There Mattie went again, exploding into another outburst. Jacob couldn't say he blamed her; after all, she'd just had to take in a metric buttload of information that wasn't meant to be revealed to her in such a short amount of time. They had this thing planned out so that she wouldn't go insane from their screwed up reality. But any damage was done now, and honestly, she seemed to be taking it quite well. Jacob crossed his arms and listened to her proposal. He figured that if he put his brother into her care while he got business sorted out, it wouldn't hurt, and Nicholas might even be better off than if Jacob himself had to care for him while he was injured.

"Alright," Jacob sighed. "There are some bandages and gauze in the dresser drawers. At least two extra bottles of rubbing alcohol. There's a jumbo container of Neosporin, but...use it wisely. I have a feeling there's going to be plenty more injuries in the upcoming month." He looked blankly at Mattie for a moment before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a wallet. From it, he pulled four $20 bills and held them out toward her. "You can take this for take-out and other medicines you two might need. I have to go take care of things. I'll be gone a couple of days."

Nicholas watched the two through barely-open eyes. He hadn't even done anything and he was tired. Something Alice must have given him. Something. He kept thinking of that white room he was in. He'd been so relaxed. In his own mind. What did that even mean?

Take care of what? Mattie wanted to ask. But she didn't, and he was giving her free money, so fuck it. "Thanks," was all she said as she accepted the cash and pocketed it. Okay. Well. Time for business. What was she, a fucking nurse?

For now.

Mattie hooked an arm around Nick's elbow and pulled him gently up, making sure to lean him against her as she guided him to the bathroom. She started to run hot water and said bluntily, "Get naked, asshat. You're getting a fucking bath, courtesy me."

Again, Nicholas just stared at Mattie with the most blank expression. The room was slightly swaying, or maybe it was him. But he was faintly aware of leaning against Mattie as he was led into what looked like a bathroom through the narrow slits that were currently his eyelids. It was both too dark to see and painfully bright. When he felt the hand holding his arm release, he plopped onto the closed toilet seat.

"You're getting a fucking bath, courtesy me," was the words he registered. The first part sounded a little fuzzy to his intoxicated mind. Still, he understood the concept, and he started to sluggishly remove his clothing.

Mattie refused to look at Nick as she waited, awkwardly, for the bath to finish running. "So... you're still feeling kind of fucked up," she started, and then trailed off because of course he was. She stuck her hand under the running water to get a feel for the temperature, nodded softly to herself because it was hot but not scalding, and stopped running it.

Still not looking at Nick, she said, "Okay, it's ready. Prepare to be fuckin' lathered."

"Just a lil'," he mumbled, words slightly slurred. He wasn't so fucked up that he couldn't wonder what the hell it was that Alice had given him. There was some kind of injection involved, of that he was certain. It had sent him...inside of his own mind. In a weirdly literal sense. He remembered standing somewhere. Talking to her. Was it her? Was it him? Was he crazy? He didn't know anymore. Most of his life had been spent inside of a god forsaken simulation, and the rest of it so far had been utterly fucked up in every way.

"Okay," he grunted and threw himself into the tub, falling over the side.

"God damn it," muttered Mattie, reaching out and catching Nick by his shoulders. She sat him up and grabbed a washcloth and some soap, which she gave an experimental sniff before soaping the cloth up.

"I hope you like smelling like lavender and oatmeal. Because you have no choice." And with that, she thrust the soapy cloth against his chest and scrubbed.

"This is awful," Nicholas groaned, leaning back because he really didn't have any other choice. He was practically akin to a ragdoll in terms of mobility. It was a wonder he could even form coherent words, however slurred they were. If they were coherent at all. They were coherent in his mind, at least.

"No, actually, I think I like this smell on you. Beats the fuck out of dirt and sweat."

Scrub scrub scrub.

"Plus, maybe it'll help you wake your sorry ass up. Your sorry, dirty, cute ass."

"Muh-wuh?" he peered at her in what he hoped was a skeptical manner, but just ended up looking like more of a drunk goof than he already did.

"Jesus, never mind. Stop being endearing and allow yourself to get washed." Mattie grumbled as she held Nicholas steady and looked at his throat because his face was too infuriatingly cute and if her gaze fell any lower she risked getting flustered.

"Uh-huh," Nicholas grunted. The searing pain in his back from the wound that the poisoned shard left only intensified when water seeped into it. But he didn't show it. Although he felt it, there was something about whatever drug he'd been pumped with that made him feel just a little emotionless and apathetic.

Okay, this wasn't as bad as Mattie had thought it would be. If Nick wasn't high as balls it'd definitely be awkward as fuck even more than it already was. Good reason to hurry up with this before he sobered up.

"Turn around and show me your back."

"Hrm, mmk," he mumbled through barely parted lips, shifting around until his wounded back was turned toward Mattie. There was a slight dip in the skin where the shard had struck, surrounded by slightly blackening skin. The black skin branched out into lightning-like stripes, spreading out on every side.

The reaction was an immediate wince, because Mattie was no expert, but the dark streaks radiating from the wound on Nick's back had an uncomfortable resemblance to gangrene, or some sort of necrosis.

Out came the alcohol. She doused the cloth with it and pressed it to his back without prior warning. Only after she'd placed it against the wound did she say, "Heads up, baby doll."

The second that the alcohol-soaked cloth touched the wound on Nicholas' back, his forehead slammed against the wall of the tub. He let out a whimper, but it wasn't quite the scream he expected to have been pulled from his throat, which was definitely fine by him. Although it hurt, it stung like hell, his senses were still numbed. At the moment, that was a great thing.

"I know, I know," muttered Mattie in what she hoped was a soothing voice and probably was not. In fact, Nick's reaction was not as horrible as she'd thought it would be. That made it a lot easier. She withdrew the cloth after giving the alcohol some time to do its germ-killing thing, and peered, squinting, at the wound to see if that would have gotten rid of those nasty-ass looking stripes of darkened skin.

Because if it didn't, she was going to cut that tainted flesh right the fuck off of him.

Unfortunately, the stripes hadn't faded. In fact, they were sort of...pulsing. It was the most disgusting sight. Nicholas probably would have vomited if he could see it, because he felt like he was going to hurl just feeling it. He groaned, keeping his forehead against the wall, and closed his eyes. If it was a dull sting now, he couldn't imagine would it would be when he was completely aware and feeling again.

Mattie quietly got up and dug around in the cabinet. Finding nothing to suit her needs, she moved out into the kitchen and picked up a knife that wasn't of particularly good quality. Because no one was chopping food with that thing after this took place. She returned to the bathroom, muttering under her breath, "Nastiest shit I ever seen," and hiding the knife behind her back.

"Hey. So. You might want something to bite onto."

Warily, Nicholas turned around when he heard Mattie re-entering the room.

"Wha?"

Mattie snatched up a cloth that wasn't doused in alcohol and handed it over grimly, one hand still concealing the knife behind her back. "This won't be the most pleasant thing you've ever felt."