A/N: Wow! I love reviews. Here's the next chapter. Still don't own anything.

J.M. Captein: I really really like that idea you had! I hadn't planned on it, but I like it a lot.

Everyone else: thank you so much for reviews. YAY.

Chapter 2

"What was that?" Abigail asked, worried.

"He had a seizure," Patrick explained. "It was worse than the last one." Riley made to sit up. "Slow down, kiddo." He helped him sit up against the wall.

"Hey, buddy," Abigail smiled at the now exhausted Riley. His eyes slowly focused on her.

"Can I have some apple pie?" he asked feebly. She smiled.

"Later."

"What caused it?" Ben asked. Riley rolled his eyes. Clearly no one was supposed to see this side of him. He was going to have to tell them, though. No choice.

"It's epilepsy. I get Clonic seizures sometimes. This last little episode was likely caused by stress," Riley explained. "I get them worse in stressful, or really negative situations." He paused. "But when I remember to take medications, I don't have a problem."

"What did you mean 'worse than the last one'?" Emily asked her husband, remembering what he'd said earlier, and how he knew exactly what to do.

"He had several at our house when he and Ben were growing up. (in this story, Riley and Ben grew up as friends, and Abigail knows). This only happens when he doesn't take his meds, like he said." He finished the sentence with a harsh look at Riley. "Why didn't you take your meds?" he asked.

"I didn't think it would hurt anything if I skipped a few days every now and then. I haven't had one in months, and they're getting really expensive. P.S. treasure hunting doesn't have the best insurance plan." He smirked. "I also didn't really consider dinner to be high stress."

"Why didn't you ever tell us you had epilepsy?" Ben asked, frustrated. He was finding it difficult to be angry, but being frustrated was tangible.

"It's like a flippen disclaimer. Don't take Riley to Adventure Parks, and by NO MEANS is Riley to participate in treasure hunts and escapades that could result in danger." He had said this last part in a somewhat hilarious impression of what sounded like a twelve year old girl who is narrating the warning labels on the sides of medication. "It just never came up, okay?"

"It's okay. I guess we should try to get some sleep. Ben and I will move over by Riley just in case it happens again," Abigail said, standing up.

Ben had expected Riley to complain about this attention, but he didn't. That worried him. This was serious. What really bothered him was that he had grown up with this kid as a neighbor, but had never known this.

They all settled in again. Ben and Abigail were laying a few feet from Riley. Riley was lost in thought. This sucks. He didn't want to say anything, but one is always followed by more. If he couldn't get to his meds, they would continue, getting worse and worse. He remembered the time he had refused to take the pills. It was right after his father committed suicide. Just thinking about it made Riley shudder. All along, he'd blamed himself, and thought that if his dad was in so much pain, because of him, he would have to suffer as well. So he would take out two pills a day and sneakily put them down the drain. The lack of medications, coupled with the intensity of not having his father anymore, led to several seizures a day, and he couldn't sleep at night. His mother had noticed, and soon deducted why. When she had confronted him, he had run away to Ben's house. For some reason, even across the street felt like miles away from the negativity of the house. It only took a few days before he realized how not worth it this little punishment trip of his was. So he returned home and began taking the stupid little pills again.

After about an hour, he realized he wouldn't be able to pretend that he wasn't going to have any more. His head got all fuzzy, and began tilting to the flippen right again. He waited for the sensation of having all his muscles contract at once, and when it came, it was an uphill battle to the end.

Ben noticed his friend, and quickly and quietly crawled over to him. Repeating what he'd seen his father do, they waited. He was careful not to wake anyone else, knowing how worried they would be. How long could this thing last? It was harder and longer than the last one, and that scared him. "All done, are you alright?" he whispered.

Riley nodded quickly. Man, he hated this. "Fine." Riley curled up, facing the wall, waiting for sleep, waiting for Ben to go back to bed. He didn't though. He sat right next to his friend, and Riley had a feeling he was under a scrutinizing eye. Ben wasn't going to sleep until he was sure Riley was. This sucked.

About every fifteen to 20 minutes, Riley would have another, and Ben was there for him the rest of the night. No one liked to see their friend in a state like this. Now, beads of sweat were arriving on Riley's forehead. These seizures were getting worse.

It was almost a relief when Ian came barging into the room what felt like days later. "Wakey, wakey," he said. He stood against the wall until every last one of his hostages was up. Riley was incredibly stiff, and he had to lean heavily on Ben for support. "What's wrong with him?" Ian asked, noticing the state of exhaustion Riley was in.

"Nothing. He's tired. We were up all night trying to figure out how to get you your money," Ben answered, pushing Riley off of him, forcing him to stand on his own. It was eminently important that Ian knew nothing of Riley's condition. Riley seemed to understand, doing his best to act normal.

"Couldn't think of anything, since, well, it's impossible!" Only Riley could still be obnoxiously sarcastic after a night like last. Ian rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's impossible for the legendary Benjamin Gates," he said with a malicious look. "I know you'll find a way. We made you breakfast, come on." Aaron and Marcus herded the group of hostages into the kitchen, where it was apparent that they had indeed made breakfast.

There was bacon on the table, as well as a bowl of scrambled eggs, and 10 pieces of toast, buttered. No one felt right about this. "Go on, it's not poisoned. Why would I kill off the only people who can get me my money? I want you to be at your top mental capacity, and they always said good breakfasts can help that." Riley seemed to believe him, because he sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of bacon.

"Riley," Abigail scolded.

"What? I'm hungry!" he argued. "Now really, like he said, why would he kill us off?"

Slowly, everyone trusted enough to eat the delicious breakfast on the table. Ben made a point to sit next to Riley, knowing that his seizures wouldn't stop just because the sun was up.

Surprisingly, it wasn't for another hour that he began acting funny. They were all now in the family room, brainstorming on methods of escape, and methods of compliance. No breakthroughs.

"Ben, I've got to use the rest room, where is it?" Riley asked, knowing he didn't have long. He showed him to the rest room, guided by Aaron. They both knew that Riley was alone for this one. Ben was more scared than Riley was though, having grown up with it like that.

After a couple minutes, Aaron informed Ben that he wasn't needed, and sent him back to the family room. It was a little while longer until Riley and his escort returned. They couldn't keep doing this every time. They had to figure something else out.

TBC