Three nurses on nights in the ICU. All three of us are real, and the other two are in the strip with their blessing. I got it in writing, on a napkin from the break room. Phillip signed it twice.

That's me. 33, RN, nights in the ICU since 1993, and the one who draws the strip. I draw myself the way I look at 3 a.m., because that's the only way anybody at work has ever seen me. The cardigan is because the unit is kept cold enough to store milk in. The navy scrubs are because navy doesn't show coffee.

Likes: the sun coming up over the lake on the drive home, a fresh pot, Tuesday.
Dislikes: lawn mowers, doorbells, and people who say "Must be nice to sleep all day."

Phillip is 28, a nurse, and the strongest person on the unit, which he will tell you, and which happens to be true. He lifts weights before work and eats all night long: sandwiches, crackers, a whole bag of oranges, the candy bars from strip #3, and anything left on the counter for more than a minute. He's the first one on his feet whenever anybody needs a hand, and he can fall asleep sitting up in ten seconds flat, which the rest of us find hard to forgive.

His one condition for being in the strip was that I draw his arms bigger. I tried. There wasn't room in the panel.

Nancy is 50, and she's our charge nurse, which means she runs the night. She has worked nights since before I had my driver's license, and she has seen everything. Nothing rattles her. When the rest of us are running, Nancy walks, and somehow she gets there first. She makes the coffee at ten, does the crossword in pen, and keeps her reading glasses on a beaded chain so they're always where she left them.

Her one condition for being in the strip was that she be right in every one. So far I haven't had to change a thing.

The day nurse (strip #4). She takes over from us at seven, she's lovely, and she says good morning like she means it. She'd rather not have her name on the World Wide Web, which is fair.

The candy bar kid (strip #3). A young businessman from my block. I didn't get his name. I was busy buying his whole inventory.