Richard started to take a deep breath to answer Susan and immediately regretted it, as a bad fit of coughing hit him. He leaned back against the wall, one hand clutching his chest while he cradled his head with the other. He really hoped nothing important would break loose before he hacked up his toenails, or whatever it was that was floating around in his chest.
When he finally caught his breath, Richard looked up at Susan. "Not casting anybody out," he managed to get out before he started coughing again. Finally, he gave up and slid down to sit on the floor facing Susan's bed. "Not casting anybody out," he repeated himself wheezily when he could finally talk again.
He took a couple of experimental breaths, and when nothing else exploded, slowly stood back up, and continued, "Just asking for some slack if I have to spend a little more time with Lavender than I do with you for a while. Nothing else." Richard shook his head. "Was just... asking for your help. Didn't mean anything else. I... guess I shouldn't have come up here." Richard started to walk to the door. "I'll see you at the place when you can get out of here."