The ambulance sped into the trauma bay with lights and sirens blaring at full steam. Barely stopping before opening the doors, the attendants reached in and pulled out the stretcher carrying the slim young woman, her head oozing blood through the gauze and her arm in a sling. She was conscious and aware of her surroundings so responded to the medical staff as they bombarded her with questions.

"What's your name?" the first nurse asked.

"Danni," the girl said her voice barely above a whisper.

"Danni what, child?" the nurse asked gently.

The young woman looked up at the kind face and struggled to give an answer. Her blue eyes began to fill with tears at the realization that she didn't know.

"I can't remember. Why can't I remember?" she cried. Fighting to sit up, Danni grabbed the nurse's scrub top but was stopped by the excruciating pain in her arm as well as her head. The older woman firmly but gently took her by the shoulders guiding her back down to lie on the stretcher.

"It's alright dear. That sometimes happens with a head injury. Let's get you cleaned up and ready for the doctor to examine and we will worry about your name later, alright?"

Danni lay back down and closed her eyes trying to understand what was happening to her. She felt the gurney being rolled and someone calling her name telling her to open her eyes. Doing as she was told she saw the glaring lights overhead and numerous people surrounding her, all of whom were touching some part of her body and calling out instructions to each other. Her head was pounding, her arm was throbbing and she just wanted to sleep.

"Danni, stay with me hon. Do not go to sleep!"

Someone was yelling at her. Looking up she saw it was the same nurse from before but now she didn't look as kind; she looked angry. Why is she mad at me? Danni thought. The stretcher was pivoted to maneuver into a treatment area and before she knew it, she was lifted up and onto a regular bed and the curtain was drawn around for privacy. Someone was starting to cut off her clothes and she tried to tell them to stop but the words wouldn't come. Machines were starting to buzz and hum while the now mean nurse gingerly slipped the clothes from her body and put her into a gown. Leaving her one arm immobilized, she started an IV drip and propped Danni up. The nurse checked the bandage on her head and saw that the bleeding had lessened but being a head wound, would need further examination.

"Now stay calm dear and Dr. Jaggett will be in to see you momentarily."

The nurse opened the curtain slightly and walked out, leaving Danni alone. The young woman surveyed her surroundings trying to see if there was an easy escape route. She was about to try and disconnect the tubing when through the slightly open curtain she saw a dark-haired, serious looking young man, mop in hand, which indicated to Danni he was no doctor.

"Hey, you?" she called to him. "Can you help me break out of this place?"

The orderly looked around to see if she was speaking to him or someone else.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked with a deep Irish timber to his voice.

"Yes, you. You're the only other person around, aren't you? Help get me out of here," she said.

Danni swung her legs over the side of the bed and was about to try to stand when her body swayed, pitching her forward. The aide lets go of his mop and ran to catch her before the toppled to the floor.

"Whoa, there miss. I don't think you should be trying to get out bed. Why don't you just wait for the doctor and maybe, if you're nice, they'll let you out for good behavior."

His tone was playful in a clear Irish brogue, with just the right amount of sarcasm which belied the inner turmoil he was fighting. As he helped her to lie back down, he could not ignore the smell of fresh blood that was visible on her head. Normally he would want to touch her and take a taste but for some reason, the urge to do that didn't rise. He didn't want to take from her; a recent development in his personality. His intuitive sense told him that she was someone different. He didn't want her to be another notch in his belt, so to speak. Something about this girl made him want to find out more about her. Perhaps it was her seeming fragility. She felt as light as anything as he helped her back to bed. Her body was lithe but strong. The tattoos covering her arms intrigued him as well; he wondered if her skin tasted different where the ink covered it. As he stood next to the bed he continued to take her all in. The red hair that had patches of pink in it made her skin look paler than it probably was. Her eyes sparkled in a color that was a cross between blue and green and reflected openness and honesty. He felt drawn to them.

"What are you staring at?" she asked. "If you're not going to help me maybe you should just go back to whatever chore it is they pay you for."

Danni went to raise her arm over eyes and forgetting it was broken, scream in pain. Again the young man came to her side, this time gathering her up as she cried.

"Fuck!" she cried. "My first day in Bristol and I get sideswiped. Oh, not only that, my only way of getting around is now most likely a mangled piece of metal and to top it off, I can't remember my name."

Holding on to him with her good arm she let the tears flow freely; a mix of frustration, pain, and fear.

"I thought I heard the nurse call you Danni," he said.

"Yes, genius that is my first name. At least I'm pretty certain it is. The paramedic called me that when they put me in the ambulance so I just repeated it to the nurse. I suppose it's because it was written on my jacket. But I can't remember my last name. Why is that? Shouldn't I know who I am?"

The tears were now accompanied by hiccups as the crying seemed to gain momentum. He knew that she should calm down; that if she had any kind of head injury or bleeding the stress could make things worse.

"Hey, I'm sure once you get looked at and bandaged up and you calm down, things will start coming back to you. If not, having one name isn't so bad. Look I have two and people only call me by my last name. I don't know why but they do," he replied, trying to get her to relax.

Danni pulled away to look at his face more closely and what she saw was not what she expected. His eyes were a warm hazel with flecks of green that seem to pop out because of the color of his scrubs. The curls of his hair fell about his face emphasizing those eyes. As he smiled down at her, two faint dimples appeared at the corner of his mouth, giving him a boyish air. Despite her condition, Danni found him relatively attractive. If they had met in a bar, she'd most likely be taking him home after the first round. These days it was easy for her to numb the pain with a physical release. However, something about this man made her feel there was a connection between them deeper than just a chemical reaction. And she got the impression it was mutual to where he wouldn't object to a quick romp. Now with his sweet talk, she wanted to know exactly who this person was.

"What do you mean they call you by your last name? Is your first name so hard to pronounce?" she asked. The crying had stopped and now she was curious as to whom she was talking with.

"No, as a matter of fact, it's relatively simple. My first name is John. But everyone calls me Mitchell."

"Well, what have we got here?" The voice speaking was cool, almost cold in its tone. Lucy Jaggett entered the triage area and stood to watch the scene between Mitchell and her new patient. She was a petite woman with dark, unkempt hair and a face that seemed to have a permanent judgmental look to it. There was no warmth in her eyes except when she looked at Mitchell. As she walked towards the young woman, she made sure to brush against Mitchell, as if to remind him of what he could have. Seemingly as a reflex he pulled his hand back, gripping the mop handle instead. Reaching Danni's side, Lucy read her chart and started the basic examination. It didn't seem that she was injured too severely; just a head laceration and fractured wrist. She should be able to be treated and released fairly quickly. Lifting her head from making notes she saw Mitchell at the edge of the cubicle, staring at her patient and pang of jealousy hit. She knew that she had no reason to feel that because she and Mitchell were just friends although she was striving for more. Lucy had been taken with Mitchell from the first day she started working at this hospital and used every opportunity to get him to reciprocate to no avail. But she wasn't going to stop trying. They had gone out for drinks where she did her best to get him to come home with her and he turned her down. She still bristled at the rejection and took the position that being his friend, for now, would be better than nothing. The key term being "for now". Lucy Jaggett was of the mindset never saying never. As she turned her attention back to treating her patient, she gave Mitchell a sideways glance and smile.

For Mitchell's part, he suddenly felt uncomfortable and out of place. He knew that Lucy was interested in him but the feeling was far from mutual. He had a self-imposed a rule about not getting involved with co-workers after the last encounter. It was what happened with Lauren that made Mitchell realize he needed to try and go clean. He wanted to do this for his own sanity and so far things had been going well. Granted he lived the life of a monk but it was better than the alternative. It was this new way of life that made things with Lucy awkward. He decided to leave the area before things got more uncomfortable or before their coworkers saw something and misinterpreted it.

"I best be getting back to work. I hope you feel better soon Danni No Last Name," he said lightly.

Danni panicked a little at the thought of being left alone again, even though she knew she was with a doctor. Her inner senses alerted her that this doctor and she were not going to get along. She didn't know why just that that something was off and she wished that the nurse with the mean face would come back in. Lifting her head, she called out to Mitchell, a slight panic in her voice.

"Mitchell!"

He heard her cry and came back, mop and bucket leading the way.

"Yeah?" he said as he returned to the edge of the curtained area.

Danni gave him a small smile and shyly asked, "Can you do something for me? I want to know if perhaps they found my backpack. Everything I owned was in it so if that's gone I really don't have anything left," she said quietly.

Mitchell felt sympathy for this young woman and the human side of him wanted to help her. He came closer to the bed and squeezed her undamaged hand lightly.

"I'll see if the police might have found it. I'll be back. Just relax and let Lucy—I mean Dr. Jaggett—take care of you, ok?"

He gave her a one-sided dimpled smile as he wheeled the mop and the bucket out of the curtained area and back to the main floor. Before letting the drape fall shut he looked over his shoulder at her and winked, making Danni feel a bit more at ease.

Lucy chose to ignore that exchange and focused on treating this girl.

"Let me take a look at your head wound first, ok?" Lucy removed the bandage and saw that the gash was not too severe but would need stitches.

"Well, that's definitely going to need to be sewn up. I'll do that in a few minutes but I really need to get this arm x-rayed first," Lucy said.

Her tone was short and professional but Danni didn't really care. All she wanted was to be patched up and dispatched out of there. She watched as the doctor called for a transporter to take her to x-ray. A few minutes passed and once again Danni found herself being wheeled down the corridor to another room with machines and people in blue scrubs. She felt scared and alone and wished, more than anything that her brother was there with her. But his death is the reason she was in Bristol in the first place. Being reckless and not giving a shit about herself led her to one too many shots, one too many men, one too many lost nights. Her mind's eye flashed to the last time she saw Chris as they raced through the streets of London during an Alleycat. They had just reunited after some time apart and were reconnecting as brother and sister, Danni ignoring the presence of her ex-boyfriend, Jake, and his new relationship. It was awkward but for a chance to be home and with her brother again, she ignored it. The vision of his body being crushed by that SUV, the ensuing mystery of who had killed him and why, followed by the realization that his best friend, Jake had been party to it was almost too much for Danni to deal with.

What she most regretted was the fact that she let her guard down and before finding out Jake's part of Chris's death, allowed the old emotions surface, leading to her sleeping with him. Maybe it was the sentimental factor, or maybe it was a just basic need, but it left her feeling empty and unsatisfied, even ashamed that she was weak. She also felt exploited that Jake used sex to distract her from her goal of finding out what happened to Chris. That was the rub. Danni decided after that mistake she was not going to let emotions rule the way she lived her life in the future and that if men could live hard, she could too.

Danni was contemplating her next move once she was sprung from this place and was saddened to face the fact that she had none. She had no one and no place to go, nor did she have a reason to go anywhere. The transporter pulled her away from the x-ray machine and settled her on the gurney, covering her with a blanket and placing her arm gingerly on her abdomen. Danni looked up at the aide and smiled which was returned. For a moment, she felt calm and perhaps not so alone. Her eyes were closed on the short trip back to the treatment area so she only heard his voice. Opening them slowly she caught a glimpse of Mitchell talking to another, slightly taller orderly. Whatever they were discussing they must be close friends because both of them were grinning from ear to ear. She wondered what that was about but didn't have time to mull over it too long because she was back in her curtained area, waiting for Dr. Jaggett.

Lucy returned to finish her examination of Danni, prepping her head for stitching before setting her arm. Apart from these injuries, she appeared to be fine. However, hospital protocol required that she stay the night due to her head injury and Lucy knew this was not going to go over well with this girl. There was also another issue: Danni's sobriety test. It was clear she had been drinking but her levels were barely above the reportable numbers. Lucy was tempted to advise the police otherwise and debated the pros and cons of doing so.

"Well, it seems that you will be just fine, Danni. However, due to your head injury, we do have to keep you for twenty-four hours. Is there anyone you'd like us to contact to tell them what's going on?"

Lucy was being overly sweet and Danni saw right through it. It hadn't escaped her how she had looked and spoken to Mitchell. She's been around enough women hot for a guy to see and know the signs. Clearly, the medic had a thing for the orderly and was pathetic in her attempts to get his attention and for some unknown reason, Danni got the impression that the good doctor was slightly jealous of her. Shaking that thought, she refocused on her physician and responded to her question.

"No, I don't have any family. It's just me. So why don't you just let me go or get me a room and we can move on?" Danni's own attitude was less than charming.

Unknown to her Mitchell had stayed in the area when he saw her being wheeled back from x-ray because he was curious about her diagnosis. Now as he stood outside the curtain, he was amused by her handling of Lucy. Maybe if he couldn't get Dr. Jaggett to back off, Danni could. He remembered her request to help her find her belongings and thought he could help her; it would just require him contacting the one person he was doing his best to avoid but for her, he'd make the sacrifice. Mitchell wheeled the bucket and mop out of the triage area and went in search of his contact.

In the cubicle, Lucy ignored Danni's tone. Normally one to meet a confrontation head on, there was something about this one that she didn't want to deal with. Lucy just didn't want to be bothered with some street rat that would only be in her life for a day. Signing off on the chart she still had to decide with either reporting her alcohol status or letting it go. Thinking this girl needed to be knocked down a peg or two Lucy decided that turning her in might be the best thing for her.

"Alright, Danni," she said with an air of superiority, "I've signed your chart and they should be moving you to a room once your arm is set and one I finish with the stitches."

"Great. Thanks," Danni replied and closed her eyes. Her head was starting to ache and this woman and her uptight ways were not helping the situation. Feeling that someone was watching her, Danni's eyes opened slowly to see the doctor staring at her. Her lips were pursed and her eyes narrowed.

"Yes? Is there something else I can help you with?"

"Actually there is something else. Your blood alcohol level was just above the legal limit. By law, I need to report this to the authorities."

Danni sat up, holding her arm and stared at the petite woman. Examining her more closely, Danni thought she looked older than she probably was. Not getting laid I bet, Danni thought.

"So? Are you going to turn me in? Go ahead. I don't give a fuck," Danni said wearily.

She lies back down and put her good arm over her eyes trying to make all the pain go away. Not just the physical pain of her head and body, but the emotional pain of her brother's death that has overshadowed her the past weeks. Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Danni forced herself to push them back; she wasn't going to give this tense bitch the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

Danni's lack of resistance caught Lucy off guard. She expected the young woman to cry or beg, like most twenty-somethings. Instead, Danni was resigning her fate to whatever decision was made for her.

"I think I must Danni. For your own good. If you have a problem, then you would get help. Rehab or counseling," Lucy said, trying to sound sincere in her concern.

"Fine. Now can you just put me back together so I can sleep?" Danni said flatly.

After calling for the nurse, she washed her hands and gloved up. Danni was glad to see it was the same one with the mean face that came in with rolling tray, covered with instruments. The nurse looked down and smiled which Danni was grateful to see. Lucy numbed the area around her head wound and quickly put in a few butterfly stitches. She covered it with gauze and then prepped Danni for casting of her arm.

"From the x-ray's your arm has a clean break so setting it will be quick but I will need to give you an anesthetic. I'm sure you'd rather be knocked out so you don't feel anything. Alright?"

"Just do it," Danni replied as her patience wore thin.

Lucy had the nurse inject the solution into the IV drip and Danni was out in minutes. Working quickly she put the arm back in place as the nurse handed her the wet casting material. Shortly Danni was plastered and ready to move to a room for the night. As Lucy wiped her hands she studied the girl in the bed. She saw the tattooed arm and wondered what all the drawings meant. And why someone would do that to their bodies. Or why they would drink to the point of putting themselves or others in harm's way. Lucy could see there was an air of danger around this girl so it was clear to see how someone like Mitchell might be drawn to someone like Danni.

She walked out of the bed area, through the curtains to find Mitchell talking to an older man in a police uniform. Why would Mitchell be talking to the police? She thought.

"Mitchell," she called.

Lucy walked towards the desk where Mitchell and the police officer stood talking and interrupted their conversation.

"Mitchell," she repeated.

He looked down at her and instead of smiling, became annoyed. Glancing at this friend and then back to Lucy he wondered how he would introduce the two of them.

"Lucy? What do you need?" Mitchell asked. Lucy touched his arm and gave it a squeeze. Removing her hand from his arm he stepped back from her and waited for an explanation. Instead, the next voice he heard was his friend.

"Is something wrong doctor? Can I be of service?"

Lucy looked at him, confused as to why he seemed to be such good friends with Mitchell. Seeing her dilemma, Mitchell's friend stepped forward and held out his hand to introduce himself.

"The name is Herrick. Mitchell and I go way back. He asked me to help find this hit and run girl's belongings so that's why I'm here. But you seem to need something else," Herrick said in an overly charming way that turned Mitchell's stomach.

Lucy was impressed with the demeanor of his man and thought the situation is perfect for her plan to get Danni out of here.

"Actually there is," Lucy said. "The girl whose belongings you're trying to find, well it seems she might have-". Lucy hesitated to finish that sentence when she saw Mitchell's face staring at her. He was questioning what her intentions were and feeling his disapproval thought twice about what she was about to do. If she turned the girl in, Mitchell would hate her for sure and that was not what she needed. So she decided to do something that might make Mitchell see her in a different light. And as much as she hated doing something for this girl, she would do anything to get him.

Lucy rethought her next statement and instead of turning Danni in told this officer a different story.

"I think she might have some other issues that could have caused the accident," she said in a low voice.

Mitchell pulled back and stared at Lucy wondering what she was up to. He could tell that she was making up this story but he didn't know why. She was not one who normally made things easy for people she thought might have done something wrong. Mitchell saw, from the short time he observed Lucy treating Danni that there was wariness in the doctor towards the young mystery girl with one name. Yet here she seemed to care about what happened to her. He looked from Lucy to Herrick and back again. Lucy just smiled as Herrick spoke.

"I see. What kind of issues might that be?" Herrick asked.

Now faced with elaborating on this story, Lucy was at a loss and gave a panicked look to Mitchell. Seeing her dilemma he piped up and said, "I think what the doctor is saying is that the girl might have a head injury that has caused her to lose her memory and that maybe she shouldn't be out on the street."

He crossed his arms and gave a glance to Lucy who was impressed with his lying skills. They seemed to come too easily to him but she wasn't going to question. Giving him a grateful smile, she concurred.

"Yes, Mr.…"

"Herrick," the officer responded.

"Yes, Mr. Herrick. The girl seems disoriented and I will be keeping her overnight for observation. She mentioned something about losing her backpack and belongings. I think if you can find those, it might help her regain her memory as well speed up her recovery," Lucy said this with as much sincerity as she could muster.

Now Mitchell was the one who was impressed with her quick diagnosis and requests to help Danni. Looking at the doctor, he played with the idea of perhaps dating her but realized there was no feeling for her besides what one would feel for a coworker. It was friendly but nothing more. He stood next to her and gave Herrick a slight nod in a show of agreement.

"That's what I was telling you, Herrick. If you could find that backpack I think it would help. Maybe even tell us, I mean Danni, who hit her?" Mitchell offered with a smirk. Herrick was not amused and chose to overlook his attempt at human behavior.

Herrick also saw that there was something going on between his "friend" and the good doctor that might be the reason for Mitchell's new attitude. It was something he didn't understand because to Herrick they needed to be what they were meant to be. Like sharks. He also knew that eventually, the young man whom he had brought into his fold years ago would need to return to his roots. This attempt at normalcy would eventually end, probably badly, and from the looks of things, would include a woman. For now, Herrick would play along and do what he thought Mitchell wanted to regain his trust.

"I see. Well let me go back to the scene of the accident and take a look," Herrick said pleasantly.

Mitchell moved towards him anxious to get Herrick out of here and away from Lucy. He knew that the older man's charming ways could turn a woman's head in the blink of an eye. While he didn't have any deep feelings for Lucy, he certainly didn't want her falling for those charms.

"So, now that you know what we're looking for why don't you go out and see if you can find it, alright?" Mitchell said quickly.

Taking a moment, Herrick turned to the doctor and held out his hand to her, while keeping his eyes on Mitchell.

"I'll see what I can do and let you know," Herrick said. Lucy took his hand and shook it. She noticed it felt cool; as if there was no blood running through it. She thought it odd but didn't dwell on it. Instead, she looked back up and Mitchell hoping to see his approval at what she'd done for Danni.

"Right then," Herrick said. "I'll be off. Mitchell I'll get in touch with you if I find anything."

He put on his cap and started to walk away. Stopping at the end of the corridor that led to the ambulance bay, he pulled on a pair of gloves as he pivoted back towards the desk where Mitchell and Lucy stood.

"Doctor? I hope we get to see each other again," he said.

Mitchell didn't like what was happening but couldn't take this on now. For the moment he was more interested the tattooed girl, lying in bed, broken, battered and who knows what else. From the short time, he was with her, Danni with no last name had touched something in him that hadn't been tapped in many years. He felt a need to protect her. From what, he didn't know but it was a feeling that he didn't think would go away anytime soon.

"Perhaps we will, Mr. Herrick, Lucy replied.

With that Herrick was gone. Lucy faced Mitchell and waited for him to say something about her Good Samaritan act.

"Well, I hope he can find Danni's things. Do you think he will Mitchell?" she asked. Mitchell was staring at the door, making sure Herrick was gone. Lucy tried to get his attention again.

"Mitchell?"

Hearing her this time, he looked down at her and nodded.

"Yes, I think he will. Herrick has various resources for this kind of thing," he said. His mind was elsewhere as he stared at the corridor that Herrick left by.

Lucy was confused as it seemed Mitchell was talking about something else and not just a missing backpack.

"Isn't he just a police officer?" she asked.

Realizing that he might have said something he shouldn't have Mitchell tried backpedaling.

"Right. Yes. He's just a police officer," Mitchell stammered; his Irish accent thicker the more nervous he got. He changed the subject.

"So how is Danni?" he asked.

Lucy didn't like that his focus was on that girl but again, kept her opinions to herself. She was happy that she was able to help and hopefully win some points with Mitchell.

"She'll be fine. She's sleeping off the anesthetic and should be in a room by now," she said.

"That's good," Mitchell responded.

Glad that he seemed less awkward around her, Lucy shoved her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and rocked on her heels.

"Listen, I really should be going," she said quietly. "I have some paperwork to do before I go home."

"Yeah."

"Are you still on shift?"

"For another hour or so."

Lucy nodded and walked away before Mitchell called to her. Spinning on her heel she looked at him and waited as it appeared he wanted to say something.

"Hey, thanks. For, you know," he said.

"No problem Mitchell. Just remember this when I want a favor," she said, a grin breaking her face.

She turned back and continued on her way a bit of a bounce to her step as she felt quite pleased with herself. Once she was gone and out of sight, Mitchell checked with the desk nurse and found out where they moved Danni. Still rolling his mop, he headed for the lift to go find her. During the short trip upstairs his mind went over everything that had occurred the past few hours, as well as the past year. So much transpired that he wasn't sure how to sort it all out. The only thing he was sure about was that he needed and wanted to stay clean.

The lift stopped abruptly and Mitchell slid open the doors and with bucket and mop still leading the way headed down the hall to her room. As he approached, he left the cleaning tools outside and looked in the door, which was slightly ajar. There he saw Danni sleeping peacefully, her one arm in a cast, slung across her torso while the other one was still hooked to an IV. Moving stealthily, Mitchell walked into the room, pulled a stool over and sat next to the bed. He took the tubed hand in his and brushed the hair off her forehead. She didn't move. Mitchell felt how warm her hand felt in his. There were tattoos on her fingers too and he wanted to know what they all meant. This girl was like a deep, dark well, that he'd fallen into already and he hoped he had the chance to find out what made her that way.