Title: Indeed

Author: Wicked R

Disclaimers: characters are the property of FX. I'm using them for fun only.

Rating: PG.

Genre: G.

Summary/Set: AU. Sean and Christian did give up their joint practice after "Rose and Raven Rosenberg", and this is them finally meeting up after three years.

Pairing: S/J, C/G.

Note: I've written over seventy stories, but so far all of them about vampires or demons. None of them was set in the real world, this is my first. Actually, I have absolutely no idea how I will manage…

Liz walked up to the receptionist desk of the McNamara surgery, as she did every morning. She leaned over it, picked up the appointments book, and took a sip from her mug of coffee while glancing at the schedule.

"How's everything going?" Sean slid in the door and looked at the same book.

"Mr. Sunday is ready to be released, Mrs. Barry is recovering according to expectations and Mrs. Lopez hasn't checked in for her surgery yet."

Sean nodded, "my half nine appointment is not here yet, I take it?" He took his jacket off, "so what have you done with yourself at the weekend?"

"Went out with a couple of friends the Friday night and…I went to the shopping mall on Saturday."

"Getting ready for Christmas early?"

"Well, that, too…but…remember how you said just last week that you feel a bit perturbed about the fact that you haven't heard anything of Christian for three years?"

"You heard something about him at the mall?"

"Yes, I mean no. I met him. I was having lunch at the Mexican's when he walked in. I hardly recognised him. He was looking…I don't know, he was either tired or somehow different, I really can't put my finger on it was. I asked him to sit at my table. Correction. Them. I asked them."

"Some lady friend?"

"That's the thing Sean, it wasn't. He was holding this beautiful, vivid little girl with bright eyes. Her name's Christina. I asked her how old she was and she indicated two with her fingers and Christian doted on her about how clever she was. Then he apologised if he hurt my feelings when being an overenthusiastic parent, but I told him I practically got over not having kids when I totally accepted my sexual orientation. He was really nice and talkative towards me. Found it strange, we probably talked more there than any time while he was working here. Gina was her normal obnoxious self right enough, either ignoring me or making some spiteful remark…"

"Gina? He's with Gina?"

"Uhm…they got weeding rings and all. Although I can't imagine anything else than an open marriage. They were arguing about her smoking. She looked about six month pregnant. Then she argued with him about what he should eat and being hypocritical when not eating healthy, but disagreeing with her about her smoking at the same time," she shook her head, "she probably didn't change one bit."

"A daughter, hm? Good for him…" Sean said from his heart. He had missed his old friend ever since the first day he had to consult patients by himself, but he felt he had no choice in the matter as Christian betrayed him. Sean was lonely now, even though he had accepted Julia back into his life. He didn't really have any other friends and Christian was more than a brother to him. He missed discussing everything with him, he missed having a drink with him, he missed dealing with all the mess he regularly created. He also wondered how his ex partner fared without him. Not so much for himself being right about Christian not managing alone, but because he was worried about him. He told him once he will never forgive him, but he did. He forgave him not long after he had left, thought about how much he loved him and would've asked him back right away before all the paperwork for splitting the practice has been finalised, but Christian had already vanished off the face of the earth. Actively he had never looked for him, he was thorn between reconciling with one of the two most important people in his life and the fear that if Christian would come back, the other most important person, Julia, would not be solely his again. Of course, she never was, he was quite sure she'd always been in love with Christian, but at least his friend wasn't there in person anymore to be lusted over. Sean had already changed into his work clothes when he finally asked his co worker tentatively, "do you know where he lives? Christian."

"Gina's sister, I think. They are here in Miami for her wedding."

"That's not what I meant," he said, weary of how he should go about this, "is there anything else you two talked about? You know, I just wanna know he's ok. There's so much…well, we've been together for so long…"

"Told you we talked more than ever," Liz looked at him knowingly, "they moved to San Diego not so long ago from I dunno where. Because that's where he works. The San Diego Transplant Institute. Burn Unit, or something like that. Apparently, they pay quite well…" She frowned, unbelievingly.

"He works for the government?" Sean was surprised. But then again, not. He couldn't imagine Christian running a successful surgery all by himself. His guess would've been that, poised and impractical his old friend could be sometimes, he would have tried and failed. Not that he himself didn't have problems at first when the clientele flopped at his surgery at first when he started practicing without his old partner. His profits were still quarter of what they used to be, but at least he wasn't in any danger of bankruptcy like it the fist year. This was it, this was his chance for some sort of squaring off with his old partner. He was in town and Sean could show up coming from his high horse, "was the wedding at the weekend?"

"No, it will be next weekend."

"And they are here for that long? Maybe working for the government is good, if they offer that much holiday…" He suspected something else.

"Well, I don't know. Gina made some strange sarcastic comment I couldn't understand at the end, about the value of being off work, which Christian completely ignored and said good bye. Of course, he asked about you first."

"What did you tell him?"

"That you're well. The practice goes well, family life goes well. What else should've I told him?…You miss him, don't you?"

"Strange as it sounds…"

"You know what? I miss him too. Life is just too boring around here without him, if you know what I mean. No sex scandals, lusting clients, cues to see him…less clients, you know in general…"

"Hmm, yeah, that."

"It's your lucky day, Sean, cause I do know where and when this wedding is…"

Tbc…