So sorry for the evil cliffhanger! This chapter has a very tiny one but its nothing like the others I promise! :D Hope you guys like it!


"Oh my God, Aidan, what do we do?" Sally cried, tears streaming down her face as she stared at Josh's convulsing form in horror. The house was shaking around them, the walls vibrating so hard that the few pictures they had hanging up were knocked to the floor. The sink in the kitchen had started to sputter again and a few random plates and glasses found a nasty fate as they shattered on the counter tops.

It took Aidan a second the register that she'd spoken. He shook his head numbly, staring at Josh. "Nothing."

Sally's eyes widened even more. "Nothing?" She cried incredulously. "What do you mean nothing?" She was nearly shouting over the noise in the room, her voice wild and panicked.

Aidan turned to her then, knowing that if he didn't calm her down the entire house would be leveled in a matter of minutes. "Sally, listen to me. I know this looks bad but if we try to grab him or hold him down, he could hurt himself even more." She looked unconvinced, dark eyes still wide and terrified, so he continued. "I see this all the time, it looks bad but its really not."

The truth was, he was scared too. True, working at the hospital he'd seen his fair share of seizures, some of them incredibly violent, but it was different when it was Josh. Everything was different now that Josh was involved. Aidan's calm, practical manner of dealing with such crises was beginning to crumble as large cracks started to develop in his composure. He needed to keep his head, both for Sally and for Josh, but seeing his best friend like this terrified him.

There was a muffled thump as Josh fell off the couch and ended up in a tangled pile on the floor. Aidan stepped forward quickly, jerking the coffee table away from the couch just as Josh's arm crashed into the floor where it had been standing not a second before. The force would have been enough to break his wrist. The convulsions had lessened a bit but hadn't stopped completely. Aidan crouched next to him, staying close in case he needed to move anything else.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes, the seizure stopped and Josh lay limp and boneless like a ragdoll. Aidan was next to him a split second later, checking his pulse and breathing, frowning at the intense heat rolling off the younger man's skin. His fever had spiked, he was almost certain that's what had caused the seizure, but he needed to get it lowered and fast.

"Sally," He said, turning to her while keeping one hand on Josh. "I need you to go upstairs and fill the tub up with cold water, okay? As cold as you can make it. We need to bring his fever down."

The spirit nodded shakily and disappeared. A few seconds later, Aidan heard the faucet turn on upstairs. Giving her something to do was the best thing he could have done because now that she was occupied and was doing something to help Josh, the house had stopped shaking.

Aidan turned his attention back to Josh, cupping the younger man's face in both hands. He was sweating and pale, a bright flush of scarlet staining his cheekbones. His breathing was ragged and hitched, probably an after effect of the seizure but Aidan wasn't sure. He managed to open Josh's mouth just enough to see that he hadn't broken any teeth or bitten his tongue. At least there was that.

Making sure there was nothing close to him in case another seizure struck, Aidan jumped up quickly, leaving Josh in the living room, and ran into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and emptied the ice tray into a plastic bucket, filling it to the top with ice cubes. He tucked it under one arm and walked back into the living room, kneeling down next to Josh again. He scooped the younger man into his arms, cradling him carefully against his chest, and made his way up the stairs.

Sally was in the bathroom, wringing her hands and staring at the half filled tub. She nearly jumped when Aidan came inside, Josh hanging limply in his arms. He dumped the ice into the tub, the cubes bobbing along through the water like little buoys. He set Josh down against the wall and turned off the faucets, turning toward Sally once again. "He's going to be fine, Sally." He said in what he hoped was his most convincing voice.

If Sally was about to say something she stopped and stuttered when Aidan suddenly stripped himself of his scrubs, leaving him in just his boxers. He grabbed Josh again and stepped into the tub, sinking down into the water and resting the younger man against his chest. The tub was long and deep and he knew that if he'd set Josh in here by himself, he would more than likely slip under the water and drown and that was a bit counterproductive to what they were trying to do.

The cold water barely effected him, he was too concerned about the fever that was wracking the younger man's body. Aidan guessed it was close to 106 which was more than enough to kill a normal human. He worried about the effects it might have on Josh.

The younger man's breathing was still hitched and shallow, almost like he was having trouble taking a deep breath. Aidan wrapped an arm across his chest, fingers splayed against his ribcage. He could feel the shuddering heartbeat beneath his palm, Josh's chest spasming a bit as he struggled to breath. "Breathe Josh..." He encouraged softly next to the unconcious young man's ear. "Breathe..."

Sally was in the tub with them then, her body sinking down into the water at their feet. The water barely rumpled her clothes and seemed to pass right through her. In reality, it probably did. She was watching him, her dark eyes drifting between Aidan's face and Josh's. It looked like she wanted to say something but no words came.

Josh's head had fallen to the side, resting limply against Aidan's shoulder. His breathing was shallow and raspy, his chest barely rising with each breath. He went still suddenly, the wheezing stopping for a second, and Aidan's eyes widened. "Breathe Josh..." He repeated, looking down at the younger man in his arms. Josh continued to lay limp and unresponsive. "Dammit, breathe!" When he still got no response, he made a fist and ground his knuckles into the younger man's sternum, pressing down hard.

Josh tensed slightly against him, taking a deep shuddering gasp which quickly turned into a coughing fit. He coughed raggedly, the movements harsh and wracking, his entire body shaking with the force of each one. All Aidan could do was hold him, rubbing one hand across his chest and carding his fingers through his hair with the other. Sally watched quietly, tears welling in her eyes that didn't quite fall. Aidan was silently impressed the house hadn't started to shake again.

When the fit finally ended, Josh was gasping and exhausted against Aidan's shoulder but he seemed to be breathing a bit easier. Aidan was almost relieved until he saw the stream of crimson oozing from Josh's nose and dripping into the water. He shouldn't have been surprised by the nosebleed, it happened sometimes after a person experienced a seizure, but it still startled him. "Jesus Josh..." He whispered, reaching up and carefully wiping the blood away with the back of his hand. It felt slippery and oily when it mixed with the water and Aidan felt his fangs poking the insides of his lip irritably. Blood continued to drip from the younger man's nose, each drop forming bright red, snaking tendrils as it came in contact with the rest of the water.

Sally was shaking her head as she watched, her knees drawn up to her chest in the water. "Oh my God Aidan...what are we going to do?" Her voice sounded broken and lost like a scared child.

For the first time, Aidan felt like he couldn't lie to her again. He shook his head, the heat from Josh's body scalding his skin. He was terrified and it was getting harder and harder to pretend like he had everything under control. "I don't know..." He said finally, his voice sounding strange and distant in his ears. "I don't know..."


Okay, once again I'm not going to kill Josh! I love him to much to do that! More to come soon! :D