Tony was still asleep when Gibbs left on Tuesday morning, swapping with Sasha. He had gone to bed late the night before, having watched 'It's A Wonderful Life' with Gibbs. He only woke up when he caught a whiff off bacon cooking. Getting up, Tony washed his face and headed out to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Tony," said Sasha cheerfully as she put the last of the cooked bacon onto a plate. "Come and sit down. You can eat, then take the meds."
"When did you get here?" Tony asked with a yawn.
"Half an hour ago. Agent Gibbs said you were still sleeping, so I figured I'd get breakfast started. I hope you like bacon and egg."
Tony's eyes widened when Sasha put a plate in front of him. It was heaped with eggs and bacon. There were two slices on toast on the side.
"You can't have coffee yet, but you can have orange juice if you want."
"Juice is good." Tony smiled. "This is amazing, Sasha. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Sasha took a seat across from Tony, and they ate in silence.
"Okay, Tony, let's get you outside," said Sasha. It was ten am.
"Do you think we could go for a walk instead of just sitting outside?" asked Tony as he tied up his runners.
"Sure. That sounds like fun. Where do you want to walk to?"
"Uh... There's a lovely little park about ten blocks away. It's a good walk. You have to climb a couple of hills to get there."
"Are you sure you want to try that?"
"Yes."
"Okay. We can certainly walk there. It's not a ten minute walk, but I think we can be flexible today, especially since we'll be walking up hills. When we get back, I'll call Dr Pitt and discuss the walk with him. We might be able to switch up the ten minute time limit and substitute it with this walk, if it's a good walk."
"Thank you."
They were four blocks into the walk when Tony stopped. He was breathing heavily.
"Tony? Are you alright?" Sasha asked worriedly. She took a water bottle out of her bag that she had brought along for Tony.
"Yeah. I just need a minute."
"Do you want to go back? We don't have to do this."
"No. I want to keep going."
"Alright. Drink some water, then we'll continue."
Tony drank a quarter of the bottle, took a few deep breaths, then stood up from where he had taken a seat on the concrete. "I'm ready," he said.
Sasha nodded. They started walking again, but this time they were slower. When they reached the first hill, Sasha looked at Tony, but he seemed much better and was taking the hill in his stride, so she followed him up. After two more blocks and another hill, Sasha stopped. Tony was standing just ahead of her, breathing deeply to catch his breath, but the view was amazing. She could understand why Tony had wanted to continue and not head back home.
"Wow! This is lovely, Tony."
"I told you it was worth it. Come on, there's a shady area over there with a picnic table we can sit at for a while." Tony smiled happily as he started off again.
Three hours later, Tony was back in his apartment. He and Sasha had ended up eating lunch at the park while they chatted. But Tony was happy to be home now. He was tired and his legs were sore from walking. He dropped to the couch and sat there, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
"Relax Tony," said Sasha as she joined him. She had some water in her hand and passed it over. "Have a drink. You did a good job out there."
Tony drank the water and was silent for a moment. He was breathing properly again, but his chest felt a little tight.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Sort of. My chest kind of hurts a little."
"Okay. Describe the pain."
"It's sort of tight, like when you can't get enough air into your lungs because you're exhausted."
"A normal feeling after a long walk."
"That wasn't long."
"Maybe not normally. But you haven't done any strenuous activity in a week. Chest tightness and a lack of stamina is quite normal. I can check you, if you want."
Tony nodded. He hadn't wanted to ask, but he was glad that Sasha had understood him.
"I'll be right back." Sasha walked over to the door, opened her bag, and pulled out a stethoscope. She came and sat down with Tony again. "Take a deep breath."
A few minutes later, Tony was resting on the couch, watching a movie. He was falling asleep while Sasha was on the phone.
"Hi Sasha," said Brad. "How's Tony going?"
"Good. We went for a short walk before lunch. We got four blocks down from his apartment building when Tony stopped for the first time. I think he overestimated his energy, to be honest, but he pushed through it and kept going after a drink and a short rest. We had lunch while we were out, then came back. The walk back was easier since we were going downhill, but when we got back, Tony told me that he was feeling a little out of breath. He's fine, but I think he may have scared himself a little."
"Did you tell him that he's okay?"
"Yes."
"Then he will be fine. He just needs some reassurance. How's his health in general?"
"Good. He's doing better than I thought he would. Has he been taking the antibiotics?"
"Yes. He hasn't taken painkillers during the day, and Agent Gibbs said he's been good overnight."
"That's really good. I think Tony's really benefiting from your company. Thank you for doing this."
"It's my job, firstly, and then I get to have fun. Tony's hilarious, plus I get to watch movies all day."
Brad laughed. "Go have some fun. Tony's probably waiting to watch more movies."
