5825/Seizing Moments (1951)

Seizing Moments (1951)
Date of Scene:	02 April 2021
Location:	Carter-Sousa House - Long Island
Synopsis:	While preparing to go to a SHIELD to investigate the cause of her strange seizures, Lily ends up having another one of those strange seizures. It's the worst one yet. At least, Peggy's there to help.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Melinda May

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Peggy Carter has posed:
It was a little odd not waking up vaguely ill in the morning, or even throughout the day. Peggy still didn't have all her energy back, but that's as much from being stabbed as anything. Still, planning on going down to the doctors as quickly as possible for Lily, she's up the same time as Daniel this morning and not bothering sleeping in any later. However, he's out the door to the office early and she's in the kitchen heating up the pancakes he's left them and making a fresh pot of tea for her and Lily. Neither of them would leave the house without some tea first.

She's dressed already, if not fancily. Just a pair of high waisted slacks and a button down shirt. It's the first time she's really fit in these slacks in a few weeks, so they might as well get some use. She's not yet bothered with make up but her hair is out of it's pins so at least has some curl back. She's not 100 percent, but she's getting there.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily is up at her usual time, which means about 5am. She spends the early morning on her katas, stretching her body and allowing her mind to settle into a meditative state as she slowly works through the forms. By the time Daniel is up, she has finished and showered. By the time Daniel has left and Peggy is investigating breakfast, she has dressed in a somewhat similar fashion to her friend -- high waisted trousers and a blouse -- and is wrapping her hair up in an easy roll. Morning showers really don't lend themselves well to pincurls, but she makes do.

She enters the kitchen, rubbing absently at the base of her neck as she comes. "Smells good," she notes. "Daniel cooked?" It's not meant to be a dig. But it is honest.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slight smirk crosses her lips, "I think I could manage pancakes, but yes. He's still being... over protective. I think he feels bad he needs to go into the office with neither of us feeling 100 percent. But yes. There's some food, syrup, he even cut up some strawberries for the pancakes... eat something small, at least, then we'll get on the road." It was a breakfast meant to keep getting sugar back in a body and make up for that blood Peggy lost on the weekend, but also one of comfort. A caring gesture to both of them.

Peggy pours out each of them a mug of tea and then sinks down into the kitchen table chair -- she's not bothering with the fancy dining table for a breakfast like this. She digs in with not necessarily a huge appetite, but without hesitation either. The nausea is well and truly gone. "How are you feeling?"

Melinda May has posed:
Lily gives a small smile as she moves to pick up a plate and dish herself up a small breakfast to match Peggy's. Her appetite isn't suppressed, by any means, but she's rarely given to large meals. Still, a few strawberries alongside the pancakes and syrup is enticing enough.

"I'm fine," she tells her friend, cutting up one of the pancakes. "The tension is still building, though, if that's what you're asking." It makes sense, given where they're going, this morning. And her neck is bothering her, though she hasn't quite registered it. "I think I slept strangely, though."

She cants her head slightly, reaching for her tea. "How are you feeling?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Fine. Barely notice the stitches, honestly. I'm glad we're going into the science department. It's not exactly being in the office, but it's better than sitting around here lost in my own head. So... Better." Peggy does actively seem better as well, for having the goal of something protective to do today and someone to take care of, even if it's just escorting Lily to the scientists.

With that thought, her eyes narrow on her friend a little more as she mentions sleeping strangely. "...Strangely? How so? If it's that bad we... could leave right now. You can take the pancakes in the car, if you like. God knows Daniel and I have eaten on those bench seats enough." In fact, there was still the crumbs and packaging from the sandwiches Daniel brought this weekend along with the bloodstains they couldn't get out from the end of that mission in the car.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily shakes her head. "No," she says. "Let's finish breakfast. I'm just a little stiffer than usual, is all." The tightness in her body is unusual, to be sure. Even her morning exercise hasn't been enough to dislodge it. Though, when a shiver runs unbidden down her spine -- the sort of 'walking over your grave' shiver she described last evening -- she sets her fork down carefully.

The tension in her form is visible as she pauses, an expression on her face like she's listening for a distant sound of alarm. It's really that she's taking careful stock of her body now, reevaluating what she took to be normal tension. "I'm not sure we're going to have time to get to the office," she says softly.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There is a trace of genuine concern through Peggy's dark eyes as Lily says she's more stiff than normal. Peg isn't certain if it's paranoia, or her agent's senses screaming at her, but something is telling her that this is off. Something is wrong. She takes two more bites of her pancake and then stands, moving to put the plate in the sink a bit faster than normal.

That's when Lily makes her announcement. "Damn. Alright. Come on. Somewhere soft with you, at least. Can we get to the couch?" Peggy double times over to her side, reaching down to try and get an arm below the woman's shoulders just in case she starts seizing right here. "Howard gave me a...camera... mini film. I don't know if it will work but it's worth trying..."

Melinda May has posed:
Lily nods, a little uncertainly. From her perspective, the world is beginning to warp and overlap, flickering a moment too fast and then stretching a moment too slow. She pushes back from the table, chair scraping over the linoleum. As she rises, she reaches out to steady herself on the table. Her balance is clearly just slightly off. As if she had one too many tumblers of whiskey.

"Couch is fine," she says. Her speech isn't slurred at all, but she does seem increasingly distracted. "Camera... yeah."

It's a good thing Peggy supports her, because as she tries to move toward the livingroom, it's clear her coordination is suffering. Indeed, Peggy can probably feel the strange ripples -- they seem more half-imagined than real, they're subtle enough, but still there -- that run down her spine and through her torso.

Peggy Carter has posed:
While Peggy isn't carrying her like the first time, that's probably unwise with a still-healing abdomen wound anyway, Peggy does give her all the stability she needs to get to the long, far softer couch. If they had time, she'd probably go for the bedroom, but she can already feel the odd ripples from the woman and the shaking which is threatening to start in earnest. She lays Lily out gently, "Just take a breath, hopefully...It'll pass fast."

And then Peggy is running for her desk. The hand-held camera with it's own little wheel of spinning mini-film is pulled out immediately and she really hopes she remembers how to turn it on. She's already starting it rolling as she's running back to Lily and trying to get whatever this strange seizure is on camera.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily half-falls, half-lowers herself onto the couch. The subtle lines on the outside of her eyes deepen with tension. She leans back against the cushions. Her nostrils flare as she breathes in an audible breath, high in her chest. Then another. With each inhalation, the increase in tension in her body is obvious. Her lips pull back into a grimace, teeth clentching and eyes closing.

Fingers splay over the cushions and then curl into fists as pain ripples clearly down her spine. Her head tilts back and she sucks in a deep breath, low into her diaphram as every muscle in her body seizes. Her teeth grind closed, the gasp of air the only sound she makes against the pain.

Then, the strange overlay effect begins. Like a film rippling through a projector, it seems like several different frames are trying to occupy the same physical space. At any given time, there are three, four, sometimes more versions of her -- all in the same clothes, with the same hair, but in slightly different positions reflecting writhing agony -- all in the same place on the couch. There are streamers of light between the versions, looking much like fabric being stretched out of shape, pulled by unseen hands in a vicious tug-of-war.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Lily, I'm so sorry... Just hold on. Breathe, focus, come back to us, and hold on..." Peggy tries to do her best to coach the woman through what is clearly agonizing pain while still filming it so she can make certain the scientists see exactly what they are dealing with. It hurts, to watch her friend in pain and have nothing to stop it. "Soon as this passes, we'll get you a drink, some pills. The hospital gave me the good ones... I've got some left. We're going to take care of you, you just need to hang on..." Peggy promises gently.

Melinda May has posed:
Peggy's tone registers more than her words do. Her emotions register even more strongly than her tone. But they're of limited comfort to the Asian woman being torn apart by cosmic tital forces on the couch. For just a moment, she seems to snap back together, back into focus. She looks toward Peggy with visible relief on her features...

Until an unexpected second, stronger wave hits. That actually causes Lily to cry out -- mainly because it catches her by surprise. Her arms flex, curling up against her, the knuckles on her hands white with the tension of her clenched fists. She curls into a tight ball again, rolling onto her side. The images and afterimages of her form writhe again, light and dark warring to fill the seams between.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peg is about to put the camera down, thinking that Lily might be done with it, but then there's another round, "Lily!" She gasps out. SHe's got a lot on recording. Maybe she'll get more as she sets the thing on the coffee table, vaguely pointed at Lily, but it's more important to be there for her friend. She's then coming to her knees at Lily's side as she reaches out, trying to take her hands. To give her something to focus on and hang onto, maybe something to pull her back to this reality. "Come back to me... This is your home. Focus on me. Come home."

Melinda May has posed:
Lily's fists are clenched too tightly for her to take Peggy's hands, though Peggy can certainly wrap her fingers over Lily's. Her skin, which usually runs a trifle cool, is very warm to the touch. Moisture can be seen escaping from the corners of her eyes -- doubtlessly a reaction to the sheer agony. There's a trace of blood on her lips; she may have bitten her tongue.

And as the storm finally passes, the multiple images rippling and weaving together more slowly than the sudden snap of moments ago, she lets out a sound that's a cross between a groan and a whimper. The tension slowly drains from her body. She pants softly, still feeling the echoes of the pain of the seizure.

As her fists relax, it is easier to take her hands. Her cheeks are wet with involuntary tears.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Oh, Lily...oh, my dear friend, just... Breathe. I'm here, and you're... Back. And it's over. Just breathe." Peggy isn't quite moving yet, not until she's certain that Lily's seizure is entirely over and that she's conscious. Mostly stable. She reaches one hand up to gently brush some hair back from Lily's forehead. "Just...lay tight a few minutes. I'm going to get you some pain killers, water, a cool cloth. Just... breathe."

And with that, Peggy scrambles back up to her feet. The camera is now rolling dead film, having run out at some point during that, but at least they got some of it in view. She's dashing down the hall to get some of the good pain killers the hospital gave her as well as asprin, in case Lily is stubborn. Then to the kitchen for a glass of water and a cool compress. Within a short amount of time, Peggy is back with all three and setting them down on the coffee table before she moves to wrap the compress behind the back of Lily's neck. "That one was... worse..."

Melinda May has posed:
By the time Peggy returns, Lily's body has relaxed enough that she's sunk heavily into the cushions of the sofa now, though still curled loosely on her side. Her eyes are open, though still a little glassy and unfocussed. She nods shallowly to Peggy's assessment of the seizures severity. "Uh-huh..." She spends just a few more minutes breathing, tucking her head to accommodate the compress. It's a relief. Eventually, she musters the volume to add, "Each one is always worse than the one before."

She reaches up to wipe her eyes with the back of her hands, then running fingers over her lips. They come away slightly pink. She looks to her friend, forcing herself to focus. "It really hurt this time," she admits. "I could hardly breathe."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Lily might be losing a bit of time because Peggy is there and gone again within a split of a second. She has a spare cool cloth and is using it to brush clear Lily's face, especially the blood from the edge of her lips. Peggy's not a mom nor going to be one, but she has the gentle touch of one on occasion, and this is one of those instances. So protective and so non judgmental, just giving Lily all the time she needs to recover.

"We... need to figure this out. I've got most of it on camera and as soon as you think you can move, we'll get down to the labs. But... we missed them seeing it, so there isn't reason to rush now. The worst has passed. But... we can't let that happen again." SHe nods towards the pills and water..."Painkillers. Take something. You don't need to tough this out."

Melinda May has posed:
Lily probably is losing time. Time moves strangely for her leading up to and coming out of these episodes. Rejoining the right timestream is difficult. "Help me up," she says. She only wants to sit upright, instead of being curled on her side. It's easier to take the pills that way.

The fact she's not protesting them doubtlessly suggests just how much it really hurt. And, of course, that the pain somehow lingers -- a deep, cellular ache right down into the core of her being.

"You'll need to drive. I think I'm going to be fairly useless for the rest of the day." Not that she won't push herself to move sooner rather than later (once those pain killers kick in). She'll be up and moving later than she'd like, but sooner than might otherwise be expected, in fact. But not right yet.

The looks he gives her friend now is one of open frustration. "I don't understand what's causing this." Which is about as close as she'll ever get to 'why me'.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I can drive. I told you, I'm fine. The stitches are barely red and I'm going stir crazy here. I can drive." Peggy reassures her. She's then leaning down to very gingerly help Lily into sitting. Once she's certain her friend is settled, she hands over the good pain pills and the water. "These might make you drowsy... truthfully, that's how I slept through the whole first day. But that's fine. I'll drive and get us there safely. I'll wake you up once we're at the lab. You just... relax. We can take this slow."

Her brows furrow a bit more at the open frustration Lily is expressing. It breaks her heart to see. She sighs deeply. "I...I don't really know. All I can imagine is it...it has something to do with what happened with May. That somehow the anomalies are affecting you... because i've never seen anything else like this. But the scientists, they'll figure it out."

Melinda May has posed:
"I hope so," Lily sighs, leaning her head back against the couch cushion after she's swallowed the pills. "I really don't want to know how bad this could really get." Or, more accurately, she doesn't want to experience it. Her skin still feels like it's on fire to her, though to Peggy it's probably cooled considerably. Not enough to be cool, but no longer flushed hot.

On some level, she'll be interested to see the video, herself... in a morbid sort of way. She wants to know what it looks like to Peggy. Because, behind her eyes, it's like the light of a thousand suns has exploded in her face. And, perhaps that's not inaccurate, given the war within her cells.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Gently, Peggy pulls that cloth off the back of Lily's neck and then carefully folds it over on itself, so the cooler/unused side is exposed, and then she puts that against the back of her neck and shoulders again. Her eyes study Lily's face, looking with gentle worry, but content that the woman seems mostly stable now. "You're burning up too. Not... as bad as you were, but you're still feverish. This is... affecting more aspects of you that just the moments that you have the seizures, and it's doing other things to your body."

Her fingertips then drop to give Lily's hand a brief squeeze. "But, we have the best people. We'll take the video there. They'll do scans. And...we'll get you in before it happens again. I promise."

Melinda May has posed:
Lily gives Peggy a grateful smile. She's not sure the other woman can really keep her promise, but she accepts the spirit in which its made, regardless. The cloth is still a welcome sensation on her neck as her body gradually cools. Eventually, she shivers, another one of those grave-shivers. For a quick moment, there's genuine fear in her eyes. But when nothing happens immediately thereafter, she lets out a breath she hardly realized she was holding and reaches for the water glass again.

"We should go soon," she says, swallowing. "The longer we wait, the harder it will be for me to motivate myself." Mainly because she's going to start falling asleep once those pills kick in. She's already dangerously low on energy just thanks to what she burned off in the seizure.

So much for her strawberries.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Alright. Yes. Up with you. Into the car and then you can take a long nap while I sit in traffice." Peggy states with a wider smile. Then she's offering a shoulder for the woman to lean against and she's helping usher Lily out into the car. She'll make certain she's settled in on the still stained bench seat before going around to the driver's side and settling in herself. With that, they are off towards SHIELD offices, Peggy driving as ginger and carefully as possible, to not wake her sleeping passenger.