Of Greetings And Goodbyes Title:Of Greetings and Goodbyes
Authors: unbroken_halo
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Company belong to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is meant.
Summary: Set mid Spring 1993, Max Sorens travels to Echo, West Virginia to embark on a change of venues. He finds out that it’s a small world after all.
Warnings: Language, Discrimination, Mentions of BDSM
Of Greetings And Goodbyes
Doctor and Healer Maxwell Sorens walked down the thoroughfare of West Virginia’s Charleston-Yeager airport, luggage on a tether rolling behind him. He looked out through the windows and wondered why again he had flown across the country to this little backwater state. Oh right, there was a Wizarding hospital out here that catered to both Muggles and Wizards out in the open. He had decided to check it out before he made his decision to settle down with either a private practice or to continue to work in a hospital. He needed a change and this was about as far away as you could get from California’s odd laws.
He had trained as both a Muggle doctor and a Wizard Healer because he wanted to help both sides of his heritage. The West Coast had some strange ideas about the Wizarding world. All the Wizarding hospitals in California were carefully hidden from the Muggles, even though he felt that as outlandish as Los Angeles was they could get away with it and no one would blink an eye. He stopped at the Dollar rental desk and set his carry-on bag on the floor and pulled his wallet from his pocket.
The girl at the desk started on the normal welcome spiel and then stopped as she looked up at the big man. She stared at him for a moment and Max smiled. “Dr. Maxwell Sorens, I have a reservation for a full sized S.U.V. I also need a map to Echo, please.”
She nodded dumbly at him then bent her head to the computer again. After tapping on a few keys a paper began to print from the computer and she looked backup at him. “Still want the vehicle for a week, Dr. Sorens? We have a Jeep Cherokee Laredo. Will that suffice?”
He nodded and set his credit card on the counter. She plucked it up, looked it over, matching it to the online reservations and set it down with a couple of papers for him to sign. “That will be two hundred eighty-nine dollars and seventy-one cents.”
She eyed him for a moment. “You might want to be careful in Echo, sir. Strange going ons out there.”
He raised an eyebrow at her as he signed the credit card slip. “Oh really? Are there still miners out there that will cart me away to the coal mines?” He smirked at her and she shook her head.
She looked around the terminal, making certain no one was about and then stood and leaned up over the counter. “They say there’s spooky things out there. The whole place has a strange air about it. It’s settled between two mountains and the air there is charged with something. The people that come from Echo are always different.” She twirled her finger around her ear in a circular motion indicating she thought they were crazy.
Max stared at the woman for a moment then chuckled. “Well, I suppose every place has their legends and spook stories.” He smiled at her. “Thanks for the warning, ma’am.” He held out one plate sized hand for the keys.
She dropped the tagged ring into his palm and sat back down. “Thank you for choosing Dollar Rental. Bobby will take you out to the car. Have a safe trip, sir.”
After settling his baggage in the back of the truck, Max headed north. Radio blaring he drove the mountain roads, up and down the hills and curves, marvelling at the scenery. Wild and powerful yet somehow contained, he sighed and wondered what it would be like to tackle these roads on his Harley, wind flying through his hair and the freedom so close to him and not closed off with the protective metal of the car.
He stopped at a White Castle and got his lunch before driving on. Max looked up at the mountains as he sat outside at the tables and sighed . It was quiet out here as well and he could feel the draw of the place. The weather was moderate and something he could get used to. He would bet his license that there were no earthquakes nor brown and black outs here. All the people he had encountered so far including the nut job at the airport had been somewhat nice if only to warn him about the small town where he was headed.
Coming from the relative standoffishness of California it was a bit overwhelming to know that his business was now also considered everyone else’s. Strangers he had never met before and probably would never see again offered him advice. He shook his head and got back into the vehicle to head north once more.
Max felt it almost immediately as he neared Echo. The sun was setting and he pulled the truck over to watch the sunset behind the mountains. Powerful magic resided in the old hills. He took a deep breath of the mountain air before getting back in the Jeep and heading for Blue Ridge Hospital. He was to meet the administrator of the hospital and the Chief of Staff, Steven Wilcox.
He parked outside the hospital in the staff lot with the pass the administrator had sent him. He carefully got out of the truck, whistling at the cheery Candy Apple Red Convertible Mustang he had parked beside. He walked around the car, the stats of the machine running through his mind escaped his mouth softly.
“1965 Ford Rag Top Convertible Mustang, optional GT package. Ford modified 289 cubic inch V-8 engine to generate a high-performance 271 horsepower, four barrel carburettor.” He bent and peered into the tinted window and gasped. “Original five gauge instrument panel…”
“FM Tuner and CD Player not standard but awesome none the less. It will do zero to sixty in less than a minute.” Another voice finished for him and Max turned and spied a small man dressed in tan Chinos and a white button down shirt with a sweater wrapped about his shoulders.
Max stood and looked down at the man and smiled. “Amazing car, mister. I take it it’s yours? How long did it take you to restore?” He stuck his hand out to the man. “Doctor Maxwell Sorens.”
The man’s dark eyes lit and he smiled and Max was struck with the feeling he had met this person before. The small hand grasped his gently. “Dr. Grant Wolffe.”
Grant took his hand from the big man and smiled at the car. “My Husband restored it for me and gave it to me for a gift.”
Max started. Husband? Well, he didn’t care about orientation he played to whomever was there and liked to play as well. However something was very familiar about this man and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He turned and leaned against the Jeep. “Nice to meet you, Doctor. I majored in General Practice and am considering accepting the Healer position opening up soon.”
Grant settled himself against the Mustang and then held up a finger before he answered. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called his husband. “Damon, I am meeting with a new Healer here at the hospital. I am going to walk him up to the admin office and then I’ll meet you at the bar.”
He listened for a moment. “Yes, Damon. I will. I love you. Bye.” He hung up the phone and looked back at Max. “Sorry about that. I’m a Psychiatrist. I have my own practice here in town but I am often here seeing patients. Welcome to Echo and Blue Ridge if you make that choice.”
Max smiled. “Not a problem.” He turned his wrist and looked at his watch. “If it’s alright with you I’ll take you up on that offer to walk with me up to the Administrator’s office. A Matthew Sanders said he’d wait on me because this was the only flight I could get. Dr Steven Wilcox doesn’t happen to be on call tonight? I wanted to meet with him as well.”
He pushed himself off the Jeep and followed the smaller man towards the hospital. Listening to the other man give the information he asked for, Max thought about what he had overheard from the phone conversation and then feelings he was getting about Grant Wolffe and his husband Damon. Merlin it all seemed really familiar.
He watched the smaller man closely as Grant walked around the corner and it dawned on him then. “Holy shit, I think I know you.” He looked around the hall and then leaned closer to Grant as they stopped at the elevators. “You and your husband didn’t happen to be in San Francisco a few months ago did you? Perhaps you got separated… in the crowd?”
Grant looked around the hall and then back at the other man. He swallowed and bit his lip then nodded. “I was wondering if you were going to remember. If you like I’ll wait on you and we can discuss this later. I’ll give you the directions to Cutty’s.”
Max stepped back and nodded. “I don’t want you to be late for your meeting with your husband.”
Grant sighed and then turned as the elevator doors opened and Steven Wilcox emerged. He smiled at Grant “You always seem to find the strays don’t you, Doctor.”
He then turned to the big Healer. “Dr. Sorens I presume. Administrator Sanders was called away on personal business and wondered if you would be able to return next week?” He held out a hand to the red headed man.
Max frowned and shook the doctors hand. “I’ve only got the two days. My hospital couldn’t spare more than that. I don’t suppose you and I could just have an interview since you are Chief of Staff here.” He smiled at the other man and then looked to Grant. “You’ve even got the opinion of a Psychiatrist to verify I am of sound mind to come and work with you.”
The men had a laugh and Wilcox shook his head. “As much as I would like to, Dr. Sorens, I am afraid Matthew has the final say. I on the other hand would love to have you here. We’ve just had a doctor decide to retire and could use a new GP in this town.”
Max nodded and sighed. A waste of time and money but often times that was the way things went in the medical world. It seemed they would be back to doing business by phone. “I guess I had better get back to…” He pulled a small notebook from his pocket. “Farnsworth’s Bed and Breakfast on Main street. If one of you will point me in the right direction, I’ll be out of your hair. I see what I can do about returning next week.”
Grant and Steven eyed each other and then looked at Max. Wilcox shook his head. “Come on to Cutty’s with me; the least I can do for your troubles is buy you a decent meal and a beer.”
Grant eyed Max as he stewed over his decision. Damon was going to have a heart attack once he realized who the new Healer was. The little sub decided that he had to convince the big man to stay. They had met the red head the previous summer at Folsom Street Fair after he had been separated from Damon.
His leash had broken in the crowd at the fair and it had only taken a matter of seconds for him and Damon to be separated. Max had seemingly appeared from nowhere for someone of his stature and Damon had found them shortly after.
They had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening together at the fair and found themselves staying at the same hotel. They spent the entire seven day fair with the big man getting to know each other and enjoying the events and the younger man‘s self guided tour of the San Francisco Tenderloin district.
The Indian pulled himself from the ruminations to find Max and Steven walking towards the door. He grinned and didn’t even bother to call Damon to warn him. He smirked and jogged to catch up with the men.
********
Damon whistled along with Bob Seger as he wiped down the bar then pull a Coors Light from the tap and sent it down the bar. He and the waitresses yelled out, “Welcome to Cutty’s” in stereo as the bar door opened.
Grant walked up to the bar pulling Max along behind him. He stopped in front of his husband and leaned closer, “Master I’ve brought someone for you to meet.” He grinned as Damon looked up, two liquor bottles in his hand poised to pour a drink.
Damon looked up and continued looking as he saw his husband and the man standing behind him. “Holy shit.” He muttered and dropped the bottles of vodka and triple sec.
Max’s loud laughter filled the bar and all conversation stopped as the bottles crashed to the floor.
Damon looked at his small husband and shook his head. “I’m going to get you for that, Injun.”
Grant grinned. “Come catch me, Sir.”
Max laughed again and shook his head. “Come have a drink with us if you are able.” The big man let Grant lead him and Steven away from the bar to a table at the back of the room.
Damon nodded dumbly and then began to clean up his mess. Merlin, he had never thought to see the big red headed man who had saved his husband from getting lost last September. He drew up some drafts, a soda for Grant and placed them on a tray and ventured out into the bar to get reacquainted with the new stray his husband had brought home.