Chapter Text
A road trip. It was supposed to be the perfect bonding exercise. Just them and a four hour drive from Houston to Dallas (and then back the next day) for a conference. Everything was actually going really well, until this very moment.
They're almost halfway through the drive home and Reid can't place it yet, but there's something off. The skies are clear, no frantic phone calls have come through, everyone seems calm… at least on the surface. The silence that has settled between them is comfortable, not awkward. So what is it?
He glances over at Victor, his smile and posture seem forced. He looks in the rear view mirror. Jeremy looks fine, he's looking out the window, completely zoned out. And Christina… she looks pretty stressed, actually
"Everyone doing okay?" He asks. Jeremy snaps out of whatever daze he'd been in. "All good here," he tells Reid with a smile.
"I'm alright," Victor doesn't attempt to look at Reid when he says it… which is odd. "I'm fine," Christina's voice is a little strained. He doesn't believe any of them… maybe Jeremy, the rest of them are liars.
He made the executive decision as the driver to stop at a Buc-ee's twenty minutes ago so he sticks to that, turning into the huge parking lot.
The second he puts the car in park, all three are scrambling to get out of the car like bats out of hell. He turns around, all of them are gone… Jeremy's door hasn't even been shut.
"Okay…" he says to himself. This is weird… not catastrophic… but definitely weird. He hadn't seen what direction any of them had gone in, but he tries to follow them anyway.
He starts towards the building, but pauses when he sees Victor in his peripheral vision and walks towards him instead. "Are you alright?" Reid calls, pocketing his keys.
Victor's leaning against a tree, looking ten shades paler than Reid's ever seen him. "Yeah…" he swallows thickly. Reid finally reaches the patch of grass, (why is this parking lot so massive?) "Uh huh…"
"I just needed some fresh air… my stomach's not feeling too great." Reid nods, taking that in. "I'll be okay though, you should go check on Tina and Jeremy… they might be sick too."
Reid doesn't like the idea of leaving Victor like this, but it's possible that Jeremy and/or Christina are having a much worse time. "Yeah… sit tight," he agrees, turning around.
He rolls his eyes because now he has to walk another mile (exaggeration) just to get inside. The building is also huge, Reid is really starting to understand and resent the saying, 'everything is bigger in Texas.'
He finds Jeremy pretty fast, he's in one of the many snack aisles. At least that means his appetite is intact. "Hey," he greets. Jeremy looks up and waves. "We need snacks. We ate everything we packed already." Jeremy says in leu of a greeting.
Reid looks over him carefully… he seems perfectly fine. "What?" Jeremy asks when he sees the look on his face. "Why did you run?" Reid asks with a slight laugh.
"Everyone else was…" Jeremy shrugs, "and I was hungry." This would be really funny if he didn't have two other crewmates to be worried about. They're definitely going to laugh about it later. For now…
"Oh my God… I just peed for three hours, I swear." Christina says with a huge sigh, walking down the aisle towards them.
Reid is relieved to know that Jeremy and Christina are fine, but he feels a bit guilty knowing he left Victor alone. "Room for snacks now?" Jeremy asks Christina. "Oh, yes, definitely." She agrees, joining him in looking over the seasoned pretzels.
"I'll meet you guys in the car." Reid says with a strained laugh. "Oh, come on, Wiseman, you're just going to eat our snacks if you don't get your own." Christina chides.
"Have you no whimsy, Reid? This is a road trip!" Jeremy exclaims and Christina nods in agreement. Reid bites his lip, trying not to laugh. "Just get me another bag of whatever you get." He waves his hand, trying to leave again.
"You're-" he already knows what Christina's going to say. "I will refrain from complaining about what you pick." He leaves before they can protest any further.
It takes a year (another exaggeration) to get back to Victor, but when Reid finally does step back onto the patch of grass, Victor doesn't look any better than he did before he left.
"They're okay?" Victor asks without looking up. "Yeah… Christina had to go to the bathroom, Jeremy… is Jeremy." Victor huffs out a laugh.
"Food poisoning, you think?" Reid asks, trying to understand the situation. "God, I hope not… but probably. We didn't eat the same thing… it fits the most." Reid tries to come up with a plan as they settle into silence.
"Are you going to be okay for the ride home?" The answer is most likely no, but they have to get home somehow. "Uh…"
"There you guys are!" Jeremy yells. Reid turns to see both him and Christina approaching with a bag of snacks in each of their hands.
Christina's face falls as they get closer, "Everything okay?" Victor promptly throws up, doubling over with a hand on the tree for support.
"Oh!" Jeremy says in surprise. Reid rubs Victor's back, holding him upright with his other hand. "Sorry," he coughs. Reid dismisses him. "Get it up," he instructs, his tone is similar to the tone he uses when talking his crew through a drill.
Victor vomits again and Reid's grip on his arm tightens as he sways. His own stomach flips when he catches a glimpse of what Victor's bringing up. He averts his gaze back to Christina and Jeremy who both look like a deer in headlights.
"Go get him some water," Christina says, elbowing Jeremy. "Yeah," he nods, handing his bag to Christina and walking back towards the building.
The vomiting subsides after a few more minutes and Victor pants, spitting into the grass. "What's going on?" Christina asks when no one else says anything.
"Water," Jeremy says, opening a bottle of water and handing it to Reid. "Thank you," Victor sighs as Reid helps him take a sip of water. He spits the first mouthfull into a puddle at his feet before taking a real sip.
"I'm thinking Ike has food poisoning." Reid tells Christina and Jeremy. "From what? We all-oh…" Victor nods miserably, thinking back to the one meal they didn't share… bad idea. He doubles over, throwing up again.
"He's already unable to keep down water, that's not a good sign." Christina says worriedly. "I think that might just be because I mentioned food." Jeremy counters, wincing as Victor coughs loudly. Reid firmly pats his back.
"So… do we go book a room or two at the inn over there?" Jeremy asks, pointing across the street. "I don't know…" Reid sighs.
"I'll be fine," Victor says before heaving again. "Sure, buddy," Christina says sarcastically. "Yeah, you don't get a say in this until you can go at least five minutes without puking." Reid says.
It takes at least fifteen for Victor to regain what they hope is some control over his stomach. "I promise I can make the drive." Victor says for the third time.
"Without throwing up?" Christina asks, raising her eyebrows. "…With minimal throwing up." Christina purses her lips and looks to Reid. "I'm not happy about it…." Reid sighs.
"I just want to be home." Ugh, he really pulled that card. "It's only an hour and a half…" Reid concedes. "Thank you, it'll be fine." Victor nods confidently.
It's going to be hell. Reid already knows that much.
—
"Reid." Victor presses again. "You say that as if I'm not trying." Unfortunately, they are pretty blocked in on either side of the highway. "Try harder?" Christina feels her heartbeat pick up as she watches them argue.
"Jesus Christ, Reid!" Christina curses as he cuts across three lanes, sending her flying into Jeremy. Victor stumbles out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him before vomiting into the gravel next to the highway.
Reid exhales deeply, tilting his head back against the headrest. Jeremy gets out to make sure Victor's okay. Christina unbuckles her seatbelt and leans forward.
"It'll be okay," she tells Reid, leaning on the center console. "I know… I'm just stressed." He tells her, scrubbing both hands over his head.
"Do you want me to drive?" She offers. "I'm okay… for now." She bites her lip, "Are you sure?"
"Are you just saying that because you no longer approve of my driving?" Reid asks her with a laugh. "Well… you did throw me across the backseat…"
Reid winces, looking back at her, "Are you alright?" She nods, "Oh yeah, I'm fine, Jeremy is a great airbag." Reid laughs, "Fair enough."
The right side doors both open at the same time. "I'm sorry, Reid." Victor says, immediately, grabbing his water bottle. Christina sits back in her seat as Jeremy climbs in next to her.
"That's okay. I know the feeling." They both seem genuine, so Christina relaxes (as much as she can.)
After that, Victor only vomits once before they get him home. There was nowhere to pull over since they were in downtown Houston, so Victor threw up in a grocery bag. But they finally made it to his house and that's all that matters.
"Well, this has been eventful." Jeremy says, helping to get Victor's things together. "And this was supposed to be a bonding opportunity…" Reid sighs.
"I feel pretty bonded." Christina shrugs, offering him a seasoned pretzel. "Just not in the way we planned," she laughs.
"I have a good time any time I'm with you guys." Jeremy says proudly. Victor and Reid smile at that. Christina eyes him for a second before announcing, "Sap."