June 30th, 2004

Bug just turned thirty-two. He knew he wasn't old, but he couldn't help but to feel like it sometimes. Luckily, Lily had just turned thirty so they were facing older age together.

"Bug, come take a look at this." Nigel mumbled from the microscope. Bug walked over to his friend and peered at what he was looking at.

"Mold." Bug commented.

"Not just any mold. Take a closer look." Nigel said. Bug sighed looked ito the microscope. A smile came across his face.

"African Titsy Mold?" Bug asked.

"In the flesh…so to speak." Nigel said, "Came in on a cadaver of an English teacher. She hasn't travel in five years, but five years ago she traveled to African." Bug stared at him.

"How did the mold get on her five years later then?" he asked. "The mold only comes from the Titiapa worm." Nigel nodded.

"Maybe one stowed away in her luggage." He said.

"A five year old Titiapa worm? Wow…We have to find that worm…It'll be the oldest living one ever." He said. "They only love for three years."

"Then lets go worm hunting."

* * *

Lily sat at her desk staring at the stack of folders. She had a line of people outside her office. She had to get on this quickly or she'd have a riot on her hands. She stood up in time to watch her door being kicked in. She cried out as a man barged in.

"I am here to speak with…Mrs….V…something." He growled.

"That's me." She smiled and extended her hand.

"Where is my wife?" He asked.

"What's your name?" Lily asked calmly. Her nerves were running a mile a minute though.

"Alexander Franklin." He said, "My wife. Now!!" Franklin...Franklin. Right, His wife Stephanie killed herself.

"How may I help you, Mr. Franklin?" Lily asked.

"Where is she?" Alexander hissed.

"She's in the morgue. I can send for her so you could say goodbye to her." Lily said. Alexander shook his head.

"SHES NOT IN THE MORGUE!!!" He yelled.

"I um…Would you like my to send for her?" Lily asked again.

"SHES NOT DEAD!!!!!" Alexander yelled as he pulled a knife out from his pocket. Lily threw her hands up.

"Mr. Franklin, I'd put that away if I were you. Nothing good could come from that." She said. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Don't take her away from me!!! She's all I got." He said.

"Then, put the knife away. Stephanie wouldn't want you to be anything stupid." Lily said. Alexander's eyes glazed over.

"Don't say her name." He said coldly.

"What do you want me to do, Alexander?" Lily asked. She glanced out the window. No one was in her line of vision.

"Bring Stephanie back to me so we can go to my parents." He said as he started to cry Lily bit her lip.

"Do you have children?" She asked. Alexander shook his head.

"We're trying to adopt. Can I have her now?" He asked.

"She's dead, Alexander." She softly.

"NO SHE'S NOT!!!" He screamed. He threw his arm out, jabbing the knife into Lily's chest. Her eyes widened as she was blinded by pain. Several more stabs come onto her body before she collapsed in a pool of blood.

* * *

Bug and Nigel crawled on the floor looking for the worm.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack." Bug said.

"Or worm in a house." Nigel said shining the flashlight underneath the couch, "This is impossible, mate."

"It's not impossible." Bug said, "We'll make so much money if you can do this."

"We? Money?" Nigel nodded and continued to crawl around on the floor, "I never thought this would be how my career would wind up." Bug chuckled.

"You've been in worse situations." He said lifting up the carpet.

"True." He said looking in a potted plant, "What if we stepped on it?" Bug groaned.

"Don't say that." He said, "And if the office pages me one more time, I will scream. I'm not letting this worm go."

"They're paging me too." Nigel chuckled, "Dr. Macy is going to be pissed." Bug shrugged.

"He'll thank us when we find this worm." He said. A knock came upon the door and Jordan walked in, "Hey, Jordan."

"Hey…" She said, "What are you guys doing?"

"Searching for a worm." Nigel said, "Wanna join us?"

"Not particularly. We've been trying to get a hold of you." She said. Bug nodded.

"We've been ignoring the pages until we could find the worm."

"It's not work related." Jordan said.

"Then what is it, Love?" Nigel asked.

"It's Lily. She um…She had a patient who…who was irate about loosing his wife. He blamed Lily." Jordan said. Bug looked up at her; "H-He had a knife, bug…He stabbed Lily five times."

"What?" Bug whispered. The colour drained from his face.

"She's pretty bad, Bug. She was rushed to the ER." Jordan said. Her heart was breaking as she looked at the look on his face.

"I-Is she okay?" Bug croaked. Jordan shook her head.

"I don't think so. He punctured her lungs and she lost a lot of blood." Jordan whispered. "They took her up to surgery to try to repair the damage." Bug stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Sh-She….um…" Bug ran his hand through his hair.

"Let's go." Jordan extended her hand. Bug's lips trembled. Here he was looking for the goddamn worm and his wife almost killed.

* * *

Bug paced back and forth. His heart was standing still in his chest. He was hurting so much. His wife was in the OR, trying to live. Garrett looked at Bug and touched his arm.

"Want me to go pick Maya up and take her back to my place?"

"You don't have to." Bug whispered. Garrett nodded.

"I will. Maya shouldn't have to stay in day care all night." Garrett said, "It'd be a pleasure. Call my cell when you want me to bring her here."

"Thank you." Bug said softly. He started to pace again. Everyone's eyes were on him. He could feel them burning into him. Where was the doctor? He wanted to know how Lily was.

"She'll be okay." Jordan whispered to Nigel.

"I know, Love." He said as he slid his arm around her shoulders. A doctor walked in. Bug's eyes widened.

"My wife. How is she?" He asked. Dr. Cowell took his hat off.

"She's alive." He said. Bug breathed a sigh of relief. "She lost a whole lot of blood. We were able to fix the damage to her lungs, but the recovery will be the hardest part for he. She'll need to stay in the hospital for awhile."

"She'll be okay?" He asked.

"If infection doesn't set in, she'll be fine." He said, "You may go see her if you want. She's not awake and probably won't be until tomorrow." Bug nodded slowly.

"Thank you." He said. Dr. Cowell extended his arm.

"Follow me." Bug shuffled down the stairs. His heart pounded in his chest as he stepped into Lily's room. His lips quivered as he stared at his wife. She was a pale as a ghost. She had tubes coming from almost every inch of her body. She didn't look like his sweet Lily. Bug went to her bedside and took her limp hand.

"Lily?" He whispered. Bug kissed her hand tenderly. A few tears slid down his face, "I wish I could take all of your pain away. I wish I could have shielded you for all the bullshit that goes on in the world. You have to be okay. Maya and me need you."

Bug started to cry. He never thought he would be put in this situation. His heart was aching for his true love to be okay. Why did something like this have to happen to her? She was the kindest person in the whole world. She didn't deserve this.

Note: If you want to be updated when this and my other fics are updated or to participate in general discussion about them then join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TAK_Update/