Seth sits straight up in bed. "Celeste?!"
She whimpers.
"Hang on, I'll be right there." He quickly gets dressed and heads next door.
Celeste, too weak to walk, crawls to the door. She hears a bang on the other side. Hands shaking, she manages to turn the lock and open the door.
Seth kneels in front of her. "It's okay, I'm here."
"I think…" she begins. "I think I…" She collapses against him.
Seth is startled by the feeling of her face against his neck. "Your fever's higher! You definitely need a doctor." He sweeps her up in his arms and heads outside.
"I'm so cold." Celeste murmurs.
Seth instinctively places his cheek against hers. "No, honey, you're not." "I'm gonna get you some help." he says as he lies her on the back seat of the SUV. He then climbs behind the wheel.
Seth sees the hospital up ahead. He glances back at Celeste and says, "We're almost there." When she doesn't reply he becomes filled with panic. "Celeste?!" All he hears is the roar of the engine. Seth curses under his breath. "Hold on! You're gonna be fine!"
He pulls into a parking area directly across from the emergency room entrance. "Celeste, please talk to me!" he pleads as he lifts her out of the vehicle. His heart races when she still doesn't respond. He hurries inside and toward the nurses' station. "Help please!"
A woman in a white lab coat rushes toward them. "I'm Dr. Carson. What's the problem?" she asks.
"I…I think it's food poisoning! She's been throwing up and has a fever!" Seth explains.
"Get her in here." Dr. Carson says, heading into a cubicle. Seth lays Celeste on the gurney. He notices that her ring is sliding off her finger. Impulsively, he reaches out and pushes it back into place. "Whoa! That's a big rock!" Dr. Carson exclaims. "You better take that so she doesn't lose it."
Seth hesitates for a moment, then realizes the doctor is right. He removes the ring and slides it into his pocket, hoping he doesn't lose it.
"What your fiancée's name?" Dr. Carson asks.
"Celeste." he answers. Before he can explain that she's not his fiancée, Dr. Carson begins working on Celeste.
"Celeste? Can you hear me?" She shines a light in Celeste's eyes causing her to slightly flinch.
"Mommy!" Celeste mutters.
"No, sweetheart. I'm Dr. Carson." She turns to the nurse who has entered the cubicle. "Get an IV started and run it wide open."
"Yes, Doctor." the nurse replies and heads to get supplies.
A unit clerk enters and asks Seth, "Sir, would you mind giving me some information?"
"Yeah, sure." he replies.
"What is her full name?" the clerk asks.
"Celeste St…" he chuckles, realizing he doubts Star really is her last name.
The nurse, who has reentered states, "Montgomery! Her name is Celeste Star Montgomery."
Seth looks at the young woman surprised. "I'm a big fan. Of both of you actually. I recall her saying her real name in an interview a while back."
Seth smiles faintly. "Thanks." He hates realizing he doesn't have the information that may be pertinent to Celeste's care.
"Age, height and weight?" the clerk asks.
"Um… 33, 5'2 and…about 110." Seth responds.
"There's no likelihood of negative reaction to I.V. fluids. So for now that's all the info we should need." Dr. Carson claims.
The nurse grins. "You're a good fake boyfriend." she teases.
"Fake?" Dr. Carson inquires with a raised brow.
"Yeah, they work for WWE. She's actually engaged to John Cena, but she and Seth are a couple in a storyline."
"Don't tell me this little thing is a wrestler." Dr. Carson says, looking at her pale patient.
"Yep." Seth answers. "She's pretty awesome at it."
"Let's see how well she wrestles this fever." Dr. Carson states. "It's not dangerously high at the moment so I'm going to try to let it do its job of killing the bug in her system. I'm going to go call about getting her a bed upstairs." She exists the room.
The nurse sees the concern on Seth's face. "Try to relax. I'm sure she'll be fine soon."
Seth sighs as he sits next to Celeste. He takes her hand. "I wasn't lying about feeling guilty." he explains. He then lays his head on the bed and unknowingly dozes off.
Seth is jolted awake by the sound of his phone ringing. He takes it out his pocket and sees that it's Roman calling. "Hello?" he answers, groggily.
"Hey man!" Roman replies. "Where the hell are you?"
Seth looks at the beauty lying before him and sees she is still unconscious. He sighs. "I'm at the hospital. Celeste got worse during the night and called me for help."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Roman inquires.
"The doctor seems to think so. We're waiting to get her moved upstairs." Seth glances at a clock on the wall that reads 7AM. "Which seems to be taking forever."
"Well, don't worry about us. We ran into Jack and Antonio, so we can catch a ride with them to the venue." Roman explains.
"That's great." Seth says. He notices Celeste starting to stir. "Celeste is waking up, I'll call you later." He hangs up without giving Roman a chance to respond.
Celeste bats her eyes to adjust them to the bright light. Her head turns and her eyes focus on Seth. "Hey babe." He says as he strokes her damp hair. "I think you're fever's breaking." he says with relief.
"I'm thirsty." Celeste whispers.
"I'll see if you can have something." Seth states as he stands. He walks out to the nurses' station. "She says she's thirsty, and I think her fever's breaking."
Dr. Carson turns to the nurse. "Jenny, recheck her temp and let her try a few sips of water."
"Yes doctor." Jenny responds.
"Any word on when she'll be moved upstairs?" Seth inquires.
"They just called from fifth floor." Jenny explains, as she hands Seth a bottle of water. "It'll be about another five to ten minutes."
They renter the cubicle. "Hi Celeste, I'm Jenny. I'm going to check your temperature okay?"
Celeste nods. "Any more nausea?" Jenny asks.
"No.' Celeste answers weakly.
"That's good. Let her try a few sips of water." Jenny tells Seth.
Seth sits next to Celeste and holds the bottle to her lips. She takes a sip and reaches for the bottle with her right hand. "Ow!" she yelps when the needle in her hand pinches.
"Sorry I had to put it there." Jenny apologizes. "It was the only good vein I could find."
"It's okay." Celeste says. She then reaches up with her left hand. "Where's my ring?!"
Seth stands and reaches into his pocket. "Right here. Dr. Carson assumed I was your fiancé and suggested I hang on to it for you. It was sliding off, so I figured she was right."
Jenny laughs. "I loved the look on her face when I explained your situation."
Seth laughs as well. "Nurse Jenny here is a fan."
As he slides the finger on to Celeste's finger, Jenny begins to chuckle, "It's good that you're practicing in case your storyline progresses."
Seth and Celeste both smile at the joke. "Hey, maybe you and John can get married in the wrestling ring." Seth recommends.
"I'm surprised he hasn't suggested that." Celeste says.
Attention is turned to the curtain being pulled back. An orderly has arrived to move Celeste upstairs.
Once Celeste is settled in her room she confesses, "I don't remember anything after you left last night."
"You called a couple hours later asking for help." Seth explains. "You really scared me when you passed out on the way here."
"So I didn't say or do anything stupid?" she asks.
Seth chuckles. "Well, you did call the doctor 'Mommy'."
Celeste's face grows sad. "I can call your mom if you want." Seth suggests.
"No, you can't." Celeste whispers. "I lost her a couple of years ago."
Seth's heart sinks. "Oh, Celeste, I'm sorry."
Celeste smiles through teary eyes. "It's okay. She's in a better place and I know I'll see her again one day." She looks at Seth's tired face. "Why don't you go rest a bit before you gotta drive to the show?"
"Who says I'm going to the show?" he quips. He looks into her eyes. "I don't wanna leave you alone."
"If you don't go you could get into trouble." Celeste states.
"If I explain the situation, I'm sure they'll understand." Seth tries to calm her.
She smiles at his concern for her. "Well go rest anyways. I'll be fine. I'm gonna try to sleep some more. The nurse said they'll bring me some chicken broth later." She pulls a strand of her hair and looks at it with a pout. "Plus, if I get my strength up, I can get a shower."
"I got some sleep downstairs. But, I do need to get our stuff from the motel."
Seth stands with a sigh. "Okay then. I'll go and come back in a little while."
"Make sure you get all my Mary Kay stuff off the sink." Celeste insists.
"So, you're one of those women that has to have twenty-five different products, huh?" he teases.
"I don't have that much." she replies.
Seth just grins and gives her hand a light squeeze. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Bye." she whispers.
As Seth enters Celeste's motel room, he hears her phone ringing. He spots it lying face down on the bed and answers it. "Hello?"
Silence at first…"Seth?" John asks.
"Yeah. Hey John."
"Where's Celeste?'
"She's in the hospital."
"What?!"
"Calm down. She's gonna be fine." Seth takes a deep breath. "We talked her into eating sushi last night. Even though she didn't eat anything raw, she got sick."
"How is she now?" John inquires.
"Her fever's broken and she's kept some liquids down. I'm gonna let her rest for a while and then take her stuff to her. I'll make sure she calls you."
"Please do. And thanks for taking care of her."
"No problem."
Seth packs Celeste's things into the SVU and rebooks his room. He then calls John Laurinaitis to explain the situation. After a quick workout, he makes his way back to the hospital.
"Yay!" Celeste says gleefully when he enters.
"Well I'm happy to see you too." he responds.
"I'm glad to see my stuff. The nurse said I can shower soon."
"Ouch. I'm hurt." Seth jokes.
"Well of course I'm happy to see you." Celeste insists.
"Hey John called." He hands her phone to her. "Told him I'd make sure you'd call."
"I'm sure he was worried." she claims
"He really was. While you call him I'm gonna check in with Roman and Dean." Seth says. "By the way, I'm not in trouble. Laurinaitis said we can play it up as me being a good boyfriend."
"That's good." she replies.
"I'll give you some privacy to call John."
He steps out into the hallway and dials Roman. When it goes to voicemail, he dials Dean.
"Hey Loverboy." Dean answers.
"Hey Jackass." Seth retorts.
"We already know you're not coming." Dean clarifies.
"Sue me. I didn't think Celeste should be left alone." Seth declares.
"So how is the little woman?" Dean asks.
"Better. Fever's gone, and they are gonna let her shower soon."
"Ah." Dean quips. "Are you gonna be helping with that?"
"Shut up!" Seth snaps, surprised by how the comment annoys him.
"Whoa, chill man." Dean says. "Just make sure you make the show tomorrow night."
"I'll be there." Seth affirms.
"Good. Talk to you later." Dean says and hangs up.
Seth peeks back into Celeste's room. She's still on the phone. "You know the private jet is a bit flashy for my liking, but in this case I'll take it." she says. "I love you too. Bye."
Seth enters when the call ends. "So is he gonna fly in to see you?"
"No." she answers. "He's going to send the jet for me when I get out of here."
"Nice." Seth affirms. "Not sure I'd go the private jet route even if I could afford it. I'm with you on not being very flashy."
"It's definitely different than what I'm used to." Celeste states. "Right now I live in a small, but nice apartment. Well when I'm home."
"Same here." Seth agrees. "I just moved back to Iowa on our days off this week."
"Wow!" she exclaims. "You've been a busy boy. Driving from Florida to Iowa. Now taking care of me."
He smiles and takes her hand. "Well, it's all worth it."
Celeste notices something on the inside of his left wrist and turns it to get a better look. The tattoo is the last piece of a burning page with a word on it. "Forever?" she asks.
Seth frowns. "Yeah. I got it when I was in my last relationship." He laughs. "Didn't quite work out that way."
Celeste smiles. "At least it's not your ex's name. That would make any future relationships awkward. I'm happy to think my name is metaphorically tattooed on my man's heart."
A/N: The song "Glory of Love" from "The Karate Kid 2" was playing as I was typing the Seth/Dean chat. "I am the man who will fight for your honor." Sweet. Weird though the song came out when Seth was still an infant. Lol.