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Christina's been worrying about the dinner they're expected to attend tonight since the moment she woke up. Not knowing what's on the menu, having no choice surrounding what she eats, and lacking an escape plan was anxiety-inducing from the outset of the trip, but after what happened last night… she's not sure she can handle it again.
She hasn't said anything though, because she'll figure it out: maybe it will be easier tonight?
"Christina…" Reid says reproachfully, pulling her from her rumination.
She, Reid, Victor and Jeremy are all hanging out in one of the recreation rooms of the hotel they're staying at. There aren't any other astronauts in there with them, which is a little unusually but provides her with a much needed reprieve from the constant stimulation of the summit itself. Victor and Jeremy are playing a card game over the coffee table (Victor's winning by a landslide) and Christina and Reid are both working on their laptops.
"Yeah?" she replies nervously. "Something on your mind?"
She wonders briefly how he picked up on that, before she realizes that she's completely stopped typing on their shared document, lost in thought.
"Uh, yeah… it's nothing though," she tries to brush it off, but Reid doesn't let it go.
"It's about dinner tonight?" he asks. It's barely a question… he knows and given the way Victor and Jeremy are looking at her now, she assumes they've picked up on it too.
"Yeah…" she says under her breath, "I'll be okay. I just…" She represses a shudder, "I wish I knew what they are going to be serving."
"We could probably get that information for you, or say you have an allergy—" Jeremy starts to suggest, but Victor shakes his head. "NASA and, by extension, ESA know about all of our allergies, plus they ran extra allergy tests before our mission." Jeremy frowns, but it's clear he's not ready to give up on the idea just yet. "What if we say—"
This time Reid cuts him off. "We're not obligated to go." Everyone blinks at him. "Aren't we?" Victor says, confused.
"We'll just say we got food poisoning from our lunch when we ate out. Problem solved. Then we can sneak out and get dinner from somewhere Tina picks out." Christina can't help but feel an immense wash of relief upon being presented with a solution.
"Nothing important is ever discussed over mealtimes anyway." Jeremy points out. She can tell that they've all formed an unspoken agreement to do this for her… if she says yes.
"Okay… that sounds really nice actually."
Reid immediately drafts an email to the ESA and NASA administrators that organized the event.
To: Jared Isaacman (CC: Josef Aschbacher and five others)
From: Reid Wiseman
Subject: Absentee notice
Good afternoon administrators,
I regret to inform you that I, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen and Victor Glover are unable to attend the formal dinner this evening. We ate out for lunch today, and I am afraid we have contracted food poisoning. We should be sufficiently recovered by tomorrow, however require your excusal from the events for tonight.
Thank you for your time.
Reid Wiseman - He/him
NASA astronaut (2009 class)
—
As soon as Reid sends the email, they quickly sneak out of the hotel to avoid being ratted out by any of their coworkers who may have seen them in the recreational areas. Christina chooses their restaurant and they spend a pleasant two hours eating outside, just enjoying each other's company.
"We could walk past the Eiffel Tower as the sun sets?" she suggests after they pay. Victor and Reid agree and they head in that direction. Paris is undeniably beautiful and it's even more charming at dusk.
They haven't walked too far from the restaurant when Jeremy speaks up. "Hey, guys…" Christina turns to him with a frown, not liking his anxious tone. "Can we actually head back to the hotel? I need to use the bathroom," he murmurs, his voice shaking slightly as he stares resolutely at the stone floor, avoiding meeting her gaze.
"Oh, yeah, sure. We can see the Eiffel Tower from our windows anyway," Reid says, pulling out his phone to check their location on the maps app. As the crew had quickly discovered, public bathrooms in France are pretty much unheard of, and even then, they're not usually the picture of hygeine and tidiness. So, the only clean bathrooms they really have access to on this trip are the ones in their hotel.
Reid leads the way, and Christina doesn't think much of Jeremy's hesitant request at first. She continues admiring the pretty buildings and fresh evening air until she begins to pick up on how unsettled he seems. They're walking side by side, with Victor and Reid in front, leading the way. She's the only one who can see him.
She makes eye contact with him and mouths an annunciated, ‘You okay?’ Jeremy gives her a quick nod and a clearly forced smile in return. She narrows her eyes, but decides not to press further… for now.
—
"Oh, hey, you guys!" Jessica says as soon as they open the doors to the hotel room. Shit. They must be on some sort of break, Christina thinks, feeling like their cover has been blown. "I thought you were sick…" she says with genuine confusion.
"We-" Christina starts trying to come up with an excuse, but Jeremy's got it covered. "We are…" he gasps before almost sprinting in the direction of the elevator with a hand over his mouth.
"Yeah-" Christina says, looking from Jessica to her fellow crewmates before rushing after Jeremy. She finds him repeatedly pushing the button for the elevator, sweat beading his forehead. "Are you alright?" she asks, pulling his hand away from the button.
"Uh-" the elevator doors slide open and he wastes no time claiming one of the corners and gripping the handrail like it's a lifeline. Christina holds the door for Reid and Victor. "Christina," Jeremy hisses desperately.
"Just…" Victor and Reid walk in, immediately picking up on how unusually Jeremy is behaving. "You can drop the act," Reid jokes as the doors slide shut.
As the lift lurches upwards, Jeremy squeezes his eyes shut. "Yeah, I'm not so sure he's acting…" Christina responds, watching him with concern. "You alright, Jere?" Reid asks, furrowing his brow. "Hmmm…" the doors open and he swipes the keycard to their room from Christina's hand, before booking it down the hallway.
"I'm gonna go with no…" Victor says, pursing his lips. "I'll go check on him," Christina says, stepping into the hallway.
"You sure? Seems like it might be a stomach thing…" Reid says, pulling the keycard for his and Victor's room out of his wallet. "He's my roommate. We'll be okay," she says with a smile.
She finds their room door wide open, but the bathroom is firmly shut. She closes and locks the main door behind her, before quietly trying the bathroom door. It's not locked, but she doesn't open it.
The walls are fairly sound proof so she texts him, hoping he has his phone with him.
Today 19:45 - Christina Koch (to Jeremy Hansen)
Are you okay? 🙁
She doesn't get a response so she decides to give him some time, sitting by the window and scrolling on her phone. When she doesn't hear anything after fifteen minutes she sighs and walks up to the bathroom door. She firmly knocks before calling, "Jeremy? Are you alive?"
"Yeah…" Comes the timid response. "You okay, buddy?" she asks sympathetically. "Not feeling too hot…" he admits hesitantly.
"Can you text me?" She's tired of yelling through the door. Her phone dings in her hand.
19:53 - Jeremy Hansen
I've been better
He responds to her question from earlier.
19:53 - Christina Koch
What's going on?
19:54 - Jeremy Hansen
I don't want to talk about it…
She winces… she has an idea as to what that could mean. She types out another message, but before she can click send, she hears harsh retching on the other side of the door.
"Jeremy?" she calls anxiously. "I'm okay…" he groans, but quickly follows up with another heave. She sends her original message, figuring it's still relevant.
19:56 - Christina Koch
Do you need anything?
It takes him a few minutes to respond. In that time, she drafts a few messages to Reid, but ultimately deletes all of them.
19:59 - Jeremy Hansen
Maybe some water? And medicine?
Also… I know you don't want to hear this
But I felt fine all day
I think it's probably food poisoning
I'm sorry Nana
She bites her lip, trying not to succumb to the panic mounting in her chest. Deep breaths, Christina, you had different dishes…
20:00 - Christina Koch
You don't need to apologize for being sick, buddy
Okay, I'm gonna go talk to Reid and Victor
If you need me, just text
Leaving the room feels so nice; like part of the weight is lifted off her shoulders. She feels guilty for feeling that way, but it's the truth.
She knocks on Victor and Reid's door and Reid answers it a few seconds later. "He's sick?" Reid asks immediately, though it sounds less like a question than a statement. "Y-yeah…" she stutters, surprised by his assuredness. "How did you know?"
To be fair, Jeremy did look like shit before he shut himself in the bathroom, but she gets the impression there's another reason Reid asked.
He moves to the side, allowing Christina to see into their room. "Ike's not feeling great…" he gestures towards where Victor is lying on his bed, facing away from them. Christina winces, fighting back tears.
"Jeremy said he thinks it's food poisoning." Christina says, keeping her eyes focused on something non-existent in the distance. If she makes eye contact with Reid, she's worried she might burst into tears. She was wrong last night: that wasn't her worst nightmare. This is.
"That tracks…" Reid says with a sigh. Even though she feels like she's doing a pretty good job of supressing her emotions, Reid still picks up on the undertones of distress in her voice and posture. He immediately goes into commander mode, for which Christina is extremely grateful. She doesn't think she has it in her to formulate a plan of action whilst her mind is whirring like this.
"Alright, since we're both feeling okay right now… you are feeling okay, right?" She nods, but still can't bring herself to meet his eyes. "Let's go downstairs and ask for the key to the door that connects our rooms. That way we can all take care of each other." She loves that idea— and the prospect of not having to be in the vicinity of their suite— so she agrees.
"Jeremy also requested medicine, did we bring any?" Christina actually does have some anti-emetics that she snuck in with her carry-on, but if she's getting food poisoning today, she is not sharing.
Reid thinks for a minute, "I don't think so… I'll ask around, but if not, we can probably find a pharmacy." Reid says, pulling out his phone to send a quick text to the biggest group chat of astronauts he can find, asking if anyone has any medication that could be useful.
He gets multiple texts offering different medications within five minutes. "Okay, we have options…" Christina pulls out her phone to look at the different messages.
20:10 - Anne McClain
I don't have anything, but I'm willing to run to a pharmacy for you guys!
20:10 - Jessica Meir
I brought some illegal Pepto Bismol
20:11 - Andre Douglas
I believe I have a few Imodium pills
20:12 - Sophie Adenot (replying to Anne McClain)
I can help with that!
20:12 - Jack Hathaway
I don't have medication, but I can run to a store and find some sports drinks and crackers
20:13 - Christina Koch (replying to Jack Hathaway)
That would be very helpful!
She's a little bit overwhelmed by all the other messages. She has no idea what Jeremy wants and she's already got herself covered.
Reid walks back into the room to let Victor know where they're going and to grab their keycard. "Alright, you ready?" he asks her when he returns to the door. She nods and they head for the elevators.
"Do you think the food poisoning is from the food we had last night or what we ate for dinner?" Christina asks, fighting the urge to dig her nails into her palms as the obsessive thoughts get the best of her. She needs to know exactly where she went wrong.
"Not sure… I guess we'll see if anyone else gets sick." Reid responds, pressing the button on the elevator. She sighs, and can't help but wish for a more immediate answer.
"Very convenient for Jeremy to get sick first…" Reid mutters under his breath as he begins to pull up Google Translate. "Maybe they'll speak English…" Christina says optimistically.
The elevator doors open and Christina immediately feels overwhelmed by the amount of astronauts in the lobby. "I guess the meeting just let out…" Christina comments, hesitantly stepping out.
"Are you guys okay? What can we do for you?" Sophie asks. She has no idea where Anne and Sophie came from, but they're suddenly directly in front of them. "Uh… we're alive…" Reid says with a breathy laugh.
"Why are you down here? You should be resting!" Anne exclaims. "Jeremy and Victor are worse off… we need to get the key to the door that connects our rooms." Reid exclaims and Christina is grateful that he's doing all the talking for her. Once again, the combination of rumination and over stimulation is inhibiting her ability to formulate coherent thoughts, let alone verbal sentences.
"Okay, we can take care of that!" Sophie says, ushering them towards the front desk. Anne shoos everyone else away when they try to crowd them.
"Ils aimeraient avoir la clé qui relie leurs chambres.""They would like to have the key that connects their rooms." Sophie tells the attendant. "Quels sont leurs numéros de chambre ?""What are their room numbers?" they respond, pulling something up on their computer.
"What are your room numbers?" Sophie translates for them. "315 and 316," Reid replies, unsure of whether to look at Sophie or the person at the front desk when he speaks. How big is eye-contact in French culture, anyway?
"Trois quinze et trois seize,""Three fifteen and three sixteen," Sophie says with a nod. "Quels sont vos noms ?""What are your names?"
"Reid Wiseman et Christina Koch,""Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch," Sophie doesn't bother translating the question, she just answers for them. "Très bien, je vous l'apporterai sous peu,""Very well, I will bring it to you shortly," they say before disappearing into another room.
"They're going to get it for you," Sophie says before getting roped into a conversation with someone else. Christina will have to make sure to thank her later.
A few minutes later, they get two keys for what they hope is the connecting door. Sophie's gone so they can't translate what the attendant says, but it doesn't sound like a question. "Merci,""Thank you," Christina says, taking the keys from them.
"De rien,""It's nothing," Christina winces and prays that just means 'you're welcome' or something along those lines as they walk away. "Don't worry about the medication, we'll figure it out and put together a little basket for you," Anne says, walking them back to the elevators.
"Thank you… that's so sweet," Christina says with a grateful smile. "Of course, if you guys need anything else, let us know!"
—
When they return, Victor is no longer in Reid's room. "Well, let's see if they gave us the right key…" Reid says, pulling the new card from his pocket and swiping it through the lock. The door clicks and swings open. "Yay…" Reid says quietly, which makes Christina smile.
They find Victor and Jeremy sprawled out on Jeremy's bed (which also happens to be right next to the bathroom). Victor lifts his head when he hears them open the door.
"Please tell me you have meds…" Jeremy groans into the pillow. "Not yet, we're working on it…" Christina says with a wince. "I miss air conditioning…" Jeremy whines.
"I second that…" Victor says with a sigh. "Oh… ugh," Jeremy rolls over and vomits into a disposable grocery bag. Victor rubs his back and makes sure he doesn't choke since he's still laying down.
When Jeremy settles back down, Christina tentatively asks, "You guys gonna be okay? Anything we can do?" Victor looks at Jeremy, but he doesn't say anything.
"We'll be fine… other than medicine and electrolytes, I don't think there's anything else we need." Christina nods. "We've got that covered," she reassures them both, "Just hold out for a bit."
"Should you and Christina switch rooms for the night then?" Reid asks, getting the impression that Victor doesn't plan on moving, and knowing that Christina would rather not share a room with two sick people.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that," Victor agrees, but makes no effort to move from his spot. "I can switch our things out?" Christina offers, unsure of what else she can do until their friends bring them supplies. "Just the essentials."
She has no idea what that means to him, but she does her best to follow his instructions, grabbing everything she knows she'll need and what she thinks Victor would need and swaps them out.
"Text us if you need anything?" Reid says, hand on the connecting door. Victor and Jeremy both give a weak thumbs up, and he closes it.
"I'll take Victor's bed," Reid says immediately. Christina furrows her brow. Why wouldn't he just keep his bed?
There are a million reasons why Reid's bed is preferable to her. It's closer to the bathroom in case she does end up getting sick. Plus, if this isn't food poisoning and it's a stomach bug instead, there should be way less germs on Reid's bed.
But how could he know her line of thinking without being a mind reader? Granted, there is the possibility that he always wanted Victor's bed since it's by the window— okay, she is overthinking this way too much. It's just a bed.
Still, she can't help but ask, "Why?"
"I know you," he responds simply, moving his things over. She stands there frozen in place for a minute.
I know you.
—
Within an hour, Andre arrives at Reid and Christina's door with a basket of stomach-sick essentials. "Wow, this is…" Christina says, her mouth agape. "Thank you… I don't even know what to say… We would have been…" she trails off, overwhelmed by gratitude.
"It's no trouble, you've got a million friends in this building— we all love you guys. Besides, you've gotta get better before the party on Thursday!" he says enthusiastically as he hands Christina the basket.
"Are Jeremy and Victor doing okay?" he asks, looking past them into the room to try and see if either of them are there. "They're suffering, but they'll live…" Reid says with a slight laugh.
"Let us know if you need anything else, okay? Even if that 'anything else' involves handling bodily fluids. There are a few doctors here so you know they won't mind."
Christina nods and thanks him, despite knowing that she is very unlikely to take him up on that offer. Andre leaves and they open the connecting door to check on Jeremy and Victor.
This time, Jeremy is alone on the bed and Victor is presumably in the bathroom. "Oh my God, are you guys guardian angels?" He asks, immediately perking up when he sees the basket. "Actually… everyone downstairs is. Not sure if you saw the group thread, but they put this together for us." Christina responds with a smile, setting the basket on the foot of the bed.
She digs through the medications, but all the labels are in French. "Take your pick, if you can read them," she says, setting the bottles of medication on the bed as if they're candy.
She can see Reid already pulling out Google translate again. Jeremy reads them all before deciding on one. He takes two with a swig of water. "I also want both of you to try and drink one of these each," she says, pointing to the selection of electrolyte drinks.
"Yes, Nana…" Jeremy says dramatically. He selects a berry flavored one and Christina puts half of the rest of them in the mini fridge. "Not sure how we should split the medication…" Christina thinks aloud.
"I have a pill container in my bag, put a few of each in the compartments and I'll label them." Jeremy assures her, taking a sip of the cool, pink-colored drink.
"You seem to be feeling a little better?" Christina says optimistically. "It comes in waves…" he replies with a sigh. "I see…"
She puts a few pills into each compartment as he instructed her to do, and she watches him carefully label them in English— names, and functions— to make sure he doesn't forget.
"Need anything else?" Reid asks before they leave.
"No, this is perfect," Jeremy says with a quick smile. "Is Victor okay?" Christina asks, glancing towards the closed bathroom door.
"Ike! You okay?" Jeremy yells, turning towards the wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the living space. "Yeah!" Victor yells back.
"Tina and Reid brought treats!" Christina smiles, holding back a laugh as they yell back and forth. "Not sure we're up for treats right now…"
"Not those kinds of treats!" Jeremy rolls his eyes, turning back to them. "He's fine," he tells them calmly as if they didn't just witness that entire interaction. Reid and Christina chuckle before retreating back to their room.
—
The rest of the evening goes surprisingly smoothly. Reid knows Christina well enough to know that she needs distractions or else she's going to perseverate on the illness surrounding her until she actually makes herself sick.
They play a card game, watch a movie, and he also makes sure to occupy her with conversation. The only times he lets her think about what's going on in the room beside them is when they occasionally check on Victor and Jeremy.
After hour two, they're both sound asleep. That doesn't stop Christina and Reid from checking on them before they go to sleep themselves. They're still conked out with no sign of waking. Victor's on what used to be Christina's bed and Jeremy is in his own.
There are emesis bags (courtesy of Sophie) within reach of both of them in case they wake up feeling nauseous, and they can see that they've both drank a decent proportion of their electrolytes. Christina shuts the door gently with a smile.
They settle into their own beds and Reid turns to face Christina. "All good?" he asks her. She nods and gives him a thumbs up before shutting her eyes.
He tries to stay awake until she falls asleep so he's there if she panics, but he's a lot more exhausted than he realized. He falls asleep within minutes.
—
Christina lies awake, staring at the window, then at the ceiling, then at the wall, then refocusing on the window. She tries not to think about the possibility of getting food poisoning, but she can't help it. She scans her body and she swears she can feel that something's wrong. She just can't pinpoint it.
"Reid…" she whispers, trying to seek reassurance. "Reid," she repeats, a little louder this time. The only response she gets is a soft snore.
She sighs heavily and turns inward. You're okay, you're just anxious. You're not sick and even if you were, you're not alone, there are people who can take care of you. It's okay…
Her eyes slip shut for just a minute… that minute turns into three hours.
—
She wakes with a jolt of anxiety. She's not sure if it was because of one of those weird falling dreams or some external factor. She takes a deep breath.
She's sweating heavily. That could just be because it's an early summer night in a Paris hotel with no AC. Nothing to worry about. She shivers. Okay, that's weird… but it's just anxiety, surely.
Nothing else is wrong… but then her stomach swoops uneasily. "Okay," she whispers, turning to the side.
Reid's bed is empty. "Oh…" her heart rate picks up. Maybe he just needed to use the bathroom? Harsh vomiting sounds are muffled by the wall, but it's definitely still noticeable. "Oh no…" she whispers, her voice shaking.
She wants to stay in bed, maybe hide under the covers like a child… but that would only cause her to sit in her mounting panic. And that would only make things worse. At least if she gets up and goes into the bathroom, she's facing it head-on and putting her energy into something useful.
She throws the covers back and grabs an electrolyte drink from their fridge before slowly pushing the door open. "Reid?" He's kneeling in front of the toilet, looking ten times paler than he had earlier.
"I'm okay…" he tells her, sparing a quick glance before ducking his head back in the toilet to vomit again. She drops to her knees beside him, setting the drink down and rubbing his back.
"Breathe…" she soothes as he coughs after the initial heaves. "Ugh…" he sighs, wiping sweat from his brow. She reaches around him to flush the toilet, using all of her will-power to avoid catching a glimpse of the contents being washed away.
She sits back, and tunes into her body for a moment. The anxiety is fading, but something else is rising to the surface. It's not something she wants to acknowledge, however, she's rapidly realizing that she no longer has a choice.
"Are you done?" she asks, her voice wavering slightly.
"For now…"
"Cool," she nods, "Move over." He looks up at her with confusion before it starts to click. He scrambles to the side and she quickly takes his place, doubling over with a scarily productive heave.
Reid quickly grabs her hair and pulls it away from her face. "I'm so sorry, Tina…" he murmurs, rubbing her back as she vomits. "I'll be fine…" she chokes out before vomiting again.
A minute later she finally reaches what she's confident is an actual reprieve. "Meds…" she mutters, grabbing toilet paper to wipe her mouth before flushing the toilet again.
"Yea, I'll grab them," Reid says, standing slowly and swaying momentarily. "I have zofran in my toiletries bag…" she says before he can leave the bathroom.
"You had zofran and you didn't tell us?" Reid says, acting incredibly offended."I love you guys… but I need all my prescription anti-emetics," she explains, sitting back against the bathroom wall. "Fair…" Reid says with a sigh.
They find a note at the bottom of the basket with English translations and explanations for what all the French medications do. "Oh my God, Sophie is a life saver…" Reid says when he finds it.
He hands her the zofran from her bag, doses them out with a few of the other meds, and grabs an electrolyte drink for Christina. "Do you want to go back to bed?" he asks her, despite already settling down across from her on the bathroom floor.
"No… I don't feel well enough to move from here yet…" she says, closing her eyes as she leans back, taking a sip from her strawberry flavored drink. "Okay… we'll stay here, then."
—
When Jeremy wakes up, he feels surprisingly well given the evening he had. He slept through the night and it seems like Victor did too, given he's still asleep in the other bed. The only thing that is noticeably worse today is the amount of sweat soaked through his clothes. He really needs to shower…
He gets up to do just that, making sure to leave the door cracked open just in case Victor needs to use the bathroom while he's inside
When he's done, Victor's awake, sitting upright in bed and scrolling on his phone. "How are you feeling?" Jeremy asks, still drying his hair with a small towel.
"Much better actually, you?" Victor says, putting his phone down. "Same, I almost feel completely fine… it's kinda weird…" he says with a laugh.
"We should check on Reid and Tina. They haven't responded to my texts…" Victor says after a moment. Shit. He didn't even think of them. They seemed completely fine when they last saw them, but if they both got sick in the night…
They knock on the connecting door and receive no answer. Victor uses his key to open it, and Jeremy's slight panic increases upon finding that neither of them are in their beds.
They race to the bathroom, pushing the door open without bothering to knock. Jeremy already has a million worst case scenarios running through his head. Most of them involve one or both of them being dead. But mercifully, none of those awful scenes greet them.
Reid is slumped against the wall, his eyes closed and head tilted back. Christina's head is in his lap, but otherwise she's completely horizontal on the floor. It's clear that they're not dead or dying, just sleeping peacefully in each other's company after what he assumes was a long night.
Victor takes a picture, but doesn't immediately share it to anyone. "Reid… Tina…" Jeremy murmurs gently, crouching down next to them. Reid stirs first, lifting his head. He sees the sunlight coming in from behind them. "S'it morning?" he asks, looking up at his crewmates with wide eyes.
"Yeah… you guys survived the night," Jeremy says with a smile. Christina stirs in Reid's lap, panicking slightly when she wakes up. "Reid?" she asks anxiously. "I'm right here… we're okay. You're safe," Reid assures her.
She catches Jeremy and Victor in her peripheral vision and shifts so she can see them better. "Do you guys need something? Are you okay?" she asks, rubbing her eyes. Jeremy's heart melts a little at that. Her worst fears have clearly come to fruition, yet her immediate concerns are about her crew.
"No, we're okay. What about you guys?" Victor responds, stepping closer. "I think… I would like to sleep all day…" Christina says with a drawn out sigh. "Do you think that maybe starts with getting you settled in an actual bed?"
"Oh, but Reid's so comfy…" Christina whines jokingly, even as she accepts Jeremy's hand to pull her up.
They get Christina, then Reid settled into their respective beds. Reid immediately falls asleep, but Christina's not quite there yet.
Victor and Jeremy make to leave after ensuring Reid and Christina have everything they need.
"Jeremy?" There's a part of Christina that worries that like Reid last night, he won't hear her.
"Yeah?" He pauses in the doorway. "I… can you stay with me?" She almost bites her words, but she decides to stick up for herself, remembering their conversation from the other day (although it feels as though years have passed since then).
"Of course," he says, leaving the connecting door open.
He sits on the edge of her bed. "Do you need anything specific or just don't want to be alone?" he asks, watching her snuggle further into the blankets.
"I just… need someone here…" to tell me it's gonna be okay. "Okay, I can be here," he says with a smile. Christina shifts over slightly so he can sit comfortably beside her.
She closes her eyes, trying to fall back asleep. After a few minutes of silence, which quickly eventuates into spiraling, she tentatively asks, "Jeremy?"
"Right here," he responds immediately. "I'm scared… it's over right? We're gonna be okay?" she asks anxiously, a slight tremor in her voice.
"Don't be scared… it's over for me so I imagine you're in the tail end of it now and-"
"Jeremy. Just say yes," she cuts him off, opening her eyes just to give him a pointed look.
Jeremy wraps an arm around Christina and pulls her into his side. "Yes, Nana. We're gonna be just fine."