"Can you help me?" Willow said, approaching Kerry.



"Yes?" Kerry said hesitantly, after that weird girl she'd seen at the desk
earlier she was wondering if it was a full moon.



"I'm looking to see how my friend is. Xander, I mean Alexander Harris." Willow
said to the older redhead.



"Well. I'm not treating him." Kerry glanced at the board. "Seems that Dr. Lewis
is. Has she come to see you yet?"



"No." Willow said slowly.



"Well, let's go find her, shall we?" Kerry said testily. She was going to give
it to Susan when she saw her.



"Dr. Weaver, phone call!" Frank called to Kerry as she crutched down the hall.



"Take a message, Frank!" Kerry called back.



"It's Sandy." Frank stated and watched Kerry rush to the phone.



"Hi, how are you. yeah, yeah." She said softly smiling into the receiver.
"You're going to cook? Okay, sure, we do have medical training after all."



Willow watched with a sad smile as Kerry talked into the receiver.



"Okay, yes, I'll try to be home on time. Well, I wouldn't want THAT." Kerry
purred into the receiver. "Okay, yes, miss you too."



Kerry glanced over her shoulder at Frank who was pretending not to be listening
in on the conversation. Screw it. "Love you too." She said softly into the
phone.



"Um, sorry, personal call." Kerry said trying to regain her professionalism.



"It's okay, I was in love. once." Willow said softly.



Kerry looked at her questioningly.

"She was shot. died." Willow said with tears in her eyes. "A week ago."



As Willow began to cry, Kerry put her arm around her and led her to a vacant
room.





*******



Spike wiped his mouth and tossed the blood bag into the trash. It had been
rather easy to find a good supply and as he sated his hunger he tried to forget
what he almost did to Buffy and the way she was looking at that other man.



"Bloody women." He muttered angrily and headed outside for a smoke. He had time
for a quick one before the sun started to rise.





*******



Carter leaned back on the bench in the ambulance bay. He was tired; it'd been a
long day and an even longer past few weeks. He took another drag on the
cigarette, he'd tried to stop but the smallpox thing and Mark's death had made
that impossible.



"Mind if I join you?" A voice spoke up next to him.



Carter glanced up and saw Spike standing next to him.



"Go ahead." Carter said, scooting over.



"Bloody women." Spike muttered lighting his cigarette.



"You can say THAT again." Carter muttered in agreement.



"Some bitch break your heart?" Spike said looking at Carter with interest.



"Well, kind of." He said hesitantly. "What do they want? They look at you,
break up with their lame boyfriends for you."



"Save your bloody hide." Spike added.



"And then when you get to the point where you want to be WITH them, they push
you away." Carter muttered.



"Or they tell you that they can NEVER love you." Spike muttered in agreement.



They both took a drag off their cigarettes.





********



"So you're a nurse?" Anya said stepping up to Abby.



"Yes." Abby began warily.



"Aren't you annoyed that your hard work isn't properly rewarded financially?"
Anya asked.



"I'm not in this for the money." Abby said tightly.



"Oh, are you in it to date hot doctors then?" Anya asked. "You know the ones
with deliciously sexy bodies and thick wallets?"



"NO, that's not why I'm a nurse." Abby snapped.



"I see, but HAVE you dated doctors?" Anya asked slowly.



"Well, yeah." Abby admitted.



"Have you been scorned recently?" Anya asked, rubbing her hands together.



"Well. not technically." Abby said slowly. "It's complicated."



"My fiancé left me at the altar." Anya stated.



"That sucks." Abby said, unsure of where this was leading.



"Don't you wish bad things would happen to him?" Anya prompted.





******



"Ooh! Look at this!" Dawn exclaimed, holding up a small bedpan. "I bet I could
use this for all kinds of things!"



She surveyed the object, wondering what its intended use was, then shrugged and
shoved it in her backpack.





******



"You must miss him very much." Giles said gently.



"I do." Elizabeth murmured.



"It's not easy to lose a loved one, ever." Giles handed Elizabeth a napkin.
"Surely you can remember good things about him though?"



"Well, he would sing our daughter to sleep." Elizabeth began.



"You have a daughter?" Giles interrupted.



"Ella, she's a little over a year old." She confirmed, and pulled a picture out
of her wallet. "It's a little old, but there she is with Mark."



Giles looked at the picture and his heart went out to her. "She's certainly a
beautiful little girl." He handed the picture back to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry
for your loss."



"I guess. I guess part of me expected it, but." She trailed off.



"You never expect it." Giles supplied.



"Yeah." Elizabeth sadly agreed.





******



"How are you doing, Mr. Harris?" Susan asked warily as she came into the exam
room to check on her patient.



"I'd be a lot better if you'd go out with me." Xander answered.



Susan glanced down and noticed his massive hard on. "I don't do anything to
fix THAT." Susan replied with a bit of disgust.



"Not up for "playing doctor"?" Xander said with a wink.



"Persistent." Susan observed as she did a neuro check.



"All systems go?" Xander asked, jumping off of the gurney and immediately
slumping to the floor.



"Damn." Susan muttered. She opened the door and called for help. In a few
seconds Malik and Haleh were helping her lift Xander back to the gurney.



"Guess I overdid it." Xander replied a bit embarrassed.


"Thanks guys." She said as they left the room. Turning to Xander she added.
"Now STAY down, and it'd help if the rest of you did too."