Ezra groaned and tried to throw an arm over his eyes to block the light seeping over his eyes. He couldn’t. He moaned and turned his head, trying to hide his face in the pillow.

The lights dimmed suddenly. Someone was standing over him. He cracked his eyes open tentatively.

"Cherie," he rasped out.

The blonde nurse smiled at him. "Hey, honey. You know where you are?"

"County ‘ospital. I had a’ attack."

She nodded. "Uh-huh. You know your name, what’s wrong with you?"

"Ezra Zipkiyah Fidel. I have Selicitus," he recited a she shone a flashlight in his eyes. He flinched away from the light.

"If you can remember that mouthful, you’re fine."

"Thanks," he said dryly. "It’s not my fault you gave my mum drugs when she had to name me."

"One, I was in diapers when your mom gave birth. Two, she asked for the painkillers."

Ezra sighed. "Yeah, yeah, when can I leave?"

"In about a month."

"Cherie," he whined.

"No. Look, you get in trouble when you’re not in the hospital. You don’t eat right, you don’t sleep enough, and you don’t drink enough water. It’s bad enough when your disease isn’t acting up, but you just can’t do it right now. You’ll faint again and die in some cold alley."

"Will not," he snapped. "I was on my way to food when I passed out."

"Too bad. For a month, you’re stuck."

"You can’t keep me here."

"Can too."

"No, actually you really can’t."

Both Ezra and Cherie glanced up at the new voice.

Doctor Osmond smiled at them. "Sorry, Cherie. We can’t keep Ezra here, only strongly recommend it."

"I’ll take it under advisement. When can I go?"

Doctor Osmond sighed. "Today. In a couple hours. Just, remember to eat sometimes. And don’t live off coffee and alcohol; it’s bad for you."

Ezra saluted him and turned his eyes to the ceiling before turning suddenly. Osmond was walking out the door. "Did either of you call-"

Cherie shook her head. "No. He’ll be notified shortly though."

Ezra sat up, hands going to the IV in his arm.

Cherie grabbed them. "He’s in Chicago. You can stay a couple hours."

"Oh. How long was I out?"

"It’s ten in the morning."

"Shit," spat Ezra.

Cherie patted his hand. "It’s not as bad as it could be. Just go home, rest. Eat something."

Ezra nodded.

"We just want to make sure you’re stable, so just relax for awhile, okay?"

Ezra nodded and leaned back.

Cherie smiled at him again and left, wandering out of the room.

Ezra sighed and focused on the wall, picking out patterns on the speckled wall paper. "Ooh, a bunny," he muttered.

--

Ezra fumbled with the hotel key, messenger bag clutched in his hand. The lock finally beeped and flashed green. Ezra shoved it open.

Cold blue eyes confronted him.

Ezra jumped back, stumbling against the opposite wall.

Rylan glared at him. "Where the fuck have you been?"

Ezra glared back, gathering himself. "None of your business. Why are you here?"

Rylan jabbed a handful of papers in his face. "Getting your ass moving."

Ezra glanced at them and reached into his messenger bag. "Too late, sweet cheeks." He pulled out an identical stack of papers. "Mine even has the first page filled in."

Rylan glared at him. "Where have you been?"

"Once again, none of your business," muttered Ezra. "Now, was there anything you wanted? Or are you just here to bug me?"

Rylan bristled. He grabbed Ezra’s wrist and was about to do… something, but he glanced at Ezra’s wrist and the wristband there. "Hospital? Why were you at the hospital?"

Ezra tugged his wrist, trying to get it free. "No reason."

Rylan glared. "You sick or something?"

"Nothing to worry about," Ezra snapped.

Rylan glared. "Obviously something is. People don’t go to the hospital for nothing. If you’re gonna die, I want to know. Less paperwork."

Ezra snorted. "I’m not going to die." He paused for a moment before answering Rylan’s earlier question. Maybe it would go faster. "It’s just a little flu thing, ‘kay? I was at the hospital because I fainted."

"Why’d you faint?"

"Lack of food. I hadn’t eaten since before I met Dimitri."

Rylan blinked at him. "Fae can go without food for awhile."

"Yeah, well, I’m not a fucking faerie," snapped Ezra.

"Yes, you are."

Ezra laughed. "What the fuck are you smoking? I’m not fae."

"With that hair?" Rylan yanked at his hair, pulling a strand of blue and turquoise forward. "Plus, you smell like fae. A mutt, admittedly, but fae."

"Half," snapped Ezra, shaking his hair free. "My dad was a faerie. I never met him, okay?"

"And you need to eat?"

"Yes, I fucking need to eat. And I can get sick too, before you ask that."

Rylan rolled his eyes expressively. "Obviously. With what? Can you really get the flu?"

"Yes, I can."

"So that’s what you have- had?"

"You’re a persistent bastard, aren’t you?" snapped Ezra.

Rylan shoved him against the wall. "If you have an STD, I want to know."

"I don’t have a motherfucking STD, you asshole! Not that you could catch it anyways," Ezra pointed out meditatively, ignoring the grip Rylan had on his shirt. It would piss the man off, but it was worth it.

Sure enough, Rylan pulled him forward just so he could slam him against the wall again. "Look, you little slut, fae can’t catch STDs as far as we know, but this would be a helluva time to learn we actually can, we’re just resistant. So what do you have?"

"Selicitus, okay?" Ezra snapped. "It’s not fucking contagious, so you can just fuck off."

Rylan searched his mind for what that was. He recognized it… "That’s genetic, right?"

Ezra sighed. "Yeah, it’s fucking genetic. Fae and human genes don’t like each other and I end up fucking sick for a couple of months every fucking year or so."

Rylan raised an eyebrow. "Right." He dropped him on the floor.

Ezra didn’t catch himself in time and ended up on his ass.

"In that case," Rylan said, hands on his hips, ignoring Ezra’s pained look. "I don’t really give a shit."

He seemed down right cheerful. Ezra stood, scowling darkly. The bastard. Didn’t this count as domestic abuse or something?

"I’ll give you my number. You can go home, fill out the paperwork and there’s no need for any of us to see you again."

Ezra glared. "Yeah, fine, just give me the damn number."

Rylan rolled his eyes and pulled a business card out of his pocket. "Call when you’re finished."

"Yeah, whatever."

Rylan rolled his eyes and stalked out of the hotel room.

Ezra stayed clinging to the wall as the blonde left before groaning and smacking his head against the wall. Homeless again. And here he had thought he had no pride left. But no, it just had to go and rear its ugly head at the worst possible time.

He groaned again and shoved the card in his pocket before forcing himself straight. His head was spinning. He collapsed on the bed and glanced at the clock. Three hours until checkout. He reached over and turned the alarm on, setting it for the right time. Maybe he should have stayed in the hospital and faced Rick. Sucked it up and stuck it out. Rick could do little or nothing to him anyway- the hospital staff wouldn’t leave them alone, not anymore. It would be when he had to leave that there would be a problem, but he would have a place to crash for like a month.

He was totally screwed if he had to be homeless during an attack. He was weak and fevered and disoriented and completely incapable of living like he usually did. He couldn’t dance, shouldn’t drink, and couldn’t fuck his way into a warm bed and a meal. Not to mention any job he could get without even a high school diploma involved movement which would eventually make him faint. Shit. Not to mention the whole risk of seizures thing.

He sighed and ran a hand though his hair. Maybe he would just go back to the hospital. Or just suck it up and try to keep going. Until he was broke. And passed out again.

Hospital it was.

He sighed and buried his face into the covers. He could have at least a few hours of sleep before submitting himself to the fluorescent, sterile hospital.

--

Rylan ambled into the house. Holly met him at the door, catching his lips in a passionate kiss. He hauled him up to Malachi’s room and pushed him onto the bed. Rylan went willing. Malachi grinned at him. He was naked and lounging on the opposite side of the bed.

"Holly’s in a really good mood now that Dimitri’s back."

Rylan grinned. "I can see that," he said as Holly kneeled between his legs and unbuttoned him.

Malachi grinned back. "Attacked Dimitri first, then me, and it looks like you’re next."

Rylan grinned and pulled Holly up onto his lap before the fire elemental could blow him. "You’ve been busy."

Holly grinned and kissed him again. He still tasted like Malachi’s release.

"Well then, I suppose I’m to be your next conquest."

Holly just nodded, still smiling smugly.

Rylan smirked. He flipped them over, slamming Holly into the mattress. "I’m no one’s conquest." He kissed him brutally, ravaging his mouth, washing away Malachi’s taste and replacing it with his own.

---

Leo smiled at Giovanni and kissed his thigh, the only place he could reach from his position at Giovanni’s feet.

The pale man blushed, but didn’t pull his robe over himself. He dropped down to sit next to Leo, pressing their naked sides together and wrapping his arms around him.

Leo smiled and cuddled the tiny seer closer to him as suddenly stiffened.

Leo glanced down to see Giovanni’s eyes widen and then go glassy as they stared unseeing forward. Leo gently petted his long white hair, too used to Giovanni’s little fits to worry too much.

Soon enough, Giovanni snapped out of the trancelike state he was in.

Leo looked at him, red eyes curious. "What’d you see?"

Giovanni blinked, trying to clear his sight. "A boy at a club. He was convulsing." He blinked again, loosing Leo and raising his hands to rub at his eyes. "The ambulance is going to be too late. I think he cracks his head against the floor."

Leo frowned. "What club? What did he look like? Maybe we can…"

Giovanni frowned back at him, a wrinkle forming between his brows. "We’re not supposed to mess with the natural order of things."

Leo stuck his tongue out, the shiny jewel stuck in it flashing in the dim light cast by the candles Giovanni favored. "Come on, you can’t just let some kid die when you could stop it. You’re going to cave, you might as well do it now, rather than ten minutes from now."

Giovanni smiled reluctantly.

Leo giggled and pecked him on the cheek. "Now come on. What d’ya got?"

"He’s just a kid- a teenager, maybe early twenties. He has shoulder length hair that’s mostly black and blue. I don’t know what club he’s at, but it’s seven thirty-six when it happens."

Leo frowned. "Wait, does the guy have lots of piercings? And black eyes?"

Giovanni nodded, eyes curious. "You know him?"

Leo scowled. "Ezra," he snapped. "That little slut Dimitri picked up from the bar. It sounds like him at least," he tacked on.

"Oh." Giovanni’s voice was neutral.

Leo glanced sharply at him. "We’re not saving him."

Giovanni just looked at him.

"We’re not."

There was a long silence.

"Okay, yeah, we are. Let’s go talk to Dimitri."

Giovanni smiled at him. "You’re a sweetie. Seven thirty-six, remember."

Leo frowned at him, but didn’t say anything as he stood. If Giovanni didn’t want to talk or see his other husbands, it was his business.

He left to find Dimitri.

--

Ezra giggled and cuddled closer to the guy currently feeling him up and buying him drinks. He really shouldn’t be drinking- it did bad things to him when he was having an attack- but it was just too tempting to escape for a bit. Hospital visits brought all his time with Rick back. During his nap, he had dreamt of the man and the beatings he received at his hands. He needed a drink, disease be damned.

He ignored the lurching of the room around him and leaned on the man for support. He had told him his name, but he just didn’t remember. The guy wouldn’t care anyways. He was at Avian tonight- it was not near as nice as Carthusian and the inhabitants weren’t near as classy.

He glanced at the clock. Seven fifteen. He had already been out drinking and dancing for two hours. He really should be leaving and going back to the hospital, but this was just too much fun. Maybe he would just go to the hospital tomorrow.

--

Dimitri hurried into the club, Holly following. He was playing chaperone. Leo had dragged Giovanni down and gotten him to describe the club in great detail. Dimitri was hitting every club that might match the description. He had insisted on going as the only one who even liked Ezra a little. Holly was going to make sure he didn’t disappear for several days. Again.

This was the fourth club they had hit. It was seedy, more of a bar than a dance club, but Holly insisted that it fit the description.

It did, but Dimitri didn’t see Ezra. And the bar wasn’t that big. He glanced around sighed, glancing at the clock on the wall. Seven thirty-four.

"Come on, he’s not here."

When Dimitri didn’t say anything, Holly added gently, "There’s another club that fits the bill a few streets over."

Dimitri sighed and nodded, following him out.

--

Ezra looked up at the man, vision swimming in and out. He ignored it, just as he ignored the shaking in his limbs and the tilting of the world. He couldn’t ignore the sudden shooting pain all along his side.

He stared out, dazed, catching glimpses of feet when his vision cleared for a few moments. "Wha-?" he gasped out. And then his muscles tightened and he began convulsing, limbs thrashing out. His vision went out and the last thing he remembered was a sharp crack as his head hit the ground.