Eliott never returned to the party. The moment he had Alex, he took her straight home and called his personal doctor to meet them there. She remained unconscious, unnervingly still, and he worried it might be something more serious than a simple sedative. He had a fair guess at what she'd been given, and was grateful, at least, that it hadn't fully taken effect before he found her. Still, he wanted a doctor's confirmation as soon as possible — both to clear the drug from her system and to rule out any lasting effects. Every minute of the drive home felt longer than the last, his mind cycling through worse possibilities than he wanted to admit to.
He drove home faster than he probably should have. While waiting for the doctor, he laid her carefully on his bed and wiped the sweat gathering on her forehead — she'd developed a fever somewhere along the way.
