Work Text:
"Come on, Tina…" She's currently wandering down the driveway, but Reid kind of needs her to go inside. "I saw a lightning bug!" she calls, her voice full of awe. "I haven't seen one in so long…"
Reid shares a tired glance with Jeremy who laughs and follows Christina down the driveway. "How much did you drink again?" he asks, gently grabbing her wrist.
"A fun amount," she informs him with an over-exaggerated nod. "Okay," he says with a laugh, guiding her to the front door. She stumbles to the side, "Whoops…" she slurs, waving her arms wildly as she tries to regain her balance.
"I got you…" Jeremy says, stabilizing her by gently grabbing her arm this time. "Thank you…" she sings as Reid rings the doorbell.
Bobby answers the door quickly. "Oh man…" he says when he sees how drunk Christina is. "Hi…" she murmurs, blushing shyly as though she is a teenager talking to her crush for the first time.
"Hello, my love…" he says, helping her over the threshold of their doorway as Jeremy hands her off. "I had such a good time…" she says with a content sigh. "I'm glad!"
He turns to Jeremy and Reid, "Thank you for getting her home, I really appreciate it," he says with a smile, holding on to the doorframe with one hand. "Of course!"
"Have a good night!" Reid says, turning to leave. "No!" Christina exclaims suddenly. "What's wrong?" Bobby asks, watching her go from giddy to distraught in a matter of seconds. "Don't leave," she tells Reid and Jeremy with a frown.
"Oh, Tina… it's late, they need to go home," she shakes her head insistently. "We'll see you tomorrow?" Jeremy offers. Her lip quivers and he can see that she's on the verge of tears. "It's okay, don't cry—"
"I just love you guys so much! And I've missed you so much recently, Jeremy's always in Canada and Reid-" she sobs. Bobby pulls her closer, rubbing a hand up and down her arm.
"Okay… we will…" Jeremy looks between Reid and Bobby to make sure it's okay before he promises her anything. Bobby and Reid both silently nod. "We'll stay… until you fall asleep?" Christina nods; the tears disappear and the smile returns instantly.
"Yay! Well, come on then… you're gonna get cold!" she says happily, pulling Jeremy into the house and motioning for Reid to follow. (No one mentions that it's literally 88 degrees outside).
—
"Okay…" Reid says, entering the bedroom with a glass of water. "This is so fun… it's like a slumber party!" she says, looking between all three of them with a huge smile on her face. Reid tries to pass her the glass, and she turns her head away from it stubbornly.
"Tina… you need to drink some water," Bobby says and Reid agrees. She rolls her eyes and finally takes a few small sips. "Good job…" Bobby praises, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she sings again.
"Okay. I'm bored. I need to be entertained," Christina announces, looking between Jeremy and Reid expectantly. "What? Are we your jesters now?" Reid jokes sarcastically.
"For the evening…" she says in a British accent. "Woah, that's actually really good. Have you always been able to do that?" Jeremy asks, legitimately impressed. She shrugs but quickly moves on. "Okay, story time, please." She folds her hands in her lap.
"Uh…" Jeremy looks to Reid, trying to come up with something she hasn't heard before. Reid smirks and Jeremy can tell exactly what story he has in mind by the scheming look on his face alone. "No… no, no… you promised me you'd never tell anyone about that!" Jeremy exclaims, covering his face.
"Aw, come on… it was almost 20 years ago, and she's probably too drunk to remember anyways." He glances at Christina to make sure she doesn't take offense, but she's too intrigued to be upset.
"And what about Bobby?" Jeremy asks, looking over to where Bobby's laying next to her, he just waves. "Ahh, he won't say anything," Reid dismisses. "Where's your proof of that?!"
"As much as I love watching you guys argue," Christina speaks up, "I'd like to hear the embarrassing story before I do fall asleep and forget about it in the morning." It's the most sober she's sounded all evening which makes Jeremy even more nervous about this.
"Can we like sign a contract or something?" he asks anxiously. "If you really don't want me to tell it, that's okay… but it's really not as embarrassing as you think it is," Reid responds sincerely and Jeremy considers it for a few seconds before giving in.
"Alright fine…" Christina and Reid both cheer at the same time. "Okay so… it was 2009 and we were getting all of our medical checks done, and Jeremy had to have a special evaluation because of frequent concussions," Reid begins to explain. "Essentially, they were worried about his brain and needed to make sure it was functioning properly," he summarizes, sensing boredom from both Bobby and Christina.
"So he needed to have a functional MRI with contrast."
—
Today 09:46 - Jeremy Hansen (to Reid Wiseman)
Can I ask you something really random and probably a little bit weird considering we just met two months ago…?
10:13 - Reid Wiseman
Shoot!
10:14 - Jeremy Hansen
You can say no, I'd totally understand
10:14 - Reid Wiseman
Ask me the question first haha
10:15 - Jeremy Hansen
Okay so Catherine can't make it, obviously I wouldn't be asking you this if she could
But I need to have an MRI for the medical checks and I need someone to go with me
Can you?
Again, I'm so sorry if this is overstepping bounds or anything
10:16 - Reid Wiseman
Slow down, you're not overstepping
When is the appointment?
10:16 - Jeremy Hansen
Friday at 10:30am
10:17 - Reid Wiseman
Yeah, I can go with you!
10:17 - Jeremy Hansen
Oh my God, thank you so much, I'm so sorry for having to ask, but you really are my last option
I don't have a lot of friends in Houston, or even America, yet so I really appreciate it and I'm so sorry
10:18 - Reid Wiseman
You say sorry a lot
I swear it's alright!
—
"He does say sorry a lot." Christina agrees, interrupting the story. "He was even worse back then." Reid says with a laugh and Jeremy rolls his eyes.
"Anyways! I was sitting in the waiting room with him and he was an anxious wreck."
"I…" Jeremy can't even dispute that.
—
"Are you okay? You seem unsettled…" Reid said with a slight laugh. "Just…" Jeremy took a shaky inhale, shifting slightly in his seat. "I hate these kinds of things," he admitted after a few seconds.
"MRIs? Or hospital waiting rooms?" Reid tried to joke, but it became clear quickly that Jeremy was way past the point of being receptive to jokes. "Both…" He put his head in his hands.
"Okay…" Jeremy was clearly freaking out. Reid put a hand on his back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "I um… I have a prescription of Xanax for this exact situation, but I'm too scared to take it," he told Reid, pulling out an ominous ziplock bag containing a few loose pills.
"Well, it seems like it might help," Reid said, feeling slightly helpless. "I just… I'm kind of… a hot mess when I'm even slightly high…" He had no idea what he meant by that.
"Is that worse than having a panic attack?" Reid highly doubted it, but he wanted Jeremy to hear the question directly so he could weigh his options. Reid knew firsthand that when you're already nervous, it can be hard to make informed decisions without a little help.
"Having a panic attack is probably worse…" Jeremy sighed and reluctantly took one. Ten minutes later, he was still feeling the same way. "It's not helping…" He took another and Reid winced, wondering how much the prescription was actually for. "Are you supposed to take that much?"
"It's fine, it's not a dangerous dosage… my wife is a doctor." Reid had no idea why Jeremy told him that, he had already met Catherine… then he started to realize that the Xanax may have been working better than Jeremy thought.
—
"Oh my God, if high Jeremy is anything close to drunk Jeremy, I am so excited to see where this is going!" Christina says with a giggle. "They might as well be one and the same," Reid tells her with a smile.
"Yes! Oh my goodness! How have I never heard this story before?" Christina asks, pulling Bobby closer to her so she can lean into his side.
"I have tried very hard to keep it buried…" Jeremy says with a sigh.
—
"Is this your…?" The technician asked when they walked into the room with the MRI. "Friend. Future coworker… current coworker?" Jeremy kept talking even though the first word would have sufficed. "Alright… well, friend/co-worker future and present, you can take a seat behind the glass."
Jeremy caught Reid's hand when he turned to leave. "I'm scared…" he whispered and Reid pursed his lips sympathetically. "You're gonna be fine. Just play your favorite songs over and over in your head." He gave his shoulder a final, reassuring squeeze before leaving as instructed.
—
"The MRI itself went pretty well-" Reid stops speaking when Jeremy shakes his head. "From my perspective…" He squints at Jeremy. "Pretty sure I cried three separate times…" Jeremy admits with a sigh.
"Aw… you've always had a touch of claustrophobia. Probably because you're so tall," Christina coos, and it's unclear whether she means to be teasing or sympathetic.
"I wouldn't say it's claustrophobia…" Christina and Reid both eye him. "Okay… maybe it is… it's so weird that I can do completely fine in a tiny capsule with three other people, but I guess I also kind of have a thing with medical procedures sometimes…"
"You're married to a doctor." Reid points out with a laugh. "I am a very contradictory person."
Everyone laughs.
—
"Hey! You did it!" Reid said as soon as they were alone in the waiting room again. "Yeah…" Jeremy's voice wasn't right, but he couldn't place it until they were in the car. "Are you-?" Reid looked over to the passenger seat as Jeremy climbed in
"I'm just so glad that it's over…" He buried his head in his hands again. "Hey… you did great, it's all right," Reid assured him, turning the car on so the A/C starts.
"Can we go?" Jeremy was clearly done with the conversation so Reid took the car out of park and maneuvered them through the busy parking lot. "I deserve a reward for that," he announced after a minute of silence.
"Okay," Reid said with a laugh, unsure of what he was thinking.
"Dairy Queen."
Reid raised his eyebrows and eyed Jeremy, "Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong… but aren't you lactose intolerant?" Jeremy shook his head and waved his hand. "Eh, it's fine."
"I…" Reid glanced over at him, but there wasn't anything that indicated that he was joking. "Okay… did you at least bring your wallet?"
"No…" Reid rolled his eyes, but he didn't really have the heart to say no to Jeremy after seeing him so upset. "What do you want from Dairy Queen?"
"I love you so much!" Jeremy blurted out as soon as he asked that question. Reid gasped a little bit in surprise, "Are you just saying that because I'm buying you ice cream?"
"Maybe… also I don't want ice cream. I want a large Oreo milkshake." Reid gasped a second time because he knew that was going to be expensive. He just had to hope that Jeremy would pay him back when he had… for lack of a better term, sobered up.
—
"Does anyone have any guesses about what happened after Jeremy finished his milkshake?" Reid asks teasingly before continuing the story.
"Oh come on… you're just dragging out my pain at this point."
"If it involves vomit, I actually don't want to hear—" Christina starts to sigh and Reid can tell she's getting sleepy. "No vomit…" Jeremy responds.
—
"You're my best friend in the whole entire world," Jeremy said, opening the car door. Reid didn't see another car in the driveway and he was a little worried about Jeremy being on his own in this state, so he followed him to the front door.
"We just met a few months ago… shouldn't your wife be your best friend?" Reid said, watching Jeremy fumble with his keys and the milkshake cup that he insisted wasn't completely empty.
"She's different. Although she is amazing… have you seen her? She's gorgeous." That felt like a trap… There wasn't really a good answer to that question, but Reid did his best. "I have met her. She's very lovely." He shrugged, taking the keys from Jeremy. "Hmmm…"
"Here you go…" Reid said when he finally got the door open. Jeremy stepped inside, slurping from the empty bottom of the Dairy Queen cup. "Well, anyway… thank you for this… and whatever." This seemed like Jeremy's way of saying goodbye, but Reid was still not confident in his ability to be alone like this.
"You're welcome… and whatever," he echoed with a laugh, "Is Catherine out of the country or just at work?" Reid asked, looking around the house.
"She's at work… she'll be home this afternoon," he said, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. "This afternoon as in…" He checked the clock, "In a half an hour or a few hours?" Jeremy shrugged in response.
"Okay…" Reid sighed, mentally deciding to stay until Catherine got home just to make sure he was okay. "Should we do something?" Jeremy furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
"I can't just leave you here…" Reid announced, semi-dramatically. "You could…" Jeremy trailed off, staring at something in the distance. Reid turned to follow his gaze, but there wasn't anything there.
"You alright?" he asked, his humour fading into concern.
"Yeah…" Jeremy visibly tried to shake it off. "It's okay if…" Reid cut himself off when his friend grabbed the counter, his face twisting into a grimace.
"Sorry…" Reid had a slight idea about what might be going on. Jeremy let out a deep groan and took another tentative sip of water. "Who let me have a milkshake?"
Reid clicked his tongue and looked around before responding, "In my defense… I warned you it wasn't a good idea." He raised his hands guiltily.
"You have to push back harder when I'm high! I don't listen…" Jeremy groaned, making his way towards the couch. "I will take that into account in the future," Reid promised, following him over.
"Can I get anything for you?" he asked tentatively, watching Jeremy flop down onto the couch and curl into himself. "Heating pad… closet in our room… please hurry…" he groaned, pointing to a door down the hallway. "Alright… I've got it…"
Reid returned with the heating pad, and helped Jeremy position it against his stomach. As he plugged it in, he asked, "Do you have a preferred setting?" Jeremy shook his head.
"Just put it on something, I'll adjust it later…" he murmured into the pillow. Reid quickly did as instructed and settled next to Jeremy on the couch. "Anything else?"
Jeremy shook his head. "Just put up with my whining…" Reid laughed and nodded, "That I can do."
After a few minutes, Jeremy did have a request. "Can you… nevermind." Reid frowned, glancing away from his phone. "What's up?" he inquired.
"It's nothing…"
"It's something…" he pressed gently.
"It's stupid."
"Hmmm… I think what was stupid was drinking a giant milkshake despite knowing you're lactose intolerant."
Jeremy laughed, but it quickly turned into a groan. "Fine… can you… can you just run your fingers through my hair?" Reid smiled, feeling his heart melt. "Sure…" He shuffled closer to Jeremy's curled up form, and slowly threaded his fingers through Jeremy's short hair.
"Better?" he asked, as Jeremy released a contented sigh. "Much… thank you…"
"Anytime."
—
"Aw, that's sweet! It's not embarrassing!" Christina insists as Reid finishes the story.
"What's embarrassing is what Reid had to witness afterwards… That was a very humbling experience." Reid and Jeremy look at one another, deciding to let Christina (and Bobby) draw their own conclusion as to what that means.
"I think I would rather die than be lactose intolerant…" Christina says with a sigh, snuggling down further. "Satisfied with that story?" Reid asks with a smile.
"Very, you're both dismissed." She buries her face in Bobby's shoulder and slowly shifts the rest of her body closer to him. "I see how it is…" Reid says, laughing as he gets up to leave with Jeremy.
"Have a good night, Tina!" Jeremy exclaims right before they shut the bedroom door.
"I can't believe I let you tell her that…" Jeremy sighs as they make their way downstairs. Reid laughs, I can't believe you actually let me tell her that."
"If she remembers this, she will never let me live it down…" Jeremy groans, opening the front door.
"Don't worry… She won't…"