Jon Starting Over

*** Part 2 of 12. Please read the prologue it provides some background information of the characters. Like I said last time this story is a slow build, with an emphasis on story over sex; though there will be sex eventually. And again I do my own editing so please don't grammar/spell bash me :) ***

CHAPTER ONE

Jasper Edwards quickly packed his briefcase with a huge pile of papers, glad the amount would be drastically reduced after today. It was almost six thirty in the morning and he needed to be leaving soon. He'd been up for nearly an hour because Lola had been sneezing and coughing during the night. With the weather being so cold, it wasn't uncommon. The problem was that when one child got sick the other usually followed suit. He made a mental note to watch Lilly for the first signs of the cold during the next few days.

"Feeling better Buttercup?" he asked as he brushed a hand over her blonde ringlets and kissed her cheek, glad her eyes didn't look so glassy this morning. At her nod, he scooped her up. "Come on. Let's go wake Grammy and Pop. Daddy's got to be at the hospital early this morning."

"Why?" Lola asked.

"Because the new boss is starting today."

"Why?" Lilly chimed in, holding out her hands for her father to pick her up as well.

"Because she is." Jasper balanced them.

"Why?" Lola asked.

"Because Daddy didn't want the job."

"Why?" It was Lilly's turn again, and Jasper couldn't keep his lips from twitching at their tag team act.

"Because Daddy wants to spend more time with his gorgeous girls, that's why." "Why?" both of them asked together.

"Because Daddy loves you both." He ticked their tummies and was rewarded with giggles from both, followed by coughing from Lola. They wrapped both arms around his neck and held on as he carried them through the ground floor of their home.

"Be the giant, Daddy. Be the giant!" Lilly demanded.

"Yeah! I love the giant," Lola agreed.

"I love him too," Lilly added.

Knowing it would speed things up to acquiesce, rather than argue, Jasper hunched his shoulders a little, maintaining a firm hold on each of his girls. "GGRRRooooWwwLL!" I'm the GREAT big giant from the land of GIANTICOR!" Jasper's voice was deep and rumbly, making both girls giggle again, and making both pairs of arms tighten with excitement as he crashed his way up the stairs. "I'm here to give tasty little girls a ride to the land of GRANDparenTIO. Are you both comfortable?"

"Yes," They said in unison, their voices radiating utter glee.

"GgrrroooowwwL. Off we go then!" Walking with big steps and swaying form side to side, Jasper carefully made his way upstairs to his mother's kitchen. The house was the perfect arrangement for all concerned. He and the girls lived on the lower level, and his parents lived upstairs. They had their own bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and living areas; giving privacy where privacy was needed and security for the girls when Jasper was called to the hospital in the middle of the night. They communicated via an intercom so if he was called out he could buzz through to his parents and they knew to check on the girls, who had a child monitor in their perfectly pink bedroom.

His mother was in the kitchen, making coffee, as he crashed towards her, still growling. "The grandkid express from the land of GIANTICOR has arrived!" he announced, and Iris his mother came over and took the girls from him one at a time.

"Oh! Good morning Mr Giant thank you! You are so kind to deliver such BEE-you-tif-FULL girls to me!" She say out making the twins giggle even harder as they were seated at the kitchen table.

Jasper smiled and kissed his mother's cheek. "Morning Mum" he said while pouring himself some coffee. He took a sip and sighed "Mmmmm. Just what the doctor ordered."

The twins giggled. "You say that every morning, Daddy."

Lilly grinned up at him, "Can I have some coffee?"

"I want some too," Lola added,

"Ah, I believe Grammy has some yummy milk for you to have instead."

"I want the chocolate one."

"I want it, too."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Any you say that every morning," she told her granddaughters. "Kiss Daddy good bye, or he'll be late for work."

Both girls puckered up and Jasper spent the next five minutes being smothered in kisses. "I think I need another shower," he remarked as he took the lunchbox Iris handed him.

"Make sure you eat that breakfast muffin sooner rather than later Jasper Edwards or there'll be trouble," his mother warned.

"Yes, Mum," he replied with mock meekness, the winked at his daughters. "See you both tonight. Love you all!" He called as he walked down the stairs.

"Love you too DADDY!!" the girls yelled, loud enough to wake their Pop, which only made Jasper smile even more.

******

Jonathan walked through the hospital just before eight o'clock, eager to start work. The past week he'd spent at Sarah and Matt's, trying to find a suitable apartment, had been busy but felt like the calm before the storm. The problem was, he hadn't found an apartment near the hospital and most of his belongings were still in Melbourne. If he didn't find a place soon, he'd have to put everything into storage and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Anyway, he reminded himself, he would be spending most of his time here at the hospital, keeping busy. Work, work, work. He'd been thinking for a while that he needed to find life outside of work, but was beginning to wonder if he ever would. His one and only opportunity to have it all-be a doctor, and a family man-had been cruelly taken away when Arturo had died. Now that he's achieved what he wanted to professionally, he was beginning to realise how monocular his world had become. For the past eight years he'd lived and breathed work, and it had been fine for the first few years. After that, he'd simply fallen into a bad routine where he'd spent more hours than necessary at the hospital, too many hours studying for his doctorate, and declining every social invitation that came his way.

In fact, for the past two years he's barely received any social invitations, and while he tried not to let that bother him, telling himself it was just because he'd have to turn them down anyway, he was quietly upset at the way his life was turning out. He knew that Arturo wouldn't be happy for him to be all alone and it was for that reason that he'd jumped at the chance to come back home to Sydney. Here at least he had the hope of finding more depth to his life. Mainly because, when he reflected on his life, Sydney was the one place he could remember being truly happy.

On his drive to the hospital that morning, he'd passed the high school he attended with Sarah. He'd passed the medical school where he met Arturo on his first day. He'd passed the gardens where Arturo had kissed him for the first time (and he laughed remembering that it was also the first time he'd come in his pants). He'd also passed the hospital chapel where Arturo's memorial service had been held.

The hospital itself had changed a great deal since he'd been a lowly med student but he was able to navigate his way to the orthopedic department where his new office was situated, without too much trouble. He walked up to the reception desk and was met by a smiling woman, he guessed to be in her fifties.

"DR Thornegate?"

"Yes."

"Welcome, I'm Martha. Come through, DR Edwards-he's been acting head of department-is in your office ready to give you a quick rundown on thing before the ward round begins."

"Thank you," Jonathan followed Martha into a large office at the end of the corridor, feeling pleased and excited and ready to get to work. He'd really made it to the top. It all still seemed a little surreal. As he passed the door he turned to look at the name plaque. DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPEDICS AND TRAUMA. HEAD OF UNIT. DR JONATHAN THORNEGATE. He'd finally done it!

"DR Thornegate," Martha said, breaking into his thoughts. "This is DR Edwards."

Jonathan turned his attention away from the door to look at the man sitting behind his new desk, in his new chair. DR Edwards took his time standing, as though he didn't care he'd been found rifling through the new boss's files, and Jon liked that. DR Edwards wore dark trousers, a crisp white shirt and a colourful tie. The shirt, however, pulled slightly across his arms and as he pushed on the desk with both hands as he stood, the fabric outlined two very firm and well toned arms attached to some very broad shoulders.

His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a smoky grey-blue, filled with warmth and politeness as he came over and held out his hand. "DR Thornegate. Welcome to Prince Andrew Hospital. Although, I understand from your file that you actually trained here."

"Med school, yes." Why did he feel as though this guy was the boss and he was the new recruit? "Thank you for the welcome, DR Edwards."

"Please call me Eddie. Most of the staff do,"

"Alright, Eddie. I understand you've been keeping the seat warm-Literally." He pointed to the chair Eddie had just vacated.

He got a smile at that, and the effect made him do a double take. Nice. Very nice. He swallowed and forced himself to look away. "That's right," Eddie turned to the secretary "Martha would you mind getting refreshments? I'm sure DR Thornegate could do with a quick cuppa before rounds."

"Oh, I'm fine." Jonathan quickly waved the request away, wanting to get control over his equilibrium. It wasn't a common occurrence for him to be knocked of guard by a simple smile but that what DR Edwards...Eddie, he corrected himself, had done. With firm strides he headed around the desk.

Eddie leaned forward a little and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Nerves?"

"Ugh..." For a whole second Jon's mind went blank. The man was extremely good-looking and highly personable. If everyone in his new department was like this guy, he wasn't going to have any trouble settling in. "Something like that." Jon finally replied with a rueful smile.

DR Edwards smiled again. "Well, you're probably going to need a top up at some point because you have an extremely busy day ahead of you." He didn't move, didn't shift to the other side of the desk like Jonathan expected him to. Instead Eddie stood there, his tall firm body, now close to Jon's. Close enough that Jon could feel the heat radiating off him and smell the fresh scent of his after shave. Spicy and woodsy, with a deeper undertone. Nice. Very nice.

Jonathan closed her eyes for a brief moment, forcing himself into professional gear. DR Edwards was just another colleague and while Jon's equal when it came to qualifications, he wasn't head of unit; which, in context of the hospitals protocols, made Jon his new boss.

When Jon next looked at DR Edwards, it was to find himself being studied with a degree of confusion. "Something wrong? Caffeine head ache?"

"No, No. Not at all."

Jonathan fingered a pile of neat papers stacked on the desk as Martha left, closing the door behind her. "Is this the usual inheritance?"

Eddie Laughed. "I've tried to clear as much of the backlog as I could but there are things I thought it better for you to deal with."

"Than why don't you take a seat..." Jan indicated the one on the opposite side of the desk "...and let me know what requires my urgent attention?"

Thankfully, Eddie took the hint and moved, pulling a chair up to the edge of the desk. He was still close, still crowding Jonathan a little, but thankfully now there was a large slab of wood between them rather than just a few inches of carpet. The man radiated charm, good manners, and an abundance of sex appeal. As Eddie pointed to a piece of paper, Jon checked his hands. Both ringless-although that meant nothing. Was he married? Engaged? Straight? Gay? Flexible?

Jonathan sat there looking and realised he was expected to provide an answer. Clearing his throat as well as his mind from distracting thoughts of his new colleague, Jon forced himself to concentrate.

"I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that?"

"Is anything wrong? You seem a little preoccupied, distracted." Now he was being looked at like he couldn't handle the job. Well, she knew she could and Jon was determined to show him just how well he could do it.

"No. Let's get things sorted." When he didn't elaborate any further, Eddie repeated his initial question, which he answered knowledgeably and without vacillation.

"Right, them. The next thing that requires your immediate attention is the new research grant. It's due on Thursday so there are only a few more days to finalise all matters."

"Who is the supervisor on the project?"

"You."

"Me? I inherited a research project already?"

Eddie smiled and again Jonathan couldn't believe how it transformed his whole face. Where his initial smile had been welcoming, even mildly humourous, this one made his eyes sparkle, his white straight teeth bright and inviting. Laughter lines creased at the corners of his eyes and to top off the effect, he pushed a stray lock of hair back from his forehead and shrugged his firm, broad shoulders. "Nothing says 'Welcome to the department' like inheriting a research project."

Jonathan couldn't help but return the smile. It was so very rare that he took an instant liking to people but DR Edwards was proving to be one of them. "I guess you're right. Who's the assistant supervisor?"

"I am. As you can see, most of the detail are in place. I've had Martha schedule some time for you to come across to the lab tomorrow so we can go over things together. That way you won't be making decisions based only on the theory and hardcopy explanations."

"Good. Thanks for organising that." He put the research papers into a pile. "I'll read this tonight."

They continued working and half and hour later, when Martha knocked on the door to say the eight-thirty round would start in five minutes, Jonathan looked at the pile of papers he would be working his way through that night.

Eddie pointed to the pile. "I'm so glad that's your and not mine any more."

"You don't like administration work?"

"Not my favourite thing to be doing of an evening."

"Cuts into your social life?" He'd said the comment in an offhand manner and when he didn't answer immediately he looked up, surprised to find Eddie almost frowning at him. It was on the tip of his tongue to apologise, but the man merely shrugged frown instantly disappearing.

"Something like that."

"DR Edwards. If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you simply take the position of head of unit on yourself?" Surely it wasn't because of the amount of paperwork because, from what I've seen during the past half an hour, you're a man who knows what he is doing, knows how to run a department and is obviously very comfortable working here. I guess I'm at a loss regarding why they didn't simply promote you rather than sourcing from outside the hospital."

"Worried you think you're stepping on my toes?" His good humour was back and Jon wondered whether he'd imagined the little frown that had previously pierced Eddie's brow.

"A little bit. I don't like stepping on other people's toes."

"Don't be concerned on my account." Eddie put a hand to his chest. "I promise you, I didn't want the job so you don't have to be worried about other staff members thinking you've come along and stepped on my toes---er...so to speak." There was that smile again, the one that brightened his eyes and made Jon catch his breath. He blinked once forcing himself to ignore the feeling and draw an unsteady breath.

"That's a relief."

"Because of what happened at your last hospital?"

"What?"

"In Melbourne right? You were at the Queen Victoria correct?"

"Yes."

"You were bought in as a deputy head, promoted above someone who had worked in the hospital for years, who'd acted in that position and who'd lost out to you."

Jon was taken aback at that. "How on Earth do you know about that?"

"Ah." Eddie touched the side of his nose. "I have my sources."

"Really?" Jonathan leant back in his chair and couldn't help but cross his arms in self-defence. "What else did your sources tell you?"

Eddie's lips twitched for a moment and his gaze was met. "That you were an iceman. That you were crisp and cool to everyone you met whether they were your superior or not. That you have an exceedingly high opinion of yourself and that you'll stop at next to nothing to ensure all jobs and staff perform at nothing short of an exceptional level."

"Hmmm. Not very flattering." His interpersonal were something Jon had also promised himself he'd work on; he'd thought, given that he's met two people in the department and not had one row, that he'd done quite well.

"No. Not at all."

"Then why are you smiling at me? Aren't you concerned that I'll become crisp with you or run you through with my icicle sword?"

Eddie laughed, the sound rich and warm. It was definitely guaranteed to melt any ice Jonathan may have been surrounding himself with. "Not at all. In fact..." Eddie leaned a little closer on the desk, his eyes intent with good humour, "I'm willing to bet that you were only that cold because the rest of the staff gave you a hard time. A protective reaction, if you will. Sort of like an echidna. It only puts up it's prickles when its being attacked. We all have different mechanisms."

Jonathan couldn't help but feel like an open book, laid out flat for Eddie to examine. He liked the answer and as far as he knew himself it was the truth; but he wished Eddie would just take a step back, everything was hitting a little close to home and the after shave the man was wearing was making Jon want to nuzzle into the man's neck. Finally realising that he needed to respond stumbled out a reply "Ugh, yes. We do."

Eddie stayed where he was for another split second, their eyes meeting. "My sister is like that. I guess that's why I can recognise that trait in others."

"S-sister?" Jon wished he'd move, give him some breathing space, and as if Eddie could read his mind, he did just that, leaning back before standing.

"She's a general surgeon."

The intercom on Jonathan's desk buzzed and Martha announced that both of them were expected on the ward immediately. The interruption was enough to make Jon look away.

"Anyway, given that I was armed with this prior information of you," Eddie continued, straightening his tie, "I hoped that if I greeted you with a warm endearing attitude, you wouldn't feel the need to be all ice and bristle."

Jonathan stood and headed over to the coat rack by the door to get the new white coat which hung there for him. Eddie beat him to it and held it open. "Thank you," he said as he slipped his arms in, close enough to smell the warm spicy scent again. Nice. Very nice. He stood still for a moment and Eddie remained behind him, the man was close enough and tall enough that Jon could feel warm breath on the back of his neck. His heart rate begin to increase. Blood began pumping to areas which should remain inactive whilst at work. God, who was this man? With his gorgeous smile and fine strong arms?

Jon turned his head to look behind him and was surprised to find Eddie watching him, grey eyes intent. Swallowing, Jonathan found he couldn't move, mesmerized by the atmosphere that surrounded them, it had been so long. He was positive the other man would be able to feel his heart pounding in his chest, its rhythm increasing as the heated look in the blue-grey eyes burned into him. Though within a second Eddie had shifted away, reaching for his own coat which had hung next to Jon's. He turned his back as he slipped it on and Jonathan smoothed the collar of his own coat as he looked at the floor and tried desperately to forget whatever it was that had just passed between them.