Cooking was wonderfully distracting [Chase, James and David Wilson]
Getting off campus, lover and heading home, what are you up to? And 5'11" is not a viable answer, smartass!
That was the page, which was sent from MegaPager as Wilson dropped his freshly showered self into the leather bucket seat of his BMW and headed away from the hospital towards his home. He had new music and quickly cranked it up to an almost ear splitting level as he barreled along the highway and then down the side roads which would carry him towards his home. Having decided that for Chase's peace of mind it was not wise to check and possibly respond to MegaPager while gallivanting along the highway at 70MPH, Wilson waited until he had the BMW parked in the driveway of the brownstone before checking to see if he'd gotten a response.
Eyes down on the pager, he missed the presence of a certain motorcycle sitting across the street from his address.
I'm down at the University Library. Research so to speak. And I'm at least 6'.
Chase smirked to himself as he finished typing in the pager, then put it down again as he rubbed one hand over his lean face, breathing out a tired sigh. If James was finally heading home - well - obviously Chase had been here too long. Suddenly the thought of a warm meal with a certain oncologist making heated eyes at him over the dinner table sounded like the best thing in the world.
Well, it was, actually. One of, at least.
Yes dear. Wilson smirked good naturedly knowing better then to debate Chase on the subject because if they started talking about inches...yeah. I'm home, come on over when you can..
He tried to make the offer casual so as not to pressure Chase one way or the other but sometimes their schedule played silly bugger with their personal life and Wilson had to admit to missing the younger man.
"Hey, Bro...you going to stare moon eyes at that pager all day or feed a starving sibling?" David's light voice carried across the street, drawing James's head up and away from his pager with a slight frown.
"David? What brings you out here?"
"Food, James...I'm hungry...feed me?" David tried batting his eyelashes at his older brother who rolled his eyes.
"Oh for the love of..."
"Ppllllleeeeeeaaaasseee?" David wheedled.
"Alright, come on, I think I have some rat poison going to waste."
"If you have some hot sauce to go with the rat poison I'll love you forever Jimmy!"
"You expect me to cook?!?!"
So the brothers disappeared into the brownstone, bickering lightly with one another, the elder keeping a discreet eye on his pager as he followed his baby sibling through the door.
I'll be home in about 20 minutes. What are you in the mood for? I'll cook.
Chase threw his things together as he waited for a reply, moving out towards the huge oak double doors and down the front steps. There were throngs of young undergrads here and there - summer classes were in full swing and every young Ivy Leaguer was looking to get an edge. His Porsche didn't even get a second glance on this campus, and for that, he was glad.
James herded his baby brother into the kitchen, pausing only long enough to flick on the stereo system and drop his overnight bag beside the foot of the stairs before following him. Head down as the pager chirped at him, Wilson smiled and then caught his lower lip between his teeth pondering for a moment before he typed up a reply.
Do you mind cooking for three? David's here. Deciding there was nothing to be gained by keeping the information from Chase. Maybe some eggs? An omelet? I'll start cutting down some vegetables and fruit.
Hitting send, he set the pager on his hip and reached for the coffee pot. David had settled on one of the kitchen chairs and was looking around for a place to put his helmet, he gave up and finally set it in his lap like a security blanket. James eyed his brother as he set about making the coffee.
"Rob will be home shortly, he's the better cook." James explained as he pushed the gurgling pot back out of the way and began to rummage through his fridge. Surprisingly, he'd gotten better about keeping actual food in it in the past few months. It was still simple stuff, staples used to make quick, easy meals for two or to feed Chase when the younger man was kicking around the brownstone waiting for Wilson to get home.
"Oh...um..." David looked distinctly unsettled as if trying to decide if his impromptu visit was worth a possible run in with the Australian. "Should I go?"
James turned, both brows lifting. "Do you want to?"
"Err...no?"
"Then...no?"
"Ah...right...mmm could I have some water?"
James rolled his eyes and tossed a bottled water at his sibling, turning away from the fridge with hands full of fresh veggies and fruits.
Chase's eyebrows rose together at that message. As far as he could tell - James's family had been avoiding him like the plague. Why David would want to stick around while Chase was there ... well. That was worth the price of admission, so to speak.
Consider them cooked. Getting into the car now. I'll see you when I get home.
Hitting send, he climbed into the Porsche, and brought the car to life with a flick of his wrist and the ignition key. The drive to the brownstone wasn't a long one - especially the way Chase drove - but he had to tamper down a sense of impatience as he climbed out of the car and moved towards the front door, unlocking it with his key, "James? I'm here."
He dropped off his things and moved to the kitchen.
Chase would be walking in about the time the conversation was getting going.
"James, listen I don't know what he did..."
"Damn it, Davey..."
"No no no just listen! I'm here about Margaret, she's really in a rough depression."
"THEN TELL HER TO TALK TO...." Wilson started out shouting but dropped his voice to a more reasonable level when he heard Chase's call.
David watched as his breath exhaled and tension seemed to leave the older man. It was like watching someone flip a switch in his brother and whatever else he might think about the high handed young man James was in love with, he had to give Robert this...this ability to calm his brother.
"Hey, Beautiful." Wilson greeted Chase with a soft smile and the endearment ready on his lips despite his brother's presence in the kitchen.
David hugged his helmet a little more closely to him and gave Chase a nervous nod.
"Hello, Doctor Chase."
A frown crossed the younger man's face as the argument slapped against his eardrums. He slipped into the kitchen, tugging at his tie as he flashed a warmth-filled smile at Wilson, sneaking a kiss as he moved towards the fridge. "Hello yourself, Love."
He pulled out a bottle of water as he kept working on his tie, blue eyes flickering from David, to James, then back to David. "Evening, David. What do you like in your omelet?" Cordial but there was an edge there. The protecting urge was rising in the younger man, that much was obvious.
The events at the restaurant still fresh in David's mind as well as the $10K in his bank account, the younger Wilson sat and tried to look as unthreatening as possible. He was uncomfortable, that was obvious but it was as much a case of being uncomfortable in his own skin as being uncomfortable in the situation.
"I'm easy..." He said agreeably and it really was the truth, David tended to eat anything that wasn't nailed down.
James had turned into that snuck kiss and then continued to turn until he was leaning back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest as he flicked his eyes from his lover to his brother, snorting softly.
"He'll put enough hot sauce on it to kill any lingering bacteria, lover. I've cut up some green peppers, onions, red peppers and grated some fresh cheese, that enough for you to work with? What else do you want me to do?" Wilson nudged the cutting board into view for Chase to inspect, turning towards a cabinet to get down a mug for coffee, sticking subtly close to the Intensivist.
David chewed on his lower lip as he watched the two men interact, shifting a little on his chair as obvious about wanting to continue the conversation as his brother was about NOT wanting to continue it.
"If you have mushrooms ..." Chase said thoughtfully, finally getting the tie loose and folding it on the counter as he moved over to the board. Nodding his head with approval, he went for the frying pans and the spray butter.
Cooking would keep him from doing something rash. Like say, telling David to tell John to back the fuck off and stop sending David as his messenger boy. Tell him a lot of things.
Instead he put the frying pan down and started rolling up his sleeves, flashing a smile at James. "So. Don't let me interrupt. I'm just going to be cooking and eavesdropping."
James gave Chase a slightly pained look before he turned back towards the fridge and began to rummage around for the requested fungi.
At the table, David was almost ready to get himself the fuck out, he did not want to tangle with Chase, he really didn't but...he was here for Margaret, not for John. He was also here for himself, just a little.
"Ah, thank you, Doctor Chase. James...it's just that."
"David!" James exhaled explosively and smacked the carton of mushrooms on the counter, grabbing up the small paring knife he'd been using.
"No! Jimmy, just... listen to me." Seemed as if David had taken Chase's comment to heart. Actually he was just trying to plow through it before he lost his nerve. "She's already lost Matthew..."
"DAVID! No one has lost Matthew."
"James! Grab reality, we haven't seen him in 9 years and he was a damn drug addict when he took off, you really think he's survived thi..."
"David, I threw John out. I have no trouble throwing you out also." Wilson ground out through his teeth, smacking the stem off a mushroom so hard it jumped across the open space of the kitchen and landed in one of Chase's skillets.
"You know, you're middle name really should have been denial." David spoke not unkindly and leaned forward a little, eyeing Chase warily before looking at his elder brother. "Did you hear anything? This year? You went down there didn't you?"
James exhaled and set the knife carefully down on the counter, leaning his hands on the edge and staring at the gray cap of a mushroom. "Yeah."
"And?"
"David... that's not.."
"AND?"
"DAVID!"
"You didn't hear anything...did you? You never do...and that's what Margaret is afraid of. She's lost one son, she can't bear the idea of loosing another one!"
James flipped the knife up towards the back wall and wheeled away from the counter, walking out of the kitchen obviously trying to rein in his emotions.
David watched his brother retreat and then flicked a cautious glance towards the broad set of Chase's shoulders. Chewing on his lower lip in a mannerism much like his sibling's, he rubbed his hands along the helmet in his lap.
"I, didn't mean to upset him this much...It's just, Mom really is in a rough way. She doesn't understand and with the history with Matthew...it's a really touchy situation." He spoke softly, diffidently even though he was older than Chase. "John, doesn't know I'm here, by the way."
Chase watched James walk out of the kitchen, his lips pursing for a moment before he went to retrieve the knife out of the wall. He looked at David, knife in hand, and spoke calmly and soberly. "Do you know what your father did the last time he was here, David?"
He walked over to the sink, and calmly washed the knife, giving James time to comport himself. "Because I do. Have you been here while your brother has been trying to get over the belief he has that he's not worth anything? Because I have. You can't come in here and ask him to go back through the fire, David, because you and your father can't. It's not fair."
David wanted to deny it. He wanted to throw the younger man's words back in his face. It was hard for him sometimes, the sheltering he'd gotten from his two older brothers had guarded him from a lot of John's harsher realities and he could still pull a veil over his memories and only shift out the good ones. But more and more that veil was shredding and the good memories were being tempered with the bad and all he could do was shake his head.
"I haven't spoken to James...since I tried to warn him in the car park that John was...tense." The baby Wilson's voice was quiet and a little lost. "I...I don't expect it was anything good...if James threw John out." He swallowed tensely and looked back up at Chase, marveling at the Australian's calm, steady, take-charge control in the face of his brother's fire. Green eyes flicked towards the doorway, hoping to see James come back but when he didn't David was forced to face the second part of Chase's statement...question...statement?
"I don't know what else to do, Chase. She's my...she's our mother and James and I are all she has left...and she'll never understand why he feels the way he does. Even if he's right...even if you're right that he needs this...Margaret will never understand. 9 years have passed since Matthew took off and she still doesn't understand that. If Jimmy could just, talk to her. Couldn't you ..." David stopped himself the minute the last two words left his mouth, almost afraid of what he'd just come close to asking Chase to do.
"You want me to ask him to call your mother and assure her he's all right so she doesn't have one of her fits." Chase answered the unspoken question with the same level of calm, even as he took out a clean knife and started paring the mushrooms with a grace that spoke of his comfort with a scalpel. "I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to betray his trust like that. He asked for one thing - from all three of you - time. The more you and John try to force him, the less likely he is to do it."
He looked up, his expression serious. "However, I will do this. I'll speak to her myself, if your father allows it."
David blushed a bright red as he quickly recalled some of his father's...comments... on the subject of Robert Chase over the past couple of nights and he exhaled softly, reaching back to grab at the nape of his neck in an unconscious mimicry of his elder brother.
"Umm...what if I brought her to talk to you? John...isn't really what you might call reasonable right now and he's just getting worse, the worse Margaret gets." It was an ugly cycle, which never seemed to want to quit.
Chase noted the look and smirked, but there was a tight feeling in the center of his chest. Sooner or later, John Wilson and he were pretty much destined to have a conflict of their own. He just hoped it stuck to ugly words and not ugly fists. "If she agrees - I'll be glad to talk to her without your father around. Or James. Just to soothe her fears."
Margaret wasn't losing her son - she was gaining a man in return - but Chase wasn't sure she or John could handle that. None of their children really had a chance to grow up all the way... "I'd like you to sit in with us, David. So you can understand, too."
Green eyes darted once more towards the doorway, knowing that James wouldn't be gone for too much longer and some instinct told David to make up his mind and commit to this before his brother could return and throw conflict into the idea.
"O..o....yeah okay. I think I can make her agree. I think I can at least make her come and listen. My mother isn't a bad person, Chase...she's just incredibly screwed up. Can...I mean...should I bring her to the hospital?"
For what it was worth, David was trying not to think about any of them running afoul of John, not right now. He was afraid of what might happen. The life he'd known for so long was breaking apart but David was not a dumb young man, just misguided and he could see that the fractures could heal even stronger...but they could also be torn asunder if handled wrong in this delicate phase.
“You should bring her to the hospital. That way we have neutral ground to deal with." Chase said as he took the eggs out of the refrigerator. "I'll give you a call and we'll set up a time for this week if Margaret agrees."
He started whipping together the egg yolks with a swift hand, looking down at the bowl. "And I know this isn't your mother's fault, David. She's a sick woman who never got the right kind of help. I just wish your father would realize that and do something about it."
David nodded in understanding and agreement with Chase's request that he come down to the hospital with Margaret. "Oh...okay. Um...ah... here." Standing up, he walked over to the counter and tugged down a paper towel, rummaging around in one of James's drawers for a pen and writing down his number.
"This is where you can reach me..it's my cell phone, I always have it on me." David shyly held the paper towel out towards Chase and cast another glance towards the doorway.
"I wish...that John could get over his own issues long enough to do something about it." The younger Wilson gave the Intensivist a rueful smile, looking very much like his older brother with the expression before it was gone beneath a much more youthful face.
Chase looked at that face, and something in his heart twisted as he took the paper towel and folded it into a square, tucking it into his pocket. He was quiet for a moment, before he went back to making the omelets, "Me too, David. Me too."
It was a good thing that Chase took the paper towel when it was offered as said elder brother came back to the doorway, hair slightly disheveled from where he'd been driving his fingers through it but much calmer looking over all.
"David...listen...I just....I can't...I'm..."
"Hey whoa...I mean...don't be sorry. You're always sorry for everything, James. I think when it rains you apologize. I...it was just a thought you know." David shrugged as if shrugging away something, which he'd been so passionate about before.
Wilson looked a little curious and he cast a quick glance between the two younger men but it was a testament to just how confused he was feeling about the situation himself that he didn't pursue his brother's sudden about face.
"Um..yeah...okay. Well...don't just stand there, make yourself useful and get the table set." Something in the way he said it spoke to the idea that James had often been giving these directions and then, like now, David rolled his eyes and groused but did as his brother instructed.
With his sibling rattling crockery at the table, James stepped up close behind Chase speaking softly in an intimate tone just for the two of them. "Sorry about that, love."
"Don't you fret over that." Chase said with a quiet little smile, as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his love's apologetic mouth. "Like David says, you'd apologize if it started raining. Cut me up some fruit and toast us some bread for the omelets, all right? That's all I need from you. Well, y'know, right now."
He flashed that smirk of his, wiggling his eyebrows slightly before turning back to the task at hand. Cooking was wonderfully distracting.
That was the page, which was sent from MegaPager as Wilson dropped his freshly showered self into the leather bucket seat of his BMW and headed away from the hospital towards his home. He had new music and quickly cranked it up to an almost ear splitting level as he barreled along the highway and then down the side roads which would carry him towards his home. Having decided that for Chase's peace of mind it was not wise to check and possibly respond to MegaPager while gallivanting along the highway at 70MPH, Wilson waited until he had the BMW parked in the driveway of the brownstone before checking to see if he'd gotten a response.
Eyes down on the pager, he missed the presence of a certain motorcycle sitting across the street from his address.
I'm down at the University Library. Research so to speak. And I'm at least 6'.
Chase smirked to himself as he finished typing in the pager, then put it down again as he rubbed one hand over his lean face, breathing out a tired sigh. If James was finally heading home - well - obviously Chase had been here too long. Suddenly the thought of a warm meal with a certain oncologist making heated eyes at him over the dinner table sounded like the best thing in the world.
Well, it was, actually. One of, at least.
Yes dear. Wilson smirked good naturedly knowing better then to debate Chase on the subject because if they started talking about inches...yeah. I'm home, come on over when you can..
He tried to make the offer casual so as not to pressure Chase one way or the other but sometimes their schedule played silly bugger with their personal life and Wilson had to admit to missing the younger man.
"Hey, Bro...you going to stare moon eyes at that pager all day or feed a starving sibling?" David's light voice carried across the street, drawing James's head up and away from his pager with a slight frown.
"David? What brings you out here?"
"Food, James...I'm hungry...feed me?" David tried batting his eyelashes at his older brother who rolled his eyes.
"Oh for the love of..."
"Ppllllleeeeeeaaaasseee?" David wheedled.
"Alright, come on, I think I have some rat poison going to waste."
"If you have some hot sauce to go with the rat poison I'll love you forever Jimmy!"
"You expect me to cook?!?!"
So the brothers disappeared into the brownstone, bickering lightly with one another, the elder keeping a discreet eye on his pager as he followed his baby sibling through the door.
I'll be home in about 20 minutes. What are you in the mood for? I'll cook.
Chase threw his things together as he waited for a reply, moving out towards the huge oak double doors and down the front steps. There were throngs of young undergrads here and there - summer classes were in full swing and every young Ivy Leaguer was looking to get an edge. His Porsche didn't even get a second glance on this campus, and for that, he was glad.
James herded his baby brother into the kitchen, pausing only long enough to flick on the stereo system and drop his overnight bag beside the foot of the stairs before following him. Head down as the pager chirped at him, Wilson smiled and then caught his lower lip between his teeth pondering for a moment before he typed up a reply.
Do you mind cooking for three? David's here. Deciding there was nothing to be gained by keeping the information from Chase. Maybe some eggs? An omelet? I'll start cutting down some vegetables and fruit.
Hitting send, he set the pager on his hip and reached for the coffee pot. David had settled on one of the kitchen chairs and was looking around for a place to put his helmet, he gave up and finally set it in his lap like a security blanket. James eyed his brother as he set about making the coffee.
"Rob will be home shortly, he's the better cook." James explained as he pushed the gurgling pot back out of the way and began to rummage through his fridge. Surprisingly, he'd gotten better about keeping actual food in it in the past few months. It was still simple stuff, staples used to make quick, easy meals for two or to feed Chase when the younger man was kicking around the brownstone waiting for Wilson to get home.
"Oh...um..." David looked distinctly unsettled as if trying to decide if his impromptu visit was worth a possible run in with the Australian. "Should I go?"
James turned, both brows lifting. "Do you want to?"
"Err...no?"
"Then...no?"
"Ah...right...mmm could I have some water?"
James rolled his eyes and tossed a bottled water at his sibling, turning away from the fridge with hands full of fresh veggies and fruits.
Chase's eyebrows rose together at that message. As far as he could tell - James's family had been avoiding him like the plague. Why David would want to stick around while Chase was there ... well. That was worth the price of admission, so to speak.
Consider them cooked. Getting into the car now. I'll see you when I get home.
Hitting send, he climbed into the Porsche, and brought the car to life with a flick of his wrist and the ignition key. The drive to the brownstone wasn't a long one - especially the way Chase drove - but he had to tamper down a sense of impatience as he climbed out of the car and moved towards the front door, unlocking it with his key, "James? I'm here."
He dropped off his things and moved to the kitchen.
Chase would be walking in about the time the conversation was getting going.
"James, listen I don't know what he did..."
"Damn it, Davey..."
"No no no just listen! I'm here about Margaret, she's really in a rough depression."
"THEN TELL HER TO TALK TO...." Wilson started out shouting but dropped his voice to a more reasonable level when he heard Chase's call.
David watched as his breath exhaled and tension seemed to leave the older man. It was like watching someone flip a switch in his brother and whatever else he might think about the high handed young man James was in love with, he had to give Robert this...this ability to calm his brother.
"Hey, Beautiful." Wilson greeted Chase with a soft smile and the endearment ready on his lips despite his brother's presence in the kitchen.
David hugged his helmet a little more closely to him and gave Chase a nervous nod.
"Hello, Doctor Chase."
A frown crossed the younger man's face as the argument slapped against his eardrums. He slipped into the kitchen, tugging at his tie as he flashed a warmth-filled smile at Wilson, sneaking a kiss as he moved towards the fridge. "Hello yourself, Love."
He pulled out a bottle of water as he kept working on his tie, blue eyes flickering from David, to James, then back to David. "Evening, David. What do you like in your omelet?" Cordial but there was an edge there. The protecting urge was rising in the younger man, that much was obvious.
The events at the restaurant still fresh in David's mind as well as the $10K in his bank account, the younger Wilson sat and tried to look as unthreatening as possible. He was uncomfortable, that was obvious but it was as much a case of being uncomfortable in his own skin as being uncomfortable in the situation.
"I'm easy..." He said agreeably and it really was the truth, David tended to eat anything that wasn't nailed down.
James had turned into that snuck kiss and then continued to turn until he was leaning back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest as he flicked his eyes from his lover to his brother, snorting softly.
"He'll put enough hot sauce on it to kill any lingering bacteria, lover. I've cut up some green peppers, onions, red peppers and grated some fresh cheese, that enough for you to work with? What else do you want me to do?" Wilson nudged the cutting board into view for Chase to inspect, turning towards a cabinet to get down a mug for coffee, sticking subtly close to the Intensivist.
David chewed on his lower lip as he watched the two men interact, shifting a little on his chair as obvious about wanting to continue the conversation as his brother was about NOT wanting to continue it.
"If you have mushrooms ..." Chase said thoughtfully, finally getting the tie loose and folding it on the counter as he moved over to the board. Nodding his head with approval, he went for the frying pans and the spray butter.
Cooking would keep him from doing something rash. Like say, telling David to tell John to back the fuck off and stop sending David as his messenger boy. Tell him a lot of things.
Instead he put the frying pan down and started rolling up his sleeves, flashing a smile at James. "So. Don't let me interrupt. I'm just going to be cooking and eavesdropping."
James gave Chase a slightly pained look before he turned back towards the fridge and began to rummage around for the requested fungi.
At the table, David was almost ready to get himself the fuck out, he did not want to tangle with Chase, he really didn't but...he was here for Margaret, not for John. He was also here for himself, just a little.
"Ah, thank you, Doctor Chase. James...it's just that."
"David!" James exhaled explosively and smacked the carton of mushrooms on the counter, grabbing up the small paring knife he'd been using.
"No! Jimmy, just... listen to me." Seemed as if David had taken Chase's comment to heart. Actually he was just trying to plow through it before he lost his nerve. "She's already lost Matthew..."
"DAVID! No one has lost Matthew."
"James! Grab reality, we haven't seen him in 9 years and he was a damn drug addict when he took off, you really think he's survived thi..."
"David, I threw John out. I have no trouble throwing you out also." Wilson ground out through his teeth, smacking the stem off a mushroom so hard it jumped across the open space of the kitchen and landed in one of Chase's skillets.
"You know, you're middle name really should have been denial." David spoke not unkindly and leaned forward a little, eyeing Chase warily before looking at his elder brother. "Did you hear anything? This year? You went down there didn't you?"
James exhaled and set the knife carefully down on the counter, leaning his hands on the edge and staring at the gray cap of a mushroom. "Yeah."
"And?"
"David... that's not.."
"AND?"
"DAVID!"
"You didn't hear anything...did you? You never do...and that's what Margaret is afraid of. She's lost one son, she can't bear the idea of loosing another one!"
James flipped the knife up towards the back wall and wheeled away from the counter, walking out of the kitchen obviously trying to rein in his emotions.
David watched his brother retreat and then flicked a cautious glance towards the broad set of Chase's shoulders. Chewing on his lower lip in a mannerism much like his sibling's, he rubbed his hands along the helmet in his lap.
"I, didn't mean to upset him this much...It's just, Mom really is in a rough way. She doesn't understand and with the history with Matthew...it's a really touchy situation." He spoke softly, diffidently even though he was older than Chase. "John, doesn't know I'm here, by the way."
Chase watched James walk out of the kitchen, his lips pursing for a moment before he went to retrieve the knife out of the wall. He looked at David, knife in hand, and spoke calmly and soberly. "Do you know what your father did the last time he was here, David?"
He walked over to the sink, and calmly washed the knife, giving James time to comport himself. "Because I do. Have you been here while your brother has been trying to get over the belief he has that he's not worth anything? Because I have. You can't come in here and ask him to go back through the fire, David, because you and your father can't. It's not fair."
David wanted to deny it. He wanted to throw the younger man's words back in his face. It was hard for him sometimes, the sheltering he'd gotten from his two older brothers had guarded him from a lot of John's harsher realities and he could still pull a veil over his memories and only shift out the good ones. But more and more that veil was shredding and the good memories were being tempered with the bad and all he could do was shake his head.
"I haven't spoken to James...since I tried to warn him in the car park that John was...tense." The baby Wilson's voice was quiet and a little lost. "I...I don't expect it was anything good...if James threw John out." He swallowed tensely and looked back up at Chase, marveling at the Australian's calm, steady, take-charge control in the face of his brother's fire. Green eyes flicked towards the doorway, hoping to see James come back but when he didn't David was forced to face the second part of Chase's statement...question...statement?
"I don't know what else to do, Chase. She's my...she's our mother and James and I are all she has left...and she'll never understand why he feels the way he does. Even if he's right...even if you're right that he needs this...Margaret will never understand. 9 years have passed since Matthew took off and she still doesn't understand that. If Jimmy could just, talk to her. Couldn't you ..." David stopped himself the minute the last two words left his mouth, almost afraid of what he'd just come close to asking Chase to do.
"You want me to ask him to call your mother and assure her he's all right so she doesn't have one of her fits." Chase answered the unspoken question with the same level of calm, even as he took out a clean knife and started paring the mushrooms with a grace that spoke of his comfort with a scalpel. "I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to betray his trust like that. He asked for one thing - from all three of you - time. The more you and John try to force him, the less likely he is to do it."
He looked up, his expression serious. "However, I will do this. I'll speak to her myself, if your father allows it."
David blushed a bright red as he quickly recalled some of his father's...comments... on the subject of Robert Chase over the past couple of nights and he exhaled softly, reaching back to grab at the nape of his neck in an unconscious mimicry of his elder brother.
"Umm...what if I brought her to talk to you? John...isn't really what you might call reasonable right now and he's just getting worse, the worse Margaret gets." It was an ugly cycle, which never seemed to want to quit.
Chase noted the look and smirked, but there was a tight feeling in the center of his chest. Sooner or later, John Wilson and he were pretty much destined to have a conflict of their own. He just hoped it stuck to ugly words and not ugly fists. "If she agrees - I'll be glad to talk to her without your father around. Or James. Just to soothe her fears."
Margaret wasn't losing her son - she was gaining a man in return - but Chase wasn't sure she or John could handle that. None of their children really had a chance to grow up all the way... "I'd like you to sit in with us, David. So you can understand, too."
Green eyes darted once more towards the doorway, knowing that James wouldn't be gone for too much longer and some instinct told David to make up his mind and commit to this before his brother could return and throw conflict into the idea.
"O..o....yeah okay. I think I can make her agree. I think I can at least make her come and listen. My mother isn't a bad person, Chase...she's just incredibly screwed up. Can...I mean...should I bring her to the hospital?"
For what it was worth, David was trying not to think about any of them running afoul of John, not right now. He was afraid of what might happen. The life he'd known for so long was breaking apart but David was not a dumb young man, just misguided and he could see that the fractures could heal even stronger...but they could also be torn asunder if handled wrong in this delicate phase.
“You should bring her to the hospital. That way we have neutral ground to deal with." Chase said as he took the eggs out of the refrigerator. "I'll give you a call and we'll set up a time for this week if Margaret agrees."
He started whipping together the egg yolks with a swift hand, looking down at the bowl. "And I know this isn't your mother's fault, David. She's a sick woman who never got the right kind of help. I just wish your father would realize that and do something about it."
David nodded in understanding and agreement with Chase's request that he come down to the hospital with Margaret. "Oh...okay. Um...ah... here." Standing up, he walked over to the counter and tugged down a paper towel, rummaging around in one of James's drawers for a pen and writing down his number.
"This is where you can reach me..it's my cell phone, I always have it on me." David shyly held the paper towel out towards Chase and cast another glance towards the doorway.
"I wish...that John could get over his own issues long enough to do something about it." The younger Wilson gave the Intensivist a rueful smile, looking very much like his older brother with the expression before it was gone beneath a much more youthful face.
Chase looked at that face, and something in his heart twisted as he took the paper towel and folded it into a square, tucking it into his pocket. He was quiet for a moment, before he went back to making the omelets, "Me too, David. Me too."
It was a good thing that Chase took the paper towel when it was offered as said elder brother came back to the doorway, hair slightly disheveled from where he'd been driving his fingers through it but much calmer looking over all.
"David...listen...I just....I can't...I'm..."
"Hey whoa...I mean...don't be sorry. You're always sorry for everything, James. I think when it rains you apologize. I...it was just a thought you know." David shrugged as if shrugging away something, which he'd been so passionate about before.
Wilson looked a little curious and he cast a quick glance between the two younger men but it was a testament to just how confused he was feeling about the situation himself that he didn't pursue his brother's sudden about face.
"Um..yeah...okay. Well...don't just stand there, make yourself useful and get the table set." Something in the way he said it spoke to the idea that James had often been giving these directions and then, like now, David rolled his eyes and groused but did as his brother instructed.
With his sibling rattling crockery at the table, James stepped up close behind Chase speaking softly in an intimate tone just for the two of them. "Sorry about that, love."
"Don't you fret over that." Chase said with a quiet little smile, as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his love's apologetic mouth. "Like David says, you'd apologize if it started raining. Cut me up some fruit and toast us some bread for the omelets, all right? That's all I need from you. Well, y'know, right now."
He flashed that smirk of his, wiggling his eyebrows slightly before turning back to the task at hand. Cooking was wonderfully distracting.