Spencer woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He checked his watch and realized that he and Carson had fallen asleep and had last an hour and a half. Carefully, without waking Carson up, he climbed out of bed and turned off the music. He then walked over to the door and answered it. He smiled when he saw who was knocking.
"Michael!"
Michael smiled and walked in. "How'd the meeting go?" he asked.
"I didn't meet up with him, yet. Said I would call him back after you came."
"Genius. Oh, by the way, I found this when I got the camera at your place. What genius leaves this behind?" Michael said, taking a small bottle out of his pocket and tossing it to Reid. Reid was confused. He hadn't forgotten anything, had he? He read the bottle label and almost slapped himself for forgetting something this important.
It was Carson's pills.
"Damn it, how could I have forgotten this?! Thanks, Michael!" Spencer said, relieved there wouldn't be a problem with Carson and her schizoeffective disorder. "Wait, why'd you take the camera?" he asked.
Michael pulled it out of the blue Jansport backpack he was carrying, along with two pairs of glasses. "I don't think we'll need it, but I brought it along, just in case something happens to our Camera Eyes." he said. Woody the doctor had managed to fit tiny cameras into pairs of glasses so they could take documented footage of their awesome lives. "Did Enrique swing by yet?"
"No, but he said he'll call after he checks in with the Letters captain. Enrique had called him on the plane. He had gotten into the Men of Letters, too. He would check in with the captain, Harry Potter, for them. His real name was Harry Keller, but Potter was his code name. Everyone had code names. Spencer's was his stage name, Moonwalker Jackson, Enrique's was Richie Valencia, also his stage name, and Michael's was Marshall Erikson, the guy from How I met your Mother.
"Hey, I gotta go outside to make a quick call, alright?" Michael said.
"Alright." Spencer replied.
As soon as Michael left and closed the door, Carson began to stir. Usually, she woke up peacefully from a nap, but not this time. Her face was in a pained expression, her body was tense, she made small whimpering noises, and she clutched onto the sheets as if it was her only lifeline. Spencer sighed. Another episode.
Spencer raced over to Carson's bedside and rubbed her back. He knew firsthand that he needed to ease Carson out of her nightmare. He had done this more than once. "Sshh, hey, hey, it's alright, Carly. It's just me, Spencer." he gently whispered. He called her by her real name when she was having an episode. That's why she only goes by Carson.
Carson whimpered once more, then slowly opened her eyes. Relief flooded her when she saw it was only Spencer. "S-s-spence-r-r?" she whispered. She hated when this happened. She hated breaking down and being vulnerable and weak while her brother had to be strong for her. She knew it broke his heart to see her like this. Every time it happened, she tried to stop, force herself to calm down, but every time, she failed, like now.
Spencer continued to comfort Carson by holding her and rubbing her back and whispering soothing words. Carson continued to shake and sob and whimper as she felt her episode come. There was always pain when it came. Horible headaches, upset stomach, and soreness. This was why she needed her brother. She held onto his arm tightly and didn't let go until most of it had passed.
The worst of the episode had passed, but there was still some pain. She loosened her grip on Spencer's arm and whimpered quietly. She was still crying, but only tears ran down her face now, and her shaking had reduced to trembling. Spencer continued to get her through, being strong for her. He waited until she was quiet and was sure she'd calmed down some when he whispered, "I think you should take the pills."
Carson nodded desperately. She needed a way out from the pain, and she knew the pills helped. She watched as Spencer took two pills out of the bottle with some water. He held them out for her, and she swallowed them with the water. Spencer lied down beside her on the bed and hugged her. He brushed away the faint tear marks on her cheeks. In a matter of minutes, she stopped crying completely, stopped trembling, and her pain had subsided.
She yawned. She was still very exhausted from sleeping for only an hour and a half and from her episode. She kept falling asleep in Spencer's arms. Spencer took notice and whispered into her hair, "Go to sleep, baby. I promise I'll be here when you wake up."
Carson leaned more into Spencer and yawned again. She snuggled next to Spencer and was asleep in a matter of minutes, due to the small dosage of sedatives laced in the pills. Spencer looked down and saw she was asleep. He pulled the covers up over her and kissed her on the top of her head. "Sweet dreams, Scarlet Reid."