Terrifying

Even though Rick went to Jason first, he could tell Katie wasn't in very good shape either this morning. "Jason... can you hear me?" 

Jason pried open one eye to see Rick, and nodded numbly. 

"Done with the waste basket?" 

Jason nodded again. He was pretty sure his stomach was empty at this point. 

Rick sighed and sat down next to him to check his pulse, then his eyes. He could see the remnants of a glow that was fading, and knew Katie was probably the same. Jason's skin was cold and clammy, proving the fever had broken as abruptly as it had last time, and Rick wasn't happy. Having the temperature change so severely so quickly was dangerous, but... what could he do about it? "Feeling any better?" 

Jason swallowed hard and managed another nod. "Yeah," he mumbled. "The tension's gone... now I just... ache... and I'm... I'm so tired." 

"You'll be alright." Rick patted his shoulder. "But you're a mess. Can you get up?" 

Jason thought for a moment and finally sat up, which sent his head spinning and he groaned. 

"Upsy daisy..." Rick helped support him. "Come on. I don't want you sitting around in your cold, sweaty clothes." His first instinct was to keep Jason in bed, but the time for conventional methods was over. He couldn't treat this like a normal illness any more. "I want you to take a hot shower and get into some clean clothes." 

With help, Jason stood shakily and fumbled to find his clothes. Before he knew it, his mother was beside him, helping. "Here you go," she coaxed, taking his arm to steady him. "Let's go." 

As they left the room, Rick sat down next to Katie and checked her pulse and eyes as well. "It would seem until you're up to speed, Jason's gonna keep having these eruptions." He hoped it really was just until Katie was up to speed and it wasn't something that would continue regardless. A body could only take so much. "In which case, we need you to stay healthy." He patted her arm. "I'm gonna give you and Jason some potent vitamins to at least help. In the meantime..." He cocked his head. "Some ibuprofen might help the pain." 

Once Jason was in the bathroom managing alone, Cindy was back in the hall. Sliding down to the floor, she put her head in her hands, and the tears finally came. This whole thing was terrifying.


"You... are absolutely right." Hunter just held his grin. "Trouble's my middle name, remember?" 

It didn't take long for their food to arrive, and the meal was relaxing and enjoyable. Another good day in Hunter's book, at least so far. Once they were finished and back to Ryan's car, he reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Wanna see if Axel's working today? Show off your car?" 


Sam's slight blush didn't go unnoticed, and Aaron grinned a little. He focused on the stairs again though, and managed the first few before pausing again. "So when you 'get out,' what... exactly does that mean?" He wondered. Was she a party person? He wouldn't guess so. Did she have friends to hang out with? Maybe. Did she like the bar scene? He didn't think that either. Maybe she liked movies. 

He hobbled up a couple more steps and huffed a sigh. It was harder going up than down.