Now?

"Mmm.... chocolate cake." Alec slips his arms around Ryan, grinning down at her. "I think I could handle some of that."

Eli is standing nearby and rolls his eyes. "Save me a piece, will you?" He whacks Alec's arm, but looks to Ryan. "You two carry on... I'm gonna go through town and take a ride. Might stop for a beer or something but I'll be back to the apartment in a bit."

Alec turns to him with a sly grin on his lips. "How long you gonna be gone?"

Eli points a finger at him. "Not long enough."

Alec laughs and turns, keeping one arm over Ryan's shoulder. "Reese hasn't been so uptight last couple days so I'm gonna stay out as long as I want and enjoy that cake with you... or anything else," he teases.

...Getting back to the apartment with Ryan, Alec is quick to claim a spot on the couch with her while they find something good on television. After all the excitement at the race, rambunctiousness with the cake doesn't evolve quite like it had in the past, both tired enough to just sit and enjoy each other's company... at least for the time being.


Across town, Eli enjoys a motorcycle ride by himself. Taking the long route, he takes in the scenery, never tiring of being on the road like this. Sometimes he needed a break just to get away and ride for a while. And even if he wouldn't admit it, maybe he did want to give Alec and Ryan some time to hang out too.

Maneuvering back through town, Eli decides to stop at the Bullseye for a quick beer and saying hi to anybody he knew. He wouldn't stay long, then he'd get back to the apartment. Parking and ambling into the bar, Eli scans the smoke-filled room before wandering closer to the bar. Approaching it, he's surprised to see a familiar figure sitting on a stool. "Hey, Leo, what's up?"

Leo sits up but not too straight, glancing over at Eli with glossy eyes. An inebriated smile curls his lips. "Heeeey, Eli! Come t' join me?"

Eli's eyebrows rise. He never would have taken Leo to be one to go to a bar and get drunk, but there was no doubt that Leo had already gone past his limit. "Uh... not really. I just saw you here and..." He shakes his head. It didn't matter - Leo wouldn't remember his reasons anyway. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"Wha's it look like?" Leo swivels back around and holds up a mug of beer. "I'm drinking! Want one?"

No, Eli's appetite for a drink had quickly faded. Normally, he'd just walk away from anybody in this state and let them fend for themselves. But for some reason, he just didn't want to do that to Leo. Leo was a nice guy... clean cut and had a good head on his shoulders - or so Eli had thought. What had happened? "No... thanks." He leans on the bar next to Leo, thinking for a moment. "Come here often?"

"Nuh-uh." Leo tips his head back as he downs a shot of whiskey that hat escaped Eli's sight. "But thr's always time for change!"

"Well sure, but... this?"

Leo glances over to Eli, finding disapproval. "Yeah well... it's better'n goin' home an' j'st sittin' around... alone and... and thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

Leo cackles and takes another swig of beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Eli..." He looks at him with a silly grin. "...you're smarter th'n that." He taps his head. "I know you are." Swallowing what might have been a hiccup, Leo manages another mouthful of beer.

Eli runs his thumb along the bar thoughtfully. He tries to stay fairly cheerful so as not to set off Leo. "Aw... my mind isn't working so well tonight. How about you tell me?"

Leo stares into space for a moment, swiveling back and forth on the barstool. "It's called love and lost and... and..." He frowns, having lost his train of thought. "And evr'thing else that goes along with it."

"Everything else?"

"I got a new friend, ya know." Leo turns and stares at Eli, seemingly on a completely different topic. "She's real nice... an' pretty.... She likes me ya know." He nods. "Not like... like your sister there.... what's her name?"

"Ryan."

"Yeah, her." Leo waves his hand in the air and turns back to his beer, finishing it off with several long swallows.

Eli sighs. It bothered him more than he'd like to admit, seeing Leo like this. They weren't exactly close friends but Eli did feel some amount of obligation to look out for him if he was in trouble, and at the moment he might not be in a whole lot of trouble but who knew what would happen if he was left here. "So you have a new friend?" Eli questions.

"Mmm." Leo nods and spins around again, but he does it too quickly. Sliding off the stool, he would have fallen right to the floor had Eli not caught him.

Eli grabs him by his pants and keeps him standing as they both stumble. "How about you and I take a little walk?"

"Walk..." Leo leans on him and squints, looking around for the exit and unable to find it. "I think... they want me to stay here."

"I think it's about time we got some fresh air. How about that?"

"Mmm...." Leo thinks then swivels his head to look at Eli, his eyes somewhere far away. "Okay."

"Okay good. Come on."

Starting forward, Leo's knees buckle and he trips almost taking both of them down. Running into someone sitting at a table, he snickers and pats them on the shoulder. "'Scuse me. I'm drunk."

If it hadn't been so sad, Eli would have laughed. He looks to he person at the table and rolls his eyes before pulling Leo away. "I think they can see that," he mutters under his breath.

Once they're both outside, Eli looks around for Leo's car. "Where you parked, man?"

"Parked?"

"Yeah, your car. Where is it?"

"Oh, parked!"

Eli sighs. "Yes. Car. Where?"

"It's um..." Leo looks around, still leaning on Eli to keep his balance. "Um... I parked it... um."

"Do you have your keys?"

"Yeah, sure." Leo digs in first one pocket then the other, managing to find them.

Eli takes them without asking, thankful there was a small remote. Pressing the panic button, Leo's car honks and flashes its lights down along the curb of the street.

Leo's eyes widen. "I think s'mbody's stealing my car."

Eli sighs. "Come on. Let's go stop them."

"Right." Leo staggers along beside him, banging into a light pole then stumbling off the curb once they finally reach the car.

Eli makes sure he's in and buckled before going around to the driver's side and getting in. Pulling away from the bar, he glances to Leo. "So... your new friend... a woman?"

"Uh-huh."

"Girlfriend?"

Leo snickers and leans his head against the window before he blows a raspberry. "Me? I's done with that one."

"The girl or having a girlfriend?" Leo doesn't answer right away and Eli looks over to see him with a pale face and starting to hunch over. "Aw man, not in the car." Pulling to the side, it's just in time before Leo can get the car door open and throw up. Eli grimaces. "You alright?"

Leo gives a little groan before closing the door again, slouching miserably in the seat. Eli sighs and keeps on going. "So she's not your girl."

Leo shakes his head. "Uh-uh. She wants t' be though."

"Oh yeah? Well that's kind of neat, right?"

"She's too nice for me. She'll just... just up and leave and... and... someb'dy come along and... steal her."

Eli taps his fingers on the steering wheel, realizing now where this was going. "Like Ryan."

Leo scrunches his nose and laughs. "See? I told you you were smart!" He thumbs out the window. "I have to throw up again now."

Eli didn't get much information out of Leo after that. Stopping two more times on the way, they finally make it to Leo's apartment. It takes a bit of doing, but Eli is able to get him inside and deposited on the couch. Breathing heavily he stares down at Leo's limp form as he was just about already passed out. Eli shakes his head and goes for his cell phone. Calling Ryan, he hopes she'll bother to answer.


Alec is just giving Ryan another kiss and still cuddling with her on the couch when the phone rings. He ignores it and just continues the attention to Ryan, but when the phone keeps ringing, he sighs with annoyance. Instead of letting Ryan answer it, he reaches over her and grabs it. "This better be important."

Eli smirks. "Sorry. Interrupting something?"

Alec quirks an eyebrow. "Maybe."

"Good. I'll kill you when I get back then."

Alec sits up straighter. "Not that!"

Eli shakes his head, not being worried at all about his sister and Alec. "Okay, fine. Put my sister on the line."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"Alec!"

"Alright, alright!" Alec hands the phone to Ryan. "It's your doting brother."

Getting Ryan on the line, Eli sighs with a little relief. "Ryan, it's me. Listen um... I need a ride. I need to get back to the bar where my bike is parked but, um... I'm at Leo's at the moment. Can you come pick me up?"


Bret groans into his pillow as he's shaken slightly. "Wha?" he mumbles, gripping his pillow tighter. "It's too early..."

Being shaken again, then hearing the reason, he sits bolt upright in bed. "What? The baby? Now?" Still half-dazed from his deep sleep, he goes to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but his feet get tangled in the blankets. Fighting with the covers for several seconds, he winds up losing his balance and falling off the edge onto the floor, banging his head on the nightstand on the way.

Howling with pain, a curse slips out and he finally manages to get to his feet. Grabbing his jeans, he hops on one foot, trying to get them on. "You okay? Got your bag? Do we need anything else?"