test of mettle
Like Aggie and Rails,the sleeping pill Suzanne had given Leon had never made it to its destination.
Leon hated he had to be on anything at all, and when Suzanne had turned her back on him, Leon had deftly spat it out and tossed it under the bed.
The woman was a looker.
Strung out though he was, Leon was looking as she walked back to the sink, and looking as she came back to fluff his pillow.
That's how he knew it was coming.
It always started with his vision, then his head started to spin, then things went black for him although his eyes were wide open.
Suzanne had seen it all before, and grabbed a rubber mouth guard and a large tongue depressor. She wrestled with Leon's flailing body to get him onto his side, to try and get something into his mouth to protect him from swallowing his tongue, from choking on his own spittle.
Leon Freedman was a strong man.
Suzanne had an iron will.
For a couple of minutes, it was a standoff.
Finally she managed to get the wooden tongue depressor in for long enough that she could get one edge of the mouth protector between his teeth, and she leaned all the weight she could on him from the side of his bed, and rode it out.
Of course, it had to be then that Aggie & Rails returned to MedLab. They heard the scuffle, and kept moving into Leon's room.
It was Aggie who started to move towards Suzanne to get her off Leon. Rails held her back, then put some weight on Leon's feet.
Aggie did the quick math. She placed a hand on Suzanne's shoulder. "You got him?"
Suzanne was red in the face. "Yeah, I think he's nearly done."
Aggie got her flashlight and tried to get a look at Leon's eyes. "Not quite yet. I'll get stuff to clean him up with." She grinned at Suzanne. "Nice job!"
Lori was still holding his legs down, but Leon's thrashing was all but done. "I knew who you were when I saw you hovering over the bed. I remember the picture in the magazine. I remember the story."
Aggie looked puzzled, not even clear to whom Rails was talking.
Leon was done now, and Suzanne raised up a bit. "People magazine?"
Lori nodded. "Yeah."
Suzanne slid off the bed and laid Leon's head back sideways on his pillow. "They gave us the originals of the whole shoot. I thought that was nice. I brought them with me."
Aggie was completely lost.
Lori nodded. "He didn't want to come?"
Suzanne didn't smile or waver. "He insisted I come. We fought over that a little." She favoured Lori with a small smile. "He wanted no part of space, he wanted to die on 'God's green Earth', in the United States of America. He was a Yankee through and through."
Aggie suddenly knew it was serious stuff.
Lori nodded. "I understand that. My parents wouldn't have come either, even if they'd been invited." She turned to Aggie. "Aggie Brooks, meet Suzanne Devereaux."
Aggie gave a little smile to Suzanne as Lori tried to disappear and make herself small somewhere where no one would find her. "So I imagine you're probably not an Angel Of Death then?"
Suzanne enjoyed the brief torture. "I had to give it up when Cyrus and I married, there just wasn't enough time to prepare them all properly."
Aggie was grinning. "And it's dignified, I should imagine, not the kind of thing where you just put a gun to their heads and pull the trigger."
Suzanne shook her head earnestly. "Not if you have to clean it up after, no."
Lori resurfaced with a large needle. "I think Leon can take the big shot now, don't you think?"
Suzanne was merciless. "I'm the wrong person to ask. I kill people with needles, not save their lives."
Lori looked at the almost comatose Leon and rolled her eyes back. "This will haunt me forever, won't it?"
Suzanne looked at Aggie. "I should think so, yes."
Aggie decided to let Rails out of Ice Bitch Hell. "At least a year, but at least you'll have someone to take care of you." She came up behind Lori. "Say the words to the nice lady."
Lori looked at the cool and aloof Suzanne Devereaux. "I'm very sorry again, Mrs. Devereaux."
Suzanne melted just enough to say "Apology accepted again, Rails. And please call me Suzanne."
Lori nodded, and set about checking Leon's vitals. "He's ready, I think."
Aggie was watching her, unaware Suzanne was reading her face. "Lori's going to give him the heavy-duty anti-psychotic. It's unlikely he'll sieze, he should just eventually drop into a deep sleep. He may have some accidents ... "
Suzanne put her hand on Aggie's arms. "I can do the dirty work as it comes up, it's okay."
Aggie smiled at her gratefully. "Rails and I need to get some sleep."
Suzanne looked at her with a crooked smile on her face. "I know there's more to it than that."
Aggie grinned and turned beet red. "Yeah, there is."
Lori's face was reddening even as she tended to Leon's shot. She finished, then looked up at the two women across the bed. "Great, now everybody will know."
Suzanne poured herself a jug of water and grabbed a glass, preparing to sit up with Leon. "I'm from the South, I've already been where you're going." She leaned towards Lori and whispered "The sex is so much better!"
Suzanne capped that off with a hug for the surprised Rails. "Now go!" Suzanne pointed at Aggie, and Lori moved towards her, happily nervous.
Suzanne dug inside her purse. "I have something for you both."
Lori & Aggie stopped and looked back at her.
Suzanne found what she was looking for. She held up a set of keys, then tossed them to Aggie. "The keys to my suite, there's some champagne in my fridge. Go make each other happy.
Lori came over and returned the hug. "Thank you!"
Suzanne smiled at them both. "May you find half the love Cyrus and I shared."
They nodded and disappeared.
Suzanne Devereaux went back to the far side of the bed and sat down, seeing the note on the floor where Lori had stood to give Leon his injection.
When she read the note, her eyes hardened and she looked up at Leon Freedman.
The crowd outside in the assembly hall was listening to the procedures and excitement of ChainDance.
Aggie and Lori had found a place in the hall to cuddle where they could hear it too, yet be alone enough to exchange soft words and touches before heading down to the executive suites.
But Suzanne Devereaux, the most powerful woman in the United States, hiked her chair up beside Leon Freedman's head, and she heard the lonely rambling story of the whistling man.
Leon hated he had to be on anything at all, and when Suzanne had turned her back on him, Leon had deftly spat it out and tossed it under the bed.
The woman was a looker.
Strung out though he was, Leon was looking as she walked back to the sink, and looking as she came back to fluff his pillow.
That's how he knew it was coming.
It always started with his vision, then his head started to spin, then things went black for him although his eyes were wide open.
Suzanne had seen it all before, and grabbed a rubber mouth guard and a large tongue depressor. She wrestled with Leon's flailing body to get him onto his side, to try and get something into his mouth to protect him from swallowing his tongue, from choking on his own spittle.
Leon Freedman was a strong man.
Suzanne had an iron will.
For a couple of minutes, it was a standoff.
Finally she managed to get the wooden tongue depressor in for long enough that she could get one edge of the mouth protector between his teeth, and she leaned all the weight she could on him from the side of his bed, and rode it out.
Of course, it had to be then that Aggie & Rails returned to MedLab. They heard the scuffle, and kept moving into Leon's room.
It was Aggie who started to move towards Suzanne to get her off Leon. Rails held her back, then put some weight on Leon's feet.
Aggie did the quick math. She placed a hand on Suzanne's shoulder. "You got him?"
Suzanne was red in the face. "Yeah, I think he's nearly done."
Aggie got her flashlight and tried to get a look at Leon's eyes. "Not quite yet. I'll get stuff to clean him up with." She grinned at Suzanne. "Nice job!"
Lori was still holding his legs down, but Leon's thrashing was all but done. "I knew who you were when I saw you hovering over the bed. I remember the picture in the magazine. I remember the story."
Aggie looked puzzled, not even clear to whom Rails was talking.
Leon was done now, and Suzanne raised up a bit. "People magazine?"
Lori nodded. "Yeah."
Suzanne slid off the bed and laid Leon's head back sideways on his pillow. "They gave us the originals of the whole shoot. I thought that was nice. I brought them with me."
Aggie was completely lost.
Lori nodded. "He didn't want to come?"
Suzanne didn't smile or waver. "He insisted I come. We fought over that a little." She favoured Lori with a small smile. "He wanted no part of space, he wanted to die on 'God's green Earth', in the United States of America. He was a Yankee through and through."
Aggie suddenly knew it was serious stuff.
Lori nodded. "I understand that. My parents wouldn't have come either, even if they'd been invited." She turned to Aggie. "Aggie Brooks, meet Suzanne Devereaux."
Aggie gave a little smile to Suzanne as Lori tried to disappear and make herself small somewhere where no one would find her. "So I imagine you're probably not an Angel Of Death then?"
Suzanne enjoyed the brief torture. "I had to give it up when Cyrus and I married, there just wasn't enough time to prepare them all properly."
Aggie was grinning. "And it's dignified, I should imagine, not the kind of thing where you just put a gun to their heads and pull the trigger."
Suzanne shook her head earnestly. "Not if you have to clean it up after, no."
Lori resurfaced with a large needle. "I think Leon can take the big shot now, don't you think?"
Suzanne was merciless. "I'm the wrong person to ask. I kill people with needles, not save their lives."
Lori looked at the almost comatose Leon and rolled her eyes back. "This will haunt me forever, won't it?"
Suzanne looked at Aggie. "I should think so, yes."
Aggie decided to let Rails out of Ice Bitch Hell. "At least a year, but at least you'll have someone to take care of you." She came up behind Lori. "Say the words to the nice lady."
Lori looked at the cool and aloof Suzanne Devereaux. "I'm very sorry again, Mrs. Devereaux."
Suzanne melted just enough to say "Apology accepted again, Rails. And please call me Suzanne."
Lori nodded, and set about checking Leon's vitals. "He's ready, I think."
Aggie was watching her, unaware Suzanne was reading her face. "Lori's going to give him the heavy-duty anti-psychotic. It's unlikely he'll sieze, he should just eventually drop into a deep sleep. He may have some accidents ... "
Suzanne put her hand on Aggie's arms. "I can do the dirty work as it comes up, it's okay."
Aggie smiled at her gratefully. "Rails and I need to get some sleep."
Suzanne looked at her with a crooked smile on her face. "I know there's more to it than that."
Aggie grinned and turned beet red. "Yeah, there is."
Lori's face was reddening even as she tended to Leon's shot. She finished, then looked up at the two women across the bed. "Great, now everybody will know."
Suzanne poured herself a jug of water and grabbed a glass, preparing to sit up with Leon. "I'm from the South, I've already been where you're going." She leaned towards Lori and whispered "The sex is so much better!"
Suzanne capped that off with a hug for the surprised Rails. "Now go!" Suzanne pointed at Aggie, and Lori moved towards her, happily nervous.
Suzanne dug inside her purse. "I have something for you both."
Lori & Aggie stopped and looked back at her.
Suzanne found what she was looking for. She held up a set of keys, then tossed them to Aggie. "The keys to my suite, there's some champagne in my fridge. Go make each other happy.
Lori came over and returned the hug. "Thank you!"
Suzanne smiled at them both. "May you find half the love Cyrus and I shared."
They nodded and disappeared.
Suzanne Devereaux went back to the far side of the bed and sat down, seeing the note on the floor where Lori had stood to give Leon his injection.
When she read the note, her eyes hardened and she looked up at Leon Freedman.
The crowd outside in the assembly hall was listening to the procedures and excitement of ChainDance.
Aggie and Lori had found a place in the hall to cuddle where they could hear it too, yet be alone enough to exchange soft words and touches before heading down to the executive suites.
But Suzanne Devereaux, the most powerful woman in the United States, hiked her chair up beside Leon Freedman's head, and she heard the lonely rambling story of the whistling man.
