A/N: Hi again! Took a while to finish this one, but I finally finished it last night. I would have posted it earlier, but I was stuck at school and didn't have my laptop. But anyway, here it is! Please review!

Warnings: Some swearing and mentions of drinking

Disclaimer: I do not own newsies or any of its characters

As soon as I laid eyes on racer, I knew the day was going to be tough. He looked like he hadn't got a wink of sleep and the poor kid wouldn't stop fidgeting. Throughout the whole morning, I kept an eye on him, knowing sooner or later that he was going to crash. We were on the way to the news distribution center when I finally broke down and stopped him. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I said, "Look race, you obviously ain't feelin too hot. Why don't ya take the day off."

He gave me confused look before replying, "I's fine Jack, just tired." And with that, he turned away, or at least that's what I thought he intended to do. Instead, he quickly brushed past me, ducking into a nearby alleyway, before promptly dropping to his knees and throwing up what little breakfast he had eaten.

"Shit", I said out loud, before running and crouching down beside him. The poor kid sounded like he was trying to hack up a lung. All I could do was rub his back and keep him from falling flat on his face.

After about 5 minutes of this, he finally stopped, though it took him a while to catch his breath.

"You okay race?", I said, trying not to sound too worried. All I got in reply was an attempted nod.

"Jack?", said a voice from behind us. Turning around, I saw Romeo with a worried expression plastered on his face. Behind him, all the other boys were standing there with similar looks on their faces.

Swallowing hard, I said, "You fellas go on ahead. I can take him back myself", 'if he'll let me', I thought. Slowly, all the boys left, but Romeo wouldn't budge.

"You sure Jack? He don't look too hot", he said, walking closer.

"I's fine", race said hoarsely, speaking for the first time in minutes.

Rolling my eyes, I retorted, "Yeah, and we's rich," Turning back to Romeo, I said, "Go ahead kid, I got him"

He stood there for a few seconds, probably deciding what to do, before he sighed and muttered, "Alright, but come get me if ya need help." And with that, sneaking one last glance at race's shaking form, he turned around and ran to catch up with the others.

Looking back down at race, I realized Romeo was right, he looked even worse than before. His head was plastered with sweat and he was shaking like a leaf.

"Race?", I said, leaning down so he would look me in the eyes. I was meet with a sweat-drenched face and puffy eyes.

"I's don't feel right Jack", he said, before plopping down and resting his head on the wall behind him. He was still breathing too hard for my liking.

Adjusting so I was crouched in front of him, I said, " Why didn't ya tell me you's was feelin bad? Then I wouldn't have to carry you all the way back home." He didn't even crack a smile.

Sighing, I put my hand to his forehead, feeling for a temperature. To no surprise, he was warm. Standing up, I held out my hand for him to take, only for him to just open his eyes and look at me.

"Come on, I's don't have all day", I said, motioning for him to get up.

Grumbling under his breath, he let me help him to his feet. For a second, it was all good, until he nearly face planted.

"What the hell kid?", I shouted, barely catching him in time.

"Jack", race croaked out. "I think I'm gonna-", he never got to finish what he was saying, for once again, he fell to his knees, throwing up. He was starting to scare the hell out of me.

Crouching back down, I placed my hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to finish. After what seemed like forever, he finally stopped, shakily trying to get on to his feet.

"Race, maybe you should-", I started, before he cut me off.

"I's fine, just dizzy", he said breathlessly. He swayed dangerously and made a grab for the wall beside him. I went to put his arm around my shoulders, but he swatted my hand away, mumbling, "I's fine, just give me a second."

"Would you's stop being stubborn for once? I's tryin to help ya", I shouted. Making another grab for his arm, I wrapped it around my shoulders and started the short walk back to the house. The whole walk back, race was stumbling around, trying to walk on his own. It took him almost falling on his face twice before I decided I was just going to have to carry him.

Grumbling under my breath, I grabbed under his knees, lifting him up so I was carrying him bridal style. He, of course, had something to say about this.

"What the hell Jack? Put me down!", he yelped, trying to scramble out of my arms.

"Stop squirming, I'm gonna drop ya", I said, adjusting so I had a firmer grip on him. Finally settling down, he huffed and glared at me.

When we finally reached the lodging house, I opened the doors and walked over to his bed, setting him down.

"Don't move", I ordered, before running to grab a bucket and glass of water. When I came back though, I was meet with an empty bed.

"Race?", I said, putting down the bucket and glass of water on the nightstand. looking around the room.

"Right here", said a voice from across the room. Whipping around, I saw something I hadn't before. He was peaking out of the bathroom, holding onto the doorway for support

"What the hell do ya think you're doing?", I said, striding over to him and putting his arm back around my shoulder. His breathing was once again heavy and ragged.

"Getting something to drink", he said, clearly out of breath, gripping onto my shoulder for support.

Walking back over to his bed, I sit him down and handed him the glass of water on the nightstand, giving him a look of disapproval. He quickly gulped it down, ignoring my warnings to slow down.

Once he finished, he handed it back to me, before leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Well aren't ya gonna tell me what's wrong? ", I questioned, sitting down on the end of his bed. "And don't ya lie to me", I warned.

Cracking his eyes open, he said quietly, "This is the longest I've been without a drink in months Jack. I was bound to feel like crap."

I was really, really stupid. I hadn't even thought about that.

"Shit, race I's sorry I completely forgot. I shoulda known", I said, feeling extremely guilty. What kind of brother was I if I forgot things as important as this?

Weakly smiling, he said, "I's fine Jack, just a little cranky and tired."

"Ya know ya shoulda have told me", I said gently, looking at him, waiting for him to explain why he hadn't. When I got no reply, I sighed and stood up. Grabbing the blanket that was crumbled up at the end of his bed, I covered him up, swiping his hat from atop his head and placing it on the nightstand.

"Get some sleep race", I said, gently ruffling his hair.

Closing his eyes, he said, "Thanks Jack", before shifting to get comfortable. Within seconds, he was knocked out.

Pulling up a chair, I sat down beside him, resting my head in my hands. Sometimes, I could be a real idiot. I thought it would take longer than this for him to start feeling withdraws. Seeing that this was only the start, I was terrified, knowing it was only going to get worse from here.