Part 2
2 months later...
The skies had opened up and rain drifted from the dark clouds, falling onto the sodden world below and drenching all in its torrential path. It made those inside glad that they had a roof over their head and, perhaps, a fire to warm their body. If he were glad to be out of the rain, it was hard to tell, for Philip Simmons stood in the window of his office - one arm wrapped across his narrow waist while the other hand cradled a cup of herbal tea. His eyes were dull and unseeing.
Etched as he was in the tall glass window frame, he was silhouetted against the misty scene outside his office as night settled in and stole all detail from the room. There was a soft knock on his door and he called to the visitor to come in.
A good-looking man, older than Philip by only a few years, entered the room. The head librarian turned to look at him.
"Hey Todd," he said in a quiet voice as the dark-haired man made his way across the room towards him.
"Here are the Budget discrepancies I was telling you about," Todd said, holding out some papers to Philip.
As if he had just woken up, the younger man asked, "Budget discrepancies?" Todd tilted his head towards the papers in his hand.
"We discussed them at lunch today. Don't you remember?" Philip bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"Actually, um.. no.." he said before looking up again. The tall man frowned as he slipped the small, black framed glasses from his face and took a closer look at his friend. Philip didn't look well. His usual tanned skin was looking gray - but that might have been the light, Todd surmised. However, there was no mistaking the watery, tired eyes and the rough looking skin on his friend's face. The guy looked sick - not nearly as young and fresh-faced as he had when they'd first met - a little over 4 years before.
Todd and Philip first met when the newly graduated Librarian took a job at a small library in Arlington. Graham was situated at the Pentagon for a while and Philip went for the only job on offer. During the interview the younger man was struck by the incredible good looks of the man sitting opposite him and he spent the whole time wondering just ‘who’ it was this Todd Tudor reminded him of. It wasn't until he'd left the room and was walking along the corridor to the elevator that it came to him. Todd reminded him of the English actor, Rupert Everett - tall, willowy and extremely handsome with a moody mask over his features. And that laugh! It had curled Philip's toes it was so deep and husky, much like the man's own speaking voice. Philip knew he was going enjoy working with Todd Tudor - a lot! Todd was quite an influence on the young man's life in areas not related to work also. Caught up in the modeling scene (Todd often told Philip he was a Librarian by birth; his parents were both Librarians - but that he was a Model by choice!) he often threw extravagant parties that Philip was always invited to. It was at one of these parties that Philip tried his first beer and a few weeks later, his first joint. Ironically, it was from Todd that Philip received his first - and only - lecture about the dangers of heavier types of drugs. The older man had been adamant that he wouldn't stand by and allow Philip to even 'try' anything harder in his presence, and that no friend of his was a 'druggy'. The conversation had the right impact because, much like Todd, Philip never dabbled beyond the occasional joint. Together they became good friends fast, and despite the young man's initial attraction to his supervisor, nothing sexual ever happened between them - especially as Todd lived with a beautiiful woman whom he'd met over a year beforehand on a modeling assignment.
One weekend, during one of their notorious parties, Philip was introduced to a well-known Broker by the name of Johnothon Weissmann. The young man was instantly attracted to the older gentleman. John, as everyone called him, was tall, very well built with deep-set, smoky gray eyes and raven black hair. Immaculate in every way the Broker fell for the attractive librarian the moment he laid eyes on him and he ended up inviting Philip back to his place that very morning.
The house blew Phil's mind it was so large and ornate and filled with interesting artwork and sculptures. Later in the relationship, when Phil expressed his interest in art John saw to it that he was signed up at the best Art School in Washington. Over the next few weeks the two became inseparable, totally devoted to each other. Even Graham approved of the relationship, and he didn't object when Philip moved in permanently with John a month after they'd met.
After working together closely for a year, Todd dropped a bombshell on Philip. He was leaving. He was flying to New York to concentrate on his modeling career- while he still had the looks to do it. Philip often recognized the face staring back at him from the magazine racks and billboards as he passed by on his way to work. He was pleased to keep a sporadic friendship alive, via email, with him as well. Before Todd left though, he put Philip forward for his position, arguing with the Administration Office that, while Philip was young and somewhat inexperienced in the field, he was diligent, honest and a very good worker. The faith that the Head Librarian had in his young assistant went a long way to securing Philip the position – the rest went on Philip’s own work performance records, which were faultless.
Once Todd left Arlington, Philip became the head librarian in the local district library, overseeing three other workers – all of whom were older than him. When Graham was posted to Cheyenne Mountain Philip kept his promise to his brother and came out with him, despite not having a job to go to. After a few months a position became available at the city library and Philip applied – without contest. A few months later the Head Librarian resigned suddenly and Elise, who was next in line for the position, declined it on grounds of ill health though she requested the opportunity to remain in her part time role. The position defaulted to Philip for a three-month contract; until such time that they could find a new replacement. However, Philip’s performance in the position, and the mother-son relationship he and Elise developed, convinced the Administration team that he was the right man for the job and was soon offered a permanency at the Library.
Out of the blue Philip received an email from his friend who said that he was thinking of returning to the more regular life, and pay, of a Librarian. Philip secretly suspected this abrupt change of heart had more to do with Todd’s marriage break up, for he married the model he lived with in Arlington, than any sudden desire to be a librarian once more. These days, Todd had told him, he was content to just dabble in modeling again on the side like he used to. When Philip heard that he was looking for work again he told him to hold on for a few months and that one of his workers, Elise, was due to retire soon. When she did Todd instantly stepped into the position. Philip never questioned whether the correct 'channels' had been taken to secure him the position but he was just happy to have his friend back again.
Todd hadn't changed a bit over the last three years, if anything, Philip thought, he looked better. The man reeked of simple elegance - from his short hair and long fringe, to his tanned skin and closely shaven face. He reeked of sex appeal too! With his softly spoken voice and his designer-labeled clothing - all 'beige pants and white flowing shirts' style that looked fantastic against his dark skin. Todd Tudor had, in the three months that he’d been there, already caught the attention of a lot of women in the town. For Philip the timing had been perfect. With Jack away on so many missions the younger man was beginning to feel lonely. As his health deteriorated too, unable to shake his cold, his other friends began to suspect something was wrong. As soon as he confessed to having tested HIV positive, his regular friends disappeared and left him on his own. Daniel was the only person he saw, apart from Jack these days and whenever Jack was away, Daniel was away with him.
But then Todd came to town. Colorado Springs, he'd told Philip over lunch a few weeks ago, was not his 'mecca', but he was pleased to be there and more than pleased with his company at work. He wanted to work there a while then move on to somewhere where he had a chance of a future. He joked, saying that if he remained there the only way he could move up was to shift Philip to the side. They'd both laughed but as a cough began to wrack Philip's body, the younger man wondered if that wasn't such a possibility sooner than they thought! Todd had been horrified to hear that John had cheated on Philip, something the younger man never told him in email. He went so far as to confess to feeling guilty for having introduced two of them now. Based on that reaction, Philip decided against revealing his secret to him, concerned that it would make his friend feel even worse.
So they rebuilt their friendship quickly again, spending a lot of time together except for the rare occasion that Jack would be back in town. Then Philip wasn't seen, either at work or after hours. He gave no explanation for his absences though, nor did he often account for the days he took off sick, usually because he was too exhausted to get up and go to work. For the most part, he kept his illness from his friend, saying that he had a headache or that he was coming down with a cold. Todd didn't seem to question him, even if he did notice the growing amounts of absences Philip was chalking up in the recent weeks. He only ever commented once on the nagging cough that never seemed to leave Philip. At one point the older man had teased him about 'giving up smoking' and Philip merely shrugged, not letting on that he had - a long time ago. It seemed better for him to blame the incessant cough on smoking. Besides, the truth was too horrible to consider - and something Philip wasn't ready to face just yet.
"Listen," Todd said now, lowering the papers to the chair by the window as he dragged his friend from his deep thoughts. "It's late. Why don't we call it a night and you can come back to my place..?"
Philip smiled. "My place, you mean?" Todd was staying in Philip's bedroom until he found a decent place of his own and in turn, Philip stayed at Jack's place.
The other librarian laughed softly. "Well, yeah, technically it is... So, you know, you know the layout, no surprises there, and you'll feel comfortable..."
Both men laughed now as Philip turned from the large window. "Sure. Can we get something absolutely disgusting to eat for dinner? Like a Caesar's pizza?"
With a shrug Todd agreed. "Good. I want to make you fat! Look at you!" Philip laughed as they headed to the door together. "You make me sick!"
Todd, realizing he was joking, said, "You're not exactly over weight yourself!" In fact, if he was going to be truthful, Todd would tell him he looked a little underweight actually. But he didn't. He switched off the office light as he and Philip went into the hall together and said nothing.
End of Part 2
Stories on this page are the property of Nessessitee and Slida. Please do not copy these without the written permission of the Author. All Rights are acknowledged for MGM, Gekko and Stargate Productions as to the Copyrights of the characters within this story and no infringement on the copyrights are intended. For the Bombshells Series the character of Philip Simmons is entirely the creation and intellectual property of Nessessitee and Slida.
While the performances given by RDA and MS help to fuel the author's desire to write for their characters in a niche that she feels is present on the actual show, the portrayal of their characters in loving relationships in no way reflects the Author's opinion of the men's private life, nor should it be construed in that manner.