Charlie had waited for hours in the room with Addie before she finally woke up. He wasn't exactly happy with her wanted to exert herself so quickly, but he wasn't going to tell her that he wouldn't help her either. When she reached out though, he did his best to make sure she didn't fall short of breath.

"They are fine. They are with their parents. Gav was crying for a long while, Brigitte made her way downstairs to Oscar. She even tucked you in so you could sleep. She thought you were tired. Probably the Boss' fault for mentioning that."

He shrugged, nothing to be done about that now.

"You should relax though. Doctor thinks you took some bad pills."

He stopped short of saying anything else. Addie was in no state to be lectured to. No doubt she would be tearing herself apart more than he could do very shortly, so instead Charlie decided to gently lay her back down onto the headboard. It would support her physically, Charlie would support her emotionally.

Addie closed her eyes as the guilt began to fall upon her and she laid her head back against the wall.  Softly she spoke, "Billy and Roar are going to kill me."

It was all she could say.  She was the idiot.  She should have sought out a doctor in Detroit and got her needed medication from him.  Instead she had told herself she would do that later when she had more time.  She had told herself that the stuff she got off the street was the same thing that the doctor would give her anyhow.  What an idiot she was to trust a new dealer like that.

"His name is Oliver Allen.  He hangs out in a bar down on 30th and Jackson."

She opened her eyes and look down in shame.  She could not even bring herself to look Charlie in the eyes.  She feared the judgement that had to be there.  How could there not be after the stunt she had just pulled?

"Thank you for staying with me, but I will be alright.  I understand if you want to go."  Addie fought the tears back that threatened to start falling.  Charlie was a good man and he deserved better than her.

Charlie pulled out a pen and a pad, he wrote down the name, and the location Addie had given him and then wrote down a phone number, Billy's. He then reached out and pressed on the button to summon the nurse.

It was only a few seconds before a nurse came in and Charlie handed the paper over to her.

"Call that number, and give Billy Mastrosimone that information please."

The nurse glared at Charlie, but she nodded, she knew better than to cross the man whose name Charlie had just spoken. She certainly didn't like taking orders from a nobody though. Charlie, did not care. He sat back down, and reached out to hold Addie's hand again.

"I'm pretty sure the boss can handle one dealer."

His lip quirked up at the corner of his mouth as he tried to make eye contact with Addie again.

Addie pulled her knees up and she buried her face in them as she began to sob.  Hugging her knees with her left arm, she gripped Charlie's hand tightly with her right hand as if hanging on for dear life.  Through her sobs he can hear her say, "I have completely ruined everything, haven't I?"

Charlie furrowed his brow as he pulled his hand out of hers. He stood then and pulled her into him.

"There is nothing ruined that can't be fixed. I've seen people die from this sort of thing, and I know Billy. Billy is more worried about you than he is mad, so am I. Gavin is too little to know the difference, and Brigitte learned a lesson. What's done is done, but you can fix what needs fixing. First you gotta get better though, you looked pretty bad. Carried you here myself and I could barely feel a pulse. That's not a good sign."

He let her go and sat back down again, leaving his hand on the bed so Addie could still take it if she wanted to.

"One step at a time from here. Step one, let me find out if you can have some water."

He stood up and made his way to the door to ask that very question and cam back a brief moment later with a pitcher of water and a glass.

"Here. Nurse said you might not be thirsty cause you're getting your fluids through the veins, but your mouth might be dry."

As Charlie held her she drew strength and comfort from him and laid her head against his broad shoulder.  She listened to his soft assurances and when he pulled away to sit down again she wiped the wetness from her eyes and face.  By the time he had returned with the pitcher of water she has regained her composure once more.

"Thank you.  It will be nice to get this taste out of my mouth.  Whatever they dosed me with tastes like shit," she chuckled softly.  It was a lousy attempt to ease the tension in the room.  She leaned back tiredly and gratefully accepted the glass of water he poured for her.  "Would you mind getting me a damp cloth to wipe my face?"

Charlie could tell that Addie's breathing was becoming more labored and her body showed signs of her excretion.

Charlie nodded.

"I'll get you something to freshen up with, but you need to lay back down and put the mask back on until I come back. You're starting to get pale again."

He helped Addie to do so without waiting for a reply and then nodded when he was satisfied. He made his way outside to gather a few things and came back in about ten minutes later with a cloth, a shallow bowl and a small kit of makeup that Charlie paid likely twice what it was worth for.

"I thought this might work for you, then again I think the makeup might smudge with the mask, so perhaps not."

Charlie did not realize Addie was sleep until after he had spoken, but she did not struggle in waking back up this time.  She muffled a thank you through the oxygen mask and waited for him to set everything down on a nearby dresser.  The nurse came in with a pitcher of warm water and asked Addie if she wanted some privacy.  It was evident by her glance towards Charlie that the older woman would have quickly hushed him out of the room if her patient wanted it that way.  

Addie shook her head no and the nurse nodded, "Call me if you need any assistance."  She poured the water into the bowl and then left them alone again. 

Charlie dipped the cloth into the warm water and then rung it out before moving back to beside the bed.  He handed the cloth to her, and Addie used it to wipe her face and arms.  When she was done she handed the cloth back to Charlie.  When he offered the makeup to her she shook her head no and reached to pull down her mask.  "I will put some on later.  I just want to sleep again now."  He nodded and sat the kit back down.  

Addie smiled tiredly at Charlie,  "Will you tell me a story?  Maybe something from your past?"

She replaced the mask and settled in to rest again.  

Charlie nodded.

"What story to tell? You know I was on the force before I starter working for Billy?"

He nodded as she shook her head slightly.

"Well I was, for two years. I retired early, but those were some of my best days. I used to walk a beat in Columbus. Everyone knew me, I always got free coffee from a little old lady who owned a coffee shop. I could get meat from the butcher for half price, I could get flowers and groceries and all of the every day stuff just for keeping the place safe. Kids always looked up to me, I used to play ball with them sometimes on my beat you know? Chief always liked that. He knew I was watching the kids at least then instead of letting them get involved in street gangs or the like. So this one kid, Ralphie, he was a real good kid. Damned good pitcher actually. Well, we are playing the one day, and he hits this one kid with a wild pitch. Now the kid he hits is almost twice his size right? Guy charges the mound and I watch as Ralphie start walking toward him and screaming. I would have sworn the big kid was gonna knock Ralphie out, no problem, but he stopped when Ralphie starts yelling at him. Kid looks at me when he's walking back to the plate as if to blame me for being there for him not socking Ralphie. I got tickets to a Pittsburgh Pirates game when Ralphie made his debut there too. Don't remember the call of the game, I'll say that much."

He looked up then and watched as Addie's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He got quiet again then and sat back in his chair reaching out to take her hand. She could hear the rest another day, now she needed sleep.