To Widen the Future (Griff)

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh had neither seen nor spoken to Griff since their last disastrous encounter by the lake. He'd heard rumors of a short foreign man with a goat, but had found no traces.

It would have been easy enough for him to ask Sean for the Welshman's phone number or even the name of his practice, but they'd been so busy, first moving in and then making up for lost time, that the thought hadn't even occurred to him.

Until now.

Now, of course, was a Tuesday morning, not at all the appropriate time to call Sean and ask for Griff's contact information, and so instead Josh had decided to do things the difficult way and taken off lunch to go to the little bakery Sean liked so much. He'd been vaguely familiar with them before because the telepath had them on speed dial, and he'd done business with them on rare occasion: Sean's birthday last year, and when Robert had passed away. They were pleasant enough, in any event, and since Riley was likewise at work and thus couldn't be bothered for a cake, he thought the bakery was as good a place to purchase one as any.

And of course it was necessary that he purchase a cake. After all, cake was the ultimate apology when one had done wrong!

So he'd cycled over to the bakery and perused the cakes on offer, finally deciding upon a decadent looking German Chocolate (he hoped that Griff wasn't allergic to chocolate, though in that event Sean would get the chocolate cake and he would simply buy another, more appropriate flavor).

Of course, the cake had to be boxed and wrapped, and while he was waiting for the nice young (maybe forty!) woman behind the counter to do this he wandered to the bathroom in the back.

And stopped with the door half-way open.

For there, in the bathroom, was the very person he was buying an apology cake for.

He was sure he should have felt relief, but instead guilt and anxiety washed over him, along with a good deal of uncertainty: there was no guarantee his apology would be accepted, and every reason that it shouldn't.

"Ahhh...." He offered eloquently, staring at the shorter man, door still held open.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

As a way to make things better, and create a bond, Griff had decided to take matters into his own hands regarding Josh. He knew Sean insisted Josh should apologise first but that was childish, and he wanted to show there was no hard feelings whatsoever via the magical healing properties of cake.

He'd just picked out a lovely raspberry and strawberry sponge cake with lemon icing when he'd suddenly become overcome with a fear that he had a urinary tract infection, and had hurriedly set the cake down in the stall and checked himself. At least three times. It was a shame he didn't have a litmus test with him right now, but things SEEMED to be normal. Maybe it was prostate cancer. Oh god. Nudging the cake over to the sink, he'd started to wash his hands when he heard the door creak open and the sound of an "Ahh."

Blinking, Griff looked up from his handwashing and found himself unable to speak. "Ah!" He responded, finding his brain formulating words he was apparently struggling to sound. "Josh." He said, managing a smile and quickly toweling his hands.

Lifting the cake box up, he headed over and paused. "Um... if you need the toilet, I'll get out of your way." He suggested, not wanting to irritate the man even more by hovering round him with a cake.

"But I just thought." Griff paused. That wasn't what he wanted to say. "I... I was looking for you, actually." He managed, scratching his chin. "I wanted to... extend an olive branch. Anyway, I'll get out of your way and wait in the main shop." And with that, a slightly bashful doctor exited, and hovered around in the main foyer of the shop.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh nodded mutely, watching as the doctor balanced his cake against the sink. Did he bring a cake into the restroom? That....somehow didn't seem sanitary at all. But it was Griff's cake, not his, so it wasn't like he had to deal with the results of this odd lack of concern for sanitation.

Maybe that was simply a difference between America and Great Britain.

He continued to nod as the other man informed him that he'd been looking for Josh and wanted to extend an olive branch. What a curious coincidence! But before he could articulate any of the numerous statements he needed to make the Welshman had exited the bathroom.

---

He pushed the restroom door open, looking around the bakery to see if Griff was still there. He was still terribly nervous; the fact that he knew the smaller man wanted to talk with him did nothing to ease his anxiety.

Fortunately there, at the window, was the person he needed to speak with, and he marched over to him without even stopping by the counter to pick up his cake.

"Dr. Jones," He began uncomfortably. "It uhhh it's......I was actually looking for you, as well. I...was picking up...ummm....I mean....I...ummm...you're not allergic to chocolate, are you?"

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Griff paced nervously, first at the fact Josh had seen the cake in the BATHROOM of all places. He'd probably think it was sabotaged. But he hadn't opened the box so the cake inside was untouched from bathroom germs. Oh god maybe he should ask for a new one? He was sure the cake would be fine, but he didn't want to leave it on the counter and have it stolen by a cake thief.

When Josh returned, he managed a smile and nervously nodded. "Please, call me Griff." He said, offering the cake out. "I got you this. I... uh. It's not been soiled. I promise. I thought... I thought well." He drifted off, before blinking.

"No. I'm not allergic to chocolate but-" He paused, then blanched. "You aren't allergic to strawberries? Or Lemon? Or..." He trailed off again, pushing the cake box forward. "I wanted to say how sorry I was. For causing a misunderstanding between you and Sean. And to offer you to come over for tea." Griff babbled, putting his hand behind his head and pacing, fingers curling in the scruff of his neck.

"Anyway. Here's the cake. And I really do hope you and Sean work things out. I had no idea." He took a deep breath and placed the cake in Josh's hands, his cheeks faintly pink. Please don't reject the apology cake, he thought, heart thudding in his chest.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh stared at the box being held out to him, surprise written clearly across his face. "Pardon? He exclaimed. He certainly didn't think the cake was sabotaged -- perhaps in a less charitable mood he would have, of course -- but he would have to ask Sean if it was safe to eat now that it had been in a bathroom.

"....Thank you, Doct....Griff." He would have to get used to the idea that they were on a first name basis now; changing the nature of his relationship with someone was always difficult, as his attempt to break things off with Sean proved.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before jerking his head toward the counter and the woman behind it; the look on her face was slightly bemused, the cake she'd boxed and wrapped on the counter and waiting for him. "I uhhh actually bought a cake for you as well."

He'd never met another person who also used cakes as apologies, and he briefly (and uncomfortably) reflected that he and Griff had something in common.

He accepted the cake, shifting to hold it under one arm as he tried to formulate a proper reply to the apology directed his way.

"It wasn't....your....fault...." The words were stilted, forced out with difficulty. "I was ahh not really.....in a good place emotionally."

That sounded better.

"And I wasn't ummm feeling....charitable....but that's not really....not really your fault. You didn't do anything." He'd realized this to some degree even at the time, though he'd chosen not to acknowledge it until it had become unavoidable. "Ummm. Tea would be....fine."

And he would feel awkward the entire time, because he knew he'd been inexcusably rude.

"But uhh you shouldn't...you shouldn't worry about it. Sean and I talked. So uhhh....you should go pick up your cake?"

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

"Ah. I thought you might think I had done something to the cake in the bathroom. But it's still wrapped so I'm sure it's fine to eat." Griff fell over himself to explain, then felt relieved when the other man took it from him. He did, however, raise his eyebrows into his hairline when Josh said there was a cake waiting for HIM too.

Blinking like a rabbit in headlights, he staggered over and took the cake, opening the box and giving an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Josh. I love cake." Perhaps that was why he believed cake would solve any troubles. It's hard to stay mad at someone when they offer cake, unless they're called Cobalt and Griff doesn't want to remember that.

"It's okay. I understand now." Griff said slowly, accepting the apology gracefully. There was no need to rub salt in Josh's wounds. It was a hard thing to do, to say sorry to someone you'd wronged, and it was nice that he was being the bigger man.

"Well... uh. If tea's fine..." He began, worried he'd be snubbed. "Would you care to come over for... cake and tea? We're clearly doing okay for the cake bit." He managed a laugh and a smile, then took a deep breath. "That's if you're free of course, otherwise don't worry we can do it another time."

But this was nice. Because Griff felt like he was making amends with a man he should have been friends with in the first place. "Ah. Uh. You wont object to Gladys, will you? I promise she'll keep nibbling to a minimum."

The last thing he wanted was to break the olive branch simply because Gladys had decided to munch on Josh's shirt.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh shifted his weight nervously. Despite the fact that Griff had accepted the apology and was now offering to play host, he still felt as if there were a hollow pit in his stomach. Sean's observation that he wanted conflict because of a desire to atone was an astute one; he would have felt a bit more relieved perhaps if the Welsh doctor had yelled at him and told him he was a horrible person for being so rude.

"Wait, do you mean now?" He wasn't sure when Griff expected him to come over for tea and cake, but he was only on his lunch break, and Janice probably wouldn't appreciate it if he disappeared for the rest of the day, not since that meant abandoning her with Vincent.

"I mean...." He stammered, because he didn't want the other man to think he wouldn't come. "I would love to, but I can't stay too long, I'm on my lunch break and I've only got..." He checked his watch, "forty-five minutes left."

He gave Griff an apologetic grimace. "And if I don't return promptly the intern is in danger of burning our office down."

Not that Josh had never committed arson; perhaps next flag burning he attended he could bring his intern along! That was something Vincent Verax might even be good at. He certainly wasn't useful at answering phone inquiries or serving motions.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Griff pressed his fingers a little tighter round the cake, then smiled. "No worries, I drive." He said, before frowning. "Ah, I don't want you to get in trouble, but I promise you'll be back in forty five minutes precisely." He grasped the cake, gave a smile to the server and beckoned Josh to follow him.

"Um. I'd better make some sandwiches to go with the cake though. I don't think all that sugar by itself is exactly healthy." Griff paused, fishing in his pocket for his car keys. "Actually, I've just realised I owe you another apology."

Griff set the cake atop his aged car and looked painfully sheepish. "I'm sorry for assuming you had a mental illness. I was concerned after we met that you may have had bipolar disorder and..." He winced. "I may have pushed for Sean to get you checked out. It was my own way of protecting myself from rejection and I am so very sorry."

He wrung his hands, then took a big deep sigh. "Again, I'm sorry for that." Opening the car door, he set the cake on the backseat and then gestured for Josh to hop in.

"So." He said shortly, managing a guilty smile. "Can... can I buy you a newspaper now?" It was a weak joke, but he hoped the other man would at least smile.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh followed Griff out of the bakery, offering the server a "Good bye!" as they stepped out the door, setting of the chimes tied to the door handle.

Frankly, he didn't mind in the least having nothing but cake for lunch. He and Sean had been known to do this on occasion, particularly when a celebration was in order, which, in a way, this was. A celebration of the fact he'd managed to give an apology without exploding or the universe ending.

"Don't worry about it, the cake should be filling enough." He commented, ignoring the reference to health. It was apology cake, surely they could make an exception for today!

He paused in the street at the confession the Welshman thought he had a mental illness. "Bipolar." He repeated. Well that wasn't flattering at all. "I can't say that I've ever been ahh..." He hesitated, trying to recall the proper terminology. "Been...." He did his best to gesture impatiently, a difficult feat considering he was still clutching the cake he'd been given. "Looked at. Checked, oh, what's the word I want? Not diagnosed. I mean, I haven't been, but I haven't even gone to a doctor for them to say. I'm sure Sean would have said something to me if he really thought I had a problem, though."

At least, he certainly hoped that if he were bipolar he would have known by now. Not that he was going to run off to be screened anyway.

"I assure you I was just being a jerk." Oddly, it was much easier to say that knowing that Griff had thought he was behaving rudely out of illness. "I know I crossed the line."

He sighed, depositing his cake beside Griff's before clambering into the back beside them.

"Ah, no, no need for a newspaper. I think the cake suffices..." He winced guiltily at the memory of that day by the lake. It was a miracle Griff was willing to talk to him at all.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Being a man of a need for health and added years, it was no surprise Griff was cautious about eating too much sugar. Diabetes had been a killer to patients through the year, especially when it clogged veins and caused gangrene in damaged extremities. Still, if Josh wanted to eat nothing but cake, he wouldn't argue - since he wanted to remain on these gradually increasing good terms.

Settling into the drivers seat, Griff blushed again. "I am sorry about it. It sounds more insulting than I would have wanted it to." He nodded, then started the ignition. "I'm glad you don't have mental disorders, they're unpleasant and a lot more difficult to treat than physical ailments." He admitted, pulling away.

"Don't worry, not a problem." Griff waved his hand. That was the past and the future involved cake and making friends, and that was all that mattered. "You do like tea, yes?" He paused. "I have several british brands and some chai." Griff did try and keep a variety of beverages on hand in case of varying visitor taste.

"Had any interesting cases where you work?" He asked conversationally as the little car pootled through Pilot Ridge. "I'd say I have but aside from an alarming genital warts outbreak, I've not had anything outstanding." He frowned.

5 cases of warts in a week. Someone was clearly getting around.

"And a man with a pen stuck in his nose. Literally jammed up there." He shook his head. Sometimes you saw it all as a doctor.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh nodded solemnly, buckling himself in beside the cake as Griff pulled out of the parking lot. "No, no mental disorders. Not unless I've just managed to make it to fifty-one without being diagnosed."

He had great faith in the ability of the medical community to diagnose everything, particularly mental illnesses; those surely were diagnosed as soon as they manifested, rather the way meta abilities were diagnosed without fail thanks to blood tests. And other metas, according to Sean.

"Ahhh...." He hesitated at the question about tea. He really wasn't much of a tea drinker, if he were honest. "Well...." He shrugged, though it was unlikely the other man was looking back at him, since he was driving. "I've not had it in awhile. I usually stick with coffee. But I'm sure tea is wonderful!" He added hurriedly, in case the other man thought he was being critical of the beverage choices offered. He would certainly brave hot tea in order to make amends.

At the question regarding work he pressed his lips into a thin line of annoyance. "Unfortunately, work's been a bit slow." This was partly due to the fact that there were two civil rights firms in one sleepy town, though he would never begrudge Cobalt and Leila work. The rest of the fault, however, lay firmly on the shoulders of one Vincent Verax. "Our intern has ahhh....scared away a few of our clients."

He really couldn't wait until this internship was over.

"Genital warts." He repeated faintly. That was unpleasant. "Sounds like some people need to sit through Sean's lecture again."

He'd been friends with the telepath for far longer than he'd been instructing teenagers on proper condom usage, and The Talk was by now quite familiar to him. He'd heard horror stories of the students' antics each year; he was glad he hadn't had to deal with this when he was a student. He'd been one of the ones somewhat flustered by the whole idea, right up until he'd tried it.

But as his first experience was with Sean, he'd never gone without condoms.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Griff hummed quietly in responce to Josh's affirmation that he didn't have any mental disorders. Having Hypochondria certainly wasn't the easiest disorder to deal with, and he was pretty sure he DIDN'T deal with it, at least Sean said he wasn't particularly controlled over his illness paranoia.

"No worries, I have coffee too. Danny's more of a coffee drinker too." Griff explained, wanting to appease Josh and not lead to a fight. "You could always try the tea another time." He smiled, indicating off to go down a road towards the park. Anything to keep the peace. Then maybe he could start work on making Cobalt like him. Maybe now Josh didn't hate him, Cobalt would come to accept him and his friendship cake and friendliness and there could be a little gathering of middle aged men meeting up every weekend for fun.

"Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that." The doctor said apologetically. "I take it the intern is a... handful?" He offered, arching an eyebrow. "In my first year at Kocher looking after the teens, I had a young girl intern. Sweetest thing." The man paused. "Not the brightest button in the box though. She thought a hernia was a shoe brand." He shook his head.

"Yes... not the most pleasant of things to be investigating, but alas, such is being a doctor." He shrugged his shoulders. "At least it's treatable, though it seems to be in the 20 to 25 age bracket. How odd." He shrugged again, then pointed up ahead.

"And here's the house." Griff smiled, parking up outside and leaping out to open the door for Josh politely. He just wanted to secure happy happy friendship time with Josh before Gladys could ruin it by eating his shirt. Or his hair. Or anything else on Josh's general being.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Danny? You wouldn't by chance mean Danny Silverman, would you?" Josh perked up, wondering if by chance Griff was friends with his fake twin. Danny was a common enough name, of course, but it seemed as if everyone in Pilot Ridge knew everyone else, particularly in their age range. It wasn't lost on him that before he and Sean had reconciled had he heard that Danny was friends with Dr. Jones he would have taken it as betrayal. Well, it was a good thing he'd sorted this out; being upset with the model maker a second time would have put a strain on their friendship.

He fidgeted with his glasses at the question about his intern. "A handful would be a generous statement." He sighed glumly. "Janice and I thought it would be a good idea, you know, lend a helping hand to a young person, but he's...." He paused, searching, "rarely on task. He lacks impulse control and he's a bit ahhh obsessed with sexual activities. To a degree that interferes with his work."

Josh could be a bit impulsive at times, but the extent of Verax's lack of control was shocking even to him.

He scooted out of his seat as Griff held open the door, pulling his cake with him. "Ummm..." He added worriedly, scanning the immediate area, "Where is the goat?"

He didn't want to lose another jacket to Gladys. Or the cake. That would just be terrible.

[Dr. Griffin Jones]

Griff paused and nearly took his eyes off the road. "Yes, Danny Silverman, the model maker." He smiled fondly at the thought of the other man. "Both he and Riley came over for the weekend a week or so ago." He smiled even brighter. The two of them were absolutely wonderful. He wasn't sure he could have coped with Josh's wrath without the pair supporting him and making him laugh.

"Hm. Maybe he's the cause of the genital warts." Griff joked, smiling honestly. "Though it's very kind of you to offer a placement at the firm. If there are any budding law students who pass through the surgery, I'll forward them on to you." He added, taking the other cake and fiddling around to lock the car and find his house keys.

He blinked when Josh hesitated. "Oh, Gladys?" He scratched his head. "She'll be out the back eating all the plants, I reckon. I lock her out when I'm not in the house. She gets into EVERYTHING." He rolled his eyes fondly, then unlocked the door, heading inside to the kitchen and pushing his jacket on the Bannister.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll pop the kettle on and try and find Gladys so she can apologise in person about the newspaper... and the jacket." Griff gestured around the house, smiling. "Pop the cake on the dining room table - it's through here." Another gesture, then a big grin. "I'll get the nice plates out too, just bear with me."

And Griff disappeared outside, calling to his beloved pygmy goat and lifting her up into his arms, where she chewed lovingly on his facial hair, bleating. After a moment of fond greeting, the man brought her back in.

"Here she is. Gladys, say hello."

The goat blinked, then bleated, her tail flicking from side to side like a wag.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Riley Adams?" It looked as if Griff really did know all his friends. He wondered if Riley had met Griff before or after his fight with the Welshman; if they'd known one another at the time the landscaper certainly hadn't said anything in his defense. Interesting.

And neither Danny nor Riley had mentioned getting together with Griff over a weekend, though perhaps Riley had known not to say anything, since he'd been privy to the sulking immediately after Josh had encountered Griff the first time.

"Really! I didn't kn....oh, two weeks ago?" He'd been busy moving in with Sean; he'd assumed that Cobalt would either be off with Ben or helping Leila recover, but it hadn't even occurred to him to ask what Riley would be up to, a fact which now was causing renewed guilt to seep into his mind. What a terrible friend he was! And he hadn't even returned the pie plate he'd borrowed!

He followed Griff into the house, expressing amazement at the fact the other man kept plants. "You garden? Incredible. I can't keep any plants alive. I have a fake one in the living room but that's all I can manage."

He nodded at the instructions, wandering in the direction his host had pointed and placing his cake on the table.

Despite the fact he'd been given permission to make himself comfortable he continued to stand, feeling awkward, until Griff returned with his goat. "Hello, Gladys." He said, reaching out one hand tentatively toward the animal. "I uhh hope you'll forgive me for being rude to you when we first met."

He patted her on the head, then let out a gasp wholly unrelated to the goat. "I only brought in the one cake. Did you bring in the other or did we leave it in the car?"

He'd been so wrapped up in thought, surprised that Griff was friends with his entire social circle, that he hadn't paid any attention.