Saturday, October 28, 2006

The beginning ...

Greg has asked me the whole time to report from the "Beginning" - the day I found out about my someone ...

Well, here it is ...


"Jaaaames, are you coming?" a soft voice was calling from down the stairs.
"Yes, I'll be down in a second!" I answered to my wife. Susan was waiting for me, we wanted to drive to the New Year's Eve Party of the hospital and I had totally forgotten the time. I pulled the fly straight hastily and then hurried downstairs. "Sorry, honey" I meant excusingly and kissed her on the cheek. "You are looking enchanting" I said with an admiring smile. Susan was my first wife, blond haired, clever and really enchanting. I met hear a few months ago before I've started working at the PPTH, three months later we were married. That's was two months ago.

"You are also looking absolutely fantastic, James" she said with a lovely smile and stroke my back. I really was very happy with her. "Well, then lets go" I replied and closed the door behind us. Damn it was already 9 o'clock and I had spent too much time at the hospital, again. The cab was already waiting for us and a few minutes later we arrived at the hotel. Another cap was arriving behind us as we deboarded and I could see that it was Gregory with Stacy. "Look there are House and his steady" I said to Susan. She didn't look very thrilled "Oh, don't we want to go in?" I looked at her a bit irritated "Why? Don't you like them?" I asked her with a low voice. "Well, House is sometimes a bit too..." I looked at her searchingly "ah, it's okay" she said and smiled at me. I smiled back and then waved at Greg and Stacy.

"Hey, James!" Greg called. "Hi you two" I replied. "Also too late?" Stacy turned her eyes slightly to heaven and Grey merely shrugged "Ah, you know how it is ..." he raised one eyebrow in amusement and pointed at Stacy behind her back. She boxed him gently in the rips for that and it made me laugh. "So here we go" I said and we entered the hotel.

Greg and I were friends since four years then, we met at a medical congress at that time. At first I thought, what a self pleased idiot but after some time we started talking and I found out that we could have a good laugh about some participants. Well, and since then we are friends. Funny thing we stranded at the same hospital and now we are working together at the Plaisnboro Teaching Hospital. Our friendship is some kind of special as he has his own kind of treating people and that is why many people can't cope with him - except for Stacy and I.
I laid my eyes on them and had to smile. Stacy really was good in handling him the right way and they were a good couple. My eyes wandered from them to my wife, who was standing besides Gregory with a sligthly uncomfortable expression on her face. I laid my arms around her shoulder "Eyerthing okay, honey?" I asked her soflty and she just nodded. "Ey, James what about risking a game?" Greg suddenly said and pointed at the poker tables. I shrugged, looked at my wife askingly, she smiled back "Yeah, why not?" I finally replied with a short laugh.

We sat down at one of the tables and began to play. The stakes weren't that high and the money should also be applied for benefit purposes. I lost and won - and Greg did the same. He meant to me that without a drink we'd couldn't stand it any longer and so he ordered one scotch after another. I drank too many glasses though and we forgot the time. Suddenly I felt a slight touch at my shoulder and Susan was whispering into my ear "Darling, it is nearly midnight", I nodded "Okay, we are nearly done here" I replied. Greg has watched me the whole time and as she went he said with a twink "Did she want to kidnap you?" I merely grinned and decided to say nothing at all.

"Let's stop here, it is nearly midnight and we don't want to start the millenium gambling, do we?" He laughed "Well, I was losing anyway" he replied with a squiffy tone. We finished the game and stood up, that was when I stumbled a bit and felt against Greg's chest. He caught me and in the effort to hold me he huddled me at his breast. In that very moment I felt a twitch in my stomach and my heart started to race, the scent of his aftershave reached my nose and seemed to befuddle my mind. My eyes wandered to his face and focused on his lips, he lowered his head, propped me up and and looked me in the eyes. Again I felt the sensation of a slight traction in my stomach and I had to hold on to the table as my legs turned to jelly in that moment. "Everything okay?" Greg asked solicitously . I shook my head and then nodded "Yeah, I might have had one scotch too much" I replied with a wave.

He tapped on my shoulder "You really cannot handle alcohol, Jim!" I looked at him with a tantalized smile. This moment didn't really last that long it was only a split minute. What the hell happend there? I asked myself in disbelief. I abandoned that thought and just smirked. "Let us go to our beloved ones" with these words we turned around searchingly and after a short while we found them standing near the balcony doors talking with Dr. Cuddy. Stacy waved and we made out way through the crowd. "Ah, Dr. House, Dr. Wilson - have you also gamble for a good purpose?" We both answered with a nod.

"In time for the big firework!" she said, "Common lets go outside." Stacy proposed. We all stepped through the doors on the balcony, Greg grabbed two glasses of champagne from the passing by waiter and I also grabbed one for Cuddy and then two for Susan and me. We were standing together on the balcony and Greg started to discuss a case with Cuddy. Cuddy sighed and then interrupted him "House! It's nearly midnight - stop discussing we are off work!" Greg only gasped and turned around to ask me "What do you think, Jimmy?" I looked at my glass then lifted my eyes "Well, I think she is right, let's enjoy the evening." He shrugged and turned to Stacy - again I could smell his aftershave and again I felt a bit quesy. "You are fine, James?" Susan asked me. I nodded "Yeah, everythings fine" I replied. "Sure? You just looked as something would bother you." I smiled half-heartedly "Perhaps the alcohol" I meant explainingly. See looked at me searchingly "Perhaps you shouldn't have drunk that much" she whispered to me. Yeah ... perhaps I really shouldn't have, I thought.

Perhaps a beginning indigestion I assumed. On and off I secretly looked at Greg and watched closely my own reaction, but there was nothing. I breathed a sigh of relief, crazy thought. 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7 ... 6 ... 5... 4... 3... I turned to Susan and looked in her maginificent green eyes ...1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! "Happy new year, Honey" I whispered, embraced her and kissed her deeply. A push in my back interrupted us and Greg said "Hey, that is impolite!". I shook my head in disbelief and laughed out loud, then I gave Stacy a hug, saluted to Dr. Cuddy and then looked at Greg, he smiled and I returned it "Happy new year, Greg" - "Happy new year, James", we gave us a short hug.

Again my legs turned to jelly and his aftershave filled my head - I gave a hushed swear, which of course made Greg look at me with an asking impression on his face "You're okay?" "Drank too much" I replied grumpily. "Well, then you should stop drinking by now or you will be wasted" with these words he took away my glass. "Yeah you might be right" I nodded. The thoughts in my head were racing. God, I only knew such a behaviour when I lost my heart to someone and that really couldn't be possible here.

We stayed for one more hour and then said goodbye. In the cab Susan gave me some side looks "Everything okay, darling?" I looked at her smiling "Sure, I'm fine". But nothing was fine, I tried to analyze my behaviour and was thinking about it all the time. This couldn't be true!
At home we welcomed the new year otherwise, but I was a bit absent-minded - this thing concerned me more than I wanted to admit. Susan obviously noticed something, because she meant afterwards "Honey, you are somewhat absent. What is the matter with you?" I lay beside her and starred at the ceiling "I don't feel that good. I might have a beginning gastroenteritis." "That's all?" she asked doubtfully, "Yes I think so". She then turned around with a sigh "Sleep well, James" "Sleep well, hun'" I replied and lay there for quite a while, heared her falling asleep and I tried to analyze the evening.

At about 3 a.m. I stood up, 'cause sleep was far away. So I got dressed and went downstairs, wandering around in the living room. Suddenly my peeper went off, I looked surprised "Need you at PPTH! Greg". "Damn" I sweared, wrote Susan a short notice, gave her a kiss on the temple - hailed a cab and made my way to the clinic.

My way led me straight to Greg's office where he stood at his new whiteboard, scribbling some terminology on it "What's going on?" I asked him and leaned against the door. He turned around "Good you are here. First, have a coffee" he gave me a cup of coffee and smiled warmly. "Thanks" I replied and took a sip. "I have a patient and was brooding the whole evening what kind of disease he could have" I raised an eyebrow "And you therefor need an oncologist? Is it cancer?" He shook his head "No that's not why I need you here. But who else would come to the clinic at three in the morning?" I grunted in disbelief "Your are ripping me off!" He raised his head "Well, sure your are the only friend I have!" With these words he placed a file in my hands "I need you to run some tests." I skimmed through the file and then nodded. "Good" I replied. Greg gave me his "oh you are so good to me" smile and his blue eyes were sparkling - again this damn traction in my stomach. "Thanks, James" with a snort I turned around and headed for the laboratory.

Three tests later with the dawn breaking outside and many hours thinking about this odd behaviour of mine - I suddenly stopped looking through the microscope and sweared "Damn". A soft and disbelieving whisper slipped out of me "God, how the hell shall I cope with that". I finally had found the answer inside of me and in disbelief and shock I let me drop into the chair, placed my head in my hands. It was a hopeless situation and was never going to work. In that very moment I decided that nobody should ever find out the truth - and well, perhaps, yeah perhaps this feeling would vanish again sometime.

1 comment:

Dr. Gregory House said...

Ich bin froh, dass es nicht aufgehört hat...Und ich hoffe, das wird es auch nicht.