that vague sense of impending doom
Becomes a whole lot less vague. Players, not pups.

Gael: *the alarm clock rings at an insanely early time and Gael groans. He reaches over, grabs it, and rips it out of the wall before throwing it away from the bed. It hits the door and shatters*

Gael: *pause. pause*

Gael: "Oops."

Diego: 'Damn, Gael.' *murmurs sleepily, cracking an eye to look at the tangle of cord by the door*

Gael: "It deserved it"

Gael: *he turns onto his side and closes his eyes again*

Diego: 'Mmm. Sure it did, baby.' *he cuddles around you* 'Don't we have to get up?'

Gael: 'No'

Gael: 'I am on strike'

Diego: 'On strike from having sex with me? Lucky for you, I won't hold it against you.'

Gael: 'I am too sickly to even rush to my own defense. I will wallow instead'

Gael: 'Wallow. wallow wallow'

Diego: 'You've been so tired recently, baby. You should see a doctor and get a vitamin shot in your butt.'

Gael: *he laughs* 'I am not going to get a vitamin shot in my butt'

Gael: 'I'll drink more coffee'

Gael: 'It's just this having sex with you all the time-- it's exhausting me!'

Gael: *he sighs dramatically*

Diego: 'In the short term, but you seriously need to see about this. Your nose isn't all cold and wet anymore.' *pinches your butt* 'I'll go get some coffee for you.'

Gael: *he sits up, laughing, then winces slightly-- you may have missed it*

Diego: 'What's wrong, baby?' *he's pulling on pajama pants to go start the coffee maker*

Gael: 'It must be raining, or about to rain'

Diego: 'Are you sore?'

Gael: 'Yeah, a little'

Gael: 'Though' *he grins* 'it could be all of the rough and tumbling we do all day'

Diego: *bends down and kisses you sweetly* 'Then you get a special treat.'

Diego: 'Coffee in the bathtub. See how I indulge you?'

Gael: "I adore you" *he grins and stands, stretching with a moan*

Gael: 'DIOS, Dee, you broke me!'

Diego: *he starts the coffee maker, then goes to turn on the tub* 'Surely not. There wasn't even blood.' *winks*

Gael: *he grins* 'Maybe a little tonight? We can cover it up with makeup'

Diego: 'Mmm. Not if you're still feeling puny.'

Gael: "I am not puny!' *he glowers* 'I am mighty!!'

Gael: *he goes and climbs into the water*

Gael: *there are shadows beneath his eyes and he looks pale*

Diego: 'You are incredibly cute if very frustrating when you are sick.'

Diego: *bends over the water and kisses you beneath your eyes*

Gael: *he snaps at your nose* 'I am not sick'

Gael: 'It's this city'

Diego: 'Mmhmm.' *he pads in to get you coffee, bringing it to you in your mug and perching on the rim* 'Still, we have to be here for a couple more weeks. Why be miserable?'

Gael: *he sighs and leans back, tired-looking. he looks like he may have the beginning of the flu*

Diego: 'You'll get some meds, and you'll feel SO much better.'

Gael: 'All right, then. Next weekend, we'll go'

Gael: 'Unless we get time scheduled off'

Diego: 'We've got about 3 hours later this afternoon.'

Gael: 'Not long enough'

Diego: 'Of course it is.'

Gael: 'Besides, I wanted to spend those looking around'

Diego: 'You won't feel up to it, baby.'

Gael: 'I will feel up to it'

Gael: 'I want to... to go shopping'

Diego: *he raises an eyebrow* 'That was shameful, amor. *shameful*.'

Gael: 'Ok, fine' *he snaps* 'I don't want to go now'

Diego: 'This afternoon isn't now!' *brightly, wearing his ditziest expression*

Gael: 'Fuck off' *SCOWL*

Diego: *POUT POUT QUIVER OF LIP*

Diego: 'I just worry about you.'

Gael: 'I know, but I don't want to *go*, Dee'

Gael: 'I am fine'

Diego: 'Couldn't you do it for me? You're so grumpy and meh when you don't feel good.'

Diego: 'I'll hold your hand, even.'

Gael: 'All right, but not today, please?'

Gael: 'We can do it tomorrow or the next day'

Diego: 'I suppose.' *he leans in and kisses your forehead, then goes to brush his teeth and lay out clothes for the day.

Gael: *he comes out of the bath eventually and does the same*

Diego: *your clothes are already laid out*

Diego: *he slides past you to go shower real fast*

Gael: *you notice as you pass a strange dark mark on his ass*

Diego: 'Hey, baby...you got a bruise where I pinched you.' *stops you and looks at it*

Gael: 'Do I?" *he looks over his shoulder* 'You must have really gotten me, then'

Diego: 'I barely touched you, amor. I know your skin by now, and how it reacts to things...this isn't normal.'

Gael: 'I doubt it's anything' *he sighs and turns to you, touching your face* 'but if it will make you feel better for me to have myself looked at, I'll go'

Diego: 'Thank you, baby. I can have the staff doctor come to the set, if you'd prefer?'

Gael: 'Whichever. Though, wait...I'm not sure I want anyone to know. So maybe we can go to her?'

Diego: 'All right, love. I'll make the appointment. Thank you.'

Gael: *he smiles at you, then turns to pull on his clothing*

**

The doctor is a friendly, middle-aged woman, both competent and motherly. Jon was very careful to hire someone who is both gay and BDSM lifestyle-friendly, so Diego is allowed with Gael without question. Gael is made to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. Dieog watches everything, stuck to his side like glue. They draw blood, and then put a small cotton pad over the tiny wound. Then the waiting commences.

Diego: 'Ew. That was gross.' *nods to your arm* 'But blood is really pretty. Don't you think?'

Gael: 'Blood is very pretty, especially on your back'

Gael: *he lifts the bandage, then makes a face and replaces it*

Gael: 'They make you wait forever in these places'

Diego: 'Yes, they do. Shall I do an interpretative dance to the muzak?'

Gael: 'Oh, please do. Keep me entertained'

Gael: *he leans back and grins at you*

Diego: *his mouth twists as he tries to think, then stands up and does an utterly ridiculous little dance to the muzak version of Madonna's Like a Prayer, complete with mock prayers and lots of swaying*

Gael: *he's laughing still when the doctor comes in*

Dr. Ruben: *she pauses, catching the very last flourish of Diego's dance. she applauds* 'Fine work, Diego You should consider Broadway'

Diego: *he bows deeply, grinning, then goes to sit back beside Gael* 'I have, a little.' *he laces his fingers with yours*

Gael: *he squeezes*

Dr. Ruben: *she takes the pad from Gael and tosses it, then turns to grab her clipboard*

Gael: *you see a trickle of blood swell up out of the prick and run down his inner arm*

Diego: 'Doctor, I think we need another of those little pad thingies.'

Dr. Ruben: *she looks over, surprised, and you see her eyes widen slightly* 'Oh, of course. I'm sorry'

Diego: 'What's wrong, Doctor?'

Dr. Ruben: *she gets another pad for him, then starts talking*

Dr. Ruben : 'We're running tests and don't have answers yet, but we'd very much like for Gael to see a specialist for deeper diagnostics. We cannot know for sure, but it is possible that you have something serious, and we would like the Center to test you right away.'

Diego: 'Serious? Like what? What kind of serious?'

Diego: *and the freak out commences right on schedule*

Dr. Ruben: 'Well, we need to have tests run to be sure. However, the symptoms and test results so far are not inconsistent with Adult Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia'

Diego: 'That's cancer, isn't it?' *he's white as a sheet*

Dr. Ruben: 'It is a cancer of the blood, yes'

Diego: *he looks at you, clearly terrified* 'Gael...'

Gael: *he squeezes your hand* 'Shhh, mi amor, let the doctor finish'

Dr. Ruben: 'You shouldn't panic. The diagnosis is not certain-- we need to do a full blood count before we can truly know anything for sure'

Dr. Ruben : 'However, this is very serious and it is important that you get this done as soon as possible'

Diego: 'Anything. *Anything*.' *he's looking at you, stricken*

Gael: *Gael reaches up to touch your face, tender*

Dr. Ruben: 'Here is the address of a center. they will be in contact with me to let me know the results. We'll plan a course of action once we know one way or the other'

Diego: *Diego take the paper* 'We'll go straight there.'

Dr. Ruben: 'It may take a couple of days for the test results to come in. In the meantime, here are a few prescriptions to get Gael to feeling better' *she hands you another piece of paper*

Diego: 'Can we get them filled here?'

Dr. Ruben : 'Of course. I will call you once the results are in. If they indicate ALL, we will need you, Gael, for more testing.'

Dr. Ruben: 'The Leukemia Research Center will be the best place to go for that, but we will discuss that once we have a better idea.'

Diego: *Diego nods, getting shakily to his feet* 'Thank you, Doctor.'

Dr. Ruben: *she shakes your hand and Gael's then leaves*

Gael: 'Diego? Are you all right?'

Diego: *he pulls you into his arms, so careful even though you know he's dying to squeeze you tight* 'Fuck, FUCK, Gael...No, I'm not all right.'

Diego: 'What about you?'

Gael: *he, however, squeezes you tightly* 'I'm fine, Dee. We don't know anything for sure, yet'

Diego: *strokes your hair, pulls back. there are tears in his eyes* 'No. No, we don't know.'

Gael: *he leans in and kisses you, so tender*'So there's no use worrying over it'

Diego: 'No use in it? Maybe not, but I'm fucking terrified, so I'll just keep up with the panicking, okay?'

Diego: 'Aren't you terrified?'

Gael: 'No, I'm not terrified'

Gael: *he strokes your hair*

Diego: 'You're not?'

Gael: 'Not yet. I refuse to be'

Gael: *he kisses you again, a calming presence*

Diego: *his heart is going a mile a minute, and you hear the telltale wheeze to his breathing that signals an impending asthma attack*

Gael: 'Baby, baby, sit down. calm down, love'

Gael: *he guides you to a chair and makes you sit*

Gael: 'Take deep breaths, love. deep, strong breaths'

Gael: 'Do you have your inhaler?'

Diego: *he nods and pulls it out, taking a long draw on it* 'I'm okay I'm fine.'

Gael: 'Are you sure, love?'

Diego: 'Yeah. Let's get you your meds, and get over to the center.'

Gael: 'I should call Jon'

Gael: 'Or... you know, Dee, we only have filming for a bit longer'

Diego: 'We'll call them on the cab over. What does filming have to do with you finishing the testing?'

Gael: 'We'll put Jon behind if we call in'

Diego: 'It's just a blood draw. It won't take long.'

Gael: 'All right. Then we'll go and have it done, then hurry back'

Diego: *he ends up calling Jon and telling him they have to go for some tests*

Diego: *it seems to make him less panicky to be the one to deal with the details*