A few days after she saw Bruce for another appointment at Stark Tower, Susanne got a phone call from Tony. Susanne barely got in a "Hello, how may I help you?" before Tony started yelling.

"What is going on with Bruce?"

"He seems happier," she said.

"He seems happy - too happy," said Tony. "That means he has the pills or the IV bags or whatever he's using ready and he's set the date."

"Tony, he thinks he's integrating," said Susanne. "He saw part of the battle through Hulk's eyes. He gave me details. He also talked about you and the Hulk splashing in the waterfall. I understand your concern but he seems happy."

Tony said over the telephone, "Too happy. I know if I call to have him seen by a psychiatrist, he would go willingly, but what if the other guy isn't as cooperative. Ellen and that epi-pen was too close of a call. We need to handle this with kid gloves. Susanne, I'm scared I'm going to lose him."

"Tony, I've had suicidal clients before," said Susanne. "He doesn't appear suicidal. I'm sure you've been keeping tabs on him. What is he doing that I don't know about?"

"I'm in Baghdad right now or I would be at your office," said Tony. "He applied for the patent for his high temperature superconductor. His name will appear on the patent no matter what he says. He's at the lab, working another 14 hour a day. His assistant is bringing him food because he hasn't left the building in over a week."

"That's not unusual for him," said Susanne.

"It isn't his routine," explained Tony. "It's all the smiles and giggles. Bruce has two states; calm or sad. And Bruce's calm would make a Buddhist priest look like a novice. His sad is like the calm, only more listless. A person who has seen what he's seen shouldn't be smiling all the time."

"He told Steve and me that he was going to be happy," Susanne explained. "He is a very determined man. When he says he will do something, he does it. Sound like anyone else we know?"

"You don't become happy by saying I've had enough sadness and today I'll be happy."

Susanne asked, "Why not?"

"Because it isn't that easy."

"Has Bruce ever tried to kill himself before?" asked Susanne.

"Yes, but that time he didn't think it through. He was low and tried to swallow a bullet. The Hulk spit it out. Bruce can't be shot, but he can be tranquilized. He can't practice in the States, but he'd find a way to get the drugs he needs."

"Has Bruce ever patented anything before?" asked Susanne, wanting to find a reason for Bruce's happiness other than he set a date to kill himself. She had really hoped he had another reason to be happy. He talked about enjoying his life and not having enough time to be angry. She would know if someone was suicidal. And Bruce did not appear suicidal.

"No, he had been on the run for close to ten years," said Tony. "And his research at Berkeley wasn't close to the patent stage. He told you about the exploding frog."

"His smiles seem normal to me," said Susanne. "He fully into whatever he's doing. That's probably what makes him a great scientist. When he ate that pastrami sandwich he was eating that sandwich, which is why my fake orgasm shocked him so much that he fell onto the floor. He is enjoying his time in the sun," said Susanne. "Good-bye, Mr. Stark."

"I won't be hung up on."

"Mr. Stark, you're in Baghdad, even if you make a few sonic booms on your way here, you still won't get here for several hours. Either talk to Bruce yourself or don't. Good-bye." With that, she hung up on the Great Tony Stark.

The next day, Susanne felt guilty, so she called Tony's number. "Are you in the States?"

"No," said Tony. "Syria. In the movies, they have the aliens come to Earth and all the humans put down their differences and fight as one. It doesn't work that way in real life. We all fought together when the aliens were here, but now that the humans won, it's back to fighting amongst ourselves. An insurgence group is using Ironman for target practice, but I can talk to you while dodging cannon fire."

From the fireworks in the background, Susanne assumed he was telling the truth.

"Talk fast," said Tony. "I may have to return fire."

Bombs were going off, Susanne just wanted to hang up. Now she felt like a deer caught in headlight.

"Good-bye, Susanne." The phone went dead. She called Bruce's cellphone. It went straight to voice mail. Instead of leaving a message, she grabbed her jacket and purse, took the elevator to the lobby and went outside to get a cab to Stark Tower. Bruce's phone going straight to voice mail might just mean he left it in the Green Room or another sealed room where it couldn't get a signal, but she didn't want to take the chance that Tony was right.

Jarvis recognized Susanne. "Dr. Banner left this morning for New Mexico. Would you like to meet with his assistant, Dr. Deangelo?"

Now she felt stupid, his phone was off because he was on an airplane. "Did he say why he was going to New Mexico?"

"No, ma'am, he didn't," said Jarvis. "You may ask Dr. Deangelo,"

Susanne knocked on the door of Bruce's lab. A slender woman, wearing a lab coat, with her dark hair in a bun, answered the door. "Hello, I'm Bruce's therapist, Dr. Susanne Rosen. He usually tells me his plans."

"Even when they are top-secret?" asked the scientist.

"Then I am told he is going away and won't be able to return my calls," said Susanne. "May I come in?"

"No. I'll meet you in the employee lounge," said the scientist before shutting the lab door.

Susanne went to the employee lounge. It had a small white table with a couple chairs around it. There was a stack of chairs in the corner for more people to grab a seat when needed. On the cabinet built into the wall were the sink, microwave and small refrigerator. Above the sink a roll of generic paper towels. On another shelf was a coffee maker with a spigot for hot water, so Bruce could make his tea. On the same shelf were 2 mugs. One said "I Heart NY" and the other had the logo of a furniture store. Either one could have been Bruce's.

How could someone be somewhere for eights months and not leave a mark on it? Susanne just looked around the room and tried not to look at her phone for the time. "Jarvis, did Dr. Banner get on the plane?"

"Yes, ma'am. Do you want me to tell the airport to have him call you when he arrives?"

"Yes, please." Susanne didn't need to be polite to an AI, but the damn thing was so polite to her that it was instinct.

Over a half-hour later, Dr. Deangelo, finally, came into the lounge. "Hello, Dr. Rosen. I'm sorry I was so curt before. Why do you wish to see me?"

Susanne felt horrible about waiting a day. "How much do you know about Dr. Banner?"

"He's a brilliant scientist," said Deangelo. "I feel privileged to be working under him."

Susanne made eye contact with the scientist. "Personally?"

"Are you asking if I know about the other guy?"

"I might as well tell you why Mr. Stark called me and why I am here," explained Susanne. "Mr. Stark fears that Dr. Banner will try to take his life, again. Jarvis says he is in the air then he is in the air, not lying somewhere dead. I don't even think Dr. Banner is smart enough to outsmart Mr. Stark's AI. However, I will feel better once I get that call."

The scientist's face turned pale. "You're serious."

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," said Susanne. "Did he tell you why he went to New Mexico?"

"To see Ms. Lewis," said Deangelo.

"Then Mr. Stark is right. He's saying good-bye to her." Susanne shouldn't have said that but when it came preventing a client from harming himself or others all rules regarding confidentiality were dependent on putting the client's well-being first. Bruce had enjoyed spending time with Darcy Lewis and Darcy would be the one person he would want to say good-bye to - mentally say good-bye - Darcy would just see it an unexpected visit.

"He seem so happy," said Deangelo.

"A lot of people are happy after they have come up with the plan." Susanne didn't know how to say what she wanted to without saying the word Hulk. Deangelo said she knew about the other guy and she worked with a man who went to a cell reinforced with carbon fibers and alloys only Mr. Stark knew about to cool down, which was not your typical meditation room to say the least, although Bruce did do his yoga there, but it wasn't her place to give out his secrets, even when they weren't exactly secret. "If he gets the patent, he will die being known for something other than for the fallout of his accident of a decade ago."

Deangelo nodded then kept her eyes down.

"We both want to save Dr. Banner's life," said Susanne. "Usually, I would have a suicidal client seen by a psychiatrist, but Mr. Stark and I know that not everyone handling Dr. Banner's care may understand how special he is, if you get my meaning, and if he panics."

After they ordered food, which Deangelo went to the lobby to get, Susanne sat in the lounge alone to wait for Bruce's phone call.

"Hello, Susanne," said Bruce's unusually cheerful voice. "Jarvis asked me to call you."

"Hi, Bruce. How are you doing?" asked Susanne.

"I'm good other than my ears are still ringing," said Bruce. "A word to the wise, never answer a cell phone with Thor on the other end. He wants me to go to Asgard with him."

The End

xxxx

Author's Note: The story continues in Troll. I may write a Steve and Susanne story. Susanne can teach him about DeviantART and scanning his work into the computer and stuff like that. That way I can have Susanne in a fan fiction where she isn't working.