18762/Healing is the Hardest Part

Healing is the Hardest Part
Date of Scene:	05 August 2024
Location:	Stark Tower: James Rhodes' Private Apartment
Synopsis:	Rhodey welcomes Cam to his place to rest and recover after the attack by the strange, vampire creature calling himself Morbius.
Cast of Characters:	James Rhodes, Camille Russo

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James Rhodes has posed:
This is not James Rhodes first time around the block. He has years of military experience and considerable amount of time working closely with Tony Stark as well. He has spent the past several years as an Avenger as well and it is fair to say that they do not exactly live an ordinary existence, running into all manner of strange things during his time with that assemblage of heroes.

But he hasn't run into very many vampires. Or whatever it is that attacked Cam the other night. It bit her neck and left weird wounds along her arms as well. He can't exactly be sure just what can or would do that, what would seemingly feed on her blood. But it sure as hell feels like something a vampire might do.

So unsurprisingly, he has insisted that she stay with him -- at least once medically cleared to not have to linger in a SHIELD medical facility. Just to be on the safe side.

Camille Russo has posed:
The vampire - pseudo-vampire, whatever Dr. Morbius is - well. Camille's just glad it wasn't one of those vampires in Gotham, because other than being a little paler than normal, and likely more prone to tiring out while her body recovers the SHIELD medics don't think there's too much to worry about. From everything they know, she'd only be changed with a full drain, and there was nothing immediately obvious when they were watching and testing.

James insisting that she stay there was probably a relief to medical just as much as it was to her. If something does get weird, she'll be near help... or containment. She's got a list of instructions, food to eat, a supplement to take, and things to watch for, but all she really wants is to be wrapped up in Rhodey's arms.

She lets herself into his place, toeing her shoes off, and calls out to him. "Hey honey, they finally released me."

James Rhodes has posed:
Popping his head out of the kitchen as that door opens, Rhodey doesn't seem to have a lot of doubt about just how it is. A lot of that comes from residing in Stark Tower of course. There are military installations that don't have security anywhere as advanced as this particular building. But mostly it is just that very few people have access to his apartment without setting off all sorts of alarms. And since they're not going off right now, it's a fair bet that whomever is at the door is at least expected.

"So I heard. I would have been there to pick you up but they said it was easier to drop you off," he says, casually wiping his hands on a dish towel before setting it aside and walking over to greet her, enfolding Cam up into his arms for a moment before casually draping one of them around her back, guiding her deeper into the apartment. "So, I guess the big question is how are you feeling? You don't seem to be sparkling, which is a plus. You don't suddenly have an impulse to come after any of my blood, I hope?" he says lightly.

He's teasing, but just a bit. There is genuine concern in those eyes too.

Camille Russo has posed:
"No sparkling, no blood craving, a list of iron-rich foods to eat. Little colder than normal, urge to nibble on you is the same as always." Cam presses into his side, sighing at his warmth, then wraps her arms around him. "I'm going to be okay, they did a whole battery of reflex tests, nothing came up as outside trained human range. Most likely colder, a little more tired or easier to get run down for a week or two, but they haven't taken me out of the field. A lot of watch and wait." She grins up at him, eyes tired but mostly her normal self. "As far as we know, I wouldn't transform without a full drain, and he took... closer to a little more than you'd give in a blood donation, I think."

James Rhodes has posed:
Guiding her through the apartment, into the main living area, Rhodey steers her towards the couch that is perched in front of those large windows that look out over the city, sunlight pouring through them to offer a warm glow that may be comforting. Provided that she hasn't suddenly developed any light sensitivities at least.

He does chuckle at her mentioning of the urge to nibble on him, flashing a slow grin her way as he helps her get settled. "Well, I think I can provide a decent, iron-rich diet and what I can't make we can order in. And I'm almost certain that I have ways of warming you up," he promises with an arched brow. "If I had known that you were going to be going up against vampire things on this assignment, I would have tried to get out of the Stark conference."

Camille Russo has posed:
"I didn't know we were going against vampire-things either. Intel was inaccurate, and... The Director's not going to enjoy reading my AAR, that's for certain. Neither will Watson, since she was the senior rank on the mission." She winks up at James, sniffing the air. "I'm sure you've got a whole list of ways to keep me warmed up in that beautiful brain of yours. You have time to cuddle a little, tell me about the conference?" Camille trails off with a sigh as she snuggles into his couch, making grabby hands at him. "I can't think of many better ways to warm me up than that, really. Well, not for now. For later, definitely have some other ideas."

James Rhodes has posed:
Offering a wry smile, the one-time Colonel sinks down onto the couch next to her, once more sliding an arm about her shoulders casually, drawing her in close to him. The sun is high enough in the sky that it doesn't shine in their faces, so the view of the rest of the city is unimpeded and particularly lovely, though perhaps more so at the distance then the actual muggy August afternoon would otherwise provide. "I think I can spare a little time for uyou. Not that I imagine the goings on at a bland security conference can much hold a candle to everything you've been going through the past couple of days," he concedes with a wry smile. "But I didn't need medical attention afterwards so there is always that."

Camille Russo has posed:
"Just a little, hm?" Cam shuffles until her legs are draped across draped across his lap, tucked comfortably against his side. "I'm sure I'll find something interesting in it, even if it's just listening to you talk. I didn't expect to need medical attention, but it was... more of a shit show than it should've been. Might've been fine if Watson had remembered to make sure we all had access to the same wavelength via comms, but..." She shrugs. "I'm not sure they would've noticed I was missing if I'd been silenced before being grabbed, honestly. I don't think you're going to enjoy reading it any more than the higher-ups will, James."

James Rhodes has posed:
"Just a couple of minutes. I'm a very busy person you know," Rhodey counters, a slow grin starting to spread over his features as he draws her a little closer to him. While some furniture might first and foremost be designed for show, this couch was clearly designed for comfort and it certainly makes a viable enough nest for them to settle into for the afternoon.

At the mention of things going wrong, the smile slips from his features and he nods his head slowly. "The lab was supposed to be abandonned right? The scientist type that owns it missing? I guess that didn't help. Bad intel always makes things a little more tricky," he concedes. "I haven't worked with the Spiders all that much admittedly, but from what I gather they don't tend to be the biggest on planning or military precision. I guess we can just consider ourselves lucky that they noticed that you had been grabbed and did something about it."

Camille Russo has posed:
Camille turns her face into his chest as she starts to laugh, body shaking as the muffled noise fills the room. "It was supposed to be abandoned, yeah. It wasn't, and with the lack of coordination... well. I'm going to make a strong recommendation that the ranking agent on future missions of that nature not be close to either the POI or the intel we're chasing unless there's someone else with the rank to keep them in line. Like Barnes does his own thing on missions, but he's generally not trying to bring it back to the rest of the team. He's been able to keep his head enough while we chased the terrorists that killed Rogers down. Watson can't. If we need extra SHIELD there, it needs to be someone higher on the chain than she is, so we don't get screwed when she drops into that clique mentality. Saw some of it with Agent Silk, too. I get it, this Spider-guy is their friend and teammate outside of SHIELD. Unfortunately, that makes them a liability."

She sighs. "I don't... know that he would have drained me much more than he did? He tossed me back for the opportunity to escape, but he probably could've managed both. Hard for me to tell, really, I was woozy by then."

James Rhodes has posed:
It is questionable whether Rhodey shares the same opinion about Barnes. But then he isn't a big believer in revenge and generally prefers necessity when it comes to motice. Still, he hasn't been on either of those Ops so isn't really in a position to say with any real certainty. So he justtips his head and listens to her concerns, nodding occasionally as she makes her points. "I don't know that I've worked with Watson much before so I'll take your word. Though yeah, some people can't really keep their heads once things get personal. It's never a bad thing to have someone who is a step or two back to at least keep oversight on the whole thing," he agrees.

Then he quirks his lips slightly and dips his head in her direction. "Though speaking as someone who has occasionally played Keeper for Tony Stark, I will say that some times having a personal relationship with the subject of the mission can come in handy too. It's not always a bad thing to have somone who has more then a professional reason to see things through," he points out drily.

Camille Russo has posed:
"I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily. But I also think you wouldn't have risen to the rank you did without being able to keep your head in a crisis situation, even if it gets personal." Cam raises one of her eyebrows at James, slipping her hand into his as they talk. "I do understand personal vendettas. Or the inability to write off someone you care about until you know there's no coming back from whatever happened. I just don't think you need to be the one in charge doing it unless you can prove you can keep your head, that's all. Being the sole person off the comms could've gotten me killed by ostensibly one of our own, and it did get me injured twice, so I recognize that I'm not the most subjective person about the experience. Watson's a higher rank than me though, so she should've known and accounted for me not being on whatever private frequency they were using. We've got the tech available to loop outsiders in or hitch up to an outside network. Would've maybe taken a minute to tell me how." She takes advantage of his dipped head, lifting her own until their lips meet in a gentle kiss.

James Rhodes has posed:
All in all he is reasonably good at keeping his head in a crisis, it's true. He always has been, long before he rose up through the ranks of the military. And he hasn't really lost a step since moving on either, so there is most definitely that.

"You are not wrong," Rhodey agrees with a brief smile, linking his fingers through her own as he nestles with her on the couch. No matter what the goal, one shouldn't lose sight of one's team and that their safety is just as key as the mission target ninety-nine percent of the time," he agrees. He might be just a little bias on this particular occasion given that one of those team members they should have taken better care of was her. That might have a certain effect on matters under the circumstances.

"Anyway, you've done your part and put in your report. Now it'll be up to the higher ups to make sure it's acted upon," he muses before leaning over, pressing that brief kiss to her lips in turn.

Camille Russo has posed:
"That's true. Now, are you gonna be working from here while you babysit me, make sure I'm not going to pass out or turn into a slavering bit of undead, or are you off?" She turns her head as she yawns. "Medical said I'd probably be sleeping a lot, so I might just lure you to do some work in bed. Or here. Whichever place I'm napping at." James is so warm, and Cam's eyes are getting heavy as the warmth sinks through her skin. "I'm very flexible about where I'm napping, so long as you're there." She squeezes his hand, snuggling closer. "We did get some data though. His laptop. I feel kinda bad for the guy, really."

James Rhodes has posed:
Again that draws a smile from Rhodey and he tightens his arm around her. "Fortunately for us both, I can work from up here as easily as I can from downstairs at the security office," he agrees wryly. "I have my laptop to go over priority matters but otherwise my people know to just handle things unless it is a legitimate emergency," he assures her "So I won't be going anywhere," he says with a flickering grin, slipping a hand up, stroking along the back of her neck.

"Mmmmm, that's good though, right? Sounds like you might have what's needed then. You'll be able to help Spider-Man, turn him back and then you won't have to run the risk of going out into the field with some less then trained professionals," he points out. Seems like a win-win to him.

Camille Russo has posed:
"Mmhm, I just hope we can help him. Maybe Dr. Morbius too, I think dude's been a little on the unfortunately desperate side lately." Camille lets out a pleased hum as James rubs the back of her neck, leaning more heavily against him. "Glad that if I've gotta be watched I've got you here to do it, but for now I'm going to suggest stretching out and taking a mid-afternoon nap. I didn't sleep great in medical, but now you've got me all comfortable and a nap sounds amazing. Dinner after, but if you need to get some work done I can just sleep with my head in your lap."