A/N: Thank you everyone for all the nice reviews. I don't say it enough, but reviews make my life!
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Nick can't help admire the ride. His mother drives a van that still has cheerios ground into the seat and his father bought a hand-me-down company lease. The soft leather seats and the smoothness of the car don't seem to help Sebastian, though.
Sebastian leans back against the white leather car seat, sucking on a mint his father has just handed him. His eyes are close, and his skin is almost the same hue as the upholstery. With his hair ungelled and his sickly palor, Sebastian Smythe looks nothing like his usual self.
"Do you want one?" Sebastian offers quietly, passing Nick a small plastic package from the glove compartment.
John Smythe glances over at his son. "Do you need more in your car? I'll get some when you come home."
Sebastian shakes his head gently. "I want tabs, instead," he says quietly. "No one tries to eat them for fun."
Nick feels guilty. The last time the Warblers rode with Sebastian, someone had gotten into his glove compartment look for maps and discovered food. Seb was snarky about it, but no more than were going through the supply of Sweet tarts and Airheads like it wasn't a big deal. In retrospect, maybe Sebastian just hadn't wanted to call attention to it.
When they arrive, Nick helps Sebastian into the emergency entrance while his father parks the car. In addition to the mint, Nick smells a strange, sweet smell on Sebastian's breath.
They sit together on the hard plastic chairs as Mr. Smythe registers his son at the desk. The mantra of power has slipped back over Sebastian's father's shoulders. Its hard for Nick to see the father underneath the lawyer.
The emergency room lobby is busier than Nick would have expected for a Thursday morning in February. He's surprised, though, when Sebastian is the second patient called back by the charge nurse. He wonders John Smyth has exercised his power, or if Sebastian's condition really does rank somewhere above severe abdominal pain but below a gunshot or heart attack.
Nick stays behind in the lobby as the charge nurse takes his friend back. He tries to distract himself with the cooking show on TV, but Mr. Smythe comes to get him from the waiting room before the big, red-headed Italian(?) chef even has his bacon in the pan.
Sebastian is lying back on a cot, and a female nurse is trying to put an IV in his arm. Sebastian is insistent on something. Even half dead, he is in command.
"Nick, can I hold your hand?" He asks, reaching out his right palm to his roommate. Nick takes it, and feels his fingers in a vice as the nurse slides the needle into Sebastian's veins.
He hopes the pain is worth it, and the doctors can give his friend something to control his wayward body.