Author's Note: Well, this chapter took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. Mostly because not much happens this time. I'm still working on character development, because I want to stay true to the original characters but at the same time show how they've changed a bit from their former selves. The next chapter will have more plot, I promise.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. Yes, I've changed their names, but essentially they are all copyright of Kaori Yuki. I'm making no money off of this, so it's pointless to sue. P
Over the next two hours, Rhett found himself increasingly distracted from his work, which was not good considering his chosen profession. So far, he had not made a mistake, though he had almost given two patients the wrong dosage of medication before he caught himself. And the reason for his distraction? A pair of haunting green eyes that absolutely would not get out of his head.
Running a hand over his face, the tall blond stood leaning against the nurse's station and tried to gather his concentration. His shift was supposed to end at five, thirty minutes away, but knowing his luck he'd be stuck there until six or even seven. And he had a mid-term exam coming up in three days that he'd barely even had time to study for. It looked like he wouldn't be sleeping more than a couple hours tonight, if at all. . . .yet again. The entire past week had been like this; no wonder he'd fallen asleep in the break room.
And now, he found himself no more than a few steps down the hospital's hall away from that boy's room. Gazing through his fingers, he blinked once as he noticed a young girl sitting in one of the chairs across the way, who also seemed to be focused on that same doorway. She had a head full of glossy blond hair that had been put into a short pony tail at the back of her head, a few chunks of bangs hanging loose around her face. Her feet were just shy of reaching the floor, and kicked restlessly back and forth, hands held clasped in her lap.
As if sensing the intern's eyes on her, the girl's gaze turned his way, and for a few seconds she seemed to scrutinize him. Then, she smiled what was obviously a polite but forced smile and her attention resumed down the hallway.
Not wanting to give the wrong impression by staring, Rhett made himself look away. A small pile folders rested on the counter beside him, and as if to find something else to do, he picked them up and began to peruse them, whether he should or not. But he couldn't help but think it was very odd that the girl appeared just before Caleb was scheduled to be released, and didn't seem to be there with anyone, either. Perhaps she was a classmate? Although she looked a bit too young to be in his grade. Girlfriend, maybe? There was still an age gap, but one could never tell with kids these days. . .
After a few moments of gazing at the pages without really seeing anything, Rhett closed the topmost folder and replaced the lot of them back onto the counter. Closing the few steps across the hallway, the tall blond came to a stop a couple feet away, catching the girl's attention once more.
"Can I help you, miss. . .?"
A pair of large eyes turned upwards, and from this close Rhett could see that they were a deep, bottomless shade of blue. "Madeline. And I came here to see my brother, but they won't let me go into his hospital room."
Brother? These two? Rhett never would have imagined that she would be his sister. There was hardly any resemblance, at least in coloring. Pushing past his confusion, a frown appeared on his face as he tried to sort that out. "Who told you that you couldn't go in? If you're related to him then there's no reason. ."
At that, the girl gave a big sigh and kicked one foot in irritation. "Well, you see, that's the problem. I'm not actually related to him. I just call him my brother because he's acted like one to me ever since we met. I used to live at the same orphanage, see."
Oh, well that explained it. They wouldn't let her in on the basis of blood relations. But sometimes, in a case like this, Rhett simply couldn't see the rationality in a rule like that. If he was an orphan, there was no one who could see him except for the doctors and his legal guardian. Other wise known as the headmaster.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, the medical student glanced either way down the hospital, noticed that no one was looking, and whispered, "Perhaps I can let you see him. For a little bit."
It was technically an abuse of his power, but nurses did this all the time. Well, perhaps not ALL the time, given that hospital security had been boosted even more than it had been a few years ago. But in this case, it was probably alright.
Madeline gave him a faintly suspicious look, and inquired after a second of two. ". . . You're not a pervert, are you?"
Rhett barely caught himself from falling backwards, and instead settled for a slight widening of his eyes followed by a small laugh and a shake of his head. "No, I promise you I'm not a pervert."
"That's what they all say."
The tall male paused.
Lifting a small finger to her lips, Madeline's gaze drifted upwards, and her feet ceased their restless kicking. "But. . .you look like you're an honest enough person. Alright, Mr. Doctor, I'll see my brother now." Scooting forward, the girl hopped off of the thinly cushioned chair while grabbing a small, pink bag that had been resting behind her. Throwing it's strap over her shoulder, she gave an expectant look and waited for Rhett to lead.
The blond gave a small sigh before chuckling a bit. "Technically I'm an intern, I won't get a real medical license for a few more years."
As they walked down the hallway, Rhett kept a lookout for anyone who might notice that he was breaking regulation. But no one really looked their way, and the two managed to slip inside of Caleb's room unnoticed. The inside was still somewhat dark, just as the older man had left it, and the steady beep and faint whirring of machines beside the bed were the only noise in the silence.
Caleb, though, was lying awake on the hospital bed. And when the two entered, his head turned towards the movement. A look of surprise flashed briefly over his features as the young blond rushed up to his bedside, long bangs bouncing.
"Caleb. . !" Small little fingers found one of the boy's hands and clasped on tight.
"M-Maddy?"
Suddenly, the worried, affectionate tone was gone, replaced by an outraged berration, "Brother you idiot, you almost got yourself killed! Again! Is your death wish REALLY that strong? Do you know how much I was worried about you, and when you didn't show up after school yesterday. . . ."
A small wince twitched the corner of Caleb's lips and eye. "It's not like I did this on purpose, you know. . ."
The youth sounded sulky, almost hen-pecked.
"That doesn't matter!" One small fist raised into the air as the furious girl attempted to hit the other over the head. It was only with Rhett's quick intervention, by catching the fist into his larger hand, that she was thwarted.
"Please refrain from further injuring the patient. . . ."
Madeline blinked up at the much taller intern a few times, before slowly withdrawing her hand from his. "I'm sorry. ." She turned back to Caleb, who was gazing past her with a semi-relieved look, his eyes focused on his 'rescuer's' face. "You were badly hurt, weren't you? I heard it on the news, that's how I found out you were here."
The dark haired youth shifted a bit uncomfortably, his arms withdrawing to fold against his chest. "It wasn't that bad." The statement, coupled with the bandaging and bruises covering a good part of the skin that wasn't covered by the regulation hospital gown. . . . was quite hilarious. Though neither Rhett nor Madeline were inclined to chuckle. In fact, the little cherub just rolled her eyes and rested her chin in her hand. "You should see the other guy." That, at least, managed to crack a small smile.
"Oh, quit being such a stoic. It's okay to admit that you've lost sometimes."
Caleb said nothing, and instead continued to lay defensively with his arms crossed, his eyes refusing to meet the young girl's.
"And you really do worry me sometimes. I know you're much stronger and smarter than me, big brother, but when you do things like this. . . ."
"If I may. . interrupt. . ." Two pairs of eyes glanced up at the third voice, and Rhett's hands shifted into his pockets again. A habit. He looked between the two young 'siblings' as neither said a word, all attention now focused on himself. "Mr. Oake, I don't doubt that you thought you were perfectly able to take care of yourself. You seem to be a very confident person, and all of this must have come as a huge blow to your self esteem. But your sister is only trying to help, even if her methods are a bit. . uhm, aggressive."
The blond girl's head bobbed in agreement, and Caleb's chest heaved a sigh. "Fine, fine, if it's an apology you're looking for then here it is: I shouldn't have gone off on my own." The statement didn't seem wholly sincere to Rhett, but Madeline seemed to be satisfied by it, which was all that mattered.
"So next time you're considering running off again you'll be sure to think things through, right?"
A faint smile flitted across the boy's features before he nodded once. Then, unfolding one arm from across his chest, he reached up and placed a hand on Madeline's shoulder. "You should go, before your parents start worrying about you."
With a blink, those large blue eyes glanced to the clock hanging on the opposite wall before they widened with alarm. "It's already five-fifteen?! Dammit I promised I'd be home ten minutes ago!" Leaning forward, Madeline stole a quick kiss from Caleb's cheek before turning to scurry past Rhett and out the door.
"What have I told you about using strong language?" Caleb called after her, earning him a brief glance over one shoulder and the flash of a tongue sticking out from between rosebud lips.
"You can scold me about it later! Bye-bye!"
And with that, she was gone, leaving the other two gazing at the door she had dissapeared through. Then, slowly, their faces turned toward one another, and Caleb let out another sigh before settling back against the pillows. "Women. ." he muttered.
Both of Rhett's eyebrows raised a bit, before he chuckled under his breath. "She seems to be somewhat of a handfull."
"You don't know the half of it." Rolling his eyes heavenward, the dark haired youth seemed both exasperated and yet. . . a bit happier at the same time. "I can't tell you how many times I've been on the receiving end of that fireball temper."
"And she looked like such a sweet child at first. ." Coming closer to the bed, Rhett went about checking the equipment surrounding the teen, as well as checking the IV. . . whose bag of solution was nearly empty. At least if someone walked in, it'd look like he was doing some work. "Have you two known each other for a long time?"
Caleb watched him as the taller man removed a pen from his pocket as well as a tiny notebook, and scribbled down a few things. "I guess it's been a while. . . she came to the orphanage four years ago." There was a small pause before the youth's voice lowered, "She's not really my sister, you see. But she kind of latched onto me from day one. . . and. . ."
Smiling softly, Rhett slowly closed the notebook and returned it to one of his pockets. "I see." It was almost cute the way the younger boy tried to explain an obvious act of kindness, as if he was hesitant to admit it for what it was. "But she wasn't going back to the orphanage. . . you said something about her parents. . ?"
"They aren't her real ones. Maddy got adopted a few months ago, even though it's usually hard to be wanted after you turn five or six. Everyone wants a child they can raise." There was a faint, sad smile that touched Caleb's lips, before he sighed. "But this couple came in one day. . .and they'd lost their own daughter to cancer. She had been around the same age as Maddy, and they practically gushed over her. Everything was arranged as quickly as was legally possible."
"Was she happy to be adopted, then?"
". . . .At first, she was hesitant. I could tell that she wasn't very happy at Stone Chapel, no matter how much she tried to hide it, but. . " Here, Caleb paused again, as if he was unsure if he should be telling so much without the little girl present.
Sensing his worry, Rhett gave a small bow of his head and offered, "It's alright. You don't have to say anymore if you're uncomfortable. I didn't mean to pry in the first place. . ." When he gazed at the youth again, Caleb was regarding him with a somewhat funny look on his face. The taller man felt a small pang of paranoia. ". . Is something wrong?"
Caleb continued to almost stare at him from the bed, though after a second or two, he spoke up as to what his thoughts were. "You're sort of strange, you know. . .?"
Rhett blinked once, then blinked again. HE was the one who was strange? Out of the two of them, the patient lying before him was definitely the more unusual, or so he thought. True, the blond had his quirks, but he'd never really thought of himself as anything other than your ordinary college student. Well, minus the fraternizing. "What. . what makes you say that?"
That dark haired head cocked ever so slightly to the side, and Caleb's delicate nose wrinkled a bit in amusement. "You've just got this. . . kind of aura about you. It's old, but not like an elderly person. . .I mean old like you've been displaced from somewhere else. Your mannerisms and the way you speak sometimes, it reminds me of those novels I've read. Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. . .like that."
". . .Oh." Rhett still wasn't sure that he completely understood, but he thought he knew what the other was getting at. "Some people call it 'old-fashioned'," He offered, remembering a few times where he'd been poked fun at by some of his other classmates. But it hadn't really bothered him. Rhett was perfectly set in his ideas and outward appearance. . .even if some said it was outdated.
Caleb seemed to ponder this for a moment before he gave a nod of his head. "Yeah, that fits too." The youth's voice trailed off on that last word, reducing the room to silence once more. He seemed to withdraw into himself, and Rhett could almost imagine the wheels spinning behind his eyes. Then, he gave a small yawn, and his lids drooped over those same golden orbs.
It suddenly hit the older man as he watched this, that he was smiling to himself. He didn't know why, and so forced his lips back into their usual line. "You'll probably still be tired for a few days, while your body heals. I'm sure the doctor will prescribe you some medication for any pain you might have later, as well." As it was, Rhett could only imagine how much pain killer the boy was drugged up on.
Glancing over at him once more, one of Caleb's hands raised to rub at one sleepy eye. ". . .mn, I don't like being medicated. It's hard to think straight."
"I understa-"
Suddenly, the door opened, causing Rhett to trail off his statement and turn towards the two figures standing at the threshold. The intern immediately recognized one as Doctor Clifford, who was one of the doctors for this floor. But the other was a woman that he had never seen before. She was tall, but neither thin nor fat, and was wearing a long sleeved dress, plain dress. Her long black hair was pulled back loosely with a hair tie, and her fingers sported well manicured but unpainted nails. But what surprised Rhett the most was her age. . . she was not old at all, but appeared to be in her early thirties at most, with a lovely face that was understated with only the minimum amount of makeup. As they walked into the room, Dr. Clifford turned on the overhead lighting, causing the small space to be bathed in florescence. Caleb winced and had to blink several times before his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.
"As you can see, he's already recovering well." The doctor spoke to the woman, though Rhett caught his gaze and received a rather suspicious look from the middle-aged man. "Usually with a case like this we'd like to keep the patient overnight for observation, but since his injuries are all superficial. . ."
"Yes, I know all about your hospital procedures, but all of us at Stone Chapel would feel so much more at ease if he was under our care. We have our own infirmary wing equipped with everything he might need." The woman's attention turned to Rhett, then, and with a smile that blatantly covered up a suspicious look, she asked, "And who might you be?"
But before the intern could answer, Caleb spoke up, and his voice sounded more unemotional and guarded than Rhett had yet heard. "He's just an intern who was walking by, and I was thirsty, so I asked him for a cup of water." His and the woman's gaze locked, and the tall blond could practically feel the hostility radiating from them.
"Oh? I don't see a cup here."
"I'd just asked him before you walked in."
Rhett couldn't tell if the woman believed Caleb or not, but he doubted it. It was probably only the lack of evidence to catch the youth that caused her to drop the subject. An uncomfortable silence fell for several seconds, before Dr. Clifford gave a small cough and looked towards Rhett. "Well, you go on about that. We'll begin getting the release papers ready."
With a small nod, the student left the room, refraining all the way to the door from looking at the youth on the bed. He didn't want to provide that woman from the orphanage any more suspicions. Add fuel to the fire, so to speak. Caleb hadn't been lying, he knew now. . . .that woman just did not seem genuine.
No more than five minutes later, he returned with a disposable cup in hand, filled thee-fourths full with water from the break room's cooler. When he stepped back into the room, he was surprised to discover that it was empty. A weight seemed to settle on the back of his shoulders, accompanied by a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. These people moved fast. Immediately, he checked the hallway outside, but there was no sign of the doctor, woman, or Caleb. Sighing to himself, the intern let himself lean against the side of the doorway, until one of his supervisors told him he could go. It was already six o'clock, an hour later than he was supposed to stay, but for some reason he didn't really feel like leaving.
He hadn't gotten to say goodbye.
But he knew it would be useless to look. And it would probably just raise more questions if he did. Gazing down at the cup in his hand, he made a stop back by the break room to pour the water down the sink. The clear plastic cup fell into the wastebasket.
- - - - - - - - -
The sun was just beginning to set when Rhett reached his apartment. It was a little small but comfortable. . . with one bedroom, a bath, a living area and economy kitchen. He had the choice of moving into one of the buildings right across from the hospital, but he decided on a complex a block or so away. Here it was quieter, away from the busy street, and the apartments themselves were nicer even though they were about fifty dollars cheaper on rent.
Hanging his keys beside the door, the medical student flipped on the light switch as well, illuminating a sparsely furnished living/study area. Several text books laid on the coffee table, as well as a few notebooks scattered here and there. A study sheet rested on the floor beside, where it had fallen sometime that morning.
Slowly, almost methodically, he came over to the couch and sat down. Picking up one of the heavy college tomes, he turned to an indicated page and began to read.
But his interest was hardly piqued by the letters and words forming on the pages.
It looked like it would be another long, sleepless night.
And somewhere across the city, the owner of a pair of gold tainted eyes agreed.
---- --- --- ----
To be continued in Chapter Three.
End Note: Feedback is good. It motivates me to write faster. So please be kind and review.