Bad Reaction

By: JulieOh

"...2... 3... 4... 5... 6 and 7... No! No, your right foot comes down on 'and' so you're ready to step with your left foot on 7! Do it again!!"

Everyone in the room groaned and panted where they stood.

"Can we have a break?" JC called from his spot in the back.

"Not until you get this! You're on the treadmills for this part, if you screw up it'll matter."

"Come on, Wade," Justin whined. "We could do the Chicken Dance up there and people would love us."

With that, Joey and Chris looked at each other, grinned, and started flapping their arms and singing the familiar old tune. Wade just rolled his eyes. They didn't have the energy to keep practicing, but this... this they could do.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "Ten minutes. But I want you back here in TEN minutes! You hear me?"

Chris started saluting as he backed towards the door. "Sir, yes sir! Thank you, sir! Very kind of you, sir!"

They all scattered from the room, Chris heading down the hallway for the small lunchroom at the compound. He changed his direction, though, when he saw Lance rounding the other corner on decidedly wobbly legs. He frowned. Recharging his sugar levels could wait.

He caught up to Lance a few steps down the hallway and slung an arm around his shoulders. Chris tried to keep his tone light, knowing how his bandmate could clam up if he started feeling smothered.

"Hey, Bass! You workin' yourself too hard again?"

He couldn't make sense of Lance's mumbled reply, but decided to carry on anyway.

"I hear ya. That guy's a slave driver sometimes. I think he'd do well in boot camp, what do y- oh, hey, woah..." Chris shifted his arm from around Lance's shoulders to his lower back for support when the younger man slumped against him suddenly. He looked around them and kicked open the nearest door. It led to a conference room, and he shrugged. Not as good as a couch, but at least chairs were better to sit on than the floor. "Come on, man, in here..."

Lance regained a bit of his footing, and he let Chris lead him into the room. He fell into the chair that Chris pulled out with one foot, and rested his head against the large table, cradling it in his own arms.

"You stay here," Chris was babbling, "I'm gonna get a phone..."

"No, no..." Lance reached out an arm without looking up and swiped in the direction he could make out the voice as coming from. "It's okay, just... gimme a minute."

"Are you sure, man? I mean, you just about passed out there..." Chris sat in the chair next to Lance and leaned to look at him more closely.

"Nah, just... dizzy spell. Got this new med... medi... drug... for... y'know... heart." Lance started giggling, snorting little chuckles into the crook of his elbow. "Doc said it'd make me feel funny while I got used to it."

"Dumbass..." Chris muttered under his breath. "You should've told us, we could've changed the practice. You shouldn't be working so hard with new meds."

Lance rolled his head back and forth on the table. "S'not usually like this. Thought I could handle it." He looked up then, and peered out the windows to the driving rain outside. "S'probably why I see pink fuzzy tailed bunnies outside... daaaancing in the rain...." he sang, and giggled into his hand, then he frowned and looked sad. "They're going to get all wet out there. Come inside bunnies!" He reached one arm towards the window, without actually moving his body, then he lowered his arm and sighed. "They don't hear me."

"You're *sure* we don't need to call someone."

Lance sighed again and rested his head against Chris' shoulder where he sat beside him. "Nope. Just gimme a few minutes. It should pass."

Thunder boomed outside, rattling the windows, making Lance jump. He scrambled in his chair, seeming to try to get closer to Chris. He whimpered a little, and Chris instinctively wrapped a protective arm around him. The arms of their chairs were awkward between them, but Lance didn't seem to notice, leaning past them into the embrace. Thunder clapped loudly again, and Lance tensed and brought a hand up, resting it on Chris' opposite shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay," Chris whispered down to the shaking man, bringing his other arm around Lance's front.

"Sing to me."

"What?" Chris tried to pull away, but Lance just held on tighter.

"Sing to me," Lance repeated, whispering into his chest, still quivering. Whether it was from fear of the storm or residual effect of his medication, Chris wasn't sure. He decided to chalk the request up to the drugs, though. He fumbled for a moment, not sure what to do. Finally, he started the first few notes that came to mind, softly, aware that the door behind them was still open.

"Every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild... Every now and then I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms... Every now and then I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry... Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes... turn around, bright eyes..."

Chris paused and rolled his eyes at his own choice of song. He looked down at the man cradled in his arms, but saw no reaction other than that he'd finally stopped shaking, and seemed calmer. Chris took a breath and continued.

"And I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever... and if you only hold me tight we'll be holding on forever... And we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong... Together we can take it to......"

"Hey, there you guys- Oh...."

Chris stopped singing abruptly at the sound of Joey's voice at the door. He tried to sit up straighter, but Lance wasn't letting go, so he settled for simply clearing his throat and looking over at Joey, still frozen in the doorway.

"Uh, hey. Joe." He could feel himself blushing, and would have blushed with embarrassment at the fact except it seemed somewhat redundant.

"Hey. Um... it's ten minutes. Wade wants us back now, he's hollering for you. You two. I mean...."

"Yeah." Chris cleared his throat again. "Ah, Lance was having a bad reaction to a prescription so I..."

"Right," Joey interrupted him. "So, maybe we should... call off the rest of practice? So Lance can rest. Can go home and rest."

The man in question stirred at the repetition of his name and seemed to wake from a trance. He sat up in his seat, letting Chris' arms slip from around his shoulders. "Nah, I'm okay," he said. "Just needed a break." He rose slowly and moved to follow Joey into the hall. He paused at the doorway and looked back to where Chris was still sitting at the table. "Thanks." He smiled a little, then turned and walked from the room.

"Yeah..." Chris whispered after him, but he was already out of earshot.

Finis

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