The update timing has changed a bit, because in a few weeks I'll be going away, and the way things are now, I'll be leaving you guys with a cliff-hanger for almost a month. I'm not that mean! So now you'll get an update twice a week. Probably Friday's and Mondays, or maybe Thursdays. We'll see.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! You make my day!

The alarm sounded once before Jules slammed her hand on it, shutting it off almost instantly – and making her wince in the process. She rose as silently as she could and was showered and dressed in seven minutes. She poured Scott's tea and almost left, before she remembered last night's conversation. Biting her lip, she tiptoed back into the bedroom, rummaging around in her drawer until she found a tube of lipstick. She smoothed quite a bit over her lips, kissed the napkin, scribbled a note, and then scrubbed at her lips with a damp paper towel until they were clean. Finally she left for work.

The drive over wasn't pleasant. Gripping the steering wheel with her hands seemed to be more painful than yesterday. By the time she got there, Jules had already swallowed three times the allotted dosage of aspirin. The lack of food and sleep, combined with the drugs, was giving her head a pleasant buzz. The door tilted as she went to grab it, and she blinked, struggling to keep focused. She made it into the changing room without falling over, but once there she collapsed on the floor, closing her eyes against the pain in her hands, head, and now stomach. She forced herself to use her hands to crawl along the floor, and reached the toilet just before she threw up. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself up and rinsed out her mouth, swallowing quite a bit of water in the process.

"Mom, I feel kinda sick."

"Well how much medicine did you take, Jules?" The woman asked, grabbing the bottle to make sure her twelve year old daughter had taken enough of 'that disgusting purple goo' to make her feel better.

"Two cupfuls."

"Jules! You're only supposed to have one!"

The girl looked horrified, and the woman smiled gently, "Don't worry. You'll be fine. Drink a lot of liquid – it'll dilute the drugs. They'll wear off eventually."

Jules smiled at the memory, and kept swallowing the water. When she thought she would throw up again, she let herself fall back to the floor. She dragged her duffel bag across the floor to her, changing while leaning against the wall. Every so often she would force more liquid down her throat, so that by the time she was fully dressed, Jules was pretty sure she could stand up without too much difficulty. She pulled her hands inside her sleeves and left, wondering how she was going to explain her lack of interest in physical activity to her team members.

I'm trying to make the chapters longer - I swear!