Charles Elwood (celwood) wrote in genome_project, @ 2011-07-03 17:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | july 2011, kate sullivan |
Who: Charles and Kate
What: Seeking a favor from a friend
Where: The medical center
When: Afternoon
Rating: Already a PG for language
His private study at the house, forbidden to everyone except his wife and the occasional colleague, was a mess.
Charles had made note of the fact coming in, but had yet to do anything about it. He was a compulsively organized person by nature, firm and steadfast when it came to his work, but his focus had not been on its usual rigid path during the past few days. A faint ache in his head, at first accounted to the result of a very long evening, had slowly taken root, winding in until it was pressing against the inside of his temples. It was a low-lying pain, dull, light, but increasingly bothersome to him for its consistency.
He'd gone as far as to skip breakfast that morning to avoid hearing the noise of Simon devouring cereal, but it took an unusual level of effort just to concentrate on replying to emails and checking in with reports. The actual island-running chores, like sorting through the clusterfuck of town hall papers which he made a mental note to ask Jimmy for assistance with, folders, books and other miscellaneous scattered across the room, would have to wait until he was in a less... unsettled state of mind.
It was while he was sat at his desk - an elbow braced upon its surface, the tips of his middle finger and thumb pressed against either side of his brow in an attempt to quell the slight thrumming in his head so that he might be able to look at his laptop screen without discomfort - that he decided enough was enough. With the preparation he needed to make for the next weekend's conference, the discussion about Calvin's situation, and the possibility of dinner with Nathan's family in the very near future, he could not afford to feel anything less than clear-headed.
He waited until after lunch before he left the house, and took the car to the medical center, leaving it near the entrance as he strode inside and made his way to the clinic.
By now, he knew the receptionist by name, and she recognized him on sight. She offered him a ridiculously effusive welcome, and a smile that stretched to her eyes and lit her face so brightly that anyone might see sunspots after looking at her. Charles managed to coax out a faint twitch from the corner of his mouth.
"Please tell Doctor Sullivan I'm here."
"Do you have an appointment, sir?"
"No."
"Then if I could just take y-" Whatever the rest of her sentence had been, it never got the chance to reach fruition as Charles leaned forward and held up his hand to signal for her to be silent - and she understood it well enough. His expression shifted almost imperceptively with the raise of a discerning brow, before he slid his eyes to look at the very quiet, very empty waiting room.
"As staggeringly busy as I can see you quite obviously are, I'd appreciate if you just let her know I'm here." There was softness in his voice, but behind it, an iron resolve. Despite appearances, it was not a request.