She'd been in a meadow, surrounded by flowers. Suddenly she was plunged into darkness, Anthony's voice calling to her. The darkness slowly faded into a bright, orange light, and Mary opened her eyes. She found herself face-to-face with Anthony, unsure of where she was or how she got there. She blinked a few times as the memory of the previous night slowly came back to her.

Mary: "Hi."

Anthony smiled.

Anthony: "Hi. Did you sleep well?"
Mary: "Apparently. What time is it?"
Anthony: "It's eight o'clock."
Mary: "Eight o'clock? I can't have been asleep for more than five minutes."
Anthony: "Eight P.M. I have to get to my shift at the hospital."

Mary: "You let me sleep all day?"
Anthony: "You needed the rest. In fact, I'm going to take you home and I want you to go straight back to sleep."
Mary: "If you say so. It's not like I have a job to get to."
Anthony: "Come on, then. I've got the car running already."

Anthony helped Mary to her feet and she followed him out to the car. The walk was enough to sap whatever energy she'd had upon waking, and she slid into the passenger seat with a sigh of relief. Anthony closed the door and walked around the car, getting into the driver's seat and pulling out of the driveway.

Mary: "I've never been so tired in my entire life. Not even when I had pneumonia. Or hypothermia."
Anthony: "Really?"
Mary: "No, I'm totally exaggerating. Hypothermia is a bitch."

Anthony chuckled.

Mary: "I think I'll go apply for a job at the library. That place seems good and boring."
Anthony: "I can't really see you working in a library."
Mary: "Are you kidding? I'd be brilliant. I'm great at scowling at people and shushing them."
Anthony: "And yet not that great at enjoying the quiet yourself."
Mary: "Maybe I could use a bit more quiet."
Anthony: "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Well, here we are."

Anthony stopped and shut off the car, then rushed to Mary's door to help her out.

Mary: "I'm just tired, I'm not actually wounded."
Anthony: "You were shot, you had your nose punched in by a door, and you seem to be limping."
Mary: "I think I twisted my ankle kicking one of those stupid kids. But it's fine. Nothing a little Ibuprofen won't fix."

Anthony helped her to the door, watched as she unlocked thirty-seven or so locks, and then helped her to a chair in the kitchen.

Mary: "Thanks."
Anthony: "Are you sure you'll be okay alone?"
Mary: "I'll be fine, I promise. Go to work and save someone else's life for a change."
Anthony: "Yes ma'am. Here's my pager number, call if you need anything."
Mary: "Sure thing."

Mary watched as Anthony left. Once she could no longer hear his car, she stood up, hobbled to the refrigerator and got out the milk, then grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. She reached for her box of cereal, finding it alarmingly light, and poured out nothing but a small note that read, 'Sorry!!! Beer in the fridge. Love, Markus.'

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was one thing to be attacked by killers and vampires. It was quite another to come home to an empty box of Count Chocula, betrayed once again by someone who was supposed to be your friend.

She put the milk away, grabbed a beer, and went in search of pajamas, stopping along the way to fill the bathtub with warm, sudsy water. She prayed that by the time she got out, Alton Brown would be on the Food Network to distract her from the lack of chocolaty, crunchy goodness.

Mary: "You would not believe the night I had. First of all, Markus seems to have eaten all of my Count Chocula."
Emily: "He did? Are you sure it wasn't… I mean, that bastard!"
Mary: "I know! Who even let him in here, anyway?"

Mary: "And then-hey, are you even listening to me?"
Emily: "Isn't that Bellie's?"

Newscaster: "Tonight, police and the fire department are still investigating a fire that destroyed a local favorite diner in Deception Pass. There were no injuries or fatalities as the diner was shut down earlier yesterday morning while police investigated two separate hostage situation that occurred last night. In the first, two suspects shot and killed a police officer before fleeing. A second officer is still missing. Following that, William Billington, who is accused of killing his girlfriend and her lover, took two hostages before police shot him. Billington is recovering from a single gunshot wound and is in critical condition. One of the diner's servers was also injured in the scuffle. She was treated and released at the scene."

Mary: "Well that about sums things up, with the obvious exception of the involvement of several vampires. I can't really imagine how things could have gone any worse."
Newscaster: "In other news, local businessman and multi-millionaire Andrew Stone put in his bid for Mayor of Deception Pass this afternoon."

Mary/Emily: "You've got to be kidding me!"