"We have evidence clearly stating that Steven Lindsay is the real criminal here, your Honor," Sidney's voice rang throughout the courtroom. "We had fingerprinting done on Alexa Stewart, Sangome Kuroudo, and Steven Lindsay; the three only witnesses of the event."

Alexa watched the chief, her heart racing. She was nervous knowing she was going to be called to the stand.

"The fingerprints showed clearly that Steven had been handling the test tubes with GUILT inside them. Nurse Kuroudo was merely a witness, your Honor!"

"I'd like to call Doctor Stewart to the stand." Steven's lawyer then glanced at the young woman who stood up.

"State your name." He demanded as she sat down.
"Doctor Alexa Stewart."
"How long have you been working at Caduceus USA?"
"Nearly three months."

The man barked questions at her until he was finally out of things to ask. Alexa's poker face was coming in handy; inside, she was cracking under the pressure. Her serious expression said otherwise.

Sangome sat in her assigned seat, watching the lawyer bark questions at her friend. She looked down. "She's still not 100 percent...I hope she can take all of this..." she thought to herself, fiddling with her hands. She then heard her name called to the stand. She took a gulp, and took her place.

"Miss Kuroudo," the lawyer began, "Steven has claimed that he was nowhere near the GUILT at the time of discovery. Just what were you doing down the hall on that day, anyway?" he asked, his voice booming.

"I was walking down the hallway to meet up with the surgeon I work under, Doctor Chase. God forbid that I can't walk down the hall at my workplace." she said, her face emotionless, and not looking at anyone in particular.

The lawyer's eyes narrowed. "Look me in the face." She complied. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you're innocent?" Her face remained emotionless. "Yes. I am innocent. Mr. Kasal even said himself that the fingerprints proved that he was handling it, and not me."

After a few more moments of interrogation, Sangome sat down, still not looking at anyone, her face keeping the same emotionless look. Her eyes were still dark underneath from lack of sleep, and her eyes seemed to lack any life. No one could tell if this was merely a poker face, or if prison had really sucked the life out of her.

Alexa watched on, her heart pounding. She looked to Victor, who was sitting next to her. His own face looked emotionless, too.

'...God, watch over us all.'

Sidney stood up once more.

"Your Honor, these interrogations are getting us nowhere."

"Damn right they're getting us nowhere..." Victor thought to himself. "What the hell is the point in all this? We have evidence, so why can't we just get the jury into deliberations and send the bastard to jail?" he queried. No use saying anything aloud, he'd just have to wait to see what happened next.

"I'll be the one to say that, Kasal." The judge said fiercely.

Sidney didn't seem shocked, in fact, his face remained the same. "If our side has evidence that clearly states that Steven Lindsay is guilty, and all they have is proof by his words, then this case is clearly one-sided." He argued.

Alexa crossed her fingers. 'Let the jury decide, your Honor!'

"Court adjourned for deliberation." The gavel was pounded hard twice.

Alexa stood up and looked to Derek, who was trying to smile towards Sangome.

'It's almost over...'

Sangome slouched into her chair, and gave a sign -- the first sign of any emotion from her in quite some time. She started to glance around, and then she looked behind her and saw Alexa and Derek behind her, and happened to see Derek smiling at her. As much as she tried to force herself to smile, it was to no avail -- all she could force out was a crooked expression, displaying bleak optimism and despair. She believed in her friends, she really did, but she still couldn't help but wonder if it would backfire.

Derek smiled more. "Sangome... You're okay, right?" His eyes showed he was worried, even though his smile was wide.

Alexa turned to Victor. "I-I'm nervous..." Her voice seemed worn-out from being at the stand. Her skin was just a bit darker than her pure-white dress shirt.

Sangome tried to force a smile, but it just wouldn't show, not even for Derek. "Yeah...I am...or I will be...I hope..." her voice seemed to fluctuate with each word she spoke.

Victor placed a hand on top of Alexa's. "It'll be fine. Trust me, all right?" he said, trying to make his voice as soothing as possible...which is a bit hard, even for Victor.

Derek's hand met with Sangome's gently. "We're behind you, every step of the way. Remember that. In a few minutes, they'll be back with the verdict; a great one, I know of it."

Alexa's eyes averted Victor's gaze. "I'll... try..." She didn't sound confident in the case, even if it was this one-sided. Her hand then flipped so she could hold his. Squeezing hard, she closed her eyes tightly.

Sangome finally managed to break out a smile. "I hope so, Derek, I hope so..."

Victor's lips formed a straight line across his face. It'll be fine, Alexa. Just trust me." he said, repeating himself.

The judge returned a half hour later.

"The court is back in session." His words echoed in the silently still room.

'Just a few more minutes and we'll be out of here...' Alexa thought, holding Victor's hand tightly.

Derek's heart beat faster. He was sure of the verdict, Sangome would be innocent, and Steven would be sent away. Life at Caduceus would be the same as before.

"The jury has decided, after a long debate."

More echoing, more suspense. Alexa's hand squeezed tighter.

"We hereby find the defendant, Steven Lindsay,"

Derek could feel his body heat up, as if he were going to sweat. He calmed himself down, the feeling fading.

"Guilty."

Sangome slumped back in her chair, relieved. The whole ordeal was over. Finally over. She gave another look back at Derek, and smiled sincerely.

Victor squeezed onto Alexa's hand, happy as well. "Damn, finally, it's over. At least, it better be..." he said, looking over to his friend, who was smiling as well.

Police officers then proceeded to take Steven away, who could be seen glaring at the Caduceus staff. Alexa just sent a cocky smile to the man. 'That's what you get.'

Alexa and Victor then walked over to Sangome.

"'Gome..." She was speechless at the woman's pale face and dark circles under the once-bright eyes. Alexa then hugged her friend tightly, nearly in tears.

"It's great to see you again."

Sangome returned the hug. "I'm happy that this is all over..." she then began to sob a little. She then pulled away and looked at her friend and Victor behind her. "I know I must look like a nightmare right now...but I'm working on that, trust me. I'll look better once I can get back to work." she said with a smile. "Nice to see you again, Victor." She gave a glance back at Alexa. "So, is what I hear true? Are you two an item, now?" she asked with a cocky grin.

Victor smacked his forehead. "Your innocence has been proven, and you're just concerned about us...you two are a lot alike." Victor said. "Maybe we should just get the hell out of here before we answer that, yes?" Victor queried. Sangome walked over to him, and nodded. "Oh, fine." She then gave a look at Derek and gave a smile.

Alexa couldn't help but to giggle. "Yeah, come on, let's go."

A huge party was then thrown back at Caduceus. "Welcome Back" streamers were around, and the whole atmosphere around the building was a happy one.

Alexa laughed loudly. "Welcome back, Sangome!" She had a huge slice of cake on a plate in her hand, and she gave it to the nurse. "For you, m'dear!" She giggled, smiling wide.

Sangome laughed and took the cake. "Thank you! You all didn't have to do this for me, really..." she said, taking a bite. "Yeah, well, that's what I said, but no, they insisted--" Victor rambled on, before being elbowed by Alexa. "...I was kidding." he said, one eye closed, rubbing his stomach. Sangome let out another laugh. "You two are really cute together, you know that?" she pointed out. The color seemed to be slowly, but surely, returning to her face.

Alexa and Victor immediately turned crimson.

"I-I... er... Thanks..?" She stumbled over her words, blush fading a little. She looked a little less pale now, and was able to speak loudly again.

Sangome giggled again. "Oh, you know it. You never did answer my question if you two were an item, anyways" she taunted. Victor just blushed and rubbed his forehead.

Derek then came over, laughing and eating a slice of cake. "Welcome back, 'Gome! Good to see you so happy!"

Sangome then locked her eyes on Derek, and smiled. "Hey! Yeah, it's good to have some emotion back." she said as she ran over and hugged Derek's free side. Victor had a grin forming, and slightly stuck out his tongue. "Hmmm...And she's interrogating us as to whether we're an item..."

"Oh, Sangome, why would you care so much about this? Why don't you and Derek just kiss and admit you're an item?" Alexa sent a grin to the blushing nurse.

Derek blushed, too. "We never said we weren't one, Alexa." He grinned wider, looking down at Sangome.

"We never said we didn't kiss before, either." Sangome added on, looking up at Derek. "He may have told you how I was at our visits at the prison, but..."

Victor let out a loud and obviously fake cough. "Are we in high school? Where's the cafeteria? Where're the lockers? Heck, where's my old math teacher?!" he said in his old sarcastic tone. "Oh hush, Vic, you know you're enjoying it." Sangome said with a smile. Victor just stuck his tongue out at her.

Alexa laughed at the sight. "Victor, you're the one acting childish." She sent a cocky grin, and then stuck out her tongue.

Derek laughed, too, taking another bite of cake. He merely shook his head, trying not to burst out laughing.

Victor folded his arms in his classic pose. "Oh, be quiet." he said, sticking his tongue back at Alexa.

Sangome looked up at Derek. "Guys, I think you're gonna him explode...I don't want Derek to explode!" she giggled, poking his cheek.

The two didn't seem to care. "What're you gonna do about it, huh? Huh?" Alexa glared at Victor jokingly, her arms crossed, too.

Derek swallowed the cake and started laughing hard. "Y-you guys," more laughter, "are so childish!"

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do! It's a plan so diabolical, so sinister, that I'm not even gonna tell you what it is -- I'll just do it!" he then took a small piece of cake and shoved it into Alexa's mouth. "Piece of cake." Victor said, pun clearly intended.

Sangome looked at Derek, and sighed playfully. "He exploded." She then tried to sneak away.

Alexa swallowed the cake, and then laughed. "You asshole!" She then grabbed some more cake and shoved it into Victor's mouth, laughing. "Sweet revenge!" Her pun was also painfully intended.

Derek turned to look at Sangome, and then followed her. "Hey, where do you think you're going? It's your party, after all!"

Victor's expression clearly showed annoyance, but he laughed anyway. He too swallowed the cake, and licked it from his lips. "Yes, it was quite sweet. But I know something sweeter." He then put some icing on his lips and kissed Alexa. "I smell mixed emotions, yes?"

Sangome jumped, then looked at the man behind her, and blushed a tad. "Well, it's just getting kinda hectic...and I needed a bit of silence, if not just for a moment."

Alexa licked her own lips, smiling. "I think the cake's going to your head." She grinned wider, laughing softly. "Why're you so happy?"

Derek smiled. "If you want to be left alone, I can go back," he offered, smile fading a little.

Victor shrugged. "I dunno. Just am? I'm glad everything's finally over with, and you look happy, so...I'm happy." A smile.

"I'm glad." She kissed him gently, draping her arms around his neck.

"NO! ...No, you can stay...I don't mind at all!" Sangome said with a smile.

Derek jumped a little, but didn't show he was startled. "Alright, I'll stay, then." He gently took her hand and their fingers interlaced.

Victor smiled. Then he soon noticed that someone was missing. "Hmm...Wonder where the star of the party went." he then looked down at Alexa. "...Not that you care." he then put his arms around Alexa's waist and hugged her a bit.

Sangome blushed a bit, and looked at a nearby set of chairs. "Here, let's sit..." she sat down, with Derek following. She then looked up at him. She hadn't realized it, but the life in her eyes had returned.

Alexa couldn't help but grin. "Not at all. She's probably off with Derek..." She beamed wider, laughing softly. She then rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

Derek's eyes met with Sangome's. "I'm... glad you're back... You seem a lot happier now." He stroked her hair, eyes closed a little.

Victor smiled back, and then sat down, Alexa still in tow. "More than likely. Oh well. 'Least all four of us are happy right now."

Sangome smiled. "Yes. I am a lot happier...thank you. You were a big part of it." She then leaned in and kissed him, being the one to make the first move, for a change.

Alexa smirked and sat on Victor's lap, giggling. Her face then nuzzled his neck. "Yeah."

Derek kissed her back, blushing. "You're welcome..."

Sirens were then heard outside, and Alexa was now alert.

"Shit..! What now?!" She stood up, clenching her fist.

Derek pulled Sangome to her feet, becoming serious. "This sounds bad... Many ambulances are outside."

"We need all staff over here!" Cybil's voice could be heard. "We have an outbreak!"

"Damnit..." Victor said aloud, standing up as well. "I knew this wouldn't last long."

"For once, I agree with you." Sangome said as she came out of the other room. Derek soon followed. "Something tells me Tyler's gonna be scrubbing in soon, so I'm off." she said, grabbing a clipboard. She then looked at Derek. "See you later." She was off.

Victor straightened himself out. "And I'll probably be needed, being the local 'medicine man' that I am." he said. He then glanced over to Alexa. "See you later, too." He was off.

Alexa and Derek said their goodbyes, and then rushed away.

"Everyone will need surgical masks on! We don't know if this is airborne or not!" Cybil yelled out.

"Alright, I'm here, Raven, was it?" Alexa asked her new assistant. He just nodded, his silver-blue eyes looking just near emotionless. He brushed away his light blond hair. "Raven Bolton. Come on, let's scrub in."

Alexa nodded, too, following him to the OR.

Sangome ran in, clipboard in one hand, and hand putting on her surgical mask in the other. She found herself meeting up with Tyler, who had his mask on as well. "Well, nice to see you finally back!" Tyler chirped. "I missed my lovely assistant." His grin was concealed by his mask. Sangome let out a light scoff. "It's nice to see you again, too, Doctor, but you don't need to flirt at a time like this." she said. "Any idea on what we could be dealing with?" she queried. "None. We should know soon. We should scrub in for the moment, though." said Tyler. Sangome nodded in agreement and followed.

"This patient's chiral readings are different than anything else," Raven read from a chart. "It's... a new strain inside the stomach."

'Damn. Just what I fucking need...' Alexa thought. 'I thought Delphi was gone for good...'

"Alright. I say plan of action is to open the patient, and see what we can do.
"So stupid it has to work."
"You have any better objective, Nurse?" Her brow furrowed and she cast a glare to him. "Come on."

She walked into the OR, making sure her mask was tight enough. She then gasped. The patient's skin was turning gray just above where they would incise.

'...That's not good.' "Antibiotic Gel," she demanded. "Scalpel."

Cut, clamp.

Alexa gasped again. The GUILT body looked somewhat like... A deformed lion? With nine eyes? That was sure a new sight.

'Eight of those eyes are closed... The middle is the only one open. How to attack...'

"Try the forceps, Doctor. Pick it off of the organ."

She received the tool, and tried to pick up the small virus. No avail.

"Try the laser on the eyelids, Doctor."

She did as told, and the chiral readings dropped a little.

"Use the forceps to pull the lid open."

It worked. Using instinct, Alexa grabbed the scalpel and stabbed the small eye. She repeated the process on two other eyes.

"Small organisms are coming from the middle eye and making holes in the stomach." Raven informed. "Vitals are also dropping."

Alexa used some sedative, and then used the laser on the smaller bodies. She then continued her previous process on the smaller eyes.

The GUILT faded.

"Did I do it?" Alexa asked, unsure about the answer.
"Chiral readings in the liver."

Alexa then closed up the patient and made another opening over the liver. She repeated the laser/scalpel process.

"Chiral reaction low."

The middle eye flashed, and then the entire body sunk into the organ.

"Reaction negative. Close up the patient."

Sangome grabbed the paper that was handed to her, and clipped it to her board. "...What's this?" she said to herself, going over to Tyler, not looking up from her paper. "I just got a note from another operating room...we're facing a new type of GUILT. It's characterized by a deformed-looking lion with nine eyes, only one of which is open...I don't know if that's what we have, but it's something to look out for." she said.

Tyler's smile faded a little. "Oh...? Well, we're not going to know until we find out. Dr. Myers said the patient is ready, anyways."

He smiled and walked off to the OR, Sangome following.

Tyler then walked up to the patient, smile completely gone. His expression grew very serious.

"Go run a Chiron test. Now." The patient's skin was a deep shade of gray above the lungs.

'This is gonna be a nasty one.'

Sangome did as she was told. "Chiral reaction is positive. I'm getting a reading...a reading right where that gray area is. This looks bad, Doctor, be careful," she said, repeating what Tyler already knew. "This patient is also a young girl, age fourteen..." She read off, but she cut herself off as she eyed the patient's name. "N...No..." she said to herself. Tyler asked if anything was wrong. "Huh...? Oh, n-no...proceed as normal, doctor...just, be careful, please..."

Tyler didn't pry into the situation. He cleaned the gray area with antibiotic gel, then made an incision and clamped it open.

"Just as described, Sangome. We have ourselves new GUILT. Hey, do me a favor and go grab Alexa. She might be done with her operation already."

After Sangome left, he continued using different tools to see what made the virus weak.

Sangome obeyed and went to track down Alexa.

"Hey, Alexa...Tyler sent me down here to get you. We've got a new GUILT strain on our hands, and he'll probably need your help," she said. "Be sure to have Victor on standby in case we need a new medicine, and heck, drag Derek in if we need to," she added on, her voice sounding kind of distant.

Alexa smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Sure, I'd love to help out. No new medicine needed; I already found a cure with the help of my assistant.

"All right, good." Sangome quickly replied.

"You don't look so good. Need me to fill in for the entire operation...?" Alexa asked, walking to Tyler's assigned operating room.

"Me? No, no...I want to stay in here, I need to stay in here...I'll be fine, really." The nurse reassured.

"Alrighty, then," Alexa chirped, smiling. She walked into the room before the OR, and scrubbed in. Pulling on a surgical mask and gloves, she entered the operating room.

"'Ello, 'ello. Need some help?"

Tyler nodded, his beaming face covered by his mask. "Yes, please. This GUILT is going to drive me insane."

Alexa just laughed softly and attacked the virus. In a short while, she said the GUILT had moved. She demanded another Chiral reading.

"In the stomach, Alexa." Sangome informed. Alexa noticed her voice still distant, just like before.

Alexa held her forearm to her own stomach. "I hate to let you guys down, but I'm starting to feel nauseous. You guys can operate, or we can bring in Derek or Victor, if you'd like..."

"I'll go get Derek...we could--we could probably use him in here..." Sangome said as she got up. She soon left to fetch him.

Tyler furrowed his brow. "She's been acting awfully weird since the patient was brought in," he noted. He then looked at Alexa. "Hey, you gonna be all right? Maybe you ought to lie down..."

"I'll be fine; I just don't want to feel worse. That stupid bug... It's making me feel disgusted." Alexa groaned, looking at the open patient. It was at that moment that Derek was brought in.

Derek smiled to the other surgeons. "You guys need me to fill in, huh? I just need to know what to do, and I will."

Alexa nodded to him, and then taught the procedure. In no time, Tyler had said the chiral reaction was negative. Derek stitched and bandaged the patient's abdomen.

"And there we go! Operation complete." He announced.

Sangome let out a sigh of relief as the patient was wheeled off to her room. Tyler thanked Derek, and then turned his attention to his nurse. "All right, Sangome, I wasn't going to say anything, but you started to act really weird after reading off that clipboard...is there something wrong?" he asked sternly, but gently. Sangome looked at him, trying to hold back any emotions. "N...nothing's wrong...I, I just...I need to go visit her. Now." She then took off. Shortly after doing so, Victor showed up. "I think I may know why she's acting weird," he said. "Really? What is it?" asked Tyler, anxious to know. "I saw the name of the patient on her clipboard as she walked out. I saw the last name -- 'Kuroudo'. I'm imagining it's a relative, but how they're related is anyone's guess. I didn't get a look at the first name," he said. Tyler was silent for a moment.

"C'mon, let's follow her."

Sangome was seen sitting in a chair outside the patient's room, waiting to be allowed in.

Alexa hurried off, hugging Sangome the moment she was near. "Feel better..." She smiled.

"The patient won't be waking up soon, but... You can still go in, just in case she does." Derek offered, trying his best to smile. He honestly hated seeing Sangome like this.

Sangome nodded, returning the hug from Alexa. Victor then walked up to the door. "I know it's not my place to be saying this, but I happened to see the patient's information, and saw that you two shared the same last name. Are you two actually related? Well, I guess that's a dumb question -- you wouldn't be so worked up over it..." he said. Sangome gave a light nod as she opened the door, and saw a young, teenage girl resting on her bed. She sat down next to the bed, and gently stroked the girl's dark, black, obviously dyed hair. The others soon followed suit.

Alexa stayed quiet, looking down.

"I-it's terrible to see a relative in the hospital." She said, breaking the long silence. Tyler nodded, obviously already having been down that road.

Derek sighed. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this, 'Gome..." He gently took her hand into his own.

Sangome nodded. "It's just...I...she's all I've had for the past fourteen years...her...I..." She closed her eyes, and she took a deep breath. "I'm scared...that...that if a certain one of you in here found out how she was related to me...you'd think the wrong thing..." she explained, looking around at everyone, and then locking her sight onto Derek. "So...all I'll say is that we're very close..."

"Wait, what? You're acting strange, Sangome," said Victor. "I mean, why are you being so secretive? It's not like you kidnapped her or anything, right?" "Of course not...it's just..." Sangome squeezed onto Derek's hand.

There was then some slight movement from the bed. The young girl pushed her head up, and opened her eyes, which were a crystal blue.

"Millie...? You're...you're up..." said Sangome. "You weren't supposed to be up for a long time..."

The girl then looked over at Sangome, and let out a small smile.

"Oh...heh...hi, Mom. Didn't expect to see you here."