Disclaimer: I don't own these characters - they just decided to come out and play. Enjoy!
Bug marched into the break room, coffee cup in hand. "Mornings…" he grumbled, slamming the cup on the counter. He moaned, realizing that the coffee pot was empty. "What does it take to get a little caffeine in this place?"
"Easy there, Bug," Jordan comforted, pulling a bag of grounds from the cupboard. "Aren't we a little testy for a Monday?"
"This coming from the woman who can't breathe without a triple latte in her hand," Bug argued.
Jordan's face wrinkled in mock pain. "Caffeine good…" she grunted. "Mean Bug… bad."
Bug rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you'd be pretty cranky too if you got this." He reached into his coat pocket and threw a white envelope onto the table.
"What's this?" Jordan asked, picking up the note and opening it.
"An invitation to a medical forum in Boston," Bug explained with disgust. "An invitation to speak at a medical forum, to be exact."
"Doncha just hate it when professionals think you've got something interesting to say?" Jordan said sarcastically.
"I hate going to these things. It's always the same. People stand around, talk about the great discoveries they've made, the interesting lives they lead. It's awful."
"Sounds terrible," Jordan teased. "Is someone afraid of making a public appearance?"
"It's not the speech." Bug stopped for a moment. "Well, not entirely." He looked seriously at Jordan. "The administrator of the forum is an old friend of my parents. Probably the only reason he asked me."
"And?" Jordan commented, missing the point.
"And if he's invited me…"
Jordan's eyes lit up. "When do they get here?"
Bug sighed. "They arrive on Thursday."
"Do we get to meet them?" Jordan's smile grew larger. "Oh please, Bug! We have to meet them!"
Lily strolled into the break room. "Meet who?" she asked, going for the fridge and pulling out an apple.
"Bug's Mom and Dad," Jordan answered, a little too happily. "They're coming to Boston."
"That's great!" Lily said, being supportive. The look of grief on Bug's face told her a different story. "Okay, so it's not great?" She looked to Jordan for answers.
"No, it's not," Bug ranted. "You've never met these people before. My parents. They're just so…" He struggled for the words. "… critical."
Jordan scoffed. "Ah, a new member to the club."
Bug shook his head, not finding any support in the room. "This is different. You've never had to deal with my parents." He grabbed his mug from the counter and started out the door.
"What about your coffee?" Jordan yelled after him. Bug threw his hands up in defeat, continuing into the hallway.
Jordan turned to Lily with a shrug. "Talk about caffeine withdrawal."
XXXXX
"Boredom is a bastard," Nigel whined, leaning back in a lab chair. Bug, Nigel and Sydney sat in the trace lab, staring into space. "Remind me the next time the Reaper takes a little holiday, to book the time off too."
"We've had slow times before, Guys," Garret explained, stepping into the room. He looked around at his staff, noting the obvious monotony. "Isn't there something that you people could be doing?
"Sorry, Dr. M," Nigel argued. "We're leaving the crypt locker clean up until we've gone comatose."
"Look, you've got some paperwork that still needs to be filled out on the Meyers case," Garret ordered. "And Bug, those larvae in the break room are beginning to freak out the support staff."
"But the banana culture won't be ready for at least two more days," Bug argued.
Lily rushed into the lab, clipboard in hand. "Dr. Macy? We've got two bodies coming in now and another three are on their way," she said, a little out of breath. "They're all from the South Boston Seniors Care Home."
"Well boys, looks like you won't be bored for much longer," Garret stated, following Lily out the door.
A smile grew on Nigel's face. "It's show time!"
XXXXX
"Five bodies," Garret began reading from a chart in his hand. His staff was poised around the autopsy bay, ready for action. "Three men and two women, all over the age of 75. All from the same nursing home." He lifted the sheets from the bodies as he spoke. "The orderly said they were found last night; all died in their sleep."
"Maybe dinner did them in…" Nigel proposed, stepping closer to one of the individuals.
"Must've been a hell of a meatloaf," Jordan joined in, examining the eyes of the man closest to her. "No reticule hemorrhaging, pupils normal. Definitely not a stroke."
"This one's are dilated suggesting some sort of cerebral event," Bug stated. He looked around at the five bodies, a confused look on his face. "Five coincidental deaths?"
"A dodgy coincidence," Nigel argued. "Two, maybe three. But all five?"
Garret silenced everyone with a raised hand. "We're not going to know until we examine these people. Let's start with two of them down in trace. We'll make a decision one person at a time."
Bug, Nigel and Jordan began wheeling gurneys from the room as Lily stepped inside. "Dr. Macy? The director from the senior's home is here," she stated, handing Garret some paperwork.
Garret looked at her questioningly, noticing the completed paperwork. "These shouldn't be filled out by the director. The forms need to be done by a family member."
"That's just it," Lily shrugged. "None of them have family."
XXXXX
"Dr. Kitchmen, we thought that the next of kin would be notified by the care home," Garret protested as he took a seat across from the larger man in the boardroom.
"I'm afraid that there is no next of kin for these folks," the jolly-looking director explained. "You see, South Boston is a lower income seniors complex. We reach out to those who are less fortune – financially. Many of our residents are alone in this world; some times out living their spouses and children or there was simply no family to begin with. We give these people a place they can belong."
Garret looked at Lily, a little put off by the man's passionate speech. Lily smiled patiently. "Will you be claiming these people?" she asked softly.
"Oh, of course. One of our requirements is that when our residents pass on from this world, everything is pre-arranged. The funeral, the burial, their estates. I am simply here to oversee their transition."
Lily politely nodded at the man, eyes wide at his calm simplicity of the process.
"Well, after we've completed the autopsies, we will notify you," Garret resolved, standing.
"Are autopsies necessary?" Dr. Kitchmen asked.
"It's standard procedure, Doctor," Garret stated, try to brush off the director's lack of knowledge. "Surely you know that."
The man laughed uncomfortably. "Of course… of course I do. I am just not certain that these instances warrant the need. All of these fine people passed on in their sleep."
"But it's the law," Lily added, trying to help.
Dr. Kitchmen nodded in easy agreement and stood, extending his hand to Dr. Macy. "I guess I will be hearing from you then." He quickly gathered his things and fled the room.
Lily looked incredulously at Garret. "Was it just me or did he seem a bit… well… off?" she asked.
"Ah… yeah," he concurred. "I have a feeling his patients may have just made the wrong transition."
