A/N: I looked up the effects of Ritalin abuse, so Lynette's physical problems in this chapter are some of the real side effects of abusing Ritalin.
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The days were passing quickly and the tension between the housewives was getting increasingly thick. Bree, Gabi, and Susan had made several attempts to talk to Lynette and convince her to get help. They were trying to think up ways to get Lynette to stop, but so far none of them had any good ideas.
Even Tom was getting wind that something was wrong. He noticed that Lynette had cut off all communication with her friends and was getting thinner and very irritable. She'd skipped a number of days at work, and there were constant calls that warned of being fired unless she showed up at work regularly. But Tom was too preoccupied with keeping the boys and Penny under control; usually Lynette seemed too out of it to actually watch them properly.
To all of this, Lynette seemed completely oblivious. She had upped her daily dosage of the pills, and was suffering both physically and mentally from the side effects. She hated the depression, the headaches and stomachaches, and fatigue. Every once in a while she'd be hit by waves of dizziness then would feel the need to throw up. Not that there was much to throw up- she wasn't eating enough. The thing that really got to Lynette, however, was that she'd noticed that whenever she brushed her hair, there were more and more strands of blonde on the hairbrush. Because of this her hair was getting noticeably thinner, so she had to use volumizer a lot. She'd also taken to wearing loose clothes to hide her quickly vanishing frame.
A big part of Lynette knew that all of this was caused by the Ritalin, but she felt that there was really nothing she could do about it even if she wanted to. In spite of everything else, she still felt that the drugs were helping her. They were keeping her sane.
None of this escaped the notice of the other three housewives, who looked on with growing concern. On one rainy afternoon, they gathered in Gabi's living room to discuss what they had to do.
"The only thing left to do," whined Gabi dryly "is to kidnap her and force her into treatment."
"No, it's not." argued Susan. "We tell Tom, and he does the rest for us."
"Okay, but if Tom sends her to a treatment center, who would watch the kids? Not me." said Gabi.
"I would." murmured Bree. The other two women looked at Bree then at each other in surprise, as the redhead had basically admitted defeat in her attempt to fix the problem quickly and quietly.
"So, what do we tell him?" asked Gabi.
"The truth, obviously." said Susan, rolling her eyes. She sighed. "This is so not a conversation I'm looking forward to."
Bree said nothing except "I'll call him and tell him to come over. If we went over there it would be too easy for Lynette to hear what was going on." Then she stood to retrieve the phone. She dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. Tom did; Bree assumed Lynette was asleep still. "Tom, it's Bree. We need to talk about Lynette...Can you come over?...Yes, right now is perfectly alright...We'll see you soon."
Mere seconds later there was a rapid knock on the door. Bree went to open it, then reappeared with an anxious-looking Tom. He nodded at Susan and Gabi and said. "Hi. So what's this all about?"
Bree settled down on her chair, smoothing her skirt before offering Tom a seat and asking if he would like something to drink. Tom declined the drink but sat down, looking nervously at each woman in turn.
"So, Tom," said Bree in an unnaturally high voice, "I'm sure you've noticed that Lynette has been acting somewhat...odd, yes?"
Tom nodded. Bree glanced at Susan and Gabi.
"Um, well, we've been worried about her too-" began Gabi.
"Because we found that...Lynette...well, she's taking drugs! There, I said it!" interrupted Susan.
"What?" Tom looked confused. "Look, Lynette wouldn't do that. I know she's been acting strange but it has to be something else. There's just no way she would take drugs."
"Tom, do any of the boys take Ritalin?" asked Bree.
"No. Lynette refused to give the boys medication. Why?"
"Because," said Susan, "we found two bottles of Ritalin in your house."
"What? Why and when were you looking for Ritalin in my house?"
"Well-"
"It's a long story." interjected Gabi. "The point is, we confronted Lynette about it and she refused to stop taking the pills. She said they were helping her."
"Wait. Let me think about this. You're telling me...that my wife has been taking Ritalin...which she has hidden in our house...and you talked to her about it but didn't tell me?"
"Yes. It's a lot to wrap your head around, I know."
Bree stood and began to pace while Tom sat in shock. "We need an intervention. All of us will be there. If she still refuses to voluntarily go to treatment, it won't even matter because she is considered a danger to herself."
Gabi frowned. "You mean we could make her go to treatment against her will?"
Tom, who was by now back in the land of the living, looked up. "If you're sure that she's taking drugs, then I guess it's the best thing to do, I don't know."
The others nodded. Bree, still pacing, said, "Tomorrow. We need to do it as soon as possible. Just the four of us though; I don't think Lynette would appreciate the whole neighborhood knowing about her problem. So you should all start thinking about what you're going to say to her. Tom, will one in the afternoon be fine?"
He nodded mutely, his face pale but determined. "Let's do it."