I Wanted That! - Ella Tags Terrence

[Ella Tate]

The weekend was finally here and Ella felt that she deserved to indulge on a piece of a sinful delicacy after three whole weeks of core training. She heard about the new clinic that had opened and wanted to be in shape for it when she finally joined. But she figured, one slice of the chocolate raspberry ice cream cake from that tiny deli in between a clothing store and a pet shop would not hurt her too much.

But deciding to be in her gym attire in case the dessert turned out to be even more of a decadence than she initially thought, she set out for the deli in her track shoes as well as her gym bag.

The deli was semi-empty and she could already see the cake she wanted just waiting for her as if it was made just for her. Until a hand appeared and snatched it from the cooler it had been sitting in. "Oh snap. Um...'scuse me...do you still have some more of that raspberry delight?" She asked the cashier who gave her a look before shaking her head.

"Seriously, you don't stock up on two cakes in a day or something?" She started to argue, throwing glares at the person in front of her. Not too tall...she could take him. Or at least she thought she could. The cashier just shook her head and asked whether Ella wanted anything else. "Do you have anything remotely chocolate or raspberry?" She tried once more.

So maybe she had decided the man in front of her was now her sworn enemy.

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Just because it was the weekend didn't mean that Terrence didn't have to work; an unusual schedule was the price he had to pay for living his dream of caring for the sick -- and for being one of the newer hires. There were some positives to living on a different schedule from the majority of the population, however: the grocery store was packed on the weekend, but less so during the week, which meant that when he was shopping he could go at whatever leisurely pace he desired. When he needed to stop by the bank he didn't have to rush there on his lunch break or the weekend. And when it was his lunch break, he could go anywhere he wanted and not have to worry that there might be a rush that would put him behind.

So while he was at the deli counter ordering his lunch (including that divine raspberry delight; so it wasn't healthy, but it was just one piece) he didn't pay too much attention when the chimes attached to the front door tinkled, alerting the staff that another customer had entered. And he didn't pay attention when he felt the other customer come up behind him. It wasn't until she began arguing with the cashier that his attention was drawn from his graphic fantasies about his cake.

He turned slowly, tray in hand, looking the woman up and down. She was attractive, dressed for activity (the duffle bag suggested the gym, or possibly tennis. She looked like the sort of woman who would play tennis) and extremely pissed off about that cake. Even had her words not already proven that, the furrowed brow and down turned lips would have given her away.

"No need to be rude to the clerk," He chided mildly. The poor kid looked like was still in high school. He also looked like he'd heard arguments about the deli's stock far too frequently. "I doubt he has any control over how much they prepare. You could take it up with management." He suggested, moving off to the side to allow her to the counter.

There were other chocolate desserts. He could see them in the display case: Chocolate cheesecake, some chocolate cake made with an Oreo crust, what looked like a glorified brownie with frosting...If she needed a chocolate fix she could get one without the raspberry delight. If she needed a raspberry fix, on the other hand, she was probably out of luck.

[Ella Tate]

Sworn enemy spoke and Ella turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Not being rude, dude." She said shortly before turning to the cashier. "Chocolate?" She asked and the cashier turned to the cooler for Ella to pick her purchase.

"You're lucky you got that in time," She said to sworn enemy with a jerk of the head towards the cake. Her eyes scanned the cooler before she tapped the glass to the oreo cheesecake, settling for the next best thing. Although oreo cheesecake is really a far cry from the heavenly raspberry delight.

As a last attempt, she gave the man a charming grin, leaning against the counter. "Want to trade? I'll give you some of mine if you give me some of yours?"

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Terrence shrugged easily, stepping out of the woman's way and scanning the tiny deli for a place to sit. There was a counter along the edge opposite the display case and cash register, a handful of stools along the counter, and exactly two tables in the middle of the store.

Terrence had just mentally decided to go sit by the window when the woman piped up again. "Hmmmm." He eyed the cheesecake thoughtfully. In fact, he had been debating whether to have the cheesecake or the raspberry delight and that debate had lasted a good ten minutes. Ella had unfortunate timing; if she'd arrived any earlier she could have gotten the raspberry delight for herself.

So her offer had some appeal. "I suppose I will take you up on that." He decided at last, turning back toward the cashier. "May we have a knife?"


The cashier passed a plastic knife over the counter with a mutter that might have been "have a nice day."

Terrence gestured toward the table by the window. "Shall we?"

[Ella Tate]

She figured it was a tiny victory when the man pondered over her suggestion and held back the victory cry at the tip of her tongue when he asked for a knife from the pissed off cashier. Okay, so she felt bad about her earlier outburst.

Grabbing the plate of cheesecake, she hoisted her gym bag higher up her shoulder before slipping a tenner across the counter. "Keep the change. Sorry about earlier." She gave the boy a sheepish grin before leading the way to the table.

Ella deposited her bag on the floor as she set the plate on the table and slid in to her chair. She waited for the man to join her. "Okay, need your name before I proceed to steal half of your cake." She extended her hand for a shake. "I'm Ella."

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

"I don't believe it can be called stealing if I am willingly giving it to you." Terrence commented lightly. "Especially not when this is an exchange."

He pulled his own chair out, paying no heed to the scraping sound it made as it dragged against the floor. "Terrence, Terrence Jordan." He returned, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. "It's nice to meet you, Ella."

He placed his cake on the table, sizing it up before attempting to cut it in half.

Of course it crumbled, the plastic knife ineffectual at cutting cleanly. "Hmmm." He pursed his lips, shoveling what he estimated to be roughly half of the raspberry delight onto Ella's plate. "It'll still taste the same." He reasoned, handing her the knife.

[Ella Tate]

"Semantics," she waved her hand in the air before giving him a small smile. At his introduction, Ella nodded and gripped his hand tight. No need to let him know she couldn't take him when she could.

"Nice to meet you too, Terrence." Ella nodded before letting him cut the cake in half. She didn't care that it broke. The taste would still be the same and it will end up in the same place anyway. So no, she did not bother with presentation at all.

"It most definitely will." She took the knife from the man and cut the cheesecake more or less in half and scooped it up into Terrence's plate. Once the exchange had happened, Ella looked at Terrence with a determined grin. "I'd like to apologise in advance for what you're about to see."

Gleefully, Ella took a healthy bite out of her crumbled half of the cake and savoured it for all it was worth. Oh heavenly cake. And after what seemed like an eternity of moaning and letting the fork dangle in her mouth, Ella pulled the fork out and smiled.

"Terrence Jordan, you just made my day." She shook her head in contentment. "So are you new in town?"

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Ella was rather better at cutting slices of cake into slivers; her attempt didn't crumble or break apart as she cut. "What talent!" He complimented as she divided up the cheesecake. "You even cut neatly through the Oreo crust." With such a flimsy little plastic knife that had to be a difficult task.

Terrence grinned at her apology and subsequent lingering enjoyment of the dessert. He could appreciate anyone who felt that strongly about their cake. He could also appreciate the fact that she didn't scarf the cake down; so many people were all the time in a hurry, wouldn't slow down even to savor a piece of cake.

"No need to apologize," He took a bite off his own plate, likewise reveling in the moment, though accompanied by rather less moaning on his part. "Food should be enjoyed."

He shrugged in response to her question. "Relatively," He remarked, pausing to savor another bite of the raspberry delight. "I've lived here few months. I work at Maddock Hospital." The real estate in Pilot Ridge had been cheaper than living up near the hospital, though, so he would gladly suffer the commute. Not that it was all that bad, not compared to some places he'd seen.

Belatedly it occurred to him that she might be asking if he was new because of his accent, and not because she hadn't seen him. An accent was a difficult thing to shake, after all. "I have been in America since I was 18, but I am new to Pilot Ridge, yes." That clarified he politely turned the question back on his companion. "Have you lived in Pilot Ridge long?"

[Ella Tate]

Looking from the cake up to Terrence, Ella grinned proudly. "One of my many talents. Stay tuned to find out." Ella was getting to become very lame these days, it really wasn't her doing. It must be going back to Hammel and interacting with little kids...yes, she was going to go with that.

"Right? I always thought so." She shrugged at Terrence's statement, which was completely true. Especially dessert. She could gobble up a whole TV dinner in a heartbeat but dessert should be savoured for all it was worth, especially this raspberry heaven currently in her mouth.

"So you're a doctor?" Ella gave the man a little grin. "Wouldn't you be in demand. Or...you already are. I wouldn't be surprised. Women here have a thing for doctors I think." She chuckled, taking a bite out of her cheesecake this time. She wanted the raspberry chocolate cake to be the last taste in her mouth later in the gym.

"Eighteen? Wow." She nodded before tilting her head slightly to recall how long she had been here. "Well, I was thirteen when I went to the boarding school up in the hills here, Hammel Institute, if you've heard of it? And then I went out for college. I actually just came back a few months ago." She divulged her history with the stranger, not thinking twice about it.

"What kind of doctor are you? Did you graduate from someplace near?" She asked, looking at Terrence before taking another bite out of her cheesecake.

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

There was a moment of silence between Ella's question and Terrence's reply, while they both savored their dessert. Then he nodded. "Yes, a doctor."

Was she flirting with him? He couldn't decide. She was attractive, he had to grant her that. "If I'm in demand I haven't noticed," He commented after a pause while he mentally wrestled with that question. "But I have not had much time to socialize."And during school he hadn't had much time to date, busy as he was with keeping afloat academically. Not that this had stopped him from trying.

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of Hammel. "Indeed? Was there an accident there recently? We had several Institute employees in the hospital back in April, but as their injuries fell outside my area of expertise I didn't care for any of them. We're not usually quite so busy, but they all came in at once." There had been quiet gossip about that incident; there were gunshot wounds and other unusual injuries, but whatever the cause had been hadn't been divulged, at least not to anyone Terrence knew. And while he'd kept an eye on the news out of curiosity, nothing had been forthcoming from that direction, either. Before moving to Pilot Ridge he'd never heard of Hammel, and now, there was nothing to be found about it from any source that he could find. He had to admit that he hadn't looked too hard, but it was still odd.

"Is it a nice school?" That's what his neighbors said, though how it ranked academically was a mystery as was how one applied. Then the conversation turned back to his own line of work. "I'm a hepatologist." He answered, then clarified, "that means I'm a liver doctor. People who pickle themselves with alcohol or clog themselves with pills come to me. I went to school in North Carolina but wound up in Burlington for my residency and then heard about Pilot Ridge, so here I am."

[Ella Tate]

The modesty coming from Terrence was endearing. Ella could have pinched his cheeks if she didn't think it was a weird thing to do in public to a stranger who she had just snapped at moments earlier. "I can understand that," she nodded about the socialising bit. She didn't have that particular problem to be sure but she was familiar with crazy schedules.

At the mention of accidents, Ella restrained from looking worried. There were times when she didn't care about te repercussions of her actions. This was not one of those times. She understood the war between MSAD and the men and women from Hammel who had fought against them was a delicate situation, one she had extricated herself from even before it started. She didn't regret her decision even now but at the same time, hearing some of her workmates' injuries upset her quite a bit, funnily enough.

"An accident? No I don't think so." She said with the air of complete ignorance. "Although to be honest, I'm quite oblivious so really, you can never take my word for it." A tinkle of laughter escaped her lips. "I truly hope they were alright though. It would certainly explain the sudden MCs of my colleagues." She made a face before waving a hand in dismissal.

"Academically, it's quite excellent. It's extracurricular activities are a sight to be seen, let me tell you." She smiled, not really lying. Much. When Terrence revealed that he was a hepatologist and further explaining what it meant, Ella's eyes sparkled with her notorious curiosity. "Do you get a lot of junkies then? Do you do a lot of stomach pumping then?" She leaned forward a bit with a Cheshire grin she didn't realise she had sported. She had a sordid interest in the weirdest things and this was apparently one of them.

With her cake momentarily forgotten, her interest lay on the man across her.

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

Terrence wasn't a suspicious man by nature, and America in 2011 was a far different place from the South Africa of his youth. Therefore he had no reason to suspect that Ella was keeping anything from him or that there was anything to the sudden influx of Hammel staff at Maddock other than coincidence. Or perhaps they'd all been in a bus accident while on a field trip; one of the nurses had mentioned a gunshot wound, but maybe he misheard and she'd been discussing an unrelated patient.

"Hmm. I don't only see junkies and alcoholics." He laughed. Maybe he'd made it sound that way, but that was only a small overall percentage, even if sometimes it felt like more. It was too many; that didn't make it a lot. "I also see patients with liver cancer, hepatitis, gallbladder problems...anything to do with the liver or gallbladder or pancreas, really."

He shook his head when Ella inquired about stomach pumping. "I don't do that, you'd have to look at a more general Gastroenterologist for that. Hepatology is a sub-specialty. Stomach pumping, funnily enough, involves the stomach, which I have nothing to do with. I deal with the effects that drugs and alcohol have on the liver."

He attacked the cheesecake this time. "And what do you do again, if I may ask?"

[Ella Tate]

"Oh," Ella looked disappointed at his revelation. "Oh well." Well, some of us need to do the boring things. Ella shrugged. She bit into her cheesecake thoughtfully, wondering what was Terrence's fascination with those parts of the body particularly.

"Oh! I see. Right." She laughed at Terrence's attempt at humor. "Well, I hope I don't see you too often then." Ella said jokingly, alluding to the fact that she might be treating her insides very badly with her smoking.

At the occupation question, Ella realised that her job would actually be hard to explain to someone who didn't know what type of school Hammel was. What would she be a recruiter of at a public school? Did normal schools headhunt their students? Not that she recalled. Well damn.

"Administration. At Hammel." She stumbled over her words once it finally came out. "I handle lots of the students' uh...paperwork." Ella nodded with a smile, taking a bite of her cake, kind of relieved she didn't sound too suspicious.

To avoid it being on the topic of her, she went back to his occupation. "So do you reprimand people who destroy their liver, pancreas and gallbladder purposely? Like, do you have speeches written about the importance of taking care of your body and stuff?"

[Dr. Terrence Jordan]

It was apparent that Ella was a bit let down that he didn't pump people's stomachs. Really that would be too much excitement. Besides, he wasn't interested in dealing with emergencies on a regular basis. There would always be the rare case that counted as an emergency, but whenever possible he would send them to the emergency room -- which was really rather easier for him as a hospital employee than if he'd worked at a clinic.

"Administration." Terrence repeated thoughtfully. "That's important work." As for himself, he found paperwork to be rather uninspiring, though he was more than capable of completing it as thoroughly as necessary.

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. "There are times I would like nothing better than to give people a lecture about their decisions, but usually by the time they make it to me they're already aware of the toll their poor choices are taking on their bodies so I try to keep it brief."

He prodded his fork in the direction of his plate, but instead of the sound of plastic squishing into baked good there was the clink of fork prongs on ceramic. He glanced down to see crumbs instead of delicious cake. "It was lovely talking with you, Ella. I hope that next time our paths cross it is under happier, more cake abundant times."

He pushed back his chair and stood, giving her a nod in farewell.

[Ella Tate]

"Oh you have no idea." Ella shook her head as her fork jabbed down into the last piece of cheesecake before she started on the rest of her raspberry cake. The recruiting part was very important and that was the fun part of her job but then the paperwork...dreary and tedious. But very important. So much so that if she missed one single detail of it, it would mean major trouble for the student.

"I see, I see." She nodded as Terrence explained that he doesn't in fact tell his patients: I told you so. "I guess that makes sense. But dude, they totally deserve an "I told you so"." She grinned.

She finished just as Terrence got up and she smiled at him, mouth still full of cake before she waved him off. Well wasn't he an interesting fellow?

[OOC: Wrapped!]