John and Roger stayed with her the entire night, well, they all did, camped out in the already crowded hospital waiting room until the doctors did their tests and afterwards, they all somehow managed to sneak into Roxy's room.
"How is she?" Brian asks, looking at the machines that are by her bed.
"Waiting for the results. They're letting her sleep it off." Roger mumbles, placing his hand on Alyssa's when she rests hers on his shoulder, "But from what you told them, they think you're right."
John stays quiet, keeping his gaze on Roxanne, who is still sleeping and he keeps her hand held tightly in his own.
He should have been with her, not outside smoking.
"You lot don't have to stay," Roger says, running a hand through his wild hair, "The doctor said she'll probably be out until morning at least."
John shakes his head, pulling his chair closer to the bed, "I'm not going anywhere." He feels Roger's eyes on him, looking up just briefly, "I'm not going."
"Alright," the blonde concedes.
"We're not going either," Mary says softly, "Not until we know she's alright."
And so the six of them settle in for the night; Alyssa and Mary taking the small couch that's pushed up against the wall while Brian and Freddie make themselves comfortable on the floor and it isn't long until someone's speaking again and that someone, is Mary.
"She will be alright, won't she?"
"Yeah," Roger says immediately, looking down at his cousin, "She's going to be fine."
"How did it happen?" Alyssa asks, "I mean, we...no one was on their own for long."
"That's just it," Brian looks at her, "It only takes a second to do it, doesn't it? All someone needs to do is drop it in her glass as she's walking by."
The two women shudder and Fred reaches up a hand to rest on Mary's knee while John continues to keep his focus on Roxanne, tracing little patterns on the back of her hand.
It was going to be a long night.
++|++
They take it in turns sitting with her throughout the night; alternating out of Roger's chair but John stays put. He stays awake, watching as Roxanne occasionally turns over in her sleep but doesn't wake, which Brian says is a good sign because the drugs must be leaving her system if she can move.
Eventually, Mary manages to coax him away from her bedside, telling him that he needs to get some fresh air or possibly something to eat and drink.
"The rest of us are going to pop down to the canteen," she says, looking over her shoulder at Freddie.
"'m not leaving her alone," he mumbles.
"I'm staying," Brian puts a hand on his shoulder, "I've been down. I'll stay, mate."
And so John goes, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead before he does.
He follows after the group as they head outside, digging around in his pockets to find his cigarettes and out the corner of his eye, he sees Alyssa lead Roger a little bit further away from the rest of them, where she wraps her arms around his torso, letting him hide his face in her neck.
He can't imagine how he's feeling right now.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, Brian's halfway through his newspaper when out of the corner of his eye, he sees Roxanne shifting about on the bed.
She stretches her arms above her head, hands moving to rub her face but opens her eyes when she feels something scratch her.
It's a plastic wristband with her name on it. This wasn't her flat. Was she...was she in the hospital? She pushes the blankets that are covering her down, seeing that she's still in her dress from last night but it's got a dark stain all down the front.
It's then that she notices Brian, who had stayed silent so he didn't startle her, "Brian?"
"Hey," he says, leaning forward in the chair, "How are you feeling, love?"
"How am I feeling?" she repeats, starting to push herself up so she's sitting, "I'm fine. I do-" she stops when the room suddenly starts spinning. Now that he's mentioned it, she's not feeling too good.
"Slowly, Roxy," Brian says, "Yeah? Move slowly."
"What happened?" she asks, "Why am I here?"
She's so confused - like, she was dancing with John. They were having a good night. How the hell has she ended up in here?
"Brian."
He doesn't want to tell her. She looks so scared and knows that when he tells her, she's just going to feel even worse.
Before he can speak however, Roger, Alyssa return and Roger, who is carrying two cups of coffee, lights up when he sees that she's awake.
"Thank fuck," he breathes, carefully handing the coffee to Alyssa before he's rushing towards the bed so he can wrap his arms around her.
"Gentle, Roger," Brian pleads.
Roxy looks at her cousin as he places his hands on her shoulders, "Are you alright? What happened? Jesus, Rox-"
"Rog," Alyssa murmurs, "Roger, maybe just step back yeah? Give her some room?"
"She's still a little confused," Brian says.
"And that's completely normal," a new voice says from the doorway, where a man -probably her doctor, stands with a clipboard, "Miss Taylor, I'm Doctor Stevens, how are we feeling?"
"I'm...what happened? Will someone please tell me how I got in here?" she's starting to get frustrated, no one is telling her anything.
"Roxanne, I'm afraid that your drink was spiked last night."
"So Brian was right then?" Roger asks, sitting down on the bed beside her.
"He was," Stevens nods, "We found traces of Rohypnol in your system. Luckily, it was just a small dosage but even those have some nasty effects. Especially when mixed with alcohol."
Roger's hand squeezes hers gently as Alyssa speaks, "Why would someone do that?"
"I find it's best not to ask yourself that. Most cases we see, there are clear malicious intentions."
"Rape?" Roxy asks and Roger's hand tightens around hers, "You think..." she reaches for the cardboard sick pan, unable to stop herself from throwing up and she feels Alyssa rubbing her back.
Doctor Stevens nods sadly, taking the pan from her with no hesitation, "Unfortunately, yes."
Brian hands her a plastic cup of water and digs in his pocket for his tin of mints, handing those over to her as well, "When can she go home?"
"I want to keep you in overnight. The drug will be leaving your system but, as a precaution, I'd like you to stay. That way, if something does happen, we can deal with it quickly."
Roxanne doesn't argue as he takes his leave, telling her that he'll be back to check on her again later on an not long after he goes, Freddie, Mary and John return.
"You're awake!" Mary grins as she and Freddie come to her bedside and Freddie leans down to kiss her cheek.
"I'm so sorry, darling."
She smiles but her gaze is on John, who's hovering by the window and Brian, noticing her stare, clears his throat and stands, "Maybe we should..."
Roger reluctantly stands and follows the guitarist towards the door and soon, it's just her and John.
It stays silent as John continues to stare out of the window and she toys with the edges of the scratchy hospital blanket and she can't help but feel as if she's to blame. How could she not have noticed that somehow had messed with her drink?
"How are you feeling?" there must be something really interesting outside or he really doesn't want to look at her because his eyes are locked out that window and Roxy feels as if she could start crying.
"I'm still...feeling a little funny. Like I could throw up again and tired." she shakes her head as if that could help jog her memory, "And confused. I don't remember much."
"I should have been there."
Roxanne looks at him, he's finally looking at her and she can see the guilt that's in his eyes.
"John," she whispers.
"I should have been there," he repeats, "Not outside with Rog and Freddie. Maybe I'd have seen something. I could have stopped it - stopped you drinking."
Even though she shouldn't, Roxanne stands up from the bed, ignoring John as he protests and when she starts to sway on her feet, he's there, placing his hands on her waist to gently guide her back down onto the bed and she rests her hands on his forearms.
"This wasn't your fault, John," she says quietly, "It wasn't. If anyone's it was mine."
"Don't say that," he shakes his head, "Don't you ever say that."
There's a knock at the door and Roger sticks his head in, "Sorry but Mary and Alyssa are going to go back to your place with Brian to pack some stuff up for you."
"Get some stuff?" John asks, helping her back onto the bed so she can lie down again, "They're keeping you in?"
"Overnight, yeah." she nods, "Can you ask them to feed Casper? Shit, I'll need to ring the diner. I'm supposed to be in at one."
"Relax," Roger tells her, "We can do that, don't worry. You just rest, alright?"
Freddie also joins them in the room, taking a seat on the other side of the bed while John sits beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Do you remember anything?"
"I remember dancing with John," she goes back to toying with the blanket, "I remember you going out for a smoke and then..."
"What?" Roger asks when she trails off, "Nessie, what is it?"
"I got another drink," she whispers, "I...I remember going to the bar and getting another drink but I needed the bathroom. I think I put it on the table." she thinks for a second, "I did. I put it on our table. This was my fault."
"No, it isn't."
"It is! I left my glass on the table that no one was sitting at. Brian was dancing with Alyssa and Mary. God, I'm such a fucking idiot!"
"Hey," John makes her look at him, "This isn't your fault, alright? Some people are just..."
"Sick," Roger finishes for him and he nods.
"Exactly."
They're interrupted by a nurse popping her head around the door to tell them that visiting time is well and truly over and that they can come back if they'd like at seven o'clock when the evening visiting starts and the three reluctantly take their leave, leaving her with tight hugs and kisses on the cheeks.
"I'll be back later with your things." John whispers, resting his forehead against hers and she nods.
"Okay."
++|++
someone sent me this on twitter and guys, i am howling