The Perils of Baguettes.

The least frequent of all dates on the calendar came the day after Seth's emotional farewell to work, the only chance for some unfortunate souls to celebrate their birthday on the right date in four years. In the West Village, Nick left home earlier than usual, as he had been called to attend a staff meeting at 08.30. The restructure that had been going on had now been finalised, and the meeting would reveal what new role all of those in the Human Rights department would have. Jeff had left bed early too, so that he could wish his husband good things before he left. Wes however rose at his normal time, and was thus still half asleep as he waved his father goodbye. As for Caleb, he was more than a little grumpy that morning, as his sleep had been disturbed by Nick's early departure, and even the fact that he had his first meal of the day ready and waiting for him was scant compensation for the reduction in undisturbed sleeping time…

Jeff found himself having to do some explaining to his son that morning as well. It was the first time that Wes was conscious of there being a 29th of February, and as they walked to the kindergarten that morning, he began to ask all of the inevitable questions. Jeff did his best to explain how it happened, but he was greatly reassured to discover that the teacher at the kindergarten would also be trying their best to explain it to the children, as he was certain they would do it much better.

He headed home via the supermarket, picking up a few essentials for Seth as well as his own family's needs. He then headed down to join his friend, something that he found himself starting to enjoy, and he hoped that Seth did too. Of course, he would not be around the following week as he had a long standing commitment, but he was already looking into how he could fix that. They shared a coffee, had a chat, then got on with their days. Seth was in reasonable spirits that morning, and eager to discuss the events of the previous day. As he listened, Jeff noted the time on the wall clock, and wondered how his husband was getting on…

At that moment, Nick was discovering that the rumour mill at the United Nations building was far better informed than the official staff newsletter. The two senior staff in the department, Dr Schultz and Dr Hansen, were indeed both retiring, and as had also been rumoured, Miss Worthington was taking charge solo in their place. She was behind the next part of the plan, which would see the department reorganised into separate teams, which would allow people to concentrate more on their own areas of specialised knowledge, whilst still having a core group that would deal with general issues, and bring the specialist groups together.

Nick had been chosen to join that core group, which turned out to be a small team of three, reporting directly to Miss Worthington herself. She did not elaborate beyond that at the main meeting, instead asking that the trio join her in her office afterwards for a briefing of their own. Once they had settled down, she began. "So, I have chosen the three of you to fill the general role as you have the greatest breadth of knowledge to support all of the specialisms, and can offer general advice at once to anyone making an emergency enquiry. I will require that the four of us co-ordinate our vacation time, as I want there to be at least three of us in the office at all times, or at least able to be contacted easily."

She paused, then carried on, "I will not formally have any kind of deputy in the new structure, but to all intents and purposes, that role will be filled by the three of you. The old idea of 'middle management' is now frowned upon. Now, I am sure that the elder two of you are looking at young Nick, and wondering why he is here…"

"Not at all; he knows more than me, and he also talks with a great deal of sense and maturity," came the swift response from the 52 year old Mrs Prince.

"Agreed," said Mr Lawson, her 49 year old colleague.

"That much is certainly true," continued Miss Worthington, "but it is also a thought for the future; he will take our place in time, and will train others to fill the roles we occupy when we retire. He is also of an age where the idea of foreign trips is less tiring. This will be the case in April, when we will see him travelling to New Zealand to represent this department and the UN at the Oceania Conference on Human Rights. I will give you more detail of that trip later, Nick. Now, the other question you might be asking is what does this new role mean for your salary…"

Nick would call his husband at lunchtime to let him know all of the news. He was to receive a 10% pay rise for the new responsibilities, which was good. He was having to move to a new office, with a slightly different view, but he could live with that, as he would still be able to see the West Village in the distance. "Then I also got the details of our trip to New Zealand. We will fly out on April 13th at 16.00, and touch down in Auckland, after a change of planes in San Francisco, at 05.00 on the 15th…"

"That sounds like a very long flight!" exclaimed Jeff.

"It isn't really. We will be crossing the International Date Line, and as a result, we will lose April 14th altogether. In total, the journey will take 21 hours. On the way back, the trip is shorter, and we will have April 21st twice. We leave Auckland at 15.30 on the 21st, and will again change planes in San Francisco, where we arrive at 08.40 on the 21st…"

"That will take some getting used to," admitted Jeff, "and it will be as hard to explain to Wes as the whole February 29th thing. He will wonder how we can get there before we leave…."

Nick chuckled at that, wondering if they should just tell their son that it was like being The Flash. Then he carried on, "Of course, the conference only lasts two days and the rest of it is free time. I have already booked us a trip to Rotorua this morning, where they have geysers and boiling mud…"

"Now that does sound interesting, but I would rather we didn't get too close to volcanoes. We have to keep safe!"

"Of course, although going for a warm mud bath, followed by a wash in the warm springs does sound fun…" said Nick. Jeff's eyebrows rose a little at the idea, but then he decided that he quiet liked the sound of it, and if it was organised, then it had to be safe enough… "Anyway, enough of me. How was Seth when you saw him this morning?"

"He seemed okay; they gave him a good send off," said Jeff. "At the same time, I think that he will get bored if we don't help him to stay occupied…"

At that exact moment, Seth was sitting down to eat his lunch; he had heated up some soup, and cut himself some slices of crusty French bread, spread liberally with butter. He had used to keep an eye on the amount of dairy that he ate, keeping a check on his health; indeed, all fatty foods had been monitored, but not so much now. There was little point after all when his life was going to end due to something else. He savoured the first mouthful of the minestrone soup, then bit into the bread… He felt the saliva in his mouth thickening almost at once, but he refused to allow that to stop him enjoying his lunch. He would just eat slowly, and he would be okay….

That approach seemed to be working, until suddenly it didn't. A piece of the bread suddenly seemed to stick in his throat, and he found that he could neither swallow it, or force it back up. He began to feel breathless, then his hands began to spasm, meaning that they were all but useless to him. He realised with horrible clarity that he was starting to choke, and his brain began to panic. This was not going to be his moment; he refused to die like this, in the middle of his lunch….

Then he felt the draught, and he knew that salvation was coming. Either that, or it really was his time to go…

To his relief he suddenly felt himself pulled up from his chair, strong arms wrapping round him from behind. Suddenly there was pressure, and he felt the lodged piece of bread suddenly shoot upward, and it was expelled at speed from his mouth; he felt his breath coming back, his lungs expand as he gulped in great amounts of air. He fell back into his chair, and was finally able to see the angel that had arrived…

"That was a first for me," said Finn, with a wry smile. "Being an angel sent to save a life, rather than escorting someone on their way to heaven. In case you were wondering, Wes sent me to do this because I am the strongest, and also he thought you would be less likely to think it was a collection if a non-Warbler came. I am also to tell you to avoid crusty bread from now on, and stick to soft rolls."

"Every day it seems I am to be deprived of another pleasure," sighed Seth. "Thanks for this, Finn. I am not ready to die, not yet. If you are hungry, then you might as well eat that bread whilst I finish my soup, save it going to waste…"

"I think that if you trim off the crusts, then the rest of the bread will be okay," said Finn, and Seth pondered that for a moment, and nodded. "Okay so I am needed elsewhere, but trust me, whatever happens, today isn't the day…"

Seth pondered again on his last words after Finn had gone. It was reassuring, but at the same time, it could have implications. Just because he wasn't going to die, it didn't mean that he was going to be safe…

He finished his soup, and the bread with the crusts removed, although that made it a much lesser product in his opinion. Then he settled down for the afternoon on the sofa, sliding himself out of his chair to lie in relative comfort. He grabbed the new novel that Beats had brought him on a visit earlier in the week; the latest in a series by an author he enjoyed. The combination of the warm room, and the fact that he was sitting on a soft seat made him feel tired, and after he had read the first two chapters, he decided that it would do no harm if he closed his eyes for a moment or two. He set the book carefully on the table beside him, then let his eyes close…

He was asleep when the attack that had been building up all day hit him, and it came with such strength that he never even noticed or woke up abruptly. Had there been someone else in the room, they would have been frightened by the way that his body shook violently, the noise that came as his legs and feet thrashed on the sofa, and the sound as even his teeth gritted together. He passed out, safe on the sofa, his body closing down all but the most necessary of functions so that it could recover from the latest shock…

Jeff was a little later in arriving at Seth's apartment the following morning, having enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with his husband first, then his trip to the stores had taken him a bit further away that day. He let himself in, as he had been told to do by Seth, and called out in greeting. The silence that met him was at once unnerving. Almost immediately the blond's head was filled with all kinds of horrible thoughts, and he glanced into the bedroom first. He saw that the bed was already made, or was it that it had not been slept in since the previous night?

Shaking his head, trying to dismiss his fears, Jeff stepped on to the living area, past the open bathroom door, and at once his heart was in his mouth. He immediately saw Seth, lying on the couch, his eyes closed. Had he not been dressed in the same clothes as he had been the day before, had it not been for the soup bowl on the table with a spoon in it, and the plate beside it with a pile of bread crusts on it, he might have at once assumed that Seth was taking a post breakfast nap. A glance into the bowl showed that it was stained red from the soup he had announced he was having for lunch the day before…

Jeff began to feel queasy, as there was nothing that people ate for breakfast that would stain a bowl that shade of red. He took a deep breath, ignored his trembling hands, and headed over to the couch. He wished that he had a pocket mirror, so that he could hold it over Seth's face as he had seen people doing in films; to see if it misted up from the breath that was coming from his recumbent friend. All he could do was gently take the other man's wrist and feel for a pulse…

The moment that he did, Seth woke up, and the two of them jumped, Jeff squeaking in surprise. "Oh, gosh, sorry Jeff! I only intended to shut my eyes for five minutes. Is that Wes home, or are you just heading off to fetch him?" murmured Seth.

Jeff looked at Seth in horror, not knowing what to do, knowing that he had to tell the truth and worry his friend… "Erm, he has actually just gone to kindergarten - it's Friday morning… How long have you been asleep?"

Seth's face went from shock, to bemusement, to horror in moments. "Oh my God! I lay down about 1.30 yesterday afternoon! How could I have been asleep for so long and not noticed?" stuttered Seth. Then, the truth dawned on him. "Jeff, I don't think I was asleep…. I think that I must have had an attack…"

Jeff's heart broke as he saw the panic in Seth's eyes at that realisation, and he had to admit that the thought did little to please him either. Yes, he was so glad that his friend was alive, but in a way, the fact that he could have such a powerful attack and not even notice was worse. "Okay, so it isn't great," he managed to say, "but I probably isn't the first time that you have had one and not noticed in your sleep. This one was just a lot stronger…"

"I've been out cold for nearly 20 hours Jeff!" exclaimed Seth. "Anything could have happened; what if I had been cooking something and the place had caught fire? At least I haven't made things really awful and soiled myself, but that is by luck, and maybe I should head to the restroom now, just in case…" Seth went to rise from the couch, but to his horror he discovered that his arm would not support his weight as he tried to sit up, and then he found himself unable to move either leg… "I can't move my legs, blondie… I can't move them…"

Jeff gulped, then took a breath, and was rational. "Okay, so we need to call Ollie and let him know, but first I am going to try and get you up. Put all of your weight on me, and we will see if we can get you sitting up at least." Jeff headed over to the couch, then knelt down, bending over Seth so that he could wrap his arms around his back; it took time, but eventually they were in place, hands locked on the opposite forearm. With that done, Jeff gently slid his own arms around Seth's back, and locked them together too. Then he began to try and get up straight again, pulling with all of his might. He heard Seth begin to whimper, and considered stopping, but a glance showed that he now had him nearly half way up, so it was best to just grit his teeth and carry on with what he had started…

Once he had Seth all the way up, his back vertical, he began to slowly turn him, shifting his hands to moving his immobile legs, bringing them over the edge of the couch, and letting them fall naturally to the floor at the knee. His task done, he soon felt Seth's grasp on his back loosen, and then he was falling back to lean against the rear of the couch… "Okay, now we need to get you into your chair so that you can go and attend to those needs."

"I don't think I can manage to slide across, Jeff. The pain is too much, and even though you did all the work there, I am just two exhausted to move again myself," said Seth quietly.

Jeff shook his head, then said firmly, "Well that is a defeatist attitude if ever there was one. However, if you can't slide across, then we have to resort to Plan B."

"What is Plan B?" asked Seth, as Jeff got up from his knees, and slid Seth's chair closer to him.

"This," said Jeff, moving forward to slide his arms under Seth's, wrapping them round his back once more, then pulling him forward to the edge of the couch. Then with a heave and a grunt, he yanked him up, supporting all of his weight on his arms, before he swung him round in the direction of his waiting chair… The approach worked, and Seth found himself sitting in his chair, as Jeff caught his breath. Then he wheeled him down the corridor to the wet room, where there was a system of grab rails and bars should assist him out of his chair and onto the lavatory. "So, do you think that you can take it from here, or would you like me…"

"I can try myself," said Seth, embarrassed at the situation, his cheeks burning red. "If I can't then I will call out for you…"

"See that you do," said Jeff firmly. "Right, I am going to call Ollie, and see what he says. If he needs to see you, then I will escort you to the hospital."

"You have other things you need to do! I can't ask you…"

"I am offering, and you aren't asking, so what's the issue?"

"Well, okay… thanks, blondie. I am grateful to you for all of this…"

"My pleasure and of course, my duty as a Warbler. Right, I will leave you to it…" Jeff headed out, closing the door behind him, and Seth sighed. He experimentally flexed his arm, dreading having to call his friend back, but to his relief, his weak arm already felt so much stronger…

Outside the wet room door, Jeff paused to take a breath, ignoring the pain that was starting to form in his back, and then headed to the living area end of the corridor. He was close enough to the wet room door to hear a shout for help, or worse, a crash, but far enough away to ensure that Seth had privacy. He called the hospital, and after a brief verbal tussle with the secretary of his department, he managed to get through to Ollie.

The doctor listened as Jeff went through the course of events as he understood them to have happened, then after a brief pause, he spoke. "This is going to sound awful to you, but such episodes are not totally uncommon as MND progresses in a patient. The fact is that he could easily have had the attack at the end of his normal cycle of sleep, and that would account for the length of time that he was out. I have a full schedule today, but there is a window in 30 minutes time, when I can call back and have a chat with him; I will also pop in and see him on my way home tonight. The important thing to remember here is that, other than the weakness in his limbs, he is okay. We all have moments when we wake up and have no energy, now don't we?"

"I guess, but, to be honest, when I walked in, and saw him lying there, in the same clothes as yesterday, surrounded by the dirty dishes, I honestly thought that he had died. He was lying so still, and it was so quiet, and…" Jeff stopped, hearing the catch in his throat, and determined that he was not going to break down, not here and now anyway.

"I am afraid that we all have to accept that there is a small possibility of that from now on," said Ollie quietly in reply. "It is not my place to say more, but you all need to start and prepare for that eventuality. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but his condition will not improve, and there is nothing that you, I or any other person in this world can do about that…"

"No, you are right, of course… So, will I get him to call you back in 25 minutes or so, or will you call him?"

"It is probably easier if I call him. What you need to do for now Jeff is stay strong. He needs all the support he can get, not that he will ever admit it…" With those words, Ollie ended the call, and after a moment to compose himself, Jeff headed back to the wet room door. The silence that was coming from the room would normally have meant nothing, but now it had him worrying. It was therefore a relief to hear the noise of the lavatory being flushed. Even better was the sound of the chair moving across the floor, and the door being slid open, Jeff having moved away as soon as he heard the wheels going. "So, Ollie will be calling you back in a bit," he said. "Do you think you could manage some lunch?"

"Strictly it would be breakfast, but yes, I could eat," said Seth with a smile. Jeff nodded, and headed to the kitchen; behind him, Seth's smile faded a little. He did not need the blond man to know that that he had just heard every word that he had said to Ollie on the phone…

Seth continued to say nothing as he wheeled himself into the kitchen, just in time to see Jeff taking a can of noodle soup from the cupboard. He did not want to upset his friend any more than he was already. The knowledge that he had been overheard would kill Jeff, and he had been through enough trauma that day already; the blond man was a sensitive soul after all, as was reflected in the beauty of his artwork. He watched as Jeff found a packet of saltines in the cupboard, then hesitate as he saw the crusts that still adorned the plate on the coffee table from the day before. He took them anyway and brought them over, before he removed the used plates from the day before. He took them to the sink, where he ran the tap and filled the basin with soap suds, before washing the used crockery.

He stopped once the soup had heated through, and brought a steaming bowl of it over to Seth on a tray with a spoon, placing it next to the box of saltines. As soon as he could smell the soup, Seth realised that he was ravenous; he had not eaten for almost 24 hours, and his body was crying out for nourishment. The soup was filling, but had no hidden obstacles within it that could cause him to choke again. It contrasted perfectly with the crunch from the crackers, the crumbs from which Seth allowed to fall in the soup bowl. Jeff had returned to the washing up, letting him eat in peace, not able to think how to start the conversation about the events of that day so far. In his minds eye, Seth too was picturing how it must have looked, and it was not pretty at all. It occurred to him that had Jeff not taken to calling in every day, then he might have lain where he was for much longer…

The sound of his phone ringing eventually disturbed the silence, and he hastened to answer it, knowing that it was probably Ollie. "So how is my patient now? From what I can gather, you managed to give Jeff quite the scare…"

"Yes, it must have done, but I think that I have to accept that one day that scenario will happen for real. That will be my fate, and honestly, I would rather that my life ended like that rather than with me tied up to machines in a hospital dead, or out in the street. Just quietly, in my sleep, during the night…"

"As you know, that is not something that we can influence in any way, but we can try to ensure it is peaceful… Returning to my question, how are you feeling, and I want the unvarnished truth."

"Better than I was half an hour ago. My arms have regained feeling, and seem to have their normal strength back, my legs are as they were, my stomach feels better after some noodle soup and saltines, and once I have a shower, I will feel much more like myself."

"Well, that is good. Now, can you think of anything that might have happened yesterday, any little thing, that could have precipitated the attack?"

"I had a problem with dry mouth again, but I attributed that to the fact that I was eating some crusty French bread; admittedly, I was eating it with a bowl of broth, so I don't understand how my mouth could have become so dry…"

"I don't really understand how it could occur in those circumstances either, but all I can suggest is that something triggered the reaction," answered Ollie. Then he began to wonder… "Did you have anything on the bread?"

"Just some farm butter…"

"And when you had your first attack of dry mouth at Dalton, you were eating caramel. Had their been butter before that, on bread, or on mashed potatoes?"

"Both… Wait, are you suggesting that my spells of dry mouth could be being caused by butter?"

"It isn't outwith the realms of possibility, but it would be all dairy, not just butter. Right, I would like you to cut all dairy products from your diet for a couple of weeks. If we can identify that as the cause, if you have no occurrences of the issue for the fortnight, then we can hopefully avert another crisis of this nature in which you might not be so fortunate."

Seth had to agree, but he did so with great reluctance. He loved good cheese, and he had been eating yoghurt with his cereal every morning. Another of the simple pleasures of life was being taken from him, and it all just seemed so unfair…

At Ollie's request, Seth passed his phone to Jeff, and the doctor explained a few things to him before he rang off, his next patient having arrived. No sooner had he handed the phone back to Seth than Jeff announced that he was heading to the store to get a few things at Ollie's request, and he was heading out of the door before Seth could even reply. He took his friend's departure as an opportunity to head to the wet room and shower, and then changed into fresh clothes. As always, the warm water and the change of apparel worked wonders, and he felt more human at once. He was just placing his worn clothes into the washer along with a few other items when he heard Jeff return.

"So, Ollie suggested that if you were having a problem with dairy, it was probably due to the lactose, so he asked me to get you some lactose free substitutes. Anyway, that is what I have done, so we have lactose free milk, cheese, yoghurt and spread from the health food store. I know how much you love cheese, and I saw the yoghurt in the fridge earlier; a little bird tells me that you have started to eat it at breakfast each morning…"

Seth nodded, then felt his tears starting to well up. He blinked them away as his friend headed to the fridge and removed his normal milk, butter, cheese and yoghurt from inside, and replace them with the substitutes. "Right, how much do I owe you for all of that?"

"Nothing. I will be taking all of the normal stuff that you already had in exchange."

Seth shook his head. "Jeff, I have seen the lactose free stuff in the stores, and it is expensive. You can hardly say that it is like for like!"

"In that case, the stuff now in your fridge is a gift from me, so if you keep mentioning money, you and I will fall out!" replied the blond firmly, and the tone and the look on his face made Seth realise that it would be futile to argue further. He was blessed with good friends. There were many other things in the world that he lacked, but friends seemed to be the one thing that he had in profusion…