December 30th, Sunnydale Hospital
Zack was carrying a crystal vase full of roses when he visited Sherry, not for the first time since she'd been shot. "Hon ... you awake?" he asked.
Sherry was indeed awake, and eyeing her hospital food with caution. Her Dad wasn't a very good cook, and her stepmom was even worse, so the hospital food that they stopped by with was actually a step down. "Yes... Hi! It's nice to see you."
Zack smiled and set the flowers on the nightstand, amongst the various cards that had arrived in the past few days. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "How're you feeling? Any better?"
"Yes. I'm ready to get out of here. How are you doing?" Sherry's arm was in a sling, and she was a lot more coherent than she had been for the past few days.
"Not bad. Umm ... effectively unemployed. I'm looking for work, but nothing's come up yet."
"You try that goth place?" asked Sherry "And I'm sorry about all of this. If you can't find a job, I'll see what I can do."
"Nah, I haven't yet. I'll check 'em out, though. And it's not exactly your fault."
"...What if it was?" asked Sherry
"How could it be?" Zack asked. "It's not like you stepped in front of a bullet."
"Well, no." she admitted "But I did know that a few things might happen that night. I didn't warn you, or the other friends that were sitting with me."
"Well ... that still dosn't make it your fault."
"Thank you." Sherry said "And... yeah. I didn't pull the trigger, on any of those guns."
"Exactly," Zack said.
"I don't think I've ever seen my Daddy so angry." Sherry said, after a moment of silence
"Well, yeah. Wouldn't you be?"
"I guess I would. I never really... well, this is all weird. I can't wait for it to be over."
Zack shrugged. "Yeah. So. What the hell was that? I mean ... yeah, a gunfight, obviously. But what was it, some kind of turf war?"
"What do you know about this town?" asked Sherry "I mean... how long have you been here? What brought you here?"
"I know that weird shit happens," Zack said. "Spontaneous Neck Rupture, my ass. I just came here because rent is cheap. Not always sure it's worth it."
"Okay, well, there's a couple of organizations that are supposed to help in the fight against the weird stuff. My family works for one, but they don't really help in the fight, they just kinda... observe. Unless, you know, they're going to lose an employee. Then, they go all out to retain."
"Okay," Zack said.
"Anyhow, another oranization was helping out those who wanted out. So, that's where the shootout came in. They were trying to take out a couple of employees. I didn't think the gun battle would happen, until... you know, I got shot. I just thought there'd be a scuffle."
"So, your getting shot was a mistake."
"Friendly fire." Sherry said "Though how they managed to miss Hunter, I don't know."
"He's kind of a big target," Zack agreed.
"Yeah." Sherry said "My Daddy thinks it's a conspiricy... I'm really glad most everyone is okay."
"Will they all be able to find other jobs, you think? Until they open back up at least? If they open back up?" asked Sherry
"You mean Sid's? I think so. Unemployment doesn't seem like much of an issue around here."
"Try the goth place." Sherry suggested again "And my nephew is married to the accounant, so I'll try to pull a few strings for you if you have any trouble."
"Oh ... that's cool," Zack said. "I'll definitely check there, then."
"One good thing from all of this is that I think my stepmom might have to grow up a bit... and maybe your new job will be better for you."
Zack shrugged. "Yeah. More money would be a good thing."
"I'd suggest you move in with me, but, I don't really know you well enough, and I think Daddy wouldn't like that."
Zack grinned. "Yeah, seems a little sudden for that, but it's a nice thought. Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'm worried about you not having family out here though..."
"I'll figure things out, I always do," he said.