July 14th, 2004

The past two weeks had been so hard for Lily. The pain at times was too much to bear. She never thought recovery would be this hard. She pressed the button to make the bed go up. She groaned loudly. She had been thirty for barely a month and already it was horrible.

"God." Lily grunted. She was being released in a couple of days and she couldn't wait. Bug walked in with Maya in his arms.

"You're awake." Bug said. Maya clapped her hands.

"Yeah. I'm awake." She said. "Unfortunately." Bug sat on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"I just want to go home and be with my family." Lily reached out and touched Maya's leg.

"Mama! Mama!" She squealed. Lily's frowned immediately turned into a grin.

"She's talking." Lily said softly. Bug nodded and put Maya on the bed.

"She's been doing it for the past week." Bug said. Lily smiled weakly.

"I've been thinking about something a lot lately, Bug." Lily whispered. Bug looked at Lily questionably, "I'm quitting my job."

"What?" Bug's eyes widened, "Why??"

"Because I was stabbed." Lily said.

"But you love your job, Lily. You love helping people. You can't leave us again." Bug said. Lily sighed taking Maya's hand.

"I have a degree, bug. I can get job anywhere with it. People are always looking for grieve counselors or even therapists." Lily said, "I can't risk it again, bug. We have a daughter. I need to think of her. It's not like I'm asking for a divorce. Nigel and Jordan will still be Maya's godparents. They're my friends."

"Is this what you really want, Lily?" He asked. She nodded.

"I want to try it out." She said.

"Fine. I'm your husband and I will stand by with whatever you decide. Its going to be hard not seeing you at work." He said. Lily couldn't help but to giggle.

"Like I said, we're not getting a divorce." She winked playfully.

"I know." He said. "Did your doctor sign you out?"

"Yes he did." Lily smiled softly, "You need to help me get dressed."

"I would be honoured to." Bug said helping her out of bed.

"Thanks." Lily said, standing up straight. She grunted loudly. Bug put Maya down onto the floor and grabbed Lily's clothes.

"When we get home, we'll get you in our bed and I'll serve you some dinner." Bug said helping her put her shirt on. Lily winced slightly. She hated that she was still in pain.

"Sounds good to me." She said, "I need to call Garrett then too."

"That can wait." Bug said as he started to pull her skirt up her legs. "Just focus on your full recovery." Lily nodded. She hated this. She hated depending on others for help.

"I just want to be home with my family." She said. Bug smiled as he gathered her things.

"You ready?" He asked. Lily nodded.

"Take me home." She said softly.

* * *

It felt good being in her own bed and in her own PJ's and slippers. She could smell Bug cooking and hear Maya giggling. It was so much better than being in the hospital, but why did Lily feel so restless? She just wanted to run and hide away from everyone.

July 28th, 2004

The past two weeks had been so hard for Lily. She missed her job at the medical examiner's office, but she knew she couldn't return even though Garrett had increased the security there. That made her feel a little bit better about having Bug work there now. Lily had been trying hard to find a job. Not many people were looking for a person with her terrific qualifications. She was amazed at that fact.

Lily walked up the steps of Medford High School, about twenty-five minutes away from Boston. They were looking for a guidance counselor. It wasn't the ideal job for Lily, but this was a good springboard for a bigger career.

"Excuse me, I have an appointment with Mrs. Lombardo." Lily said as she walked into one of the offices.

"Mrs. Lebowski-Vah…um…" The secretary looked at the book.

"Ms. Lebowski is fine." She chuckled softly.

"Okay. Mrs. Lombardo is waiting for you in her office. It's right down the hallway." She said. Lily nodded and walked down the hallway and found Mrs. Lombardo's office.

"Ma'am?" Rita looked up from her computer and smiled.

"You must be Lily." She stood up extending her hand.

"I am. Pleased to meet you." Lily said shaking her hand.

"Like wise. Have a seat." Rita said, "I've gone over your resume and it's glowing. You're over qualified for this position."

"Oh." Lily said softly, "I understand." Rita chuckled.

"I didn't say you couldn't have it." Rita said, "You have children?"

"Yeah one. She's nine months old." Lily said.

"I didn't think you were old enough for high school aged children." Rita smiled, "Working in a high school is very hard. Your job is to guide these people towards college or a career. You need to listen to them. Some will come to you with horrible heart wrenching stories and other others you just want to knock around. I'm sure with your previous job, you've had experiences like that as well, am I right?" Lily nodded.

"Oh yes." Lily smiled softly.

"May I ask why you left your previous job?" Rita asked.

"I um…I had a bad case and I was stabbed." She said softly.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She said, "Medford High is a safe school. We did have a riot in '91 but no one was really hurt. We now have four security guards and three undercover cops here. As you may have noticed, we have a security desk out front and no one can get past that without signing in first." Lily smiled and nodded.

"All good ideas." She said.

"I'm retiring and I am forced to look for a replacement. I would really love to have you, Lily. I have a feeling you'd fit it perfectly here." Rita said, "Would you like the job?" Lily smiled.

"I would love it, Ma'am. It's perfect. The hours are perfect so I can be home with my daughter." Lily said as Rita extended her hand.

"You can start Monday then." Rita said with a smile, "Welcome to Medford High."

* * *

Lily bounced Maya on her hip as she walked through the doors of the Medical examiners office. So she wasn't an employee anymore, but no one would care that she was back here.

"Hey there, Sexy Bird." Nigel walked up to her.

"Hey, Sexy Brit." Lily kissed his cheek, "Where's my husband?"

"Exploring the freezers, Love. Fun work he has." Nigel said.

"Tell me about it. Take Maya for a second." Lily handed the bay over to her godfather and walked to the freezers, "Bug?"

"Lily?" Bug stepped out, removing his plastic gloves. "What are you doing here? Where's Maya?" Lily smiled softly.

"Nigel is showing her dead bodies." Lily chuckled, "I have good news."

"You have a job?" Bug smiled. Lily smiled brightly.

"Yeah at Medford High School. It's a pay cut, but the hours are better." Lily said. Bug hugged her gently.

"I'm so proud of you, Lily. You'll love that job. I just know you will." He said. Lily nodded with a smile. She had a safe job now, well a relatively safe job now and she was excited to start Monday.

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