Destroy me time.
I was supposed to have a "Alice and Delalieu both freak out over Warner getting shot"-chapter previous to this, and also a chapter from Delalieu's POV when he finds Warner after overdosing his pills, and also one where Delalieu is freaking out about Anderson coming to sector 45. So a lot of freaking out.
I never wrote them :'D
This chapter however takes place right before Anderson and Warner lil' dinner scene in Destroy me. Alice has heard from Delalieu that Warner overdosed his meds, and she's determined to do something about it. So she momentarily crashes the dinner. This was also supposed to be the first time she meets Anderson, but in hindsight of the latest books I realize that she would probably have met him earlier at some point. But let's say that Delalieu just managed to keep her out of the way whenever Anderson visited.
Warner POV
He arrived two hundred hours on the dot.
"Ah you're here. Come in, make yourself comfortable", his father invited from over his seat. The table circular table was draped in white silk and it was made with the finest porcelain they owned with cutlery he was sure were made out of silver.
He made his way over to not keep his father waiting.
Some dining, I guess
Something happened on the other side of the door. He knew because there was a muffled protest taking place. Did the servants forget to bring something for the dinner? Perhaps some message for his father or himself.
His father didn't seem as intrigued.
Then some more dialouge
Then the door opened. Since his father was the one facing the door he was the first to see the one who had entered. He looked surprised.
Warner turned his head in slight alarm. If this new guest surprised his father so much that it showed it definitely wasn't supposed to be there. And looking at the door he saw that he was correct. His healthy hand gripped the arm of the chair so hard that he almost rose.
He should have known something was amiss by the lack of a knock.
It was Alice. She was wearing a jumper dress, one that he had picked out; the same color as a lemon cream cake. The white sailor flap was peeking out and the white, ruffled sleeves were showing. She had a white ribbon in her hair.
This cute outfit was ruined by the thunderous glare she was aiming at him.
She didn't waste any time but marched up to the table, eyes still aimed at him.
His eyes widened, then just as quickly they darkened in a scowl.
"Well, who is this pretty little thing?"
Warner glanced at his father. To his relieved surprise he just looked amazed, a little humored actually, rather than angry. A smile playing on his lips. Then he looked back at her, she was standing by his chair now.
"This is Alice, and she'll be leaving soon", he replied.
She ignored the subtle promise that in the near future she'd be kicked out of the room. Instead she held out her hand, palm up. The other hand was on her side. An aggressive stance.
"Give them to me", she ordered.
"Give you what?", he demanded. Taking a small pause between every word. Suppressing the urge to add an exclamation mark.
"The drugs!", she said, mimicking the pauses.
"The what…?!"
"The stuff for your shoulder!", she retorted.
He suddenly became acutely aware of the bottle in his suit pocket.
"And why on earth would I give them to you?!", he demanded, still keeping his voice down.
She looked even angrier.
"You know you're overdosing like crazy, right?!"
Overdosing?!, he thought. Had he done such a thing? He blinked and let his mind think back on the day, but it only took him a moment to remember his more than generous intake of the pills he had been given. And Delalieu's meek try of correcting him.
"What do you know about that?", he asked.
She crossed her arms.
"Jasper told me you keep taking double the dosage. He just doesn't dare to do anything about it...!"
His eyes widened. Damn Delalieu and his tendency to worry about him!
"Double the dosage...?!", he repeated.
"What side effects do you think there is for replenishing my blood?!"
"I don't know but you're still overdosing!", she retorted back. Throwing her arms down.
"So give me those pills or I'll just take them!"
She eyed his suit jacket, probably looking for some sort of bulge to reveal the bottle. He went rigid at that, moving back into the chair, away from her.
"Oh, you wouldn't dare…", he threatened.
She crossed her arms again in defiance.
"You only have one arm", she pointed out.
"You'd be surprised over what I can do with only one arm, little girl", he warned.
They stared at each other, green against gray; looks so fierce that spark could have flown between them.
He could have sat there for much longer if he hadn't remembered where they were, and who they were in the presence of.
He quickly got the bottle from his pocket and held it out for her to take. Which she did. Her overly satisfied look made him regret it immediately.
She shook it a little, making it rattle like a maracas.
"Thank you very much", she said.
"Yes. Now shoo", Warner said, flicking his only working hand towards the door.
And as quick as she had entered she left. (I considered writing an ending where Anderson makes her stay and basically asks the same things as follows, but I don't think he cares that much for children anyway so she just leaves.)
He let out a pent up breath of frustration as soon as the door clicked home.
He turned back to his father.
He was sitting with his chin in his hand. Utensils resting on his plate.
Something told Warner that he had just been dinner entertainment for the supreme. Perhaps it was the chuckle.
"Isn't she a little too young to be your private nurse?", he mused.
"I severely doubt an actual nurse would steal the patient's medication", he replied.
"Steal? I thought you gave it to her just now…"
"One trip to the hospital wing and I'll have a whole new bottle. I didn't want her to disturb the dinner more than necessary", he concluded.