"I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me."

[lastfirstkiss]

Who? Jeff Hinton and Nick Matheson
What? Comfort
When? Friday night, after Footloose
Where? Nick's apartment

Jeff asked permission to leave when the last number started in the show, because that was a pretty good sign that Justin was going to be okay until the end, and as soon as he did, he caught a cab right over to Nick's place. He was met at the door by a very tired looking Harry. "Hey, buddy," Jeff said with a warm, understanding smile. "It's good to see you. I appreciate you letting me know about Nick. Is he awake?" He didn't want to go and wake him if he was currently sleeping, because he knew that he needed the rest more than anything right now.

Harry assured him that Nick was awake, and it looked for all the world like poor Harry was still terrified of what had happened. Jeff knew the terror of seeing Nick passed out, and he knew that it probably didn't get better, no matter how much you got used to it. He followed Harry to Nick's room, where the latter was propped up on pillows watching TV. "Hey, gorgeous," he said, giving Nick a wink. "How're you feeling?"

Comments

[artsdesire]

Nick would be lying if he didn't admit to himself he wasn't expecting Jeff to make good on his text message. He said he could come over if he wanted, and left it at that, but he just wasn't sure if things were going to get better. He was feeling a bit rough at the moment too, so he didn't have the energy to worry about whether Jeff meant what he said or not. He answered the text and went right back to trying to rest like he was ordered to by Riley. They did some tests and there were a couple of anomalies and signs of a urinary tract infection, so he would be seeing Vanessa on Monday to probably mess about with his insulin dosage a little. Most of all, Riley insisted he try to alleviate stressors in his life because that wasn't helping. This was him trying to do that.

Harry had eventually settled and they both slept a few hours after getting home from the hospital. Dani was still here with Benny, catching up on some work so she could be on hand if Nick took another turn for the worst. Harry told Nick he was going to do some practice, but Nick told him to make sure it was only 'some'. He knew the kid. He was stressed out about the new routine Logan thought he could nail for the Joffrey audition. It was intense, and Harry could push himself too far. "Hey," he greeted him and shrugged. "Been better, but not dead. So, I say that's a plus."

[lastfirstkiss]

"Not dead's definitely a good start," Jeff replied with a faint, but worried smile. "Although, almost dead isn't much better, so lets try to get you back to mostly alive, shall we?" he asked, coming over and taking a seat in the chair next to Nick's bed where he was assuming Harry had been sitting before. He looked over at Nick thoughtfully. Even sick, Jeff couldn't help noticing how good-looking the other guy was. Maybe it was inappropriate thoughts for someone in bed sick, but Jeff was attracted to Nick. He always had been. That had never been the question. He'd just fallen down on actually showing it and being the sort of person he should've been in dating him. And that was why he was doing his damnedest this time to prove that he meant what he said.

"I'd texted you to see if you wanted to hang out. When you didn't reply, I was kind of worried, just because of previous times when you'd gotten sick. Then Harry texted to let me know what was up, which was really nice of him. If I hadn't heard from you much longer after he texted, I was planning to put out a Facebook APB," he said, only half joking. He had been concerned, and a great number of ideas for how to find out if Nick was okay had crossed his mind. "I was just glad that they let you come home from the hospital. I know it's ten times harder to rest there than it is at home."

[artsdesire]

"I've got a bit of an infection I didn't know about, so it just sent everything haywire inside me. I was feeling a bit tired and run down, I thought it was trying to get Harry settled and taking care of him. Shit happens," Nick said, though he was respectful of his body when it was giving him the giant warning signs to chill the fuck out. "I didn't want to be taking up a bed someone else needed when I can be okay doing the right thing at home. It's just the time of year, everyone's stressed and Harry's been my priority. I just need a bit of a break, I think, or I will end up in there on life support."

Which is exactly what he refused to do to people who cared about him, and now especially Harry, who was shaken from Nick's collapse and needing to call an ambulance. "I think if you're going to be around more, we might need to talk about how to deal with stuff if I get sick. As much as I hate it, it can happen and it's not nice for anyone."

[lastfirstkiss]

"Like a stomach bug?" Jeff asked. He knew that Nick's food and meds had to be carefully regulated, and if they weren't, it could cause him all kinds of trouble, so it would only make sense if he wasn't keeping food down properly that he might have a harder time regulating his blood sugar. "The break sounds like a good idea. Stress, no matter how good the reason may be, wreaks havoc on your body. Then again, I don't have to tell you that. You already know." He really didn't want to come off as being pushy or telling Nick how to suck eggs when he clearly knew how his own body worked. "None of us want to see you on life support, though."

There was no denying that was important. Jeff had been there for a bad episode with Nick, and he hadn't had a fucking clue what to do to help him. If he was going to continue to be a part of Nick's life here, he wanted to learn what to do when he got sick. "Okay," Jeff said with an earnest nod. "I want to know what to do. I mean, I want to be around. I want to spend more time with you, and it's definitely important to know what to do if I'm with you when you get sick."

[artsdesire]

"Urinary infection. The kidneys pump the excess sugar out of the blood, so if there's issues with that get into the kidneys, it can put my blood sugar up and it can be life threatening. I'm just going to take it easy so I'm good for Harry's audition and Christmas. Bring my little brother here to take care of him and protect him, and he ends up taking care of me. Talk about brother fail," Nick said with a shake of his head. Not to mention the fact he had exhausted Harry when he was supposed to be working on his audition. It was going to be one particular audition that wasn't just extensively important but Logan had thrown Harry a huge curve ball of a challenge, so Harry would be on edge as it was.

He nodded. "Okay, we can talk about it. It doesn't have to be right now. Actually, it might even be worth your while talking to your sister. It might all seem simple, but in an emergency, nothing is simple. Harry only knows because our parents made sure everyone knew how to deal with it. It's one of those things that can happen really quickly and often without warning."

[lastfirstkiss]

"You didn't know you had it?" Jeff asked. "I mean, the infection. I've never had a urinary infection. But does it make you feel shitty to start with, or just when it hits you with your diabetes stuff? Because that's pretty scary if it can sneak up on you like that." The look on Jeff's face was one of worry and concern. The last thing he wanted was for Nick to end up in that much worse of a place with his health. He knew that it was a heavy thing, and as Nick said, it could be life threatening. "At least Harry knew what to do," Jeff said gratefully. "It's kind of special seeing how awesome your family dynamic is with him. When's his audition?"

"That works," Jeff said thoughtfully. "Ness will fill me in on a lot, too. She's awesome for stuff like that. Always has been. It's good your parents think that way, and that Harry was quick to step into action. I'm really glad that he got you the help you needed quickly." He meant that, too. Things may not have progressed as easily as they might have hoped, but Jeff didn't want Nick to be hurt.