Topic: You Give Me Fever

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-09 03:23 EST
Tuesday morning, Lelah awoke with a pounding headache. It wasn't an uncommon ailment for her during stressful and hectic production days, but this one came complete with a small niggling voice, a voice which reminded her that while the rest of 21twelve's cast and crew had all been immunized, she had been far too busy to get her own shot. She showered, dressed, and grabbed a bagel, coffee, and three Tylenol on the way to the set. They were in the home stretch now, doing location shots in and around the Marketplace, which was standing in for fourteenth-century London. Only three weeks remaining in the schedule and then the film was on to editing and post-production. The December release was so close she could practically taste it.

During the first few hours of shooting, Lelah's headache faded into the distance as she directed Aimee and Lasse through some of her favorite scenes of the entire film. When they broke for lunch, however, the Tylenol she took earlier that morning wore off with a frightening suddenness, sending her to her trailer where she promptly closed the blinds and laid down for an hour, bargaining with God to make the pounding in her head lessen just a little. She couldn't afford to be sick now. She literally could not afford any delays in the shooting schedule. This film had to wrap by the end of the month or else the studio would be utterly bankrupt and people would be out for her blood.

Her rest did nothing to calm her headache and when she answered Liv's tentative knock on the trailer's door, telling her that the cast and crew were getting antsy with the delay, Lelah collapsed suddenly into a heap on the cobblestones of the Marketplace, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth and eyes. Liv, God bless her soul, kept a calm head on her shoulders as she barked out orders ? Lelah was to go immediately to the nearest hospital or clinic, shooting on all units would be canceled for today and probably tomorrow as well, and Daniel had to be notified that his girlfriend had collapsed.

The next few hours passed in a fevered blur for Lelah. She had vague images of masked doctors bending over her and peering down into her face, of needles being pushed into her arm while she screamed for them to stop, terrified that they were giving her some sort of opium-based painkiller, of Daniel's soft gray eyes filled with worry and the cool callouses of his hands a sharp contrast against the feverish skin of her face, of him arguing with the doctors, begging them to let him stay with her. He was an Alpha Lycanthrope ? he could not contract whatever Lelah had. The medical staff finally relented and allowed him to remain at her side while they worked on her.

Bits and pieces of conversations floated into her fevered brain. Daniel answering doctor's questions as they tried to pinpoint what was wrong with her ? ?We ate venison last week. I caught one, cleaned and dressed it, and she cooked it. Yes, the carcass is still at the cabin. Yes, you're welcome to it if it will help her.?

A nurse just finished taking Lelah's temperature reported it at 105. ?RBF case confirmed, Doctor."

The masked doctor nodded severely and announced, "Let's get her into a quarantine room.? Daniel stepped in before they could wheel Lelah away, begging to be allowed to take her home with him. His cabin was isolated; he owned 10 acres of unpopulated land and his nearest neighbor was more than half a mile away; he couldn't get sick; he needed to take care of her. The doctors, knowing that they would soon need all the beds they had, finally agreed and loaded Lelah into her Alfa with Daniel behind the wheel.

Once home he carried her upstairs to the master bedroom and saw her carefully tucked in with a saline drip IV in her arm. Then he returned to her carriage house and picked up Oscar and some of Lelah's things. He used Lelah's Blackberry to phone Liv. He asked her to take care of the studio while Lelah recuperated. And then he shut off the Blackberry and stuffed it into a drawer in the kitchen, knowing Lee would want her phone the instant she woke, something he could not allow for fear of her pushing herself too hard. He returned to the bedroom and sat in a chair, staring at her while she slept, willing her to pull through.

Olivia Storm

Date: 2011-08-09 20:22 EST
" ... yes ... no, there is no cause for alarm ... I'm afraid neither Ms Rivka, nor the studio's backers are available for comment at this time ..."

Liv rolled her eyes as she listened to the near continuous drone of some agent or other having a panic attack over the health of their starlet. Ordinarily Lelah would have dealt directly with any issues arising with the cast and their agents ... but then ordinarily, Lelah would have been bustling around, totally in charge of everything, instead of half-comatose in bed under Daniel Tej's watchful eyes.

Which left Liv in charge for the foreseeable future, a fact for which she had already promised herself she would make Lelah suffer when her employer was back on her feet. Between enquiries from every department of the studios, managing and organising the shooting schedule for the assistant and unit directors, receiving well-wishers' notes and phone calls, and fielding the press and concerned parties, she'd barely had a moment to herself since Lelah had collapsed.

"Thank you, I will pass on your best wishes for a speedy recovery," she wound up the ranting phonecall as politely but firmly as she could, her phone balanced between her ear and her shoulder as she sorted through the script pages that had been set aside for tomorrow's filming on location. "Everything is under control. Goodbye."

Dropping the Blackberry into her hand, she cut the line, only for the little device to start ringing all over again. This time it was a withheld number, and she frowned, knowing full well that this could be either the hospital or the press. Sighing, she let it ring for a minute or two, busily organising her desk into something that no longer resembled a hurricane disaster area.

"Hello?" As she answered the ringing phone, there was a tap on the open door. Looking up, the harrassed P.A. sent Scott Campbell, the assistant director, a grimace of a smile and waved him in as she addressed herself to the voice on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry, all information pertinent to the press was in the press release given out this morning. I'm not authorised to give any further information, even if I had it."

Scott grimaced with her, recognising the weary tone of someone who had far too much to do and too little time to do it in. He gestured to the script pages she still held. Handing them over, Liv covered the mouthpiece on her phone.

"Take a look, and let me know if there are going to be any problems with keeping to schedule," she told the A.D., who nodded, flipping through the paper folder as Liv returned to her conversation. "Yes, filming is continuing on A Murder of Crowes, under the highly skilled direction of Scott Campbell, who has been working closely with Ms Rivka since the project began."

"This looks pretty good," Scott was saying quietly, so as not to be overheard by the reporter on the other end of the line. "Location shoots are notorious for going over-time, though, so I won't be optimistic with these pages. Set them aside for the day after?"

Nodding, Liv took the pages he handed to her, shuffling them back into another folder that was covered with Lelah's notes as she answered yet another question. "As I'm sure you are aware, the cast were present at the vaccination event over the weekend, and the medical team on site here have administered the vaccine for RBF to all staff and crew. We are also in the process of setting up a bio-screening system to keep the risk of further infection to a minimum." She covered the mouthpiece again. "Did Lasse's reaction to the vaccine clear up yet?"

Scott nodded quickly. "The hives are gone. Whatever the clinic gave him seems to have done the trick."

"Good." A tiny expression of relief crossed Liv's eyes before it was replaced with long-suffering patience once more, her attention once again returned to the reporter. "Ms Rivka takes the health and safety of her employees incredibly seriously. She insisted that she would not take the vaccine until everyone on site or connected to the site had done so, wanting everyone here to be in the clear before she herself took that step."

This was something of a whopping great lie, but Liv had learned the art of the confident deception over the months she'd been working for Lelah.

"You know as much as I do. Ms Rivka was exposed to the virus via game meat last week. As you know, the incubation period for the illness has been known to last up to fifteen days, but with her strong work ethic and attention to every detail, Ms Rivka allowed herself to become overtired, giving the virus an opportunity to strike when she was vulnerable. She is being cared for by a highly qualified professional -"

Scott snorted, and Liv shot him a darkly amused look. Chef was a profession, wasn't it?

"- and I am told that with rest and time she will be well on the way to a full recovery. Thank you for your concern. Goodbye."

Again, she cut the line, sharing an irritated look with Scott. "Everyone seems to think this is some sort of publicity stunt," she complained. "Short of walking Lelah's emaciated body to a window for a photo opportunity, they won't accept it isn't from - and I quote - 'a jumped up secretary with no manners'."

Scotta laughed, shaking his head. "Some people just don't know when to quit," he commiserated. "Any news on Lelah yet?"

"Nothing yet, just that she's comfortable for now and she needs rest," Liv shrugged. "I had her Blackberry disconnected temporarily, too. No one's going to be calling her until she's back on her feet."

"She'll string you up when she finds out," the A.D. predicted with a grin.

"Well, at least if she does, we'll know she's getting better," Liv chuckled, and groaned as her phone went off again. "Am I radiating waves of 'Interrupt me, I'm not busy' today?"

"Well, it's not like you're doing anything constructive, is it?" Scott said with a wide grin. He just made it through the door before Liv's favourite potted cactus smashed against the doorframe.

Daniel Tej

Date: 2011-08-13 19:43 EST
When Daniel got the call from Liv that Lelah had collapsed on the set of A Murder of Crowes, he was in the kitchen, experimenting with possible recipes for the Temple. He stayed on the phone only long enough to ascertain where Lelah was being taken, turned off the stove, and rushed out the door, sprinting towards the Marketplace with the blurring speed of a Lycanthrope at full exertion. Eyes squinted against the wind of his own passage, he dodged left and right around pedestrians, sometimes springing completely over their startled heads.

At the hospital, he wasted several minutes arguing with staff who didn't want to let him in with Lelah. Finally, a combination of desperate pleading and thinly veiled threatening won him through the doors to the examination room. He ran to Lelah's bed immediately, taking her hand in his. When one of the doctors started to tell him to move, he gave the man a flat stare of denial. Something in his eyes made the doctor back off hurriedly. Nothing less than a tornado was going to budge him from her side, and even that was iffy. They tried to tell him that he was putting himself at risk by being there when they didn't yet know what was wrong with her, especially with the RBF going around. He waved their concerns away, pointing out that as an Alpha Lycanthrope, he was, for all intents and purposes, immune to disease.

He remained quiet while the doctors worked, only speaking up when they brought a painkiller for Lelah, questioning them as to what it contained. When he heard it was morphine, an opiate, he knew that she would never allow them to put something so close to heroin in her body. He stopped the nurse from injecting the morphine, telling them Lelah had a bad reaction to opiates. Which was entirely true. They didn't need to know she was a recovering addict?not from him, at least. The nurse left, returning with another needle, this one containing Naproxen. At her questioning look, he silently motioned for her to go ahead and inject that one. As soon as the needle broke her skin, Lelah began to protest, screaming for them to stop. Daniel stroked her cheek softly, leaning down to whisper that it was okay, that she was going to be fine, holding her hand with his free one.

When the painkiller took effect, and Lelah subsided into sleep, he became the target of a barrage of questions from the doctors. What was his relationship to her, did he know what had happened, had she been displaying any symptoms lately, and so on. With the RBF in everyone's mind, they also asked if she'd eaten or had contact with any game animals lately. He told them about the deer he'd caught the week before, and they send someone to his house to pick up what was left of it. It was about then that the nurse confirmed Lelah was suffering from RBF, and that they had to quarantine her.

?Let me take her to my cabin,? he said immediately. ?It's on ten acres, no neighbors within half a mile. I can take care of her, and I can't catch the virus.? The doctors hesitated, looking at one another. ?Please, let me do this. I...I love her. Let me take care of her. Please.? After some discussion, the doctors relented, agreeing. They were going to need every bed they could spare with the virus spreading so quickly, even one extra bed open could mean the different between life or death for another patient. They made him sign several release forms, all the way giving him a steady stream of instructions and advice and how to take care of her, then loaded her into the Alfa.

He drove quickly back to his house, carrying her carefully up to the master bedroom and laying her gently into his bed. He quickly attached the IV, hooking up the saline drip and inserting the needle into her arm. It was familiar work for him. While he had no formal medical training, anyone who spent long enough fighting a war learned the basics of medicine, and when you were the one person in your battle group who had no fear of contracting disease, who healed most wounds within moments, you ended being the default medic quite often. He was well used to caring for sick and injured people; more used to it than he would have liked, as most of his patients had been friends and comrades.

Once she was settled and sleeping peacefully, he drove the Alfa to her carriage house to pick up clothes, toiletries, and, of course, Oscar. He also called Liv from Lelah's phone, updating her on what was going on, and asking her to take care of the studio while Lelah recovered. Back home, he turned off the Blackberry and dropped it into a kitchen drawer before going back to the bedroom and sitting down to watch her. He'd heard bad things about the RBF, and wasn't going to leave her side until he was sure she was going to pull through, even if he had to will her back to health.

Jonathan Granger

Date: 2011-08-14 15:32 EST
Jon paced the floor of his trailer, nervously awaiting news of Lelah's condition. He hadn't been there when she'd collapsed, but news of the event had spread like wildfire, especially among the cast and crew of Crowes.

The question that kept tugging at him was why she hadn't gotten vaccinated. She'd been adamant about the rest of them, but had probably been too busy and too stubborn to find time for herself. Jon promised himself that if and when she got better, he was personally going to kick her ass.

No, he thought. Not if... When. There was no if. She simply had to get better. He refused to think what would happen if she didn't.

Jon dropped onto the couch finally and shoved a hand through his hair, tired of pacing, worrying himself sick. He leaned back against the cushions and closed his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted and drained. He let his mind wander, trying to remember when he'd first met Lelah. He knew what she'd told him, but he found it frustrating that he couldn't remember it himself.

Something about a party, he thought, but he wasn't sure. There had been so many parties, and the bits and pieces of memory were vague and confusing at best. Life in the fast lane, surely makes you lose your mind... He started drifting off to sleep amid a confusing jumble of images he wasn't sure were memories or dreams. Loud music, laughter, a blur of faces, both women and men, colored lights, hands tugging at his clothes, darkness...

The phone rang and Jon nearly jumped out of his skin, groggily reaching for it and answering, the voice on the other end telling him that Lelah was going to be fine, but quarantined for a few days. Filming would continue under the assistant director. The show must go on.

No rest for the weary, Jon thought, as he ended the call with a relieved sigh. He dialed a florist and arranged to have a dozen yellow tulips sent to Lelah with a note that said, "Get well soon. I miss you already. All my love, Jon."

Daniel Tej

Date: 2011-08-17 02:59 EST
The past four days had been some of the worst Daniel could remember.? Worse even than most of the fighting in Burma.? At least there, he had an enemy, a target, something to fight back against.? Here, the enemy was something he couldn't fight with his hands or his claws.? All he could was keep Lelah hydrated and as comfortable as he could make her.? That and hope and pray.?

He spent hours and hours every day sitting at her bedside, holding her hand and speaking softly to her.? He told her that she was going to get better, that this virus couldn't stop her after everything she'd already lived through.? He pleaded with her to wake up, to come back to him.? He rarely left her side, except to feed Oscar, and occasionally himself.?

Saturday night, Riley phoned to find out how Lelah was doing and if she could do anything for either of them. He asked her to come over and take Oscar for a long walk, to which she readily agreed, saying that she'd even bring Finn so that both dogs would have someone to play with for a while. When she arrived at the cabin and saw his drawn, haggard appearance, she yelled at him, telling him to get out of the house for a while, go on a hunt or something to pull himself together.? After that failed to motivate him, she switched to logic, telling him that he needed to take care of himself in order to take care of Lelah. Did he want her to wake up and find him looking more like something the Cat dragged in than the Cat?

He couldn't argue with her for long ? he'd never been able to ? and eventually gave in, letting her sit with Lelah for a while.? He walked in the forest around his cabin for a while, until he felt like he'd been away from his girlfriend for too long.? He came back to the house to find Riley sitting in the chair at Lelah's bedside, where he'd been spending most of his time. She was reading out loud from a book, her lovely voice bringing the characters to life with the easy of a natural-born performer.? It was Arabian Nights, he saw, and that got a very small smile from him.? He hugged Riley fiercely, and thanked her for helping, promising he would call as soon as anything changed.

After Riley left, he took a few minutes to fix himself something to eat, more because he knew Riley ? and Lelah ? would want him to, than because he felt hungry. He returned to his vigil, just as night fell, and eventually he dozed off in the chair, hand still firmly clutching Lelah's.

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-17 03:07 EST
Sunday morning, the sun slowly crept over the mountain at the cabin's back, extending golden fingers through the curtains that were drawn over the bedroom window.? The light caressed Lelah's face, penetrating her closed eyes, and causing her lashes to flutter against her cheeks.? She opened her eyes, blinked in the sudden light, and turned her head.? She frowned, confused by finding herself in Daniel's bed and not having a memory of how she got there.? She remembered having a horrible headache while she was filming and then a long, terrible nightmare that involved doctors and needles and a great big black cat who spoke softly to her in Persian, reading a story from antiquity.? "Daniel?" she said, her voice hoarse from disuse, throat parched and scratchy.

His eyes flared open at the first sound of her voice, and upon finding her awake and looking at him, a great sigh of relief shook his body.? "Lelah," he said softly, unable to keep the catch from his voice.? He said her name again, blinking as hot tears filled his eyes.

The frown deepened as she realized that he was crying.? "Daniel?? What's wrong?? What's happened?"? She was far too distracted to take stock of her body, though the crook of her left arm itched like mad.

He swiped his free hand across his face, taking a deep breath.? "You've been sick, phula.? Very sick."? He looked away from her, whispered.? "I was so scared."

"Sick?"? Her eyes grew wide.? "That fever thing?? What's it called?? I have that?"

"RBF.? Yes."? He lifted her hand carefully, pressing it to his cheek.? "Do you remember anything about the last few days?"

She felt a small, curled fist of panic in her stomach.? "Few days?? How many days?"

"You...collapsed on Tuesday afternoon.? It's Sunday morning now."? His voice was firmer now, but it was obvious from even a casual glance that the time she'd been sick hadn't been much easier on him than it had her.

"Jesus Christ," she said softly and then used her left hand to Cross herself, noticing that there was a needle in her arm.? She gasped and looked at Daniel with wide, frightened eyes.? "Drugs? What did they give me?"

He hastened to reassure her, rubbing her hand against his cheek.? "It's only a saline solution, to keep you hydrated.? I wouldn't let them give you morphine, just Naproxen.? How do you feel?? Are you in any pain?? I have more of it if you need it."

She shook her head and calmed down a bit, slowly taking stock of her body.? She felt tired, weak, a little dizzy, but not in any pain.? "No, I'm fine.? I just feel...tired.? What about the movie?? They didn't stop production, did they?? Where's my phone?? I need to talk to Liv."? She tried to sit up but found she just didn't have the strength and fell back against the pillows, giving Daniel a desperate look.

He shook his head firmly.? "No, no phone.? Not yet.? The movie's fine, Liv has been taking care of everything.? Your department heads are good at their jobs. They can handle it for a while.? You need to rest and recover."? He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, wondering if she'd seen the raw pain and worry in them.? "This wasn't just a little cold, Lelah.? You've been unconscious for days.? People are dying from this virus.? Many people."

"But I'm awake now," she pleaded.? "I just need some water and maybe some food and I'll be fine.? Please, Daniel.? I have to check up on the film.? Do you know what will happen if this film goes over the production schedule?? I'll be bankrupt.? Alain DeMuer will kill me."

"The film is on schedule," he said, trying to repress the smile that tugged at his lips.? Even half-dead, she was still so driven.? "Liv split up the scenes you were to film between the Assistant and Unit directors.? She's been handling everything else.? You picked a hell of a good PA."? Now he left that smile win free.

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-17 03:08 EST
She stared at him for a beat longer and then relaxed slightly.? She knew that Liv was amazing, but if everything Daniel had just said was true - and not a carefully crafted little white lie - Liv had just far exceeded Lelah's expectations and had earned herself an enormous raise.? "Fine.? But...? Can I at least see a newspaper?"

He nodded slowly.? "I'll get yesterday's Post.? I don't have today's.? Be right back."? He stood and went downstairs, grabbing the paper from the table.? He hurried back upstairs and set the paper down on his chair.? "Let me prop you up," he said, sliding an arm carefully under her and gently lifting, bunching the pillows up behind her.

She let him minister to her, feeling like a useless lump.? "Have you been taking care of me this whole time?? All by yourself?" she asked once he helped her settle.

"For the most part, yes.? Riley was here for a little while yesterday.? She made me take a walk."? He chuckled slightly.? "She read Arabian Nights to you."

"Well, that explains the great big black cat in my dreams,? she said with a tiny smile.? ?The cat was reading to me in Persian."? She reached for the paper.? "Was I in the hospital?" She had a distinct memory of seeing a doctor's face with a surgical mask over it. The doctor had had kind eyes, she thought, the sort of eyes that a doctor should have.

"When you first collapsed, yes."? He put the paper in her hands, watching carefully to see if she was strong enough to hold it herself.? "Liv got you sent immediately, and called me.? When the doctors realized it was RBF, I begged them to let me take you here and care for you."

She smiled softly and took the paper from him, holding it in her hand as she studied his face intently.? "I remember that.? You told them that you couldn't get sick, right?"

He nodded.? "That's right.? As a Lycan, I don't have to worry about any diseases other than lycanthropy."

"You said..."? She swallowed with difficulty as her throat grew even more dry.? "You told the doctors that you...you love me," she said in a soft voice that was full of wonder.? "Or did I dream that?"? It was so hard to separate dream from reality right now.

"You didn't dream it," he said quietly.? He stood, stilling the urge to groom himself, and went to get her a glass of water from the bathroom.

She watched him go into the bathroom with a faint frown.? She wondered if he had only said that because he thought she was dying.? Then she opened the paper and started getting caught up with what was happening around town.

He came back with the glass of water, sitting down in the chair again.? He watched her read the paper for a moment before speaking.? "While I sat here with you, waiting for you to get better, I had a lot of time in which I didn't much other than think.? I thought of how my life has been since I met you ? and how it was before that.? I thought of the way I feel when I look at you, or touch you, or even think about you.? The way your face lights up when you see me, and the way my heart pounds when I see you.? And I thought about how much, how incredibly badly it would hurt if I...if I lost you.? I do love you, Lelah."

Lelah

Date: 2011-08-17 03:10 EST
She stared at him for a long, long time, her dark, tired eyes moving carefully over every angle and plane of his face, the scar under his eye, the three-day growth of beard on his cheeks and chin, the desperate look in his grey eyes.? Then she smiled slowly.? "I love you, too," she said softly.

His smile spread like the sun rising, and he reached down, resting his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.? "I like hearing you say that."? He held up the glass of water slightly, silently asking if she wanted it.

She nodded and exchanged the paper for the glass of water and slowly sipped it.? Then she handed it back to him and gasped in sudden panic.? "Oscar!? Where is he?"

"He's here.? He's been here the whole time.? He's just outside right now.? I put up a little fenced area for him to run around in so he wouldn't get lost in the forest.? I'll go call him."? He stood, turning to head for the door.

"Daniel?" she said softly, reaching out for his hand before he left.

He stopped, turning back to her and taking the hand she stretched out.? "Yes?"

"Thank you," she said with a shy smile.? "No one has ever taken care of me like this."

He gave her hand a squeeze, smiling back.? "I would do it again in a heartbeat," he said softly.? Then he chuckled and shook his finger at her.? "Which does not mean you're allowed to get sick like this ever again. Do you hear me?"

She grinned at that and nodded.? "It's a deal.? Go get my baby."

He bent down and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before letting go of her hand, and went quickly downstairs again, and to the side door.? "Oscar!" he called after opening the door.? "Come inside, your momma is awake!"? Whether not he understood the words, Oscar wasted no time racing in through the door and scrambling up the steps to the bedroom.

Lelah squealed in happiness when the little dog burst through the bedroom door and leapt upon the bed, covering her in kisses.? She squeezed him tight and cooed and murmured at him, petting him and cuddling him. Daniel stood in the doorway and watched the woman and her dog, smiling happily.? She seemed worlds better already than she had when she'd first awakened.

After their cuddling was done, Oscar removed himself to the foot of the bed, and curled up by Lelah's feet.? "I think I'm hungry," she told Daniel.? "Maybe some broth?"

"That's a good sign," he said.? "Feeling hungry.? Means you're on the mend.? You just relax in bed, and I'll get you some broth.? Chicken?"

She nodded and relaxed against the pillows with a soft sigh.? "I feel useless," she told him.

He shook his head.? "You're not useless.? Give yourself some time.? This is a bad virus.? You're lucky...and so am I.? I'm so glad you're recovering, Lelah.? Watching you lie there, unconscious, day after day..."? He shook his head

"It's okay now.? I'm getting better, right?? Pretty soon, I'll be back home and then back at work and out of your hair."

"You're getting better," he confirmed.? "But I don't want you out of my hair.? I love being near you." She smiled and then shooed him out of the room.? When he got back, she'd ask him to take out the IV so she could use the bathroom and take a bath, too. Maybe she'd even be able to wheedle her phone out of him.


((Many thanks to Daniel's player for this scene!))

Lelah

Date: 2011-09-21 14:18 EST
Daniel had (rightly) refused to give back her phone until she was out of bed and walking on her own. Smart man, him; he knew it would give her extra motivation and three days after she awoke in his bed, Lelah was sitting on the back porch of the cabin in the woods, wrapped in one of her own silk robes and watching Oscar as he ran around the lawn, nose to the ground, tracking whatever interesting scents he could find. She thought about asking Daniel what the dog was smelling, but when she glanced aside at him, his eyes were closed and his breathing deep and even. She smiled softly, glad he was finally getting some rest. As far as she knew, he hadn't slept more than two or three hours every night since she first collapsed. The poor thing was running himself ragged, even with his Super Kitty stamina.

She'd finally earned her phone earlier that morning when she tottered like an old woman down the stairs and flopped bonelessly on the couch in front of the large hearth in Daniel's living room. She was utterly exhausted and weary, but she managed to summon up enough energy to phone Olivia and get the status on the film. She was delighted, relieved, and impressed to hear that everything was on schedule and that no one else had fallen ill. Lelah gave Olivia a 10% pay rise right then and there and promised her some time behind the camera on the next project, as well.

The next three days were spent mostly on the back porch although Daniel did force her to get up and walk briefly around the yard. On Wednesday, eight days after she collapsed, she noticed that her garden wasn't looking very happy and asked Daniel to help her with it. They watered and weeded ? though Daniel did most of the work while Lelah sat in the shade of a large conifer ? and fertilized and picked over for bugs and rot and whatnot. A week after she awoke, she was doing all the work herself, though the Leopard did hover near by at all times, ready to tell her when he felt she was overdoing it.

She returned to the set the next day, to a huge round of applause and hugs and kisses from her cast and her crew both. She spent the mornings of the next week watching dailies and was pleased beyond measure to find that Scott and the other directors were keeping exactly to her vision of the film while still adding a bit of their own artistic insights to the scenes as well. She was also delighted to see that whatever mentoring Jon had been giving to Aimee had payed off ? the girl really had a talent hidden away underneath all of that awkwardness Lelah had initially seen in their takes and if she could just consistently get past it on every take, she'd build quite a career for herself.

Lelah returned to work full time during the last week of filming, taking over the director's chair from Scott, though she did keep him close by in case something else happened. Filming wrapped on the last day of August, and after a three-day break, she hosted a wrap party at Mr. Oxley's estate, borrowing his grand ballroom for the occasion. She hired a professional party planner and then sat back and let the woman do all the work while she and Daniel reconnected after a three-week recovery period. She'd wanted to be with him the morning she'd awoken, but he'd refused, worried that he'd hurt her so she'd waited until he said yes, all the while burning for his touch and his kisses.

The party was a great success and it was nice to see her cast and crew on a purely social level. She discovered that Lasse could sing quite well, that Liv was quite a dancer when she took her glasses off and let her hair down, and that David Lo had quite a knack for telling funny stories. When she and Daniel went to bed that night ? well, really early the next morning ? Lelah realized that for the first time since she'd left Last Chances Rehab almost seven years ago, she was happy, comfortable in her own skin, and surrounded by people who loved her. It was a nice feeling and she was determined to keep it no matter what.