1/16 Instance: An Incentive and a Promise

[Starfish]

Timeline - Just before '01/16 Game: First rule of Fight Club'

Jay didn't need to listen to Sam's room to hear a heart monitor any more - he had his very own. He was lying, propped up, staring at the wall with the mask over his face and a drip, trying to work out if he had the energy to try and read to take his mind off how shit he felt.

Darren felt guilty, horribly, horribly guilty, and not just for the fact that he'd missed Jay's birthday. When he'd heard that Jay's condition had deteriated part of him had thought that maybe he wouldn't be with it enough to know the date and he wouldn't get in shit.

He was a terrible, horrible person, he came to the door and knocked, tugging on his lipring with his teeth nervously.

Jay jumped at the knock. He hadn't expected anyone to visit and Hank tended not to knock in case he was asleep. "C'me in." He rasped. Maybe it was Darren...? Something must have happened to the guy for him not to come and visit for so long...he'd been hurt by the non-show on his birthday, but tried to push it away.

Fuck, he sounded like shit, he pushed open the door, "Hey cockatiel," he gave Jay a smile, "how you ... uh ... you okay?" Look at all those fucking machines around him! Darren flicked his lip ring around, the ball poping in and out of his mouth.

"Daz!" Jay pushed himself up a bit, suddenly concious of how shit he must look. "Yeah, yeah...never better, dude." He smiled through the mask. Even with the oxygen he was wheezing, his cheeks red with the burn from it. He pulled it down to cough into a tissue, laying back as he tried to get his breath back. "Never better."

"How're y'all...?"

"Oh ... I'm good," he rubbed the back of his head, "Look ... I'm sorry for not comming to see you on your birthday man, it's just ... there was something that had come up and ... I lost track of time, I'll make it up to you when you're better, 'kay?"

Jay pulled the mask up when he realised he was panting. "Ah figured, dude, don't worry 'bout it." He smiled. "Bobby came...but...Ah wasn' really with it, temperature was too high...t'day's a good day, at least Ah'm awake for y'all or dis would be a borin' conversation." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, when Ah'm better..."

"Yeah," Darren came into the room properly and sat down in a spare chair, at least Jay didn't want horrible details, then again it could just be that he was too doped up to really care, "I was gonna bring you down a crate of beer but Hank consficated it, anything else you want ... within reason, obviously?"

"An antidote?" Jay tried to joke. "Really, Ah jus' want dis to be over. Ah'd be bored but Ah cain't stay awake long enough an'...Ah keep hallucinatin' when my temperature gets too high, y' know? An'...Ah miss flyin'." He sniffed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Seems d' worse it gets, d' quicker it moves, though, so mebbe it'll be done soon."

Darren didn't miss the implication there, but he had no idea what to say to that, Jay couldn't die, this wasn't Africa damnit! "They'll find the cure soon so there's no point wasting that birthday wish man," he tried to say cheerfully.

Jay grinned. "Yeah well, Ah won't get dat either." He opened his eyes to look at Darren. "Considerin' Ah ain' even well enough t' appreciate it." He winked, a hand twisting in the covers. He didn't want to die, not really, but the tarot came back to haunt him. Maybe this is what he saw?

Darren automatically went to smack Jay on the arm, but thought better of it, the guy looked so thin, like he'd snap, "Hey man, I said 'within reason', that wasmy reason, not yours."

"Aaaaw." Jay tried to pout, though through the mask it lost its affect. "Oh well. Ah got dreams." He smirked a little, before shifting on the pillows. "Y'all got your results back yet? Ah'd hate t' think Ah infected you at all."

"Hah, you'd wish you'd had the chance to infect me," Darren settled for nudging Jay, he couldn't do too much damaged with that, "well ... a yes and a no, they couldn't find any trace of the virus, but then again there was no trace of blood, dna, and general squishy stuff, so I dunno what they're gonna do now."

"Well, dat's a relief. Maybe one day Ah can infect y'all with gay or...somethin'." He trailed off. "So if y' ain' got no squishy crap, dat mean y're immune?"

"In your dreams ... actually, you probably do in your dreams and this is a disturbing thought," he shrugged, trying to figure out what to say to that, "Well ... and don't repeat this to anyone or I'll kick your ass, but I'd pretty much rather not say that I'm immune or anything, might jinx it, but I dunno, I'm not a doctor after all."

"Nah...you're superman, dude, y'all cain't get beat by shit." Jay said a little vaguely. "And ya don' wanna know what happens in my dreams..." Not that he was dreaming much at the moment. Drugged sleep didn't really make for being able to remember them.

"So long as my fans are behind me," Darren smirked, "so have you managed to talk them into give you flu supositries yet?"

Jay laughed until he started coughing, leaning forward and pulling his mask off to cough into tissues again. He wiped his eyes and finished with a sneeze, relaxing back. "Nah, should be so lucky, but d' idea of Hank comin' at me with one..." He shuddered slightly, balling the bloody tissue so that Darren didn't have to see it as he pulled his mask back up. "Ugh...'least Ah'm still awake, Ah suppose..."

Darren jumped when Jay started coughing, "Fuck! You okay?" Once Jay's coughing stopped he bit his lip, playing with the ring again, "Curse my comedic genius huh?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jay waved a hand vaguely, blinking slowly. "Ah'm fine..." He tossed the tissue in the bin. "Ah'd rather cough from laughin' with y'all, mon ami." He smiled. "Hank reckons Ah've got fluid on my lungs. Ah told him it's 'cause y'all've made me chain-smoke."

"Hey, not my fault, you can always say no," he frowned, nudging Jay again.

"It was a joke, dude, lighten up." Jay grinned. "Hank gave me a smokin' lecture an' enough patches to last me until d' Apocolypse. Ah said d' first thing Ah'm doin' if Ah get better is chain-smokin' my way through a packet or two."

... That reminded Jay, he hadn't had anything to smoke since those three packets before he and Bobby had gone into the DR, and as soon as he realised that he wanted one, fuck, he wasn't even sure why he liked smoking, it did nothing for him and half the time he couldn't even taste it ... "Fucker, you made me want one now, can I steal one of those patches?" he was curious as to wether it would do anything.

Jay waved to the boxes under his bed. "Help yerself, Ah cain't hardly use 'em right now." He shrugged. "Ain' plannin' to either. Ah like smokin'. Even angels need dere vices, right?" He sniffed, closing his eyes again. "Y' know what Ah'm missin' most, 'part from flyin'? Goin' out and partyin'. An' gambling. Wonder if dey're missin' me any..."

"Everyone's missing you Jay, the room's to quiet and smells to nice without you there," he smiled before reaching under the bed, grabbing the box and dragging it out, "Holy fuck! How many have they given you?"

Jay snorted. "Ah'm a fuckin' gay guy, Ah don' smell, ass." He scratched at the sheets again. "Like Ah said, enough t' last. Would have prefered condoms, myself."

Darren snorted, "Bet they've banned that too right?"

"Yup. No strenuous excersize, migh' put too much pressure on my lungs'n heart." Jay grinned. "But what a way t' go, eh?"

"You know, most people say that, but I think when it really happens it must be the most fucking annoying thing, it's the ultimate cock-block when you think about it, huh?" he smirked at Jay.

"Ah dunno, Ah'd be dead." Jay grinned back, laying back and closing his eyes, the grin slipping. "Y'all know dat's a very strong possibility right, dude?"

"You're not gonna die man, they're gonna cure this," Darren said stubbonly.

"Dey might not." Jay shrugged, opening his eyes. "Ah don' wanna but...well, Ah ain' got much else to do but think in here an'..." He looked over to Darren. "You know Ah'm pretty far along now, right? An' dere's two kids in dis medlab in a coma from it. Ah cain't stay awake for more'n two, maybe three hours at a time."

Down by the side of the bed where he couldn't see, Darren clenched his fists, "You're not gonna get that bad, you've got healing right? It'll sort this out for you."

"Ah've nvere got sick." Jay pointed out quietly. "My healin' ain't helping me dis time, mon ami." He looked away, picking at the sheets. "Sorry, just...when Ah ain't got nothin' else t' think about, y' know...?"

Darren looked down, biting his lip again ... fuck he really must be desperate for even thinking of suggesting this ... but it would cheer Jay up, and fuck knew the guy needed something.

"Okay, I've got an idea that I know you'll go for, and will make you get better, wanna hear it?"

"Mmm?" Jay felt guilty for bringing his friend down, but he didn't want Darren to have to deal with him suddenly not being there, like he'd been with Jill.

"If you make a full recovery," Darren's face twisted, like he was trying to crawl away from his own lips as they spoke, "I ... I'll ... I promise I will make out with you for five minutes." He said it quickly to get it over with.

Jay stared at Darren. "Bullshit, mon ami. It ain' fair to tease an ill man, y' know."

"Hey, I'm not that much of a bastard, straight up I'll do it, you want it in fucking writing or something?" Darren grumbled, he was offering this, Jay could do the decent thing and at least believe him (or turn him down, he wouldn't mind that).

Jay flushed a little, squirming. "Sorry, man, just...well, y'all're dead straight, not expectin' dat offer from ya." He grinned suddenly. "Alrigh'. If Ah get better? Ah'll hold y' to it."

Fuck. Fucking sick bastard, "I promise, scouts honour and I was a scout would you believe it, just ... no gropeing okay? Only only five minuets."

"Alright." Jay tried not to look disappointed at the 'no groping'. "Ah think y'all just gave me a reason to get better...Ah'll try, alright?"

Darren realised he was being given the puppy eyes ... and the fact that Jay was so sick just made it even worse, Awww man "Okay, okay, you can touch up my ass, but that's it, okay?"

Jay chuckled weakly. "Y're too good to me, man." He cleared his throat, wheezing slightly. "Darren...thanks for comin' to see me." He smiled. "Don't leave it so long next time, yeah?"

"I here-by swear that I won't have any more melt-downs till after you're better, okay?" Darren took the que and stood up, "I'll come and see you tomorrow man, anything you want brough down from the room?"

"...Meltdown?" Jay frowned at Darren. "Um...can Ah have some music? An' more books. An' tell Spook Ah miss him?"

"Sure thing," Darren smiled at the mention of his rabbit, "how about I see if I can sneak him down for a bit? Petting fuzzy animals are meant to make sick people feel better anyway."

"Ah'd like dat. An'...tell me about dis...meltdown." His voice already sounded vaguer as he blinked slowly at Darren from the bed. He felt so fucking tired...and all he'd been doing was talking. "Ah'm sorry, man."

"I'll tell you tomorrow, okay, right now you need some rest," Darren gave him a warm smile, "Promise I'll tell you."

"Better." Jay murmured, closing his eyes. "See y' den..." He was alseep before he had a chance to finish the sentance.

Darren pulled the blankets up a little higher as Jay dropped off, frowning, he didn't like feeling helpless like this, "See ya Jay, sleep well man," he walked out of the door, shutting it quietly behind him and covering his eyes with his hand, taking a moment.

He let out a deep, shuddering breath and his eyes looked skyward, "He'd made a lot of promises in there, all of them he could keep, but they both knew that despite his 'incentive' ... unless a cure was found soon, Jay wouldn't be able to keep his.