Re: [ER: Newt & Patrick]
If he'd not been arranging for his friend's escape, Newt would've let him lie down now, perhaps to sleep. Patrick seemed like his body wanted it, or the sedation did. But, well, it couldn't happen just yet. And even if it was all the work of a pill or a shot, it was nice to see youthful features clear of panic and hopelessness, just for a second there.—The business with Adrian, oh, Newt'd long stopped blaming Adrian for anything, if he ever had. It'd been a terrifying moment for the other man, as much as anyone else. Fearing he was a monster, or perhaps that he'd killed someone(s), he'd fled. It wasn't right, perhaps, but it was what happened and Newt'd chosen to take the fall. No one'd asked him to. "It's all right. He was practically a child and a scared one, at that." Newt shook his head. "You're not all fucked. We're people, dear heart, and we all fuck up."
There came another, much more emphatic shake of the head, a spray of copper, and Newt was pressing Patrick's hands back, against the man's own chest, in his insistence. "There's no danger. It's no trouble. Let me do it." For all the steadiness in Patrick's voice, Newt could see the raw wound of fear on his friend's face, and he knew it must be felt even more deeply. Newt ducked his head to keep eye contact, gold-pan flash, and if it'd been any other moment, he would've thought before he did what he did next. But, he was earnest, and he lifted poor Patrick's right hand and kissed the knuckle of his middle finger, still not looking away, then reiterated with painful genuineness: "Let me do it, all right?" He nodded, hoping to encourage the same from Patrick.