coming undone

"Where am I?" Henry could barely say, as he looked up at the bright lights of the hallway. It was the hospital.

Immediately, he thought of surgery as he squirmed on the rolling bed. Luckily, he was going to a room for observation.

"What's going on with you?" There went his favorite doctor, looking down at his chart. "You've gained some weight."

"What?" He was in total shock of this new information.  Henry shook his head, no. He hadn't noticed. "Well, my fiance's having a baby, you know." He explained it was due in June, and there was a wedding to think about, too.  Oh, and that other thing..Henry sighed, when the doctor questioned about his medication.

"They didn't have my meds, where I usually go for my perscription." He'd been cutting his dozes in half. That was a week ago.

He hugged himself thinking, he shouldn't be here. If they'd had what he needed, this wouldn't have happened. It was that simple.

But he was fine now. Why couldn't they let him go? He was on the brink of tears. Where was Josie?

She'd been taken for a sonogram.

Xander knew Josie was more worried about Henry than she was about the baby. She didn't want her blood pressure taken. They even took a sample of her blood to see how her blood sugar was doing. She scrunched a face of disgust. None of this was necessary, according to her.

Finally she settled down and was getting ready for the sonogram. Xander knew it was time to go. He'd driven them in his car.

Actually, he had to leave Ducky there. He was already needed, even if it were four hours before his shift.

"I hope they let you sleep." Xander said before he left

Ducky shrugged with a smile. He was in his scrubs, already to go. "I'll let you know, how both of them are doing. They'll be home before you know it."

Xander watched the sun rise on the drive home. That's when he noticed someone new in the parking lot close to Joey's apartment. The sedan's trunk was open. There was a dark complected woman, unpacking.

Xander went to help.

"Are you Joey's mom?" Xander asked.

She looked at him a bit miffed. Finally, she nodded. Her name was Nadine. "You're friends with my son?"

"Just a neighbor." Xander smiled as he helped her with the luggage.

Naturally, the place was a pigsty. This Xander suspected. He found the root of the fruit fly problem immediately. Lots of  half drank soda pop and fast food. Then the wine bottles.

Xander gasped, thinking this was no way for a mother's welcome.

He began to clean up.

"I guess..I..I got to know him, over the winter." Xander sighed, wondering if he knew Joey, at all.

"I see." She watched him get most of the kitchen leftovers in the trash.

"But then, he seemed..to want to help this friend of his, and he went back to his job." Xander told her. Soon enough, he got one trash bag to the dumpster and began another. "Have you seen him yet?" Xander asked before he tackled the fridge.