Title: The Bet Jack/Gabrielle.

Rating: M. M/M rape references, please do not read if you find this subject sensitive.

Disclaimer: Of course I don't freaking own anything. If I did, I'd be writing scripts, not fanfiction.

June 2006

Gabrielle Jaeger had taken the time to learn all about her new colleagues in the All Saints Emergency Department – who was professional, who was a pain, who was likely to hit on every woman in sight.

At the top of that list was Doctor Jack Quade, a man who had been in relationship with her two most recent female predecessors and, rumour had it, slept with half the hospital's female population between twenty and forty. It was also said he routinely got into fights over the women in his life, like he was in high school. She hadn't even had to ask about that; a dozen people had warned her.

She considered herself warned. No way was she letting an arrogant shirt-chaser make her his latest conquest.

She could certainly see Jack's appeal as soon as she met him. He was a very attractive man, and there was confidence in the way he moved – confidence in himself as a surgeon, confidence in himself as a lover. He looked like he'd have no trouble picking up and he knew it. Oddly enough, she got nothing out of Cate McMasters and Erica Templeton, two of her ED nurses, who had never been involved with him. Of course, the most obvious source of Jack-related gossip would be his housemate, Dan Goldman, but Gabrielle had no idea how to approach Dan without making it seem like she was interested in Jack. Which, of course, she was not.

Jack took to her easy enough. He was fundamentally a friendly guy, if very guarded. His last relationship – with Deanna Richardson – had burned him more than he cared to admit to anyone, and there was no way in hell he was getting involved with someone from the hospital again, especially not the ED's NUM. It was too complicated a relationship.

Gabrielle kept waiting for Jack to make his move, always on guard with him. If Jack's reputation was even half true, then he'd be taking the first opportunity he could to get into her pants.

Things went well for all of two days. She was walking towards her office, completely engrossed in the mess of rosters that Dan had left for her, and not realized that Jack was calling her until she felt his hand on her upper arm, his fingers curling around her bicep. Firm without being aggressive. At least, that was Jack's intention; it wasn't in his nature to be physically forceful with people, definitely not with people smaller than him.

But Gabrielle took it badly. She took it as him grabbing his opportunity to touch her, and she wrenched her arm away violently. "Don't touch me!" she snapped at him, and bolted into her office, slamming the door shut behind her, leaving a stunned Jack, who had just wanted to extend an invitation to Cougars with him, Dan, Ricki and Cate.

Later that day, figuring she'd have calmed down from whatever had been bothering her, Jack knocked on the door and let himself in when she invited him – not knowing it was him, of course. "Leave the door open," she said when she realized. No way was she giving him the opportunity to be alone with her with the door closed. She knew his reputation.

"Ah, look, I just wanted to apologize if I got in your space before," he said. "I just wanted to invite you to Cougars and I called you and you didn't answer and –"

"It it usual for you to ask nurses out within days of starting?" Gabrielle asked in a cool, professional tone.

He looked taken aback. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"I know your reputation, Jack, and I'm curious if it's usual for you to ask nurses out almost as soon as they start? You know, get in before everyone else."

Jack's half-smile faded into something more like a frown. "I don't know, why don't you ask Ricki or Cate?" he said, figuring if she'd done her homework she wouldn't have found anyone on this ward who could claim to have slept with him – or even that he'd come onto. Deanna had been an aberration, and besides, she had come onto him. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to come out with us and Dan and we figured it would come better from me 'cos you're not my boss."

She wondered if he was telling the truth. He did seem kind of pally with the three of them, but then, he could just be using that as a cover. "You're not my boss, either," she snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, puzzled over her shortness. It was just a drink with a group, why was she getting so defensive?

"Look, I don't know what you have in mind, but I'm not some silly nurse who'll jump into your bed at the offer of a drink. You touch me again and I'll have you up on sexual harassment charges so fast your head will spin."

He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned deeper. "You think that's why I asked you out?" he asked. "Christ, if I wanted to get laid, there are plenty more attractive women than you in this hospital. We'll be at Cougars at eight if you want to come.

--

"Like I'd go out withher anyway, she's plain and dumpy," Jack said later to an amused audience of Dan, Cate, Ricki and Charlotte. "Or date anyone in his hospital again. Too complicated." He was venting, but even so, he couldn't bring himself to admit just how offended he'd been by Gabrielle's words. Sexual harassment? Like he had to bother sexually harassing anyone. Besides, he had been the victim of bullies enough times to ever do it to someone else. Christ, even if he had been interested in going out with her, he wouldn't have pushed it like she seemed to think he was capable of doing.

"Famous last words," Dan said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked.

"Didn't you say something to that effect after Terri?" Dan asked.

"Maybe… but that was different. This time I really do have no interest in being with someone from the hospital. I'm sick of being jerked around and being the centre of gossip." He eyed Dan suspiciously. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Nope."

Jack glowered. He knew he had to own this Deanna thing, but bloody hell, he was getting tired of people thinking of him as promiscuous and unscrupulous when it came to sex. He really did want a relationship with someone he cared about… without the constant gossip that went with dating someone from work.