(Untitled)

[jdick]

It shouldn't have surprised him all that much, given how fucking terrible his hearing had been for years, but it sure as hell was annoying. For a few days, Joe had noticed he was turning the right side of his head toward people more than usual. His hearing had been shit in his left ear for a long fucking time, but this was worse than normal and he'

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[m_pinocchio]

He's going to just nod, smile, pass on, because he's got an armload of little girl's clothes soaked in hot chocolate to get in the wash--and really, it's just great that no one had been wearing them at the time of the Event--when he pauses and looks more closely. He and Joe have never been that close, but Joe has never been stellar at hiding his feelings, and this looks suspiciously like anxiety.

And hovering.

He arches an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

[jdick]

That pretty much fucking settled it.

At the sound of Mike's voice, Joe turned, surprised to find someone there at all and then he groaned, lifting his hand to his left ear again. "I'm fucking deaf," he said, because there wasn't much sense in lying about something this fucking stupid. "I mean, shit, I've always been half-deaf because of the music and the amps and shit, but I'm seriously fucking deaf in this ear now."

Which might not mean anything. Or it might make things damn difficult.

[m_pinocchio]

"Fuck," he says, both eyebrows raising. Ears aren't eyes, but he knows the edge of panic, realizing something you used to have is gone now. "And it's not, like, infected or something? 'Cause that used to happen to Mack and Flo all the damn time..."

[jdick]

"Nah," Joe said, pushing at it lightly. "I only had about ten percent in that one to start with. It's been that way for years. It wasn't much, but it was enough and now I can't hear a fucking thing." He was trying to play it cool, like it wasn't a big deal -- and a part of him was sure that it wasn't -- but there was still a bit of an edge to his voice. He still didn't know what it really meant for his music.

[echolls_cursed]

Logan was wandering, looking for things to do while Jack worked. It was by pure chance that he found Joe.

He offered the man a small smile and headed right over.

"What's the matter Joe, does it burn when you pee?" he joked lightly, nodding at the clinic door. Though for all he was cracking jokes, finding Joe lingering outside the clinic worried him. Something could be wrong. Joe had smoked for so long- drank for so long... Something could be wrong, and that scared the shit out of him.

He couldn't lose Joe.

[jdick]

"You're a fucking riot," Joe said with a smirk, almost immediately relaxing a little just because Logan was there. Dale likely would've had the same effect on him; a reminder that just because he lost his fucking hearing didn't mean he was at the end of the road or anything dramatic like that.

"I think the hearing's gone in this ear," he admitted, pointing up to the left side of his head. "I mean totally fucking gone, man. None of this ten percent bullshit I had going for so long."

[echolls_cursed]

Logan relaxed a bit, worried about Joe's ear but glad to hear that it wasn't something worse.

"Shit man, are you sure?" Logan asked. "I mean, obviously you're sure, but it could be something else, right?"

[jdick]

"Yeah, it's... it's fucking weird," Joe answered, rubbing his ear before he shrugged. "It was like one second I could hear shit how I normally hear it and then the next it was just nothing. I keep trying to turn my head toward people so I can use my other ear. I mean, that's pretty much it, right?"

Nothing much he could do about it now.

"Unless you're gonna build me a hearing aid," he added with a grin.

[colbert_bump]

Stephen was whistling as he went down the hall. He still wasn't sure what to think of Joe, but since he was in a good mood, he wouldn't automatically run away from The Gay.

It was very big of him.

"There a reason you're lurking around here?" Stephen greeted loudly and out of nowhere.

[jdick]

"Jesus fucking Christ, man," Joe snapped, whirling at the sound of Stephen's voice. This fucking bullshit was worse than he thought, because now he looked like a little fucking girl, jumping whenever someone came at him from the wrong side.

"Don't sneak up on people like that," he grumbled, feeling stupid as he rubbed his ear. "I'm not lurking."

[colbert_bump]

Aaaand up went the Eyebrow of Judgment.

"I can see how you would think otherwise, since I am, of course, an expert in the art of stealth, but I wasn't actually sneaking up on you. I was whistling, sir." Stephen frowned, growing suspicious. Sure, Joe claimed to be not-lurking, but the jumpiness could only mean one thing: World Domination.

[jdick]

Joe hadn't heard the whistling, which kind of confirmed what he'd spent all fucking day worrying about and he let out an annoyed sigh, looking back at the clinic. He was going to have to see a fucking doctor whether he liked it or not.

"I'm fucking deaf," he said, poking his finger into his left ear and wiggling it. "Jesus Christ, I didn't even fucking hear you coming."

[drownondryland]

It wasn't her day in the clinic and she had a party to prepare for in just a couple hours, but Meredith couldn't help herself. It just wasn't in her nature to stay away for an entire day, not without a damn good reason (not even then), so once she'd satisfied herself she was perfectly well on track and preparations could wait a little longer, she headed for the clinic. Checking in would settle her nerves, she thought. Somehow ridiculous things like grown-up parties were so much more daunting than surgery.

Spotting the man in the doorway as she approached, she grinned. "Coming in?" she asked. "I promise we don't bite."

[jdick]

"I got promised that last time and then look what happened," Joe answered with a grin, rolling back his sleeve to show a scar that looked suspiciously like a bite mark. It had actually come from Pipefitter when they'd been twenty-three and it wasn't really a bite mark, but it was close enough. Besides, what he really didn't want to say was that she'd surprised him. Joe Dick didn't hover in doorways and he didn't jump like a little girl, but somehow, in one day, he'd managed to do them both.

[drownondryland]

Meredith glanced at the scar, brow raising, grin unfaltering. "Oh," she said, mock-sympathetic, "you saw Dr. House, then." She had to admit, it was a bit daunting being in charge of the clinic when he undoubtedly had seniority, but it really meant she was just the fool checking on the paperwork most of the time. "Well, I keep my promises. Is there something I can help you with?"

[jdick]

"I, uh... fuck it, I think I'm deaf in my left ear," he said in a rush. "Sorry, I'm Joe Dick. There are probably records of me being in here or something if you need to look me up, but it's never been for my ear. This is kinda new."

Although that wasn't entirely true either.

"Being totally deaf is kinda new, I mean. I had about ten percent left in it for awhile."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

Dale might not be spending all of his time in the Council office anymore, but the kitchen was still where a person could find a good cup of coffee, so Dale could still be found in the vicinity at some point on most days.

"Joe," he said, coming from behind him and resting a hand on the small of his back. "You look like you're not sure whether you're coming or going."

[jdick]

Joe wasn't the kind of person who flinched or jumped when someone approached, but there was no denying that he gave a little jump at the touch of Dale's hand, surprised to find him there. "Uh," he said, because he hadn't told Dale yet and while that was fucking stupid, it wasn't like he'd done something wrong or lost a limb.

"You scared me," he said. "I think the hearing in my left ear is gone."

[dale_cooper_fbi]

"I wondered," said Dale, nodding his head both in acknowledgment and a little bit, he hoped, in reassurance. He lived with Joe, in the most honest use of the word, and he was an investigator. He noticed things, especially things about the people closest to him. Joe wouldn't thank him for pretending he hadn't considered the possibility. "Has anyone looked at it?"

[jdick]

"Not yet," Joe answered, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing at the clinic again. "I was gonna go in there and have a doctor check it out before I started telling people. You know, just in case. It might be nothing. Might just be some kinda weird infection."

But he doubted it very much.