morning? Here was hoping his shift finished early.

At three in the morning the streets of Chicago were practically empty except for a stray cab here and there, meaning the long stretches of tarmac were free to anybody to roam. Perfect for those adrenaline fueled junkies that got a kick out of pushing themselves to the limit, hitting the gas and seeing how far and how fast they could go.

Street racing - it was highly illegal, but exactly what a stressed out overworked doctor with a weakness for adrenaline rushes needed. Alec had his friend from work to thank for having found out about the races, without him he never would have gotten near the place. He'd said something about vouching for Alec.

It was risky, anything could happen, one wrong fall and you could quite easily wipe yourself out, but hell, that was half the fun.

Alec had watched several races, winced at a couple and then talked to the guys involved. Thankfully he could strike up conversation with pretty much anyone so getting to know about the races was easy enough. The circuit was well known amongst the more seasoned riders and they took their time in detailing it to Alec, pausing only long enough to ask about his curiosity. It was then that he admitted he wanted to race, get involved and see how well or badly he did at it.

( Ready... Steady... Go! )

Alec was out with his co-workers again, wondering once again why he'd agreed to this night out, his co-workers were insane when they were out. It was like they were trying to forget all their worries and just live excessively because they could. He supposed it was all about the pressure and ultimately the stress that came with being a doctor, the whole having somebody else's life in your hands.

After the next round of drinks and having watched the most senior doctor on staff hit on the youngest nurse on staff, Alec decided enough was enough, he needed to get home. "Alright," he announced over the ruckus. "I gotta get going." The group he was with groaned in protest, but let him go easily enough, too preoccupied with the latest rounds of shots that had been ordered and now delivered.

He grabbed his leather jacket on the way out and slid into it just as he opened the door and left the bar, glad to take his first lungful of clean air, or relatively clean air. He blew out a breath and did up his jacket, closing the collar around his neck.

Tonight was a cold one.

( In Need Of Medical Attention )

( Highlight Of The Night )

Since moving to Chicago, Bastian had alternated between going to the local VA hospital and a public institution for his medical care. As a veteran, he felt comfortable enough dealing with military doctors, especially when it came to his leg, but sometimes he didn't feel like spending all day sitting in a waiting room rehashing his days as a Marine with boys young enough to be his sons. So over he'd trundle to the nearest hospital, parking his truck in the pay lot before taking the elevator downstairs to the big reception area.

The Cajun was sitting in a molded plastic chair reading an outdated issue of Time magazine, picking the order forms out of his lap as they fell out from between the pages. Just a routine checkup for the most part, although he expected to hear more about the bits of metal in his calf. He fully intended to have the shrapnel removed, just not until after the boxing tournament. If he stood a chance of losing some mobility in the limb, he wanted to make the most of the full capacity of it while he could.

"Mr. Sonnier?" Bastian looked up over the edge of the magazine, glancing towards the receptionist. "Dr. Reed will see you now. You can just go on back." The big carpenter got up from the chair, leaving Time behind. He hitched his pants on the way past the desk, his wallet chain jingling as he walked. He wasn't really wild about hospitals, but this was a necessary thing.

"And remember just because the cast on your arm is solid that doesn't mean your head is," Alec muttered to the patient he was finishing up with. The kid was only 15 and big into skateboarding, but Alec figured it didn't hurt to say considering the skate-fanatic had already been in three times this week to have his cast fixed. He ushered the teenager out and turned his eyes to the man approaching.

( Consultation )

When he'd signed up for the graveyard shift in the emergency room, Alec had been working under the impression that he might actually get a chance to sit down and sift through his paperwork, but it wasn't meant to be.

Apparently every crazy person had taken to the streets this evening.

He'd seen six car crashes, three stabbings, two pregnant teenagers with a higher alcohol to blood ratio and a couple interesting... inanimate objects in... a couple of interesting places.

Alec was finally catching his breath, pushing his hands into his hair and blinking his eyes blearily. He had another three hours left to go and he almost welcomed the next thing to come through those doors, figuring after the guy with the cucumber up his ass then he could handle pretty much anything.

The worse thing?

The guy had somehow managed to slip his number into his file, clearly thinking he had a shot at Alec. It was quite... traumatising to say the least. He was going on a date, very soon. With a woman, a normal woman. Not like the women he'd seen earlier that evening who had preceded to regal him with their tales of fun and debauchery. Alec almost felt sorry for the pole that one of them had wrapped themselves around. It would have made one hell of a YouTube video though.

"Doctor Reed," Nurse Calver said as she spotted him.

Alec took a deep breath and turned his head. "Yes, Sally?"

"We've got another knife wound."

Alec scrubbed at his eyes. "Right, gotcha." He headed over to her and took the information the paramedic had handed over upon arrival, briefly looking over it until something just struck him. Alec turned his head and looked over at the Nurse, "Hey, can I ask you something, Sally?"

She looked up at him expectantly. "Sure?"

"Would you like to go out sometime?" Alec asked, straight out and confidently.

Sally blushed and then offered a smile. "I'd love to, Doctor Reed."

Alec smiled first before he shook his head and winked. "You're gonna have to call me Alec on the date." He disappeared through the nearby doors a second later, leaving a chuckling Sally Calver in his wake.

An hour after hearing the little bleep on his computer, Toby was still at a loss as to how to reply to the email message he had received from Kathleen. What did one say to something like that?

Okay, maybe he deserved a bit of an ass kicking for not getting into contact, but he had never claimed to be a super awesome friend, he was very shit at communicating when it wasn't in his face. It wasn't that he had forgotten about Kathleen, and he had wondered where she was, it was just that with his coffee shop being in the works and he was supervising that a lot, getting his hands in with the painting and everything, and now Kris disappearing, staying in contact with people wasn't something that had jumped straight to the forefront of his mind.

He nudged the coffee table with his foot. Wolf whined pitifully from where he was sat at Toby's side, his head on his master's lap. One hand scratched absently behind Wolf's ears, the other was petting Spacey who had finally decided that she loved him enough to notice when something was wrong and she had curled up on his stomach as he was slouched in the couch.

He wanted to be angry. He should have been angry at the comment Kathleen made about his wife. She had no right, she didn't even- He had never really spoken about her but he always thought it had been clear how much he loved her. Instead he was just reeling, hurt from the comments and entirely unsure how to deal with what had just happened.

( Not Tears, Dust )

( Strictly Not Allowed )

( Workaholic )

A day off after working a six-day week and Alec was enjoying it; he'd slept in late and then thrown on some casual clothes before rummaging out his riding jacket and his house keys, intending on putting miles of Chicago behind him as he let the bike out on the roads.

He'd gotten about four blocks before he realised that there was no way that the amount he had in the tank would actually last him long enough to make this great expedition. Alec swung into a gas station and stepped off the bike, making sure to kick out the stand so it didn't end up falling over ... he hated ruining its paint.

Alec rubbed his fingers through his hair as the other one fed fuel into his bike, green eyes watching the pump until he was sure he would have enough for an outward and return journey. "That'll do," he muttered, easing the pressure on the trigger on the mechanism itself, hearing the momentum slow until the pump went silent. A couple stray droplets of petrol hit the asphalt beneath his boots and picked up beneath the treads as Alec closed up the cover on his fuel tank, rummaging out his wallet to pay for the gas in the store attached to the place.

He eyed the line and took a deep breath, willing his impatient mood away. Alec had never been that good at waiting. He managed the first couple of minutes successfully, but then spent the next four tapping his foot and chewing on the edge of his thumbnail.

( Passing The Time )

( Your Phone Sucks )

Alec tapped his pencil against the clipboard in his hand before catching the rubber edge between his lips, worrying the corner of it with the sharp tips of his teeth. He'd been on shift for 8 hours and counting, working through his paperwork and following up on test results. It wasn't the most exciting way to be spending his time, but he knew it needed to be done.

A patient's recovery was in the legwork of the doctor looking after them.

Alec had lost count of how many times he'd run up and down stairs, in and out of rooms, talked to God only knew how many people and chased x-rays. He supposed it just went to prove that not everybody could make a miraculous recovery like his cancer patient, but then if Alec hadn't touched him and hadn't gotten so emotionally involved then maybe he'd be dead?

It made his head hurt, it really did.

He made a couple notes and flipped through the pages of paperwork, narrowing his eyes at the results below and what steps he would need to take. He made another note about the next course of medicine, knowing he'd have to speak to the nurse on night shift to be sure his patient got the doses at the right time throughout the night. That would of course mean staying a little later, but, whatever, he could do that.

Alec put that paperwork to one side and picked up another case, putting a few finishing notes as the patient was due out of the hospital in the morning after having made a good recovery without the aid of his apparently magic hands. He blew out a long breath and put his signature to the dotted line, sliding a couple papers free and gathering them up to staple and file.

A yawn escaped him until it was muffled by the back of his hand. "Hmm, more coffee." He placed his files to one side and got to his feet, stretching his back. "Definitely need more coffee." Alec bid his paperwork a brief adieu as he went in search of caffeine, hopefully somebody had thought to clean the machine so it didn't taste so... bland.

Yeah, bland was the polite word for it. Definitely.

Personal Journal Entry of Alec Lee Reed

This whole coughing up cancer thing has... let's just say I'm not in the best place, mentally speaking. My physical health has never been better, which is just weird, considering I felt like I was dying a couple days ago.

So far I haven't actually run into Toby and oddly enough I'm okay with that. Maybe it's lame, but the last thing I want to be doing right now is explaining something I don't even understand myself.

I'm doing that thing that most teenage boys do once they've discovered the internet is for porn (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNARJPNz2CA for reference) and by that I mean I'm hiding out in my room and only coming out when absolutely necessary.

Spacey's keeping me company, I think she missed me.

Cleaned up the bathroom as well, with bleach, lots and lots of bleach. I don't ever want to look at that sink and see that shit I coughed up ever again. My parents were absolute no help, they just made with the changing of subject and by that I mean they talked about Hilary and how perfect she is for me.

Uh, no, I don't think so.

Feeling... I don't know, weird, I guess. Not myself.

Alec's attending had finally signed off on him being released and whilst he knew he should call home and ask for a lift he didn't think it was necessary so he just called a cab.

Outwardly it didn't look like anything had changed - he was still the same old Alec - but inwardly? Everything had changed. He'd coughed up a massive amount of cancerous tissue for God's sake; there was no ignoring or denying that.

It didn't make sense.

He wasn't special - not in that way - it wasn't possible, and yet the test results were saying the complete opposite. He knew he needed to speak to his parents, but it wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to given their reaction the last time something strange had happened.

( Not Crazy )

To wake or not to wake, that really was the question.

Alec Lee Reed chose the latter and wished that he hadn't. Everything hurt - from his jaw to chest and from his chest to his knees. He licked his lips, hissing in a slight breath as they stung from not having been moved in a while and the skin had dried up quite considerably.

He blinked his eyes, tilted his head and furrowed his brow at the drip attached to the back of his hand. Where was he? He looked up and felt his head spin ever so slightly as the white ceiling blurred in front of him but that just confirmed it.

He was in hospital.

Alec closed his eyes briefly and inhaled a slow breath, backtracking over the events that had happened before. A hand moved to his chest where fingers curled and tips pressed inwards as Alec sought out the pain that had been there before, but it was absent. He didn't have the same ache everytime he breathed in and breathed out, it made no sense.

What happened?

After being dropped off Alec had gone straight to bed where he had stayed for several hours before he'd finally woken up to a chest ripping and body shaking cough. This time it felt different, more intense, and he couldn't ignore the way in which his chest along with his stomach had started to burn.

It was with a blind fumbling and staggered run that Alec barely made it to the bathroom, immediately doubling over the nearby sink to grip at the porcelain until his knuckles were the same shade of white.

Alec tasted salt, felt his stomach give, and then grimaced as his entire body shook in the lead up what happened next.

( Not Pretty )

( Taking A Sample )

As if it wasn't bad enough being told to take a couple days off work, Alec had been told to wait until a Nurse Daniels could give him a lift home. Pfft, lift home, what did he need that for? Never-mind the fact he'd keeled over right in front of everybody, split open his eyebrow, and proceeded to babble nonsensical stuff at the perturbed intern that had picked him up.

He was never living this down.

Currently he was sat in one of uncomfortable plastic chairs in the general waiting area, keeping his eyes focused on something other than the people staring at him. What? Didn't they have something better to do than stare at the doctor with a bruise on his face?

Hopefully Nurse Daniels would be finishing shortly and Alec could do his best to sweet talk her out of taking him home like some kind of sick child. He'd never been taken home sick in his life, he wasn't about to start now. Stubborn? Oh hell yes.

( Muffled )

( Regular Court Jester )

( Gonna Be Okay? )

The thing about Alec was he never got sick, ever. He'd always been a healthy kid with a strong constitution, it was rare for anything to knock him for six and take the wind out of his sails.

The problem was that something had.

It had crept up on him when he least expected it to and he'd spent the last four hours of his shift muffling a cough. He'd brushed aside a few concerned looks from the nurses and just reassured them that it was nothing to worry about, he was clearly working too many hours. Nothing to do with the fact his right hand had tingled for a long time after touching his cancer patient this evening. It was just weird that was all.

Alec scrubbed at his hair and cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the apparent lump at the back of it. He couldn't be sick, he just couldn't because he had already signed himself up for some overtime on the weekend.

He turned on his heel and stopped by his cancer patient's room, picking up his chart to look over the nurse's comments. Huh, he wasn't doing too badly. Alec had been expecting something worse. He slid the chart back and looked up at his patient, muffling another cough into his hand as the man himself appeared to be sleeping peacefully for the first time in a long while.

Least somebody was doing well even if Alec hadn't expected the best from this particular patient.

Alec turned and left the room, coughing into his hand. If this kept up then he was going to have to leave the hospital, it wouldn't do anyone any good for him to be spreading germs around already sick people. He'd see how he felt in an hour, if no better he'd go home, but hopefully it would just pass.

If only his hand would stop tingling.

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 )

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?

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 )