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Henry strolled home from the morgue, his hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his face. As he walked, he glanced up at the sky, occasionally glimpsing a twinkling star above the lights of the city and amidst the helicopters and aeroplanes. As he passed beneath a streetlamp, he checked the time, and began to walk faster. His smile broadened as he anticipated the meal Abe had waiting for him at home - warm, and home-made. None of that manufactured food Lucas and Jo would warm up in the microwave, but something wholesome and filling.
As he walked past an alley, he stopped when a faint sound a rustle in the darkness deep in the alley caught his ear. As he took a step into the alley, he clearly heard a whimper and a gasp of pain. Unable to ignore the sounds of distress, he strode into the alley.
"Hello? Is some one down here?" He continued walking carefully into the darkness, listening for an answer. "Are you hurt? I'm a doctor, I can help you."
No one answered him, but he heard someone trying to crawl away.
Hurrying forward, he had nearly reached the end of the alley when he found a young man laying behind a dumpster.
"Hey," Henry knelt down beside the man and began to look for the cause of his pain. "It's okay. I'm a doctor, and you're going to be alright. Do you have a phone?" When the man nodded and motioned to his top jacket pocket, Henry leaned in to get it and call for an ambulance.
Seconds later, there was a quiet 'pop', and Henry felt a hard pressure in his chest, which quickly bloomed into a sharp pain. The young man pushed his limp body over, and the Doctor fell to the ground gasping for breath. The unharmed man tucked the gun into his pocket and quickly went through Henry's pockets for anything of value. As he tried to take the fob watch as well, Henry grasped onto it with all of his fast fading strength. The man sneered at the Doctor's pathetic attempt, and hit the gunshot wound with the butt of his hand.
Henry gasped, and his vision blacked out for a second. He felt the stranger finishing with his pockets and running off, but could do nothing about it. Beside the clinical voice running through his symptoms (internal bleeding, possible injured lung and/or nicked heart, shock) and his time left to live (very little), there was a rueful voice telling him that by the time he got home, Abe's food would be cold.
***LUCAS***
Lucas carried his groceries in through the front door, closing the door ungracefully. He marched into the small kitchen and deposited the bags onto the counter, dropping his car keys beside them. He heard the clicking of his Komondor puppy's nails digging into his kitchen tiles. "Cousin It," he called, pulling out dog treats from one of the bags. He crouched down, scrubbing a hand over the dog's head, which was covered in long, white, mop-like strands of hair. He fed the small Komondor one of the bone-shaped bacon treats, "Good girl. Good dog."
Henry's eyes snapped open and he took in a ragged, gasping breath - his hand automatically grasping for his watch. For a second, his eyes slid shut in disappointment; but then they opened wide again as he realized he was alive. And being alive meant he was in water. And being in water meant he also had no clothes. Again. He felt a tickle run up his spine and he jumped, dislodging the fishtank and dumping it - and all of the fish - out on the carpet.
He could hear someone come into the house and begin talking, so he frantically looked around for something to wrap up in. Seeing an old, crocheted blanket lying in an armchair, he grabbed it. Wrapping the blanket around him, he started looking for a way out.
Lucas physically shied at a loud crash from the bedroom. Glass breaking and water... Groaning quietly, he stood, cautiously inching towards the partially open door. The fish tank. Questions filled his mind, had someone broken in? Had Cousin It un-balanced the tank somehow, enough to cause it to fall? He slowly put a finger on the door, starting to push it open.
Henry slipped out the window, making sure the blinds were back in place and the window was shut again when he was done. As he looked around for a payphone to call Abe, he wondered whose house he had appeared in this time.
TIMEWARP: Lucas pulled on a pair of thin gloves, looking at the recent body. He was 99% positive it was an accident. He'd just wait for Dr. Morgan's verdict. His mind was somewhere else, anyway... The night before he'd found the fish tank completely destroyed, his fish wriggling on the floor, gills opening and closing in desperation. He'd tried to get them all into cups and bowls before they'd died.
Henry walked out of his office, his hand smoothing the blue gloves on. As he came up beside the body and began glancing over it, he noticed Lucas' inattention.
"Lucas? Is everything alright?"
"What? Oh. Have I got a story for you," Lucas started, contemplatively staring at the corpse, yet talking to Henry. Eventually he looked up, leaning his palms against the examining table, "I was going home from work last night, and the strangest thing happened... I was getting groceries. Well, not that that was the strange bit. It was what happened after that."
"Oh?" Henry continued examining the body, resisting the urge to tell his assistant to get to what ever his point was.
"My bedroom fish tank was broken. Not only that, but a blanket was stolen. What kind of thief takes a blanket and massacres your fish?" Lucas threw his arms out from his sides to get his point across, before dropping them again. "Anyway. How was your night, Henry? Morgan. I'm sorry. Dr. Morgan. It slipped."
Henry froze as he heard Lucas' story. With an effort, he began working again. "A nonsensical theif - perhaps they held a grudge? My night was..." He winced as he remembered the events of the night before. "Tiring. But now we have a new day, and a new body - what is his name?"
If you have prompts as to where he should show up next, drop them in a review! Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope you enjoyed it!
