(Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think of the story so far! A new chapter will be updated either next week or the week after.)


One week later

Kat's POV:

I woke up to the sun shining through my curtains, dressed and went out to the car. Rachel drove me to get my casts off once I situated myself into the passenger seat of her car. We sat in a companionable silence in the waiting room for a while, her reading magazines and me reading my book until I was called in to get the casts off at last.

Once that was finished, I put the other shoe on to match the one I was wearing now that I had my casts taken off, and went back to the waiting room to meet up with Rachel. I still felt a little stiff, but that would pass with time. I was extremely relieved to be able to use both my legs and arms again though. We arrived at a nice sized park, with trees spread out and paths winding throughout the grass, including to some that looked like trail entrances for hikers. Rachel waved to two people standing near a picnic table a few feet from the parking area-one of whom was her boyfriend, and another woman who I assumed must be Pam. We walked up to them and exchanged greetings.

"It's so nice to meet you, Katerina." Pam greeted warmly, and then we all made our way over to the table and sat down to enjoy some lunch. I made myself a turkey and cheese sandwich, and sat there quietly for a while, just enjoying the sunny day.

"So what do you think of it here so far?" Pam asked once we all settled in to eat our lunches, looking up from her food and waiting for my answer.

"It's great! Everyone I've met has been really welcoming and I love the city so far," I spoke up, once I swallowed a bite of my sandwich and took a sip of my soda. "I'm also thankful Rachel offered me a place to stay until I find my own. But overall, it's been a really great few weeks getting to know my way around the city and finding a job. What are some great places around the city for me to visit?"

Rachel just nodded and turned back to her food, while Pam answered about some different places to visit nearby. I took another bite of my sandwich and swallowed. We just passed the time with small talk about the weather and what kind of other things we liked to do for fun to get to know one another a little better.

The rest of lunch passed in a relatively peaceful silence after the small talk died out, and afterwards I decided to find a nice patch of grass to sit and read for a while, letting them know where I would be. I pulled out my book that I stashed in my new purse, and the time seemed to fly by in a nice haze with a nice breeze blowing.

I closed it up after finishing the novel about an hour later, and glanced up to see how Rachel, Pam, and her boyfriend were doing. It looked a little odd though - the boy was stumbling around like crazy and Rachel was clutching her stomach before she, too, collapsed. Pam was just wandering around, a wistful expression on her face, staring up at the sky and seemed to be mumbling something under her breath but wasn't sure what it was. I realized something was wrong after walking over to see them all like that. I stood up and sprinted to the nearest phone, frantic with worry for Rachel, James, and Pam. As soon as they gave many assurances that help would be arriving soon, I slammed the phone back onto its hook then went over to Rachel and she was still conscious, though barely. Seeing her like that scared me because I considered her a friend now. She took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and I wanted to return the favor by going along to the hospital to wait for news about what was wrong with them.

"Rachel, what happened?" I asked, running over to her to see what was wrong, my voice becoming frantic as she just mumbled gibberish and finally passed out. Not knowing what to do, I wandered over to Pam who was dazed, and mumbling something about daffodils. Other park patrons were just standing there, looking at the situation that was happening and not coming up to me to ask if they could do anything which frustrated me greatly, so much so I threw out a glare to everyone else who were just standing there watching this happen and not offering a finger to help. I was able to get my wits about me when the paramedics arrived. I stood to the side so that I wasn't in the way while they worked. I was standing behind the picnic table when they both looked up to see if there was anyone who could explain what happened, and they spotted me, recognizing who I was.

"That's Kat." I heard, and looked up to see that the two paramedics helping my friends were John and Roy.

"I'll go talk to her, Johnny, and see if she knows what happened." He stood up and made his way over to where I was sitting.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I have no idea. I was reading by some trees near the parking lot, and when I finished I saw them like that. I don't know what could have happened in the hour that I was sitting there. I think they brought out wine or something after I left, that might be part of the problem. You could try asking Rachel's friend Pam, but I don't think she'll be much help." I nodded my head over to where she was walking, slowly and with the same expression on her face that I noticed when I first figured out something was wrong. He thanked me and went over to her to try and ask her what happened.

Once they were taken away in ambulances, I rushed to the car and drove to the hospital. When I got there, I asked about how they were doing, but the nurse at the desk didn't know. So I took a seat in the waiting area and just got lost in thought with worry and waited to hear any news. I couldn't help but feel like I should have glanced up sooner and noticed something was wrong quicker, so I feel like it is somewhat my fault that this happened to them.


Dixie's POV:

After I exited the treatment room after helping out with the three victims that were brought in, I noticed the girl who was recently in here after being brought in from a car accident. She looked out of her mind with worry, and was pale, staring down at the floor and was extremely quiet. I headed over to her to let her know her friends' conditions. I stopped right in front of her and she glanced up, then stood. I could tell she was desperate for any updates on their condition.

"How are they, are they alright?" She questioned, her expression begging for good news.

"They'll be okay," I said, and she relaxed as soon as I gave her the news. I was just waiting on one of the other doctors to come let her know their full condition. "They'll have to stay overnight though. One of the doctors will be out shortly to let you know what was wrong. I'll take you up to visit them for a few minutes once they're all moved into a room." She looked relieved after that, thanking me profusely and sitting back down again.

She pulled out a book to pass the time and take her mind off of the current situation. I glanced behind me to see one of the treatment room doors open. They were moving the patients upstairs to be kept overnight for observation, and Joe came out of the door and walked up to me, asking if any family was contacted for the patients.

"No, but one of the victim's friend's is here, and she's over there in the waiting room." I nodded my head to where the girl with golden brown hair was sitting by herself and in her own little world, fidgeting with her skirt, her face ashen and worried. We both walked over to her and she glanced up, and upon seeing the both of us, stood up.

"Miss Simmons?"

She looked up and saw both of us coming towards her. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in. "Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Early. You know the patients?" She nodded, not saying anything as he continued. "They're all doing fine, but they will need to stay overnight. They had managed to swallow daffodil bulbs, which seemed crazy."

"Wait, what? They actually swallowed daffodil bulbs, causing that to happen? But, that just seems so bizarre..." She trailed off slowly, shaking her head for a second and was lost in thought. "May I go see them?" She glanced towards me when Joe left after explaining the situation.

"Of course, just give us a few minutes to move them into rooms for the night and then I'll take you to see them for a few minutes." She moved back to her seat in the waiting room until she could visit her friends.

Once the patients were put into rooms for the night, I led her up to visit them. She entered the room and I went in for a minute as well, to check on things before going back downstairs to the bay station. She went over to the blond-haired young woman first, then the other blond haired young woman. She seemed a little distraught, but calmer than when I went to give her the news of their condition. She seemed to be a little at a loss for words still as well. Johnny told me what happened when she herself was a patient here and that she had no family, but I'm glad to see she made a few friends since she was discharged from the hospital.

"When are visiting hours over?" She asked timidly, glancing up from one of the patients' bedsides, then grabbing one of the chairs nearby to sit down. "Also, what time should I be here to pick them up tomorrow?" She dug through her purse and rummaged around for a minute until she successfully held in hand a pen and a scrap of paper.

"They're over at eight, so you have plenty of time to visit them. And to answer your second question, you can come around nine tomorrow." I answered, and went back downstairs to the Base Station after she nodded and wrote down the information, thanking me as I left. I was working on some things when Johnny and Roy walked up to me and leaned against the counter.

"Hi, Dix." They greeted, walking around behind the counter to get any supplies they needed, as well as to chat for a few minutes before heading out or getting called out again.

"How are the patients that we brought in earlier, Dix?"

"Oh, I think they'll pull through just fine." I said, reassuring them after letting them know the patient's condition and that they were staying overnight for observation. ''Your friend who was in the car accident a few weeks ago is visiting them now. She knows one of the patients. If you see her anytime soon, you might want to try cheering her up, she might think it was her fault for not noticing sooner."

"Oh, you mean Kat? Yeah, she's staying with one of the blondes we brought in for the time being, I think. I recognized her when we brought them in earlier from the scene. She was a constant visitor for Katerina and offered up an extra room for her to stay in. Just until she finds an apartment. She came by the station yesterday and wanted to ask more about a vacancy in my building, as well as looking at some other places." Johnny said, looking a bit happy about that. Roy and I shared a look, thinking that he might have a little bit of a crush on her. Of course, that's a common occurrence since he's asked out half the nurses here, as well as those same nurses rejecting him. Who knows how long it would take for him to try and ask her out.

"Maybe you should help her move into an apartment, Johnny." I suggested, raising an eyebrow and turning to look at him, waiting for his answer.

"She's upstairs visiting one of the patients right now if you want to ask her if you can help her move once she finds a place." I suggested again, raising an eyebrow and giving an amusing look to Roy, who just smiled back in return, laughing a little. It would be good for him to help out this girl and get to know her better. Who knows? Maybe they might keep seeing one another and become friends. Lord knows the nurses around here need a break from his romantic pursuits.

"That's a good idea, Johnny. She could use some help when moving into an apartment once she finds one she likes." Roy agreed, turning to face his partner, who was thinking about the idea. He thought about it for a few minutes before finally agreeing.

"Just call her roommate once she's back home from the hospital to offer, we might not be able to stay too much longer. We might get called out soon." Roy added on to the suggestion as well as letting Johnny know not to ask right now. I glanced over to the clock, which happened to be near the elevator whose doors opened and expelled its patrons, the young woman named Katerina Simmons among them.

"Miss Simmons," I beckoned her over to the counter where we were all standing and she turned, walking toward us, her walk a little stiff still from getting the cast off I'd imagine.

"Hi." She greeted us warmly, glancing at each of us in turn once she made it over to the counter.

"How are you? Glad to be out of those casts?"

"Definitely. I am so glad to be able to walk on my own two feet again. My leg is still a little stiff, but not too bad." She replied. and tucked a stray piece of hair back behind her ear that had fallen loose.

"Johnny, didn't you want to ask Miss Simmons something?" I prompted, glancing over at him, to see that he was staring at her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Kat, I wanted to ask if I could help you move, once you find a place and all." Johnny said somewhat stammering over his words.

"Of course, I'd really welcome the help when I find a place. Especially with moving any heavy furniture like a couch. I'm going to go look at some places tomorrow so I'll let you know when I find a place, and need help moving."

All too soon, their handie-talkie went off with another call and Miss Simmons had to head home, so I waved goodbye to them and went back to work.


Kat's Pov:

The morning after the excitement, Rachel and the others were discharged and I waited for them anxiously in the lobby. Rachel appeared first, and I was extremely glad to see she looked much better.

"Hi," I said, walking over to her and giving her a light hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, much better. I'm sorry we all gave you a scare yesterday." Rachel apologized, looking a bit dismal and then digging in her purse for a pen to sign the discharge papers. Once she got those signed, we took a seat in the waiting room to wait for the others.

"It's ok, really. I'm just glad that you are all ok." I said, spotting the others and waiting for them to finish signing the papers. Once they arrived - looking much better as well, if a bit tired still because they looked like they could sleep for a week: I drove everyone back to their respective homes with my temporary license until the official one came in the mail, and parked Rachel's car in a parking space once we got back to her apartment.

We entered the apartment and she said she would just lay down for a while. I nodded, and went to go make some lunch and then turned on the tv to occupy myself. I just kept thinking of what happened, and that it could have been so much worse. I also couldn't get over how absurd that was - them swallowing daffodil bulbs and getting sick as a result. That just blew my mind. What other kinds of crazy things did people get up to during this time? I mean, I've heard news stories on TV and all, but never expected that. But I am, as people say, a goody-two shoes.

Tomorrow I was going apartment hunting since I had the day off from work. Rachel opted out of going because she wanted to stay here and rest, which I completely understood after all the excitement from yesterday. We did make plans to just hang out at the apartment when I got back and get to know one another better. She also had some board games to play too, like Monopoly and Clue.

I still had thoughts looping around my brain about how I, a twenty-first century girl, would end up making this work in this time period. It was tough enough with one person already knowing my secret, and I was still unsure if he would keep it to himself, so for now I'd keep an eye out in case he let something slip. Who knows when I'd run into him again, though. But that could wait, I had more important things to do right now.