Chapter Text
Andrew nervously checked himself in his mirror, straightening the tie around his throat. Was it too much? Probably.
Sighing, he tugged it from his throat, chucking it onto his bed and staring out the window at the sky, already beginning to darken. Winter had its perks, he supposed, watching around the dark street – cats ran home as the chill in the air dropped, getting worse.
Andrew shuddered and turned his attention back to the mirror. His shirt was done all the way up to under his chin, and Andrew was glad you couldn’t go wrong with a white shirt. He was in smart, black skinny jeans, and some Dunlop Converse-look a likes adorned his feet. Checking himself on more time, he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and then grabbed his phone.
There was a message from Hugh and Andrew found his breath caught in his throat.
Just wanted to check to see if tonight is still on? x
Andrew burst into a smile, shaking a little as he tapped his reply out; knowing that Hugh was nervous about this made him feel a little better.
If you want it to be x
Of course I do. I’ll meet you at the restaurant, unless you changed your mind about me picking you up x
Andrew grimaced.
Personal rule. I’ll meet you at the restaurant at 9 x
See you soon then :) x
Andrew took a deep breath, and gave himself one last check in the mirror before he went to grab his leather jacket. He tugged it on, and felt a familiar comfort as the faded blue leather weighed his shoulders down. He’d had it for a long time; he’d had his last growth spurt in his first year of medical school, hitting 6 foot.
The jacket had been a present from his Father, a well done on making it. He’d died a year later, almost to the day.
Andrew had almost dropped out of medical school, almost went home to be with his Mother, to help his brothers through the loss, but they’d demanded he stay there – his Father wouldn’t want him to drop out.
Andrew closed his eyes for a moment, before they opened to look at a photo of him and his Father, hung on the wall. They’d been to a medical school open day, his Father wanting to help Andrew choose a school; Andrew only went to the school his Father picked, it was the best choice, and his Father being the decorated surgeon he was really helped him gain his place there.
Now, years later, he was a decorated surgeon himself, and he couldn’t help but smile at the thought that his Father would be proud of him.
Glancing at the clock next to the picture, Andrew chucked his phone in his pocket, grabbed his keys, and all but flew out the door to his apartment.
8.50pm was not the time to be leaving for a 9pm date.
-xox-
Andrew smacked his steering wheel, and leant back in the leather seat, closing his eyes for a moment. Of course, he was running late, and there was a car crash on the way. Opening his eyes, he rolled them before grabbing his phone.
Hey... you still coming? x
Andrew glanced at the time, to groan when it read 9.13pm.
Yes! Yes, I swear! There’s been an accident; I’m caught up in the traffic, that’s all. I’ll (hopefully) be there soon! Promise! x
Andrew shoved his phone into his breast pocket and watched the traffic; thankfully, the traffic seemed to clear as though they’d seen his text, and he managed to cruise down the road. He paused momentarily, peering at the crash – an ambulance was there already, and his pager wasn’t going off so he shook his head and turned his head forward, driving the last few miles to the restaurant.
Finding he had to park a block away from the restaurant, Andrew parked quickly, and hopped out the car, locking his door before he half-hurried through the streets.
Once he hit 79th and Main, he took a deep breath.
He could see the soft light of the restaurant, bathing the street in a soft orange colour, and then he realised there was a man outside, leaning on the wall just next to the window.
Andrew took a sharp breath and smoothed his shirt down before he started walking down the street. The man was frowning at his phone, and he looked like he was about to give up waiting for someone, when he looked up, meeting Andrew’s eyes.
He paused, and glanced at his phone, before back up at Andrew with a smile. As the doctor got closer, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised it was Hugh.
“I cannot apologise more.”
Hugh stepped forward with a kind smile, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as they did. Andrew smiled, recognising the signs of an actual smile.
Andrew stared at the man’s face, and found he could smile properly.
He had pale skin, thickened, as though he had spent a lot of time in harsh weathers; he had a long-ish beard that finished where his neck ended and his chest began, and thick sideburns that went up the side of his face. His hair was long, and it had been half-straightened, framing his face, finishing at his chin. Soft, pale grey eyes were smiling at Andrew, and he could have sworn he saw relief in them.
“Don’t be sorry, crap happens.”
They hesitated in front of each other momentarily before Hugh awkwardly held his hand out. Andrew, for some reason, thought he was holding his arms out, and went in for a hug. Hugh laughed and immediately wrapped his arms around the doctor, who withdrew.
The colour of his cheeks really didn’t go with his hair.
Hugh tugged the door open, and motioned for Andrew to head on inside, and the doctor dropped his head, letting his hair fall in front of his face.
“Glass, reservation for two at 9pm.”
“You’re a little later than we expected but please, this way.”
Andrew continued hiding behind his hair as Hugh followed the hostess. He pulled the chair out, and Andrew smiled softly as he sat down, nodding a small thank you. He tucked himself in under the table and immediately put his phone on the table where he could see it.
“I’d like to apologise in advance for tapping a lot on my phone. My work never really stops, I can’t afford to.”
Hugh tilted his head a little as he pulled his own chair under the table. “What do you do?”
“I’m a doctor. I tend to keep it off the dating sites or people expect you to pull out your wallet on the first date.”
“Don’t you worry about that, I can cover the bill.” Hugh smiled softly. “A doctor? That’s amazing, hats off to you. I applaud you.”
Andrew laughed softly and ducked his head, embarrassed again. He snatched up a menu, hiding his red face behind it. He focused on the words, and then realised that Hugh was talking.
Immediately, his head shot up, his cheeks flushing ever darker.
Great start.
Hugh laughed a little and smiled. “I said, how long have you been practicing in New York?”
“Since I graduated med school.”
“How long has that been?”
Andrew laughed a little, finding he was more relaxed than he had been in a long time. “Four years.”
“Where did you graduate from?”
“New York University School of Medicine. Top of my class.” Andrew let his eyes wander back to his menu.
“That’s amazing!”
“Following in my Father’s footsteps.” Andrew smiled, deciding on a chicken dish, before he set his menu down. “What do you do?”
“I used to be a conservationist, but some stuff happened. Now, I work as the bear keeper at Central Park Zoo.”
Andrew nodded a little, resting his elbow on the table, his chin on his hand. “What happened?”
“I’d rather not discuss that on a first date.”
Andrew nodded a little. “Understandable.”
“Would you like a drink?”
“Something soft, if you wouldn’t mind.” Andrew smiled. “I have to go to work in about six hours.”
“3am shift start?”
“Yes, I got the graveyard shift, but I’m also on call. If they need me, they beep or page me and I have to run off.”
Hugh narrowed his eyes and Andrew shifted on his seat. “What..?”
“Are you sure this isn’t all some elaborate muse and you’re just a casual guy, and this whole doctor ruse is so you can run off if I turn out to be crazy?”
Andrew burst into laughter and hung his head. “You got me!”
Hugh smiled and reached over the table to gently tuck Andrew’s hair behind his ear. His sleeve slid up and Andrew tilted his head.
Catching the man’s hand, Andrew gently ran his fingers down the scars that covered his wrist. “Are these bite marks?”
Hugh went silent and Andrew glanced over at his face. His smile had dropped, and his eyes had filled with a soft sadness. Andrew quickly dropped his hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no, it’s alright.” Hugh cleared his throat. “It’s what happened. My group and I were studying wildlife in a forest; we came across two bear cubs and before we knew what was going on, their mother attacked us. We barely made it out alive; not all of us did. I barely survived myself.”
“I’m so sorry.” Andrew stared down at his hands, licking his lips.
"The bears at the zoo are a lot less brutal," Glass laughed a little, gently tugging his sleeves back down over his left wrist, covering the thick scars that mapped down his arm. “Don’t be sorry, I should have known I couldn’t hide them all night.”
“I shouldn’t have pried.”
“Anyone would have.” Hugh smiled a little and then caught a waitress’ eyes as she went by, ordering drinks. Andrew poked at his phone, cursing himself.
-xox-
As the night went on, Andrew’s found himself falling harder for the soft smile across the table from him. Hugh was just the kind of man he had wished he could have found in high school, and then later on in university.
It was going well, at least, Andrew thought the date was going well – Hugh was currently playing with Andrew’s hands, softly running his fingers over the map of veins that decorated Andrew’s pale skin.
They’d eaten their main course, and Andrew had even let Hugh convince him to have a sneaky sip of wine. They’d laughed over a good amount of jokes, and Andrew had just let Hugh convince him that the chocolate fudge cake wouldn’t blow his waist line when his phone had started chiming at him.
Sighing, Andrew tugged his hands from Hugh, grabbing his phone off the table.
“Bridger?”
“Andrew? Shit we need you up here now; there was a car crash near Madison, and one of the ambulances crashed and one of the paramedics needs surgery and we need you up here ASAP.”
“I can be there in about 15 to 20 minutes, alright? Just breathe.”
Even as he spoke, Andrew was standing quickly, taking a last mouthful of his coke. Hugh was paying the bill and Andrew mouthed a quick sorry at him, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair.
“15 to 20 minutes?!”
“I’m near Madison and I’m not in an ambulance so you’re just going to have to hold the fort for nerarly 20 minutes. Calm down, Bridger, you’re young but you can do this, I know you can. If you can’t, then I need you to get off the phone, and call Fitzgerald down from HTC, can you do that?”
“I-I can do this.”
“I know you can; just breathe, and direct the staff. I’m going to hang up so I don’t get into a crash. I’ll see you soon.”
Andrew hit the end call button and found Hugh was already stood up, clearing a path for Andrew to rush through to the door.
The cold air hit him like a brick wall, and he gasped a moment, breath snatched away from the cold, 11pm air. Hugh’s warm arm wrapped around his waist and Andrew turned his head to stare into those hypnotising pale grey eyes.
“Let me walk you to your car. One sip of wine won’t...”
“No, no, I can work under pressure having drunk a glass of wine, I’m sure one sip won’t hurt me.”
Hugh nodded and leant back as Andrew struggled into his jacket. “I am so sorry to have to cut this short.”
“It’s no issues. You’ve got to go save lives. I understand.”
“Thank you so much.”
Andrew broke into a jog when he spotted his SUV at the end of the street. The lock beeped and Andrew stopped with his hand on the door handle. Hugh caught up and he smiled weakly.
“You take care, don’t get injured rushing off to save other people.”
Andrew bit his lip and smiled weakly. “Some of our paramedics have done that, that’s why I’m needed.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah...”
Andrew licked his lips and then Hugh’s lips were pressing against his and his eyes widened a moment. Andrew sunk into the kiss and reached up to tangle his hair in Hugh’s hair.
They held the kiss a moment, before, what seemed like an eternity later, Hugh pulled back smiling.
“Can we do this again?”
“I’d love to.”
“I’ll text you.”
Andrew smiled and nodded, opening his car door. “I look forward to it.”
Hugh nodded and Andrew jumped into the car.
He took a moment to try and process everything that had just happened, smiling before he realised his pager was buzzing away and he his car leapt into life under his hands. Within seconds, he was driving away from the street, eyes on the road.
Flicking his eyes to the rear view mirror, he realised that Hugh was watching him go. A smile slipped onto his face, and a soft warm feeling spread across his chest before he snapped into medical mode, preparing himself for the long night ahead.