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It wasn't unusual for Jules to do her grocery shopping at four in the morning.

Frankly, it wasn't unusual for her to do anything at four in the morning, as she worked four to five times a week and got out of work at three - what better time to run her errands than to do it right after work? There was no sense in going home and getting settled in, only to turn around and go back out for things. Nope, nope, nope. It also wasn't unusual for her to have a glass of wine at four, but this morning, she needed some food before she could go home and partake of her favorite brand of red.

So here it was, four in the morning in the middle of Walmart.

The store was quiet of customers, the aisles full of workers busy stocking products from dozens of pallets that lined the hallways. She did her best to zigzag around them, glancing at the shelves as she debated what to get for this week's dinner.

She'd been so carried away in her own train of thought that she hadn't noticed the puzzled looking man standing a ways down from where she lingered. Mind elsewhere, focused on what meals would be best to prep in advance, what could stand being refrigerated for two to five days and what just sounded delicious.

Then again, most of her experimenting in the kitchen ended up being chock full of sugar... dinner might be a little more of a trial and error, if she wanted to do something more challenging than sandwiches or salads.

When the man addressed her, she hadn't even noticed his arrival, adjacent to her. Blue eyes blinked and it took her a moment to register that he addressing her and not just attempting to pass her and her shopping cart.

"Oh! Yes?"

"Sleeping...pills?"

She glanced up the aisle, then down. There was a single employee, earbuds plugged in as their head bobbed to the music in between pulling items from off a pallet and onto a shelf. He didn't seem to be looking in their direction any time soon, which left Tired Looking Stranger looking quite tired, but still braving a smile, despite the hour and the fact they were both standing in the middle of walmart at four in the morning.

"I..."

Another look down the aisle, then a glance up at the directory above their heads. They were in aisle seven, they needed aisle twelve.

"I think it's over in Health and Wellness." Her finger waved for a moment, then she realized she was resigned to her fate. It would be easier to show him than to give directions, so with a head nod and a short hand wave, she was off, shopping cart blazing the trail down the aisle and to the right.

Well, at least she'd have done something productive, this morning.

Blues eyes watched as he scavenged the shelves, searching for the perfect brand, perfect dosage, perfect...something?

He finally settled on one, lifting it up and examining the tiny, nearly impossible to read writing on the back and she couldn't help but glance over his shoulder to read alongside him. Hm. Was that really the one he wanted? She couldn't tell if it was the generic brand or not, the blue stripe not giving away the information she was searching for at the limited angle she could see from.

When the stranger turned around, seemingly surprised by her lingering presence, she had enough sense to blush and feel guilty for prying. He'd found what he wanted, she shouldn't have stayed.

"Sorry, " her hand reached out to take his, shaking it firmly. "I'm Julie."

She paused, then laughed at the similarity. "Julian. Julie. I like it."

The pill bottle rattled as he shifted it, her eyes dropping back down to the medicine.

Nurse mode: activated.


Patient inquiry: engaged.


"Have you taken that brand before?"

Her sense of modesty evaporated as she took a step forward, one hand moving to examine the bottle alongside him as he rolled it, label-up.

"It's not such a big deal...but you need to make sure to read the instructions, at least."

The pills seemed harmless enough. They were more than simple herbal supplements, but would they be potent enough? Or too effective, in fact?

"Real heavy duty stuff would be the prescription kind, but this should help, hopefully." Her head tilted, black hair falling to the side. "Just be mindful to take it on an empty stomach just in case, yeah? They'll be less effective on an full stomach."

It struck her that she was giving medical advice to a complete (okay, mostly-complete) stranger in the middle of Walmart at four, maybe four-thirty in the morning.

Whoops.

Laughing, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you already knew all of that. I get...a little ahead of myself, sometimes."

Backing up, she returned to her cart and gave the young man a short wave, her expression displaying her obvious mortification at getting overly excited at the talk of medication. "I hope you have a good night, Julian - and get the sleep you need."