A/N:
The 'ow in 'gowk' rhymes with 'now' !
BMJ- British Medical Journal
Chapter 4
Stuart and Carson dawdled along behind the entourage that was their morning 'ward round' with the Consultant.
"You went where?" Stuart was incredulous.
"The peace camp, you know, they live there, and just, remind everyone about the nuclear submarines," Carson was feeling good about his weekend.
"I know what it is, you daft gowk. What I meant was, what were you doing there?" Stuart hissed.
"There was a bloke I went to school with. We had a good blether. He's been there about seven years. Amazing."
"Soft in the head, if you ask me. Anyway, I've got something for you. You might find it interesting, considering what you just told me…" Stuart grinned.
"What is it?" Carson whispered.
The strong voice of the Consultant broke their intimate conversation. "If you don't mind, gentlemen, I believe we have some patients to see." Dr Walker peered at them over his glasses and raised an eyebrow. "You are with us, are you not?"
The junior doctors sniggered as they watched Carson and Stuart snap back to the matters in hand. It wasn't to be until the end of the day that Carson managed to track down Stuart alone.
0o0o0
"Come on, Stuart. I can't bear the waiting. Show me." Carson begged his friend.
"Aye, OK, but let's get down the pub first."
"It's Monday."
"So? You'll need a drink."
0o0o0
There were only a few locals propping up the bar, as Carson and Stuart ordered their pints. The smoke lay heavy in the air, fuelled by the weekend throngs. Cradling their glasses, the two young men settled themselves in a quiet corner. Football highlights were muttering away on the television at the far side of the bar.
Stuart unfolded the piece of paper that he had drawn from his jacket pocket. He smoothed it out on the table in front of them. Carson put down his pint and wiped the sides of his mouth, peering at the page torn from a journal. He looked into Stuart's smiling face.
"It's the jobs, from the BMJ. Check this out." Stuart pointed to a small box near the bottom of the page. Carson could see the British flag in the corner of the white naval ensign dominating the advert.
Carson read, "Royal Navy. New Entry Medical Officer's Course. Anything's possible with a career in the Royal Navy. The Team Works." He looked at Stuart with a quizzical, amused look.
"I thought you might like to, you know, do something different." Stuart said, almost shyly. "You might even end up in Faslane, you know, close to home."
Carson grinned. "You're a real pal, Stuart. I appreciate it, I really do." Carson tried to be gracious, it wasn't hard. "It might be just what I'm looking for."
0o0o0
"The navy?" Mary Beckett looked grey.
Magnus Beckett pursed his lips. "Are you serious?"
Carson thought his father almost looked angry, but didn't understand why. "It's a chance to see a bit of the world. Do something interesting, challenging, and useful. You start off in Dartmouth for a bit anyway." He couldn't really hide the hint of uncertainty in his own voice. He didn't actually know very much about how it would pan out, yet.
"That's an awfully long way, sweetheart," his mother tried to reason, "I'd hate to think of your down there, all on your own." It was almost as far as you could go before falling off the end of Britain.
"Mum. I'm just going to find out about it. They don't take anybody on for another couple of months. Just, let me find out about it, please." Carson did something he'd never done before. He left his parents sitting there, and went upstairs to his room, without a backward glance. He didn't trust himself to keep his temper. He knew his parents wanted the best for him, but they'd always kept him close. Now it felt too close. He could hear them down there, talking about it, his mum strained and anxious, his father gruff and brusque.
A/N:
Thanks to Fanwoman on some military/civilian canon. It's more likely that Carson was never in the military, but hey, Scotland is awash with uniforms! Besides, James Bond was a Scottish Naval Commander for many years ;-)
I also figured, like Emma (thanks for the review, you're giving the whole game away! LOL), that it would be one of the few ways that anyone would maintain field skills whilst being a research genius. It would make sense to me if Carson had a wee spell years ago. More detail to follow…