Summary - Set after NT-1. Riley hasn't been acting like himself. When they discover the source of the problem, it changes the lives of all three treasure hunters forever. Summary sucks, but LIVE WITH IT. lol, jkjk. :) No Slash, just good old fashioned bromance. Enjoy :)

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN NATIONAL TREASURE OR ANYONE/THING ASSOCIATED. *sob*

PART I -

Chapter One -

Ben glanced at the clock, impatiently.

"Try his cell, Ben. We have reservations for seven o'clock." Abi informed him.

"I know." Ben replied. "But it's Riley. He's not exactly known for his punctuality."

Nonetheless, he reached for the cordless phone, and dialed Riley's cell. He was beginning to get tired of waiting for Riley to show up himself, mostly due to the fact that his hunger pains were increasingly prominent.

The other line rang a few times, before a muffled, groggy voice was heard.

"Hello?" Riley mumbled, apparently holding the phone at some distance.

"Ri, its Ben. Are you on your way?"

Riley grabbed his cell, which was resting on the other side of his pillow.

"What? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm in the car right now."

Riley frantically jumped out of bed. In his haste, he accidently knocked his lamp off his bedside table, causing the lightbulb to smash upon contact with the floor.

He swore, but didn't bother to clean it up. Instead, he rushed to grab his car keys and wallet from the kitchen counter.

"What was that?" Ben inquired.

"Uh- just my lamp. I knocked it over."

Ben frowned. "Why do you have a lamp in your car?" He asked.

Riley mentally kicked himself. "I'm..." He tried to make something up on the spot, but he was still tired. After all, he had just woken up two seconds ago.

"You're still at your apartment, aren't you?" Ben concluded.

Abigail gave an annoyed groan at overhearing this news.

"Yeah...look, sorry man. I fell asleep. But I'm leaving right now! And I swear, I'll drive, like, way over the speed limit!" Ben sighed.

"Get over here quickly, just don't get yourself killed." He told the younger man.

"Right. I'll be there in ten." Riley said, and he ended the call, jumping into his red ferrari.

Ben turned to his girlfriend.

"He says he'll be here soon." He informed her.

Abi shook her head. "What was he doing when you called?" She asked.

"Sleeping." Ben replied.

Abi raised her eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "Riley? Sleeping?" Ben laughed a bit.

"My sentiments exactly."

"Riley doesn't need to sleep. He spends hours upon hours each night sitting at his computer, with his red bull, and he's perfectly fine the next day." Abi said.

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's probably all just catching up to him." Ben stated.

Though he wasn't entirely sure, he didn't allow the matter to bother him.

Riley was human, after all.

And humans need sleep.

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Riley arrived after about ten mintues, as he had promised.

Seeing as he lived about a twenty minute drive from their house, Ben didn't even wanted to know how fast Riley had to drive to get there.

"Sorry, guys. I must be coming down with something. I've been sleeping alot lately." Riley said, as his friends got in the car.

Riley was their temporary chauffer while Ben and Abi's car was in the shop. This wasn't the first time since he assumed the roll that Ben and Abi were late for an event.

"It's okay, Riley." Abi assured him, and the issue was quickly forgotten.

Half and hour later, the trio were seated a fancy table, one next to the window, where Riley wanted to make sure he would be able to see his baby out in the parking lot.

That way, if the vallet got any bright ideas and decided to take off in her, he could easily pursue. Ben and Abi thought he was being ridiculous. But Riley knew he was just being careful.

Better safe than sorry, as he liked to say.

Well... when it came to his car, anyways.

"What are you two going to get?" Abi asked, scanning the menu in front of her.

Riley was staring down at his menu, and when he didn't answer, Abi called his name.

"Oh." He said, looking up, somewhat startled at the mention of his name.

"You know, I'm not really that hungry. Maybe I'll just get something to drink." He looked back down at the menu.

Ben and Abi looked at one another across the table. Riley was NEVER not hungry. This was definitely odd behaviour for him.

The waiter came around and asked if they were ready to order. Abi and Ben ordered what they wanted, and Riley just said he wanted a milkshake.

"We don't have milkshakes here, sir." The waiter said, as if Riley had asked for something udderly ridiculous.

"Oh." Riley said, with the same lack of enthusiasum and energy he'd been showing since he picked his friends up from their mansion.

"Then, just water please." He handed his menu to the waiter, who nodded, and went away. This was more than Ben could take.

"Riley, what's going on? Last time we were in a place that didn't serve milkshakes, you became outraged and demanded we go somewhere more respectable." Ben said.

Riley shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm just not feeling too good. But whatever it is, I'll be better in a couple days."

Ben shot Abi a glance. She was frowning. Riley sat there for a few moments, staring at his lap before exscusing himself to the washroom.

This was the couples' chance to exchange suspisions.

"Maybe he's in love." Abi suggested. "Love makes people act all sorts of ways."

"I don't think so." Ben objected. "He seems miserable. Being in love doesn't usually make people miserable." He frowned as a new thought entered his head.

"What if he's using?"

"Drugs? Ben, I really don't think that's it." Abi scoffed.

"Well, its a possibility, isn't it? Suddenly becoming rich and famous has had a huge impact on the kid, as it would on anyone. Granted, I wouldn't have suspected it, if it weren't for the fact that we have been seeing less and less of him recently, and he has been getting even skinnier than he was before. And Riley's always been skinny, but lately..."

"It's my metabolism." Riley said defensively, walking up from behind them. "I can't help it." à

Ben cleared his throat, wondering just how much his friend had heard of their conversation.

Abi and Ben looked at one another, feeling a bit guilty. Riley sat back down, puzzled by their expressions.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." His friends replied quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly.

At least this showed he probably hadn't heard what Ben said. Riley frowned at them, then craned his neck to see if their waiter was coming back yet.

"Where is that guy? I want my water." Riley complained.

"I'm sure he'll be around soon." Abi smiled.

She glanced back at Ben, who was busy trying to figure out what else could be going wrong with the usually cheerful Riley they knew at loved.

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A/N: So that's chapter one. Chapter two is already finished, it will be up shortly. Please review! Thanks :)