"Alex would you mind draw blood," he asked.  He was capable of doing it, but it was usually much easier less painful process if Alex or Rachel took care of it.   Derek began to get the spectra graph ready while he waited.  They would need to analyze her blood for DNA as well as any foreign matter.
 
Julia was already up on the table and had her arms held out, at the same time eating the second sandwich and wiggling her eyebrows jokingly at Alex.
 
"I never could understand how you could eat at any given time," Alex teased her as she wrapped the plastic tie about her friend's arm and tightened, finding a vein "And still stay that trim!"
 
Julia washed down that bite and chuckled "Just you wait until those pizzas get here."  She was trying to keep up hers and the others' spirits, at the same time noticing Nick hadn't come down but not commenting on it.
 
"Give him time, Julia." Alex told her, lowering her tone so it was just the two women that could hear each other "Your death hit him worst of all."
 
Julia looked at her friend and nodded quietly "I know.  It would have killed a part of me if it had been him....."
 
"Hon," Alex admitted truthfully as she inserted the first needle and withdrew blood as they talked "A part of him did die with you.  I saw it in his eyes.  And since then...."
 
Julia looked at her friend, dark brows furrowing gently with worry "Since then what?"
 
Alex hesitated and then decided to tell her, for better or worse "When you were killed... the demon... the demon used your form, near the end........ to keep Nick from killing it."
 
"It.... it used my guilt to get the key from me," came the even quieter confession and Julia blinked in surprise.
 
"Guilt for what?"
 
Alex finished the blood samples and put a cotton ball on top of the spot she had taken blood from and Julia bent her arm to enclose it as she listened.
 
"For not being able to help you..." the head researcher admitted, unable to meet her friend's gaze as she took the tray over and set it down to test "...for not doing more..."
 
Julia slid from the table and walked over to her "Hey... there's nothing you could have done, Alex."
 
Alex turned to her and the remembered helplessness was obvious in the dark brown of her gaze  "I..."
 
"You.. what?" Julia deliberately paused, stating the facts as they happened "You were half a world away Alex... you maybe be talented but you are not omni present.  There was no way you could have saved me.
 
"And... I don't like the idea of that demon using my identity but I'm sure Nick saw through it and took it out anyway.  Or at least emptied a couple of clips into it."
 
She hated the idea of someone using her image to hurt her friend.... and to Nick... She clenched her jaw and turned back around, going back to sitting on the table/bed to wait for the next test and to give Alex the room needed to run the samples without possibility of a contamininant.
 
Alex looked over her shoulder at Julia and gave Derek a peek who was setting up another set of tests in his corner before looking back and setting the blood samples into the instrument that would rotate the blood at faster speeds than she could have done with her hand and to separate the components that would determine the woman's DNA and such information.
 
"What?" Julia asked, already knowing that look.  "There's more..."
 
Alex looked one more time at Derek and turned to Julia, this time bringing over a small x-ray machine to take dental images.. all the while telling her about a particular succubus that had also used Julia's likeness......
 
"That bitch." was Julia's response as Alex took the needed images and grimaced at Julia's quiet anger.  Not because she saw anything wrong with it... but because she totally agreed with it.  Had Julia known about it and able to return then..... Karen would have gotten more than she had.
 
And so the tests went on.....
 
"We move tonight.... in the predawn hours.. and we shall be victorious..."

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