"You're playing a dangerous game, Kev." Thea told him.
It was their weekly Sunday morning ritual, ever since Kevin had returned
from Romania; breakfast at IHOP. It wasn't extravagant, but it was
at least a sense of normalcy for two very abnormal people. "It could
backfire and blow up in your face."
"What should I have done, Thea?" He asked, "Let the girl die?" He shook his head. "That would have been a poor way to make amends."
"Kevin, you've spent your life in Rwanda, in Bosnia, in Romania, and in a dozen other hell holes around the globe caring for the sick and poor. You've more than made up for anything you might have done under Zedd's spell," she reminded him of his attempt at self-imposed penance. "And no, you shouldn't have let her die. That's your life that could have been but wasn't. You could no more let her die than you could stop being what you are. But you need to be careful."
He smiled at her and sighed, "You may be right." He shook his head, "I really should turn the case over to Adam. I'm too close to it."
"Kevin, you shouldn't have come back to Angel Grove. If anyone recognized you, there could be hell to pay."
"You're probably right. How was I to know that all the Rangers would still be living here?" he told the Asian woman.
"You of all people should have known that they would be here," Thea told him. She looked over and sighed, "Still, you look a lot different than you did back then. Maybe nobody will notice."
"Tommy suspects something," he told her. "I could see it in his eyes. "Jason is too distraught to look too closely, but Tommy was always the more suspicious one. He suspects something deep down."
"Kevin, you have to be careful. If he finds out who you are, he'll kill you," Thea said.
Kevin just nodded. "I know. He'll say it's to protect his friends, to protect Jason, but he'll do it anyway."
Thea snorted, "Like Jason needs protecting from you. I've seen the way you look at him when you think nobody is looking. You'd no more hurt him than you'd cut off your own arm."
Kevin sighed, "I can't help it. It's who I am. It's WHAT I am. I didn't ask to be this way, hell I didn't ask to come into existence. It would have been best if I hadn't, but I did, and now I have to live with it."
"You could have let them kill you," she said.
"Sorry, I'm not the kind of person who gives up. I'd rather just stick it out and see what comes of it." He sighed, "At least I'm able to defend myself. If Tommy comes after me, I can handle him." He shrugged, "Trust me, I can still run pretty fast."
"Yeah, but Tommy has access to quite a few resources. He could hunt you down. He might even convince Jason to help him," she told. "And if they caught you, it might lead them to me." She shuddered, "I've got a lot to make up for too, and I'm not finished yet."
"I won't lie down and die. Not even for Jason," Kevin told her. "As for leading them to you, trust me. I won't do that."
She stood smiled, "Look, I have to get to church. Are you sure you won't come with me?"
He shook his head, "You kidding? The place would probably fall down if I walked in." He smiled, "Besides, I'm supposed to check in on Trini Anne at one and I don't think I could make it from Stone Canyon to the hospital through all that church traffic in time."
She put a hand on her old friend's shoulder. "Somehow, I don't think God would mind. Maybe it's time you put some of YOUR demons to rest Kevin. You're not the same man you were fifteen years ago. I think you've made up for your past sins."
"I'll keep that in mind," he stood and embraced her. "I may even decide to take that position in Iraq I was offered. The Peace Corps is very happy with my service so far."
"Why don't you go somewhere else?" she told him. "I understand that the Appalachian region is screaming for qualified rural doctors. You could disappear into the hills of West Virginia; build a new life for yourself there while doing some real good. You don't have to keep hiding in the most dangerous parts of the world you can find."
"I'll think about it," he told her.
"You do that Kev."
~*~
Sunday after church found Kim sitting quietly at her kitchen table thinking. Tommy had taken Jay over to the hospital to visit Trini Anne and she had the house all to herself. Adam's question to Kim kept nagging at the back of her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she wasn't sure. Trini Anne was so quiet it was sometimes difficult to figure out what she was feeling and saying. She thought of the times she'd visited Jay and how the girl was always polite, almost painfully so. It reminded her of Billy, and his way of always being respectful to adults when they were kids. Of course with Jason as a father, she'd expect nothing less than courtesy.
Before she could pursue the matter further, there was a knock at the back door, and Trini Taylor stuck her head in. "Hey girl, Are we still going shopping today?"
Kim looked up surprised and said, "I'd totally forgotten! With everything that happened yesterday, it completely slipped my mind." She stood and said, "Let me get my purse."
"Take your time," Trini said as Kim. "The malls are going to be open till eight."
Kim grabbed her purse and a moment later the two women were on their way to Stone Canyon Mall. After church traffic was heavier than usual, and it wasn't long before Kim found herself once again thinking about Adam's question in the quietness of the car. Exactly what did he mean by "am I sure"? All the kids pretty much call us all Aunt or Uncle. Don't they?"
"You seem quiet today, Kim," Trini said. "What's on your mind."
Pulled from her thoughts, she looked over at her best friend, "I was just thinking about something Adam asked me yesterday?"
"Oh and what was that?" Trini asked. It was generally understood that if Adam went out of his way to mention something then it was a good idea to pay pretty close attention to what ever it was.
"He asked me what does Trini Anne call me, you, Kat, and Zack. When I told him that I thought she referred to all of us pretty much like the other kids, you know Aunt or Uncle, he asked me if I was sure. For some reason it seemed important."
"Oh that?" Trini said.
"What?" Kim asked.
"It's nothing really. Just something Zack and I noticed a couple of years ago. We haven't talked to anybody about it, because there's nothing really to say."
"What?" Kim turned to face her best friend and asked.
Pulling into the parking lot, she found the first available spot and parked. It was a running joke between the two of them. They'd rather walk the extra distance of parking away from the entrance than to drive around half an hour looking for a closer spot. It gave them more time for the important stuff- namely shopping. Turning off the ignition, she looked over at Kim and said, "Trini calls all of us Aunt or Uncle, except for Tommy. No matter what, he's always 'Mr. Oliver.' That's all. We noticed it when she was about eight she stopped calling him Uncle Tommy."
Kim thought back to the last few times she'd seen the girl and her husband together. She remembered yesterday's exchange at the pavilion. Trini Anne called Tommy, "Mr. Oliver." Sighing, she got out of Trini's SUV and said, "I wonder why?"
Trini chuckled, but Kim could see the humor didn't quite reach her eyes, "Who knows why kids do things?"
Kim thought about it a minute, and then joined her friend as they headed toward the door. With the same off handed casualness Trini used, she said, "I don't know. I think maybe you do."
Trini stopped and looked at Kim. Her voice suddenly very serious, she said, "You're right. I do." She sighed and looked toward the Mall. "Tell you what, let me buy you a cup of tea and we'll talk about it."
Kim nodded, "Okay."
Ten minutes later the two women were seated in a small booth in the corner of a little café at the edge of the mall sipping tea. Trini leaned forward and said, "First, let me say this much: I first noticed it when Mina mentioned it. She told me that Trini Anne was just a little afraid of Tommy."
"Afraid of Tommy?" Kim asked. "Why?"
Trini looked into her tea before saying anything else, "Have you ever looked at Tommy's eyes when he talks to her?"
Kim shook her head, "No, I can't say that I have. I mean, it's not something I've ever thought about doing."
Trini smiled weakly, "Neither did I until Mina brought it up. For some reason, there's always just a little hardness about them when he talks to her. His voice is just a little sharper. If you look, you can see where it looks like he's trying to be fair about something, but is having to force himself to be."
Kim shook her head, "I think maybe you're reading more into something that's not there." Kim suddenly felt a need to defend her husband.
Trini just smiled and said, "Maybe you're right." Looking up for the waiter she said, "There's a shoe sale at Macy's want to check it out?" Kim knew that the former Yellow Ranger would say no more on the subject if she thought Kimberly wasn't willing to listen.
"Look Trini, I'm not saying you don't see something, I just think your interpretation of what you're seeing isn't correct. Tommy would never hurt Trini Anne…"
"I know that, and you know that, Kim." Trini said, "But Trini Anne is a thirteen year old girl. She may not- especially with all the tragedy in her life. Let's face it, Tommy can be pretty intimidating at times, even without realizing it. I can see how she would interpret his distance as something else."
"He's not distant!" Kim protested.
"He is to Trini Anne," Trini said simply. "Those two have a very formal relationship, not an affectionate one. Not like Tommy has with Mina or Aiden and Alexander."
"Trini Anne's not that affectionate of a person. She's more like Billy in that manner," Kim said, but knew it was a untrue. She and the girl shared a very special relationship and affectionate is definitely a word that applied to it. It was not quite a mother/daughter one, but close. Trini after all, was the daughter of two of her dearest friends, and the best friend of her son.
"I think you know that's not true," Trini said. She sighed, "Look I'm not saying that Tommy treats her poorly, just differently." Leaning back she said, "And there's really no wonder, she's a constant reminder of what happened between him and Jason. He probably doesn't even realize he's doing it himself, and if he did, he'd make it a point not to. It's just something he can't help."
Kim nodded. She would have to think about what Trini said. It made sense in an odd Power Ranger sort of way. Sighing she decided to let best friend off the hook, "About that shoe sale at Macy's"
"Yeah?"
"Think they got anything in pink?" she smiled.
~*~
Jason watched as Jay and Tommy came into the hospital. He smiled at the look of genuine pleasure that spread to his daughter's face at the sight of her best friend, "Jay! You come to break me out of here?" Then she turned to his father, "Hello Mr. Oliver, thank you for bringing him."
"Nah, Dad won't let me mount a rescue just yet," Jay smiled. "He says you're likely to bust a stitch open if we tried."
"No problem Trini Anne, Kim wanted some time to herself I think." He smiled at the girl in the bed and looked over at Jase. "You finally get some sleep Bro?"
Jason smiled at him, "Yeah," he pointed to his daughter, "Princess here made me go home and take a shower. She said I was starting to reek."
"Leave it to a woman to appeal to your vanity."
Both men laughed and watched the two children seemed to share something between them. For some reason they both kept looking over at Jase and then smiling. He leaned in to Tommy and said, "I think they're up to something again."
Tommy smiled back, "Hide your PDA and Laptop then."
At the sound of a knock, all of them looked up at the door as Dr. Carstonn came into the room. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a muddy brown shirt. Jason noted his smile as he looked on at the Trini Anne and Jay. The smile changed slightly as he turned to nod to Jason, now it seemed to be tinged with something else. However it became almost vacant, draining from his eyes as he nodded to Tommy. "Good afternoon all."
"Hello Doctor," Trini Anne smiled at him, "When can I go home?"
The man laughed, "If you continue to follow my directions and get better, probably tomorrow afternoon." He smiled and checked her eyes. After a moment, he looked up and said, "If you gentlemen would excuse us a moment, I would like to check her stitches." He smiled, "It'll just be a minute."
Jason smiled over at the nurse who was coming in and nodded as the others followed him out the door to the hall. Jason couldn't help but notice a strange look on Jay's face.
~*~
Trini Anne watched the doctor as he inspected her wound, and then checked her vitals with an ease and efficiency that seemed to come from long years of practice. He probed the area around the scar to check for tenderness and pain, asking occasional questions about how she felt.
"How long have you lived in Angel Grove, Doctor?"
The question seemed to catch him by surprise. He looked over at her, "I just moved here." He sighed and seemed to think for a moment, "I did spend a few days here when I was very young, but I haven't been back since."
"Oh, where were you?" she asked.
"Various places. I spent some time in Africa and Eastern Europe, mainly with the World Health Organization."
"What does your partner do?" she didn't know how, but somehow she knew this man did not have a wife. In a lot of ways, she reminded her of her father. He didn't act gay, but some how she knew that he was.
The man gave her a second look, and asked, "Isn't that a little personal, Miss Cranston-Scott?"
She smiled up at him sheepishly, "You've seen inside my body Doctor, that's about as personal as you can get. Don't you think that makes us at least close enough to ask a few questions?"
He smiled at her, "You sound like your father."
She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know my father?"
The doctor smiled at her and covered up his chagrin as quickly as he could, but Trini Anne knew a lie when she heard it, "I don't really, I just got to talk to him a little while you were in recovery." Then turning to her, "And to ask the question you were hinting at, I don't have a partner."
She smiled at him, and said, "Oh really?" An idea began to form in her head.
The man known as Dr. Kevin Carstonn suddenly felt like he'd been neatly maneuvered into some kind of trap, but wasn't sure what it was.
~*~
Jay watched as the Doctor came out and said, "You can come back in now." He saw how the doctor seemed to address only Uncle Jason, as if nobody else was in the room.
"Thank you Doctor." Uncle Jason said. "How's she doing?"
The doctor nodded and then looked at Jay and then his father, "I usually don't discuss a patient's condition in the presence of non-family, but I get the feeling that this might be a special case."
Uncle Jase just nodded, "Go ahead." Jay realized that if there were anything serious to be discussed, that the man would have excused himself and Uncle Jase to speak with him alone. He also noted that Uncle Jase seemed to concentrate only on the man's presence almost not noticing him or his dad.
"She's going to be all right, Mr. Scott-Cranston," the doctor said.
"Look, Scott-Cranston is getting to be a mouthful. Just call me Jase."
The doctor nodded, "Okay, Jase. She's going to be fine. You're going to have to tie her down for about two weeks to keep her from tearing her stitches loose, but after that she should heal nicely." He looked over at Jay's dad for a moment before turning back to Uncle Jase, "I'll give you more details on what all needs to be done, what she can and can't eat, and that sort of thing tomorrow before you take her home."
Uncle Jase nodded, and Jay could almost see the weight lift from his shoulder. Suddenly the doctor turned on Jay and said, "As for you," he smiled, "I get the feeling that you're probably going to have more pull with her than her father does, so I'm going to put you in charge of making sure she doesn't eat too many spicy foods for the next few months." Jay saw him wink up at Uncle Jase and his dad. "You know, for when you guys are out by yourselves or end up at the Youth Center for smoothies."
Jay swallowed hard at the man's suggestion. He was surprised that the doctor was willing to treat him as responsible enough to keep an eye on his friend. He felt himself straighten up and smile, "Yes sir."
"Good," the doctor smiled, and Jay felt himself warm to the older man. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow, Jase." He missed the look of surprise on his father's face at the use of the name.
"I'm looking forward to it, Dr. Carstonn," Uncle Jase said.
"Call me Kevin." He checked his watch, a blush slowly rising in his face. "Well I've got other rounds to make so I'd better be going." Looking up he said, "Have a good day all."
Ten minutes later, the parental units finally decided to give him and Trini Anne a minute to themselves. She looked over at him and asked, "So what do you think?"
"I think you're playing with fire girl, and those two may be an accelerant that can get you in trouble if you're not careful," he told her.
All she did was lean back in her bed and smile.
"What should I have done, Thea?" He asked, "Let the girl die?" He shook his head. "That would have been a poor way to make amends."
"Kevin, you've spent your life in Rwanda, in Bosnia, in Romania, and in a dozen other hell holes around the globe caring for the sick and poor. You've more than made up for anything you might have done under Zedd's spell," she reminded him of his attempt at self-imposed penance. "And no, you shouldn't have let her die. That's your life that could have been but wasn't. You could no more let her die than you could stop being what you are. But you need to be careful."
He smiled at her and sighed, "You may be right." He shook his head, "I really should turn the case over to Adam. I'm too close to it."
"Kevin, you shouldn't have come back to Angel Grove. If anyone recognized you, there could be hell to pay."
"You're probably right. How was I to know that all the Rangers would still be living here?" he told the Asian woman.
"You of all people should have known that they would be here," Thea told him. She looked over and sighed, "Still, you look a lot different than you did back then. Maybe nobody will notice."
"Tommy suspects something," he told her. "I could see it in his eyes. "Jason is too distraught to look too closely, but Tommy was always the more suspicious one. He suspects something deep down."
"Kevin, you have to be careful. If he finds out who you are, he'll kill you," Thea said.
Kevin just nodded. "I know. He'll say it's to protect his friends, to protect Jason, but he'll do it anyway."
Thea snorted, "Like Jason needs protecting from you. I've seen the way you look at him when you think nobody is looking. You'd no more hurt him than you'd cut off your own arm."
Kevin sighed, "I can't help it. It's who I am. It's WHAT I am. I didn't ask to be this way, hell I didn't ask to come into existence. It would have been best if I hadn't, but I did, and now I have to live with it."
"You could have let them kill you," she said.
"Sorry, I'm not the kind of person who gives up. I'd rather just stick it out and see what comes of it." He sighed, "At least I'm able to defend myself. If Tommy comes after me, I can handle him." He shrugged, "Trust me, I can still run pretty fast."
"Yeah, but Tommy has access to quite a few resources. He could hunt you down. He might even convince Jason to help him," she told. "And if they caught you, it might lead them to me." She shuddered, "I've got a lot to make up for too, and I'm not finished yet."
"I won't lie down and die. Not even for Jason," Kevin told her. "As for leading them to you, trust me. I won't do that."
She stood smiled, "Look, I have to get to church. Are you sure you won't come with me?"
He shook his head, "You kidding? The place would probably fall down if I walked in." He smiled, "Besides, I'm supposed to check in on Trini Anne at one and I don't think I could make it from Stone Canyon to the hospital through all that church traffic in time."
She put a hand on her old friend's shoulder. "Somehow, I don't think God would mind. Maybe it's time you put some of YOUR demons to rest Kevin. You're not the same man you were fifteen years ago. I think you've made up for your past sins."
"I'll keep that in mind," he stood and embraced her. "I may even decide to take that position in Iraq I was offered. The Peace Corps is very happy with my service so far."
"Why don't you go somewhere else?" she told him. "I understand that the Appalachian region is screaming for qualified rural doctors. You could disappear into the hills of West Virginia; build a new life for yourself there while doing some real good. You don't have to keep hiding in the most dangerous parts of the world you can find."
"I'll think about it," he told her.
"You do that Kev."
~*~
Sunday after church found Kim sitting quietly at her kitchen table thinking. Tommy had taken Jay over to the hospital to visit Trini Anne and she had the house all to herself. Adam's question to Kim kept nagging at the back of her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she wasn't sure. Trini Anne was so quiet it was sometimes difficult to figure out what she was feeling and saying. She thought of the times she'd visited Jay and how the girl was always polite, almost painfully so. It reminded her of Billy, and his way of always being respectful to adults when they were kids. Of course with Jason as a father, she'd expect nothing less than courtesy.
Before she could pursue the matter further, there was a knock at the back door, and Trini Taylor stuck her head in. "Hey girl, Are we still going shopping today?"
Kim looked up surprised and said, "I'd totally forgotten! With everything that happened yesterday, it completely slipped my mind." She stood and said, "Let me get my purse."
"Take your time," Trini said as Kim. "The malls are going to be open till eight."
Kim grabbed her purse and a moment later the two women were on their way to Stone Canyon Mall. After church traffic was heavier than usual, and it wasn't long before Kim found herself once again thinking about Adam's question in the quietness of the car. Exactly what did he mean by "am I sure"? All the kids pretty much call us all Aunt or Uncle. Don't they?"
"You seem quiet today, Kim," Trini said. "What's on your mind."
Pulled from her thoughts, she looked over at her best friend, "I was just thinking about something Adam asked me yesterday?"
"Oh and what was that?" Trini asked. It was generally understood that if Adam went out of his way to mention something then it was a good idea to pay pretty close attention to what ever it was.
"He asked me what does Trini Anne call me, you, Kat, and Zack. When I told him that I thought she referred to all of us pretty much like the other kids, you know Aunt or Uncle, he asked me if I was sure. For some reason it seemed important."
"Oh that?" Trini said.
"What?" Kim asked.
"It's nothing really. Just something Zack and I noticed a couple of years ago. We haven't talked to anybody about it, because there's nothing really to say."
"What?" Kim turned to face her best friend and asked.
Pulling into the parking lot, she found the first available spot and parked. It was a running joke between the two of them. They'd rather walk the extra distance of parking away from the entrance than to drive around half an hour looking for a closer spot. It gave them more time for the important stuff- namely shopping. Turning off the ignition, she looked over at Kim and said, "Trini calls all of us Aunt or Uncle, except for Tommy. No matter what, he's always 'Mr. Oliver.' That's all. We noticed it when she was about eight she stopped calling him Uncle Tommy."
Kim thought back to the last few times she'd seen the girl and her husband together. She remembered yesterday's exchange at the pavilion. Trini Anne called Tommy, "Mr. Oliver." Sighing, she got out of Trini's SUV and said, "I wonder why?"
Trini chuckled, but Kim could see the humor didn't quite reach her eyes, "Who knows why kids do things?"
Kim thought about it a minute, and then joined her friend as they headed toward the door. With the same off handed casualness Trini used, she said, "I don't know. I think maybe you do."
Trini stopped and looked at Kim. Her voice suddenly very serious, she said, "You're right. I do." She sighed and looked toward the Mall. "Tell you what, let me buy you a cup of tea and we'll talk about it."
Kim nodded, "Okay."
Ten minutes later the two women were seated in a small booth in the corner of a little café at the edge of the mall sipping tea. Trini leaned forward and said, "First, let me say this much: I first noticed it when Mina mentioned it. She told me that Trini Anne was just a little afraid of Tommy."
"Afraid of Tommy?" Kim asked. "Why?"
Trini looked into her tea before saying anything else, "Have you ever looked at Tommy's eyes when he talks to her?"
Kim shook her head, "No, I can't say that I have. I mean, it's not something I've ever thought about doing."
Trini smiled weakly, "Neither did I until Mina brought it up. For some reason, there's always just a little hardness about them when he talks to her. His voice is just a little sharper. If you look, you can see where it looks like he's trying to be fair about something, but is having to force himself to be."
Kim shook her head, "I think maybe you're reading more into something that's not there." Kim suddenly felt a need to defend her husband.
Trini just smiled and said, "Maybe you're right." Looking up for the waiter she said, "There's a shoe sale at Macy's want to check it out?" Kim knew that the former Yellow Ranger would say no more on the subject if she thought Kimberly wasn't willing to listen.
"Look Trini, I'm not saying you don't see something, I just think your interpretation of what you're seeing isn't correct. Tommy would never hurt Trini Anne…"
"I know that, and you know that, Kim." Trini said, "But Trini Anne is a thirteen year old girl. She may not- especially with all the tragedy in her life. Let's face it, Tommy can be pretty intimidating at times, even without realizing it. I can see how she would interpret his distance as something else."
"He's not distant!" Kim protested.
"He is to Trini Anne," Trini said simply. "Those two have a very formal relationship, not an affectionate one. Not like Tommy has with Mina or Aiden and Alexander."
"Trini Anne's not that affectionate of a person. She's more like Billy in that manner," Kim said, but knew it was a untrue. She and the girl shared a very special relationship and affectionate is definitely a word that applied to it. It was not quite a mother/daughter one, but close. Trini after all, was the daughter of two of her dearest friends, and the best friend of her son.
"I think you know that's not true," Trini said. She sighed, "Look I'm not saying that Tommy treats her poorly, just differently." Leaning back she said, "And there's really no wonder, she's a constant reminder of what happened between him and Jason. He probably doesn't even realize he's doing it himself, and if he did, he'd make it a point not to. It's just something he can't help."
Kim nodded. She would have to think about what Trini said. It made sense in an odd Power Ranger sort of way. Sighing she decided to let best friend off the hook, "About that shoe sale at Macy's"
"Yeah?"
"Think they got anything in pink?" she smiled.
~*~
Jason watched as Jay and Tommy came into the hospital. He smiled at the look of genuine pleasure that spread to his daughter's face at the sight of her best friend, "Jay! You come to break me out of here?" Then she turned to his father, "Hello Mr. Oliver, thank you for bringing him."
"Nah, Dad won't let me mount a rescue just yet," Jay smiled. "He says you're likely to bust a stitch open if we tried."
"No problem Trini Anne, Kim wanted some time to herself I think." He smiled at the girl in the bed and looked over at Jase. "You finally get some sleep Bro?"
Jason smiled at him, "Yeah," he pointed to his daughter, "Princess here made me go home and take a shower. She said I was starting to reek."
"Leave it to a woman to appeal to your vanity."
Both men laughed and watched the two children seemed to share something between them. For some reason they both kept looking over at Jase and then smiling. He leaned in to Tommy and said, "I think they're up to something again."
Tommy smiled back, "Hide your PDA and Laptop then."
At the sound of a knock, all of them looked up at the door as Dr. Carstonn came into the room. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a muddy brown shirt. Jason noted his smile as he looked on at the Trini Anne and Jay. The smile changed slightly as he turned to nod to Jason, now it seemed to be tinged with something else. However it became almost vacant, draining from his eyes as he nodded to Tommy. "Good afternoon all."
"Hello Doctor," Trini Anne smiled at him, "When can I go home?"
The man laughed, "If you continue to follow my directions and get better, probably tomorrow afternoon." He smiled and checked her eyes. After a moment, he looked up and said, "If you gentlemen would excuse us a moment, I would like to check her stitches." He smiled, "It'll just be a minute."
Jason smiled over at the nurse who was coming in and nodded as the others followed him out the door to the hall. Jason couldn't help but notice a strange look on Jay's face.
~*~
Trini Anne watched the doctor as he inspected her wound, and then checked her vitals with an ease and efficiency that seemed to come from long years of practice. He probed the area around the scar to check for tenderness and pain, asking occasional questions about how she felt.
"How long have you lived in Angel Grove, Doctor?"
The question seemed to catch him by surprise. He looked over at her, "I just moved here." He sighed and seemed to think for a moment, "I did spend a few days here when I was very young, but I haven't been back since."
"Oh, where were you?" she asked.
"Various places. I spent some time in Africa and Eastern Europe, mainly with the World Health Organization."
"What does your partner do?" she didn't know how, but somehow she knew this man did not have a wife. In a lot of ways, she reminded her of her father. He didn't act gay, but some how she knew that he was.
The man gave her a second look, and asked, "Isn't that a little personal, Miss Cranston-Scott?"
She smiled up at him sheepishly, "You've seen inside my body Doctor, that's about as personal as you can get. Don't you think that makes us at least close enough to ask a few questions?"
He smiled at her, "You sound like your father."
She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know my father?"
The doctor smiled at her and covered up his chagrin as quickly as he could, but Trini Anne knew a lie when she heard it, "I don't really, I just got to talk to him a little while you were in recovery." Then turning to her, "And to ask the question you were hinting at, I don't have a partner."
She smiled at him, and said, "Oh really?" An idea began to form in her head.
The man known as Dr. Kevin Carstonn suddenly felt like he'd been neatly maneuvered into some kind of trap, but wasn't sure what it was.
~*~
Jay watched as the Doctor came out and said, "You can come back in now." He saw how the doctor seemed to address only Uncle Jason, as if nobody else was in the room.
"Thank you Doctor." Uncle Jason said. "How's she doing?"
The doctor nodded and then looked at Jay and then his father, "I usually don't discuss a patient's condition in the presence of non-family, but I get the feeling that this might be a special case."
Uncle Jase just nodded, "Go ahead." Jay realized that if there were anything serious to be discussed, that the man would have excused himself and Uncle Jase to speak with him alone. He also noted that Uncle Jase seemed to concentrate only on the man's presence almost not noticing him or his dad.
"She's going to be all right, Mr. Scott-Cranston," the doctor said.
"Look, Scott-Cranston is getting to be a mouthful. Just call me Jase."
The doctor nodded, "Okay, Jase. She's going to be fine. You're going to have to tie her down for about two weeks to keep her from tearing her stitches loose, but after that she should heal nicely." He looked over at Jay's dad for a moment before turning back to Uncle Jase, "I'll give you more details on what all needs to be done, what she can and can't eat, and that sort of thing tomorrow before you take her home."
Uncle Jase nodded, and Jay could almost see the weight lift from his shoulder. Suddenly the doctor turned on Jay and said, "As for you," he smiled, "I get the feeling that you're probably going to have more pull with her than her father does, so I'm going to put you in charge of making sure she doesn't eat too many spicy foods for the next few months." Jay saw him wink up at Uncle Jase and his dad. "You know, for when you guys are out by yourselves or end up at the Youth Center for smoothies."
Jay swallowed hard at the man's suggestion. He was surprised that the doctor was willing to treat him as responsible enough to keep an eye on his friend. He felt himself straighten up and smile, "Yes sir."
"Good," the doctor smiled, and Jay felt himself warm to the older man. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow, Jase." He missed the look of surprise on his father's face at the use of the name.
"I'm looking forward to it, Dr. Carstonn," Uncle Jase said.
"Call me Kevin." He checked his watch, a blush slowly rising in his face. "Well I've got other rounds to make so I'd better be going." Looking up he said, "Have a good day all."
Ten minutes later, the parental units finally decided to give him and Trini Anne a minute to themselves. She looked over at him and asked, "So what do you think?"
"I think you're playing with fire girl, and those two may be an accelerant that can get you in trouble if you're not careful," he told her.
All she did was lean back in her bed and smile.