28th December, 2014
A few hours passed, and there came no sound or movement from the bedroom. It was only the slight rising and falling of his chest that told Lis her patient was still alive. He hadn't even woken to sip the water or take the medicine she'd brought him, too exhausted to keep his eyes open any long, despite the cup of coffee. His temperature at least had dropped since the night before. It was just a matter now of getting enough rest and regaining his strength. He slept even as his sister arrived at Lis' apartment to fetch him home, unaware she was there, unaware of anything going on around him but his own dreams.
He wouldn't, however, remain unaware for long. As Lis had expected, Brynne had arrived with a few things she wanted to say, and she hadn't been shy about it at all. As one voice rose in a truly spectacular display of rather peevish temper in the other room, the words became only too clear, even to the sleeper.
"....fine yesterday. He spends one evening with you and suddenly he's too ill to travel! If I find out you've done something to him, there will be hell to pay, do you understand me?"
There was a low intake of breath before Lis answered, her voice calm and measured, but bearing a hint of steel she had not shown before. "Miss Granger, this is my home. I am not on duty. You will not threaten me, or speak to me in a way that does not show some form of respect, and if you continue to do so, I will call the Watch."
How could he miss the voices coming from the other room when one of them was so unmistakable and so obviously accusatory' Even then, Edward was slow to wake, the voices drawing him out of strange, fevered dreams. He awoke feeling disoriented, forgetting again where he was and how he come to be there. He thought for a moment that he was back in Africa, but he quickly realized he was not. The bed was too comfortable, the air too cool, and the voices too familiar. He tried to hear what they were saying, making out enough to know the conversation was not a pleasant or friendly one. It was only when he heard Lis mention the Watch that he climbed out of bed, still wearing that silly yellow robe of hers, and made his way slowly from the room, one hand sliding along the wall as he went so that he didn't topple over.
"How dare you talk to me like that?" Brynne was snapping as Edward came into the other room. She was standing entirely too close to Lis for anyone's comfort, her face red with anger as she glared into the other woman's eyes. To her credit, Lis wasn't backing away, but nor was she displaying even a hint of anger in return. "I'm the only reason you can even afford this pokey little hole of an apartment, do you really think you should be making me mad right now?"
Lis sighed softly, hands in her back pockets as she looked back at her employer. "If you wish me to leave your service, then that is your choice, Miss Granger," she said calmly. "But you cannot make decisions for anyone but yourself and your daughter. And please, do not threaten me."
"What in blazes is going on here?" Edward interrupted as he rounded the corner to find his sister's temper getting the best of her and Lis trying to remain calm while under fire. He looked as pale as ever, and if either of them looked close enough, they'd see he was shaking, but not because of anger so much as weariness.
"Why, you -" Brynne's temper was abruptly put on the back-burner as her brother's voice interrupted her. She swayed back a couple of steps, hurriedly attempting to make it look as though she hadn't been trying to intimidate Lisbeth in her own home at all. "Teddy! Gods, you look awful, you should sit down."
"I am not sitting down until you both tell me what?s going on," he insisted, leaning against the wall to keep himself upright. "You're not arguing about me, are you? Because I'll have you both know that I'm a full-grown adult, and I'm quite capable of making my own decisions," he said, more for his sister's benefit, though he wasn't about to say that.
Lis said nothing, moving away to the little kitchenette to put the kettle on. She had done her best not to lose her temper with Brynne, but it had been a close thing.
"Teddy, you should come home," Brynne said with an exasperated sigh. "We can hire a nurse to look after you if you really need one. But I don't think that you should be held captive in this horrible little place by a woman who somehow managed to make you relapse on a date!"
"Lis is a nurse, Brynne. And no one made me do anything. I've been doing too much, that's all. I had a relapse last night, and Lis was kind enough to bring me here and watch over me all night. That's all that happened. You should be thanking her, instead of threatening to fire her," he pointed out, dropping into a chair before he fell down. He wiped a hand across his brow, feeling suddenly even more weary than he had when he'd first fallen asleep.
"She wouldn't tell me what was wrong," Brynne protested, glancing around at the available seating - the two seater couch - before perching on the edge as though expecting to catch something dreadful from it. "Look, Teddy, please just come home. We can look after you. You should be with family while you're recovering."
The absence of comment from beside the kettle felt a little ominous as Brynne said this, but still Lis kept her mouth shut. She had a feeling the only reason she still had a job was because Edward had chosen then to enter the room.
"You just said we could hire a nurse. Well, I've already hired one - Lis," Edward countered, using his sister's own words against her in hopes that she'd see how ridiculous she was being. He exhaled a weary sigh. "Look, I don't want to argue, but Lis thinks it would be better if I stay here a few days, just until I'm feeling better. Then, I'll come home. I promise." He gave her that look he always did when he was trying to get his own way, though he didn't really have to be nice about it. He could have just put his foot down and told her how things were going to be and that would be that.
Brynne glowered back at him for a moment. She knew that look entirely too well, usually because it worked exactly the way he wanted it to. "Well, how is she supposed to do her job while she's looking after you here?" she demanded, trying another tack. "She'd have to leave you alone for hours each day, that's hardly looking after you, is it?"
At this, Lis finally spoke up. "I would not have leave him, Miss Granger, not for very long," she offered quietly. "You are capable of providing your own breakfast, even if you prefer not to, and I can come to cook your evening meal and prepare lunch for the next day."
A few hours passed, and there came no sound or movement from the bedroom. It was only the slight rising and falling of his chest that told Lis her patient was still alive. He hadn't even woken to sip the water or take the medicine she'd brought him, too exhausted to keep his eyes open any long, despite the cup of coffee. His temperature at least had dropped since the night before. It was just a matter now of getting enough rest and regaining his strength. He slept even as his sister arrived at Lis' apartment to fetch him home, unaware she was there, unaware of anything going on around him but his own dreams.
He wouldn't, however, remain unaware for long. As Lis had expected, Brynne had arrived with a few things she wanted to say, and she hadn't been shy about it at all. As one voice rose in a truly spectacular display of rather peevish temper in the other room, the words became only too clear, even to the sleeper.
"....fine yesterday. He spends one evening with you and suddenly he's too ill to travel! If I find out you've done something to him, there will be hell to pay, do you understand me?"
There was a low intake of breath before Lis answered, her voice calm and measured, but bearing a hint of steel she had not shown before. "Miss Granger, this is my home. I am not on duty. You will not threaten me, or speak to me in a way that does not show some form of respect, and if you continue to do so, I will call the Watch."
How could he miss the voices coming from the other room when one of them was so unmistakable and so obviously accusatory' Even then, Edward was slow to wake, the voices drawing him out of strange, fevered dreams. He awoke feeling disoriented, forgetting again where he was and how he come to be there. He thought for a moment that he was back in Africa, but he quickly realized he was not. The bed was too comfortable, the air too cool, and the voices too familiar. He tried to hear what they were saying, making out enough to know the conversation was not a pleasant or friendly one. It was only when he heard Lis mention the Watch that he climbed out of bed, still wearing that silly yellow robe of hers, and made his way slowly from the room, one hand sliding along the wall as he went so that he didn't topple over.
"How dare you talk to me like that?" Brynne was snapping as Edward came into the other room. She was standing entirely too close to Lis for anyone's comfort, her face red with anger as she glared into the other woman's eyes. To her credit, Lis wasn't backing away, but nor was she displaying even a hint of anger in return. "I'm the only reason you can even afford this pokey little hole of an apartment, do you really think you should be making me mad right now?"
Lis sighed softly, hands in her back pockets as she looked back at her employer. "If you wish me to leave your service, then that is your choice, Miss Granger," she said calmly. "But you cannot make decisions for anyone but yourself and your daughter. And please, do not threaten me."
"What in blazes is going on here?" Edward interrupted as he rounded the corner to find his sister's temper getting the best of her and Lis trying to remain calm while under fire. He looked as pale as ever, and if either of them looked close enough, they'd see he was shaking, but not because of anger so much as weariness.
"Why, you -" Brynne's temper was abruptly put on the back-burner as her brother's voice interrupted her. She swayed back a couple of steps, hurriedly attempting to make it look as though she hadn't been trying to intimidate Lisbeth in her own home at all. "Teddy! Gods, you look awful, you should sit down."
"I am not sitting down until you both tell me what?s going on," he insisted, leaning against the wall to keep himself upright. "You're not arguing about me, are you? Because I'll have you both know that I'm a full-grown adult, and I'm quite capable of making my own decisions," he said, more for his sister's benefit, though he wasn't about to say that.
Lis said nothing, moving away to the little kitchenette to put the kettle on. She had done her best not to lose her temper with Brynne, but it had been a close thing.
"Teddy, you should come home," Brynne said with an exasperated sigh. "We can hire a nurse to look after you if you really need one. But I don't think that you should be held captive in this horrible little place by a woman who somehow managed to make you relapse on a date!"
"Lis is a nurse, Brynne. And no one made me do anything. I've been doing too much, that's all. I had a relapse last night, and Lis was kind enough to bring me here and watch over me all night. That's all that happened. You should be thanking her, instead of threatening to fire her," he pointed out, dropping into a chair before he fell down. He wiped a hand across his brow, feeling suddenly even more weary than he had when he'd first fallen asleep.
"She wouldn't tell me what was wrong," Brynne protested, glancing around at the available seating - the two seater couch - before perching on the edge as though expecting to catch something dreadful from it. "Look, Teddy, please just come home. We can look after you. You should be with family while you're recovering."
The absence of comment from beside the kettle felt a little ominous as Brynne said this, but still Lis kept her mouth shut. She had a feeling the only reason she still had a job was because Edward had chosen then to enter the room.
"You just said we could hire a nurse. Well, I've already hired one - Lis," Edward countered, using his sister's own words against her in hopes that she'd see how ridiculous she was being. He exhaled a weary sigh. "Look, I don't want to argue, but Lis thinks it would be better if I stay here a few days, just until I'm feeling better. Then, I'll come home. I promise." He gave her that look he always did when he was trying to get his own way, though he didn't really have to be nice about it. He could have just put his foot down and told her how things were going to be and that would be that.
Brynne glowered back at him for a moment. She knew that look entirely too well, usually because it worked exactly the way he wanted it to. "Well, how is she supposed to do her job while she's looking after you here?" she demanded, trying another tack. "She'd have to leave you alone for hours each day, that's hardly looking after you, is it?"
At this, Lis finally spoke up. "I would not have leave him, Miss Granger, not for very long," she offered quietly. "You are capable of providing your own breakfast, even if you prefer not to, and I can come to cook your evening meal and prepare lunch for the next day."