Ch 14 It's Complicated
Bogg walked out with a list of instructions in his hand and Jeff jumped up from the bench, "so what was it?"
"I gotta get this shoulder taken care of," he began and they walked out together as he explained what was going to happen. Jeff slowed down and finally stopped, then turned to face his partner. Bogg saw the expression on his face, "don't look so worried, it'll be over before you know it," he said, though he didn't feel that way at all. "You said yourself that thousands of people have operations every day."
Jeff just stood there looking at him, his expresion didn't change, "I guess I didn't realize how different it would be."
"What do you mean?"
"Because it's you."
Phineas put his hand on Jeff's shoulder, "it's gonna be okay."
Jeff stared up at him and tried to smile, "okay," he whispered. He could tell that Bogg didn't want him to be afraid, so he vowed to try not to look that way, no matter how he felt.
They stood in silence for awhile, until finally Phineas spoke. "You know, this doesn't have to change anything," he began.
"What do you mean?"
"You could still do the Wilderness Training."
"Without you?" Jeff asked in disbelief.
"Sure, Olivia's doing it too, and I'm sure ..."
"You can't be serious!" Jeff raised his voice, "with you like this? It starts tomorrow and I'd be gone 2 days."
"Look, it'll be a good experience and you like Olivia..."
"Just stop it!"
"There'll be nothing for you to do here except be worried and bored," Phineas told him. "When you get back, I'll be ready to leave the hospital, and that's when I'll need you."
Jeff scowled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It's not fair to you, that's all I meant," Phineas continued.
"I'm not going!" Jeff said in irritation.
"Look, I don't want to fight," Phineas said tiredly, "all I want you to do is spend some time outdoors having fun, is that too much to ask?"
"You're my friend and I'm not going to go have fun while you go through this," Jeff said loudly.
"Can't you just put this out of your mind, it's my problem."
"You act like I have a choice! Like I can decide to forget about it!" Jeff shouted. "Like I don't care about you for two whole days and then pick up right where we left off?"
The aching in Bogg's shoulder suddenly seemed worse and when he next spoke, his tone wasn't friendly. "Look, it's not normal for a twelve year old to have an adult for a friend." He paused, "I don't need you here, okay?"
Jeff stood still listening to Phineas and seething inside. He couldn't ever remember feeling so angry with him. Bogg had never talked to him like this before. Suddenly he spoke, "fine," he said angrily as he turned and stormed down the path.
Jeff followed the path as it split off the main trail and walked to a clearing where he could be alone. He didn't want anyone to see him. He kicked at a large rock beside a bench, and immediately felt pain in his big toe. How could Bogg have talked to him that way? Bogg didn't want him around at all. It was just like the partnership agreement said, when things get hard you just split up. What if everything that had happened over the past two years meant nothing to Bogg? What would he do? He wiped his eyes and sat staring at the ground.
ooOoo
Phineas watched Jeff leave angrily. "That kid needs to start listening to me," he whispered aloud. He sat down and rested his arm on his lap and immediately the pain eased up. As he thought back over their argument, he suddenly realized how Jeffrey must have felt and he knew he'd been wrong to suggest that he leave. He'd never seen Jeff so angry.
Now, with the pain dulled, he realized how obvious it was that Jeff wouldn't want to leave him. He hadn't left him in 1929, in fact he'd done everything he could for him. It had been very bloody, and very scary, but Jeff had stuck with him, helping him get his strength back and solving the red light.
He started walking down the path to look for him. He knew it split off into 3 directions a bit further on and wondered where Jeff would go. He didn't want to have any of the tests until he'd straightened things out between them.
ooOoo
Jeff was glad he had decided to sit down on the bench, alone. The silence was just what he needed to think things through. In the few minutes that he had been here, he had realized that Bogg had never treated him like this before. He knew that Bogg's shoulder was hurting him and he had just found out he would need surgery. That would have to make a person feel pretty horrible.
He refused to believe that almost two years of friendship could be wiped away in a few minutes. And even if it could be wiped away for Bogg, it couldn't for him. Jeff's resolve solidified as he realized once again that he was "as stubborn as a mule". He also remembered Bogg saying that that would make him a good Voyager. As he sat there, his thoughts drifted over some of the things they had been through. Even though he hadn't thought about it in a long time, he could clearly remember what had happened on the beach at Kitty Hawk. Bogg had hugged him tightly, and said that things would be okay. He could have left Jeff then, he barely knew him, but he didn't. As Jeff sat on the bench off to the side of the trail, he could imagine what might have been going through Bogg's mind back on that beach. In spite of how badly he felt at the moment, he smiled.
He took a deep breath and sighed. He was almost certain that Bogg would regret talking to him like that, once he felt more like himself anyway. He stood up and headed back to where he'd left Bogg. Bogg might not want him very close, but that didn't matter, Jeff had decided he wouldn't be far away. He'd also realized that Bogg couldn't force him to do the wilderness training. Jeff smiled determinedly as he walked. No one was going to keep him away from Bogg during this. And it didn't really matter whether or not Bogg wanted to see him. He would be there, regardless, as close as he could get, because he had to be.
ooOoo
When Phineas saw him on the path, he smiled in relief. He started to apologize, but Jeffrey interrupted him before he finished the first word.
"Look, you're screwed up right now so I'll make this simple. You can't make me leave, if you don't want to see me, fine, I'll just have to stay as close as I can get!" The words poured out, fast and angry.
"I'm sorry, I never should've said that," Phineas replied just as quickly, then paused and Jeff stared at him in disbelief. He'd been expecting an argument, not an apology. "I do need you, it's just that I don't want you to be any more scared than you have to be."
Jeff felt tears spring to his eyes, but he fought them back. He was almost 13, and couldn't be crying over every little thing any more. "I'd rather be scared and close, than scared and far away."
Bogg nodded, "well said."
Jeffrey took a step forward and gave Bogg a hug. "I thought you knew you were stuck with me," he whispered.
"Well, like you said, I guess I was a little screwed up," Bogg answered as he returned the hug.
They walked together, back to the hospital and Jeff waited patiently outside each of the testing rooms, then they went to Dr. Gillespie's office and he examined Phineas and looked at the test results. At the end of the visit, Phineas called Jeffrey in to meet the doctor.
"Jeff's my family," Phineas explained, "you can tell him how the operation went," he said in front of both of them.
Dr. Gillespie was tall and thin and had a friendly face. "I'll come to the waiting room as soon as I'm done," he told Jeff as he shook his hand.
Jeff nodded, "how long will it take?"
"It depends on what I find, figure on 2 hours," he answered.
"When will you do it?"
"Tomorrow, I'll operate in the morning and keep him overnight. You can take him home the next day."
Jeff nodded soberly, "thanks."