Chapter Two

Elizabeth Turner scrubbed her hands under the scalding water, washing away the soap suds and dirt before drying her hands on a paper towel and returning to the bedside of her nearly comatose patient.

For the first time since he'd been admitted to Belleview, and probably the first time since the accident three years ago, William Richardson was free of IV's, tubes, and other medical contraptions. For at least a little while.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay." Elizabeth – Beth to her friends – said as she readied a new travel-designed IV. "You've been a wonderful patient, I don't know why those other nurses had written such bad reports." William didn't respond to her little diatribe, as per usual.

His head was tilted to one side and his eyes were glued expressionlessly to the window. His light brown hair was mussed up from his tossing and turning, and the curls were pasted to his fevered forehead.

'Poor boy. It seems like he's forever destined to be sick.' She thought as she plucked his hand off of his stomach and twisted it so she could see the underside. The pale flesh was littered with needle marks from previous IVs and shots of medication.

"Lets get a move on then huh? Good old Sunnydale is waiting for you." She said cheerfully. She wiped his arm off with a pad of antiseptics and inserted the needle in a clear spot. William didn't even flinch. She caked some plaster around the needle, then bandaged it so only the end was poking out.

"Sunnydale is a nice place." She continued. "I was there a few times, visiting my sister and her daughters. She works at the hospital you know." She patted his hand. "Maybe you'll meet her."

"Beth." Beth looked up as a fellow nurse poked her head into the room. Light blond hair and large brown eyes greeted her and she smiled at the intern. "I just came to remind you that you have a half an hour left to get him ready." The young woman said. She tilted her head towards the bed. "What the matter with him?"

"Huh?" Beth turned to William. The boy had turned to face to newbie. His eyes were wide open with fear, although they were still mainly expressionless, and his nostrils were flared. Beth sighed. "He's just afraid of new faces. Women mostly." She explained.

"Oh. I'll go then so he doesn't get even more upset." The young woman said.

"Okay, thanks for the reminder." The young woman nodded and left the room. William went back to staring nervously out the window. "Well." She said to herself. She began cleaning William's face with a damp rag, then put the oxygen mask back into place over his mouth and nose.

The next half hour passed quickly for Beth. William was hooked back onto the IV drips; medications for pain and the cold he hadn't been able to shake, as well as nutrients he never got because his stomach couldn't seem to handle regular food. "Beth. Is he ready?"

Beth looked up to see her supervisor standing in the doorway. On either side of him were doctors from Sunnydale. One was a younger man with black hair and green eyes. The other was – "Joyce!" Beth grinned happily at her sister, who waved from her spot at Dave's side.

"He's all set for transportation. Hello Joyce, long time no see." Joyce smiled. "I didn't think you'd be coming." Beth stated as the two men moved William from his bed to the gurney.

"It was a surprise. I'm going to be his primary nurse." Joyce said as the IV bags were switched to the pole hooked to the wheeled gurney. "Is there anything I need to know about him before we head out?" Joyce asked.

"Well, he hasn't had real food in a long time. He doesn't talk at all, just lays there and broods." William shifted his shoulders as he was wheeled over to the doorway. Beth smiled at him gently. "And he's afraid of new people. Mostly women, although there are a few men that he doesn't like."

"Gotchya." Joyce said as she joined her companion. "Anything else?"

"He's been sick a lot. We don't know why." Beth said.

"We'll be sure to look into it then. It's been nice to see you again. Are you going to be up for Christmas?" Joyce asked.

"You bet I will be. Take care of him will you?" Joyce nodded.

"Cross my heart. I'll see you soon." Beth nodded and watched her supervisor and the duo from Sunnydale walk down the long hallway, hoping that maybe at Sunnydale William would find the peace he needed.

OOOOOOOOOO

Joyce didn't know what to expect when she arrived at Belleview. He patient, a seventeen year old boy named William Richardson, had been in a car crash three years ago. He had a broken lower spine, a shattered knee, and trouble breathing. Only one of those three injuries/maladies had healed. That's all she had been told.

When she saw the boy she knew that something else was going on with him. something that was a little more than physical. And being the wife of a psychologist, she was qualified enough to know when someone needed professional help. In this case, that someone was the boy.

She averted her attention from William long enough to greet and speak with her sister, who had informed her of William's fear of women. Joyce shrugged it off momentarily and decided to work on that problem after she fixed his physical problems. Those usually were the easiest.

She waved a good bye to her sister, after extracting a promise that the woman would visit for Christmas, and joined her companion and the hospitals supervisor as they wheeled William down to the ambulance. The boy was loaded carefully into the back and Joyce put a hand on her companion's arm as he went to climb in.

"I'll sit in the back with him." She offered. "I'd like to get to know him a little." The man, fresh out of college and new to the world of doctors and patients, nodded a little warily.

"If your sure." He said.

"Very sure. Go on up and sit in the cab. I'll yell if I need anything." He nodded and Joyce climbed in to sit next to William. The man slammed the doors shut and Joyce quickly reassured William, who had bucked in surprise. "It's okay William. You're safe back here." The ambulance started up and country music drifted to the back from the cab.

"My name is Joyce Summers and I'll be your primary nurse. My assistant, Xander, will be helping me out. You'll meet him when we get to Sunnydale." Joyce paused to gently pet William's hand comfortingly. "I have two daughters, whom you'll also meet. They hang around the hospital a lot."

William was silent throughout her diatribe, but he did tilt his head at her occasionally during the speech. Eventually he fell into an exhausted sleep and Joyce sighed. "I'll nurse you back to health, I promise. No matter what."

TBC

I know the chapters haven't been short, but this story is merely a fill in story while I work on "Watch Out World". The prologue of the new version will be up soon. Make sure you read the Author's notes on it!