"Where We Stand" by Surreal
Part 4/4


                                    ~~oOOo~~

“Did you hear something?”  Suzanne asks suddenly, her
head spinning to face the kitchen, despite the wall blocking
the view.  

“Yeah...”  Byers jumps to his feet, heading for the kitchen.
“Sounded like a glass breaking...Langly??”  He calls as he
rounds the corner and his heart jumps into his throat at the
sight.  He sees his lover sprawled on the floor, the glass 
he’d been drying shattered next to him.  “Shit--Ringo!!”

“Oh, god...”  Suzanne follows him into the kitchen.  Byers
immediately kneels beside the younger man, his hands 
trembling as he reaches down to roll Langly onto his back.

Suzanne drops down next to Langly’s head, checking for
pulse and breathing.  “His vitals are okay;  has this happened
before?”

Byers looks up at her, his face pale with concern.  “What?
No...I--he’s never had any problems...”  his voice shakes 
as he reaches up to brush the hair from Langly’s forehead
tenderly.  “Ringo?” he says quietly, his fingers trailing down
the soft cheek.

The younger man lets out a weak moan, his head rolling
to the side for a moment before straightening again.  Byers
holds his breath as he sees a small slit of blue as Langly
opens his eyes just a little, then releases the breath when
they finally focus on him.  “John?” he whispers.

The older man smiles down at him, his hand still absently
stroking the long hair.  “Yeah, I’m here...you okay?”

Langly’s eyes drift for a second, considering.  “Umm...
yeah.  Wha’ happ’nd?”  he asks as he struggles to sit up.
Suzanne puts her hands on his back to help support him.

“You tell me, buddy.  Do you feel sick?”

“Mmm, no...I d’no...”  comes the vague, unfocused response.

“Well, you will be if you keep laying here on this cold tile,”
Suzanne cuts in.  “Can you stand?”
  
Langly tilts his head back to look at her, his brow furrowing
when he sees her upside down.  He giggles, grinning like an
idiot.  “Yeah...”

Suzanne exchanges a confused look with the equally perplexed
Byers as they help Langly to his feet.  The younger man wobbles
for a second before gaining a partial balance.  Byers slips his arm
around Langly’s waist to lead him into the living room.

As Langly staggers and drops in a heap onto the couch, Suzanne
suppresses a smile.  “Um, John?  He hasn’t been drinking, has 
he?”

“What??  No, we don’t even have any alcohol in this place,”
Byers answers, not really noticing that Langly has pulled him 
down to the couch next to him.  The next thing Langly does
gets his attention, though.

Without warning,  Langly pushes Byers down and leans over
him with a big grin.  “Hey, cutie...” he says with a weird little
giggling sound.  “Let’s say we ditch the chick and have our
own little party...”  He leans down and starts licking the older
man’s neck.

“Ooh, shit!  Ringo--” Byers struggles out from under the other
man, doing his best to hold him off at arm’s length.  He looks
up at Suzanne standing there watching them with a stunned 
look of her own.  “What the hell’s gotten into you, Langly?”
he admonishes with a harsh tone.  

“Just you, Johnny,”  Langly growls and tries to advance on 
his lover again.  Byers finds himself trapped against the couch, 
Langly’s body rubbing against him and his body betrays him, 
responding to the skilled mouth nibbling on his earlobe.  

“Um, John?”  Suzanne’s voice brings him back to the situation
at hand and he feels his face burning bright red.  He still hasn’t
gotten around to telling her about him and Langly.  She stares
at him with eyebrows reaching for her hairline.  

“Ughh...Suzanne, a little help here?”  he manages to gasp out
while struggling to contain his own raging hormones.  ‘Now is
not the time...’ he scolds his body.  

Between them, they manage to get Langly off of Byers enough
so that the older man can at least breathe.  He turns to look his
friend in the face, and hesitates at the sight of his dilated pupils.
“Ringo?  What’s going on here?  What happened?”  he asks
in a calm voice.

“Nothin’...just wanna play,”  Langly grins at him.  Before the
other man has a chance to react, Langly reaches across and
grabs Byers’ ass.  With a startled squawk, Byers jumps and
scoots further away.  Not bothered by this, the younger man
goes after him again and slides his hand across Byers’ thigh,
dangerously close to the growing erection the older man is
trying desperately to tame.  

“Damn it, Ree--STOP!” he finally yells.  He has to look away
from the confused, pained expression of his lover at the harsh
rejection.  

“John, wait a second--this is really sudden, right?”  Suzanne’s
voice suddenly takes a professional clip.  

“Uh, yeah...he’s never acted like this before,”  Byers answers,
mostly truthful and still thoroughly embarrassed.  

“Do you remember how Agent Scully acted in Las Vegas when
she was given the AH drug?”  Suzanne asks, already reaching
down to check Langly for the familiar mark.  

“You mean...he--but, when?  How?”  Byers watches as she
pushes Langly’s hair aside and sighs.  She turns Langly’s head
to the side for Byers to see the injection mark.  “Damn it...”

“Someone must have caught him...shit, John!  This must have been 
right there in the kitchen, and we didn’t hear anything!”

“You mean someone broke in here while we were here and did this
to him??”  Byers gapes at her, feeling a discrete hand snaking around
his waist and trying to move closer.  He looks down to see Langly 
scooting closer to him, quietly snuggling against him.

“Looks like it...but I’m still the only one with the compound, after 
Grant was killed in Vegas...”  her voice hitches at the thought of her
fiancee’s death in front of her.  

“I guess we were wrong,” Byers tells her quietly.  He turns back to
face her.  “Does that mean you still have the antidote?”

She nods.  “Yes, it’s back at my cabin.”  She moves toward the 
door, hastily putting her coat on. 

“Wait!  If someone is out there involved with this, you shouldn’t
go out there alone!”  Byers wrestles his way out from under the
cuddling Langly.  The younger man whimpers and reaches for
his hand, not letting him go.

“John, you need to keep an eye on Langly.  You’ve seen what
this drug does to people, and the way he is now there’s no way
he should be left alone.  I’ll be fine,” she finishes, and is out the
door before Byers can protest again.

A soft chuckling from nearby gets his attention back to the 
other man.  Langly tugs at him, and Byers sits, defeated.
“Hey, baby...now that the chick is gone, we can have some
real fun...” Langly whispers into his ear.  

“Ringo, please don’t.  You’re not yourself, and we have to
wait until Suzanne gets back to help you, okay?”  Byers talks
to him gently, wanting nothing more than to wrap his arms 
around the other man and hold him.  Realizing that he can now,
he does just that.  “It’s okay...we’ll get this figured out soon,
okay sweetie?”

Langly tucks his head against Byers’ chin, sighing contentedly.
“Hmmmm...I want you so much, Johnny...” he moans, snaking
his arm down to fumble with button on Byers’ jeans.  

“Ree, please!”  Byers grabs the hand and holds onto it, struggling
with his feelings to not lash out at the inappropriate behavior.
He knows it isn’t Langly’s fault.

By the time Suzanne comes knocking again, Byers is nearly
exhausted from fending off his lover’s advances.  He manages
to untangle himself from the groping young man and make a mad
dash for the door.

“Suzanne, thank God...” he says, reaching to pull her into the cabin.

“Having trouble keeping him tame, John?” she teases lightly, seeing
Langly’s head hanging over the back of the couch looking at Byers
with a huge grin.

“Yeah...did you get it?” Byers asks as they walk back to the living
room.

“Right here,” she holds up a small black bag.  She kneels down on
the floor in front of Langly while Byers sits down next to him again.

Langly pouts at the sight of the woman and reaches to wrap himself
around the other man again.  Byers blushes but makes no move to
reject him again.  

When Suzanne pulls out a syringe and a small vial of pale gold liquid,
Langly’s focus on Byers is nearly forgotten.  “W-what’s that for?” he
stutters, trying to crawl away.  Byers finds himself reaching out to 
steady him and keep him there on the couch.  

“Take is easy, Ringo...it’ll make you feel better, like in Vegas, 
remember?”

“Vegas?” Langly mutters, glancing quickly between the other two.  
“But--no!  That hurts...” he whimpers, struggling to make an escape. 

Suzanne places her hand on Langly’s knee, trying to calm him.  “It’s 
okay, Ringo.  You need this, okay?  You were drugged again, and 
this is the antidote, remember?”

He nods, still scared.  Suzanne tries to hold on to his right arm, but he 
yanks it away hard.  “NO!” he lets out a strangled cry, terrified of the 
needle.  

“John, can you hold him still, please?”  she looks at Byers.  

He doesn’t answer, just reaches out to take Langly’s arms to keep him
from struggling anymore.  It isn’t working.  Langly finding new ways
to escape the embrace.   

Finally, tired of playing games, Byers resorts to his final and most drastic 
tactic.  He grabs Langly’s chin and turns the younger man’s face towards 
his own.  Taking a deep, steadying breath, he leans in to kiss him.  Not a 
hint of hesitation or timidness, he loses himself in his natural instinct and 
completely ignores the fact that Suzanne is right there with them.

Despite her initial shock, Suzanne realizes that the kiss has the desired 
effect.  Langly whimpers weakly and his body goes limp, taking in every 
bit of the kiss for all it’s worth.  She immediately reaches up to grab his 
arm and drive the needle home, injecting the antidote into the vein.

“Oww!”  Langly breaks the kiss with a startled squeak, looking down
just as Suzanne pulls the needle out.  He glances at her with a hurt 
expression just before he passes out, his head landing in Byers’ lap.

With a sigh of relief, Suzanne takes care of the syringe before turning
back to help Byers with the unconscious man.  She reaches down 
and places Langly’s legs onto the couch, taking his shoes off and tossing 
them aside.  She glances around, spotting the blanket draped over 
the chair from the guys’ first night there and grabs it, draping it over 
Langly and tucking it securely around his body.

Byers hardly notices her movements, his entire focus on the young 
man’s head cradled in his lap.  He carefully takes Langly’s glasses 
off and sets them on the table next to the couch, then brushes the 
hair back from the still face.

“John?  He’ll be okay in a while...” she assure him, confused by the
affectionate attentions he is giving to his friend.

He looks up at her, his expression unreadable.  “Yeah...” he whispers,
still stroking the soft hair with his fingers.

Suzanne sits back on her heels, watching the way Byers is watching
Langly.  “John?  Is there more going on here than you’ve told me?”
she asks quietly.

Byers doesn’t answer right away, then finally looks up.  “Hmm?  
Oh...no, it was just the effect of the drug...” he says quickly, not
looking directly at her.  

“That kiss wasn’t.”

He blushes again.  “I--I was just trying to distract him...?”, the weak
question giving away his weak excuse.

“Well, you certainly distracted me,” she smiles.  “Seriously, John.  Is
there something you aren’t telling me?  Like, why it’s just the two of
you here without the third stooge?”

Byers finally gives her a shy, defeated smile, then looks down as he
strokes his fingers lightly down Langly’s cheek.  “You’re right...
Langly and I have been...together...for about five months.”

Suzanne reaches up to squeeze his other hand gently.  
“Congratulations, John,” she gives him a truly honest smile, which 
surprises him.

“You mean, you aren’t mad at me for not telling you earlier?” he 
replies.  “And...well, kind of leading you on...” 

“John, you never led me on.  I just assumed too quickly that you were
still interested in me and when you didn’t object, well...”  she shrugs.

“Oh...Suzanne!  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just didn’t 
know how to tell you about this.  It’s so new for both of us...the 
only other person who knows is Frohike.”  

Suzanne nods, still smiling at the couple.  “I understand the need for
caution.  Thank you for trusting me.”  She pats his knee before sitting
back again, this time on the floor and folding her legs in front of her.  
Together, they wait in silence for Langly to wake up.

Their minds drift, but the tiny moan that comes from the bundle on
the couch pulls them back to the matter at hand.  Byers leans over
the other man, gently stroking his face to coax him awake.  “Ringo?
Can you hear me?”

Another little moan and Langly’s head turns to press harder against
Byers’ leg.  “John...” he groans, his voice barely audible and muffled
in the jeans.  His hand moves up, his fingers wrapping weakly around
the leg next to his face.  

“I’m here, Ree...it’s okay,” he soothes.

“John--I don’t feel too good,” Langly swallows hard, squeezing his
eyes shut tight again.  

“Are you gonna be sick?”  Byers asks, feeling almost sick with
worry himself.

“No...don’t think so.  Head hurts...” Langly’s voice drops down to
a shaky whisper, his hand moving to his forehead as if trying to find
the source of the pain.  

Byers grasps his hand, feeling the tremors passing through the other
man’s body against him.  He looks at Suzanne again, his concern 
increasing.  “This didn’t happen before...what’s wrong with him?”

Suzanne brings her own hand up, touching Langly’s forehead lightly.
“He feels warm.  Neither the AH or the antidote has been known 
to have side effects, but we never gave it to the same person twice
that I know of, and certainly not twice within six months,” she says,
thinking out loud almost to herself.  “Looks like he’s having a bad
reaction to it.”

“You could call it that,” Byers throws back with a tinge of anger.
He feels Langly trembling harder, his eyes still closed and his 
breaths in ragged gasps.  “He’s getting worse--oh, damn...” he
curses when Langly suddenly starts shaking violently, his head
jerking back with a choked gasp.  

“Damn it--he’s having a seizure,” Suzanne jumps forward quickly
to help Byers hold the younger man, to keep him from hurting 
himself.  “Put your hand under his chin, keep his head straight,”
she instructs Byers and he obeys instantly.

A few seconds later the tremors fade gradually until Langly is
still again, panting in an effort to breathe.  Byers loosens his hold
on him, his hand sliding up to pull back the displaced strands of
hair that had fallen across the younger man’s face.  He keeps
talking to his lover, whispering little soothing things to calm 
himself as well as Langly.

When Langly finally opens his eyes, Byers smiles with relief.
“Hey, again.  You back for good this time?” he teases gently.

“John?”  Langly’s voice is a bit stronger than before, and he
turns his face up to find the other man.  

“Yup, I’m still here.  You okay now?”  

Langly shifts, his body weak and still shaky, but manages to
roll onto his back so he can look up at his lover.  “Umm...
yeah, I think so.  What happened?”  he glances down at Suzanne
then back up to Byers.

“Um...since when?  What’s the last thing you remember?”  Byers
asks him, leaving his hand resting on top of Langly’s head.

The younger man squints, trying to clear the fuzz in his mind.  “I...
dishes.  I was in the kitchen washing dishes...” he says, thinking
out loud.

“Anything else?”  Byers prods him gently.

“Um...not sure.  Why?  What happened?”  

Byers’ cheeks flush bright red and he clears his throat to hold
back a laugh.  “You were...uh, a bit amorous...from the drug.”

“Amorous?”  Langly looks at him, confused.  “What did I do?”

“You tried to tear John’s clothes off, for starters,”  Suzanne 
informs in with a wry grin.

Langly shoots her a quick, wide-eyed look of pure horror.  “I
did WHAT?  Here?  Like, a few minutes ago?”  he squeaks.

Byers strokes his hair to reassure him.  “Ringo, it’s okay, we 
know it was just an affect of that drug.”

“Ohh...shit, John, I’m so sorry...”  Langly buries his face in 
his hands, muffling his humiliated apology.  He brings his hands
down enough to look up at Byers, his voice down to a whisper.
“Umm...did you, like, tell her?  I mean, before...”

“Well, if she wasn’t sure before, she is now.”  Byers smiles at
him, then at the grinning Suzanne.

“Oh, god...I’m sorry...” he covers his face in his hands again.

“Don’t worry about it;  I’m fine with it, really,” Suzanne assures 
him with a sweet smile.  “You guys really do love each other, I
see that now.”

Byers looks down at the man held on his lap, gently pulling the
hands down to see his face.  The older man brushes his fingers
lightly down Langly’s cheek with a soft smile.  “Yeah, I do.”

The younger man reaches up to return the gesture, whispering,
“Me too.”

Suzanne’s voice reminds them of her presence.  “Sorry to 
interrupt,” she says with a shy smile.  “But I have to know. Do 
you remember anything else that happened?  It’s important;  
you were given the AH drug, and as far as I know I’m
still the only one with the samples.  We need to find out who did
this to you and why.”

“I think there was someone else here, in the kitchen...”  

“What do you remember about them?  Did they say anything to
you?”  Suzanne asks him from the floor.

He clears his throat quietly.  “I think so.  Something about you,
Suzanne, and us...formulas for something.”  He pauses, then shakes
his head.  “Sorry, it’s all messed up right now.”

“Formulas...”  Suzanne repeats, then gasps.  “Shit!  Someone came
here thinking I was handing over my new work on the drug!  Langly,
do you have *any* idea who it was?”

“New work?”  Byers cuts in, looking at her sharply.  “You’re 
working on new compounds in private and that’s why they came
here looking for that?”

Langly thinks back to the voice, the strange familiarity in the man
behind him, the feeling of being looked down on;  someone taller
than him...  “Wait...I think;  dude, it can’t be right, but I could 
swear the guy sounded like your boyfriend back in Vegas!”

“Grant??” Suzanne’s voice shoots up an octave.  “But--he’s 
dead!  Timmy killed him right in front of me!”  She shakes her
head in disbelieving denial.

“Langly killed you in front of lots of people, but here you are,”
Byers reminds her with a low tone.  

“You guys think he’s still alive?  But--how...?”  She glances
between them, confused.

“He was working for the Project; they could have set up his
death the same way we set up yours,”  Byers responds, shrugging
a little as if the answer was so obvious.

Suzanne shakes her head, distraught.  “Damn it;  they know where
I am, they’ve known for God knows how long and they finally
made their move.”

“Are you going to be okay?”  Byers asks.

She climbs to her feet quickly.  “Yeah, I will,” she tells him firmly,
her determination returning as they had seen the last time they were
all together.  “If it really is Grant, he wouldn’t want to hurt me.  He
would have by now, since he’s been watching me.  I need to get back
to my place and clear out.”  

Byers opens his mouth to protest, to offer assistance, but she holds
her hand up to stop him.  “No, John, really.  I’ve done this enough
times.  Thank you both,” she says sincerely, leaning down to place
a kiss on Langly’s cheek, then on Byers’.  “I’m sorry about tonight;
none of this should have happened to you but once again, you got
caught in the middle of my problems.”

She makes her way to the door, calling out just before she leaves.
“Take care of each other.”  Then she is gone.  

Her exit is so quick, it takes them a moment to realize that for the
third time, she has come and gone from their lives in a dangerous
flourish of activity.  

Byers looks down at Langly, who has turned his head to the side
to smother a yawn.  The older man smiles.  “You’re right;  we 
both could use some sleep.”

“Hmm...that mean I have to move?”  Langly asks, his eyes 
already closed.  

“Nah.  Come here,”  Byers says, scooting his body to lean his
back against the high arm of the chair and pulls Langly up with
him.  The younger man settles himself comfortably against Byers’
chest, sighing deeply.

Byers reaches down to pull the blanket over them both, tucking
his legs along the edges of the couch on either side of his lover.

“Night, Ree,” he whispers to the already sleeping figure draped
across him.  He wraps his arms around the other man, his hands 
rubbing soft little circles on Langly’s back as he feels himself drift
to sleep as well.  “Love you.”


                            ~~oOOo~ END ~~oOOo~~

Didja like it?  Hate it?  Let me know!!  surreal666@hotmail.com