Figure It Out (Charlie)

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Terrence rather liked Charlie Davis. The older man was laid-back and friendly and quite nice company when it came to going out for drinks. He regretted that he didn't have more free time to spend with the officer, but what little time he had off he had spent with Leila, and in any event he knew that the other man didn't have much free time, either.

He had to be pulling double shifts to cover with only two coworkers.

But the stars had aligned for once, and their schedules were synchronized, and they had met up for coffee.

The doctor arrived first, and rather than ordering and potentially finishing his drink before Charlie even got there he instead found a table. Not a difficult task; apparently everyone else was at home for the evening. Given the weather outside, cold and dreary and rain threatening to turn to snow, he didn't blame them.

Someone had abandoned a newspaper on the table, and he picked it up, flipping through it idly while he waited for his friend.

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie was glad that his schedule had chanced to match Terrence's enough to meet up with the younger man. He liked him; they were both similarly relaxed people and pretty friendly. Neither one of them, however, had had time to hang out of late. Terrence was busy with his work and Charlie was swiftly learning that Pilot Ridge would always keep him busy. It wasn't so much that the little town was particularly crime-riddled, but there were always little mishaps that sometimes needed assistance. Thankfully, the amount of power-based mishaps had decreased enough for Charlie to be able to meet Terrence to catch up.

Charlie pushed open the door and scanned the room until he caught sight of the younger man. A smile creased his face and he waved a little before making his way over to where Terrence was sitting.

"Hey," He greeted the doctor, taking a seat, "It's good to see you. What's been going on?"

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Terrence folded the newspaper carefully and returned it to the table, standing to greet the older man with a smile. "Quite a lot, actually." He admitted freely, only taking his seat once Charlie had done so as well.

"I was out of town over the holidays. I cannot believe that I could get off, but it was lovely spending that time with Ms. Gold. She has such a wonderful, supportive family."

If he'd been asked before he met Leila if it was acceptable to go out of town with a girlfriend less than six months after dating he would have hesitated. Perhaps for other people, he would have said, but he was more cautious.

Leila, however, had so much energy and enthusiasm that she pulled the more reserved man right along with her.

He certainly didn't mind.

"And what have you been up to? Were your holidays nice?"

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie grinned brightly, "Hey, awesome! That's really great, man." And it was, even if Charlie was a little surprised, given that from what he remembered, Leila and Terrence hadn't been dating for that long. But whatever, everyone seemed happy. However, he couldn't resist the slightly-serious tease, "Wow, you're meeting the parents, huh? How was that?" He imagined it would be nerve-wracking.

"My holidays were pretty good," Charlie said happily, "I went to that Holiday party with Elaine Tonaya. I think I mentioned her before? She runs a flower shop down the way. Anyways, it was nice. I met her son and her...best friend? Brother? I'm not actually sure how that works, but neither one of them seemed too impressed with me," He wilted slightly.

"But yeah," Charlie said with a shrug, "Had a good time then, and called my sister to wish her and her family happy Christmas and all that. It was good."

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

At Charlie's teasing Terrence returned the grin. "I officially met her mother previously." He pointed out. Her mother had, after all, come up to be with her during the surgery. Of course, they hadn't been dating then, and he hadn't met her father. "They are nice people, however."

He thought that they liked him. At least, they seemed to like him better than his family would have liked them, although that wasn't saying much. He was quietly dreading having to tell his younger brother he was dating a wealthy white woman; good thing Amos was still in South Africa.

His smile slipped, however, when Charlie mentioned his insecurities regarding Elaine's friends. "Perhaps they are just protective of her." He suggested kindly. "She has has a son, but she is single." By which he meant, perhaps there was a nasty divorce, and single mothers tended to have difficulty finding dates, and maybe the men in her life wanted to make sure Charlie would not break her heart.

"As long as the two of you had fun, that is what matters."

[Charlie Davis]

“Oh that’s right,” Charlie nodded, remembering that Terrence had told him this before, “But yeah, I’m glad you had a good time. Also that her family liked you. That’s always important.”

Charlie nodded a little glumly, “Yeah, and I kinda got the feeling that her brother doesn’t really like very many people anyways. But you know. It’s sort of disheartening because, you know, you always want the son to like you. That’s important.” He looked concerned and a little disheartened before shaking it off, “But you’re right. We did have a lot of fun, and hopefully Morgan will come around.”

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

"He'll come around," Terrence reassured the other man, feeling a pang of sympathy at the glum look on his face. He was so glad he only had to worry about whether or not Leila's dog liked him; had there been a son in the picture he didn't know what he would have done. Maybe tried to bribe him with sweets.

That probably wouldn't work in this case.

"He just needs to get to know you better."

He couldn't see any reason for Morgan to dislike Charlie other than a protective hostility towards any suitors. But once he'd truly gotten to know the other man he would come around.

"So have the two of you planned any new outings? Maybe a family thing to get to know the brother and son better so they know you aren't going to stomp on her heart?"

[Charlie Davis]

“Hope so,” Charlie nodded earnestly. He thought Morgan seemed like a nice guy, and Charlie liked being liked by anyone, but especially the children of women he liked. Not that this had actually ever happened before; Elaine was the first person he had dated who had children. But still.

“We don’t have anything planned right now, no.” Charlie replied, looking at Terrence as though he was a genius, “But that’s a great idea. I should talk to her about that.”

He grinned at Terrence, “Good to know you’re still the smart one.”

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Terrence chortled at his friend's reaction to his simple question. "That's why I went to med school," He agreed, resting his chin in one hand. It only seemed reasonable to him that Charlie should make plans with Elaine, given how he felt about her, but he knew how difficult it could be to be the suitor rather than the witness.

"Maybe you could take her into Burlington for a day. They have a dance studio." He knew this solely from Mitya; it was good to have varied friends, sometimes. "If she likes that sort of thing. I think they also have a zoo of some sort."

There was a moment of silence while he sipped his coffee before brown eyes lit up. "What about the Grand Isle lake house?"

He wasn't sure if the other man had been in the area long enough to know what he was talking about, so he explained, "In Grand Isle there's this old historic house with botanical gardens on the ground. You said Elaine owns a flower shop, did you not? Perhaps she would enjoy a trip there."