ota {a heart-stopping moment}

[holdsmyheart]

The King of Hearts was not a man prone to panicking. Quite the contrary, Theo usually presented a calm, unruffled demeanor to the rest of the Deck, a comfortable solidarity more than willing to offer a hand, shoulder, or whatever else was needed, anytime, anywhere. Even his ascension to the Kingship hadn't proved too stressful; he'd simply taken everything in stride as he always did, taking care to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.

Today, however, Theo was panicking.

Oh, not in the sense of running up and down the hallways, screaming and waving his arms like a lunatic. Subtly, like the tenseness in his usual smile, the quickness in his stride, the tightness around his eyes (now that the bruises had faded), and the clipped conversations which ended far too quickly than they normally did.

The reason for this was not, ironically enough, due to the troubles currently plaguing the Deck, or the many other issues which sat on his desk, patiently waiting. No, this morning, Margret had arrived in his office, along with Theo's morning coffee (despite his years in the Deck, Theo'd never acquired the taste for hot tea, and his coffee was even black, instant--oh, the blashphemy) and she'd very succinctly informed her King that she'd finally gained entrance to the Immunology graduate program at Johns Hopkins Medical and would be leaving in two weeks to get settled and ready for summer classes.

--needless to say, Theo'd dropped his coffee mug in surprise. In retrospect, however, he couldn't be anything else but delighted for her; she'd earned it, after all. It was simply the enormous hole her absence was going to leave in his staffing, both in the Suit and his own practice. Margret had been his intern for years; as well as continuing her own education, she'd been his right hand in damn near everything, could run a clinic by herself if needed and somehow always remembered to use Splenda for the coffee, instead of raw sugar.

So he'd congratulated her, hugged her tight, teased her that everything was just going to fall slap apart once she left, then, after she'd went back to her duties in the infirmary, considered falling to the carpet in a heap himself, but opted to simply pace, instead. So, he'd closed his office door and headed for the grounds, hoping to divest all the anxiety through exercise, belied by his eventual dragging up at one of the picnic tables on the Green, sitting with elbows on the table and puffing on a cigarette from the "emergency" pack he always kept hidden in his desk.

[ooc notes: hoping to either boost the Heart ranks by having a character apply as PA for Theo, or place an existing one in the spot, either'd be awesome. <3]

Comments

[somuchheart]

Blythe hears of the King leaving the castle almost minutes after he does. She was close to the last Head of Security and she's close to the current one - the guards are used to sending this information to her. It'll take around twenty minutes to finish up what she's doing, but she'll then leave her office, heading out the door that Theo had left earlier.

After a bit of scouting, she finds him and slides onto the bench across from him. "What's wrong?" she asks simply, clasping her hands loosely together on the table.

[holdsmyheart]

Lost in thought--already calculating how to best fill the upcoming holes in occupations, while simultaneously still gibbering on the inside--Theo didn't look up until he heard the question. He blinked, seeing Blythe.

"Hm? Oh." Rubbing his forehead, he tried not to sigh. And failed. But attempted to reassure anyway. "Nothing too earthshaking, promise." Not, y'know, like houses and people vanishing again, or random shrubberies appearing in the middle of the street.

Just--"Margret told me this morning that she's been accepted into Hopkins. Heading up to Boston in two weeks." Despite everything, he couldn't keep the note of pride out of his voice.

[somuchheart]

"Hopkins? No way, that's fantastic!" Blythe's eyes light up. "That's so exciting for her. Oh, she's going to enjoy herself. That's so good." And then she sobers a little. "Not... really something to break out the, um, the cigarettes for, though."

[holdsmyheart]

One of Theo's eyebrows went up. "Considering the astronomical hole her absence is going to leave not only in the medical staff, but the Suit in general, I'd say the smokes are a better choice than the booze."

A loose threat; he wouldn't ever touch a bottle of alcohol again. And a fervent promise made at the grave sites of those he loved more than anything else in the world.

"Give a man at least one vice, Blythe. Lest he go mad and lose the rest of his virtues." And really, Theo wasn't a habitual smoker; he knew well his limits and every now and then he just had to take the edge off.

[somuchheart]

She hesitates, frowning. "I didn't-- I wasn't trying to say you shouldn't smoke. Just... you don't smoke often, so there must be something weighing on your mind when you do. That's all."

And then she shrugs a shoulder. "People... leave. For different reasons. We find ways to go on without them. It might take time that we don't have, but till then, we'll manage. We're Hearts. That's what we do."

[holdsmyheart]

Theo sighed, snuffing out the cigarette. "That's heavy enough, believe me." Propping his chin on a hand, he continued, "A lot's happened in the last few weeks. Me switching offices, Jordan transferring over, Dougal trying to blow up the kitchen, promoting Rowan, and now Margret's leaving me."

At the last, and how it sounded, he had to chuckle somewhat ruefully. "God, I sound like a jilted husband. But seriously, I'm so proud of her I could almost burst. She's going to be damned hard to replace, that's true, too." A small shrug. "But we will. No other choice, really."

[somuchheart]

"It's the nature of the Deck. It was the same when I became Ace. The Deck didn't exactly fall to pieces, but... everything else did." She shrugs, looking down at her lap. "You learn to live with it."

[gotyourheart]

She's just finished off checking on the Hearts that still remained in Town and is on her way back when she spots her King. The fact that he's smoking a cigarette is concerning, and so she settles in at the picnic table across from Theo with a clearly worried expression on her face.

"What's happened now?"

[holdsmyheart]

He flicked up an eyebrow, a touch amused to the automatic worry in his new Queen's voice. Honestly, one would believe the sky was falling; one little step out of his routine and the entire Suit went up in arms.

"What," he asked back, a bemused grin appearing, "I can't take a fifteen minute smoke break without it becoming front page news?"

[gotyourheart]

Routines were routines for a reason; a break in them was usually a call for alarm. Or so was Rowan's philosophy-- and a good number of the Suits' as well, it seemed.

"When you've got that sort of look on your face, yes," she answers with a wry sort of smile back. He didn't seem to be in as grave spirits as she'd anticipated, but she was still concerned.

[holdsmyheart]

God, it seemed he was doomed to be "mothered" for the rest of his life. Or, at least, his reign. Theo caustically wondered which would end first, the way things were headed. But he simply shrugged, snuffing out the smoke and putting the pack in his back pocket.

"Margret told me this morning that she's been accepted into Hopkins. Leaving in two weeks."

[gotyourheart]

It was what Hearts did best-- really, what most Suits do for their Faces, in the hopes of ensuring that end of reign came with end of life.

It didn't always work, but they made valiant attempts for it anyways.

"Oh." It's not bad news, necessarily. It just. Makes things difficult, "I'll have to make sure I give her my congratulations. Did she mention anyone to consider for her replacement?"

It would certainly help things smooth out if she had, and Rowan was in search for a PA, herself.

[holdsmyheart]

"She said she has a list, but nothing definite yet." Theo couldn't help the twinkle in his eye as he added good-naturedly, "If she doesn't get me somebody to take her spot, I'm going to tie her down in the infirmary and not let her leave until she does." But he wouldn't, no, he was so very proud of her and wanted her to succeed in all avenues.

Propping his chin on his hands, he gazed across the table at his new Queen, mouth quirking lightly. "But we'll work it out, one way or another." This was just one problem in the line of many, one more equation needing to be solved. And they could do it; Theo knew they could.

"Not to change the subject, but how are you settling in, Majesty?"

[cipherspeak]

Well, that was an expression he's seen in the mirror often enough, Elisha thinks as his walk - sometimes he had to get out of the office, or just accept insanity as a way of life - takes him past the bench where the King of Hearts is smoking.

Well, almost takes him past.

"Theo," he says, briefly, and tilts his head to one side, his lips quirking up in a slight smile. "You look like a man dealing with another collision between the shit and the fan."

[holdsmyheart]

Theo glanced up as the shadow fell across the table. "Elisha," he nodded in greeting, then had to laugh at the other monarch's comment. "Damn, and here I thought my poker face was impeccable," he teased, gesturing at the other bench. "Please."

Snuffing out the cigarette, Theo sighed and tucked the pack away; out of sight, out of mind, right? ...right. He propped his elbows on the table, still looking a bit morose. "Nothing too earth-shattering. Margret told me this morning she's been accepted into Hopkins." He had to smile; he was, despite his own worry, so very proud of her.

[cipherspeak]

"When everyone has a good poker face," and most everyone around here did, "you learn how to read the nuances." Of course, Elisha had been reading nuances for far longer than he'd lived in the Deck...but he preferred to keep that secret as much as possible.

"Johns Hopkins? Tell her I said congratulations." There weren't many schools more prestigious, especially for medicine; he wonders if Hadyn would have looked at that, if he hadn't given up on medicine.

"Leaves you in a bit of a pickle though, I imagine," he says. "It's strange. I didn't really think I needed a PA before, but now that I have one, the idea of going without is...kind of unpleasant."

[holdsmyheart]

"A pickle about the size of the General Sherman, yeah." Elisha hadn't been born in the Deck; he might get the reference. "But I'll pass the congrats along; God knows she's earned it." And he had no doubt she'd excel beyond his wildest expectations; it was just the loss he didn't really care for.

"Yeah, tell me about it. It's not so much the paperwork that I mind, it's having the infirmary so drastically understaffed. Between us, Margret and I managed to keep things working smoothly, even with me moving to the big office, but now, with her leaving..." He trailed off, sighed and shook his head.

"Not sure what I'm going to do yet."

[cipherspeak]

He's even American-born - if not raised - so that gets an appreciative snort before he tips his head to one side and considers the mess. Their infirmary had had nothing but an LPN until Caleb had come back; the Hearts would be similarly understaffed now that the nurse practictioner who'd wandered into the Deck had wandered back out.

"Check with the medical center?" He offered. "Sometimes there's a few doctors and nurses who want to try working in the Castle. Maybe more so now that so many of the Townspeople are moving in to the Castles."

[holdsmyheart]

Theo nodded. "It's on my list," he agreed. "I'm going to need at least someone full-time, because, as you said, folks are starting to pour into the Castles and with that many new arrivals plus flu and allergy season..." Theo trailed off, eyes lifting theatrically.

[karatofquality]

"Deep breaths and an hour of yoga will do you more good than a full pack of cigarettes," he said quietly from behind the new King. Silas would know better than anyone on that matter, at least. But since he didn't expect that his fellow King would be taking up yoga any time soon, he took a seat across from him, instead, and withdrew a silver cigarette case of his own.

From it, he drew a black clove cigarette and lit it, loosening his tie only slightly before letting his posture relax, if only a little bit.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

[holdsmyheart]

Theo snorted, conceding the point. To his credit, he finished his current cigarette, snuffed it out and pointedly put the pack back in his pocket, eyeing the silver case in Silas's own hand with a smirked grin.

"Hypocrite," he chided with a light laugh, then shook his head with a sigh. "Margret got accepted into Hopkins." God, it still didn't sound real. But it was, and although he was so very proud of her and wished her every good luck wish in the world, Lord, was he going to miss her!

[karatofquality]

With an amused expression, Silas shrugged, resting his elbows on the table. "I didn't say I would follow my own advice, my friend. I only made a recommendation." The click of his tongue, in any other setting, would be condescending. Instead, it's just another expression of amusement.

"Give her my congratulations, although I can assume that it's putting a dent in your plans, thus the stress written plain as day on your forehead. Is she irreplaceable?"

Things almost always seemed worse at first than they really were, after all.

[holdsmyheart]

The Heart King chuckled, shaking his head in bemusement. "Fair enough." To the rest, he nodded, saying, "I definitely shall, promise. And yeah, she's very, very nearly irreplaceable, seems like." At least, in Theo's eyes, she was.

"But hopefully I'll find a few good candidates who can become just as good; at least, that's on my to-do list for the immediate future. Might pull someone out of the medical center, I dunno."

Theo had a helluva lot on his plate: his Ace was working herself to death, there was a new Queen in his Suit, the Deck itself was undergoing random chaotic incidents, and that was so far today. Lord knew what would crop up later in the afternoon. But he was in good nature--he knew they could handle it.

[karatofquality]

"I have complete faith in you," he answered easily. "You've got a good staff, and your judgment's pretty clear, Theo. It's not as disastrous as it seems right now, I promise." But he knew firsthand just how disastrous things could seem at first.

"It's all about balance," he hummed, exhaling a puff of clove-scented smoke to the side. "Just like you want everyone else to delegate so that they don't fall apart, you need to do the same. Share the load and things will go far smoother." He'd learned that lesson hard just a few short months ago, when he was working himself into a rut to prevent himself from thinking, or feeling, or doing anything that would allow him to reflect on the losses at that time.

"It gets better."

[holdsmyheart]

"I appreciate it, Silas," Theo nodded sincerely. "And yeah, I know." He really did, he just needed to remember to take a breath every now and then; and really, there were only so many shocks the man could take in one day.

"Tunde was a fan of 'doing things himself', ergo, nothing much got done, and with no one to 'ride herd' on 'em, the high cards sort of...wandered in all different directions." Theo's expression became extremely saturnine.

"Although yanking a few chains back in the right direction has worked pretty well so far." He winked. "Been a bit of a shock to the poor Hearts, their new King so ham-handed."