A/N: New chapter. I do not own anything recognizable, I am just playing around. Now that's out of the way, the next chapter after this should be coming fairly quickly as I am about half way done writing it. I hope Aidan's thoughts aren't too out of character here. Mentions of season two.
To say that Aidan was not having a good year would be an understatement. He had gone from trying to figure out how to live normally, without all the killing of people and fighting he had become so known for in the vampire community, and trying to cope with the idea that he was in love with Joss, to now having to help run an entire city of vampires. Mother had given him an opportunity, a chance to truly earn his freedom, but it did not come without its drawbacks and one of those was that he spent considerably less time at home. The other was that he had fallen back into his old habit of drinking live and while it certainly gave him more energy, it also weighed on his conscience, especially on the days that he did make it home or when he was at work and came face to face with Joss, who would look at him almost knowingly. Still, he knew that she ignored what he was capable of because she wasn't one to judge(although he often wondered if it was just him she reserved passing a final judgment on), as long as it was kept out of her life and her house. She always stressed that, that the house must be neutral ground where the three of them could just take a breath and be themselves, and he tried his best to live up to that expectation. He didn't want to consider what she would do if the full truth ever came out or he transgressed against her rule; Joss' ire would be fierce he knew and the thought that she might decide to leave was never far from his mind. He knew he was being selfish, especially as he reconnected with Suren and found himself falling back into all the feelings being with her caused, but he didn't want her to leave, even if he couldn't be with her, he wanted her to be part of his life as she had been for the past year or so.
And there in lay the problem, or at least one of them. Aidan was not good at sharing; he would be the first to admit it. What was his was his and damn you if you get in the way. His nature had always been a bit possessive, although not destructively so, and when he became a Vampire it only increased, probably because he had to struggle to hold on to anything good. So much so that when it would enter his life he held onto it with an iron fist. It was why he insisted on Henry staying by his side, even as petulant as he could become as the years went on, it was why he had Celine's name tattooed on his chest and why he threw himself so fully back in with Suren. It was why he couldn't let Joss go, even when he was practically ignoring her, because she was one of the good things in his life and once everything, his business with Mother, was over with he wanted to get back to that. Not that anything could happen between them, but he had hope that somehow things could get back to normal.
Again, he was being selfish; so very very selfish but he didn't care. Which lead him to the predicament he was in at the moment as he watched some tall, blond man hit on Joss at the nurses station. Oh, he knew who he was of course. There were only a few male nurses, the hospital still being most dominated by female side of the profession, and so he knew this man by sight even if he had never really interacted with him outside of a trauma. He watched surreptitiously from his vantage point by a med cart as Joss smiled, her hand rising to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. He wondered if this was their first conversation or if he had missed something in the past few weeks; Joss hadn't said anything about seeing someone and Sally hadn't mentioned anything to him, so he hoped he was right in his estimation that there was nothing going on. Yet. There was nothing going on yet, because if the way that Joss was smiling at her new friend and the way he was looking at her as they talked was any indication, something could be starting very soon.
Aidan took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly telling himself to reign it in. Joss was allowed to make friends, hell she could hook up with every guy she came across and it would be none of his business. And he had Suren now so really he had no right to be jealous. But you are, a little voice in the back of his mind, that always sounded just too much like Bishop for his liking, told him. You don't like sharing what's yours do you? He sighed and opened his eyes, expression schooled into one of apathy. He was pleased to see that Joss was gone leaving her new friend alone as he picked up a chart and strode away from the counter.
Get a grip Aidan, he scolded himself. What are you 20? You do not engage in petty emotions like Jealousy about who is talking to your best friend! Again his thoughts were bordering too far into sounding like something Bishop would say. Cursing to himself he moved towards the locker room; he had to go meet with Suren soon, he would have to talk to Joss later about this new development in her life. Selfish, the voice whispered, so very selfish.
Hmm. I wonder who Joss' mysterious new man could be? Update coming soon!